Darth Tenebrous

Quick better rush in there to get the logging rights first

I know I'm not the target audience, but when I'm at home I rinse my stick

Its abundance of sunlight and heavy investment in solar cell technology has positioned Saudi Arabia well in its transition to becoming a leading exporter of renewable energy. Indeed, solar energy currently makes up more than 80% of the Kingdom's green energy capacity. However, these cells bring a twisted irony, as their operation exposes them to overheating risks. Cooling systems are therefore necessary, but many depend on electricity.

An international research team led by KAUST Professor Qiaoqiang Gan has designed a potential solution. Their device needs no electricity, as it extracts water from the air using nothing more than gravity and relies on cheap, readily available materials.

Along with keeping the solar cells and other semiconductor technologies cool, the water can be repurposed for irrigation, washing, cooling buildings on which the solar cells are placed, and other applications.

Scientists estimate that the atmosphere contains six times more water than all the fresh water in the rivers combined. "This water can be collected by atmospheric water harvesting technologies," says Gan.

While these technologies work reasonably well, in arid environments like that of Saudi Arabia they require electricity to harvest practical amounts of water. This demand risks deterring the adoption of solar cells in rural regions of the Kingdom, where electricity infrastructure is costly.

One reason for the low efficiency is that the water adheres to the surface of the harvesting device. Professor Dan Daniel and Shakeel Ahmad, a postdoc in Gan's group, found that by adding a lubricant coating that is a mix of a commercial polymer and silicon oil, they could collect more water by relying on only gravity.

"A common challenge in atmospheric water harvesting systems is that water droplets tend to remain pinned to the surface [of the device], necessitating active condensate collection. Our coating effectively eliminated pinning, enabling true passive water collection driven by water," says Ahmad. "Since this system operates entirely on passive radiative cooling, it doesn't consume any electricity."

The solution is based on previous technology made by Gan, which he describes as "vertical double-sided architecture." That system was originally designed to reflect thermal heat back to the sky to keep the solar cells cool but not to capture the water produced.

The new device was tested six times over the span of a year in natural conditions in the town of Thuwal, about 100 km north of Jeddah, and could almost double the rate of water collection compared with alternative atmospheric water harvesting technologies.

Along with Gan and Daniel, KAUST Associate Professor Gyorgy Szekely contributed to the study, which was published in Advanced Materials.

Along with the efficiency of the water collection, Daniel is equally excited about the economic benefits of adoption.

"The system doesn't consume any electricity, leading to energy savings. Moreover, it doesn't rely on any mechanical parts like compressors or fans, reducing the maintenance over traditional systems, leading to further savings," he said.

Because i took the photo in Australia's Northern Territory 3 years ago and posted it to Reddit on r/dontdeadopeninside

I don't speak German, but I am the photographer of that original picture.

It was taken in the Northern Territory of Australia at a Zambreros that is now closed down.

Those are some small odds for me to take that photo and then see it here years later.

Google translate

Ich spreche kein Deutsch, aber ich bin der Fotograf dieses Originalbildes.

Es wurde im Northern Territory von Australien in einem Zambreros aufgenommen, das jetzt stillgelegt ist.

Das sind einige kleine Chancen für mich, dieses Foto zu machen und es Jahre später hier zu sehen.

We truly seem to be living in a time of entertainment correction.

All the millions of dollars spent on monies video games and TV shows only for them to flop over and over.

What a time to be alive.

So my physical version must surely have gone up I'm value too then. What an investment

/s

Yeah I've seen this before. The well known one doesn't hold a flag to what this man was really doing.

I was hoping for examples because I don't understand , and here you are just spitting in the face of God and his rules haha

If you can get it into the log and then underground. It's all pointless though unless we fix the problem at the source...

We need to blow up the sun

It would be cool if they killed politicians if they don't survive

Is this loss?

Yeah I understand that feeling.

Earlier this year I almost took the jump to lecturing. Was offered the job and everything but I'm still to young to make the change and take the pay cut. In another 10 years when I'm in my 40s it would be a better option, but in the next ten years I'm set to make so much more money that I can't justify moving while my body is able

I'm not saying computers aren't specialised at some point. My point is where I live in can make over 200k a year with 2 weeks off every 3 weeks. I don't have that sort of opportunities in other industries where I am

Yeah haha, and have been back since to get a degree and hated it just as much. Really affirmed the choices i made as a young man.

Yeah I understand that my job will go away eventually, fortunately it won't effect me in my life time. Specialised skills in a specialised industry are worth a fortune.

What also helps me is I teach my trade to others, I'm not the dumb cunt on the ground doing all the labour every day all day.

I wouldn't recommend getting into my trade today to anyone however. It's hard on the body but if you have the work ethic and knowledge there's a fortune to be made in Australia.

Yeah, thankfully I have my restricted electrical license too so I can still work on fully electric machines anyway.

Never have i ever been between jobs since starting work after leaving school

My dad tried to push me to computer work when I was young, I'm glad I didn't listen.

I became a diesel mechanic and am now a specialised crane technician, sure it harder on the body but I don't foresee my job being replaced by Ai and automation in my life time.

If anything the diagnosis work would become easier, much like the introduction of on board diagnostic facilities have already done for us.

The way electricity works though you can never exactly pinpoint an electrical fault with 100 percent accuracy on a machine without physically looking. Along with that limitation the robots to go in and make repairs are a way off still.