Water from the Air

Scientists have spent many hours looking for better ways of providing water to desert or drought-stricken areas. Now it looks like researchers may have found a simple solution, a way of cheaply extracting water from the air.

In a paper, published in Environmental Science and Technology, the team describe the results of their small, “easy-to-assemble-at-household” prototype. After just two-and-a-half hours in the sunlight, they report, the device can deliver 20 grams (0.7 ounces or about four teaspoons) of water. And to provide an adult’s minimum water requirement for a day – 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds, or four and one-quarter cups) – would cost about half a cent per day.

Of course, as always, the issue is whether what they've found can be easily and cheaply mass produced and distributed.