Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have come up with a new device that can boil water without electricity.
The sponge like device can heat water up to 212 degrees c using solar energy. The researchers claim that that the device will work even on cloudy days and does not need mirrors or lenses to help focus the sun’s energy.
The researcher’s current design builds on the solar-absorbing technology that was developed in 2014, a similar floating, sponge-like device made of graphite and carbon foam, that was able to boil water to 100 degrees C, while converting 85 percent of the incoming sunlight to steam.
Bubble wrap covers the top of the puck-like device to help trap the sun’s heat. According to researchers, the low-tech system isn’t designed to last as long as others that need to use optics that concentrate the sun’s energy, but is a lot less expensive.
“What fascinates us is the innovative idea behind this inexpensive device, where we have creatively designed this device based on basic understanding of capillarity and solar thermal radiation,” said one of the researchers.
“Meanwhile, we are excited to continue probing the complicated physics of solar vapor generation and to discover new knowledge for the scientific community,” he added.
