How scientists are designing a new material to harness the power of condensation

It's inspired by an insect and two plants

Scientists learn about condensation through plants.
(Image credit: KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

In an old episode of The Voyage of the Mimi, an educational kids' show from the 1980s, a young Ben Affleck hangs a tarp over the top of a bucket of seawater, then collects the drinkable freshwater that condenses on the inside of the tarp. The power of condensation, which spared Ben and his shipmates a slow death on a desert island, is one of humanity's most ancient and ubiquitous technologies. A group of scientists and engineers at Harvard, though, say it can be improved upon — with the help of a new surface design inspired by an insect and two plants.

Condensation, the conversion of a gas to its liquid state, is the basis of a number of inventions — the oldest of them probably being distillation, whereby alcohol and water are separated. Because the two liquids have different evaporation and condensation points, moonshiners can send alcohol alone up through pipes and into a jug. In the mid-1700s, James Watt invented an improved steam engine that relied on a water-cooled condenser. Since then, condensers have been a central part of many heat-transferring technologies, like power generation, refrigeration, and air-conditioning.

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Zach St. George
Zach St. George writes about science and the environment. He's written for Nautilus, Outside Online, Bloomberg Businessweek, and others.