| Topic: |
Science > Physics |
| User: |
"Dr. Jai Maharaj" |
| Date: |
22 Oct 2003 09:21:14 PM |
| Object: |
HARVESTING FOG FOR WATER |
Harvesting fog for water
By Shashank Gupta
The Tribune
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Casting the net for fog catching
Winter clouds have always been a source of misery. The
ambient temperature falls, leaving people exposed to
biting cold. Fog sets in, reducing visibility to a few
metres, resulting in a numbers of accidents, cancellation
of flights and delay in reaching offices. Rainwater has
been harnessed successfully for our daily needs. Rivers,
ponds and wells are all fed by rain. But isn't fog also a
source of water? Unfortunately, a source that has not
been tapped to its fullest potential!
After all, what is fog? Fog is nothing but a mass of
water vapour condensed into small droplets. The white
blanket that sweeps our cities, green areas and forests
is laden with water droplets varying in size from 1 mm to
40 mm. Sometimes, it completely envelops a whole town or
a big forest, depending on the frequency of its
occurrence or the velocity of the wind that carries it.
In the forest, when fog sets in, the tree leaves are
laden with water droplets. Whatever comes in the way of
fog, traps the water droplets and lets the wind pass. Can
we collect this water? It is difficult, but not
impossible.
A simple net or a series of nets made up of nylon or
polypropylene are put against the direction of wind. The
mesh in weaned in triangular shape, which has a thickness
of about 0.5mm. The mesh is then tied at two posts in a
double layer. The water is collected in a tank
underneath. The life of the mesh can be extended up to 10
years.
Fog collectors work best along the coasts because the fog
rolls in from the sea or the ocean seasonally and in
mountains where water is present in the clouds at an
altitude of about 80 metres.
The idea of designing a nylon mesh was conceived from the
behaviour of the stenocara beetle, that lives in Namibia;
which is generally a dense morning fog area. The beetle
tilts its body towards the wind. Droplets of water are
formed on its wings that then travel down the body to its
mouth. In the same way, each cubic metre of nylon mesh
installed at a high elevation can collect more than 150
litres of water in a month.
The largest project of collecting up to 1000 litres of
water daily has been installed in a coastal desert of
Chile, where 75 fog collectors have been installed. The
common collecting tank is connected to a village through
approx. 6 km of pipeline.
Though this is a highly unconventional technology, a
seasonal one and requires large funding, yet it can solve
the winter water shortage problem in many areas. The need
of the hour is, after all, unconventional sources for the
conventional needs of human life. Those who laughed at
solar energy are today begging for power. Who knows, the
fog exploiter may be the Messiah of tomorrow's thirsty
world?
Read the complete news at:
http://www.tribuneindia.com
News Plus
http://www.mantra.com/newsplus
Jai Maharaj
http://www.mantra.com/jai
Om Shanti
Panchaang for 27 Ashvin 5104, Wednesday, October 22, 2003:
Shubhanu Nama Samvatsare Dakshinaya Jeevan Ritau
Tula Mase Krishna Pakshe Buddh Vasara Yuktayam
Poorvaphalguni-Uttaraphalguni Nakshatr Brahma-Indr Yog
Taitil-Gar Karan Dvadashi-Trayodashi Yam Tithau
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
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.
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| User: "Martha H Adams" |
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| Title: Re: HARVESTING FOG FOR WATER |
23 Oct 2003 08:51:13 AM |
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I thought Maharaj had got off his SHOUTING at long last; evidently,
not yet.
Anyhow, the fog collecting he's describing is an old idea, but the
thinking behind it seems always new. The idea that you use the
environment you live in, rather than ignore and combat it. It's the
same idea we see in space settlement in the Zubrin style vs space
settlement the Same Old Way, the approach that has one single space
station up there whose resources must *all* be ferried up to it and
whose waste is discarded for no use at all.
Here in Massachusetts there's been a lot of noise about wind farms --
harvesting the wind power so freely available down near Cape Cod.
It's a good idea, if probably done at much higher cost than necessary;
but the opposition is raising every possible argument against it.
They'd rather burn up more coal and oil: a scenario that cannot reach
very far into our future.
Cheers -- Martha Adams
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: HARVESTING FOG FOR WATER |
23 Oct 2003 08:40:05 AM |
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In article <bn8mch$7r5$1@pcls4.std.com>,
(Martha H Adams) wrote:
I thought Maharaj had got off his SHOUTING at long last; evidently,
not yet.
Anyhow, the fog collecting he's describing is an old idea,
Yea, I saw some show on TV where people figured out the best
hole configuration (they capture fog with nets in the clouds).
.. but the
thinking behind it seems always new. The idea that you use the
environment you live in, rather than ignore and combat it.
Nuts to that. I like being warm when it snows.
.. It's the
same idea we see in space settlement in the Zubrin style vs space
settlement the Same Old Way, the approach that has one single space
station up there whose resources must *all* be ferried up to it and
whose waste is discarded for no use at all.
Here in Massachusetts there's been a lot of noise about wind farms --
All that noise and they haven't even been built yet.
harvesting the wind power so freely available down near Cape Cod.
It's a good idea, if probably done at much higher cost than necessary;
but the opposition is raising every possible argument against it.
Nope. They haven't raised every possible objection. I haven't heard
a single one ask how a windmill will survive a nor'easter...let
alone a hurricane. Absolutely nobody has been practical on that
proposal.
They'd rather burn up more coal and oil: a scenario that cannot reach
very far into our future.
You got that wrong. The objectors would rather everybody else burn
up the coal and oil, then ship the power to them.
/BAH
Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail.
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| User: "Andrew Plotkin" |
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| Title: Re: HARVESTING FOG FOR WATER |
23 Oct 2003 11:01:30 AM |
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In rec.arts.sf.fandom, Martha H Adams <mha@theworld.com> wrote:
I thought Maharaj had got off his SHOUTING at long last; evidently,
not yet.
If you reply to the shouting troll, *please* reduce your newsgroup
line to a single group. Otherwise you're doing his work for him.
(Followups reduced.)
--Z
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
* Make your vote count. Get your vote counted.
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| User: "Jim" |
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| Title: Re: HARVESTING FOG FOR WATER |
23 Oct 2003 12:02:49 PM |
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On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 02:21:14 GMT, (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
wrote:
Harvesting fog for water
<snip>
The idea of designing a nylon mesh was conceived from the
behaviour of the stenocara beetle, that lives in Namibia;
<snip>
Though this is a highly unconventional technology, a
<snip>
Must be a highly unconventional beetle !. :)
Jim
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