MIT and Oak Ridge Scientists Develop New Methods to Harvest Fresh Water From Fog

Researchers at MIT's School of Engineering, working with colleagues at the Pontificial University of Chile in Santiago, are harvesting potable water from the coastal fog that forms on the edge of one of the driest regions on Earth.

Using a simple system of suspended mesh structures, placed on hilltops in areas with persistent fog and prevailing westerly winds, local Chilean communities collect fog water for drinking and agricultural use.

Fog-collecting technology is still in its infancy. But lab experiments have shown that variations in the mesh spacing, as well as the size and the wettability of the mesh fibers, all affect the volume of water that can be collected each day. Through engineering analysis and optimization of the mesh geometry and its surface chemistry, the team — which includes MIT professor of mechanical engineering Gareth McKinley — has been able to increase the fog-collecting efficiency of existing designs by 500 percent.

The technology holds great promise as a locally deployable and scalable alternative to other energy-intensive desalination technologies. Mesh-based fog harvesters are passive, inexpensive to fabricate, with almost no operating costs, and can be deployed in similar environments throughout the world.

Source: News Office of MIT

Intimacy requires vulnerability

“Intimacy requires vulnerability. Being vulnerable does not require that you share every feeling of insecurity you have with another person, or with anyone. It requires that feel your every experiences of insecurity. If you cannot feel your own insecurities, you will not be able to see them in others, much less appreciate them in others. Intimacy creates sensitivity. When you are intimate you become sensitive to yourself and also to other people. When you are not intimate, you are sensitive only to yourself, and even then you are not aware of everything that you are feeling.  

Intimacy is natural for us. We long to experience intimacy, and we are designed to be intimate—caring, sensitive, and loving toward one another. When you are intimate, you are fulfilled. Every encounter is satisfying, or pregnant with potential for deeper insight and spiritual growth. When you are not caring, sensitive, or loving—when intimacy is lacking—nothing fulfills. Every interaction is cold, and sometimes cruel. Vulnerability is dangerous. This is a very painful experience. You feel isolated and alone. You cannot reach others and they cannot reach you. You strive to accomplish activities and achieve goals rather than create relationships. The only relationships you seek are functional—those that help you obtain what you desire.”


  Gary Zukav

Chapel building located in Dublin, Ireland. by Tomek Miksa