How Weird Water-Phobic Materials May Help Save The Earth

Plastic strips with superhydrophilic (a.k.a. water-loving) centers and superhydrophobic surroundings can combine or separate fluids and have the potential to serve as platforms for new diagnostic tests. Doctors could use the disposable strips to field-test water samples for E. coli, for example.

Superhydrophobic coatings speed up the rate at which water vapor can condense on a surface, which could save energy and water by making cooling equipment used in power plants more efficient.

As superhydrophobic materials become cheaper, their potential as disposable medical devices grows. Tiny amounts of fluid, such as blood, can be mixed and measured on a paper strip, and then discarded.

At the micro-scale, who needs a pump? Surface tension causes liquids to travel uphill on the path of least resistance.

Engineers are looking to nature to learn how to reduce the time it takes for a water droplet to bounce away from a surface. The less time water spends in contact with a cold surface like an airplane wing, the less likely it is to freeze and ice over.

Less contact time also means less opportunity for water or toxins within the water to degrade or dirty surfaces. This could mean longer-lasting roofs and solar panels.

Humans have been experimenting with water for thousands of years and we're still finding new ways to use this most essential resource. Know of some other ways engineers are making water work for us? Tell us about them!