About 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water, the United Nations says. Many coastal areas use desalination, but common methods like reverse osmosis and thermal distillation need much energy, chemicals and they produce concentrated brine that harms marine life.
Researchers at the University of Rochester made a solar-powered panel that evaporates seawater. The panel has black metal treated with femtosecond lasers so it absorbs sunlight and pulls a thin water layer across the surface. Salts are moved to an untreated passive area, so the active part keeps working without chemical additives.
Tests with Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean samples produced fresh water and sent leftover salts to the passive region for later collection. The solid salts could be used as table salt or other minerals.
Difficult words
- desalination — Removing salt from seawater to make drinking water
- reverse osmosis — A method that forces water through a membrane
- brine — Very salty water left after desalination
- evaporate — To change water into vapor or steamevaporates
- passive — Not active; left as a separate areapassive area
- femtosecond — A very short unit of time used with lasers
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Would you like a solar-powered device to make drinking water near you? Why or why not?
- Do you think using leftover salts as table salt is a good idea? Explain briefly.
- Have you heard of desalination in your country? What do you know about it?
Related articles
EU AI rules do not cover exports to West Asia and North Africa
Research by 7amleh finds that European AI rules and funding often leave the EU without binding safeguards. Money, technology and products reach governments and militaries across West Asia and North Africa with limited human rights accountability.
LLMs change judgments when told who wrote a text
Researchers at the University of Zurich found that large language models change their evaluations of identical texts when given an author identity. The study tested four models and warns about hidden biases and the need for governance.
Sportellino: a multilingual chatbot for migrants in Italy
A multilingual chatbot called Sportellino launched to help migrants in Italy find public services and practical guidance. It is free, anonymous and available via messaging apps; its information is based on official sources and experts.
