MIT engineers have developed a new passive device that pulls water from the air—even in some of the driest places on Earth, including California’s Death Valley, shown here. (CREDIT: MIT Researchers)
麻省理工学院工程师开发了一种新的被动装置，该设备从空气中拉出水，即使在地球上最干燥的地方，包括加利福尼亚的死亡谷，也显示了此处。（信用：麻省理工学院研究人员）
A new kind of window may soon help solve one of the world’s biggest problems—how to get clean drinking water to people who don’t have it. Right now, over 2.2 billion people around the world live without safe, managed drinking water.
一种新的窗户可能很快可能会帮助解决世界上最大的问题之一 - 如何为没有它的人提供清洁的饮用水。目前，世界各地有超过22亿人生活，没有安全，管理的饮用水。
In many parts of Africa and Asia, this water crisis is growing worse due to poor infrastructure, especially in landlocked and remote regions. Even in the U.S., more than 46 million people face water insecurity, either lacking running water entirely or relying on water that's unsafe to drink.
在非洲和亚洲的许多地方，由于基础设施不良，尤其是在内陆和偏远地区，这种水危机的增长越来越严重。即使在美国，超过4600万人面临着水不安全感，要么完全缺乏自来水，要么依靠不安全的水。
Tapping Water From Thin Air
从稀空中敲水
In response to this growing challenge, engineers are exploring ways to collect water from an unexpected source—the air. That may sound strange, but the Earth’s atmosphere holds trillions of gallons of water in the form of vapor. Extracting that vapor and turning it into liquid water is a growing area of research known as atmospheric water harvesting.
为了应对这一日益严重的挑战，工程师正在探索从空气中收集水的方法。这听起来可能很奇怪，但是地球的大气层以蒸气的形式容纳了数万亿加仑的水。提取蒸气并将其转化为液态水是一个生长的研究领域，称为大气水收集。
Features of the AWHW and the water collected with this device. Photographs showing front (left) and side (right) views of the AWHW tested in Death Valley, which uses solar energy for water collection. The side view shows the vertical hygroscopic origami hydrogel panel with two hydrogel–air interfaces. (CREDIT: Nature Water)
AWHW的特征和此设备收集的水。照片显示了在死亡谷测试的AWHW的前面（左）和侧面（右）的视图，该谷地使用太阳能进行水收集。侧视图显示了带有两个水凝胶 - 空气接口的垂直吸湿折纸水凝胶面板。（信用：自然水）
At MIT, researchers have developed a passive, solar-powered water harvester that’s built to do exactly that. The new device pulls moisture out of the air using a special kind of gel. It doesn’t need any batteries, solar panels, or even electricity from the grid. And it’s not just a lab concept—it was tested in Death Valley, California, the driest place in North America.
在麻省理工学院，研究人员开发了一种被动的，太阳能的水收割机，该收割机正是为此而建立的。新设备使用一种特殊的凝胶将水分从空中拉出。它不需要任何电池，太阳能电池板，甚至不需要电网。这不仅是一个实验室概念，而且在加利福尼亚州死亡谷（北美最干燥的地方）进行了测试。
Even in extremely dry air, the device captured between 57 and 161.5 milliliters of drinkable water each day. That’s around one-quarter to two-thirds of a cup. While one panel might not be enough for a full household, a small array of them could supply all the drinking water a family needs—especially in more humid areas where the yield would be higher.
即使在极度干燥的空气中，该设备每天都捕获了57至161.5毫升的可饮用水。那是杯子的四分之一到三分之二。虽然一个面板可能不足以满足一个全家庭，但其中一小部分可以为家庭需求提供所有饮用水，尤其是在收益率更高的更潮湿的地区。
The Window That Works Like a Sponge
像海绵一样工作的窗户
The system looks like a black window panel. It’s about the size of a large picture frame and made with a special hydrogel that absorbs water vapor. This gel, which resembles black bubble wrap, expands and contracts as it pulls in moisture and then dries. The hydrogel is shaped into small domes that increase its surface area and make it better at absorbing vapor from the air.
该系统看起来像一个黑色窗户面板。它大约是一个大图形框架的大小，并用特殊的水凝胶制成，可吸收水蒸气。这种类似于黑色气泡包装的凝胶在吸入水分然后干燥时会扩展和收缩。水凝胶成形为小圆顶，增加其表面积，并使其在从空气中吸收蒸气时更好。
At night, when humidity levels are highest, the hydrogel pulls in water. During the day, sunlight heats the panel. This causes the absorbed water to evaporate from the gel and then condense on the inside surface of a clear glass window. The glass is coated with a cooling film, helping the vapor to condense even more efficiently. From there, the water drips into a small collection system.
到了晚上，当湿度水平最高时，水凝胶会吸入水。白天，阳光加热面板。这会导致吸收的水从凝胶中蒸发，然后在透明玻璃窗的内表面凝结。玻璃涂有冷却膜，帮助蒸气更有效地凝结。从那里，水滴入一个小收集系统。
One key feature of this system is its ability to work in a wide range of environments. It performed well in relative humidity levels from 21% to 88%, showing promise in both dry deserts and more humid climates. That makes it a flexible solution for many regions facing water shortages.
该系统的一个关键特征是它在各种环境中工作的能力。它在21％至88％的相对湿度水平上表现良好，在干燥的沙漠和更潮湿的气候中都表现出希望。这使其成为面临水短缺的许多地区的灵活解决方案。
Safer Than Earlier Designs
比以前的设计更安全
Other devices have attempted to harvest water from air using materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) or hydrogels enhanced with salts like lithium chloride. While MOFs are highly porous and can absorb moisture even in very dry air, they don’t expand like hydrogels, limiting how much water they can actually collect.
其他设备试图使用称为金属有机框架（MOF）的材料从空气中收集水，或用氯化锂等盐增强的水凝胶。尽管MOF高度多孔，即使在非常干燥的空气中也可以吸收水分，但它们不会像水凝胶一样膨胀，从而限制了他们实际收集多少水。
Operation of the AWHW in Death Valley. Schematic illustration of the diurnal cyclic mode of operation of the AWHW. (CREDIT: Nature Water)
AWHW在死亡谷的操作。AWHW的昼夜循环操作模式的示意图。（信用：自然水）
Hydrogels, on the other hand, are known for their strong swelling ability and fast absorption, which makes them more promising. But earlier hydrogel-based systems had one major problem—the water they produced wasn’t always safe.
另一方面，水凝胶以其强大的肿胀能力和快速吸收而闻名，这使它们更有前途。但是较早的基于水凝胶的系统存在一个主要问题 - 他们生产的水并不总是安全的。
Lithium salts added to help the gel absorb moisture could leak into the water, pushing lithium ion levels far above the safe drinking limits set by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency.
添加的锂盐可帮助凝胶吸收水分可能渗入水中，将锂离子水平推高，远远超过了美国地质调查局和环境保护局设定的安全饮酒限制。
The MIT team solved that problem. They added glycerol—a common, non-toxic compound used in foods and cosmetics—into the hydrogel mix. Glycerol stabilizes the salt inside the gel, keeping it from leaking out. The result is water that contains less than 0.06 parts per million of lithium, well within safe drinking limits.
麻省理工学院团队解决了这个问题。他们添加了甘油（一种用于食品和化妆品中的常见，无毒的化合物），使水凝胶混合物结合。甘油稳定凝胶内部的盐，使其无法泄漏。结果是在安全饮酒极限范围内，水含量少于每百万锂的0.06份。
The design also improves on older versions by removing tiny pores that would otherwise let salt escape. The result is cleaner, safer water without the need for extra filtering or purification steps.
该设计还通过去除否则可以让盐逸出的微小毛孔来改善较旧版本。结果是更清洁，更安全的水，而无需额外的过滤或净化步骤。
MIT engineers have tested a window-sized, passive water harvester in Death Valley, California, using a black hydrogel material inspired by origami. The device draws moisture from the air and channels it into tubes, where the water condenses and can be collected as clean drinking water. (CREDIT: MIT Researchers)
麻省理工学院工程师使用折纸启发的黑色水凝胶材料测试了加利福尼亚州死亡谷的窗口大小的被动水收割机。该设备从空气中吸收水分，并将其引导到管中，水凝结，可以作为干净的饮用水收集。（信用：麻省理工学院研究人员）
Scalable for Real-World Impact
可扩展现实影响
Xuanhe Zhao, the Uncas and Helen Whitaker Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT, says the team aimed to build a meter-scale prototype to test its real-world potential. “It’s a test of feasibility in scaling up this water harvesting technology,” Zhao explains. “Now people can build it even larger, or make it into parallel panels, to supply drinking water to people and achieve real impact.”
MIT的UNCAS和Helen Whitaker教授Xuanhe Zhao说，该团队旨在建立一个仪表尺度的原型，以测试其现实世界中的潜力。赵解释说：“这是对扩展这种水收集技术的可行性的测试。”“现在，人们可以将其建造更大，或者将其制成并行面板，以向人们供应饮用水并实现真正的影响。”
Lead author “Will” Chang Liu, a former MIT postdoc now at the National University of Singapore, believes the work is just beginning. “This is just a proof-of-concept design, and there are a lot of things we can optimize,” Liu says. The team is already working on improving the material and structure to boost water output further. They plan to test it in more regions that struggle with water access.
首席作家“威尔”刘（Will Chang Liu）是新加坡国立大学的前麻省理工学院博士后，他认为这项工作才刚刚开始。刘说：“这只是概念验证的设计，我们可以优化很多东西。”该团队已经致力于改善材料和结构，以进一步提高水产量。他们计划在更多与水的斗争的地区进行测试。
The panel’s design also makes it easy to expand. Since each panel stands upright like a window, they don’t take up much space. Eight panels, each about 1 meter by 2 meters in size, could serve a household in an area without reliable water access. Compared to buying bottled water, the system could pay for itself in less than a month and last for at least a year.
面板的设计也使扩展变得容易。由于每个面板都像窗户一样直立，因此它们不会占用太多空间。八个面板，每个面板的尺寸约1米，可以在不可靠的水上使用的区域内为家庭提供服务。与购买瓶装水相比，该系统可以在不到一个月的时间内就可以支付，并且至少可以持续一年。
Design of the hydrogel origami array. Design of the hydrogel in its initial dry state within a rigid frame to create a dome-shaped origami structure. ρ, radius of the arched region; t, thickness of the central flat region. (CREDIT: Nature Water)
水凝胶折纸阵列的设计。在刚性框架内以其初始干燥状态的水凝胶设计，以创建圆顶形折纸结构。ρ，拱形区域的半径；T，中央平面区域的厚度。（信用：自然水）
Zhao envisions future installations in low-resource environments, including remote villages where even solar cells are hard to come by. The low-cost, passive nature of the design could make it a breakthrough for communities that can’t afford complex infrastructure.
Zhao设想在低资源环境中的未来安装，包括偏远的村庄，即使是太阳能电池也很难获得。设计的低成本，被动的性质可能使其成为无法负担复杂基础设施的社区的突破。
Toward a Future of Decentralized Water Access
走向分散水的未来
Water stress isn’t just about physical shortages. Many regions face economic water scarcity—where water exists but is too costly or difficult to access. That’s why scalable, local water harvesting systems like this are so important. The atmospheric water harvesting window (AWHW) doesn’t rely on rivers, reservoirs, or pipes. Instead, it pulls water from the sky, wherever there’s vapor.
水压力不仅仅是身体短缺。许多地区都面临经济缺乏的缺水 - 存在水，但太昂贵或难以进入。这就是为什么像这样可扩展的本地水收集系统如此重要的原因。大气收集窗（AWHW）不依赖河流，水库或管道。取而代之的是，无论蒸气在哪里，它都会从天上拉出水。
In Death Valley, the AWHW worked through both hot, dry days and cool, humid nights. Its ability to adapt across humidity levels sets a new benchmark for passive water harvesting systems. It even outperforms some active systems that use power sources to drive performance.
在死亡山谷中，AWHW在炎热，干燥的日子和凉爽，潮湿的夜晚工作。它适应湿度水平的能力为被动水收集系统树立了新的基准。它甚至胜过一些使用电源来推动性能的活动系统。
Infrared images of the flat and origami hydrogels under a solar simulator at 0, 2, 3, 12 and 40 min. (CREDIT: Nature Water)
在0、2、3、12和40分钟的太阳能模拟器下，平坦和折纸水凝胶的红外图像。（信用：自然水）
By combining a specially designed hydrogel, a compact shape, and a cooling chamber, this new window-shaped device offers a safe, low-energy way to make clean water nearly anywhere. From deserts in North America to villages in North Africa or northern India, where both physical and economic water scarcity threaten millions, the potential applications are vast.
通过将特殊设计的水凝胶，紧凑的形状和冷却室结合在一起，这款新的窗帘设备提供了一种安全，低能的方法，可以在任何地方制作清洁水。从北美的沙漠到北非或印度北部的村庄，物理和经济缺水都威胁着数百万美元，潜在的应用是广泛的。
As Zhao and his colleagues push forward with more tests and improvements, they’re working toward a future where drinking water no longer depends on where you live or how much you earn. Instead, it might just depend on having the right window.
随着赵和他的同事们通过更多的测试和改进前进，他们正在朝着未来饮用水不再取决于您居住或收入的未来的未来。相反，这可能仅取决于拥有正确的窗口。
Note: The article above provided above by The Brighter Side of News.
注意：上面的文章是新闻的明亮一面。
