Rhett is lost in the desert and, he is out of water. He visualizes a spring in the horizon. He runs over and touches the cool water. His parents had taught him never to drink water straight out of the ground.
All the equipments that Rhett possesses consist of merely two plastic cups and no way to make a fire to sterilize the water.
How will he be able to drink the water properly?
A two cup "solar still" may be made to purify water from a small hole: Suspend the condenser cup upside down above the hole such that it drips condensed water into the second cup raised-up in the hole directly beneath it. Since cooler air can hold less water vapor than hotter air, water vapor will come out of the gas state and condense on the cooler inner walls of the suspended cup. Thus it would help if
the condenser cup is shaded (without blocking the sunlight heating the water in the hole). Water droplets will coalesce on the inner walls, run down, and drip into the collector cup in the hole. Try to shade the collector too, to get the most yield.
Edited on November 17, 2022, 10:33 pm