Maybe it sounds a little far-fetched, but by the end of the century, we may be planting acres of certain plants to alleviate a water shortage.
Researchers at Japan's Shinshu University studied plants with tiny conical "hairs" or microfibers on the surface of leaves and they believe that the plants' abilities to collect and release water may one day inspire a new technology that can pull water out of the air.
They studied Lichnis sieboldii in detail, but similar plants that have the same characteristics include Berkheya purpurea, tomatoes and balsam pears.
Professor Shigeru Yamanaka said the researchers honed in on the microstructure of the plants with an advanced electron microscope and recorded a movie that shows dynamic changes involved in the water collection process. "These plants give us great ideas worth mimicking," he said. "Advanced fiber technology can be used to 'replicate' the plant hair's fiber 'net structure' and enable the development of an apparatus capable of collecting water from the air in arid regions of the world."
Pretty amazing.
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