Tag Archives: water

This kinetic lamp recreates the beautiful, mesmerizing dance of light reflected by water

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Many people these days try hard to find things that will help them relax and break free of stress, but Mother Nature has had solutions for these since the beginning of our planet. Gently flowing brooks, soft raindrops, and rhythmic crashing of waves are just some of the sounds that help bring our minds to a calmer state. Trees gracefully dancing in the wind and light playing on the water’s surface offer a similar hypnotic effect to our eyes. While these occur naturally outdoors, some are harder to recreate indoors and on demand. We have many audio files and even services that try to bring these calming sounds to our ears, and this artistic kinetic lamp tries to do the same for our eyes by mimicking the hypnotic effect of light reflecting off the water and onto surfaces.

Designer: Fernando Correa

There is something truly captivating about the way light reflects and refracts on some surfaces, especially on things like glass and water. There’s a certain magical quality to the random patterns they draw, causing our eyes to follow the dynamic movement and our brains to let go. Sometimes we can see these patterns on windows and other reflective objects, but they don’t always carry the dynamism of light on real water surfaces.

BE WATER is a lamp that is part lighting fixture and part art installation. Given its name, it shouldn’t be a surprise that it has something to do with water, particularly the way light bends and bounces on liquid. But rather than actually using water, which is an invitation for disaster when mixed with electricity-powered lighting, the lamp uses deformed borosilicate glass to capture the rippling surface of the water. And to somewhat recreate the movement of water, the cylindrical glass turns on its axis, causing the projected light to fluctuate in dazzling patterns as it moves.

The lamp itself has an anodized aluminum base that holds the LED lamp underneath the glass. The borosilicate glass is deformed by hand, making each BE WATER lamp truly one-of-a-kind. In order to better reproduce light reflecting from water onto surfaces and avoid people’s shadows from marring the scene, the lamp is best placed along a wall to create a mystifying and sometimes eerie effect.

It doesn’t have to be just white light either. By simply applying filters to the LED light source on the aluminum base, one can easily change the hues that one can display. Thus, the lamp can also be fire, air, or even earth without having to produce a completely new product with a completely different material. The filters can also be used to create themed colors for different occasions or motifs, all with the same mesmerizing light show.

After seeing it in action, the BE WATER lamp seems almost too simple to be that effective. And yet that is exactly the kind of message and experience that it tries to convey. Many things in nature are simple and simply beautiful, and they can become sources of inspiration for your next big creative breakthrough.

The post This kinetic lamp recreates the beautiful, mesmerizing dance of light reflected by water first appeared on Yanko Design.

These sustainable artificial floes try to stem the melting of Arctic ice

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We might finally be feeling the effects of irregular and extreme climate conditions only now, but global warming has been ongoing for several years already. Its most evident effects, however, are mostly seen and felt in the Arctic, where large masses of ice are melting at a rapidly rising rate. This has a domino effect on the world’s climate patterns and, unfortunately, is something not easily solved in just a few years’ time. Ice masses have to be preserved and regenerated, which is easier said than done. It’s not impossible, though, especially with humanity’s collective intelligence and creativity. A case in point is the idea of a biocomposite structure that could keep the Arctic waters cooler and even build up some pieces of ice over time.

Designer: Niklas Andreasen

Our weather systems have always been cyclical ones. In addition to the usual cycle of seasons, the natural melting of polar ice affects global temperatures, weather patterns, and even the duration of those seasons. When ice masses melt too soon and too quickly, the world’s sea levels rise, and less light is reflected off the Earth’s surface. This causes more heat absorption and rising global temperatures, which, in turn, makes it harder for ice to form in those polar regions, particularly the Arctic.

Of course, we can’t just simply make water freeze faster to compensate for lost ice, but we could at least try to keep the Arctic ocean cooler to prevent ice from melting too rapidly. That’s where Project ARCSTAR comes in, an initiative that will try to deploy man-made floes that are designed to do some of the work that ice masses do in order to let natural sea ice retain its shape for just a bit longer. Even better, these floes are made from biowaste materials and will degrade naturally over time.

The hexagonal floes are coated in a bright white color in order to reflect as much sunlight as possible. This has the effect of lowering the temperature of both the water and the air around it, which means that actual ice masses should melt a little bit slower. ARCSTAR’s abilities, however, go beyond just keeping the ice from melting fast but can even facilitate the formation of new ice masses.

Its shape, which is made up of ridges and perforations, and its sponge-like structure are designed to absorb and store water. And because it effectively lowers the temperature of the water around it, the floe can actually turn that stored water into ice and then retain that ice longer than a regular ice mass. Since it is made from biodegradable materials, the floe itself will eventually decompose without releasing pollutants or harmful chemicals into the ice and, eventually, the world’s oceans.

Those sustainable materials include sulfur-free lignin and calcium carbonate, both of which are waste by-products of wood, paper, fish, and other industries that we use daily. Mixing it with other bio-based materials allows ARCSTAR to be light and strong and, most importantly, decompose faster, allowing the formed ice mass to just be an ice mass in the long run. The project definitely sounds promising as a stopgap measure to stem the rapid melting of Arctic ice, but even the designer warns that it isn’t a long-term solution. That would require changing much of our lifestyle and our industries to embrace more sustainable options, which takes far longer than forming ice in the Arctic.

The post These sustainable artificial floes try to stem the melting of Arctic ice first appeared on Yanko Design.

IV Drip Automatic Plant Waterer: Intensive Plant Care

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Because plant care is tricky for some people, FireBox is selling this Mini Plant Life Support system, an IV drip bag that automatically waters your plant so you don’t accidentally kill them with neglect. Nurse – 50ccs of TLC, STAT! Personally, I don’t need this, because I have a green thumb. Well, two green thumbs. And mostly green arms. Spray paint accident.

You just fill the IV bag with water and hang it, stick the tube below soil level, and presto, it keeps the soil moist but not too wet without any intervention on your part. Of course, you will have to refill the bag once it’s empty. This isn’t exactly a medical miracle, after all.

Alternatively, monitor your plana’s soil and water it as needed. Besides, some plants don’t like their soil moist all the time and actually need to dry out between waterings. Those plants are called succulents and actually thrive on neglect.

Converting humidity into drinking water is perfect for a machine that looks like a WALL-E robot

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The Disney animated film WALL-E is basically a love story between two robots, but the larger theme that serves as the backdrop of this family-friendly movie actually has ecological undertones. In a satirical way, it exposes the sorry state of our planet when it comes to waste, but it also offers a glimpse of hope with the message that we can do better if we get off our seats and on our feet. It is perfectly fitting, then, that a machine that looks like it is part of that cast would offer hope of a different kind. Rather than recycling plastics or reducing waste, the stationary Kumulus-1 can produce up to 30 liters of potable water on a daily basis, all taken from the humidity in the air that many of us would rather not have.

Designer: Kumulus Water

Not all places have high levels of humidity, but those that do sometimes have it in excess. Water vapor is as natural as water itself, and it might be underutilized in areas that might have too much of them. Coincidentally, those are the same areas that don’t have access to clean drinking water, so it’s probably high time that someone put two and two together to come up with a sustainable solution.

Kumulus Water CEO Iheb Triki got the idea after noticing the dew that formed on his tent in the Tunisian desert. He then realized the potential of turning this natural occurrence into something that could change lives for the better, at least when multiplied a thousandfold. And so he founded a company that developed this robot-like machine named Kumulus-1, with the mission of providing water in a way that won’t disrupt the rest of the ecosystem.

Like many genius inventions, the way that Kumulus-1 works involve science and technology that we already use every day. Humidity is gathered through openings at the “head” of the machine and is filtered before it’s cooled down. This creates condensation that transforms humid air into water dew, and this dew is once again filtered and mineralized before it is stored in a tank. Depending on the amount of humidity in the air, Kumulus-1 can generate anywhere between 20 to 30 liters of drinking water per day.

Kumulus isn’t the first, nor is it the only company using the same formula to turn air into water. It might, however, be the first to promise that much water in 24 hours. Of course, that still depends on the environment where the machine operates. One of the company’s current deployments is at a school in Tunisia, where humidity is high, and potable water is scarce. It’s the perfect place for a machine whose shiny white exterior will surely attract the attention and imagination of children there, perhaps even inspiring them to become inventors themselves.

Of course, Kumulus Water wants to commercialize this technology and already has a large number of pre-orders. Even if humidity is free and abundant, there will be costs involved in the purchase and maintenance of these machines. But when the financial and environmental costs of buying drinkable water in plastic bottles are considerably higher, devices like the Kumulus-1 can still save more money and, more importantly, save more lives in the long run.

 

The post Converting humidity into drinking water is perfect for a machine that looks like a WALL-E robot first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Sprinklesaurus is a Water-breathing Dinosaur for Your Yard

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Summer is almost over, but I’m sure your kids would love to run around under a sprinkler until the snow hits the ground. I can think of no better way to keep kids saturated with a constant stream of water but with a 7-foot-tall inflatable dinosaur lawn sprinkler.

Unlike the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Sprinklesaurus won’t devour or stomp on your kids. Instead, he’ll just douse them with a torrential rain shower through the 360º sprinkler in his nose. Now, wait a second. I don’t remember dinosaurs having blowholes like whales. Maybe a qualified paleontologist out there can set me straight. Or maybe there was a T. Rex-whale hybrid that I missed out on while sleeping through class when I was a kid. Whatever the case, the Sprinklesaurus is real, and your kids want one now that they’re looking over your shoulder looking at your screen.

The Sprinklesaurus is available from Hammacher Schlemmer for $89.95. Just be sure to put him away in the wintertime, so it doesn’t freeze to death in another Ice Age.

This massive luxurious superyacht concept comes with three hulls instead of one

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It sort of looks like the Y-Wing Fighter from Star Wars, although designer Yeojin Jung says the superyacht’s split hull design is directly influenced by cantilevered architecture.

There are over 5,000 superyachts currently on this planet, however, none of them look as impactful as the Estrella. Designed by South Kore-based Yeojin Jung, Estrella hopes to break the mold of ‘boring’ practical superyacht design with something that’s a cross between feasible and outlandishly luxurious. Envisioned to look like the jewel of the seas, Estrella comes made for UHNWIs (or Ultra High Net Worth Individuals, as my sorry self just learnt), and sports a split-hull design that divides the yacht into the main component, and two floater components on either side, reminiscent of a seaplane.

The superyacht’s tri-swath design doesn’t make it more stable… if anything, separating the yacht over three interconnected hulls poses stability challenges. Jung, however, states that the yacht comes with separate stabilizers on the ship as well as on the individual side-hulls to counter any stability issues. This allows Estrella to make its aesthetic flex, with a yacht design that looks as beautiful from the front as well as from the top (where the superyacht’s Y-shape is more prominent). The split hull design also allows the yacht’s passengers and occupants to admire their view from multiple vantage points, getting a better experience of the sea, the marine life within it, and obviously the sky too!

The Estrella Superyacht is a winner of the A’ Design Award for the year 2021.

Designer: Yeojin (Chloe) Jung

Giant Inflatable Rocketship Sprinkler: For an Out of This World Good Time

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Fun in the sun: it’s hands down one of my favorite kinds of fun, third only to fun in the shade, and fun inside playing video games. And what better way to enjoy some fun in the sun than running around in a sprinkler? Enter the Inflatable Backyard Rocketship Sprinkler from Funboy and available on Amazon (affiliate link). Just let me mix up a blender of margaritas real quick and I’m ready to party.

The rocketship stands a very respectable 7.5′ tall and has four separate water sprinklers around its circumference for 360-degree coverage, so as long as you’re standing nearby, you’re getting wet. I can already hear my wife yelling at me for running through the house before drying off.

Just don’t forget to wear sunscreen when you’re out playing in the sun. Because I forgot to wear sunscreen at the beach last year and the back of my ears got burnt. Then for the rest of the trip, I couldn’t tell if they were burning because somebody was talking about me or because of the actual sunburn. It made for a very confusing vacation.

[via The Green Head]

Nanosensors in this bionic plant can instantly detect impurities and toxins within water

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Inspired by the Flint Water Crisis, the Argus is a bionic plant that can instantly detect irregularities in water quality, catching them long before they become a problem for residents in the neighborhood or district. Argus is the brainchild of MIT Media Lab-graduate Harpreet Sareen, who realized that plants have the ability to play a pivotal role in helping us know more about our environment. Sareen realized that plants are constantly sampling water, and if there are any impurities in the water around us, plants end up absorbing them too – making them perfect for helping catch any toxins and impurities in water years before they end up having irreversible effects on the humans and animals living in the area.

Sareen developed a special concoction of nano-sensing materials (DNA-based biosensors and carbon nanotubes) which he then injected into the plant. These nano-sensing materials inside the plant produce or turn off fluorescent light when they encounter any impurities, effectively turning the plant into an electricity-free water monitoring system. An inexpensive camera setup can detect these fluorescent signals, showing results in 15 minutes to 2 hours, offering a cost-effective and time-sensitive way to detect hard-metal toxins and chemicals in a given area’s water supply.

Argus is a Silver Winner of the A’ Design Award for the year 2021.

Designer: Harpreet Singh Sareen

The Float ‘N’ Grill, A Floating Propane Grill for Cooking on the Water

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The Float ‘N’ Grill is a portable propane grill that attaches to a flip-resistant buoyant plastic raft so you can grill out on the water and not set your deck or raft on fire. The unit is available in patriotic red or blue and can be found on Amazon (affiliate link). Mmmm, can you smell that? Smells like lake water and burnt meat.

The grill detaches from its raft for easy cleaning and storage, has a specially designed grease trap, includes three molded cup holders for resting cold beers and/or seasoning, and two tow hooks for keeping the grill in place on the water. Obviously, I’m going to tow mine behind my inner tube as I float down the river and over a waterfall.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, somebody goes and manufactures a floating grill. What will they think of next – a flying grill? Because that sounds incredibly dangerous and I must have one, how do I get on a waiting list?

[via The Green Head]

This portable ‘smart’ spray bottle can turn regular water into sanitizer!

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Relying on a process that turns regular tap water into Electrolysed (EO) water, the IOON spray gives you an instant, effective, non-toxic sanitizer that you can spray on everything from your hands to door-handles, and from elevator buttons to cutlery (and even food!)

When electrolyzed or ionized, water breaks down into a solution of hypochlorous acid and sodium hydroxide, which acts as a remarkable detergent and disinfectant, instantly killing bacteria, cleansing off harmful chemicals from food, purifying the air, as well as busting odors. The technology, which has existed for over 4 decades, creates an all-purpose cleaning solution that replaces the need for carpet-cleaners, floor-cleaners, room-fresheners, car-fresheners, fruit and vegetable purifiers, and general disinfectants. Needless to say, the electrolyzed water is food-safe, child-safe, and eliminates the need to clean your house with chemicals that aren’t healthy… and the IOON, a small, portable spraying device, can electrolyze and spray the water directly from within its hand-held, wireless form factor.

The IOON comes with a small, replaceable silver-ion cartridge that aids in the electrolysis/ionization process. The cartridge lasts anywhere from 9-12 months depending on how often you use it, and it forms the only replaceable part of the entire design. The rest of the IOON sanitizer is for keeps, lasting you years while a small sanitizer bottle could just do the job for months before being thrown away. Using the IOON is simple… just fill it up with any kind of water and ensure that the IOON device is charged (using the MicroUSB charging port below). Once charged, the IOON takes about 20 minutes to ionize the water, making it potent enough to last up to 3 full days. Once ionized, the water is just as good as, if not more effective than your isopropyl-alcohol sanitizer… except it’s also safe on the skin, non-toxic, food-grade, can replace a bunch of other household disinfectants, and can even eliminate odor by dismantling odor molecules. When it’s done, the tiny bottle slips right into your pocket or bag, letting you carry it anywhere and sanitize anything!

Designer: IOON