Self-Cleaning Buildings to Fight Smog

bryan8m writes "Using technology already available for self-cleaning windows and bathroom tiles, scientists hope to paint up cities with materials that dissolve and wash away pollutants when exposed to sun and rain. The idea: UV rays hitting the titanium dioxide coated cement and concrete trigger a catalytic reaction that destroys the molecules of pollutants, including nitrogen oxides."

Comments

Re:Now, can we put DC on the transmission lines?

[Anonymous Coward]

Now, that high power solid-state switches ( hence, power converters ) are becoming do-able, is there any way we can start putting high-voltage DC on our power grids?

DC is horribly inefficient at delivering power. Besides, high voltage is high voltage. Power lines run just under the voltage needed to ionize the air. Once you ionize the air, then you set up currents, and those currents are sucking power, power that isn't being delivered, and could have been charged for.