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Scientists Make Water Run Uphill

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the flee-little-droplets-flee dept.

redshadow01 writes to mention a BBC story about scientists flouting the laws of physics for fun, and profit. From the article: "The US scientists did the experiment to demonstrate how the random motion of water molecules in hot steam could be channelled into a directed force. But the team, writing in Physical Review Letters, believes the effect may be useful in driving coolants through overheating computer microchips."

7 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. Scientists also noticed the older water... by deft · · Score: 5, Funny

    Scientists also noticed the older water samples flowed uphill, both ways.

    In the snow.

    --

    There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
  2. So what by kitsunewarlock · · Score: 5, Funny

    So what, they've been doing that at Knott's house of mystery for the past like what, 20 years?

    I know how to make water travel uphill:

    Step 1: Stand up.
    Step 2: Find an incline.
    Step 3: Walk up said incline.
    Warning: Step 1 and Step 3 should not be performed by anyone who even knows how to properly type in the URL to this website without first consulting a physician. Doing so may cause undesired effects such as loss of breath and/or time spent away from the internet.

    --
    Ginga no Rekshiya Mata Each page.
  3. Steam, useful for cooling microchips? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Too bad only intel CPU's run hot enough for steam cooling to be viable.

  4. M. C. Escher & Dyson. by Whiney+Mac+Fanboy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No discussion of water flowing uphill can go without mention of M.C. Escher's Waterfall and Dyson's fantastic real world recreation (and there's a good explanation of Dyson did it at the BBC.

    --
    There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
  5. Another way to do it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Whitesides made water run uphill 14 years ago! He used a different "trick" though: he made a surface that was very hydrophobic on one side, and very hydrophilic on the other. A drop of water feels this gradient and moves towards the hydrophilic side, even if it happens to be uphill. The energy comes from the surface tension of the drop (it relaxes as it moves).

    http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992Sci...256.1539C

  6. Re:Interesting by rkcallaghan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How about a self recycling dam? After the water creates energy going down you push it back up and do it again. Maybe even you can get some engery from moving it up. This is all assuming that you gain more energy than you're losing with this method.

    Look up the Second Law of Thermodynamics and get back to me on that.

    Cheers,
    ~Rebecca

  7. Links with information... by Mike+Peel · · Score: 5, Informative
    Why doesn't the article link to pages with more information that just a summary?


    Incidentally, this news dates from the end of 2005 - so slashdot is running 4/5 months behind the times.