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Illuminating Window-Less Houses With a Plastic Bottle
New submitter DancesWithWolves writes "The BBC reports on Alfredo Moser, who came up with a way of illuminating his house during the day without electricity — using nothing more than plastic bottles filled with water and a tiny bit of bleach. In the last two years his idea has spread throughout the world. It is expected to be in one million homes by early next year.'"
I've seen this type of lighting system before on old ships (USS Constitution, etc...).
Instead of a water they used glass blocks (or similar).
But, it's great to see a novel way of recycling trash into something beneficial! :)
Cheers!
"Helping to keep you two steps ahead of the Thought Police!"
Brilliant observation. Now kindly find us a near-free way to add windows that do not jeopardise the structural integrity of standard slum shack, while also providing shelter from winds and rain.
My best guess is that the freezing stretches the plastic a bit, especially the parts designed for structure such as the creases. Now the bottle has a higher volume and when the ice melts the plastic doesn't go back to its original shape but rather simply collapses.
No, what's happening is that the light plastic screw-on cap is a bit less rigid than the bottle neck. Freezing raises the air pressure at the top, and a little bit of air manages to squeeze out of the interface. When the ice thaws, the pressure differential becomes negative, and the cap is pressed firmly onto the neck, preventing air getting back in.
I tested this by putting a hose clamp around a cap, and the effect went away.