Dolphins are widely considered as one of the smartest animals on this planet, and often leave lasting impressions on people with the clever tricks they perform in zoos or dolphinarium. They are friendly and social animals that have rescued humans from shark attacks and drowning. Like how dogs are “man’s best friend”, dolphins are our best friends from the sea.

Dolphins are also known as “re-entrants”, which once lived on land. They behaved and looked similar to a small wolf, but with five hoofs-like toes on each foot instead of claws. Since then, they have evolved into amazing creatures that constantly amazes scientists with their incredible abilities. Here are 7 amazing facts about our buddies from the sea. Read more

What do you think, is it possible to get a rainbow at home? Is it possible to grow real crystals in a regular glass? Can you build the desalination plant from scrap materials? The answer is yes, and it’s not alchemy and not magic. You can do all this and much more at home with the children. Plain water and a set of elementary gadgets will help us.

Experiments with pure water

Even the most ordinary water flowing from the tap, is not as simple as it seems. Its physical properties are full of many mysteries and secrets. Let’s try to unravel some of them. Read more

Boiling water seems a straightforward enough exercise, you flick on the gas and wait for the bubbles to start popping. But by manipulating how many of those bubbles appear as the temperature rises, scientists have discovered a new way to finely control how much heat and steam is released in the process, a technique they say could lead to advanced cooling systems for more efficient electronic devices.

Developed by scientists at Oregon State University (OSU), the new method uses a piezoelectric inkjet printer to print water-repelling polymer dots onto a substrate. On top of this substrate they placed a water-friendly zinc oxide nanostructure, which only grows in spaces where there are no polymer dots.

By altering this hydrophobic-hydrophilic balance of the material, the scientists can precisely control where and when the bubbles form. This in turn allows them to regulate the boiling and condensation processes and how much heat is transferred along the way. Read more

Austrian startup Fontus is developing a novel water bottle that is vaporware in just about every sense of the phrase. Not only does it not yet exist in the marketplace, but it is claimed to literally pull water vapor out of the air to fill itself.

Harvesting water from the air via processes like condensation has been practiced in various ways for eons, of course. In recent years, we’ve seen a James Dyson award go to an Australian irrigation system that works on the same principle, as well as a lightweight bamboo tower that grabs its own water. But the ability to do so basically on-demand and on the go could be a big deal for hikers, bikers and just about anyone with limited access to clean drinking water. Read more

Every year, electronic components shrink a bit more, allowing engineers to create more powerful and sophisticated chips. Unfortunately, these chips also generate a lot of heat, so novel cooling systems are needed to keep them running. As part of DARPA’s ICECool-Applications research program, Lockheed Martin is developing a way of cooling high-powered microchips from the inside using microscopic drops of water.

Ever since the first vacuum tube was invented by John Fleming in 1904, heat has been the nemesis of electronics. It’s one reason why old radio sets are built like furniture and why the first computers filled whole rooms. Each valve was basically an incandescent bulb and air needed to circulate around them to keep them cool. Read more