Who is behind this research?
Water can evaporate due to heat, right? But did you know that light can also make water evaporate? Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found out that light can make water evaporate even without heat.
Their research has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.
What’s the reason behind conducting this research?
Scientists were surprised when water in their experiments, which was trapped in a hydrogel, evaporated quickly, even without much heat. Researchers at MIT studied this and found that sometimes light can make water evaporate without any heat.
How was the research conducted?
The researchers used hydrogel for this experiment. They tested different colours of light one by one to see how they affected water evaporating. They did this by weighing a container of wet hydrogel and measuring how much water evaporated. They also checked the temperature above the hydrogel’s surface to make sure the lights didn't create extra heat.
They found that the evaporation rate changed with the colour of light, with green light being the most effective. Since light's colour doesn't affect heat, this shows that light makes water evaporate.
The researchers also tried to make water evaporate faster without using light by heating the material with electricity. But they couldn't do that. However, when they used simulated sunlight, the water evaporated faster than they expected. This proved that light was causing the extra evaporation.
What can this experiment be used for?
The researchers called this discovery the 'photomolecular effect.' They are now trying to figure out how to use it in real life, but they need to do more research.
Still, this discovery could have practical uses, like finding better ways to turn saltwater into freshwater. They're also studying how it might affect climate change.
