A Dutch designer claims to have discovered a way to clean up smog from the air. Daan Roosegaarde, CEO of Studio Roosgaarde, and his team, developed a technology, consisting of copper coils, which are placed underground and produce electrostatic charge when high voltage, low amp electricity is run through them. According to the designer, this charge is sufficiently strong to attract and pull down the small polluting particles from the air.
For quite some times now, the news agencies have been continuously reporting the dangers and threats of the so called smoky fog, or smog, in most major cities in the world, and especially in China. Just a few days ago, yet again, the situation in Beijing and Changchun reached critical levels, causing many schools and airports to shut down. This was probably the tipping point for governmental officials in the country to admit that something should be done, and fast.
Here comes the invention of Roosegaarde, which has been approved by the Chinese for testing in a public park in Beijing. The system for smog removal is already being tested in a small indoor space filled with smog, where copper coils are embedded into the ground. The amount of static charge produced by the system equals the quantity generated when balloon is rubbed into a person’s hair, Roosegaarde says, but it is sufficient enough to attract most soot and other particles from the air. The only limit that the system might face comes from the amount of power sent through he coils.
The technology, as brilliant as it sounds, is still to be tested. It is also not as powerful to clean entire cities and solve their long lasting problem of air pollution, but it does have potential. The system does have to be tested outdoors first, and of course in a much bigger dimensions, but if it works, it might be a temporary but very quick fix in emergency situations.
People who are insulated from the ground e.g. walking on a plank will get a shock as bad as touching a doorknob every time they step down! Changing the local atmosphere charge might cause a change in the weather also.