Why leaky pipes can be better for moving water

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Researchers in California have come up with a way to move water through a structure filled with holes, without it leaking.

The new idea uses the power of surface tension and tiny 3D printing called micro-architecture to expose a huge surface area of liquid to the surrounding air, and these kinds of designs could have a huge range of different applications.

Liquids and gases are, by definition, difficult to mould or structure.

They need to be enclosed so they don't leak everywhere.

But this means it's usually quite hard to get a lot of their surface area into contact with their surroundings.

And that puts a limit on how much surface area you can use for important functions like absorbing carbon dioxide or releasing heat.

The researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory looked at examples in nature which use these kinds of processes, such as gas exchange in the lungs or the movement of water through trees.

Trees use capillary action to draw water up from the roots in tiny tubesa process that depends on the way water molecules stick to themselves and their surroundings due to surface tension.

It was this process which the scientists wanted to harness, but to do so without enclosing the liquid seemed impossible.

So, the team turned to the world of 'micro-architecture'.

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