Fog Harp

CNN reports: [edited]

In some of the most arid regions of the world, from the Sahara to the Andes, special nets have long been used to catch moisture from the air, turning fog into drinking water.

These fog harvesters are put up against wind streams to catch microscopic droplets which gather and merge on a fine mesh until they have enough weight to travel down into a water tank. They provide essential access to water to many communities, and the technology behind them has evolved over the years to offer a higher yield, resistance to the elements and a reduced need for maintenance.

Now, researchers at Virginia Tech University have developed a new design that they say has three times the efficiency of regular fog nets. They call it a 'harp', because its vertical pattern of wires makes it resemble the string instrument.

The problem with the classical design, according to Boreyko, is that the fog droplets end up getting stuck in the holes of the net, because the horizontal wires obstruct their path on the way down into the reservoir. The net then becomes heavily clogged with water, which makes it impermeable to the wind. As a result, the foggy wind simply flows around the net, instead of through it, which reduces the amount of fog that can be collected.
------------