It was developed in Japan where they found the traditional fog horn, a horn used by ships to announce their presence in low visibility conditions, to be an ugly drone harsh on the ear. The fog harp was designed to have a rich, melodic pleasance to it, to give the mind a moment of respite from the stress of navigating essentially blindly
Pointless when there are far better methods including electrostatic that can be solar powered. Zillions of times more efficient with a simpler linear arrangement that sucks up condensation like a magnet.
That paper read to me like a theoretical one. Is there any commercially viable application of the idea? Ionizing large volumes of air for any practical application of gathering water strikes me as both hazardous and uneconomical.
edit to add: also, the research doesn't appear to be mutually exclusive? The VA Tech folks were looking at how to prevent clumping on the wire mesh used to gather water, while the study here was increasing the volume gathered on the mesh. It seems natural that you could combine both ideas. That is, a grounded harp mesh which gathers more fog due to ionization, and doesn't clog due to the harp design from VA Tech.
I wonder if arranging the stabilizing wires at an angle (instead of directly horizontal) might reduce their tendency to cling water, or could the acute angle actually make it worse? Maybe the best would be a zig-zag pattern, but that's more complex to manufacture and might be worse at holding the strings apart.
As a Hokie, it drives me crazy that journalists (and ESPN) continue to use the non-name “VA Tech”. It’s VT, Virginia Tech, or the full name, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. https://brand.vt.edu/licensing/university-trademarks.html#tr...
If it makes you feel any better, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo is most commonly just known as SLO. There are two other Cal Polys, one of which is known as CPP (Cal Poly Pomona) and the other mostly just referred to as Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt). Moreover, unless you knew this already, if you Google "cal poly" it'll only return results about SLO, further muddying the waters.
As a Wahoo, I don't have the "VA Tech" issue, but I assume journos write it that way because their style guides tell them abbreviating states is acceptable, and they don't care that they're doing it to a trademark that doesn't support abbreviation.
Cal Poly Humboldt was only renamed three years ago. It's going to take a few generations to get the same cache as SLO.
Funny thing: I met a German physician who works in California now. His degree is from Humboldt University, an old and incredibly prestigious university in Berlin. He found it "funny" (provincial) that people so often register "Humboldt University" as "Humboldt State". One of these things is not like the other!
Every discerning musician knows that SLO stands for Super Lead Overdrive, the front half of the name of the finest guitar amplifier conceived in the modern era - the Soldano SLO100. Interestingly enough it hails from Seattle, not anywhere near central CA.
Per the convention, "Virginia" is shortened to its acronym VA. So although it's written "VA Tech" it's meant to be read aloud (or in your head) as "Virginia Tech."
Fellow Virginia Tech alumnus here. "VA Tech" is perfectly legible and unambiguous. "VT scientists" is straightforward to Americans, but not everyone in the world will know what "VT" is in this context. It could be Vermont scientists, or who knows what else.
Incidentally, the author is the wife of physicist Sean Carroll. She certainly knows how to abbreviate Virginia Tech, but Ars Technica's editors will want to influence the title to appeal to a global audience.
"VA Tech" is a reasonable balance between writing something unambiguous for a global audience, but short enough to be interesting. Nobody's going to be interested in an article titled "Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University scientists build a better fog harp."
Of course, you still need to read the article itself to find out what the heck is a "fog harp," and why we need a better one.
VA Tech is part of the Victoria & Albert Museum, right?
But seriously, I'm so glad to hear that Violent Assault Tech scientists have made the Fog Harp more efficient. Finally I can reliably surprise my victims! This truly is Value Added Tech, and in such high quality Vinyl Acetate that I'll never worry about Vaginal Atrophy again!
It's interesting because you can turn this into meter-ware (like moskito nets) and it does not need fancy materials or coating processes, just clever use of geometry.
It's like Ga Tech (Georgia Tech). The domain names are different (gatech.edu versus vt.edu) as are the program rankings... VT should be honored to be pronounced in a similar way as they are ranked way lower than Ga Tech ;)
I have degrees from both. Ga Tech is a much better school for Computer Science and Engineering.
Sorry Hokies. Mike Vick also pronounced it "Va Tech" during interviews. So to most people, you are "Va Tech" and should be happy when a dad asks his kid... hey do you want to go visit Ga Tech or Va Tech? As if they are the same.
It's not virtual analog tech scientists building a better musical instruments :)
I had no clue what a fog harp is, turns out it's used for harvesting water - interesting tech!
It was developed in Japan where they found the traditional fog horn, a horn used by ships to announce their presence in low visibility conditions, to be an ugly drone harsh on the ear. The fog harp was designed to have a rich, melodic pleasance to it, to give the mind a moment of respite from the stress of navigating essentially blindly
Pointless when there are far better methods including electrostatic that can be solar powered. Zillions of times more efficient with a simpler linear arrangement that sucks up condensation like a magnet.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5993475/
That paper read to me like a theoretical one. Is there any commercially viable application of the idea? Ionizing large volumes of air for any practical application of gathering water strikes me as both hazardous and uneconomical.
edit to add: also, the research doesn't appear to be mutually exclusive? The VA Tech folks were looking at how to prevent clumping on the wire mesh used to gather water, while the study here was increasing the volume gathered on the mesh. It seems natural that you could combine both ideas. That is, a grounded harp mesh which gathers more fog due to ionization, and doesn't clog due to the harp design from VA Tech.
Nice, very practical engineering.
I wonder if arranging the stabilizing wires at an angle (instead of directly horizontal) might reduce their tendency to cling water, or could the acute angle actually make it worse? Maybe the best would be a zig-zag pattern, but that's more complex to manufacture and might be worse at holding the strings apart.
Moisture Farmers rejoice, SkyWalker Ranch will soon double the output during harvest season - That boy might just make the Academy this year.
In all seriousness, harvesting water from fog and putting it through purification will be needed in great abundance in the future.
As a Hokie, it drives me crazy that journalists (and ESPN) continue to use the non-name “VA Tech”. It’s VT, Virginia Tech, or the full name, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. https://brand.vt.edu/licensing/university-trademarks.html#tr...
If it makes you feel any better, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo is most commonly just known as SLO. There are two other Cal Polys, one of which is known as CPP (Cal Poly Pomona) and the other mostly just referred to as Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt). Moreover, unless you knew this already, if you Google "cal poly" it'll only return results about SLO, further muddying the waters.
As a Wahoo, I don't have the "VA Tech" issue, but I assume journos write it that way because their style guides tell them abbreviating states is acceptable, and they don't care that they're doing it to a trademark that doesn't support abbreviation.
Context is key. "Cal" refers to "The University of California, Berkeley", even though Davis, Los Angeles, Irvine, Santa Barbara, San Diego, etc etc
"Cal Poly" is shorthand for the SLO campus. It's the original, and the most established one. https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/13/ca...
Cal Poly Humboldt was only renamed three years ago. It's going to take a few generations to get the same cache as SLO.
Funny thing: I met a German physician who works in California now. His degree is from Humboldt University, an old and incredibly prestigious university in Berlin. He found it "funny" (provincial) that people so often register "Humboldt University" as "Humboldt State". One of these things is not like the other!
*cachet
Apparently SLO is L1, Pomona is L2, and Humboldt is L3
Every discerning musician knows that SLO stands for Super Lead Overdrive, the front half of the name of the finest guitar amplifier conceived in the modern era - the Soldano SLO100. Interestingly enough it hails from Seattle, not anywhere near central CA.
I occasionally hear people pronounce it out loud as "vah tech". But seeing it written "VA Tech" is even more bizarre.
Yeah I hear that on TV a lot also, but no one who has spent any time in the Harvard of the Blue Ridge would say it that way
It's just Headlinese, an evolution of earlier telegram style.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegram_style
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headline#Headlinese
Per the convention, "Virginia" is shortened to its acronym VA. So although it's written "VA Tech" it's meant to be read aloud (or in your head) as "Virginia Tech."
As a fellow Hokie I'm just happy they aren't calling us Virginia Tech University.
I don't even know that much about the school but I read the headline as "Virginia based tech sector scientists"
VA tech does not have the most agreeable ring compared to the others you listed tho that's for sure.
Georgia Tech is pronounced 'gah tech' and its domain name is gatech.edu. That may be the origin of VT's abbreviation.
Never heard it pronounced that way in my life. Either "Tech" or "GT".
One of my friends who graduated from there a few decades ago calls it Vippy Soo.
Fellow Virginia Tech alumnus here. "VA Tech" is perfectly legible and unambiguous. "VT scientists" is straightforward to Americans, but not everyone in the world will know what "VT" is in this context. It could be Vermont scientists, or who knows what else.
Incidentally, the author is the wife of physicist Sean Carroll. She certainly knows how to abbreviate Virginia Tech, but Ars Technica's editors will want to influence the title to appeal to a global audience.
"VA Tech" is a reasonable balance between writing something unambiguous for a global audience, but short enough to be interesting. Nobody's going to be interested in an article titled "Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University scientists build a better fog harp."
Of course, you still need to read the article itself to find out what the heck is a "fog harp," and why we need a better one.
Poor Vermont, no one in America will think of them in this context!
VA Tech is part of the Victoria & Albert Museum, right?
But seriously, I'm so glad to hear that Violent Assault Tech scientists have made the Fog Harp more efficient. Finally I can reliably surprise my victims! This truly is Value Added Tech, and in such high quality Vinyl Acetate that I'll never worry about Vaginal Atrophy again!
For a moment I thought it was about the VA, like maybe this was a musical therapy tool for veterans or something.
Since the article is about VT scientists, not the school itself, the correct term is "Wahoos"
Go Hokies!
It's interesting because you can turn this into meter-ware (like moskito nets) and it does not need fancy materials or coating processes, just clever use of geometry.
Instead of a 2D matrix, why not go in depth and have many layers similar to a bee hive box?
I imagine the first layer would harvest most of the water?
The electrostatic version seems like an excellent idea.
It's like Ga Tech (Georgia Tech). The domain names are different (gatech.edu versus vt.edu) as are the program rankings... VT should be honored to be pronounced in a similar way as they are ranked way lower than Ga Tech ;)
I have degrees from both. Ga Tech is a much better school for Computer Science and Engineering.
Sorry Hokies. Mike Vick also pronounced it "Va Tech" during interviews. So to most people, you are "Va Tech" and should be happy when a dad asks his kid... hey do you want to go visit Ga Tech or Va Tech? As if they are the same.