e.g. converted AquaIris unit coming out from the center of a 2 x 2 feet reflective background on the wall to dispense water like a tap. Half moon, Pitchercup design glass basin below to drain the dirty water away.

In southeast asia, many creative restaurant owners have made use of wood/bamboo (and similarly themed furniture) to replace the common tap, creating a natural like environment to the user. Problem is, wood does not last and the coating which may wear and tear may be poisonous.

It is indeed possible to convert longer wavelengths into shorter wavelengths

http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=APPLAB000079000027004583000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes

However, you are right, “Converter Crystals” as such do nto yet exist. But, as Benjamin points out, concepts should be far fethched and incite scientific investigation and realisation. Science fiction feeds the mind to investigate in directions (and in this case, applications) which were previously unthought of. In the rising age of nano-technology, pretty much anything is possible. And believe or not, ID´s do work together and/or consult visionary scientists as early as the research stage.

Also, in reference to your “girl burning hand”; it´s not mentioned in the text, but if you look closely at the picture there is a reflective material beneath the crystals, between which the water flows (through a space 0,1 mm thick – so it pretty much travels through this “purifying” space in slow motion allowing a significant amount of time for germinising, protecting the user of UVC. It isn´t possible to pack in all the information a conceptual object carries in a short text, leaving room for more detailed questions.

Lastly, remmeber this is conceptual design – an envisionment of how man can create a simpler coexistence with its environment.

thanks for your comments everyone!

This would also be ineffective against filtering hippopotamuses, to say something is not good because it cant filter all things is shortsighted. Not everything can do everything. In many situations, this is all that is needed.

There have been other designs on Yanko that have done that. (for example, adjustable barbells that magically get heavier by spinning something inside; gravity doesn’t work that way!) I’m not picking on this one in particular.

Your design is beautiful, but it won’t work. Unless you actually know of “converter crystals” or invented them yourself, this is a design based on science fiction.

Sorry to break it to you, but the “converter crystals” won’t work because of physical laws. UVC has a shorter wave-length than UVB, and therefore has a higher energy content per photon. (That’s why it damages DNA.) Minerals that convert light from one frequency to another only convert-down, never up. For example, phosphors in a fluorescent lamp absorb UV light, which has a high frequency/short wave-length and lots of energy per photo, and emit visible light, which has a much lower frequency/longer wave-length and much less energy per photon.

If the sunlight had enough UVB to convert to UVC enough to sterilize water flowing through such a grid for such a short period of time, we’d all be in trouble. The girl holding that demo unit would have skin damage.

Please do some book research on how much time exposure to UVC water needs in order to be sterilized.

With some modifications to filter chlorine to improve taste and perhaps an optional filter to get rid of heavy metals, I hope manufacturer will see its potential and bring it to the market.

With some modifications to filter chlorine to improve taste and perhaps an optional filter to get rid of heavy metals, I hope manufacturer will see its potential and bring it to the market.