Live data from Hacker News

Google open sources solar atmospheric water generator

github.com

51–60 of 246 posts

Re: Google open sources solar atmospheric water generator

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Potentially as a water source for data center cooling? Not sure if it’d scale to those needs

My question was more, how does this help individuals without access to clean water, not a dystopian 'how can it be co-opted by corporations for business ends', but I appreciate the varying definitions of "practical" people have.

People need DCs too, not just corporations.

Re: Google open sources solar atmospheric water generator

#54

What happens at X when a project like this is discontinued? Do the employees get shuffled around, let go...?

I've heard some of the members of the project will get a payout for deciding to end the project (kind of an incentive to not keep failing projects going), and employees get a length of time to find a new home within Google / X. Though it's the same as any transfer process: you have to apply for available roles within the company, do fit chats, maybe do interviews, etc.

Re: Google open sources solar atmospheric water generator

#55
post #35

I want to make an orchard on a hill in the maritime pacific northwest. Its a somewhat odd climate where the time that gets hottest is when it also tends to be dryest (east coast tends to be wetter when hotter). I wonder if something like this (possibly with less focus on "clean" water - it's rural and breezy, so I don' think raw output would harm trees...) could be suitable for generating summer water for tree irriga…

Orchard on the coast is tricky. I don't know specifically where you're located, but on the Oregon coast the only fruit trees OSU says will grow are apple and cherry (and sometimes pear). I've had better luck going with native bushes where you don't need to worry as much about supplemental water: huckleberry, salal berry, salmonberry, blackberry if you can maintain them, etc. Work with the environment rather than try to force the environment to do what you want. :)

Re: Google open sources solar atmospheric water generator

#56
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My question was more, how does this help individuals without access to clean water, not a dystopian 'how can it be co-opted by corporations for business ends', but I appreciate the varying definitions of "practical" people have.

People need DCs too, not just corporations.

Yeah sure, but 1) prior to needing DCs, people need clean drinking water, and 2) the subset of people who need DCs is vastly smaller than those who need clean drinking water.

Re: Google open sources solar atmospheric water generator

#58

Are there any consumer-grade atmospheric solar water generators on the market right now? I did a very quick search and didn't find anything. Is there anything like this that people can buy right now?

Quick Google found this: https://www.source.co/

Edit: There's also this water bottle I remember seeing a while back on Kickstarter or Indigogo. It doesn't seem like they actually sell it on the website: https://fontus.at/

Post reply on HN