I bet when you were a kid the first time you explored a reef, you wished that you could breathe underwater and stay in that magical place forever instead of surfacing every 10 odd seconds. Well thanks to researchers from the Southern Denmark University your dream is closer than ever without having to wear a bulky and cumbersome scuba kit.
The research team have invented a crystal that pulls oxygen from a room and even managed to extract the oxygen from water. The crystals are made from a sodium / Cobalt mixture and apart from gobbling up oxygen from its surroundings it’s also capable of releasing the stored oxygen. The material changes color too, depending on the level of its oxygen saturation. The crystals are black when oxygen content is at a maximum, and turn pink when the oxygen is released.
Christine McKenzie, the author of the study, says “that only a few grains of the crystal contain enough oxygen for a full breath.” The research team is cautiously optimistic that with further development the crystals could possibly, repeatedly absorb and release oxygen without ever losing its ability to do so.
So before we start talking about spies throwing crystal bombs into a room and knocking everyone out or space suits that require nothing more than an atmosphere containing traces of oxygen, we have to tell you that we are a long way off from a usable product. None the less this is a head turner with so many possibilities and as with every invention that is created for a purpose there is usually hundreds of other purposes that follow.
Stay Curious – C.Costigan
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