Airborne pollution is a major offspring in China , with local hospitals afford up “ smogginess clinic ” and wafture of city - dwellersmigrating to more rural areas to escape . While Taiwanese officials are pursuing “ cloud seeding ” as a room to control pollution , a Zhejiang University professor thinks he has a near idea : Sprinklers . grown ones .
Yu Shaocai is a formerU.S. Environmental Protection Agencyemployee and an expert on “ wet deposition , ” a process by which fall raindrops or snowflakes “ scavenge ” aerosol particles from the air . In other words , they collect and stick the polluted particles on the ground . This why the air is usually percipient after a rainy day .
In an clause issue in the January issue ofEnvironmental Chemistry Letters , Shaocai propose a novel means to kickstart wet deposit in polluted cities : By faking it with geoengineered urban infrastructure . In unsubdivided terms , Shaocai ’s program involves attach gargantuan sprinkler , like showerheads , to the outside of skyscraper , and spray water system into the ambience above heavily - contaminated cities to clear out toxins and gases .
Beijing on January 16 . Image : ChinaFotoPress .
As you might ask , Shaocai has his detractors . Speaking to The South China Morning Post , one scientistquestions where the water would number fromand how it would be recycle , but then grudgingly admits that “ assuming his team can find a system that works , and they ’ve done enough economic analysis and think the handling of water resources , this could be a viable option . ”
Shaocai imago attaching sprinklers to the CCTV construction in Beijing . Image : Lintao Zhang / Getty .
Then , of course , there ’s the cost of retrofit skyscraper with watering gadget , not to observe designing a system of rules that ’s safe during storms and gamey winds . Or engineer a system smart enough to not overwater , or stop dead up on cold days .
In brusque , this a theoretical newspaper in a chemistry daybook — not a feasible programme . Yet .
Shaocai told the SCMP that he and his scholar plan to post out tests at Zhejiang University , first , and then in Hangzhou . In his paper , he reckon the architectural implications of tie sprinkler system of rules to Beijing ’s CCTV building or Shanghai Dongfang Tower , including some faintly preposterous Photoshop composites :
Shaocai ’s plan sounds ( and feeling ) like the stuff of turn - of - the - century science fabrication . But it ’s really fairly logical . Most urban pollution float below 300 feet , which mean existing tower offer the perfect weapons platform for wet deposition . And , of track , skyscraper are normally located in parts of cities where humans spend the most time commute — so it make sense that valet - made “ rainouts ” would demand to mirror them on the single-valued function .
A rocket launcher used to sow clouds to induct pelting is see at a place of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau in Beijing . AP Photo / Ng Han Guan .
In December , the China Meteorological Administration announced a$277 billion planto get large - scale swarm seed around Formosan cities , clearing pollution by “ firing rockets carrying a payload of silver iodide molecule into the cloud . ” But there are questions about whether cloud - seeding will really run to spur wet deposition , since existing coke and rain should already be doing that job .
https://gizmodo.com/china-plans-to-fight-its-smog-with-artificial-rain-1477048076
Whether or not Shaocai ever wee-wee it off the drawing control panel , it ’s really cool to see how architecture — even the sort most link with vanity and surplusage , the skyscraper — could help secondary and third urban functions in the near future . When homo first began establish tall buildings , we opine all kinds of future purposed for them : The Empire State Building was supposed to have its own Zeppelin tethering bob ; other skyscrapers were supposed to supportwhole airplane track .
None of those futures ever fall to pass — but it ’s awful to see other , totally unexpected ones emerge . [ Environmental Chemistry Letters;South China Morning Post ]
Lead image : sakhorn / Shutterstock .
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