From catalytic converters to alternative fuels, the fight against big-city smog has for years been fought inside combustion engines and exhaust pipes.
Now, scientists are taking the fight to the streets by developing "smart" building materials designed to clean the air with a little help from the elements. Using technology already available for self-cleaning windows and bathroom tiles, scientists hope to paint up cities with materials that dissolve and wash away pollutants when exposed to sun and rain.
"Among other things, we want to construct concrete walls that break down vehicle exhausts in road tunnels," said Karin Pettersson, a spokeswoman for Swedish construction giant Skanska. "It is also possible to make pavings that clean the air in cities." The Stockholm-based company is part of a $1.7 million Swedish-Finnish project to develop catalytic cement and concrete products coated with titanium dioxide, a compound often used in white paint and toothpaste that can become highly reactive when exposed to ultraviolet light.
News source: CNN
Now, scientists are taking the fight to the streets by developing "smart" building materials designed to clean the air with a little help from the elements. Using technology already available for self-cleaning windows and bathroom tiles, scientists hope to paint up cities with materials that dissolve and wash away pollutants when exposed to sun and rain.
"Among other things, we want to construct concrete walls that break down vehicle exhausts in road tunnels," said Karin Pettersson, a spokeswoman for Swedish construction giant Skanska. "It is also possible to make pavings that clean the air in cities." The Stockholm-based company is part of a $1.7 million Swedish-Finnish project to develop catalytic cement and concrete products coated with titanium dioxide, a compound often used in white paint and toothpaste that can become highly reactive when exposed to ultraviolet light.
News source: CNN
Note: This is a Beta release . Therefore, do not install these builds on machines you depend on. If you have a previous version of Avalon, Indigo, or .NET Framework 2.0 installed you must read this (http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/vs2005/uninstall/) before download.
Indigo is the codename for Microsoft’s unified programming model for building connected systems. It extends the .NET Framework 2.0 with additional APIs for building secure, reliable, transacted Web services that interoperate with non-Microsoft platforms and integrate with existing investments. By combining the functionality of existing Microsoft distributed application technologies (ASMX, .NET Remoting, .NET Enterprise Services, Web Services Enhancements, and System.Messaging), Indigo delivers a single development framework that improves developer productivity and reduces organizations’ time to market.
Avalon is the code name for Microsoft's unified presentation subsystem for Windows. It consists of a display engine and a managed-code framework. Avalon unifies how Windows creates, displays, and manipulates documents, media, and user interface. This enables developers and designers to create visually-stunning, differentiated user experiences that improve customer connection. When delivered, Avalon will become Microsoft's strategic user interface (UI) technology.
This Beta1 "RC" release supports Visual Studio 2005 Beta2 and the .NET Framework 2.0 beta 2. There is also an updated WinFX SDK, including documentation, samples and tools available for this release.
IMPORTANT: Installing the Avalon and Indigo Beta1 "RC"(ISO)
The download bootstrapper of Microsoft® Pre-Release Software Code Named “Avalon” and “Indigo” Beta1 RC is currently unavailable in preparation for the final Beta 1 release that will be available to the general public shortly. Therefore, in the interim, you can download the ISO image of the RC bits.
Accessing the ISO File
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WOW, I want some UV Lightbulbs, lol
another cenario
Say you wanted to make ur room glow that wonderful blue colour like white clothes do when exposed to UV light. Go out to paint store, buy some White Paint, paint the room, install a UV light.... *turns on* ... hmm i wonder wat would happen?
when all the big citys in the us are covered in a thick black smog. like the one that covered london in the old days. they will be thinking to them selves. " i wish we took more notice of that koyoto protocool". Bigger and more full guzling isnt allways better.
but it would be nice to have buldings etc that help clean up the air.
Sorry, double post some how :-/
Last edited by 44827 on 25 Jul 2005 - 19:17
And if I can see the push in everyday life, then obviously it's working to some degree.
EDIT: And the comment about making richer nations poorer is bullocks. IMO, the quality of life is improving, we have a richer style of living because of it. How so you ask? With a $5 investment here or there for energy efficient lightbulbs, or a couple grand to get better insulation in your roof, you will have saved more than your investment inside half a year. Yes that's right, your investment will pay you back in half a year with heat and electricity savings (and for people who need air conditioning instead of heating, better insulation will keep your house cool with a smaller A/C unit). Atleast for us this is all true, we can now use our money for more luxury items like sound systems and big screen tvs. Your argument is bogus. It makes our air cleaner and we are going to be rewarded with less health problems and a longer life.
Last edited by 44827 on 25 Jul 2005 - 19:25
Lowering our emissions through unfair, damaging regulations while other countries' emissions go largely unchecked is not the answer to our problem. That is our problem. If we are to one day have preindustrial air quality, all nations, developing or not must work together to lower emissions in a calm, orderly manner that won't pull the rug out from under them, or a select group of them, in the process.
When I think about it, maybe it would be best if we stop caring about the environment completely. There's a lot of money to be saved right there and besides, the human race could use a good extinction.
i notice when just going on the outskirts of london or going to the midlands the air quality there is just horrible, i live in the south of the uk and you really do notice the lovely air. since i'm just down the motorway from the sea which is about a 5 min drive. and right next to the country side
Of course, 50 years from now they'll discover it causes a disease known as YSOPACAOYD (You Stopped One Problem And Caused Another One You Dumbasses), which will kill off the entire human race.
Personally, I think the best way to solve this problem is to cut it off at the source. We need to work towards the rapid development of replacements (such as fuel cell technology) for CO2, SO2, etc. emitting equipment. An excellent example would be hydrogen powered cars. With them, the problem go from having hundreds of millions of individual inefficient emission centers but a handful of semi-efficient emission centers and that number will decline as we move towards cleaner power (e.g. nuclear fission). Nightly hydrogen production would be an excellent use of the energy that would be otherwise wasted due to low demand on the electrical power grid at night (as you can't exactly turn off a fission reactor).
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