Nanomesh Turns Sewage into Drinking Water

Last week Steve Forbes of Forbes Magazine spoke with tech guru George Gilder to discuss amazing various new technologies. One particularly fascinating technology he highlighted, according to a report on Forbes.com's blog, was a mesh capable of filtering impurities from sewage to create potable water. To see a time-lapse video of what this nanofiltration system can do, see the video panel at right. The company behind the technology is Seldon Technologies. Intrigued by the technology, a blogger at Forbes contacted the company's CEO to discuss the product, which is marketed under the name Seldon WaterStick. Here's what CEO Alan Cummings had to say about how the product works:

"The technology in our company is built around working with a new form of carbon, called the carbon nanotube. Picture a little roll of chicken wire inside another little roll of chicken wire, inside another roll of chicken wire. It's hollow in the middle and open on both ends. Incredibly strong, electrically conductive, and has amazing material characteristics. The material we work with is 20-50 nanometers in diameter, by about 100 microns long. It gives you the ability to remove all of the microbial contamination in the water - you take out the viruses and the bacteria that can hurt you."

To read the interview with Seldon's CEO about the company's nanoscale filtration, see Chris Barth's full story here.

What is the most fascinating nanotechnology you recently heard about?

Photo: Wikipedia