Coconut Grove, Fla.—Water
distillation started longer ago than you might think. Alexander Graham Bell was
converting salt water to fresh in a solar still before 1920. You can find one
of his two stills at the Kampong National Botanical Garden. The garden was the
former residence of Dr. David Fairchild and his wife Marian (youngest daughter
of Alexander Graham Bell).
“Bell would come down here
all the time to visit,” said tour guide David Jones, “He was known as the inventor of
the telephone but he also invented other things.” Pointing to a heavy looking
table like object 10-feet away, Jones said, “See that. It is a solar water
still invented by Bell to distill salt water to fresh water.”
 |
| Alexander Graham Bell's solar water still, The Kampong, Coconut Grove, Fla. Copyright 2014 by Helen A Lockey |
Jones went on to say that
Bell had designed the stone table with a hollow center and top surface that was angled 12-degrees off
horizontal. There was also a ledge, running the entire length of the interior, that held a sheet of glass.
Bell would fill the table with
water, slide on the glass, and waited for the sun to evaporate the fresh water
out of the salt.
“He had another one built in
Nova Scotia, Canada," said Jones, "It is made out of wood but Bell knew it would not do well
down here in Florida, so that’s why he chose stone for this one.”
To see this solar water
still in real life you’ll have to book a private tour of The Kampong Botanical Garden
in Coconut Grove, Florida.
No comments:
Post a Comment