The sun heats the carbon nanotube caps, which turn the water into steam. The CNTs absorb light efficiently because they absorb >99.5% of the visible spectrum and transform water into steam efficiently due to their hydrophobicity and high surface area.
I wondered about that, but the only statements about purification say that the contaminants are left behind when the water evaporates (as in any other distillation system.)
They have developed a clever mechanism for giving the aerogels an efficient structure for capillary transport, and the nanotubes make an efficient evaporator, but the article does not give any reason why the water needs to be raised before being evaporated (trees do it because they are in a competition for light, and maybe to get away from big herbivores.)
Paywalled, so I can’t whether it addresses how the water cleaning effect affects longevity (chances are the stuff it removes from the water will stay in the aerogel, likely eventually blocking water transport)
If this is how we're using words now, I got in an antigravity room (elevator) before boarding a long-range antigravity transport (airplane). The future is now…
