Photo credit: Sreang Hok/Cornell University
Cornell University researchers developed a new method for washing fruit that combines tiny bubbles in water with low frequency sound. Every day, people clean fruits and vegetables to remove dirt and residues, which can come from the farm or the store.
The process begins with a normal water bath and a bubbler that creates tiny air pockets around the food. Then an underwater speaker enters and adds a low, steady note that is adjusted to fit the bubbles. As soon as the bubbles are the correct size, they start vibrating and have some sort of rhythm going on, as they start to swing back and forth and travel across the surface, and are able to exert a force strong enough to pull out impurities without needing to scrub at them or apply any specific chemicals.
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In laboratory tests, glass slides were coated with a protein-based combination to replicate dirt and soil seen on real vegetables. Surfaces that received vibrating bubbles were 90% cleaner than those that received only bubbles or a different frequency of sound. They also used high-speed cameras to record the entire process, as you can see each bubble briefly linger on the edge of a particle before tearing free on the following movement. Sunny Jung, a professor of biological and environmental engineering, was the driving force behind the entire initiative. Yany Lin, his student, helped modify the arrangement during the tests and became the paper’s first author.
You end up with a system that is completely chemical-free and gentle enough to brush soft vegetables that might otherwise be bruised. Farmers could easily build this up to larger batches, or you could use a similar system in your kitchen sink for daily rinsing. In fact, this similar procedure shows a lot of promise for getting other objects exceedingly clean, such as medical gear or electronics, which need to be pristine but cannot withstand rigorous cleaning. Jung casually remarked that you could also try playing some low frequency music while in the jacuzzi.
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