Chinese Students Invent Self-Sanitizing Door Handle And It’s One Of The Winning Entries For The 2019 James Dyson Awards
Some say that everything genius is actually simple. And they might be really onto something there because if you think about it for one second, most of the inventions used every day are quite basic. All it takes is a good idea and a bit of knowledge. That’s exactly what happened to these two teenagers. 17-year-old Sun Ming and 18-year-old King Pong were researching chemical properties of titanium dioxide when they realized it could be applied on such a basic item as a doorknob and it could actually change people’s lives.
This is not your ordinary door handle as it is able to sanitize itself with the help of light
Sum Ming Wong and Kin Pong Li discovered quite a while ago that titanium oxide is extremely effective in killing bacteria and came up with an idea to ground it into a fine powder. They also noticed that it works better when exposed to UV light. Thinking of how to get the most of their discoveries, one simple yet genius thing popped into their heads.
It was created by the Chinese University of Hong Kong students, Sum Ming Wong and Kin Pong Li
Knowing door handles are one of the most bacteria-infected things in our civilization, they designed a handle that’s made of a comprised glass tube with little aluminum caps both on the top and bottom of it. The whole glass construction is covered with that same titanium dioxide powder.
The door handle is covered in a photocatalytic coating, meaning its’ chemical abilities are triggered by light
“We knew that many infections can spread out by contact, for example, SARS, MERS, Foot and Mouth Disease and Candida Auris,” said the students. “Nowadays, people use chemical cleaning materials to clean up public areas, but it is both easy to wipe off and harmful to the human body. Our design has high durability and [is] effective.”
The chemical reaction that is activated by UV light decomposes the bacteria collected on the doorknob
They also say their main inspiration to seek out a similar invention came after the SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003 that infected more than 8000 people all over the world and China in particular, where 700 people died.
This invention made it to the 2019 James Dyson Awards and was one of the winning entries
The genius invention is now one of the entries in the 2019 James Dyson Awards and is currently being considered for the finals.
People on the Internet didn’t have a united opinion though
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They could theoretically lead to antibacterial resistance. That's the reason most often used to argue against using hand sanitizers. But that hasn't been proven. In the hospital, there hasn't been any evidence of resistance to alcohol-based hand sanitizers. However, while there aren't any studies showing that hand sanitizers definitely pose a threat, there also isn't any evidence that they do a better job of protecting you from harmful bacteria than soap. So while hand sanitizers have their place — in hospitals or when you can't get to a sink — washing with soap and warm water is almost always a better choice.
Sorry, but this is just a very, very bad idea. Yes, UV light is used for desinfection - so why don't hospitals use it just everywhere? Because you need UV-C radiation for it to work! UV-C radiation is highly damaging to the eyes and leads to blindness. So it's impossible to use in public places. How are they planning to solve that? Will in only work when there's nobody in the room?
Thank you! These guys are utter morons. That's akin to having a pump bottle of Hydrochloric Acid near the sink everytime you want to wash your hands.
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They could theoretically lead to antibacterial resistance. That's the reason most often used to argue against using hand sanitizers. But that hasn't been proven. In the hospital, there hasn't been any evidence of resistance to alcohol-based hand sanitizers. However, while there aren't any studies showing that hand sanitizers definitely pose a threat, there also isn't any evidence that they do a better job of protecting you from harmful bacteria than soap. So while hand sanitizers have their place — in hospitals or when you can't get to a sink — washing with soap and warm water is almost always a better choice.
Sorry, but this is just a very, very bad idea. Yes, UV light is used for desinfection - so why don't hospitals use it just everywhere? Because you need UV-C radiation for it to work! UV-C radiation is highly damaging to the eyes and leads to blindness. So it's impossible to use in public places. How are they planning to solve that? Will in only work when there's nobody in the room?
Thank you! These guys are utter morons. That's akin to having a pump bottle of Hydrochloric Acid near the sink everytime you want to wash your hands.
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