UA researchers build DIY air purifiers to remove COVID particles
by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) September 18, 2021 8:13 am
University of Arkansas researcher and physics professor Hugh Churchill is creating and testing portable air filters that help remove infectious airborne particles — including respiratory droplets that carry coronavirus — from interior environments using simple, inexpensive supplies available at any general department or home improvement store.
And he wants to teach you how to make your own. Duct tape, a basic box fan and commercially available air filters are all you’ll need.
“While masks and vaccines are polarizing topics, there shouldn’t be anything controversial about clean air,” Churchill said in a UA news release. “These devices facilitate that. They provide an additional layer of protection that could be widely deployed to make our K-12 and university indoor spaces healthier during this wave of the pandemic. And they’re easy and inexpensive to build. My 9-year-old built one.”
Churchill, who heads up an experimental research group in the physics department, researches condensed matter and quantum materials to develop or improve gadgets that benefit people and the environment. According to the UA, his lab, for example, focuses on spiraling chains of selenium and tellurium. When employed in nanowires, these two minerals show promise in the next generation of digital technology, solar energy and quantum computing.
But, for the time being, this and other projects have taken a back seat to the struggle against COVID-19. Churchill has been working with the UA’s facilities management division and the Arkansas Research Alliance for several weeks to create and test a prototype of a basic box-fan filter that helps purify indoor air....
Clean Air vs COVID
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