Two teens invented a genius way to stop the spread of bacteria on bathroom door handles
Laura Buitrago/SSP
If everyone doesn't wash their hands after doing their business, some germs could be hanging around to get passed on and spread diseases.
To nip that possibility in the bud, two teens from Hong Kong figured out a sophisticated and cheap way to make a door handle that disinfects itself, automatically.
Sum Ming ("Simon") Wong, 17, and Kin Pong ("Michael") Li, 18, presented the design of their nifty door handle at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair on May 12.
Here's how it works:
The door handle is coated with titanium dioxide, a mineral that kills bacteria and is found in paint and sunscreen. That takes care of preventing bacteria from growing on the surface of the handle, but because titanium dioxide is best at killing bacteria under ultraviolet (UV) light, that's not the end of the super-cool design.
Since door handles aren't normally bathed in UV light, Wong and Li figured out a way for every bit of their bacteria-fighting handle to get some UV rays - they lit it from inside. The handle itself is a cylinder of clear glass, with a strong light-emitting diode (LED) on one end that shines UV light through the length of the handle. Lit up with UV light, the titanium dioxide can go to work killing bacteria.
Laura Buitrago/SSP
There seem to be a lot of components to the design, but Wong and Li estimate the self-disinfecting door handle system would cost only about $13 to build.
Germophobes, rejoice!
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- FSSAI in process of collecting pan-India samples of Nestle's Cerelac baby cereals: CEO
- 7 Nutritious and flavourful tiffin ideas to pack for school
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance
- A surprise visit: Tesla CEO Elon Musk heads to China after deferring India visit