Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi,
I am currently beginning a design project. I am interested in producing a product that significantly reduces the number of animal deaths due to the Australian Climate. I have come across the idea of creating a fire-resistant smart water dispenser to be placed near bushfire prone areas. This dispenser would consist of fire-proof materials such as polycarbonate and a motion sensor for ease of use and efficiency.

One question I had was how I can keep the water cool in the dispenser.

I would love to hear some feedback and ideas on how I could design/produce this product to improve my current design ideas as I am just beginning the idea generation stage of this project.

I look forward to hearing from you

Thank you

Hi - this is an interesting project idea and I'm sorry that your post got missed and didn't get a reply earlier.

The first thing that comes to mind in keeping water cool is shade - this may seem obvious but you want to keep the water out of direct sunlight. Active cooling (something like a refrigerator) requires a lot of electricity and mechanical parts that can break down, so may not be a great option if the plan is to install these in a remote area. I would suggest doing some research on "passive cooling" and how humans stayed cool before air conditioning. Some of these techniques involved evaporating water - which isn't what you want to do here - but there may be other ways to help insulate the water or create air flow to keep it below the surrounding ambient temperature.

Hope that helps!