What are some of the uses of vodka? In extreme cases, it could be used as a form of antiseptic, or you can always carry a few shots with you in an aluminum flask to keep you warm whenever the mercury drops to unbearable levels. Others will see vodka as the perfect drink to drown their sorrows or celebrate a victory. Well, Scientists from York University in Toronto happen to discover an alternative use for vodka that will get the tech community excited – by relying on alcohol to send text messages.
This is achieved by converting sprays of isopropyl alcohol into binary code, and off-the-shelf components are also part of the creation. The researchers made use of an Arduino Uno board, an Adafruit LCD, a desk fan and a household spray bottle so that it can transmit a short message across a tabletop through molecular diffusion. The experiment will see the fan push bursts of alcoholic mist across a table, while there will be another sensor on the opposite end that is capable of measuring the amount of alcohol content in the air, before the vapor is reassembled into non-binary characters. The transmitted words were “O Canada” which is not surprising at all.
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