Sunlight

Since the 1800s, civilization has been fascinated by the idea of capturing lightning in a bottle. Over time, the idea evolved from literal to figurative. Today, we may be seeing a reversal. Scientists may have figured out a way to "bottle the sun."

An Italian optics research firm might have just tackled literally the biggest issue I face while motorcycling: the sun in my eyes. Irid's liquid crystal-based technology tints helmet visors to cut glare in an instant.

Good things happen when Sunlight launches a new concept camper van. This time, it's the Volkswagen Ibex camper concept, a modified adventure van built to "outdrive the ordinary" and navigate through terra incognita to a grander grade of adventure.

Pine cones are pretty smart for things with no brains, enough so that scientists have copied them to create a unique window shading system. The setup blocks sunlight in the summer and lets it through in the winter, without using any electricity.

Scientists have demonstrated a new ultra-white ceramic material that drastically cools buildings, with record-high sunlight and heat reflectivity. The beetle-inspired material gets its ability from its nanostructure and should be easy to mass produce.

Solar stills provide a clever and simple means of purifying dirty or salty water, but they work at a rather slow rate. A new material has been shown to boost their performance, and it's made from fruit waste which would otherwise be discarded.

There are already "smart" windows that can be electronically switched between either letting sunlight through or blocking it. A new multi-layered one, however, can be set to several energy-saving light filtration modes.

Finding a scratch on your car is a special kind of heartbreak, but in the future they might be gone before you even notice. Scientists in Korea have developed a coating that self-heals scratches in as little as 30 minutes when exposed to sunlight.

There are many parts of the world in which fresh water may be plentiful, but it's also full of harmful microbes. An experimental new filter is able to purify such water for drinking, and it's powered solely by sunlight.

As sunlight passes through a building's windows it can cause indoor temperatures to rise, to the point that the structure's air conditioning system has to be used. A new window material, however, blocks incoming heat while staying mostly transparent.

Virtually any camper will provide a tabletop on which to plant a laptop, but Sunlight takes the mobile office a step further, demonstrating how a dining table-cum-desk can support everything from basic office work to scientific fieldwork.

Ironically, many of the places that most require water purification have the least-developed infrastructure. That's where a new filtration device comes in, as it's activated by the sun – and it works relatively quickly.