According to SlashDot:
Time Magazine is running an article telling us how Dave Williams is trying to make ice for third-world applications using the Hilsch-Ranque vortex-tube effect (first developed in 1930 by G.J. Ranque-- then improved in 1945 by Hilsch), where swirling air is split into hot and cold components." The method is horribly inefficient but Williams is hoping it could yield helpful results in areas where electricity is really not an option."
Cooling is a small deal for people nowadays but think of what cooling can do: keep food safe; keep medicine safe; cool tired people in the third world. Also, traditional air conditioners and refridgerators have something in common: they're lousy heaters. Run a fridge and it will raise the temperature of the room a little in exchange for cooling its interior alot. All those air conditioners that run in the summertime do three things: expend electricity; dump heat; and cool rooms. It would be nice if there were a device that had the net effect of lowering the temperature.
More information is available from my new favorite source for info: the Wikipedia.
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