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Vodka could become a messaging medium
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Canadian specialists have made an unusual discovery: vodka can serve as a transmitter of information at a distance. To conduct their experiments, the specialists assembled two simple installations, one of which was used to transmit alcohol molecules, and the other was used to send them by spraying. The scientists only needed $100 to buy all the necessary materials. The alcohol transmission system consisted of a fan, a sprayer, and a microcontroller.
The fan served as a communication channel, the liquid sprayer as a transmitter, and the microcontroller with a sensor captured the "alcohol signals." During the work, the scientists took several samples, and as a result, it was established that alcohol can transmit information using a binary code (information in the form of ones and zeros).
During the experiments, the researchers managed to transmit several lines of the Canadian national anthem over a distance of 4 meters. The microcontroller registered molecules in the air and decoded the information they carried. In the laboratory, the scientists sprayed regular vodka, which contains ethyl alcohol, using a fan, then the receiver received the signal and analyzed how the concentration of alcohol molecules changed.
According to Dr Nariman Farsad, a professor at the University of York and the leader of the research project, he and his colleagues have managed to send the world's first message using molecules. One bit of information is equivalent to one spray, and no spray is equal to zero bits.
The specialists called this discovery a molecular method of data transmission and consider this method of transmitting messages to be quite reliable. According to scientists, this method of communication is typical for insects and microorganisms. The specialists hope that this method can be used in nanomedicine, but their work is not finished, the scientists intend to continue research in this direction.
Another amazing discovery in scientific circles was the invention of a liquid on which one can write using any solid object. This feature of the liquid substance is provided by its unusual physical properties, including the ability not to freeze, even at very low temperatures (up to -1340C). Also, the liquid substance begins to crystallize and change color as soon as an object, even the smallest, touches its surface, regardless of the temperature.
Chemists explained that at room temperature, even with a light touch of any solid object, the liquid begins to crystallize and change color, and at temperatures up to 1000 ºС it reacts even to the touch of single-celled microorganisms. During the change in structure, the liquid turns from red to yellow and loses transparency.
In addition, when pressed with an object, the unique liquid reacts not only by changing color, but also by glowing if ultraviolet rays are directed at it. The experts noted that their invention may well find application in biotechnology, medicine, and in the development of modern computer systems.
Scientists plan to use the unique liquid to create a new type of solar battery in the near future.