Submission + - material can pump water with no added energy (rochester.edu) 1
Researchers at the University of Rochester's Institute of Optics have discovered a way to make liquid flow vertically upward along a silicon surface, overcoming the pull of gravity, without pumps or other mechanical devices.
This seems to be a trend where new materials are being designed with properties derived only from their physical construction, and not chemical components. Just recently there was a material modeled after spider hairs that is nearly 100% waterproof.
The examples of this material are geared towards computing and thermal cooling, but.. if this material effectively pumps water without any energy requirements (pumps) and can do so against gravity I wonder if it could be used for different purposes. Pumping water obviously, but what about hydro power generation?
Possible uses for this material seem to far exceed just computing.