IT IS FOOLISH TO DIE OF THIRST IN A DESERT IF IT`S FULL OF WATER

Any arid desert is actually full of water. And it is not a joke. The soil absorbs the atmosphere steam and even in ordinary and apparently dry sand there is water – several tenths of a per cent by weight. While at a depth of only 10 to 15 centimeters there occur layers containing as mach as several per cent of water.

And the desert is dry because the particles of soil so firmly hold water that it becomes very difficult to extort it from there. Nevertheless thirsty travelers have a way out of this situation. A small piece of thin transparent polyethylene film may “squeeze” water out of salty sands.

To get it one must dig a conic hole in the soil half a meter deep and about one meter in diameter. Walls of the hole should be a little concave, but usually this happens of itself. At the bottom of the hole a water pot or any other type of container is placed, a small tube is put into the hole and the accumulated water is sucked through it. The film should cover the whole of the hole, its edges being overlaid with the soil. Over the middle of the film a stone or a handful of sand is placed . It should be heavy enough to bend the film a little without making it reach the bottom.

And that`s all the technology. The rays of Sun penetrating through the film start to warm the walls of the hole. And the film, being transparent and colorless, absorbs heat much weaker than the soil. For this reason it is cooler. Soon the air in the hole becomes saturated with water vapor, and on the inner surface of the film drops of sweet water begins to form going down later on into the container. Water begins to accumulate an hour after the installation of the gadget - the more brightly the Sun shines the more intensively it accumulates. The amount of condensed water depends on the humidity of sand in a given desert. In any case you shall have a sure supply of half a liter of water a day. This is quite enough so as not to die of thirst.

In case somewhere around happens to be any vegetation it is advisable to tear off some branches or grass and put them into your hole. The heat of the Sun will evaporate moisture from the plants and some more water will be added.

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