In 2003, Gerald Pollack and his colleagues at the University of Washington, Seattle, discovered a process known as the “particle-exclusion phenomenon”.

They found that particles dissolved in water naturally move away from a hydrophilic, or water-loving, surface, leaving pure water behind.

What was really surprising was quite how far the particles would move – up to several tenths of a millimetre. This is much further than predicted by conventional theories.

Pollack believes the phenomenon is caused by water molecules forming into a liquid-crystal-like array that sits on the hydrophilic surface. “This liquid crystalline zone excludes particles in much the same manner as ice excludes particles,” he told New Scientist.

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn14324-dirtrepelling-tube-promises-cheap-pure-water.html

Applications? Depending on how cheap/easy this is, it looks like it could turn into no-clog particulate filtering. There’s also an open question about how small and how reliable – could a multi-pass system based on this technology filter out even viruses, or does it require a fairly large particle to filter?

Potentially very exciting.