Water recovery from dew

The recovery of clean water from dew has remained a longstanding challenge in many places all around the world. It is currently believed that the ancient Greeks succeeded in recovering atmospheric water vapour on a scale large enough to supply water to the city of Theodosia (presently Feodosia, Crimea, Ukraine). Several attempts were made in the early 20th century to build artificial dew-catching constructions which were subsequently abandoned because of their low yield, The idea of dew collection is revised in the light of recent investigations of the basic physical phenomena involved in the formation of dew. A model for calculating condensation rates on real dew condensers is proposed. Some suggestions for the 'ideal' condenser are formulated.