The US Navy has created a device which turns a jet of <a href="/news/archive/2010-02/22/how-a-seed-helps-purify-water" title="How a seed helps purify water">sea water</a> into an impromptu liquid antenna, creating a powerful, high frequency broadcast tower for ships, emergency situations and easy transportation.

Created by SPAWAR System Center Pacific, the sea water <a href="/news/archive/2010-07/16/free-iphone-cases" title="Apple's iPhone 4 antenna fix: 'Free cases for all'">antenna</a> uses the magnetic induction properties of salt to make ordinary ocean water transmit and receive radio signals. As the pillar of water is squirted through the current probe, a magnetic field is created and signal comes through to a hooked-up communication device.

Plus, depending on the height of the stream of water, you can get UHF, VHF and HF broadcasts, all from the same jet of H2O. You can even set up multiple jets of water, at different heights, to broadcast on different bands simultaneously. Handy.


The idea could prove particularly useful for ships, which struggle to find room for all the antennas on board. US Navy ships already have upwards of 80 antennas on deck, meaning real estate for extra towers is hugely limited. Instead, the sea water device can be placed anywhere on the deck.

The San Diego based research and development lab also argues that such an antenna could get communications back on online during

Read next We've not found aliens yet, so let's start listening for different signals We've not found aliens yet, so let's start listening for different signals

natural disasters. The device can be used on land, too, to get a temporary antenna up quickly, as long as salt is added to a local water source.

<object width="674" height="404" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/9tIZUhu21sQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />

<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />


<param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9tIZUhu21sQ?fs=1&hl=en_GB" />

<param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" />

</object>