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SOwED t1_jdieiiw wrote

This title is so hard to parse. The article seems to be aimed at laypeople and doesn't explain how neither heat nor pressure are involved, yet sunlight is the catalyst. Sunlight is radiative heat. A catalyst must be regenerated in the process, or it isn't a catalyst, and I just don't think these things are gonna glow. Seems like they would have mentioned that.

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PoeTayTose t1_jdin9x1 wrote

Maybe they remove the toxic chemicals by turning the water into exotic 0K 0mmHg material.

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eliminating_coasts t1_jdip8in wrote

I was thinking that, presumably they mean that sunlight provides activation energy for a reaction.

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SOwED t1_jdizwvh wrote

Exactly. Unlike a catalyst which lowers the required activation energy but doesn't actually provide any energy itself.

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