Atlantium Technologies has obtained approval from the Food and Drug Administration to bring its device for killing the microbes in water to the U.S.

In Atlantium's system, water passes through a tube containing a quartz insert and two UV lights. The light passes through the water, disinfecting it, and then it reflects off the quartz, allowing it to pass through the water again and again for more rounds of disinfecting. By controlling the angle and direction of the light, the quartz insert effectively creates curtains of UV light that the water must pass through. In essence, it's like a big fiber optic cable that you pass liquids through. I visited their offices back in 2006, but they made me promise not to publish the pictures. Too bad – it's very space age.

The company has sold the system to soda bottlers in Israel but also dairies, which have to add water to certain products. It doesn't directly work on milk because milk isn't clear. In Yogurt, dairies won't use it to kill beneficial strains in the dairy matter itself but in any inserted water. UV water purification, ideally, consumes less power than traditional forms of water purification and pasteurization.