Some say that everything genius is actually simple. And they might be really onto something there because if you think about it for one second, most of the inventions used every day are quite basic. All it takes is a good idea and a bit of knowledge. That’s exactly what happened to these two teenagers. 17-year-old Sun Ming and 18-year-old King Pong were researching chemical properties of titanium dioxide when they realized it could be applied on such a basic item as a doorknob and it could actually change people’s lives.

This is not your ordinary door handle as it is able to sanitize itself with the help of light

Sum Ming Wong and Kin Pong Li discovered quite a while ago that titanium oxide is extremely effective in killing bacteria and came up with an idea to ground it into a fine powder. They also noticed that it works better when exposed to UV light. Thinking of how to get the most of their discoveries, one simple yet genius thing popped into their heads.

It was created by the Chinese University of Hong Kong students, Sum Ming Wong and Kin Pong Li

Knowing door handles are one of the most bacteria-infected things in our civilization, they designed a handle that’s made of a comprised glass tube with little aluminum caps both on the top and bottom of it. The whole glass construction is covered with that same titanium dioxide powder.

The door handle is covered in a photocatalytic coating, meaning its’ chemical abilities are triggered by light

“We knew that many infections can spread out by contact, for example, SARS, MERS, Foot and Mouth Disease and Candida Auris,” said the students. “Nowadays, people use chemical cleaning materials to clean up public areas, but it is both easy to wipe off and harmful to the human body. Our design has high durability and [is] effective.”

The chemical reaction that is activated by UV light decomposes the bacteria collected on the doorknob

They also say their main inspiration to seek out a similar invention came after the SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003 that infected more than 8000 people all over the world and China in particular, where 700 people died.

This invention made it to the 2019 James Dyson Awards and was one of the winning entries

The genius invention is now one of the entries in the 2019 James Dyson Awards and is currently being considered for the finals.

People on the Internet didn’t have a united opinion though

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