Scientists at China’s Zhejiang University have developed a new type of thin, transparent glass that can clean itself with the help of built-in electrodes that create an electric field.

Surface particle pollution has long been a problem that science has struggled to solve. From dirty windows in inaccessible places to photovoltaic panels in the middle of the desert, dealing with dust, sand, and other particles is often difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. But what if glass surfaces could simply clean themselves regularly? It sounds like the kind of technology you’d expect to see in a sci-fi blockbuster, but a team of researchers in China claims to have invented a type of self-cleaning glass that can remove up to 98% of surface particles in just a few seconds, without the use of water and chemicals.