In Lieu of Lunch

Water July 20, 2011

Okay, I’ve been remiss in writing in this professional blog. Nary a jot or a thought since 2009.

My view of technology has broadened somewhat since I last wrote and I’m more appreciative of the impact that that technologies, both simple and complex, will have on our world.

Here are two and they are both about water.

Light in!

Imagine bringing light into a dark and cramped home in the middle of a sprawling shanty town using something as simple as a water bottle and a little bleach. In the video below you will see it has been in use in Brazil for the last two years. It recently caught hold in the Philippines

The concept is hundreds of years old and was used to great effect as deck prisms on ships to illuminate the lower floors. You can even purchase a replica from Edmund Scientific for 25 dollars.

Sodium Out!

I was delighted to read about a new desalination process, developed in freshwater-poor Singapore. http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/07/desalination

One charge pulls positively charge ions of sodium one way and negatively charged ions of chlorine the other way. A few more steps and repetitions and the salt level is down to 0.5 percent – drinkable.  The process is less expensive than current processes.

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