by Fern Shaw | Jan 27, 2014 | Water, Water Coolers
Photo: Mike Hollingshead
I have had a life-long fascination with tornadoes. Forgetting for a moment the absolutely devastating effect they have on life, limb and property, I think they are amaaaaazing. Just recently I tried my second ditch attempt with loved ones about my burial service and what I’d like. It bombed almost as badly as the first ditch attempt.
In a previous blog about dams, I mentioned 007. It is precisely because of one of his movies that my aversion for cremation set me on the alternative path of how my earthly remains are to be disposed of. Don’t blame me, blame 007!
The first idea involved a leaky wooden boat, bows and arrows, a beach, sea and fire. The second idea is some brave person travels with me to Kansas in tornado season; drives me as close as dammit to a raging tornado and leaves me there. This will then fulfil my dream (hopefully) of me finally being able to see the inside of the funnel. I would imagine that if I am in the correct path and I am swept up, I’ll probably only have seconds (if that) to have a look see – after that I’ll be toast.
Anyhow, as it happens no-one I know is too keen on this idea either. Perhaps I can speak nicely to the storm chasers when the time comes.
What are tornadoes you ask?
Tornadoes are rotating columns of air formed in intense thunderstorms. If the vortex extends from the cloud all the way to the ground, then it’s officially a tornado. The funnel cloud is an actual cloud; the low pressure causes the air to expand and cool below the dew point. However, a tornado can exist without a funnel cloud; if the air is dry enough, the only visible sign of a tornado might be a small dimple in the base of the parent cloud. The lower part of a tornado funnel can also consist of dust and debris blown up from the ground.
The dew point in case you were wondering is the temperature below which the water vapour in air at constant barometric pressure condenses into liquid water at the same rate at which it evaporates. The condensed water is called dew when it forms on a solid surface. Now you know.
To think that little ol’ innocent dew could be responsible for such wracking ruin is quite something.
So as if it’s not bad enough to be rejected outright by the loved ones, I was told at the office that no-one’s prepared to participate in my storm chasing demise.
But then, that might be based on my mentioning that I’d like to use our Orio Water Cooler as a tornado test dummy. It might have been, can’t be sure.
by Fern Shaw | Jan 16, 2014 | Health and Hydration
Water Cooler Tales – Volume I
The primary difference between distilled water and spring water is the purification process, though there may also be differences when it comes to where the water comes from or how it is processed. In general, spring water has been pumped from a natural spring, and usually contains a number of minerals. Manufacturers filter it for impurities like dirt and bacteria, but typically leave the minerals and other naturally occurring elements in to improve the overall taste. Distilled water, on the other hand, is boiled for so long that the water molecules become vapour, essentially shedding both impurities and minerals. The result is a very pure product that contains basically nothing but hydrogen and oxygen.
People can typically drink both versions, though distilled water is not usually designed for hydration. While spring water is often marketed as a natural way to hydrate the body, distilled versions are more commonly used in settings that requite ultra-pure water, like heavy industry or scientific labs. It may also be recommended for use in household appliances since the lack of minerals means there won’t usually be any build-up over time.
Lack of Minerals
Distilled water has had all of the naturally occurring minerals in tap or well water removed. If you only drink distilled water, you may not consume enough of the minerals present in tap water, such as magnesium or calcium, according to the World Health Organization. Consistently drinking distilled water may cause a deficiency in one of the 14 micronutrients WHO identifies as necessary for your health.
Sourcing
One of the first things to think about when discussing distilled water and spring water is where each comes from. Spring water originates in natural ‘springs’, which are freshwater pools and streams that come from underground aquifers and are present in varying sizes in most parts of the world. Some springs are more renowned than others for their drinking water, and the mineral content can vary dramatically from place to place.
Distilled water might come from a spring, but it could just as easily come from a river, a reservoir, or even the ocean. Where distillation is concerned, the process is much more important than the source.
In the next volume, we’ll talk about further differences between spring water and distilled water and the best uses for both.
by Fern Shaw | Dec 18, 2013 | Water
Using a Rough Surface to Stay Dry
*Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston University have found a new clue to staying dry, and it has to do with time and texture.
James C. Bird, now of Boston University, and Kripa K. Varanasi at M.I.T. and their colleagues, were considering the problem of icing, which is a version of getting wet, and they decided to focus on the time a water drop stays in contact with a surface.
There is a maximum amount of time a water drop can touch frozen material before it freezes and sticks, causing all sorts of problems for wings and machinery, for starters.
They tested ways to shorten the amount of contact time, and recorded the tests with high-speed video, which they analysed. A smooth surface might seem most likely to repel water, but they found that a rough surface, with ridges, for example, worked better.
The key is the way a water drop changes shape and bounces off material that has been treated to make it super water-repellent. The drop flattens into a pancake, then recollects itself and bounces up.
Ridges broke up the drops, and the smaller droplets re-formed and bounced away up to 40 percent quicker than the larger drops.
With refinements, Dr. Varanasi said they hope to be able to cut the contact time by 80 percent. If it can then be adapted for industrial uses, it could benefit wind turbines, other kinds of machines, and even the fashion industry.
After their discovery, the scientist looked to nature to see if plants and animals had evolved the same trick. And they had. Although the lotus leaf is often thought of as highly water-repellent, nasturtiums did better, with a rougher surface. They also found the wings of the Morpho Butterfly bounce water off in the same way.
While we like to stay afloat (harf harf) of all topics water, we are in no way suggesting that you use your water cooler as a test site for anything. Yes, that will include water spray ratio, rough surfaces; how high water will bounce off the carpet vs. the floorboards – none of it. We ask, as I’m sure your company does, that you use the water cooler for its primary purpose – supplying you with cool, fresh drinking water at the press of a button.
You may also wish to remember during these chilly winter months that AquAid also provide water boilers too. Anything you’d like to ask, drop us a line here.
*Excerpts from an article in the New York Times by James Gorman
by Fern Shaw | Dec 2, 2013 | Uncategorized
The water wheel was most likely first invented around 400BC. Its uses were multiple; including milling flour in gristmills and grinding wood into pulp for papermaking, but other uses include hammering wrought iron, machining, ore crushing and pounding fibre for use in the manufacture of cloth.
Water power was an important source of energy in ancient China civilization. One of the most intriguing applications was for iron. Water power was also applied at an early date to grinding grain. Large rotary mills appeared in China about the same time as in Europe (2nd century BC). But while for centuries Europe relied heavily on slave- and donkey-powered mills, in China the waterwheel was a critical power supply.
Chinese waterwheels were typically horizontal (illustration left). The vertical wheel, however, was known. It was used to operate trip hammers for hulling rice and crushing ore. The edge-runner mill was another commonly used crushing device. With the latter a circular stone on edge running around a lower millstone was used to pulverize. The edge runner appeared in China in the 5th century AD. Both the trip hammer and edge runner were not used in Europe until eight centuries later.
Throughout the first 13 centuries AD, technological innovations filtered slowly but steadily from the advanced East to the somewhat more backward West. Carried at first through central Asia over the 4,000-mile Silk Route and later by sea, some innovations were exported swiftly, while others (like waterwheel paraphernalia) took centuries.
The first description of a water wheel that can be definitely identified as vertical is from Vitruvius, an engineer of the Augustan Age (31 BC – 14 AD), who composed a 10 volume treatise on all aspects of Roman engineering. One of the most remarkable Roman applications of a waterwheel was at Barbegal (illustration right) near Arles in southern France. Dating from the 4th Century AD, the factory was an immense flour mill which employed 16 overshot water wheels.
Some water wheels are fed by water from a mill pond, which is formed when a flowing stream is dammed. A channel for the water flowing to or from a water wheel is called a mill race or simply a “race”, and is customarily divided into sections. The race bringing water from the mill pond to the water wheel is a headrace; the one carrying water after it has left the wheel is commonly referred to as a tailrace.
Now you know. Of course, we at AquAid don’t make use of water wheels to bring your water to you, nor do we employ water wheels to dispense your cool, fresh drinking water, but rather a range of water coolers, all designed to best suit your requirements.
