Scientists dated an enormous body of water in space at a whopping 12 billion years old, making it the oldest in the known universe.
Space is undeniably scary, as are vast expanses of water. So when you combine them you get an extremely ominous body of water that is older than the dinosaurs and undoubtedly hiding countless secrets.
The floating water vapor is very old, and very far away
The body of water was discovered back in 2011 by two teams of scientists based at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. It’s the largest collection of water in the universe and is a staggering 30 billion trillion miles away. Only god knows how many football fields that is! READ MORE...
Water. The elixir of life that is essential to creating food, oceans, plants, animals, and humans. We’re made up of a large percentage of water and we can’t go three days without it. So knowing how to purify something that is 100% necessary for survival is an essential skill.
Aside from the improved taste, smell, and appearance, purifying water removes contaminants like waterborne arsenic, endocrine disrupters, selenium, and manganese. Drinking purified tap water is also better for the environment, as it helps to reduce pollution from plastic bottles, as well as environmental costs. Long-term consumption of bacteria-laced water could also cause health issues such as cancer, nervous system effects, and gastrointestinal illnesses.
What Are Some Methods To Purify Water?
There are a wide variety of options for purifying water. Some cost next to nothing, and others require a little bit more dough. Here are some of our favorites:
Filtration
This process involves taking those solid particles from water and removing them via a filter medium. Think of it as straining the particles from water, similar to straining water from pasta with a colander. Filtration shines when it comes to removing tiny compounds like pesticides, and it’s considered very affordable since most of the water is retained during the purification process. Examples of this type of method include ion exchange, mechanical, and absorption filters.
Chlorination
Chlorine has been around for a while, and it’s pretty effective against parasites and microorganisms. Chlorine tablets are typically used, but be sure to contact your doctor first if you have a thyroid condition. Tablets should also be used in heated water so they dissolve better. To purchase one of these water purification products, check out your local hardware store or an online giant like Amazon.
Boiling
This is by far the cheapest method for purifying water and all you need is a heat source and a metal vessel, like a teapot. You have to wait for the water to reach a rolling boil and then cool down before you drink it, but this is a great way to purify water from almost any source when no other option is available. READ MORE...
Pure water is an almost perfect insulator.
Yes, water found in nature conducts electricity - but that's because of the impurities therein, which dissolve into free ions that allow an electric current to flow.
Pure water only becomes "metallic" - electronically conductive - at extremely high pressures, beyond our current abilities to produce in a lab.
But, as researchers have now demonstrated for the first time, it's not only high pressures that can induce this metallicity in pure water.
By bringing pure water into contact with an electron-sharing alkali metal - in this case an alloy of sodium and potassium - free-moving charged particles can be added, turning water metallic.
The resulting conductivity only lasts a few seconds, but it's a significant step towards being able to understand this phase of water by studying it directly.
"You can see the phase transition to metallic water with the naked eye!" said physicist Robert Seidel of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie in Germany.
"The silvery sodium-potassium droplet covers itself with a golden glow, which is very impressive." READ MORE
