Waste Water + Bacteria = Energy

Hydrogen may be the ultimate fuel because burning it and reacting it with oxygen yields only water vapor. Scientists have produced hydrogen gas before but only by providing the bacteria with electrical energy. Logan and Younggy Kim reported that they combined two types of devices to generate hydrogen without any external sources of energy. The device has two chambers: one containing the bacteria and the other containing the salt water. They are seperated by five stacked cells. These stacked cells generated .5 to .6 volts of electricity. For each 30 mL of sodium acetate solution provided for the bacteria, the device generated between 21 & 26 mL of hydrogen gas in a day.

Analysis

This article was an example of discovery science because scientists discovered an alternate source of energy. They found how to generate hydrogen without using energy. This finding is important because if we are ever in need of an alternate energy source we can turn to this method.

Drinking Recycled Water? Study Establishes Methods to Assess Recycled Aquifer Water

By Emily Ramirez

Earlier this year, around the south of Australia, The Parafield Aquifier Storage, Transfer, and Recovery research project collected a large amount of storm water from an metropolitan area and brought it to an aquifer and received it out of a well. The water did not meet the qualifications needed to be distributed to the public, due to small amounts of fecal bacteria, high concentration on iron, and various other contaminants. To attempt to purify the water, the water underwent treatment and in result, they had incredibly lower levels of hazard. This study resulted in the assumption that in the future, it might be possible to recycle water from an aquifer and avoid a inevitable water shortage with the growing population. Because water is such an important, and non-renewable source, the human race must be working to find manners of obtaining maximum amount of water we can get.

To come to these conclusions, these scientist used discovery science, by doing different experiments with different samples of water, and testing them, they came to their, very important results.

American Society of Agronomy. "Drinking recycled water? Study establishes methods to assess recycled aquifer water." ScienceDaily, 6 Jan. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

How "Jesus Lizards" Walk on Water

Scientists have figured out how so called "Jesus Lizards" are able to walk over ponds, rivers, etc. These lizards exert a force, with their feet, that keep their bodies above the water and alsoupright. The properties of water also allow this to happen. Water's surface tension works with cohesion to assure that the surface of water is somewhat difficult to break. This is an example of discovery science because they didn't really do an experiment to find this out. The properties of water were previously known. This is very important to society because it helps people understand the properties of water.

By: John Roach

Date: November 16, 2004

Journal: National Geographic

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/1116_041116_jesus_lizard.html

Ocean Overview -- National Geographic

Ocean Overview -- National Geographic

The article talks about the ocean, the biggest source of water on Earth, in general. Its purpose is to make people aware of the problems the ocean is facing currently; the people who need the ocean the most are destroying it. We need the ocean for the oxygen it produces, which helps us breathe. We need it for the animals is houses, which serve as food. It even helps keep our climate constant. Water is the source of life for humans, and the ocean is the biggest body of water we have. Without the ocean, the human species wouldn't be able to survive. & yet, we take it for granted and pollute it, and take away its resources.

This isn't really a discovery that was made, its more of an article to make the general public conscious of the importance water plays in our lives, starting with the ocean, the biggest body of water the Earth has. But, its still an article everyone should read in order to open their eyes to what's going on with the source of life for humans. If we don't protect our oceans, we're slowly killing ourselves.

author: *not sure, but Enric Sala's paragraph is the basis for the rest of the article.

Title of article: Ocean Overview

date published: not shown

pages: link is at the beginning of the summary.

How to Walk on Water

A team of mathematicians at MIT, including John Bush and his graduate student David HU, sought to work out exactly how water-striding insects are able to glide across the surface of a body of water. They used high speed video cameras and dyed water to observe how the insects used their center legs to row themselves along while the surface tension of the water kept them from sinking. Instead, they push down on the surface of the liquid, creating an indentation, or meniscus, which they push off from, moving the insect along. The MIT graduate student Brian Chan then built a small robot 4 inches in length that utilized the same technique as the water-strides and was able to successfully skim across the surface.
This article is an example of discovery science as the researchers simply set up equipment that would allow them to record the results of their experiment and as a result uncovered how these insects were able to walk upon the surface of the water. This research allows humans to take advantage of this ability to glide across the surface of water and may lead to new technologies involving this feat, such as robots that can skim across a body of water performing various activities.

Journal: Discover Magazine
Author: Fenella Saunders
Title of Article: How to Walk on Water
Date Published (Online): November 10, 2003

Europa Could Support Complex Life

University of Arizona researcher, Richard Greenburg says that enough oxygen reaches the subterranean ocean of Europa that it can support not only microfauna, but macrofauna (more complex, animal like organisms). In fact, Greenberg estimates there is enough oxygen to support 6.6 billion pounds of macrofauna. Other scientist are very curious as to wether there are thermal vents on the seafloor. Europas icy surface is relatively new and oxygen in the ocean comes from particles from the sun that penetrate the ice. Based on estimates for the production of oxidizers at the surface, Greenberg says oxygen buildup in Europa's ocean is happening so quickly that it could exceed that of the Earth's oceans in a few million years. Greenburg quotes "If there is evidence for oxygenation, then the presence of oxygen would certainly increase the environmental conditions for life. It doesn't mean life is there, just that there might be free oxygen available to support biological processes."

This is discovery science because the findings are based on studies and observations made from Europa.

The importance of this research is that it suggests complex organisms on Europa.

Klotz, I. Europa, Jupiter's Moon, Could Support Complex Life, news.discovery.com/space/europa-ocean-oxygen-life.html. Oct 8, 2009

E

NASA Becomes All the More Awesome: Cleansing Water

The average person lives three days without water. Here on this lovely planet we call Earth, we're surrounded by it, what we need to live is provided. Now imagine a temporary stay where there is no source of water what so ever, complete isolation.

This is one aspect astronauts living in the International Space Station have to deal with. They need clean water to survive, so how do you provide enough for them to live when they're in space for months at a time?

NASA wanted to find a way to both solve this problem, and apply it to life here. Teamed with NASA, the Umpqua Research Company (UCR) developed the Regenerable Biocide Delivery Unit. This could be applied to making water anywhere clean.

Because of this, Space Shuttle technology is being used to purify water in developing countries, and it helps cleanse water for thousands of people.

Author: Elaine M. Marconi

Title: Water, Water Everywhere!
Journal: NASA Feature
Date: May 2004

Water: Science Looks at the Source of Life

The ocean is important and critical to sustain life on earth. it puts oxygen into the atmosphere and takes carbon dioxide out. The ocean absorbs two billion metric tons of carbon a year which is a third of the total emitted by humans. This process might help slow global warming. Liquid water is important but so are its gaseous and solids states that help cool the air and surface of the earth. When snow and ice melt, which is water as a solid, land and sea absorb more heat and temperatures rise higher thus snow and ice melt faster. Snow of Greenland, Arctic sea ice, and ice sheets of Antarctica are all melting; as are the snows as Kilimanjaro. Therefore the oceans are rising. As temperature rises, ice melts, as in Kilimanjaro, causing temperature to rise faster. Plants and animals move toward the poles and to higher altitudes. Some species adapted to cool mountaintops have nowhere to move and will become extinct. Clouds, water in its gaseous state, bring rain and snow. These help plants survive, fill reservoirs, moderate sunlight. But if clouds become polluted, these can turn into heat absorbers.

This article was a good example of hypothesis based science. This is because scientists hypothesized and experimented by doing research in order to get results. This article teaches us the importance of water to us and life. How humans use fresh water, for drinking, agriculture, industry, electricity, transportation, recreation, waste disposal, and in many other ways, affects how much clean water will be available in the future. Wether or not water will continue to support us depends on the treatment we give to it. Also, how responsible humans are due to global warming and drastic climatic changes.

Author: Paul Preuss

Title: Water: Science Looks at the Source of Life

Journal: Berkley Lab

Date published: January 5 2010

URL: http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/YOS/Jun/index.html

How to Walk on Water

Water-striding insects are able to glide along the surface of water, and make it seem fairly easy. A group of MIT mathematicians worked very diligently to try to understand how they these insects are able to do this. John Bush and David Hu set up small pools of dyed water and used high-speed video cameras to video tape the insects. They observed that they use their center legs to row, although the water high surface tension keeps them from breaking the surface. When they push down on the water, they form a meniscus which is a sort of small valley. Their middle legs press against the back wall of the meniscus , propelling the insect forward. This results in the transfer of momentum to a series of vortices in the water. To prove this theory, Brian Chan built a small robot which used that same technique. It was able to successfully "water-walk".

This is an example of discovery based science because the group of mathematicians used their observations to form generalizations. They were trying to understand something they didn't understand, but never set a real hypothesis. The importance of this research is the understanding of one of water many unique properties, surface tension. This experiment explains why some insects are able to stride on the surface of ponds, etc.

By: Stephanie Reynolds

Source:

Fenella Saunders

"How to Walk on Water"

Discover Magazine

November 2003

http://discovermagazine.com/2003/nov/how-to-walk-on-water/?searchterm=water

Importance of Water in the Life of the British Mayfly

The British Mayfly is a common English insect, also known as the Green Drake. This bug lives out its yearlong life as an aquatic larvae, but then develops into a large winged insect. This form is what the mayfly lives as for the remaining three hours of its life. Although this life span may seem extremely short, it has been cut even shorter by the 1°C increase in temperature of The River Dove, its environment. This increase, which experts believe is due to climate change (global warming), has cut the life of these insects. Since the temperatures are warmer, food is plentiful and the insects mature faster. By completing their life cycle at a more rapid pace, these insects lives are cut short. Also, the water is much too hot for the larvae. This causes them to hatch faster, and die sooner. Hopefully, with newfound awareness, climate change will decrease, and these beautiful creatures will lead normal lives again.