Ralph J. Coppola --- r_j_coppola@hotmail.com
SAS
Disclaimer
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Here is an interesting
e-mail that I received on 06 April 2002.
Dear Ralph
I found your column
via Google [Wanderings
--- 20 Sep. 2002]. As part of a mission project, I
am in the process of evaluating the feasibility of providing
safe drinking water for people living near a hospital operated
by the Church of the Nazarene in Papua New Guinea. Part of the evaluation is identifying environmentally
friendly water disinfection processes with the emphasis on
individual water sources. I've homed in on solar pasteurization
for now as most of the water in this area is derived from
catching rainfall. There is also some use of surface water
which presents other potential problems.
Have
you received feedback from your 2002 post? I have come across
the AquaPak developed by Solar Solutions in San Diego. While it looks very appealing, I also like the idea
of using soda bottles. They may be easier to use although
construction of a solar cooker may be problematic. The doctor
I am working with in PNG indicates he is aware of methods
using a filter fabric such as cheesecloth and soda bottles.
The WAPI that has been developed to monitor water temperature
is certainly an exciting technologic breakthrough.
Thanks
for your assistance. If all goes well and we receive God's
blessing, we are hoping we can assemble the necessary technology
and educational resources while making a proper evaluation
of water sources and water needs within a year. We're hoping
to send an implementation team to PNG in 2006.
I noted that the
link to the UNESCO report on your post is a bust. Do you have
an updated one?
Mike Craig, LPH,
PG
Geohydrologist
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Mike points out
that Frank Husson’s Solar Solutions has developed
two low tech solar approaches to bring safe drinking water
to developing countries --- the AquaPak and the AquaCone.
More
low tech information can be found on the Solar
Water Disinfection Web Site.
As I stated, in
the past, a solar pasteurization project would make a great
science fair project.
Note: Contaminated water is a serious cause of disease
and death in much of the developing world. Dr. Howard Malmstadt,
co-founder of the University of the Nations, was a world famous
chemist. He spent much of his final years working on the development
of low-cost water purification systems. Citizen scientists
are urged to research this topic and experiment with various
water purification systems linked above. Comments to Backscatter
and projects related to water purification are welcome. Editor.
Here is a link
to some DIY Piezo Gyro
Prototypes that I lifted from Bill Beaty’s Electronics
Hobbyist Page.
The Online Library at the University of Pennsylvania has a collection of over 20,000 e-books.
The Hard Core DX Web Site will introduce you to the world
of short wave radio listening.
Cssoh's Lego Pneumatics Page is the unofficial guide to LEGO
pneumatics.
Lego.com’s Constructopedia
has demonstrations
of Lego gearing.
On this site,
Matthias Stehr shows us his PIC based altimeter.
The Integraf
Web Site shows us The Easiest Way to Make Holograms
Wayne Schmidt’s
This and That
Web Site contains many topics that may be of interest
to the amateur scientist:
About.com shows
how to grow several different
types of crystals.
Further crystal
growing directions can be found on the Rockhounding Arkansas
Site.
Project BAMBI and The
Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) bring the art and science of SETI
and radio astronomy
to within reach of the backyard experimenter.
The Newseum says that they are
the world's first interactive museum of news. Read the headlines or
link to over 300 US news papers.
Researchers at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in New York have created a fireball
that has the characteristics of a black hole.
The Joy
Of Inventing
Web Site may help you in getting that bright idea of yours
to market. Good luck!
Get “published”!
The ScI-Journal
provides a place on the Web for you to post your science reports.
The Society for
Sedimentary Geology Web Site has a collection of on-line
activities for K-12 students.
The
Lane Library Science Fair Zone may be the ultimate collection of SF related links.
The
Kids Corner
at the RunnerDuckling site has a collection of kids’ projects.
Some are science based while others are just for fun.
Super
Plastic Bubbles
--- Search on “Plastic Bubbles”
Tracy
Trimpe’s Science Spot has a collection of science lesson plans
that may be used in the classroom.
Being listed
here does not constitute an endorsement by SAS or me of any
information, product or service.
As
seen on TV! --- John & Danita Thomas’ Kid Concoctions
series of books promises to give parents and teachers a vast
collection of science based fun activities.
Coax-Seal is a hand moldable plastic tape used to
seal fittings and connectors from moisture.
Richard Feynman
gave a talk on Cargo Cult Science
at the 1974 Caltech commencement.
Strange
Magazine On Line
is another site that mixes the factual with a bit of the far-fetched.
And yet another account of our
extraterrestrial origins. 
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