Q2 This is full picture of research based on desert plants holding water in their stem, which is cut taken by the survivors (TV wild sows may be seen) "MIT engineers have synthesized a superabsorbent material that can soak up a record amount of moisture from the air, even in desert-like conditions.
As the material absorbs water vapor, it can swell to make room for more moisture. Even in very dry conditions, with 30 percent relative humidity, the material can pull vapor from the air and hold in the moisture without leaking. The water could then be heated and condensed, then collected as ultrapure water. The transparent, rubbery material is made from hydrogel, a naturally absorbent material that is also used in disposable diapers. The team enhanced the hydrogel’s absorbency by infusing it with lithium chloride — a type of salt that is known to be a powerful dessicant. The researchers found they could infuse the hydrogel with more salt than was possible in previous studies. As a result, they observed that the salt-loaded gel absorbed and retained an unprecedented amount of moisture, across a range of humidity levels, including very dry conditions that have limited other material designs. If it can be made quickly, and at large scale, the superabsorbent gel could be used as a passive water harvester, particularly in the desert and drought-prone regions, where the material could continuously absorb vapor that could then be condensed into drinking water. The researchers also envision that the material could be fit onto air conditioning units as an energy-saving, dehumidifying element. “We’ve been application-agnostic, in the sense that we mostly focus on the fundamental properties of the material,” says Carlos Díaz-Marin, a mechanical engineering graduate student and member of the Device Research Lab at MIT. “But now we are exploring widely different problems like how to make air conditioning more efficient and how you can harvest water. This material, because of its low cost and high performance, has so much potential.” Díaz-Marin and his colleagues have published their results in a paper <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202211783> appearing today in *Advanced Materials*. The study’s MIT co-authors are Gustav Graeber, Leon Gaugler, Yang Zhong, Bachir El Fil, Xinyue Liu, and Evelyn Wang. “Best of both worlds” In MIT’s Device Research Lab, researchers are designing novel materials to solve the world’s energy and water challenges. In looking for materials that can help to harvest water from the air, the team zeroed in on hydrogels — slippery, stretchy gels that are mostly made from water and a bit of cross-linked polymer. Hydrogels have been used for years as absorbent material in diapers because they can swell and soak up a large amount of water when it comes in contact with the material. “Our question was, how can we make this work just as well to absorb vapor from the air?” Díaz-Marin says. He and his colleagues dug through the literature and found that others had experimented with mixing hydrogels with various salts. Certain salts, such as the rock salt used to melt ice, are very efficient at absorbing moisture, including water vapor. And the best among them is lithium chloride, a salt that is capable of absorbing over 10 times its own mass in moisture. Left in a pile on its own, lithium chloride could attract vapor from the air, though the moisture would only pool around the salt, with no means of retaining the absorbed water. So, researchers have attempted to infuse the salt into hydrogel — producing a material that could both hold in moisture and swell to accommodate more water. “It’s the best of both worlds,” says Graeber, who is now a principal investigator at Humboldt University in Berlin. “The hydrogel can store a lot of water, and the salt can capture a lot of vapor. So it’s intuitive that you’d want to combine the two.” Time to load But the MIT team found that others reached a limit to the amount of salt they could load into their gels. The best performing samples to date were hydrogels that were infused with 4 to 6 grams of salt per gram of polymer. These samples absorbed about 1.5 grams of vapor per gram of material in dry conditions of 30 percent relative humidity. In most studies, researchers had previously synthesized samples by soaking hydrogels in salty water and waiting for the salt to infuse into the gels. Most experiments ended after 24 to 48 hours, as researchers found the process was too slow, and not very much salt ended up in the gels. When they tested the resulting material’s ability to absorb water vapor, the samples soaked up very little, as they contained little salt to absorb the moisture in the first place. What would happen if the material synthesis was allowed to go on, say, for days, and even weeks? Could a hydrogel absorb even more salt, if given enough time? For an answer, the MIT team carried out experiments with polyacrylamide (a common hydrogel) and lithium chloride (a superabsorbent salt). After synthesizing tubes of hydrogel through standard mixing methods, the researchers sliced the tubes into thin disks and dropped each disk into a solution of lithium chloride with a different salt concentration. They took the disks out of solution each day to weigh them and determine the amount of salt that had infused into the gels, then returned them to their solutions. In the end, they found that, indeed, given more time, hydrogels took up more salt. After soaking in salty solution for 30 days, hydrogels incorporated up to 24, versus the previous record of 6 grams of salt per gram of polymer. The team then put various samples of the salt-laden gels through absorption tests across a range of humidity conditions. They found that the samples could swell and absorb more moisture at all humidity levels, without leaking. Most notably, the team reports that at very dry conditions of 30 percent relative humidity, the gels captured a “record-breaking” 1.79 grams of water per gram of material. “Any desert during the night would have that low relative humidity, so conceivably, this material could generate water in the desert,” says Díaz-Marin, who is now looking for ways to speed up the material’s superabsorbent properties. “The big, unexpected surprise was that, with such a simple approach, we were able to get the highest vapor uptake reported to date,” Graeber says. “Now, the main focus will be kinetics and how quickly we can get the material to uptake water. That will allow you to cycle this material very quickly, so that instead of recovering water once a day, you could harvest water maybe 24 times a day.” This research was supported, in part, by the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Swiss National Science Foundation. Q3 It is not technical but a twisted fact. There are so many places on earth where there is no rain and they are not named as desert; but where there is minus 89 degrees cold where water source is available only because of negligible rain termed as desert; deserted places is desert and because a huge area unoccupied will it become a desert? Suppose it is unoccupiable like Saturn or Mars are they deserts? So take it as a presentation conditioned but not the truth. Q4 There was an earlier query and answer from quora where I said about X and Y and yet ong bak; now some one said it "yes" but not as stated and concurred by MR G he saw a photo; photos of napumsakas are so misleading and it i unsystematic with X and Y chromosome. Science cannot explain them correctly; as children are born quixotically so too these mishaps are very rare. Q5 What kind of Q and A? Q7 SUN not rotating? Yes, the Sun does spin, or rotate. Because it is a gas, it does not rotate like a solid. The Sun actually spins faster at its equator than at its poles. The Sun rotates once every 24 days at its equator, but only once every 35 near its poles. We know this by watching the motion of sunspots and other solar features move across the Sun. The giant gas planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, also spin faster at their equators than at their poles. Rig Vedam speaks about it and we are the only ones who said that all dance around sun but are twisted by west and islam writers as differently. Now Mr G writes like dina thanthi headlines. This is what I said as science differentiates several concepts which will lead to misunderstanding. If it is a plasma will it not be throwing the liquid fire all over as it travels but only sunshine and heat is received; as a black hole and as a plasma TV some solidity nust be there to hold its contents. Our research is not complete. But we interpret scientists versions to our convenience. Debates welcome KR IRS 221023 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: 'gopala krishnan' via iyer123 <[email protected]> Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2023 at 16:23 Subject: [iyer123] CULTURAL QA 10-2023-22 To: Patty Thatha <[email protected]>, Iyer < [email protected]>, Kerala Iyer <[email protected]> *CULTURAL QA 10-2023-22* *All the BELOW QA are from Quora digest to me on 22-10- 2023.* *Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers * *.Compiled **and posted by R. Gopala krishnan, on 22-10-2023* *Q1 What are the symptoms of having low testosterone?* *A1 Munyaradzi Chakweva. Jr, Medical Student & Life CoachThu* *Having low testosterone levels can be an incredibly frustrating experience. Low testosterone, also known as hypogonadism, can lead to a variety of symptoms that can have a major impact on your quality of life.* *The symptoms vary from person to person, but some of the most common include low energy, fatigue, reduced muscle mass, weight gain, loss of body or facial hair, reduced sex drive, difficulties gaining or maintaining an erection, depression, and cognitive difficulties, such as trouble concentrating.* *Low testosterone can also cause changes in sleep patterns, reduced bone density, increased body fat, and reduced fertility. People may also notice that they are more easily irritated, reaching a boiling point more quickly.* *If you suspect that you have low testosterone, it’s important to speak to your doctor. The first step would be to have your testosterone levels checked with a simple blood test.* *Your doctor will then assess your symptoms and make a diagnosis based on your testosterone levels, which should ideally be in the range of 300 to 1000 nanograms per deciliter for healthy males.* *Depending on the diagnosis, there are a few ways to treat low testosterone. You may be prescribed testosterone replacement therapy, which takes the form of injections, patches, or gels. This treatment is meant to bring testosterone levels back to their normal range.* *In some cases, lifestyle changes such as regular exercise or weight loss may be recommended to improve symptoms. Studies have shown that exercise, in particular, can be an effective way to increase testosterone levels. Additionally, addressing any underlying psychological issues such as depression or anxiety can help.* *In short, low testosterone can be a difficult condition to deal with, but there are treatments available to bring your levels back to normal and help you feel your best. If you are having any of the above symptoms, don't hesitate to speak to your doctor.* *My note- I have added this QA for additional symptoms of low * *testosterone**.* *Q2 What are the best new products or inventions that most people don't know about?* *A2 Ian O'Grady,Studied TV and Film Production5h* *The Water Extraction device for the desert is a wind-powered water seer which can pull 11 gallons of water from the atmosphere in a single day**. * *The device is designed to be used in places where it hasn’t rained for years or where water is very scarce.* *It doesn't rely on any external power source,** and the light blades of the wind turbine allow it to run all day and night, even on days with little wind. It pulls water directly from the air without leaving any greenhouse gas emissions or adverse environmental impacts.* *The device is planted six feet underground, and soil** is then packed around the neck of the tube. At the top of the device sits a wind turbine which sucks air into the chamber buried under the ground. The temperature difference between the top of the water seer and the chamber underneath causes the water to condense into an artificial well, allowing people to collect and drink clean water.* *The device is so cost effective you could build more than one, allowing you to supply a whole village with clean drinking water.* *Q3 Here's an interesting question about Earth. What is the largest desert in the world?* *A3 Chris Seymour, Former CEO at Automated Positioning Systems (2002–2009)17h* *Deserts are technically defined as areas that receive less than 25 centimetres (10 inches) of precipitation per year.** Most of Antarctica falls into this definition. * *Although there is a huge amount of water - locked up as ice - very little rain or snow falls and the air is very dry. Similarly northern Siberia, northern Canada and Greenland are classified as technical deserts.* *The Antarctic desert covers about 14.5 million square kilometers and is the world’s largest desert.* *The Sahara in northern Africa covers 9.2 million square kilometers and is the world’s second largest desert**. It is the world’s largest traditional desert, with sand dunes, oases and camels.* *I think a more sensible definition would be deserts are areas where annual evaporation exceeds annual precipitation. This would exclude most of the Antarctic and Arctic areas but include most of Australia. It would make the Sahara the world’s largest desert and put Australia in second place.* *My note- I have added this QA for the difference between technical and traditional desert. * *Q4 Can you be born with male chromosomes and still develop as a girl?* *A4 Ken Saladin, Former professor of histology (microscopic anatomy)6h* *Yes—depending on how you define girl**. These are siblings with the usual XY male chromosome pair, and a male testosterone level, but who developed with feminine physiques because of the body’s inability to respond to testosterone. It’s a hormone receptor defect. They do not, however, have functional internal female anatomy (no ovaries or uterus). There were two other siblings in the same family with this.* *My note- I have seen the pictures, they fully appear** female with female sexual area. * *So not only chromosomes, genes, but inability to use testosterone also changes males to females in external appearance. This could be the reason many males changing to females on growing up. I have read a news item in Kerala a few months back about a person, who says he is female now and mother saying, I have given birth to a perfectly male son.* *Q5 Why can't we see any other planets from Earth except for Venus and Mars when those planets are so close by?* *A5 Barry Malpas, Lives in Flagstaff (2007–present)14h* *Six of the planets can be seen without a **telescope **depending upon the time of day and the planets position in the sky**. * *Mercury and Venus are observed as evening and morning “stars”.* * Mars is viewed often in the evening every other year due to its orbit being about twice Earth’s year.** Both Jupiter and Uranus are currently both visible in the evening sky in the constellation Aries, though you need a dark sky to locate Uranus due to its distance putting it just before the limit of the human eye. * *And Saturn can also be seen in the evening sky between the constellations Aquarius and Capricornus**.* *The only planet you cannot view by eye is Neptune. However, it can be seen in the evening sky with a telescope in Pisces.* *Q6 What is the most disturbing/interesting fact you know?* *A6 Alexander Brown,Freelance Writer (2018–present)Wed* *1. An Ohio woman named Susan Warren was** arrested for breaking into random houses, cleaning them, and leaving a bill behind, along with her contact information.* *2. Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln have the same exact birthday - down to the year.* *3. Fingernails grow faster than toenails - about three times faster, in fact.* *4. In a study conducted in 2002, astronomers discovered that the average color of the Universe is referred to as "Cosmic Latte."* *5. The world’s oldest dog lived to 29.5 years old.* *6. The world’s oldest cat lived to 38 years and three** days old.* *7. Due to being rich in potassium, every banana is actually slightly radioactive thanks to containing the natural isotope potassium-40.* *8. Lady Gaga wrote “Just Dance” (with RedOne) and “Born This Way” each in just ten minutes.* *9. Evolution has resulted in men who are bald or have shaved heads being considered 13% taller than men with a full head of hair.* *10. Chocolate is more addictive than some drugs.** Shopping also has a similar effect on the brain.* *Q7 If everything in this solar system is rotating, then why does the Sun not rotate?* *A7 Wayne Boyd, Philosopher, published author, science writer. Updated Oct 15* *The Sun rotates on its axis once every 27 days, but because the Sun isn’t a solid body (it’s a ball of gas and plasma), different parts of the Sun rotate at different speeds**. * *This is because the gas and plasma at the Sun's equator are hotter and less dense than the gas and plasma at the Sun's poles, so they rotate faster.* *That even goes on with so-called rocky planets, like Earth. The inner core of Earth rotates at a different speed from the surface rotation. The Earth's inner core rotates faster than the Earth's surface because it is not affected by the friction of the Earth's mantle.In general, however, on average, it takes 27 days for the surface of the Sun to rotate once around it’s axis. * *Of course, the Sun is bright and can’t be viewed directly with the human eye, so we don’t see it rotating without the proper telescopic filters to allow us to see.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "iyer123" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/1764370536.566408.1697971994743%40mail.yahoo.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/iyer123/1764370536.566408.1697971994743%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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