View Full Version : Death of the SteriPen?
Looks like "nano-coated" cotton" and 20 volts of electricity will be all the rage in water filtration in the coming years.
http://news.discovery.com/tech/zap-theyre-dead-new-water-filter-electrocutes-bacteria.html
Doc Mike
09-08-2010, 16:34
98% effective? Probably not enough to treat your water in the morning and wait till evening to drink it.
2-4-8-16-32-64-128 = more than you started with.
Doc Mike
M1 Thumb
09-08-2010, 16:40
Packing the stationary bike to power the "zapper" will also increase the fitness level of the hiker! Myself I think I would go for the lawn tractor batteries configured in a fashionable but contemporary vest. To save weight I would ditch the cotton and multi-task my socks for the job.
Come to think of it, I could probably just drop my socks into the water thus rendering it sterile and barren of all life forms.
Doc Mike
09-08-2010, 16:56
Packing the stationary bike to power the "zapper" will also increase the fitness level of the hiker! Myself I think I would go for the lawn tractor batteries configured in a fashionable but contemporary vest. To save weight I would ditch the cotton and multi-task my socks for the job.
Come to think of it, I could probably just drop my socks into the water thus rendering it sterile and barren of all life forms.
Sterile but still toxic I suspect.
Danielsen
09-08-2010, 17:58
Continuing advances in battery technology mean that you wouldn't have to bother with the cycle or hand-crank type generators in the field on any trip shorter than a week or so. It'll definitely be interesting to see if anything comes out of this.
98% effective? ...
Doc Mike
The article stated "98 percent of Escherichia coli bacteria were killed instantly" and the "filter is about 80,000 times faster than filters that trap bacteria".
Time is on your side.
Buzz_Lightfoot
09-10-2010, 12:46
It's that remaining 2% I'd worry abput.
I would think that plain water from a fast stream would be at least 99% effective.
I understand Lone Wolf only needs to snarl a bit.
I like the traditional boiling method. Simple. Effective.
But I can see wanting something different for hot weather.
I just don't like getting too carried away with technology. I like using technology that teaches me something about the nature I am hiking through, and perhaps the way men and women lived for thousands of years. It's not just a scenic walk for me. It is meant to be something more. Electronic navigation and water purification doesn't do it for me.
....
I just don't like getting too carried away with technology. I like using technology that teaches me something about the nature I am hiking through, and perhaps the way men and women lived for thousands of years. ....
Interesting.
I agree with social constructivist theory that technology does not determine human action, rather, human action shapes technology.
I often wonder if a caveman had a choice, would he embrace using a BIC lighter or shrug it off and keep striking his flint?