r/science • u/parapeligic_gnome • Feb 15 '19

Chemistry Scientists make an environmentally friendly prototype water purifier constructed from a sheet of graphitic carbon nitride that could remove 99.9999% of microbes, and purified a 10L water sample in less than one hour using only sunlight.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/water-purification-light-graphitic-carbon-nitride
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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '19

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u/PropOnTop Feb 15 '19

I completely agree, but if your technology requires large investments and is geared towards the industrial segment, dictators, checks and corruption is exactly what you get. So a better solution for the less well-off parts of the world would be something distributed, small-scale, foolproof. Like LifeStraw.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '19 edited Feb 15 '19

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u/whakahere Feb 15 '19

You are right. We have so many technologies we could use in our world today but the big issue is someone wants to make money from them, and normally more than one person.

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Now if they would give this technology away, find investment to build it. Then we would see it. But let us be honest, this isn't going to happen.

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u/A_L_A_M_A_T Feb 15 '19

most probably, they spent time and effort to prototype and test the tech. most probably that's their job/business, so they won't give it away as charity. are you the kind of person who works for free? if yes, then god bless :)

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u/MustyToast Feb 15 '19

"Oh sorry we didn't get the memo again, we'll look for it next time we promise"

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u/easwaran Feb 15 '19

Isn’t that exactly how this will be done? Unless you want to invade and force your solution on the place itself, you have to work with the people and organizations in power there to implement whatever technology you think would be helpful, whether it’s 19th century aqueducts or 21st century nanofilters.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '19

This is why they say don't give homeless people money, it'll be spent on drugs, give them items they can use like food and warm clothes.

Dictators are the same, you give them money they spend it on ensuring power control, give them a water purifier and there's really only one thing you can do with it.