this shit is really really cool
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354735,00.html

Quote :

" There's a reason they call it the "Lifesaver." On the outside, it looks like an ordinary sports bottle. On the inside, there's a miracle: an extremely advanced filtration system that makes murky water filled with deadly viruses and bacteria completely clean in just seconds. The Lifesaver removes 99.999 percent of water-borne pathogens and reduces heavy metals like lead, meaning even the filthiest water can be cleaned — immediately. It will be a boon to soldiers in the field, so it's winning accolades from the military. It also stands to revolutionize humanitarian aid. It could be the first weapon in the fight against disease after a natural disaster, like the one in Myanmar this week. I attended the Lifesaver’s launch at DSEi London, the world’s largest arms fair. Its inventor provided a pool of dirty pond water as a test subject, and I drank some after it was filtered. Not only did it look pure once it passed through the Lifesaver, it tasted pure, too. Related The process takes only 20 seconds and is simple enough: scoop some water, pump it through the filter and you’re ready to go. The instructions are displayed in pictures on the side of the bottle, so it can be used by anyone, removing the language barrier. Outdoor enthusiasts may find it useful, but the Lifesaver is perfect for the military. The bottle is designed to “scoop and go,” so soldiers won’t have to carry the added weight of clean bottled water. They can pick some up out of any source and keep moving. As an added bonus, the bottle can shoot a pressurized jet of water from any angle, which will be useful for washing wounds free of contaminants and debris. Other filters use ceramic pores and can’t catch most bacteria and viruses, but the Lifesaver uses microscopic pores a mere 15 nanometers across — about one-hundredth the width of a spider’s silk — narrow enough to stop the tiniest threats. That means virtually nothing — not even bacteria and viruses — can get through. And since the bottle uses a carbon filter, it makes water safe and sterile without any chemicals, removing that iodine or chlorine taste. The bottle weighs about 1.5 pounds and can filter one and a half pints of clean drinking water each go. Its replaceable filter can handle more than 1,500 gallons of dirty water before it has to be replaced. And since it won’t process any water once the filter has expired, it will be impossible to drink contaminated water by mistake. Michael Pritchard, a British entrepreneur, designed the Lifesaver in the wake of freshwater shortages that followed the 2004 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Delivering bottled water to disaster areas is difficult, especially in places like Myanmar, where the government is currently interfering with efforts to distribute supplies and aid. If disaster victims had access to the Lifesaver, they could have ongoing access to clean water without the need for airlifts. Delivering those planeloads of water is expensive, too. A U.S. Army study revealed that the cost of delivering bottled water to Afghanistan was $4.69 per gallon. Pentagon figures on Hurricane Mitch showed the cost of air freight was even higher: $7.60 per gallon. Just one Boeing C-17 transport plane full of Lifesaver bottles would provide 500,000 people with access to safe drinking water for up to 16 months — saving millions and saving lives. "

there's gotta be a downside to this. I totally expect their manufacture to become illegal in some way. either through patent disputes or cancer scares. I mean, we totally doomed africa to die of malaria because one scientist thought that maybe ddt might kill some bald eagles.

8/9/2008 3:25:47 PM

Is Don Henley bald now?

8/9/2008 3:32:49 PM

im predicting knockoff versions that dont do shit and end up killing people

8/9/2008 3:49:59 PM

i'm surprised this wasn't named the iBottle.

8/9/2008 3:59:18 PM

^ if it did, they'd have to put genius bars in third world countries.

plus the things would overheat and break all the time, but the users would still covet them.

8/9/2008 11:02:22 PM

awesome

<3

8/9/2008 11:06:11 PM

Quote :

"Is Don Henley bald now?"

yuo = harlot

8/10/2008 2:01:44 PM

haha harlot is a great word

8/10/2008 2:17:10 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloth_filter

8/10/2008 3:07:05 PM

I think people were selling these on the brickyard, or they were raising money to ship them...

8/10/2008 3:44:19 PM

Quote :

"there's gotta be a downside to this."

I've used a ceramic filter for backpacking. The downside is that you have to pump it by hand and the pumping is slow and labor intensive. With a 15 nanometer filter, smaller than ceramic, I imagine the Lifesaver is even slower and harder to pump. Also the ceramic filter has to be cleaned every few liters or it clogs. The carbon filter probably has to be cleaned as well, especially with really dirty water. Where does all the dirt go? It clogs the filter.

9/21/2008 9:09:03 PM

Yeah, but if the options are no clean drinking water or pumping a few times to have sanitary water, pumping seems trivial. This is a great idea.

9/21/2008 9:17:17 PM

but the ceramic backpacking filters have been around for years. they're almost exactly like the Lifesaver except for the filter material. Why aren't people already using them? Maybe it's a money/distribution problem.

I'm just saying that a portable water filter isn't a new invention. Did the Army just find out about water filters? Here's the MSR Miniworks, a ceramic filter that's been around a while and that I used on the Appalachian Trail

9/21/2008 10:46:26 PM

Quote :

"but the ceramic backpacking filters have been around for years. they're almost exactly like the Lifesaver except for the filter material. Why aren't people already using them? Maybe it's a money/distribution problem."

Quote :

"The Lifesaver removes 99.999 percent of water-borne pathogens and reduces heavy metals like lead, meaning even the filthiest water can be cleaned — immediately"

Do ceramic/older carbon filters do this?

Quote :

"The process takes only 20 seconds"

You said yourself a ceramic filter is slow. Even when you're dreadfully thirsty, 20 seconds is tolerable.

Quote :

"And since it won’t process any water once the filter has expired, it will be impossible to drink contaminated water by mistake."

This is a very big deal, especially in disaster areas/developing countries. I'm sure there will be more than a few 'my filter stopped working WTF GODDAMMIT IM THIRSTY' moments by herders in sub-saharan africa, but I foresee relief agencies educating recipients about this.

9/21/2008 10:54:16 PM

if it breaks theyre just back to where they started, at least we tried

9/21/2008 10:57:21 PM

It sounds like an improvement on existing filter technology, but it probably costs $son_of_a_bitch. Probably why it's being pushed as a more awesome military tool than anything else.

9/21/2008 10:58:55 PM

does this mean i can pee in it?

9/21/2008 11:01:06 PM

Hell yes you can pee in it. You can even pee on it.

9/21/2008 11:02:50 PM

ceramics remove particulates, bacteria, and amoebas but not viruses. But that's waaaaaay better than nothing. If people really cared about cleaning the water in 3rd world countries, they'd have ceramic filters by now.

And I don't believe that "20 seconds" figure. They probably mean it only takes 20 seconds to fill the bottle. The pumping takes longer. There's no way on earth that you can pump water more quickly through a filter with smaller holes. The Miniworks also stops filtering when it's clogged, same as the Lifesaver.

9/21/2008 11:08:37 PM

these things are 200 bucks

i'm gettin one

9/21/2008 11:11:49 PM

so the hitch here is that it's just not very... interesting? if it ran on like, radar, would that make it more workable

9/22/2008 2:05:29 AM

I'd use those ceramic filters then plop in some chlorine tablets. I'd use flavored powder to mask the taste. I did that a lot in boy scouts.

Quote :

"I'm just saying that a portable water filter isn't a new invention. Did the Army just find out about water filters?"

Umm... The Military already has filtration devices for a long time. They've had devices since WWII. If you watch the video, it's actually quite amazing. The soldier just pumped it a few times and pure water was pouring out of it very easily. They mentioned something about it being gravity fed.

9/22/2008 2:24:26 AM

Quote :

"but the ceramic backpacking filters have been around for years. they're almost exactly like the Lifesaver except for the filter material. Why aren't people already using them?"

Quote :

"Other filters use ceramic pores and can’t catch most bacteria and viruses, but the Lifesaver uses microscopic pores a mere 15 nanometers across — about one-hundredth the width of a spider’s silk — narrow enough to stop the tiniest threats. That means virtually nothing — not even bacteria and viruses — can get through."

There's your answer.

9/22/2008 2:31:24 AM

I think the initial pumping starts the suction action, kind of like a water tower where it's gravity fed. At least that's the principle that I'm thinking on how it works.

9/22/2008 2:36:10 AM

15 nanometers? I'd say that's a little smaller than "microscopic"

If I'm thinking right, then the process to make these nanopores isn't very expensive at all. During my REU we would make nano-porous aluminum pretty easily. Getting the process to a lower cost than 200 shouldn't be that far off.

9/22/2008 2:39:40 AM