The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXV

[Cutlass]

I have no idea what an Orangeman is, but that's a great (and extremely depressing) movie.

<- Orangeman

 

[Traitorfish]

Ironically, Boehner is Catholic.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Thanks for the history lesson. I had no idea honestly.

@Cutlass - well played sir.

 

[Traitorfish]

Thanks for the history lesson. I had no idea honestly.

It's one of those things that We Don't Talk About, because it makes it a bit too clear that Churchill was a lunatic. You'd be surprised how many of them there are.

 

[Mise]

Heh, you hit my specialty.

The size of those filters (claimed at 15 nm) is greater than the size of most solvated ions (some, like SO4--, may be larger, but something like 88 wt.% of seawater salt is on average sodium and chloride ions). It is, at the moment, very difficult to consistently manufacture molecular sieves smaller than 30 or so nm with traditional phase inversion techniques and probably smaller than 20 nm with other techniques, which is why I'm a bit skeptical of the manufacturer's claim above. But let's give them the benefit of the doubt, because even with a molecular sieve that filtered out salt ions (around 1-1.2 nm) you would not be able to draw water off that bottle.

The energy cost of desalination is pumping--you have to pressurize the liquid above the osmotic pressure of water to pass it through your membrane. The osmotic pressure is proportional to the concentration of everything that resists movement through the membrane (i.e. not water but all the contaminants), and when you do the math for seawater you usually have a minimum applied pressure of somewhere near 25 bar. Actual RO plants usually operate above 50 bar, sometimes as high as 80 bar, for efficiency reasons. Long story short, that kind of equipment as well as doing proper cleaning and antifouling is expensive and it's been easier in the US to use nanofiltration on freshwater and wastewater resources rather than go all-in on RO.

That was really interesting, thanks!

 

[Light Cleric]

Ironically, Boehner is Catholic.

He'd also probably cry through the whole movie.

Actually Boehner would probably cry through any movie.

 

[timtofly]

It's one of those things that We Don't Talk About, because it makes it a bit too clear that Churchill was a lunatic. You'd be surprised how many of them there are.

He made himself at home during his 24 day stay at the White house in 1941.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

That doesn't make him nuts. I am nekkid all the time in my house.

But I don't have servants to serve me brandy. Nor do I stay at the white house.

 

[Antilogic]

But are you nekkid all the time at other people's houses?

He could have at least put some underwear on. They probably had to disinfect the entire place after he left.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

That's why I put this in there:

Nor do I stay at the white house

 

[dutchfire]

He could have at least put some underwear on. They probably had to disinfect the entire place after he left.

Alcohol disinfects.

 

[Antilogic]

I'm just saying, I wouldn't want Churchill sitting nekkid on my furniture. I don't know his wiping habits nor would I care to ask.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

And you thought the brandy was for drinkin.

 

[Antilogic]

I did. Not going to lie.

If it was for butt-chugging, then that would be disturbing.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I've heard ballsack brandy makes tea bagging somewhat bearable.

 

[Mouthwash]

Are there any really intelligent people I should follow on Twitter?

Does anyone on CFC go on Twitter?

 

[Traitorfish]

I like how you implicitly group "intelligent people" and "people on CFC" immediately after an exchange about naked Churchill butt-chugging fine brandies.

 

[Mise]

I'm on twitter.

It's not the place to go if you're looking for intelligence though.

 

[Borachio]

Being an innocent abroad in a foreign land, I've pursued the meaning of butt-chugging (though I did realize it might be something a little, how shall we say, what's the word... sordid?), and found this:

Having an intoxicant enema, the main purpose of which is to bypass the vomiting reflex, though it also causes the active ingredients to be absorbed faster, for more fun and greater tissue damage. Apparently Mayan priests used to do this with mixtures of alcohol and powerful tropical hallucinogens, and the ones who survived often had strange insights, now sadly lost to us.

I'm really curious, now, as to what these strange insights might be. Curiosity, it seems, is strangely addictive in itself.

 

[Mouthwash]

I like how you implicitly group "intelligent people" and "people on CFC" immediately after an exchange about naked Churchill butt-chugging fine brandies.

Well, I'm looking for interesting stuff. I follow Neil Degrasse Tyson, Ian Bremmer, Zbigniew Brzezinski; basically people who can increase my knowledge with soundbites.