As all things develop, options increase. Water purification technology is no different. While the methods of water purification are varied, not all are created equal.

Problems Associated with the Earlier Methods

One of the oldest active methods of water purification is distillation. While not very advanced by any means, it set the standard for water purification technology. The process is simple. Water is brought to a boil in a sealed container with a tube leading to another container. Steam condenses in the tube, and drips into the second container. The problem is anything with a boiling point over 100°C is indiscriminately left behind and anything with a boiling point under 100°C is also collected in the second container. Meaning healthy minerals are lost and chemicals are kept.

More efficient methods of water purification are always in demand, especially designs capable of desalination. Reverse osmosis was developed as an answer to this need. Touting the same strengths and weaknesses as distillation, it justified its existence by needing far less maintenance and human interaction than a still, and producing far more water. While obsolete outside of desalination, you will still find people trying to sell this relic of water purification technology.

Developed to remove contaminates without altering mineral quantity, a water purification technology known as the micro-porous membrane was developed, basically a three part sieve. Each part is designed to block smaller infiltrates than the last. Unfortunately, these methods of water purification are unable to deal with chemicals or bacteria.

Ultra-filtration is a highly advanced and extremely customizable water purification technology. Membranes are chemically constructed to block infiltrates of specific sizes. The problem is you want all the infiltrates removed, not just some or one of them. While custom methods of water purification have vast commercial and industrial use, they’re not intended for drinking water.

To remove chemicals, a water purification technology called electrodeionization is available. Unfortunately, that’s all it can do. Any other infiltrates will either be unaffected or reduce the effectiveness of ion exchange based methods of water purification. Meaning water to be electrodeionized needs to first be filtered of all organic infiltrates.

If sieves and membranes aren’t your thing, water can be bombarded with UV radiation. Involving nothing more than a large flat tank and a series of low density mercury lamps, it is a very effective and efficient germicidal technique.

The Answer to These Problems

Despite all the new and interesting methods of water purification, the most effective water purification technology was developed to counter chemical warfare in WWI. Known commonly as activated carbon filtration, it involves simply passing water through a filter constructed of special charcoal. Activated carbon will block pretty much everything harmful, but leave healthy minerals. A small problem is any blocked bacteria will remain in the filter. This problem was corrected by the addition of silver to the design. Referred to as granulated active carbon (GAC), the life of such a filter is greatly extended.

While there are more methods of water purification, here we’ve covered all actual water purification technology. The rest revolve around pseudoscience and false claims.

Technology is a fantastic thing and it is amazing how much technology has changed peoples lives. But it can be a double edged sword with so many new technologies and, more importantly, so many manufacturer’s providing different options and different prices it can be tough to decide. In this article we’ll cover some of the best features that are available and whether or not they are right for you.

When it comes to buying a tablet, most people like the mobility that they provide. Being a flat slate that is lightweight and able to be held in one hand, you can carry it around with you from room to room and it’s easy to pack up and go. But not all tablets have the ability to connect to the web from the road. Just about every tablet has built in WiFi (I can’t think of one that doesn’t) but not all have the ability to connect to the internet using the 3G service (the technology that cellphones use). Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that if you want the 3G portability you will have to subscribe with a cellphone carrier and these plans cost anywhere from $40-65+ a month.

Another big thing that differentiates tablet computers is the computing technology. Being used for things like surfing the internet, connecting with friends on social media sites (such as Facebook and Twitter), and play games, it’s not really necessary to have the same computing power as a laptop or desktop computer. And because some tablets limit the size of their processor, you won’t always be able to do certain things such as multi-task (run multiple program at once) or stream video from the internet. Depending on how you want to use your tablet this may or may not be a big deal and you can pretty much guarantee it will be a factor on the price. In general, if you are looking for top of the line performance or just want the ability to watch movies or TV shows direct from the internet (via Netflix or Amazon Prime), you will want to pick up a tablet that has a dual-core processor.

Finally, there is the end use of the tablet: are you looking to use it for business, personal entertainment, a fun toy or to replace an old PC? Because the cost of this technology is coming down and more people are using tablets for more things, there are different apps and accessories that allow you to adapt a tablet for a customized use. For instance, many tablets are integrating full size external keyboards that plug-in or use bluetooth. Or, if you can’t find an app that will help you run your business, you can have one custom programmed.