Water, A to Z

About the Book

This book is intended for readers at all levels. Each topic is presented as a basic, easily understood concept that is developed step by step along the way to a technical level of understanding. The casual reader may use this text as a source of general information for almost every aspect of water. He or she may also utilize this treatise as a programmed learning resource for improving his or her proficiency in the technical understanding of water, its characteristics, properties and uses. Key words are italicized throughout the book. Each of these words is listed alphabetically and defined in the Glossary (Appendix “B”). Appendix “A”, Math Made Simple, is a basic, simple approach to learning or reviewing simple math, fractions, decimals and exponents. Appendix “C”, Converting Between English and Metric Values, includes the most commonly used terms. Water is used as the model for describing solids, liquids, gases, atoms, and molecules. The physical and chemical properties of water are presented in detail. Water is discussed as a major product of combustion. The physical dynamics of the solar system are included to illustrate how and why the seasons occur. Photosynthesis is discussed in detail, illustrating animal, plant and mankind’s role in the magnificent cycle of life, and of water. The earth’s unique atmosphere is treated as an integral part of our environment. Recommendations are offered for seriously improving efficiency in domestic water consumption. Commercial, industrial and agricultural uses are included, with special attention given to drip irrigation systems design and practice. Water treatment, purification and recycling are presented along with standards of water purity. Contamination and pollution are discussed, including the EPA minimum acceptable levels for the various metallic impurities found in water. Clean water is rapidly falling victim to our ever-changing global environment. Over the past couple of centuries, increased population, industrialization and modernization have taken a drastic toll on water supplies around the world. Large-scale consumption of fossil fuels results in a daily discharge of thousands of tons of exhaust gases into the atmosphere from where they are readily absorbed by surface waters. Atmospheric particulates and water borne contaminants from factories and industry percolate downward through soils, eventually finding their way into precious ground water. Recent studies indicate more than half the coastal waters of the United States are in serious trouble from human-related causes. Once-rich fishing grounds are practically devoid of sea life, and sandy beaches have become hazardous playgrounds. Water vapor and carbon dioxide are the two primary products of combustion of fossil and biomass fuels. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is harmless and even necessary in low concentrations, its occurrence being vital to the process of photosynthesis. However, a moderate increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide sets in motion a chain of events that is counterproductive to a healthy environment. Carbon dioxide is readily absorbed in water to form the weak acid, carbonic acid, the same substance that produces the ‘fizz’ in carbonated beverages. The orderly balance of nature becomes skewed whenever excess carbon dioxide dissolves in bodies of water, greatly affecting aquatic plant and animal life forms that depend on water for their very existence. One hundred years ago, the normal percentage of atmospheric carbon dioxide ranged just over 250 ppm (parts per million). Today, the average carbon dioxide level stands at near 320 ppm, representing an increase of nearly 1/3 over the last century! Volcanoes, forest and grassland fires and other natural events produce sudden, temporary surges in atmospheric carbon dioxide. On the other hand, human-caused changes, though gradual, have been permanent. Heating and air conditioning, tires, TVs and radios, hair dryers, plastics

About the Author

Leon Cooper is, among other things, a retired teacher of physics and chemistry, engineer and technical writer. His professional experience includes work at Los Alamos National Laboratory and engineering applications across the Western Hemisphere. He holds university degrees from Southern Nazarene University and University of Utah, and completed advanced studies at UCal Berkeley and other universities. He is a musician, linguist, adventurer, inventor -- the first to develop an accurate picture of a molecule, based on its electron probability distribution. Like his Cherokee ancestors, he believes in Nature’s Law, “Be good to the earth for it is good to you.”