Carbon Air

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Posted by admin | Posted in Hydroponics & Seed Starting | Posted on 16-12-2009

Carbon Air

What Are Air Purifiers?

As the name indicates, air purifiers are intended to keep the air we breathe as free as possible from allergens, dust and other air-borne pollutants. There are many different types of air purifiers, some being more advanced than others. There is also a distinction between office and home air purifiers.

Air purifiers therefore serve two main purposes, which though seemingly similar, are not. One is to keep the air clean from germs and microbes and the other is to rid the air of allergy-causing agents such as pollens.

It is important to know that no air purifier can do everything; some are better suited for some functions than others. There are three basic technologies employed by air purifiers: electrostatic / electronic, adsorption and mechanical filtering.

Electrostatic technology uses the principle of positive and negative attraction. As such electrostatic air purifiers use charged plates, which attract the pollutants in the air.

Adsorption is the process by which some odors such as cigarette smoke are removed from a room. However, this technology does little in the way of removing tiny particles such as dust and microbes. Mechanical filtering uses a screen to clear the air of pollens; however, it does not work on clearing away unpleasant odors.

There are many different types of air purifiers which use one or the other or even a combination of the technologies mentioned above. The most popular types of air purifiers are ozone air purifiers, HEPA Filters, Ionic air Purifiers and Ultraviolet Light air Purifiers.

HEPA filters generally remove over 99 percent of the particles floating around in the air. The main disadvantage of HEPA filters is its inability to remove odor from the air. Ozone and carbon air purifiers are great for removing odor from the air. One of the most effective air purifiers in clearing the air of microbes is the Ultraviolet light purifier.

The type of air purifier you purchase depends on the purpose for which you want it. If you need it to both clean the air and eliminate mold spores and other pollutants you may need to purchase two purifiers.

Could you make a balloon that would float in air out of carbon fibre composite?

In principle, if you've got a material with a high enough strength; weight ratio, you can make a balloon with it by pumping out all the air from a very thin hollow sphere of the material, and it won't collapse under the pressure of the air outside. Is carbon fibre composite, or buckytubes strong enough to make the hull of an airship based on this principle?

The pressure is not really all that great if the interior was evacuated of air.
However to make it buoyant, the structure would have to displace more than its own weight in air. Thus physical size would be required, requiring greater structural strength to withstand the pressure, meaning more weight. It would be like a dog chasing its tail!
In addition, even if you achieve this, as the vessel ascends and the air density falls, the structure, being rigid, cannot expand itself like a flexible (say) helium- filled vessel. It thus would find an altitude at which it would reach equilibrium, and cease rising higher.