HOAX: Solar Roadways

Solar roadways is an idea that proposes to exchange all of the roads and parking lots in the US with hexagonal tiles of solar panels. These solar panels will also have LEDs that can display road signals and have heaters to melt snow during the winter. The developers behind this project have gotten over 2 million dollars from crowd funding and they are asking for more backing. But this idea is simply not feasible and impractical:

-Cars will cover the parking lots during the day, when these solar panels are supposed to work

-By laying the solar panels on the ground, the efficiency is reduced to 30%

-Glass is not an effective road material, and the traction will be terrible during wet weather

-Glass is not mechanical feasible, and will soon be damaged from abrasion

-There is no way to produce enough energy from the solar panels to melt any snow that falls on it

-Just the glass needed for completing this project will cost 20 trillion dollars, 10 times the federal budget

-The money needed to wire the solar panels together will cost 1 million per mile, way to expensive to be probable

-There is no way to clearly see the LEDs during bright sunlight

So why is this unfeasible project so supported?

This is because of the “oh it will be so cool” effect. IF this was possible, then it would be awesome. IF this was possible, then it may solve some issues. But it is simply not possible. Many of the news media that support this do not have the faintest clue on and of the science that goes behind this. Even some reputable science organizations are supporting this because they have not looked closely enough at the details that need to go into this.

The following video goes into some more detail and explains some of the calculations:

Image Citation: N.d. Green Tech Media. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Department-of-Transportation-Official-Discusses-Solar-Roadways>.

Alkaline Water Hype

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about this magical thing called alkaline water. I have mentioned it briefly in my previous posts but what exactly is it? The truth is, alkaline water hoax believers don't have a standard definition, but it is simply water that has been “treated” somehow to make I suddenly turn into a miracle medicine, that gives benefits such as:

Being a powerful antioxidant

Balanced pH levels in the body

Better hydration

Less toxins in the body

Increases immune function

Weight loss

Treats cancer

Treats AIDs and

Treats diabetes

Make you feel younger

Protects you from nuclear radiation

+hundreds more

There are pages upon pages of alkaline water machines on sites such as Amazon, with prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to some costing a few thousand dollars. They all claim to be able to make alkaline water that supposedly “alkalizes” your body and so you will be cured of all your problems. However, this is completely not true and in fact may be damaging to people who believe this since some people stop taking insulin or chemotherapy, which may result in death.

It is speculated that the origin of this alkaline water hoax is when there was a report that came out stating that cancer cell growth is slowed in an alkaline environment. Then another study found that when patients with type II diabetes ate alkaline foods, they showed marginal improvement. As is often the case with a hoax, it’s not 100% false, but the truth has been encased in so much hype as to be nonexistent.

Image Citation: N.d. Alkaline Water Machine. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Plastic Trouble

You have seen something like the following at some point in your life:

What exactly does it mean, and why is it stamped on the bottom of the container? Well, it’s there to make it so that plastics can be more easily sorted when they have to be recycled. The triangle composed of a few arrows is the universal symbol for recycling. The number inside of the triangle tells you what plastic you are holding. Here is a reference chart:

So what good is there in knowing what each of the numbers mean? For a start, it can be helpful when sometimes there are specific recycling bins for you to throw away your trash. Put since each type of plastic has a unique chemical composition, one has to be sure to find the right one for the job. An area of special importance is food storage, and only some of the plastics in the list are food safe. A handy at-a-glance chart:

So why are some of these safe while others should be avoided for food? The two that should be avoided is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS). Flexible polyvinyl chloride can contain phthalates that are known by the state of California to cause cancer or birth defects. These plasticizers may leach into food products, which is an issue. Polystyrene is another plastic that should be avoided because the styrene that it contains has been linked to brain damage and other physical effects.

As you can see, understanding the numbers on plastic products may be directly related to your health, and to the health of the planet.

Image Citations:
N.d. Keen for Green. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. <http://www.keenforgreen.com/recycle/is_number_1_plastic_recyclable>
N.d. The Bach. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. <https://bachodi.wordpress.com/2007/04/22/what-do-the-numbers-below-plastic-bottles-indicate/>.
N.d. Homemade for Elle. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. <http://homemadeforelle.com/plastic-containers-dangerous-health/>.

Penny Drama

The materials used to make coins have changed as the prices for the materials have changed. Some of the most significant changes have occurred to the US cent coin, also known as the penny.

Penny Material by Date

1793-1837: Pure copper

1837-1857: 95% copper + 5% zinc + small amounts of tin

1857-1846: 88% copper + 12% nickel

(Briefly in 1943 pennies were made from steel because copper was being used to make ammunition casings used in WWII)

1846-1962: 95% copper + 5% zinc + small amounts of tin

1962-1982: 95% copper + 5% zinc

1982-Current Penny: 97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper

The main reason for the change from mostly copper to mostly zinc is due to the rising price of copper. Now, if a copper 1-cent coin is melted and the metal sold, it would be worth 1.47 cents. This means that you can technically make money by melting down coins, which is a huge problem. (Destroying legal tender is illegal) It seems that zinc prices are also on the rise, and so soon the zinc in a penny may be worth more than 1 cent. Some have proposed to use aluminium as a last resort, but others say it’s better to stop using pennies. What do you think?

Image Citation: N.d. Periodic Table. Web. 15 Apr. 2016. <http://www.periodictable.com/Items/030.31/index.html>.