biology

LifeSaver bottle

LifeSaver bottle is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand LifeSaver bottle rather than just read about it. In short: The LifeSaver bottle is a portable water purification device. The bottle filters out objects larger than 15 nanometres.

Key takeaways

LifeSaver bottle belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect LifeSaver bottle to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of LifeSaver bottle from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The LifeSaver bottle is a portable water purification device. The bottle filters out objects larger than 15 nanometres.

Development After the 2004 Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina disaster in the U.S., Michael Pritchard, a water-treatment expert in Ipswich, England began to develop the LifeSaver bottle after seeing that it took multiple days for water to reach refugees. Pritchard presented a prototype of the LifeSaver at 2007's DSEi London, where the product was named "Best Technological Development". Pritchard's entire stock of 1,000 bottles sold out within four hours of the presentation. Speaking at TED in 2009, Pritchard estimated that by using the LifeSaver bottle, reaching the Millennium Development Goals of halving the number of people without drinking water will cost $8 billion; while $20 billion would provide drinking water for everyone on Earth.

Independent test results In 2007, the LifeSaver bottle was tested by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the results found it to completely filter out all bacteria and viruses.

Use The bottle's interchangeable filter can purify between 4,000 and 6,000 litres (1,050 to 1,585 gallons) before it stops working and needs to be replaced. It filters out objects bigger than 15 Nanometres—including viruses, bacteria, and cysts. The carbon filter does not require chemicals. The process of filtering the water takes 20 seconds, allowing for 0.71 litres (1.5 pints) of water to be filtered. Once a filter has reached its limit, it will not allow contaminated water to be drunk. The LiveSaver bottle has been used by soldiers for drinking water as well as cleaning wounds. To filter the water, one puts contaminated water in the back of the bottle, then screws the lid on. The lid has a built in pump which is operated manually with a hand; the pumping action forces the contaminated water through the nano-filter and safe drinking water collects in another chamber in the bottle. The drinker then opens the top of the bottle from which safe drinking water comes out. A much larger version of the LifeSaver bottle, called the LifeSaver Jerrycan, has the same filtering technology. The can allows for the filtration of 10,000 to 20,000 litres (2,650 to 5,300 gallons). One jerrycan filter can provide water for four people over a three-year span.

Limits The bottle can be used to filter urine and will remove all microbiological contamination. However, there will be an amount of dissolved salts that can not be removed. Metals such as iron, and salt from salt water cannot be removed effectively, either.

See also Tata Swach Slingshot (water vapor distillation system) Millbank bag

References

External links LifeSaver Official Website Michael Pritchard speaking at TED

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with LifeSaver bottle

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what LifeSaver bottle claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to LifeSaver bottle before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about LifeSaver bottle ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of LifeSaver bottle

In research: LifeSaver bottle appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses LifeSaver bottle in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: LifeSaver bottle is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Drinking water, Water filters, Waterborne diseases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for LifeSaver bottle outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study LifeSaver bottle in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what LifeSaver bottle means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain LifeSaver bottle out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is LifeSaver bottle in simple terms?

The LifeSaver bottle is a portable water purification device. The bottle filters out objects larger than 15 nanometres.

Why does LifeSaver bottle matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study LifeSaver bottle?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on LifeSaver bottle.