Water Pik Technologies, Inc. Business Information, Profile, and History

Related information about Water

H₂O. The commonest molecular compound on Earth; a liquid, freezing to ice at 0°C and boiling to steam at 100°C. It covers about 70% of the Earth's surface, and dissolves almost everything to some extent. However, it is a poor solvent for substances which are found in solution as molecules (eg oxygen, methane). It is essential to life, and occurs in all living organisms. It is strongly hydrogen-bonded in the liquid phase, and co-ordinates to dissolved ions. Unusually, the solid is less dense than the liquid; this results in ice floating, and accounts for the destructiveness of continued freezing and thawing. Water containing substantial concentrations of calcium and magnesium ions is called ‘hard’, and is ‘softened’ by replacing these ions with sodium or potassium, which do not form insoluble products with soaps.

:See Water (disambiguation) for other meanings.

Water (in its pure form) is a tasteless, odorless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is known as the universal solvent. It appears colorless to the naked eye in small quantities, though it can be seen to be blue with scientific instruments or in large quantities (as in a swimming pool).The Color of Water: Visibility Under Water An abundant substance on Earth (the UN Environment Program estimates there are 1400 million cubic kilometers www.unep.org/vitalwater/01.htm of it), water exists in many forms. It appears mostly in the oceans (saltwater) and polar ice caps, but also as clouds, rain water, rivers, freshwater aquifers, lakes, and sea ice. Water in these bodies continuously moves through a cycle of evaporation, precipitation, and runoff to the sea. This root is the source for words about water in many European languages c'f German "Wasser", Latvian "?dens", Swedish "Vatten" or Russian "????" border-collapse: collapse;">

NFPA 704 rating for water:

Water has the chemical formula H₂O meaning that one molecule of water is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. It is in dynamic equilibrium between the liquid and vapor states at standard temperature and pressure. Water alone is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless liquid, but upon standing it takes on the traces of carbon dioxide in the air and trends toward a sour solution of carbonic acid that is unpleasant-tasting and more inhospitable to life.

Water is often referred to in the sciences as the universal solvent and the only pure substance found naturally in all three states of matter; Examples are acetic acid, formic acid, hydrazine, dioxane, and benzene.

Color

Water strongly absorbs infrared radiation. Limestone turns bodies of water turquoise, while iron compounds turn it red/brown and copper compounds create an intense blue. In water, this happens because the oxygen atom is more electronegative?that is, it has a stronger "pulling power" on the molecule's electrons, drawing them closer (along with their negative charge), and making the area around the oxygen atom more negative than the area around both the hydrogen atoms.

Due to the polar nature of water, it is also very good at sticking to other things (adhesion).

Surface tension

Water has a high surface tension caused by the strong cohesion between water molecules. On extremely clean glass the water may form a thin film because the molecular forces between glass and water molecules (adhesive forces) are stronger than the cohesive forces.

In biological cells and organelles, water is in contact with membrane and protein surfaces that are hydrophilic;

Heat capacity and heat of vaporization

Water also has the next highest specific heat capacity of any known chemical compound, to ammonia, as well as a high heat of vaporization (40.65 kJ/mol), both due to the extensive hydrogen bonding between its molecules. Water does self-ionize where two water molecules become one hydroxide anion and one hydronium cation, but not enough to carry enough electric current to do any work or harm for most operations. As such, purity in spring and mineral water refers to purity from toxins, pollutants, and microbes.

Forms of water

Water takes many different forms on Earth: water vapor and clouds in the sky, waves and icebergs in the sea, glaciers and rivers in the mountains, aquifers in the ground, to name but a few. Through evaporation, precipitation, and runoff, water is continuously flowing from one form to another, in what is called the water cycle.

Because of the importance of precipitation to agriculture, and to mankind in general, different names are given to its various forms: while rain is common in most countries, other phenomena are quite surprising when seen for the first time. Hail, snow, fog or dew are examples. When appropriately lit, water drops in the air can refract sunlight to produce rainbows.

Similarly, water runoffs have played major roles in human history as rivers and irrigation brought the water needed for agriculture. Rivers and seas offered opportunity for travel and commerce. Through erosion, runoffs played a major part in shaping the environment providing river valleys and deltas which provide rich soil and level ground for the establishment of population centers.

Water also infiltrates the ground and goes into aquifers. This groundwater later flows back to the surface in springs, or more spectacularly in hot springs and geysers. In fact, humans and other animals have developed their senses to be able to evaluate the drinkability of water: animals generally dislike the taste of salty sea water and the putrid swamps and favor the purer water of a mountain spring or aquifer. However, if the Earth's location in the solar system were even marginally closer to or further from the Sun (a million miles or so), the conditions which allow the three forms to be present simultaneously would be far less likely to exist.

Earth's mass allows gravity to hold an atmosphere. Water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere provide a greenhouse effect which helps maintain a relatively steady surface temperature. If Earth were less massive, a thinner atmosphere would cause temperature extremes preventing the accumulation of water except in polar ice caps (as on Mars).

The distance between Earth and the Sun, the combination of solar radiation received and the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere ensure that Earth's surface is neither too cold nor too hot for liquid water. The surface temperature of Earth has been relatively constant through geologic time despite varying levels of incoming solar radiation (insolation), indicating that a dynamic process governs Earth's temperature via a combination of greenhouse gases and surface or atmospheric albedo.

Water's effect on life

From a biological standpoint, water has many distinct properties that are critical for the proliferation of life that set it apart from other substances. significant quantities of water are used during the digestion of food).

Fresh water has its greatest density under normal atmospheric pressure at 4 °C, then becoming less dense as it freezes or heats up from this point?the only reason bodies of water do not freeze all the way through (which would kill all the organisms within it). As a stable, polar molecule prevalent in the atmosphere, it plays an important role as a greenhouse gas absorbing infrared radiation, without which, Earth's average surface temperature would be -18 °C. Fish live exclusively in water, and there are many types of marine mammals, such as dolphins and whales that also live in the water. Fish have gills instead of lungs, though some species of fish, such as the lungfish have both. Marine mammals, such as dolphins, whales, otters, and seals need to surface periodically to breathe air.

Water in human civilization

Civilization has historically flourished around rivers and major waterways; Mesopotamia, the so-called cradle of civilization, was situated between the major rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Large metropolises like London, Montreal, Paris, New York, and Tokyo owe their success in part to their easy accessibility via water and the resultant expansion of trade. In places such as North Africa and the Middle East, where water is scarcer, access to clean drinking water was and is a major factor in human development.

Human uses of water

Humans use water in typically three variety of ways. To function properly, the body requires between one and seven litres of water per day to avoid dehydration; Is there scientific evidence for "8 × 8"? by Heinz Valdin, Department of Physiology, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, New Hampshire There are other myths such as the effect of water on weight loss and constipation that have been dispelled. Drinking Water - How Much?, Factsmart.org web site and references within

The latest dietary reference intake report by the US National Research Council recommended (including food sources): 2.7 litres of water total for women and 3.7 litres for men.Dietary Reference Intakes: Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate, Food and Nutrition Board Water is lost from the body in urine and feces, through sweating, and by exhalation of water vapor in the breath.

Humans require water that does not contain too many impurities. Some solutes are acceptable and even desirable for perceived taste enhancement and to provide needed electrolytes.

As a solvent Water is very effective: dissolving (or suspending) is used to wash everything from the human body, clothes, floors, cars, food, pets, and just about anything and everything in between. to remove a nonwater-soluble substance such as paint), other solvents are used, such as ethanol (in meths) or acetone (in nail varnish remover).

As a thermal transferrer Boiling, steaming, and simmering are popular cooking methods that often require immersing food in water or its gaseous state, steam. Some of these include swimming, waterskiing, boating, skiing, fishing, and diving. Some keep fish and other life in water tanks or ponds for show, fun, and companionship.

People may also use water for play fighting such as with water guns or water balloons. This is very enjoyable to some people but others do not like it so much.

Health and pollution

Water fit for human consumption is called drinking water or "potable water". Most countries have accepted the goal of halving by 2015 the number of people worldwide who do not have access to safe water and sanitation during the 2003 G8 Evian summit. G8 "Action plan" decided upon at the 2003 Evian summit Even if this difficult goal is met, it will still leave more than an estimated half a billion people without access to safe drinking water supplies and over 1 billion without access to adequate sanitation facilities. see also Category:Water and politics for articles treating about water politics

Because of overpopulation in many regions of the world, mass consumption and water pollution, the availability of drinking water per capita is inadequate and shrinking as of the year 2006. There is a long history of conflict over water, including efforts to gain access to water, the use of water in wars started for other reasons, and tensions over shortages and control. A Chronology of Water-Related Conflicts UNESCO's World Water Development Report (WWDR, 2003) from its World Water Assessment Program indicates that, in the next 20 years, the quantity of water available to everyone is predicted to decrease by 30%. More than 2.2 million people died in 2000 from diseases related to the consumption of contaminated water or drought. Fresh water, now more precious than ever in our history for its extensive use in agriculture, high-tech manufacturing, and energy production, is increasingly receiving attention as a resource requiring better management and sustainable use.

OECD countries

With nearly 2,000 cubic metres of water per person and per year, the United States leads the world in water consumption per capita (a large quantity of golf fields and car washing partly explain this massive consumption). In the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the U.S. comes first for water consumption, then Canada with 1,600 cubic metres of water per person per year, which is about twice the amount of water used by the average person from France, three times as much as the average German, and almost eight times as much as the average Dane. In contrast, nine OECD nations were able to decrease their overall water use since 1980 (Sweden, the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Poland, Finland and Denmark). Water consumption indicator in the OECD countries

Ninety-five percent of the United States' fresh water is underground. One crucial source is a huge underground reservoir, the 800-mile (1,300 km) Ogallala aquifer which stretches from Texas to South Dakota and waters one fifth of U.S. irrigated land. Many farmers in the Texas High Plains, which rely particularly on the underground source, are now turning away from irrigated agriculture as they become aware of the hazards of overpumping.

Mexico

In Mexico City, an estimated 40% of the city's water is lost through leaky pipes built at the turn of the 20th century. By 2025, it is predicted that the countries of the Arabian peninsula will be using more than double the amount of water naturally available to them. According to a report by the Arab League, two-thirds of Arab countries have less than 1,000 cubic meters water per person per year, which is considered the limit. "Major aspects of scarce water resources management with reference to the Arab countries", Arab League report published for the International Conference on water gestion and water politics in arid zones, in Amman, Jordan, December 1-3, 1999. Compare with the 1,600 cubic meters of water used per person and per year in Canada, for example

Jordan, for example, has little water and dams in other countries have reduced its available water over the years. The 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace stated that Israel would give 50 million cubic meters of water per year to Jordan, which it refused to do in 1999 before backtracking. The 1994 treaty stated that the two countries would cooperate in order to allow Jordan better access to water resources, notably through dams on the Yarmouk River. See 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace, annex II, article II, first paragraph Confronted by this lack of water, Jordan is preparing new techniques to use non-conventional water resources, such as second-hand use of irrigation water and desalinization techniques, which are very costly and are not yet used. However, Jordan's reconciliation with Syria following the death of King Hussein represents the removal of one of the project's greatest obstacles. See Christian Chesnot in - French original version freely available here.

Both Israel and Jordan rely on the Jordan River, but Israel controls it, as well as 9/10 of the water resources in the region. Water is also an important issue in the conflict with the Palestinians - indeed, according to former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon quoted by Abel Darwish in the BBC, it was one of the causes of the 1967 Six-Day War. The Israeli army prohibits Palestinians from pumping water, and settlers use much more advanced pumping equipment. Palestinians complain of a lack of access to water in the region. Israelis in the West Bank use four times as much water as their Palestinian neighbours. According to the World Bank, 90% of the West Bank's water is used by Israelis . Article 40 of the appendix B of the September 28, 1995 Oslo accords stated that "Israel recognizes Palestinians' rights on water in the West Bank".

The Golan Heights provide 770 million cubic meters of water per year to Israel, which represents a third of its annual consumption. The Golan's table water goes to the Sea of Galilee, which is Israel's largest reserve, which is afterward redistributed throughout the country by the National Water Carrier. To help ease the crisis, Israel has agreed to buy water from Turkey and is investigating building desalination plants.

On the other hand, Iraq and Syria watched with apprehension the construction of the Atatürk Dam in Turkey and a projected system of 22 dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. According to the BBC, the list of 'water-scarce' countries in the region grew steadily from three in 1955 to eight in 1990 with another seven expected to be added within 20 years, including three Nile nations (the Nile is shared by nine countries).

Asia

In Asia, Vietnam and Cambodia are concerned by China's and Laos' attempts to control the flux of water. It also has a project to divert water from the Yangtze to the dwindling Yellow River, which feeds China's most important farming region.

The Ganges is disputed between India and Bangladesh. The water reserves are being quickly depleted and polluted, while the glacier feeding the sacred Hindu river is retreating hundreds of feet each year because of global warming and deforestation in the Himalayas causing subsoil streams flowing into the Ganges river to dry up. This denied Bangladeshi farmers water and silt, and left the Sundarban wetlands and mangrove forests at the river's delta seriously threatened. Water quality, however, remains a huge problem, with high levels of arsenic and untreated sewage in the river water.

South America

The Guaraní Aquifer, located between the Mercosur countries of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, with a volume of about 40000 km³, is an important source of fresh, drinkable water, for all four countries. In Bolivia for example, the proposed privatisation of water companies by the IMF were met by popular protests in Cochabamba in 2000, which ousted Bechtel, an American engineering firm based in San Francisco. SUEZ has started retreating from South America, due to similar protests (in Buenos Aires in Argentina, as well as in Santa Fe; "Bolivian officials fault Suez for not connecting enough households to water lines as mandated by its contract and for charging as much as $455 a connection, or about three times the average monthly salary of an office clerk", according to the Mercury News. South Africa also made moves to privatize water, provoking an outbreak of cholera killing 200.

Regulating water distribution

Drinking water is often collected at springs, extracted from artificial borings in the ground, or wells. Popular methods are filtering with sand which only removes undissolved material while chlorination and boiling kill harmful microbes. Desalination of abundant ocean or seawater is a more expensive solution used in coastal arid climates.

The distribution of drinking water is done through municipal water systems or as bottled water. Others argue that the market mechanism and free enterprise are best to manage this rare resource, and to finance the boring of wells or the construction of dams and reservoirs.

Reducing waste, that is using drinking water only for human consumption, is another option. Pharmaceuticals consumed by humans often end up in the waterways and can have detrimental effects on aquatic life if they bioaccumulate and if they are not biodegradable. Major faiths that incorporate ritual washing (ablution) include Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Shinto. Water is mentioned in the Bible 442 times in the New International Version and 363 times in the King James Version: 2 Peter 3:5(b) states, "The earth was formed out of water and by water" (NIV).

Some faiths use water especially prepared for religious purposes (holy water in many Christian denominations, Amrit in Sikhism and Hinduism). examples include Lourdes in Roman Catholicism, the Zamzam Well in Islam and the River Ganges (among many others) in Hinduism.

Water is often believed to have spiritual powers. In Celtic mythology, Sulis is the local goddess of thermal springs; in Hinduism, the Ganges is also personified as a goddess, while Saraswati have been referred to as goddess in Vedas. Also water is one of the "panch-tatva"s (basic 5 elements, others including fire, earth, space, air). Alternatively, gods can be patrons of particular springs, rivers, or lakes: for example in Greek and Roman mythology, Peneus was a river god, one of the three thousand Oceanids.

The Greek philosopher Empedocles held that water is one of the four classical elements along with fire, earth and air, and was regarded as the ylem, or basic substance of the universe. Water was also one of the five elements in traditional Chinese philosophy, along with earth, fire, wood, and metal. width: {{{width|100%}}}">

References

• OA Jones, JN Lester and N Voulvoulis, Pharmaceuticals: a threat to drinking water?