"Water Kit" Myth in 5 minutes

Hydrogen has always been one of my favourite elements in the periodic table. So inflammable and energetic that its able to thrust 2000 tons of mass into space and that too in just some seconds. And on the other when it gets combined with oxygen it becomes the source of life. The love of oxygen actually makes hydrogen forget its vivacious past.

Somehow the nature has placed this cruel condition on hydrogen that it must let go its energy in order to be with oxygen forever. Now people all over the world thought that they can actually separate the hydrogen from oxygen and can get all the energy of the hydrogen back. In 1800 William Nicholson finally was able to separate hydrogen from oxygen and they named this process as electrolysis. Now in order to do that, one must give more energy as compared to the energy hydrogen gave in, in order to be with oxygen.

The first law of thermodynamics is the law of nature, which simply means energy will always be conserved. No man in this world can 'create' energy, it can just be transferred from one form to another. The second law of thermodynamics places a condition on how the energy will transfer. It simply says that one can never convert all the energy into work, there will always be some heat losses.

To make a water molecule you need less energy as compared to destroy a water molecule. The nature has placed an interesting principle in these equations, and one can always appreciate this if he/she can realize the importance of water. 

One can always come up with an idea of an efficient electrolysis scheme but actually by doing so one will violate the second law of thermodynamics which states, the entropy of the universe is decreasing. There is not a single system in this world in which you put some energy and extract the equal amount of energy back, there always will be heat loses. 

The day we will violate the second law of thermodynamics, is the day when a ball fell from a table will be able to go back to its initial position using the same stored potential energy.  

I just wish I will be there to see that, but I seriously doubt it.

P.S Readers are encouraged to read about the concept of hydrogen car,  

  

Pakistan without Khan

Recently a friend shared with me a link, in which Time is going to publish its 2012 list of world’s most influential people. It prompted me to write something at minimum a piece that will help me or someone else to gather their thoughts.

It is the first time that I am aware that a political leader of Pakistan (Imran Khan) has been nominated to be in the world’s most influential people’s list. It gave me a tremendous amount of joy to see such things happening at last, even though there may be some who may not share the same joy. So to fully appreciate the influential nature of Imran Khan, let’s imagine what Pakistan would have been like if he did not exist.

The first iconic thought that comes to mind if, Imran Khan did not exist, is the glorious moment when we took the well-deserved, thick crystal Benson and Hedges cup. The glorious moment was in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, a memory that my country deems as being precious. Now imagine a country, full of passionate cricket lovers and players with drive and determination, and yet not winning a single world cup. It would be like eating the same meal everyday without any spice, flavor or satisfaction.

It is estimated that 1 in 3 people will have cancer in their lifetime, so if we consider the 7 billion world population, approximately 231 million people, a very large number of people, will have cancer. We are a country with a population of 187 million, forming 2.7% of the world’s population. Out of 187 million people, 62 million may well be cancer patients in Pakistan. So now imagine a country which constitutes 2.684% cancer patients of the world without a single dedicated cancer hospital. A single cancer treatment costs 8-10 Lakh PKR, so the treatment of 10% of the cancer patients of Pakistan will cost around 5 million PKR. So to be deprived of a hospital where 75% of cancer patients receive financial assistance and some which receive the treatments free would indeed be detrimental to the health of our people.

It is the dream of every student to go abroad for higher education, but not many can afford this luxury, especially in the region of Mianwalli, a backward region that also has the highest level of unemployment in Pakistan. The city has a population of approximately 1 million, out of which 45 % are youngsters and students. Many of these students are unable to afford the big universities within Pakistan let alone afford to study at foreign universities. These students are now able to earn an internationally acclaimed university degree by studying right there in their own city. Imagine them being deprived of this higher quality education. Imagine tatterdemalion of a dream of building up a city like Oxford right in the heart of Mianwalli.

Now coming to the current political situation, the happening, and the tide of awareness. The era of change, the era of hope, and the time where we all feel that we can get rid of these hounds sooner or later. The sudden awakening of these political gladiators and realizing the importance of the youth. The change in the political slogans, distribution of laptops, symbolizing the youth on the pamphlets, banners, etc. The realization of the importance of political arguments, debates, explaining one’s political stance and this sudden sanity of being truthful and honest. Imagine this all to vanish, imagine no political activity, and imagine 63% of the population, the youth, to have no importance. Imagine no sanity checks and no resignations based on morals and high esteem. Imagine no will to change, imagine the juridical and political death of the country, imagine the world’s most politicized youth not concerned with the mainstream politics anymore.

Imagine the dying out of HOPE, dying of the desire to change. Though its hard but in the end imagine Pakistan without Khan.

Moral:- Before we are ripped off a blessing, we should start apprising it.