Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
contains large amounts of sulphuric acid and is therefore unsuitable for use. Free
carbonic acid, found in most water, attacks lime and corrodes iron. Sulphates in
water, especially magnesium sulphate in salt water, is also corrosive and attacks
lime.
Improving colloidal properties
Energized water, E-water, is water which has been produced in a levitation machine. The
machine is a hyperbolic cylinder where the water is spun in a powerful and accelerated
spiral movement. The process was developed by Wilfred Hacheney in Germany in 1976.
When the water is used in cement, for example, it has been found that the material has
an amorphous mineral structure as opposed to the ordinary crystalline concrete. This is
probably due to the increased colloidal properties, i.e. a reduced tension in the water
which increases contact between the water and the particles in it. The practical conse-
quences are better compressive and tensile strength and a higher chemical stability, e.g.
against air pollution. According to research the level of tolerance can drop to pH2, and at
the same time the proportion of water and the setting time can be reduced. More con-
ventional ways of increasing the colloidal properties usually entail mixing in small quanti-
ties of waterglass, natron and/or soda.
Ice and snow
Ice is a building material of interest in colder climates. The former Soviet
Republics have a special category of engineering, engineering of 'glasology': the
design of ice structures such as roads and bridges in areas of permafrost. Snow's
potential as an insulating material against walls and on roofs has been used in
the north throughout recorded history. One of the main reasons for having a
grass roof is that in appropriate climates it retains snow for longer.
Air
In the lower level of the atmosphere the percentage by weight of the different
gases is oxygen (O
2
) 23.1 per cent, nitrogen (N
2
), 75.6 per cent, carbon dioxide
(CO
2
) 0.046 per cent, hydrogen (H
2
) 0.000 003 5 per cent, argon (Ar) 1285 per cent
plus smaller amounts of neon (Ne), helium (He), krypton (Kr) and xenon (Xe).
Water vapour and different pollutants also occur.
At very low temperatures air becomes a slightly blue liquid. From this state
oxygen and nitrogen can be extracted through warming. Nitrogen is used for the
production of ammonia (NH
3
) by warming hydrogen and nitrogen up to
500°-600°C under a pressure of 200 atmospheres and passing it over a catalyst,
usually iron filings. Amongst other things, ammonia is used in the production of
glass blocks, glass wool and waterglass via soda, and as the main raw material
