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Wednesday, October 20, 2004

In Fusion

The curse of entropy works away relentlessly. To pick an example, salt water infusion into various materials can cause significant entropy increases, requiring large amounts of energy to reverse the effects. Those aware of energy depletion issues probably have some familiarity with salt water infusion techniques used to increase oil pressure in Saudi Arabian oil fields. Although useful in the short term, the mix of salt water into the remaining oil effectively ruins the remainder of the suply.
... geologists report that the Saudis must inject 7 million barrels a day of salt water to keep up oil well pressure

Less well known is that the entire Los Angeles basin acts as a sponge for salt water coming in from the Pacific. This has had the historical effect of tainting ground water supplies. The more the citizens suck out fresh water via wells, the more the salt comes in to replace it.


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