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SCIENCE BEHIND IT : WATER SHORTAGE
Stars are formed in clouds of gas and dust, known as nebulae. Nuclear

reactions at the center of stars provide energy to make them shine The Earth is covered by roughly 336 billion gallons on Earth.
brightly for many years. The exact lifetime of a star depends on its size.

Massive stars burn their fuel faster than smaller stars and may only But most of this is salty sea water. This got me thinking that
last a few hundred thousand years. Smaller stars, however, last for why can’t we use sea water by desalination. Desalination is

several billion years, because they burn their fuel much more slowly. the process by which salt is separated from sea water.
Eventually, the hydrogen fuel that powers the nuclear reactions within

stars, begins to run out, and they enter the final phases of their Thermal desalination is basically boiling water and
lifetime. Over time, they expand, cool and change color to become red capturing the steam which is fresh water. But in the 1960s

giants. The path they follow beyond that depends on the mass of the a new process was discovered called Reverse osmosis. In
star.
this process the sea water is passed through a filter at

Small stars, like the Sun, undergo a relatively peaceful and beautiful high pressure which separates salt and water. The

death, where they pass through a planetary nebula phase to become a downside of these processes is that there is a byproduct
white dwarf, this eventually cools down leaving a brown dwarf. Massive called Brine. In the process of reverse osmosis, half of the

stars experience a more energetic and violent end, wherein their
remains are scattered about the cosmos in an enormous explosion, water is brine and other half fresh water. Brine is hyper

called a supernova. Once the dust clears, the only thing remaining is a salty water. To dispose brine, they are usually discharged
very dense star known as a neutron star, these can often be rapidly into sea, river and lakes. Brine being heavier than normal

spinning and are known as pulsars. If the star which explodes is sea water sinks to the bottom of sea bed and can harm the
especially large, it forms a black hole.
flora and fauna. Even with its draw backs it is one of the

In the 1970s, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking made a remarkable most stable methods. In the process of desalination the

discovery: Black holes glow, ever so slightly, and, given enough time, filter needs to be replaced at time to time. But it is also the
eventually dissolve. This is known as “Hawking Radiation”.
main supply of water to Saudi Arabia, UAE and California. My

Even if we know so much about black holes, there is still so much to take on this is that desalination would be a great help to

learn. As they say we can never completely understand science and supply of water if the brine supply, cost and energy needed
there is always something to learn.
would be reduced.

Varad Apte [STD VIII] Pradeep Bahenwal [STD VIII]