Sunday, November 6, 2011

R2-D2.0

Beijing is infamous for its poor air quality.  And every time after I climb the six flights of stairs to our apartment and feel especially winded, I can't help but feel like my reduced lung capacity is not just a figment of my imagination.  (Those of you who saw the video tour of our apartment also got a nice view of the smog hovering outside our windows.)  In fact, it's probably not just my imagination.

The US Embassy monitors the concentration of particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM2.5) and posts their results about once an hour on their live Twitter feed.  The EPA characterizes PM2.5 as "fine particles," and they are the most dangerous since they are so small that they can enter the blood stream through the lungs.  Particles this small come from things like burning diesel fuel and coal.  Gross.  So to help protect our health at least a little bit, this week we ordered an air filter.  Meet R2-D2.0.

Boop boop beep boop!
He filters out particles > 20 nanometers (.02 micrometers), so at least while we're at home, we'll breathe a little easier.
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2 comments:

  1. MaryNovember 7, 2011 at 9:10 AM

    That's a handy dandy little machine. I'm breathing a sigh of relief.
    Do you think you might need a CO detector?

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  2. Emily MNovember 10, 2011 at 5:30 AM

    I hadn't thought of that. Muir and I were mostly wondering if/how we'd get it back to the US and where to get a power adapter so that we can continue using it. The instructions are in Chinese and English, so it might be worthwhile.

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