A solution to rubbish pollution

Today I will be writing about my idea for science, which helps clean up rubbish in small ponds, rivers, or sections of oceans. I will do this by using wave science and concentrating the rubbish in one place to make it easier to clean up. Today, I will be introducing a product named NodalLift, which will revolutionize the world in how they think about rubbish removal. But first, what does this problem help solve?

Around the world, thousands of cities face poor water availability due to the dirtiness of the water, and often get diseases from them. This leads to a poor life standard which not only impacts the residents but also the aquatic animals. But why does this occur in the first place?

Because of rubbish pollution. Rubbish pollution across lakes and streams is very common, but a cost-effective solution hasn’t been developed to help combat this. So this is where my product comes in.

My product will use acoustic transducers which are objects that release waves at a very low hearing range. Because we don’t want this product to be heard by animals or humans, it will be set to a range of 2Hz or below, depending on the type of animals that are present in the lake, adjusting the range based on their hearing range. After the acoustic transducer releases waves into the water (there will be 2, both opposite each other) of the same frequency, matching its crest and trough, it will look like both waves coming toward each other. Some of these waves will also overlap each other, creating something called standing waves, which is a wave created when two waves of the same frequency combine/overlap.

After they overlap and create the standing wave, the standing wave could also have something called nodes and antinodes. These are places on standing waves. The antinode is found on the crest or trough of the wave and has the most energy in the wave, therefore having the most pressure. Because of the high amount of pressure, the rubbish will float towards the nodes, which are points that have limited energy, so the rubbish particles will not move around. Remember before how I stated that the frequency will be below human hearing range? The reason I did that and not put it ABOVE human hearing range is because the lower the frequency of the object, the fewer nodes it has. This is what we want, as we want fewer potential rubbish collection spots so they all end up in one pile, making it easier to collect. Not only is this a plan worth investing in because of the prevention of dirty water, but this product helps prevent microplastics as well. Microplastics are very small fragments of plastics that are really deadly and come from decomposition of larger plastics. But this device helps prevent microplastics by helping collect the source in the first place! So, ladies and gentlemen, this is a product worth investing your time and money in, as it will improve the society and the wellbeing of us and our aquatic friends.

Real Script Below:

Slide 1: Hello to the governmental board of this country, and today I will be pitching my product, the NodalLift. I am looking for $1 billion for a 10% investment in my product.

Slide 2: This is Mini Trump, a child living in your country. He may look like a happy boy, but you are mistaken. Mini Trump suffers every day from terrible drinking water, diseases, and has a hard time staying healthy. But Mini Trump is not the only child that is suffering from this. Around the world, 1.7 BILLION children suffer from these conditions, just because of one simple reason.

Slide 3: In developing countries, the amount of rubbish littered is extremely high, especially in ponds and rivers. Rubbish is hard to clean because it is not concentrated in specific places, which leads to the pollution getting out of control. This creates various diseases, as will be explained later, and affects the environment. However, with the product I will be pitching today, it will help concentrate rubbish in one place to help clean up easier. I ask you, the government, wouldn’t you like a product that could help solve lots of these problems?

Slide 4: Well, today I’ll be introducing… The NodalLift.

Slide 5: Originally for my product, I was going to use acoustic levitation, which is the movement of objects without physical touch, but because it works for a maximum of a couple of centimeters, it wouldn’t be useful in this environment to remove trash. So, I decided to use acoustic transducers, which are items that emit lower frequency waves (POINT TO IT). I will use acoustic transducers as they are not able to be heard by human ears, and also, they create a smaller number of nodes, which will be useful later. These acoustic transducers will be placed on opposite sides in narrow streams of the pond, as seen in Figure 1.

Slide 6: When the waves emitted by acoustic transducers overlap, they create a standing wave, as seen in Figure 3, which are waves that are created when two waves of the same frequency overlap. Standing waves have particular spots called pressure nodes. These nodes are places where the pressure changes the least, or the calmest spots in the wave. The opposite of nodes are called antinodes, which have the most pressure. Rubbish and particles are pushed toward these calm pressure nodes, so they collect there naturally. To control and know where these points are, we can change the frequency of the wave and the distance between the acoustic transducers, as the higher the frequency, the more the nodes are, and the more the potential collection spots are, which is bad as we want a minimum amount of collection spots.

Slide 7: A computer will be able to calculate where the node will be based on the frequency of the wave, and the wavelength, which helps people know which spot the rubbish will collect at. The speed of sound in water is 1481 m/s. As the frequency would be above 20,000 Hz, the wavelength would always be less than 0.07405m, which means there would be a lot of nodes in the water so it would be easier for the rubbish to move to particular collection points.

Slide 8: This invention would help decrease waterborne diseases that are prevalent due to this problem, such as typhoid and cholera. Additionally, by removing rubbish, the breeding spots for flies and mosquitoes will reduce, lowering the cases of diseases such as malaria. By giving less developed communities this product, it will help the community become more hygienic and reduce their risk of contracting diseases. Additionally, by putting this solution into action, the wildlife that exists in the ponds will also get helped hugely. Removing rubbish eliminates the main risk for fish and other water-based animals, as the toxic chemicals in plastic harm the fish. This will benefit the affected groups by giving them a healthy environment and habitat, and also create a place that is sustainable and safe for aquatic animals.

Slide 9: Additionally, this would help YOU, the government, earn money! The tourism sector would get a huge upgrade by this technology as well. This technology would create cleaner ponds and rivers which would make them more attractive to outsiders who are visiting from different countries. This would increase the amount of tourism in the country, also positively growing the economy to help in other projects for developing countries. This would also increase local businesses, as they will get more sales due to more tourists being present in the country. Overall, it would increase tourism and also increase the economy of the country positively.

Slide 10 [SKIP SLIDE BECAUSE OF TIME]: Here are some limitations, I will not go too deep into it, because of time.

Slide 11: [PLAY AUDIO] And government officials, you heard it from the man, the myth, the legend Trump, himself. He approves of this idea. If one of the greatest presidents in the world approves of this idea, why don’t you?

Slide 12: In conclusion, my project focuses on concentrating rubbish that is polluted in places such as rivers or ponds. By using 2 ultrasonic transducers, placed opposite each other, my product will be able to trap rubbish in a particular place. This will help the tourism industry, the aquatic wildlife, and the health of the people living in it. So, to the government, I have one more piece of advice; don’t let this opportunity float away.