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[[Image:Aqua-distillata.jpg|thumb|250px|Bottle for Distilled water in the Real Farmacia in Madrid.]]
{{Chinese zodiac}}
'''Distilled water''' is [[water]] that has virtually all of its [[Impurity|impurities]] removed through [[distillation]]. Distillation involves [[boiling]] the water and re-condensing the [[steam]] into a clean container, leaving most contaminants behind.
[[Image:Dragon_chinois.jpg|thumb|A Chinese dragon]]
The '''Dragon''' ( '''[[wiktionary:龍|龍]]''' ) is the only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac. In China, dragons are associated with strength, health, harmony, and good luck; they are placed above doors or on the tops of roofs to banish demons and evil spirits. Within Chinese cultures, more babies are born in Dragon years than in any other animal years.
==Applications==
==Years and the Five Elements==
{{Unreferencedsect|date=July 2007}}
In chemical and biological laboratories, as well as industry, cheaper alternatives such as [[deionized water]] are preferred over distilled water.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} However, if these alternatives are not sufficiently pure, distilled water is used. Where exceptionally high purity water is required, [[double distilled water]] is used.
Distilled water is also commonly used to top up [[lead acid batteries]] used in cars and trucks. The presence of other ions commonly found in tap water will cause a drastic reduction in its lifespan.
Persons born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "year of the Dragon," while also bearing the following elemental sign:
<!-- Only link the first year of the pair, because in the simplest case, that is *the* year. -->
* [[16 February]], [[1904]] - [[3 February]], [[1905]]: [[Wood (classical element)|Wood Dragon]]
* [[3 February]], [[1916]] - [[22 January]], [[1917]]: [[Fire (classical element)|Fire Dragon]]
* [[23 January]], [[1928]] - [[9 February]], [[1929]]: [[Earth (classical element)|Earth Dragon]]
* [[8 February]], [[1940]] - [[26 January]], [[1941]]: [[Metal (classical element)|Metal Dragon]]
* [[27 January]], [[1952]] - [[13 February]], [[1953]]: [[Water (classical element)|Water Dragon]]
* [[13 February]], [[1964]] - [[1 February]], [[1965]]: [[Wood (classical element)|Wood Dragon]]
* [[31 January]], [[1976]] - [[17 February]], [[1977]]: [[Fire (classical element)|Fire Dragon]]
* [[17 February]], [[1988]] - [[5 February]], [[1989]]: [[Earth (classical element)|Earth Dragon]]
* [[5 February]], [[2000]] - [[23 January]], [[2001]]: [[Metal (classical element)|Metal Dragon]]
* [[2012]] - [[2013]]: [[Water (classical element)|Water Dragon]]
* [[2024]] - [[2025]]: [[Wood (classical element)|Wood Dragon]]
Distilled water is preferable to tap water for use in automotive cooling systems. The minerals and ions typically found in tap water can be corrosive to internal engine components, and can cause a more rapid depletion of the anti-corrosion additives found in most [[antifreeze]] formulations.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
==Attributes==
[[Image: Dragon.svg|150px|left]]
The [[Chinese dragon|Dragon]] is [[omnipotent]]. He/she is flamboyant, attractive and full of vitality and strength. In [[China]], the Dragon is the sign of the [[Emperor of China]] or the male element [[Yang]]. The Dragon is the symbol of power and wealth.
Using distilled water in [[steam iron]]s for pressing clothes can help reduce mineral build-up and make the iron last longer. However, many iron manufacturers say that distilled water is no longer necessary in their irons.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
It would be right to say that people born in the year of the dragon have a natural charisma and are certainly gifted with power and luck. It is unlikely for them to escape unnoticed from a party or to take second place in a competition. The dragon person has an active mind and shows an unfeigned interest in the world around him/her. This person is also self-confident enough to know how to create a necessary impression. Because they are larger than life themselves, dragon people like to do everything on a grand scale. They are egotistical and ambitious, almost to the point of megalomania, and will stop at nothing to get what they want. A person born in this year wears the crown of destiny, and is capable of great achievements if he or she knows how to harness his or her tremendous energy, intelligence and talent. While these people enjoy being the center of attention, they also have a brave and charitable side to their personality. If a dragon's friend faces a problem or dilemma, he or she will be there to offer help, and when others leave the field of battle the dragon takes a step forward to solve the problem with authority and dignity. Dragons set a high standard of actions for themselves as well as for other people and are surprised when others cannot cope with a task; they are so carried away by the process that they fail to see other people's weaknesses.
Some people use distilled water for household [[aquariums]] because it lacks the chemicals found in [[tap water]] supplies. It is important to supplement distilled water when using it for [[fishkeeping]]; it is too pure to sustain proper chemistry to support an aquarium ecosystem.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
Their faults can be as large in scale as their virtues, and an excessively negative Dragon can be one of the most unpleasant human beings imaginable, displaying extreme arrogance, autocratic pride, haughtiness, and excessive hastiness of temper. If jealously suspicious of rivals, they will not hesitate to use cunning, lies and trickery to discredit them. Self-centeredness, greed for flattery, boastfulness, and bombast, pomposity, snobbish superiority, and overbearing, and intolerant disdain of underlings; to whom they will nevertheless delegate the carrying out of minor details in their grandiose schemes, and from whom they are not above borrowing immoderately if an occasion necessitates it. Any of these can be characteristic of the Dragon. Add to them a passion for luxury, a lust for
power, unlimited sexual lust, and emotional indulgence, and a character emerges that no one would want to know either in public life or private. But their pride may go before a fall, as uncontrolled impetuosity is likely to bring them low. Fortunately it is rare that a Dragon is so undisciplined as to give way thoroughly to this list of vices, and their tendencies to them are usually balanced by an innate wisdom. Those who are afflicted with them also have the intelligence it takes to consciously and actively overcome them.
==Drinking distilled water==
== Traditional Dragon Attributes/Associations ==
{{Unreferencedsect|date=February 2007}}
{| class="wikitable"
Drinking distilled water is quite common.
! Attribute !!
|-
|Zodiac Location || 5th
|-
|Ruling hours || 7am-8:59am
|-
|Direction || East-southeast
|-
|Season and month || Spring, April
|-
|Gemstone || [[Amethyst]]
|-
|Colors || Black, Gold
|-
|Roughly equivalent western sign || [[Aries (astrology)|Aries]]
|-
|Polarity || [[Yin and yang|Yang]]
|-
|Food || Wheat, poultry
|-
|Positive Traits || Noble, dignified, honest, charismatic, vibrant, magnanimous, expansive, powerful
|-
|Negative Traits || Ruthless, imperious, arrogant, dogmatic, pompous, despotic, intolerant, demanding
|-
|Countries || {{flagicon|China}} [[Peoples Republic of China|China]], {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]], {{flagicon|Iran}} [[Iran]], {{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark]], {{flagicon|Japan}} [[Japan]], {{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Bulgaria]]
|}
Many beverage manufacturers use distilled water to ensure a drink's purity and taste. Bottled distilled water is sold as well, and can usually be found in [[supermarkets]]. [[Water purification]], such as distillation, is especially important in regions where water resources or tap water is not suitable for ingesting without boiling or chemical treatment.
==Famous people born in the year of the dragon==
<!--PLEASE KEEP THIS LIST UNDER 50 NAMES. Too many names negatively effects the article-->
*[[Abraham Lincoln]], former president of the United States
*[[Alexa Vega]], actress
*[[Alfred Rosenberg]], Major Nazi official
*[[Alicia Silverstone]], American actress
*[[Al Pacino]], American actor
*[[Andriy Shevchenko]], Ukrainian soccer player
*[[Andy Crane]], UK television presenter
*[[Andy Serkis]], actor
*[[Andy Warhol]], pop artist
*[[Anna Popplewell]], actress
*[[Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira]], martial artist
*[[Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar]], general in the Thirty Years' War
*[[Bruce Lee]], [[martial artist]] and philosopher
*[[Brandon Lee]], [[martial artist]]
*[[Cam'Ron]], rapper
*[[Candace Cameron|Candace Cameron Bure]], actress
*[[Charles Darwin]], British Naturalist
*[[Che Guevera]], Revolutionary
*[[Christopher Reeve]], actor
*[[Chuck Norris]], martial artist and actor
*[[Claude Elwood Shannon]]
*[[Deng Xiaoping]], Leader of the [[People's Republic of China]]
*[[Dominic Monaghan]], actor
*[[Douglas Adams]], author
*[[Emmanuelle Vaugier]], actress
*[[Emily Browning]], actress
*[[Engelbert Dollfuss]], Austrian chancellor
*[[Fedor Emelianenko]], martial artist
*[[Francesco Totti]], Italian soccer player
*[[Francisco Franco]], Spanish fascist dictator
*[[Haley Joel Osment]], actor
*[[Hermann Göring]], Top Ranking Nazi official
*[[Hide (musician)|Hideto "Hide" Matsumoto]], Japanese musician
*[[Hongwu Emperor]], [[Emperor of China|Emperor]] of the [[Ming Dynasty]]
*[[Ja Rule]], rapper
*[[Jasmine Guy]], actress and dancer
*[[Jerry Goldsmith]] American Film Composer
*[[Jim Jones (rapper)]], rapper
*[[Joan Baez]], American singer, civil rights activist
*[[Joey Jordison]], Slipknot Drummer
*[[John Forbes Nash]]
*[[John Lennon]], singer
*[[Josip Broz Tito]], Yugoslavian president
*[[Julius Caesar]], Roman dictator and emperor
*[[Jürgen Klinsmann]], German soccer coach
*[[Keanu Reeves]], actor
*[[Ken Shamrock]], mixed martial arist, UFC hall of famer
*[[Frederick William I of Prussia|King Frederick William I]]
*[[Lee Hsien Loong]], Singapore Third Prime Minister
*[[Martin Luther King Jr.]], civil rights leader
*[[Matt Dillon]], actor
*[[Michael Ballack]], German soccer player
*[[Napoleon III of France]], French emperor and absolutist
*[[Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial|Napoléon Eugène Louis John Joseph]], Prince Imperial, son of French Emperor [[Napoleon III]]
*[[Nikola Tesla]] , Croatian-American Inventor
*[[Orlando Bloom]], actor
*[[Oscar Arias|Óscar Arias Sanchez]], 1987 [[Nobel Peace Prize]] Winner and President of Costa Rica.
*[[Osman II]], Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
*[[Patrick Vieira]], French soccer player
*[[Paul Collingwood]], English cricketer
*[[Paul Reubens]], aka Pee-wee Herman
*[[Pelé]], soccer player
*[[Philippe Pétain]], French general, later Head of State of [[Vichy France]]
*[[Plácido Domingo]], opera singer and conductor
*[[Grigori Rasputin|Rasputin]], Russian mystic
*[[Reese Witherspoon]], actress
*[[Reinhard Heydrich]], Nazi official (nicknamed ''The Butcher of Prague'', ''The Blond Beast'' and ''Der Henker'' (German for ''the hangman'')
*[[Rich Clementi]], mixed martial arts fighter
*[[Rihanna]], singer
*[[Ringo Starr]], singer
*[[Robert Zemeckis]], Academy Award-winning film director
*[[Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima|Ronaldo]], soccer player
*[[Ruud van Nistelrooy]], Dutch football player
*[[Saparmurat Niyazov]], Turkmen dictator.
*[[Shane Douglas]], professional wrestler
*[[Stanley Kubrick]], film director
*[[Stephen Colbert]], comedian
*[[Stone Cold Steve Austin]], a Professional wrestler turned actor
*[[Sabu (wrestler)|Terry "Sabu" Brunk]], professional wrestler
*[[Uday Hussein]], Saddam Husseins eldest son
*[[Vanessa Hudgens]], Latina Actress/Singer
*[[Vladimir Putin]], Russian President
*[[Wanderlei Silva]], martial artist
*[[Woodrow Wilson]], Former President of the United States
*[[Zoran Đinđić]] former prime minister of Serbia
*[[Željko Ražnatović]], paramilitary leader
Water filtration devices are common in many households. Most of these devices do not distill water, though there continues to be an increase in consumer-oriented [[water distiller]]s and reverse osmosis machines being sold and used. Municipal water supplies often add or have trace impurities at levels which are regulated to be safe for consumption. Much of these additional impurities, such as [[volatile organic compounds]], [[fluoride]], and an estimated 75,000+ other chemical compounds{{Fact|date=February 2007}} are not removed through conventional filtration; however, distillation does eliminate nearly all of these impurities.
== See also ==
* [[Chinese astrology]]
* [[Chinese dragon]]
* [[Chinese New Year]]
Distilled water is also used as drinking water in arid seaside areas which do not have sufficient freshwater, by distilling seawater. It is quite common on ships, especially [[nuclear ship|nuclear powered ships]], which require a large supply of distilled water as coolant. The drinking water is produced in [[desalination plant]]s, although it is very expensive due to the large amount of fuel needed to boil water. Alternative technologies like [[reverse osmosis]] are becoming increasingly important in this regard due to their greatly reduced costs.
== External links ==
===Pros and cons===
* [http://www.gotohoroscope.com/chinese-zodiac-dragon.html The Dragon zodiac]
The drinking of distilled water has been both advocated and discouraged for health reasons. The lack of naturally-occurring minerals in distilled water has raised some concerns.
*[http://www.firepig.com/astrologysigndragon.aspx Chinese Zodiac - Dragon Personality]
The Journal of General Internal Medicine<ref>{{Citation
[[Category:Chinese astrology]]
| last1=Azoulay | first1=Arik
[[Category:Chinese dragons]]
| last2=Garzon | first2=Philippe
| last3=Eisenberg | first3=Mark
| year=2001
| title=Comparison of the Mineral Content of Tap Water and Bottled Waters
| periodical=Journal of General Internal Medicine
| volume=16
| issue=3
| pages=168-175
| url=http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2001.04189.x/enhancedabs/
}}</ref> published a study on the mineral contents of different waters available in the US. The study concluded, "drinking water sources available to North Americans may contain high levels of [[Calcium]], [[Magnesium]], and [[Sodium]] and may provide clinically important portions of the recommended dietary intake of these minerals. Physicians should encourage patients to check the mineral content of their drinking water, whether tap or bottled, and choose water most appropriate for their needs." Since distilled water doesn't contain minerals, supplemental mineral intake through diet is needed to maintain proper health.
It is often observed that consumption of "hard" water, or water that has some minerals, may have beneficial cardiovascular effects. As noted in the American Journal of Epidemiology, consumption of hard drinking water is negatively correlated with atherosclerotic [[heart disease]].<ref>{{Citation
[[als:Jahr des Drachen]]
| last=Voors
[[de:Jahr des Drachen]]
| first=A. W.
[[fi:Lohikäärme (kiinalainen horoskooppi)]]
| year=1971
[[fr:Dragon (astrologie chinoise)]]
| title=Mineral in the municipal water and atherosclerotic heart death
[[id:Naga (shio)]]
| periodical=American Journal of Epidemiology
[[ja:辰]]
| volume=93
[[jv:Naga (shio)]]
| issue=4
[[nl:Draak (astrologie)]]
| pages=259-266
[[pt:Dragão (zodíaco)]]
| url=http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/4/259
[[th:มะโรง]]
}}</ref> Since distilled water is devoid of minerals, it will not have these potential benefits.
[[zh:辰]]
It has been suggested that -- because distilled water lacks [[fluoride]] ions that are added by many governments (e.g. municipalities in the United States) at water treatment plants using [[fluoridation]] for its supposed effect on the inhibition of [[caries|cavity]] formation -- the drinking of distilled water may increase the risk of tooth decay due to a lack of this element.<ref>[http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/DentalHealth/tb/1756 ''Bottled Water Cited as Contributing to Cavity Comeback'' at MedPage Today]</ref>
A purported effect of drinking water in its pure form is a 'more powerful solvent' that helps cleanse toxins from the body{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
The cost of distilling water (about 0.04 to 0.10 Euro or USD per litre in 2005) prohibits its use by most households worldwide.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
==Myths==
A popular myth about distilled water is that it has the dangerous property of being more easily heated above its normal [[boiling point]] without actually boiling (as seen in "Mythbusters") in a process known as [[superheating]]. When superheated water is disturbed or has impurities added to it, a nucleation center for bubbles form. These bubbles are then new nucleation centers, and a sudden, explosive boiling can occur, possibly causing serious injury to those nearby. However, distilled water and tap water do not differ in their ease of or danger in being superheated. The dissolved impurities in motionless tap water do not present enough disturbance to inhibit superheating.
==References==
<references/>
==See also==
* [[Deionized water]]
* [[Atmospheric water generator]] ''(Make distilled water from air)''
* [[Heavy water]]
* [[Double distilled water]]
[[Category:Liquid water]]
[[Category:Distillation]]
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[[ru:Дистиллированная вода]]
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