Product Life Cycle Essay Example for Free

Product Life Cycle Essay Definition: Products come and go. A company’s challenge is to hold on to its customers longer than it holds on to its products. It needs to watch the market life cycle and the customer life cycle more than the product life cycle. Someone at Ford realized this: â€Å"If we’re not customer driven, our cars won’t be either.† One selects marketing tools that are appropriate to the stage of the product’s life cycle. For example, advertising and publicity will produce the biggest payoff in the introduction stage of a product; their job is to build consumer awareness and interest. Sales promotions and personal selling grow more important during a product’s maturity stage. Personal selling can strengthen customers’ comprehension of your product’s advantages and their conviction that the offering is worthwhile. Product Development and Life-Cycle Strategies: In the face of changing customer needs, technologies and competition, product innovation or the development of new products has become vital to a companys survival. Introducing new products, however, is not sufficient. The firm must also know how to manage the new product as it goes through its life cycle: that is, from its birth, through growth and maturity, to eventual demise as newer products come along that better serve consumer needs. This product life cycle presents two principal challenges. First, because all products eventually decline, the firm must find new products to replace ageing ones (the problem of new-product development). Second, the firm must understand how its products age and adapt its marketing strategies as products pass through life-cycle stages (the problem of product life-cycle, strategies). We therefore look initially at the problem of finding and developing new products, and then at the challenge of managing them successfully over their life cycles. Innovation and New-Product Development: Given the rapid changes in taste, technology and competition, a company cannot rely solely on its existing products to sustain growth or to maintain  profitability. The firm can hope to maintain market and profit performance only by continuous product innovation. Product innovation encompasses a variety of product development activities product improvement, development of entirely new ones, and extensions that increase the range or number of lines of product the firm can offer. Product innovations are not to be confused with inventions. The latter are a new technology or product which may or may not deliver benefits to customers. An innovation is defined as an idea, product or piece of technology that has been developed and marketed to customers who perceive it as novel or new. We may call it a process of identifying, creating and delivering new-product values or benefits that were not offered before in the marketplace. In this chapter we look specifically at new products as opposed to value creation through marketing actions (such as product/brand repositioning, segmentation of current markets). We also need to distinguish between obtaining new products through acquisition by buying a whole company, a patent or a licence to produce someone elses product and through new-product development in the companys own research and development department. As the costs of developing and introducing major new products have climbed, many large companies have decided to acquire existing brands rather than to create new ones. Other firms have saved money by copying competitors brands or by reviving old brands. These routes can contribute to a firms growth and have both advantages and limitations. In this chapter, we are mainly concerned with how businesses create and market new products. By new products we mean original products, product improvements, pnxhict modifications and new brands that the firm develops through its own research and development efforts. Risks and Returns Jri Innovation Innovation can be very risky for a number of reasons: 1. New-product development is an expensive affair it cost Tate Lyle around  £150 million to develop a new sugar substitute; pharmaceutical firms spend an average of . £100-50 million to develop a new drug; while developing a super-jumbo project could cost billions. 2. New-product development takes time. Although companies can dramatically shorten their development time, in many industries, such as  Pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, aerospace and food, new-product development cycles can be as long as 10-15 years. The uncertainty and unpredictability of market environments further raise the risks of commercialization. Roots had to withdraw Manoplex, a heart drug, less than a year after its launch in the United Kingdom, after a trial on 3,000 patients in the United States and Scandinavia suggested an adverse effect on patient survival. The pharmaeeudeals division lost about  £200 million on the drug, which cost nearly  £100 million to develop over a period of 12 years, and about S20 million was spent on promoting and marketing it. 3. Unexpected delays in development are also a problem. History is littered with grand pioneering engineering projects which have failed to satisfy the original expectations of bankers, investors and politicians. The Seikan rail tunnel, connecting the island of Hokkaido to mainland Japan, was completed 14 years late and billions of pounds over budget; the S10 billion cost of the Channel tunnel, which opened on 6 May ] 994, a year later than originally planned, is more than double the  £4,8 billion forecast in 1987. 4. The new-product success record is not encouraging either. New products continue to fail at a disturbing rate. One recent study estimated that new consumer packaged goods (consisting mostly of line extensions) fail at a rate of 80 per cent. The same high failure rate appears to afflict new financial products and services, such as credit cards, insurance plans and brokerage services. Another study found that about 33 per cent of new industrial products fail at launch. Despite the risks, firms that learn to innovate well become less vulnerable to attacks by new entrants which discover new ways of delivering added values, benefits and solutions to customers problems.

A Variety Of Antibiotics Biology Essay

A Variety Of Antibiotics Biology Essay Antiseptics/Disinfectants and antibiotics are used on a regular basis in the health care profession. A variety of antibiotics have been tested and they act by several ways in order to inhibit bacterial growth or kill the bacteria. Antiseptics/disinfectants contain a variety of active ingredients including haloalkanes, Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QAC) and Phenols. The antimicrobials used in both experiments display broad spectrum activity. The information on the mode of action is limited, therefore the two experiments compares the effectiveness of each antimicrobial on the two main bacterias, gram negative escherichia coli and gram positive Staphylococcus aureus. Sepsis is usually caused by a bacterial infection; it can also be caused by fungal, viral or parasitic infections. Sepsis can cause blood clotting and inflammation. Blood clotting and inflammation in the body has life threatening consequences such as organ failure this may lead to death. Aseptic surgery was introduced in 1867 by Joseph Lister; the mortality rate of post operative surgery was reduced to 45%. The spray carbolic acid as biocide/germicide was used; biocide is a chemical agent that kills pathogens. The spray was used to dress and clean the wounds; in 1878 Robert Koch introduced the sterilisation of surgical equipment and dressing using steam. A bacterium is a prokaryotic microorganism that is found everywhere, the size of bacteria is usually a few micrometres in length they exist as millions. The shape of bacteria varies from rod, spiral, spherical. Hans Christian Gram in 1884 discovered that certain stains are taken up and retained by the cell. Eventually most of the bacteria were divided to two groups, gram-positive and gram-negative. The bacterial species was classified using the Gram stain test. The Gram stain that emerge as blue or violet it is Gram positive, a gram-positive bacteria has a thick cell wall as there are many layers of peptidoglycan and teichoic acids. This means that gram stain can enter the cell and remain within the cell. If the Gram stain emerges as red or pink it is Gram negative, a gram negative bacteria has a thin cell wall that consists some layers of peptidoglycan, bounded by a second lipid membrane containing lipoprotein and lipopolysaccharides. Escherichia coli (E. Coli) is facultative anaerobic gram-negative bacteria, E. Coli is rod shaped. The digestive system is affected by E. Coli where it causes bloody diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Staphylococcus aureus (S. Aureus) is sphere shaped gram-positive bacteria, S. Aureus can be found at several sites in humans such as nasal passages, skin, gastrointestinal tract and oral cavity. S. Aureus causes impetigo, mastitis and scalded skin syndrome. Antibiotic is a drug that inhibits the growth of bacteria or kill the bacteria. Antibiotics are from one class of antimicrobials and are harmless to the host hence used to treat infections. Antibiotics arent successful in treating fungal, viral and other nonbacterial infections. It is effective is treating bacteria but individual antibiotic varies on the type of bacteria. Microorganisms can become resistant towards antibiotics, hence withstand the effect of antibiotics, this is due to chromosomal changes or due to the exchange of genetic material via plasmids. This has been stimulated by the overuse of antibiotics for minor ailments (common colds) and unfinished course of antibiotics. There are many other antimicrobials such as antiseptic and disinfectants, Antiseptics are used to destroy or reduce microorganisms on the skin without damaging tissues; the common form of antiseptic is surgical rub. Disinfectants are used to disinfect inanimate objects such as surgical instruments. Disinfectant tend to have higher killing power as the chemicals used in disinfectants is for objects rather than the skin. In order to research microbial growth, two experiments have been carried out. Experiment one was carried out to measure the effect of disinfectants and antiseptics on microbial growth. A mixture of antiseptics and disinfectants will be taken and the clearance zone will be measured on bacteria S. Aureus and E. Coli. Experiment two was carried out to screen the sensitivity of the multidisc system, this was done by placing two types of discs containing several antibiotics onto two types of bacteria E. Coli and S. Aureus. The mechanism of antimicrobial action of antiseptics and disinfectants has been researched by A. D. Russel from the Welsh school of pharmacy, the conclusion drawn is the target sites and concentrations of the antiseptic/disinfectant were the dependent factors. The activity, action and the resistance of antiseptics and disinfectants has been studies by Gerald McDonnel and A. Denver Russel. The findings were that the antiseptics and disinfectants vary considerably even when the biocide levels are similar in each product. It has been found that there is some biocide resistance and cross-resistance with antibiotics. A pre-prepared culture of E. Coli and S. Aureus grown in a nutrient broth is provided. Using each culture an inoculum was prepared by aseptically diluting 0.1ml of the each culture to a 9ml fresh nutrient broth. The culture was shaken to encourage mixing. The spread plates were prepared by spread plating 0.1 ml of the inoculum on the surface of the nutrient agar. Two agar plates were prepared for each bacterium, four agar plates in total. The bottom of each plate was labelled with the name of the organism (i.e. E. Coli) The eight antiseptic and disinfectant that was going to be tested in the experiment was numbered 1-8. The bottom of the first agar plate for one of the bacterium was separated into four different sectors; a marker pen was used to label each sector 1-4. The bottom of the second agar plate was separated into four different sectors and labelled 5-8. Repeat number 5 for the other bacterium agar plates. The numbers on the bottom of agar plates link to the numbers on the antiseptic and disinfectant bottles. The tip of the forceps was sterilised by passing it through the Bunsen burner two to three times. Using the sterile forceps the sterile paper disk was picked up and dipped into the disinfectant/ antiseptic that was numbered one. It was made sure that the surplus disinfectant/ antiseptic had drained off before placing the disc into the agar plate. The disc was placed in the centre of sector 1of the S. Aureus inoculated plate Another disc was placed onto the centre of sector one using the same disinfectant for the E. Coli inoculated plate. Step number 8-11 was repeated for the remaining antiseptic/disinfectant. It was vital that the tip of the forceps was washed with alcohol and passed through the Bunsen burner to prevent cross mixing the disinfectant/antiseptic between each step. This is important as we were comparing the effectiveness of the disinfectant/antiseptic of the different types of organisms. The sterile tip of the forceps was used to press the discs gently in order to ensure the disc has contact with the nutrient agar. When the discs were placed into the four sectors of both agar plates, parafilm was used to seal. The plates were inverted and incubated at 37Â °C for 24 hours. After a week the plates were recovered and the diameter of the zones of the inhibition of the bacterial growth was measured in millimetres. As mentioned in the method of experiment one on how to produce spread plates for S. Aureus and E. Coli. This method was used to prepare another set of spread plates. (steps 1-2) The bottom of each plate was labelled with the name of the organism (i.e. E. Coli) The tip of the forceps was passed through the flame of the Bunsen burner two to three times in order to sterilise the tip of the forceps. The multidiscs provided are of two types, multidisc M43 which is gram positive, M14 which is gram negative. The multidisc labelled M43 was placed in the agar plate labelled S. Aureus, gently press down on the disc using the forceps. The tips of the forceps are flamed in the Bunsen burner two to three times. The multidisc labelled M14 was placed in the agar plate labelled E. Coli and gently press down on the discs using the forceps to make sure the discs are in contact with the agar. The lids on agar plates were placed and sealed using parafilm. The plates were inverted and incubated at 37Â °C for 24 hours. After a week the plates were recovered and the diameter of the zones of the inhibition of the bacterial growth was measured in millimetres. Experiment one studied the effect of Antiseptics and Disinfectants against the bacteria E. Coli and S. Aureus. The most effective antiseptic used is Savlon as it has the largest zone of Inhibition for both bacterias, in the bacteria E. Coli the zone of inhibition is 18mm (table 1) and in S. Aureus the zone of inhibition is 25mm (table 1). The active compound is Savlon is Cetrimide which is a Quaternary Ammonium Compound (QAC), QAC is a surface active agent that has a hydrocarbon this is hydrophobic and there is another group which is hydrophilic. Surface acting agents are categorized into four areas depending upon the charge and ionisation of the hydrophilic group. The cationic agents show QACs; these agents are used as antiseptics and disinfectants as they have antimicrobial properties. The least effective antiseptic is TCP as it has the least amount of zone of inhibition for both bacterias, for E. Coli the clearance is 20mm (table 1) and for S. Aureus the clearance is 14mm (table 1). The active ingredient in TCP is a Halophenol, Chloroxylenol is the main Halophenol used in antiseptic formulations as its bactericidal. The mechanism of action has not been studied in detail but as it is a phenolic character it is expected to be an antimicrobial The most effective disinfectant towards the bacterium E. Coli is Wilkinsons pine disinfectant as the zone of inhibition is 21mm (table 2), for the bacterium S. Aureus Dettol surface cleaner is the most effective disinfectant as the zone of inhibition is 37mm (table 2). Overall the most effective disinfectant is Dettol surface cleaner as the inhibition zone is S. Aureus is 37mm (table 2), the inhibition zone for E. Coli is 19mm (table 2). The active ingredient in Dettol surface cleaner is Chloroxylenol which also is a Halophenol. The least effective disinfectant was Zoflora spray as the inhibition zone in the bacterium S. Aureus is 26mm (table 2) and in E. Coli it is 17mm (table 2). The active ingredient in Zoflora spray is Benzalkonium chloride which is a QAC therefore a cationic surface acting agent. In addition, several compounds contain QACs such as Mr muscle and Wilkinsons pine Disinfectant but the zone of inhibition varies this may be due to additives present. The additives would dilute the concentration of QAC present hence decreasing the zone of inhibition. Experiment two studied the sensitivity of the multidisc system with the bacteria S. Aureus and E. Coli. The multidisc M43 contains antibiotics that are sensitive to S. Aureus bacteria. The most effective antibiotic towards the gram positive S.Aureus bacteria is Penicillin G as the zone of inhibition is 28mm. Penicillin G works by inhibiting the formation of the bacterial cell wall, this is done by blocking the cross-linking of cell wall structure. The least effective antibiotic in the M43 disc is Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole, the zone of inhibition is 0 mm. Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole work by inhibiting enzymes that is needed in the production of Folic acid, which is an essential compound in the cell. Therefore, the antibiotics can kill bacteria but the process will be very slow. If we incubated the agar plates for longer zone of inhibition may be seen. However, S. Aureus may have become resistant to these antibiotics. If there is partial resistance to either of the antibiotics, the bacteria can be killed by the combination of these two antibiotics. The multidisc M14 contains the antibiotics that are sensitive to E. Coli bacteria. The most effective antibiotic towards the gram negative E. Coli bacteria is Cotrimoxazole as the zone of inhibition is 28 mm. Cotrimoxazole is a combination of Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole which works by inhibiting enzymes producing Folic acid, which is an essential compound in the cell. The least effective antibiotic towards E. Coli is Ampicillin as the clearance zone is 0 mm (Table 4) Ampicillin works by inhibiting the formation of cell wall by blocking the cross linking of cell wall structure. The antibiotic is resistant towards E. Coli due to chromosomal changes or due to the exchange of genetic material via plasmids. As S. Aureus is a gram positive bacterium, in gram positive the cell wall structure is made of peptidoglycan as well as polysaccharides or teichoic acids. The antimicrobial only has to cross one membrane hence the zone of inhibitions is higher in the S. Aureus plates for both experiments one and two. Overall, antimicrobials effectiveness is affected by many factors, some of which are temperature of incubation, concentration of the antibacterial, molecular weight influences crossing the membranes, thickness of membrane and by which mechanism the antibiotic kills or inhibits the bacterial growth. In conclusion, this experiment would have to be repeated several times in order to test reproducibility, and then a clear conclusion could be made. Many antimicrobials are potentially toxic therefore advice should be sought if unsure. Also, as we can see that disinfectants and antiseptics can vary considerably in spite of similar level of active ingredient. This calls for a closer inspection of claims made by companies regarding their products.

college essay -- essays research papers

Accomplishments for my college years My name is NAME. I am Age and I live in WHERE YOU LIVE in fact I have lived here all my life. I am currently attending SCHOOL NAME, which has helped prepare me for my future at a college or university level. I began working with children and youth at a very early age. This began as the leader of recreation summer camps and coaching youth basketball teams, and soon led me to my current career path. When I was sixteen I was very grateful to be approached about designing and implementing a program for youth. It was an excellent experience for me, giving me knowledge and confidence. Over the years I have assisted the gym teachers in my high school and worked with the mentally challenged. They recommedned me for this program because of my athletic ...

nine commentaries on the communist party :: essays research papers

0. Introduction More than a decade after the fall of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European communist regimes, the international communist movement has been spurned worldwide. The demise of the Chinese Communist Party is only a matter of time. 1. On What the Communist Party Is This article concerns the impact on the civilization of China of the communist movement and the Communist Party. Looking at the history of China’s last 160 years, nearly one hundred million people have died unnatural deaths and almost all of the traditional Chinese culture and civilization have been destroyed. What have been the consequences, whether the CCP was chosen by the Chinese or it was imposed on China from the outside? 2. On the Beginnings of the Chinese Communist Party Why did the Communist Party emerge, grow and eventually seize power in contemporary China? Did the Chinese people choose the Communist Party? Or, did the Communist Party gang up and force Chinese people to accept it? The CCP has set itself above all, conquering all in its path, thereby bringing endless catastrophe to China. 3. On the Tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party Today the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s violence and abuses are even more severe than those of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty. The CCP’s philosophy is one of â€Å"struggle,† and the CCP’s rule has been built upon a series of â€Å"class struggles,† â€Å"path struggles,† and â€Å"ideological struggles,† both in China and toward other nations. 4. On How the Communist Party Is an Anti-Universe Force In the last hundred years, the sudden invasion by the communist specter has created a force against nature and humanity, causing limitless agony and tragedy. It has also pushed civilization to the brink of destruction. It has become an extremely malevolent force against the universe. 5. On the Collusion of Jiang Zemin with the CCP to Persecute Falun Gong Why is Falun Gong, which upholds the principles of â€Å"Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance† and has been promulgated in over 60 countries worldwide, being persecuted only in China, not anywhere else in the world? In this persecution, what is the relationship between Jiang Zemin and the CCP? 6. On How the Chinese Communist Party Destroyed Traditional Culture The CCP has devoted the nation’s resources to destroying China’s rich traditional culture. The CCP’s destruction of Chinese culture has been planned, well organized, and systematic, made possible by the state’s use of violence. Since its establishment, the CCP has never stopped â€Å"revolutionizing† Chinese culture in the attempt to completely destroy its spirit.

Falsely Accused :: essays research papers

Falsely Accused   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What has to happen before the media quits jumping to conclusions about news stories ? It makes you wonder about the possibility of legal restrictions on the amount of information that the media can put out before the actual case is proven and solved. I mean after all in the case of Richard Jewell , there was a definite issue of false accusations . This man was treated unfairly under the false assumption that he was guilty of a crime that he did not commit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think that Jewell should defiantly be compensated for the anguish that he had to go through for over three months after that bombing. It was not bad enough that he had to see his co-workers and hundreds of innocent people endangered and injured by the terrible incident in Atlanta. He also had to go through being accused of being behind the whole thing . How much worse could it get? I mean what should people start to think ? He said that he felt like an animal being stalked , just waiting to be killed . Now who are we to listen to ? This innocent man or the media , who obviously will print what it takes true or untrue , to make a story .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think that we as Americans owe the accused of there legal right of innocent until proven guilty before we can start accusing them publicly. There is no reason to believe what is being said in the media until there is some definite truth in the case . I mean just because the cops may have beliefs that there is guilt means nothing . After all the FBI gave the media information and it was plain and simply wrong . The way the FBI handled the case was atrocious and intolerable. Who can we the public trust if we can't even trust a government legal authority? Who are we to go to at that point when the government agencies are falsely accusing us ? I guess that Richard Jewell was just lucky enough to have a brave lawyer that cared and new there was nothing right about the way this man was being treated. I just think that is a serious problem , there have to be some better laws or restrictions .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So in my belief we the public have the right to not be harassed by the media any time previous to the proven guilt in the crime we are accused of .

Facebook

Opportunities and Challenges UKOLN: Supporting the Cultural Heritage Sector Why The Interest In Facebook? Facebook has generated much interest over recent months. Much of the interest has arisen since Facebook announced the Facebook Platform [1] which enabled third party developers to build applications which could be used within the Facebook environment. Since Facebook was developed initially to support students it is not surprising that student usage has proved so popular.This interest has also spread to ther sectors within institutions, with researchers and members of staff exploring Facebook possibilities. What Can Be Done Within Facebook? Social networks such as Facebook can provide a range of benefits to members of an organisation: Connections with peers: The main function of Facebook is to provide connections between people with similar interests. Friends can then send messages to each other (either closed messages or open for others to read). Groups: Facebook users can set up discussion group areas, which can be used by people with interests in the topic of the group.Creation of details of events, which allows users to sign up to, is another popular use of Facebook. Sharing resources: Many of the popular Facebook applications are used for sharing resources. Some of these replicate (or provide an interface to) popular social sharing services (such as Flickr and YouTube) while other applications provide services such as sharing interests in films, books, etc. An environment for other applications: The opening of the Facebook Platform has allowed developers to provide access to a range of applications.ArtShare [2], for xample, provides access to arts resources from within Facebook. Web presence: Although originally designed for use by individuals since November 2007 Facebook can be used as a Web hosting service for an organisational page. It should also be noted that organisational pages in Facebook were redesigned in 2009 so that they more closely resembl e personal pages [3]. Organisational pages are now also able to share status updates. Facebook: Opportunities and Challenges users can set up discussion group areas, which can be used by people witn interests share Status Updates.What Are The Challenges? Reservations about use of Facebook in an institutional context include: Privacy: There are real concerns related to users' privacy. This will include both short term issues (embarrassing photos being uploaded) and longer term issues (reuse of content in many years time). Ownership: The Facebook terms and conditions allow Facebook to exploit content for commercial purposes. Misuse of social space: Users may not wish to share their social space with other colleagues, especially when there may be hierarchical relationships.Liability: Who will be liable if illegal content or copyrighted aterials are uploaded to Facebook? Who is liable if the service is not accessible to users with disabilities? Sustainability and Interoperability: How s ustainable is the service? Can it provide mission-critical services? Can data be exported for reuse in other systems? Resources: The cost implications in developing services for the Facebook platform. Institutional Responses To Such Challenges How should institutions respond to the potential opportunities provided by Facebook and the challenges which its use may entail?The two extreme positions would be to ither embrace Facebook, encouraging its use by members of the institution and porting services to the environment or to ban its use, possibly by blocking access by the institutions firewall. A more sensible approach might be to develop policies based on: Risk assessment and risk management: Analysing potential dangers and making plans for such contingencies. User education: Developing information literacy / staff development plans to ensure users are aware of the implications of use of Facebook, and the techniques for managing the environment (e. g. privacy settings).

Chemistry Research Part 1 Acids Essay

Ethanoic acid is non-toxic and is a weak acid [4], meaning it will not do any damage to most surfaces as it does not corrode or bind to other metals, therefore can be easily removed through washing or rinsing it [2]. Disadvantages: Ethanoic Acid is the slowest de-scaler of the three acids, and is therefore the least effective. It also may cause an unpleasant smell, and can have a negative effect on the taste of coffee [6] meaning one would need to spend longer time rinsing and cleaning the machine thoroughly to ensure that the taste of the coffee is not affected. Citric Acid Advantages: Citric acid leaves behind zero toxic residues and has just enough acidic concentration to descale without etching or damaging household surfaces in any way and there are no volatile compounds or products that harm the environment. Disadvantages: Because citric acid is a weak acid, it won’t remove heavy build-up of scale very quickly. It is also a powder hence it must be dissolved for use. It also works best with hot water meaning there will be higher energy consumption. Even when used with hot water, citric acid is not as effective at descaling as Sulfamic acid. Sulfamic Acid Advantages: Sulfamic acid is the fastest de-scaler – It dissociates into hydroxonium ions more readily in aqueous solution than the others, therefore giving a greater concentration of atoms that are able to react with the calcium in lime scale. It is safe to use because it does not produce chlorine gas [5], which can be toxic. Sulfamic acid also has a low volatility. Disadvantages: Sulfamic Acid can be an irritant to eyes or skin and is the most expensive of the de-scalers. Q2) How these de-scalers remove limescale Limescale forms when hard water is heated above 61Â °C or when it is left to evaporate on surfaces such as taps and showerheads. Hard water is water that contains high quantities of calcium and magnesium ions. These hardness minerals, in the form of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, precipitate out of hard water to form limescale [1]. Therefore, to clean or remove limescale, something needs to dissolve or soften calcium carbonate and/or magnesium carbonate, so it can easily wash away. Acids cause mineral deposits such as rust to oxidise, thereby weakening them and making it possible to simply wash them away. Lime scale removers work by chemically reacting with the lime scale to form safe chemicals and ions. Lime scale is Calcium Carbonate, and when broken down by strong acids, produces Calcium Chloride, Water and CO2. These are much safer, and can be washed away with water, to remove the CaCl from the area. Bibliography [1] http://www.dynapipe.co.uk/how-to-remove-limescale.htm [2] http://www.coffeehomedirect.com/how/to/clean/a/coffee/maker/with/vinegar [3] http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_7404899_delime-coffee-maker.html [4] http://incarinsurance.org/advantages/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-ethanoic-acid-as-a-descaler-.html [5] http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130123013345AA71LkB [6] http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?scy=ZA;slg=ENG;ctn=HD5405/60;dct=FAQ;refnr=0092154;view=aa12_view_partial.html;session=20120502004843_66.249.71.242;faqview=1