Chem II at Junior/Senior Prom May 20, 2011

Allison, Emily, Natasha, Mr. Ippolito, and Austin. most of my Chem II honors class at the prom!

The Answer Is (Artificially) Blowing in the Wind

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/business/22novel.html?ref=science

      Gary Brudving, a Yale chemistry professor, is in the process of making artificial leaves.  Brudving and others are creating a substance which will have the same characteristics of a leaf. He says "We, want to use the principles from nature to design an artificial leaf." Why you ask? He and his colleagues want to create another way in which energy from the sun can be generated inexpensively. These "leaves," made from silicon, will be placed on the top of roofs of homes in third world countries, where people can generate hydrogen in the place they want to use it. However, these teams of scientist working on this are not yet close to releasing this technology. With more than $122 million dollars donated by the federal Department of Energy, the artificial leaf should be perfected in the next 5-7 years.

      This leaf will be very helpful in the future. With this leaf, third world countries now have a way to generate energy without spending a lot of money. This is because by placing these leaves on the roof and placing water on them will abort fossil fuel. Another advantage is that the water used as a catalyst

for these leaves need not be pure, making their usages in these less fortunate countries easier. Soon enough, these leaves could help us heat our homes and run our cars.

      This article was very informative and straight to the point which I liked. However, the article contradicted itself half way through by saying that this technology is revolutionary and ready for use, but then it stated that what is developed so far can not be used which was a bit confusing for me. All in all this was an interesting article.

posted for L. Dowe

Record Snowpacks Could Threaten Western States

This year there have been record amounts of snow. Scientists and analysts are worried that as the record snowstorms traveled into the spring, they are worried that the hot sun and climates of June will make all the snow melt to quickly. The melting of the snow at such a quick rate could ruin towns, villages, and ecosystems. If the snowcaps are to melt at an irregular speed they could release millions of gallons of water which would be tragic and devastating. Many communities have improved their defenses, for example, by fortifying riverbanks to keep streams in place, but those antiflood bulwarks have for the most part not been tested by nature’s worst hits.

I thought this was a good article because while I was at home enjoying all of the snow days that we had in this record year of snow I now realize that it could have tragic effects on our ecosystems. It made me realize how this topic relates to our everyday lives.

I also liked this article because was specific however to the point and was not confusing. It explains an interesting yet important topic about what is going on in nature today.

Johnson, Kirk. "Record Snowpacks Could Threaten Western States." Nytimes.com. Web. 22 May 2011. .

Simpler Antidote for Heavy Eyelids

           This article is about an item called the Anti Sleep Pilot. It is a device that drivers can by for $179 and put on the dashboard of their car. When you first get it you are required to answer a series of questions, which cover the 26 different fatigue factors. Then once you start driving the devices monitors you as you drive to determine if you are becoming drowsy. It periodically makes you touch the device to show that you are still capable of driving. It then monitors your response time to the device and others factors to determine if you are sleepy or not. The drowsier it thinks you are the more often it beeps and requires you to touch it. Eventually when it determines that you need a rest, a loud alarm sounds and the light goes red.

            This article relates to us in many ways. One of them being that most of the kids in our class can either drive or are getting their permits very soon. And this is a very big topic in the car industry now a day. Mercedes and Volvo are two leading car companies who have been trying to find a new system to install in their cars to prevent car accidents from drowsy drivers. If these devices prove to be helpful and work for the drivers it would be a huge advantage.

            I thought that overall this was a well-written article and provided a lot of good and interesting information about these new devices. The only problem was that they did not talk about how this particular device works enough. They spent a lot of time on other information which wasn’t as important.

Quain, John R. Simpler Antidote for Heavy Eyelids. New York, New York: New York TImes, 2011. N. pag. Web. 22 May 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/automobiles/22DROWSY.html?ref=technology>.

New Material Could Improve Safety for First Responders to Chemical Hazards

          In a recent issue of Advanced Materials a new technology that involves carbon nanostructures and their potential use as microsensors for violent organic compounds. This technology would be made for first responders of all kinds who are aiming to protect themselves from unknown vapors. The greatest dangers posed to these workers comes when the airborne toxins become trapped in the filters of the responder’s gas mask. As of now people who are put in these environments are merely told to know the amount of time they’ve worn the gas mask. This is where the new technology would come in to play. Because of their likeness to the airborne compounds, these new carbon microsensors would be able to notify workers as to the different toxins that are being filtered and how much carbon is trapped within the filter by changing colors.

         Overall I thought it was a very important article and certainly timely with all of the disasters that have happened throughout the world. These disasters including the most recent devastation in the American south and earlier the tragedy that had struck Japan with the tsunami. I also thought it was especially intriguing that the people who helped develop this at UCSD and Tyco Electronics had the idea that carbon nanostructures could be used as an indicator for toxins and excess carbon. Although nothing is really happening in our area that would call for this new technology it would still be useful in case anything were to happen at the Indian Point Nuclear Plant.

          The article itself, in my opinion, was well written and concise. I also thought the writers from ScienceDaily who wrote the article were smart to bring this minor subject to light especially since the world we live in is so unpredictable. I also think that this technology would be more than helpful should Nostradamus, the 16th century soothsayer, be correct in his prediction that the Mayan calendar was correct in saying that the world will end on December 21, 2012. In all seriousness though this new technology could be very helpful in any sort of removal of old infrastructure, especially during the upcoming age where the United States and other world powers are going to have to change the way we develop and use energy.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110501183923.htm

Intel Increases Transistor Speed by Building Upward

          On Wednesday, Intel announced that by building a microprocessor’s transistor above the surface, they could make chips that are smaller, faster, and lower-power. This is different from the typical design of most computer chips. Most microchip transistors have been two dimensional, but now designers are turning to the third dimension. The design used is called a FINFET, based on a small pillar of silicon rising above the chip surface. Despite this, many feel that Intel is spending billions on what could be a bad decision. Some think Intel could win the technology battle, but lose the battle in the marketplace, because it is not involved in the growing smartphone market. However, Intel is acknowledging the challenges they face with this new design.

          This article is important because regardless of whether Intel’s new FINFET design is successful or not, it will have an impact on the technology market. If it is successful, it could revolutionize technology. If it is a failure, it could be used as an example of a multibillion-dollar mistake.

          This article was very interesting. It is important because the FINFET design could either become a success or a failure, and it could be a major part of future computer design. Whether FINFET is a success or failure, it will impact Intel’s future and inspire major changes in computer design.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/science/05chip.html?_r=1&ref=science

Eye Vs. Camera, Eye will always win.

          I picked this article because as having done photography, I've always wondered why the image seen was different from the image photographed. This article provides a detailed look as to the differences between what an eye and a camera lens sees. At the University of California, Berkeley neurobiologists have discovered that nerve cells in the eye inhibit neighboring cells, enabling them to enhance edges. This process is called "lateral inhibition" and was first observed in horseshoe crabs in 1967. In addition to nerve cells inhabiting their neighbors in the retina, they also aid in the response of the nearest pair of nerve cells. The boost keeps the information in the rods and cones, retaining faint detail and also accentuating edges. This combination of negative and positive feedback enables the eye to increase contrast. To accommodate different times of day, our eyes have a sheet of different rods and cones for day and night. The eye focuses on an image and puts it on this sheet. Each receptor generates a response proportional to the intensity of light in the image. The signal releases a chemical neurotransmitter, and the image is relayed to the brain. The reason the eye is much sharper than a camera is because cameras do not have the mechanical capability of taking an image and enhancing it as much as the eye does.

          This article is important to science because with more knowledge of the eye we will be able to improve many people's lives. For those who are blind or sight impaired, we might be able to discover ways to improve or fix their sight. With this information we will be able to develop technology that may range from life saving night-vision gear to higher quality cameras.

          This article was well written, informative, and incredibly interesting. Though the subject matter was difficult to understand at times, it was presented in colloquial diction which made comprehension easier. Additionally, I learned a great deal from reading the article, and appreciated that it was both direct and brief.


Sanders, Robert. University of California - Berkeley (2011, May 3). Why the eye is better than a camera at capturing contrast and faint detail simultaneously. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 4, 2011

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110503171734.htm