Harder Than
Diamonds?
By Sid Perkins
This
article that I read is all about how scientists may have found created a
material harder than diamonds.
Previously it is though that if you scrape diamond on any surface, it
will make a scratch. But because of Li
Wang that ma not be the case. To make
this new super-hard substance, he took carbon molecules called fullerenes and
added a carbon rich liquid called xylene.
These two molecules weakly link so they stay far apart. They finally put the mixture in a diamond
anvil cell which squeezes it into extremely high pressures, about the weight of 300 elephants. The fullerene than broke apart and created a
new hard and dense structure. When
researched looked at the diamond anvil cell, some of the diamond cracked!
This
discovery can be extremely useful to mankind in many ways. For one, it can make super strong tools to
increase efficiency in saw blades or sandpaper. It can also be put into bullet-proof
vests. The uses in the industrial world
are endless. This material may have even
greater uses that we don’t know about yet because as Li Wang said they are
unsure of the materials properties.
I
thought this article was very well written.
For one, the process of explaining the procedure in making the material
is very complex, but the writer made it clear to me. Also, I liked how he explained that although
this is an amazing discovery, the samples they made were very small and further
research is needed before anything is done with it.
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/10/harder-than-diamonds/
7 comments:
I liked how Jimmy picked an article that was interesting yet scientific. Sometimes the articles found are more boring and lose my attention span. I thought he did a good job of explaining what it was that they had found. This new material that was harder than a diamond seemed like it was very important for the modern world. Diamonds are so expensive and it would be good to find a cheaper yet stronger material. I also liked how Jimmy included what this new discovery could do for mankind. For example, saws, bulletproof vests and sand paper could be improved by this technology. This helps our industrialization process.
I thought Jimmy could have improved on making the wording simpler. I thought the language was a little too scientific which made it confusing at times. With just a better vocabulary he could have better summarized the events. Some of the terms he used were too advanced for my knowledge of science so it would have been very helpful to use more regular vocabulary to increase my understandings. I also would have liked to know a little more about Li Wang, even a short sentence would have sufficed. I just felt that the review would be just that much clearer and maybe we could even learn about a new famous scientist too.
Overall, I thought this was a very interesting article. The fact that this new material is stronger than diamonds in a huge breakthrough in our society and I think this will allow our society to advance in ways were have never thought of before. What may seem not as important at first may become the foundation of tomorrow.
Matt James
Chem II
Commentary
I read Jimmy Purdy’s commentary on the article, Harder than Diamonds? By Sid Perkins. I really liked his first paragraph, the way he introduced how diamonds were previously thought of and how the new substance might change that gave a great overview of the general topic of this article. Another thing I liked about this review was his description of how this new, super hard substance was formed and why it was able to do so. A final thing I liked about this review was how informative it was, strait to the point Jimmy laid out all of the facts, and how the new substance will be beneficial to mankind as a whole.
The only issue I had with this review was the lack of a quote from the article. I always feel that a quote helps link the review to the article and show the overall tone of the article.
One thing that I learned from this article was that diamonds may not always be the hardest substance there is.
Maxim Izotov
Article Review 11/29/12
I found Jimmy’s review to be quite interesting. In particular, one thing he did great was that he explained the process of making the diamonds in such a way that it was pretty easy for me to understand, even though it sounds like a pretty complicated topic. Another good aspect of this review in my opinion is the fact that Jimmy related the creation to our world. All of a sudden, I was drawn into the topic even more. Last but definitely not least, I found it spectacular that Jimmy went into detail with units or examples, for instance: ”They finally put the mixture in a diamond anvil cell which squeezes it into extremely high pressures, about the weight of 300 elephants.”
Although the review had great information, it was not very well written. I was able to notice a lot of mistakes and accidents when reading it. In fact, some of the mistakes were critical, such as the first sentence, in which the word “found” is written beside “created,” causing confusion that plays a large role in comprehension of the review. Second and last, I was surprised that Jimmy didn’t discuss why the materials of this substance are unknown, since that could possibly even lead to the discovery of a new element!
I found this topic very interesting, particularly because it can reinvent things, such as the body armor that Jimmy mentioned. In addition, I even thought that since the materials in the substance are unknown, something might get discovered soon.
I thought that Jimmy did a very nice job on picking a topic that would make the reader want to read on and not lose interest. He explained how the substance is made to be harder than diamonds. I found it very cool that the materials weight was equal to the weight of 300 elephants. I liked how Jimmy explained how this new material can be useful to mankind and new materials it can make.
This isn’t Jimmy’s fault but I wish that the author knew what the materials properties were, it would be nice to compare the properties of this new material to the diamonds material. Another thing I wish Jimmy did differently was use more simple wording, it would make it easier for the reader to understand and be more intrigued. I wish there was more information on the scientist and how he went about discovering this new material and why?
One thing I found very interesting was that this particular material weighs the same amount as 300 elephants and was able to split the diamond
Jimmy did a really good job at reviewing this article. He did a very nice job at staying on topic. He did not stray off when talking about background information. Also he gave a nice background to why diamonds are important and their purpose in this article. Finally Jimmy did a nice job keeping the vocabulary simple. Science articles tend to get a bit wordy and hard to understand, but Jimmy did a nice job keeping the vocabulary at a comprehensible level.
To improve the review he could have used the pronoun “I” less. It would have made it a little more formal. Also there are a few minor typos but that is not a big deal.
One thing I learned was they found a material harder than diamonds, which is interesting because for years we have been taught diamonds are the hardest material.
I liked that Jimmy chose an article that was unique and interesting. I felt that this article was on a topic that wasn't so conventional, and I really enjoyed that. I also liked how Jimmy cited specific details about the article, such as the materials ("carbon molecules called fullerenes and added a carbon rich liquid called xylene"), which I felt was helpful to understand how Li Wang accomplished his goal. I also liked how Jimmy gave examples of how we can use this substance in everyday situations; such as in saw blades, sandpaper, and bullet-proof vests. I felt this was also helpful to my understanding.
I thought that Jimmy could have given more examples of how the material is being used now, which would have enabled me to see its effectiveness. It would have been interesting to know how big of an impact the substance has had on the world currently. I also thought that Jimmy could have varied his word-usage a little more, as I found some sentences to be redundant.
Overall, I felt that this article was an excellent and unconventional choice, and I was very interested in the topic. I learned about a new material, which accomplished the seemingly impossible; having a harder property than a diamond.
I read Jimmy’s review on the article Harder than Diamonds? By Sid Perkins. I liked how this article was scientific yet very interesting to me. I found it interesting that my whole life I was taught that diamonds where the hardest thing in the world and not it seems like that could be wrong. I also liked how they described how this new substance is made and how it differs from how diamonds are. I would have liked to see pictures of this new substance to see how it relates to diamonds and I would have liked to read more about how and why with is made. Overall I really liked this and found it very interesting. I learned a lot and I look forward to learning more about this new substance soon.
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