harder than diamonds?

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/

Filthy Water in California Farmworker Communities

Brown, Patricia Leigh."Filthy Water in California Farmworker Communities." The NewYork Times. The New York Times, 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Nov. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/us/tainted-water-in-california-farmworker-communities.html?ref=science>.

            This article describes the problem of water contamination in Seville, California, and the obstacles that people face due to the unsafe water. The town is very poor, and paying for clean water can take up to 10% of a person’s income. The area is predominantly agricultural; the mean salary amounts to $14,000 a year, and the land is ridden with pesticide and over irrigation. The tap water is so dirty that the residents cannot use it for anything. The parents live in fear of the children drinking water while cooling off with a hose or accidentally coming in contact with the contaminated liquid. The non-bottled water could cause thyroid disease and “blue baby syndrome,” which lowers the body’s blood capacity to carry oxygen.
            This article is very alarming as water is a necessity and there are clearly gaps in our infrastructure that need to be addressed. These already poor residents must pay extra for water because there is no other source of clean, safe drinking water. It also highlights how quickly our resources are draining. The amount of fresh water is decreasing and it is becoming contaminated. The article also sheds light on how important it is to ensure that everyone is getting safe, clean drinking water that doesn’t cost exorbitant amount of money. Here we take the substance for granted, but just across the country there are people going thirsty. Something should be done about this issue, as is dangerous to the community and children.

            I believe that the author did a very could job explaining the situation and how the absence of fresh water is detrimental to the community as a whole. I feel as if the author could have expanded more on the diseases that could be contracted from drinking the water, as they were mentioned only in one sentence. It left me wondering if people in the town have gotten the diseases and if the government has done anything about this. I also feel as if thee author should have written about what we could do to help those in this situation (or if there is anything we could do at all). Other than that, it was a very informative, well-written article.