What I learned...

The first blog I visited was Jen's, whose topic focuses on the the combustion of alkali metals in water. I learned that all reactions are rather violent, and increasingly so as one progresses down the alkali column of the Periodic Table. What causes the reaction is that an alkali metal reacts with water to produce and alkali hydroxide and hydrogen gas, and in the course of the reaction an intense amount of heat is formed and released. This heat combusts with the hydrogen gas which results in the combustion of the entire alkali metal. All interesting stuff.

The next blog I visited was Sandra's, who is writing on farming and using organic and chemicals methods as fertilizers, insect repellents and other farm-stuff. She writes about organic farming versus farming using man-made chemicals. She pointed out that organic farming is not as safe and non-hazardous as we are often lead to believe. Massive quantities of natural chemicals can be dangerous as shown in insect repelling rotenone which has been linked to Parkinson's Disease. While chemical treatments for plants are very effective, insects will eventually develop immunity to these chemicals. More int'restin' stuff.

The final blog I visited was Rick's which was on combustion engines. It was very interesting reading about the process of how a combustion engine works and powers a car, which is called the Otto cycle. What I thought was very interesting was that ethanol, which is often mixed with gasoline, produces a more efficient and cleaner reaction.

Is nanotechnology good or bad?

While there is great potential for nanotechnology, there is also risk involved. The benefits include, of course, good things. These range from aiding in medicine or in day to day objects. The risks can be associated with medicine as well as day to day things. For example, nanotechnology has been used in experiments to seek out and destroy cancer cells. But at the same time, nano molecules have been shown to enter the nasal passage and settle in the brain, as witnessed in rats, which could potentially be harmful. Once again with the sun screen, apparently the only actual example I can find and use over and over again, is a prime example of the questions surrounding nanotechnology. The nano-particles found in many different types of sun screens help to provide a thick, even coat to help prevent against sun burn. These ultra-microscopic particles have the potential to permeate the skin however, possibly harming the individual.


A knowledge in chemistry is important because much work involved with nanotechnology includes the shrinking of molecules of metals such as aluminum, gold and silver for medical uses for sensitive parts for specific purposes. It is important to know how these elements and molecules react with others. As well, do the affected particles retain their normal properties, or are they subject to the laws of the world of quantum physics, which acts and differs greatly from the world as we observe it?


While I did not mention any of these words in my post, they are common in articles and sources concerned with nanotechnology. Taken from MedicalDesign.com:

Nanotechnology glossary

Here are a few of the more frequently encountered nanotech terms.

Buckyball: A hollow, nearly spherical molecule of carbon atoms which comes in a variety of geometries including C-60 and C-70. Buckyballs can capture small molecules and atoms, such as nitrogen, and might serve as containers in the nanoworld. C-60 has been found in asteroids, signifying that these are also of primordial origin. Buckyballs, or Fullerenes can be made in the lab as well. The endcap of a carbon nanotube is a hemisphere of a Buckyball.

Carbon Nanotubes: A nanotube is a long cylinder whose diameter is just a few nanometers. Most often, nanotubes are made of carbon. The carbon nanotube's structure can be thought of as a sheet of graphite (carbon atoms bonded in a chicken wire pattern) which has been rolled into a cylinder. The cylinder can be hundreds of microns long and capped at each end with half of a buckyball.

Nanoshells: Invented in 1998 by Naomi Halas at Rice University, nanoshells are a new class of multi-layered nanoscale particles with unique optical properties controlled by the thickness and composition of their constituent layers. In form, nanoshells resemble malted milk balls, but the coating is gold instead of chocolate, and the center is a sphere of glass. Just 100 nanometers in diameter, nanoshells are about onetwentieth the size of a red blood cell.

By varying the relative size of the glass core and the gold shell layer, researchers can "tune" nanoshells to respond to different wavelengths of light. For biomedical applications, nanoshells can be designed and fabricated to absorb near infrared light. Near infrared light, a region of the spectrum just beyond the visible range, is optimal for medical imaging and treatment because it passes harmlessly through soft tissue.

Nanotechnology: A technology that creates small materials at the scale of molecules by manipulating single atoms. The name nano comes from the size of molecules which is measured in nanometers, or one billionth of a meter (1 x 10-9m).

Quantum dots: Small devices that contain a tiny droplet of free electrons. They are fabricated in semiconductor materials and have typical dimensions between nanometers to a few microns. The size and shape of these structures and therefore the number of electrons they contain, can be precisely controlled. A quantum dot can have anything from a single electron to a collection of several thousands. The physics of quantum dots shows many parallels with the behavior of naturally-occurring quantum systems in atomic and nuclear physics. As in an atom, the energy levels in a quantum dot become quantized due to the confinement of electrons. Unlike atoms however, quantum dots are easily connected to electrodes and are therefore excellent tools to study atomic-like properties.

Bibliography

Montgomery, Jeff. "Risks of Nanos No Small Matter." Delaware Online. 2 Dec. 2007. 27 Jan. 2008 .

Prigent, Gilles. "[OPINION] "the Opportunities for Good and Bad Offered by Nanotechnology Demand an International Response"" Scitizen. 12 Sept. 2006. 28 Jan. 2008 .

Reitz, Victoria. "Nanotechnology the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." Medical Design. 1 Dec. 2005. 27 Jan. 2008 .

Assignment from last year

Added some more links.

I figure I can narrow my research to topics such as is nanotechnology good or bad, what is to become of it in the future, something like that, not just on nanotechnology itself but its influence on other things. There seems to be a considerable amount of information concerning whether nanotechnology is beneficial or not. Going back to what I wrote earlier, sun tan lotion with employing nanotechnology offers a better protective coat, but at the cost of potential damage to skin by nano molecules entering the porous skin membrane.


Commented on Jen's, Sandra's and Rick's blogs.

Researching + Nanotechnology

While finding suitable sources to use and cite for research, one much account for the credibility of said source. The most important method that I employ is just reading over the entire article and examining it for spelling errors. Usually if there area lot of spelling errors, the information is not completely correct, or so has been the case for me. As well, if I feel as though the document is correct, it reads and feels right, then I use it and it is usually correct information.

Things that lead you to believe that an article is legitimate is most important, checking other sources, but also checking on the original source to see if it cites other sources in order to back up what it says. Wikipedia does so, and is in fact a very good source for information, contrary to what professionals in academia may say. One must know to cross reference what he reads on Wikipedia with other trusted sources, however. Other than the potential risk that a document is incorrect on Wikipedia, the only thing one must look out for is for bias within the document, as it was written by pretty much a bunch of random people from all over the place, each with a different perspective and understanding.

Also, I officially declare my topic for our chemistry project as Nanotechnology. <3

Nanotechnology, I suppose

After trying to research how chemistry has improved products and not having much luck, I have decided to focus on nanotechnology for my topic. There is a lot of information on nanotechnology, so that makes it easier for me. It also helps that I find nanotechnology interesting as well, I suppose.

Nanotechnology is a growing business, with lots of possibilities in the future. It is estimated to be worth trillions of dollars in the near future. It is possible to do many amazing things with this technology, but there are many uncertainties surrounding it as well. Nano particles present in sunscreen have the potential to permeate the skin, which could be hazardous. On the other hand, these nano particles create a very good cover of sunscreen. Another example is how gold is chemically inactive, while gold nanoparticles are highly reactive.

Examples of things scientists can do with nanotechnology include being able to literally print batteries onto surfaces, or create incredibly small machines, which could lead to the creation of very, very small computers and other devices.

Overall, the science and politics surrounding nanotechnology is very interesting and will be an important issue in the future.

A topic

I don't know what I will write on, but I'm sure that I will think of a topic right before it's due.

Potentially:

-Chemistry in food products (Very broad...)

-Chemistry in creating new medicines

-Use of Chemistry in making every day things


::Edit:: I believe I will focus on how chemistry has played an important role in the development of products. Such as how a product was made before, and now with advanced technology and chemistry it is different / better / more effective. For example, Sun Screen has nano-molecules, which provide a better coverage of the applied surface, but as a consequence, these smaller particles have the potential to permeate the skin, which could be hazardous.

So maybe rather, I should focus on nano-technology.

Chem Blog

Chem Blog.