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Specialty Chemistry Forums => Other Sciences Question Forum => Topic started by: ccs2cool on April 20, 2004, 01:06:05 AM

Title: "cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: ccs2cool on April 20, 2004, 01:06:05 AM
For my high shcool chem class we have to do a project on a "cutting edge" or current chemistry topic. we are supposed to shadow or interview an  employee of a chemical related industry or do an interactive project with someone in the chemical industry. im not really sure where to start or what topic would be good to do and what industry i could look into for an interview. if you have any ideas please reply to this. i live near stanford and san francisco if that helps
thanks
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Mitch on April 20, 2004, 01:26:55 AM
Can you tell us what major cities you live by?
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Donaldson Tan on April 20, 2004, 03:54:57 AM
I can think of some well-documented cutting edge chemistry..

1. assembly of nano-structures via directed intermolecular bonding
2. DNA Replication (after-all life sciences is in the hots now)
3. laser cooling
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Username on April 20, 2004, 07:47:41 AM
I second that geodome, life sciences would be quite an interesting topic and should be of enough edge cutting.
But if you're not into that field of chemistry why not have a look at the newly discovered type of carbon? There's a link to an article about this topic in the news forum on this site.
Looks like there are already some ideas of what to do with this new type of carbon.
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Scratch- on April 22, 2004, 01:18:45 PM
Laser cooling? I've read about cooling spacecraft with lasers in science fiction but not in real life. Do you know a good site that explains this?
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Donaldson Tan on April 23, 2004, 12:29:54 PM
I dont know any good website to explain laser cooling, but I can reveal u the tip of the ice berg. Temperature is dependent on the average kinetic energy of the particles in the system. If you can reduce the kinetic energy of the particles, the temperature of the system would drop. Laser cooling involves using laser to bombard particles with sufficient energy to stop them from moving significantly, hence bring about the cooling effect.
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Scratch- on April 23, 2004, 12:35:23 PM
Neato, I want one.  ;D
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Corvettaholic on April 23, 2004, 12:41:40 PM
Is it like putting some boulders on the freeway to slow down traffic? So you just zap an atom headon with a laser and get it stop moving forward so freakin fast... I'm sure its more complicated than that, but simple is best for understanding concepts.
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Scratch- on April 23, 2004, 12:46:21 PM
Thats what it sounds like to me.
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: gregpawin on April 24, 2004, 02:58:39 PM
I think its more like a dampened oscillation: like using your hands to stop a tuning fork... or someone could correct me here.Either way, kinda sounds more like physicas to me.
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Scratch- on April 24, 2004, 04:15:13 PM
Sounds confusing... Anyone care to enlighten me?
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Corvettaholic on April 26, 2004, 01:28:58 PM
Oh I think I get it! OK, here we go: take Mr. Atom of whatever element, and he's vibrating like crazy, right? Vibrations are kinetic energy, and thats related to temperature. So, you pound said atom with a laser, and the goal is get it to vibrate less, which means less energy, which means temperature goes down. And like Greg said, it would be like grabbing something thats vibrating, grab it real tight, and YOU will vibrate a little bit but eventually the thing you're grabbing will stop shaking. As far as HOW you would pick the right laser and actually hit a tiny itty bitty atom, thats beyond me. I'm thinking maybe whatever atom they're using is isolated by a magnetic field. I remember reading about some scientists who made a bose-einstein condensate hover in midair with a magnetic field as they pounded it with lasers.
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Scratch- on April 26, 2004, 04:01:28 PM
So they just run an interference pattern with heat instead of light/sound.
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Donaldson Tan on April 27, 2004, 08:24:48 AM
BTW the total KE of a particle not only include the rotational kinetic energy, but also the translational kinetic energy
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: chemicalLindsay on May 30, 2004, 07:38:22 AM
I know some recent chemistry projects .
There are three that I know.

1.Intelligent polymers.They are polymers that "react to their surroundings" not meaning that they are reactive but meaning they have some pretty cool properties.Like they can expand and contract from different currents and voltages,can conduct electricity,can change colours with different voltages,some are photovoltaic,thermostatic(react to heat)and they are all very cool.they even made knee pads for the sydeny roosters (footbal) out of them and they would tell the player every time his knee bent too much when landing.The reason I heard of why they conduct electricity and mover and change colour ETC is because every second or thid monomer of the polymer is an ion and that explains why it stretches,contracts,changes colur,conducts electricity ETC.Thats about all I can remember from the lecture but you could get a bit of imformation from the site that I cant remember.Look just go to google and search for intelligent polymers and you should get one (hint the aussie site is heaps good with lots of information and pics)

2.Now the second one is the electronic ink and i have already posted about that under citizen chemist so you can look at it.
3.Lastly thare is the article about how they are generating electricity from water (It doesent involve turbines or generators its completely revolutionary).

Post if you want the articles on both no 2 and 3
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Corvettaholic on June 01, 2004, 01:36:06 PM
Please do, I like to read about neat ways of electricity generation.
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: chemicalLindsay on June 04, 2004, 07:53:32 AM
basically what it does is from my recollection the scientist squirted water through little holes in a glass disk and a minute electric current was produced.The rest I just worked out and read from the article and I couldn't be bothered to write it all up so here it is ( note it is from the sydney morning herald)

(http://www.gregpawin.chemicalforums.com/ae.jpg)

also here are some of the article you missed.

[Sorry had to change things... page looking too messed up GP]
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Corvettaholic on June 04, 2004, 04:22:02 PM
Well those porous disks are impossible for me to duplicate, but can I order them somewhere? Lets say I wanted a porous disk, like the one in the article, but I wanted it to have a diameter of 1 meter... any ideas where or who I could get to make it for me cheaply?
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: chemicalLindsay on June 05, 2004, 02:12:23 AM
I don't have any ideas who would make some of them (note you should try searching google for some www.google.com) but If you find some please tell me cause I might be able to make the thing myself and then I would use it for my own home electricity generation.I do however have an Idea on how they would make disks like that.I bet you they used some type of really fine laser beam or radiation beam to make some holes like that small.Just  one idea If your house is on a 240 volt I dont know how many amps you might not have to get such a big pourous round glass disk,you could maybee step the power up by a transformer (try a mighty big one,like the ones council install on the power poles and then change the current to DC via a couple of diodes.
(note if you find some pourous glass post) :) :) :) :) :book:
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: Corvettaholic on June 05, 2004, 05:44:00 PM
I'm going to hunt for some of those disks, or some manufacturers, when I go back to work on monday, and I'll let you know what I come up with. I have a fetish for electricity generation in neat ways, so I think this would be a fun and SAFE experiment. Unlike my other ideas  ::)
Title: Re:"cutting edge" chemistry project
Post by: chemicalLindsay on June 06, 2004, 01:53:25 AM
yeah good idea and good luck!