Adam+Chismar

__Polymers in the Field__ It surprised me to learn that the SBR granules used in the artificial turf are actually ground up tires. Old tires that can no longer be used on cars are ground up into to tiny bits and are then used as the final layer of turf, being placed on top of the sand and simulated grass. I found this interesting because when the marching band performs our pre-game show on the football turf, little black beads fly everywhere when you march over them and I always wondered what they were. Here it turns out that they are actually recycled tires.

__Is the Hydrogen Car of the Future Running on Empty?__ I read the article on hydrogen cars of the future. I found it interesting that a Honda Hydrogen fuel cell car costs the same as a Lamborghini. It was also interesting to read that the emissions from the car were water vapor. I think that it is amazing that a car has been created, in which it is so environmentally friendly that even the emissions are positive contributors to the environment. It is also interesting that society finds that a car that gets only 8 miles per gallon (the Lamborghini) is better than a hydrogen fuel cell car than is spectacular for the environment.

__Einstein's Miraculous Year__ I found many interesting things is this article. The first thing that I found interesting was that each metal has its own photoelctronic frequency. 19th century physicists would shine light on a metal and calculate the photoelectric effect by using an EMD. By using this, the physicists could determine the specific frequency to that particular metal. I also learned that electrons release packets of energy. I think that this will be helpful to class because I will need to know this in order to solve equations. It is important to learn how electrons interact with their surroundings and will be useful for the remainder of this course and any additional Chemistry courses I may take in the future.

__The Many Looks of the Periodic Table__ I found that this article was particularly important to my current studies here at Central York High School. The article states that elements are placed in the periodic table based on certain traits that they all have. This will be important to me because I need to know what the traits are and how they specifically relate to the groups they effect. I also found it interesting at the various the table has been set up by using circles, spirals, and other curves. I found this particularly interesting because I’m used to only seeing the chart set up one way and the other methods were quite interesting.