Denzel+Hopkins

After reading the article "Polymers in the Field" I was not only able learn many things, but was able to find things related to my AP chem class as well. One of the many things I learned while reading the article involves the evolution of the polymer field. When it first was introduced in the mid 1960's it was called chem grass and made of nylon. It is now however, commonly known as astro-turf and is made of thin polymers. One thing I found interesting was the fact that these fields aren't suppose to be constructed on a 100% flat surface. Instead, it is critical that each end of the field be put on a little bit of a slope so that water does not build up in the center of the field. Lastly, the fact that none of this stuff would be possible without chemistry is what i find to be pertinent to my AP chemistry class.

I read the article on "Is the Hydrogen Car of the Future Running on Empty?". Overall, i found this article to be very interesting. It talked about the future of cars in not only America but the entire world as well and about the pros and cons of having hydrogen powered cars in the environment. The main point of this article seems to be that these type of cars will prove to be better over time due to the fact that they give off less harmful products to the environment. I actually agree with this concept but when asked about whether or not it will ever happen i honestly don't think it will work. Not only because the costs of these cars are way too expensive for the average person to afford, but also because of how much of a hassle it will be for anybody who would ever own one of these. There aren't very many hydrogen pumps around right now and even if there were not many of the rich people would want to invest a fortune on a car like this that isn't even very stylish...i know i wouldn't. One thing i found interesting about this article is the actual process that goes into getting a hydrogen based engine to work. I had know idea it was that complex of a system. I learned that these cars are alot more economy friendly on releasing nothing much more than water vapor. The whole process that takes place between the hydrogen gas and the compact fuel cell pertains to our class because of all the reactions that take place.

After reading the article "Einstein's Miracle Year" I was astonished at how the young Einstein single handedly changed the world of chemistry over such a short span of time. Not only did he disprove theories of well established chemists like Bohr, but he proposed better ideas and gave well thought out explanations for everything. He started what some could call a new era for science. After his discoveries, there were new ideas being proposed by other chemists and many more experiments were being conducted. His efforts during the early 20th Century is the reason why things make so much sense to us today. He certainly made things easier for people of the 21st century. One thing I learned after reading the article is that Einstein was a chemist. I honestly only thought he was a mathematician. One thing i found interesting is that when we look at a clock were actually viewing what the clock was projecting a split second before we looked up....i thought that was really weird. This article pertains to chemistry class because the foundation of this class is partly based on what Einstein did 100 years ago.

Periodic Table: After reading the article "The Many Looks of the Periodic Table" I was amazed to see the many different ideas and viewpoints that scientist today have about the periodic table. The scientists whose ideas i was particularly interested in were that of Mr. Jeff Moran. He has very well thought about ideas about how the actual periodic table should be formatted and gives excellent reasons as to why it should be this way. However, there is one minor turn off as to why his idea isn't exactly flawless. The whole idea of the concept is pretty interesting but I'm afraid it might be a little too much for the average American to comprehend; but other than that I agree with him 100%. One thing I found interesting is that so many people can come up with so many ideas for the periodic table that makes sense. I learned that many of today's scientists feel that the element Hydrogen is misplaced on today's standard periodic table. This article pertains to this AP chemistry class because chemistry is all about elements and elements are what make up the periodic table.