Hannah+Wills

//Polymers in the Field//--I found it interesting that the materials used to cushion Astroturf and the materials used to cushion tracks are different. It also seemed strange that track rubber is unused polymer, and perhaps even a tad wasteful. The article was rather vague about a reason for the unused rubber. I do feel that it’s important as a chemistry student to understand that chemistry can apply to hobbies and everyday items.



I've wanted the push for hydrogen fuel cells for several years; however, I've understood that new fuel sources need abundant subsidies. Perhaps in the next few years as gas prices continue to raise people will see hydrogen fuel as economically viable. Hydrogen seems to be the most economically viable because it's so abundant and because it's fairly easy to produce (when compared to ethanol and other biofuels). The infrastructure for hydrogen fuel would also take a while to set up and develop; that probably won't happen until there's money to be made ie. production costs of cars and hydrogen must go down.

//Einstein's Miracle Year//-- The thing I found most interesting about this article was the actual theory of relativity. The clock example seemed pretty interesting and understandable, except, I didn't really understand how the wrist watch would be faster than the classroom clock. Does that mean a metronome would beat faster than 90 bpm? It's difficult to wrap my mind around. I could understand the fact that the light will never reach you if you are traveling a the speed of light, but still, it doesn't make sense that time could fluctuate even if it is relative. It's like the centimeter; a centimeter can't change because it has an accepted value.