Thursday, March 12, 2015

Miniature chemistry kit brings science out of the lab and into the classroom or field

The article “Miniature chemistry kit brings science out of the lab and into the classroom or field” by Amy Adams talks about a device made from a music box that weighs only 100 grams and is able to test water quality or soil samples and take small scale experiments. The article explains that this device created by Manu Prakash and George Korir is able to be hand cranked to wind a punch card that drops a chemical to help detect whether the water and soil are in good quality or not. This device is also able to carry out chemistry experiments without the requirements of a lab and it is also very slim and not bulky which makes it easier to use.  Prakash also created a functional 50 cent microscope which allows many scientists and groups to study the environment.

The watch is able to be used whether you are younger or older it is just a simple set up hand crank machine that helps scientists and humanity find results about water quality and soil quality on sight. This will help with building operations where you have to test the soil for if it is safe and it will also help people be able to do their jobs much quicker than it would to drive back to a lab and have to wait for results when you could find the results at the sight that you are running the experiment on. It is also accessible to the kids crowd where they will be able to do experiments without requiring a laboratory.
The article by Amy Adams could have given a real example of someone using this device to find the water quality or soil quality and had maybe put a couple quotes from the person using the device to see if they preferred it more than waiting in a laboratory. Adams also could have expressed the feelings that scientists had about this new contraption and whether they liked the design and if it should be used to run these types of experiments.

1 comment:

  1. I think Tommy did a great job with his current events. I really like some of the details he add in his article describing what the watch is capable of doing things like how to find results about water quality and soil quality on sight. I also think Tommy did a great job giving an example of how this watch is used and how it affects many people's daily lives. What I think Tommy should have improved on explaining how the watch is made and I also think Tommy could have added some quotes to see if they preferred it more then waiting in a laboratory. Overall I think Tommy informed me some new technology that improves the way you do experiments.

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