MIT Engineers Create the ‘Impossible’ – New Material That Is Stronger than Steel and as Light as Plastic

 

Matthew Curran

Mr Ippolito

Chemistry D-Odd

2/9/22

 

O'Neill, Mike. “MIT Engineers Create the ‘Impossible’ – New Material That Is Stronger than Steel and as Light as Plastic.” SciTechDaily, 5 Feb. 2022, <https://scitechdaily.com/mit-engineers-create-the-impossible-new-material-that-is-stronger-than-steel-and-as-light-as-plastic/. >

            In this article, the author details the creation of a two-dimensional polymer that self-assembles into sheets, and has the strength of steel with the weight and durability of plastic..   Chemical engineers at MIT developed a polymerization process that allowed them to create a 2-dimensional extremely strong and durable polymer.  Scientists hypothesized for decades about the potential strength of a 2 dimensional polymer but after years upon years of failed attempts it was deemed impossible to create such a polymer, but the process created by chemists and chemical engineers at MIT proved this statement to be false.  

The creation of this 2D polymer is extremely important and relevant to society and will have a large societal effect.  Being a plastic, it can be mass produced and created at a much lower price than that of natural materials and metals.  Experts have already outlined many potential uses such as coating for car parts and cell phones and building bridges.  It is also a big breakthrough for polymer chemistry as a whole and could lead to other polymers with different uses.  

Overall, the author produced a very well written and well informed article.  The article did a great job of not only crediting the many chemists and engineers in the study, but making polymer chemistry and the basics of a polymer very understandable to someone with no prior knowledge on the topic.  I thought he could have done a better job of outlining the potential uses of this polymer and the effects it will have on society.  

Omicron Forces Us to Rethink Covid-19 Testing and Treatments

 

Kane Christian                                                                                                         2/10/2022

Chemistry                                                                                                                Current Event

 

In the article “Omicron forces us to rethink COVID-19 testing and treatments'' written by Tina Hesman Saey and Laura Sanders, the authors go into depth about the current status of the Coronavirus with specific regards to a new Omicron variant. Coronavirus has been America’s biggest struggle over the past few years regarding symptoms, transmission and vaccination. With new variants, such as Omicron, America is faced with uncertainty. The authors begin the article describing some of what we know about Omicron including how it is nearly two times more contagious than the Delta variant and how it also sickens people faster as the virus replicates itself in the body. The authors then list the many challenges that come with Omicron regarding testing and treatment. Through research and studies, Sanders and Saey conclude that saliva swabs are more reliable than nose swabs as the virus lives in the body. The article is concluded with giving the current testing and vaccination status. Although it is unclear how America will fight off Omicron, there is still hope as vaccinations and testing will become more plentiful and reliable. 

It is important for the people of America to understand and stay educated on the current status of Coronavirus. If we all know how to best stay safe and protect ourselves, we can help fight off the virus. As more studies happen and we begin to gain even more knowledge, it will become clear how to prevent spreading and stay healthy. 

            Authors Saey and Sanders do an excellent job making their points clear by separating their information into different sections. They also provide studies by professionals which allows them to use accurate analysis and statistics to help bring their claim. However, while they do a good job educating the reader, the text is extremely dense and hard to understand at times. The paragraphs are very long making it difficult to pick out all of the important information and details.

 

Citation

Saey, Tina Hesman, and Laura Sanders. “Omicron Forces Us to Rethink Covid-19

Testing and Treatments.” Science News, 11 Jan. 2022, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid-coronavirus-omicron-variant-testing-treatment 

Astronomers Find First Ever Rogue Black Hole Adrift in the Milky Way

 

Robert Brown                                                                                                             2/5/22

Core Chem D Odd                                                                                               Current Event 1

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/astronomers-find-first-ever-rogue-black-hole-adrift-in-the-milky-way/

O'Callaghan, Jonathan. “Astronomers Find First Ever Rogue Black Hole Adrift in the Milky Way.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2022, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/astronomers-find-first-ever-rogue-black-hole-adrift-in-the-milky-way/. 

This article detailed the first confirmed discovery of a rogue interstellar black hole. Scientists have observed many different types of black holes over the past few years, ranging from observing and mapping supermassive black holes found at the center of almost every galaxy to detecting gravitational ripples from smaller black holes merging. The one type of black hole scientists have long predicted but never been able to observe or confirm its existence were rogue black holes, “born and flung out from the collapsing core of a massive star”(O’Callaghan 1). The black hole discovered by scientists is the first unambiguous discovery of one of these rogue black holes and represents decades worth of searching. These black holes have been so hard to identify because of their isolated nature and smallish size. The scientists used a technique known as strometry to note the star’s positions as the black hole passed by it over a period of three hundred day and the slight warping of the star’s position confirmed that the black hole was indeed there. The scientists were able to obtain exact measurements while confirming its existence and concluded it has the mass of about 7.1 suns. The hope is that this is just the tip of the iceberg and numerous other projects have been launched to find more of these rogue black holes. 

This discovery is hugely important to astronomy and as such society at large because it represents the next step in our understanding of stellar evolution. Hopefully this is just one of many new discoveries and if that is the case we will fill a huge gap in our understanding of stars’ life cycles, which is critical so we can understand how our sun works. It is also critical because if we want to continue to advance and explore space we need to understand the rules stars and black holes adhere to. Hopefully this discovery marks yet another step on our way to exploring and understanding the vast universe beyond Earth. 

The only critique of this article I could procure is that it is not written with language and pacing that lends itself to being read and understood by beginners. It has incredibly detailed information and explanations, it just fails to present that information that can be easily grasped and understood by science students such as myself. It is clear the author knows what he is talking about but I would suggest starting off with a more in depth summary of the different types of black holes so the reader immediately grasps the magnitude of this discovery’s importance.