Sunday, December 18, 2011

Blog Post 16: Dr. Matt Ray Presentation

Yesterday we had a very informative talk on nanoparticles termed colloids. Dr. Ray showed some great images and videos of nanoparticles in solutions.

1. Describe your observation of the common liquid in which he started his talk.
The picture of the milk was extremely interesting, the fact that you could literally see the material moving around and interacting with each other was pretty sweet.

2. Dr. Ray explain two ways in which keep small particles from sticking to themselves and aggregating in to large masses. He explained that the surface area of these particles is important to maintain to feel the benefits of the nanosize. Explain those two methods that he described.

Blog Post 15: Dr. Asthana Presentation

Dr. Rajiv Asthana presented to our class his work on nano and micro materials. There were two topics that were of particular interest. For this post I would like for you to explore the topics/questions below:

1. What are grains and grain boundaries in a material? I suggest you focus on metals. Explain how material properties are affected by the size of these grains. Grain Boundaries are the alignment of the atoms which are created when the metal is manufactured.

2. How does one engineer or process materials to reduce the grain size? In particular, I would like for you to explore and then explain how single crystal silicon is produced for the solar industry. One process of reducing the grain boundaries of a substance is to heat the material to an extremely high temperature and then very rapidly cool the material. This will result in extremely small sized grain boundaries

Blog Post 14: Final Exam/Project

The final invention project is Due Dec 19, Monday and to be presented to the class during the final exam period which is at 10:00 am in room 150.

An electronic file needs to be submitted of the presentation and the poster to Dr. Schultz. Please submit these in the dropbox on the D2L site.

Blog Post 13: Nano and Proteins




1. Post a brief description (and link) to a general overview of MALDI.
MALDI is a great way to examine the molecular structure of different materials.
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/analytical-chromatography/spectroscopy/maldi-mass.html
2. Post an image (3D) of the following proteins: microcystin LR, collagen, and pick another one of your favorite proteins.

3. Post the size of each of these proteins in nanometers.
Microcystin LR: Around 200nm
Collagen: Around 350nm
Hemoglobin: Between 500-1000nm

4. Research and post a cool nano-application that involves proteins.

A great resource for protein is at the Protein Data Bank at: http://www.pdb.org/pdb/home/home.do

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Blog Post 12: Invention Background/References

Post 10 references to your invention project. Post a brief paragraph of the summary of each of your references. These references must be from the primary literature which can be accessed through the UW-Stout library. I suggest utilizing Web of Science and Science Citation Index.

1. http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.35
a. This article discussed the implication that nanotechnology is already beginning to have on environmental and human health. It further notes that much research is needed before this field can further expand. However this article is from 2007 so I’m sure much has been done in this area since that time.
2. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/lab/45937
a. In the article linked above the process of plasma nanofabrication is described in detail and the benefits of the process are outlined. Previous methods for manufacturing nanomaterial’s have often involved human and environmental exposure which could prove to be harmful.
3. http://nanoyou.eu/attachments/502_EXPERIMENT%20D2%20_Appendix%20I%20for%20teachers.pdf
a. Nanoyou.eu provided great explanations of how, by reducing the size of an atom, the surface area of that atom increases at an incredible rate. This is important to our project because we are attempting to invent a tire tread that provides much great traction to the road.
4. http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology/introduction/introduction_to_nanotechnology_3.html
a. In our last class period Dr. Matt Ray gave a presentation detailing how surface area is a very important characteristic of nanotechnology and is one of the main reasons why nanotechnology has fascinated many scientists. This site detailed how and why this surface area increased and why it’s so important.
5. http://apps.webofknowledge.com/full_record.do?product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&SID=P2Ido1Miibk1@hBL@53&page=1&doc=2
a. The article linked above mainly focuses its discussion around the environmental concerns surrounding nanotechnology. However this article did not say much about specifics but it brought up a good point that nanotechnology could have unseen dangers in the near future.
6. http://www.unisci.com/stories/20022/0612023.htm
a. Dr. Persson works with Formula one tire’s and in this brief article describes the current struggles to create a tire made of a material that has a good ratio of toughness yet is supple enough to be able to grip uneven surfaces with ease. This gave great insight into the struggles faced by tire companies to innovate their products each and every day possible.
7. http://www.bhrgroup.com/applying_nano-coatings_to_rubber.aspx
a. The BHR Group studies Fluid Engineering and one of their current research projects is applying a nano-coating to rubber fitting to provide a better seal and also provide a material that is less friction pron.
8. http://www.navysbir.com/04_1/2.htm
a. Icephobic coatings are currently being researched by several companies to be applied to electrical components that are commonly exposed to the outdoors, also this concept is sort of what our invention hopes to help solve by creating a rubber texture that is almost completely weather resistant.
9. http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.35
a. Current uses of similar applications of the invention we proposed are described in the link above. A nano film is applied to machinery and used as lubrication. The nano-film in which they create has similar sliding characteristics of rubber.
10. http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.35
a. At the Rice University in Houston, Texas they have proposed an idea that utilizes nanotechnology to create a rubber which would be 3 times stronger than current rubber but would maintain its elasticity.

Blog Post 11: Invention Team/Timeline

Post the names of the individuals working on your invention team. Describe the activities that each person is engaged with and list the timeline for your activities to complete your invention project. The invention complete project is due Dec 12. Each team needs to create a 24" x 26" poster that describes the invention. Topics/questions to address on the poster are:

what is the issue/opportunity you are trying to address? Describe the background and current efforts to address this issue/opportunity
describe your invention that utilizes nanotechnology, describe what makes the invention based on nanotechnology
describe the materials and processing that would be needed to make the invention
address any safety/environmental concerns
address costs for developing and producing
address any regulations that may need to be addressed
address the consumer acceptance of this nano-invention.

Blog Post 10: SEM Image

Monday, November 7, 2011

Blog Post 9: Intro to Invention Project

Begin to collect thoughts on a Nano invention or innovation. Choose a topic/idea and post this. Also decide on a partner or group and post who is in this partnership/group.

The concepts surrounding nanotechnology that interest me the most definitely relates to the medical field but for my invention project I think will research and brain storm on ideas and concepts that apply more to the consumer. Such as, how can fast food or grocery stores use nanotechnology to be less wasteful or more efficient. I will more than likely work solo but would be open to considering a partner if required

Blog Post 8: Applications

Find 10 nano-applications of interest to you. Post a brief description and a link for more info. For each application, explain the "nano" part based on the descriptions of what makes nano special from the nano.gov website: http://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/special

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Blog Post 7: Diffraction Experiment with Simulation

Utilizing the difrfaction slides and laser pointers address the following questions.

1. What is the 4 patterns printed on the slides? Somehow draw and post this pattern on your blog, and explain how you arrived at this pattern.






2. Determine the distance between the line patterns on the slides, and how thick the lines may be based on your changing of the simulator to duplicate the pattern you measured.

3. Setup the light wave simulator to simulate the patterns on the 35 mm slides. Grab a picture of these simulations and post them for each of your patterns.


4. Which light can measure smaller things, red light or green light? Post an image of the simulator demonstrating this.
The green light measures smaller objects because the wave length of the green light is a much smaller wavelength

Blog Post 6: Good Nano Websites


Develop a list of at least 10 good Nano websites. Get two types, one of a general nature, and one that is focused on your interests.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Blog Post 5: Wave Interference



1. Measure the wavelength of two drops of different amplitude, leave frequency constant.

2. Measure the wavelength of two drops with different frequency, leave amplitude constant.

3. Explain your results for Question 1 and 2.
With the frequency remaining constant the speed at which the wave travels and the number of waves visible remain constant even after changing the amplitude. Thus the wavelength does not changed. When the frequency was changed the number of drops either greatly increased or greatly decreased along with the speed at which the wave traveled. As a result the wavelength differs depending on the set frequency. The conclusion that can be drawn from this is

4. A. Measure the wavelength of the two drips, in cm:
Wavelength= 1.46 cm
B. Then measure distances from each drip(red dots) to the 6 constructive interference points (yellow dots) and report these values, cm
XA=1.63 cm XB= 1.65 XC=2.6 cm XD= 3.56 XE=3.47 XF=3.57
YA=1.65 cm YB=2.64 cm YC=1.67 cm YD=3.55 cm YE=3.5 cm YF=3.5 cm
C. The information above tells us that the two waves overlap and remain constant without interfering with the other. This can be seen through the pattern of measurements recorded, the wavelengths between points remain similar to each other and suggest that the pattern of each wave continue.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Blog Post 3: Waves



http://phet.colorado.edu/

Simulations: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/wave-on-a-string

Questions:

1. which takes more energy, slow up and down, or fast up and down?
Fast up and down requires more energy
2. fast frequency corresponds to low energy or high energy?
High energy
3. Determine the frequency of the provided wave(frequency 27, amplitude 50)in Hz?
.98 hz
4. Determine the frequency of the provided wave(frequency 100, amplitude 50) in Hz?
3.7 hz
5. Determine the frequency of the provided wave(frequency 27and amplitude 100) in Hz?
.96 hz
6. What is the wavelength of the provided wave(frequency 27, amplitude 50)in cm?
59 cm
7. What is the wavelength of the provided wave(frequency 100, amplitude 50)in cm?
17 cm
8. Describe the relationships between energy, frequency and wavelength. Include descriptions for relationships of all three.
Waves with higher frequencies have shorter wavelengths, and lower frequencies have longer wavelengths. Frequency is determined by the amount of energy.

Blog Post 2: Unit Cell of NaCl

Here's our NaCl Unit Cell:

Length of Unit Cell: 4 cm, 4.0*10^6 nm, 4.0*10^7 angstroms, .004 meters
Width of Unit Cell: 4 cm, 4.0*10^6 nm, 4.0*10^7 angstroms, .004 meters
Height of Unit Cell: 4 cm, 4.0*10^6 nm, 4.0*10^7 angstroms, .004 meters

Mass of 1 NaCl cube: 3.1*10^-4
Moles in 1 NaCl cube: 5.304*10^-6
Molecules in 1 NaCl cube: 1.86682*10^20