Monday, December 19, 2011

Blog post 15: Dr. Asthana Presentation

1. A highly effective means for improving the strength of steel is through grain refinement.  The grain refinement also will lower the ductile-brittle transition.  Different grain sizes govern the yielding or failure of the grain refinement in the steel.  The different grain sizes affect the not only the yielding and failure but also the dislocation among the grain at the nanolevel.
2. A single crystal silicon is grown through high-temperatures.  Usually a type of furnace is used.  The silicon gets melted.  After this has been completed the crystal begins to grow.  To grow there is a "seed" crystal placed into the silicon and is drawn slowly from the high-temperature furnace (crucible).  After the pattern for growing the crystal has been placed by the seed a crystal called an ingot is formed.  For the solar industry this ingot is cut into very thin Solar Cell Wafers.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Blog post 12: invention background/references

1. Air Pollution and Prenatal Health:
This article discusses how the air pollution is not just harmful to those of us already born.  The vehicle exhaust, and other contaminants in the air, are harming babies in wombs as well.  Actually, tests and studies are showing that the air pollution is more harmful to the babies that are in development to be born, then it is to those of us that are already here on earth. 
2. The Psychology of Global Warming:
This article talks about global warming in general.  The need to cut down gas emissions is highly important, and needs to be acted upon now.  People are beginning to believe that global warming is not real, or that global warming and it's process is slowing down.  This article shows how this thought is incorrect.
3. Evolution of Vehicle Exhaust Particles in the Atmosphere:
This article goes into detail about what the vehicle exhaust actually is.  It discusses what is in the exhaust that is harming the earth and the air so badly.  It also goes on to talk about how different cars have different exhaust.  For example how "bad" the vehicle's exhaust is to our health is determined by the amount of PM properties in the exhaust the car produces.
4. Investigation into pedestrian exposure to near-vehicle exhaust emissions:
We all know that the exhaust is bad for us, as humans and for other animals, to breath into our lungs.  We all know that the exhaust is causing more and more pollution everyday to the earth and the air we breath.  This article takes these known facts into more depth.  It was tested, and proven, that the closer one is to a tail pipe, the more health defects the receive.  These health defects also tended to last for a longer period of time.
5. Dilution Rates for Tailpipe Emissions:
One way to try and minimize a vehicle's exhaust emission was to have the exhaust go under dilution.  The article shows how they tested different characteristics of vehicles to find the best way.  To minimize the emissions, without creating a whole new product, it was found that orientation and location of the tailpipe will actually dilute the exhaust emissions.
6. Thermal Exhaust Heat Recovery with Rankine Cycle:
This article discusses another way that scientists have tried to reduce vehicle exhaust emissions.  They did not just work on minimizing this issue though, they worked on making a system that increases the powertrain efficiency of the vehicle.  Their discovery led them to use exhaust heat recovery with thermoelectric and thermal fluid systems.
7. Magnetic Behaviour of a magnetite/silicon nanocomposite:
The magnetite in the nanocomposite creates magnetic properties.  In order for these properties to be created the iron oxide nanoparticles are coated and prepared with high temperature decomposition.  These iron oxide nanoparticles are then dispersed into the pores of the nanocomposite.
8. Biodegradable nanocomposite magnetite:
The magnetite nanocomposite is biodegradable.  This is so because when the iron oxide is added to the nanocomposite it increased it's glass transition temperature, but it had no affect on the properties it already held of being biodegradable. 
9. Efficient Dispersion of Magnetite Nanoparticles in the Polyurethane Matrix Through Solution Mixing and Investigation of the Nanocomposite Properties:
 This article goes about discussing how having the inorganic/polymer of magnetite in the nanocomposite affects its properties.  The thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties of the nanocomposite are changed.  Surprisingly though, the density, toughness, and processibility properties of the nanocomposite were unaffected with the magnetite addition.
10. Filtering Diesel Exhaust Gases with Ceramic Filters:
This article is a journal on an experiment done on diesel exhaust systems.  The abstract did not go into depth about what they found.  There comparisons were done with other ceramic filters.  Ceramic filters is another way scientists have been trying to reduce exhaust emissions into the air.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Blog post 13: Nano and Proteins

1. MALDI is an analytical method that was originally designed in the 1980s.  The method involves different types of interactions of physical and chemical processes.  The process is quick, but seems like it may be complicated if someone is not educated enough in the area.  The MALDI uses analyte and has it mixed with a co-crystallization from the matrix material's solution.  The mixture of these two are then irradiated with microjoules of energy.  This energy's source is a laser in this particular method.  After the laser does its job there are ions resulted that can be analyzed and help us, as humans, discover more and more about the world around us and the things inside us.(http://www.rknochenmuss.ch/maldi.html)
2. Microcystin LR
 Collagen
 Guanine Nucleotide-binding ("G-protein")
3. size of Microcystin LR: 840 amino acids (2nm - size of Amino Acid) = 1680nm
size of Collagen: 1000 amino acids (2nm - size of Amino Acid) = 2000nm
size of Guanine Nucleotide-binding: 377 amino acids (2nm - size of Amino Acid) = 754nm
4. There is currently a 5 year plan in process of developing a new "nanomedicine."  Nanomedicine takes advantage of the fact that proteins and peptides exerting their actions of trying to treat disorders and diseases.  The new nanomedicine would have biopharmaceuticals made up of nanoparticles such as Dendrimers.  The nanoparticles then correlate to create nanobiopharmaceuticals.  Hopefully if this new product works the nanomedicine could help the proteins and peptides do their job, of treating disorders and diseases, even more efficiently. (www.sciencedaily.com)(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nanomedicine)