Kerestes,+Vincent

August 31 Artificial Blood Article Response

Research is being done to find a solution to a need for blood transfusions-- artificial blood. One thing I learned from this article is that red blood cells play the most vital role of all the ingredients in blood because they are responsible for bringing oxygen throughout the body. Another thing I learned from this article was that one blood substitute was approved in South Africa as use as an oxygen carrier for anemic patients ("anemic" means having less than the normal count of red blood cells). Another thing I learned was that, without red blood cells attached to the hemoglobin, hemoglobin injections can cause people to die. This is because the hemoglobin needs the red blood cell's protective capsule to prevent it from breaking into two pieces-- which overwhelms the kidney. The final thing I learned was that ethnics are a concern with this research. Before reading this article, I had no idea that a large percent of the population believe that artificial blood is dangerous, and are against its funding. One thing I knew before reading this article was that before the scientific development of blood transfusions, doctors used to use saltwater and wine in mortally bleeding patients. Another thing that I knew was the military was very interested in developing artificial blood in order to treat soldiers who were injured in battle, because blood transfusions are hard to come by during war; especially with the large amount of injuries. The final thing I already knew was that donated blood can only last for 30 days in a blood bank in a refrigerated state.

Vincent, Wow! This is amazing. You really summarized this well. 5 huge (not artificial) stars! MW

Distillation September 19

NOTES: Crude oil is a mixture made of different hydrocarbons and fractional distillation is used to separate the mixture. Hot vapor rises up the fractional column, only the vapors at the top of the column enter the side arm and condense into liquid. Different hydrocarbons condense at different temperatures. Those with higher boiling points collect nearer to the bottom. Those with lower boiling points collect nearer to the bottom. Asphalt, fuel oil, and diesel fuel have pretty large molecules, so they have high melting. These condense nearer to the bottom. Kerosine, petrol, (with small molecules) collect at the top. Only the ones that can survive at really cool temperatures reach it to the top.

RESPONSE: One thing I didn't know was that distillation is a separation method used to separate mixtures based on the different boiling points of the substances involved. I learned that in distillation, a mixture is heated until the substance with the lowest boiling point boils to a vapor that can be condensed into a liquid and collected. Fractional distillation is used to separate crude oil. One thing that I found interesting was that some of the same tools we use in our classroom are used in the professional world. A similar distillation apparatus was used in the video--very similar to the one we used today in class. Also, a Bunsen burner was used as an energy source to heat the mixture after the first fraction was collected. Something else that I found interesting was that the hydrocarbons start to vaporize at 40 degrees Celsius. This fraction is a colorless liquid. I didn't think that anything would vaporize at that low of a temperature (after all the boiling point in Celsius is 100 degrees). I had the impression that a substance had to be boiling at 100 degrees Celsius to vaporize.

Vincent, The boiling point of water is 100 oC. Many substances boil below that temperature. Good thoughts! 5 stars. MW

Motion Detectors October 4 2011

One thing that I learned from this article was that there are three different methods used by motion-detecting devices. The first method is to use a light source, which is generally infrared radiation, and a sensor. When the beam of light between the source and the sensor is interrupted, motion is detected. The second method is to send out pulses, which are generally between the radio and microwave range, and use sensors to monitor the reflection pattern. When a change in the reflection pattern occurs, motion is detected. The third method uses sensors to monitor all infrared radiation nearby. Any quick changes in the infrared input are assumed to detect the presence of a human or other warm-bodied animal. Another thing that I learned was that humans can only see a small part of the total electromagnetic spectrum, known as visible light. The final thing that I learned was that Albert Einstein made three remarkable discoveries in one year. One thing that I found interesting from this article was that vision is actually a very complicated process. Vision is based on photons hitting the optic nerve and being translated into images. It also involves more complex chemical processes. One thing that I already knew before reading this article was that light has the dual nature of behaving like a wave in some situations, but more like a particle in others. Another thing that I knew before reading this article was that the energy of the light depends only on their frequency, and tells how many photons, not how much energy each one possesses. The final thing that I already knew before reading this article was that frequency is measured in Hertz.

Vincent, Nicely done! Very thorough. 5 huge stars. MW