Ozone

Discussing about ozones with my family and friends reveals two types of responses: 1) I don't know or 2) oh yeah, i remember something about a hole over Antarctica.

People nowadays have not being notified too much about the ozone layer. Is it because we have banned cfc from refrigerants? The fact is that since the peak in 2000, the ozone hole has not decreased by much. Maybe because there are so many other news in the world such as climate change, wars, financial collapse, kim kardashian, etc that we lost interest.

Older generation can still remember the alarming news in the 1980s but has since forgotten about it.

Element of the week: aluminum

The element of the week is Aluminum (Al). Its atomic number is 13 and is the third most abundant element in the earth's crust, after oxygen and silicon. It is low in density and has high resistance to corrosion. It was discovered in the mid 1700s and first produced in 1825. Currently is extremely useful in our daily lives.

I picked this element because i remember a scene in Star Trek 4 in which Scottie showed this guy how to create a giant whale tank out of "transparent aluminum". Interestingly enough, transparent aluminum became somewhat of a a reality in 2009 when Oxford scientists were able to bombard xray onto aluminum to make "transparent aluminum."

http://www.physorg.com/news167925273.html

Atoms and Hard drives

According researchers, 1 bit on your hard drive requires over 1 million atoms to store. Last week, IBM scientists have been able to store the same bit using only 12 atoms! This means that in the near future your ipod could store over 10 terrabyte of videos, pictures, and music--all in a tiny little chip.

Existing hard drives use electrons from iron, which spin in the same direction and in perfect alignment with each other. Newer hard drives can use antiferromagnetic (nonmagnetic) elements which allows closer packing of the atoms. Stay tuned!

Electric cars

I am delighted to see many new electric cars coming out this year. I have made a vow that my next car shall be an electric vehicle. No more gas, smog, and foul emission. i am hoping that EV will be affordable enough for financial mortals to afford.

True, there is no free lunch. Electricity must come from somewhere. However, I believe that power plants can and will be more efficient using renewable sources of energy.

I agree with the EU's plan for a new economy, developed by Jeremy Rifkin, which involves a complete energy transformation using solar and hydrogen. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Industrial_Revolution

Fossil fuel should go the way of dinosaurs!

Chemistry "quiz"

Got 75%.

Interesting to understand the differences between physical and chemical transformation. Makes me wonder: is nuclear fission a chemical or physical change?

I think it is a physical change because, like the "crushing a rock" example, it involves a physical object to bombard another physical object with the concomitant release of a massive amount of energy.

Another question: does a chemical require energy? Actually, it doesn't always require energy, as in a spontaneous process involving a diamond turning into graphite over a very long time.

brief bio

I am a third-year student studying TCM. I am never bored studying the healing techniques passed down by the ancient masters. This path accords with my Zen spiritual practice, Shaolin kungfu, Taiji, qigong, calligraphy, and drinking green tea.

I wonder, pause, gaze, and rejoice in the beauty of the universe. i believe compassion comes spontaneously when i quit judging, talk less, and listen and wonder more. From the place of peace and stillness, positive changes occur.