My Opinion on ITER

By Garrett Boyce

            ITER, is certainly the future of energy. It uses the ultra-clean power of nuclear fusion to create energy without pollution. There are many ups and downs to ITER, some of the ups are, clean energy, renewable energy, and an almost infinite energy source. A few downsides to ITER are the extreme costs, the height, and an extremely long time to build the machine. Altogether, ITER is an extremely useful machine and should be, if not already planned to be, the best source of energy in the future.

My Opinion on ITER

By: Noah Bell

The energy crisis on Earth is becoming more and more prominent. Scientists are scrambling to try and save the world from a mass energy deficiency. A "scientific United Nations" has come up with a great new machine called the ITER. This machine with bond two hydrogen atoms together creating a lot of energy. You can read about ITER in our last post "ITER, The Machine of the Future".

In my opinion, ITER could be the solution to our energy issues. If the scientists working on this project can find a safe and efficient way to use ITER to create energy then this could very well be the best possible solution. In order for this to be a worldwide solution, scientists would need to find a way to replicate ITER in a smaller way that still retains the same amount of energy produced. They would need to spread these mini ITERs all around the world in order to help everyone in this crisis. Overall, ITER in its current form will not be able to solve the energy crisis, but in the future, with smaller models and an even distribution of the machines, the energy crisis could be solved.

ITER, The Machine of the Future

            After 8 years, billions of dollars, and representatives from 35 countries working in collaboration, scientists have developed a machine called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or in short, ITER. ITER focuses on the act of fusion. Fusion takes two hydrogen atoms, then forces them together to allow a bond to occur between the atoms. Once the bond occurs with the hydrogen atoms, helium 5 is created; a neutron is expelled from the atom along with energy and the atom of helium. This reaction takes place within a “magnetic bottle” (a magnetic field to contain the immense heat which is produced), inside of the ITER. During the process of making energy, ITER produces little to no pollution or excess carbon. This reactor could solve the world’s energy crisis and save the earth from a global collapse.

http://naka-www.jaea.go.jp/english/iter-e/iter.html

The Unknown Substance

By Garrett Boyce

In order to do this lab, we placed each substance in the indicated boxes. After we put one substance in each of its indicated boxes, we tested what happened when we put different liquids on it. Each substance reacted differently with the varying liquids. The liquids were water, vinegar, iodine, and an indicator liquid. The substances were baking powder, flour, baking soda, cornstarch and an unknown substance. The unknown substance and the baking powder reacted the same way to each liquid.

Who did it?

A forensics lab

Yesterday at 3 AM, at Mike's Awesome Bakery in Francestown, NH the baker arrived to find his assistant baker dead: lying in a pool of blood.  The victim's body was covered in a white powder.  

In an attempt to find the source of the white powder, investigators collect multiple samples from the bakery (baking soda, flour, baking powder, powdered milk, cornstarch).

Investigators are in the process of interviewing employees of the bakery to narrow their field of suspects.  They are also gathering clothing samples from employees to find a match for the white powder.

The investigators need your help.  They need you to write a lab procedure to help them identify the powder covering the body.

MATERIALS AT YOUR DISPOSAL

- baking soda

- baking powder

- flour

- cornstarch

- vinegar

- iodine solution

- universal indicator

- water

- lab materials (beakers, stirrers, pipettes, etc.)

Objective:

Procedure: detailed step by step:

1- Acquire materials listed above

2- In the boxes on the sheet, put a substance in its row vertically

3- Apply liquid based on indicators to the left of the box which the substance should be
   in

4- Record results on separate piece of paper

5- Repeat steps 1-4 until all substances and liquids are used

Analysis: (complete attached data table)

Test solutions	Baking Soda	Baking Powder	Flour	Cornstarch	Unknown
Water	Absorbed immediately, slightly solidified. Physical	Fizzed slightly. Chemical	No reaction. Physical	Sunk in. Physical	Fizzed slightly. Chemical
Vinegar	Substance foamed. Chemical	Fizzed. Chemical	No reaction. Physical	Absorbed slowly. Physical	Fizzed. Chemical
Iodine	Became gelatinous. Physical	Fizzed slightly then turned purple. Chemical	Turned purple then absorbed. Physical	Sat on top, turned purple. Physical	Turned purple, fizzed. Chemical
Indicator	Turned dark blue. Chemical	Turned orange, absorbed. Physical	Turned red and gelatinous. Physical	Turned orange, absorbed slowly. Physical	Turned orange, absorbed. Physical

Conclusion:

What powder should the investigators be looking for when they examine the suspects clothing.  How do you know?  How confident are you in your results and why.

The investigators should look for baking powder. The unknown substance matched the texture and reaction of baking powder exactly. I am very confident in my results. Each test proved to be the same in each way when tested on the unknown substance and baking powder.

Murder in Francestown, NH

           By Noah Bell

            There was a recent murder in Francestown, NH in a small bakery. At the scene of the crime, a suspicious powder was left behind. In order to narrow down our options as the murderer, we need to identify this unknown powder. We know that if we take known powders that would be in the area of the crime and compare the way they react to different liquids then we can see which powder is similar to the unknown. By seeing which ones are similar, we can make an educated guess as to which powder is the unknown. We can then search for our murderer by seeing who has access to the powder and who was around at the time, thus solving the crime.

Who did it?

A forensics lab

Yesterday at 3 AM, at Mike's Awesome Bakery in Francestown, NH the baker arrived to find his assistant baker dead: lying in a pool of blood.  The victim's body was covered in a white powder.

In an attempt to find the source of the white powder, investigators collect multiple samples from the bakery (baking soda, flour, baking powder, powdered milk, cornstarch).

Investigators are in the process of interviewing employees of the bakery to narrow their field of suspects.  They are also gathering clothing samples from employees to find a match for the white powder.

The investigators need your help.  They need you to write a lab procedure to help them identify the powder covering the body.

MATERIALS AT YOUR DISPOSAL

- baking soda

- baking powder

- flour

- cornstarch

- vinegar

- iodine solution

- universal indicator

- water

- lab materials (beakers, stirrers, pipettes, etc.)

Objective: Identify the unknown substance.

Procedure: detailed step by step:

1.Get all materials

2. Put one of the powders in its four designated areas

3. Drop four Drops of each liquid on every powder

4. Record reactions

5. Repeat steps 1-5 for each powder

Analysis: (complete attached data table):

Test Solutions	Baking Soda	Baking Powder	Flour	Cornstarch	Unknown
Water	No reaction Physical Change	Bubbles up Chemical Change	Repels Water Physical Change	Does not absorb water Physical change	Fizzed Chemical change
Vinegar	Bubbled up Chemical change	Bubbled up Chemical change	Repels Vinegar Physical change	Repels Vinegar Physical change	Fizzed Chemical change
Iodine	Turned yellow Chemical change	Turned purple Chemical change	Turned grey Chemical change	Repels Iodine Turned purple Chemical change	Fizzed Turned purple Chemical change
Indicator	Instantly dried Physical change	Turned orange Chemical change	Turned orange Chemical change	Turned orange Chemical change	Turned orange Chemical change

Conclusion:

What powder should the investigators be looking for when they examine the suspects clothing.  How do you know?  How confident are you in your results and why?

The unknown powder is baking powder because it reacted exactly the same as the known baking powder. I am confident in my conclusion because all of the reactions between the unknown and the identified baking powder were exactly the same.

Experimental Eggs

            Our experiment consisted of placing two eggs in different variants of sodas with different acidic values. The goal of said experiment was to observe which soda dissolved an eggshell faster, Coke or Pepsi. We put 120mL of each liquid in into 140mL beakers and timed the results. A timer was set up in order to record exact time; but, it reached its maximum limit once the 48 hour mark was reached. After seven days the results were concluded; nothing happened to the eggshells. Over a period of seven days the only thing to happen was a thin, filmy substance appearing on the top of both liquids; the film was thicker on the Coke.

­Lab Design Sheet - Noah Bell, Garrett Boyce

Name of Experiment: Magical Disappearing Eggshell                                

Question to be answered:      

Which soda dissolves the eggshell faster?                            

Prior Knowledge:

Eggs are Hard Boiled.

Hypothesis:Prediction (If …we do X…then…Y will happen…)

If we put the eggs in coke or pepsi, then the coke will dissolve the shell faster.

Hypothesis:Rationale (…because…)

Because the coke has a higher acidic content.

Independent (Manipulated) variable/cause (what will you determine?):

The brand of soda

Dependent (Responding) variable / effect (what will you find out?):

The time it takes for the eggshell to dissolve.

Constants (what will you keep the same?):

Amount of soda, size of egg

Equipment:

140 mL of Coke and Pepsi

2 Hard boiled eggs

2 140 mL beakers

Procedure:

1. Pour sodas into beakers

2. Place eggs in beakers with soda carefully

3. Wait and time results

DATA:

Time(hours)	Amount of eggshell dissolved(%)
24	0
48	0
72	0
96	0
120	0
144	0

ANALYSIS: (Summarize what happened; staple graphs, etc. to this sheet)

The soda had almost no effect on the eggs. If there was any change, it could not be seen with the human eye.

CONCLUSION: (What is the scientific explanation for these results?  Use relevant vocabulary terms.)

During the course of our experiment, we found that soda will not have a dissolving effect on eggshells. Given more time, the soda may have had more effect. We believe that the reason no effect had occurred was because the sodas did not have a high enough acidic content to erode the eggshell.