Opinion Piece | Nuclear Fusion: Future or Failure?

Through our discussions (between the three of us) we have come to an agreement that nuclear fusion, though costly, is well worth the money in an attempt to climb out of the hole that has been caused by the world’s rapid consumption of energy.

Electricity and other forms of energy are crucial to the smooth function of our everyday lives. However, we often forget the cost of our consumption. For example, electronic devices, though portable, require charging and use energy through chargers. Lights on and off throughout the day and night leads to not only a high energy bill, but with that a high energy consumption rate. People perform these tasks (plugging in a charger and flipping on a charger) mindlessly, thus leading to an energy crisis. This is where nuclear fusion comes in; though the cost is extensive, so are the benefits. Once the energy is created and dispersed, the energy will be available and also earth friendly. That is why we have agreed that nuclear fusion is worth the cost and effort.

Nuclear Fusion in a Nutshell

Summary of "Star in a Bottle," by Raffi Khatchadourian

In about a decade, the International Thermonuclear Reactor, or ITER, will be complete. This machine, the most complex ever built, will be located in Southern France. Inside of ITER, such intense heat and energy will be released that it will have to be restrained by a so-called ‘magnetic bottle.’ By the time the production of ITER comes to a close, a total of 35 countries will have invested eight years of energy and a approximately twenty billion dollars. When ITER creates energy using nuclear fusion, it will, ideally, produce next to no pollution and serve as an accessible means of producing energy for years to come. Despite this tantalizing vision, the largest downfall this international project holds is the cost. Those funding and supporting the production of nuclear fusion energy will need to have thought long and hard about how much money is worth the end product.

Third Experiment: Forensics Lab

Lab Design Sheet

Name of Experiment: Murder! (Who did it? A forensics lab)

Prior Knowledge: On March 6th at 3 am, an assistant baker at Mike’s Awesome Bakery in Francestown, NH was found dead lying in a pool of blood. The assistant baker was found covered in a mysterious white powder, which our Earth Science class must identify.

Investigators collected samples of white powder they found in the bakery (baking soda, baking powder, flour, cornstarch, and the unknown substance found on the body).

As well as collecting substance samples, the investigators interviewed employees of the bakery and took clothing samples to see if any employee had traces of the substance on their person.

Objective: Identify the unknown substance

Equipment:

• baking soda
• baking powder
• flour
• cornstarch
• unknown
• vinegar
• iodine solution
• universal indicator
• water
• lab materials (beakers, stirrers, pipettes, etc)

Procedure:

1. Arrange materials
1. Collect samples of baking powder, baking soda, flour, cornstarch, and the unknown substance along with a plastic-covered data sheet
2. Collect five Popsicle sticks and four pipettes, one each for water, vinegar, iodine, and universal indicator
3. Line up corresponding substances with Popsicle sticks placed above their columns on the data sheet
4. Use corresponding Popsicle sticks to spoon small piles of each substance onto the data table
2. Test baking soda
1. Test reaction with water
1. Squeeze 3 to 5 drops of water onto the baking soda with a pipette
2. Study and record the reaction
3. Repeat steps 2a to 2b with vinegar, iodine, and universal indicator
3. Test baking powder
1. Repeat step 2 accordingly
4. Test flour
1. Repeat step 2 accordingly
5. Test flour
1. Repeat step 2 accordingly
6. Test cornstarch
1. Repeat step 2 accordingly
7. Test unknown
1. Repeat step 2 accordingly
8. Clean up materials
9. Analyze collected data
10. Finalize conclusion and complete lab sheet

DATA:

	Baking Powder	Baking Soda	Flour	Cornstarch	Unknown
Water	NO REACTION	CHEMICAL REACTION: Mixture fizzes/ bubbles	PHYSICAL REACTION: Water runs off, mixture becomes glue-like	PHYSICAL REACTION: Changes texture, becomes tacky	CHEMICAL REACTION: Mixture fizzes/ bubbles
Vinegar	CHEMICAL REACTION: Mixture fizzes/ bubbles, vinegar consumes baking soda	CHEMICAL REACTION: Mixture fizzes, but baking powder is more resistant to vinegar than baking soda	NO REACTION	NO REACTION	CHEMICAL REACTION Mixture fizzes and grows
Iodine Solution	NO REACTION: Iodine does not change color	CHEMICAL REACTION: Some bubbles; mixture becomes a dark purple/ indigo, lightens	CHEMICAL REACTION: Mixture becomes a gray/navy/ purple color	CHEMICAL REACTION: Mixture becomes a dark indigo, then lightens	CHEMICAL REACTION: Some bubbles; mixture becomes a dark purple/ indigo, lightens
Universal Indicator	CHEMICAL REACTION: Teal/green color becomes blue; no movement; pH 9	CHEMICAL REACTION: Red to orange to yellow to green; pH 7?	CHEMICAL REACTION: Orange color; pH 4	CHEMICAL REACTION: Pinkish-red color; ph 3	CHEMICAL REACTION: Orange to yellow to green; pH 7?km

CONCLUSION: The investigators should be looking for baking soda on the suspects' clothing. We determined this by comparing the presence, type, and details of each substance's reaction with water, vinegar, iodine, and universal indicator. Both baking powder and the unknown had a chemical reaction with every reactant that we tested; this was not the case for any other prospective substance. Additionally, the pH was the same between baking powder and the unknown, and the details were the same for every other reaction.

Second Experiment: Mixture Separation Lab

Lab Design Sheet

Name of Experiment: Mixture Separation

Materials

• Canister filled with salt, sand, and iron filings
• Beakers
• Magnet
• Plastic bag
• Coffee filters
• Hot plate
• Triple beam balance
• Glass stirrer

Procedure:

1. Arrange materials
1. Find the mass of the substances in the canister and record it
2. Separate iron
1. Use the magnet in the plastic bag to attract the iron filings
2. Pull away the magnet inside the plastic bag to let the filings fall onto an empty coffee filter
3. Repeat to filter out sand and salt
4. Find the mass of the iron filings and record it
3. Separate sand
1. Add a small amount (about 50 mL) water to a beaker
2. Pour in the salt and sand mixture
3. Stir to dissolve salt
4. Strain through a coffee filter into another beaker to separate saltwater and sand
5. Allow salt to dry out
6. Find mass of sand and record it
4. Separate salt
1. Place beaker with saltwater onto hot plate
2. Turn hot plate to high to boil off water
3. When water has boiled off, find the mass of the salt and record it
5. Clean up

First Experiment: Floating Paper Clips

­Lab Design Sheet

Name of Experiment: Floating Paper Clips

                             

Question to be answered: Is it possible to make paper clips float by bending them at a 90 or 180 degree angle?

Prior Knowledge: We read on the internet here that if paper clips are bent at a 90 or 180 degree angle then they should float in water. However, we also know that paper clips are more dense than water and should, therefore, sink.

Hypothesis

Prediction: If a paper clip is bent at a 90 degree angle, then it will float…

Rationale: … because the bent portion of the paper clip is used as a stabilizer and the amount of its surface area in contact with that of the water is reduced.

Variables

Independent variable: The shape of each paper clip.

Dependent variable: Whether the paper clips sink or float based on their shape.

Constants: Same beakers, amount of water, and brand and size of paper clip; where/how we drop the paper clips; we will use gloves to prevent the oils on our skin from coming in contact with the paper clips.

Equipment:

• Three 500 ml beakers,
• 400 ml of water,
• Twelve paper clips (6 large without plastic coating and 6 small with plastic coating), and
• Rubber gloves.

Procedure:

1. Set up materials
1. Arrange equipment
2. Fill all three beakers with 400 ml of water.
2. Bend paper clips
1. Put on gloves
2. Bend 2 “plain” or “large” paper clips to 90 degrees and bend 2 “plain” paper clips to 180 degrees, leaving 2 unbent
3. Repeat bending process with “small,” plastic-coated paper clips.
3. Execute experiment with large paper clips
1. Drop 1 unbent paper clip into a beaker from a height of 5 cm
2. Repeat once for each remaining paperclip shape, reserving a beaker for each shape
1. Record results
2. Remove paper clips from beakers and replace any spilled water
3. Repeat with remaining large paper clips
1. This time, paper clips should be placed in the water
2. Record results
3. Remove paper clips from water
4. Execute experiment with small paperclips
1. Repeat above steps with small or “plain” paper clips
5. Clean up
6. Record and analyze results

DATA:

paperclip	unbent	90 degree angle	180 degree bent
large 1	fail	fail	fail
large 2	fail	fail	fail
small 1	fail	fail	fail
small 2	fail	fail	fail

ANALYSIS: We attempted to make paper clips float by bending them at various angles. According to an online source, paper clips bent into a right or straight angle should float on water. However, our experiment was unsuccessful; all of the paper clips, in various configurations and sizes, sank.

CONCLUSION: The paper clips did not float because the surface tension of water is not great enough to support such dense objects. The information found online was inaccurate or did not reliably portray the means by which a paper clip can be made to float. If we were to return to our hypothesis, two possible ways to change the outcome would be, first, to use entirely plastic paper clips, as these are less dense than metal or partly metal paper clips; and, second, if the first strategy was unsuccessful, to float both metal and plastic, bent and unbent, paper clips in salt water because salt water is more buoyant than regular water. As a last recourse we could use a tissue to float the paper clip, which is another method found online.