Research Article Assignment: Chemistry, Global Warming

Name:
Institution:
Course:
Date:
Chemistry
Smart surfaces are becoming quite common with the invention of nanotechnology (Bourzac). There has been quite a number of applications that have been developed and inroads are being made in several industries. The article by Katherine Bourzac describes the aspects of creating smart surfaces on a large scale. It is now possible for scientists to create surfaces that are self-cleaning, lubricating and even antibacterial, by creating patterns of nanostructures (Bourzac). In the article, Barbara Stadlober from the Joanneum institute along with some colleagues came up with a nanoimprinting method to create patterns on surfaces. The method largely involves making impressions of patterns on moving sheets of the selected material. The nanotechnology is a science that is conducted at the Nano scale which means that particles are analyzed and manipulated at that scale. Material is manipulated at the atomic levels. It is interesting to understand that there quite a number of applications that can be used on the common material and improve on their properties. Aspects, such as self-cleaning can easily be applied on certain surfaces such as cars (Bourzac). Others like the aspect of antibacterial can be used on paints on storage spaces. It is crucial for storage spaces to have such properties and nanotechnology is one of the best solutions for the same.
Global warming is an element that is affecting various industries across the globe. Some of the old models have had to be dropped to make sure that there are better and more sustainable methods that rhyme with the environmental standards. Companies are constantly being forced to come up with sustainable practices to save their business models (Reisch). On the lime light there has been the companies making refrigerant chemicals. Most of these chemicals are hydrocarbons which have been attributed with global warming with a very significant impact compared to other pollutants. In this article, OxyChem is a company that is working on 1, 1, 2, 3-tetrachloro-1-propene which is called the HCC-1230xa. This is a hydrocarbon that can be used as a refrigerant and has less impacts on the environment. Scientifically, this has lower global warming potential and thus has zero ozone depletion. This is a great step towards reducing the impacts of hydrocarbons on the climate (Reisch). It is also crucial to understand that there is a chance of making better chemicals that do not have global climatic impacts.
Regulations of laboratories that handle dangerous and contagious agents require to be reviewed to make sure that they have the right. In the article, there is a mention of an incident when the center for disease control and prevention happened to have mishandled contagious agents. This scientifically speaks to the severity of some of the agents and chemicals that are found in nature and the fact, that they have the capacity to cause great harm. Ideally, there are regulations that control the production, distribution and handling of such chemicals (Widener). Understanding the elements of severity of such chemicals is a crucial learning point. At the same time, it is crucial to understand some of the policies and regulation agencies that are involved in contr...