Todays topic was Shape in Nature. The lecture started out describing how atoms were arranged in a specific packing sequence, this of which gives items certain properties such as ductility, hardness, and electronic and optical properties. This fact fascinates me in a way that if atoms are somehow manipulated, they can produce a different substance that could have different properties. This aspect gives me hope that a new type of more convenient technology can be produced O:.
We also went over Space and how our universe was thought to be similar to the structure of Bohr’s model of the atom. I have never thought of our world from that point of view until I heard this lecture but once I think about it, it seems quite logical and accurate. Each of the planets revolving around the sun, represent the electrons rotating around the nucleus of an atom, which in my opinion is a very interesting way of viewing the tiny components of our solar system.
Aside from these ideas, Music was also described. I learned that it could have a shape and is often described to occur in ‘swells’. Several engineers have taken these characteristics into consideration while building such musical monuments such as the Sydney Opera House or other smaller performing centers. The opera house in Australia proves to be one with ridges that improve the ambience of the sound waves. These structures never fail to fascinate me and their improvement of sounds just because of the structure of the building.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_opera_house
http://www.sydney.com.au/operahouse.htm
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/bohr.html
http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/GeneralInterest/Harrison/BohrModel/BohrModel.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/19662/low/eng/model-bohr.html