Organic Molecules Challenge
Silicon's Reign as King of Semiconductors
There is a revolution fomenting in the semiconductor industry. It may take 30 years or more to reach perfection, but when it does the advance may be so great that today's computers will be little more than calculators compared to what will come after. The revolution is called molecular electronics, and its goal is to depose silicon as king of the computer chip and put carbon in its place.
The perpetrators are a few clever chemists trying to use pigment, proteins, polymers, and other organic molecules to carry out the same task that microscopic patterns of silicon and metal do now. For years these researchers worked in secret, mainly at their blackboards, plotting and planning. Now they are beginning to conduct small forays in the laboratory, and their few successes to date lead them to believe they were on the right track.
"We have a long way to go before carbon-based electronics replace silicon-based electronics, but we can see now that we hope to revolutionize computer design and performance," said Robert R. Birge, a professor of chemistry, Carnegie-
Mellon University, Pittsburgh. "Now it's only a matter of time, hard work, and some luck before molecular electronics start having a noticeable impact."
Molecular electronics is so named because it uses molecules to act as the
"wires" and "switches" of computer chips. Wires, may someday be replaced by polymers that conduct electricity, such as polyacetylene and polyphenylenesulfide. Another candidate might be organometallic compounds such as porphyrins and phthalocyanines which also conduct electricity. When crystallized, these flat molecules stack like pancakes, and metal ions in their centers line up with one another to form a one-dimensional wire.
Many organic molecules can exist in two distinct stable states that differ in some measurable property and are interconvertable. These could be switches of molecular electronics. For example, bacteriorhodpsin, a bacterial pigment, exists in two optical states: one state absorbs green light, the other orange.
Shinning green light on the green-absorbing state converts it into the orange state and vice versa. Birge and his coworkers have developed high density memory drives using bacteriorhodopsin.
Although the idea of using organic molecules may seem far-fetched, it happens every day throughout nature. "Electron transport in photosynthesis one of the most important energy generating systems in nature, is a real-world example of what we're trying to do," said Phil Seiden, manager of molecular science, IBM,
Yorkstown Heights, N.Y.
Birge, who heads the Center for Molecular Electronics at Carnegie-Mellon, said two factors are driving this developing revolution, more speed and less space.
"Semiconductor chip designers are always trying to cram more electronic
...will see more progress than when the scientific community is left to solve all the problems. The only way we will see results is if everyone pulls together and assists in conquering this problem. People better pull together quick before the bay is left for dead.
Technology has grown in more ways than one, where it has reached the point of
During the Organic Molecules experiment, four reagents were used to test for the presence of three of the four basic categories of Organic Molecules, carbohydrates, lips, and proteins, in control substances and Cheerios. For carbohydrates, I was testing, specifically, for the presence of reducing (polysaccharides) and non-reducing sugars (monosaccharides). Carbohydrates, both reducing and non-reducing, are important to the cell because they act as an energy source and are an important factor in building and the structure of important sugars like Ribose. Monosaccharides are important, specifically, because they are sources of nutrients to cells. An example of this would be glucose. (Campbell, 2014, 68) Non-reducing sugars, such as starch, serve as storage for cells and are hydrolyzed and broken down when sugars are needed for the cell. Some polysaccharides, such as cellulose, are used for structural purposes in cells. In plants, cellulose is
Brief History Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a physician by trade, first coined the term "organic chemistry" in 1807 for the study of compounds derived from biological sources. Up through the early 19th century, naturalists and scientists observed critical differences between compounds that were derived from living things and those that were not. Chemists of the period noted that there seemed to be an essential yet inexplicable difference between the properties of the two different types of compounds. The vital force theory (sometimes called "vitalism") was therefore proposed (and widely accepted) as a way to explain these differences. Vitalism proposed that there was a something called a "vital force" which existed within organic material but did not exist in any inorganic materials. {text:bookmark-start} {text:bookmark-end} Friedrich Wöhler is widely regarded as a pioneer in organic chemistry as a result of his synthesizing of the biological compound urea (a component of urine in many animals) utilizing what is now called "the Wöhler synthesis." Wöhler mixed silver or lead cyanate with ammonium nitrate; this was supposed to yield ammonium cyanate as a result of an exchange reaction, according to Berzelius's dualism theory. Wöhler, however, discovered that the end product of this reaction is not ammonium cyanate (NH4OCN), an inorganic salt, but urea ((NH2)2CO), a biological compound. (Furthermore, heating ammonium cyanate turns it into urea.) Faced with this result, Berzelius had to concede that (NH2)2CO and NH4OCN were isomers. Until this discovery in the year 1828, it was widely believed by chemists that organic substances could only be formed under the influence of the "vital force" in the bodies of animals and plants. Wöhler's synthesis dramatically proved that view to be false. Organic chemistry focuses on carbon and following movement of the electrons in carbon chains and rings, and also how electrons are shared with other carbon atoms and heteroatoms. Organic chemistry is primarily concerned with the properties of covalent bonds and non-metallic elements, though ions and metals do play critical roles in some reactions. The applications of organic chemistry are myriad, and include all sorts of plastics, dyes, flavorings, scents, detergents, explosives, fuels and many, many other products. Read the ingredient list for almost any kind of food that you eat — or even your shampoo bottle — and you will see the handiwork of organic chemists listed there. {text:bookmark-start} {text:bookmark-end} Major Advances in the Field of Organic Chemistry Of course no description of a text should be without at least a mention of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier.
periods of time. These advancements can be seen as one looks at the ad from
It was a cold, wet, sunny day in New York City. I had just gotten up and looked out the window when what did I see? I saw two policemen right outside the J & L Car Care shop examine a man outside that shop. I wondered what they were doing and what that man ever did to get policemen examine him. I mean he doesn't look like a criminal. So that's when I got up from my nice and warm bed to go ask my mom or dad about what was happening out there. I went down the cold creaky steps I stepped on the first step and started to regret not putting socks on. When I got downstairs I found out that my dad had already gone to work and my mom was nowhere to be seen. So I just went up to my sister Mariyana, and asked her what was happening out there. She replied
On the Monday October 27th, 2014, for the first time in 4 years I did not wake up at 5:30 in the morning, I was not putting on a green skivvy shirt and shorts. There was no formation, no one that was higher command I had to report to, telling me where I had to go, what time I had to eat breakfast, what was I doing this day or what our platoon plans were for the day. There were no PT (physical training) I had to do this morning. Instead, I woke up grab a regular t-shirt, khaki shorts, and my two sea bags full of clothing and gear that I collected during my time in the Marine Corps. I threw everything in my vehicle and drove from Camp Pendleton, California to Quincy, Illinois. Within two weeks I was accepted to Southern Illinois University Carbondale. For three days, I stayed at the
When I came inside I was so cold that I felt like a ice cube so my mom made me some hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was steaming hot! I had to wait for 8 mins, but it was worth it because it was so tasty and warm. My mom then told me that dinner was done. When I had smelt the delicious dinner mom made, my stomach had roared with hunger and I swear everyone heard it. We had a giant turkey, some mashed potatoes, and mac cheese it was the perfect family dinner, so delicious. When dinner was done, my mom said I had to lay down for school tomorrow so I leaped in my warm, cozy bed and put the covers over me and my mom said “Goodnight.” Man, today just seemed to fly by so quickly with all the excitement I had. As i drifted off to sleep all i could think about was how much fun my day was and I wish every week we had a snow
Setting that limit might slow progress, but that might be a good thing if it gives everyone a chance to reflect on matters this complex. "This is not about the limits of human technology," Wu says. "It is about the limits of human wisdom." (Gibbs, N., Goldstein, A., Cooper, M., & Duffy, M., 2001), 38.)
We finish what we start. This was the motto that kept me going during the strenuous training period for a marathon. But prior to that, I must confess, I wasn’t an athlete. I was never interested in playing sports, except for recreational badminton. During gym class, I would walk three quarters of the time when it time for the dreaded mile run. I preferred staying indoors and sitting on the couch and watch movies. The first time I had heard about a marathon training program, called Dreamfar, in my school, I thought to myself, what kind of crazy person would want to run a marathon? Never did I realize, eight months later, I would be that crazy person.
Compounds are materials made from two or more than two elements through a chemical bond. In each compound elements are arranged in a definite shape hence changing their properties from the element. Every compound possesses its own different properties such as weight, melting point, freezing point etc.
However, despite the long-term economic growth, technological progress is very important, and even if we...
I jumped out of the car with my two sisters and ran to the bathroom. When we left the bathroom, we walked back to the car. We saw that our dad was still putting gas in the car, so we went into the store to buy some sweets. I bought “warheads” that said extremely sour, and a bag of chips called “baked with fire” that looked like they would taste really hot. When we purchased our food, we walked back to the car. As soon as we started driving, I opened my bag of chips. I was so scared that they would be extremely hot. For that reason, I also bought a bottle of water. I opened it before I took a bite out of the chip. Luckily, they were not hot at all! I grabbed my sour candy and tasted it. My face changed so quickly; that I started to squint my eyes and point my lips. I could not take another bite of it because it was really sour! Eventually, I was not hungry anymore. Probably because I ate my whole bag of chips and a sandwich. When I finished eating, I was feeling exhausted, so I took a long nap. I woke up, and dad told me that we only needed to drive for one more hour. While we were driving through town, we saw a row of trees on fire! It was so smoky that we could barely see the street we were driving on. I felt scared for life and terrified that we might crash. After a few more minutes of driving, the smoke cleared up and we could see again. Finally, the hour passed and we arrived in California. Mrs.
There has been much excitement about the latest science news in which a remote controlled airplane was flown using seawater fuel. The U.S. Navy created the fuel by taking carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater and combing them to create an organic compound called a hydrocarbon, which can be used for energy. I believe this is a really an amazing discovery since the earth has a lot of seawater to use as fuel. The oil, gas and coal we currently use as fuel will not last forever. The possible use of seawater as future source of fuel is just one of many applications of organic compounds, compounds which contain carbon molecules. Carbon is a unique element because it has the ability to form many compounds with itself and with other nonmetal elements like oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorous. Carbon has four electrons on its outer shell, which leaves four electrons available to create covalent bonds with other carbon molecules and other various elements. Carbon’s unique properties include forming single, double and triple bonds which can combine with other atoms, forming chains which can combine with other elements and forming isomers, which are molecules that have similar composition as the original molecule but a different arrangement of its atoms. Organic compounds, which have been found naturally or have been made synthetically by chemists, make our life much easier. Some of the many applications of organic chemistry are in medicine, energy sources and industry.
computer. The electronic computer has been around for over a half-century, but its ancestors have been around for 2000 years. However, only in the last 40 years has it changed the American society. From the first wooden abacus to the latest high-speed microprocessor, the computer has changed nearly every aspect of people’s lives for the