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Canbelieve
10
it?
THE
BIG
QUESTIONS
WITH RACHEL CREES
It’s a nano-revolution
PUB: ADVERTISER
Q
WHERE will the
nanoscience
revolution take us?
A
22/5/12 32 STATE
NANOMATERIALS
are making megawaves in almost
every field of endeavour, from food
and water, health and environment to national security
and space exploration.
Built atom by atom and
molecule by molecule, these
materials are five times
smaller than the width of a
human hair.
While their miniscule
scale gives them their
unique properties, it also
makes them rather difficult
to work with and can even
make them toxic.
Because they are so small,
nanomaterials can get into
places they aren’t meant to
be.
They can pass through
protective barriers like skin
and cell walls and can interfere with the complex mechanics going on within the
cells of plants and animals.
Although they have the
potential to help solve our
energy crises, their manufacture tends to use a lot of
energy.
So how do we use nanomaterials safely without
wasting energy?
Plasma may provide some
solutions. Plasma is not a
particular substance but is
the state of a substance under certain conditions.
Water, for example, is in
the solid state at 0C, the
liquid state at 25C and the
gas state at 150C.
Plasma is the next hottest
state of matter, formed when
the temperatures are high
enough to make bits of the
atoms inside it fall off. The
DID YOU KNOW?
■ The three most common
states of matter on Earth are
solids, liquids and gases.
■ A fourth state of matter
called plasma is created when
gases are superheated to
temperatures of up to 10
million degrees Celsius.
■ Plasmas are used around us
every day in plasma televisions,
fluorescent bulbs, neon signs
and arc welders.
■ Plasma is the most common
state of matter in the universe.
Naturally occurring plasmas
include lightning,
■ the aurora borealis and
aurora australis (northern
■ lights and southern lights)
and supernovae (enormous
galactic explosions).
COL: C M Y K
result is a state of matter
with unique properties and
it may be the next big thing
in nanoscience.
Plasma can be used to
replace the vast amounts of
liquid chemicals normally
used to manufacture
nanomaterials.
These liquids are often
toxic, expensive and difficult
to recycle or dispose of
safely, so replacing them reduces the dangers to workers and the environment.
Plasmas are usually made
and used in confined chambers and clean rooms so any
toxic substances going into
or coming out of the plasma
are safely isolated.
Another advantage of
plasmas is their energy efficiency – already exploited
in energy-efficient light
bulbs.
Almost all of the energy
used to generate a plasma is
retained by the plasma as a
sort of energy soup and this,
EducationNow contacts
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holderheads@theadvertiser.com.au
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email: peddiec@theadvertiser.com.au
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LIGHT FANTASTIC: Aurora Australis, captured here by a reader in the night sky near Callington, is an example of naturally
occurring plasma on Earth.
coupled with plasma’s other
characteristics like electrical
conductivity and high temperatures, makes the construction of nanomaterials
in plasma a much less
energy-guzzling process
than when performed in liq-
uids. Plasmas may even help
solve our global energy
crisis.
At the National Ignition
Facility in the US state of
California, researchers are
using plasmas to generate a
potentially inexhaustible
source of energy called Inertial Fusion Energy. If successful, IFE could keep a
plasma dense and hot long
enough for the particles
within it to undergo nuclear
fusion – a holy grail of science for more than 50 years
and a contender to solve our
future energy needs.
Rachel Crees is a PhD student
in the School of Chemistry and
Physics, University of Adelaide
To find out more about the 10
Big Questions, go to: http:/
/ua.edu.au/sciences/10bq
Reward for teacher’s dedication
KATRINA STOKES
IT took just one week teaching
for Kim Hebenstreit to realise
he wanted to do it for life.
The 56-year-old Thebarton
Senior College principal began
teaching in 1976 and has done
everything from working as a
teacher and assistant principal
to adviser for the Education
Department.
Mr Hebenstreit won recognition for his hard work last
year, winning an inspirational
school leader award for Western Adelaide in The AdvertiserState Government SA Public
Teaching Awards.
‘‘I was nominated by some of
the staff here at Thebarton ... I
was delighted that they thought
me worthy of that,’’ he said.
This year is his 10th as principal at the college, which prides
itself on its new arrivals program which offers 300 students
from refugee backgrounds the
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
opportunity to take part in an
intensive English language
program.
‘‘I think it’s the jewel in the
crown ... it’s what sets this place
apart and gives it that rich
village atmosphere,’’ he said.
Mr Hebenstreit said the extra
services the school offered
made it special in addition to
teaching excellence.
‘‘We have midwives who provide support to women who are
starting a family and a range of
other facilities which provide
financial and housing assistance,’’ he said.
Mr Hebenstreit said he could
see that everybody at the school,
including people who came to
Australia with nothing, wanted
to contribute to the community.
‘‘They take every opportunity
to increase their learning and
they can’t wait to get out and
contribute,’’ he said. ‘‘They’re
not here for a free ride.’’
At the end of the two-year
program, Mr Hebenstreit said
many students moved into the
workforce and others commenced study in their South
Australian Certificate of
Education.
‘‘I can’t imagine working anywhere else,’’ he said.
‘‘I think people know that this
is my passion being here.’’
Mr Hebenstreit said he looked
forward to ensuring his school
continued to become a hub that
the wider community benefited
from.
Nominations for this year’s
awards close on Monday, June
18.
Nomination forms are available from www.decd.sa.gov.au/
teacherawards, your local preschool, school or regional office.
RECOGNITION: Thebarton
Senior College principal Kim
Hebenstreit.