Brief Overview/Summary:
Week 12/session 11 marks the start of the group presentations.
Each week 4 groups will have 15minutes to present their projects using the
website they constructed. In this week, futuristic buildings, clean energy and
nanotechnology were covered.
Interesting Observation and
Ideas:
The first group presented on
futuristic buildings. They started with covering the historical perspective of
buildings, specifically the history of material used. The earliest humans
started living in natural structures such as caves then logs wood and mud were
used. Sticks, straw and dunks were then used to build houses, even till now
houses are built of this material. Subsequently, concrete was used and
developed with the reinforcement of materials.
Susceptibility- strength of
buildings of buildings are vital. It is these buildings that prevent the
collapse of buildings during natural disasters and protects people.
Technologies such as the pendulum are installed in buildings to counter the
forces of natural disasters. Upcoming materials such as bendable concrete and
spider web are being researched on. With technology constantly advancing, it is
only a matter of time that scientist or researchers find the right type of
material to combat certain type of disasters.
Ancient Egypt was credited for the
introduction of metal tools, materials. Ancient Greece is where the first use
of pulleys. Now tall cranes and all sorts of materials are being used. The future
of construction is the use of autonomous machines. Where errors can be minimized
and more efficient.
Currently, in Germany scientist
are looking into using straws to power houses. Transparent solar cells could
also be used in the future to construct windows. A house called The Wolke 7 was
introduced by the group, it seems like a house attached to a huge balloon which
might not be very feasible if met with disastrous weather. All in all, these
were aimed at an idea of a sustainable house. Being self-sufficient and using sustainable
energy, e.g. The Mirai Nihon House which can be powered by merely a car battery.
The second group presented on
clean energy. Traditional use of energy contributed to 2/3 of environmental
effects. Clean energy is becoming more and more important due to the increasing
shortage of energy sources and rising prices. Solar power is the answer to our
energy problems. The amount of energy that the sun gives to the earth in one
hour is equal to the amount of energy human beings worldwide use in a year.
Solar trash, solar paint and solar desert structure were some of the
interesting products introduced by the groups. Biofuel was also mentioned as a
source of clean energy. Next hydroelectricity was being covered with dams being
used to explain this concept. The disadvantage for dams namely land and
environmental changes do seem to outweigh its advantage. Nuclear energy was also
introduced as a form of clean energy. Once again the disadvantage of danger of
nuclear energy such as dangerous processes, limited supply of uranium and
radioactive waste does seem to outweigh its advantages.
The third group presented on
nanotechnology. They suggested that it reverses the ways that products are
being built. In my perspective nanotechnology is a very broad technology. Meaning
this technology can be used in countless of areas. What’s interesting is the
potential and upcoming applications that it holds. Areas such as the medical
industry could be revolutionary change by the development of nanotechnology.
Interesting examples mentioned by the group like nano robots and an artificial red
blood cell that is made of diamond are just the beginning of products
nanotechnology can bring about. The group also covered a lot on research and
development of nanotechnology as it is still a relatively new technology. More
and more countries are starting to look into and invest in nanotechnology.
However, this could have various impacts on the world like socio-economic
effects in which inequality worldwide could be amplified. Rising threat
security and arms race might be other impacts. Ethics implications were also
Key Takeaway Points:
The evolution of technology is a
constant process. When one technology reaches near its full potential or the
end of its cycle, another begins. People are constantly looking for
technologies to aid the human race, to put it in a more selfish form it is to
help themselves. In recent times, the research of technology is increasingly leaning
towards the sustainable side. However, the development of a particular
technology is a long and tedious process. In order to yield the maximum
benefits from a technology takes a long time. The question is if that
particular technology is worth investing such time and effort into it.
Issue for further discussion:
In today’s lesson many impacts
were discussed, but one particular impact which was not covered extensively by
any group was the ethical impact. Ethics can be grouped with social impacts,
nevertheless I feel that it is an important innate aspect of humans that is
widely controversial and subjective which is often blown out of proportion.
Basically, ethical impacts could have been discussed and explored more.
Personal Rating:
7/10. Generally, I feel that the
presentations we had today are relatively long. Time limitation should be
emphasized as groups tend to rubble on about minute and specific details
instead of presenting the important points and focusing on the big picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment