1)Overall efficiency under total reflux conditions
The formula for overall is E=Number of Theoretical Plates divided by the actual number of distillation plates multiplied by 100. There were actually 8 plates and the formula for theoretical plates is n + 1 equal to the average number fraction of the mols of ethanol over water in the distillate multiplied by water over ethanol in the bottom container over the average relative volatility of water and ethanol. This can be presented as the square root of relative volatility of light key to heavy key at top of column multiplied to the relative volatility of light key to heavy key at bottom of column.
—————————————————————————————————————————
My reflections...
(I) Plenary Sessions [Day 1]
(A) My key learning points from each session...
1. Importance of water - Dirty and Clean
In the beginning, it was already highlighted out that the sanitation conditions in Singapore since the past 50 years had improved a really great deal as now with a simple twist of a tap we get access to clean water and while 50 years ago the Singapore River was really polluted as people were dumping their litter into the river like nobody's business and there was no real effort to clean up the river until recently, but however, this is still the case for many rural countries. Dirty water breeds microbes which may result in diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid fever, and every year 3.4 billion die from poor sanitation and the inbred of various viruses alone. This is really no small number as pointed out by the Professor this is the biggest 'killer' of all. As this problem is rarely touched on by people, its an expanding industry meeting urgent needs.
2. Revolution of Microelectronics Technology
In one of the earlier slides of the presentation, the Professor had pointed that higher value added products and R&D calls froth transformation, and that electronics creates jobs and its all about integrated circuits about everything being interconnected. In fact, the power that engineers hold in this industry is so great that they can even put people out of job or even create a whole new industry thus creating more job opportunities in the process.
3. Innovative breakthroughs in Nano-Science and Nano-Technology
One key point from this talk is basically the very simple principle of Nano technology - Should you break down a certain object with a fixed volume, into smaller parts, there would definitely be a larger surface area thus creating even more energy. By definition, Nano-technology means the application, understanding and fabrication of nano-materials. This field of research is extremely interesting, as nano technology can be even manipulated to make a certain material invisible or even strengthen amour.
4. IT for animation
As pointed out by the professor, there are 3 main types of IT animation, namely, stop motion, 2D and 3D. In order to achieve that 'illusion' of the frames being animated, there must be about 24-25 frames per second. 2D animation is highly labour intensive, as all 24 frames must be hand drawn and often there is a budget pressure. 2D animation is getting less common nowadays not because of ill popularity ratings but actually because of the high cost that often comes along with it. Stop animation is basically taking a photo of a certain model and piecing everything up together in order to create the animation. 3D animation is mainly vector based, and much more cost effective than 2D animation, as its not that labour intensive. James Cameron, as demonstrated in the highly acclaimed movie, Avatar, had implemented the use of cameras to capture the facial expressions of the actors to be captured and digitally recorded for the animators to use later. Also, 3D is also not just about having good drawing skills or whatnot, but one must have knowledge of physics for example, as demonstrated in the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the dynamics of fire, water, fabric movement, etc. in order to make the animation more 'natural' and 'come to life'. Also, mathematics are also applied in 3D animation with geometry in the drawing of lines, calculus for limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, etc.
5. Disappearing glaciers, rising sea levels, and why gravity is even more important that you think.
The main crux of the talk is that water sea level rise is not uniform everything and that the statement of 'Sea Level rose by X metres' is not accurate as it doesn't specifically say where the sea level rise occurs. It is so as when a glacier melts, the original weight/gravity of the glacier decreases and that the water is less attracted to the glacier, and that the land would actually rebound due to a lighter load. The depression released caused by the weight of the glacier before it melts draws the sea-level to be higher towards the land and lower as it gets further away from the glacier and in fact, areas further away from the glaciers experience highest sea level rise.
Deepest Impression:
The plenary session that had left the deepest impression on me is the first talk, the one on the Importance of water - Dirty and clean as the professor was rather humorous and had made the session really engaging. He had also inspired me in a way as 3.4 billion people dying each year due to poor sanitation conditions is seriously no small sum and in a way drived me on to somehow research to move forward, make a contribution to society and make a difference in others' lives.
(II) My Personal Reflection
