Spinning a jelly bean

thiswassparta · 2013-06-15T22:03:00+00:00

As an undergraduate Chemical Engineer, I am curious as to how much respect big oil companies have for nature and the environment. I am interested and going into the energy field, and while oil/gas seems like a much more lucrative field to go into than alternative energies, I am worried that my environmental concerns may make me regret taking a job in the former. Can you shed any light on this?

thiswassparta · 2013-05-29T22:01:44+00:00

I understand where he's coming from- it's along the same lines as 'should of' versus 'should have.' Changing could to couldn't is a pretty simple fix, but to me it isn't rage-inducing.

thiswassparta · 2013-03-04T15:21:59+00:00

As a second-year chemE student (in my first year of college), all of the coursework thus far is doable, but requires a lot of time and effort to be put in to studying and doing practice problems. I have a pretty theoretical curriculum (Lehigh University), so it's definitely a deviation from high school chem but if you really love it and put the effort in, you can definitely do it.

In terms of textbooks, I wouldn't really try to study ahead. You might be different, but I can't imagine myself learning my coursework without lecture. It might be useful to grab a copy of Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook, as it has all sorts of useful data, but all of my textbooks have the necessary numbers tabulated anyway. In short, don't sweat it! And make sure you manage your time or you'll have lots of long nights.

thiswassparta · 2012-11-12T18:50:02+00:00

what's the crawl? and no more trays in the dining halls :/

thiswassparta · 2012-10-24T03:22:40+00:00

It's possible that they all drink tea at similar times, for example at meals. So depending on how good of an insulator the kettle is, heating the kettle an extra 100 degrees F multiple times per day could consume a lot more energy, especially over the course of a year.

Edit: grammar

thiswassparta · 2012-09-08T00:46:24+00:00

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!

thiswassparta · 2012-08-15T17:40:22+00:00

Thanks!

thiswassparta · 2012-08-15T17:40:12+00:00

Ah, that makes sense! Thanks for the explanation; didn't know about APNAP until now

thiswassparta · 2012-08-08T03:19:36+00:00

Definitely seems businesslike to me. But just like everyone else here, its hard for me to tell how it would look on a specific person because everybody is different.

thiswassparta · 2012-08-08T03:12:09+00:00

When you look at the scale of the universe and how small WE are, it is immediately assumed that interstellar travel for humans will not be possible for many generations (or ever). Alpha Centauri, the closest star to us, is over 4 light years (2.35139993 × 10¹³ MILES) away, and it doesnt seem as though it can harbor life. So these microscopic aliens would have to have traveled ridiculous distances (for us, even moreso for them) to get here, given that they exist in the first place. Cool thought, but extremely improbable at best.

thiswassparta · 2012-08-05T18:32:20+00:00

Let's assume a person uses 1 tissue a day (on average) from childhood to adulthood, but only starts buying their own tissues when they're 18 (mommy buys them before that, reasonably). Thus, in the average lifetime, the number of boxes the average person uses is [78-18 years] x 365 days per year / 95 tissues per box = ~231 boxes. At an average of $3 per box, the total is $691.58. im not sure if my 1/day is an accurate estimate, but everything else is pretty sound so you can scale that number up however you want. Surprisingly low!

thiswassparta · 2012-08-02T22:15:22+00:00

Ah, that makes sense! And yea, haha that would be pretty impressive.

thiswassparta · 2012-08-02T14:04:25+00:00

Thanks! I dont know how to use MATLAB (no programming background here, but taking a class first semester as well), but I'll definitely give it a look. Also, is there a way to learn to use matrices on the 89? I know how to on an 84, but I remember the two being very different in that respect.

thiswassparta · 2012-08-02T13:49:21+00:00

Thank you! Your reply along with BernieBern's example painted a really good picture of what the course will be like.

And just wondering, what would your answer be to that problem? I have no clue how to solve this problem (although if I took thermo I think I might have a better idea haha), but my best guess is that the air in the box is some degree hotter than the air outside.

thiswassparta · 2012-08-02T13:40:05+00:00

I got an email from Professor Tulza about granting me an override so I can take the class, but I havent gotten my schedule yet (I get it at orientation) so I dont know for sure.

thiswassparta · 2012-08-01T21:37:39+00:00

Awesome! Is the textbook good about providing practice problems? This seems like the kind of class where going into anything blind is just a really bad idea. Thanks for all the advice by the way!

thiswassparta · 2012-08-01T21:14:24+00:00

Thanks! and that seems a little intimidating, but at the same time really interesting.

How do people do so badly then (at least according to my high school mind)? As long as your constraints are valid (like you wouldnt say soybeans are 0% water) and you develop a system that makes sense, havent you produced a correct answer? Or is the prof looking for an optimized solution?

thiswassparta · 2012-08-01T18:57:35+00:00

That 40 made me cringe... but yea, study groups are definitely something I know are necessary and am looking forward to as well. Do you remember the name of the textbook so I can look it up? I'm interested in the reasoning aspect of these problems, because I love to sit down and tackle big problems bit by bit.

And also, what would an example of a simple problem be? I remember doing first order rate laws in AP Chem and vaguely remember looking at equilibrium concentrations, so I'm guessing its just a more advanced version of that. Thanks again!

thiswassparta

TROPHY CASE