Samantha Huss
Mr. Ippolito
D Block Odd
5 January 2017
Current Event 12
The article, “Laser Helps Unlock Antimatter Secrets” by Paul Rincon was very interesting and informative. It talks about the potential which a special laser has to unlock the secrets of antimatter which have remained unknown for so long. Antimatter and matter were produced in equal amounts during the big bang. However, it is extremely difficult to find and capture antimatter as it is destroyed on contact with matter. Recently, scientists developed a strategy of using a special magnetic trap to collect the antimatter version of hydrogen, antihydrogen, without destroying it. Once scientists were able to collect antimatter, they had a new goal of discovering its properties and developing more of an understanding of it as a whole. It is explained as, "The context is to see whether matter and antimatter obey the same laws of physics, which is required by the Standard Model," as stated by Prof Jeffrey Hangst. The Standard Model which he describes is the theory of the “fundamental building blocks of the universe.” The idea of how the two’s properties differ was tested by the use of a laser. It was questioned whether antihydrogen would react to a laser light at a specific frequency. The results were that the antihydrogen and hydrogen reacted in the same way to the laser light, supporting the Standard Model theory.
This article was very interesting to read and held significance to the world and our society. It is important to understand the creation of our world and the life which thrives on it, including us. Understanding the creation and existence of antimatter is key to gaining the knowledge of how it all began. To do this, smaller steps such as this experiment with the laser need to take place in order to gain a full comprehension.
Although this article was very interesting because of its contents, the author did not do a great job of using literary techniques to keep the reader enthralled. It was mostly just the giving of facts to the reader instead of the explanation and telling of what occurred. However, there was a lot of factual information which added to the credibility of the article and helped the reader to better understand the topic. One way to improve the article would be to add a little more explanation to the facts which were presented. Overall, this article was very interesting and I learned a lot about the existence and importance of antimatter in the universe.
Andres Saralegui
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
Biology
1/12/17
Rincon, Paul. "Laser Helps Unlock Antimatter Secrets." BBC News. BBC, 19 Dec. 2016. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38366963
My classmate Samantha Huss wrote a current event article on “Laser Helps Unlock Antimatter Secrets” by Paul Rincon. This article discusses a recently developed strategy of using a special magnetic trap to collect the antimatter version of hydrogen, antihydrogen, without destroying it. This is quite an interesting topic because anything that comes in contact with antimatter usually gets destroyed instantly. In her first paragraph, Sam does a great job at explaining how matter and antimatter originated in the big bang. She explains how equal amounts of matter and antimatter were shot out into the vast emptiness of space, creating galaxies and planets like the one we live on. Later in her article, Sam adds a great quote by Prof. Jeffrey Hangst explaining the context, “The context is to see whether matter and antimatter obey the same laws of physics, which is required by the Standard Model”. Then Sam continues to explain what the Standard Model is, “The Standard Model which he describes is the theory of the “fundamental building blocks of the universe.” The idea of how the two’s properties differ was tested by the use of a laser.” This adds reassurance for the reader now knowing what the Standard Model is and being up to date with what is going on in the article.
One element Samantha could have have used to improve his current event article was adding more detail of the experiment that is taking place. Sam gives great background info but doesn't seem to get to her main point in her current event article. This can lead to some confusion for the reader. Sam also could have improved her article by adding a citation and hyperlink to the article she was reviewing like I did at the top of the assignment.
In conclusion, I thought this article was very intriguing and I was surprised to read that the results were that the antihydrogen and hydrogen reacted in the same way to the laser light, supporting the Standard Model theory.
Susie Goodell
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
Core Biology H
2/1/17
Rincon, Paul. "Laser Helps Unlock Antimatter Secrets." BBC News. BBC, 19 Dec. 2016. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38366963
A student from last semester, Samantha Huss, wrote a review of the article, “Laser Helps Unlock Antimatter Secrets” by Paul Rincon. This article is about a special laser that has the ability to provide us with more information about antimatter. It also discusses the new technique of capturing the antimatter version of hydrogen, antihydrogen, by using a unique magnetic trap. Sam starts off with a summary of the article. She does an excellent job properly introducing the topic of the article and adding sufficient background information to make it easier for the readers to understand. She explained how matter and antimatter formed in the Big Bang and what the Standard Model theory is. Sam also told the readers that it has taken this long to capture the antimatter because it is destroyed on contact with matter. Sam also added a quote from Professor Jeffrey Hangst, which helps the readers understand the goal of the experiment better. In her second paragraph, Sam talks about how important this discovery is to the world and makes the readers more interested in the topic. She says that this is a small step towards fully understanding our universe and its creation. This is a very important point that helps the readers understand the significance of this experiment.
Despite the many great aspects of this review, I think that Sam should’ve added a bit more information about the experiment itself. She only spends two sentences at the end of a paragraph discussing it. She writes, “It was questioned whether antihydrogen would react to a laser light at a specific frequency. The results were that the antihydrogen and hydrogen reacted in the same way to the laser light, supporting the Standard Model theory.” It forces the reader to return to earlier on in the review to make the connection that matter and antimatter obey physics laws. Also, I feel that Sam should go more into detail in her critique paragraph. She briefly mentions that the author is just stating facts and doesn’t have a lot of explanation in it, but that the facts help the reader better understand the topic. She should say more about how to make the article more interesting.
In this review, Sam mentions the results of the experiment. She says the hydrogen and antihydrogen reacted to the laser light in the same way. This also supports the Standard Model theory. I found this extremely interesting because this means that matter and antimatter obey the same laws of physics. This is important to discovering more about our universe and its beginnings.
Sarah Goodell
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
D Block Odd
31 January 2017
Rincon, Paul. "Laser Helps Unlock Antimatter Secrets." BBC News. BBC, 19 Dec. 2016. Web.
12 Jan. 2017.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38366963
Samantha Huss, a student in Core Biology last semester, wrote a current event article on a piece called “Laser Helps Unlock Antimatter Secrets” by Paul Rincon from BBC News. This article discusses the invention of a laser that has begun to tell us more about the antimatter in our universe. Sam did a great job explaining a topic that is not particularly easy to understand. By breaking this article down and highlighting the key features and qualities of the laser, we are able to understand more about this machine and its potential in our lifetimes. I also admire how Sam included quotes directly from the credited sources within her article. For example, she tells us about Professor Jeffrey Hangst and how he discusses antimatter and matter obeying the same laws of physics, supporting a previous idea called the Standard Model. By citing this professor, Sam creates a stronger, more credible base for her current event piece. Sam describes why she believes this topic is important in our understand of the solar system, as well. I believe that this is one of Sam’s most insightful aspects of her assignment and I love how she weaved her own thoughts into this piece, which helps to enhance her review further. Sam did not merely stick to reporting the facts, but also shared her opinion on the importance of the information from this article and the laser itself.
Although Sam’s review is extremely well done, there are a few aspects of the piece that I believe she can improve. Firstly, I would have liked to have learned more about the connection between the Standard Model and the new laser. If she had described this model more in depth, this could have helped the reader better understand the laser and its purpose. For me, the Standard Model section of this piece got a bit jumbled amongst the other facts from Sam’s article. If Sam had spent a bit more time on the Standard Model and how that has affected the laser and scientists’ research, it would have benefitted her review as a whole. Another aspect that Sam can improve is by addressing the question of the future and where this new technology will lead us. Sam could have included some insight into this in the paragraph where she discusses how “it is important to understand the creation of our world and the life which thrives on it…” and how “understanding the creation and existence of antimatter is key to gaining the knowledge of how it [the universe] all began.” If Sam had included this piece, this would lead to further questions and allow Sam’s readers to want to learn more about this topic and wonder about our future as scientists and astronauts.
Sam has led me to think about how far we have come in the study and the knowledge that we have of our universe, our solar system, and our planet. Through the discovery of this laser, this is physical proof that we continue to get closer and closer to learning everything there is to know about our universe. I have also realized that it is always important to keep learning about our creation and the space around us.
Andrew Howson
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
Core Biology Honors
2/9/17
Samantha Huss wrote a review of “Laser Helps Unlock Antimatter Secrets” by Paul Rincon. Her critiques of the article were very good; each of the problems she had with it were well explained. She explained each of the terms, such as the Standard Model theory, very well. She also did a great job of explaining the process of how the scientists were able to keep the antimatter stable.
Despite this, she did not explain how the scientists were able to create the antimatter, nor did she explain the way in which antihydrogen (or regular hydrogen, for that matter) reacted to the light of the lasers.
I found this choice article extremely interesting; I didn’t know that scientists are able to keep antimatter stable with current technology. I also found it interesting how antihydrogen and hydrogen reacted identically.
Rincon, Paul. "Laser Helps Unlock Antimatter Secrets." BBC News. BBC, 19 Dec. 2016. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.