Roy Plunkett and the Invention of Teflon

Dr. Roy Plunkett discovered PTFE or polytetrafluoroethylene, the basis of Teflon ®, in April 1938. It’s one of those discoveries that happened by accident. Plunkett Discovers PTFE Plunkett held a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Science degree, and his PhD in organic chemistry when he went to work at the DuPont research laboratories in Edison, New Jersey. He  was working with gases related to Freon ®Ã‚  refrigerants when he stumbled upon PTFE. Plunkett and his assistant, Jack Rebok, were charged with developing an alternative refrigerant and came up with tetrafluorethylene or TFE. They ended up making about 100 pounds of TFE and were faced with the dilemma of storing it all. They placed the TFE in small cylinders and froze them.  When they later checked on the refrigerant, they found the cylinders effectively empty, even though they felt heavy enough that they should still have been full. They cut one open and found that the TFE had polymerized into a white, waxy powder -- polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE resin. Plunkett was an inveterate scientist. He had this new substance on his hands, but what to do with it? It was slippery, chemically stable and had a high melting point. He began playing with it, attempting to find out if it would serve any useful purpose at all. Ultimately, the challenge was taken out of his hands when he was promoted and sent to a different division. The TFE was sent to DuPont’s Central Research Department. The scientists there were instructed to experiment with the substance, and Teflon ® was born. Teflon Properties The molecular weight of Teflon ® can exceed 30 million, making it one of the largest molecules known to man. A colorless, odorless powder, it is a fluoroplastic with many properties that  give it an increasingly wide range of uses. The surface is so slippery, virtually nothing sticks to it or is absorbed by it – the Guinness Book of World Records once listed it as the slipperiest substance on earth. It’s still the only known substance that a geckos feet cant stick to.   The Teflon Trademark PTFE was first marketed under the DuPont Teflon ® trademark in 1945.   No wonder Teflon ® was chosen to be used on non-stick cooking pans, but it was originally used only for industrial and military purposes because it was so expensive to make. The first non-stick pan using  Teflon ® was marketed in France as Tefal in 1954. The U.S. followed with its own Teflon ®-coated pan -- the Happy Pan -- in 1861. Teflon Today Teflon ® can be found just about everywhere these days: as a stain repellant in fabrics, carpets and furniture, in automobile windshield wipers, hair products, lightbulbs, eyeglasses, electrical wires and infrared decoy flares. As for those cooking pans, feel free to take a wire whisk or any other utensil to them – unlike in the old days, you won’t risk scratching the Teflon ® coating because its been improved. . Dr. Plunkett stayed with DuPont until his retirement in 1975. He died in 1994, but not before being inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame and the National Inventors’ Hall of Fame.

Lung Cancer The Most Common Cancer - 1547 Words

Lung Cancer Lung cancer is a tumor that affects either one or both of the lungs.A primary cancer begins in the lungs and a secondary cancer begins in another place in the body and makes its way up towards the lungs. Lung cancer is the 5th most common cancer. In Australia 59% of males were diagnosed were as 41% of Australian females were diagnosed. Symptoms A lasting cough that continually gets worse. Pains in the chest that hurt or gets worse when you laugh breath deeply etc. Hoarseness- A scratchy and weak voice, or difficulty to speak. Loss of appetite and weight. Coughing up blood, spit or phloem. Shortness of breath, not being able to talk for a long time. Develop a tired and weak feeling. Infections such as bronchitis etc, goes and†¦show more content†¦A CT scan provides a more detailed look at the tumour and it also provides information on lymph nodes and other organs in the area. PET Scan- A PET [positron emission tomography] scan is only had at major hospitals. It is most commonly carried out on patients with lung cancer were a biopsy wasn t possible/inconclusive. Before having this scan you will be injected with a radioactive glucose solution, which takes roughly about 30-90 minutes to spread around the body, and once it spread the scan can commence. Its scans for hot spots in the body where active cells located, such as cancer cells. Although all activity doesn t necessarily mean there are cancer cells that s why you must have a specialist to examine the PET scan. Sputum Cytology- Sputum Cytology is a liquid examination of mucus [liquid phlegm] from your lungs [sputum]. You are able to get a sample by coughing very deeply and forcefully, to keep the sample put it in a tight jar in the fridge until the doctor must examine it for any abnormal cells. Fine Needle for Aspiration It is a way to obtain cells used for diagnosis, and is best used for when the tumor is on the outer parts of the lung. Using an x-Ray machine, to locate the best place to insert the needle through the chest wall into the tumor. When the doctors remove the needle it can withdraws a small piece of the tumor this

Psychological Abnormality

Question: Discuss about the Psychological Abnormality. Answer: Introduction: Psychological abnormality is difficult to define in the English language. How to decide who is abnormal or normal behavior? What is the definition of abnormality? In simple terms, an abnormality is an individual's mental condition or behaviour that deviates or does not align with what is considered the appropriate level of functioning in the society and is distressing or harmful to the individual and the surrounding people. Abnormality can be defined in four ways which are the deviation from the social norm, statistical infrequency, failure to function normally, and deviation from ideal mental health (Sue et al. 2015). The essay outlines and evaluates two of the ways of defining abnormality and later explains abnormal psychology on the psychoanalytical model. The first way to define abnormality is deviation from the social norm (Gross 2015). Social norms refer to standards of accepted behavior in the society set by the social group and include expectations and morals about how to think and behave (Bryce 2013). It means that an individual is not behaving according to the societal norms. A particular pattern of behavior is not stated by law but is perceived by the society to be normal and acceptable, and any deviance from a thus pattern is treated as the abnormality. For example, society has set rules for ways of dressing, eating, greeting older adults, opening doors for women, and others. It can be argued that this definition does not consider if a particular behavior of an individual is due to his or her comfort level before labeling him or her as psychologically abnormal. However, in a majority of the cases, it is apparent that the pattern of the behavior that is considered as deviating from the social norms are unlikely to represent men tal illness. However, this way of defining abnormality has several limitations. This definition may vary between cultures (Maddux et al. 2012). For example, hearing voices after the recent death of loved ones may be considered schizophrenia in the western part of the world, whereas in the African-American tribe it is treated as the blessing. Moreover, in a given situation different cultures may behave in different ways. However, social norms changes with time (Harvey et al. 2012), therefore, behavior not accepted in the past may be accepted in the present society. For example, homosexuality was branded as the mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association until 1973, but they are more accepted in the present society (Butcher et al. 2013). This argument was supported by Gross (2015) who in turn highlighted that this definition fails to differentiate between a person with the persistent mental illness and a criminal. It may happen so that a robber is not abnormal but have a criminal mind. This definition does not also allow for the eccentric behavior commented (Bryce 2013). It is unlikely to consider a person psychologically abnormal for wearing unusual clothingduring leisure time. The second definition is "failure to function adequately." People fail to perform their routine daily activities due to depression or state of anxiety. They may exhibit unpredictable or irrational behavior due to personal distress and hence fail to adopt a healthy lifestyle (McDougall 2015). This definition refers to how an alleged abnormality of a person hampers their ability to continue with their day-to-day existence. People with eating disorder do not follow their natural survival instinct for eating. Therefore, they could be considered as psychologically abnormal. It is indicative of the fact that the individual requires professional assistance. Durand and Barlow (2012) argued that if dysfunction is accompanied with pathological characteristics than it can be considered as the psychological abnormality. This argument is justified because an inability to make good relationships with people may be due to personal loss, or deep sorrow or difficulty to adapt to new situation or plac e may be due to lack of knowledge but not due to mental illness. If this definition were true than all the aboriginal people and ethnic groups would be labeled an abnormal as they highly exhibit stressful behavior due to persistent factors of exploitation, deprivation, and persecution. The drawback of the definition is judging what factors effect and do not affect an individuals ability to function adequately (Eysenck and Wilson 2013). It is good to consider the context of a particular behavior before labeling a person as mentally ill. For example, a hunger strike is discomforting to observers, but it is not an abnormality. It can be argued that this definition is no applicable cross-culturally (Sue et al. 2015). For example, a person may exhibit behavior that may be considered normal in his or her culture but may align with the definition of the abnormality in the western culture. The another drawback of this definition is that labeling an individual as psychologically abnormal may create a long-term stigma. Consequently, the person may adopt the same behavior permanently. Supporting this argument various psychologists comment that there are many people with different types of psychological disorders but are found to look at family, work, adapt to new situations a nd exhibit rationale behavior. The psychodynamic model of abnormality developed by Sigmund Freud explains abnormal behavior as a cause of conflict of forces in mind (Kline 2014). The underlying principle of this model is unresolved conscious conflicts in early childhood creates repressed thoughts and emotions that in turn contribute to the psychological illness. According to this model, the basis of the conflicts organizing the mind is Id, Ego, and Superego which means the unconscious wishes, mechanism of coping and defense, and the conscience. This model includes ideas such as meaningful events affecting the unconscious mind or the idea of the effect of the parent/child relationship on behavior and feelings. Under this model, the main cure for illness is "free association." In this type of treatment, an individual is free to speak anything he or she wants while the psychiatristactively listens to analyze the cause of the trouble. The essay has evaluated two ways of defining psychological abnormality. These definitions although useful, are not fit for cross-cultural applications. It is indeed difficult to define abnormality. The viewpoints of society regarding normality or abnormality will always be viewed against what is acceptable or not acceptable behavior. However; the psychodynamic approach is more acceptable as it is the outcome of centuries of trial and error. References Bryce, J., 2013. DP4334 Psychology A: History and Development of Psychology. Butcher, J.N., Mineka, S. and Hooley, J.M., 2013.Abnormal psychology. New York: Pearson. Durand, V.M. and Barlow, D.H., 2012.Essentials of abnormal psychology. Cengage Learning. Eysenck, H.J. and Wilson, G.D., 2013.The Experimental Study of Freudian Theories (Psychology Revivals). Routledge. Gross, R., 2015.Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour 7th Edition. Hodder Education. Harvey, P.D., Heaton, R.K., Carpenter, W.T., Green, M.F., Gold, J.M. and Schoenbaum, M., 2012. Functional impairment in people with schizophrenia: focus on employability and eligibility for disability compensation.Schizophrenia research,140(1), pp.1-8. Kline, P., 2014.Psychology and Freudian theory: An introduction. Routledge. Maddux, J.E., Gosselin, J.T. and Winstead, B.A., 2012. Conceptions of psychopathology.Psychopathology: Foundations for a contemporary understanding, pp.3-22. McDougall, W., 2015.An outline of abnormal psychology. Routledge. Sue, D., Sue, D.W., Sue, S. and Sue, D.M., 2015.Understanding abnormal behavior. Cengage Learning.

The Vietnam War Essays (425 words) - Socialism, Asia, Vietnam War

The Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a brutal war that affected millions of people in many different countries. All wars start because their is a difference in people's opinions, and the Vietnam War was no different. It started because France and a Vietnam leader, Ho Chi Minh, had a difference in opinion about the type of government Vietnam should have. To find out why the war broke out you will have to go back to the 1750's. This is where the French started their so called protectorate state of Vietnam. For many years the people of Vietnam protested but could not organize into a force powerful enough to resist the French. Then in 1946 a communist educated individual called Ho Chi Minh organized the people of North Vietnam and drove out the French rulers in a war that took eight years. During peace settlements in Geneva they allowed North and South Vietnam to become separate nations, divided on the 17th parallel. This was only to last for two years. After two years the two countries would then vote on a common leader and reunite the two countries once more. This never happened. South Vietnam was afraid that a Communist leader would be chosen and the nation would be in ruins. Communist guerrillas in South Vietnam opposing the canceled election began attacks on Southern Vietnam and remaining French officials to gain co! ntrol of South Vietnam. If North Vietnam was to begin their invasion of South Vietnam the Communist ruler Ho Chi Minh was sure to have complete control over the nation and spread his ideas of communism to neighboring countries. The United States thought that this should not happen so in 1965 the president ordered the bombing of North Vietnam and the landing of US troops in South Vietnam. This then caused North Vietnam to send regular units to the South. That therefore, cause more US troops to become involved. All of this kept building and building until it was a full scale war. The main reason that the Vietnam War broke out was that the old imperial France thought they could keep a so called protectorate state without giving them any freedom. Then a communist leader came along that united the people and took over in the name of freedom. The U.S. thought that if Vietnam became communist then neighboring countries would soon follow. They did not want communism to spread so they tried to stop it. Stop it by war and it did not work out like they thought it would.