Hello New Tech Students
12/12 - 12/16
Spirit Week this Week
Dec. 12
Class Colors
Wear your grades color
Dec. 13
Long Winter’s Nap
Fuzzy Socks, Holiday pajamas, scarves
Dec. 14
Family Photo
Wear your ugly sweater to school and pose as a family
Dec. 15
Swinter/ Wummer
Dress for summer or dress for winter!
Dec. 16
Santa & His Helpers
Rudolph the rednose reindeer, elves, & santa hat!
Improving indoor air quality in our homes and at school.
Science Stuff by Dominic Stephenson-Ochoa
This past week, there’ve been quite a few developments in all sorts of fields of science. I’m writing here to summarize one of my favorites.
On December 6, scientists working at the US Department of Energy and the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics confirmed that the Wendelstein 7-X in Germany is capable of producing a three-dimensional magnetic field for suspending fusion reaction.
Fusion, the process wherein atomic nuclei are mashed together, is what allows stars to be stars and produce radiation for billions of years. Since the process is much cleaner than current nuclear power and promises nigh infinite energy, humans have been trying to recreate stellar conditions for decades. Essentially, since fusion reaction needs hundreds of millions of degrees (Celsius or Fahrenheit) in a small space, scientists all around the world have been trying to figure how to do it without melting lots of expensive equipment. In this case, the approach is the use of magnetic confinement, which entails using electric currents to isolate the hot fusion as a plasma.
Though the W 7-X has achieved fusion in the past with helium and hydrogen, researchers were unsure whether the field was actually three-dimensional, or if it was like its predecessors, the Tokamak reactors, which only use two-dimensional fields. Though it’s a major breakthrough, scientists have stated that it will be a long time before we actually get more energy out than we put in.
TL;DR: We’ve made magnets to hold mini stars, because stars are hot. 9 out of 10 scientists discourage touching stars. We haven’t made real mini stars yet, but they’re still going to sting a bit.
(Since this isn’t a real essay, I’ll just list my sources.) The main sources were:
“Tests confirm that Germany’s massive nuclear fusion machine really works” by Fiona Macdonald of SciAlert,
“Magnetic Field of Wendelstein 7-X Exact to a Hundred-Thousandth” by Max-Planck-Institut Für Plasmaphysik.
Definitions were found through Georgia State University.
Service Opportunities
Looking for service opportunities, just take a look at this powerpoint.
Colleges Reps on New Tech Grounds
Happy Birthday week to:
Oscar Vazquez
Eilidh Stults
Josephine Wallace
Eva Clark-Dupuy
Jesus Juarez
Stephanie Sabre
Jonathan De Haro
Happy Birthday to these people over break:
Emanuelle Ramos
Rory Fitzgerald
Sarah Maffei
Benjamin Mickens
Quinn Hawkins
Chelsea Pascual
Jose-Luis Alfaro
Evelyn Corona
Eric Lona
Josiah Naiburg
Carla Sanchez
Daisy Mendoza
Javier Sanchez
Caitlyn Tittle
Selena Dodson
Gretchen Estrada
Omar Isabeles
Broderick Forssell
Marina Ayala
Maximillien LePage
Kaitlyn Stephens
Grace Murphy
Jaden Woodiwiss