Browse Articles

The Effect of UV Treatment on the Degradation of Compostable Polylactic Acid

Zhang et al. | Nov 28, 2013

The Effect of UV Treatment on the Degradation of Compostable Polylactic Acid

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a bio-based, compostable plastic that is comparable in cost to petroleum-based plastics. This study aims to evaluate the effects of UV treatment and mechanical chopping on the degradation of PLA. Based on their findings, the authors propose an alternative PLA degradation process that may be more time and energy efficient than current processes.

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Development of Two New Efficient Means of Wastewater Treatment

Bao et al. | Feb 06, 2014

Development of Two New Efficient Means of Wastewater Treatment

The water we use must be treated and cleaned before we release it back into the environment. Here, the authors investigate two new techniques for purifying dissolved impurities from waste water. Their findings may give rise to more cheaper and more efficient water treatment and help keep the planet greener.

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The optical possibilities of gelatin

Parikh et al. | Mar 28, 2024

The optical possibilities of gelatin
Image credit: Lensabl

Here the authors investigated the optical possibilities of gelatin and acrylic in regards to potential implementations at soft contact lenses. They fabricated lenses of different shapes and evaluated the refraction of laser light finding that gelatin needed to be thickened or increased in curvature to account for its lower refractive index compared to plastics, or used in a mixture to strengthen the lens.

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Effects of material advantage and space advantage on the Komodo and Stockfish chess engines

Kaushikan et al. | May 14, 2024

Effects of material advantage and space advantage on the Komodo and Stockfish chess engines
Image credit: The authors

Chess engines, or computer programs built to play chess, outperform even the best human players. Kaushikan and Park investigate the inner workings of these chess engines by studying popular chess engines' evaluations of which side of a chess match is most likely to win, and how this is affected by the number of pieces and controlled squares on each side.

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Extroverts as Materialists: Correlating Personality Traits, Materialism, and Spending Behavior

Jackson et al. | Feb 19, 2017

Extroverts as Materialists: Correlating Personality Traits, Materialism, and Spending Behavior

The authors investigated the relationship between personality traits and adolescent materialism, as well as how materialism relates to spending habits. Results indicate that extroversion was positively correlated with materialism, and that adolescents' purchases were affected by the purchasing behaviors of their friends or peers. Moreover, materialistic youth were more likely than non-materialistic youth to spend money on themselves when given a hypothetical windfall of $500.

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