Buckypaper: The Steel Replacement?

Buckypaper is made from the third pure form of carbon, known as buckminsterfullerene. It is 10 times lighter but it could be 500 times stronger than steel. This new form of carbon was accidentally discovered in 1985 by Dr.Kroto and his colleagues, Robert Curl Jr. and Richard E. Smalley at Rice University, while they were trying to find out how stars make carbon. Researchers at Smalley's laboratory later discovered a way of making a thin sheet out of the material, which is now known as buckypaper. I think that this discovery is amazing. It can not only make our tennis rackets and airplanes stronger, but lighter as well, which would help save a lot of fuel. However, the material still hasn't been perfected and scientists are still trying to make it even stronger. But according to researcher Ben Wang at Florida University, we should have commercial products made with this material within the next year.

Source:http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/10/17/buckypaper.invention.ap/index.html
AP

The Ozone Layer

On Tuesday, the European Space Agency (ESA) reported that the hole in the Ozone Layer above Antarctica, which protects the life on Earth from UV rays, has grown to 27 million square kilometers. This has occurred partly because of extreme cold at high altitudes and also some man-made gases, such as chlorine. I think this report is definitely bad news, especially since this hole has grown bigger since last year. Although chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which produced gases that harmed the ozone layer, have already been banned from use, the ozone layer is still shrinking. I think that we should do more to protect it. Or else, not only might the ultraviolet rays cause the marine animals harm, but possibly give us skin cancer and cataracts as well.

Source:http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/10/07/ozone.hole/index.html
CNN