Individual Reflections - Yeo Hung Kye


Pre-Camp Reflection:

1. What interests you about this project?
The project title itself is appealing enough. I thought that learning how to control as well as operate a large-scale distillation column will not only be interesting but fun at the same time! Also, I can acquire new understanding about the topic. This is a totally different experience from those small scaled experiments done in primary school.


2. What do you want to learn by doing this project?
I want to learn how the control and operation of a large scale distillation column can help in the society and if possible to a large extend, the world. Not only that, I also want to learn about the negative impacts that distillation processes implicate.


3. What questions do you have about this project?
- What kind of equipments are needed to make a distillation column?
- What are the positive and negative impacts of distillation?
- What factors make a distillation process successful?
- What is reflux ratio?
- How is distillation considered as biomedical engineering?
- Why are formulas important in the distillation process?


4. What do you personally want to achieve by the end of this project?
I want to make use of my time and utilize it fully in order go gain maximum knowledge of this project that I am going to embark on. At the end of the day, I hope to have at least learnt a new skill, know more about this project and its objectives.


Day 1 Reflection (Plenary Sessions)

I was not at the auditorium during the plenary sessions. However, I have understand what we were taught during the sessions as I got the summary of the three different sessions from my friends.


1. "Earthquakes and tsunami research":
How we can predict and when and where an earthquake might happen. Global positioning to determine the earthquake. Along the coast of Aceh, Sumatra (well known for their history of their series of earthquakes,) is a cave that contains a remarkable record of tsunamis.


2. "IT for Animation":
Three different kinds of animation
- Stop Motion
- 2D Animation
- 3D Animation

Production pipeline includes script, storyboard, character design, sound and key frame drawing.

Special effects is further subdivided into 2 groups, Calculus and Physics.
Calculus: limits, functions, derivatives, integrals.
Physics: Dynamics of fire, water and fabric movement.

When 'Ambient Light' is applied, the object will be colored.
When 'Directional lighting' is applied, it will create different shades/ shadows.
When 'Specular Lighting' is applied, it will make an object shiny.


3. "Nano-Science and Nano-Technology":
Outline: Nano-technology, Bio-technology, Defence-technology, electric-technology.

Quantum Dots could be used for containing information.
Scanning Electron Microscope can be used to 'see' nano particles.
Transmission Electron Microscope can be used to 'see' atoms.
Surface area analyser: uses helium to cover object to calculate area.

Bio-technology.
Applications: for the Cataract.
How? -> A probe to insert in eye and pull lens out instead of going through lots of removing of parts in the eye.





Day 3 Reflection


1. Discuss how the project has deepened your understanding and broadened your awareness of the selected discipline.
This project enabled me to further advance to the complicated steps, equipments, measurements. The distillation column is more complicated that what I have thought at the start and prior to this project. With students from NTU and the professor to help me, I am able to grasp a lot of knowledge about this project. For practical applications, there are numerous industries who use larger-scaled distillation columns to do their work.


2. What do you now understand about this discipline that you are unaware of at the beginning?
I have learnt the concept behind all these distillation processes. I realise that complete purification of water is impossible because the impurities, for example, salt or alcohol, will always be there. Different parts of the distillation column have different terms to be used. Different areas have to be operated at different levels too! Safety is also an issue that I have discovered due to all these complications and several exposed surfaces on the column.

I thought that the practical applications can only be used to separate water. But I was wrong. I realized, after approaching my professor, that this can be used in making perfume, food processing and to separate the different components in the air too!


3. Describe how you can connect what you have learned from doing this project to what you are learning in school? 
What I have learnt in school is just the basic concepts, like the foundation of this particular field. Doing this project actually goes further into detail and complexed techniques. Also this can 
be done as part of working in the chemical or engineering topic. 


4. Describe how you can apply what you have learned from doing this project.
I can create more questions about the topic or something we have learnt to question the obvious. Sometimes we had just only learnt the surface and below this thin surface, there are many more to be discovered by us. By questioning further we can understand and discover something more to the topic that actually enable us to understand the certain topic more wholesomely. Questioning will enable the gears in our brains to turn and trigger deeper thinking.

From this I can apply the work of questioning while revising my work and during consultation sessions with teachers. 
 

5. At the end of the project, some new questions I have included ...
- Is there other kinds of particles that we can distillate?
- Is there a limit to the reflux ratio?
- Is there a way to speed up the process of distillation?

6. My Aspirations...
My aspiration is to develop a better distillation column for the needy people in the third-world country. This allows them to have access to cleaner water because currently, these third-world countries, for example, Africa, do not have the financial capability to distillate water. 

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