"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Molarity
09/17/25
“How can we quantify the number of moles in a liter of a solution?”
Chemical solutions can contain a wide variety of moles. Some may be dense, others may be sparse. We can quantify this by determining the Molarity of a substance, or the number of moles of a solute in a single liter of solution, symbolized by the equation Molarity (M) = moles of solute/liters of solution. Molarity is fundamental for computing chemical calculations.
Equivalents (Redox Reactions)
09/16/25
“How can we quantify the amount of electrons exchanged per ion/molecule of reacting substance in a redox situation?”
Oxidation-reduction reactions involve an exchange of electrons between different ions and/or molecules. This exchange is dependent upon how many electrons are exchanged per ion/molecule. The number of electrons exchanged per substance is quantified as an Equivalent (Redox Reactions). Equivalents allow us to simplify calculations for identifying necessary chemical materials.
Why Octanol Testing Is Important in Water Pollution Analysis
09/13/25
“Why is octanol testing so important in water pollution analysis?”
People have to look out for all types of pollutants in water. Some of the worst ones are bioaccumulants, chemicals that move into the bodies of animals. Bioaccumulants pose a major threat to the health of living things, necessitating strong regulatory methods. One way to predict this is to take octanol, an oily substance that doesn’t mix with water, place it in a container with water, and then take a quantified amount of the chemical you want to test, mix it up, wait for it to settle, and then measure how the ratio of the chemical is in the water layer vs the octanol layer. If more is in the octanol layer, the chemical will likely bioaccumulate since octanol has a similar structure to body fat. This is Why Octanol Testing Is Important in Water Pollution Analysis.
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Linear Infrastructure
09/14/25
“Can we unify linear geometry infrastructure under a single name?”
Physical infrastructure comes in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Many come in linear geometries, such as canals, pipelines, railways, and powerlines. This Linear Infrastructure must contend with strenuous logistical coordination and bureaucratic hurdles for implementation.
Precast Concrete
09/13/25
“How can we create ready-made concrete in a factory for quick installation later?”
Concrete is one of the building blocks of infrastructure around the world. However, pouring concrete on-site can be slow and prone to poor quality control. What if instead we were to create concrete in a controlled factory setting and then install it on site? Well, this is the idea behind Precast Concrete. Precast concrete has better quality control, construction speed, durability, versatility, and site disruption resilience. However, building these pieces remotely leads to potential transportation bottlenecks, higher construction costs, and less design flexibility. Precast concrete is implemented in all facets of the built environment, from highway barriers to wall panels in buildings to big concrete pipes.
Precast Porous Concrete Panels
09/12/25
“What makes NYC’s new porous concrete panels so special?”
Most cement panels block pervious surfaces, drastically increasing the chances of flooding during storm surges. To ameliorate this, NYC is making a new type of concrete panel that has a special concrete mix with a high void content that allows for some permeability. These Precast Porous Concrete Panels, or PCPPs, enable water to enter and sink into the permeable surfaces below, reducing stormwater runoff, ponding probability, and heat island effects. These new panels can potentially drastically reduce NYC’s already overbuilt environment’s chance of getting overwhelmed by floods and heatwaves. However, these new panels can also allow harmful chemicals to seep into the ground and have lower strength than regular concrete. NYC guidelines recommend that these panels not be installed on trucking routes, principal arterial roadways, industrial zones, significant underground utility corridors, or existing bike lanes/crosswalks.
Image credit: https://www.nycstreetdesign.info/
Pluvial Flooding
09/11/25
“How can we classify floods caused by stormwater buildup over surfaces?”
Floods can happen in a myriad of different ways. When storms occur and rainwater overwhelms urban drainage capacity, Pluvial Flooding breaks out. Pluvial flooding can develop into intense flash floods that wreak havoc on surrounding infrastructure. Urban planners and environmental engineers need to develop careful consideration for pluvial flooding in city operations.
Compound Flooding
09/10/25
“What happens when two types of flooding happen at once?”
There are multiple styles of flooding. For example, riverine flooding leads to river banks getting inundated, coastal flooding brings ocean tides over previously dry land, and stormwater flooding results in rainwater engulfing surfaces with runoff. Compound Flooding occurs when multiple of these flooding types interact together. Infrastructure planners must account for compound flooding in their work. For example, a sea wall may protect from coastal storm surge, but it can also trap stormwater inside, leading to ponding and all of the issues that come with it.
Fall Lines
09/09/25
“How do we define the border between an upland region and a coastal plain?”
Upland regions like mountains may give way to coastal plains because of long-term erosion. Fall Lines delineate the border between the mountains and the coastal plains. Rivers traversing fall lines typically turn into rapids or waterfalls because of the sudden change in gradient. One of the most famous fall lines is the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line.
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