Creating,+Imagining+and+Innovating


 * Creating, Imagining and Innovating

One example of this habit of mind is when we had to design our own experiment for calculating which fuel releases the most energy. Everyone did different methods and they all had their benefits and flaws. Ultimately, I came up with one I felt was best suited for the experiment. We had to measure the amount of energy released when certain fuels were burned. I chose butanol and propanol to test. The trick to this experiment was that we had to design our own calorimeter to measure the amount released. I decided to use two beakers: one with the fuel wick inside and another on top of the first beaker that contained water. In order to measure the amount of energy released, I chose to measure the change in temperature of the water as the amount it went up by should theoretically equal the amount of energy the burning of the fuel released. However, in the procedure, I noticed that there might be a potential error in data if the energy released leaks out from the space between the beakers. As a result, I had an instant of innovation and I wrapped the top beaker with aluminum foil that hung down below the top of the first so that the fire could only rise and heat the beaker with the water, instead of leaking out to the environment because of the foil. I believe this exemplifies creating, imagining, and innovating beacuse I had to design my own method and apparatus for testing the energy released from bruning different fuels. Also, I fixed a potential error when I wrapped the beakers in foil as it stopped heat from escaping into the environment, illustrating innovation. I've always been creative insomuch as designing contraptions and apparatuses for fun back in my childhood days when I toyed with Lego blocks. I always see the design for whatever I want to build in my head, and then I find ways to match the design with the materials I have on hand, as was the case here. I enjoy creating and innovating as it has endless possibilities and is usualyl done for the sake of improving a current procedure such as inventing new tools or items. As a result, I plan to go on into the field of Biotechnological Engineering where I can imagine solutions to problems and create and innovate them to solve problems and make the world more efficient. **