The second materials science exhibition, with the theme of “Materials Science Lights up Innovation”, was held online on June 11. 18 project teams displayed their creative works made of mineral materials, luminescent materials, functional and composite materials, hydrophobic materials, polymer materials, metal materials, etc.
The teams focused on the characteristics and applications of the materials, and introduced the scientific principles, material types, performance characteristics, preparation methods andsafety tips in detail. The experimental scenes are presented from multiple angles with interesting and detailed explanations and videos, so that the audience can experience the application in life and cutting-edge knowledge of materials science from the screen and appreciate the magic and charm of materials science without leaving home.
The team “Perfume’s Secret” developed a bottle of natural and unique light perfume. Based on the natural polymer properties of the petals, they first extracted the beautiful color pigment from the flowers with high concentration of alcohol, then steamed the pure dew with the function of moisturizing and hydrating with steam distillation, and finally added a little pure essential oil with pleasant aroma.
The team “Icebreaker” demonstrated the properties and applications of copper tubes, a thermal and cooling material used in real life. They compared copper tubes with iron bars to show that the tubes can transfer heat from the palm to the ice and melted it more quickly. Through the performance, the principle of heat transfer in conductive materials was more easily understood.
The team “Your Keyboard, My Heart” brought the creativity of DIY decorative handicraft. They mixed epoxy resin based two-component adhesive polymer drops in a certain proportion, and then added color essence and pigment according to their preferences. After a certain period of curing, they obtained a piece of exquisite and colorfuladhesive drops jewelry.
In order to make up for the audience’s pity that they missed the cherry blossom season due to the pandemic, the team “Crystals’ Czardas” prepared supersaturated solution and controlled the formation, shape, size, and uniformity of crystals based on the crystal nucleation growth principle, so as to produce the crystal cherry tree which the audience were full of praise for.
By virtue of the waterproof, anti-pollution, and self-cleaning features of the super hydrophobic material, the team “Hydrophobicity” demonstrated the preparation process of the super hydrophobic materials and their waterproof and dustproof effect to the audience with materials such as candles and glass sheets. The team members explained the secret of the spotless white shoes with a simple experiment.
Other teams either used LED diodes with different colors to make colorful lamp decorations, or algae to make capacitors with superior performance, or fluorescent solutions to make fluorescent jellyfish...One interesting experiment after another amazed the audience.
The creative works were attributed to the repeated deliberation and polishing of the team members.
LIU Shutong, leader of the team “A Falling Leaf of Autumn”, said that in order to inform the audience of more accurate knowledge about clay minerals, she and the team members hammered out the crystal model, so as to eliminate the difficult of understanding obscure principles. In order to eliminate the obscure situation of professional principles, they also constantly revised the text to make the scientific principles clear and easy to understand.
“Three minutes to do an experiment and ten hours to record it” was how the leader HOU Shuang of the team “Volcano” described the video recording process of their experimental project. “The same member had to do both the experiments and the filming, and this process was repeated many times.”
This material science exhibition was conducted in the form of live production and video presentation. The team members overcame all kinds of difficulties and used ingenious materials to turn houses into laboratories. They combined science and art, rigor and interest, revealing the extensive application of materials science in social development in a vivid way.
(Provided by the School of Materials Science and Chemistry)
