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The Prince and the Particles

by Jeanne Nye and Andrew GreenbergLake Mills Area Schools and UW-Madison

1iimage: http://www.how-to-draw-cartoons-online.com/cartoon-beach.html

The Prince and the Particles

 http://www.rodale.com/safer-sunscreen-options?page=0%2C2

Strolling down the beach came a handsome young man named Prince who, noticing Rose’s bottle of sunscreen, stopped to chat. After introducing himself as the ruggedly handsome Prince, he launched into a lecture on the importance of wearing sunscreen. Prince was gorgeous; but unfortunately Rose was distracted by the large globs of white cream smeared over his ruggedly handsome features and rippling muscles.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful young maiden named Rose who loved to play in the sun. She wasn’t only beautiful; she was smart. For example, today at the beach she wore sunscreen. She liked to wear the invisible type made of nanoparticles of zinc oxide.

When Rose finally got a word in edgewise she explained that she too was wearing sunscreen. But hers was made with invisible nanoparticles.

Prince was aghast! He said he’d heard rumors about nanoparticles that had made him wary of using products containing nanoparticles.

Prince believed that nanoparticles could be damaging to the environment.

And More…Rose insisted that Prince sit down and join her as she pulled up scientific data using her smartphone. She started by first reviewing why sunscreen is important:

http://www.everythingicafe.com/iphone-photo-gallery/

Nanoparticles in Sunscreen

To compare sunscreens with and without nanoparticles, she decided to explain using a lesson on sunscreen that she’d done in school.

Conscious of his ruggedly handsome appearance, Prince agreed that sunscreen is important for maintaining a person’s health and good looks . Otherwise he wouldn’t walk around wearing white streaks on his body.

This was the comment Rose was waiting for. First she launched a short Flash file showing why sunscreen is important.

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• How Sunscreens Appear• Sunblock Investigation• Sunscreen Lab

Sunscreens

Since Prince was an avid environmentalist and an intellectual he was impressed with the science behind nano-sized zinc oxide, but again voiced his concern about the potential impact of nanoparticles on the environment. Prince had heard that the size of nanoparticles made them behave differently than larger particles in the environment.

Prince Explains

http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/stp

Prince explained that many people aware of the benefits of nanotechnology, are unaware of the possible problems.

Rose conceded that she might be one of them.

Digging Into the Research

Avid researchers, Rose and Prince delved into a number of articles. They accessed a number of ‘doom and gloom’ articles about the impact of nanoparticles in the environment. Then Prince found an article at Scientific American, a reliable resource, that stated more research is needed.

Prince suggested that they stop by the school and ask his science teacher for nanoparticle research information.

Ms. Anna Par-TuckleWhen they arrive at the lab, Prince’s teacher, Ms. Anna Par-Tuckle, was eager to have them conduct their own investigations on the topic, but couldn’t help launching into a short lecture.

http://bigteaparty.com/2008/06/13/naotechnology-size-does-matter-article-by-elizabeth-fiend/

She said that researchers are still investigating the unique characteristics of nanoparticles.

So far in her research she hadn’t found significant data to indicate a problem with nanoparticles in the environment.

Toxic Potential?She said that scientists believe particle size is critical in determining how particles behave in the environment, including their toxicity. She offered,

www.usda.gov/oce/risk_assessment/risk_forums/Kuzma51208.ppt

“Come into the lab and see for yourself.

For any given amount of sunscreen, when the size of the particle decreases the surface area will increase. Let’s see how that might impact the environment.”

Does Particle Size Really Matter?

Labs:1.Potato Lab2.Alka Seltzer Lab3.Baggie Lab

Lab Lab Time Time

Ms. Par-Tuckle said, “Since there is a higher surface area to volume ratio in nanoparticles, they react more quickly.”

She continued, “In these labs we didn’t use nanoparticles, but we saw how particle size (surface area to volume ratio) does impact the behavior of molecules and potentially the environment.”

 

A Better Understanding

Rose continued, “Scientists have a huge responsibility to investigate how nanoparticles interact with the environment before particles of any size or material get into the environment!

Let’s discuss which sunscreen to reapply on the way back to the beach, Prince.”

“Thanks Ms. Par-Tuckle for letting us use the science lab to investigate my concerns about nanoparticles in sunscreens getting into the environment,” said Prince.

The End

http://mommygreenest.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/ready-for-fun-in-the-sun-make-sure-to-green-screen/

Man shapes himself through decisions that shape his environment.

       - Rene Dubos