"Research is expensive. A 15 ML bottle of the particles is 500 dollars."
"Wow! If you break it, do you buy it?"
"Nope. But I'm not going to break it."
"Oh, the picture just loaded. It's plastic."
"Yes, but the stuff inside is 500 dollars. 1 micrometer spheres. It's kind of irritating that it's a dripper bottle. We have to guesstimate how much 150 microliters is from drops."
"Can I share that picture? To prove it happened? Probably cropped."
"It's probably fine. Nothing confidential. AFAIK." [I assume that means as far as I know]
"It's not like I can give details of what you're doing. That's like our old dog Grizzly telling someone how to fly a 747."
"Here's the tray of the solution. Overnight, it should dry into a film with embedded particles distributed throughout. Which I'll then try to make into ellipsoids. (IE, from 1 micrometer spheres, to 2 micrometers by .5, at their longest and widest points. Think a football.) Like, a hundredth of what was in that bottle turned the same amount of water cloudy, like diluted milk. Which is also, in fact, a colloidal system. The solution here is actually cloudy. The picture didn't translate well."
"So it only took $5 worth to turn it cloudy?"
"Essentially. Meaning that it takes very little of these nanoparticles to make visible changes in things."
"Good thing! Because they're so expensive!"
The Pony also alerted me on Monday around noon that campus had called off classes all day, due to tornado forecasts.
"Keep an eye on the weather. Go to your shelter. You don't want to be on the third floor in a tornado!"
"I'll go if it gets bad enough. I'll try not to sit in the hot tub during a tornado, and softball-size hail. The meteorology students stand on the roof of the weather center and watch the sky."
Later that afternoon, after watching reports on TV, I sent a text to see if he was okay.
"Not even rain here. Perfectly fine outside."
"Another tornado watch!"
"Stay vigilant, so you don't get locked out of the shelter like that Simpsons episode."
"It takes 20 minutes to clean up and cool down my lab trials. We had a total of 7 minutes from when they sent out the tornado watch text to the announced time to get out of the building."
"So you can't get to a shelter on time?"
"It's just frustrating. I was, technically, 7 minutes late in leaving the building after the 3:30 deadline."
"So where are you riding out the storm?"
"I'm walking home. It's not expected to really hit until 4:30 at the earliest."
"Gosh! Get to your apartment shelter! Is it too late for that?"
"No. It's just a watch. You've raised a true midwesterner. I don't mind walking in weather. It's not even bad."
That's the last I heard from him. I'm sure he's okay. Pretty sure...
I so remember tornadoes when I was young in the Dakotas.
ReplyDeleteThey're nothing to trifle with! Many a night, we woke up the boys to traipse down to the basement, where we put them to sleep on the couch, ready to run into our concrete and steel shelter that Hick had built into the foundation as a safe to store his valuables.
DeleteI've seen "The Wizard of Oz" I'd take shelter early, those flying monkeys scare the crap outta me.
ReplyDeleteWhen my Dad just limped into college, the Dean told him he would never get out of his Freshman year. He says he asked the Dean what was the schools most difficult curriculum. He was told it was by far Chemical Engineer. "And that", he said "is why I became a Chemical Engineer!"
It worked out pretty good for your dad, from the glimpses you've given us.
DeleteI think that is what our grandson is going to school for, too. Or maybe nuclear science. Well something beyond my grasp. That storm was a whippersnapper wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteKids these days! I don't know how they understand all that mumbo jumob imaginary stuff you can't see and touch.
DeleteI think you got the worst of the storm. We didn't have much wind damage, but the rain caused the creek to tear out a concrete section of the low water bridge. Three days of repairs closed the road to my 44 oz Diet Coke! Lucky I have an alternate route.
Your capitol city took a nasty rap last night. I hope you and the lads are safe and doing well
ReplyDeleteIt sure did! There was also a lot of damage near Joplin in the southwest corner of the state. That's our CasinoPalooza area! It had a devastating tornado several years ago, killed over 100 people. I'm kind of jumpy when we're under a tornado warning. If I'm not already in the basement, I round up my valuables and head that way. Genius said it wasn't too bad up in Kansas City.
DeleteOf course he's okay. You'd know if he wasn't, some sort of mother instinct that says my child is in trouble. That instinct that I don't have for some reason. is that the Pony's thumbnail on the bottle? He has lovely nails.
ReplyDeleteHick called both boys yesterday morning, after he saw the news about Jefferson City, to make sure. They are still kickin'! I'm sure he woke up The Pony, but Genius was already at work.
DeleteThat IS The Pony's thumb. Hick has a running battle, telling him that if he's going to paint his nails, take care of them better than that!
DeleteChemical engineering sounds fascinating.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it sounds like he might be able to find gainful employment. There are a lot of different career opportunities. He might be leaning to something in the oil industry. It's a big deal in Oklahoma. But he could easily end up in pharmaceuticals or food stuff. He's not interested in medical research like his best friend. He gets queasy.
DeleteI do not have a basement or even a little hidey hole here. We had a nice basement in MN. We even duplicated the master bedroom in the basement. We could just go sleep there in bad weather. HeWho would always stand at the sliding door to the deck to "watch". Not me, I went to basement with the dogs like any other sane person would! Glad your boys are safe!
ReplyDeleteWell, now I'll worry about you more when there are tornadoes in your area!
DeleteOne afternoon, we were in the SAFE room, due to a tornado coming right at us. Hick was at work. Genius, about 15 at the time, said he was going to run upstairs to look out. Against my advice! He got halfway up the stairs, and heard the clanging of the metal chairs on the porch, and sprinted back. "I don't think this is a good time to look out!" Thankfully, that tornado skipped over us. Lots of tree limbs torn off, but our house was fine.