Blue Penguin Report

By Red Sox Steve

2004 was a memorable year in every way: Since I go by the name "Red Sox" Steve, there is at least one reason I shouldn't need to mention. But, there are plenty of others: it was the year I met one of my best friends, and trusted adviser (Matty B!), started my job on Wall Street along with my bachelor's lifestyle, and began to understand my country as I never had before. It was also the year I got my first Manhattan apartment.

One of my sisters had already been living in Manhattan for 2 years, and, during that same time, I was working as a school teacher in Guyana. I had just arrived in the city, so the time she had under her belt meant she was an NYC veteran by comparison. She had a good job, a great social life, knew the city well, and was willing to introduce me to all her friends. Little more I could ask of her, really, so I took my cues from her willingly - I was grateful to have someone close to me introduce me to New York.

We saw a few places that summer of '04, and finally decided on one - it was conveniently located, newly renovated, and offered at the right price. For two kids who had grown up in a sprawling suburb, the place was tiny, but the convenience of living in Manhattan required a square footage trade-off we both wanted to make. We signed the lease, exchanged keys and money, and I got my first NYC apartment.

We were adults who had lived together as children and teenagers before going to separate cities to attend college, so our new situation took some getting used to. Early on, she traveled, switched jobs, and changed boyfriends. I was new to the city, had a steady office job in midtown, and an evolving and dynamic social life. We cooked our favorite foods, watched some of the same TV programs, and learned to get along as roommates through drunken nights out and occasional break-ups. Those were my earliest years in New York, and thinking back on them today, it seems like they happened during the Paleozoic era.

2007 was just a few months old when my sis decided the west coast was calling - she wanted to move to San Diego, and she wanted to go that summer. I was about to lose one of my most important tethers - she helped me get settled and adjusted, but now she decided 5 years in NYC was enough. She had plenty of friends who had come and gone - people initially attracted to the bright lights of the "Big Apple", but then decided it was time to move on. Some moved back to their hometown, some got married and moved to the distant edge of the solar system (what us city folk refer to as "New Jersey"), and others left the area for some place new - my sis was in the third category.

Initially, I was worried to be losing the only roommate I had since I got here. How could I ever live with an acquaintance or worse yet... a stranger? She was still here when I began my search for a new roommate, giving me some lead time to solve what seemed like a daunting problem. I tried everything I could think of, networking through friends of friends and putting an ad on craigslist were the two I came up with, and I just couldn't find anyone. Folks who showed an initial interest would waffle or disappear, and I was running out of time. I have a strong dislike for moving, and I was afraid that's what I would be faced with if I struggled to pay the bills.

I had probably shown her room to more than 20 people over a period of about 6 weeks, and likely corresponded with twice that many who had shown interest, yet I just couldn't find anyone enthusiastic about moving in. There is a silver lining in every cloud, and mine was channeled through my nearest and dearest, Matty B. "Why don't you put an ad in the short term section on craigslist?" Matt suggested. So I did. The details of the ad were as plain as rice cake - dimensions of the room, a vague description of the amenities, and of course some photos. To my initial surprise, although I raised the asking price from where it was, there was some interest. Off to a good start, I thought, but my skepticism remained: all I did was move my ad to the short term section on craigslist - would the outcome be any different? But it was.

Within a week I had a number of responses. I was looking for someone to move in as soon as possible, and one of the first people I corresponded with worked for a local art gallery. He was sponsoring a German artisan on a three month work visa and scrambling to find accommodation for her. I met him, and after he had a look at the room, he agreed to take it. In exchange for payment I gave him the keys, just like I've done hundreds of times since.

My first tenant arrived from Germany in fall 2007, and moved in. I had never met anyone from Germany before, never mind the fact she was an artisan with such a unique specialty: she restored antique picture frames, some as many as 400 years old. Having someone with such a unique background was in my apartment was fascinating. "Where else in my daily dealings would I run into a person like this?", I thought. Suffice it to say, it was interesting, unexpected, unique... and it was just the beginning.

She ended up taking the room for three months - our existence was pretty routine, but when she talked about her work, her life, Germany, or her impression of the U.S., I found it scintillating. I had never known restoring antique frames was an artistic specialty, so demanding, so intricate. Until I conversed with her, it was far beyond my life experience to ponder such things. She stayed comfortably for those few months, completed her assignment, and shortly before her departure, I started to look for another short-term renter. I found a Brazilian exchange student, here studying in NYC for the first time - another very unique, very kind person with a different background than people I was used to dealing with. After a few renters had come and gone, I began to realize my place was a pretty hot commodity. I kept raising the price because there were so many eager folks and eventually I found what economists call an "equilibrium price" which ensured a steady cash flow - my little enterprise was doing just fine.

After a few months of renting, what started to became so fascinating was the wide range of people who had been through my apartment - so many different backgrounds, professions, ethnicities, ages, and reasons for being here. I've never kept a catalog of the folks who have come through, and I didn't join facebook until about two years after I started renting (I've since looked up and befriended some of my former renters), so I won't be able to remember everybody, but here is a sampling of the folks who have stayed and a bit about them:

- the Scottish lawyer, author and anti-nuclear power activist, here in New York to meet a billionaire to close a book deal

- the American cameraman, here in New York to work on the Apprentice (keeping true to the show's confidentiality obligations, he didn't tell me who "The Donald" fired in advance!)

- the German medical student, here to do an internship at a local hospital

- the Singaporean doctor with a strong British accent, here for a medical rotation

- the Chinese engineer, fresh from her Ivy league master's degree, here to find a job

- the Swiss/Italian couple visiting NYC for a couple of months, another person had stolen their security deposit so they needed a new, safer place to stay - the Estonian model, here for a fashion shoot

- the Italian business professor, here on a fellowship at NYU

- the Argentine sisters, one a student, the other a professional camerawoman for an Argentinean TV channel; they've since recommended me to about a dozen of their friends and acquaintances

- the Israeli software salesman who used to live in NYC, passing through from Las Vegas back to Tel Aviv

I had interesting people coming and going, and I was able to create a cash flow I hadn't experienced before, which changed everything for me. I no longer relied on such a huge portion of my salary, so I started stashing the extra funds away. Whenever I needed a tenant, I found one easily, ensuring I wouldn't have to dip into my pocket to make up for any losses. I started to see that this was both financially profitable and intellectually rewarding.

When I first arrived in NYC in 2004, I wanted to work in finance - I had the notion that it was a lucrative and prestigious profession which gave me the chance to work with some of the best and brightest (as an aside, I now wonder, "how could I have gotten that SO wrong?"). I found a job pretty easily in June of 2004, and started learning about business and finance at about the same time from my mentor, Matt (I am so used to calling him Matty B, but I'll just call him Matt so as to avoid confusion). Well, within just a couple of years, my understanding of how finance worked changed completely - learning and experience had asserted themselves.

Up to 2004, global investors became hooked on what were known as Mortgage-Backed Securities, and, in short, those securities and any prosperity derived from them were predicated on the perpetual rise in home prices. Through my job and my extensive discussions with Matt, (he and) I concluded that home prices rising in perpetuity was nonsense and, in fact, when that changed, home prices would drop, probably enough to cause widespread financial ruin.

I began to see my job very differently after coming to that conclusion, and saw home ownership less as a road to wealth and more as an outcropping of middle-class America's sense of entitlement. I'm a middle-class American kid from the suburbs - buying a home, thinking of it as an asset, and living in it until death is gospel to many I grew up with. On the other hand, renting is anathema, and renters are thought to be on the "cusp of adulthood" compared to their more mature, home owning brethren. My work and experience led me down an altogether different path where an asset is what an accountant thinks it is - something that generates cash, rather than drains it. I've counted enough "Benjamins" on my tiny kitchen table to conclude that my apartment is more of an asset than any home I've ever known.

You know the rest of the story - through the 2000s, gas and oil prices continued to rise, as did inflation and home prices, until late in 2008, when the house of cards finally gave way. Within months, I was out of a job, but I had already anticipated this - my apartment provided the cash flow I needed for my financial life to remain stable. Less than half a year after I lost my job, I started traveling. I went to South America, then India, then China. Each time I went away, Matt managed the comings and goings - I've been away for weeks at a time while he has been here to reliably direct traffic in my absence and has done a great job.

I began to see that I could easily rent the place while I'm gone - not just one room, but both of them, to unrelated people. And that's just what I did - I went to China for 6 weeks, South America for 3 weeks, India for a month, and with Matt's help, people came through just as easily as when I was here. One time, there was a Harvard Business School summer intern in one room, and a Nepalese couple in the other. A German doctor was living here with an Israeli fashion designer. A distressing financial crisis hit, I lost my job, but my life actually got BETTER.

In 2010, Matt, myself, and a few others, assumed responsibility for the care of a homebound elderly woman. While we were still learning how to care for her, her money ran out, and we found ourselves barely scraping by while we waited for financial support. Through this time, I was able to rent my place, keeping my bills paid. She unexpectedly passed away in June 2011, and my shoestring budget became even thinner while we unwound her affairs.

Since she passed, I've struggled financially, while things slowly worked themselves out. All the while, my apartment has been the bulwark of my income, as reliable as ever. I discovered an opportunity to make it even more lucrative when a handy friend of mine helped me build a comfortable sleeping space above my living room, where I slept. Construction on the new space, and some repairs I've made around the apartment meant more could be accommodated comfortably - the entire apartment is available to renters. Then, a few months ago, I became tired of the informality of craigslist, and started listing my place on a new website called airbnb. My relationship with airbnb has been great - for a very reasonable fee, they help me with things that craigslist doesn't, enabling the financial and lifestyle freedoms I've come to enjoy.

As my living situation changed, my life and understanding of this city changed. I've learned a little about wealth, housing, and even the global economy. I've learned about many different cultures and have made friends along the way. When I arrived in New York, I knew I had merely started a long journey to gain more knowledge and life experience, trying to keep myself flexible and open-minded. Now, almost a decade later, I couldn't be more grateful that such a tiny apartment has been such a huge resource in helping me along in my journey. If you'd like to visit New York, I'd be grateful if you inquired about staying at my place.

If you are interested, see below to inquire about a stay.

Here's one room:

Upper East Side private queen bed!

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Here's the other:

Upper East Side private rm full bed

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Posted by Red Sox Steve at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Red Sox Steve
VagabondGuru.com

I spent October and November 2010 in China - I've seen the largest green energy project in the world (Three Gorges Dam), rode high-speed trains all around the country, and took the Middle Kingdom's impressive public transportation system in every city I visited. I didn't take pleasure cruises or use high-end travel services; I walked the streets and rode the subways and busses.

I see, I learn, I process and think. I do it all for my edification and yours - those willing to ponder the 22nd and 23rd centuries, at least.

How we produce renewable energy is essential to that future, and it's why I write about it today.

China and the United States are the two largest greenhouse gas producers in the world, together responsible for around 40% of global greenhouse gas production. This is the direct result of converting nonrenewable resources like coal, oil and natural gas into electricity. China and the US are also among the top four nations (Russia and India are the other two) holding 60% of global coal reserves. 70% of China's energy comes from burning coal, and in the US, 46%.¹

In absolute terms, we see more distinctions: Each year, the sum of human activity puts 37 billion tons of CO₂ in the earth's atmosphere; two decades ago, it was less than 25. On average, an American puts 25 tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere each year, and a Chinese person puts 8. America's per capita electricity use is 13.6 megawatt hours/year, while China's is less than 3.² China's total energy consumption as of 2009 is 2,234 Mtoe (Million "Tonnes of Oil Equivalent", energy produced from burning one ton of oil), while the United States consumed 2,201 Mtoe. The next closest was India with a distant 655.³

In both nations, non-renewable resources make up a huge percentage of energy production, and renewable resources, such as solar panels, make a small contribution - In each of China and the United States, solar panels make up less than 10% of energy production.

China's economy has been growing for about 3 decades, and this growth can be traced back to market reforms initiated by Deng Xiaopeng in 1978. Thereafter, China's economic output grew quickly, steering millions away from the agrarian lifestyle they had known for generations. China started to become heavily dependent on the burning of minerals and fossil fuels; its yearly energy consumption has more than quadrupled since the 1980s. By the early 1990s, construction on the Three Gorges Dam had begun (oil prices were at a then record high), and China's commitment to renewable energy hasn't wavered since.

Today, China's fast growing economy is accompanied by some sobering public health statistics - 16 of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China⁴, and cancer is one of the nation's leading causes of death.⁵ During my visits to cities as far north as Harbin and as far south as Guangzhou, it became typical to see a hazy skyline when viewing the cityscape - as if the sun wasn't shining brightly on even the clearest days.

By the start of the 21st century, construction on the Three Gorges Dam was proceeding apace, but was still more than a half decade from completion. The 18,200 MW it was forecast to produce would make a sizable dent in China's fossil fuel consumption, but more renewable sources were needed. Around that time, the Chinese turned to solar production in a big way.

The largest producer of solar panels anywhere in the world today is a company called Suntech, headquartered in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, just an hour's train ride from Shanghai. Let's have a glance at highlights taken from an article about the company⁶:

- Zhengrong Shi, CEO of Suntech, earned a Ph.D in solar power technology in the mid 1990s from Australia's University of New South Wales, and after working in Australia for a few years, returned to China in 2000, founding Suntech in 2001.
- Suntech's first factory opened in 2002, and has since cut solar panel production time significantly.
- In 2007, only 2% of global solar panel production came from China. In 2010, that number was 42%.
- Per Watt production costs have dropped from $3.20 in 2004 to $1.28 in 2010 for Chinese manufacturers.

According to the article and a related video⁷, the main component behind Suntech's solar panels is a molecule called "multicrystalline silicon". Multicrystalline silicon is a silver metal with an irregular crystal structure. In other words, the locations of, and distances between, silicon atoms is not uniform throughout the molecule; the irregularity lends itself to an unpredictable path for electron travel. Carrying this one step further, the unpredictability of an electron's path has ramifications in the efficiency of a solar panel's ability to convert incoming light to electric current. The movement of electrons through an irregular crystal structure is similar to telling a blindfolded person to navigate a maze without hitting a wall - very few make it all the way through.

Suntech's multicrystalline silicon technology has broken its own record for solar cell efficiency and is currently more than 17% efficient, the highest in the world. However, there is a technology being investigated at UNSW, which is discussed in the video interview: solar panels that use the PERL method. PERL stands for "Passivated Emitter and Rear Locally diffused". In an upgrade from widely used solar-cells that use doped silicon, and reflect light back out of the solar cell, PERL technology captures more of those escaping photons.

Here is a link to the white paper that contains the above schematic: PERL technology. The front edge of the solar panel is coated (industry term: "passivated") with an anti-reflective surface, preventing photons from bouncing back out of the solar panel once inside. The coating is a metal-oxide substance that can be one of two types: "SLAR" or "DLAR" - "Single-layer anti-reflective" or "Double-layer anti-reflective". According to Suntech's CEO, PERL technology has achieved 25% efficiency for about 20 years.

Until the last couple of years, when UNSW started collaboration with Suntech to commercialize PERL-based solar cells, PERL had no economic viability. One of the main obstacles was found in the panel production process. As stated in the video - the front (sun-facing side) of solar cells are coated with narrow metal lines that collect electrical charge. According to Dr. Stuart Wenham, Suntech's CTO, these narrow lines are actually too wide, reducing the amount of light retained, and thus reducing efficiency of the solar cell. Dr. Wenham concludes that the metal lines placed on solar cells must be one-sixth (from 120 microns wide to 20 microns wide) as wide as they currently are to effectively use the highly efficient PERL technology and make it commercially viable.

According to a 2009 whitepaper released by Suntech ⁸, they have successfully changed some of the processes and materials associated with PERL production and have "whittled" the width of the metal lines down to 25 microns, as compared to 20 microns in PERL solar cells; these lines are spaced less than 1mm apart, which is exactly the spacing found in PERL solar cells. As a result, Suntech has achieved greater than 18% efficiency⁹ (verified by an outside source) and has been marketing the new solar cells under the trademark "Pluto".

China and America continue to be - far and away - the largest energy consumers on earth, and are consequently its biggest polluters as well. Over the last couple of decades as the Chinese economy has grown rapidly, the Chinese have evidenced a commitment to renewable energy through massive projects like the Three Gorges Dam. Companies like Suntech fit perfectly under this umbrella - they mass produce solar cells and continue to add layers of understanding and improvement to solar cell technology, pulling in well-understood research and attempting to commercialize it. The concepts I've discussed above are merely the beginning of the renewable energy revolution mankind needs to meet the energy requirements of the future.

Sources:
1, 2. "Dirty Coal, Clean Future", Atlantic Monthly, December 2010
3. http://yearbook.enerdata.net/
4. China's View of Climate Change by Ying Ma, Policy Review, June & July 2010
5. http://www.earth-policy.org/data_center/C21
6. "Solar's Great Leap Forward", Technology Review, July/August 2010
7. http://technologyreview.com/video/?vid=581
8, 9. http://am.suntech-power.com/images/stories/pdf/other/pluto_whitepaper.pdf

Posted by Red Sox Steve at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Red Sox Steve
VagabondGuru.com

Chongqing

After a day and a half, I had seen quite a few of the sites in Chongqing, which were all in Yuzhong. As I stared at a city map, though, I knew I had only seen a small part of this massive metropolis. With an eye toward my trip to the dam, I knew I didn't have to leave Yuzhong to catch the boat. I wanted to see as much of this area as possible, so I hopped in a cable car that took me over the Yangtze River.

As the car started away, I had to do a double take. On both sides of the river, running up and down its shores, I saw a city more massive than I could have conceived (of course, I hadn't yet visited Shanghai...). Before I boarded, I thought I understood the scale and makeup of Chongqing - I compared Yuzhong to Manhattan; both have rivers running along either side which eventually converge. Taking my logic a step further, the outlying areas would be reminiscent of Jersey City, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, flatter with more space, fading away in the distance. I was dead wrong. Instead, I saw massive buildings rising up in all directions, a handful of bridges stretching from bank to bank of the bending rivers, and water-borne traffic off into the horizon. Highways ran in every direction through available gaps in skyscraper construction and a network of tunnels weaved through the mountainous urban terrain.

Chongqing is a frenetically busy place and, like many of the other cities I had visited, there were plans for expansion - Chongqing already has two train stations, but now there were plans to extend the subway and build additional universities and technical centers. Sometimes, when visiting a large city in the western world, one can compare the population to a small country. In this case, the massive municipality of Chongqing, with over 30 million people, is more like a medium-sized one.

Before leaving the city, there was one last thing I had to do. Up to this point, I had eaten excellent Chinese food in city after city. I learned what Chinese breakfast was all about in Changchun, regrettably missed the Peking Duck in Beijing (rookie mistake!), but I sampled some great food in Xi'an and Haerbin as well. The Lonely Planet couldn't stress this one dish enough - a fiery blend of meats and vegetables with a side of rice in case things get out of control. In Chinese it's written: 火鍋, which is pronounced ("huǒ guō"). The literal translation is "fire pot".

I'll never forget the first time I went into a hotpot restaurant - I was starving and wanted to give it a chance. I couldn't read any chinese, and I at least thought I knew how to pronounce a few simple words like chicken, beef, pork, vegetables and beer. The waitress handed me the menu, comprised entirely of Chinese characters; I couldn't read it, so I did my best to build an order on the few words I knew.

Weeks before, my teacher Ren, and her cousins from Changchun, taught me how to ask for spice. "la" is the word for spice. If you want something very spicy, you could simply say, "hen la"; a little spicy, "yi dian die la"; without spice, "bu la"; spice on the side in a small bowl, "yi dian die wan la". I wanted the oil filled wok to have a little fire to it and add spice as I wished, so I asked for "yi dian die la" and "yi dian die wan la". I tried to tell the waitress (pretty sure I was flubbing it) that no matter what she put in front of me, I would eat it. The next thing I knew, I had a 40 oz. bottle of Tsingtao an arm's length away, and a wok full of spicy red oil with mysterious contents was placed on the cooking range in the center of my table.

Then, she brought over plates of raw meat and raw vegetables, and I carefully dropped them in the hot oil. The meat was thinly sliced and the vegetables were chopped, so I knew they would cook quickly. I watched excitedly as the entire pot bubbled and the food soaked up the oil and spices. I dipped my chopsticks into the oil, and pulled up an oily, hot, reddened mass of meat and vegetables. I could smell the spices and saw some peppercorns stuck to my food, so I ate slowly, keeping one hand by my beer.

I started to get the hang of it, and my eating became more bold. The portions I grabbed became bigger, and with the increased intake of spice, I took more gulps of beer. I knew the combination wasn't the healthiest, mostly because I was coughing and I could feel my face turning red. The taste was excellent, but the after-effects were tough on my stomach. I couldn't get enough though - the fiery spice, the Chinese beer, and the exotic sensation of eating a regional dish over 1,000 years old, made this an experience I would want to have again and again.

Fortunately, the only climactic event was that I enjoyed everything I ate. From here, though, the best thing to do was hop on the subway and head back to my hostel. Sleeping off a meal like this close to a bathroom was the most advisable idea. Over the next 4 days, I would eat hotpot twice more - good for the taste buds, but rough on pretty much everything else.

One more thing I want to tell you about took place before I left.

I made my way to another hotpot restaurant (they are everywhere), but this time I had help ordering. The restaurant was less than half full, and, because westerners are so rare in Chongqing, I could feel the curious stares on me as I entered. I was in the middle of ordering (again, not having much luck), when - lo and behold! - another foreigner came over to my table and asked me if he could help translate my order to the waitress. I was grateful to have someone who could do a better job of ordering than I could, and invited Sebastien (a German) and his Chinese girlfriend, Sally, to sit down with me.

I appreciated the company, and Sebastien's helpful gesture, and from there we took the conversation straight to a global level. They both live and work in Chongqing. Sebastien works at one of the many Marriott Hotels dotted around the country, and has been here for a few years now. Sally, who speaks perfect english with a Chinese accent, works for Proctor and Gamble. Sebastien works in a "front of the house" capacity, dealing directly with incoming guests. By this time, I had seen the massive globally branded hotels (many, if not all, are somewhere in Manhattan), and had been around the hustle and bustle of the city enough to ask him a single question: "where do most of the guests come from?" His answer: China, Europe, India, South America, North America, Japan, Singapore, London, New York, Buenos Aires, Russia, and the Middle East. Basically, everywhere! He also told me that although Marriott has about 60 hotels dotted around China, there are plans to build about 60 more.

The conversation went on - I laughed when he told me his American boss informed him he had to brush up on his English if he wanted a promotion; as if his native German, good English and fairly good Chinese weren't enough already. Now, looking back, maybe they weren't.

I turned to Sally, who, although she was about 25, was aware of the "financial crisis in America", as she called it. Comparing that to what westerners call it ("the global financial crisis") tells you all you need to know about the economy in China. Sally, along with every student in China, has taken mandatory English classes in school. A small portion of the more than 100 million students in China have even taken extra English classes through private companies. Why? When she told me, the answer couldn't have been more simple: "you can get a better job if you speak English and Chinese."

She came off as articulate, confident, and aggressive and it surprised me how much she knew about America. She discussed the US Presidential Campaign of 2008, and we talked about the financial crisis and its impact on the United States and China. She told me a little about her job - part of her duties are to communicate with P&G headquarters back in Cincinnati about once a month because she oversees the distribution of P&G goods to local convenience store chains. The P&G business model is a metaphor for the economic relationship between America and China: P&G in America finances Chinese manufacturing of P&G goods for distribution to the growing Chinese consumer market, as well as to America; you can come to your own conclusion about the relative number of jobs created in Chongqing vs. Cincinnati.

I got lucky - not only was I able to have tasty hotpot again, I got to speak to a pair of people who, in a small way, represent the shifting sands of the global economy. Sebastien, a young foreigner, has begun his career in China, having almost no work experience in his home country. The company he works for has plans for massive expansion in the local market, and no shortage of opportunity for him in particular. He can't find this in Europe. Sally represents the most modern generation China has ever produced - an unmarried bi-lingual, college-educated woman who works for a major multi-national corporation in one of China's largest cities. When you hear folks talking about the "global competition for talent", Sebastian and Sally are some of the participants in the game.

I don't travel to the other side of the earth to see the proverbial "largest ball of twine." I don't spend twelve hours in an airplane seat or 36 hours sharing a train compartment with 5 other people to be able to say tell my friends I was in this place or that one, and I don't need to go to every country around the globe. I went to China to learn as much as possible about what's going on there, and how China and the Chinese people fit into the global landscape.

It's clear that China will soon overtake the United States as the world's largest economy, challenging every economic assumption we have ever made in the west, and overturning those that are wrong. The Chinese are deliberate and focused on building a better life for all who live within their borders, and, like every other young, powerful nation that has ever existed, they are committed to doing it their own way. Looking back, sitting in my living room here in New York, I couldn't believe the "success" of my trip to Chongqing, mainly because I learned so much.

Posted by Red Sox Steve at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Red Sox Steve
VagabondGuru.com

Chongqing

China (a/k/a the "People's Republic of China" or "PRC") controls 22 provinces. Each province has a capital, and the 22 provinces together don't make up the entire country - included in the PRC are separate entities called "autonomous regions", "special administrative regions", and "municipalities". There are 5 autonomous regions (Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Ningxia, and Guangxi), 2 special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau), and 4 municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing). To add further fuel to the bureaucratic fire, in 2005, the government via the "Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People's Republic of China" initiated urban reforms, one of which was to promote the concept of five "National Central Cities": Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Chongqing.

I knew before I left America that I would go to Beijing and Shanghai, I thought it likely that I would go to Guangzhou, and unlikely that I would go to Tianjin. I didn't find Chongqing as interesting, but knew I could get on a Yangtze River cruise from there, and - for some reason - the Lonely Planet talked up this strange dish called "hotpot", so I figured it was worth spending a couple of days there.

I reached Chongqing by overnight train from Xi'an on a damp and overcast morning. I did my best to decipher the Lonely Planet map, but foolishly did not stay at a hostel recommended in its pages. I boarded a public bus from the train station to get to the hostel, but because of the city's layout and misty darkness, I had no idea where I was going. I thought it wise to get off the bus and resorted to an old trick I used a bunch of times already - after I got in a taxi, I called the hostel and asked them to speak directly to the cab driver. Chinese-Chinese discussion would solve the problem more quickly than me serving as a translator. The taxi driver seemed to understand the directions, and as we started down the massive, windy highway, it quickly became apparent that I had lost all sense of orientation; this was the first city I'd visited that wasn't flat!

After I got settled in to my hotel, which was in the central district of Yuzhong and overlooked the Yangtze River, I immediately headed to the nearest bus stop - I wanted to get to the Three Gorges Dam museum. I made a short climb up a long hill, and did my best to decipher the signage at the bus stop - numerous busses stop there, with arabic numerals clearly indicating the bus route above the windshield. I wanted to see how many stops I needed to pass before I got close to the museum, but my bus arrived too quickly, so I just hopped aboard. Of course, though, I couldn't tell when my stop was coming up. I looked in my Lonely Planet, and found the pinyin pronunciation for the museum ("sanxia bowuguan") and asked a woman sitting next to me. When my stop came up, this very kind woman grabbed me by the arm and led me up a long curved hill toward the impressively designed museum's facade. I would experience hospitality and the kindness of strangers again and again.

I spent some time exploring the museum, eagerly anticipating my upcoming trip to the Three Gorges Dam. I spent the rest of that day searching for good restaurants, wandering around the city, and exploring the main shopping area, near what is known as the Liberation Monument. The area surrounding the monument is one of the main tourist centers in Chongqing - there are huge hotels like the Marriott and the Intercontinental within walking distance, the subway/tram system stops here, and massive construction projects are going on nearby. This is the part of Chongqing that says to foreigners: "open for business."

The next morning, I got on the subway right by my hotel - I was headed to the other side of the downtown area, and this was the easiest way to get around; I could avoid the windy roads and hills that were so confusing the day before. I was headed to the Stilwell Museum. General Joseph Stilwell, the museum's namesake, was the commander of US forces in the China-Burma-India theater and Chang Kaishek's chief of staff in 1942. The museum is his former home and guest house for VIPs of the Kuomintang.

The Stilwell Museum was tough to find (again, winding hilly streets and passageways made the journey from the subway confusing), but it was a hidden gem. Photos and storyboards inside trace over the history from 1940s China to the present, and US involvement in the area during that time. There are also photos that tell the story of commercial transactions that have taken place in China since then - companies like Coca-Cola signed major deals in Chongqing decades after the end of WWII. Stilwell's family lived there with him for a time, and in many photos, Stilwell is the only westerner posing with local Chinese. He studied Chinese, and immersed himself in Chinese culture as best he could while commanding a US fighting force with influence all the way to Delhi. The place had special meaning for me because my paternal grandfather fought with the US Army in Burma during WWII; he certainly would have recognized Stilwell's name, if he didn't serve under him directly. Stilwell's presence there and his desire to learn Chinese was memorialized after his death - five decades after Stilwell departed Chongqing, the Chongqing Stilwell Foreign Language School was founded in the city.

(to be continued...)

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By Red Sox Steve
VagabondGuru.com

Changchun

According to my research, there are at least 50 cities in China that have a population of over 1,000,000. I visited 13 cities on my trip (including Macau and Hong Kong, which are not considered part of mainland China), and each one except Macau is home to over 1,000,000.

Beijing, because it is the national capital and was the site of the 2008 Olympics, is one of the two most popular (and populous) cities in China familiar to westerners. Shanghai, China's financial capital, and the site of the 2010 World Expo, is the other. But, just as their American counterparts Washington D.C. and New York are dissimilar to much of America, Beijing and Shanghai have a similar relationship with China. All four are the most international cities in their respective countries, and serve a variety of functions as municipalities the size of small nations.

Which cities, then, are more representative of urban life in mainland China? Beyond the impressive facade a foreigner sees on a quick business trip to Shanghai, or a diplomatic visit to Beijing, what goes on in the dozens of other cities which will help push the Middle Kingdom forward into the future?

I want to look at three cities I didn't know much about, if anything, before my trip. What I saw and experienced in each of them left an indelible impression on me. There are probably at least a half dozen others that could be on this list, but even months after I returned, there are three cities I can't get off my mind. Here is the first one:

1) Changchun, capital of Jilin Province with a population of just over 3 million.

Jilin Province borders North Korea, and in the 1930s partly made up the Manchu State in the Manchurian Region. Before the establishment of the Manchu State, the Manchu people had been responsible for the formation of the Qing Dynasty, the final monarchical dynasty in China, overthrown in 1911. When the Japanese invaded Manchuria in the early 1930s, they installed the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, named Pu Yi, as the nominal leader of Manchukuo. He had been dethroned decades earlier, so the Japanese promise that he would eventually be able to rule China from Changchun enticed him to rule at their behest. In the intermittent decades between Pu Yi's overthrow and his return to power, the Russians pushed their influence in the region, asserting control over part of Manchuria they had sought since the late 19th century.

In 1945, the Japanese war machine was stopped in its tracks, and by 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded. Soon after the formation of the PRC, Pu Yi was placed in prison, Changchun remained the provincial capital, and throughout Manchuria, one can still find evidence of former Russian and Japanese presence.

Changchun was the second city I visited during my trip to China in October 2010. Because my tutor Ren's family is from there, I became attuned to the local culture as soon as her cousins James and Monica (Zhang Jian and Yang Li, in pinyin) picked me up at the train station. They couldn't be any nicer as we went straight to my hotel to check in, then to a fantastic dinner. It was a damp and chilly evening when I arrived, but I was in great spirits, grateful for companionship, hospitality, and excellent food. Right away, I was plugged in to the local culture, grateful because I knew I would benefit from the experience.

Right from the inception of the PRC (People's Republic of China) in 1949, Changchun became China's motor city. To put it in other terms, Detroit has Ford and GM, Changchun has FAW ("First Auto Works"). Around the 1950s, FAW had an electrical engineer working for them with experience in Russia's automotive industry - his name was Jiang Zemin, and he would eventually become PRC President, part of what is known as China's "Third Generation" of leadership. Today, Changchun remains China's leading automotive production and R&D center, and is known throughout the country as a steel-based industrial hub. Changchun also has ties to foreign auto makers such as Audi and Volkswagen. Over the last few decades, the city's economy has diversified, but heavy industry is still a large part of the city's economy.

As James drove me around the city, we talked about his family's past, the life he and Monica share, and about the day to day experience of growing up and living in Changchun. I'll never forget how he introduced me to Chinese breakfast food (in Beijing, I had only visited either KFC or a place aptly called "American Steak and Eggs"). He showed me where he attended university - he studied business management, and now works as a salesman for a steel company in Changchun. He took me to the outskirts of the city to see Jilin University, the university with the largest student population of any in China. We drove their Suzuki down long, wide avenues and encountered moderate traffic. I'll never forget seeing the light-rail system cross our path (looked like something you might see on Back To the Future, Part II or Star Trek), or the massive highways; both with plans for further expansion.

Much of the city was modern - the buildings were shiny and new, and the roads were clean. Because the temperatures were below freezing (in mid-October), we stopped at Wal-Mart so I could buy longjohns. It looks similar to the Wal-Marts I've seen in America, except that everything is in Chinese. They didn't accept my credit card, so I had to pay in cash.

It was a Saturday, so Monica was off teaching English to university students. Their first trip outside the country was within the last couple of years, and they went to Thailand. In spite of having little exposure to the English speaking world, we were all able to converse in English pretty easily. I visited their apartment, a spacious apartment about 5 stories up in a complex right by my hotel. It was modern in every way, and, in terms of its amenities and style, would fit in any major western city.

We visited Jilin University's medical school, where James' aunt is a biomedical researcher conducting genetic research, and passed a park, constructed by the Japanese during their occupation, exclusively for the Japanese. I can't begin to describe the excellent food we had. Hot, spicy soups to counteract the frigid weather, spicy beef and seafood, steamed bread and seasoned vegetables - we washed it all down with "pi jiu" (beer) and the very dangerous rice wine. This was all in one excellent 24 hour period.

The next day, I got lucky again: Ren's dad was in Changchun when I was visiting - he's an art teacher at a university there, and returns to the US when school is not in session. He was showing some friends around the city, and I was invited to tag along. I couldn't help it when I first met him, I had to tell him how talented his daughter is - she's been teaching me Chinese for five months, and she speaks Italian as well as English. The world needs more people like her, and I made sure he knew that.

In the morning, the group went to Pu Yi's Palace - this was where the man made famous to Westerners in the 1980s film "The Last Emperor", lived and worked under Japanese occupation. We made our way around the grounds for a few hours before being whisked away to an amazing lunch - authentic Vietnamese food; of course, in the Far East, there is no other kind.

During the afternoon, we went to a park, and saw a sculpture exhibition. Changchun is up north, and it gets chilly there; as the sun started to set on the horizon, the group headed off for a final, fabulous dinner. We went to a restaurant just off the highway - this place was essentially a massive indoor park, ideal for weddings and banquets; our group had a private lounge with a massive circular dinner table. I had gotten to know the group as best I could - a few of them spoke English and I was doing my best to speak in Chinese, but it wasn't that easy. James and Monica rejoined the group and we had another excellent meal. We each got the chance to thank Ren's dad - while eating yet another excellent meal - for his hospitality.

The next day was a Monday - James and Monica headed back to work after a busy weekend, and I tried to take care of some personal business in Changchun. I needed to get a cell phone, and make arrangements to go to Harbin by train the next day. James invited me to his office during the afternoon, and he and his wife invited me to their place for dinner that evening. I will be forever grateful for their hospitality, and told them a few things:

1) Their nation is going to special places, and it is clear that so are they.
2) I hope someday they come to New York so I can repay their hospitality.
3) I thought that when I decided to spend 6 weeks in China, I would be by myself most of the time. So far, nothing has been further from the truth. They were very engaging and helpful, and I was grateful I met them early on in my journey.

The following day, I boarded the high speed train to Harbin. It is about 150 miles from Changchun, and the trip would take me less than 2 hours.

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By Red Sox Steve

Here is a list of things (in no particular order) I came up with that I'll be interested in exploring to varying degrees for the rest of my life. I put it together in 2008, just before the end of my cubicle days, and even though it requires slight amendment from time to time, it's a good general list of what I'm most interested in paying attention to. I hope you find it as thought provoking as I do. I have more to say about it, but will do so at a later time. For now, I'm just putting it out there.

Real Estate

Northeast US:

New York
Rhode Island
Boston
Cape Cod

California:

San Diego
San Francisco
San Francisco Bay Area

Equities and Currencies

Emerging Markets ("E-10"):

China (Beijing) - yuan
India (New Delhi) - rupee
Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) - real
Mexico (Mexico City) - peso
Vietnam (Hanoi) - dong
Singapore (Singapore) - singapore dollar
Indonesia (Jakarta) - rupiah
United Arab Emirates (Dubai) - dirham
South Korea (Seoul) - won
Spain (Madrid) - Euro

G-10 Markets: Click Here

The Group of Ten is made up of eleven industrial countries
Belgium (Brussels) - Euro
Canada (Ottowa) - Canadian dollar
France (Paris) - Euro
Germany (Berlin) - Euro
Italy (Rome) - Euro
Japan (Tokyo) - yen
Netherlands (Amsterdam) - Euro
Sweden (Stockholm) - Euro
Switzerland (Berne) - Euro
United Kingdom (London) - Great Britan Pound
United States (Washington DC) - dollar

Science

Biological/Life Sciences:

Treatment of chronic issues primarily found in elderly patients
Replacement of body parts due to wear and degradation related to quality of life issues

Physical/Hard Sciences:

Use of elements and compounds to create sustainable energy sources
Use of elements and compounds to create new materials with industrial applications
Quantum Mechanics
Wormholes

Technology

Stream line cross border commerce
Improve cross border communication
Digitization of routine tasks
Medical procedures

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Red Sox Steve

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By Red Sox Steve
Vagabond Guru

Last time, we examined the science behind DNA and stem cells. DNA is an instruction manual for the assembly of proteins that make up the human body, and stem cells are the earliest distinct units that make up specific parts of the human body. The potential to use DNA and stem cells for therapeutic purposes is the main driving force behind stem cell research in laboratories around the world. One of the key sources of funding for this research has been the US government, subject to policy distinctions made by each presidential administration starting around 1975.

In 1975, a US government entity called the Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) had been the only regulatory body with the power to award federal funding for In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) research. At the time, IVF research was at the cutting edge of investigation into human embryos. Under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, the EAB was disbanded, and no embryotic research was funded. By 1994, the NIH, under President Clinton, had developed research guidelines for investigation of human embryos. In 1995 however, congress returned to Republican control, and a ban on both federal funding to create embryos for research and destructive embryotic research has been in place ever since. This was done via an amendment to the annual appropriations bill called the Dickey-Wicker amendment, and it has been attached to every appropriations bill since then.¹

In 1998, in Wisconsin, human stem cells were isolated and grown in a cell culture (under man-made and artificially controlled, external conditions) for the first time. The following year, the Department of Health and Human Services released a memo² to the NIH which stated that because stem cells extracted from human embryos were "pluripotent", they are not considered to be part of a living human embryo. As a result, the pluripotent stem cells which are extracted from human embryos do not fall under the federal ban on research funding, and any related research is eligible for federal funds.

To quickly revert to our earlier discussion, the term "pluripotent" (or, "pluripotency") refers to the fact that certain cells, in this case, stem cells, can differentiate into any type of cell needed by the human body; most immediately, they can form the three germ layers we discussed last time: the ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm. Pluripotent stem cells, however, cannot form a fetus or human by themselves because they lack the ability to form a placenta, the organ within the womb that enables the uptake of nutrients by the fetus from the mother.

On August 9, 2001 President Bush made a speech³ in which he delineated his administration's policy on stem cell research: the government will permit funding on any embryonic stem cells that already exist as a result of IVF; however, no federal dollars will be set aside for research based on the extraction of new stem cells from embryos. In 2005 and 2006, a bipartisan bill passed both houses of congress to allow federal funding of research on stem cell lines from new embryos, but was vetoed both times by President Bush. The scientific rationale for Bush's opposition is that by removing stem cells from the embryo, scientists are destroying the possibility that those stem cells will go on to produce a living organism.

In March 2009, President Obama changed the policy again⁴, repealing the ban on funding of research with new stem cell lines. Similar to his predecessors, he wouldn't approve spending federal funds on work that would destroy the embryo solely for research purposes, or where ESCs were obtained from embryos created by processes like nuclear transfer (cloning) or parthenogenesis (reproduction).

Nuclear transfer requires the manual exchange of a nucleus (where the DNA is located) in an unfertilized egg for a nucleus containing DNA scientists wish to replicate. Parthenogenesis involves embryotic development without fertilization. In both cases, any extraction of stem cells would interrupt the growth and development of the embryo. Further, Obama's policy would ban federal funding where ESCs or induced pluripotent cells are introduced into "non-human primate blastocysts" or in animals where ESCs contribute to the germ line (recall our brief summary of the germ layers from last time).

Federal funding policy for stem cell research changes every time the White House changes parties, which stunts the growth of knowledge we can glean from research efforts. Currently, stem cell research has the federal funding it needs from the Obama administration, and new stem cell lines can be used for research. As we look forward in our discussion, we will explore the scientific challenges that researchers face, and take a look at potential therapies with ties to stem cell research.

Sources:

1) Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics; Summer2010, Vol. 38 Issue 2, p191-203, 13p

2) 1999 memo: http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/Implementing%20New%20Federal%20hESC%20Research%20Policy.pdf

3) August 9, 2001 speech by G.W. Bush: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/CellResea/start/35/stop/679

4) March 9, 2009 speech by B. Obama: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/SSci/start/0/stop/1005

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By Red Sox Steve

About a decade ago, both Celera Genomics, a private company led by Craig Venter, and The Human Genome Project, a government-funded effort headed by Eric Lander, were able to code the entire human genome. That is, both projects, simultaneously, were able to identify every base pair, in order, in human DNA. In one case, the DNA came from an unknown individual from Buffalo, New York and in another, from Venter himself.

Why is this important, and where does science take us from here?

The genetic code of a living thing, that is, the sequence of DNA molecules that are the "building blocks" of all life on earth, is the most basic information passed from one generation to the next. For the purposes of this discussion, animals, plants and humans appear and behave the way they do because of the DNA contained in their cells. DNA is considered our "instruction manual" for life. To carry the analogy further, the sequence of base pairs in a DNA molecule tells the body which parts should exist, and how they should fit together.

DNA is short for "Deoxyribonucleic Acid", and there are four different molecules that form the building blocks mentioned above:

1) Adenine
2) Cytosine
3) Guanine
4) Thymine

Each of the four molecules can only pair with one other. In other words, only Adenine and Thymine bind together, while only Guanine and Cytosine bind together, each forming what is called a "base pair". All 46 chromosomes (23 pairs) found in humans make up the entire genome, and together contain 3 billion base pairs of DNA.

It may surprise you to learn a few things about DNA and our genetic makeup:

1) We have nearly the same genetic makeup as our oldest human ancestors from billions of years ago.
2) Half of human DNA is similar to that found in a banana.
3) Every baby born today has 99.9% of its DNA in common with every other baby.
4) Only 1-2% of our entire genetic code is used to make up every cell in the human body.
5) Humans have 20-30,000 genes, about the same number as that found in a fly.

Based on the relative positions of the four base pairs in our genetic code, there exists enough information to make all the proteins a human organism needs to exist. When the sperm cell meets the egg, the DNA from both cells combine and replicate and a process known as "embryogenesis" has begun. This, however, is the most fundamental view of cell and reproductive biology. Stem cells take these fundamentals a bit further.

A "stem cell" is a particular type of cell that has the ability to replicate and differentiate to form almost any type of cell needed in the human body. There are two main types of stem cells:

1) Embryonic stem cells - these cells make up what is called the "embryo", which appears soon after fertilization
2) Adult stem cells - more specialized cells that can either regenerate in response to an injury or function normally in organs that require cells with regenerative capabilities like blood or digestive cells.

Embryonic stem cells ("ES" cells) are found in what is called the blastocyst. 5 days after fertilization of the egg by a sperm, the blastocyst forms as a distinct structure, during the earliest stages of embryogenesis. The blastocyst has an outer layer of cells called the trophoblast, which assists in attaching the embryo to the uterus and forms part of the placenta. The blastocyst also contains what is known as an "Inner Cell Mass" (ICM). The ICM is where ES cells used in stem cell research first appear as a distinct group.

Following the formation of the blastocyst, the next stage in embryogenesis is called gastrulation. The blastocyst forms into what is called the gastrula around 16 days after fertilization in mammals. When the gastrula is formed we start to see a connection between the embryo and a fully formed human. From the ICM are produced three distinct groups of cells - or "germ layers" - in the gastrula: the endoderm, the ectoderm and the mesoderm. A process of chemical signaling between adjacent cells called "primary induction" assists in the formation of separate germ layers. From these three germ layers, all the cell types needed by humans are formed. The three types of germ layers and examples of the cells they form are below:

1) Ectoderm: cells of the nervous system, neurons, lining of mouth and nostrils, and hair and nails.
2) Mesoderm: bone, cartilage, muscle, connective tissue, and reproductive cells
3) Endoderm: lung, thyroid and pancreas cells

After formation of the gastrula, secondary and tertiary induction help form the neural system and eventually other organs.

This is where stem-cell science has come into play. In normal embryogenesis, a blastocyst attached to the uterine wall has both the gastrula and trophoblast working together to eventually form a human embryo. Because of the presence of the trophoblast and the role it plays in induction, the three germ layers can successfully mature, forming the cells needed by a human. Further, when ES cells are removed from the blastocyst and placed in a test tube or on a plate without the trophoblast, differentiation can still occur. The ES cells will aggregate to form a gastrula and are still capable of forming three germ layers and any of the 200 types of cells needed by humans. Seen in this light, ES cells are thought to be "immortal".

In culture, and without the trophoblast, ES cells form what is called an "embryoid body". ES cells aggregate, due to the requirement of inter-cellular signaling, and attempt to form germ layers and an embryo. Unfortunately, the independent ES cells aggregate to form a hollow ball (called a "cystic embryoid body") and also produce a disordered and irregular collection of various types of cells including neurons, skin cells and muscle tissue.

What if scientists take ES cells from the blastocyst of one pregnant mouse and put them into the blastocyst of another pregnant mouse? Will they assist in the development of the fetus when surrounded by a "foreign" trophoblast? Again, injected ES cells have shown that they are capable of aggregating into germ layers, and forming various types of cells needed by their host mammal; however, they still form embryoid bodies (also called "teratomas"), and are considered benign tumors rather than helpful cells.

Essentially, ES cells are capable of forming every type of cell needed by the mammalian species they come from, however without proper guidance from their surroundings, they are "flying blind". They have the potential to form every type of cell, however they have no way of knowing how they assemble or where they should go.

The foundation of stem cell research is based on the idea that ES cells each contain sufficient DNA to code every protein needed in a human or other mammalian body. Therefore, scientists work from the standpoint of differentiation, attempting to promote the growth of specific proteins, neurons, and organs - essentially seeking to direct the growth of an ES cell to replace or bolster the function of cells already in a person's body. In later writings, I will expound on the specifics of stem-cell research and discuss how scientists are overcoming the challenges presented by trying to promote cells to grow with a specific function in mind.

Posted by Red Sox Steve at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Red Sox Steve

Last time, we talked more extensively about the piezoelectric effect and the orientation of the GaN nanorod - through a process called Phosphoric Acid etching, scientists were able to determine that the Ga layer faces the substrate and the N layer faces outward. The bigger picture is that in the study cited below scientists are trying to determine how the piezoelectric effect on a GaN (Gallium Nitride) nanorod can be used to create energy - how a rod can be bent, and from this bending (mechanical) create a measurable current and voltage (electrical). Taking a further step back, scientists are working with the theory that from mechanical interactions, seemingly wasted energy can be captured and used to power nanodevices.

Our structure has two interfaces (a/k/a "contacts"):

1) the nanorod/susbtrate interface
2) the nanorod/AFM tip interface

At the interface where the nanorod meets the substrate layer, there is a concern about electron transfer between the nanorod and the substrate. If the substrate is able to absorb any excess electrons from the nanorod then the predictable relationship between voltage and current becomes disrupted. In the case of our GaN nanorod, a material was inserted between the nanorod and the substrate to prevent the loss of electrons. It is important to keep in mind that the material used for this purpose must be compatible with GaN in a number of ways. First, the electron affinity of GaN is 4.2eV ("electron Volts") which means that it takes 4.2eV of energy to release an electron from GaN. In addition to this, the GaN nanorod is attached to a highly electronegative Silicon substrate. Therefore, some of the electrons emitted by the nanorod will be absorbed by the substrate, which will influence any measurement of the current created in the process of bending the nanorod. What is needed, therefore, is a substance that will prevent the flow of current (electrons) from the nanorod to the substrate and will not absorb electrons itself. Enter Indium!

Indium was inserted between the nanorod and the substrate through annealing (heating and then recrystallizing). Indium has a lower electronegativity than Gallium, so it will not diminish the current produced when the nanorods are manipulated. Both Indium and Gallium (and all elements) have what are known as "Fermi levels" (after the Italian scientist Enrico Fermi). Fermi levels are the highest occupied quantum states of an atom - in other words, any electron in an atom's Fermi level is in that atom's highest occupied level, weakly attracted to the nucleus while still within the nuclear orbit. Furthermore, different atoms have different Fermi energies which means that when different atoms come into contact with each other, they will equilibrate - absorbing or releasing enough electrons according to the requirements of their neighboring atoms. In this case, Gallium and Indium reach an equilibrium because electrons flow from Indium to Gallium - Indium releases its electrons more easily than Gallium. The type of interaction taking place between Indium and Gallium is known as an "Ohmic contact" - electrons, and therefore current, reach a state of equilibrium when these two metals come into contact with each other and electrons are prevented from flowing towards the highly electronegative silicon substrate.

What about the interface between the nanorod and the AFM (Atomic Force Microscope)?

We've previously discussed the inner workings of an AFM, but let's go over a few general points. First, the AFM is one of the leading tools for measuring and scanning objects at the nanoscale - it was invented in the mid 1980s, and one of its predecessor microscopes is the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) which shoots electrons at an object in an attempt to record its topography. In this case, the AFM has a cantilever (curved arm) with a tip at the end, and a reflective surface - as the tip moves up and down along the object's surface, light is reflected off the cantilever. Subtle movements of light are recorded on a detector/feedback device and the nanoscale image is mapped for the naked eye. The tip of the AFM interacts with the nano-sized specimen as the tip is dragged along the substrate's surface.

In this particular experiment, scientists are taking advantage of the fact that the tip of the AFM bends the GaN nanorod, as well as the fact that the nanorod may generate an electric potential as a result. Furthermore, aside from the substrate, the only other contact being made with the nanorod is via the AFM tip. Thus, it is important to coat the tip with a substance that is able to transfer electrons through a connected circuit with little trouble.

In this case, scientists are using a PtIr (Platinum-Iridium) coating on the AFM tip which will interact directly with the nanorod. When the nanorod is bent, because of the piezoelectric effect, a potential difference forms along the axis of the rod and current flows. Because PtIr is a good conductor of electrons, any that are generated within the rod will flow through the AFM tip, along a wire, to a voltmeter connected to the circuit. Here's where one of the most important characteristics of PtIr comes in: work function.

Work function is defined as the "minimum amount of energy needed to remove an electron from a solid to a point immediately outside the solid surface". PtIr has a work function of 5.5eV, while GaN has an electron affinity of (as discussed above) 4.2eV. In other words, as energy is generated as a result of current flow, the AFM tip (PtIr) will not lose electrons into the circuit, but because it is an efficient conductor, will be able to move electrons generated by bending of the nanorod to its connected wire. Because PtIr will not introduce any additional electrons into the system and the bent nanorod will generate a current which will be conducted through the tip, this type of interface is known as a "Schottky barrier".

Here's the thing - first, scientists don't want any current from any other part of the system flowing INTO the nanorod, interfering with its piezoelectric abilities. What they want, though, is to make sure that any current created by bending the nanorod flows all the way to the voltmeter, so the magnitude and duration of the current & voltage can be determined. How does someone building a circuit make sure that current only flows in one direction? They use what is known as a diode. A diode is made up of an anode and a cathode (a diode is a device with "positive" and "negative" terminals through which current flows). Diodes have been useful to scientists for over a century now, and have evolved into working with semiconductors. In our case, there are a couple of major differences from the customary relationship between a diode and a semiconductor - scientists are concerned about the "voltage drop" which takes place as current and voltage move between the nanorod and the AFM tip and about "recovery time" - the time it takes for electrons and electron holes to sort themselves out across a p-n junction of two connected semiconductors. In the case of a Schottky diode, the fact that it is a metal-semiconductor interface versus a semiconductor-semiconductor interface means there is LESS of a voltage drop and NO recovery time, making electron conduction very efficient.

The nanorod interfaces with the AFM tip and the substrate need to be understood by scientists mainly to preserve the flow of electrons from the nanorod into the circuit. The ohmic contact formed at the substrate was required to repel electrons so that none may be lost to the substrate when the nanorod is bent. On the other hand, a Schottky diode had to be created when the AFM tip came into contact with the nanorod so that all current formed by the bending of the nanorod could enter the circuit AND so that current could flow in only one direction. To the scientists examining this nanorod, conservation of the electrical energy created by the mechanical manipulation of GaN at the nanoscale is their primary concern. Next time we will closely examine what happens as the nanorod is manipulated by the microscopic tip.

Sources:

1) Wikipedia

2) Study: "Generation of electricity in GaN nanorods induced by piezoelectric effect"

Posted by Red Sox Steve at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Red Sox Steve
VagabondGuru.com
"Renewable Energy Sources" on Facebook!

About two years ago, the President made a speech in Arcadia, Florida, announcing the creation of the largest solar power plant in the United States, effectively removing 45,000 cars from the road over the course of its lifetime and providing power to thousands. This is exactly the type of technology that is needed to solve our problem of costly energy created from finite resources which destroy the environment.

Over the course of the next few articles I write, I want to take a look at the materials that make up solar cells. What elements make up the semiconductors found in solar panels and in what proportions? How do we get them from the earth? Where do they come from? Hopefully, through my research I can address some of these questions so we can develop our understanding of the science behind solar cells.

There are at least 8 substances that can be used in solar cell technology, and they are as follows:

- CuInSe₂ ("Copper Indium Diselenide"/"Copper Indium Selenide"/"CIS")
- Si ("Silicon")
- InP ("Indium Phosphide")
- GaAs ("Gallium Arsenide")
- CdTe ("Cadmium Telluride")
- Cu₂S ("Copper Sulfide")
- CdS ("Cadmium Sulfide")
- a-Si:H (Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon) - randomly ordered Silicon, where the number of "dangling bonds" is reduced by the presence of hydrogen

First, let's take a look at Copper. Copper is one of the three most highly mined commodities on earth - iron and aluminum are the other two. Copper is found in both Copper Sulfide and Copper Oxide minerals in deposits of cooled magma, known as igneous rock. Most of the deposits contain less than 1% copper - it is dug or blasted from an open pit or underground mine, then crushed into smaller rocks before being ground to a powder.

The powder is mixed with water and, in order to precipitate copper to the top of the sample, chemicals such as xanthates, dithiophosphates and thionocarbamates are added to the solution. Air bubbles are run through the sample to create a froth and copper precipitates on the surface. This method is known as "froth flotation". The froth (containing the copper) is skimmed off the top and further purified through either leaching with sulfuric acid or electrochemical deposition via the application of an electrical charge (a process known as "electrowinning") which causes copper ions to deposit onto a film.

From here copper is further purified via a smelter - ores containing iron and silica are added to the sample before it is exposed to the heat of the smelter, so that the entire sample may heat and burn more rapidly. Copper matte, a mixture of copper, iron, silica and lime is separated via the very extensive smelting process. Copper comes out of the smelting process with 99% purity, containing some precious metals including gold and silver. It is poured into ingot slabs, cooled and then sorted for shipping and production of any of the various items found in our daily lives.

The use of copper by humans goes back about 10,000 years. Copper has been used by the Sumerians, Egyptians, in the Balkans, Turkey, China, Central America, parts of the United States, and in Western Africa throughout history. It was also discovered that alloying it with tin in the smelting process produced a metal that was much easier to cast - bronze. Although copper had an extensive existence on its own, using it in bronze, especially with the technology to purify it more than 99%, produced an even wider variety of uses.

Metallurgy grew among the native people of both North and South America during the first millennia. British settlers to Australia took advantage of copper deposits there, while there is little evidence that aboriginal people did the same. During the Roman era, copper was used as a form of currency and this wasn't the last time: Sweden, having the largest copper mine in Europe in Falun, had a copper backed currency during the 17th century as it supplied the rest of Europe with copper for its wars. This did not last long - as the world's copper price fell, the lumps of copper distributed by the monarchy fell, producing widespread poverty in Sweden.

Today, about 16 1/2 million tons of copper are mined every year around the world with Chile, the United States and Peru being the top three producing nations. Although the United States produces 8% of the world's copper, it must import to satisfy excess demand. Other leading producers of copper are Canada, Australia, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, and Zambia. The largest copper producing companies are Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. of New Orleans; Asarco LLC and Southern Copper Corp., both owned by Grupo Mexico; and Rio Tinto PLC of London.

Sources:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmJfwR86wt0
2) Desonie, Dana. "mining." Geosphere, Our Fragile Planet. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2007. Science Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE40&SID=5&iPin= OFPG0008&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 3, 2009).
3) www.wikipedia.com
4) George, David B. "Copper." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2009. Web. 3 Nov. 2009
5) http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/copper/mcs-2009-coppe.pdf
6) http://www.icsg.org/images/stories/pdfs/2007worldcopperfactbook.pdf

Posted by Red Sox Steve at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Red Sox Steve

Last time, we talked about using the piezoelectric effect to generate current and some of the aspects of AFM, as well as the need for Ohmic contacts between our substrate and our sample to prevent electron flow. AFMs use specialized tips to survey monocrystalline substances at the nano level, while annealed Ohmic contacts help our samples retain their electronic characteristics.

So, we only need ask ourselves one question: when the GaN nanorods were scanned and bent with the AFM tip, what happened?

First, here is a schematic of the setup.

img src="http://vagabondguru.com/Images/2009/October/BentRod.jpg"/>

Piezoelectricity has been understood by scientists since the end of the 19th century - applying a mechanical stress to an object that exhibits what is known as the "direct piezoelectric effect" will generate an electric potential. According to wikipedia, the first application of the piezoelectric effect was in development of sonar during WWI. A quartz crystal transducer (a material that converts one type of energy to another to transfer information) between steel plates and a connected hydrophone (microphone specially designed to be used underwater), which detects an echo, make up the sonar device. When a high-frequency sound emitted from the transducer bounces off any object in the area and returns to the transducer, the time the sound takes to travel is recorded. By knowing the time the sound takes on its journey, the distance to the corresponding object can be calculated.

During WWII, interest in piezoelectricity led to the development of substances called "ferroelectrics" in Russia, the US and Japan. Ferroelectric materials are substances that are spontaneously polarized, a polarization which can be reversed through the external application of an electric field. Subsequent research was done on substances that I have since come across in other scientific literature, namely barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate.

One of the most popular applications today of piezoelectricity is an electric cigarette lighter - pushing a button causes a hammer to hit a piezoelectric crystal producing high enough voltage to cause electric current flow across a small spark gap, heating and igniting gas. Many types of gas burners, including those used to light gas grills have built-in piezoelectric ignitions. DARPA was involved in a project called "Energy Harvesting" where the energy generated from a soldier's movement can be used to power battlefield equipment. Because, however, energy harvesting impacts the body and causes discomfort, these efforts have been abandoned.

When the AFM tip was scanned across the GaN sample, a few interesting things happened:

1) a current of approximately ~0.03nA (nanoAmperes) was generated
2) the output current peaks displayed via the AFM corresponded with a topographic image of the locations of the nanorods on the sample
3) a control sample of metal film scanned with the AFM produced no current, indicating that there was no possibility that current could be generated via friction or contact potential.

The piezoelectric effect observed in this experiment is different from the piezoelectric effect observed when an AFM tip was scanned across a ZnO sample. As the AFM tip starts to deflect the GaN nanorod, an output current is observed - it sharply increases, then decreases and drops to zero when the nanorod is at a maximum deflection. In a ZnO nanorod however, the output current is detected only after the nanorod is at a maximum deflection, and drops to zero as the nanorod is released from the AFM tip.

In order to elucidate this important yet very subtle difference, the orientation of the GaN nanorod on the substrate must first be determined. This is done through a process called Phosphoric Acid Etching - the GaN sample is essentially washed with acid to determine "which end is up". In other words, the protons in the acid will bond to the electron-rich nitrogen atoms, provided the nitrogen molecules are not bonded to the surface of the substrate. Here, that was the case - by Phosphoric Acid etching the sample, and then an analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), it was determined that the nanorods were dissolved, meaning that the Nitrogens were dissolved via the acid. In other words, the Gallium atoms in the crystal were more attracted to the substrate while the Nitrogen atoms were not.

When the nanorod comes into contact with the AFM tip, the outer surface (facing the tip) is stretched while the inner surface is compressed. The deflection creates a strain which creates an asymmetric distribution of electrons - an electric field runs parallel to the length of the rod on the outer (stretched) surface, and another runs anti-parallel to the rod on the inner (compressed) surface.

We are going to put this discussion on pause for now. When we revisit this topic next Tuesday, we are going to talk about the interfaces - the contact between the nanorod and the substrate, and the contact between the nanorod and the AFM tip. We are analyzing the interaction of a single layer of PtIr crystals coating an AFM with a GaN nanorod on the surface of a substrate. These tiny molecules all work together to bend the nanorod, taking advantage of its piezoelectric ability and generating a "potential difference" (a/k/a voltage) in the process. Because of the level of scientific knowledge involved in this process, no proverbial stone is left unturned. Next time, we will analyze how the different molecules interact with each other and what it means for the generation of electricity from the application of mechanical force!

Posted by Red Sox Steve at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Red Sox Steve

Last time, we started talking about some of the nano-scale attributes of Gallium (III) Nitride - just like its counterparts, ZnO and ZnS, it has a binary, tetrahedral crystal structure - the wurzite structure, which is conducive for the absorption and emission of electrons. It also has a bandgap energy which creates enough of a barrier between the valence and the conduction bands to fall within the class of molecules known as semiconductors. We also talked about Molecular Beam Epitaxy ("MBE" for short), the procedure where a layer one crystal thick is assembled on a substrate.

Now, though, we have to delve more deeply into piezoelectricity, and the method used by scientists (citation below) to generate piezoelectricity called Atomic Force Microscopy ("AFM" - short for BOTH Atomic Force Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscope; I use them interchangeably below). First of all, as we discussed last time, we have our self-assembled GaN nanorod sample sitting on our substrate and this has been confirmed via Scanning Electron Microscopy. Now, though, we need a method of bending the nanorod and thereby generating a current using the piezoelectric effect - this is where AFM comes in.

Atomic Force Microscopy is a method of "feeling" a substrate's surface for nano-sized substances. In terms of microscopy technology, AFM is undoubtedly one of the most high-tech methods for investigating nano-scale substances. In fact, one of its precursors is Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, which uses the quantum mechanical properties of electrons to detect samples. In 1986, AFM was discovered and has since been further developed. At the nanoscale, an AFM probe interacts with the sample's surface, reporting on any deviation via the transmission of light. An AFM probe glides over a sample surface, reflecting light from a laser to a photodiode, recording the sample's topography in the process.

There are a few different ways an AFM will scan a sample and one of them is called the "static" or "contact" mode - the tip's deflection off the surface is used as a feedback signal to a photodiode, relaying information about the sample's surface. As the tip gets closer to the sample surface, however, attractive forces can cause the tip to "snap" to the surface, distorting any readings. AFM, therefore, is done where the contacting forces are repulsive between the sample and tip - a constant force must be applied by the AFM to maintain a constant deflection, providing more accurate sample readings.

Photo: AFM Diagram

Caption: Each time the the probe hits a "bump" on the sample, this information is recorded by the photodiode because the probe moves in direct proportion to the topography of the surface.

Let's keep our eye on the ball here - what scientists want to do is both detect the presence of the GaN nanorod and use an AFM probe to bend the nanorod, taking advantage of the piezoelectric effect to generate a current.

Furthermore, the molecules sitting on the tip of the probe are crucial to the interaction between probe and sample. In this case, scientists have used a PtIr (Platinum-Iridium) tip. According to what I have been able to find, Pt-Ir tips are extremely hard, and if the tips were coated with pure platinum, they would become blunt due to the atomic nature of platinum. It is also critical that the tip not bond with the nanorod, but use mechanical force to bend it.

What is also important is the contact between the nanorod and the silicon substrate. With a GaN nanorod attached to a silicon substrate, there is a difference in the electronic characteristics of each (known as a "work function"). This means that while one substance has a tendency to emit electrons, the other has a tendency to absorb electrons. For the purpose of this experiment, that would NOT be helpful - how could we measure the creation of an electric current from the nanorod if electrons from the silicon substrate were simultaneously emitted? Or, how could we measure the current if electrons from the nanorod were absorbed by the substrate? What do we do?

The solution to this problem is known as an "Ohmic contact". It is a monocrystalline layer of a molecule which is inserted between nanorod and substrate that prevents the passage of electrons between the substances. Simply put, without an Ohmic contact between the semiconducting nanorod and the substrate, we would disrupt the semiconductive properties of the nanorod - in other words, we would be tampering with the bandgap energy of the GaN! In this case, the Ohmic contact is Indium, and it is added by deposition and then annealing (heating to change strength and hardness) to the sample.

To be continued...

Posted by Red Sox Steve at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)