Before, I made a post titled why is foaming difficult. Here, I introduced the idea that creation of an interface always costs energy and that many times the invisible forces at work tries to minimize the surface area for example by taking on spherical shapes (since spheres have the highest volume to surface ratio). But at that time, I did not have a great answer as to why making surface always takes energy.
Recently, I had this new idea. First, where do surfaces exist? Where there is phase separation. Why is there phase separation? Because the two phases are not miscible. Why are they not miscible? Because they like themselves better than each other... Since surface forces the molecules to loose interaction with one another and form interaction with the other phase (which by the virtue of the fact that these are not miscible is less favorable), the surface costs energy.
Saturday, 14 May 2016
Monday, 4 January 2016
Invisible Gorilla Syndrome
I was listening to some talk. He criticized the nanotechnology claiming it was a field based on ungrounded assumptions. I have previously worked with gold nano particles for diagnostic uses. I also worked with more conventional formulations while working in a pharmaceutical company. Since then I have been wondering why nanotech is so popular. While I see that nanotech papers are everywhere, I have not seen much of it in health care. He addressed some interesting issues.
Most interestingly, however, he mentioned what is called the invisible gorilla syndrome. People are so focused on one aspect that they lose sight of the obvious things. Personally, I think I'm more of a connector than a detail oriented person. I normally like to see connections and the big picture. But, recently, I have been realizing myself being more focused on one thing. I think the nature of research makes people focused. It's difficult to understand the world as is. We divide it into small pieces that we can digest. After deciding on a piece to tackle, we forget about the other pieces.
It made me realize I need to also take a step back in my own research and reflect from time to time. I shouldn't be trapped in my own topic or field. Every now and then, I need to read general literature, at least identifying other pieces and thinking of the big picture.
Most interestingly, however, he mentioned what is called the invisible gorilla syndrome. People are so focused on one aspect that they lose sight of the obvious things. Personally, I think I'm more of a connector than a detail oriented person. I normally like to see connections and the big picture. But, recently, I have been realizing myself being more focused on one thing. I think the nature of research makes people focused. It's difficult to understand the world as is. We divide it into small pieces that we can digest. After deciding on a piece to tackle, we forget about the other pieces.
It made me realize I need to also take a step back in my own research and reflect from time to time. I shouldn't be trapped in my own topic or field. Every now and then, I need to read general literature, at least identifying other pieces and thinking of the big picture.
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