Phase 7 - Reflection

1. The three sources that I have chosen to include in my FAR report are the following articles:

New form of graphene could prevent electronics from overheating and revolutionize thermal management

            http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hacc.edu/docview/917719948?accountid=11302

The long game
            http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.hacc.edu/docview/870327994?accountid=11302

 Graphene: Bend and flex for mobile phones
            http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130306-bend-and-flex-for-mobile-phones/1

I have chosen these articles, because I think they offer different perspectives into the topic and point I am trying to prove. The article titled “New form of grapheme could prevent electronics from overheating and revolutionize thermal management” provides insight on a newly developed product and helpful uses. It explains that the element of carbon can be manipulated and chemically enhanced to create a product that matches consumer’s specifications. “The long game” provides a basic overview of why grapheme is useful and performs better than silicon, which many scientists hope for it to overcome and eventually replace. I think that this article helps to build the foundation for understanding in this topic. The last article is examining practical uses for the future such as phones that bend, because that is a characteristic of silicon. The article helps to get the reader excited about advances in this area of study.

2. My knowledge of graphene has greatly expanded since beginning this research just a few months ago. I didn’t know anything about it going into this project, and now I can have a conversation about it with somebody. I would not consider myself to be well-versed or an expert of any sort in the field of carbon-electronics, but I understand the basic concepts and why there is such a push for it.

3. The analytical question that will guide me is “Why is graphene a better option than silicon in today’s electronics”?

4.   The topic that I chose is very broad and was difficult to find a direction to go in after I had chosen a topic. I felt overwhelmed by the amount of information and wasn’t sure exactly what problem existed. I took a step back and felt like there was a debate between which is better, silicon or carbon, and took a simple approach that can tell so much. Because of the vast information, the guided research didn’t work particularly well for me. I think that I should have chosen a more specific topic and identified a thesis or something that I was going to prove or solve before I went too far into the research. 

 

5.  My response for this, ties in with the last question. If I could change anything about my approach it would be to pick an analytical question after doing a small amount of research so that I felt like I was going somewhere or doing something with my research. I have experience writing research papers, but it has always been easy for me to be able to target a topic, but in this case, I found it very difficult, possibly because the topic I chose I knew nothing about. That is another thing I would change; I would pick a topic that I am at least familiar with or have heard about before so that I don’t have to waste my time researching basic facts.