HW #10 solutions

6.65b) x_B = 0.24, y_B = 0.46
6.78) 0.3 lb crystals/lb feed
6.86) x = 0.00523 mol solute/mol solution
6.94) Phase 1: 31% A, 63% M, 6% W

A (partial?) list of every computer I've ever owned or controlled:

IBM PCjr
Apple IIc plus (1989?)
386sx (1991?)
Pentium (summer of 1995)*
Compaq laptop (fall of 1996)
Gateway (late 2001, early 2002)*
Apple iBook (white, early 2003)
Dell laptop (14inch, 2004)*
ASUS Eee (2006)
Dell laptop with AMD (2007)
Dell Latitude 5400 (2008)
Dell Mini (2009)
Dell Vostro (2010)
HP laptop (2010)
Dell Latitude 6420 (2011)
Dell Latitude 6510 (2010)
Dell Latitude 6220 (2011)*

*favorites

I think I am probably missing 3 or 4 computers from the early 2000's

Homework #4 Solutions

4.15b) 0.25 kg E in bottom/kg E in feed
4.26) y_in = 0.071, y_out = 0.001
4.32) Bypass fraction = 0.095

Book Review: Sync by Steven Strogatz

This is another excellent math book by the MIT math professor. Strogatz previously wrote the best book available on nonlinear differential equations, but this book has a different style. Sync is aimed at the non-mathematician audience, and should be readable by just about anyone. I really enjoyed the book and thought it was very interesting. However, I also found myself wishing for a few equations so that I could better understand the quantitative details of systems he was describing. Overall, great book. Grade: B+

This book also reminded me of a list I've been working on for a few years -- Great books about math that ANY engineer or scientist should read at some point. So far, the list is 3 books:
(1) The Equation that Couldn't be Solved (Mario Livio)
(2) Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity (David Foster Wallace)
(3) Sync (Steven Strogatz)

Yes, I'm fully aware that there are 50 other books that I should add to this list, but I haven't had time to read them yet.

Book Review

Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff

We has seen a number of excellent books over the past few years that tell amazing survival stories from World War 2. The gold standard (and one of the best books ever) is Unbroken. Lost in Shangri-La, however, is not far behind. The story is centered around the crash of an airplane caring some soldiers on a relaxing site seeing trip in New Guinea. The crash happened near an extremely remote and unknown valley that was called Shangri-La by some early reporters. The method used to rescue the survivors is simply amazing...I never would have thought that it could possibly work. I think this book is unique among World War 2 books in that the enemy is almost never mentioned, and certainly never appears in the actual story. A very, very enjoyable book. Grade: A-

More Book Reviews

American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson

Another biographical book written by a comedian -- I must be in a bit of a rut. Unlike Tina Fey's book, this book is not that funny, but I did find it more interesting because Ferguson has had a more complex life -- especially his struggles with alcoholism. It deserves a slightly better grade than Bossypants. Grade: B

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

I always felt a little incomplete because I had never read a book by Vonnegut. I can see why this book is a classic -- it really makes you think about the consequences of war and the impact of war on people's mental health. Very interesting, but a little difficult to get into at times. Grade: B-

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

I had to read this before the movie came out. I can see why it is being made into a movie -- the lead character is very interesting and likable. That said, I can't give it a higher grade than the first two books in this review because I believe people should read the other two first -- they are more impactful and more important. (I think my general preference for nonfiction is impacting this grade, so you should bump this grade up 2 or 3 notches if you generally prefer fiction) Grade: C+

Quick Book Reviews

BossyPants by Tina Fey
The first half was funny and the second half was interesting. Its a good book, but not great, so I am surprised at how well it is selling. Grade: B-

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
A book about two things: (1) techniques for remembering stuff and (2) the authors experiences training for the US Memory championships. Very enjoyable and interesting. Grade: B+

Quick Science Book Reviews

My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor

A very interesting book written by a neuroscientist that had a stroke. The first part of the book is a discussion of or neuroanatomy and the differences between the two hemisphere. The middle section describes her stroke and recovery -- very interesting stuff here. The final section discuss what the author learned about life from her experience -- she gets pretty metaphysical at times. I enjoyed the book. Grade: B

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande

I really enjoyed the first two books I read by Atul Gawande, and this book was of the same high quality. We live in a world were the total amount of human knowledge is increasing rapidly. Since our brains can only hold so much, the fraction of human knowledge in any individual brain is shrinking. One strategy to help compensate for this is to use checklist. These are lists to help us remember details -- think checklists used by airline pilots. In this book, Atul argues for the use of checklists by surgeons, and he discusses the improved results when they are used. Of course, the basic premise of checklists helping people do things better could probably be extended to many, many fields. Excellent book. Grade: B+

Homework #5 Solutions

4.26) Partially vaporized
4.33) "solution" given in homework assignment as a "good guess"
4.49) Extract: 55kg, ~10wt% water

Review #1) D = 0.093 cm2/s
Review #2) correct, x_C2H6 = 0.11, y_C2H6 = 0.451

Book Review: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Wow. Unbelievable. Incredible. Maybe the best non-fiction book I've ever read and definitely in the top 3. It was dark and disturbing at times, but that darkness was reality and it made the ending that much more incredible. A must read if you can handle it. Grade: A+

Quick Book Reviews

I don't know what it is about January and February, but they are always intensely busy for me, and I don't have as much time as I'd like to read or write reviews. Anyway, here's a few quick ones.


Unbillable Hours: A True Story by Ian Graham
A free book for the Kindle that I really enjoyed. The life of a young lawyer in a big firm does not sound even remotely appealing. I don't know how my friend Dave does it. Grade: B+

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
This book is generally recognized as one of the 2 or 3 best nonfiction/science books of 2010, and I would say that reputation is well deserved. Its not a page turner, but it is very interesting and should be read by all. I still think about the general bioethics question raised by the book: should individuals have any control over their cells once they leave their bodies? If my DNA or blood contains something valuable that some company uses to make money, should I have any rights to those cells if they were part of a blood donation. I tend to think the answer is no simply because we want to encourage companies to do the research, but it is not an easy question. Grade: A-


In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks by Adam Carolla
At times it is laugh-out-loud funny. At other times it is disturbingly offensive. I'd recommending reading about 50% and skipping 50%, but the good stuff is scattered amongst the bad. Grade: B-


Follow Me to Freedom by Shane Claiborne and John Perkins
Shane's first book, Irresistable Revolution was a home run. Jesus for President was a triple, and this book is only a double. But, a double is still very good. Grade: B