The Lance, Thursday, February W, 1981 3
New and broken
laboratory equipment
SUZI WALKER
St Andrews has one of the
best-eqtiipped labs in the
state, and this summer a
Scanning Electron
Microscope and Infared
Spectrometer were added to
the inventory. The school
already owns a Transmission
Electron Microscope (which
many of you were probably
shown if you visited ttie
campus as a prospective
student). The difference
between a Scanning and a
Transmitting Electron
Microscope is that an SEM
beams electrons formed in a
column across a sample and
a detector picks up the
reflected electrons, while in a
TEM a sample is placed
above a phosphorescent plate
and an electron shadow is
cast. Another diSerence
between the two microscopes
is ttie difficulty of slide
preparations. A SEM sample
does not have to be either
sliced very thinly or placed
on a slide. Conversely, a
TEM sample must be placed
on a copper grid so as to be
thin enough for an electron
beam to pass through.
The students of St. An
drews are fortunate to have
the opportunity to use these
pieces of equipment; un
fortunately, there is one
small problem: the Tran-
^ smission Electron
Microscope is broken.
Moreover, many pieces of
equipment in the lab are not
functioning properly. The
greenhouse does not
refrigerate enough to
counteract toe heat produced
by its engines. The
aquarium in the Wet Room
is cracked. (It seems that it is
cohstructed out of a proous
material.) However, one of
the most frightening facts is
that three of the eyewashes
do not work. Someone could
lose his vision because of this
malfunction.
One piece of good news in
this otherwise gloomy picture
is that the growth chambers
are being repaired. The
Comprehensive Assistance to
Undergraduate Science
Education (CAUSE)
allocated funds specifically
for this purpose.
One reason why so many
problems have gone
unresolved is, of course, lack
of funds. Not $200 per piece of
equipment has been spent
during the past five years for
the maintenance and upkeep
costs of laboratory equip
ment. If actions are not t^en
immediately, some pieces of
equipment will be beyond
repair. However, St. An
drews has one of the best-
equipped labs in the state.
P/////////
iiiiumi
'iiiiiiiiimi
Photo by Jonathan Webster
Rooney Coffman demonstrates Transmission Electron Microscope
Cafe’ suggestion box
Due to recent complaints
among students about the
food service in the Cafe, the
Food Committee will place a
suggestion box under the
bulletin board outside of the
Cafe. The suggestion box will
give students a chance to
offer criticism as well as
helpful suggestions con
cerning the food service. By
collecting this information
Photo by David Helms
electro photomicrograph of gold leaf taken in SA lab
Electrical problems in dorms
Over the past several
years, there has been a
recurring problem here at
St. Andrews that few people
have paid much attention to.
This problem is the use and
abuse of portable heaters in
dormitory rooms.
Many students don’t think
the heating in their rooms is
adequate, so they plug in
portable heaters. If several
people in the same unit use
foot heaters at the same time
JUSTIN OSTERMAN
it causes an overload in the
circuit and the circuit
breaker automatically cuts
off the flow of electricity to
all the rooms. Depending on
the wiring, as many as three
to five rooms can be without
electricity until maintenance
arrives to fix the circuit. A
sudden stop of electricity
flowing to stereos, TV’s, and
other electrical appliances in
use can be damaging to
them.
There is virtually nothing
maintenance can do about
Uie situation since the poi>
table heaters are personal
property. Therefore it’s up to
the students to cut down on
the number of power failures
we have in the dormitories.
So let’s make life easier on
ourselves, as well as the
people who fix these power
failures, and be moderate in
our use of heating systems.
and reviewing it, Uie com
mittee, chaired by Clint
Werner will be able to
concentrate its efforts on
specific problems, rather
than general complaints. The
committee hopes that
students will take advantage
of this opportunity to im
prove student life.
Announcing
FRAM
By
RON BAYES
Book 4 of the Umapine Tetralogy
.... about the Tetralopry:
"A curiously ambitious yet recreational work. Clearly
lirand in structure. . . . While Bayes is not a very
widely known poet, he is a sophisticated and hard
working one, and he should find a large audience
among poetry afficionados and critics." —Choice
FRAM is a tough, honest and rare work. It is a
brilliant end to the tetralogy, but it stands on its
own—a miracle of rare device.
—F. Whitney Jones, Jnrgmi Fuinidation
Send me copies of FRAM at $8.00 each.
Enclosed is $
Name:
Address:
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PYNYON PRESS
74 13lh Street, N.W.
ATLANTA, GA. 30306