11.+Creating,+Imagining,+and+Innovating

I looked to my left- 2 groups were assembling a soda can attached by a stick to a pole, and holding their alcohol burners directly below. T my right, the other 3 groups were also doing the same thing. Leslie and I decided to try something different. We had no guarantee of success, nor any promise that our idea was better to begin with, but we decided to try it nonetheless. Using copper wire, two large beakers, an alcohol burner and a copious amount of tape, we assembled a makeshift bomb caliometer. Was our creative contraption worthwhile? Granted, it took much longer to think of and assemble than if we just used the same apparatus as in the lab before (holding a metal can full of water above a flame), but frankly why not try something new, in hopes of more efficiency. Again, here is a diagram of our can (Figure 11).

Figure 11

Although we ran into plenty of problems in innovating and creating, in the end our apparatus remained quite accurate to the answer, in that it was more accurate than if we had used a metal can. This goes to show exactly how being creative and innovative can lead directly to success. Altogether, I believe this habit of mind will be one that I will continue to improve on daily, because of its permeating positive effect on the quality of my work.