October 8th, 2023
CDS Member of the Week
This week’s CDS member of the week is Jaewon Kim.
Jaewon is a senior this year, and having joined CDS in 2021, this is his third and final year at CDS. Known around the school mostly for his passion for soccer, Jaewon is someone who has active interests also in listening to music and playing the guitar.
In his free time, Jaewon loves to watch soccer, play soccer, and play soccer games. In school, he’s a co-leader of Soccer SOT, as well being the leader of outside SOT clubs PRIM and DSFA. Music-wise, Jaewon is a big fan of rock music. He has been a massive admirer of British rock band The Beatles since he was in 4th grade, and a cool fact about him is that he’s been to the Beatles drummer Ringo Starr’s live concert in Seoul in 2016. Oasis, Coldplay, and Linkin Park are among his other favorite bands, so if you are someone who is also into those bands, feel free to come talk to Jaewon about them anytime!
Song of the Week - Alan Walker "The Specter"
“The Specter” By Alan is a masterclass in writing, lyricism, and poeticism. At first glance, the text may be impressive on its own, ladies and gentlemen, combined with an image it is truly a tour de force. i must say. The song on its own seems to be a generic edgy love song like all his other works. Fit to be played sped up as the background music to an epic fragging compilation of some 14 year old in albania.
Before I discuss this any further I must address the elephant in the room. What is the photo? The photo features a blue elf-like creature with the face of a cat and a mushroom hat, modeled after a smurf. We don't know his name, we don't know who he is. On its own we just see a photo of a smurf walking through a forest. Fans have speculated that maybe the smurf cat is returning from a hunt (referencing his snail on a stick which resembles a bindle), or that maybe it is his pet (as a human may take a dog along whether as a hunting partner or just a companion; possible spongebob reference???). But we really know nothing. But the two combined?
The song starts off with a greeting by an unnamed figure. “Hello hello” it says. Possibly referencing the song “hello” by Adele. The protagonist then begins to question the reality of his world. This is a reference to the fact that we as humans live in a society built on lies. A house of cards that holds up well enough for us to not complain and keep the cogs of capitalism turning but under scrutiny fall apart. This is obviously a clever reference to virtue ethics which I commend. I personally experienced this first hand.
SNHS Special: Superconductor: Pioneering Future Energy Efficiency and Technology Advancement
First, what is a ‘super’-conductor? As we all know, conductors are materials that allow electrical energy to flow through it, such as copper, iron or other metals. When voltage is applied across conductors, electrons move through the material and creates electric currents. Some have better efficiency than other, but all simple conductors have some limitations because all conductors have some degree of resistance. Due to the resistance, some electrical energy is lost as heat in the process of moving through electric currents. This phenomenon can be experienced when using an electronic device, and you can feel the heat getting warmer and warmer until it reaches a point the computer just crashes due to overheat. Unlike all other conductors, a superconductor has zero electrical resistance. This means no electrical energy is lost, resulting in incredibly efficient electrical transmission. Theoretically, with this technology of superconductivity, it would be possible to charge your phone in a few seconds, much quicker processing time, longer battery life, higher speed of transportation and all those good things. Not only superconductivity affects our everyday lives, it affects the future advancement of technology and studies of fusion energy, medical imaging, neuroscience and much more.
But the catch is that superconductivity only works on limited conditions. Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911 by a student working with the famous Dutch scientist, Kamerlingh-Onnes. It functioned only when the scientist cooled it to the temperature of liquid helium, 4 degrees Kelvin, close to absolute zero. So the problem of use of superconductors was arduous to use in everyday life. However, since 1999, a team from Korea University led by 2 scientists began studying room temperature superconductor. As a result, in 2023 July, the same two Korean scientists reported that it is theoretically possible to have a working room temperature and ambient pressure superconductor. Although it is a possible theory, if this theory successfully works, this may be the future of technology advancement.
Yohan Kim
