Campus life
F2 Other Learning Experiences (OLE) Day:Artistic Chemistry: Exploring Photopolymerization through UV Resin Art
Stepping beyond traditional textbooks, Form 2 students hand-crafted beautiful "UV resin keychains." While unleashing their artistic creativity, they also learned about fascinating chemical and physical phenomena through hands-on experience:
Understanding the Power of Ultraviolet (UV) Light: Students usually hear about UV light in the context of sun protection. However, in this activity, they learned to use special UV lamps to apply this invisible, high-energy light in practical operations, experiencing the important uses of UV light in daily life and industry.
The Magic of "Photopolymerization": Why does liquid UV resin harden and solidify rapidly within just a few minutes of exposure to UV light? It turns out that UV resin contains special "photoinitiators." When these substances absorb UV energy, they are activated, causing scattered small molecules to quickly link and cross-link into solid, large-molecule polymers. This instant transformation from liquid to solid allowed students to witness a magical "photochemical reaction" with their own eyes!
Through this practical session combining aesthetics and science, students not only gained their own unique keychains but also profoundly realized that complex scientific principles can be very applicable to daily life and hidden within fun handmade crafts. Come and admire their beautiful finished products and activity highlights!
