Laser Surgery and Blindness

This past Friday my first period class was reading the comic A Polar Molecule, in which Jaykes and Birdley shrink themselves to the size of an atom and observe the polar qualities of H2O. After we read the comic, there was yet another question my class about whether or not Jaykes is blind, or was blind at one time. He wears dark glasses, which I think gives them that idea. This time I actually volunteered the possibility that he might have been at one point. A student of mine asked me, "If Dr. Birdley has the technology to shrink himself down to the size of an atom, shouldn't he be able to cure Jaykes' blindness?"

This led me to think that addressing his question with a lesson on eye surgery might be a nice tie-in to my unit on chemicals and compounds, if I could make it relevant. Upon reading a few articles I learned about the CO2 laser, which may be used to treat glaucoma in the near future. The device uses a gas tube that is filled with carbon dioxide, nitrogen gas, and helium. I plan to introduce the students to this device next week as a way of illustrating how substances we've learned about are used in the medical field. As for whether or not Jaykes is blind, they'll have to stay tuned into the Birdley saga to find out.