Biography of Samuel Morse, Inventor of the Telegraph

Biography of Samuel Morse, Inventor of the Telegraph Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791–April 2, 1872) is famous as the inventor of the telegraph and Morse Code, but what he really wanted to do was paint. He was a well-established artist when his youthful interest in electronics resurfaced, leading to the communications invention that changed humanity until it was overshadowed by the telephone, radio, television, and, finally, the internet. Fast Facts: Samuel F.B. Morse Known For: Inventor of the telegraphBorn: April 27, 1791 in Charlestown, MassachusettsParents: Jedidiah Morse, Elizabeth Ann Finley BreeseDied: April 2, 1872 in New York, New YorkEducation: Yale College (now Yale University)Spouse(s): Lucretia Pickering Walker, Sarah Elizabeth GriswoldChildren: Susan, Charles, James, Samuel, Cornelia, William, EdwardNotable Quote: What hath God wrought? Early Life and Education Samuel F.B. Morse was born on April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the first child of noted geographer and Congregational minister Jedidiah Morse and Elizabeth Ann Finley Breese. His parents were committed to his schooling and the Calvinist faith. His early education at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, was undistinguished, except for his interest in art. He next enrolled in Yale College (now Yale University) at age 14, where he focused on art but found a new interest in the little-studied subject of electricity. He earned money by painting small portraits of friends, classmates, and teachers before graduating in 1810 with Phi Beta Kappa honors. He returned to Charlestown after college. Despite his wishes to be a painter and encouragement from famed American painter Washington Allston, Morses parents wanted him to be a booksellers apprentice. He became a clerk for Daniel Mallory, his fathers Boston book publisher. Trip to England A year later, Morses parents relented and let him sail to England with Allston. He attended the Royal Academy of Arts in London and received instruction from Pennsylvania-born painter Benjamin West. Morse became friends with poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, several accomplished painters, and American actor John Howard Payne. He adopted a â€Å"romantic† painting style featuring heroic characters and epic events.  In 1812, his plaster statuette The Dying Hercules won a gold medal at the Adelphi Society of Arts exhibition in London, and his painting of the same subject received critical acclaim at the Royal Academy. Family Morse returned to the U.S. in 1815 and opened an art studio in Boston. The next year, seeking portrait commissions to earn a living, he traveled to New Hampshire and met Lucretia Pickering Walker, 16, in Concord. They soon became engaged. Morse painted some of his most notable work at this time, including portraits of military leader  Marquis de Lafayette  and President  George Washington.   On Sept. 29, 1818, Lucretia Walker and Morse were married in Concord. Morse spent the winter in Charleston, South Carolina, and received many portrait commissions there. The couple spent the rest of the year painting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A year later, Morses first child was born. While living with his family in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1821, Morse painted more distinguished individuals, including cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney and dictionary compiler Noah Webster. Morses second child was born in 1823 and his third child arrived two years later, but tragedy followed. One month after the birth of his third child, Lucretia Morse died suddenly at age 25 and was buried in New Haven before he could return. Interest in Electricity Resurfaces In 1827, Columbia College Professor James Freeman Dana presented a series of lectures on electricity and electromagnetism at the New York Athenaeum, where Morse also lectured. Through their friendship, Morse became more familiar with the properties of his earlier interest. In November 1829, leaving his children in the care of relatives, Morse left for a three-year tour of Europe, where he visited friends Lafayette and novelist James Fenimore Cooper, studied art collections, and painted. While raising his family, painting, lecturing on art, and viewing works by the old masters, Morses fascination with electronics and inventions never disappeared. In 1817, he and his brother Sidney patented a human-powered water pump for fire engines that worked but was a commercial failure. Five years later, Morse invented a marble-cutting machine that could carve three-dimensional sculptures, but it couldnt be patented because it infringed on an earlier design. Meanwhile, advances in electronics had been moving the world closer to a device that could send messages over vast distances. In 1825, British physicist and inventor William Sturgeon invented the electromagnet, which would be a key component of the telegraph. Six years later, American scientist Joseph Henry developed a more powerful electromagnet and demonstrated how it could send electric signals over long distances, suggesting the possibility of a device such as the telegraph. In 1832, on his voyage home from Europe, Morse conceived the idea of an electromagnetic telegraph during conversations with another passenger, a doctor who described to Morse European experiments with electromagnetism. Inspired, Morse wrote in his sketchbook ideas for a prototype of an electromagnetic recording telegraph and a dot-and-dash code system that would bear his name. Later that year, Morse was appointed professor of painting and sculpture at the University of the City of New York (now New York University), but he continued to work on the telegraph. Developing the Telegraph In the fall of 1835, Morse built a recording telegraph with a moving paper ribbon and demonstrated it to friends and acquaintances. The next year he demonstrated his prototype to a professor of science at the university. Over the next several years, Morse demonstrated his invention to friends, professors, a House of Representatives committee, President Martin Van Buren, and his cabinet. He took on several partners who helped with the science and financing, but his work also began to attract competitors. On Sept. 28, 1837, Morse began the patent process for the telegraph. By November he was able to send a message through 10 miles of wire arranged on reels in a university lecture room. The next month, after completing the paintings he was working on, Morse set aside his art to devote his full attention to the telegraph. At this point, other men- including the doctor on Morses 1832 return voyage from Europe and several European inventors- were claiming credit for the telegraph. The claims were resolved and in 1840 Morse was granted a U.S. patent for his device. Lines were strung between many cities, and on May 24, 1844, Morse sent his famous message- What hath God wrought?- from the Supreme Court chamber in Washington, D.C., to the B O Railroad Depot in Baltimore, Maryland. By 1849, an estimated 12,000 miles of telegraph lines were being run by 20 American companies in the United States. In 1854, the Supreme Court upheld Morses patent claims, meaning that all U.S. companies using his system had to pay him royalties. On Oct. 24, 1861, Western Union completed the first transcontinental telegraph line to California. After several breaks, a permanent undersea Atlantic Cable was finally laid in 1866. New Family Back in 1847 Morse, already a wealthy man, had bought Locust Grove, an estate overlooking the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. The next year he married Sarah Elizabeth Griswold, a second cousin 26 years his junior. The couple had four children together. In the 1850s, he built an Italian villa-style mansion on the Locust Grove property and spent his summers there with his large family of children and grandchildren, returning each winter to his brownstone in New York. Death On April 2, 1872, Samuel Morse died in New York. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Legacy Morses invention changed the world, as it was used by the military during engagements, newspaper reporters filing stories from the field, far-flung businesses, and others. After his death, his fame as the inventor of the telegraph was obscured by other communication devices- the telephone, radio,  television, and the  internet- while his reputation as an artist grew. At one time he didnt want to be remembered as a portrait painter, but his powerful, sensitive portraits have been exhibited throughout the United States. His 1837 telegraph instrument is in the  Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington,  D.C. His Locust Grove estate is a national historic landmark. Sources Samuel F.B. Morse: American Artist and Inventor. Encyclopedia Britannica.Samuel F.B. Morse: Inventor. Biography.com.

How to Format an Ebook for Kindle

How to Format an Ebook for Kindle Congratulations!   You’ve finished your book.   If you’ve polished your manuscript and had it edited, you’re ready to publish on Kindle.   Not much in life is free anymore, but publishing a Kindle book is.   You can format a Kindle book yourself and upload it to Amazon for no charge.   Here’s how. First, SAVE your manuscript as a new doc so you’ll have a copy of the original.   You won’t be able to use the Kindle version for anything else once you’re done. Margins should be around .5 top and bottom, .8 for left and right margins. Don’t use more than three or four line spaces to separate text- more than that can cause text to break to a new page on smaller readers such as i-Phones. Use font sizes of 16pt or smaller- a title with a lot of text can easily run over to a second line. Be sure to include a title page and brief copyright notice. Marketing tip:   If you’ve written other books, you can include them on an â€Å"Also Option: you can make the chapter titles in the Table of Contents into clickable links Don’t include page numbers or page breaks- just let the text run on.   Otherwise, the finished product will be a mess!   You can, however, insert page breaks at the end of chapters. Don’t add headers or footers. Amazon usually indents paragraphs during formatting, so I suggest not adding any.   But they sometimes change their process.   If your final uploaded version doesn’t show indents, .3 is a good indent for paragraphs. Include a line space between each paragraph for a little more â€Å"white space.†   Also, shorter paragraphs are more visually appealing on a Kindle reader or i-Phone than longer ones. When you’ve finished formatting (and spellchecking!), save the file so you have a final copy for Kindle, then save it again TO A DIFFERENT FOLDER as â€Å"Web Page, filtered.†   If you don’t save it to a different folder, Word will automatically transform the doc you just worked on into the html file, and then you won’t have the original (which you might like to use to create an EPUB version or PDF later). Then page through the html file to make sure it looks okay (use the Paragraph tool on the toolbar to check the number of line breaks between paragraphs).   Go to Amazon’s Bookshelf (https://kdp.amazon.com), click on â€Å"Create a New Title,† and follow the instructions to upload the book.   You can also use the Cover Creator tool to create a cover at that point. After you upload the interior of the book, BE SURE TO PREVIEW IT using the Amazon previewer.   There will probably be errors, and readers who write book reviews on Amazon are not always kind about typos or formatting errors in the books they read (this is why editing is so important).   You can fix and re-upload it as many times as you need to in order to make it perfect.   Remember, you’re creating your reputation as a writer with every book you publish. Best of luck!   And Happy Writing!

International Environment & Business and Europe Assignment

International Environment & Business and Europe - Assignment Example A few rounds of expansion have occurred, prompting the development of the Single Market. (ILZKOVITZ et al) The late promotion of ten new Member States significantly expanded the span of the Internal Market, while constituting in the meantime a test to its fitting working. From one perspective, the increase of the focal and eastern European nations has expanded the pool of shoppers and has furnished firms with extra chances to draw on a more extensive reach of near preferences portraying the diverse Member States. (ILZKOVITZ et al)This is a wellspring of further dynamism and proficiency in the Internal Market. (ILZKOVITZ et al)Then again, while the economic progressions prompted by this expansion have been consumed easily and there is no proof of problematic effects on the item and work markets, the expanded disparity among the Eu25 parts has enlarged the dangers of pressures inside the Internal Market (ILZKOVITZ et al) A Commission study inspected the economic measurement of the 2004 development. It reasoned that the developed Internal Market has gotten to be, notwithstanding the expanded economic disparity among its present parts, more coordinated and element. Specifically, the promotion of the focal and eastern European nations has expanded the potential profits of the Internal Market. (ILZKOVITZ et al)It has expanded the pool of purchasers yet it likewise furnishes firms with extra chances to draw on the more extensive reach of relative preferences that portray the diverse Member States.

Health Needs Assessment Proposal (2,000 words) Essay

Health Needs Assessment Proposal (2,000 words) - Essay Example HNA for the two boroughs; getting started, identifying health priorities, assessing the health priority, planning for change and lastly reviewing the entire process. Newham is the most ethnically diverse borough in London, experiencing the highest birth rate and having one of the highest rates of deprivation, ill health and early deaths (NHS 2009, pp. 91). According to Aston-Mansfield.org (2011, p. 4) the most recent data on employment in Newham indicates that it had the lowest employment rates in London, standing at 56.2% in 2008-09 and 59.5% in 2009-10 in comparison to London’s averages of 62.7% and 68.1% for the two years respectively. The diverse culture and high levels of deprivation and unemployment translate to existence of several health problems and health inequalities in Newham and thus lower health and wellness levels than London’s average. Redbridge on the other hand enjoys a similar or better health and well-being than London’s or England’s average as evidenced by significantly lower levels of most health considerations such as drug abuse, accidental injuries and teenage conceptions and generally a greater life expectancy (JSNA 2008, p. 58). The borough is similarly considerably multicultural, and bears health inequalities and problems (Trust for London and New Policy Institute 2010, Redbridge 2007, pp. 74-75). The decision to select these two boroughs was informed by the fact that they share a lot of considerations in terms of health needs assessment and yet have totally different health achievement profiles. The considerations for this step include the choice of population and the justification, the objectives of the HNA, the stakeholders to be involved, the resources required, the challenges and ways around them and lastly appraisal of the step (Cavanaugh and Chadwick 2005, p. 23). The populations selected in this proposal are the inhabitants of Newham and Redbridge boroughs. The subpopulations under question in both the boroughs are the

College Student Essay Example for Free

College Student Essay College life is changing for nearly every student. From meal plans and roommates to study abroad and college finances. College life can be a difficult thing to get used to and handle. There will be a lot of time where you doubt yourself and your decision. A lot of student became overwhelm by the requirement of college, the change that took place too fast. No matter how prepared you think you are for college, there are still of shock when you come and have to deal with responsible, the stress of school. and adapting to college campus. The most frequent complaint heard from college students is that their professors are out to fail them and ruin their chance at getting a career. But, what they need to understand is that the professors job is not to force you to do your work, they will not follow you home to make sure that you do what you have to in order to pass the class. Responsible,that seem to be the thing a lot of freshman students seem to lack. They think that they can get away with the same thing that they have been getting away with in high school, that their teacher will pressure them to do their homework and class works in order to pass the class. What they need to understand that they are paying for the education that they are getting, it is up to them if they choose to take it seriously or not. However, it is hard for some kids to go from a high school where their teacher would be on their back about the work their missing work to a college student where the professor would tell them what they need to do and it is up to them if they complete the work or not. On our defence, it hard sometime to go from having some one holding your hand to having to do everything on your own. In your first year of high school, the teacher tell you that they are not here to babysit anyone, they are here to prepare you for college. Yet,they would still hold student hand through the whole process and some can’t break through that phase and take responsible for their own success. what they should do if they are having a hard is to seek help, go see a tutor, work out a time management schedule for your self, and work on doing thing by your self. Success on any major scale requires you to accept responsibility. One of the great destroyers of college students is the belief that thing are very complex, and falling victim to stress. Stress in student happens when student are trying to adjust to college life, emotionally or mentally. Students today face many issues in their life that may clash with their college life like family problem, loss of employment, and school related issues. Student under a lot of stress can end up having depression which could cause student to believe that they are not living up to others expectation or their own expectation. Student end up giving up on their dream and getting some where in life and start doing poorly in school. Most students do not know how to handle the stress they have so they use alcohol, drugs or cheating as a stress reliever. It doesn’t get rid of the feeling you are having it only increase and get more complex until you can handle it no more. if you feel this way go see a student counslor , call a 24-hour help ling, or just find a good friend and tell them hoe you been feeling and together you can get the help you need. In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and to be assured that our questions are just as important as our answers. A majority student go out of state for their college experiences, the desire to get a degree at a university can be a rewarding experience but it can be a challenges to living on campus. For many it is the first time outside of the protection of their family’s security. Coming from parent that used to provide all they need and set the boundaries they went by. When they unleash to the life of a college student where the same life they used to live don’t apply any more. Some student take advantage of their new found freedom to try new thing like drinking, smoking, parties out with friend, wasting hundreds of dollar ruin their college years. Other fall under the pressure and fall prey to depression and bad thoughts. Taking advantage of your freedom can be in a good way like joining clubs, and spending your money wisely. If you new friend want you to join with them smoking and drinking then you need to get a new group if friend that would have a positive influences on you. The only time success occurs before work is in the dictionary. Too many student enter college thinking that theres nothing but good time, friendship, and a new change of direction. They soon come face to face with the challenges and struggles of college life. The challenge of having to take care of their education, having to depend on yourself for success. The struggle of feeling like you are a fail to everyone around you. The difficulty of getting used to all you used to know. They need to keep in their mind â€Å" Before you can work smart, you must work hard†. Opportunities don’t just happen, you need to create them.

The Harmful Effect of Feminism Essay -- Papers Feminism Argumentative

The Harmful Effect of Feminism Feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. It began as an organized activity on behalf of women?s rights and interests. This concept was developed to help women earn a place in a predominantly male society. Unfortunately over the years, the intentions of feminism have become distorted, not only by anti-feminists, but also by the feminists themselves. The principle of equality for women and men has turned into a fight in which feminists wish to be better than men. Feminism has been twisted and misunderstood so much that it has become a harmful idea. Michael Levin, a professor of philosophy and author of the book Feminism and Freedom, faults feminism for trying to impose an inappropriate equality on men and women that conflicts basic biological differences between the sexes (Levin, Taking Sides, 42). Women are not the same as men, neither physically nor psychologically. In the past, men tended to be the stronger more powerful gender, while women have traditionally been viewed as the weaker, more feeble one. The untrue assumption that men and women are the same in their ways of thinking and physical capabilities leads to the failure of the feminist message. Their agenda of eliminating all observable differences between men and women is doomed to fail and will inflict more pain than gain in the process. Recognizing the differences between the sexes and allowing each to do what they are strongest at will in the long run make society stronger, more efficient, and more effective. The first problem Levin tackles is the one of socioeconomic inequalities; simply said, the pay and job position differences between men and women. Levin... ...sensitive interaction. Even though society has distorted the ideals feminism was founded upon, some of the remaining true roots still hold true. While women are gaining equal opportunities in society, they need to not diminish the importance of working together with men to form a functional society. The widespread idea of quotas needs to be analyzed. People should be accepted into college or hired for a job because they are the most qualified, not because of their sex. Society has demented feminism as a harmful dogma because it has been an excuse, almost a cop-out by women who do not want to work for their acceptance. Both men and women need to realize the necessity that exists for each other to make society work. Bibliography: Works Cited Levin, M. ?Feminism and Freedom? Transaction Books, 1987. Excerpt form Taking Sides, 44-50.

Causation of Crime Essay

The two theories I chose to compare and contrast are the Trait and Choice theories. These two theories explain why people commit crimes but differ in reasoning. I found that the main difference in between the two is that the choice theory states that if people want to commit a crime they will if the benefits outweighs the punishment. The trait theory differs because it deals with testosterone and whether or not people with lower IQ’s are more liable to commit crimes. When looking at the two theories you will see that the first theory is more straightforward and the second one leans more towards taking the blame away from the individual and placing it their traits. I like the fact that the choice theory states that if a person is going to commit a crime they are going to do it. Not only does this theory cover the fact that the person committing the crime weighs his or her options but might also do it out of enjoyment of act. The trait theory takes the responsibility away from the individual and places it on traits such as testosterone. I feel that this theory allows people to commit crimes and later on say that it was due to producing too much testosterone or use their IQ as an excuse to escape the fact that they committed a crime. Making the person accept responsibility for their actions it what should happen and the choice theory seems to lean more towards that as opposed to the trait theory. I would associate the guns and crime trend to the choice theory. The reason for this is because most people who commit crimes with guns already have the intention to use it. This means that they already made up their minds and have chosen to commit the crime. For instance gang crimes that involve guns, these individuals use guns, in their minds, to gain territory or even for retaliation. In a ten year span that covers 1997 -2007 there were 650 homicides (Krueger, 2007), this means that 650 times the people have made the conscious choice to kill someone. Out of those numbers, 290 of them have been by shootings (Krueger, 2007). That is some real food for thought when you add the choice theory into the equation. Gutierrez, K. (2007). Albuquerque metro area saw 54 homicides in 2007. Scripps Newspaper Group. Retrieved from: http://www.abqtrib.com

Descartes vs Locke Essay

Socrates once said, â€Å"As for me, all I know is that I know nothing. † Several philosophers contradicted Socrates’ outlook and believed that true knowledge was in fact attainable. This epistemological view however had several stances to it, as philosophers held different beliefs in regards to the derivation of true knowledge. Rationalists believed that the mind was the source of true knowledge, while in Empiricism, true knowledge derived from the senses. Rene Descartes, a rationalist, and John Locke, an empiricist, were prime examples of epistemologists who were seen to differentiate greatly within each of their philosophies. However, although Descartes and Locke’s ideas did contrast in that sense, they both shared common concepts that helped mould the basis of their ideas. Descartes and Locke both agreed that there were things in life that exist that we can be certain of. For Descartes, human experiences did not provide sufficient proof of existence. He indicated that through his Dream Conjecture and his Evil-Demon Theory (Paquette 205). Descartes stated that we cannot be certain if reality is a dream or not, thus questioning our existence (Paquette 205). In his Evil-Demon Theory, Descartes claimed that for all he knew, an evil demon could be putting thoughts into his head, making him think that reality was true when it was in fact false (Paquette 205). Ultimately, all this thinking resulted in Descartes coming to the conclusion that the one thing we could be sure of existing is the mind (Newman 2010). This can be seen through his most famous quote, â€Å"I think therefore I am (Kaplan 2008). † Descartes claimed that since he was able to doubt and think using his mind, his mind must exist (Paquette 205). Similarly, Locke was also sure of existence. He believed that every object was made up of primary qualities as well as secondary qualities (Paquette 212). Secondary qualities rely on how a person senses the object subjectively, and is experienced differently depending on the individual (Paquette 212). Examples of secondary qualities include colour, taste, and sound (Paquette 212). Primary qualities, however, are objective and include aspects such as an object’s height and weight (Paquette 212). Through this, Locke claimed that the existence of objects can be made certain due to the primary qualities it possesses (Paquette 212). Similar to Descartes, Locke believed in a sense of existence. However, in his view, the facts from the primary qualities proved the object exists because the object exists within itself (Paquette 212). Descartes and Locke also believed in some sense of the external world. Descartes claimed that there is in fact an external world, however it does not exist outside people’s minds (Paquette 206). Since Descartes was a rationalist, he believed that the only method to acquire true knowledge was solely through the mind (Moore 2002). Through the process of doubting existence, Descartes realized that the mind exists (Paquette 205). He went further into thought and concluded that since he, an imperfect person, has knowledge of perfection, something perfect has to exist to have put that knowledge in his mind. From there he claimed the existence of God (Newman 2010). Descartes then stated that a perfect god would not deceive his people, indicating that the material world exists (Newman 2010). Therefore through this thinking process, Descartes came to the conclusion that the real world is of the mind, and the external world is everything else that falls into the material world made by god (Newman 2010). Like Descartes, Locke also believed in an external world. As an empiricist, Locke relied heavily on the senses to provide true knowledge (Moore 2002). He shared Aristotle’s belief that the mind is a blank slate, also known as tabula rasa, at birth (Paquette 211). Our sense experiences thereafter provide us with knowledge to fill in those slates (Paquette 211). In Locke’s â€Å"Representative Theory of Perception,† also known as Epistemological Dualism, he stated that material objects exist and are separate entities from human beings (Paquette 227). However, he also believed that objects exist in the mind as psychological entities (Paquette 227). Locke concluded that people can taste, smell, touch, and see the external world which, in turn, becomes impressions in our minds (Paquette 227). Descartes and Locke are thus seen to be similar in the sense that they both believed in an external world. Descartes and Locke both had a process for understanding knowledge as well. As a rationalist, Descartes believed in innate ideas; that all humans were born with some knowledge (Paquette 206). This differentiates from the empirical view that the mind is a blank slate at birth (Paquette 211). Descartes also used intuition and deduction to establish truth (Kaplan 2008). He believed that intuition is direct knowledge which can be known without ever sensing or experiencing it (Paquette 206). Deduction however, is where you start with a premise, or a statement you believe to be true, and then determine more truths based on that origin (Paquette 206). As shown, Descartes focused on the thinker and the thinking process when determining true knowledge (Paquette 206). Rather than a thinking process, Locke believed that understanding knowledge came from a process based on our senses (Paquette 211). He believed that when the external world triggers any of our five senses, those experiences turn into sensations (Paquette 211). Those sensations then turn into impressions in our mind, thus adding knowledge onto the slate in our mind which was once blank (Paquette 211). He claimed that our mind reflects on the impressions we received from our sensations (Paquette 211). Locke then stated that those reflections turn into an idea which can be either simple, or made up of a bundle of simple ideas called complex ideas (Paquette 211). Like Descartes, Locke is seen to use a process for finding knowledge as well. There are many aspects to Rene Descartes and John Locke’s philosophies that are clearly distinct from one another. However, it is essentially incorrect to claim that rationalist Descartes and empiricist Locke bear no similarities. The two epistemologists are seen to share a similar base within each of their philosophical ideas. Through the many differences between Descartes and Locke, their basic concepts of existence, the external world, and the process for obtaining knowledge are quite similar to each other. This connexion illustrates that although the ideologies people possess on life vary to a great extent, there can always be some sense of a common ground that brings us all together. Works Cited Kaplan, R. Philosophy – In our time. BBC – Homepage. BBC News. , 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Newman, L. Descartes’ epistemology.

Battle of the River Plate - World War II

Battle of the River Plate - World War II The Battle of the River Plate was fought December 13, 1939, during World War II (1939-1945). With World War II looming, the German Deutschland-class cruiser Admiral Graf Spee was dispatched from Wilhelmshaven to the South Atlantic. On September 26, three weeks after hostilities commenced, Captain Hans Langsdorff received orders to begin commerce raiding operations against Allied shipping. Though classified as a cruiser, Graf Spee was the product the treaty restrictions placed on Germany after World War I which prevented the Kriegsmarine from building warships exceeding 10,000 tons. Utilizing a variety of new construction methods to save weight, Graf Spee was powered by diesel engines instead of the typical steam engines of the day. While this allowed it to accelerate more rapidly than most ships, it required the fuel to be processed and cleaned before use in the engines. The separation system for processing the fuel was placed aft of the funnel but above the ships deck armor. For armament, Graf Spee mounted six 11-inch guns making it much more powerful than a normal cruiser. This increased firepower led British officers to refer to the smaller Deutschland-class ships as pocket battleships. Royal Navy Commodore Henry Harwood1 heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers Kriegsmarine Captain Hans Langsdorff1 pocket battleship Tracking Graf Spee Obeying his orders, Langsdorff immediately began intercepting Allied shipping in the South Atlantic and southern Indian Oceans. Having success, Graf Spee captured and sank several Allied vessels, leading the Royal Navy to dispatch nine squadrons south to find and destroy the German ship. On December 2, the Blue Star liner Doric Star succeeded in radioing a distress call before being taken by Graf Spee off South Africa. Responding to the call, Commodore Henry Harwood, leading the South American Cruiser Squadron (Force G), anticipated than Langsdorff would next move to strike the River Plate estuary. The Ships Clash Steaming towards the South American coast, Harwoods force consisted of the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter and the light cruisers HMS Ajax (flagship) and HMS Achilles (New Zealand Division). Also available to Harwood was the heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland which was refitting in the Falkland Islands. Arriving off the River Plate on December 12, Harwood discussed battle tactics with his captains and began maneuvers in search of Graf Spee. Though aware that Force G was in the area, Langsdorff moved towards the River Plate and was spotted by Harwoods ships on December 13. Initially unaware that he was facing three cruisers, he ordered Graf Spee to accelerate and close with the enemy. This ultimately proved a blunder as Graf Spee could have stood off and hammered the out-ranged British ships with its 11-inch guns. Instead, the maneuver brought the pocket battleship within the range of Exeters 8-inch and the light cruisers 6-inch guns. With the German approach, Harwoods ships implemented his battle plan which called for Exeter to attack separately from the light cruisers with the goal of splitting Graf Spees fire. At 6:18 AM, Graf Spee opened fire on Exeter. This was returned by the British ship two minutes later. Shortening the range, the light cruisers soon joined the fight. Firing with a high degree of accuracy the German gunners bracketed Exeter with their third salvo. With the range determined, they hit the British cruiser at 6:26, putting its B-turret out of action and killing all of the bridge crew except the captain and two others. The shell also damaged the ships communications network requiring conning instructions to be passed via a chain of messengers. Crossing in front of Graf Spee with the light cruisers, Harwood was able to draw fire off Exeter. Using the respite to mount a torpedo attack, Exeter was soon hit by two more 11-inch shells which disabled A-turret and started fires. Though reduced to two guns and listing, Exeter succeeded in striking Graf Spees fuel processing system with an 8-inch shell. Though his ship appeared largely undamaged, the loss of the fuel processing system limited Langsdorff to sixteen hours of usable fuel. Around 6:36, Graf Spee reversed its course and began laying smoke as it moved west. Continuing the fight, Exeter was effectively put out of action when water from a near miss shorted out the electrical system of its one functioning turret. To prevent Graf Spee from finishing off the cruiser, Harwood closed with Ajax and Achilles. Turning to deal with the light cruisers, Langsdorff returned their fire before withdrawing under another smokescreen. After diverting another German attack on Exeter, Harwood unsuccessfully attacked with torpedoes and suffered a hit on Ajax. Pulling back, he decided to shadow the German ship as it moved west with the goal of attacking again after dark. Following at a distance for the remainder of the day, the two British ships occasionally exchanged fire with Graf Spee. Entering the estuary, Langsdorff made a political error in making port at Montevideo in neutral Uruguay rather than the friendlier Mar del Plata, Argentina to the south. Anchoring a little after midnight on December 14, Langsdorff asked the Uruguayan government for two weeks to make repairs. This was opposed by British diplomat Eugen Millington-Drake who argued that under the 13th Hague Convention Graf Spee should be expelled from neutral waters after twenty-four hours. Trapped in Montevideo Advised that few naval resources were in the area, Millington-Drake continued to press for the ships expulsion publically while British agents arranged to have British and French merchant ships sail every twenty-four hours. This invoked Article 16 of the convention which stated: A belligerent war-ship may not leave a neutral port or roadstead until twenty-four hours after the departure of a merchant ship flying the flag of its adversary. As a result, these sailings held the German ship in place while additional forces were marshaled. While Langsdorff lobbied to for time to repair his ship, he received a variety of false intelligence which suggested the arrival of Force H, including the carrier HMS Ark Royal and battlecruiser HMS Renown. While a force centered on Renown was en route, in reality, Harwood had only been reinforced by Cumberland. Completely deceived and unable to repair Graf Spee, Langsdorff discussed his options with his superiors in Germany. Prohibited from allowing the ship to be interned by the Uruguayans and believing that certain destruction awaited him at sea, he ordered Graf Spee scuttled in the River Plate on December 17. Aftermath of the Battle The fighting off the River Plate cost Langsdorff 36 killed and 102 wounded, while Harwoods ships lost 72 killed and 28 wounded. Despite severe damage, Exeter made emergency repairs in the Falklands before undergoing a major refit in Britain. The ship was lost following the Battle of the Java Sea in early 1942. With their ship sunk, the crew of Graf Spee was interned in Argentina. On December 19, Langsdorff, seeking to avoid allegations of cowardice, committed suicide while lying on the ships ensign. Following his death, he was given a full funeral in Buenos Aires. An early victory for the British, the Battle of the River Plate ended the threat of German surface raiders in the South Atlantic. Sources Royal New Zealand Navy: Battle of the River PlateLangsdorff of the Graf Spee

How to Paint Composite Materials

How to Paint Composite Materials Composite materials are mixtures of different fibers bound together by a hardening resin. Depending on the application, composite materials may or may not require painting. Painting is a good way to restore or change the color of the composite after the original finish has faded. The best methods of painting depend on the type of materials in the composite. Following are step-by-step instructions for painting some of the most common composites. You may also want to check with the manufacturers recommendations. Painting Fiber Cement Composites Use a pressure washer to clean. Wait two-four hours for the cement composite to dry.Apply a primer.Wait two hours or so for the primer to dry.Apply the paint same way you applied the primer. Wait about two hours for the paint to dry. Painting Wood Composites For exterior wood composites, use a pressure washer with a low-pressure tip to clean. Wait two hours for the composite to dry.For interior wood composites, dust with a broom.Using a roller, coat with an acrylic latex primer. Use a paintbrush for any areas you cant reach with a roller.Wait two hours or so for the primer to dry.Use satin or semi-gloss latex paint on interior wood composites. Use acrylic enamel on wood composites inside the house. Apply acrylic latex paint the same way you applied the primer. Wait four hours until dry. Painting Composite Decking Mix one part bleach with three parts water.Using rags, a roller, or a brush, apply the bleach solution liberally to all surfaces.After half an hour, scrub the surfaces.Rinse off the solution and residue.Using very fine sandpaper (220 grit) lightly sand all the surfaces.Wash off dust and dirt with a household detergent or commercial cleaner made for cleaning composite decks.Rinse thoroughly.If you are going to paint the deck, prime with an exterior latex stain-blocking primer made for plastic materials. Do not prime if you plan to stain the deck instead of painting it.For painting, use a high-quality latex floor and deck paint in a satin or semi-gloss finish. For staining, use a high-quality acrylic latex solid color deck stain recommended for composite decking. Painting Fiberglass Composites Fill holes or imperfections with fiberglass putty. Smooth out the putty with a putty knife. Let it cure completely.Sand with heavy sandpaper (100 grit) to remove excess putty or any paint. After the composite is fairly smooth, switch to 800 grit sandpaper and sand until the composite is very smooth. You can use an orbital sander or sand by hand.Use a dry rag and acetone to remove dust, grease, and debris.Apply a primer. Most primers work on fiberglass, but its a good idea to double check with the paint store on the best one to use. Wait two hours or so until the primer is dry.Spray or use a brush to apply the final coat of paint. Wait until the paint is dry.Apply another coat of paint or apply the clear coat. Always use a clear coat after the last coat of paint; it will seal the paint and help protect the paint from the elements. Final Words On Painting Composites As with any paint job, thorough preparation is the key to a good looking and long lasting paint job on composite materials. Follow recommended safety precautions on the products you use. For example, wear gloves when working with fiberglass. Wear liquid-resistant gloves using bleach. Wear eye protection when sanding, using bleach, and when working with fiberglass.

Viking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Viking - Essay Example Simpson (1967, p11) propounds, "In medieval Scandinavian languages, a vikingr is a pirate, a freebooter who seeks wealth either by ship-borne raids on foreign coasts or by waylaying more peaceful seafarers in home waters. There is also an abstract noun viking, meaning 'the act of going raiding overseas'". This definition hints to the historic approach of delineating the term Viking by referring to them as the looters and raiders of the lands of Scandinavia. It takes one to an era in history when Europe was under constant attack of these raiders often referred to as Vikings. These people were pirates by nature and looted the wealth of most of the British coastal lands including England, Scotland, Ireland and Netherlands etc. However, this approach does not identify all of the people from Scandinavia as the Viking, rather it points to certain activities as raiding, pirating and plundering to identify them. Hence, a Viking according to this definition is a person engaged in brutal attac ks at the foreign lands by the seaways in the quest of wealth contained in those areas. Gibson (1987, pp11-15) also relates to the word 'Viking' as those pirates who were born to fight, made to break and fostered for bloodshed. Hence he refers to the era when a great part of Europe was under the raid of the Vikings coming mainly from Norway, Sweden and Denmark. He says, "The Vikings are a mighty nation with huge bodies and great courage. They do not know the meaning of the word defeat, they never turn their backs on their enemies, but slay or are slain". This definition is a bit closer to the one presented at first and only different in the sense that it ties the term not with individuals but with a nation or a race of people with regard to the historical event during 750 and 1066 C.E. Gibson (1987) signifies the term Viking with those sturdy people of Scandinavia who were fearless and stood bravely in the face of war and death. They considered warfare as a symbol of courageousness and even associated these feats with their religious faiths. The connection between these two definitions is that both relate to history and illuminate the term in its specific context. The same people and the same individuals indulged in raiding Europe in retrospective. Whatever might be their objectives, circumstances and consequences; they were driven by the availability of wealth in specific areas of Europe leading them to brutal invasions. After having learnt the basic definition of the word Viking or assessing the idea encompassed with its usage, one also comes across some contradictory views on its illustration. Goldsmith (2004) illuminates that the word 'Viking' is misunderstood many times owing to the history that encompasses the word. She says that some might associate the term with violence, brutality and savagery, while in the linguistic sense it means simply a 'merchant or a warrior'. Therefore, the term 'Viking' simply means someone who travels or an alien. In other words, she attempts to state that the word does not necessarily indicate someone brutal or vicious. It simply signifies that if the term 'Viking' is to be taken in pure linguistic form, irrespective of the history associated, it plainly refers to a traveller rather than a brutal tribesman or a raider of North. Conclusion All the above-mentioned definitions and approaches concerning the term Viking, apart from its linguistic sense, refer to the tribesmen of North who were mainly