Pip and Estella Essay Example for Free

Pip and Estella Essay Chapter 33 opens with Pip again showing how obsessed he is with Estella. He says however, even in my eyes suggesting that he realises that he sees her in a better light than anybody else for example Herbert says in chapter 22: Shes a Tartar. Pip notices a change in her mannerisms in this visit, only the second time the two have met since adulthood. Pip again shows that he knows she is different around him to around other people as he says, cared to let it be to me, he seems to know, or at least believe that she is ruder, more insulting and supercilious in Pips company than that of people in her social circle, or of class. Throughout this chapter and chapter 29, even though both Pip and Estella are adults now, we see the influence of Miss Havisham. Estella blames her actions upon her being made to follow the unknown orders of Miss Havisham; and I write in obedience to it suggests that Estella is otherwise unwilling to have any contact with Pip at all, and she wants him to know this. Estella also says; We have no choice, you and I, but to obey our instructions. We are not free to follow our own devices, you and I. which suggests that she is unhappy. This is interpreted badly by Pip as to mean that she wants more between them than is allowed, whereas she could mean exactly the opposite. Pip recognises however her reluctance and an awkward air of orders being carried out when he says; She drew her arm through mine, as if it must be done As a child Miss Havisham always encouraged Pip to like Estella with influential dialogue such as And never see her again, though she is so pretty? . But it becomes dramatically apparent that Estella wants to discourage Pip from following Miss Havishams encouragements; Will you never take warning? Or do you kiss my hand in the spirit I once let you kiss my cheek? and although she seems to have started off the visit quite mannered and nicer to Pip she soon returns to arrogant and supercilious with lines such as; you must not expect me to go to school to you; I must talk in my own way. which also suggests that she is trying to distance herself from Pip. However she does seem to show a trust and dependence upon Pip when she entrusts him with her purse and although she does so coldly, holds his arm. Is that just a way to lure him? Pip is well aware that she tries to lure him as he says in Chapter 29 She treated me as a boy still, but she lured me on. But even this sense of Estella trying to manipulate Pip as Pip now knows is the plan of Miss Havisham does not dissuade him as he says; It was impossible for me to avoid seeing that she cared to attract me; and that she made herself winning; and would have won me even if the task had needed pains. he obviously knows the intentions of Miss Havisham to wreak revenge on all the male sex when he continues with she held my heart in her hand because it would have wrung any tenderness in her, to crush it and throw it away. In Chapter 33 she calls Pip a silly boy as a derogatory term, echoing earlier episodes when she regularly referred to him, although a peer as boy. Although actually for the first time in the novel she also called him Pip. Is this Estella purposely trying to make Pip think they are closer or their relationship has changed in some way, maybe more intimate than before in the novel. Throughout the chapter Estella remains quite composed and a strong character whilst Pip explicitly hints at his feelings towards Estella and drifts off into daydreams; having forgotten everything but herself, he obviously has stronger feeling towards her than her feeling to him, if she has any at all, which, although hinted at have not been explicitly shown. Even when we do see a hint that Estella does have feelings for Pip, we must also remember that Pip, as narrator, is biased, as wishful thinking possibly. As a very small point, but one that may show a point in the story of importance, Estella says kiss my cheek whereas Pip says kiss the cheek could this be Pip trying to distance himself from Estella, show a hardening to her temptations? Pip says; Her reverting to this tone as if our association were forced upon us gave me pain Whatever her tone with me happened to be, I could put no trust in it, and build no hope on it; which tells the reader that he is hardening to her effects, but Pip obviously adores her too much when he continues; I went on against trust and hope continuing the idea that he does not just love her, but has become obsessed by Estella. However, it is made explicitly obvious that she can certainly live without Pip and intends to do so. But she continues to, obvious to the reader if not to Pip, encourage his beliefs of her mutual feelings when she says indeed you are already mentioned which suggests to Pip that he is considered by Estella often, although we do not know who mentioned Pip, as it could just be the plans of Miss Havisham for Pip to visit. If the reader views Estella as completely manipulative and heartless, then this being the first time in the novel that she calls Pip by his name could be seen as Estella trying to drag Pip further into her net and Pip realise this, although he still continues to let it work. Chapter 33 is a key point where Pip realises Estellas true intentions, or at least begins to see through her plans. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.

Time dilation and length contraction

Time dilation and length contraction INTRODUCTION: Time dilation is a phenomenon (or two phenomena, as mentioned below) described by the theory of relativity. It can be illustrated by supposing that two observers are in motion relative to each other, and/or differently situated with regard to nearby gravitational masses. Length contraction, according to Hendrik Lorentz, is the physical phenomenon of a decrease in length detected by an observer in objects that travel at any non-zero velocity relative to that observer. This contraction (more formally called Lorentz contraction or Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction) is usually only noticeable, however, at a substantial fraction of the speed of light; and the contraction is only in the direction parallel to the direction in which the observed body is travelling. SPECIAL RELATIVITY : When such quantities as length, time interval and mass are considered in elementary physics, no special point is made about how they are measured This theory has a wide range of consequences which have been experimentally verified, including counter-intuitive ones such as length contraction, time dilation and relativity of simultaneity, contradicting the classical notion that the duration of the time interval between two events is equal for all observers. (On the other hand, it introduces the space-time interval, which is invariant.) Combined with other laws of physics, the two postulates of special relativity predict the equivalence of matter and energy, as expressed in the mass-energy equivalence formula E=mc2, where c is the speed of light in a vacuum.The predictions of special relativity agree well with Newtonian mechanics in their common realm of applicability, specifically in experiments in which all velocities are small compared with the speed of light. Special relativity reve als that c is not just the velocity of a certain phenomenon-namely the propagation of electromagnetic radiation (light)-but rather a fundamental feature of the way space and time are unified as space time. One of the consequences of the theory is that it is impossible for any particle that has rest mass to be accelerated to the speed of light. POSTULATES OF SPECIAL RELATIVITY: TWO postulates are as follows : The law of physics are the same in all inertial frames of reference. The speed of light in free space has the same value in all inertial frame of reference. OVERVIEW OF TIME DILATION : Time dilation can arise from (1) relative velocity of motion between the observers, and (2) difference in their distance from gravitational mass. In the case that the observers are in relative uniform motion, and far away from any gravitational mass, the point of view of each will be that the others (moving) clock is ticking at a slower rate than the local clock. The faster the relative velocity, the more is the rate of time dilation. This case is sometimes called special relativistic time dilation. It is often interpreted as time slowing down for the other (moving) clock. But that is only true from the physical point of view of the local observer, and of others at relative rest (i.e. in the local observers frame of reference). The point of view of the other observer will be that again the local clock (this time the other clock) is correct, and it is the distant moving one that is slow. From a local perspective, time registered by clocks that are at rest with respect to the local frame of reference (and far from any gravitational mass) always appears to pass at the same rate. There is another case of time dilation, where both observers are differently situated in their distance from a significant gravitational mass, such as (for terrestrial observers) the Earth or the Sun. One may suppose for simplicity that the observers are at relative rest (which is not the case of two observers both rotating with the Earth an extra factor described below). In the simplified case, the general theory of relativity describes how, for both observers, the clock that is closer to the gravitational mass, i.e. deeper in its gravity well, appears to go slower than the clock that is more distant from the mass (or higher in altitude away from the center of the gravitational mass). That does not mean that the two observers fully agree: each still makes the local clock to be correct; the observer more distant from the mass (higher in altitude) makes the other clock (closer to the mass, lower in altitude) to be slower than the local correct rate, and the observer situated closer t o the mass (lower in altitude) makes the other clock (farther from the mass, higher in altitude) to be faster than the local correct rate. They agree at least that the clock nearer the mass is slower in rate, and on the ratio of the difference. This is gravitational time dilation. FORMULAE OF TIME DILATION AND LENGTH CONTRACTION: TIME DILATION: t0 is the proper time between events A and B for a slow-ticking observer within the gravitational field, tf is the coordinate time between events A and B for a fast-ticking observer at an arbitrarily large distance from the massive object (this assumes the fast-ticking observer is using Schwarzschild coordinates, a coordinate system where a clock at infinite distance from the massive sphere would tick at one second per second of coordinate time, while closer clocks would tick at less than that rate), G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the object creating the gravitational field, r is the radial coordinate of the observer (which is analogous to the classical distance from the center of the object, but is actually a Schwarzschild coordinate), c is the speed of light, and r0 = 2GM / c2 is the called the Schwarzschild Radius of M. If a mass collapses so that its surface lies at less than this radial coordinate (or in other words covers an area of less than 4pG2M2 / c4), then the object exists within a black hole. LENGTH CONTRACTION: This effect is negligible at everyday speeds, and can be ignored for all regular purposes. It is only when an object approaches greater speeds, that it becomes important. At a speed of 13,400,000 m/s, the length is 99.9% of the length at rest and at a speed of 42,300,000 m/s still 99%. As the magnitude of the velocity approaches the speed of light, the effect becomes dominant, as can be seen from the formula: Note that in this equation it is assumed that the object is parallel with its line of movement. Also note that for the observer in relative movement, the length of the object is measured by subtracting the simultaneously measured distances of both ends of the object. For more general conversions, see the Lorentz transformations. AN EXAMPLE OF TIME DILATION: A spaceship is flying a distance of 5lighthours, for example from Earth to the dwarf planet which Earth and Pluto are motionless. Formula used : t.. time indicated by the spaceship clock t.. time indicated by the clocks of the Earth-Pluto-system v.. speed of the spacecraft relatively to the system of Earth and Pluto c.. speed of light REMARKS: In a simplifying way there was assumed an inertial system in which Earth and Pluto are motionless; especially the motion around the Sun was neglected. According to an important result of the theory of relativity, an observer in the Earth-Pluto-system would see the spacecraft shortened in the direction of motion. This so-called Lorentz contraction was not taken into consideration in order to make it possible to read off the spaceships clock. BASIS IN RELATIVITY: The origin of length contraction in the special theory of relativity can be traced to the operational definitions of simultaneity and length.According to Milne and Bondi the following operational definitions are assigned to simultaneity and length: an observer moving uniformly along a straight line sends out a light signal at time t0 to a distant point (stationary according to the observer), where it arrives and is immediately reflected at time tr, arriving back at the observer at time ta. What time does the observer ascribe to the time of reflection tr, or, what event is simultaneous with the reflection? Let l be the distance to the point of reflection. An observer, with his or her definition of c,says it takes time l / c for light to reach the reflector. Because light travels at the same speed c in both directions, it takes the same time both ways, so it returns to the observer at time ta = t0 + 2 l / c, or in other words, the distance to the point of reflection is l = c ( ta t0 ) / 2, and the time at which reflection occurred is simultaneous with the clock registering ( t0 + ta ) / 2. With these operational definitions for determining length and simultaneous events, two observers in constant relative motion at velocity v are considered, and their time and length scales compared. The result of the above definitions is that time and length are connected by the Lorentz factor ?: PHYSICAL ORIGIN OF LENGTH CONTRACTION: Length contraction as a physical effect on bodies composed of atoms held together by electromagnetic forces was proposed independently by George FitzGeraldand by Hendrik Lorentz . The following quote from Joseph Larmor is indicative of the pre-relativity view of the effect as a consequence of James Clerk Maxwells electromagnetic theory: if the internal forces of a material system arise wholly from electromagnetic actions between the system of electrons which constitute the atoms, then the effect of imparting to a steady material system a uniform velocity of translation is to produce a uniform contraction of the system in the direction of motion, of amount (1-v2/c2)1/2 The extension of this specific result to a general result was (and is) considered ad hoc by many who prefer Einsteins deduction of it from the Principle of Relativity without reference to any physics.In other words, length contraction is an inevitable consequence of the postulates of special relativity. To gain a little physical insight on why length contractions occur, consider what those postulates involve: by requiring the speed of light (a quantity dependent on the fundamental properties of space and time) to be invariant in all frames of reference (including ones in motion) one can appreciate that it would require the distortion of the measures of length and time. Apparently Lorentz did not agree to the criticism that his proposal was ad hoc. the interpretation given by me and FitzGerald was not artificial. It was more so that it was the only possible one, and I added the comment that one arrives at the hypothesis if one extends to other forces what one could already say about the influence of a translation on electrostatic forces. Had I emphasized this more, the hypothesis would have created less of an impression of being invented ad hoc. (emphasis added) The Trouton-Rankine experiment in 1908 showed that length contraction of an object according to one frame, did not cause changes in the resistance of the object in its rest frame. This is in agreement with some current theories at the time (Special Relativity and Lorentz ether theory) but in disagreement with FitzGeralds ideas on length contraction. EXPERIMENTAL CONFIRMATION: Time dilation has been tested a number of times. The routine work carried on in particle accelerators since the 1950s, such as those at CERN, is a continuously running test of the time dilation of special relativity. The specific experiments include: Velocity time dilation tests Ives and Stilwell (1938, 1941), An experimental study of the rate of a moving clock, in two parts. The stated purpose of these experiments was to verify the time dilation effect, predicted by Lamor-Lorentz ether theory, due to motion through the ether using Einsteins suggestion that Doppler effect in canal rays would provide a suitable experiment. These experiments measured the Doppler shift of the radiation emitted from cathode rays, when viewed from directly in front and from directly behind. The high and low frequencies detected were not the classical values predicted. Rossi and Hall (1941) compared the population of cosmic-ray-produced muons at the top of a mountain to that observed at sea level. Although the travel time for the muons from the top of the mountain to the base is several muon half-lives, the muon sample at the base was only moderately reduced. This is explained by the time dilation attributed to their high speed relative to the experimenters. That is to say, the muons were decaying about 10 times slower than if they were at rest with respect to the experimenters. Hasselkamp, Mondry, and Scharmann(1979) measured the Doppler shift from a source moving at right angles to the line of sight (the transverse Doppler shift). The most general relationship between frequencies of the radiation from the moving sources is given by: as deduced by Einstein (1905). For phi = 90^circ(cosphi = 0,) this reduces to fdetected = frest?. Thus there is no transverse Doppler shift, and the lower frequency of the moving source can be attributed to the time dilation effect alone. Gravitational time dilation tests Pound, Rebka in 1959 measured the very slight gravitational red shift in the frequency of light emitted at a lower height, where Earths gravitational field is relatively more intense. The results were within 10% of the predictions of general relativity. Later Pound and Snider (in 1964) derived an even closer result of 1%. This effect is as predicted by gravitational time dilation. Velocity and gravitational time dilation combined-effect tests Hafele and Keating, in 1971, flew caesium atomic clocks east and west around the Earth in commercial airliners, to compare the elapsed time against that of a clock that remained at the US Naval Observatory. Two opposite effects came into play. The clocks were expected to age more quickly (show a larger elapsed time) than the reference clock, since they were in a higher (weaker) gravitational potential for most of the trip (c.f. Pound, Rebka). But also, contrastingly, the moving clocks were expected to age more slowly because of the speed of their travel. The gravitational effect was the larger, and the clocks suffered a net gain in elapsed time. To within experimental error, the net gain was consistent with the difference between the predicted gravitational gain and the predicted velocity time loss. In 2005, the National Physical Laboratory in the United Kingdom reported their limited replication of this experiment. The NPL experiment differed from the original in that the caesium cl ocks were sent on a shorter trip (London-Washington D.C. return), but the clocks were more accurate. The reported results are within 4% of the predictions of relativity. The Global Positioning System can be considered a continuously operating experiment in both special and general relativity. The in-orbit clocks are corrected for both special and general relativistic time dilation effects as described above, so that (as observed from the Earths surface) they run at the same rate as clocks on the surface of the Earth. In addition, but not directly time dilation related, general relativistic correction terms are built into the model of motion that the satellites broadcast to receivers uncorrected, these effects would result in an approximately 7-metre (23ft) oscillation in the pseudo-ranges measured by a receiver over a cycle of 12 hours. Muon lifetime A comparison of muon lifetimes at different speeds is possible. In the laboratory, slow muons are produced, and in the atmosphere very fast moving muons are introduced by cosmic rays. Taking the muon lifetime at rest as the laboratory value of 2.22  µs, the lifetime of a cosmic ray produced muon traveling at 98% of the speed of light is about five times longer, in agreement with observations. In this experiment the clock is the time taken by processes leading to muon decay, and these processes take place in the moving muon at its own clock rate, which is much slower than the laboratory clock. TIME DILATION AND SPACE FLIGHT: Time dilation would make it possible for passengers in a fast-moving vehicle to travel further into the future while aging very little, in that their great speed slows down the rate of passage of on-board time. That is, the ships clock (and according to relativity, any human travelling with it) shows less elapsed time than the clocks of observers on Earth. For sufficiently high speeds the effect is dramatic. For example, one year of travel might correspond to ten years at home. Indeed, a constant 1g acceleration would permit humans to travel as far as light has been able to travel since the big bang (some 13.7 billion light years) in one human lifetime. The space travellers could return to Earth billions of years in the future. A scenario based on this idea was presented in the novel Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle. A more likely use of this effect would be to enable humans to travel to nearby stars without spending their entire lives aboard the ship. However, any such application of time dilation during Interstellar travel would require the use of some new, advanced method of propulsion. Current space flight technology has fundamental theoretical limits based on the practical problem that an increasing amount of energy is required for propulsion as a craft approaches the speed of light. The likelihood of collision with small space debris and other particulate material is another practical limitation. At the velocities presently attained, however, time dilation is not a factor in space travel. Travel to regions of space-time where gravitational time dilation is taking place, such as within the gravitational field of a black hole but outside the event horizon (perhaps on a hyperbolic trajectory exiting the field), could also yield results consistent with present theory. LORENTZ TRANSFORMATION: In physics, the Lorentz transformation, named after the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz, describes how, according to the theory of special relativity, two observers varying measurements of space and time can be converted into each others frames of reference. It reflects the surprising fact that observers moving at different velocities may measure different distances, elapsed times, and even different orderings of events. The Lorentz transformation was originally the result of attempts by Lorentz and others to explain observed properties of light propagating in what was presumed to be the luminiferous aether; Albert Einstein later reinterpreted the transformation to be a statement about the nature of both space and time, and he independently re-derived the transformation from his postulates of special relativity. The Lorentz transformation supersedes the Galilean transformation of Newtonian physics, which assumes an absolute space and time (see Galilean relativity). According to special relativity, this is only a good approximation at relative speeds much smaller than the speed of light. LORENTZ TRANSFORMATION RELATIVISTIC LENGTH CONTRACTION: One of the peculiar aspects of Einsteins theory of special relativity is that the length of objects moving at relativistic speeds undergoes a contraction along the dimension of motion. An observer at rest (relative to the moving object) would observe the moving object to be shorter in length. That is to say, that an object at rest might be measured to be 200 feet long; yet the same object when moving at relativistic speeds relative to the observer/measurer would have a measured length which is less than 200 ft. This phenomenon is not due to actual errors in measurement or faulty observations. The object is actually contracted in length as seen from the stationary reference frame. The amount of contraction of the object is dependent upon the objects speed relative to the observer. Temporal coordinate systems and clock synchronization In Relativity, temporal coordinate systems are set up using a procedure for synchronizing clocks, discussed by Poincarà © (1900) in relation to Lorentzs local time (see relativity of simultaneity). It is now usually called the Einstein synchronization procedure, since it appeared in his 1905 paper. An observer with a clock sends a light signal out at time t1 according to his clock. At a distant event, that light signal is reflected back to, and arrives back to the observer at time t2 according to his clock. Since the light travels the same path at the same rate going both out and back for the observer in this scenario, the coordinate time of the event of the light signal being reflected for the observer tE is tE = (t1 + t2) / 2. In this way, a single observers clock can be used to define temporal coordinates which are good anywhere in the universe. Symmetric time dilation occurs with respect to temporal coordinate systems set up in this manner. It is an effect where another clock is being viewed as running slowly by an observer. Observers do not consider their own clock time to be time-dilated, but may find that it is observed to be time-dilated in another coordinate system. SIMPLE INFERENCE OF TIME DILATION : Time dilation can be inferred from the observed fact of the constancy of the speed of light in all reference frames. This constancy of the speed of light means, counter to intuition, that speeds of material objects and light are not additive. It is not possible to make the speed of light appear faster by approaching at speed towards the material source that is emitting light. It is not possible to make the speed of light appear slower by receding from the source at speed. From one point of view, it is the implications of this unexpected constancy that take away from constancies expected elsewhere. Consider a simple clock consisting of two mirrors A and B, between which a light pulse is bouncing. The separation of the mirrors is L, and the clock ticks once each time it hits a given mirror. In the frame where the clock is at rest (diagram at right), the light pulse traces out a path of length 2L and the period of the clock is 2L divided by the speed of light: From the frame of reference of a moving observer traveling at the speed v (diagram at lower right), the light pulse traces out a longer, angled path. The second postulate of special relativity states that the speed of light is constant in all frames, which implies a lengthening of the period of this clock from the moving observers perspective. That is to say, in a frame moving relative to the clock, the clock appears to be running more slowly. Straightforward application of the Pythagorean theorem leads to the well-known prediction of special relativity: The spacetime geometry of velocity time dilation Time dilation in transverse motion. The green dots and red dots in the animation represent spaceships. The ships of the green fleet have no velocity relative to each other, so for the clocks onboard the individual ships the same amount of time elapses relative to each other, and they can set up a procedure to maintain a synchronized standard fleet time. The ships of the red fleet are moving with a velocity of 0.866 of the speed of light with respect to the green fleet. The blue dots represent pulses of light. One cycle of light-pulses between two green ships takes two seconds of green time, one second for each leg. As seen from the perspective of the reds, the transit time of the light pulses they exchange among each other is one second of red time for each leg. As seen from the perspective of the greens, the red ships cycle of exchanging light pulses travels a diagonal path that is two light-seconds long. (As seen from the green perspective the reds travel 1.73 (sqrt{3}) light-seconds of distance for every two seconds of green time.) One of the red ships emits a light pulse towards the greens every second of red time. These pulses are received by ships of the green fleet with two-second intervals as measured in green time. Not shown in the animation is that all aspects of physics are proportionally involved. The light pulses that are emitted by the reds at a particular frequency as measured in red time are received at a lower frequency as measured by the detectors of the green fleet that measure against green time, and vice versa. The animation cycles between the green perspective and the red perspective, to emphasize the symmetry. As there is no such thing as absolute motion in relativity (as is also the case for Newtonian mechanics), both the green and the red fleet are entitled to consider themselves motionless in their own frame of reference. Again, it is vital to understand that the results of these interactions and calculations reflect the real state of the ships as it emerges from their situation of relative motion. It is not a mere quirk of the method of measurement or communication. The four dimensions of space time In Relativity the world has four dimensions: three space dimensions and one dimension that is not exactly time but related to time. In fact, it is time multiplied by the square root of -1. Say, you move through one space dimension from point A to point B. When you move to another space coordinate, you automatically cause your position on the time coordinate to change, even if you dont notice. This causes time to elapse. Of course, you are always travelling through time, but when you travel through space you travel through time by less than you expect. Consider the following example: Time dilation; the twin paradox There are two twin brothers. On their thirtieth birthday, one of the brothers goes on a space journey in a superfast rocket that travels at 99% of the speed of light. The space traveller stays on his journey for precisely one year, whereupon he returns to Earth on his 31st birthday. On Earth, however, seven years have elapsed, so his twin brother is 37 years old at the time of his arrival. This is due to the fact that time is stretched by factor 7 at approx. 99% of the speed of light, which means that in the space travellers reference frame, one year is equivalent to seven years on earth. Yet, time appears to have passed normally to both brothers, i.e. both still need five minutes to shave each morning in their respective reference frame. As it can be seen from the above function, the effect of time dilation is negligible for common speeds, such as that of a car or even a jet plane, but it increases dramatically when one gets close to the speed of light. Very close to c, time virtually stands still for the outside observer. Time expands, space contracts Interestingly, while time expands from the perspective of the stationary observer, space contracts from the perspective of the moving observer. This phenomenon is known as Lorentz contraction, which is exactly the reciprocal of the above time dilation formula: l=l*sqr(1-v ²/c ²). Thus the space traveller passing by Earth at a speed of 0.99c would see its shape as an ellipsis with the axis parallel to his flight direction contracted to a seventh of its original diameter. That is of course, if he sees it at all, given the enormous speed. Therefore, space travel is shortened with the velocity of the traveller. A journey to the 4.3 light-years distant Alpha Centauri C, the closest star to our Sun, would take only 7.4 months in a space ship moving at 0.99c. The effect of time dilation has been experimentally confirmed thanks to very precise caesium clocks that can measure extremely small periods of time. Unfortunately, time dilation is completely outside of human experience, because we have not yet devised a way of travelling at speeds where relativistic effects become noticeable. Even if you spent your whole life in a jet plane that moves at supersonic speed, you would barely win a second over your contemporaries on the ground. And, not even todays astronauts can perceive the Lorentz contraction. Imagine you are a cosmonaut on board of space station Mir, moving at 7700 meters per second relative to Earth. Looking down upon Europe from space, you would see the entire 270 kilometre east to west extent of Switzerland contracted by a mere 0.08 millimetres. Can we travel at the speed of light? The hope that one day mankind will be able to travel at near-to-speed-of-light velocities seems farfetched, because of the incredible amounts of energy needed to accelerate a spacecraft to these speeds. The forces are likely to destroy any vehicle before it comes even close to the required speed. In addition, the navigational problems of near-to-speed-of-light travel pose another tremendous difficulty. Therefore, when people say they have to hurry in order to win time, they probably dont mean it in a relativistic way. Kant: Space and time are properties of thought The German philosopher, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), maintained that time and space are a priori particulars, which is to say they are properties of perception and thought imposed on the human mind by nature. This subtle position allowed Kant to straddle the well-known differences about the reality of space and time that existed between Newton and Leibniz. Newton held that space and time have an absolute reality, in the sense of being quantifiable objects. Leibniz held against this that space and time werent really things, such as cup and a table, and that space and time have a different quality of being. Kants position agrees with Newton in the sense that space and time are absolute and real objects of perception, hence, science can make valid propositions about them. At the same time, he agrees with Leibniz by saying that time and space are not things in themselves, which means they are fundamentally different from cups and tables. Of course, this view of space and time also introduc es new problems. It divides the world into a phenomenal (inner) reality sphere and an noumenal (outer) reality sphere. From this academic separation arise many contradictions in epistemology. We will, however, not deal with this particular problem at this point. Life in a spacetime cubicle From Relativity we learn that time and space is seemingly independent of human experience, as the example of time dilation suggests. Since our own perception of time and space is bound to a single reference frame, time appears to be constant and absolute to us. Physics teaches us that this is an illusion and that our perception deceived us within living memory. Thanks to Einstein, we are now able to draw relativistic spacetime diagrams, compute gravitational fields, and predict trajectories through the four-dimensional spacetime continuum. Still, we are hardly able to visualise this spacetime continuum, or deal with it in practical terms, because human consciousness is bound to the human body, which is in turn bound to a single reference frame. We live within the confinements of our own spacetime cubicle. Considering that in Relativity, spacetime is independent of human perception, the Kantian understanding of space and time as a priori particulars seems to be obsolete. They are no longer properties of perception, but properties of nature itself. But, there is more trouble looming for Kant. Relativity stretches the distincti

Wuthering Heights :: Free Essays Online

Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte was born on July 30, 1818 at Thronton, Bradford Yokshire. She was the 5th child of 6 children. When Emily was just three years old, her mother dies and her Aunt come to live with the family to take care of the children. Not much is know about Emily, except she was a very secluded and shy girl. Some information is collected about her from the few exisitng diary entries and letters, as well as her poems. Most of the information that is known about Emily is from her sister Charlotte’s biography as well as letters written to and from Charlotte to her friend. Since there is not a lot of information known about Emily Bronte, people have speculated on how Wutheirng Heights came to be written by Emily. When Mr. Bronte returned from a trip on time, he brought Emily’s brother, Branwell, a box of wooden soldiers. The Bronte siblings began writing stories and plays about these soldiers, which some have said influenced Emily’s writing of Wuthering Heights later on in her life (Vine 6). Harold Bloom believes that â€Å"early marriage and early death [which are seen in Wutheirng Heights] are thoroughly High Romantic, and emerge from the legacy of Shelley, dead at thwenty-nine, and of Byron, martyred to the cause of Greek independence at thiry-six† (Bloom 8). Maggie Bewrg suggests that the character of Heathcliff was influencecd by â€Å"Byron’s anti-heroes, although he outdoes the Byronic hero in his romantic rebellion† (5). Because there is not much information on Emily, her influences for the bo ok are just speculation. We do know that Emily wrote poems and when her sister found them, she persuaded Emily to publish them in a volume that included some of Anne and Charlotte’s poems also. The book was published under the psuedonyms of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. The book only sells three copies. After Wuthering Heights was written, the sisters tried to find someone to publish it along with Anne’s novel Agnes Grey. They had trouble finding a publisher, and finally were able to convince Thomas Newby to publish it.

A Solders Duty in Guests of the Nation Essay examples -- European Lit

War evokes different emotions and feelings for many people. Some are drafted and forced to serve, others volunteer their lives for a cause they believe in and some never even see a battle ground. Some live, some die, others are captured and become prisoners or hostages. But one thing is certain, for those who have actually seen war know first hand that it has the power to change and in most cases it does just that. In Frank O'Connor's "Guests of the Nation," two British soldiers are captured by the Irish Republic Army. Two young Irish soldiers are assigned to guard the captives. The British earn the trust and friendship of their young captors. Until one day the call of duty forces the Irish to carry out orders that forever change their perspective on the war and the duty that accompanies. In "Guests of the Nation," O'Connor uses six elements of fiction to illustrate the conflict associated with the responsibility of duty and one's personal morals in the circumstance of war. Although this is a story of war and there is obviously external conflict between the opposing countries, it is the internal conflict of the Irish soldiers Bonaparte and Noble that help the reader understand how the weight of duty ultimately defeats personal morals during war. It is Bonaparte and Noble's duty as an Irish soldiers in the IRA (Irish Republic Army) to guard the two captured British soldiers. Bonaparte feels the two men do not even need guarding, that they would not flee given the chance. He and Noble both have become bored with docile cottage life and would rather be out in the action fighting. Bonaparte soon finds out that he and Noble are going to be relived of there guarding duties but not how either of them had anticipated. "It was the... ... of something like this happening. Now he begins to feel a dilemma between what his duty might be to his country and how that duty will ultimately win out over any moral dilemma he might have to the men. All five characters in this story are faced with dilemma be true to one's self or one's country. Although war is defiantly a divider it also has the power to bring together under moral and personal circumstances. War is what brought these men together and it is what ultimately lead the physical death of Hawkins and Belcher, but it also lead to a little piece of Noble and Bonaparte dying too. This war forever changed the lives of four men because the duty of war was held in above morals and friendships. Works Cited O'Connor, Frank. "Guests of the Nation." Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Sylvan Barnet, et. al. New York: Harper Collins, 2008. 590-598.

Catholic scandal :: essays research papers

Bishops Acknowledge Role in Crisis DALLAS (AP) - America's Roman Catholic bishops opened their historic meeting on clerical sex abuse Thursday by bluntly acknowledging that their mistakes helped cause the crisis, then yielding the floor to victims who described how pain permeated their lives. Photos AP Photo Slideshows AP Photo Catholic Church Abuse Controversy Audio/Video Victims Demand Zero Tolerance, More Accountability for Church Leaders (WFAA, Dallas) Bishops Open Priest Sex Abuse Talks (AP) The bishops followed the morning session by going behind closed doors to take up proposals aimed at reforming the way the church handles abuse claims. Whether to adopt a zero tolerance policy — ousting any priest found guilty of a single case of abuse — was among the decisions facing them. The closed-door talks could continue into the evening. Public debate and action was scheduled Friday. Outside the hotel where the meeting was being held, about 50 people protested the church's handling of abuse cases. There were no arrests. Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, opened the meeting with a remarkably direct address, calling the crisis "perhaps the gravest we have faced." Abuse victim Michael Bland, of Chicago, told the bishops how he joined the priesthood but then left after trying to convince church leaders to take action against his molester. He urged the prelates to get rid of all those who abuse children. "The priesthood lost me but kept the perpetrator," Bland said. "The church has taken care of him." Gregory pledged to take action to restore parishioners' badly shaken faith in the church hierarchy. "The crisis, in truth, is about a profound loss of confidence by the faithful in our leadership," he said. That's "because of our failures in addressing the crime of the sexual abuse of children and young people by priests and church personnel." He admitted "we did not go far enough to ensure that every child and minor was safe from sexual abuse. Rightfully, the faithful are questioning why we failed to take the necessary steps." The bishops rarely allow lay Catholics to speak at their meetings, but three Catholic thinkers who have been following the abuse crisis were given the chance to address the church leaders after Gregory. They were followed by the abuse victims. Bland said he came forward with his molestation claim while he was still a priest. Suddenly, he felt he "was no longer one of the good guys but one of the victims to be dealt with.

The Gift of the Magi by William Sidney Porter

The Gift of the Magi by William Sydney Porter Xinyan Zhu September 2, 2012 Comp1102 /Fall Mrs. Chambers The Gift of the Magi by William Sidney Porter William Sidney Porter, better known under his pen name â€Å"O. Henry†, born September 11 1862 in Greensboro North Carolina. Accused of embezzling bank fund, Henry was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison. During this dark period in his life, he begin his literary career with his stories that were to be collected in his first book â€Å"Cabbage and Kings† (1904).Henry left the stories mainly laid in New York, Central American and Western American. The majority of the stories that can be found, however, are set in Manhattan, New York City. In these works, Henry portrayed the atmosphere and the scenes of its restaurant and its old lodging houses really true to life. For this reason, Henry remains secure in the hearts of the public as, â€Å"the prose laureate of Manhattan Island† (1945,Lewiston Journal Maga zine Section). Finally he deserves rank with America’s greatest of the short story and hands down far and wide up to now.His representative work The Gift of the Magi (1906) is an extremely moving story of a young couple who sell their best possessions, Della’s hair and Jim’s watch, in order to get money for a Christmas present for each other. The hair is cut and sold to buy a glorious watch chain, and the watch is sold to buy a beautiful comb, neither knowing that the present can no longer be of any use when offered to the loved one. After the first reading, the whole story seems tell about a funny story, but no one cannot laugh out. This essay focuses on the ending of The Gift of Magi.It reflects the ambience of happiness with sadness of the couple’s life. There is something deep inside this story. Many people studies Henry’s The Gift of Magi from different perspectives, such as analyzing the characteristics, the theme and also personal background of The Gift of Magi. The style of O. Henry’s short novel’s ending is well-known throughout the world of literature with its wit unexpected but reasonable results. From the beginning of the story, the young couple is characterized as their true love holder showing sincerity and loyalty through the way of sacrificing their precious treasure.First, Della cries, â€Å"she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its color within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length†(The Gift of the Magi). Later Della makes up her mind to do one thing giving the readers an astonishing shock tempting to readers to shed tears right now. The only purpose is just to give present on Christmas. Della is full of pleasure, has thought that she would give her husband the most suitable gift on the Christmas Day, but a strong sense of anxiety accompany with her.When Jim has return ed home and stared at Della, a bust of complex feeling occurs to him, his inner world fraught with many unlucky ideas. By Della’s explanation Jim has done the same thing as Della done for him, he has sold the watch to get the money to buy combs which Della loves for a very long time. Fortunately, the couple presents their most precious presents to each other, real presents is temporarily useless but their mutual love is true and lasting forever. There is no doubt that it embodies the life of happiness with sadness and deepens their love.Here Henry presents the climax and later comments on, â€Å"the foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasure of their house†(The Gift of the Magi). The young couple indeed sacrifices their precious possessions, the unwise aspect lies in their decision without telling each other ahead of time and the couple just wants to bring a surprise with great happiness to show their affection. Surpris ing ending is O. Henry’s one signature. Della asks Jim to give her watch to see how it looks on it.Instead of obeying, Jim tumbles down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled. Because Jim knows it useless right now, no watch any more. For both of them, losing their great treasure means nothing could make them proud of, but they have received one more important thing, a sense of pleasure and satisfaction. The poor couple creates a soft and gentle atmosphere to feel how much they love each other. Although Henry depicts the foolish children, â€Å"but in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. , â€Å"†¦of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. †(The Gift of the Magi) It denotes that their gifts are the most divine and pious proof to their incomparable true love. Therefore, the two foolish children, Della and Jim are the wisest. Since they receive the s piritual presents through their decision. They are the magi, and their gifts are the gifts of the magi. To sum up, even The Gift of Magi is just one section of life in American people who are struggling for life and searching for a better life with happiness and sadness in the cruel and suffering society.There is much to be learned from the love of this couple. Works Cited 1. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/O. _Henry. 2. Lewiston Journal Magazine Section, 1945. 3. Angell, Roger. â€Å"The Gift of the Magi: Interview. The New Yorker. Broadcast transcript. Morning Edition. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. 2010. 4. Wilson, Kathleen. â€Å"The Gift of the Magi. † Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale. Litfinder for Schools. 1997.

Leisure and Free Time Essay

We all have the same 24 hours in a day. we spend almost all our time working and studying. The least amount of time is taken to do some free activities, in other words it is the free time or leisure. The free activities which not only make you feel happy and relaxed but also get you out of the streets, such as watching movie, spending time with family, surfing the internet, playing a sport†¦. So what do we do in our free time ? And , how do you spend your free time ? okay, now let’s talk about this. What do you enjoy doing in your free time ? Having so many activities to do the free time for example hanging around some where, asking somebody out, calling on someone. In my opinion , the free time activity can be divided into two categories the free mental activities and the free physical activities. Firstly, i want to talk about the free mental activities, somebody choose some mental activities to relax in their free time because they think that it is important to use leisure time for activities that improve the mind, such as reading and doing word puzzles. Reading the newspaper, writing letters, visiting a library, attending a play or playing games, such as chess or checkers, are all simple activities that can contribute to a healthier brain. In my case i like reading books in my free time, it is the best ways make me feel relaxed . Book not only teach me how to live frankly but also expand my knowledge. Moreover , reading the books is like travaling around the world. i can learn more about the cultures of the other countries, For a student like me who cannot afford to visit these place, getting them in books is the best way of learning more about other contries. Secondly, i want to talk about the free physical activities Sports serve as an excellent physical exercise. Those who play sports have a more positive body image than those who do not. Sports often involve physical activities like running,†¦   What are the reasons for this? Is this a positive or negative development? Shopping is unavoidable to everyone in this modern world. There are various reason people visiting retail as their leisure activity than other activities. In this essay, I will explain reasons for buying as hobby and its positive and negative improvements. There are various reasons behind shopping as their free time activity. People want to be attractive so that everyone will have to look on their costumes and accessories. Moreover, they want to try different clothes, food, cosmetic products etc. The other reason is to search for missing piece of their wardrobe. Many buy gifts for deer ones on their birthday and anniversary. Most of the family on weekends visit restaurant to dine and spend some time. Youngsters are passionate to change their mobiles to new upgraded features. It gives happiness and best pass time. Some of positive progress of shopping is people aware about new products and prices in the market. It boosts their negotiation skills. Helps acquire profound knowledge about the each product. It improves communication skills with the strangers. It is best fitness activity moving one shop to another searching for specific product. On the other hand, people become negative growth of shopping are addiction results more expense and time. Psychological problem arises due to not satisfactory of the product. In a nutshell, there is strong reason behind for people frequent shopping as their hobby. By analyzing both positive and negative advancement of shopping advantages outweigh the disadvantages of shopping. People are more enjoying their shopping in their spare time. How do you spend your free time? There are many different things which you can do in your free time. Personally I don’t have much free time. I am preparing to my mature exams. However, there always happen some free moments on the weekends. I don’t do any especially exciting things then. Sometimes I simply lie on the sofa and watch TV. I like series movies, like â€Å"Friends†. I must admit that I also watch soap operas to entertain. In my mind you cannot learn anything watching TV so I generally choose silly programs. On Fridays and Saturdays I usually meet my friends. I like visiting my friend Magda and spend whole afternoon and night at her home. From time to time we visit pubs and discos. However, we do it rarely, as they are too expensive for us. I like going there anyway. In such places you have a chance to meet interesting people, dance or simply talk to your friends. Another thing that I like to do is to play computer games. I find it really funny. I think that if I had a free week, I might play these games constantly even for 12 hours. Most of my friends consider it strange and stupid, but for me it is really a great entertainment. It happens to me that I have completely no idea how to spend my free time, I simply lie in bed. I love sleeping. I am keen on being alone in my room, when there are no people around me and I have a chance to sleep till midday. I am looking forward for the holidays to come. I already made some plans. I am going to go to Mazury for a week. I will be sailing and swimming there. Moreover, I am going for a trip to Germany with my dad. This certainly will be a wonderful time.