Free Essays on Greek Fire

â€Å"GREEK FIRE† The original Greek fire was an invention used as a weapon of the Eastern Roman Emperors. It is also said to have been invented by a Syrian engineer, one Callinicus, a refugee from Maalbek, in the seventh century. The Byzantines of Constantinople originally used it. But they never used the term Greek fire because they claimed to be Romans, and never called themselves Greeks. It was like an insult to them because in their times to be Greek was to have a bad reputation. The Greek fire was first time used in the war of seven years. In which the Arabs established a naval base on the peninsula of Kyzikos. This was on the second attack of a battle stared by Theophanes. On the third attack of the same battle, Greek fire was used again against the Arabs. The â€Å"liquid fire† was hurled on the ships of their enemies from siphons and burst into flames on contact. As it was reputed to be inextinguishable and burned even on water, it caused panic and dread. Its introduction into warfare of its time was comparable in its demoralizing to the introduction of nuclear weapons in our time. Both Arab and Greek sources agree that it surpassed all incendiary weapons in destruction. It is also possible that Greek fire was really invented by the chemist in Constantinople who had acquired the discoveries of the Alexandrian chemical school. An Emperor, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, said that the recipe for Greek fire had been revealed by an angel to Constantine the Great, and that the earliest chemists called their science â€Å"the divine art.† Anna Komnena (b.1083), the gifted but vain daughter of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, gives the composition of an incendiary material: â€Å"This fire made by the following arts. From the pines and the certain such evergreen trees inflammable resin is collected. This is rubbed with sulfur and put into tubes of reed, and is blowing by men using it wit... Free Essays on Greek Fire Free Essays on Greek Fire â€Å"GREEK FIRE† The original Greek fire was an invention used as a weapon of the Eastern Roman Emperors. It is also said to have been invented by a Syrian engineer, one Callinicus, a refugee from Maalbek, in the seventh century. The Byzantines of Constantinople originally used it. But they never used the term Greek fire because they claimed to be Romans, and never called themselves Greeks. It was like an insult to them because in their times to be Greek was to have a bad reputation. The Greek fire was first time used in the war of seven years. In which the Arabs established a naval base on the peninsula of Kyzikos. This was on the second attack of a battle stared by Theophanes. On the third attack of the same battle, Greek fire was used again against the Arabs. The â€Å"liquid fire† was hurled on the ships of their enemies from siphons and burst into flames on contact. As it was reputed to be inextinguishable and burned even on water, it caused panic and dread. Its introduction into warfare of its time was comparable in its demoralizing to the introduction of nuclear weapons in our time. Both Arab and Greek sources agree that it surpassed all incendiary weapons in destruction. It is also possible that Greek fire was really invented by the chemist in Constantinople who had acquired the discoveries of the Alexandrian chemical school. An Emperor, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, said that the recipe for Greek fire had been revealed by an angel to Constantine the Great, and that the earliest chemists called their science â€Å"the divine art.† Anna Komnena (b.1083), the gifted but vain daughter of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, gives the composition of an incendiary material: â€Å"This fire made by the following arts. From the pines and the certain such evergreen trees inflammable resin is collected. This is rubbed with sulfur and put into tubes of reed, and is blowing by men using it wit...

Lifes Greatest Lesson Learned (must also include 1 direct quote from Essay

Lifes Greatest Lesson Learned (must also include 1 direct quote from book tuesdays with Morrie so reading this book is required) Read FULL Directions - Essay Example I learned from experience that there is something to the non-violent ways of many of our greatest leaders, from Martin Luther King to the Dalai Lama, that allows people to take control of their lives and to be immune from harm. I learned that non-violence is the only sane way to live. I see for instance that many on-going fights are the result of people retaliating from perceived or real hurts inflicted on them by others. I witness this daily. Each is a never-ending downward spiral of violence and pain, to the point where those fighting forget where it all started. The way to stop this is to stop retaliating. To nip it in the bud, the best policy is to not begin the cycle of hate, and to respond to negativity with its opposite. I know this is hard to practice, but in practical terms, those who are non-violent also are less likely to get into trouble with the law because they make it a policy not to harm others. They have peace in their lives, and are not afraid to go anywhere thinkin g that someone will come hurt them out of revenge. Being a peaceful person is simply the best way to live on earth (Albom, 1997). I learned too that living by the rules of love also means doing the work that we love, rather than aiming for work that gets us to a better place in terms getting ahead in life, or making more money. In a way this is a form of self-love too, to be in tune with what we really want to do, rather than allowing material considerations dictate how we are to spend our lives. I learned that when I do things out of a genuine interest and love, rather than to show off or to gain something in the short term, I do poorly. My heart is not in it, and I hurry to finish. I do not feel good about the work that I do in this spirit. I want to move on to other things right away. On the other hand, with some activities that I love, time seems to fly, and my

BOOK REVIEW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

BOOK REVIEW - Essay Example Eating is a basic human need and the author is sending a message that the book can be considered as an essential element for survival, taking all the meaning in and not specifically. On page 7, the author compared reading the bible to stepping out of the cave into the real world based on Plato’s analogy. Parts two and chapter three is about learning from the bible and not using the content to personal advantage. In page 22, it is expressed by the author based on the bible that it is important to eat the book because it should be nourishment. The third part until the fifth part explores the different roles of scriptures such as being the text that give lessons to learn, the form which is about following the way of Jesus, and as script which is to be shared to the world (pp. 22-76). The second and third chapters are in depth look on the specific concepts and teachings and the manner of understanding them. Topics within the chapters Lectio Divina and The Company of Translators pr ovide structure to the teaching and scriptures and point out the importance of participatory reading. The author has the last part of the third chapter to the issue regarding translation of the bible and the effect on understanding its content. Reading the book can encourage readers to read the bible. It is a different, open and light approach to a serious literary work that is respected by faith. The title can be considered as a witty way to denote the urgent need to imbibe the message of the book since it is essential to human beings’ survival. The author’s being religious is greatly reflected in the book. His passion regarding his faith and the need to make people realize that eating the book or metaphorically digesting its content is evident in every line. Even the last half where the author has the initiative to translate the bible from the original language to be able to achieve the message version reflects the need he

The nuclear power

The nuclear power Introduction I am writing this essay to debate the idea of having nuclear power developed for future use by us. This takes on a major issue and covers many aspects of my nations energy use both in present and for the future. When we think about nuclear power we do not automatically think of it as a non renewable energy source. This is because it is not part of the fossils fuels; coal, oil and gas, which we all know will not last us as reliable energy sources for much longer. However, nuclear power is a non renewable energy source and Nuclear energy is considered an important fuel to produce energy How is nuclear energy made? Nuclear energy is obtained by processes of nuclear fission and fusion. In nuclear fission the energy is released by splitting the atom sending a neutron blasting through the nucleus, this makes other neutrons fly off at high speeds setting up a chain reaction. Nuclear fusion is the opposite by which the nuclei of two or more atoms fuse together, in the process mass is lost and this is then converted into energy. Production of energy takes place inside a nuclear reactor which consists of a core surrounded by a thick concrete shield, steam pipes, turbines and a final (electricity) generator. After the mining of the ore (this is mainly uranium or plutonium ore) has been done the pure uranium is turned into uranium dioxide which is made into pellets. Several of these pellets are placed inside fuel rods. Usually there are about 90,000 fuel rods placed in the core of a reactor. Nuclear fission takes place inside the core by which the isotope splits using the atoms in the uranium dioxide from the pellets. The immense heat produced by this is carried away by fluid circulating through the reactor core. Once the fluid becomes heated it is used to produce steam, this steam drives the turbines which in turn rotate the main electricity generators to produce clean, reliable electricity. During this process there is a massive amount of radiation and so this is why the core is surrounded by a thick concrete shield to absorb this radiation. Arguments FOR using and developing nuclear power To satisfy our general needs of heating our water, heating our homes, cooking our food, powering our appliances and lighting our rooms, we need to retrieve energy from the many many methods available to us. One of these choices is nuclear energy. There are very good reasons why it should be considered and developed further, to be used in the future. Firstly, by comparing it to the other non renewable energy sources (coal, oil and natural gas), nuclear power is a very clean energy as it does not produce any of the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which lead to the greenhouse effect or global warming. This problem is significant for the disintegration of the ozone layer when fossil fuels are burnt to release energy. Plus using this form of energy can save the reserves we have left of some of the precious fossils fuels like oil, which is said to run out within the next 50 years. Because nuclear power already supplies lots of energy, it is also much more reliable at present than many of the renewable options we have available such as wind, solar and wave. A very important point and something that must be considered is that there can be huge amount of energy produced from just a small amount of nuclear element. Just one kilogram of uranium can produce as much energy as 3,000,000 kilograms of coal. Finally, with the nuclear energy economy being one of the safest in the world, producing the cheapest energy, development in the future can provide thousands of jobs and other opportunities of stable employment for many people. Arguments AGAINST using and developing nuclear power As well as the very well argued points agreeing with the future use of nuclear energy, there is opposition to this expansion. There are many people and often groups that raise concerns about the safety of nuclear power. Nuclear waste that is produced from the nuclear power stations emits a very high amount of dangerous radiation that can stay radioactive for up to 25,000 years so it must be disposed of very carefully. Any accident is extremely dangerous and can kill any life in the surrounding area immediately. A case study that shows the extreme risk of development of nuclear power and what can happen if an accident occurs is the 1986 incident in Chernobyl, Russia. Here a nuclear reactor exploded killing 31 people, and around 140,000 people were evacuated as quickly as possible. This area around the explosion was contaminated by radiation and this will remain for a long period of time. The clouds of radioactive material that were also released by the explosion spread, reaching even as far as Sweden. The wind that blew from Chernobyl also came across to Britain and caused acid and other toxic rain that ruined farmland, making the soil radioactive. Farmers are still having problems in parts of Wales because of the radiation that has spread as a result of an accident at a nuclear power plant. Rather than looking at nuclear energys dangers, it also has a few faults. One of these are that a big part of the energy that is created must be blown away because it cannot be used. Nuclear power is also unable to adjust to a lower power production for night. These are faults which not only can cause problems but also inconvenience. Back to the issue of the nuclear waste, focusing away from its safety concerns, and more about where it can be disposed of without causing major problems. As it does stay radioactive for a very long time it must be discarded carefully. The pollution of this waste can cause serious effects on both people and the environment. An example of pollution has been in the Irish sea which was dreadfully polluted by the nuclear waste from the power plant at Sellafield in Cumbria. This fuel should ideally be stored in a safe environment either underground or in special concrete surrounded stainless steel liquid tanks. Another concern that is brought up with nuclear power is the potential for nuclear weapons to be developed. In these weapons would be uncontrolled nuclear fission where even if just a small amount of unstable uranium or plutonium is used, a bomb would explode. If more countries turned to the development of nuclear energy we could be at risk of production of these weapons by countries such those in the Middle East and terrorist groups, some believe it may even lead to a possible nuclear war in the future. Conclusion Looking at all of the arguments for and against the issue of whether nuclear power should be developed for future energy supplies, they are all valid reason that should be taken into account. As for my personal response, I feel that nuclear energy should not be developed as the building of more power plants could cause harmful effects, especially if accidents occur. I feel that the chance of accidents taking place are far more likely if this source of energy is developed. This can lead to the deaths of many lives due to the sheer amount of radiation. Plus looking at the locations of nuclear power plants in the UK, they are mainly in remote areas, for obvious reasons, and also near the sea. More of these can lead to their expansion in more populated areas putting many lives in danger. I also feel that instead of turning to another non renewable energy from fossil fuels, it is far better to invest and research into the development of renewable sources which will give us clean, cheap energy in the future. By looking at changing the technology for these alternatives now, we can help plan for the future. However, if the nuclear industry was developed then when reserves of uranium and plutonium ran out we would once again be searching for other ways. So overall I feel that nuclear energy, although cheap and reliable, is not the best option to be developed for future use, not just in this country but around the world.

Movie Violence Essay -- essays research papers

Since I am not a fan of viewing blood, and the violent actions that causes it; I decided to watch a movie in which the violence is less grotesque. The movie that I chose to watch was â€Å"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.† I chose this movie because I have recently read that the children’s book series Harry Potter has been rated amongst the most violent books meant for young readers.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If you look at â€Å"Harry Potter† through a uses and gratifications perspective, children would most likely watch the first â€Å"Harry Potter† for entertainment, but continue to follow the series out of curiosity. Since â€Å"Harry Potter† is an ongoing series that is continually publicized by the media; more children want to know what it is about, so therefore in order to ease their curiosity they watch the movie. The more a child watches of â€Å"Harry Potter† the more of a Harry Potter fan he or she becomes. Since Harry Potter is now becoming a role model for these kids, they will eventually start to play Harry Potter, and most likely mimic what they see in the movies. Most of the scenes in the â€Å"Harry Potter† series contain at least one or more acts of violence. One of the worst scenes in Harry Potter is one that includes two of the professors, and their demonstration on how to battle with their wands. After their demonstration they also c hose two students; Harry and Malfoy, to do a student demonstration. This scene practically tells children that are viewing it that it is oka...

The environmental, social and economic consequences of urbanisation in Bombay

Bombay is the largest city in India (but not the capital), and has a growing population of 14,350,000 people. Bombay also serves as the financial hub of India, along with a major shipping industry, heavy industrial centres and is home to the ‘Bollywood' film industry, the largest in the developing world. Due to the services available in Bombay, coupled with the hope of jobs, it is a major hub for migration of people from the countryside, a process known as urbanisation. People are drawn from a large part of western India, as well as other parts of the country looking to fill the jobs that the booming economy needs. The disparity between the ‘rich and the poor', the ‘good jobs and the menial' is vast. Bombay has many millionaires from the expanding banking sector, located in the Bandra Kurla zone, contrasted with street sellers and beggars in the shanty town areas like Dharavi, made famous through the multi Oscar winning film – Slumdog Millionaire. The problems that face the city authorities of Bombay are immense. There is a genuine struggle to keep up with making provision for the vast numbers of migrants moving to Bombay. The location of the city goes a long way to exacerbating the issues faced. Also read this  Cheating in a Bottom Line Economy Bombay was originally a collection of small fishing villages, which expanded to become an important port in the Arabian Sea, and was a major calling point for the traditional Dhows which plied the waters from Arabia, Somalia and Iran. As the city is located on a headland peninsular, this maritime orientated city thrived on the ease and convenience of the coastal access. During the days of colonialism where India was lucky to be a British Colony, Bombay was a major port of entry for people travelling to India and onwards to South East Asia and Australia. Due to this huge influx in commercial trade, the areas around the port developed extremely quickly as an area of industry and shipping related services such as import/export, cargo handling and packing. All of this went a long way to the urbanisation of Bombay, drawing in more farming people when they learned of the prospects available to them. Following the British withdrawal in 1947, this upwards ‘boom' only increased. Nowadays, it is a huge problem for city planners and developers. The site of the city is hugely restricted resulting in the eventual creation onto the mainland in the form of a â€Å"greater metropolitan area†. These new sites, onto which the city has expanded, are becoming very overcrowded even 100 years ago. Today, the density is just under 60,000 people per square mile. Due to popular demand, the price of inner city land has risen astronomically, a feature of all developing cities. As a result, rather incongruously, the land prices in Bombay are among the highest in the world. This just adds to the overcrowding of the slums, as people are forced to live there as they are unable to afford anything in the city where property costs in the region of US$3180 per sq. t. this, coupled with the short supply of housing, results in an accelerated growth of shanty towns, another case example being the farvelas on the outskirts of many (expansive) Brazilian cities such as Sio Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It is an inescapable upwards escalation into greater levels of poverty, as new migrants to the city locate themselves on the edges of the slums, furthest away from the centre of the city, where the jobs are located and are often built on dangerous land (old mines, near railways, on river marshland etc. and very few have land rights, so there are just squatters with no legal protection. This is a major environmental issue and also poses significant problems to the inhabitants' health, in a country where the death rate is already 7. 9/1000 (as of July 2009) and where the average life expectancy is just 60. Levels of sanitation in the slum areas, such as Dharavi are often of a substandard level. Sewage removal and treatment is minimal and in most areas, non-existent. Running clean water is also scarce, leaving children and babies without adequate levels of hygiene, needed to grow healthily. Electricity connections are also very sparse, so people have to make do with more primitive methods, often far more dangerous than modern methods, such as cooking for example. All of these issues have major social consequences, as the people become ‘trapped' in a permanent state of poverty, unable to better their lives, but remain as it is perceived to have a better standard of living than in the rural areas. In Dharavi itself, the Indian local governments in Bombay and the Maharashtra state are planning a large-scale redevelopment of Dharavi. They plan to clear away areas of the slum housing section by section, replacing the little 1 or 2 storey shacks with 7 floor tenement blocks. Families who can prove they have lived in Dharavi since at least 1995 will; receive free new housing, and everyone will receive temporary accommodation for the duration of the massive redevelopment programme. The remainder of the new housing will be sold cheaply (or rented) on the open and free market that India enjoys with its relatively stable political and economic situation. This however, though it would improve the situation for over 600,000 people rather drastically, it will create a lot of significant conflicts between residents and developers, and may be seen by some as a bit too ‘idealistic', just like Mandela's promise to black South Africans for better housing. The reality is, that these things take time to materialise, if they ever do. The project will not even go ahead unless a majority of the [registered] residents of Dharavi agree to do so. This means that those residents who are not officially registered as residents of Dharavi (a large number of migrant squatters), will not have their opinions counted in any capacity. It is also widely feared that such a development would not yield economic benefits for the developers, and so, much needed residential accommodation for the [ex] residents of Dharavi, will be used for commercial and office space to serve the ever expanding business sector – defeating the whole initial development objective. In conclusion, from the evidence laid out, it is clear that Bombay is suffering heavily as a result of mass urbanisation, and has done throughout its history, spanning back to even before the colonial days of the Raj. Projects such as the expansion of the Bandra Kurla complex threaten the condition of the poorer people, often illegally squatting on land, and are planned to solely benefit the banking and business/commerce sector. Migration from the countryside rural areas adding the issue of urbanisation are increasing the population at a large rate. Alongside this, poor planning and mismanagement from the authorities, failing to address the genuine needs of the city, all result in a city with gigantic disparity, overcrowding in slums and an ‘all encasing' state of impoverishment for the vast majority of the population of the city.

Intensive Pronoun Definition and Examples

In  English grammar, an  intensive pronoun  is a  pronoun ending in -self or -selves that serve to emphasize its antecedent. They are also known as  intensive reflexive pronouns. Intensive pronouns often appear as appositives after nouns or other pronouns. Intensive pronouns have the same forms as reflexive pronouns: myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, oneself, and themselves. Unlike reflexive pronouns, intensive pronouns are not essential to the basic meaning of a sentence. Examples and Observations I have never yet failed to meet a deadline I myself have set up.(Pat Schneider, Writing Alone and With Others. Oxford University Press, 2003)He wondered, as he had many times wondered before, whether he himself was a lunatic.(George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1948)Janis Joplin was a name now associated with an image, one that had grown bigger than the woman​ herself.(Buzzy Jackson, A Bad Woman Feeling Good. Norton, 2005)Watching children make real progress in their language and literacy development is a reward with few rivals, especially because the children themselves greet their own accomplishments with such joy.(Katherine A. Beauchat et al, The Building Blocks of Preschool Success. Guilford Press, 2010)We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.(Mother Teresa)It seems to me, that if you tried hard, you would in time find it possible to become what you yourself would approve.(Charlotte Bro ntà «, Jane Eyre, 1847)When you, our white countrymen, have attempted to do anything for us, it has generally been to deprive us of some right, power, or privilege, which you yourselves would die before you would submit to have taken from you.(Frederick Douglass)Not until the problem itself is clearly diagnosed can a solution be found.(Toby Dodge, Trying to Reconstitute the Iraqi State. Crescent of Crisis, ed. by Ivo Daalder et al. Brookings Institution Press, 2006)I found myself hoping that by the simple fact of extending some humanity towards poor old Ned, offering the unfortunate wretch some small degree of genuine understanding, that I myself had played some worthwhile role in this new and most welcome world of equanimity.(Patrick McCabe, Winterwood. Bloomsbury, 2006) The Difference Between Intensive and Reflexive Pronouns The contrast between reflexive and intensive pronouns is well illustrated with sit down, an intransitive verb that can also be used causatively, e.g. She sat the child down. It can be seen that John sat himself down is a reflexivised causative, whereas John himself sat down  and John sat down himself are intransitive, with an intensive pronoun that relates to the subject NP. Intensive pronouns are generally not placed in structural positions that could be filled by a reflexive pronoun. Watch is a transitive verb which can omit its subject--John watched Mary, John watched himself (on the video), John watched. In this case, an intensive pronoun from the subject NP (John himself watched) would not be likely to be moved to a position after the verb, since it could then be mistaken for a reflexive substitute for the object NP. However, an intensive pronoun could be moved after an explicit object NP (especially if there was a gender difference), e.g. John watched Mary himself. (Robert M. W. Dixon, A Semantic Approach to English Grammar. Oxford University Press, 2005)