The Sacred Divine :: essays research papers

The Sacred Divine I believe the Divine sacred is something more powerful than anything on earth. Not necessarily in a physical sense but more in a spiritual. I feel that the youth of today, more than any other time in the world's history, needs to know something about what their parents and ancestors have found in religion. As we look at today's youth we see a decline in good Christian values or in a better sense the falling away from the good life Jesus has taught us. I remember when was a little boy my father always made me attend every funeral that happened to family or friends, even if I didn't know them. I remember always asking my father if the deceased went to heaven or hell? My father would always tell me if the deceased was a member of the church, followed the ten commandments, and followed the good life taught to us by Jesus, he was enrolled for heaven. If the deceased had never went to church, broke some of the ten commandments, and did not follow the good life, he was consigned to hell. Myself as a six-year- old I never wanted to go to hell. I remember what my Sunday school teachers told of this place where you live in a a fiery pit always in pain. I'm sorry, but that just doesn't sound like fun to me. I began from then on being the best person I could, I never missed church on Sundays, and to the best of my ability tried to live the life Jesus has paved for us. This is by far the most religious experience, that I have ever experienced in my life. I never found myself so part of a religion, that I was so Christian that I was going to live my life in such a way that I was going to heaven. In my judgment there has never been a time in the history of the world when men and women were so eager to find a religion or religious truth. They seem to be looking for something they should have found in their childhood, like I did. I realized that at an early age what the good life was and in knowing that I could live my life accordingly. My relation to the universe is, for me, an all important affair. I can make no attempt to teach everyone the way that I have realized when I was

Helping People in Need a Supererogation or an Obligation

Helping people in need a supererogation or an obligation People in poor nations are starving to death when we are enjoying our delicious meal with our friends and family. There are various governmental aid-projects and privately run charities which are responsible for delivering donations from the relatively wealthy nations to the nations in need. I believe it is a morally right thing to help the people in need, but not every one of us would make donations regularly.Peter Singer uses the drowning child example to make people rethink about this current scenario. He believes that it is our obligation to help the people in poor developing countries. There are objections to his stance, but before considering and discussing from both sides, I am now going to describe and explain the Singer's drowning child example first. Imagine a child is drowning in a shallow pond and saving the child’s life means jumping into the pond and thereby getting one’s clothes wet and muddy. Would you still save the child?All of those having a rational mind will say yes. In spite of the bad consequence of fouling the clothes, saving the child’s life is morally what we ought to do as the importance of the child’s life so far outweighs the little cost of getting one’s clothes wet and muddy. It is within our power to prevent the child’s death without sacrificing something that is of even greater importance. Thus, this is what we ought to do and it is our obligation to prevent something this bad from happening (Singer, 1997).Even when there are other people near the pond who are equally qualified of saving the child but are doing nothing but simply passing by, would you still jump in and save the child? Similarly, all of those being asked said yes. It simply does not make any moral difference to the situation. Undoubtedly, not saving the child in this situation might make one feeling less guilty but everyone thinks that we ought to save the child. We agree that this is our moral obligation and it would be wrong not doing so (Singer, 1997). Then what if the child were being far away, maybe even in another country?Would people still hold the same stance? The answer is yes. Distance and nationality do not make not saving the child just. Whichever child or even adult, if saving his life is what we are able to do without having something of great significance to us being sacrifice, we ought to do that. This is morally what we ought to do without violating other things that are of similar or higher moral importance (Singer, 1972). The situation of the drowning child example is actually synonymous with those hungry children and adults suffering from famine or other disasters, both natural or man-made.If we agree that saving the child that are drowning in a pond is morally what we ought to do and not doing so is unjust, then why should we think otherwise when it comes to helping the people who are suffering in poor developing countries? Why does making regular donations to nations in need not our moral obligation whereas saving the child drowning in a pond is? We have agreed that distance and nationality does not matter in this moral stance. Moreover, the problem of being too far away from the sufferers and we might not be able to come to their aid in time has been overcome by the effort of charities.What is it that stop us from making regular donations? There are explanations to this bipolar situation, giving reasons to help better understanding the causes leading to this global scenario. First of all, saving the drowning child is helping out directly, while making a donation is not. The donation will be distributed to the people in need through the government or some privately run charities. Some of the donation will be used for administrative cost or get swallowed up in corruption.People will never know how much of their donation can really be given to those in need. As corruption is usually a prevalent problem in many of the developing countries, people sometimes have the worry that their donation might not serve to their right purposes but only be ended up in greedy hands. This worry is reasonable but actually most of the donations can get to serve their proper purposes (Giving What We Can, 2012). Although not all of the sum can be used for aid, the part of it that gets to its destination still can make the best of its worth.The aid organizations may not be one-hundred percent efficient, but they can help to solve the problem of distance, serving as an agent for delivery. There are many people around the world who are compassionate about the plight of the others. Charities and governmental organizations collect the aids and help distributing them to the areas in need. I think this is by far the most efficient way of giving out a helping hand. The cost for administration is inevitable and the part of donations spent on it could be seen as for supporting these organizations to keep runnin g.Furthermore, in my point of view, there are always ways to minimize corruption. We can donate money to aid projects that do not involve valuable goods or specifically make donations to programs which serves to tackle the corruption problem in where it is prevailing. The probability of wasting a proportion of the donations should not mean aiding being useless. Those that can get though may make a significant change that we could not imagine. The second explanation is about the psychological difference between the drowning child example and the reality.We feel more related to the sufferers when we could see them. The feeling of guilt for not helping is lesser when we could not see or witness the sufferings (Singer, 1972). Although it makes one feels less guilty without the sight of suffering presenting nearby, it does not make helping those further away a lower priority morally. As we have discussed that distance is not a considering factor in deciding whether it is our obligation t o help or not, both of those from our own country and from the other countries deserve our help.Moreover, in this age of the prosperous development of media technology, charities and governmental aid agencies can effectively show the current situation of the emaciated children to the public. Therefore, it does not sound very plausible to me saying that people not making donations is because of the lack of awareness of the issue. According to Peter Singer, a moral philosopher, if we are able to prevent something very bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything morally significant, we ought, morally, to do it (Singer, 1972).Some people object this position. I am going to summarize those objections. For one of the reasons is that this is simply too extreme as most people do not judge those who are ignorant of the others' suffering. People usually criticize those who violate some moral norms, for example: murdering, sex assault,etc. Some writers, including Sidgwick and Urms on, Stated that if the moral code that we set is too hard too uphold, there will be a general breakdown in the moral system (Singer, 1972).The moral code that we are currently using mainly includes not invading the others' privileges, for example: stealing, killing, etc and other things that could help keeping the society safe and sound. Helping the poor nations is not necessary for the wealthy nations. Thus, people usually do not see it as what they must do. This is regrettable but understandable. If making regular donations to those in need is being made to be an obligation and a moral code, it might be too hard for everyone to follow. Eventually, people might choose not to follow anything from the moral code (Singer, 1972).Singer argues that if the conduct is good, why should we categorize it into morally obligatory or morally optional? If morality means doing something good, then shouldn't a good conduct be in the moral code? Moreover, drawing a line to divide conducts into the aforementioned categories is by no means easy. It is hard to define the standard to be used for distinguishing conducts into two kinds. Helping the people in need in other countries is always be defined as a generous and selfless gesture. However, Singer thinks otherwise. He thinks that â€Å"our traditional moral categories are upset†.He objects the traditional distinction that is drawn between duty and charity by using the current standard. It is our moral obligation to prevent as much sufferings as possible in the meantime not sacrificing something else of comparable moral importance (Singer, 1972). How does a man act is actually influenced by the general societal values and the people around him. When a man making a donation or joining voluntary services to help those in need is being praised for his generosity, he would think that what he has done is a supererogation.Actually, coming to the others' aid to prevent suffering without sacrificing as much is an obligation tha t people usually overlook. This situation is for long being shaped by the general social atmosphere and this is what being upsetting. The moral attitude of people is shaped by each other and also the society. Admittedly, helping those is need is always greatly encouraged. However, this is by no means enough. Preventing as much sufferings as possible without causing sacrifices as significant is morally obligatory and not doing so should be seen as unjust (Singer, 1972).I agree with Singer that if it is within one's ability to help, saving other people from suffering seems to be just and morally right, while otherwise seems wrong. Although there might be concerns that what we have given might not be able to serve their greatest worth, I believe that the part of aids that get to the hands of those in need is able to make a significant change in their lives. There are worries that helping those poor developing countries might worsen the current situation. Firstly, those countries usuall y have a higher birth-rate.The aids that we give now would only support them to have a even greater population that the countries themselves are not able to feed (Giving What We Can, 2012). This might leads to a greater demand in foreign help and eventually turns into an ever-expanding cycle. This worry is understandable but there are always other alternatives to help in this kind of situation. For fear of the problem of overpopulation, donations could be made to organizations that help in promoting and enhancing birth-control in the developing countries.Moreover, the reason behind the scene of them having a high birth-rate is the high mortality rate of children. They need a large family size to ensure having enough manpower to take care of the family, to work and to earn. If their lives were not this hard, the birth-rate would presumably decline (Giving What We Can, 2012). The other worry is that the developing countries might become more and more dependent on the aids (Giving What We Can, 2012). This worry is again not necessary as there are many aid projects that are actually aiming at helping those developing nations to be self-supportive.People in some of the poor nations are taught to grow crops for supporting themselves and for selling to make money. Donations could be made to support this kind of projects. Moreover, helping those in need does not necessarily means lengthening their life expectancy but might be about improving their living quality (Giving What We Can, 2012). One example is performing a simple eye operation to cure their eye diseases so that they could see the world more clearly. It is our obligation to help the others in need when it is within our own power without sacrificing something of higher importance.Death and sufferings are things that should be prevented. This is what we ought to do. With the gap between the rich and the poor growing everyday, our moral attitude towards giving out aids should be revised. Helping should not be s een as a supererogation but an moral obligation. References: Giving What We Can. (2012). Myths About Aids, from http://www. givingwhatwecan. org/why-give/myths-about-aid Singer, Peter. (1972). Famine, Affluence, and Morality. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1(1), 230-234. Singer, Peter. (1997). The Drowning Child and the Expanding Circle. 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Depression And Its Effects On Mental Illness Essay

JK Rowling once said It s so difficult to describe depression to someone who s never been there, because it s not sadness. In today’s world, more than 350 million people suffering from depression. It can be easily seen as big part of the truth from JK Rowling. We as a society suffering more from our approaches and how we define our problems. In United states more than 15 million Americans, or 9.5% of the population in any given one-year period. At one or more points in their lives, 10%-25% of women and 5%-12% of men more likely to become clinically depressed. In fact, it is referred to as the common cold of mental illness. It’s an enigmatic problem which doesn’t stand alone. Treatments, regulations, induvial financial freedom, their physical health and so on is just the one of many topics that involves in depression. Involvement of different factors are creating pressure on many patients through their disorders. Reason of depression and it factors are endless whi ch are making it harder for the patient to fully express their self. Depression has always been with people and carried on by them from very first times of human lives. Historical documents from every of big civilizations throughout the ages point to the long-standing existence of depression as a health problem, and the continuous and sometimes ingenious struggles people have made to find effective ways to treat this illness. It was initially called melancholia. The earliest memories of melancholiaShow MoreRelatedDepression And Its Effects On Mental Illness1070 Words   |  5 Pagespleasurable than to live through each day with depression. Several societies consider mental health a topic of taboo in today’s society. Due to the lack of education and conversation about mental illnesses and how to properly handle them, many people are ignorant to the subject. Depression, in particular, is an incredibly common disorder and, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), about 1 in 5 adults are diagnosed with a mental disorder (3). A mind-baffling number, one in fiveRead MoreEffects Of Depression On Mental Illness1383 Words   |  6 PagesDepression is a disabling condition that impacts a person’s relationships, life, and health (Nardi, Francesconi, Catena-Dell’Osso, Bellantuono, 2013). People develop depression from many life stressors, including loss of a loved one, low self-esteem, lack of social support, job loss, natural life stressors, and many more. Many types of therapy can alleviate the symptoms of depression for an individual. However, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been shown to have the most consistent enduring effectsRead MoreMajor Depression And Its Effects On Mental Illness Essay769 Words   |  4 PagesOne in four adults−approximately 61.5 million Americans experiences mental illness in a give year. One in 17−about 13.6 million live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder (The National Alliance on Mental Health,2013). A person’s mind automatically changes during the state of depression, and he thinks of several negative things all at one time. He might feel that, he is always facing failures every now and then. A person might be suffering from aRead MoreMental Illness Rehab in Macbeth by William Shakespeare788 Words   |  3 PagesIn Macbeth it went insomnia, hallucinations, and depression. All common symptoms of a mental disorder, luckily they all have cures. There’s millions of mental disorders, some more common than others, all still take a huge place within mental illness, which doesn’t make them any less important than any other illness. The topic is mental illness, sit down and explain the problem, causes of said mental illness, effects of said mental illnesses, and the solutions to nail it down. The problem that’sRead MoreWhat Does Depression Mean?896 Words   |  4 PagesWhat does depression mean? When you hear the word depression you think of being down or sad, but you don’t usually think of it as a mental illness or disease. In today’s society we hide depression from others because we feel it is not acceptable to be sad, or to let others know that we have faults. Depression is a darkness that can overwhelm you, it can take your happiness away and replaces it with negative thoughts. Many people use depression to attract attention, which gives depression a bad reputationRead MoreThe Mega Marketing Of Depression1448 Words   |  6 PagesIllness is a period of sickness that can be further categorized into two parts: mental illness or physical illness. Physical illness can occur anywhere on or in one’s body, while mental illness occurs in the brain. Since mental illness occurs in such a sensitive area it differs from physical illness in the sense that there is no universal symptom for a certain mental illness such as depression, but there are hundreds of sym ptoms for a mental disorder throughout the world. These inconsistencies basedRead MoreWhat Is The Mental Health? Essay1628 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is the mental health? Mental health embraces emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It has an effect on thinking, feeling, and acting. It also helps to define how people handle stress and make choices. Mental health is momentous through the stages of life, from childhood and adolescence via adulthood. In the life, if someone experience mental health problems, it has an effect on thinking, behaviour, and mood. Many causes contribute to mental health problems, containing: Life experiencesRead MoreMental Illness And Condition That Influences The Brain1654 Words   |  7 Pages Define the mental illness. Depression is a mental illness and condition that influences the brain. The mental illness affects an individual’s feelings and thoughts negatively which results in the lowering of one’s mood. 2. Describe the nature of the mental illness. Depression is a real mental condition that affects many people around the world. It affects all ages, social backgrounds and genders. There are many signs and symptoms of depression. Common symptoms of depression are sleepingRead MoreTaking a Look at Teenage Depression1434 Words   |  6 PagesDepression: severe despondency and dejection typically felt over a period of time and accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy. Depression: a debilitating mental and physical disorder. Depression: an illness that has an uncountable amount of treatments within reach of anyone who suffers, yet in the US alone over 2000 children between the age of 10 and 19 completed in ending their life (National Alliance on Mental Illness). As Kevin Breel speaks about his struggle with trying to allowRead MoreMajor Depressive Disorder And Its Variants1615 Words   |  7 PagesSystem and Peripheral Nervous System of which participate in voluntary and involuntary controlled functions. Detrimental e ffects can occur if there are issues that interfere with normal functioning of this system that can lead to one of many mental and physiological illnesses. Notably, Depression is one of the most common mental ailments that occur in about 6% of adults in America (Mental Health America). It can be characterized when one displays a lack of interest in activities, continuous anxious or

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Depression Is Not Only A State Of Feeling Sad - 1150 Words

Depression is not only a state of feeling sad, it is an illness that overpowers the ability to feel emotion, whether bad or good. Depression involves the mind, and it also involves the body and thoughts. This disorder can be passed down through genes or can be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. A biological cause of this disorder would be something such as enlarged adrenal glands. People who are depressed have a lower count of neurotransmitters involved with depression. An imbalance of hormones can also be connected to depression, therefore, when having too high of count of a hormone related to stress in particular (cortisol), depression may occur. Unfortunately, depression affects twenty percent of all Americans. Women are more likely to become depressed than men. Genes also have a lot to do with Depression. While studying twins, scientists have found that there is a powerful genetic influence in depression. Identical twins are three times more possible to have depression than fraternal twins raised in the same environment. In lecture we discussed that rates of MDD are two times greater in those with firs degree relatives. Symptoms caused by major depression can vary from person to person. Although depression may occur only one time during a person’s life, some people have multiple episodes of depression. During these episodes, symptoms occur most of the day, nearly every day for two weeks and may include: feeling sad and hopeless, and loss of interest, asShow MoreRelatedSadness857 Words   |  4 Pagesupset etc. Sadness is a state of mind that comes and goes as it pleases. Today we can be sad tomorrow we can forget about yesturday. Life is about going through bad and good moments so it`s normal to feel sad sometimes. Sadness can manifest itself through emotions like being angry, stressed out, nervous or just depressed. Depression is a more serious case of sadness. Depression means negative thoughts and lasts for much longer. Many people comm it suicide because of depression so, it`s a dangerous diseaseRead MoreSymptoms And Symptoms Of The Depression970 Words   |  4 PagesMajor depression is occurring when you feel depressed most of the time for most of the days of the week. Some symptoms for this type of depression include weight loss or weight gain, suicidal thoughts, being tired, having no energy, feeling guilty, and feeling worthless. Talking to a therapist can help with this. The doctor will usually make you meet with a mental health specialist who will help with the depression you’re feeling. Doctors also recommend antidepressants. If those two things don’tRead MoreHistory of Depression1466 Words   |  6 PagesHistory of Depression Depressive illness has been known since biblical times. The word depression comes from the Latin word deprimere (to press down). Thus it means feeling pressed down, sad or low. In the late Middle Ages, religious leaders believed depression was caused by posession of evil spirits. The German religious reformer Martin Luther wrote All heaviness of the mind and melancholy comes of the Devil. Through the years depression has been treated with such remedies as whipping, bloodlettingRead MoreGraduation Speech : High School1376 Words   |  6 Pagespassions. I notice my demeanor was not the same I felt sad and just to myself. When I realize that my moods and behavior weren’t the same is when I no longer played soccer I had lost interest, that’s when I realize something was wrong with me. I got out of the early stages of depression by going to the gym and just finding that light in life again to stay motivated and push forward with life it wasn’t easy but I was able to overcome it. Depression is considered a mood disorder that is a very commonRead MoreWhat Does Depression Mean?896 Words   |  4 PagesWhat does depression mean? When you hear the word depression you think of being down or sad, but you don’t usually think of it as a mental illness or disease. In today’s society we hide depression from others because we feel it is not acceptable to be sad, or to let others know that we have faults. Depression is a darkness that can overwhelm you, it can take your happiness away and replaces it with negative thoughts. Many people use depression to attract attention, which gives depression a bad reputationRead MoreMental Illness : A Mental Disorder1463 Words   |  6 Pagessome form of mental or behavioral disorder in 2010 alone. Now, with all this information we must first ask, what is a mental illness? The definition given by the National Alliance of Mental Illness, or NAMI, states that â€Å"A mental illness is a condition that impacts a person’s thinking, feeling, or mood and may affect his or her ability to relate to others and function on a daily basis.† Many psychological disorders are developed through genetics and are passed through genes. A person with parentsRead MoreSocial Anxiety Disorder ( Sad )1238 Words   |  5 PagesSocial Anxiety Disorder Affecting One’s Life Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is the most common mental illness in the United States. About 40 million people suffer from this mental disorder. Many tend to confuse this disorder with shyness and nervousness, which are not considered a part of the phobia. Having a SAD can interfere with one’s daily life cycle. People who have SAD often starts to develop this illness during their childhood and adolescence years. Patients areRead MoreDepression : Symptoms And Treatment Essay1592 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is Depression? Depression is a condition in which a person feels discouraged, sad, hopeless, unmotivated, or disinterested in life in general (Depression II). Depression is a serious mental illness that does the aforementioned as well as much more. When a person is depressed, it can interfere with daily and normal functioning as well as can cause pain for the person with it and those around them, and this is what doctors call ‘Clinical Depre ssion’. Depression is more than just a simple sadness;Read MoreMajor Depressive Disorder ( Mdd )1428 Words   |  6 Pagesa person experiences only major depressive episodes but no hypomanic, manic, or mixed episodes† (Butcher, Hooley, Mineka, 2014, p. 618). Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is also referred to Major Depression. MDD is also â€Å"characterized by a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once-pleasurable activities. Major depression is disabling and prevents a person from functioning normally. Some people may experience only a single episode withinRead MoreMisrepresentation Of Depression Throughout Society1720 Words   |  7 PagesSandis Walter English 122-12 Professor Schilling 16 October 2017 Misrepresentation of Depression Throughout Society In America, only 50% of people with major depressive disorder seek treatment for their illness (Holmes). Just as many people avoid seeing a physician, people will avoid facing mental health because of the fear that something is wrong. Through stigmas created in society, mental illness is viewed as unnatural, and having a therapist or taking medication is the easy way out. Many articles

Seeing Through the Smog free essay sample

The first thing you notice is the smog. It drapes over the city in countless gray layers, extending from the sky to the ground. Then, just as your eyes begin to adjust, you’re hit by the smell. It’s that smell of factories and seaside pollution, of too many gas stations and too many cars. And, before you have time to think about what could possibly come next, you hear it. A constant stream of impatient honks and beeps mix with a poorly orchestrated ensemble of noises that charge at you from the televisions inside various surrounding apartments, as if maximum volume was the only option on the remote. And while trying to hear your own thoughts above all the madness, you will barely manage to step out of the way of the angry and unnecessarily rushed driver who just came very close to hitting you (as if pedestrians were outdated and people were born in cars), and you will probably wonder, â€Å"What IS this place?!† I’d like to welcome you to my heaven on eart h. We will write a custom essay sample on Seeing Through the Smog or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Before I moved to Greenwich in 2000, I lived in Beirut, Lebanon. I have gotten a pretty interesting range of reactions when I have told people that. In elementary and middle school, it was often met with an â€Å"Oh, in New Jersey!† or, from the few that knew it was a country, â€Å"Wait, so are you like, Muslim?† (Thankfully the reactions matured a bit more with high school and the war in ’06.) Initially though, it was frustrating coming from somewhere no one seemed to have heard anything about. Manaeesh (these thyme and sesame seed covered pizza-like things that deserve an essay of their own) were replaced with bagels, clusters of apartments turned into streets with actual houses (it took me several months to grasp the concept of basements), and the half hour of morning Arabic prayer led by Soeur Therese (one of the nuns at Jamhour) was cut down to a speedy, â€Å"I pledge allegiance†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then came the war. The newspaper and TV flashed images of bom bs, destruction, and death. Phone calls from family in Beirut became more and more infrequent. Three years passed before I was able to go back again, and in those three years I did what so many do in the face of unwanted change: I shut my eyes and ignored it. The summer I finally went back was a slap to the face. When I returned, I expected nothing less than perfection. Instead, buildings I once played around had crumbled from explosions; the number of people, dirty and barefoot on the streets, had more than doubled, and my understanding of Arabic had vanished. Angry and confused, I kept asking myself where had my fairytale gone? My fifth day there, though, I had my big (excuse the cliche) epiphany. I had been waiting for my cousin outside of the nearby sandwich place, when a family pulled its car up next to me. The father rolled down the window and asked me in heavy Arabic, â€Å"Hello, could you tell me how many hours until this place closes?† It took me a few seconds, but I slowly answered, â€Å"In about four.† He thanked me and drove away. I stood there for a moment, trying to get a handle on what had just happened. Then I realized; I had understood. I had responded, in ARABIC! In what I think of as one of my happiest moments of clarity, I finally accepted that while so many things had changed, nothing was truly different. Buildings may have crumbled, but the country still stood strong. This provided me with a certain global awareness and cultural appreciation that I would not have had had it not been for the war. But these realizations extend further than just the boundaries of Lebanon. In August of 2009, I was part of a group of high school students from Trinity Church that traveled to the Dominican Republic. Our one-week trip was spent building a bakery and working with children in the village of Consuelo. While the manual labor was certainly rewarding, it was the people who left the greatest impression on me. There was the little boy, who so animatedly struggled to tell our group leader a story using the limited English he knew; Tete, one of the oldest women in the community, whose apparent love and devotion to her village and the people around her so strongly reminded me of my own family ties; the local translator, who, by joining us through language, nurtured a bond far beyond proverbial boundaries. It was with each of these people, with the village as a whole, that I felt a connection unlike any other. While many would feel uncomfortable with such an alien situation, an unknown language, an unknown culture, and an unknown place, Lebanon had fostered in me a s ense of adaptability and acceptance. In the people of Consuelo, I observed the same pride and cultural resilience that I feel for Beirut. Coming from a town like Greenwich makes it difficult for many to get past the cultural and language barriers presented by a new country. But in the same way that I remain hopeful and optimistic for Beirut, I remain open and faithful for Consuelo. Now, take a glimpse at the city again. The smog has cleared, and when you look through the buildings, standing tall and glorious despite their battle wounds, you can make out the people of Beirut. Masses of families and friends on the beach are oblivious to anything but the hummus in their stomachs and the warm waters of the Mediterranean on their toes; a man rides his bike down the sidewalk, toting a basket of fresh manaeesh just waiting to be eaten; a woman, in the midst of traffic, reaches out of her car window and gives a bottle of water to the frazzled boy wandering the streets. You step out of the way of the hurried driver, and he shouts a frantic apology out the window while throwing you a friendly wave. And now that you can finally hear your own thoughts, you will stop wondering and you will just know, â€Å"This place is perfection.†

Isotopes, sub-atomic particles and relative atomic mass free essay sample

Isotopes, sub-atomic particles and relative atomic mass Sub-atomic particles A subatomic particle Is a particle smaller than an atom: It may be elementary or composite. In 1905, Albert Einstein demonstrated the physical reality of the photons, hypothesized by Max Planck in 1900, in order to solve the problem of black body radiation In thermodynamics. In 1874, G. Johnstone Stoney postulated a rnlnlmum unit of electrical charge, for which he suggested the name electron in 1891. In 1897, J. J. Thomson confirmed Stoneys conjecture by discovering the first subatomic particle, the electron (now denoted e-). Subsequent speculation about the structure of atoms was severely constrained by Ernest Rutherfords 1907 gold foll experiment, showing that the atom is mainly empty space, with almost all its mass concentrated in a (relatively) tiny atomic nucleus. The development of the quantum theory led to the understanding of chemistry in terms of the arrangement of electrons in the mostly empty volume of atoms. We will write a custom essay sample on Isotopes, sub-atomic particles and relative atomic mass or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Particle physics and nuclear physics concern themselves with the study of these particles, their interactions, and matter made up of them which do not aggregate Into atoms. These particles include atomic constituents such s electrons, protons, and neutrons (protons and neutrons are actually composite particles, made up of quarks), as well as other particles such as photons and neutrinos which are produced copiously In the sun. However, most of the particles that have been discovered and studied are not encountered under normal earth conditions; they are produced in cosmic rays and during scattering processes in particle accelerators. Isotopes Isotopes are variants of a particular chemical element. While all isotopes of a given element share the same number of protons, each isotope differs from the others In its number of neutrons. Radioactive isotopes The existence of isotopes was first suggested in 1912 by the radiochemist Frederick Soddy, based on studies of radioactive decay chains which indicated about 40 1 OF3 ditterent species described as radioelements (i. e. radioactive elements) between uranium and lead, although the periodic table only allowed for 1 1 elements from uranium to lead. Several attempts to separate these new radioelements chemically had failed. For example, Soddy had shown in 1910 that mesothorium (later shown to be Ra-228), radium (Ra-226, the longest-lived isotope), and thorium X (Ra-224) are impossible to separate. Attempts to place the radioelements in the periodic table led Soddy and Kazimierz FaJans independently to propose their radioactive in 1913, to the effect that alpha decay produced an element two places to the left in the periodic table, while beta decay emission produced an element one place to the right. Soddy recognized that emission of an alpha particle followed by two beta particles led to the formation of an element chemically identical to the initial element but with a mass four units lighter and with different radioactive properties. Soddy proposed that several types of atoms (differing in radioactive properties) could occupy the ame place in the table. For example, the alpha-decay of uranium-235 forms thorium-231 , while the beta decay of actinium-230 forms thorium-230 The term isotope, Greek for at the same place, was suggested to Soddy by Margaret Todd, a Scottish physician and family friend, during a conversation in which he explained his ideas to her. In 1914 T. W. Richards found variations between the atomic weight of lead from different mineral sources, attributable to variations in isotopic composition due to different radioactive origins Stable isotopes The first evidence for isotopes of a stable (non-radioactive) element was found by J. J. Thomson in 1913 as part of his exploration into the composition of canal (positive ions). Thomson channelled streams of neon ions through a magnetic and an electric field and measured their deflection by placing a photographic plate in their path. Each stream created a glowing patch on the plate at the point it struck. Thomson observed two separate patches of light on the photographic plate (see image), which suggested two different parabolas of deflection. Thomson eventually concluded that some of the atoms in the neon gas were of higher mass than the rest. F. W. Aston subsequently discovered different stable isotopes for numerous elements sing a mass spectrograph. In 1919 Aston studied neon with sufficient resolution to show that the two isotopic masses are very close to the integers 20 and 22, and that neither is equal to the known molar mass (20. 2) of neon gas. This is an example of Astons whole number rule for isotopic masses, which states that large deviations of elemental molar masses from integers are primarily due to the fact that the element is a mixture of isotopes. Aston similarly showed that the molar mass of chlorine (35. 45) is a weighted average of the almost integral masses for the two isotopes Cl-35 and Cl-37. Relative atomic mass An atomic weight (relative atomic mass) of an element from a specified source is the ratio of the average mass per atom of the element to 1/12 of the mass of an atom of 12C The relative masses of atoms are measured using an instrument called a mass spectrometer, invented by the English physicist Francis William Aston (1877-1945) when ne was working in Cambridge wit J J. Thomson. It was in his use ot this instrument that the existence of isotopes of elements was discovered. Aston eventually discovered many of the naturally occurring isotopes of non-radioactive elements. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1922. Briefly, the mass pectrometer works by bombarding gaseous atoms with fast-moving electrons which knock out an electron from the atom. The cations formed are brought down on to a detector in turn according to their mass. The instrument provides a measure of the relative mass (compared to 12C) and the relative number of each isotope. The diagrams below represent the mass spectrum of naturally occurring chlorine. The above right spectrum has been represented so that the most abundant isotope has a relative abundance of 100%, with the other mass peaks scaled in relation to this. The relative atomic mass of chlorine is now calculated as shown below: