Alfred Nobel & His Prizes Essays - Nobel Family, Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel & His Prizes In addressing hope, Alfred Nobel referred to it as ?nature's veil for hiding truth's nakedness?2. Such a statement encompasses the struggle associated with Nobel's lifework. Alfred Nobel's existence spanned many realms of thought and being. He was a scientist, a writer, a philosopher and humanitarian, and ultimately a philanthropist. It was probably this myriad of influences and inspirations that injected him into the core of friction between science and society, between knowledge and application. This work will elucidate Nobel's motivation for creating the Nobel Prize with the assertion that the prize is an instrument used to reconcile the incongruity between science and humanity. Alfred-Bernhard was born to his mother Caroline Andriette Nobel on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden.1 At birth he was a physically quiet and fragile infant, unlike his two older brothers, who were four and two years old respectively, and were quite energetic. Alfred's mother nourished me to health and cared for him with her bracing maternal touch. In the words of Erik Bergengren, it took ?all her tender care to keep his flickering life flame burning. She alone believed and succeeded when all others had given up hope.?2 In the following years Alfred grew, although still not physically dynamic, his mind gained much strength in the form of knowledge and an interested insatiability. Alfred writes of his school terms in the following poem: We find him now a boy. His weakness still makes him a stranger in the little world wherein he moves. When fellow-boys are playing he joins them not, a pensive looker-on; and thus debarred the pleasures of his age his mind keeps brooding over those to come.3 It is evident that Alfred felt he was physically incapable of joining with his classmates in their activities. Partly as a consequence of this Alfred gained the highest marks possible in the academic classes he took at school.2 His upbringing was an integral part of the formation of his inventive mind and logic as well as his persistence and endurance. The role of Immanuel Nobel, Alfred's father, was also crucial in molding Alfred into the man, inventor, and ingenious mind he became. It was almost as if the will and ability to invent and innovate was passed down through the generations amongst Alfred and his ancestry. His family was descended from none other than Olof Rudbeck, the best-known technical genius of Sweden's 17th century era as a Great Power in Northern Europe.3 Keeping this in mind and the fact that he was born into a family of engineers, namely, his father, we can plainly see a major avenue of influence on Alfred Nobel and his inventive ways of industry. Furthermore, having seen the source of his career choice we can now examine certain events that placed Alfred in the core of invention and industry. A year before Alfred's birth, the house he was soon to grace, lay in ashes, cradled by arms of smoke. This resulted in poverty for the family. Immanuel Nobel found himself at a loss for capital and submerged in debt and deprivation. He took a loan from his brother in-law and began inventing again only to be disheartened again by an explosion in his factory.3 Faced with the reality and responsibility of having to provide for a sizeable family Immanuel looked east, to Russia. ?Sweden now represented the scene of his bankruptcy and business losses, so he decided to leave his native land and search for his ?pot of gold' in Russia?.3 Alfred's father eventually established a position in the Russian iron mills and was able to provide for private tutoring for his sons. ?Perhaps the only way to explain the breadth and profundity of Alfred's knowledge is to call him largely self-taught.?3 Alfred was able to write in six different languages and took interest in various subjects of study; treating all of them with the utmost in significance. However, the episode of bankruptcy and paucity had left its blemish on Alfred's disposition and psyche. As he matured he gained a certain reputation for being ?gloomy, sarcastic, and misanthropic?.2 In the struggle to give Alfred and his brothers the material necessities Immanuel, their father, also bestowed upon them the ?full benefit

Heinkel He 280 Fighter in World War II

Heinkel He 280 Fighter in World War II The Heinkel He 280 was the worlds first true jet fighter. Developed by Ernst Heinkel, the aircraft built upon his earlier successes with the civilian He 178. First flying in 1941, the He 280 proved superior to the piston-engine fighters then in use by the Luftwaffe. Despite this success, Heinkel had difficulty gaining official support for the aircraft until late 1942. Plagued by engine issues, the He 280s development was eventually halted in favor of the Messerschmitt Me 262. The He 280 represents a missed opportunity for the Luftwaffe as it could have been operational a year earlier than the more famous Messerschmitt and aided Germany in maintaining air superiority over Europe. Design In 1939, Ernst Heinkel began the jet age with the first successful flight of the He 178. Flown by Erich Warsitz, the He 178 was powered by a turbojet engine designed by Hans von Ohain. Long interested in high-speed flight, Heinkel presented the He 178 to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Reich Air Ministry, RLM) for further evaluation. Demonstrating the aircraft for RLM leaders Ernst Udet and Erhard Milch, Heinkel was disappointed when neither showed much interest. Little support could be found from RLMs superiors as Hermann Gà ¶ring preferred to endorse piston-engine fighters of proven design. Undeterred, Heinkel began moving forward with a purpose-built fighter that would incorporate the He 178s jet technology. Beginning in late 1939, the project was designated He 180. The initial result was a traditional looking aircraft with two engines mounted in nacelles under the wings. Like many Heinkel designs the He 180 featured elliptically-shaped wings and a dihedral tailplane with twin fins and rudders. Other features of the design included a tricycle landing gear configuration and the worlds first ejection seat. Designed by a team led by Robert Lusser, the He 180 prototype was complete by summer 1940. Aircraft designer Ernst Heinkel. Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-B21019 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 Development While Lussers team was making progress, engineers at Heinkel were encountering problems with the Heinkel HeS 8 engine which was intended to power the fighter. As a result, initial work with the prototype was limited to unpowered, glide tests which began on September 22, 1940. It was not until March 30, 1941, that test pilot Fritz Schfer took the aircraft up under its own power. Re-designated the He 280, the new fighter was demonstrated for Udet on April 5, but, as with the He 178, it failed to earn his active support. In another attempt to earn RLMs blessing, Heinkel organized a competition flight between the He 280 and a piston-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Flying an oval course, the He 280 completed four laps before the Fw 190 had finished three. Again rebuffed, Heinkel redesigned the airframe making it smaller and lighter. This worked well with the lower thrust jet engines then available. Working with limited funding, Heinkel continued to refine and improve its engine technology. On January 13, 1942, test pilot Helmut Schenk became the first to successfully use the ejection seat when he was forced to abandon his aircraft. RLM Support As designers struggled with the HeS 8 engine, other power plants, such as the V-1s Argus As 014 pulsejet were considered for the He 280. In 1942, a third version of the HeS 8 was developed and placed in the aircraft. On December 22, another demonstration was organized for RLM which featured a mock dog fight between the He 280 and the Fw 190. During the demonstration, the He 280 defeated the Fw 190, as well as showed impressive speed and maneuverability. Finally excited about the He 280s potential, RLM ordered 20 test aircraft, with a follow-on order for 300 production aircraft. Heinkel He 280 Specifications (He 280 V3):GeneralLength: 31 ft. 1 in.Wingspan: 40 ft.Height: 10 ft.Wing Area: 233 sq. ft.Empty Weight: 7,073 lbs.Loaded Weight: 9,416 lbs.Crew: 1PerformancePower Plant: 2 Ãâ€" Heinkel HeS.8 turbojetRange: 230 milesMax Speed: 512 mphCeiling: 32,000 ft.ArmamentGuns: 3 x 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon Continuing Problems As Heinkel moved forward, problems continued to plague the HeS 8. As a result, the decision was made to abandon the engine in favor of the more advanced HeS 011. This led to delays in the He 280 program and Heinkel was forced to accept that another companies engines would need to be used. After assessing the BMW 003, the decision was made to use the Junkers Jumo 004 engine. Larger and heavier than the Heinkel engines, the Jumo drastically reduced the He 280s performance. The aircraft flew for the first time with the Jumo engines on March 16, 1943. With the reduced performance caused by the use of the Jumo engines, the He 280 was at a severe disadvantage to its primary competitor, the Messerschmitt Me 262. Several days later, on March 27, Milch ordered Heinkel to cancel the He 280 program and focus on bomber design and production. Angered by RLMs treatment of the He 280, Ernst Heinkel remained bitter about the project until his death in 1958. Only nine He 280s were ever built. A Lost Opportunity Had Udet and Milch seized upon the He 280s potential in 1941, the aircraft would have been in frontline service more than a year earlier than the Me 262. Equipped with three 30mm cannon and capable of 512 mph, the He 280 would have provided a bridge between the Fw 190 and Me 262, as well as would have permitted the Luftwaffe to maintain air superiority over Europe at a time when the Allies would have lacked a comparable aircraft. While engine issues plagued the He 280, this was a constant issue with early jet engine design in Germany. Messerschmitt Me 262. Photograph Courtesy of the US Air Force In most cases, government funding was lacking at the key early stages of development. Had Udet and Milch initially backed the aircraft, the engine problems most likely could have been rectified as part of an expanded jet engine program. Fortunately for the Allies, this was not the case and a new generation of piston-engine fighters, such as the North American P-51 Mustang and later versions of the Supermarine Spitfire, allowed them to take control of the skies from the Germans. The Luftwaffe would not field an effective jet fighter until the Me 262, which appeared in the wars final stages and was unable to significantly influence its outcome.

A Womans World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Womans World - Essay Example Sarah Moore Grimke sets the mood of her letter by talking about the set or "appropriate sphere" as she terms it, for women to lack intellectual inclinations and invite discussions about her character by not dressing, eating, socializing in a certain way or even reading novels that have been shunned by the press or people in general. This "appropriate sphere" has come to mean many things to many people where feminist policies and their formulation is concerned. Further, if she is to be believed, this period of time boasted of a distinct class consisting of a sizable amount of people, where owing to a certain amount of awareness and achievement of academic qualifications, women believe that arranged marriages are not the end all and be all. Also, this class of people held the belief that catering to the husband's every whim and fancy is not the only chore in life. While these ideals struck many as "absurd", in Grimke's own words, majority of the women were "trained" to carry out wifely duties and not bother about choosing a husband of their own liking. In this regard, it was made clear that a woman may never have a choice in anything in her life. Was this fair According to Grimke - not at all. In her letter, Grimke uses an underscore of sarcasm to show the absurdity of the situation where men enjoyed more freedom than women merely due physical strength and other attributes. Unfair as it was, this attitude shaped the belief that women are a machine that produces babies besides cooking and cleaning - a machine that does not and should not, require any kind of education or intellectual stimulation, let alone having a say in how her home must be run. This thought process was mainly an overthrow from the common notion that men are more superior. This was apparent in the fact that even if a woman did the heavy work that generally only a man does, she is not given the same pay or compensation as a man. In this way, there was always major discrimination regarding the areas of work that a woman could enter into - if at all she was allowed to embark on making a career for herself. Further, there was consensus to slavery especially among women, who have always been regarded among min orities. This led Grimke to end her letter by saying that rendering dignity alone will lead a woman to truly serve and respect her husband besides giving her a real objective and sense of duty in life. Therefore, in her letter, Grimke mirrored the trends of her time by going ahead of the same to show her concern for this plight. TOPIC 2: The Spiritual Role of Women (550 words - excluding title) No woman is complete unless she reaches into her soul to show the world her strength and to use this very ocean of strength to build a family and keep a happy home. In the Appeal to the Christian Women of the South - Heath Anthology of American Literature, Angelina Grimke starts her letter by taking a stance - one that revolves around genuine interest in the welfare of women belonging to the Christian sympathy, as she refers to it. Talking to the women from the same religious denomination as that of the Gospel fellowship, Angelina wishes to