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Mankind's Relationship with the Universe, 2005.
An analysis of the relevance of physics and cosmology to modern mankind.
1,540 words (approx. 6.2 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 50.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the implications, relevance, and significance that the current, best theories in physics and cosmology have for the understanding of our lives and our place in the world. In particular, it seeks to determine what our best theories in physics and cosmology, including relativity theory, quantum theory, and big bang cosmology, imply about the nature of the physical world and about the nature of our selves. An overview of these best theories is followed by an analysis of their implications, relevance, and significance today, followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.
From the Paper
"According to Bergmann (2004), the general theory of relativity was developed in response to the need to extend the new space and time concepts of the special theory of relativity from the domain of electric and magnetic phenomena to all of physics and, particularly, to the theory of gravitation. Because space and time relations are the foundation of all physical phenomena, researchers recognized the inherent constraints in applying mutually contradictory concepts of space and time to explain different types of interactions, particularly in view of the fact that the same particles may interact with each other in several different ways-electromagnetically, gravitationally, and through the so-called nuclear forces (Bergmann 2004)."
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Space Telescopes, 2005.
A comparison of the cost effectiveness of two different space telescopes.
1,069 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 37.95
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Abstract
This paper compares the Hubble Space Telescope to its potential successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), in terms of their cost effectiveness. The paper looks at the technology of both telescopes to see which will bring continue to bring back the most valuable information, their respective missions, the cost of deploying and maintaining them in orbit, and the cost of repairs, if any, of the telescopes to determine the cost effectiveness of the telescopes.
From the Paper
"Ever since its launch in 1990, the Hubble telescope has been orbiting the Earth at 600 kilometers above, bringing valuable information and photos from space. Its history goes back to 1977, when the Congress approved the project funds. However, operations didn't take off until 1981, when the Space Telescope Science Institute was founded, designed especially for the production and research of the Hubble Space Telescope."
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NASA Disasters and Policy, 2005.
A discussion about how NASA space disasters have been a result of flawed decision-making policies.
1,192 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 40.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses how, in order to keep the shuttle program an effective vehicle for space exploration, safety of the astronauts must always be the first concern. It explains how deadlines must always be flexible and based on the ability of NASA to make a launch that is as safe as possible. It also discusses how final votes on decisions must be made anonymously to eliminate the influence of group pressure for a goal inappropriate for such a risky endeavor.
From the Paper
"The Rodgers Commission, in addition to making numerous suggestions about how to improve the structure of shuttles and ways to increase safety for the astronauts, noted the management decisions that contributed so significantly to the disaster. They particularly noted that decision makers were under considerable pressure to maintain ambitious flight schedules (Harwood, 1986). This pressure stemmed from both political and economic forces. NASA will have to decide whether its goals are one of scientific inquiry or of making money through space exploration. When it is recognized that these two goals are incompatible, they will have to be prioritized. Given the inherently danger to space exploration, it will be clear that safety, based on the best science available, will have to be the overriding concern. In decision meetings, the structural dynamic must support real inquiry, not simply support a predetermined and preferred outcome."
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Geothermal Energy, 2004.
An analysis of the earth's geothermal energy.
867 words (approx. 3.5 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 30.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the earth's geothermal energy. The paper contends that geothermal energy cannot be trusted to supply all of the world?s energy needs as there are simply not enough geothermal reservoirs near the surface of the earth. The paper explores the optimism expressed by some geologists who believe that, as drilling technology improves, humans will be able to reach enough geothermal reservoirs to accommodate a large percentage of the world?s energy demands.
From the Paper
"The earth formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago. Our planet?s geothermal heat originates from the energetic remnants of that coalescence. Over time, the interior of the earth ?became differentiated into several distinct compositional zones: a large, iron rich core; a thick surrounding mantle; and at the surface, a thin, low density crust.? (Montgomery 10). This fact contributed to a number of important attributes of the earth, including the formation of the atmosphere?which came into existence thanks to gases escaping from the hot interior."
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Aristotle's Astronomy, 2004.
An analysis of Aristotle's astronomy.
1,174 words (approx. 4.7 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 40.95
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Abstract
This paper presents a brief overview of Aristotle?s life and accomplishments. The paper examines Aristotle's education under Plato. The paper states that Aristotle had studied in depth and written about almost every subject that was in existence at the time, including anatomy, astronomy, physics, geology, zoology, aesthetics, rhetoric, logic, ethics, metaphysics, psychology, and literature. This paper focuses on his works regarding astronomy.
From the Paper
"Aristotle (384-322 BCE) is one of the three most famous ancient philosophers whose work have left an indelible mark on the Western Civilization. Aristotle was born in Macedonia where his father was a physician in the royal court. He went to study in Plato?s Academy at the age of 17 where he stayed for 20 years and was Plato?s most distinguished pupil. After Plato died in 347 BC, he moved to Assos, a city in Asia Minor, and married the ruler (Hermias)?s adopted daughter. After Hermias? was captured and killed by the Persians a few years later, Aristotle was invited by the King of Macedonia to his court. There, he became a tutor to the King?s son Alexander?who was later to earn fame in history as Alexander the Great. In 335 BC, when Alexander became king, Aristotle returned to Athens and established his own school, the Lyceum. It was during the 13 years at Lyceum that most of Aristotle?s works were written. When Alexander the Great died in 325 BC, anti-Macedonian feelings in Athens forced Aristotle to retreat to a family estate in Euboea, where he died the following year."
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Star Formation, 2004.
A look at the processes that cause the birth and life of stars.
1,515 words (approx. 6.1 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 49.95
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Abstract
The process of star formation is a complex one that takes millions of years to complete. While there are many types and sizes of stars, all come from the same basic properties. From clouds of gas and dust to protostars to the Main Sequence, star birth is a process dependent upon many factors. This paper examines how stars are formed and the reasons behind the various colors of stars.
From the Paper
"Stars use nuclear fusion to convert, generally, hydrogen to helium, a process called nucleosynthesis. Nucleosynthesis is the production of new elements via nuclear reactions. The mass of the star at the time of the nuclear fusion determines what types of nucleosynthesis are needed. For smaller stars, hydrogen is converted to helium. For mid sized stars, like the sun, helium is turned to oxygen and carbon, as the hydrogen supply burns out. For massive stars, as hydrogen becomes depleted, helium is turned to carbon and oxygen, which are then turned to neon, sodium, magnesium, sulfur and silicon. Later, those elements are transformed to elements like calcium, iron, nickel, chromium, copper, and other elements. It is this process of nuclear fusion and nucleosynthesis that allow stars, even massive, old stars, to continue to exist. It is this stage that is called the Main Sequence for a star (Enchanted Learning, 100)."
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Why We Can Only Live on Earth, 2005.
A look at why Earth, as far as our technology can determine, is the only planet that can sustain human life.
1,157 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 5 sources, APA, $ 39.95
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Abstract
This essay looks at why life forms on Earth can live on the Earth but cannot survive on other planets. In exploring this fact, this essay discusses scientific theories about the creation of the universe, how conditions on Earth support life, and how the conditions on other planets are hostile to it.
From the Paper
"The current scientific theory about the creation of the universe states that at one time all the matter and energy in the universe was condensed in a very small and infinitely hot mass. About 10 and 15 billion years ago, a huge explosion, termed the ?Big Bang,? took place that sent matter and energy expanding in all directions, and the universe was born. The formation of the stars (including our sun), the galaxies, and the planets are all explained by the Big Bang theory. This hypothesis about the creation of the universe was developed following the observation by an American astronomer, Edwin Hubble, in the late 1920s that distant stars and galaxies are receding from Earth in every direction?indicating that the universe was expanding."
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Global Warming Theories, 2004.
An examination of various theories about the reason for the phenomenon of global warming.
2,215 words (approx. 8.9 pages), 8 sources, MLA, $ 68.95
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Abstract
This paper addresses several theories addressing why Earth has experienced increases in its global temperature over the years. This phenomenon is also known as global warming. It focuses on the studies of Milutin Milankovitch, who proposed a theory of planetary motion that attempted to explain the Earth?s periods of warming and cooling.
From the Paper
"Global warming is one of today?s most pressing issues. Though some dispute its existence, the great majority of individuals ? scientists and lay people ? do believe that the Earth is undergoing an unnatural warming. Hot summers, freak storms, melting glaciers, and other signs all seem to point toward a shift in the kind of weather enjoyed by many regions of the globe. Much of this change has occurred suddenly and rapidly, over the course of the last generation or so. Scientists know that there have been periods of climatic change in the Earth?s past. The fossil and geological records bear witness to these fluctuations. Areas of the world that are today desert were once lush grasslands. Regions now frozen in the grip of perpetual winter were at one time home to tropical rainforests. Seas were to be found where at the present time there is only dry land. Various animal species came and went as the environments to which they had been adapted disappeared. Perhaps most graphic of all the great climatic changes to which the Earth has been subjected during its long history, were the series of ice ages that covered much of the globe in glaciers. Vast sections of Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia were buried beneath miles of ice and snow, the home of specially-adapted animals such as the wooly mammoth and rhinoceros. These great ice sheets retreated only in the geologically recent past. The planet warmed up again only a few thousand years before human beings first began to plant crops and to build cities. As well, there have been minor fluctuations in temperature over the past several millennia. It was a few degrees warmer during much of the Middle Ages, and a few degrees cooler than it is today for the ensuing five centuries or so. But what most disturbs today?s scientists, environmentalists, and politicians, are the sudden changes of the past third of a century. Are we humans at fault? Are the greenhouse gases emitted by our cars and factories are rapidly smothering the Earth? Or is it the fault of the Earth itself ? the result of fluctuations in the planet?s motions and orbit, as hypothesized by the great Serbian scientist Milutin Milankovitch?"
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Extra-Solar Planets, 2005.
A look at the search for extra-solar planets.
1,640 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 9 sources, MLA, $ 53.95
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Abstract
This paper begins with a definition and description of the planets within our solar system and then goes on to discuss extra-solar planets and the ongoing search for them. The paper describes some of the technology and techniques employed in this search, a discovery of an extra-solar planet by scientists at the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland, and recent advances in locating extra-solar planetary objects.
From the Paper
"The word planet means ?wanderer? in Greek. It derives from the fact that planets within our solar system seem generally to wander eastward about the so-called ?fixed stars across the zodiac constellations (Kolb). There is no clear consensus precisely defining what constitutes a planet, as distinguished from brown dwarfs, which are the material remnants of burned out ancient stars whose masses where too small to form white dwarfs or collapse completely, forming black holes in the manner that stars much larger than ten solar masses, or ten times the mass of our sun (Hawking)."
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Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster, 2004.
Examination of the events leading up to the Challenger disaster and lessons that were learned following it.
1,624 words (approx. 6.5 pages), 4 sources, APA, $ 52.95
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Abstract
The Challenger Space Shuttle exploded 73 seconds after take-off from the Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986, killing all 7 crew members on board. The accident threw the U.S. space program into turmoil as NASA grounded its remaining space shuttles over the next two years for redesigning of their safety features and implementing stricter quality control. This paper describes the Challenger disaster, discusses why the accident occurred, whether it could have been prevented, and who was to blame. It also discusses the dangers of space travel even in the 21st century.
From the Paper
"NASA launched the re-usable Space Shuttle program in the late 1960s. The Space Shuttle was initially part of a plan to ferry astronauts and cargo to and from an Earth-orbiting space station. Later on, lack of funding forced NASA to drop the plan for the ?space station? and it revised the shuttle?s function as a ?space truck? that could deploy and retrieve satellites and carry out scientific experiments in space. Each Space Shuttle was designed to perform about 100 missions with only minor maintenance. Their re-usability, in contrast, to the ?throwaway? spacecrafts used earlier was purported as a major cost-cutting feature. However, space shuttles proved very expensive to develop and NASA had to make more frequent launches to offset the costs. In one year alone (1986--the year of the Challenger disaster) 24 shuttle missions were planned. (Chaikan, 2003)"
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