The History of Aluminum and Charles Martin Hall

The History of Aluminum and Charles Martin Hall Aluminum is the most abundant metal element in the earths crust, but it is always found in a compound rather than an easily-refined ore. Alum is one such compound. Scientists tried to tease the metal out of alum, but the process was costly until Charles Martin Hall patented an inexpensive method to produce aluminum in 1889. History of Aluminum Production Hans Christian Oersted, a Danish chemist, was the first to produce tiny amounts of aluminum in 1825, German chemist Friedrich Wà ¶hler developed a method that produced enough to study the metals basic properties in 1845. French chemist  Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville finally developed a process that allowed commercial production of aluminum. However, the resulting metal still sold for $40 per kilogram in 1859. Pure aluminum was so rare at that time it was considered a precious metal.   Charles Martin Hall Discovers the Secret of Cheap Aluminum Production On April 2, 1889, Charles Martin Hall patented an inexpensive method for the production of aluminum, which brought the metal into wide commercial use. Charles Martin Hall had just graduated from Oberlin College (located in Oberlin, Ohio) in 1885 with a bachelors degree in chemistry  when he invented his method of manufacturing pure aluminum. Charles Martin Halls method of processing the metal ore was to pass an electric current through a non-metallic conductor (molten sodium fluoride compound was used) to separate the very conductive aluminum. In 1889, Charles Martin Hull was awarded U.S. patent number 400,666 for his process. His patent conflicted with that of Paul L.T. Heroult who arrived at the same process independently at practically the same time. Hall had enough evidence of the date of his discovery that the United States patent was award to him rather than Heroult. In 1888, together with financier Alfred E. Hunt, Charles Martin Hall founded the Pittsburgh Reduction Company now known as the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA). By 1914, Charles Martin Hall had brought the cost of aluminum down to 18 cents a pound, and it was no longer considered a precious metal. His discovery made him a wealthy man. Hall obtained several more patents to improve the production of aluminum. He received the Perkin Medal in 1911 for outstanding achievement in applied chemistry. He was on the Board of Trustees for Oberlin College and left them $10 million for their endowment when he died in 1914. Aluminum from Bauxite Ore One other inventor needs to be noted, Karl Joseph Bayer, an Austrian chemist, developed a new process in 1888 that could cheaply obtain aluminum oxide from bauxite. Bauxite is an ore that contains a large amount of aluminum hydroxide (Al2O3 ·3H2O), along with other compounds. The Hall-Hà ©roult and Bayer methods are still used today to produce nearly all of the worlds aluminum. Aluminum Foil Metal foil has been around for centuries. Foil is solid metal that has been reduced to leaf-like thinness by beating or rolling. The first mass-produced and widely used foil was made from tin. Tin was later replaced by aluminum in 1910, when the first aluminum foil rolling plant â€Å"Dr. Lauber, Neher Cie., Emmishofen.† was opened in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. The plant, owned by J.G. Neher Sons (aluminum manufacturers) started in 1886 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, at the foot of the Rhine Falls - capturing the falls’ energy to produce aluminum. Nehers sons together with Dr. Lauber discovered the endless rolling process and the use of aluminum foil as a protective barrier. From there began the wide use of aluminum foil in the packaging of chocolate bars and tobacco products. Processes evolved to include the use of print, color, lacquer, laminate and the embossing of the aluminum.

Qualitative Comparison Comparing the Political Systems of China and Research Paper

Qualitative Comparison Comparing the Political Systems of China and Russia - Research Paper Example The trends that have made China to overcome Russia, but are debatable. Political Factors China has systematically emerged as a world power majorly due to the political organization of China’s communist Party’s, whose policies have brought economic and social change with tremendous growth. Consequently, the private sector has expanded due to political and legal protection of the political class. The party has integrated itself with the private sector, with a good section of the entrepreneurs being members of the China Communist Party. Most of them were members of the party before going into business and some were allowed to join the party because of their business success. The Chinese capitalists have remained loyal to the China’s Communist Party and have not agitated for any change. Many businesses attribute their success to the policies of the party and its support. The party has promoted their business interests, leading to economic power and the economic wealt h being harmonized. The party has therefore survived and inspired national pride and increased its influence around the world (Naugton). The party has tried to balance economic growth and social economy. This has led to raised rural living standards. The state has provided income subsidies and eliminated tax on gain. The party has also tried to deal with poverty as a way of creating a harmonious society. The party has continued to reinvent itself over time beginning by being a social progressive party, to totalitarian tyranny, to developmental dictatorship. Today it protects private property and showing interest in representing the entire population. The party still has some weaknesses by choosing elites leaders and being harsh protestors. It has continued to enjoy the support of the majority in society due the perception that it promotes industrialization, economic growth political stability and social mobility (Dicks) Russia is on the other hand having moved from communism to demo cracy has faced many challenges leaving it unconsolidated democracy and almost becoming autocratic. The systems within the party are dominated by executives and the legislature. It has been a democracy in which the state control the media heavily and with civil society and non-governmental organization heavily muzzled. However, Russia is still considered freer that during the Soviet Union, despite people not being free to express themselves or to read what they would wish in the press. The security instruments were used to punish all the perceived threats and to restrict their freedom. The murder of journalists who covered the conflict between the state and the society brought to the fore the level of human rights abuse (Ghania). The quality of democracy in Russia has been low economy growth has been impeded by corruption, crime rates, diseases poor healthcare. Russia is generally lacking modern infrastructure and rule of Law. It has widespread corruption and poverty. All these got worse under Putin’s rule. These rivalry between government and business as government tried to take over valuable companies and accuses business leaders of tax evasion. This trend led to falling of stock prices. This perceived government intimidation and rough treatment leading to many businesspersons being scared, resulting in stagnation (Dicks). Economic factors The economic trends that may

Chapter 2+3 of my dissertation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Chapter 2+3 of my dissertation - Essay Example Also, there will be a discussion about the difference between a true follower of a religion and someone who is trying to be more practical, the possibility of applying someone’s religion in another country with a different religion, and the difference between Hindus and Muslims in their beliefs as they are portrayed in the text. Also the Hindu portrayal of God and how that has changed throughout history needs to be explored in The Circle of Reason. instability created in the frontier regions as a result of independence generates the background in this book. The history of India especially after the partition with Pakistan and how the Indians characters in the novel show their nationalism differently are the backbone of this novel. Since religion and nationalism are meshed throughout the story, both will be examined in this chapter. In the end, this chapter will prove that Amitav Ghosh in The Circle of Reason portrays people in realistic situations of colonial/postcolonial India. Even though these characters were placed in unfamiliar situations to readers not from India, Ghosh relates their lives in a humanistic way. Every reader can understand the frailty of human personality from this novel through something familiar to all; religion and nationalism. The Circle of Reason starts with the arrival of a child to a childless couple. A man of reason, Balaram, lost an estranged brother, only to gain his nephew. Balaram studied phrenology, or the studying of skull shape to determine personality traits. Since his nephew’s head was shaped like a potato, Balaram called him Alu. Balaram and another man, Bhudeb Roy, lived in the same village on a border town, until a feud arose between the two men. Religion and nationalism is the undercurrent of a story that deals with superstition and reason. Bhudeb Roy deals in superstition for personal gain, whereas Balaram believes in reason. Various religions are weaved into

The Honor Code by Kwame Anthony Appiah Term Paper

The Honor Code by Kwame Anthony Appiah - Term Paper Example But in contrast to the emotions of love and hatred, which just changes the relationship between two individuals, honor has the capability to ignite revolutions and change the face of society altogether. Through the ages, honor has been a driving force for change. Immoral customs have prevailed through generations, even though they faced opposition from morality, reason or religion. But when honor was brought into the equation, these practices were completely eradicated. This is the topic that Kwame Anthony Appiah, one of the most renowned philosophical writers of today, chose in his book ‘The Honor Code’. In his book, he portrays 3 such immoral customs in grim detail and shows how they were considered to be a status symbol in society. This concept of honor inspires people to act, sometimes in ways we find laudable and other times in ways we abhor. In his book, Appiah take 3 such examples and explains in each case how honor started a revolution that was ultimately the cau se of abolishment of immoral acts. The first example took place in Britain. For centuries gentlemen belonging to the aristocratic society of the Great Britain used to settle their difference by duelling to death. Appiah recounts one of the most well known duels in the British history, that which took place between the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea in 1829. He describes how duelling was as customary in the aristocratic British society, as having tea. In those days, fighting to death was the easiest way to determine which individual out of the two was telling the truth. When this custom started descending into the lives of the common man, that was the time when the aristocratic high society British started finding this act a little too abhorrent to keep practicing. The second example that Appiah describes in detail is the fast-forming social consensus against slavery that gave birth to a moral revolution across the British Empire, ultimately abolishing slavery for good . The third example of how honor gives birth to a moral revolution is shown in the foot-binding custom that was carried out in China for centuries. This is the particular example from The Honor Code that has been discussed in detail in this paper. The customary practice of foot-binding was carried out through centuries in China. This practice had most probably originated in the early Song dynasty and was adopted by the elite households of China. Little girls were made to bind their feet so tight that it would permanently damage their structure and cease growth. There were many reasons for this practice, but the most prominent one was that feet bound women represented the elite class of the society who were completely free from manual labour. This elite social status was not only enjoyed by women, but also uplifted the status of their men who could afford women who did not have to work and solely existed to serve their men and direct the household activities. The women took great pri de in their feet which had achieved the desired ‘lotus shape’. This shape was the result of brutally binding the feet in such a fashion that it practically broke the bones of the toes and the arch of the foot and shrunk it down to size that was just 7-9 centimetres from the toes to the heel. As mentioned earlier, women with bound feet only belonged to the elite class of the Chinese society. They would use expensive silk wrappings and embroidered silk slippers to cover their feet. For the men, having a wife who had ‘Lotus feet’

Obesity in African American Culture Essay Example for Free

Obesity in African American Culture Essay Obesity has more that just a physical effect on the body. Obesity also greatly affects the mental and emotional part of the body as well. Although you cannot directly correlate metal and emotional health to obesity, you can see that its effects do in fact play a role in the mental and emotional health of an obese person. While the effects of obesity do indeed reach out to all races, it is easy to see that mental and emotional problems from obesity in the African American culture are present in the culture. Depression, anxiety, and discrimination, are all results that are caused by obesity in the African American community. Many people are familiar with depression, whether it be a friend or family member that went through it or that they themselves went though it. â€Å"Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can have a negative effect on a persons thoughts, behavior, feelings, world view and physical well-being† (Salmans 1997). African American obesity has a close tie with depression in African American people. When people are self-conscious about their weight they may think that people look down on them for this. This would cause them to think less of themselves or believe that others are better then them. In turn it can cause the obese African American to have a bad view of themselves, other people, and the world in general. This is exactly what depression is. You can see that depression can be caused by obesity in the African American culture. Anxiety is another emotional distress many people are familiar with. Anxiety is know as, â€Å"the displeasing feeling of fear and concern† (Davison 2008). Many people have felt the effects of anxiety in their own lives, whether it is before an important test, a speech in front of many people, or the big gam; many people feel anxiety. Looking only at anxiety caused by obesity in African American people is a different situation. Anxiety or nervousness before a big event is common and in many ways healthy because it motivates us to do the very best we can. Anxiety in African Americans because of obesity is not healthy; in fact it can be dangerous and destructive. By feeling displeased and concerned about their weight African Americans can struggle all through out life to over come these feelings. It could limit their goals and overall make them settle for less then they really can do. Anxiety do to obesity in the African American community is not a healthy and can severely constrain someone’s life. Discrimination in the African American community has always been a problem through out history. Slavery is a very obvious product of discrimination. Taking a more specific look at discrimination of the African American community because of obesity is a different situation. When people discriminate African Americans because of their weight it seriously prohibits their chances of succeeding in life. It could be in the work place or at school. By placing these barriers we are limiting the ability of the African American community and hurting their chances of having a successful and meaningful life. These mental and emotional effects of obesity in the African American community are unfair and wrong. People should not be judged on their weight. Davison, Gerald C. (2008). Abnormal Psychology. Toronto: Veronica Visentin. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-470-84072-6. Salmans, Sandra (1997). Depression: Questions You Have – Answers You Need. Peoples Medical Society. ISBN 978-1-882606-14-6.

How does Hitler’s Seizure of Power in Germany help us define Fascism? E

Hitler’s regime in Germany is commonly referred to as Nazism, and is identified in the theories of both Sternhell and Payne, which they conclude to be completely divergent from Italian fascism. If this is the case, then Paxton’s five stages of fascism are proven to be invalid; as, like Mussolini in Italy, Hitler’s regime in Germany shows direct resemblance to these stages, as the latter parts of this chapter will show. With the signing of the armistice, that formally ended World War One, on November 11 1918, Germany respectively lost the war. Six months after the signing, the representatives at the Paris Peace Conferences, were finally able to conclude the peace treaties, which was signed on June 28 1919. The Treaty of Versailles was to have dire effects on Germany, effects that arguably completely altered the nature of her future. As part of the terms of this settlement, Germany was radically changed; in terms of: legal and military restrictions, territorial changes and also, as a result of Article 231, Germany were blamed for starting the war, which formally became known as the war guilt clause, which stated: ‘The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by t he aggression of Germany and her allies’ . The sum, was later determined in 1921, to be  £6000million. In terms of legal restrictions, articles 227 to 231 tried many German officials, including Emperor Wilhelm ll, as war criminals. Furthermore, Germany saw its military, in all forms, air, land and sea, vastly restricted. The German public w... ...orship. Works Cited Allan Todd – The European Dictatorships – Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini – Cambridge university press (2002) Stanley G Payne – Fascism: Comparison and Definition – University of Wisconsin Press – 1980 Walter Laqueur – Fascism: Past, Present and Future – Oxford University Press – 1997 Roger Griffin – Essays in the 20th century World History – Heinemann London 1999 A.J Gregor – Young Mussolini and the intellectual Origins of Fascism – California Press 1979 Martin Kolinsky – Continuity and Change in European Society: France, Germany and Italy since 1870 – 1974 Palgrave Macmillan Martin Blinkhorn – Mussolini and Fascist Italy – third edition – Routledge 2006 Sharma, Urmila. Western Political Thought. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors (P) Ltd, 1998. p. 66. Philip Morgan, Fascism in Europe, 1919-1945, New York Tayolor & Francis 2003

Employment and Dual Career Couples Essay

The organizations who are hire spouses can decrease unemployment rate. Nowadays, one of them is not working, but they have qualification to get the position in the organization. So, when one of them who are working in organization can suggests to the employer to recruit their partner in the same organization. Then, the employer can consider the suggestions and he or she can recruit spouses for working based on vacancies and qualification of the job in the organization. 2) Reduce the loss of qualified workers Nowadays, many educated, professional men are choosing to marry educated, professional women instead of traditional housewives, companies are faced with the prospect of losing qualified employees when a spouse gets a new job in another city or is transferred. One way to avoid dealing with a spouse’s unpredictable employment situation is to employ the couple. This strategy is particularly popular in universities and laboratories in which both spouses are chemists or both are professors. Some companies are even able to employ couples in different careers, one in an accounting department and one in a legal department, for example. By employing the couple, companies can control the risk of losing an employee due to a spouse’s changing situation. 3) Create a new functions in organization The organization hires the spouses or parents will help to create a new function of business into their organization. For example, the organization can establish child center or nursery. At the same time, it can create a new job such as babysitter. 4) Increase the income When hiring the dual-career couples in the organization it can increase the income of the spouses. This spouses who are working hard to get an education and enter into high-paying jobs are completely focused on their careers, which raises the chances that they will be well compensated for their skill set. 5) Assume two-career couples as individual workers in organization Some companies shy away from hiring dual-career couples because of concern over the couple’s performance. Some companies do not want to get stuck employing one â€Å"weak† employee just to hold on to the â€Å"stronger† partner. Companies may also fear complaints from other employees regarding special treatment for spouses who are unqualified for their positions. Your company can avoid this by ensuring dual-career couples that they will be treated as individuals at the workplace. Each partner will be held entirely accountable for his or her performance and one partner will not be allowed to negotiate for a better position or higher salary for the other partner. Likewise, one partner will not be held accountable for the other partner’s mistakes. 6) Reduce a discrimination to women Although traditionally women are held responsible for childcare and household affairs whether they work or not, this is not fair to either men or women in the workforce. So some companies offer benefits such as paid leave, flexible hours and child care services without regard to gender. Only offering child care leave to women places the burden of child care exclusively on women employees and prevents male employees from participating in child care in their own homes. This causes stress to employees and families and can result in women being discriminated against. Potential liabilities 1) Organization are losing productivity and employees Organizations are losing productivity and employees because of the demands of family life. The study found that among the 400 working parents surveyed, problems with child care were the most significant predictors of absenteeism and low productivity. 2) Poor communication When the employer gives the different task to this spouse, they are not satisfied when not placed together in a group assignment. So, they feel uncomfortable when given difference task and make a problem for them in completing the assignment. As a result, the assignment cannot be solved and their job performance decreased. Question 2 Many of the services for dual-career couples and parent employees are provided by large corporations that have far greater financial resources than smaller companies. Identify and discuss potential with a small company’s HRM function can alleviate the challenges facing employees who are parents and employees with working spouses. Nowadays, there have a total of workforce is comprised of dual career couples with many of them having children, the need for Human Resource Departments to provide services that both alleviate time conflicts and also promote a healthy lifestyle balance is critical. For small companies in particular, the challenge of retaining dual career couples is compounded by the need for first retaining top talent when larger organizations with a broader range of family care services, in addition to staying competitive in their markets while giving employees flexibility in taking care of their families. While smaller companies may find competing on benefits alone will be difficult, the one advantage they do have is flexibility and a closer management of time for dual career couples with families. First, smaller companies can create a telecommunication policy that will allow workers to work from home while at the same time being able to take care of their families. A telecommunication policy is commonplace in larger organizations and could significantly increase productivity for workers who may need to be home when their children are sick. A small company also can builds a nursery to keep the employee welfare, to run the nursery the organization used a lot of money. So, the HRM department should collect the fees from their employee to cover the nursery. The parents pay the fees through payroll deduction. This program enables to people to share a job on a part-time basis and is major boon to spouses who want to continue their careers while raising children. The program also reduced turnover and the absenteeism, boosted morale, and helped achieve affirmative action objectives. Generally, every spouse has their own problem. Sometimes they are not settling the problem at the home, and they take along the problem into the workplace. Besides that, they also have another problem at the workplace and will cause their performance decreased because the two problems are mix together. In this case, we need a counseling session to solve their problem. Question 3 Suppose that a dual-career couple involves spouses who are at different career stages. Does this situation pose problems for the couple? For the organization or organization employing them? Discuss. No, because some of the benefits could be that it may be easier to find two positions of different levels rather than two positions of the same level. While with this scenario you do loose the shared responsibilities and job requirements. In some academic fields it may also lead to a mentor type relationship, which for some is ideal, and for the organization could mean that you get more years for your hire. For example if you have the 40 year old professor who is well established and the spouse who is younger and less established they can mentor under the other and when one retires you still have the second to work for more years. Besides that, a dual-career couple involves spouses who are at different career stages they can understand each other and can help to solve their problem in the workplace. Proponents assert that couple who works for the same share the same goal, are often more committed to the company, and are more willing to work longer hours. Hiring couples helps attract and keep top employees, and relocations are also easier for the couples and to the company. Besides that, they also can share and change the information. If one the spouses has a high position he or she will help the spouses who face difficulties in completing the task. So they can collaborate and discuss in solving the task. Next, the performance of the subordinate spouse can be increased and will help boost the company’s performance. The organization also has workforce diversity. The organization will get the advantages when hiring dual career couples because they have a different skill, ability, knowledge and other characteristic can help organization the achieve the goals. They can come out with a new strategies and tactics that will support the need of organization. So, it always have an advantages in compete with other organization and a good change will happen in every stage or phase in achieve their objective.