History of the Big Bang Theory Essay -- Historical Science

The strength of the Big Bang theory lies in the evidence for it, not the mechanism used to explain it. Actually, the theory has been revised a great deal since its first proposition and is probably not exactly as you think it is. I'll explain it in the order of historical development. My apologies if this is a bit technical - don't worry if you don't understand it all. The theory was first proposed in the 1930s, based on Edwin Hubble's discovery that distant galaxies are receding. Hubble measured the distances to a large number of galaxies (based on the observed brightness of certain stars within them), and compared these distances with their electromagnetic spectra. As it turned out, more distant galaxies had the features in their spectra (spectral lines) shifted to lower frequencies in a linear manner: that is, more distant galaxies exhibit greater redshifts. The only known mechanism for generating a spectral shift is the Doppler effect, which means that distant galaxies are receding from us. This suggests that in the past, galaxies were much closer to us than they are now: simply extrapolate the motion into the past. As it turns out, if this is performed, it indicates that all galaxies in the observable universe would have been at the same 'location' about 11 billion years ago: that is, all the matter in the universe originated from a single location. This is the (simplified) Big Bang theory. Actually, it's a little more complicated than that: according to general relativity, it's not really that distant galaxies are flying away from us, it's that space itself is expanding, increasing the distance. You can think of the universe as the surface of a balloon, with the balloon constantly expanding. Not everyone believed ... ...e realm of current science. We don't yet have a theory that can handle the conditions present at that time yet. However, from the era of inflation on, high-energy physicists and cosmologists are quite confident of the theory, as crazy as it sounds! In fact, this specific theory makes its own predictions regarding the exact distribution of fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background, which have so far been confirmed, though complete confirmation will have to wait until the MAP and FERMI satellites become operational later in this decade. The bottom line is that historical sciences (in this case, cosmology) can make testable predictions: the existence of background radiation and its properties, the distribution of light isotopes, the presence of galaxy evolution, the age constraint, and so on. The same goes with evolutionary biology, another historical science.

Great Escape

Having wasted enormous resources on recapturing Allied prisoners of war (POWs), the Germans move the most determined to a new, high-security prisoner of war camp. The commandant, Luftwaffe Colonel von Luger, tells the senior British officer, Group Capt Ramsey, â€Å"There will be no escapes from this camp. † Ramsey replies that it is their duty to try to escape. After several failed escape attempts on the first day, the POWs settle into the prison camp. Gestapo and SS agents bring Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett (RAF) to the camp and deliver him to von Luger. Known as â€Å"Big X,† Bartlett is the principal organizer of escapes and Gestapo agent Kuhn orders that he be kept under the most restrictive permanent security confinement, which Col. von Luger, disgusted by the Nazis and the SS, only makes a â€Å"note† of, treating the command with complete contempt. As Kuhn leaves, he warns Bartlett that if he escapes again, he will be shot. Bartlett is then placed with the rest of the POWs, rather than the restrictive holding that Gestapo agent Kuhn had demanded. Locked up with â€Å"every escape artist in Germany†, Bartlett immediately plans the greatest escape attempted—tunnels for breaking out 250 prisoners. The intent is to â€Å"confuse, confound and harass the enemy† to the point that as many troops and resources as possible will be wasted on finding POWs instead of being used on the front line. Teams are organized to tunnel, make civilian clothing, forge documents, procure contraband materials, and prevent guards from discovering their work. Flight Lieutenant Hendley, an American in the RAF, is â€Å"the scrounger† who finds what the others need, from a camera to clothes and identity cards. Australian Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick, â€Å"the manufacturer,† makes tools such as picks for digging and bellows for pumping air into the tunnels. Flight Lieutenant Danny Velinski and William â€Å"Willie† Dickes are â€Å"the tunnel kings† in charge of making the tunnels. Eric Ashley-Pitt of the Royal Navy devises a method of hiding bags in the prisoners' trousers and spread dirt from the tunnels over the camp, under the guards' noses. Forgery is handled by Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe, who becomes nearly blind from intricate work by candlelight. Hendley takes it upon himself to be Blythe's guide in the escape. The prisoners work on three tunnels simultaneously, â€Å"Tom,† â€Å"Dick† and â€Å"Harry. Work on Harry and Dick is stopped so that more work can be performed on Tom. The work noise is covered by the prisoner choir led by Flt Lt Cavendish. USAAF Captain Virgil Hilts, â€Å"The Cooler King,† irritates guards with frequent escape attempts and irreverent behavior. While in the cooler, he befriends a young RAF Flying Officer named Archibald Ives, and the two strike up a plan to escap e; they are caught while attempting it and returned to the cooler. The experience seems to take a toll especially on Ives, who is close to an emotional breakdown from his time in captivity. While the British POWs enjoy a 4th of July celebration organized by the three Americans, the guards discover tunnel Tom. The mood drops to disappointment and pushes Ives over the edge. He is drawn to the barbed wire that surrounds the camp and, in a final act of desperation, climbs it in view of guards. Hilts runs to stop him but is too late, and Ives is machine-gunned dead near the top of the fence. The prisoners switch their efforts to Harry. Hilts, aggrieved by the loss of his friend, agrees to change his plan and reconnoiter outside the camp and allow himself to be recaptured. The information he brings back is used to create maps showing the nearest town and railway station. End of the real â€Å"Harry† tunnel (on the other side of the road) showing how it doesn't reach the cover of the trees Entrance of the tunnel â€Å"Harry† showing scale of distance to far end of tunnel The last part of the tunnel is completed on the night of the escape, but is 20 feet short of woods which are to provide cover. Danny nearly snaps from claustrophobia and delays those behind him, but is helped by Willie. Seventy-six escape. After attempts to reach neutral Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain, almost all the POWs are recaptured or killed. Hendley and Blythe steal an airplane to fly over the Swiss border, but the engine fails and they crash-land. Soldiers arrive. Blythe, his eyesight damaged, stands and is shot. Hendley waves and shouts â€Å"don't shoot†, and is captured as Blythe dies. Cavendish, having hitched a ride in a truck, is captured at a checkpoint, discovering another POW, Haynes, captured in his German soldier disguise. Bartlett is recognized in a crowded railroad station by Gestapo agent Kuhn. Another escapee, Ashley-Pitt, sacrifices himself when he kills Kuhn with Kuhn's own gun, and soldiers then shoot and kill him. In the commotion, Bartlett and MacDonald slip away but they are caught while boarding a bus after MacDonald blunders by replying in English to a suspicious Gestapo agent who wishes them â€Å"Good luck†. Hilts steals a motorcycle, is pursued by German soldiers, jumps a barbed wire fence but becomes entangled in another and is captured, he escapes execution as a spy by showing them the airforce label on his shirt. Three truckloads of captured POWs go down a country road and split off in three directions. One truck, containing Bartlett, MacDonald, Cavendish, Haynes and others, stops in a field and the POWs are told to get out and â€Å"stretch their legs. † They are shot dead. In all, fifty escapees are murdered. Hendley and nine others are returned to the camp. Von Luger is relieved of command of the prison camp and is driven away by the SS for failing to prevent the breakout. Only three make it to safety. Danny and Willie steal a rowboat and proceed downriver to the Baltic coast, where they board a Swedish merchant ship. Sedgwick steals a bicycle, then rides hidden in a freight train boxcar to France, where he is guided by the Resistance to Spain. Hilts is brought back alone to the camp and taken to the cooler. Lieutenant Goff, one of the Americans, gets Hilts's baseball and glove and throws it to him when Hilts and his guards pass by. The guard locks him in his cell and walks away, but momentarily pauses when he hears the familiar sound of Hilts bouncing his baseball against a cell wall. The film ends with this scene, under the caption,

Kylie Alexandra Fink. Mr. Broome. Honors English Ii. May

Kylie Alexandra Fink Mr. Broome Honors English II May 17, 2017 The Thought Provoking Story of Kate Chopin â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin makes one ask themselves â€Å"why†. The story is a very thought provoking. It is about a woman, Louise, whose husband â€Å"died† in a train accident. When she finds out, she thinks of herself as free. Why would she be so happy when she just found out that her husband, Brentley, had died? She then finds out that her husband did not die. She then dies after seeing him. Why would she die after seeing him and seeing that he is alive? One would think, why would Kate Chopin write a story so different? In those days, those types of stories were very frowned upon. The real question is, where did she get†¦show more content†¦Another idea was that a woman should always look her best. A woman should keep her home in perfect condition for her husband. Also in magazines, art drawings were showed of women caring for all the needs of their children and husbands. (Aslan 1-3 , Turner1) If Louise was so unhappy why would she not get a divorce? In the 1800’s it was socially unacceptable for women to get a divorce. Louise would lose everything if she divorced her husband. Males in the 1800’s would get everything if the couple divorced. The only way for a wife to get anything after a marriage was for a husband to die. Women did not have any rights, and feminism was not a common idea. (Though the women in those times did have it a little better than their ancestors.) After the divorce, men would get the children and his property. Since her husband died, Louise would get his property and all the money. She could now go, travel, and have all the adventures that she dreamed of without the worry of someone at home waiting for her or holding her back. Louise would not have to be suppressed by Brentley. She would not have to do chores or cater for all the needs of her husband. (Stenley 12) With all the thoughts of happiness in her head a fter her husband died one would think she would have a mental problem. If a person look close enough they would see in her psychological state she confused the barrier of between reality and