Huck Finn Vs. 19th Cevtury Ethnics Essay -- essays research papers

Ninetieth Century Morals vs. Huck’s Conscience   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sometimes making a stand for what is right, especially when it is totally against the customary beliefs of society, can never be an easy accomplishment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel, The Adventures Huckleberry Finn by, Mark Twain, the main character Huck, encounters many situations involving a question of morality. Considering the traditional protocol of his society, Huck must choose between his conscience or public ethics. In many cases Huck goes with his conscience, which always proves to be proper selection. Ironically, what Huck believes in, unapproved of in the ninetieth century, is the basis of accepted beliefs in our modern world. Huck lives with the guilt that all his choices could be considered immoral based on his society; yet, really his beliefs could be just in comparison to man’s conscience. Three of the major instances in the novel when Huck’s beliefs contrast those of the ninetieth century are when he questions the outcome of Jim, when he tries to comprehend the concept of the feud, and when he must decide whether to save the men on the Sir Walter Scott.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Huck’s choices concerning Jim’s life can be thought to be the moral and proper choices, Huck is pounded by his society’s teachings the Black men are property. When Huck first escapes from Pap and sets up camp on Jackson Island, he finds Jim has also found refuge there from the widow and Mrs. Watson. Huck is stunned at first when Jim tells him he escaped, because Huck knows that Mrs. Watson owns Jim, which makes him her rightful property. â€Å"People would call me a low-down Abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum,†(Twain 43) Huck knows that if he helped Jim that would make him an abolitionist, which could not be accepted role in the ninetieth century. Huck decides that he would help Jim escape, as he would never return to the town so it wouldn’t matter if he took Jim with him. After a long raft-ride, Huck and Jim are finally about to reach Cairo, which on their arrival would make Jim free. With the smell of freedom, Jim rambles on about how he would buy his wife and then steal his children. This sets off a spark in Huck, igniting his conscience and making him very uneasy. Huck couldn’t believe that Jim would steal property... ... of truth and intelligence, and one that should be entrusted in every person’s soul no matter if they are living in the Ninetieth century or today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This combination of the three instances shows the dramatic difference between Huck’s conscience and the standard customs of the Ninetieth century. Huck showed great maturity and integrity in standing up for what he believed was the right choice. Although he believed his choices were immoral or unethical, we now know that it was quite the opposite, as the moral standards of this time were in essence the unethical choices and Huck’s were the proper choices. Huck could see the importance of friendship over possessions, and risked his life saving a run-away slave because of the uncomfortable emptiness he would experience had he turned in Jim. This portrayal of childhood knowledge can be examined in today’s society also. People grow to be prejudiced against certain types of people, just as Huck was as he was growing up. Luckily, Huck overcame this inborn prejudice by examining what really counts in life, and this is a lesson that everyone, from previous societies to today, needs to listen to.

Investigating the Inverse Square Law Essay

The inverse square law can also be applied to gravity, electric fields, light and sound. In relation to electric fields, the electric force in Coulomb’s law follows the inverse square law: ‘If gamma rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation and undergo negligible absorption in air, then the intensity, I, should vary inversely as the square of the distance between the source and the detector.’2 Air acts as an almost transparent medium to ?-rays, and the intensity (rate of energy arrival per unit area) of ?-rays emanating from a point source varies inversely as the square of the distance from the source.3 ?-rays fall into many distinct monoenergetic groups because of their variable energies which emanate from any particular emitter. The least energetic radiation will only pass through very thin foils, whereas the most energetic can penetrate up to several centimetres of lead.4 As ?-rays tend to produce 10-4 times as many ion-pairs per unit length as ?-particles do, measurements are usually carried out using a Geiger-Mller (G-M) tube.5 G-M tubes are widely used for detecting radiation and ionising particles. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geiger-M%C3%BCller_tube The anode is a central thin wire which is insulated from the surrounding cathode cylinder, which is metal or graphite coated. The anode is kept at a positive potential and the cathode is earthed. The tube may also have a thin mica end window.6 When radiation enters the tube, a few electrons and ions are produced in the gas. If the voltage is above the breakdown potential (The minimum reverse voltage to make the diode conduct in reverse)7 of the gas, the number of electrons and ions are greatly multiplied. The electrons are attracted to the anode, and the positive ions move towards the cathode. The current flowing in the high resistance resistor (R) produces a pd which is amplified and passed to a counter which registers the passage of an ionising particle or radiation through the tube.8 The tube cannot be filled with air as the discharge persists for a short time after the radiation is registered. This is due to electrons being emitted from the cathode by the positive ions which arrive there. Instead, the tube is filled with argon mixed with a halogen vapour which quenches, reduces the intensity, the discharge quickly, ensuring that the registered radiation does not affect the recording of other ionising particles. When the G-M tube is detecting one particle, if another enters the tube it will not be detected. This is known as dead time; the average maximum being approximately 90 microseconds.9 Because this number is so small, it can justifiably be ignored for this experiment. Background radiation must be taken into account when taking readings from the source. Background radiation primarily comes from cosmic radiation and terrestrial sources.10 This radiation will affect the count and must be corrected. The level of this radiation varies with location and must be measured before conducting the experiment. Since I ? C: C ? 1 (d + d0)2 Therefore: d + d0 ? 1 Vc I ? 1 r2 Where: * d = distance * d0 = distance to be added to the measured distance, d, because of the reference point on the holder not coinciding with the source, and the effective counting space inside the GM tube may not be close to the window, then r = d + d0. * I = intensity * C = corrected count rate – the measured count rate minus the reading for background radiation11 Corrected count rate against 1/(d + d0)2 should produce a straight-line graph, passing through the origin, if the inverse square law is followed. Source: ‘A Laboratory Manual of Physics’ -F. Tyler, Page 269 The gradient of the line obtained is a measure of the strength of the source used in the experiment.12 The strength of the source is the activity, A=?N. The decay constant, ?, can be calculated using ? = ln2/t1/2 where the value for the half-life of Co-60 is 5.2714 years13. Therefore: ? = ln2/t1/2 = 0.693/1.664 x 108 = 4.175 x 10-9 The gradient of the straight line graph will equal ?N0e-?t so ? = gradient/ N0e-?t Safety Precautions: To ensure the utmost safety before, during and after this experiment, some guidelines should be followed: * Food and drink should not be consumed whilst in the same room as the source * Food items should not be stored in the same room as the source * The source should only be handled with long handled source handling tongs, and as little as possible * Hands should be washed thoroughly after contact with the source * If in contact with the source for an extended period, it is recommended that a monitoring badge is worn * As the source will radiate in only one direction, it should not be pointed at anyone * The source should be locked away in a lead lined box when not in use * Open wounds should be covered securely * Protective gloves should be warn when handling potentially contaminated items Errors: To reduce the possible errors within the experiment, an optical bench will be used to ensure that the G-M tube and the source are properly aligned throughout, as the source radiates in one direction, the alignment must remain standard. Also, for small distances, specifically the distance d0 which is the distance the source is from the opening of the holder plus the distance of detection from the window in the G-M tube, vernier callipers will be used to hold as much accuracy as possible. Vernier callipers read to fractions of a millimetre, making them much more accurate than other measuring devices. Other distances, such as distance d, can be measured with a metre rule as the distances are larger which decreases the possible error in measuring. There will also be the error of human reaction times from observing the final count and pressing the stopclock. To ensure accuracy, practise using the stop-clock and count switch until reasonably consistent results can be obtained. Preliminary Work: To decide on an appropriate voltage to use, the G-M tube and source set-up should be tested. Place the source approximately 10 cm from the window of the G-M tube and increase the voltage slowly, until the count rate stops changing dramatically. Plot a graph of the count-rate, C, against EHT voltage, V. Record the voltages V1 and V2 between which the rate of counting does not vary too much. If the rate of counting begins to rise after remaining much the same for a range of voltage do not raise the voltage any higher or the tube may suffer damage.14 The optimum operating voltage will be halfway between the voltage where the plateau begins and the voltage where it ends. To decide on the range of distances used, the source was moved close to the window of the G-M tube and was moved back slowly until the scaler could count adequately (5 cm). This is the smallest distance that will be used. To find the other extreme, the source was moved back until the count rate fell to a low value, but could still provide adequate results (35 cm). d (cm) N t1 (s) t2 (s) t3 (s) Ave. t 5.00 10,000 212 209 209 210.00 10.00 10,000 773 779 790 780.67 15.00 1000 180 220 205 201.67 20.00 1000 317 355 345 339.00 25.00 1000 457 469 437 454.33 30.00 1000 543 510 542 531.67 35.00 1000 749 720 735 734.67 From these preliminary results I have decided to time for 10,000 counts at 5 cm from the source, 5000 counts for 10cm from the source, and 1000 for 15 – 30cm. This is because any higher values will take considerably longer to measure. I will take three readings from each, as radioactive decay is a random process and it would be unlikely for more than three readings to be similar. An average will be calculated from the three values and the reading for the background radiation will be subtracted to find the corrected count rate. Equipment: * Geiger-Mller tube of , ? sensitive type * Decade scaler with variable EHT supply * Sealed cobalt-60 source – sealed to prevent contact with the source and to prevent isotropic radiation * Long handled source handling tongs – to prevent contact with the source * Optical bench with source holder – to ensure constant alignment * Stop-clock, readable to at least two decimal places * Vernier callipers – to measure the distance d0 to a higher level of accuracy * Metre rule – to measure the distance d Diagram: Where: * B is the optical bench with source holder, H * G is the Geiger-Mller tube * S is the decade scaler with variable EHT supply * R is the sealed radioactive source, cobalt-60 Cobalt-60 will be used as the gamma source as it is easily produced, by exposing natural cobalt to neutrons in a reactor, and therefore easy to acquire.15 It also produces ?-rays with energies of 1.17 MeV and 1.33 MeV. Method: 1. Clamp the G-M tube to one end of the optical bench and attach it to the input socket of the scaler 2. Set the variable EHT voltage on the scaler at a minimum and turn it on, allowing a few minutes for the scaler to warm up 3. Change the variable EHT voltage on the scaler to the value found through preliminary work and set it to count pulses from the G-M tube 4. Start the stopclock and measure the background radiation for an adequate length of time, e.g. 25 minutes, as background radiation is variable 5. Place the holder containing the ?-source at 5.0 cm from the window of the G-M tube 6. Start the stopclock and stop after 10,000 counts are registered. Record this value and repeat twice 7. Move the ?-source to 10.0 cm from the window of the G-M tube and repeat procedure 5, instead only counting 5000 counts 8. Move the ?-source to 15.0 cm from the window of the G-M tube and repeat procedure 5, instead counting only 1000 counts 9. Repeat procedure 7 for sets of 5.0 cm until a distance of 30.0 cm is reached 10. Tabulate these results and find the average count rate for each distance 11. Evaluate 1/(d + do)2 12. Using the recorded value for background radiation, evaluate the corrected count rate for each distance 13. Plot the graph of corrected count rate against 1/(d + do)2 References: 1 http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/forces/isq.html 2 Essential Pre-University Physics’ – Whelan & Hodgson, page 953 3 ‘Essential Principles of Physics’ – Whelan & Hodgson, page 472 4 ‘Essential Principles of Physics’ – Whelan & Hodgson, page 472 5 ‘Essential Principles of Physics’ – Whelan & Hodgson, page 472 6 http://www.imagesco.com/articles/geiger/03.html 7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakdown_voltage 8 ‘Essential Pre-University Physics’ – Whelan & Hodgson, page 406 9 http://www.imagesco.com/articles/geiger/03.html 10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Background_radiation 11 ‘Advanced Level Practical Physics’ – M Nelkon & JM Ogborn, page 218 12 ‘A Laboratory Manual of Physics’ – F. Tyler, page 269 13 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt * 14 ‘Advanced Level Practical Physics’ – M Nelkon & JM Ogborn, page 212 15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt

To Cheat Is To “Gain An Advantage Over Or Deprive Of...

To cheat is to â€Å"gain an advantage over or deprive of something by using unfair or deceitful methods†(Simpson). This definition defines the actions of an experienced engineer named James Liang. His company of employment, Volkswagen, asked him and his team to make a new diesel engine that would sell well in America. Unfortunately, they ran into issues of making a design that would stay under U.S. emission standards. Under tight secrecy, Mr. Liang was looking to gain an advantage in working around the issue. They were able to make a device that they could hide and connect to the engine. The programming on the device hid the emissions of their diesel engines while on the testing apparatus, but then turn off after the tests were complete.†¦show more content†¦Kant views a maxim as a rule of action that should be acted upon only if you have the will he defines. It is the maxim that defines our choices. The maxim connects with the categorical imperative, which Kant pres ses is our duty to do what is right no matter what we feel. Hence, the categorical imperative embodies what our will should be. A different view to Kant’s theory is the concept of rule utilitarianism. A rule utilitarian believes that everyone should follow the rules, but should only embrace certain rules that bring out the greatest good or consequence. The Opposite of Kant, who rationalizes that we should follow our moral duty no matter the personal outcome. Yet, following our duty does not always mean to follow the rules and vice versa. The defining idea between the two is whether our consequences or intentions actually matter, which can help justify or disclose Liang’s decisions. Using Kant’s theory of ethics to evaluate Liang’s decisions aids in explaining responsibility in this dilemma. 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