What Are Uniformitarianism Catastrophism And Plates Tectonic History Essay

What Are Uniformitarianism Catastrophism And Plates Tectonic History Essay Introduction: The following report will outline and discuss the work of scientists; Sir Charles Lyell, James Hutton, Alfred Wegener and Harry Hess. It will also explain how their work influenced the development of earth science from the time they made their theories/observations to today. What are uniformitarianism, catastrophism and plates tectonic: Uniformitarianism: Uniformitarianism has took many, many years to be understood, proven and actually used as a theory on how things happen on and to the earth. When scientists started to understand the ways in which mountains and volcanoes are formed and why deep sea trenched occurred etc, they began to realise that such things as these did not happen in a matter of minutes due to a catastrophic incident. Its by natural causes and slow movements. As the motto for uniformitarianism is the present is key to the past which literally means everything that happens today is an indication of what happened in the past, dealing with the same occurrences. The dictionary definition is: Geology. Of or pertaining to the thesis that processes that operated in the remote geological past are not different from those observed now. Catastrophism: Catastrophism was around for a long time before uniformitarianism and was chosen as the favoured theory for a long time before uniformitarianism; they believed that everything that happened and changed the earth was due to major catastrophes like violent volcano eruptions or meteorites from space impacting on the earth. The dictionary definition is: Geology. The doctrine that certain vast geological changes in the earths history were caused by catastrophes rather than gradual evolutionary processes. Plates tectonic: Plates tectonic are the plates underneath the continents and are broken up into 7 major plates; the African, North American, South American, Eurasian, Australian, Antarctic, and Pacific plates. There are also some smaller plates, including the Arabian, Nazca, and Philippines plates. These plates are constantly moving at a rate of about 2-10cm per year. Some of the plates crash into each other while others simply follow each other or slip over and over each other. When the plates meet and are stuck together trying to move when one finally moves under the other it causes earthquakes and even tsunamis because one plate is thrust upwards causing the land above it to rise upwards. Information about Earth Scientists: Sir Charles Lyell, James Hutton, Alfred Wegener and Harry Hess all have something very important in common; they helped form the theories, ideas and investigations of Plates tectonic, sea floor-spreading and the development of the theory uniformitarianism over catastrophism. The next paragraphs will introduce you to all of the above scientists, what they did and how they did and also the meanings and importance of uniformitarianism and catastrophism. James Hutton: Name: James Hutton Nationality: Scottish D.o.B: 3 June 1726 D.o.D: 26 March 1797 Speciality: Geologist, physician, naturalist, chemist and experimental farmer. Brief insight: Known as the founding father of modern geology. Started the theory of uniformitarianism Influenced Sir Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin. James Hutton was born in Edinborough in 1726 and studied many things from farming to chemistry. He wrote the famous book theory of the earth, which gained the attention of many philosophers to come in later years and started the age of geology and new discoveries on how the earth works. Huttons farming passion made him more susceptible to the beauty and wonders of the earth and as he began to examine rocks he discovered that in actual fact the earth didnt form around 6,000 years ago as told by the catholic religion, but in actual fact over millions of years ago, and that fossils found were not the bones of animals that drowned in the great biblical flood. He pursued the idea that sedimentation (Sediment mineral or organic matter deposited by water, air or ice. Sedimentation -the deposition or accumulation of sediment.), happens so slowly that even the oldest rocks are made up of materials furnished from the ruins of former continents. He called these processes the great geological cycle which happens continuously. Sir Charles Lyell: Name: Sir Charles Lyell Nationality: British D.o.B: 14 November 1797 D.o.D: 22 February 1875 Speciality: Geology Brief insight: He studied law and became a practising lawyer. Wrote the Principles of Geology, 1830, (12 editions), which basically made people accept the theory of uniformitarianism. Without him Charles Darwin mightnt have been able to prove his theory of evolution. Sir Charles Lyell was a British geologist and was the main person who gained recognition for the theory of uniformitarianism. It started off as an understanding and agreement for James Huttons book theory of the earth, but then turned into an adventure in proving uniformitarianism has and is at work. His observations led scientists to believe that slow, steady movements cause the earth to be shaped and formed, not catastrophic occurrences. Lyells ability and flair for creative writing helped the theory become recognised by the world wide community of scientists. The information and evidence collected was enough to move the positions of the scientists and really show them flaws in the theory of catastrophism. Without Lyells clarification and dedication of explaining and proving uniformitarianism maybe Charles Darwin wouldnt have been able to progress his theories of evolution for people to believe and understand. Alfred Wegener: Name: Alfred Wegener Nationality: German D.o.B: November 1, 1880 D.o.D: November 1930 Speciality: Astronomy and meteorology Brief insight: Lecturer of astronomy and meteorology at a German university. Started to meddle with sciences outside his field. Wrote an important paper called The origin of Continents and Oceans which was the start of the theories on continental drift and plates tectonic. Alfred Wegener was a German lecturer on astronomy and meteorology and this was his passion until he happened to come across a paper on the theory of a land bridge between Brazil and Africa. This made him try and understand the real reason for the jigsaw puzzle like continents that make up our world. Like many others he realised that Africa and South America seem to fit perfectly together and that there must have been a way for one species of fossil to be found in one country and another when the animal had a land locked form and the countries werent connected. His expeditions to Greenland (his most loved country to visit), led him to discover the discrepancies between the longitudinal calculations of his party and earlier ones from 1823 and 1870 this became an important part of evidence later on to prove that this particular continent has moved between the years therefore there must be evidence to suggest others have too. He later wrote a book/paper called the origin of continents and continental drift, which was dismissed and mocked due to him being meddling out of his field of expertise and his nationality as the Great War only ended to years earlier. None of the scientist wanted to believe that continents drifted and were once united as one, this was absurd. Wegener used many forms of evidence to back his theories sup such as the shared diamond mines between Brazil and Africa, even though they arent connected, but the scientists refused to go back on what they believed in. Harry Hess: Name: Harry Hess Nationality: Canadian D.o.B: May 24, 1906 D.o.D: August 25, 1969 Speciality: Geology Brief insight: Single most important contribution of the 20thcentury. Emphasised on the sea-floor spreading theory, One of the founding fathers of plates tectonic theories. Discovered the great global rift. Harry Hess was a Canadian navy officer and specialised in geology he produced the original hypothesis of the ocean floors were moving like conveyor belts, carrying the continents along with them. In his book The history of ocean basins, he quoted The sea floor is not permanent, but is constantly being renewed. The mid-ocean ridge is indeed a crack in the crust. Through it hot material from the underlying mantle continually swells up and spreads outwards, new crust is generated at the rate of about half an inch a year on each side of the ridge. His theories solved all problems of the time such as: The high heat flow along the ridge and the discovery of conical mountains on the sea floor. The understanding of sea-floor spreading also helped us to understand the theory of plates tectonic and how it works in comparison with sea floor spreading. But because this was only fiction and no solid evidence was produced to back up all statements of the theory it was taken the same way as Wegener s thoughtsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦nowhere, until later on in the years. Issues relating to the development of the theories of catastrophism and uniformitarianism: Religion vs. evidence: Catastrophism only remained in the heads of scientists due the direction in which it pointed Noahs flood. Religion held a very high level of authority in the 1600s- late 1900s therefore everything that was discovered had to lead to a biblical explanation. It wasnt accepted until around 3 people tried to evolve the theory such as Hutton, Lyell and Darwin who all gave evidence and suggestions and add evidence on top of evidence to try and prove their way of thinking and the Uniformitarianism vs. nature: After uniformitarianism was recognised as the higher of the two theories on how the earth was formed and is still shaping over catastrophism, everyone started to look at the events that were shaping the earth and began to see that uniformitarianism seemed to be the more appropriate theory. However as most scientists and the general public believe that uniformitarianism is the reasons for how the earth is what theyre not realising is that catastrophism is also playing a part in forming the earth as well by natural disasters from violent volcano eruptions to tsunamis. These examples could happen at any given time and not much warning is given before hand of what is about to happen, therefore it could become a catastrophic occurrence which could shape the way the earth is. So catastrophism need not be forgotten. Catastrophism vs. evidence: It is suggested that the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs was due to a major meteorite impact which caused huge devastation for the earth and another theory is that they went extinct due to the great biblical flood, this theory is only on the basis on what the Bible says about the great flood, but in actual fact there is no evidence which suggests the dinosaurs drowned, just the word of the bible. The problem with catastrophism is that most the theories made up involving it dont show sufficient evidence to suggest it did happen besides the few cases of volcanoes erupting violently and changing the earth. Conclusion: In conclusion to my report I support the theory of uniformitarianism because the evidence that backs it up is clear and concise and it has an answer to every problem e.g. how plates tectonic move and how volcanoes and mountains are made. But we shouldnt forget that catastrophism still works in ways when volcanoes and mountains and formed suddenly by earthquakes and tsunamis which change the earth.

Gattaca Viewing Essay

Gattaca Viewing Essay Themes in texts are what make them interesting and engaging. A text which has a number of intriguing themes is the feature film Gattaca, written and directed by Andrew Niccol, and released in 1997. One particular theme which is evident in Gattaca is the idea that the most important key to a person’s success is not their genetic material but their ambitions, drive and determination. This theme is explored in the film through the conventions of performance and characterisation, camera angles, camera shots and by music/sound.Early in the film Gattaca, Vincent undergoes a transformation. Prior to the transformation Vincent is seen as an unconfident person with bad body language, baggy clothing and glasses which all indicates that Vincent is inferior. Vincent wants to be able to work at Gattaca but he knows that he can’t make it in because of his genetic material (heart problem), so he meets German (broker) who helps Vincent undergo the transformation. When German asks Vincent how committed he is to the project; Vincent says â€Å"I’d give 100%,† to which German replies, â€Å"That’ll get you halfway there†.This shows you how much effort Vincent has to put in to get into Gattaca, but with drive and determination on Vincent’s side he not only gets into Gattaca but one of their elites. After Vincent’s transformation from a â€Å"borrowed ladder† to a valid his attitude and looks had changed completely. His posture and body language had become almost perfect and his attitude to life had also transformed completely; making him look like a professional. You can finally see the complete transformation when Vincent has his interview at Gattaca, when he looks into the mirror.You can see that Vincent is impressed with what he has transformed into. During the film Gattaca, the mission director at Gattaca was brutally murdered, in which Investigators took control of Gattaca and checked everyth ing, everywhere and everyone, gene to gene. When Vincent sees all of these people searching for clues and evidence he slightly loses faith and starts to rethink his whole dream. The investigators find a suspect, but no details are given except a picture (of Vincent) and the fact that the suspect is an invalid.There are many different scenes in which Vincent almost gets caught, but one of the tensest scenes was when Vincent went on the treadmill for his training. Prior to this scene we see Jerome clip a heart rate monitor onto himself and we see him ride his wheel chair so they can record his heartbeat, which we figure out that Vincent is going to end up using it. When Vincent goes onto the treadmill we see him quickly switch heart rate monitors and then we see him jogging. Then we see two investigator walk into the gym facility where everyone is getting there heart rate checked, including Vincent.While the investigators are talking to the doctors we, the viewers can hear Vincentâ₠¬â„¢s heart beat (non-diegetic), which slowly builds up the tension. Then when the investigators and the doctor are talking about Vincent, his Heart beat monitors recording finished early so we can hear his real heartbeat which is going really fast so he quickly unclipped his heart rate monitor and walked off. This shows you the risks and challenges that Vincent faces every day and the ways he deals with them.At the beginning of Gattaca Vincent and his brother Anton play a dangerous game called â€Å"Chicken†. Chicken involves Vincent and Anton battling against each other and against the great force of nature as they swim out into the ocean as far as they possibly can until one gives in or turns back. Both Anton and Vincent are presented through high angles to show their inferiority and insignificance compared to rough and wavy ocean. There are also scenes in which they are displayed through eye level shots to show that the conditions are equal to both of them.Later on in the film Vincent and Anton go back out into the ocean and have another game of Chicken in which Vincent, against all odds beats Anton. This is a significant part of the film because Vincent finally realises that he can achieve anything and he can finally travel into space. â€Å"It was the one moment in our lives that my brother was not as strong as he believed, and I was not as weak. It was the moment that made everything possible†. Camera angles help support the theme that the most important key to a person’s success is not their genetic material but their ambitions, drive and determination.At the end of Gattaca, Vincent was only moments away from achieving his goal to go to Gattaca. At the same time Jerome is preparing to end his life. These two scenes are intercut so we can see Vincent finally getting onto the rocket and achieving his goal while Jerome is stepping into the incinerator preparing to kill himself because he lived a miserable life, having perfect genetic material but a lack of determination and drive. This scene is extremely tense because we feel emotionally overwhelmed; happy for Vincent and sympathetic for Jerome.We also feel quite emotional because we know Jerome is going to die happy and we know that he was happy to be part of Vincent’s transformation: â€Å"I got the better end of the deal. I only lent you my body †¦ you lent me your dream†. This is the final scene of the film that completes the theme. Vincent made his dream come true, not because of his genetic material but because of his ambitions, drive and determination. It is evident in the feature film Gattaca, by Andrew Niccol that the key to a person’s success is not their genetic material but their ambitions, drive and determination.Gattaca is full of interesting ideas and themes which are explored throughout Vincent’s journey. The conventions of performance and characterisation, camera angles, camera shots and music/sound all help deve lop the theme. I believe that this would have to be one of my favourite movies because of all of the representations and because the story behind it inspired me to become a better person. I would also recommend this movie to anyone because it reaches out to a wide target audience and I would definitely rate it a 10 out of 10. By Anthony (hshs)

What Is a Carbonate

Definition: Carbonate is an ion consisting of one carbon and three oxygen atoms.The molecular formula for the carbonate ion is CO32-.

Classification and Division of Beam and Arch Bridge - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 321 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/09/23 Category Advertising Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? There are three basic types of bridges, two of them are the arch and beam bridge. Of the first type the form of the load-bearing structure or its actual shape is convex. The load of an arch bridge is carried outward along the curve of the arch to the abutments at each ends. These abutments or supports carry the load and keeps the ends of the bridge from spreading out. Arch bridges can be divided into two major types, the old and the modern arch bridges. Under the first types are the Corbel arch bridges and the Aqueducts, both are designed that each succeeding layer over the other. The materials used for the first type are simple masses of stone bricks which made it last until the present times. Of the second type more complex procedures, calculations, and equipments are used to build these steel bridges. Under the second type are the Deck arch bridges, through arch bridges and Tied arch bridges. All of these are used to bridge large gap with their strong and beautiful stru ctures which makes it not only a way of transportation but also a piece of attraction among large cities. On the other hand, Beam bridges have the form of the load-bearing structure or its actual shape is simply flat. The load of a beam bridge is basically supported by its piers or foundations. The beam bridge is horizontally self supporting. It exerts mainly vertical downward force on its foundations. There are two main types of beam bridges namely the simple span beam bridge and the cantilevers. The simple span beam bridge is found in practice to provide the most economical form of bridge, it is simply defined as a bridge supported at its ends. The cantilever provides a means to make beam bridges of considerably greater spans; it is also called the girder bridge. These beam bridges are basically made up of steels and concretes. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Classification and Division of Beam and Arch Bridge" essay for you Create order