Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Essay Example for Free

Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Essay Abstract Nonverbal communication speaks louder than verbal communication; therefore, nonverbal communication, such as background music, needs to be sensibly evaluated. As a form of nonverbal communication, background music is capable of influencing a target audience. In advertising, emotions can be shifted depending on the music being played in the background and the same feelings are then transferred to the product, providing a tremendous advantage in business (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). Music can change one’s mood; in the workplace, an improved mood allows employees to be more content and, overall, more productive. In addition, with the right musical selection, the music is able to increase the amount of information an individual is able to retain (Balch Lewis, 1996). Various aspects from several studies have been examined, demonstrating the power of background music and music in general. The Capabilities and Effects of Background Music Nonverbal communication may be unintentional and speakers may not be aware of their behaviors or it may be just the opposite (Troester Mester, 2007). However, background music is often carefully selected in order to aid in the desired goal, particularly in advertising (Dillman Carpentier, 2010; Kellaris, Cox, Cox, 1993). The goals of every businessperson may not be the same; yet, the capabilities and effects of music are rather consistent (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). Whether via television, radio, or in person, music is able to affect the moods of those in the audience (Knobloch, 2003). Music also has the ability to improve the performance of the task at hand of an individual (Fassbender, Richards, Bilgin, Thompson, Heiden, 2012). According to Balch and Lewis (1996), an increase in memory is also induced by music. In any aspect of business, the effects of music can be utilized and even increase efficiency and productivity. Mood Alteration One’s mood determines the way one thinks and acts and what is said (Knobloch, 2003; Hunter, Schellenberg, Schimmack, 2010). According to Hunter et al., â€Å"music is the language of emotions† (p. 47). The perception of music determines the emotion felt. The perception of happiness is more often transferred to feeling happy than the perception of sadness and feeling sad (Hunter, Schellenberg, Schimmack, 2010). Davies (2011) refers to the emotions of music as being contagious. When one is around people who are depressed, that person’s mood adjusts closer to those who are in the depressed state. Similarly, although a person may not actually be sad, a sad part in a movie can make that person feel sad; the same applies to music. Hearing music that sounds happy can make one feel happy and to the contrary. Davies models this as a cause and effect relationship. The music being heard is the cause and the effect is one’s reaction to the music. Whether the reaction is happy or sad is dependent upon the perception of the music to the listener. Sounds that reflect happiness include little amplitude variation, a vast pitch variety, and fast tempo (Hatfield, Cacioppo, Rapson, 1993). Therefore, when one hears these sounds of happy music, emotional contagion is invoked on the subject and causes that person to feel happy. In advertisements, music is selected as an enhancement but also to affect mood. It is a company’s goal to influence potential buyers by creating a positive attitude and feeling towards that company’s product. With a positive image in mind of a particular product, there is a greater likelihood that the consumer will purchase the product (Dillman Carpentier, 2010). An average of more than 9.5 hours of media is taken in by the average American on a daily basis; of those hours, 38% is dedicated to music – all of which affects mood in some way (Knobloch, 2003). In addition, according to Dillman Carpentier, 90% of commercials include music of some sort (2010). The preceding statistics show the value of music to consumers and therefore, reflect the importance music-induced moods have in marketing. Enhanced Performance Not only is music able to affect one’s mood but it is also capable of increasing the performance of an individual (North Hargreaves, 1999). According to Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky, the IQ scores of the participants of their study were highest when the participants were under the influence of music (1993). In the other two trials, the participants went through a relaxation process and sat in silence for 10 minutes; the scores were 2.95 and 3.56 points respectively lower (Rauscher, Shaw, Ky, 1993). Some teachers have started using music to increase the focus and efficiency of students. Relaxing music is played to keep the students’ minds from wandering and, instead, concentrated on the lesson. The relaxing music causes one’s brainwave frequencies to alter, entering the alpha state. The alpha state has been found to be the state where the best connection to one’s subconscious is made (Fassbender, Richards, Bilgin, Thompson, Heiden, 2012). Koenen’s and Restak’s (as cited in Fassbender et al., 2012) findings have both supported that music inhibits thought. Restak’s claim is based on a study conducted with surgeons as the participants. Due to differing parts of the brain being used for music and for physical tasks, the music doesn’t inhibit the task but keeps the other part of the brain occupied and, therefore, from becoming distracted (Fassbender et al., 2012). In another study, surgeons were asked to count backwards by various numbers under three different conditions and were monitored throughout their tasks. The different conditions were no music, music of personal preference, and experimenter-selected music. Each surgeon was individually tested and each surgeon’s blood pressure, pulse, timing, and accuracy were recorded. The results showed a significant difference among the three conditions and the areas being monitored. The surgeons’ blood pressures and pulses were at much higher levels when performing the tasks without music. The results of the tasks with the presence of music showed lower blood pressures and pulses but an increase in the speeds and accuracies of the surgeons. Of the two music conditions, the overall results of the surgeons were better when listening to music of their choice rather than the experimenter-selected music. The participants of the study are of a profession that undergoes much stress in the operating room; by listening to music of their choice, the effects of stress decrease and the quality of performances increase (Allen Blascovich, 1994). The studies of Dr. Adrian C. North provide several benefits of music for employers and employees. As previously mentioned, music can affect one’s mood. In the workplace, putting the employees in a better mood will increase their productivity by improving how well they interact with their fellow employees. It has been proven that one’s mood and helpfulness are directly related (North Hargreaves, 1999). Music has also been found to raise the employee morale, leading to a decrease in the number of absences (Furnham Bradley, 1997; North Hargreaves, 1999). The output per employee can also be increased in a work field involving repetitiveness. According to Johnson (2004), participants of his study (whose work was repetitive) matched the tempo of the music being played while working. Therefore, with the addition of music – causing a better mood, cooperation, and increased pace – the overall productivity and efficiency of the workforce can increase and, in turn, boost the company revenue. Music is a friend of labour for it lightens the task by refreshing the nerves and spirit of the worker – William Green ( quoted in Furnham Bradley, 1997) Increased Memory Although music and its relationship to human memory are still being researched, scientists do know that music affects several parts of the brain (Weir Nevins, 2010). Cognitive neuroscientist, Petr Janata, says, â€Å" It [music] calls back memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that person’s face in your mind’s eye† (Weir Nevins, 2010, p. 12). According to John Sweller, one must relate what is being learned to something that is already known (2003). Studies have proven the word-for-word is much higher when heard with music than when heard without music (Wallace, 1994). Wallace also suggests the musical accompaniment is used as a retrieval device or as an aid in the way the words are stored. The belief is that the music accents the words being spoken by acting as a cue when determining the number of syllables in a word and words in a verse (Wallace, 1994). It has also been shown that some memories are solely dependent on music being the trigger to recall them (Balch Lewis, 1996). In marketing and advertising, music plays a significant role on one’s memory. Most can probably identify the brand image, along with the melody, by simply reading, â€Å"five, five-dollar foot long† (Weir Nevins, 2010) due to the capability of music that allows one to recall melody and image from the text read (and the contrary) (Wallace, 1994). Pertaining to memory, music can also serve as an aid in health services (Simmons-Stern, Budson, Ally, 2010). According to a study by Simmons-Stern et al., patients with Alzheimer’s disease were able to recall more of the information they were given when it was sung rather than spoken. It is thought to be possible that these findings may aid in discovering a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease patients (Simmons-Stern et al., 2010). Conclusion There is no doubt music plays a role in everyone’s life in some way. The effects of music are nearly unavoidable due to the fact that music is incorporated into such a variety of activities and places and can cause differentiating feelings and results. Sad music can spread sadness (through emotional contagion) and infect the listener with that sadness, causing the listener’s mood to worsen. On the contrary, music is also able to make one feel happy (Davies, 2011). In the workplace, music is able to improve the mood of employees, motivate employees, and quicken the pace of the work being done (Furnham Bradley, 1997). By playing upbeat music where the work to be done is monotonous, the workers are less irritated and fall in rhythm with the beat of the music. A workforce that has a higher rate of productivity can ultimately benefit the company by increasing the profits (North Hargreaves, 1999). Music also accentuates words and increases the memorabilia of those words; this can be quite beneficial in advertisements (Weir Nevins, 2010). Another benefit music offers, with regards to memory, is as a possible treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Simmons-Stern, Budson, Ally, 2010). Regardless of being a form of nonverbal communication or where it may appear, music strongly affects human beings with its ample array of capabilities. References Allen, K. P., Blascovich, J. P. (1994). Effects of Music on Cardiovascular Reactivity Among Surgeons. Journal of The American Medical Association, 272(11), 882-884. Balch, W. R., Lewis, B. S. (1996). Music-Dependent Memory: The Roles of Tempo Change and Mood Mediation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 22(6), 1354-1363. Davies, S. (2011). Infectious Music: Music-Listener Emotional Contagion. In A. Coplan, P. Goldie, Empathy: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press. Dillman Carpentier, F. R. (2010). Innovating Radio News: Effects of Background Music Complexity on Processing and Enjoyment. Journal of Radio Audio Media, 17(1), 63-81. Douglas Olsen, G. (1995). Creating the Contrast: The Influence of Silence and Background Music on Recall and Attribute Importance. Journal of Advertising, 59(4), 29-44. Fassbender, E., Richards, D., Bilgin, A., Thompson, W. F., Heiden, W. (2012). The Effects of Music on Memory f or Facts Learned in a Virtual Environment. Computers and Education, 58(1), 490-500. Furnham, A., Bradley, A. (1997). Music While You Work: The Differential Distraction of Background Music on the Cognitive Test Performance of Introverts and Extraverts. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 11, 445-455. Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., Rapson, R. L. (1993). Emotional Contagion. Current Directions in Psychological Sciences, 2(3), 96-99. Hunter, P. G., Schellenberg, E. G., Schimmack, U. (2010). Feelings and Perceptions of Happiness and Sadness Induced by Music: Similarities, Differences, and Mixed Emotions. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 4(1), 47-56. Johnson, V. W. (2004). Effect of Musical Style on Spontaneous Exercise Performance. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, 24, 357. Kellaris, J. J., Cox, A. D., Cox, D. (1993, October). The Effect of Background Music on Ad Processing: A Contingency Explanation. Journal of Marketing, 57, 114-125. Knobloch, S. (2003, June). Mood Adjustment via Mass Communication. Journal of Communication, 53(2), 233-250. North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Music and Driving Game Performance. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 40, 285-292. North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Musical Tempo, Productivity, and Morale. Unpublished Manuscript. Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., Ky, K. N. (1993). Music and Spatial Task Performance. Nature, 365, 611. Simmons-Stern, N. R., Budson, A. E., Ally, B. A. (2010). Music as a Memory Enhancer in Patients with Alzheimers Disease. Neuropsychologia, 48, 3164-3167. Sweller, J. (2003). Evolution of Human Cognitive Architecture. San Diego: Academic Press. Troester, R., Mester, C. (2007). Chapter 7: Nonverbal Civility. In Civility in Business Professional Communication (pp. 87-105). Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. Wallace, W. T. (1994). Memory for Music: Effect of Melody on Recall of Text. Jornal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(6), 1471-1485. Weir, K., Nevins, D. (2010). Music and Your Mind. Current Health Kids, 34(1), p. 10.

Self Expression Essay -- essays research papers

Self Expression The American social environment has revolutionized the ways in which people express their sexual identity. Years ago it was taboo for a young lady to talk about sex or even arouse her interest about the topic. Sheltered under her parents wings a girl was not given the opportunity to explore her sexuality. Parents molded their children in their image and did not allow them much choice or opportunity for diversity. It was not as socially acceptable for a young person to be allowed to express themselves through clothes, music or lifestyle as it is today. Stuart Ewen presents an excellent point in his article “First Impressions'; about young people and how they have come to shape their own identity . Although this article is about the influence of urban styles on materialistic impressions, he makes a remarkably strong point about the historical transformation of individual identity. Ewen states “The old world of the parents was rooted in a continuity…the new world on th e other hand, demanded a sense of self that was malleable, sensitive to the power of increasingly volatile surfaces. Addressing the historical transformation of individual identity, historian Warren Susman describes it as a shift from the importance of “character'; to the importance of “personality'; (Ewen, 411). Audrey Lorde incorporated this theory throughout her book “ZAMI a New Spelling of My Name'; Lorde takes us on a journey through her life starting with her early childhood years. As a young black girl being raised by a strong, independent homosexual mother living a hetrosexual lifestyle, Lorde shows us how she secretly takes on many of her mother’s characteristics. Audrey Lorde uses her mother’s sexual identity as a foundation in developing her own sense of sexuality while struggling to express herself as a young, homosexual black woman in an extensively critical society. Audrey Lorde paints a picture throughout this book of how her mother’s sexuality played a major role in allowing her to come to terms with her own sexual identity. Lorde allows us to see that her mother lead a hetrosexual lifestyle only because back in the twenties and thirties homosexuality was not socially accepted. Although her mother was different from all of the other women, she never openly expressed herself i... ...y grew to come about. If Lorde was alive today, I am sure she would be happy to see how much the American social environment has influenced today’s youth. Homosexuality is far more accepted today than ever before. Children are being brought up in a free society that allows them to express their identity and sexuality in many different ways. This allows for them to grow as individuals and explore for themselves their intimate desires and personal preferences that will shape them in to becoming who they are later on in life. Ewen made an excellent point in his article by stating “…the new world on the other hand, demanded a sense of self that was malleable, sensitive to the power of increasingly volatile surfaces'; (Ewen, 410). This statement is true with today’s society. Parents of today’s generation are becoming less controlling and saving their children the resentment they felt towards their parents. Children are very vulnerable to everything that g oes on around them. I feel parents today are trying their best not to stand in the way of their children’s dreams and desires. Children are able now more than ever to explore.

Corporate University Model Essay

From my readings and research I have learned about the corporate university model. I will be evaluating why many organizations today are emphasizing training as an employee development tool and focus on why utilizing the internal university structure has become very popular. I think that the corporate university model is a very effective model. It is an educational entity that is a strategic tool designed to assist its parent organization in achieving its goals by conducting activities that foster individual and organizational learning and knowledge. It is set up to bring common culture, loyalty, and belonging to the company. Our text states that â€Å"a corporate university model is a training model in which the client group includes not only company employees and managers but also stakeholders outside the company (Roe, pg. 551, 2010).† â€Å"It response to the rapid changes in information and technology that characterizes our society. A companion to the concept of life-long learning, the corporate university enables businesses, both for profit and not for profit, to maintain and expand the expertise of their workforces and, as a result, to secure their positions in the marketplace. The corporate university adds value to the business and, in some cases generates revenue (Gould, 2005).† â€Å"The top five organizational goals of corporate universities were to improve customer’s service and retention, improve productivity, reduce costs, retain talented employees, and increase revenue (Roe, pg. 84, 2010).† If revenue is generated, the chief learning officer develops and implements the appropriate business and marketing plans (Gould, 2005).† Training functions organized by the university model tend to offer a wider range of programs and courses (Roe, pg. 84, 2010). Culture and values tend to be emphasized more often in the training curriculum of corporate universities. It centralizes training to make sure that â€Å"best training practices† that may be used in one unit of the company are disseminated across the company (Roe, pg. 84, 2010). It also enables the company to control costs by developing consistent training practices and policies (Roe, pg. 83, 2010). â€Å"Companies  have found that investment in human capital in the form of training and development yields high returns. The ones that recognize the value of their employees and place a new emphasis on education and training are becoming more competitive, successful, and profitable as a result (Dutkowsky, 2014).† â€Å"Transferring knowledge leads to synergistic cost advantages, better implementation of organizational strategies, and competitive advantage. Organizations are implementing corporate universities to aid in knowledge transfer. This allows organizations to customize them to meet their training needs (Clinton, Merritt, & Murray, 2009). Knowledge is the primary ingredient in gaining a competitive advantage and knowledge is a firm’s main inimitable resource. Knowledge has to be effectively transferred within organizations in order to maximize the competitive advantage arising from knowledge (Clinton, Merritt, & Murray, 2009). Corporate universities are also vital to employees as well. In this day and age, responsibility and authority are pushed downward and all employees are expected to make decisions and to contribute to competitive advantage. This requires workers who can think and do for themselves (Clinton, Merritt, & Murray, 2009). Advanced education and continuous learning is crucial. â€Å"The key goal for an organization is to provide its workers with the ability to retool their skills and knowledge continually. Corporate universities allow employers to provide employees the opportunity to increase their knowledge, and in return, employees will take education from the corporate university and give bac k to the organization through innovation, efficiency, and productivity (Clinton, Merritt, & Murray, 2009).† Overall, corporate universities are built on a system that understands the chief concern for knowledge workers in nearly every industry and occupation is the shelf life of their knowledge, causing them to have a constantly retool their schools. Employees benefit from the corporate university movement in more ways than simply being able to perform their assigned jobs better. They also learn skills and possibly earn degrees that can be carried through their career, making they, themselves, more marketable to the workplace. Corporate universities are the â€Å"fast growing segment of the adult education market. Corporate universities strive to achieve their mission of developing programs that are clearly linked to business objectives and organizational strategy. These programs are designed to convey corporate culture and focus  on learning beyond on-the-job training. By doing so, many employees throughout the United States and abroad are offered educational opportunities that might not otherwise be available to them. In conclusion, the corporate university model is a very effective model. Organizations constantly need to adapt themselves to stay aligned with an ever-changing and increasingly complex environment. Corporate Universities puts â€Å"smart learning† at the forefront, with strategies to secure alignment between organization and environment, which need both speed of learning and learning in the right direction. Across the globe, corporate universities have emerged as vehicles of such strategy-driven learning. References Clinton, M., S., Merritt, K., L., & Murray, R., S. (2009). Using corporate universities to facilitate knowledge transfer and achieve competitive advantage: An exploratory model based on media richness and type of knowledge to be transferred. Retrieved from: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/detail?vid=2&sid=4fbbc155-1ebe-4a53-b4b7-309ae9d4306c%40sessionmgr112&hid=115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=psyh&AN=2009-19970-003 Dutkowsky, S. (2014). Trends in Training and Development – THE NEW ECONOMY, TRAINING IN U.S. COMPANIES, WHO DOES THE TRAINING IN CORPORATIONS? Retrieved from: StateUniversity.com http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/852/Trends-in-Training-Development.html#ixzz34jTinPJA Gould, E., K. (2005). The Corporate University. A Model for Sustaining an Expert Workforce in the Human Services. Retrieved from: http://bmo.sagepub.com.proxy library.ashford.edu/content/29/3/508.full.pdf+html Noe, R. (2010) Employee Training and Development (5th editi on). McGraw-Hill/Irwin

First Grade by Ron Koertge: Poem Analysis Essay

The shorter a poem is, the more striking it is. Ron Koertge’s First Grade proved this through a magic of splendid simplicity, most especially in the last line of the poem- â€Å"For the rest of our lives.† Sincerely, I was struck by the swift and wholesome change or transition in scene from the first stanza to the next. However, what threw me off my seat was the last line because of the ‘eternity’ Koertge had implied in that stanza. Just because of that line, the whole comparison between the first stanza, which illustrated our innocent and healthily imaginative childhood, and the second, which illustrated a stricter and guided society, had changed. It caused that first stanza to look short-lived and the second one to be incessant, everlasting, and without end. This poem’s message, implied greatly by the last line, tells us that we must enjoy our childhood and never take any opportunity or moment with our loved ones for granted. It also tells us that although we have our chance to have an occasional splurge, order, law, and justice will be prevalent at all times. This holds true to all people- especially those in First Grade. I think the main theme is the flawed school system. I don’t mean the school system in a particular area or country. He’s talking about school in general and how it kills the individual’s creativity and intellectual independence. He mentions how his imagination was wild and free before first grade: â€Å"Until then, every forest had wolves in it† and â€Å"we could talk to water†. But when he enters first grade, he’s faced with drab reality: his teacher is a â€Å"woman with the gray breath†; he’s saying that the state of mind the school creates in you is something that you’re stuck with for the rest of your life.

Ramses Ii Essays - Ancient Egyptian Mummies, Ramesses II

Ramses Ii Essays - Ancient Egyptian Mummies, Ramesses II Ramses Ii While visiting the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, I found numerous works of art that interested me. I was able to appreciate these works more than before because of the knowledge I now possess after having taken this class thus far. Understanding the background, time periods, and history of the works that I was practically analyzing at the museum, made the pieces even more interesting and valuable to behold. The piece of work that captured my eyes the most was the statue of Ramesses II (?). This statue was found at the Heracleopolis, Temple of Harsaphes, in Egypt. This sculpture was made somewhere between 1897 and 1834, during Egypts Middle Kingdom. The artist was probably an ancient Egyptian who was patroned by the Pharaoh Ramesses II himself. According to the museums description of the work, Ramesses II seized this sculpture from a former ruler and the head was replaced to fit Ramesses satisfaction. This is a historical piece to preserve his power and immortality. This statue is an example of freestanding sculpture or sculpture in the round. It has been carved and chiseled out of Quartzite stone. This particular stone is composed mainly or entirely of quartz. The stone is compact and is a form of metamorphosed sandstone in which silica, or quartz, has been deposited between the grains of quartz of which the sandstone is essentially composed. Quartzite has a smooth fracture and is found primarily among ancient rocks. The subject and iconography of the work is to emphasize the success, reign and power of Ramesses II. According to the museums description, the sculpture also functioned as a place for the non-priests of the community to place votive offerings for the gods of the temple. The non-priests were not allowed in the temples hence the sculpture must have been near the entrance of the temple. There is a slab in front of the pharaohs feet where offerings would have been placed. The statue is rather large and stands approximately 10 feet high and 5 feet wide. The mass of the sculpture is almost overpowering to the observer. Egyptian art is known to be very compact, and this characteristic is evident in the statue of Ramesses II. The sculpture stays within the frame of the stone, nothing in this piece protrudes outside of its frame. The pose of the Pharaoh is consistent with Ancient Egyptian art as well. The Pharaoh is seated with his hands placed on his upper legs. His arms are close to his body at both sides, and his legs are close together and connected to the throne he sits upon. He sits upright in a tranquil manner reflecting power and kingship as well. His body is bilaterally symmetrical while his pose is frontal and his movement is suppressed. Ramesses II wears a headdress and a fake detachable beard (which is missing) to denote his rank. This visual evidence, (hairstyles, clothes, objects), is common in Ancient Egyptian art to symbolize the status of the figure. When the pharaoh is portrayed, he usually has an elaborate headdress, is larger in scale than other figures around him, wears an elaborate patterned kilt, and is in perfectly fit form. The Ancient Egyptians idealized the body of the pharaoh and were not realistic when it came to portraying the actual facial characteristics of the pharaoh. Although the statue is not being compared to other figures in the work, one can tell by its stance, dress, and mass that the figure is important. Another characteristic of this sculpture is the bulls tail on the back of his kilt, which is visible hanging between his legs. The bull, in Ancient Egypt, was accepted as a sign of power and was associated with the status of the pharaoh. The bull can be seen in many other Ancient Egyptian works of art involving the pharaoh. The sculptures space and form takes up a three dimensional quality and is meant to be viewed from all sides. It is composed into a block of stone. This three-dimensional sculpture occupies both mass and volume. The carving technique used in the sculpture is known as subtractive, taking away from the original form of the stone. The slab of

Little Boy Atomic Bomb in World War II

Little Boy Atomic Bomb in World War II Little Boy was the first atomic bomb used against Japan in World War II and was detonated over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The design was the work of a team led by Lieutenant Commander Francis Birch at the Los Alamos Laboratory. A gun-type fission weapon, the Little Boy design utilized uranium-235 to create its nuclear reaction. Delivered to Tinian in the Marianas, the first Little Boy was carried to its target by the B-29 Superfortresses Enola Gay flown by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. of the 509th Composite Group. The Little Boy design was briefly retained in the years after World War II but was quickly eclipsed by newer weapons. The Manhattan Project Overseen by Major General Leslie Groves and scientist Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project was the name given to the United States efforts to build nuclear weapons during World War II. The first approach pursued by the project was the use of enriched uranium to create a weapon, as this material was known to be fissionable. To meet the projects needs, enriched uranium production began at a new facility in Oak Ridge, TN in early 1943. Around the same time, scientists began experimenting with various bomb prototypes at the Los Alamos Design Laboratory in New Mexico. Uranium Designs Early work focused on gun-type designs which fired one piece of uranium into another to create a nuclear chain reaction. While this approach proved promising for uranium-based bombs, it was less so for those utilizing plutonium. As a result, the scientists at Los Alamos began developing an implosion design for a plutonium-based bomb as this material was relatively more plentiful. By July 1944, the bulk of the research was focused on the plutonium designs and the uranium gun-type bomb was less of a priority. Leading the design team for the gun-type weapon, Lieutenant Commander Francis Birch succeeded in convincing his superiors that the design was worth pursuing if only as a back-up in case the plutonium bomb design failed. Pushing forward, Birchs team produced specifications for the bomb design in February 1945. Moving into production, the weapon, minus its uranium payload, was completed in early May. Dubbed the Mark I (Model 1850) and code-named Little Boy, the bombs uranium was not available until July. The final design measured 10 feet long and 28 inches in diameter. Little Boy Design A gun-type nuclear weapon, Little Boy relied on one mass of uranium-235 hitting another to create a nuclear reaction. As a result, the core component of the bomb was a smoothbore gun barrel through which the uranium projectile would be fired. The final design specified the use of 64 kilograms of uranium-235. Approximately 60% of this was formed into the projectile, which was a cylinder with a four-inch hole through the middle. The remaining 40% comprised the target which was a solid spike measuring seven inches long with a diameter of four inches. Commander A. Francis Birch (left) assembles the bomb while physicist Norman Ramsey watches. Public Domain When detonated, the projectile would be propelled down the barrel by a tungsten carbide and steel plug and would create a super-critical mass of uranium at impact. This mass was to be contained by a tungsten carbide and steel tamper and neutron reflector. Due to a lack of uranium-235, no full-scale test of the design occurred prior to the bombs construction. Also, due to its relatively simplistic design, Birchs team felt that only smaller-scale, laboratory tests were necessary to prove the concept. Though a design that virtually ensured success, Little Boy was relatively unsafe by modern standards, as several scenarios, such as a crash or electrical short circuit, could lead to a fizzle or accidental detonation. For detonation, Little Boy employed a three-stage fuse system which ensured that the bomber could escape and that it would explode at a preset altitude. This system employed a timer, barometric stage, and a set of doubly-redundant radar altimeters. "Little Boy" Atomic Bomb Type: Nuclear weaponNation: United StatesDesigner: Los Alamos LabratoryLength: 10 feetWeight: 9,700 poundsDiameter: 28 inchesFilling: Uranium-235Yield: 15 kilotons of TNT Delivery Use On July 14, several completed bomb units and the uranium projectile were shipped by train from Los Alamos to San Francisco. Here they were embarked aboard the cruiser USS Indianapolis. Steaming at high speed, the cruiser delivered the bomb components to Tinian on July 26. That same day, the uranium target was flown to the island in three C-54 Skymasters from the 509th Composite Group. With all of the pieces on hand, bomb unit L11 was chosen and Little Boy assembled. Due to the danger of handling the bomb, the weaponeer assigned to it, Captain William S. Parsons, made the decision to delay inserting the cordite bags into the gun mechanism until the bomb was airborne. With the decision to use the weapon against the Japanese, Hiroshima was selected as the target and Little Boy was loaded aboard the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay. Commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets, Enola Gay took off on August 6 and rendezvoused with two additional B-29s, which had been loaded with instrumentation and photographic equipment, over Iwo Jima. Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay landing after the atomic bombing mission on Hiroshima, Japan, 1945. U.S. Air Force Proceeding to Hiroshima, Enola Gay released Little Boy over the city at 8:15 AM. Falling for fifty-seven seconds, it detonated at the predetermined height of 1,900 feet with a blast equivalent to about 13-15 kilotons of TNT. Creating an area of complete devastation approximately two miles in diameter, the bomb, with its resulting shock wave and firestorm, effectively destroyed around 4.7 square miles of the city, killing 70,000-80,000 and injuring another 70,000. The first nuclear weapon used in wartime, it was quickly followed three days later by the use of Fat Man, a plutonium bomb, on Nagasaki. Postwar As it was not expected that the Little Boy design would be used again, many of the plans for the weapon were destroyed. This caused a problem in 1946 when a shortage of plutonium for new weapons led to the need to construct several uranium-based bombs as a stopgap. This resulted in a successful effort to recreate the original design and produced six assemblies. In 1947, the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ordnance built 25 Little Boy assemblies though by the following year there was only enough fissionable material to arm ten. The last of the Little Boy units were removed from the inventory in January 1951.

Reflection Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflection Assignment - Essay Example However, my friends and my parents jointly helped me prepare for my exams. My friends would convey me at my home what the teachers had taught in a particular day, and updated me on class exercises. They had been kind enough to spend a lot of time with me at my home and make me memorize the lessons on daily basis. My mother would make a visit to the school everyday after work to fetch me notes and ensure that I was updated on the on-going lessons. By the grace of God and through mutual effort of my parents and my friends, I happened to go through the exams with flying colors. I had a slight idea that my papers had gone exceptionally well, but I did not know they went good enough to earn me a trophy. It was a bright summer morning in April. My parents accompanied me to the school to see how well had I done. My heart lurched for I was very conscious about going to see how well had I done after having remained ill for a considerably long period. The school was decorated with ribbons, balloons and posters. About 1000 seats were aligned in the huge ground of the school to cater for all students and their parents. On one corner of the ground was a table covered with white cloth. There were silver trophies with red, blue and green ribbons tied round their necks arranged in rows. My father told me that red ones were for those who stood first, blues pertained to the students who came second, and green ribboned trophies were meant for those who stood third in the class. I had always fancied getting one of those trophies, no matter what color the ribbon on it was. They were of special significance to me because I had never got them before. I had seen in my previous classes how my class fe llows who achieved positions were appreciated not only by their parents, teachers and school administration, but also the class fellows including me envied them. I always wondered how much effort it takes to secure one of the top