Steam locomotives

The first steam locomotive was Richard Trevithick's unnamed locomotive. it was ahead of its time though and never caught on. the stephenson's rocket, an engine made for the rainhill trials, set the format for all steam engines that followed it.

The biggest change after that to steam locomotives was when 2 sets of driving wheels were added meaning that it had 2 pairs of Pistons and was basically two locomotives that shared a boiler and crew. A example of this is the 4-8-8-4 "big boy" it had 4 front wheels, a set of 8 driving wheels, a set of 8 driving wheels, then 4 rear wheels.

The Passion of a Candy Maker

Candy has been here since the cavemen years where candy was just gooey honey, kind of like a taffy. In 2000 BC Egypt candy started becoming more advanced by adding fruit and nuts to honey. Although, you may ask how did we get from natural honey to factory made chocolate bars? Well it all started when a man named Cortez brought back a chocolate drink from Spain in the late 1700’s.

The Writer At Heart

So the big question is; how did I get interested in writing? What's so great about it?

As far as I can remember, I always loved to read. Around beginning grades of lower school, I was reading Magic Tree House books and such. By higher grades of lower school, I was reading Percy Jackson books. Now, I read sci-fi books like crazy. I do read other genres too though. I read the Reckoners series, Legend, Hunger Games, Throne of Glass, and so much more. I even did OBOB from 4-7 grade. Reading really inspired me to write. I though it would be fun to try to construct a story of my own.

From Horses To Cars

From Horses To Cars

I'm sure you have ridden in a Car before or definitely seen a car? Why did we change from horses to cars, planes, boats etc? When did we change? Transportation helped a civilization thrive and succeed.

Horses were used in up to the 18 century  to get to a destination from another destination

Moving

Moving

Jobs and new opportunities often lead to moving and change. I should know because for half my life I have lived in 3 states and moved 4 times. Having to adjust to the new environment and culture around me.

In 1820 the industrial revolution started and millions of people moved to big cities like Chicago or New York to seek new jobs and opportunities to support their family.

The Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers had invented the first successful plane on December 17, 1903. An invention that was invented back in the 1900s has had greatly impacted our society today. Today, it has became a norm in our culture to just buy a plane ticket and take off to our destination. Sounds pretty simple....but it wasn't always like this. Before the airplane was invented transportation would take many hours to sometimes even days. People than had to travel by car, ship or train. If someone back then were to travel from Los Angeles to New York city that would approximately be 2400 miles. To travel by car it could easily take about 2-3 days. They would make many stops for gasoline and stay in a hotel or maybe even two before they could finally reach their destination. For a smaller situation like a car ride that would take 6 hours would take approximately only 1 hour to travel by plane. We rely on airplanes to take us where we want and when we want in a short period of time. These are just a few of many examples of how the airplane has impacted this world.

The Airplane allows us to travel for business trips, to visit relatives, and even just go on a nice peaceful vacation with family and friends. Many people including myself have had many complaints on how sometimes it can be a pain to sit in a plane for 6 hours straight but really in reality we don’t realize how lucky we are that we can sit in a plane and reach our destination within hours. During the industrial revolution it would take twice or sometimes even triple the amount of time. So, we can’t be the ones complaining! The airplane has positively affected us and is one of the reasons we can do some of the great things that we do today.

It is really easy for me to make a connection about this topic to my own life. Personally, I love to travel and visit new places. I enjoy visiting new places, and exploring many different things. I have got the great opportunity to fly to many great cities in the US and once even fly out of the country! I have visited San Jose and San Francisco in California a couple of times. Also I have once visited Seattle and even Toronto, Canada! Honestly, I find it very cool to visit new places, learn about different cultures, and meet new people!! Traveling is something for sure that I am very passionate about, and as I get older I really hope to travel to some of the greatest places that this world has to offer.

Sources: http://www.wright-brothers.org/Information_Desk/Just_the_Facts/Airplanes/Wright_Airplane_images/Model%20B/1910_Model%20B_flying.jpg
http://jonnycuddleberry.hubpages.com/hub/Smooth-Jazz-and-Relaxing-Music
http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/Wright_Story/Inventing_the_Airplane/Inventing_the_Airplane_Intro.htm
https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/online/fly/1903/
http://www.fusd.net/historyday/2001/Wright_Bros/culture.html

The Anglo-Zulu War

The Anglo-Zulu War

In the year of 1879, the British empire invaded the Zulu kingdom. They fought against Boers and Zulus. The British wanted to annex the Zulu kingdom but the Zulu leader, Cetshwayo kaMpande, had other ideas. The British numbered about 16,000 the first time they invaded and 25,000 the second time.The Zulus had about 35,000 soldiers. One day, a man named Sir Henry Bartle Frere presented the Zulus with an ultimatum, which resulted in war.

Glass

Cavemen used obsidian glass to make weapons and decorative objects. Manufacturing glass goes all the way back to Eastern Mesopotamia and Egypt in 3000 BC. Fragments of the oldest glass vases were found in Mesopotamia in the 16th century BC.

    In the beginning glass making took time and was costly. It was a luxury item only a few people could afford. The discovery of a new technique of making glass called “glass blowing” revolutionized glass making. Glass blowing is when you inflate molten glass with the help of a tube called a “blowpipe”. In its molten state glass is squishy and bendable so it can be manipulated into the desired shape. The molten glass is inflated in a bubble by being blown into by the blowpipe which is being controlled by a glassblower. When this method was first invented clay blowpipes were used. Today glass blowing is widely used. Although its main purpose is with decorative items.

The Telescope

The Telescope

The first recorded and working telescope was made in 1608. This is relatively new technology, and has increased rapidly since then. The first telescope is credited to a man named Hans Lippershey, although there is some speculation about this. Hans Lippershey made a refracting telescope, one of the earlier kinds. A refracting telescope uses a lens as the objective to form the image. This was the first kind of practical telescope.

In 1609, Galileo came out with the next new kind of telescope. It was based off the one Lippershey had made, but had about 3x magnification. Galileo later went on to make a 30x one. This is sort of how science works, someone making an invention, and then someone else taking their idea and making it better. Johannes Kepler did just this, in 1611, when he made a telescope that used a convex lens, unlike Galileo’s concave one.

Into modern times, the Hubble telescope was launched in 1990. It has a 2.4 meter mirror, and can see in the near infrared, near ultraviolet, and visible spectrum. It is still in use today, capturing more and more images. The Hubble space telescope was named after Edwin Hubble.

The age old wanting is for knowledge. What’s out there? How far can we go into the universe? Curiosity has ebbed its way into how we think and perceive the world, and the telescope is helping us understand a few things. There is always more to be discovered, always more missions to send to space, and always more things to see.

Works Cited:

"Hubble Space Telescope." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope>.

"History of the Telescope." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_telescope>.

"Telescope." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescope>.

Image links: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgNt-d5i8h3SZt6hyOrjP1hV7Agql63xNSfGm_EufRUEJEgtOzCByW2EsVsVJ-AWIs-VTZHA23x1HxCt4TlYdOWzl06iHN63DbHCGjhkeKBNMy01mPV_1jezUPG42HaDuN5hmmL1OAdVtE/s1600/galileo.jpg

http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/galileostelescope.jpg

The Battle of Austerlitz/Battle of Three Emperors

On December 2nd, 1805 near a small town in Austrian Empire called Austerlitz (modern-day Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic) a thick fog allowed Napoleon’s army to get in position. When the fog rolled away the Russians saw the French leaving and 25,000 Russian grenadier charged in pursuit.  Napoleon was hoping the Russians would pursue his men. When the Russians were close Napoleon unleashed his hidden troops from behind the hills. The Russians split themselves into two groups making them more vulnerable as their main group was surrounded by French forces.

Before (Beginning of the War)

After (Napoleon’s Move)

The Russian/Austrian army had 85,000 men and lost 36,000.  Napoleon had 73,000 soldiers at the beginning of the battle and lost 9000.Napoleon’s maneuver is called one of the most brilliant maneuvers in history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Austerlitz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XugfTQ4bRpo

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Bivouac_on_the_Eve_of_the_Battle_of_Austerlitz,_1st_December_1805.PNG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Austerlitz

ADHD is a Pain in the Brain

The human brain. The most complex organ in the body, consisting of many billions of neurons, each sending and receiving tiny messages via a complex web of neural pathways. These little signals travel throughout the entire body, constantly dictating the movement of every organ and muscle. Our brains also control our constant intake and output of knowledge.

What happened prior to the American Revolution?

Two powerful events that happened prior to the American revolution are the Boston Massacre, and the Boston tea party. The Boston Massacre happened first. During the boston Massacre, five unarmed colonists were killed by the British military. This was a huge deal because there is no reason for for the British, who had the most powerful army in the world at the time, to kill unarmed civilians. This was considered considered one of the most important events that turned colonial sentiment against King George III and British Parliamentary authority.  
The boston tea party happened only a few years later. It all started with the tea act. In the tea act, the british made it so you can only buy british tea, which was taxed. Colonists weren’t very happy, because they didn’t agree with taxation. They wanted to stop all taxation. That started the boston tea party. In the Boston Tea Party Colonists, who were disguised as native Americans attacked 3 ships and destroyed all of the tea. It took nearly three hours for more than colonists to empty the tea into Boston Harbor. The chests held more than 90,000 lbs. (45 tons) of tea, which would cost nearly $1,000,000 dollars today. Both these events were significant to the American revolution, because showed that the relationship between Britain and its colonies was disappearing.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Massacre

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-tea-party

https://docs.google.com/a/catlin.edu/document/d/1iKqqpObsrsLgwdIqKgjVb_1v79I_yP4jMgq3bu7Nwcs/edit?usp=sharing

Alfred Nobel and Dynamite

          Alfred Nobel was a very peaceful inventor and never intended for his inventions to be used in war. He is the inventor of dynamite, or as some people call it TnT. Alfred Nobel grew up in Sweden and was one of the many sons of Immanuel Nobel who was also an inventor. He used to build bridges and buildings in Sweden. Mining back then was a very gruesome task and took very long amounts of time to mine a mountain or metals. With his understanding of Nitroglycerin and silica, he mixed the two to create a paste. The paste is called dynamite.
          After he invented this tool, he presented it to the mining corporations, which loved it and started using it in mining. Dynamite was originally used to blast rock. Dynamite back then brought a lot bigger boom than gunpowder or any other explosive device used. Dynamite was a huge invention and was used solely in mining. 

          Like lots of inventions created to benefit society, the military became involved. The military took this invention and started using its formula to create bombs and use dynamite as a weapon. This was not what Alfred had in mind. He just wanted dynamite to be used as a mining TOOL, not a war weapon. Alfred felt very guilty and wanted to make up for this catastrophe.

          That's how the Nobel Peace Prize was born. When Alfred died on December 10th, 1896 it stated in his will to put most of his wealth to create 5 prizes. One of them was the peace prize. Many people (including myself) believe that he created the Nobel Peace prize because he felt very guilty for creating a device used to kill many people. The Nobel Peace prize is now the largest and most respected peace prize in the world.

          Alfred Nobel was an amazing intellectual person who believed in peace. He affects my life a lot and his ways of thinking represent mine too. Today in the world people obsess about war, who has the most power, and money. I believe that people should focus more towards peace, arts, and science. In the United States, the military gets involved in too many inventions that were designed NOT for the military, but for whatever they were created for. Sometimes they may be designed for mining, medical research, or delivery services but the military can always find a way to attach a gun and some missiles and use it to kill thousands of people. Some examples include dynamite, nuclear power, and gunpowder.

           It is very unfortunate how the military changes peaceful inventions and always find a way to kill people with it. Alfred Nobel was a very nobel man who believed in peace and I wish there were more people similar to him and not like some of the many horrible Americans in the world who only care about war, oil, and money. There is hope for peace in the world but I think humans are centuries behind such an out there idea like that.