The Defeat Of Napoleon In Russia Essays (1144 words) - Russia

The Defeat of Napoleon in Russia The Campaign of 1812 should have been a another crusade for Napoleon, but he now faced 2 new policies that he had never faced before, the severe Russian winter and the notorious scorched-earth policy. On June 23, 1812 Napoleon's Grande Armee, over 500,000 men strong, poured over the Russian border. An equal amount of Russian forces awaited them. The result of the campaign was a surprise. Two authors, General carl von Clausewitz and Brett James, show similarities in reasons why Napoleon had lost this campaign to Russia. Napoleon believed that after a few quick victorious battles, he could convince Alexander to return to the Continental System. He also decided that if he occupied Moscow, the Russian government would crumple and ask for peace. " A single blow delivered at the heart of the Russian Empire, at Moscow the Great, at Moscow the Holy, will ineztly put this whole blind, apathetic mass at my mercy." pg 6, 1812 Napoleon's Defeat in Russia. This was his belief he expressed in March 1812. However, when Napoleon eventually took over Moscow, the Tsar still did not surrender. Napoleon, sent a message to the Tsar, demanding a immediate surrender. However, the Tsar could not surrender because if he did, he would be assassinated by the nobles. Clausewitz replies by saying, " Napoleon was unable to grasp the fact that Alexander would not, could not negotiate. The Tsar knew well that he would be disposed and assassinated if he tried so." pg 256, The Campaign of 1812 in Russia. General Clausewitz said, "Napoleon believed if he defeated the Russian Army and occupied Moscow, the Russian leadership will fall apart and the government would call for peace." pg 253, The Campaign of 1812 in Russia Brett James also agreed that Napoleon's occupation had no result. " The occupation of Napoleon in Moscow did not have a effect on the government." pg 13, 1812 Napoleon's Defeat in Russia With his battle plan set, Napoleon prepared his troops for the attack on Russia. But, Napoleon did not consider the fierce Russian winter which awaited him. According to Ludwig Wilhelm Gottlob Schlosser, a onlooker, he described the army by saying, "The French, down to the lowliest drummer were very fastidious. These poor French devils were not satisfied with less than soup, meat and vegetables, roast, and salad for their midday meal, and there was no sign of their famous frugality. They were completely devoid of the coming winter." pg 13, 1812 Napoleon's Defeat in Russia Napoleon was even warned by General Rapp about the extremities of the oncoming winter in Russia. "The natives say we shall have a severe winter," Napoleon retorted scornfully, " Bah! You and your natives! We shall see how fine it is." pg 147, 1812 Napoleon's Defeat in Russia Napoleon should have heeded Rapp's words. As the Grand Armee marched toward Moscow, many horses and men were lost in the freezing snow, and for those who remained, their morale and effectiveness was at the nadir. General Clausewitz states his point by saying, " With more precaution and better regulations as to subsistence, with more careful consideration of his marches, which would have prevented the unnecessary and enormous accumulation of masses on one and the same road, he would have preserved his army in a more effective condition." pg 255, The Campaign of 1812 in Russia Brett James also shared the same opinion, " Napoleon appeared to have made no effort to discover the facts in Russia, or prepare his troops for it." pg 140, 1812 Napoleon's Defeat in Russia. As Napoleon and his army was making their way to Moscow, they encountered typhus, colds, and dysentery. Even the mighty Napoleon had caught a mild case of the flu. However, his soldiers had received the brunt of the attack. Captain Thomas- Joesph Aubry relives this ordeal, " After this the typhus made appalling inroads in our ranks. We were fourty-three officers in our ward. All of them died, one after the other, and delirious from this dreadful disease, most of them singing, some in Latin, others in German, others again in Italian - and singing psalms, canticles, or the mass." pg 210,

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. At 6:01 p.m. on April 4, 1968, Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was hit by a snipers bullet. King had been standing on the balcony in front of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, when without warning, he was shot. The .30-caliber rifle bullet entered Kings right cheek, traveled through his neck, and finally stopped at his shoulder blade. King was immediately taken to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. Violence and controversy followed. In outrage of the murder, many blacks took to the streets across the United States in a massive wave of riots. The FBI investigated the crime, but many believed them partially or fully responsible for the assassination. An escaped convict by the name of James Earl Ray was arrested, but many people,  including some of Martin Luther King Jr.s own family, believe he was innocent. What happened that evening? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.    When Martin Luther King Jr.  emerged as the leader of the  Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, he began a long tenure as the spokesperson for nonviolent protest in the Civil Rights Movement. As a Baptist minister, he was a moral leader to the community. Plus, he was charismatic and had a powerful way of speaking. He was also a man of vision and determination. He never stopped dreaming of what could be. Yet he was a man, not a God. He was most often overworked and overtired and he had a fondness for the private company of women. Though he was the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner, he did not have complete control over the Civil Rights Movement. By 1968, violence had edged its way into the movement. Black Panther Party members carried loaded weapons, riots had erupted across the country, and numerous civil rights organizations had taken up the mantra Black Power! Yet Martin Luther King Jr. held strong to his beliefs, even as he saw the Civil Rights Movement being torn in two. Violence is what brought King back to Memphis in April 1968. Striking Sanitation Workers in Memphis On February 12, a total of 1,300  African-American sanitation workers in Memphis went on strike. Though there had been a long history of grievances, the strike began as a response to a January 31 incident in which 22 black sanitation workers were sent home without pay during bad weather while all the white workers remained on the job. When the City of Memphis refused to negotiate with the 1,300 striking workers, King and other civil rights leaders were asked to visit Memphis in support. On Monday, March 18, King managed to fit in a quick stop in Memphis, where he spoke to more than  15,000 who had gathered at Mason Temple. Ten days later, King arrived in Memphis to lead a march in support of the striking workers. Unfortunately, as King led the crowd, a few of the protesters got rowdy and smashed the windows of a storefront. The violence spread and soon countless others had taken up sticks and were breaking windows and looting stores. Police moved in to disperse the crowd. Some of the marchers threw stones at the police. The police responded with tear gas and nightsticks. At least one of the marchers was shot and killed. King was extremely distressed at the violence that had erupted in his own march and became determined not to let violence prevail. He scheduled another march in Memphis for April 8. On April 3, King arrived in Memphis a little later than planned because there had been a bomb threat for his flight before takeoff. That evening, King delivered his Ive Been to the Mountaintop speech to a relatively small crowd that had braved the bad weather to hear King speak. Kings thoughts were obviously on his mortality, for he discussed the plane threat as well as the time he had been stabbed. He concluded the speech with, Well, I dont know what will happen now; weve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesnt matter with me now, because Ive been to the mountaintop. And I dont mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life - longevity has its place. But Im not concerned about that now. I just want to do Gods will. And Hes allowed me to go up to the mountain. And Ive looked over, and Ive seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land. And so Im happy tonight; Im not worried about anything; Im not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. After the speech, King went back to the Lorraine Motel to rest. Martin Luther King Jr. Stands on the Lorraine Motel Balcony The Lorraine Motel (now the  National Civil Rights Museum) was a relatively drab, two-story motor inn on Mulberry Street in downtown Memphis. Yet it had become a habit of Martin Luther King and his entourage to stay at the Lorraine Motel when they visited Memphis. On the evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King and his friends were getting dressed to have dinner with Memphis minister Billy Kyles. King was in room 306 on the second floor and hurried to get dressed since they were, as usual, running a bit late. While putting on his shirt and using Magic Shave Powder to shave, King chatted with Ralph Abernathy about an upcoming event. Around 5:30 p.m., Kyles  knocked on their door to hurry them along. The three men joked about what was to be served for dinner. King and Abernathy wanted to confirm that they were going to be served soul food and not something like filet mignon. About half an hour later, Kyles and King stepped out of the motel room onto the balcony (basically the outside walkway that connected all the motels second-story rooms). Abernathy had gone to his room to put on some cologne. Near the car in the parking lot directly below the balcony, waited  James Bevel, Chauncey Eskridge (SCLC lawyer), Jesse Jackson, Hosea Williams, Andrew Young, and Solomon Jones, Jr. (the driver of the loaned white Cadillac). A few remarks were exchanged between the men waiting below and Kyles and King. Jones remarked that King should get a topcoat since it might get cold later; King replied, O.K. Kyles was just a couple of steps down the stairs and Abernathy was still inside the motel room when the shot rang out. Some of the men initially thought it  was a car backfire, but others realized it was a rifle shot. King had fallen to the concrete floor of the balcony with a large, gaping wound covering his right jaw. Martin Luther King Jr. Shot Abernathy ran out of his room to see his dear friend fallen, laying in a puddle of blood. He held Kings head saying, Martin, its all right. Dont worry. This is Ralph. This is Ralph.* Kyles had gone into a motel room to call an ambulance while others encircled King. Marrell McCollough, an undercover Memphis police officer, grabbed a towel and tried to stop the flow of blood. Though King was unresponsive, he was still alive - but only barely. Within 15 minutes of the shot, Martin Luther King arrived at St. Josephs Hospital on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face. He had been hit by a .30-06 caliber rifle bullet that had entered his right jaw, then traveled through his neck, severing his spinal cord, and stopped in his shoulder blade. The doctors tried emergency surgery but the wound was too serious. Martin Luther King Jr. was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. He was 39 years old. Who Killed Martin Luther King Jr.? Despite many conspiracy theories questioning who was responsible for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., most of the evidence points to a single shooter, James Earl Ray. On the morning of April 4, Ray used information from the televised news as well as from a newspaper to discover where King was staying in Memphis. Around 3:30 p.m., Ray, using the name John Willard, rented room 5B in Bessie Brewers run-down rooming house that was located across the street from the Lorraine Motel. Ray then visited the York Arms Company a few blocks away and purchased a pair of binoculars for $41.55 in cash. Returning to the rooming house, Ray readied himself in the communal bathroom, peering out the window, waiting for King to emerge from his hotel room. At 6:01 p.m., Ray shot King, mortally wounding him. Immediately after the shot, Ray quickly placed his rifle, binoculars, radio, and newspaper into a box and covered it with an old, green blanket. Then Ray hurriedly carried the bundle out of the bathroom, down the hall, and down to the first floor. Once outside, Ray dumped his package outside the Canipe Amusement Company and walked swiftly to his car. He then drove away in his white Ford Mustang, just before police arrived. While Ray was driving toward Mississippi, police were starting to put the pieces together. Nearly immediately, the mysterious green bundle was discovered as were several witnesses who had seen someone who they believed to be the new renter of 5B rushing out of the rooming house with the bundle. By comparing fingerprints found on items in the bundle, including those on the rife and binoculars, with those of known fugitives, the FBI discovered they were looking for James Earl Ray. After a two-month international manhunt, Ray was finally captured on June 8 at Londons Heathrow Airport. Ray pleaded guilty and was given a 99-year sentence in prison. Ray died in prison in 1998. * Ralph Abernathy as quoted in Gerald Posner, Killing the Dream  (New York: Random House, 1998) 31. Sources: Garrow, David J.  Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. New York: William Morrow, 1986. Posner, Gerald.  Killing the Dream: James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.  New York: Random House, 1998.

Just Desert Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Just Desert - Essay Example The Just desert model suggests that retribution justifies punishment because individuals deserve what they received for past deeds. Under the just desert theory the punishment should be the same for all people who commit the same crime. But the idea is that does just desert punishments stops the offenders to repeat it again Has it created the peace balance in the society and is it beneficial for us in general Is the Punishment based on deterrence or incapacitation wrong In a research (Kevin M. Carlsmith and John M. Darley and Paul H. Robinson; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2002, Vol. 83, No. 2, 284-299) they came to know people are in favor of deterrence at macro level, but when it comes to individuals, people favor just desert because they consider it right and wrong doers deserve it. "The task of a just deserts theorist, then, is to assess the magnitude of the harm and to devise a punishment that is proportionate in severity, if not in kind. Kant (1952) recommended censure proportionate to a perpetrator's "internal wickedness," a quantity that may be approximated by society's sense of moral outrage over the crime". After researching for quite sometime, I came to know that many are in favor of just desert. They suggest that just desert results in social Control. When there are established criminal justice punishments in society and people know the degrees of punishment they will have to suffer if they committed any wrong deeds, people tend to think before doing anything. Because they are aware of retribution, and they know that punishment will be same for all levels of people without being bias, they feel just and are less likely to commit serious crimes. But some argue that being blind to class difference doesn't lead towards just. Ehrlich (1938: 363) pointed out that the more the rich and poor are dealt with according to the same legal propositions, the more the advantage of the rich is increased'. Galanter (1975: 363) puts it more beautifully. "The sailor over board and the shark are both swimmers, but only one is in the swimming business". Geertz (1983: 217) says that "there are number of f acts about the way the world works, mostly facts about the distribution of power, which prevent punishment being imposed on the most deserving of it. A policy of attempting punishment of all those who deserve it (and who can be caught) has the effect of increasing injustice, worsening tendencies to punish most where desert is least. This is because for the tendency for the law to be 'the most powerful where least needed, a sprinkler system that turns off when the fire gets too hot'." Some argue that the theory is fair to the offender if the punishment fits the crime; same punishment of all offenders for the same crime, etc which give people the sense of just. People know that it does not authorize selecting a criminal for particularly cruel punishment by random drawing, even if this would expend fewer overall social resources than imposing lower and proportionate punishment on all similar offenders, which is referred to as the consequentiality theory. Another benefit is that in just desert, people are punished according to the seriousness of the crime.

How South Korean students make decision for choosing master course Dissertation

How South Korean students make decision for choosing master course abroad - Dissertation Example The primary objective of this research was to examine the choice factors that prospective South Korean students considered in choosing their master courses abroad, as well as the source of information employed in the decision making process. A non-probability convenience sample of 150 international students from 10 higher institutions abroad took part in the study. Data was obtained through questionnaires, which were distributed to the participants through their email addresses. The data obtained was analyzed through percentages and put in tables. The observations of the research suggest that job outcomes and prospects, parental influence and academic reputation ranked the highest significant choice factors. Beauty of the campus, co-curricular activities and the institution’s website rankings were the least significant choice factors. The internet was ranked the most useful source of information for potential students. Friends and institutional publications ranked the least us ed sources of information. 1.0 Introduction Internationally, higher education is experiencing significant changes, including the generation of partnerships (Newby, 2003), increased concentration on the universal market (Kwong 2000), and increased competition (Ehrenberg et al, 2006). Additionally, Baird (2006) denotes that higher education institutions also face financial pressures. These institutions are faced with increased prominence on technology, globalization, and transformation policies. Globalization has boosted competition through opening national and international boundaries. This makes it essential for such institutions to market themselves effectively. It is imperative for institutions to assess and re-assess their marketing strategies aimed at attracting potential master’s students. Over the past few years, there have been increased promotions, advertisements and other marketing stratagems evident in the higher education sector globally (Etzel et al, 2007). Moreov er, it is necessary for the higher education institutions to understand how to reach potential students and what to say in order to effectively communicate with them. Putting into account all the difficulties that these institutions go through, it is apparent that they will have to turn out to be more market focused (Lamb et al, 2005). An appropriate evaluation of the choice elements that South Korean students consider in choosing their master courses abroad, on top of the sources of information conferred with, will assist institutions understand how to target the prospect students. Numerous researches have been carried out in the field of marketing for non-profit making organizations including universities. Numerous scholars have examined the significance of institutional image in attracting students to choose the institution (Palacio et al 2002; Pabich 2003), on top of the choice aspects that students consider when registering with a university (Punnarach 2004, Gray & Daugherty 20 04). Marketing has been the only medium employed by higher education institutions to communicate with the prospective students. In reference to Abaya (2004), marketing a higher education institution is simple and multifaceted at the same time. Higher education institutions subsist primarily to offer a unique educational and campus experience to students. For this reason, higher

Prayer should be allowed in Public Schools Essay Example for Free

Prayer should be allowed in Public Schools Essay The issue regarding the constitutionality of mandatory school prayer in schools in hinged on the separation between the church and the state that has been decreed by the constitution. On one side, there are those who argue that prayer in public school classrooms should be declared unconstitutional because it involves â€Å"excessive entanglement,† which is prohibited under the doctrine of separation of church and state (Clark 35). The other view is based more on the argument that such act is permissible because even the Pledge of allegiance contains the phrase â€Å"under God. (Clark 35)† It is humbly submitted in this position paper, however, that the more correct view remains to be that prayer in classrooms should be tolerated as long as it is not mandatory. In arriving at a better understanding of this issue, it is first important to define the constitutional issue at hand. The phrase, â€Å"separation of Church and State†, is actually from a letter that was written by one of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, to a group that called themselves the Danbury Baptists (Busher 13). In the letter, Thomas Jefferson wrote that, â€Å"I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State. † This was of course in reference to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (Whitsitt 186). The basic precept of this doctrine is founded on a firm belief that religion and state should be separate. It covers a very wide spectrum, as mentioned in the previous sections of this discussion, ranging from the secularization or elimination of the church to theocracy wherein the state works in tandem with a religion in order to govern over the acts of people (Bradley 199) The problem is that while the church and state do maintain that there is indeed a necessity to abide by the doctrine of the separation of church and state there is no clear way of delineating the boundaries between the spheres of these two institutions (Bradley 199). There are still certain acts that require entanglement between the church and the state because of the duty of the government to cater to the welfare of its people who invariably belong to some form of religion, in most cases. One of these instances is when prayer is allowed in public school classrooms. To argue that prayer is unconstitutional would be to deny the people the right to their rich American history. The first settlers were Pilgrims and even the first thanksgiving meal, though not seemingly a prayer by conventional means, was actually an act of thanking the almighty God for all the blessings (Bradley 199). If prayer is to be considered as a religious affirmation that is offensive to the constitution then other forms such as the pledge of allegiance and the â€Å"In God We Trust† declaration on the dollar bill must also be struck down (Bradley 199). It cannot therefore be argued prayer in public school classrooms is a clear violation of the establishment clause when even the humble dollar bill has the sign â€Å"in God we trust† written on it. If it is to be argued that prayer is a violation of the establishment clause then so must the dollar bill be struck down as a violation (Bradley 199). Yet time and again the almighty dollar has prevailed. The reason for this is because such a declaration is not an endorsement of a single religion, which is exactly what the establishment clause prohibits, but rather it is a declaration by the American people of their belief in a superior being. This argument is not limited to a single God but to all Gods of whatever beliefs. The beauty of the American democracy is that it empowers instead of stifles. It encourages instead of denies. To argue that prayer should not be allowed is unpatriotic, it is un-American. A prayer is a sign of thanks for everything that has been given to everyone. A single word or phrase isolated and taken out of context does much to remove the original intent from it. Reciting a prayer in public school classrooms does not further the cause of any single religion. Instead, it serves to show the rest of the world the pride that Americans have for their great nation. It shows unity. It shows strength. It shows the American way. References: Clark, James R. (1965). Messages of the First Presidency. Brigham Young University, Department of Educational Leadership Foundations. Retrieved on 2007-1-30. Fighting the Establishment (Clause). Bradley, Jennifer, The American Prospect, September 1, 1996. Available at: http://www. prospect. org/print/V7/28/bradley-j. html Religion in the Public Schools: A Joint Statement of Current Law. The American Civil Liberties Union, 1996. Available at: http://aclu. org/issues/religion/relig7. html West Encyclopedia of American Law. West Group, 1998. Busher, Leonard (1614). Religious Peace: or, a Plea for Liberty of Conscience. Whitsitt, Dr. William (1896). A Question in Baptist History: Whether the Anabaptists in England Practiced Immersion Before the Year 1641?. C. T. Dearing, pp. 69-70.

Early Onset Anorexia Essay -- Eating Disorders Health Nutrition Essays

Early Onset Anorexia In recent years, it seems that the public has begun to pay more attention to eating disorders. This trend could be a consequence of the heightened nutrition and fitness craze that the 1990's has brought about, or possibly a result of more intense and conclusive research studies. More clearly defined definitions of anorexia and bulimia in the DSM-IV may also have contributed to better diagnosis of eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa is a disorder that in the majority of cases will start when the patient is a teenager. The mean age at onset is figured to be about 17 years of age. The distribution of cases appears 'to be asymmetrical with a skewness towards the higher ages (Theander, 1996). Recently, child psychiatrists have begun to recognize increasing cases beginning in childhood (McCune & Walford, 1991). While refusal to eat and loss of weight are common symptoms in child psychiatric practices, similarities between these anoretic states and the syndrome of anorexia nervosa are slight (Hawley, 1985). While severity of illness is usually associated with worse outcome, age of onset for anorexia can play a critical role in future outcome. Premenarcheal anorexia nervosa has serious implications for the progress of puberty which may in turn, have detrimental effects on the youngsters (Bryant-Waugh, Fosson, Knibbs, & Lask, 1987). It is important that pediatricians, psychiatrists, educators, and parents are able to identify this disorder at early ages. The purpose of the following sections of this paper are to help familiarize readers with signs and symptoms which may aid in identification of anorexia leading to an early diagnosis. Symptoms Associated with Anorexia Girls with anorexia nervosa may d... ...Age and Menstrual Status on Psychological Variables. Journal of -the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiary, 34, 378-382. Hawley, Richard. (1985). The Outcome of Anorexia Nervosa in Younger Subjects. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 657660. McCune, Noel & Walford, Geraldine. (1991). Long-Term outcome in Early-Onset Anorexia Nervosa. British Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 383-389. Rastam, Maria. (1992). lmdrexia in 51 Swedish Adolescents: Premorbid Problems and Comorbidity. Journal of the American Academy of Chlld and Adolescent Psychiatry, 11, 819-827. Romeo, Felicia.(1996). Educators and the Onset of AnorexiaNervosa in Young. Education, 117, 55-60. Theander, Sten. (1996). Anorexia Nervosa with an Early Onset: Selection, Gender, Outcome, and Results of a Long-Term Follow-Up Study. Journal of Youth and Adolescencg, 25, 419428.

Deception Point Page 20

â€Å"This first sample here,† Corky said, pointing to a shiny, jet-black stone, â€Å"is an iron-core meteorite. Very heavy. This little guy landed in Antarctica a few years back.† Rachel studied the meteorite. It most certainly looked otherworldly-a blob of heavy grayish iron whose outer crust was burned and blackened. â€Å"That charred outer layer is called a fusion crust,† Corky said. â€Å"It's the result of extreme heating as the meteor falls through our atmosphere. All meteorites exhibit that charring.† Corky moved quickly to the next sample. â€Å"This next one is what we call a stony-iron meteorite.† Rachel studied the sample, noting that it too was charred on the outside. This sample, however, had a light-greenish tint, and the cross section looked like a collage of colorful angular fragments resembling a kaleidoscopic puzzle. â€Å"Pretty,† Rachel said. â€Å"Are you kidding, it's gorgeous!† Corky talked for a minute about the high olivine content causing the green luster, and then he reached dramatically for the third and final sample, handing it to Rachel. Rachel held the final meteorite in her palm. This one was grayish brown in color, resembling granite. It felt heavier than a terrestrial stone, but not substantially. The only indication suggesting it was anything other than a normal rock was its fusion crust-the scorched outer surface. â€Å"This,† Corky said with finality, â€Å"is called a stony meteorite. It's the most common class of meteorite. More than ninety percent of meteorites found on earth are of this category.† Rachel was surprised. She had always pictured meteorites more like the first sample-metallic, alien-looking blobs. The meteorite in her hand looked anything but extraterrestrial. Aside from the charred exterior, it looked like something she might step over on the beach. Corky's eyes were bulging now with excitement. â€Å"The meteorite buried in the ice here at Milne is a stony meteorite-a lot like the one in your hand. Stony meteorites appear almost identical to our terrestrial igneous rocks, which makes them tough to spot. Usually a blend of lightweight silicates-feldspar, olivine, pyroxene. Nothing too exciting.† I'll say, Rachel thought, handing the sample back to him. â€Å"This one looks like a rock someone left in a fireplace and burned.† Corky burst out laughing. â€Å"One hell of a fireplace! The meanest blast furnace ever built doesn't come close to reproducing the heat a meteoroid feels when it hits our atmosphere. They get ravaged!† Tolland gave Rachel an empathetic smile. â€Å"This is the good part.† â€Å"Picture this,† Corky said, taking the meteorite sample from Rachel. â€Å"Let's imagine this little fella is the size of a house.† He held the sample high over his head. â€Å"Okay†¦ it's in space†¦ floating across our solar system†¦ cold-soaked from the temperature of space to minus one hundred degrees Celsius.† Tolland was chuckling to himself, apparently already having seen Corky's reenactment of the meteorite's arrival on Ellesmere Island. Corky began lowering the sample. â€Å"Our meteorite is moving toward earth†¦ and as it's getting very close, our gravity locks on†¦ accelerating†¦ accelerating†¦ â€Å" Rachel watched as Corky sped up the sample's trajectory, mimicking the acceleration of gravity. â€Å"Now it's moving fast,† Corky exclaimed. â€Å"Over ten miles per second-thirty-six thousand miles per hour! At 135 kilometers above the earth's surface, the meteorite begins to encounter friction with the atmosphere.† Corky shook the sample violently as he lowered it toward the ice. â€Å"Falling below one hundred kilometers, it's starting to glow! Now the atmospheric density is increasing, and the friction is incredible! The air around the meteoroid is becoming incandescent as the surface material melts from the heat.† Corky started making burning and sizzling sound effects. â€Å"Now it's falling past the eighty-kilometer mark, and the exterior becomes heated to over eighteen hundred degrees Celsius!† Rachel watched in disbelief as the presidential award-winning astrophysicist shook the meteorite more fiercely, sputtering out juvenile sound effects. â€Å"Sixty kilometers!† Corky was shouting now. â€Å"Our meteoroid encounters the atmospheric wall. The air is too dense! It violently decelerates at more than three hundred times the force of gravity!† Corky made a screeching braking sound and slowed his descent dramatically. â€Å"Instantly, the meteorite cools and stops glowing. We've hit dark flight! The meteoroid's surface hardens from its molten stage to a charred fusion crust.† Rachel heard Tolland groan as Corky knelt on the ice to perform the coup de grace-earth impact. â€Å"Now,† Corky said, â€Å"our huge meteorite is skipping across our lower atmosphere†¦ † On his knees, he arched the meteorite toward the ground on a shallow slant. â€Å"It's headed toward the Arctic Ocean†¦ on an oblique angle†¦ falling†¦ looking almost like it will skip off the ocean†¦ falling†¦ and†¦ † He touched the sample to the ice. â€Å"BAM!† Rachel jumped. â€Å"The impact is cataclysmic! The meteorite explodes. Fragments fly off, skipping and spinning across the ocean.† Corky went into slow motion now, rolling and tumbling the sample across the invisible ocean toward Rachel's feet. â€Å"One piece keeps skimming, tumbling toward Ellesmere Island†¦ † He brought it right up to her toe. â€Å"It skips off the ocean, bouncing up onto land†¦ † He moved it up and over the tongue of her shoe and rolled it to a stop on top of her foot near her ankle. â€Å"And finally comes to rest high on the Milne Glacier, where snow and ice quickly cover it, protecting it from atmospheric erosion.† Corky stood up with a smile. Rachel's mouth fell slack. She gave an impressed laugh. â€Å"Well, Dr. Marlinson, that explanation was exceptionally†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Lucid?† Corky offered. Rachel smiled. â€Å"In a word.† Corky handed the sample back to her. â€Å"Look at the cross section.† Rachel studied the rock's interior a moment, seeing nothing. â€Å"Tilt it into the light,† Tolland prompted, his voice warm and kind. â€Å"And look closely.† Rachel brought the rock close to her eyes and tilted it against the dazzling halogens reflecting overhead. Now she saw it-tiny metallic globules glistening in the stone. Dozens of them were peppered throughout the cross section like minuscule droplets of mercury, each only about a millimeter across. â€Å"Those little bubbles are called ‘chondrules,'† Corky said. â€Å"And they occur only in meteorites.† Rachel squinted at the droplets. â€Å"Granted, I've never seen anything like this in an earth rock.† â€Å"Nor will you!† Corky declared. â€Å"Chondrules are one geologic structure we simply do not have on earth. Some chondrules are exceptionally old-perhaps madeup of the earliest materials in the universe. Other chondrules are much younger, like the ones in your hand. The chondrules in that meteorite date only about 190 million years old.† â€Å"One hundred ninety million years is young?† â€Å"Heck, yes! In cosmological terms, that's yesterday. The point here, though, is that this sample contains chondrules-conclusive meteoric evidence.† â€Å"Okay,† Rachel said. â€Å"Chondrules are conclusive. Got it.† â€Å"And finally,† Corky said, heaving a sigh, â€Å"if the fusion crust and chondrules don't convince you, we astronomers have a foolproof method to confirm meteoric origin.† â€Å"Being?† Corky gave a casual shrug. â€Å"We simply use a petrographic polarizing microscope, an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer, a neutron activation analyzer, or an induction-coupled plasma spectrometer to measure ferromagnetic ratios.†