Cameron Mackintosh and Megamusical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Cameron Mackintosh and Megamusical - Essay Example The paper begins with a brief introduction of the great figure. It attempts to elucidate the nature and specific characteristics of a megamusical and proceeds to present a detailed overview on the subject shedding light on international trends in megamusicals and the role played by the critics' reviews and the scholarly courses in its development. Then specific role and tremendous effort of Cameron mackintosh has been brought to light and in the end a brief summary of his remarkable achievements is presented. Mackintosh, Cameron born was a British theatrical producer who oversaw the era of the international "megamusical" in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming the world's most prominent and powerful impresario. Mackintosh was born on Oct. 17, 1946, in Enfield, Middlesex, England, to Ian Mackintosh, a Scottish timber merchant and jazz trumpeter, and Maltese-born Diana Tonna Mackintosh, who had been actor Nigel Patrick's secretary when the couple met in Italy during World War II. Eight-year-old Mackintosh was taken to see a production of the musical Salad Days, after which he demanded to speak to the author, Julian Slade, who gave him a backstage tour and instilled in the boy a fascination with theatrical production. Mackintosh studied stage management at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London but left after one year. He became a stagehand at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, cleaning the auditorium after performances to earn extra money. His first West End presentation, a 1969 revival of Anything Goes, failed. In 1976, however, his production of the musical revue Side by Side by Sondheim ran 781 performances in London before transferring to Broadway, his first stateside effort. (Lawson, 1999) Before we move further to discuss his journey with the development of Megamusical, it is preferable to present a detailed overview of the overall development of the megamusical and combine Mackintosh's role along with it. Megamusical: An Overview Sternfeld (2006) explains in detail that the term may appear to be comical, like many other neologisms, but to describe the content in this paper it may be most precise and accurate. This term Megamusical actually refers to the type of musical genre which today is the prominent compulsion on the Broadway and got attention in the decades of the 1970's and 1980's. This paper doesn't use this word for the first time, as in the 1980's it began to appear on the New York Times. By different reviewers and journalists, the tag was sometimes selected sarcastically and has originated its way into theater analysis and olden times. There exist a number of synonyms such as extravaganza, blockbuster musical and spectacle show, however, the most accurate is the megamusical. The surroundings of the show and the show itself are the aspects that differentiate a megamusical from a common musical. The most prominent of the genres of the megamusical in the 1980's were the sports style as sports were of significance in those days, however, over the years it has evolved into other flourishing genres. However, a sturdy constancy materializes as an assembly, but a megamusical doesn't demonstrate all of the characteristics of the

Grignard arylation Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Grignard arylation - Lab Report Example In this reaction, the C=O bond the ketones is attacked by the Grignard reagent to yield an alkoxide ion. The alkoxide ion formed is then protonated by H+ to form alcohol and MgBrOH (McMurry): A 50-mL round-bottomed flask containing 20 mmol of magnesium turnings and a stirbar was flame dried. A rubber stopper was affixed to the flask after it had cooled and then assembled with an addition funnel from the oven before it had cooled. Grease was applied to the glass-to-glass joints to prevent them from freezing as the parts cooled. The addition funnel was charged with a solution of phenyl bromide (20 mmol) in anhydrous ether (15 mL). 1 mL of the solution formed was then added into the flask and stirred until the reaction started. Once the reaction had begun, the rest of the phenyl bromide solution was dripped in over several minutes, at a rate that maintained a gentle reflux. Following the addition, the reaction was allowed to proceed for 20 minutes. During this period, heat was added to maintain the reflux. The Grignard reagent was allowed to cool. A solution of cyclopentanone (13 mmol) in anhydrous ether (10 mL) was added through the addition funnel while stirring. The reaction mixture was worked-up as follows: a sufficient amount of 3M HCl was added to acidify the reaction mixture. The aqueous layer that formed was extracted with CH2Cl2. While swirling, the combined organic layers were washed with 10 mL of 10% aqueous sodium bisulfite and 10 mL of brine. The organic layer was dried and the solvent obtained evaporated over a steambath. The residue obtained was stored in a shell-vial with a well-fitting cap. The workup was repeated by my partner; however, he used 20 mL of 10% aqueous NH4Cl in place of 3M HCl. In the second week of the laboratory session, the evaporation residue was transferred into a flask, after which it was vacuum distilled into a tarred flask. The product obtained was then characterized by

Ion Drive Propulsion: An Overview

Ion Drive Propulsion: An Overview TANG,YOUHENG Ion Drive propulsion, also called ion engine, which is a technology that involves gas ionization and can be used instead of standard chemicals. Give an electrical charge or ionize the gas xenon, which is like neon or helium, but heavier, the ionized gas can be electrically accelerated a speed of about 30km/s by the electric field force. When xenon ions are emitted at such high speed as exhaust from a spaceship, the spacecraft can be pushed in the opposite direction. The ion engine was firstly demonstrated by Emst Stuhliger, the German-born NASA scientist. Then at NASA Lewis Research Center (now called Glenn research center) from 1957 to the early 1960s IDP was developed in form by Harold R.Kaufman. Moreover, the ion drive propulsion was first demonstrated in space in â€Å"Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT)† I and II by NASA Lewis Research Center. The SERT-1, which is the first test was launched in July 20, 1964, proved the technology operated as predicted in space successfully. Furthermore, the second test SERT-II, which was launched on February 3rd 1970, verified the thousands of running hours operation of two mercury ion drive propulsions, though IDP were seldom used before the late 1990s. â€Å"Electric propulsion works by using electrical energy to accelerate a propellant to much higher velocities than is possible using chemical reactions. The most common propellant used in ion engines is xenon. Early ion engines used mercury and cesium, but they proved hard to work with. At room temperature, mercury is liquid and cesium is solid; they both must be heated to turn them into gases. Also, as mercury or cesium exhaust cooled, many of their atoms would condense on the exterior of the spacecraft, contaminating solar cells and instruments. Eventually researchers turned to xenon as a cleaner, simpler fuel for ion engines.† (De Felice, 1999). For IDP’s operation system, it uses an electric field to accelerate charged atoms or molecules to a high velocity. Ion thrusters generally use a cathode to generate a stream of electrons, which form an electric circuit with a positively charged ring the anode. A small magnetic field is used to aid this process (electrons spiral around the magnetic field lines, increasing the chance of electron-atom collisions). The ionized gas is accelerated out of the thruster and drifts towards an extraction grid system, so it can produce thrust. A neutraliser similar to the cathode is used to generate free electrons and balance the overall space charge of the outgoing beam so that the spacecraft does not charge itself up. To deal with this problem NASAs Deep Space 1 probe is testing a new type of ion thruster. The following description of DS-1s ion thrusters is from the official DS-1 Website: â€Å"Its ion propulsion system (IPS) utilizes a hollow cathode to produce electrons, used to ionize xenon. The Xe+ is electrostatically accelerated through a potential of up to 1280 V and emitted from the 30-cm thruster through a molybdenum grid. A separate electron beam is emitted to produce a neutral plasma beam. The power-processing unit (PPU) of the IPS can accept as much as 2.5 kW, corresponding to a peak thruster operating power of 2.3 kW and a thrust of 92 m N. Throttling is achieved by balancing thruster and Xe feed system parameters at lower power levels, and at the lowest thruster power, 500 W, the thrust is 20 m N. The specific impulse decreases from 3100 s at high power to 1900 s at the minimum throttle level. (De Felice, 1999)† Mostly, IDP is being used in aerospace application. Here are a couple of simple examples. Deep Space 1 which is a spacecraft of the NASA New Millennium Program dedicated to testing a payload of advanced, high risk technologies.Also it is the first spacecraft which used ion drive propulsion. Hayabusa which is an unmanned spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis and used xenon ion engines Dawm which is a space probe launched by NASA on September 27, 2007, to study the two most massive objects of the asteroid belt–the protoplanet Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. It is the first NASA exploratory mission to use ion propulsion to enter orbits. There are three advantages of Ion Drive Propulsion which can probably explain why IDP is being used. First, it uses much less propellant than chemical rocketry so it may promise better reliability and simplicity than chemical rocketry or, from another perspective, it gets much more mileage out of a given quantity of propellant. Third, it could use 100% lunar or asteroid derived propellant. IDP can push a spacecraft up to about ten times as fast as chemical propulsion comparing IDP with chemical propulsion under the circumstances which ion propulsion is appropriate for. To sum up, the ion propulsion systems efficient use of electrical power and fuel enables modern spacecraft to travel farther, and it is cheaper than any other propulsion technology currently available. Ion drive propulsion is currently used for main propulsion on deep space probes and for station keeping on communication satellites. Ion thrusters expel ions to create thrust and can provide higher spacecraft top speeds than any other rocket which is available currently. In addition, the top speed of ion drive propulsion is startling. By using the principle of relativity, a physical situation could be analyzed from any reference frame as long as it moves with some constant speed relative to a known inertial frame. As a function of the proper time Ï„ experienced on the rocket, the acceleration of the rocket is a (Ï„),in Newtonian mechanics there is a quantity which increases the way velocity called the rapidity of the rocket . The rapidity ÃŽ ¸ will be ÃŽ ¸(Ï„)=∠« Ï„ 0 a(Ï„)dÏ„ The velocity is then v(Ï„)=tanhÃŽ ¸ . If a=g ,v(Ï„)=tanh(gÏ„) So if one year has passed on the rocket, the time on Earth will be tanh(1.05)=0.78C which means 78% of light. Since the limit of tanh is one as τ→∞, so the velocity of rocket will never get light speed. A more important limiting factor is the fuel. Fusion isnt a way around this because of E=mc^2 there is a limited energy can be calculate from a given mass of fuel. If a fraction (f) of the rocket is fuel, if all the fuel are burned, the momentum of the rocket will be ÃŽ ³m(1−f)ÃŽ ², with m the original mass. The conservation of momentum and energy give m=ÃŽ ³m(1−f)+E fuel 0=ÃŽ ³mÃŽ ²(1−f)+p fuel ÃŽ ²=−p fuel m−E fuel According the formulas and result shows that the fuel and rocket go opposite directions. To maximize ÃŽ ², make p fuel as large as possible and subject to a fixed E fuel so assume the fuel is massless with ÃŽ ² fuel =1 p fuel =−E fuel . ÃŽ ²=1−(1−f) 2 1+(1−f) 2 à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ To sum up, even the fuel has 50% of the rockets original mass it just can get 3/5C. Researching in the area of ion propulsion is pushing the envelope of propulsion technology. To achieve higher power levels and speeds, longer durations advancements are being made. As new power sources become available, higher power thrusters will be developed that provide greater speed and more thrust. Nowadays, PPU and PMS technologies are being developed that will allow NASA to build lighter and more compact systems while increasing reliability. These technologies will allow humankind to explore the farthest reaches of our solar system also it will allow humankind to explore the farthest reaches which is out of our solar system. Work Cited List NASA:â€Å"New Millennium Program† http://nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/ds1/tech/ionpropfaq.html Lucian Dorneanu : â€Å"How Does Ion Drive Propulsion Work?† May 10th, 2007, 21:06 GMT http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Does-Ion-Drive-Propulsion-Work-54439.shtml Permanent.com: â€Å"Electric Propulsion for Inter-Orbital Vehicles†Ã‚  http://www.permanent.com/space-transportation-electric.html Dennis Ward:â€Å"Electric(Ion)Propulsion†Ã‚  http://eo.ucar.edu/staff/dward/sao/fit/electric.htm

Lebanon: A Brief Cultural Overview :: essays research papers

Lebanon: A Brief Cultural Overview   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lebanon’s rich history has been shaped by many cultural traditions, including Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Islamic, Crusader, Ottoman Turkish, French, and recently American. The resulting culture is distinctively Lebanese, a combination of East and West, past and present.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Music Folk music and dancing have a long tradition and are very popular. The national dance, the dabke, is an energetic folk dance that has influenced many European and American folk dances. Classical belly dancing still maintains an important role in wedding ceremonies, representing a transition from the virgin bride to the sensual woman. The dance is also popular in many nightclubs. Traditional Lebanese music is created by using unharmonized tunes and intricate rhythms. The music is often accompanied by multi-layered singing. Instruments used in traditional Lebanese music include the oud, a pear-shaped string instrument; the tabla, a percussion instrument; the nay, a single reed, open-ended pipe; and the qanun, a flat trapezoid instrument usually with at least 81 strings. Modern Lebanese music sounds more like what one would consider Latin musuc, its tracks are digitized and the music is much more harmonious. Lebanon is home to one of the Middle East’s most talented and popular si ngers, Amin Sultan. The Baalbeck International Festival, an annual music festival, is held in the Acropolis of Ballbeck, located near Beirut. The acropolis is one of the largest and best preserved examples of Roman architecture in Lebanon. Literature Literature and poetry have always had an important place in Lebanese culture. Lebanon, who has one of the Middle East’s highest literacy rates (86.4%), produced many writers in the early 20th century who greatly influenced the Arabic language. The most famous Lebanese literary figure is Khalil Gibran, a 19th-century poet, writer and artist whose work explored Christian mysticism. In 1923 he published, in English, The Prophet. Contemporary writers include Amin Maalouf, Layla Ba’labakki, Ameen F. Rihani and Hanan Al-Shaykh. Arts The impact of Lebanon’s civil war can be seen in many types of art, including theater, film and painting. Theater has been important in Lebanon from about 1920, due largely to French influence. Georges Shehadeh is Lebanon’s most well known playwright and is internationally known for his poetry and drama. Painting became more popular in Lebanon late in the 20th century. Most painting is experimental and energetic, done with vibrant colors. Wajih, Samir Abi Rashed, and Soulema Zod are among Lebanon’s most well known painters.

An Adventure in Space Summary 2

The mission was carried out successfully and I was on my way back to earth with my friends. Suddenly, an unidentified flying object appeared and it somehow forced our spacecraft to land on another planet. On the planet, a very strange looking creature met us. This creature took my crew and me to see its master. I saw another alien sitting on a very high throne. That must be their master. It wore a crown and looked like all the strange looking creatures in the room but its head was very much bigger. All the aliens had four eyes, two heads and six legs. They had a white body and no hair. The strange unknown planet looked like a prison, no worst †¦ a dungeon. There was a very high wall all around the planet. It had many buildings and everywhere you went, you could hear the wailing sounds coming from small cells. We were scared but they gave us some food, which smelt like rotten fish. The smell was so strong that we had to hold our breath in order not to faint. No one dared to touch the food. The next day, we were given a long list of things to do but they were in a language that we could not understand at all. They whipped us and put us in a small cell. After that, they conducted experiments on us. A few of us died but the rest of us who survived were put back into the cell. One day, the aliens who brought us to our cell forgot to lock the door so we escaped through the door. Soon we boarded our own spaceship and flew back to earth. We had a horrifying experience but no one believed us! After this, I never dared to go into space ever again.

Importance of Metals

A metal is defined as an opaque shiny element which possesses properties such as malleability and ductility. Malleable meaning that they can be hammered into shapes and ductile meaning they can be drawn into wires. They are also very strong and posses high tensile strength and are good conductors of heat and electricity. Metals are shiny, and also have high densities. Metals are a very important and significant part of chemistry. However, their importance is not just limited to chemistry; they are also used in our daily lives.We may not realize this but without metals; we would not be able to continue with our daily routines as metals play an important role. Metals are used in the making of household conveniences like ovens, dishes, cutlery etc. they are also used in transportation such as cars, buses, trucks, trains. Computers and electronic devices are also made up of metals. Electrical power production and distribution, even most of the construction is made out of steel which is a n alloy; a mixture of metals such as iron and carbon.And it is because of the specific properties of metals, which allow them to be used in the making of such objects. Although we see metals almost everywhere we go, metals are not found easily. In fact, most of the metals are present in the earth’s crust but when found in the earth these are often mixed with other substances. The rocks in the earth’s crust are a mixture of substances, these rocks from which a metal can be extracted from is known as an ore. The method used to extract metals from ores depends on the reactivity of that metal.Some unreactive metals can even be found in the native state, like gold. On the other hand, most metals are too reactive to exist on their own like aluminium, which has to be extracted using a method called electrolysis. And some moderately reactive metals that are in the middle of the reactivity series can be extracted using reduction of oxides like iron. Gold is not found in a mixtu re or combined state but is also quite rare. Gold is extracted by mining.Gold is a very demanding and expensive metal, the 2nd most expensive after platinum. The metal aluminium is extracted from its one aluminium oxide which is also known as bauxite which is mainly aluminium oxide (Al2O3)It is also the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust but is never found separately, only in its bauxite. Aluminum being a reactive metal has to be extracted using electrolysis. The process of electrolysis requires massive amount of energy and therefore making aluminium expensive to produce.