Niels Bohr and the Manhattan Project

Niels Bohr and the Manhattan Project Danish physicist, Niels Bohr won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics in recognition of his work on the structure of atoms and quantum mechanics. He was part of the group of scientists that invented the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. He worked on the Manhattan Project under the assumed name of Nicholas Baker for security reasons. Model of Atomic Structure Niels Bohr published his model of atomic structure in 1913. His theory was the first to present: that electrons traveled in orbits around the atoms nucleusthat the chemical properties of the element was largely determined by the number of electrons in the outer orbitsthat an electron could drop from a higher-energy orbit to a lower one, emitting a photon (light quantum) of discrete energy Niels Bohr model of atomic structure became the basis for all future quantum theories. Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr In 1941, German scientist Werner Heisenberg made a secret and dangerous trip to Denmark to visit his former mentor, physicist Niels Bohr. The two friends had once worked together to split the atom until World War II divided them. Werner Heisenberg worked on a German project to develop atomic weapons, while Niels Bohr worked on the Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb. Biography 1885 - 1962 Niels Bohr was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 7, 1885. His father was Christian Bohr, Professor of Physiology at Copenhagen University, and his mother was Ellen Bohr. Niels Bohr Education In 1903, he entered Copenhagen University to study physics. He received his Masters degree in Physics in 1909 and his Doctors degree in 1911. While still a student he was awarded a gold medal from the Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, for his experimental and theoretical investigation of the surface tension by means of oscillating fluid jets. Professional Work Awards As a post-doctoral student, Niels Bohr worked under J. J. Thomson at Trinity College, Cambridge and studied under Ernest Rutherford at the University of Manchester, England. Inspired by Rutherfords theories of atomic structure, Bohr published his revolutionary model of atomic structure in 1913. In 1916, Niels Bohr became a professor of physics at the University of Copenhagen. In 1920, he was named director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University. In 1922, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics ​for recognition of his work on the structure of atoms and quantum mechanics. In 1926, Bohr became a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and received the Royal Society Copley Medal in 1938. The Manhattan Project During World War II, Niels Bohr fled Copenhagen to escape Nazis prosecution under Hitler. He traveled to Los Alamos, New Mexico to work as a consultant for the Manhattan Project. After the war, he returned to Denmark. He became an advocate for the peaceful use of nuclear power.

Street Slang For Scriptwriting

Street Slang For Scriptwriting Street Slang For Scriptwriting Street Slang For Scriptwriting By Sharon If youre writing a script, one way that you can bring it to life is to let your characters speak in current street slang. Thats the advice from the creators of Raindance, which promotes independent film in the UK. They have suggested a number of current slang phrases to give your characters some street cred. Here are some that caught my eye: Seagull manager A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves. SITCOMs Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids or start a home business. 404 Someone whos clueless. From the World Wide Web error message 404 Not Found meaning that the requested document could not be located. There are lots more fun phrases to see. A full list is here. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Farther vs. Further8 Types of Parenthetical PhrasesJanuary 1 Doesn't Need an "st"

Effective Advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Effective Advertising - Essay Example ng on the other hand refers to an advertisement that reaches the target audience specifically and succeeds in influencing them to take particular actions (Homburg, Sabine & Harley, 2009). The particular actions and the expected results of any advertising process are to influence the consumer behavior regarding increasing the sale of products or services. Political advertising as a contemporary type of advertising seeks to achieve the same results by influencing voters to appreciate either a particular candidate or an ideology. Effective advertising requires effective objectives and timelines. Some of the common objectives in advertising include positioning a new brand or product. Such a product requires dedicated advertisement that addresses particular interests of the target audience. Additionally, such an advert must explain the vital features of the product in order to explain the features elaborately including the products’ competitive advantages (Benkler, 2006). Increasing sales, creation of a brand and competitive relations are yet other primary objectives in different advertisements. The advertisers must develop appropriate messages and win particular appeals of the audience. Additionally, the objectives must influence the timing and channels of communication in order to reach a large group of the target audience. This way, the advertiser increases the chances of the messages influencing the consumer behaviors thereby achieving some of the objectives. Irrespective of the objectives of an advert, an effective advert must pursue three fundamental goals that include the presentation of information to both potential consumers and the rest of the public most of who may not be consumers, increasing the demand for the products and differentiating the product. The three are objectives that every advertiser must address when formulating an advert for a particular product. When developing an advert, an advertiser must consider the features of the product that will

Executive summary for Corporate Finance Valuation Essay

Executive summary for Corporate Finance Valuation - Essay Example This is because it gives clear information on the return on investment and the shareholders value that is payable to investors. The analysis focuses on Balfour Beatty Corporation that is a high rank engineering company with global presence. The company provides a wide range of products and services with an aim of meeting its shareholders and customer needs promptly. This report provides an in-depth analysis of the company’s shareholders value, its key variables, sensitivity evaluation and issues that threatens to compromise its performance. The aim is to identify its performance level and viability that is critical in enabling accurate investment decisions. Introduction Balfour Beatty plc is a renowned corporation that focuses its synergy in providing quality infrastructural and engineering services. The company strives to achieve its key objective that is to be the leading producer of quality engineering services globally. It is also set with an aim to maximize its key resour ces to enhance shareholders value. The company started its operations in the year 1909 as a small entity with a capital base of 50,000million Pounds. It has recorded a tremendous growth that has seen it expand its network to over 80 countries. The company’s exemplary performance is attributable to its effective shareholders value management and product development. ... The company is also credited for its strong focus on shareholders value that remains a key driver of performance in most settings. The element that defines the amount of return on investment shareholders are to achieve is vital in ensuring sustainable growth. It has been one of the key drivers of the company’s performance and growth since it attracts more investors who inject colossal sums of funds. These funds help in steering growth and service delivery to customers who hold high expectations. Indeed, any organization that aspires to record exemplary performance or attract more investors especially in the current business environment should develop viable resource maximization techniques. This report aims at giving credible information based on corporate finance valuation with focus to shareholder value analysis. It adopts Balfour Beatty plc as its case study. Definition of SVA and its role Shareholder value analysis (SVA) is a performance indicator that measures the return on investment value that a company remits to shareholders (Ranadiv, 2009, P, 1). It gives a clear indication or information on the amount investors receive per shares held. It also measures a company’s financial capacity and value by comparing the returns that stockholders receive every financial year. This enables managers to make credible decisions pertaining to performance and attraction of new investors. Consequently, it facilitates investments decision-making since it gives investors a prior knowledge on a company’s performance and the expected returns (Ranadiv, 2009, P, 1). This is vital since investor’s interest is to earn returns on their investment and to receive refunds of the capital contribution.

Metternich The Leader :: essays research papers

Prince Klemens von Metternich: His Ideology, his Role in History, and the Stories we Tell. Metternich was an extremely intelligent man who turned his conservative beliefs into international policy. Metternich was a confident leader who put little faith in popular opinion or sentiment because he believed that the common man was too fickle in his loyalties and too inept to understand the magnitude of foreign policy. He was a loyal "servant" to the Austrian Emperor, even though Metternich was the true head of the Empire's government. Prince Klemens von Metternich was a complex individual that embodied the principles of 19th century conservatism and, through his Congress of Vienna, led the major European powers to a period of long-lasting peace and a strong balance of power. Metternich is well known for the Metternich System, which was put into practice during his most notable success, the Congress of Vienna of 1815. Metternich, additionally, was the guiding spirit of the international congresses, Aachen, Carlsbad, Troppau, Laibach, and Verona and was the chief statesman of the Holy Alliance. The Congress of Vienna, though, and the agreements that followed were the basis for, "no war involving several powers until the Crimean conflicts of the 1850's and no major war embroiling the whole of Europe until 1914." Metternich's goal, however, was not a peaceful Europe for the sake of peace, but for the preservation of the Austrian Empire who was threatened by possible aggressors on all sides, as well as, his personal loathing for liberalism and revolutionary behavior. Moreover, the Congress of Vienna gave Metternich the opportunity to instill his values of conservatism into the other leaders of Europe in a time when liberalism and revolution wer e the predominant political trends. Even though Metternich was a firm believer in the conservative values of his time, he worked to spread those ideas in 1815 for the more pragmatic reason of balancing power in the European Concert rather than for abstract ideologies. In the time following the Congress of Vienna, Metternich's amazing negotiations balanced the tendencies of an expanding Russia, with the isolationist mentality of Great Britain, as well as dealing with Prussian supremacy in the German confederation and maintaining Bourbon satisfaction with the status quo. The fact that he was able to do all this gave justification to the fact that, "Metternich remarked near the end of his life that historians would judge him more fairly than his contemporaries, and his prophecy has proven uncannily accurate.

Angels Demons Chapter 6-8

6 Sixty-four minutes had passed when an incredulous and slightly air-sick Robert Langdon stepped down the gangplank onto the sun-drenched runway. A crisp breeze rustled the lapels of his tweed jacket. The open space felt wonderful. He squinted out at the lush green valley rising to snowcapped peaks all around them. I'm dreaming, he told himself. Any minute now I'll be waking up. â€Å"Welcome to Switzerland,† the pilot said, yelling over the roar of the X-33's misted-fuel HEDM engines winding down behind them. Langdon checked his watch. It read 7:07 A.M. â€Å"You just crossed six time zones,† the pilot offered. â€Å"It's a little past 1 P.M. here.† Langdon reset his watch. â€Å"How do you feel?† He rubbed his stomach. â€Å"Like I've been eating Styrofoam.† The pilot nodded. â€Å"Altitude sickness. We were at sixty thousand feet. You're thirty percent lighter up there. Lucky we only did a puddle jump. If we'd gone to Tokyo I'd have taken her all the way up – a hundred miles. Now that'll get your insides rolling.† Langdon gave a wan nod and counted himself lucky. All things considered, the flight had been remarkably ordinary. Aside from a bone-crushing acceleration during take off, the plane's motion had been fairly typical – occasional minor turbulence, a few pressure changes as they'd climbed, but nothing at all to suggest they had been hurtling through space at the mind-numbing speed of 11,000 miles per hour. A handful of technicians scurried onto the runway to tend to the X-33. The pilot escorted Langdon to a black Peugeot sedan in a parking area beside the control tower. Moments later they were speeding down a paved road that stretched out across the valley floor. A faint cluster of buildings rose in the distance. Outside, the grassy plains tore by in a blur. Langdon watched in disbelief as the pilot pushed the speedometer up around 170 kilometers an hour – over 100 miles per hour. What is it with this guy and speed? he wondered. â€Å"Five kilometers to the lab,† the pilot said. â€Å"I'll have you there in two minutes.† Langdon searched in vain for a seat belt. Why not make it three and get us there alive? The car raced on. â€Å"Do you like Reba?† the pilot asked, jamming a cassette into the tape deck. A woman started singing. It's just the fear of being alone†¦ No fear here, Langdon thought absently. His female colleagues often ribbed him that his collection of museum-quality artifacts was nothing more than a transparent attempt to fill an empty home, a home they insisted would benefit greatly from the presence of a woman. Langdon always laughed it off, reminding them he already had three loves in his life – symbology, water polo, and bachelorhood – the latter being a freedom that enabled him to travel the world, sleep as late as he wanted, and enjoy quiet nights at home with a brandy and a good book. â€Å"We're like a small city,† the pilot said, pulling Langdon from his daydream. â€Å"Not just labs. We've got supermarkets, a hospital, even a cinema.† Langdon nodded blankly and looked out at the sprawling expanse of buildings rising before them. â€Å"In fact,† the pilot added, â€Å"we possess the largest machine on earth.† â€Å"Really?† Langdon scanned the countryside. â€Å"You won't see it out there, sir.† The pilot smiled. â€Å"It's buried six stories below the earth.† Langdon didn't have time to ask. Without warning the pilot jammed on the brakes. The car skidded to a stop outside a reinforced sentry booth. Langdon read the sign before them. Securite. Arretez He suddenly felt a wave of panic, realizing where he was. â€Å"My God! I didn't bring my passport!† â€Å"Passports are unnecessary,† the driver assured. â€Å"We have a standing arrangement with the Swiss government.† Langdon watched dumbfounded as his driver gave the guard an ID. The sentry ran it through an electronic authentication device. The machine flashed green. â€Å"Passenger name?† â€Å"Robert Langdon,† the driver replied. â€Å"Guest of?† â€Å"The director.† The sentry arched his eyebrows. He turned and checked a computer printout, verifying it against the data on his computer screen. Then he returned to the window. â€Å"Enjoy your stay, Mr. Langdon.† The car shot off again, accelerating another 200 yards around a sweeping rotary that led to the facility's main entrance. Looming before them was a rectangular, ultramodern structure of glass and steel. Langdon was amazed by the building's striking transparent design. He had always had a fond love of architecture. â€Å"The Glass Cathedral,† the escort offered. â€Å"A church?† â€Å"Hell, no. A church is the one thing we don't have. Physics is the religion around here. Use the Lord's name in vain all you like,† he laughed, â€Å"just don't slander any quarks or mesons.† Langdon sat bewildered as the driver swung the car around and brought it to a stop in front of the glass building. Quarks and mesons? No border control? Mach 15 jets? Who the hell are these guys? The engraved granite slab in front of the building bore the answer: CERN Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire â€Å"Nuclear Research?† Langdon asked, fairly certain his translation was correct. The driver did not answer. He was leaning forward, busily adjusting the car's cassette player. â€Å"This is your stop. The director will meet you at this entrance.† Langdon noted a man in a wheelchair exiting the building. He looked to be in his early sixties. Gaunt and totally bald with a sternly set jaw, he wore a white lab coat and dress shoes propped firmly on the wheelchair's footrest. Even at a distance his eyes looked lifeless – like two gray stones. â€Å"Is that him?† Langdon asked. The driver looked up. â€Å"Well, I'll be.† He turned and gave Langdon an ominous smile. â€Å"Speak of the devil.† Uncertain what to expect, Langdon stepped from the vehicle. The man in the wheelchair accelerated toward Langdon and offered a clammy hand. â€Å"Mr. Langdon? We spoke on the phone. My name is Maximilian Kohler.† 7 Maximilian Kohler, director general of CERN, was known behind his back as Konig – King. It was a title more of fear than reverence for the figure who ruled over his dominion from a wheelchair throne. Although few knew him personally, the horrific story of how he had been crippled was lore at CERN, and there were few there who blamed him for his bitterness†¦ nor for his sworn dedication to pure science. Langdon had only been in Kohler's presence a few moments and already sensed the director was a man who kept his distance. Langdon found himself practically jogging to keep up with Kohler's electric wheelchair as it sped silently toward the main entrance. The wheelchair was like none Langdon had ever seen – equipped with a bank of electronics including a multiline phone, a paging system, computer screen, even a small, detachable video camera. King Kohler's mobile command center. Langdon followed through a mechanical door into CERN's voluminous main lobby. The Glass Cathedral, Langdon mused, gazing upward toward heaven. Overhead, the bluish glass roof shimmered in the afternoon sun, casting rays of geometric patterns in the air and giving the room a sense of grandeur. Angular shadows fell like veins across the white tiled walls and down to the marble floors. The air smelled clean, sterile. A handful of scientists moved briskly about, their footsteps echoing in the resonant space. â€Å"This way, please, Mr. Langdon.† His voice sounded almost computerized. His accent was rigid and precise, like his stern features. Kohler coughed and wiped his mouth on a white handkerchief as he fixed his dead gray eyes on Langdon. â€Å"Please hurry.† His wheelchair seemed to leap across the tiled floor. Langdon followed past what seemed to be countless hallways branching off the main atrium. Every hallway was alive with activity. The scientists who saw Kohler seemed to stare in surprise, eyeing Langdon as if wondering who he must be to command such company. â€Å"I'm embarrassed to admit,† Langdon ventured, trying to make conversation, â€Å"that I've never heard of CERN.† â€Å"Not surprising,† Kohler replied, his clipped response sounding harshly efficient. â€Å"Most Americans do not see Europe as the world leader in scientific research. They see us as nothing but a quaint shopping district – an odd perception if you consider the nationalities of men like Einstein, Galileo, and Newton.† Langdon was unsure how to respond. He pulled the fax from his pocket. â€Å"This man in the photograph, can you – â€Å" Kohler cut him off with a wave of his hand. â€Å"Please. Not here. I am taking you to him now.† He held out his hand. â€Å"Perhaps I should take that.† Langdon handed over the fax and fell silently into step. Kohler took a sharp left and entered a wide hallway adorned with awards and commendations. A particularly large plaque dominated the entry. Langdon slowed to read the engraved bronze as they passed. ARS ELECTRONICA AWARD For Cultural Innovation in the Digital Age Awarded to Tim Berners Lee and CERN for the invention of the WORLDWIDE WEB Well I'll be damned, Langdon thought, reading the text. This guy wasn't kidding. Langdon had always thought of the Web as an American invention. Then again, his knowledge was limited to the site for his own book and the occasional on-line exploration of the Louvre or El Prado on his old Macintosh. â€Å"The Web,† Kohler said, coughing again and wiping his mouth, â€Å"began here as a network of in-house computer sites. It enabled scientists from different departments to share daily findings with one another. Of course, the entire world is under the impression the Web is U.S. technology.† Langdon followed down the hall. â€Å"Why not set the record straight?† Kohler shrugged, apparently disinterested. â€Å"A petty misconception over a petty technology. CERN is far greater than a global connection of computers. Our scientists produce miracles almost daily.† Langdon gave Kohler a questioning look. â€Å"Miracles?† The word â€Å"miracle† was certainly not part of the vocabulary around Harvard's Fairchild Science Building. Miracles were left for the School of Divinity. â€Å"You sound skeptical,† Kohler said. â€Å"I thought you were a religious symbologist. Do you not believe in miracles?† â€Å"I'm undecided on miracles,† Langdon said. Particularly those that take place in science labs. â€Å"Perhaps miracle is the wrong word. I was simply trying to speak your language.† â€Å"My language?† Langdon was suddenly uncomfortable. â€Å"Not to disappoint you, sir, but I study religious symbology – I'm an academic, not a priest.† Kohler slowed suddenly and turned, his gaze softening a bit. â€Å"Of course. How simple of me. One does not need to have cancer to analyze its symptoms.† Langdon had never heard it put quite that way. As they moved down the hallway, Kohler gave an accepting nod. â€Å"I suspect you and I will understand each other perfectly, Mr. Langdon.† Somehow Langdon doubted it. As the pair hurried on, Langdon began to sense a deep rumbling up ahead. The noise got more and more pronounced with every step, reverberating through the walls. It seemed to be coming from the end of the hallway in front of them. â€Å"What's that?† Langdon finally asked, having to yell. He felt like they were approaching an active volcano. â€Å"Free Fall Tube,† Kohler replied, his hollow voice cutting the air effortlessly. He offered no other explanation. Langdon didn't ask. He was exhausted, and Maximilian Kohler seemed disinterested in winning any hospitality awards. Langdon reminded himself why he was here. Illuminati. He assumed somewhere in this colossal facility was a body†¦ a body branded with a symbol he had just flown 3,000 miles to see. As they approached the end of the hall, the rumble became almost deafening, vibrating up through Langdon's soles. They rounded the bend, and a viewing gallery appeared on the right. Four thick-paned portals were embedded in a curved wall, like windows in a submarine. Langdon stopped and looked through one of the holes. Professor Robert Langdon had seen some strange things in his life, but this was the strangest. He blinked a few times, wondering if he was hallucinating. He was staring into an enormous circular chamber. Inside the chamber, floating as though weightless, were people. Three of them. One waved and did a somersault in midair. My God, he thought. I'm in the land of Oz. The floor of the room was a mesh grid, like a giant sheet of chicken wire. Visible beneath the grid was the metallic blur of a huge propeller. â€Å"Free fall tube,† Kohler said, stopping to wait for him. â€Å"Indoor skydiving. For stress relief. It's a vertical wind tunnel.† Langdon looked on in amazement. One of the free fallers, an obese woman, maneuvered toward the window. She was being buffeted by the air currents but grinned and flashed Langdon the thumbs-up sign. Langdon smiled weakly and returned the gesture, wondering if she knew it was the ancient phallic symbol for masculine virility. The heavyset woman, Langdon noticed, was the only one wearing what appeared to be a miniature parachute. The swathe of fabric billowed over her like a toy. â€Å"What's her little chute for?† Langdon asked Kohler. â€Å"It can't be more than a yard in diameter.† â€Å"Friction,† Kohler said. â€Å"Decreases her aerodynamics so the fan can lift her.† He started down the the corridor again. â€Å"One square yard of drag will slow a falling body almost twenty percent.† Langdon nodded blankly. He never suspected that later that night, in a country hundreds of miles away, the information would save his life. 8 When Kohler and Langdon emerged from the rear of CERN's main complex into the stark Swiss sunlight, Langdon felt as if he'd been transported home. The scene before him looked like an Ivy League campus. A grassy slope cascaded downward onto an expansive lowlands where clusters of sugar maples dotted quadrangles bordered by brick dormitories and footpaths. Scholarly looking individuals with stacks of books hustled in and out of buildings. As if to accentuate the collegiate atmosphere, two longhaired hippies hurled a Frisbee back and forth while enjoying Mahler's Fourth Symphony blaring from a dorm window. â€Å"These are our residential dorms,† Kohler explained as he accelerated his wheelchair down the path toward the buildings. â€Å"We have over three thousand physicists here. CERN single-handedly employs more than half of the world's particle physicists – the brightest minds on earth – Germans, Japanese, Italians, Dutch, you name it. Our physicists represent over five hundred universities and sixty nationalities.† Langdon was amazed. â€Å"How do they all communicate?† â€Å"English, of course. The universal language of science.† Langdon had always heard math was the universal language of science, but he was too tired to argue. He dutifully followed Kohler down the path. Halfway to the bottom, a young man jogged by. His T-shirt proclaimed the message: NO GUT, NO GLORY! Langdon looked after him, mystified. â€Å"Gut?† â€Å"General Unified Theory.† Kohler quipped. â€Å"The theory of everything.† â€Å"I see,† Langdon said, not seeing at all. â€Å"Are you familiar with particle physics, Mr. Langdon?† Langdon shrugged. â€Å"I'm familiar with general physics – falling bodies, that sort of thing.† His years of high-diving experience had given him a profound respect for the awesome power of gravitational acceleration. â€Å"Particle physics is the study of atoms, isn't it?† Kohler shook his head. â€Å"Atoms look like planets compared to what we deal with. Our interests lie with an atom's nucleus – a mere ten-thousandth the size of the whole.† He coughed again, sounding sick. â€Å"The men and women of CERN are here to find answers to the same questions man has been asking since the beginning of time. Where did we come from? What are we made of?† â€Å"And these answers are in a physics lab?† â€Å"You sound surprised.† â€Å"I am. The questions seem spiritual.† â€Å"Mr. Langdon, all questions were once spiritual. Since the beginning of time, spirituality and religion have been called on to fill in the gaps that science did not understand. The rising and setting of the sun was once attributed to Helios and a flaming chariot. Earthquakes and tidal waves were the wrath of Poseidon. Science has now proven those gods to be false idols. Soon all Gods will be proven to be false idols. Science has now provided answers to almost every question man can ask. There are only a few questions left, and they are the esoteric ones. Where do we come from? What are we doing here? What is the meaning of life and the universe?† Langdon was amazed. â€Å"And these are questions CERN is trying to answer?† â€Å"Correction. These are questions we are answering.† Langdon fell silent as the two men wound through the residential quadrangles. As they walked, a Frisbee sailed overhead and skidded to a stop directly in front of them. Kohler ignored it and kept going. A voice called out from across the quad. â€Å"S'il vous plat!† Langdon looked over. An elderly white-haired man in a College Paris sweatshirt waved to him. Langdon picked up the Frisbee and expertly threw it back. The old man caught it on one finger and bounced it a few times before whipping it over his shoulder to his partner. â€Å"Merci!† he called to Langdon. â€Å"Congratulations,† Kohler said when Langdon finally caught up. â€Å"You just played toss with a Noble prize-winner, Georges Charpak, inventor of the multiwire proportional chamber.† Langdon nodded. My lucky day. It took Langdon and Kohler three more minutes to reach their destination – a large, well-kept dormitory sitting in a grove of aspens. Compared to the other dorms, this structure seemed luxurious. The carved stone sign in front read Building C. Imaginative title, Langdon thought. But despite its sterile name, Building C appealed to Langdon's sense of architectural style – conservative and solid. It had a red brick facade, an ornate balustrade, and sat framed by sculpted symmetrical hedges. As the two men ascended the stone path toward the entry, they passed under a gateway formed by a pair of marble columns. Someone had put a sticky-note on one of them. This column is Ionic Physicist graffiti? Langdon mused, eyeing the column and chuckling to himself. â€Å"I'm relieved to see that even brilliant physicists make mistakes.† Kohler looked over. â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"Whoever wrote that note made a mistake. That column isn't Ionic. Ionic columns are uniform in width. That one's tapered. It's Doric – the Greek counterpart. A common mistake.† Kohler did not smile. â€Å"The author meant it as a joke, Mr. Langdon. Ionic means containing ions – electrically charged particles. Most objects contain them.† Langdon looked back at the column and groaned. Langdon was still feeling stupid when he stepped from the elevator on the top floor of Building C. He followed Kohler down a well-appointed corridor. The decor was unexpected – traditional colonial French – a cherry divan, porcelain floor vase, and scrolled woodwork. â€Å"We like to keep our tenured scientists comfortable,† Kohler explained. Evidently, Langdon thought. â€Å"So the man in the fax lived up here? One of your upper-level employees?† â€Å"Quite,† Kohler said. â€Å"He missed a meeting with me this morning and did not answer his page. I came up here to locate him and found him dead in his living room.† Langdon felt a sudden chill realizing that he was about to see a dead body. His stomach had never been particularly stalwart. It was a weakness he'd discovered as an art student when the teacher informed the class that Leonardo da Vinci had gained his expertise in the human form by exhuming corpses and dissecting their musculature. Kohler led the way to the far end of the hallway. There was a single door. â€Å"The Penthouse, as you would say,† Kohler announced, dabbing a bead of perspiration from his forehead. Langdon eyed the lone oak door before them. The name plate read: Leonardo Vetra â€Å"Leonardo Vetra,† Kohler said, â€Å"would have been fifty-eight next week. He was one of the most brilliant scientists of our time. His death is a profound loss for science.† For an instant Langdon thought he sensed emotion in Kohler's hardened face. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Kohler reached in his pocket and began sifting through a large key ring. An odd thought suddenly occurred to Langdon. The building seemed deserted. â€Å"Where is everyone?† he asked. The lack of activity was hardly what he expected considering they were about to enter a murder scene. â€Å"The residents are in their labs,† Kohler replied, finding the key. â€Å"I mean the police,† Langdon clarified. â€Å"Have they left already?† Kohler paused, his key halfway into the lock. â€Å"Police?† Langdon's eyes met the director's. â€Å"Police. You sent me a fax of a homicide. You must have called the police.† â€Å"I most certainly have not.† â€Å"What?† Kohler's gray eyes sharpened. â€Å"The situation is complex, Mr. Langdon.† Langdon felt a wave of apprehension. â€Å"But†¦ certainly someone else knows about this!† â€Å"Yes. Leonardo's adopted daughter. She is also a physicist here at CERN. She and her father share a lab. They are partners. Ms. Vetra has been away this week doing field research. I have notified her of her father's death, and she is returning as we speak.† â€Å"But a man has been murd – â€Å" â€Å"A formal investigation,† Kohler said, his voice firm, â€Å"will take place. However, it will most certainly involve a search of Vetra's lab, a space he and his daughter hold most private. Therefore, it will wait until Ms. Vetra has arrived. I feel I owe her at least that modicum of discretion.† Kohler turned the key. As the door swung open, a blast of icy air hissed into the hall and hit Langdon in the face. He fell back in bewilderment. He was gazing across the threshold of an alien world. The flat before him was immersed in a thick, white fog. The mist swirled in smoky vortexes around the furniture and shrouded the room in opaque haze. â€Å"What the†¦?† Langdon stammered. â€Å"Freon cooling system,† Kohler replied. â€Å"I chilled the flat to preserve the body.† Langdon buttoned his tweed jacket against the cold. I'm in Oz, he thought. And I forgot my magic slippers.

Absorptivity Definition - Chemistry Glossary

Definition: Absorptivity is the absorption cross section or extinction coefficient. Absorptivity varies with wavelength and is defined as the absorbance solution concentration absorbance concentration Return to the Chemistry Glossary Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z