Big Bang essays

Big Bang essays Every since scientists came up with an idea of how the universe started and was created, through the Big Bang, there has always been discussion and questioning on what the universe was, before it was created. Was there nothing because there was no time and no God, or was there something we havent discovered yet. Over the past decades, several scientists have theorized on life before the Big Bang, and have come up with these theories: Brane Theory, String Theory, and Inflation theory/Eternal Inflation. Although these theories tell of how the Big Bang started, it does not really explain the universe before the time before the Big Bang era, and how everything needed to start the Big Bang was placed/formed in that before the universe place. Many theories are a revision of an old theory, such as the case with the Brane theory and the String Theory. The String Theory and the Brane Theory both do not explain how matter got there to create the Big Bang. The String Theory says that the universe consists of tiny loops of strings that can form matter. According to this theory, the Big Bang may be a transition from a previously shrinking universe that has reached it smallest size and has begun to expand again. This may be true, but it does not tell us how these strings came to place and how the shrinking universe got there. The Brane Theory is a modification, where membranes which can create matter float around in a five dimension megaverse, and if they collide, it could start the Big Bang. The Inflation theory and the Eternal Inflation are related, in that the Eternal Inflation explains how the Inflation theory would work. The Inflation theory suggests that in the universe there are Inflation bubbles which give rise to universes, and these bubbles are stretched to create universes. It suggests that this can occur several times within the same universe, therefore creating a never endin ...

An Overview and History of the Compass

An Overview and History of the Compass The compass is an instrument used for navigation; it generally has a magnetic needle that points toward the earths magnetic North Pole. The magnetic compass has been in existence for nearly a thousand years and is the most common type of compass. The gyroscopic compass is far less common than a magnetic compass. The Magnetic Compass In order to adjust a magnetic compass to due or true north and toward the geographic North Pole, one must know the amount of magnetic declination or variation that exists in a specific region. There are online maps and calculators available that provide the difference in declination between true north and magnetic north for every point on the globe. By adjusting ones magnetic compass based on the local magnetic declination, it is possible to ensure that ones directions are accurate. The Gyroscopic Compass The History of the Compass Compasses were originally developed when lodestones, a mineral that has naturally magnetized iron ore, were suspended above a board with the ability to pivot and turn. It was discovered that the stones would always point in the same direction, and align themselves with the north/south axis of the earth. The Compass Rose The 32 points were originally drawn to indicate winds and were used by sailors in navigation. The 32 points represented the eight major winds, the eight half-winds, and the 16 quarter-winds. All 32 points, their degrees, and their names can be found online. On early compass roses, the eight major winds can be seen with a letter initial above the line marking its name, as we do with N (north), E (east), S (south), and W (west) today. Later compass roses, around the time of Portuguese exploration and Christopher Columbus, show a fleur-de-lys replacing the initial letter T (for tramontana, the name of the north wind) that marked north, and a cross replacing the initial letter L (for levante) that marked east, showing the direction of the Holy Land. We still commonly see the fleur-de-lys and cross symbols on compass roses today, if not just the simple letter initials for the cardinal directions. Every cartographer designs a compass rose a little differently, using different colors, graphics, and even symbols. Multiple colors are often used simply as a means of easily distinguishing the many points and lines on a compass rose. 360 Degrees Uses of the Compass Most people use a compass casually, for instance with hiking or camping. In those situations, basic compasses like the thumb compass or other orienteering compasses that are clear and can be read over a map are suitable. Many casual uses where travel is over a short distance require basic markings for cardinal directions and a basic level of understanding compasses. For more advanced navigation, where large distances are covered and a slight variation of degrees would offset your course, a deeper understanding of compass reading is required. Understanding declination, the angle between true north and magnetic north, the 360 degree markings on the compass face, and your course-of-direction arrow combined with individual compass instructions requires more advanced study. For simple, easy-to-understand, beginners instructions on how to read a compass, visit compassdude.com.

Finance Analysis of McDonalds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Finance Analysis of McDonalds - Essay Example D. Main products and services: McDonald's menu concentrates on five main ingredients: beef, chicken, bread, potatoes and milk, which account for 255 million of food expenditure. The company's main menu lists its basic food offering: the Big Mac, which still exists as a major seller; other standard product names come from the McDonald's convention of adding a 'Mc' to a particular item. So, a chicken sandwich becomes a 'McChicken' sandwich and chicken nuggets become chicken 'McNuggets'. This idea has been extended to their dessert range, with the creation of the 'McFlurry' ice cream5 (biz/ed, 1996-2008). E. Geographic area of operations: McDonald's is one of only a handful of brands that command instant recognition in virtually every country of the world. McDonald's began with one restaurant in the US in 1955 and today there are more than 26,500 restaurants in over 119 countries, serving around 39 million people every day - making McDonald's by far the largest food service company in the world6 (McDonalds). The business is managed as distinct geographic segments: United States; Europe; Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA); Latin America; and Canada. In addition, throughout this report we present a segment entitled "Corporate& Other" that includes corporate activities and non-McDonald's brands (e.g., Boston Market). The U.S. and Europe segments each account for approximately 35% of total revenues. France, Germany and the United Kingdom (U.K.), collectively, account for approximately 60% of Europe's revenues; and Australia, China and Japan (a 50%-owned affiliate accounted for under the equity method), collect ively, account for nearly 50% of APMEA's revenues. These six markets along with the U.S. and Canada are referred to as "major markets"... The paper describes the company's history from the beginning. It shows the full list of the products and services and gives the financial analysis of McDonalds. McDonalds is one of the world’s largest food chain and a key player in the restaurant industry. The company regards itself as the leading global food service retailer. The company has got over 30,000 restaurants all across the globe and is serving more than 47 million people in almost 121 countries each day. As part of this paper, the financial analysis of McDonalds has been carried out. The various financial aspects like the company’s sales and net profit, asset and capital structure, expense distribution have been observed and analyzed for a period starting from 2001 to 2006. Each of the above discussed calculation and analysis have been supported by a graphical representation. The overall performance of the company with respect to all these various calculations was very good except that there had been a dip in the overall sales of the company in the year 2002 which was eventually made up in the very next year. Also, ratio analysis of the firm has been done from diffe rent perspectives like liquidity, profitability, asset turnover, efficiency and market valuation etc, for two consecutive years i.e. 2005 and 2006. An important and yet notable figure with respect to the market valuation of the company is its price-earnings ration which actually exceeded the industry average in the year 2006 which clearly shows the efficiency of the firm in productive utilization of its resources.