Understanding the Glow of Noctilucent Clouds

Each summer, people who live at high latitudes north and south of the equator are treated to a fantastically beautiful phenomenon called noctilucent clouds. These arent clouds in the normal way we understand them. The clouds were more familiar with are generally made of water droplets that have formed around particles of dust. Noctilucent clouds are generally made of ice crystals that formed around tiny dust particles in fairly cold temperatures. Unlike most clouds that float fairly close to the ground, they exist at heights up to 85 kilometers above the surface of our planet, high in the atmosphere that sustains life on Earth. They may look like thin cirrus that we can see throughout the day or night but are generally only visible when the Sun is no more than 16 degrees below the horizon. Clouds of the Night The term noctilucent means night-shining and it describes these clouds perfectly. They cant be seen during the day due to the brightness of the Sun. However, once the Sun sets, it illuminates these high-flying clouds from below. This explains why they can be seen in deep twilight. They typically have a bluish-white color and look very wispy. The History of Noctilucent Cloud Research Noctilucent clouds were first reported in 1885 and are sometimes linked with the eruption of the famous volcano, Krakatoa in 1883. However, its not clear that the eruption caused them — theres no scientific evidence to prove it one way or another. Their appearance may simply be coincidental. The idea that volcanic eruptions cause these clouds was heavily researched and eventually disproved in the 1920s. Since then, atmospheric scientists have studied noctilucent clouds using balloons, sounding rockets, and satellites. They seem to occur pretty frequently and are quite beautiful to observe. How Do Noctilucent Clouds Form? The ice particles that make up these shimmering clouds are quite small, only about 100 nm across. That many times smaller than the width of a human hair. They form when tiny particles of dust—possibly from bits of micro-meteors in the upper atmosphere—are coated with water vapor and frozen high in the atmosphere, in a region called the mesosphere. During local summer, that region of the atmosphere can be quite cold, and the crystals form at about -100 ° C. Noctilucent cloud formation seems to vary as the solar cycle does. In particular, as the Sun emits more ultraviolet radiation, it interacts with water molecules in the upper atmosphere and breaks them apart. That leaves less water to form the clouds during times of increased activity. Solar physicists and atmospheric scientists are tracking solar activity and noctilucent cloud formation to better understand the connection between the two phenomena. In particular, they are interested in learning why changes in these peculiar clouds dont show up until about a year after UV levels change. Interestingly, when NASAs space shuttles were flying, their exhaust plumes (which were nearly all water vapor) froze high in the atmosphere and created very short-lived mini noctilucent clouds. The same thing has happened with other launch vehicles since the shuttle era. However, launches are few and far between. The phenomenon of noctilucent clouds predates launches and aircraft. However, the short-lived noctilucent clouds from launch activities provide more data points about the atmospheric conditions that help them form. Noctilucent Clouds and Climate Change There may be a connection between the frequent formation of noctilucent clouds and climate change. NASA and other space agencies have been studying Earth for many decades and observing  the effects of global warming. However, the evidence is still being gathered, and the link between the clouds and warming remains a relatively controversial suggestion. Scientists are following up on all the evidence to see if there is a definite link. One possible theory is that methane (a greenhouse gas implicated in climate change) migrates to the area of the atmosphere where these clouds form. Greenhouse gases are thought to force temperature changes in the mesosphere, causing it to cool down. That cooling would contribute to the formation of ice crystals that make up the noctilucent clouds. An increase in water vapor (also due to human activities that produce greenhouse gases) would be part of the noctilucent cloud connection to climate change. Much work needs to be done to prove these connecti ons. Regardless of how these clouds form, they remain a favorite of sky watchers, particularly sunset-gazers and amateur observers. Just as some people chase eclipses or remain out late at night to see meteor showers, there are many who live in the high northern and southern latitudes and actively seek out the sight of noctilucent clouds. Theres no doubt of their magnificent beauty, but they are also an indicator of activities in our planets atmosphere.

Business Case Study Electronic Commerce - 941 Words

Electronic Commerce is the process of exchanging products and services or information with the help of computer networks, which includes the Internet (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). We can classify e-commerce by their relationship among different participants in the following types (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). Business-to-Business (B2B): All the participants in this model are business organizations. For example, Dell applications include B2B with their suppliers (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). Business-to-Consumer (B2C): This is an e-commerce model where the business organizations sell products and services to individual shoppers. For example, Amazon.com. E tailing is the other†¦show more content†¦In 1969, Internet began life in the US and mainly used by government and its departments, researchers and scientists. In 1990s, the World Wide Web came into existence and that is when e-commerce was coined. From then until today, e-commerce has seen both success as well as failures (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). The failure was mainly because the e-commerce field was going through consolidations and organizations were trying different models and structures (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). The other reason was giants like Amazon were working on expanding their operations and generating increased sales. However, the future looks bright for e-commerce and the usefulness is starting to materialize. As e-commerce expands, these benefits wi ll increase significantly. E-Commerce offers benefits to business organizations, individuals and the society (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). Benefits to Organization EC helps in locating customers and suppliers around the globe at a reasonable cost. Processing information, storage and distribution at lower costs. It helps to reduce delays, cost and inventories when coming to supply chain improvements (Turban, King, McKay, Marshall, Viehland, 2008). Transactions are 24/7/365. Talking about customization, it is according to the customers wish, quick and at reasonable cost. SellersShow MoreRelatedE-commerce: Its Development and Future Prospective Essay659 Words   |  3 PagesIntroduction Technological advancements have taken the world by storm. The daily chronicles have a different story to tell with every dawn of a new day about a technological invention and/or innovation. Doing business has become competitive more than ever. This phenomenon has created a business environment that follows the clichà ©, the survival of the fittest. It is in this spirit that businesses have adopted technology to survive and remain relevant in the dynamic consumer environment. 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Industrial revolution in diffe Essay Example For Students

Industrial revolution in diffe Essay This time period is quite an exciting period to be studying the Industrial Revolution, because of the fact that there is another revolution going on in the workplace. Every time technology changes, everything around it changes, and it is an exponential process. Technology increases, and then, using the new technology, it increases even more. 20 years ago, people used filing cabinets, and a pencil and paper, but recently, with the invention of computers, all that has been turned into hard disks, and emails, and gigabytes. Before the Industrial Revolution, people were farmers, and life was pretty slow, but with inventions like the cotton gin, and the assembly line, mass production evolved. Mass production is when companies can pump out the same product at a very efficient and inexpensive rate. The assembly line was one of these methods. An item would be sent down a treadmill, and at each point, there would be someone to work on one aspect of it. One person would punch a hole, and the n ext person would put in a screw, and so on, down the line, until the item was complete. This began something called division of labor. This was when people would repeat the same task over and over again, such as in an assembly line. This was very repetitive, and quite boring. England was a country that was the ideal for the Industrial Revolution it was on the water, so it was perfect for trade. It had lots of natural resources, and also a large population. The population both led to more ideas, and more workers. The country was also a wealthy one, with a good economy, and therefore there were ample investors for companies to begin. The revolution eventually spread to Western Europe, and even to the Americas. There is no doubt that inventions and technology was the key to the Industrial Revolution. It changed the way things are made, it changed the price, and it changed the working conditions. It was indeed, revolutionary. The Industrial Revolution in Britain changed the society profoundly; it caused a complete change in working conditions and the relationship between the working and middle classes. The working conditions became very harsh during the industrial revolution. Assembly lines led to mass production, which led to the division of labor. The division of labor was a method of working which involved doing the same task over and over. It was totally mindless, and it led to bitterness towards the middle class from the working class. The managers of the factories, whom were members of the working class, became more concerned with profit vs. expenses after learning about mass production, and started to cut wages to make a quick buck. This also led to bitterness on the part of the working class. The emergence of the strong middle class was part of the marked changed that occurred during the Industrial Revolution in Britain. These working conditions are still applicable to the factory workers of today ; this shows how revolutionary they were. This was the first time in history the working and middle classes disputed over conditions, and wages. This relationship is still very common, and very important. If the workers dont complain, then they will not work as hard because of their feeling of resentment towards their bosses. And vice-versa, if the bosses dont try to lower wages, then they will have to make up for it with higher prices, and then the consumer suffers. The protest towards bosses led to the formation of unions, which are still a very important part of the economy. The Industrial Revolution affected the whole stability of a nation, not only the economy. It affected the relationships between classes, and also the relationships between countries. The most important part is how all of these concepts are very much applicable to todays economy, which is why the Industrial Revolution was such an important period of time in the history of the world.

Islamic Management free essay sample

The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work. † Characteristic of conventional management : Examinees each resource sector and environment component in isolation Examines each resource sector and/or environmental component in isolation (e. g. , water, air, forests, fish) Focuses on biotic components; limited, if any, consideration of ecological processes (e. g. , hydrological process) Targets only specific resources of interest; typically those of commercial value Conflicting management policies However, in March 1994, the Commission has provided a provision by which trust funds can invest (10% of portfolio) in overseas stock. Hence, conventional unit trust funds can invest in any of the above Malaysian assets without any restriction as long as the funds have not reached its maximum approved size. The Islamic unit trusts mainly focus on the investments in portfolios of ‘halal’ stocks and bonds complying with the Syariah principles. Such ‘halal’ stocks exclude companies involving in activities, products or services related to conventional banking, insurance and financial services, gambling, alcoholic beverages and non-halal food products and also companies whose products can cause illness, death, disease or even promote social ills such as tobacco. We will write a custom essay sample on Islamic Management or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page From an Islamic perspective, the above industries are avoided as they represent elements that are forbidden by Allah and the harmful effects of such products on mankind (Smart Investor, 2002). The returns of Islamic unit trusts also avoid the incidence of ‘riba’ or usury interest through the process of cleaning or purification by the removal of such amounts representing the interest element. In instances where a fund has inadvertently made profits investing in non-permissible sectors, the fund will liquidate the investments. The proceeds of the gain will then be donated to charities. Mohd Nasir (2000) mentioned in his paper that the Syariah principle of ‘musharakah’ acts as a base for Islamic unit trust whereby it is a participatory financing involving agreement between the contributor of capital and the user. Therefore, the providers of funds or partners are the unitholders in an Islamic unit trust. A formal contract between the unitholders, capital or fund, profit, the offer, the acceptance and the investment activities are also available within the practice of the Islamic unit trust. The concept of ‘al-wadiah yad dhamanah’ or guaranteed safe custody is involved in the operation of the Islamic unit trust fund. Prior to the funds existence, the owners of assets are the investors, custodian holder is the fund manager, and asset is the money invested. After the creation of the fund, the owners of assets are the unit holders, the custodian is the trustee and the assets include all assets of the fund. Besides that, the concept of ‘al-bai’bithamin ajil’ is also practiced in the Islamic unit trust whereby there is a transaction of buying and redemption of units of funds. In this case, the purchase or redemption price is the managers forward selling or buying price at the next valuation point when investors decide to buy or unitholders decide to redeem their shares. Moreover, the valuation point is the price at the close of business for the day.