Various Methods of Electricity Production Essay

Various Methods of Electricity Production - Essay Example Even though these early humans had no understanding of electricity, the movie depicts them looking for lightning to reignite their fire! It is clear in the film that the first fire available to mankind came from electricity in the form of lightning (Cook 7). It seems that electricity was the first real power used by man. Long before the lever, the wheel or the windmill mankind was reaping the benefits of fire created by the natural electricity of lightning. Man made electricity has earlier roots than one might suspect as well. Evidence has been uncovered that the ancient Egyptians used crude batteries to produce electrical charges (Mythbusters, 2005). The Egyptians fashioned clay pots as containers and filled them with high acid citrus juice. They then connected primitive cables made of copper to the clay jars. On the popular Discovery Channel series Mythbusters the cast recreates the Egyptian battery to test if this notion of early batteries is fact or myth. Much to their surprise the primitive invention does in fact produce a very small electrical charge. They speculate that Egyptians might have used this electricity to amaze and frighten pharos's subjects. By hooking the batteries up to statues of the pharos and other deities the ancient Egyptians gave their pharaoh a little help in the "powerful and mystical" department (Mythbusters, 2005). We will likely never know the whole story behind these ancient batteries but it is interesti ng to consider how early mankind was experimenting with electricity. Since ancient times many forms of electricity generation have been discovered and utilized. But first, in order to understand these various sources it is important to understand the history and development of electricity as a primary source of energy. The Rise of Electricity The ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese and the Persians all experimented with crude inventions to harness electricity with very limited success. Even the explosion of science during the Middle Ages in Europe added little to the understanding electricity (Dell & Rand,125). In 1214 Roger Bacon experimented with the properties of amber and lodestone but electricity was primarily used to "amuse and frighten the ignorant" (Canby,12). Like the Egyptians, European scientists of the Middle Ages viewed electricity as a "parlor trick" and it's usefulness was deemed limited (Dell & Rand, 125). It wasn't until 1600 when William Gilbert, physician to Queen Elisabeth, wrote an impressive paper on magnetism, that the scientist of Europe began to seriously consider scientific study of electricity (Canby,13). The De Magnete written by Gilbert was widely read by the educated class of Europe and interest in electricity surged. Gilbert also created the first list of elements that contain electric and magn etic properties (Wikipedia,2007). In 1660, Otto van Guericke built the first machine to produce an electrical charge (Canby, 18). The glass globe had a sulfur ball inside and created a lightning like charge that amazed the people of Guericke's day. During this time advances in the understanding of electricity was painfully slow and it wasn't until 1709 that the next big discovery was made. In England, Francis Hawkenbee built an improved version of the "glass globe" and conducted many other useful experiments. Next, in 1729 Steven Gray of the Grayfriars School in England discovered

Public Policy and the rise of Business Enterprise Essay

Public Policy and the rise of Business Enterprise - Essay Example Due to the severe economic recession and other factors, the automobile industry was working below par. A general perception was created amongst the public so as to hate the automobile industry in such a manner that the general public was made to envy the automobile worker because of the increased wage rate within the automobile industry. This envious public policy led to a severe slump within the automobile industry and many of the automobile manufacturers were forced to almost close out their operations within the area but this attitude later changed and the change was brought upon by the Obama administration. Government Support to Home industry The other main emotional issue that has led to such an uproar in this article is because all these Big three American automobile manufacturers, who at one time, were about to go bankrupt and it was only the Obama administration that helped the automobile industry by offering them the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to survive the scare and reach such a position as described in this article. Stakeholders Stakeholders of the American automobile industry were also a part of this entire scenario and all the different groups of the stakeholders had their own personal interest in this. The major stakeholders concerned with the American automobile industry would be the owners of the automobile manufacturer, the employees within these automobile manufacturing companies, the government, the customers and the suppliers of these automobile manufacturers with each and every stakeholder having a personal interest. The owners would be worried about their personal investments within the company and with this increase in sales; the owners would get delighted as their returns would increase. The government would be worried about the increased level of unemployment had these automobile manufacturers ceased to operated due to bankruptcy. The improved figures in revenue would have saved the jobs. The employees would have been affecte d had they been redundant, the increased revenue have given them a hope of surviving. The customers would have to buy cars at high prices if the automobile manufacturer would have closed due to bankruptcy. The suppliers would have to find alternate customers if these companies would have closed (Drives, 2011). Policy options and implementation Public policy is usually a government action taken in order to answer any particular issue within a country; these actions are taken with respect to the legal and the administrative traditions prevailing in the country. The main issue within the article is the success story of the American automobile manufacturer namely Chrysler, General Motors and Ford. The success story starts with the initial failure that of these 3 big automaker manufacturers and how the government and the labor staff worked together to help companies like Chrysler and General Motors. The United Auto Workers worked together with General Motors to keep the Work force intact at a time when General Motor was about to go bankrupt. More recently, both General Motors and the United Auto Workers union are making to reach an agreement so that fixed costs can be reduced within General Motors. This shows how the company is working in order