Friday, March 27, 2020

The Pull free essay sample

I can’t feel bad. It’s not my fault. I’m not the reason he’s here. I found myself at the entrance to the Physical Therapy wing at Froedert Hospital. I walked in carefully, like a child sneaking down for a midnight snack. â€Å"Hello, Robbie,† a pleasant voice said. â€Å"I am so excited that you decided to shadow here today.† It was the manager of the Physical Therapy department. â€Å"Thank you for having me.† I forced a smile to make sure she thought I was just as thrilled as she was. â€Å"Today you will be working with a man who is paralyzed.† I whirled around as if I was the last bowling pin ready to fall. What? No, I was supposed to be with people who need help learning to run and play sports again. I don’t know how to work with paralyzed people. He may have been in a wheelchair, but with his demeanor, you would have thought he just won the World Cup. We will write a custom essay sample on The Pull or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His name was Peter. A quick look at him and there wasn’t one thing I envied about this guy. He had been brutally attacked. His skull slammed into the pavement repeatedly. By the time they were done, he couldn’t see. All he could do was lie motionless while his own blood trickled over his body. On this particular day, I had to perform two exercises with Peter. The manager pulled me aside like she was giving me the final play to run in the state championship game. â€Å"Now, Robbie, I know these tasks may seem simple to you, but Peter may get frustrated and I’ve seen people get choked up.† Okay, I understand. I don’t think it will be hard to stay calm. Besides, I am a guy and guys don’t get choked up. My first task was to help him to learn to get in and out of bed. Wait, you’re saying that he needs to be taught how to get in bed? Immediately, I asked her what the second task was and she said I had to help him learn how to use the toi let with his wheelchair. People always talk about having lumps in their throats, but what I had was a hill. I couldn’t speak. I had to leave the room. He’s only 16. At a time in life when people think of you as â€Å"invincible† and he needs help to do the simplest things. He’s a normal teenage boy like me. The only difference is he will never walk again. He can’t wake up and escape this nightmare. I could sprint out of here and never comeback. But I can’t feel bad. It’s not my fault. I’m not the reason he’s here. How can the pain of someone else dig so deep into you? It takes a part of you that you can’t get back. It’s like losing your luggage at the airport. It isn’t coming back. This is the moment when I believe I found what I will do with the rest of my life. It’s the moment I felt if I didn’t do what’s pulling at my heart, then I’d keep looking over my shoulder†¦wondering.

Friday, March 6, 2020

10 Cool Facts About Lithium

10 Cool Facts About Lithium Here are some facts about lithium, which is element atomic number 3 on the periodic table. Lithium is the third element in the periodic table, with 3 protons and the element symbol Li.  It has an atomic mass of 6.941.  Natural lithium is a mixture of two stable isotopes (Lithium-6 and Lithium-7).  Lithium-7 accounts for over 92% of the natural abundance of the element.Lithium is an alkali metal.  It is silver-white in pure form and so soft it can be cut with a butter knife.  It has one of the lowest melting points and a high boiling point for a metal.Lithium metal burns white, though it imparts a crimson color to a flame.  This is the characteristic that led to its discovery as an element.  In the 1790s, it was known that the mineral petalite  (LiAISi4O10)  burned crimson in a fire. By 1817, the Swedish chemist  Johan August Arfvedson had determined the mineral contained an unknown element responsible for the colored flame. Arfvedson named the element, although he was unable to purify it as a pure metal. It wasnt until 1855 that British chemist  Augus tus Matthiessen and German chemist Robert Bunsen finally managed to purify lithium from lithium chloride. Lithium does not occur free in nature, though it is found in nearly all igneous rocks and in mineral springs.  It was one of three elements produced by the Big Bang, along with hydrogen and helium. However, the pure element is so reactive its only found naturally bonded to other elements to form compounds.  The natural abundance of the element in the Earths crust is about 0.0007%. One of the mysteries surrounding lithium is that the amount of lithium believed to have been produced by the Big Bang is about three times higher than what scientists see in the oldest stars.  In the Solar System, lithium is much less common than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements, probably because the atomic nucleus of lithium is practically unstable, with two stable isotopes possessing extremely low binding energies per nucleon.Pure lithium metal is extremely corrosive and requires special handling.  Because it reacts with air and water, the metal is stored under oil or enclosed in an inert atmo sphere. When lithium catches fire, the reaction with oxygen makes it difficult to extinguish the flames. Lithium is the lightest metal  and the least dense solid element, with a density about half that of water. In other words, if lithium did not react with water (which it does, somewhat vigorously), it would float.Among other uses, lithium is used in medicine, as a heat transfer agent, for making alloys, and for batteries. Although lithium compounds are known to stabilize mood, scientists still dont know the exact mechanism for the effect on the nervous system. What is known is that reduces activity of the receptor for the neurotransmitter dopamine and that it can cross the placenta to affect an unborn child.The transmutation of lithium to tritium was the first man-made nuclear fusion reaction.The name for lithium comes from Greek lithos which means stone. Lithium occurs in most igneous rocks, although it does not occur free in nature.Lithium metal is made by electrolysis of fused lithium chloride.