Thomas Edison Research Paper

On Friday evening, September 7, 1900, many of the 37,000 residents of Galveston, Texas, were settling down to dinner, few if any of them concerned about the steady 15 mph northerly wind rattling their windows. Within 48 hours, at least 8,000 of the townspeople would be dead, victims of the single worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Relatively few people are aware that the deadliest natural disaster in the United States was the hurricane that struck Galveston Island on September 8, 1900. One of the best resources that can be found to help fully understand the significance of this storm is Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson.

The 1900 Hurricane in Galveston destroyed a majority of the towns infrastructure and killed a significant amount of the population. One of the main reasons behind the level of devastation was do to the fact that the city was not at all prepared to face a storm as large as the one that hit in 1900, the city had a very low elevation with its highest point being only 9 feet above the sea level, and had very little if any means of protection from Hurricanes(1.). By 1900 Galveston had already been hit with several destructive storms in the past but they were not severe enough for the citizens of Galveston to start making more efforts to curb the potential damage a larger storm could have in the future and thus do to something on a

This is Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison is a famous inventor who invented lots of things that we use today. He was born a very long time ago in the United States of America.

“Human bodies bobbed facedown in the water, bumping against the boat” (“Anderson vii”). By September 7, 1900, Galveston was the 4th largest city in Texas (“Galveston”). It was a growing and flourishing port city of 37,000 (resources); and one of the wealthiest cities in the country (“Galveston”). On September 8, 1900 a powerful hurricane slammed into Galveston (“Galveston”). Its’ highest wind speed recorded before the anemometer blew away was 100 mph, but the speeds were estimated as high as 135 mph (“Galveston”). Over 3,600 buildings were destroyed in the hurricane causing 30,000 people to be homeless (“Galveston”). A 15-foot storm surge engulfed the entire island leaving the highest point of the island just over 8 feet above sea level (“Galveston”). Evacuation was almost impossible (“Galveston”). At first their estimation of

In many ways people’s overconfidence was very costly for Galvestonians due to the fact that lack of attention, over confidence and hypocrisy from their authorities as well as the narrator himself weren’t taking seriously the warnings from the Cuban authorities as the book Isaac’s Storm suggests in page 19-20 “The bureau’s men in Cuba said the storm was nothing to worry about; Cuba’s own weather observers, who had pioneered hurricane detection disagreed.” And also the narrator himself got warned by his brother on how the wind has been irregularly high as it points out in page 19-21”It was capable of measuring velocities as high as one hundred miles an hour, but conditions had never come close to testing capacity, nor did any rational soul believe

In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount

In the turn of the new century, the people of Galveston were faced with a grim reminder. The event that destroyed the small island of Galveston, the Galveston Hurricane, had many social, political, and economic impacts that made this storm life-changing. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 improved Texas for the better and helped Galveston grow stronger as a city.

At the hurricane's first landfall near the northeastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, little information was documented on the storm's impacts.[3] However, as the storm approached the Texas coast, widespread evacuations took place, including the evacuation of roughly 50,000 people from Galveston alone. Upon making landfall, the hurricane caused extensive damage in coastal regions. In Matagorda, storm surge

Galveston, Texas is located 50 miles southeast of Houston. It is known as a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast of the United States. The city Galveston, Texas was the home of around 37,000 residents in the early 1900’s. This island grew from being a small settlement into one of the wealthiest cities in the country. It was normal for people to visit Galveston, Texas for it was known as a "tourist attraction". There was always the idea of building a seawall to protect Galveston from future hurricanes but it was never built. Although many hurricanes had hit the city several times in the past (before 1900) no one would have thought that a hurricane that would

Hurricane Katrina. [Electronic Resource] : Wind Versus Flood Issues. Washington, DC : Office of Inspector General, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, [2008], 2008. EBSCOhost, excelsior.sdstate.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat04225a&AN=sdsu.008408717&site=eds-live.

Hurricanes are formed over tropical waters. These intense storms consist of winds over 74 miles per hour (Ahrens & Sampson, 2011). The storms addressed here are Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. This paper will explore the contrasts and comparisons between these two horrific storms.

The mighty winds whistled through, the glass panes shook, and all of a sudden a tree branch fell near my window. Was this a dream or a reality, I do not know. Rubbing my eyes, I got off the bed and moved towards the kitchen. I looked outside and my backyard was like a war zone. The trash cans were flipped over, tree branches and lots of leaf had fallen in the yard. I did not dare to step outside. Yes, I was NOT dreaming, the Hurricane Gustav had really struck Baton Rouge. This happened in 2008, but I can vividly remember how scared how was, and the destruction the storm had caused. with mighty winds and torrential downpour struck Baton Rouge in 2008.

Hurricanes are one of nature’s most natural occurrences and intense phenomenal storms. Yet, as phenomenal as they are, they are still one of the deadliest and disastrous natural occurrences that continue to plague costal residents with fears of their homes being destroyed, their towns wiped out, and loved ones either disappearing or dying.

The Great Hurricane of 1938, or known to many as the Long Island Express, was known as one of the most disastrous hurricanes to hit New England. It wasn’t the high winds, heavy rain, and high waves/storm surge that gave this hurricane its title in history. The Great Hurricane had a fourth deadly weapon; the element of surprise. It was the beginning of September, a time where many packed up their summer clothes, boarded up their houses, and left to return back to the real world leaving their summer homes behind. When symptoms of a storm approached New England, many locals convinced themselves and others that it was just the normal “line storm” which occasionally comes in September. It wasn’t until Sept 21 that people realized the so-called

I decided to do my report on Thomas Alva Edison because he brought a lot of things into our world. He invented the light bulb, the alkaline battery, the phonograph, and many other things. Many of our modern electronics origins came from Thomas A. Edison. I thought he was very interesting. That is why I chose him.