Author's Note: This post is a proper research paper in response to my Paris project. This essay focuses on the historical event I wanted to cover from Paris - the Black Death. I worked on using an academic voice throughout my paper while not keeping it too dry. Perhaps the writing technique I was most conscious about while writing the essay was my external transitions. I was consistently working on this throughout the entire paper.
Madeline Collins
Academy 21
February 15, 2012
The Black Death
The Black Death is commonly referred to by multitudinous names such as the Black Plague, the Great Mortality, and the Pestilence. (Snell, Black) Although society may not agree on how to label this horrifying disease, we can all concur on one statement; the Black Death was incontrovertibly the most devastating pandemic in all of history.
Sweeping across the globe at a horrifying rate, the widespread disease annihilated an estimated 75 million people -- 30-60% of the European population. (Snell, Black) The Yersinia pestis bacterium outbreak diluted the world's population from an estimated 450 million, to between 350 and 375 million throughout the course of the 14th century. (Yersinia) Although the point of origin has not been identified with any precision, the Black Death is believed to have started somewhere in Asia, possibly in China, or at Lake Issyk-Kul in central Asia. Through certain methods of contagion, the Black Death spread via trade routes from Asia to Italy and conclusively spanned throughout Europe. (Snell, 1)
These particular forms of contagion that made up the Black Death include pneumonic, bubonic, and septicemic. Pneumonic plague could spread with a simple sneeze and jump from person to person with terrifying speed. Bubonic plague contaminated the population by fleas that lived on plague-infected rats, which were often found on trading ships. Septicemic plague became infectious through contact of open sores. Other diseases have been postulated by scientists; some scholars believe there was a pandemic of several diseases, although currently the theory of Plague, in all its varieties, still persists among most historians. (Snell, Black)
Quite possibly, the aspect discussed most among historians is the people's reaction to this uproar. The most common reaction was fear and hysteria caused by the notion that this was indeed God's punishment. As a result, the people were perturbed that they would not end up in heaven. Society's actions in response to the transmission of the pandemic were extreme; people fled cities in panic, abandoning their families and friends. The population refused to put themselves in the warpath of the Black Death -- no matter what the cause may have been. Noble acts by doctors and priests were overshadowed by those who refused to treat their patients, or give last rites to plague victims. The populace was convinced the end was near; some sank into wild debauchery while others prayed for salvation. Flagellants went from one town to another, parading through the streets and whipping themselves to demonstrate their penitence. Even so, it was another ten years before the flagellants disappeared completely, and the scars wrought by their hysteria did not easily fade from the medieval psyche. (Snell, Black)
Although many tried to escape from the disease, majority could not survive. Approximately twenty million people died in Europe from the Black Death -- about one third of the population. Before the pandemic even reached Europe, the plague hit China and India, killing an estimated twenty million.
Many cities lost more than forty percent of their residents; Paris lost half, and Venice, Hamburg and Bremen are estimated to have lost at least sixty percent of their populations. At the peak of the pandemic, Paris lost 800 people a day. By the time the disease left Paris in 1349, half its population of 100,000 people had become deceased. (Snell, 1)
Death tolls were only one of the numerous effects that occurred from the plague. Social effects were also a result of how the Black Death influenced the population. The marriage rate rose sharply, due to predatory men marrying rich orphans and widows. Because of this, the birth rate increased however the plague kept population rates reduced. Social effects also consisted of notable increases in violence, contributing to the rapidly decreasing citizenry. (Snell, Black)
Because the plague killed so many of the working population, wages rose causing some historians to see this as a turning point in European economic development. The shortage of laborers meant people could charge higher prices; the government did their best to limit fees to pre-plague rates. The eagerness for goods was immense, resulting in overspending and therefore followed by shortage of goods. The economy was also affected by the amount of church services; the tremendous loss of people caused many masses for the dead to be held. People were charged large amounts of money to have these ceremonies because of such high demand. (Snell, Black)
The aftermath of the plague developed a series of religious, social and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history; it took 150 years for Europe's population to recover. (Snell, 3) The plague returned at various times, killing a multitude of people, until it eventually left Europe in the 19th century. The Black Death was the most feared era in the history of mankind, and will forever leave its mark on society, striking terror across the globe at the simple mention of its name.
Works Cited
Snell, Melissa. "The Black Death - What You Need to Know About the Black Death of the 14th Century." Medieval History - Life in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. <http://historymedren.about.com/od/theblackdeath/p/blackdeath.htm>.
Snell, Melissa. "The Great Mortality - Part 1 - Page Two." Medieval History - Life in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. <http://historymedren.about.com/od/theblackdeath/a/greatmortality_2.htm>.
Snell, Melissa . "The Great Mortality, Part 3." Medieval History - Life in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. <historymedren.about.com/od/theblackdeath/a/greatmortalityc.htm >.
"Yersinia pestis." Wikipedia . N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yersinia_pestis>.
Problem
How do crystals form when put into different temperature environments?
Does the temperature at which this liquid is cooled affect the way the crystals grow?
Hypothesis
I believe that the crystals cooling in a cool environment (the fridge/freezer) will grow more rapidly and therefore produce smaller crystals, whereas the crystals cooling in room temperature will produce larger crystals at a slower rate. This is because when ice-cream is left in a very cold environment, say the freezer, it develops miniscule ice-crystals. Also, if magma cools quickly, at or near the surface of the earth, the crystals will be quite small, resulting in the fine-grained texture of rocks such as basalt. By cooling in a cool environment, the crystals will therefore cool at a faster rate. If the solution cools rapidly, less time is available for the ions to organize into large crystals, and the crystals tend to be smaller. When cooling in a room temperature environment, the opposite will occur, resulting in a slower cooling rate and larger crystals.
Experimental Design
Materials:
- Epsom salt
- Hot plate
- Petri dish
- Fridge/freezer
Variables
Constant Variables
- Same salt used (Epsom salt)
- Same amount of salt
- Petri dish
Independent Variable
- Hot plate
- Fridge/freezer
- Temperature of environment (room temperature/cool)
Dependent Variable
- How the crystals form
Procedure
In order to properly test our hypothesis, we gathered all the materials needed and began the procedure in the academy room. First, we plugged in the hot plate and turned it on high to start heating it up. As soon as we turned it on, we placed a beaker full of 300 mL of water on the hot plate. After this, we immediately began to add in the Epsom salt even while the hot plate was still heating up. We did this in intervals, adding in a bit more each time until the water was saturated with Epson salt -- until the salt began to gather at the bottom of the beaker. After each time salt was added, we stirred the water, mixing the Epsom salt with the water. Once the salt began to gather at the bottom, it was decided that the proper amount of salt was put in the beaker. After the substance was made, we poured the same amount of liquid into two pitri dishes. We made sure that the same amount was poured into each dish by pouring the substance up to the same point marked by a line on each dish. As soon as the liquid was distributed, we left one dish on the sink counter to cool at room temperature, while we left the other dish in the fridge/freezer to cool. After I completed the project, Mr. Delwiche went through all the same steps and performed the procedure himself. This time, he increased the amount of Epsom salt added and left his samples to cool at room temperature. Lastly, with the extra substance left over, a slide was made to later study with a microscope.
Observation
After the samples were left to cool for about a week, I examined each one to see if my hypothesis was in fact correct. The sample that cooled in the fridge/freezer had less time for the ions to organize and therefore produced very miniscule crystals. The crystals were frosted over by a solid white frost that remained around the edge as a result of the very cool cooling environment. The crystals were very fine and not really separated into individual crystals, but instead remained extremely compact and close together. By taking an even closer look with the microscope, I found that the pieces of crystal were stratified. I could better visualize each individual polycrystalline with the magnification. I concluded that the crystals I made were in fact polycrystalline and not crystalline or amorphous. This means that the atoms were composed of many microscopic crystals, instead of atoms formed in a near-perfect arrangement or atoms having no particular arrangement even microscopically.
Conclusion
My hypothesis was proved to be correct; the sample that cooled in the fridge/freeze produced miniscule, finer crystals while the samples cooled at room temperature produced considerably larger crystals. These results support real world connections that exhibit the same type of process. Significant salt deposits in the United States include those in Michigan, New Mexico, and Utah. When molten material , magma, cools slowly deep below the surface of the Earth, the crystals in the granite are larger, whereas the crystals in the basalt are small because they cooled rapidly, at or near the surface of the earth. If a magma, molten material, cools slowly, crystals will grow to a visible size resulting in the coarse-grained texture characteristic of rocks such as granite. By cooling in a room temperature environment, it will therefore cool at a slower rate.
Magnified Crystal 