Sunday, December 13, 2009

DRONE FIGHTERS







Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Introduction to Trading Forex

This short introduction explains the basics of trading Forex online, a brief explanation of the markets and the major benefits of trading Forex online. There are also two scenarios describing the implications of trading in a bear as well as a bull market to better acquaint you with some of the risks and opportunities of the largest and most liquid market in the world.
As an additional aid for those who are new to Forex, there is also a glossary at the bottom of this text which explains some of the terms used in connection with currency trading.
Overview Foreign exchange, Forex or just FX are all terms used to describe the trading of the world's many currencies. The Forex market is the largest market in the world, with trades amounting to more than USD 3 trillion every day. Most Forex trading is speculative, with only a low percentage of market activity representing governments' and companies' fundamental currency conversion needs.
Unlike trading on the stock market, the Forex market is not conducted by a central exchange, but on the “interbank” market, which is thought of as an OTC (over the counter) market. Trading takes place directly between the two counterparts necessary to make a trade, whether over the telephone or on electronic networks all over the world. The main centres for trading are Sydney, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt and New York. This worldwide distribution of trading centres means that the Forex market is a 24-hour market.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Gold & forex trading can be a deadly combo!

MUMBAI (Commodity Online): Combining forex trading with gold trading can be highly lucrative. If you have been following gold prices, you must know that gold prices have reached their historical peak this week.Gold prices recently broke the historical barrier of $1,000 per ounce and now hovering over $ 1,150 per ounce. And, the market is anticipating a dollar depreciation.Whenever, the markets become jittery, investors start buying gold as a hedge against the dollar. Last year, after the stock market crash, many investors started investing in gold as a safe haven against the turmoil in the financial markets. Gold and dollar have an inverse correlation relationship. Gold and dollar are almost near perfect mirror image of each other. US dollar depreciation during the global financial uncertainty has been the primary reason for the gold appreciation as it is viewed as the ultimate form of money. Gold is also seen as the primary safe haven commodity. Countries like China, Russia and India are converting there dollar reserves into gold. This is putting upward pressure on the gold prices. Gold market has been in fact in a secular bull market for the last many years. Now the good news, if you are a forex trader or if you have just started trading forex, then you should know this fact that you can also trade gold along with forex. The technical analysis basics for both markets are almost the same.The details may vary but if you can trade forex, you can also trade gold. As said before, dollar and the gold prices have an inverse relationship so combining forex trading with gold trading can be a perfect hedge. Both compliment each other. Most of the brokers allow gold trading from the same platform that you use to trade forex. If you want to take part in this latest gold rush, you can start trading gold along with forex.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Fastest Mashines


Fastest Cars, Boats,Trains, Planes, Helicopters, Motorcycles & Snowmobiles
Category:
Sports & Recreation - Automotive & Racing
Description:
Pictures & videos of high-performance cars, boats, trains, planes, jets, helicopters, motorcycles, jet ski & snowmobiles ....Anything else I forgot.....yes, those space shuttles too!!!All our members post plenty of pictures of many exotic and high-performance latest, rarest and best fast cars, boats, planes, snowmobiles, yes.. space shuttles too....etc, etc, etc... in the categories of exotic, cool, awesome and hot... ENJOY!!Like Speed ?Perhaps you love the feeling of freedom that you get from riding a motorcycle? Motorbikes are a completely different feel to cars, and allow you to experience speed in a completely different way. A picture says a thousand words, so what does a video say? Pictures are interesting, but videos are far more exciting. You can really appreciate the speed and design of fast cars, boats, jets, trains, snowmobiles ..... when you can see it in action! Feel free to post pictures, upload videos and discuss information about fast cars, boats, trains, planes, jets, helicopters, motorcycles, jet ski & snowmobiles into a single place. Check out those "fast" videos under "Posted Items" by clicking on "See All"._______________________________________(read less)
Pictures & videos of high-performance cars, boats, trains, planes, jets, helicopters, motorcycles, jet ski & snowmobiles ....Anything else I forgot.....yes, those space shuttles too!!!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Oxford Dictionary



News
The HistoricalT Thesaurus of the OED
Coming in October, an exciting new print publication more…
News
Latest additions: September 2009
On 10 September, another batch of revised and new entries across the alphabet was added to the Dictionary, together with the revised range red to refulgent. The Chief Editor reviews some of the most interesting linguistic developments in this range more…

Saturday, November 14, 2009

How Your Heart Works


Ever­yone knows that the heart is a vital organ. We cannot live without our heart. However, when you get right down to it, the heart is just a pump. A complex and important one, yes, but still just a pump. As with all other pumps it can become clogged, break down and need repair. This is why it is critical that we know how the heart works. With a little knowledge about your heart and what is good or bad for it, you can significantly reduce your risk for heart disease.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Almost 2,000 Americans die of heart disease each day. That is one death every 44 seconds. The good news is that the death rate from heart disease has been steadily decreasing. Unfortunately, heart disease still causes sudden death and many people die before even reaching the hospital.
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Certainly no other bodily organ elicits this kind of response. When was the last time you had a heavy pancreas?
In this article, we will look at this important organ so that you can understand exactly what makes your heart tick.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Snow




Snow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Types which fall in the form of a ball due to melting and refreezing, rather than a flake, are known as graupel, with ice pellets and snow grains as examples of graupel. Snowfall amount, and its related liquid equivalent precipitation amount, are determined using a variety of different rain gauges.
The process of precipitating snow is called snowfall. Snowfall tends to form within regions of upward motion of air around a type of low-pressure system known as an extratropical cyclone. Snow can fall poleward of their associated warm fronts and within their comma head precipitation patterns, which is called such due to its comma-like shape of the cloud and precipitation pattern around the poleward and west sides of extratropical cyclones. Where relatively warm water bodies are present, for example due to water evaporation from lakes, lake-effect snowfall becomes a concern downwind of the warm lakes within the cold cyclonic flow around the backside of extratropical cyclones. Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy. Thundersnow is possible within a cyclone's comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy snow is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation, if the atmosphere is cold enough.
Part of the Nature series onWeather

Seasons
Temperate
Spring · SummerAutumn · Winter
Tropical
Dry seasonWet season
Storms
Thunderstorm · TornadoTropical cyclone (Hurricane)Extratropical cycloneWinter storm · BlizzardFog · Ice stormSandstorm · Firestorm
Precipitation
Drizzle · Rain · SnowFreezing rain · Ice pelletsHail · Graupel
Topics
MeteorologyWeather forecastingClimate · Air pollutionHeat wave
Weather Portal
vde
Once on the ground, snow can be categorized as powdery when fluffy, granular when it begins the cycle of melting and refreezing, and eventually ice once it packs down, after multiple melting and refreezing cycles, into a dense mass called snow pack. When powdery, snow moves with the wind from the location where it originally landed, forming deposits called snowdrifts which may have a depth of several meters. After attaching to hillsides, blown snow can evolve into a snow slab, which is an avalanche hazard on steep slopes. The existence of a snowpack keeps temperatures colder than they would be otherwise, as the whiteness of the snow reflects most sunlight, and the absorbed heat goes into melting the snow rather than increasing its temperature. The water equivalent of snowfall is measured to monitor how much liquid is available to flood rivers from meltwater which will occur during the upcoming spring. Snow cover can protect crops from extreme cold. If snowfall stays on the ground for a series of years uninterrupted, the snowpack develops into a mass of ice called glacier. Fresh snow absorbs sound, lowering ambient noise over a landscape due to the trapped air between snowflakes acting to minimize vibration. These acoustic qualities quickly minimize, and reverse once a layer of freezing rain falls on top of snow cover. Walking across snowfall produces a squeaking sound at low temperatures. For motion pictures, the sound of people walking across snow are duplicated through the use cornstarch, salt, and cat litter.
The term snow storm can describe a heavy snowfall while a blizzard involves snow and wind, obscuring visibility. Snow shower is a term for an intermittent snowfall, while flurry is used for very light, brief snowfalls. Snow can fall more than a meter at a time during a single storm in flat areas, and meters at a time in rugged terrain, such as mountains. When snow falls in significant quantities, travel by foot, car, airplane and other means becomes highly restricted, but other methods of mobility become possible: the use of snowmobiles, snowshoes and skis. When heavy snow occurs early in the fall, significant damage occurs to trees still in leaf. Areas with significant snow each year can store the winter snow within an ice house, which can be used to cool structures during the following summer.

What is air made of?



Dry air is primarily made up of nitrogen (78.09%) and oxygen (20.95%). The remaining 1% is made up of argon (0.93%), carbon dioxide (0.03%) and other trace gases (0.003%). Water vapor (water in its gaseous state) is also present in air in varying amounts.
Interesting facts:
CARBON DIOXIDE: The amount of carbon dioxide, although small, will double in the next 100 years as more petroleum and coal is burned to fuel societies need for energy. About half of the carbon dioxide produced in this way get absorbed by vegetation, which uses it for "food". OXYGEN: While we know that vegetation produces oxygen as part of photosynthesis, the origin of the huge amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is somewhat of a mystery. It is thought to have been produced from chemical reactions in ocean sediments

The Human Brain






Home
Nourish
The Brain Food Pyramid
Fats
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Micronutrients
Diet and Menu
Protect
Watch Your Head
Heavy Metals
Renew
Exercise
Stress on the Brain
Sleep & Stress
Relieve Stress
Resources
Health Topics
Index of all Brain Pages
References
Credits
You have been entrusted with the care and feeding of the most extraordinary and complex creation in the universe. Home to your mind and personality, your brain houses your cherished memories and future hopes. It orchestrates the symphony of consciousness that gives you purpose and passion, motion and emotion.
But what do you really know about it?
Here you can get to know your brain – the food it likes, the challenges it craves, the rest it requires, the protection it deserves.
Within these pages you will find the fruit of decades of research. Here you can participate in today's neuroscience renaissance, and learn what you can do for your brain.Check out Wired to Win, a movie that presents a new portrait of the brain — an organ built to learn, changing its cell structure with each thought and experience... now playing at the Tuttleman IMAX Theater at The Franklin Institute Science Museum. --->

History Of Earth


The history of the Earth describes the most important events and fundamental stages in the development of the planet Earth from its formation to the present day during the last 4.6 billion years. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to the understanding of the main events of the Earth's past. The Earth is approximately one third of the age of the universe. Immense geological and biological changes have occurred during that time span.
Contents[hide]
1 Hadean and Archaean
1.1 Origin of the solar system
1.2 Origin of the Earth's core and first atmosphere
1.3 The giant impact
1.4 Origin of the oceans and atmosphere
1.5 The first continents
1.6 Origin of life
2 Proterozoic eon
2.1 The oxygen revolution
2.2 Snowball Earth and the origin of the ozone layer
2.3 Proterozoic development of life
2.4 Rodinia and other supercontinents
2.5 Late Proterozoic climate and life
3 Paleozoic era
3.1 Cambrian explosion
3.2 Paleozoic tectonics, paleogeography and climate
3.3 Colonization of land
4 Cenozoic era
4.1 Human evolution
4.2 Civilization
4.3 Recent events
5 See also
5.1 Notes
5.2 Literature
5.3 External links

A Merriage Ceremony


Organic Chemistry Lecture Notes & Labs


Learn about the concepts of organic chemistry through lecture notes, flash cards, study guides, structure databases, laboratory exercises, problems sets, and self-tests.
10 Carbon FactsLearn some interesting facts about carbon, the element that is the basis for organic chemistry.
Functional GroupsFunctional groups are groups of atoms found within molecules that are involved in the chemical reactions characteristic of those molecules. Functional groups can pertain to any molecules, but you will usually hear about them in the context of organic chemistry.
Chemistry Laboratory Safety RulesMake your chemistry laboratory experience safe by following these simple rules.
Elements in the Human BodyFind out what elements are in the human body and what these elements do.
Alkane Nomenclature and NumberingAlkanes are fully saturated hydrocarbons. They are among the first molecules encountered in Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. Learn how to name straight-chain, branched, and cyclic alkanes and how to number them.
Amino Acid StructuresThese are the structures for the twenty natural amino acids, plus the general structure for an amino acid.
Biodiesel from Vegetable Oil TutorialAs the price of diesel continues to climb, you may wish to consider making your own diesel from cooking oil, called biodiesel. It's easy and could save you money.
Carbon CycleCarbon is an element that is essential for life. The carbon cycle describes the storage and exchange of carbon between the Earth's biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.
Citric Acid CycleThe citric acid cycle, also known as the Krebs cycle or tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, is a series of chemical reactions in the cell that breaks down food molecules into carbon dioxide, water, and energy.
Functional Groups - Organic Chemistry EssentialsThese are the names and structures of important organic functional groups containing nitrogen or oxygen. Learn 'em, live 'em, love 'em!
GlycolysisGlycolysis is the name given to the series of biochemical reactions in which glucose is converted into pyruvate. This important part of carbohydrate catabolism takes place in the cytoplasm of cells. Several reactions take place, with products that are vital to the functioning of the cell.
How to Make Aspirin - Acetylsalicylic AcidLearn how to synthesize aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid, from salicyclic acid. Get information about the history of aspirin, the effects of salicylates, and see the structures of the reactants.
Monomers and PolymersMonomers are the building blocks of more complex molecules, called polymers. Polymers consist of repeating molecular units which usually are joined by covalent bonds. Here is a closer look at the chemistry of monomers and polymers.
Photosynthesis Basics - Study GuidePhotosynthesis is the name for the set of chemical reactions used by plants and other organisms to make food from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. Here's a look at the process and study questions to help make sure you understand the key concepts.
Purines, Pyrimidines, Nucleosides and NucleotidesThese are the chemical structures of the purines, pyrimidines, nucleosides, and nucleotides.
Chemical Structures ArchiveMany organi0 structures, including amino acids and rings, are listed in this directory, with more added all of the time.
Arterial Blockage / FoulingProblems relating to heavy organic deposition during oil refining. From G. A. Mansoori, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Chem 38/39/Project EmpowerIllustrative material designed to enhance the learning of organic chemistry. From Thomas H. Eberlein, Pennsylvania State University.
Curly ArrowsArrows that denote movement of electrons during bond formation or cleavage. From Mary Masson, University of Aberdeen.
Educational Materials for Organic ChemistryStructures, reactions, thermodynamics, and spectroscopy of organic compounds. From Michigan State University.
Library of 3-D Molecular StructuresTake your choice from GIF, VRML, or PDB formats of many simple and complex organic molecules.
Mechanisms of Organometallic ReactionsWith explanations of 18-electron and Davies-Green-Mingos rules. From Dermot O'Hare and Karl Harrison, University of Oxford.
Molecular StructuresSimple organic molecules, nucleic acids, and proteins. Java displays also available. From Cambridge University.
Organic and Biochemistry Lab ExercisesAppealing experiments from Mansfield University.
Organic Chemistry ConcepTestsChallenging Q & A from the University of Wisconsin.
Organic Chemistry for the Life SciencesA. Cockshutt's course outline and lecture notes for Mount Allison Univeristy's organic chemistry course are given.
Organic Chemistry Laboratory ManualDetailed experiments from McMaster University.
Organic Chemistry OnlineReaction mechanisms, spectroscopy tutorials, structural representations, and stereochemistry. From the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Organic Chemistry Resources WorldwideThis helpful site includes the following sections: The Literature, The Bench, Structural Analysis, The Desk, Communication, and Additional Activities. Each page has a logical structure and quick load time!
Organic Compounds DatabaseSearch on molecular weight, melting point, empirical formulas, etc.
Organic Pericyclic ReactionsA series of lectures by Henry Rzepa of Imperial College.
Organic Structure ElucidationDisplays IR, NMR, and mass spectra of a compound. Answer sheet available only to chemistry instructors. From University of Notre Dame.
Organometallic HyperTextBookIncludes definitions of coordination chemistry and the 18-electron rule. From Interactive Learning Paradigms.
Webbook of Organic ChemistryJava images of molecular structures. From Ilkka Roininen.

History of Islam

6th Century (500-599) C.E. to20th Century (1900-1992) C.E.

The Spread of Islam
General Characteristics of Islam
Global Religion
A Brief History of Islam
The Rightly guided Caliphs
The Caliphate
Umayyad
Abbasids
North Africa And Spain
After the Mangol Invasion
Ottoman Empire
Persia
India
Malaysia And Indonesia
Africa
Islam in the United States
Aftermath of the Colonial Period
Arab
India
Far East
Africa
National States
Revival and Reassertation of Islam
Reform Organizations
Education and Science in the Islamic World
Influence of Islamic Science and Learning Upon the West
Conclusion

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

WORLD MAPS


List of deserts

This is a list of deserts sorted by the region of the world in which the desert is located.
Contents[hide]
1 Regions
1.1 Africa
1.2 Antarctica
1.3 Arctic Basin
1.4 Asia
1.5 Australia
1.6 New Zealand
1.7 Europe
1.8 Middle East
1.9 North America
1.10 South America
2 See also

Mega Bridges


Mega Bridges Around the World
740 x 337 - 45k - jpg
emagzine.org

AH-1 Cobra



AH-1 Coba Specifications
Primary Function:
Anti-armour and close support/attack helicopter
Contractor:
Bell
Crew:
Two (pilot in rear, copilot/gunner in front)
Unit Cost:
N/A
Powerplant

Two 1212-kW General Electric T700-GE-401 turboshafts
Dimensions
Length:
58 feet
Wingspan:
10 feet 7 in
Height:
14 feet 2 in
Weights
Empty:
10,200 lb (4627 kg) -- AH-1W
Maximum Takeoff:
14,750 lb (6691 kg) -- AH-1W
Performance
Speed:
175mph (152kt, 282 km/h)
Ceiling:
N/A
Range:
395 miles (635 km / 343 nm) -- AH-1W
Armament

one chin-mounted M-197 3-barrelled 20mm cannon. Max 2,466 lb including 8 TOW or hellfire ATGMs, seven or 19-shot 70mm (2.75 in) rocket pods, 127mm (5 in) Zuni rockets, cluster munitions, napalm, AIM-9 and Stinger IR AAMs and drop tanks; qualified for AGM-65 Maverick AGMs.
^ Top ^

A H-1 Cobra Achievements
The AH-1 is fully capable of performing its attack mission in all weather conditions.
^ Top ^



AH-1 Cobra Features










^ Top ^



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AH-1 Cobra Background

The AH-1 Cobra was the world's first dedicated (that is, specifically designed) armed attack helicopter. The need for an armed gunship to protect unarmed helicopters had quickly become apparent during the early months of the Vietnam conflict, when many helicopters were lost to ground fire. The AH-1, being fast, heavily armed, and highly maneuverable, proved itself a powerful combatant throughout the rest of the war. Its precedent-setting design has led to many other variations (including some with two engines) and a number of other armed helicopters have been developed by different manufacturers.

The Secret Life of an Anaconda


Anacondas in the wild spend most of their time hanging out in rivers hunting for their food. They are solitary creatures that are somewhat shy and not many of them are easily seen. They are very well camouflaged in the swamps and bogs in which they thrive. There are some historical reports of early European explorers of the South American jungles seeing giant anacondas up to 100 feet long and some of the native peoples of the South American jungle have reported seeing anacondas up to 50 feet long. No one has caught and measured an anaconda anywhere near that size. It is important to note that when a dead anaconda's hide or skin is laid out it can be stretched very easily, expanding to much longer lengths than the snake exhibited when alive. Reports of outsize anacondas that cannot be verified are usually due to distortions in perception, or a snake skin being disproportionately stretched and inaccurately measured. People are generally really bad at estimating length, especially for larger snakes. In fact, the larger the snake, the larger the margin of error.
Anacondas like to hang out in rivers so it would be difficult to estimate the length of one seen swimming, without seeing the entire snake. It's the anaconda's ability to remain partly hidden in the water that makes it difficult to accurately find (and document) a specimen that exceeds the current world's record.

William Wordsworth


Poetry Books
Lyrical Ballads 1798
Lyrical Ballads with Other Poems, 1800, Volume 1
Lyrical Ballads with Other Poems, 1800, Volume 2
Poems in Two Volumes, Volume 1
Poems in Two Volumes, Volume 2
Poetry
A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
Admonition to a Traveller
Anecdote for Fathers
Animal Tranquility and Decay
By the Sea
Expostulation and Reply
Goody Blake and Harry Gill
I Travelled Among Unknown Men
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
Influence of Natural Objects
Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey
Lines left upon a seat
Lines written at a small distance from my house
Lines written near Richmond
Lines written when sailing
London, 1802
Love
Lucy
Mutability
My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold
Ode
Ode to Duty
Ode: Intimations Of Immortality From Recollections Of Early Childhood
On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic
Ruth: Or The Influences of Nature
Scorn Not the Sonnet; Critic, You Have Frowned
She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways
She Was a Phantom of Delight
Simon Lee, The Old Huntsman
Surprised By Joy
The Affliction of Margaret
The Ancient Mariner
The Complaint
The Dungeon
The Female Vagrant
The Foster Mother's Tale
The Fountain
The Green Linnet
The Idiot Boy
The Last of the Flock
The Leech-Gatherer
The Lesser Celandine
The Mad Mother
The Nightingale
The Reaper
The Reverie of Poor Susan
The Sun Has Long Been Set
The Tables Turned
The Thorn
The Two April Mornings
The World Is Too Much With Us; Late and Soon
Thought of a Briton on the Subjugation of Switzerland
Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower
To a Skylark
To the Cuckoo
To the Daisy
To Toussaint L'Ouverture
Upon Westminster Bridge
We Are Seven
When I Have Borne in Memory What Has Tamed
Within King's College Chapel, Cambridge
Written in Early Spring
Written in London, September, 1802
Yarrow Visited
Yew-Trees

Plague (disease)

This article is about the disease caused by Yersinia pestis. For other uses, see Plague (disambiguation).
Plague
Classification and external resources
Yersinia pestis seen at 200× magnification with a fluorescent label. This bacterium, carried and spread by fleas, is the cause of the various forms of the disease plague.
ICD-10
A20.
ICD-9
020
DiseasesDB
14226
MedlinePlus
000596
eMedicine
med/3381
MeSH
D010930
Plague is a deadly infectious disease caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis (Pasteurella pestis). Primarily carried by rodents (most notably rats) and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death and devastation it brought. Plague is still endemic in some parts of the world.
Contents[hide]
1 Name
2 Infection and transmission
3 Pathology
3.1 Bubonic plague
3.2 Septicemic plague
3.3 Pneumonic plague
3.4 Other forms
4 Treatments
5 History
5.1 First Pandemic: Plague of Justinian
5.2 Second Pandemic: Black Death
5.2.1 Nature of the disease
5.3 Third Pandemic
6 Plague as a biological weapon
7 1994 epidemic in Surat, India
8 Other contemporary cases
9 Literary and popular culture references
10 References
10.1 Notes
10.2 Bibliography
11 External links

Ancient Egypt



Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC[1] with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia.[2] Its history occurred in a series of stable Kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods. Ancient Egypt reached its pinnacle during the New Kingdom, after which it entered a period of slow decline. Egypt was conquered by a succession of foreign powers in this late period, and the rule of the pharaohs officially ended in 31 BC when the early Roman Empire conquered Egypt and made it a province.[3]
The success of ancient Egyptian civilization stemmed partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River Valley. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which fueled social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to defeat foreign enemies and assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs.[4][5]
The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that facilitated the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, the first known ships,[6] Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty.[7] Egypt left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travellers and writers for centuries. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy, for Egypt and the world.


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Worlds Highest Mountain


What is science?

if you want to come to a picture of what science is, what knowledge is, it could be a good start to try to become clear about the general content of the concept. Many activities are today characterized as "Science!", while other activities are just as definitely characterized as "Pseudoscience!", maybe without the one making the judgment always having made it clear to himself what he really means with the words he is using. Especially when you try to come closer to an understanding of what "an anthroposophically fertilized art of healing" could mean, but also "anthroposophical natural science" in general, it becomes important to become clear about the different aspects of the concept and the problems with which it is connected.
THE GENERAL CONCEPT OF SCIENCE Every scientific activity is characterized by two partial activities One is some form of observation/perception. It can take place directly, through the senses, somewhat more indirectly via some form of an, in one or another respect sense improving instrument like a microscope, a telescope or stethoscope, or even more indirectly via some detecting instrument like a Geiger counter, an electrocardiograph or an X-ray apparatus (Harré 1976). The other part is some form of thought activity It "surrounds" and penetrates the observation/perception; A more or less conscious thought activity takes place as an introduction to the observation. It directs the attention in a special direction, "chooses" observations, steps somewhat back during the direct moment of perception/observation, to dominate once more after the direct moment of perception/observation. The thought activity distinguishes between different parts of that which is observed/perceived, gives them names or makes a more specific conceptual analysis of them, it may also quantify them and then relates them to each other, logically or mathematically. So far, most people who have given the problem a thought would probably agree.
A "CULTIVATED"; CUT CONCEPT OF SCIENCE But if you want to relate the concept to the rich flora of activities that are today termed "science" and get any help to see what they have in common, you have to specify the concept a step further. If you look at what is today termed science, you find that only certain types of perception and certain types of conceptual formulations are permitted to use in connection with activities that in a more strict sense are characterized as scientific. As far as perceptions are concerned, a number of different types of instrumental perceptions dominate. Different forms of more direct sense perceptions have a more ambiguous status. If you continue to perceptions of different forms of inner, psychic states; states of the soul, you have come to a type of perception with a very dubious status, to put it mildly, as something on what to base scientific knowledge. When you come to perceptions of a more spiritual nature, you have passed outside the border surrounding those types of perceptions that are discussed. On the conceptual side, spatially oriented concepts of a mechanical character dominate. They should preferably relate to something that is quantifiable and it is very satisfying if the quantified perceptions (especially when one of the not exact sciences is concerned) have been chosen in a random way, exist in a great number and have to be put through a computer program to make it possible to describe the results with the help of a mathematical model, or to make it possible to point to more definite connections (significant correlations) between factors that you otherwise don't quite understand how the are related to each other. How has this situation come about?
THE "PARADIGM" CONCEPT In 1962, the historian and philosopher of science, Thomas Kuhn, put forward the concept of "paradigm", to make it possible to understand how scientists work and why, at different times in history, they have chosen a specific way to describe a phenomenon that would otherwise be difficult to understand, why they have chosen observations of certain aspects of the phenomenon and certain types of models to describe it, when other observations and models might have been just as good. The concept is a summarizing term for those factors that direct and put a limit to how you are permitted to work within a group of researchers and what is understood as "science" and "not-science" within that group. Within the theory of science in Sweden you today find a distinction being made between at least six such factors. They are: a definite picture of the world, a specific concept of what science is, a special ideal of science, a number of aesthetic ideals, a certain ethic and also a certain "self perspective"; an opinion of the role of the researcher in research (Törnebohm 1974, Wallén 1974, Lindström 1974). As will be more clear later, a definite concept of matter also plays a very definite role as a paradigmatic factor. At first glance the concept of paradigm may seem somewhat bewildering (Mastermann in 1970 pointed to 21 senses in which Kuhn used the term), but it becomes clearer if you look at it as a way to describe how every question, problem and hypothesis that you formulate during the daily experimental research, independently of if you are conscious of it or not, is connected with a more or less explicit position in relation to basic philosophical problems. With the paradigm concept the basic philosophical problems have become visible again in science, but now related to empirical scientific research. It makes it possible to characterize different groups of paradigms in a broader perspective, from the point of view of how they are related to the questions that have been discussed by philosophers for a number of centuries, the basic questions concerning the nature of reality (ontology), the nature of knowledge (epistemology) and the questions of the nature of values ("practical philosophy"). It also makes it possible to start to try to understand and characterize the relation between the more natural-scientifically oriented medicine of today and the more spiritual-scientifically oriented art of healing that exists today as anthroposophical medicine.


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