What is Matter?--The law of Universal Attraction states that “Every particle of matter attracts every other particle,” etc., and the question at once arises as to what is meant by the term Matter, what are its properties and its constitution? Tait, in his Natural Philosophy, gives the following as the definition: “Matter is that which can be perceived by the senses, or is that which can be acted upon by, or can exert force.”
The common idea that matter can only be that which can be seen or actually felt, is not large enough for a definition of Matter. There are numbers of things in Nature which cannot either be seen or felt, yet which are included in the term Matter. Let us take one or two examples. Every one admits that nitrogen and oxygen are matter, yet I venture to say that no one has actually seen or felt either of these gases. Both of these gases are colourless and invisible, and are both tasteless. You may open your mouth and inspire both gases, and yet if they are pure, you cannot taste either of them. They are only matter, in the sense that they appeal to our sense of force through the motion which they may acquire.
Or again, take air, which is a mechanical mixture of several gases. Can you see air? If it be free from vapour and smoke, air is invisible, and on a clear day you may look for miles across the sea, or from the top of a mountain, and yet not have your sight impeded in any way by the atmosphere. Neither can it be felt by the sense of touch. Open and shut[41] your hand, and see if you can feel the air while you do so. In similar ways it may be demonstrated that the air is tasteless. So that it is not necessary for us to see, or feel, or taste, or even smell that which we term Matter, in order for it to be included in that term. So long as that which we term Matter is able to accept motion in any manner from any body that is either moving, or in a state of vibration, and not only accepts, but also transmits the vibratory, or the kinetic motion so called of the moving body, then that which accepts the motion is legitimately termed Matter.
duminică, 12 iunie 2011
THE ORIGIN OF PRECIOUS STONES
Though the origin, formation, composition, characteristics and tests of each stone will be examined in detail when dealing with the stones seriatim, it is necessary to enquire into those particulars of origin which are common to all, in order thoroughly to understand why they differ from other non-metallic and metallic minerals.
At the very commencement we are faced with a subject on which mineralogists and geologists are by no means in full agreement, and there seems just ground for considerable divergence of opinion, according to the line of argument taken. It is a most remarkable fact that, precious as are certain stones, they do not (with a few exceptions) contain any of the rarer metals, such as platinum, gold, etc., or any of their compounds, but are composed entirely of the common elements and their derivatives, especially of those elements contained in the upper crust of the earth, and this notwithstanding the fact that gems are often found deep down in the earth. This is very significant, and points to the conclusion that these stones were formed by the slow percolation of water from the surface through the deeper parts of the earth, carrying with it, in solution or suspension, the chemical constituents of the earth's upper crust; time and long-continued pressure, combined with heat or cold, or perhaps both in turn, doing the rest, as already mentioned.
The moisture falling in dew and rain becomes acidulated with carbonic acid, CO2 (carbon dioxide), from the combustion and decay of organic matter, vegetation, and other sources, and this moisture is capable of dissolving certain calcareous substances, which it takes deep into the earth, till the time comes when it enters perhaps a division-plane in some rock, or some such cavity, and is unable to get away. The hollow becomes filled with water, which is slowly more and more charged with the salts brought down, till saturated; then super-saturated, so that the salts become precipitated, or perhaps crystallised out, maybe by the presence of more or other salts, or by a change in temperature. These crystals then become packed hard by further supplies and pressure, till eventually, after the lapse of ages, a natural gem is found, exactly filling the cavity, and is a precious find in many cases.
At the very commencement we are faced with a subject on which mineralogists and geologists are by no means in full agreement, and there seems just ground for considerable divergence of opinion, according to the line of argument taken. It is a most remarkable fact that, precious as are certain stones, they do not (with a few exceptions) contain any of the rarer metals, such as platinum, gold, etc., or any of their compounds, but are composed entirely of the common elements and their derivatives, especially of those elements contained in the upper crust of the earth, and this notwithstanding the fact that gems are often found deep down in the earth. This is very significant, and points to the conclusion that these stones were formed by the slow percolation of water from the surface through the deeper parts of the earth, carrying with it, in solution or suspension, the chemical constituents of the earth's upper crust; time and long-continued pressure, combined with heat or cold, or perhaps both in turn, doing the rest, as already mentioned.
The moisture falling in dew and rain becomes acidulated with carbonic acid, CO2 (carbon dioxide), from the combustion and decay of organic matter, vegetation, and other sources, and this moisture is capable of dissolving certain calcareous substances, which it takes deep into the earth, till the time comes when it enters perhaps a division-plane in some rock, or some such cavity, and is unable to get away. The hollow becomes filled with water, which is slowly more and more charged with the salts brought down, till saturated; then super-saturated, so that the salts become precipitated, or perhaps crystallised out, maybe by the presence of more or other salts, or by a change in temperature. These crystals then become packed hard by further supplies and pressure, till eventually, after the lapse of ages, a natural gem is found, exactly filling the cavity, and is a precious find in many cases.
THE RURAL MOTOR EXPRESS.
The transportation burden on the railroads and highways of the country has been tremendously increased by the war. There is a larger load to be carried, of manufactured goods, raw materials, and foodstuffs. Not only has production of manufactures, raw materials, and farm products increased, but it is now necessary to transport a much larger proportion of these goods over long distances.
The burden is further increased by the fact that we have removed across the sea, 3,000 miles away, a considerable part of our population, which must be provisioned and maintained. These men were in our Army camps last winter. This year there are other men in these camps, and we must handle goods and foodstuffs not only to these 30 new cities but to a great population 3,000 miles away.
It is absolutely necessary to utilize our facilities to the maximum and to extend the use of the highways by the more efficient use of motor vehicles which can operate independent of fixed lines or terminals where congestion of traffic is likely to occur. The motor truck can help the railroad by reducing the short-haul load, and also act as a feeder line in sections far removed from market.
Added to the increased loads of goods to be transported is the fact that man power must be conserved. Heretofore the farmer has done his own hauling to market, but adoption of the rural motor express will enable him to delegate his hauling and to devote his own time to farm operations. An enormous waste of time and labor of both men and teams can be prevented by consolidating the small loads from a number of farms into a single load to be carried by a motor truck.
The burden is further increased by the fact that we have removed across the sea, 3,000 miles away, a considerable part of our population, which must be provisioned and maintained. These men were in our Army camps last winter. This year there are other men in these camps, and we must handle goods and foodstuffs not only to these 30 new cities but to a great population 3,000 miles away.
It is absolutely necessary to utilize our facilities to the maximum and to extend the use of the highways by the more efficient use of motor vehicles which can operate independent of fixed lines or terminals where congestion of traffic is likely to occur. The motor truck can help the railroad by reducing the short-haul load, and also act as a feeder line in sections far removed from market.
Added to the increased loads of goods to be transported is the fact that man power must be conserved. Heretofore the farmer has done his own hauling to market, but adoption of the rural motor express will enable him to delegate his hauling and to devote his own time to farm operations. An enormous waste of time and labor of both men and teams can be prevented by consolidating the small loads from a number of farms into a single load to be carried by a motor truck.
YANKEE VIKINGS AND NEW TRADE ROUTES
Soon after the Revolution the spirit of commercial exploration began to stir in other ports than Salem. Out from New York sailed the ship Empress of China in 1784 for the first direct voyage to Canton, to make the acquaintance of a vast nation absolutely unknown to the people of the United States, nor had one in a million of the industrious and highly civilized Chinese ever so much as heard the name of the little community of barbarians who dwelt on the western shore of the North Atlantic. The oriental dignitaries in their silken robes graciously welcomed the foreign ship with the strange flag and showed a lively interest in the map spread upon the cabin table, offering every facility to promote this new market for their silks and teas. After an absence of fifteen months the Empress of China returned to her home port and her pilgrimage aroused so much attention that the report of the supercargo, Samuel Shaw, was read in Congress.
Surpassing this achievement was that of Captain Stewart Dean, who very shortly afterward had his fling at the China trade in an eighty-ton sloop built at Albany. He was a stout-hearted old privateersman of the Revolution whom nothing could dismay, and in this tiny Experiment of his he won merited fame as one of the American pioneers of blue water. Fifteen men and boys sailed with him, drilled and disciplined as if the sloop were a frigate, and when the Experiment hauled into the stream, of Battery Park, New York, "martial music and the boatswain's whistle were heard on board with all the pomp and circumstance of war." Typhoons and Malay proas, Chinese pirates and unknown shoals, had no terrors for Stewart Dean. He saw Canton for himself, found a cargo, and drove home again in a four months' passage, which was better than many a clipper could do at a much later day. Smallest and bravest of the first Yankee East Indiamen, this taut sloop, with the boatswain's pipe trilling cheerily and all hands ready with cutlases and pikes to repel boarders, was by no means the least important vessel that ever passed in by Sandy Hook.
In the beginnings of this picturesque relation with the Far East, Boston lagged behind Salem, but her merchants, too, awoke to the opportunity and so successfully that for generations there were no more conspicuous names and shipping-houses in the China trade than those of Russell, Perkins, and Forbes. The first attempt was very ambitious and rather luckless. The largest merchantman ever built at that time in the United States was launched at Quincy in 1789 to rival the towering ships of the British East India Company. This Massachusetts created a sensation. Her departure was a national event. She embodied the dreams of Captain Randall and of the Samuel Shaw who had gone as supercargo in the Empress of China. They formed a partnership and were able to find the necessary capital.
Surpassing this achievement was that of Captain Stewart Dean, who very shortly afterward had his fling at the China trade in an eighty-ton sloop built at Albany. He was a stout-hearted old privateersman of the Revolution whom nothing could dismay, and in this tiny Experiment of his he won merited fame as one of the American pioneers of blue water. Fifteen men and boys sailed with him, drilled and disciplined as if the sloop were a frigate, and when the Experiment hauled into the stream, of Battery Park, New York, "martial music and the boatswain's whistle were heard on board with all the pomp and circumstance of war." Typhoons and Malay proas, Chinese pirates and unknown shoals, had no terrors for Stewart Dean. He saw Canton for himself, found a cargo, and drove home again in a four months' passage, which was better than many a clipper could do at a much later day. Smallest and bravest of the first Yankee East Indiamen, this taut sloop, with the boatswain's pipe trilling cheerily and all hands ready with cutlases and pikes to repel boarders, was by no means the least important vessel that ever passed in by Sandy Hook.
In the beginnings of this picturesque relation with the Far East, Boston lagged behind Salem, but her merchants, too, awoke to the opportunity and so successfully that for generations there were no more conspicuous names and shipping-houses in the China trade than those of Russell, Perkins, and Forbes. The first attempt was very ambitious and rather luckless. The largest merchantman ever built at that time in the United States was launched at Quincy in 1789 to rival the towering ships of the British East India Company. This Massachusetts created a sensation. Her departure was a national event. She embodied the dreams of Captain Randall and of the Samuel Shaw who had gone as supercargo in the Empress of China. They formed a partnership and were able to find the necessary capital.
The Saver As A Voter
In the phrase, “protection of savers,” the word “protection” has a different meaning from that usually attributed to it in present-day political circles. Generally speaking, protection of the “little man” or of agriculture means protecting firms from competition on the market at the expense of consumers. Privileges to advance the special interests of particular groups at the expense of the entire population are recommended. Policies are proposed which must reduce total production.
Protection of savers and of savings involves something very different from this, namely, preservation of the very foundations of justice on which the capitalistic order of society is based and, consequently, of capitalism itself. The unprecedented increase in the standard of living of the masses in the capitalistic West is due to the fact that the formation of capital increased much more than the population. Real wages went up because the marginal productivity of capital goods went down in comparison with that of labor or, more popularly expressed, because the worker in a modern, wellequipped plant can produce many times more than can a worker with primitive tools.
Protection of savers and of savings involves something very different from this, namely, preservation of the very foundations of justice on which the capitalistic order of society is based and, consequently, of capitalism itself. The unprecedented increase in the standard of living of the masses in the capitalistic West is due to the fact that the formation of capital increased much more than the population. Real wages went up because the marginal productivity of capital goods went down in comparison with that of labor or, more popularly expressed, because the worker in a modern, wellequipped plant can produce many times more than can a worker with primitive tools.
The Doctrine of Interventionism
To prescientific thinkers, a human society built on private property in the means of production seemed to be naturally chaotic. It received its order, so they thought, only from imposed precepts of morality and law. Society can exist only if buyer and seller observe justice and fairness. Government must intervene in order to avoid the evil that flows from an arbitrary deviation from the "just price." This opinion prevailed in all remarks on social life until the eighteenth century. It appeared for the last time in all its naivetk in the
writings of the mercantilists.
The anticapitalist writers are emphasizing that classical economics served the "interests" of the "bourgeoisie,"
which allegedly explains its own success, and led the bourgeois class to its successes. Surely, no one can doubt that the freedom achieved by classical liberalism paved the way for the incredible development of productive forces during the last century. But it is a sad mistake to believe that by opposing intervention classical liberalism gained acceptance more easily. It faced the opposition of all those whom the feverish
activity of government granted protection, favors, and privileges.
Classical liberalism was victorious with economics and through it. No other economic ideology can be reconciled with the science of catallactics. During the 1820s and 1830s, an attempt was made in England to use economics for demonstrating that the capitalist order does not function satisfactorily,
and that it is unjust. From this Karl Marx then created his "scientific" socialism. But even if these writers
had succeeded in proving their case against capitalism, they would have had to prove further that another social order, like socialism, is better than capitalism. This they were not able to do; they could not even prove that a social order could actually be built on public property in the means of production. By merely rejecting and ostracizing any discussion of the problems of socialism as "utopian" they obviously
did not solve anything.
writings of the mercantilists.
The anticapitalist writers are emphasizing that classical economics served the "interests" of the "bourgeoisie,"
which allegedly explains its own success, and led the bourgeois class to its successes. Surely, no one can doubt that the freedom achieved by classical liberalism paved the way for the incredible development of productive forces during the last century. But it is a sad mistake to believe that by opposing intervention classical liberalism gained acceptance more easily. It faced the opposition of all those whom the feverish
activity of government granted protection, favors, and privileges.
Classical liberalism was victorious with economics and through it. No other economic ideology can be reconciled with the science of catallactics. During the 1820s and 1830s, an attempt was made in England to use economics for demonstrating that the capitalist order does not function satisfactorily,
and that it is unjust. From this Karl Marx then created his "scientific" socialism. But even if these writers
had succeeded in proving their case against capitalism, they would have had to prove further that another social order, like socialism, is better than capitalism. This they were not able to do; they could not even prove that a social order could actually be built on public property in the means of production. By merely rejecting and ostracizing any discussion of the problems of socialism as "utopian" they obviously
did not solve anything.
What’s Y our App’s Personality?
Your design choices—whether conservative or zany—give your app a personality. Just like people, apps are irresistible when their personalities are in tune with both audience and context. An efficient, just-the-facts design lends an air of confidence to a productivity app. Warm wood textures, meanwhile, give other apps an organic feeling that is both homey and luxurious. Don’t let your app’s personality emerge by accident. Before you start tinkering with color schemes, graphics, and navigation models, consider how you’d like people to perceive your app. Businesslike and authoritative? Comforting and familiar? Sunny and upbeat? Sleek and poised? Homespun and crafty? Gritty and edgy? Fun and toylike? Opulent and plush?
By choosing a personality for your app before you start crafting its visual identity, you give yourself a framework for making consistent decisions based on the emotional vibe you’re after. Don’t dismiss this as touchy-feely hokum: an emotional vibe is the basis for all marketing and storytelling, and make no mistake, your app is in fact a story. In the very personal context of the iPhone, people think about an app as content more than “software,” an experience more than a tool, and entertainment more than a task. Your app’s personality sets the mood of that experience and it has to suit its audience as well as the job at hand. When you marry the aesthetics of a thing to both its function and its owner, you get something that is beautiful, functional, and distinct. This feng shui alchemy evaporates when those elements go out of sync, so go carefully as you make your design decisions.
By choosing a personality for your app before you start crafting its visual identity, you give yourself a framework for making consistent decisions based on the emotional vibe you’re after. Don’t dismiss this as touchy-feely hokum: an emotional vibe is the basis for all marketing and storytelling, and make no mistake, your app is in fact a story. In the very personal context of the iPhone, people think about an app as content more than “software,” an experience more than a tool, and entertainment more than a task. Your app’s personality sets the mood of that experience and it has to suit its audience as well as the job at hand. When you marry the aesthetics of a thing to both its function and its owner, you get something that is beautiful, functional, and distinct. This feng shui alchemy evaporates when those elements go out of sync, so go carefully as you make your design decisions.
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