Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Minerals and rocks

A mineral is a obviously occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and a crystalline structure. A rock is an collective of one or more minerals. (A rock may also include organic remains and mineraloids.) Some rocks are mostly composed of just one mineral. For example, limestone is a sedimentary rock composed almost wholly of the mineral calcite. Other rocks have many minerals, and the specific minerals in a rock can vary widely. Some minerals, like quartz, mica or feldspar are general, while others have been found in only one or two locations worldwide. The vast majority of the rocks of the Earth's crust consist of quartz, feldspar, mica, chlorite, kaolin, calcite, epidote, olivine, augite, hornblende, magnetite, hematite, limonite and a few other minerals.Over half of the mineral species identified are so rare that they have only been found in a handful of samples, and many are known from only one or two small grains.
Commercially costly minerals and rocks are referred to as industrial minerals. Rocks from which minerals are mined for economic purposes are referred to as ores (the rocks and minerals that remain, after the desired mineral has been separated from the ore, are referred to as tailings).

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Acid rain

Acid rain occurs when sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere, undergo chemical transformations and are absorbed by water droplets in clouds. The droplets then fall to earth as rain, snow, mist, dry dust, hail, or sleet. This can add to the acidity of the soil, and affect the element balance of lakes and streams.The term "acid rain" is sometimes used more usually to include all forms of acid deposition - both wet deposition, where acidic gases and particles are removed by rain or other precipitation, and dry deposition removal of gases and particles to the Earth's surface in the absence of precipitation. Acid rain is defined as any type of precipitation with a pH that is abnormally low. Dissolved carbon dioxide dissociates to form weak carbonic acid giving a pH of approximately 5.6 at typical atmospheric concentrations of CO2. Therefore a pH of less than 5.6 has every so often been used as a definition of acid rain. However, natural sources of acidity mean that in remote areas, rain has a pH which is between 4.5 and 5.6 with an average value of 5.0 and so rain with a pH of less than 5 is a more appropriate definition. The US EPA says, "Acid rain is a serious environmental problem that affects large parts of the US and Canada" Acid rain accelerates weathering in carbonate rocks and accelerates building weathering. It also contributes to acidification of rivers, streams, and forest damage at high elevations. When the acid builds up in rivers and streams it can kill fish.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Historiography

Historiography has a number of associated meanings. It can refer to the history of historical learning, its methodology and practices (the history of history). It can also refer to a particular body of historical writing (for example, "medieval historiography during the 1960s" means "medieval history written during the 1960s"). Historiography can also be in use to mean historical theory or the study of past writing and memory. As a meta-level analysis of descriptions of the past, this third conception can relate to the first two in that the analysis usually focuses on the narratives, interpretations, worldview, use of evidence, or method of presentation of other historians.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Gardening

Gardening is the art of growing plants with the aim of crafting a purposeful landscape. Residential gardening most often takes place in or about a residence, in a space referred to as the garden. Although a garden naturally is located on the land near a residence, it may also be located in a roof, in an entrance, on a balcony, in a windowbox, or on a yard.
Gardening also takes place in non-residential green areas, such as parks, public or semi-public gardens (botanical gardens or zoological gardens), pleasure and theme parks, along transportation corridors, and around tourist attractions and hotels. In these situations, a staff of gardeners or groundskeepers maintains the gardens.
Indoor gardening is concerned with the increasing of houseplants within a residence or building, in a conservatory, or in a greenhouse. Indoor gardens are sometimes included as part of air conditioning or heating systems.
Water gardening is concerned with growing plants adapted to pools and ponds. Bog gardens are also considered a type of water garden. These all require extraordinary conditions and considerations. A simple water garden may consist simply of a tub containing the water and plant(s).
Container gardening is concerned with growing plants in any type of container either indoors or outdoors. Common containers are pots, hanging baskets, and planters. Container gardening is usually used in atriums and on balconies, patios, and roof tops.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Public transport

Public transport, public transportation, public travel or mass transit comprises all transport systems in which the passengers do not tour in their own vehicles. While it is generally taken to include rail and bus services, wider definitions would comprise scheduled airline services, ship, taxicab services etc. – any system that transports members of the universal public. A further restriction that is sometimes practical is that it must take place in shared vehicles that would bar taxis that are not shared-ride taxis.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Journalism Basics

Journalism is a concrete, professionally oriented major that involves gathering, interpreting, distilling, and other reporting information to the general audiences through a variety of media means. Journalism majors learn about every possible kind of Journalism (including magazine, newspaper, online journalism, photojournalism, broadcast journalism, and public relations).
That's not all, though. In addition to dedicated training in writing, editing, and reporting, Journalism wants a working knowledge of history, culture, and current events. You'll more than likely be required to take up a broad range of courses that runs the range from statistics to the hard sciences to economics to history. There would also be a lot of haughty talk about professional ethics and civic responsibility too - and you'll be tested on it. To top it all off, you'll perhaps work on the university newspaper or radio station, or possibly complete an internship with a magazine or a mass media conglomerate.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Color

It is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, white, etc. Color derives from the spectrum of light distribution of light energy versus wavelength interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. Color categories and physical specifications of color are also associated with objects, materials, light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra.

Typically, only features of the composition of light that are detectable by humans wavelength spectrum from 400 nm to 700 nm, roughly are included, thereby objectively relating the psychological phenomenon of color to its physical specification. Since perception of color stems from the varying sensitivity of different types of cone cells in the retina to different parts of the spectrum, colors may be defined and quantified by the degree to which they stimulate these cells. These physical or physiological quantifications of color, however, do not fully explain the psychophysical perception of color appearance.

The science of color is sometimes called chromatics. It includes the perception of color by the human eye and brain, the origin of color in materials, color theory in art, and the physics of electromagnetic radiation in the visible range that is, what we commonly refer to simply as light.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Plants

The genus Nelumbo, with two members Indian, Red or Sacred Lotus, a sacred plant of Hinduism and Buddhism and of the Ancient Egyptian civilization, also used in Asian cuisine American Lotus The genus Lotus, in the subfamily Faboideae in the family Fabaceae, common name "Trefoil" The genus Nymphaea, usually called water-lilies, but including many members also referred to as lotus, for example the White European Lotus, White Egyptian Lotus, and Blue Egyptian Lotus.
The lotus eaten by the Lotophagi of the Odyssey is thought to have been Ziziphus lotus, a species of jujube. This could be the Lotus Tree that the mythical Lois was transformed into "Lotus" also occurs in the common, or cultivar, names of numerous unrelated plants, for example the Snow Lotus in the family Asteraceae.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Painting

Painting taken literally is the practice of applying color to a surface such as paper, canvas, wood, glass, or other. However, when used in an artistic sense, the term painting means the use of this activity in combination with drawing, composition and other aesthetic considerations in order to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner.
Painting is used as a mode of representing, documenting and expressing all the varied intents and subjects that are as numerous as there are practitioners of the craft. Paintings can be naturalistic and representational. photographic, abstract, be loaded with narrative content, symbolism, emotion or be political in nature. A large portion of the history of painting is dominated by spiritual motifs and ideas; sites of this kind of painting range from artwork depicting mythological figures on pottery to biblical scenes rendered on the interior walls and ceiling of The Sistine Chapel to depictions of the human body itself as a spiritual subject.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and of the Lazio province, as well as the country's major and most crowded commune, with concerning 2.5 million residents. It is situated in the central-western portion of the Italian peninsula, where the river anyone joins the Tiber. As one of the prime cities in the European Union, the Commune did Roma has a gross domestic creation of €97 billion in the year 2005, equal to 6.7% of Italy's GDP the highest quantity of GDP produced by any single Italian commune. The current Mayor of Rome is Walter Vectoring.

According to fairy tale, the city of Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Rebus on April 21, 753 BC. Archeological proof supports claims that Rome was inhabited since the 8th century BC and earlier. The city was the support of Roman civilization that shaped the largest and longest-lasting empire of classical antiquity that reached its maximum extent in 117. The city was essential and in charge for the spread of Greco-Roman culture that endures to this day. Rome is also recognized with Christianity and the Catholic Church and has been the Episcopal seat of the Popes since the 1st century. The State of the Vatican City, the monarch territory of the Holy See and smallest nation in the world, is an enclave of Rome.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Health

Health is the practical and metabolic efficiency of an organism, at any moment in time, at both the cellular and global levels. All individual organisms, from the simplest to the most complex, vary among optimum health and zero health.

In the medical field, health is normally defined as an organism's ability to capably respond to challenges and effectively restore and sustain a "state of balance," known as homeostasis.

Another broadly accepted definition of health is that of the World Health Organization "WHO". It states that "health is a state of absolute physical, mental and social well-being and not just the absence of disease or infirmity". In more recent years, this statement has been customized to include the ability to lead a "socially and economically creative life." The WHO definition is not without criticism, as some dispute that health cannot be defined as a state at all, but must be seen as a process of continuous alteration to the changing demands of living and of the changing meanings we give to life. The WHO definition is therefore measured by many as an idealistic goal rather than a realistic intention.

An increasing measure of the health of populations is height, which is powerfully regulated by nutrition and health care, among other average of living and quality of life matters. The study of human growth, its regulators and its implications is known as auxology.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Clothing

Clothing is defined, in its broadest logic, as coverings for the torso and limbs as well as coverings for the hands, feet and head. Humans almost universally wear clothes, which are also known as dress, garments, attire, or apparel. People wear clothing for functional as well as for social reasons. Clothing protects the vulnerable nude human body from the extremes of weather, other features of our environment, and for safety reasons. But every article of clothing also carries a civilizing and social meaning.
People also decorate their bodies with structure or foundation, perfume, and other decoration they also cut, dye, and arrange the hair of their heads, faces, and bodies, and sometimes also mark their skin. All these decorations add to the overall effect and message of clothing, but do not constitute clothing per se.
Articles approved rather than damaged are normally counted as fashion garnishes rather than as clothing. Jewelry and spectacles are usually counted as accessories as well, even though in ordinary speech these items are described as being worn rather than carried.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Lighthouse of Alexandria

The Pharos of Alexandria was a tower built in the 3rd century BC on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to supply as that port's landmark, and later, its lighthouse.

With a height variously projected at between 115 and 135 meters it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries, and was identified as one of the Seven Wonders of the World by traditional writers.

It ceased working and was largely destroyed as a result of an earthquake in 1375; some of its remains were found on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour by divers in 1994. More of the residues have subsequently been exposed by satellite imaging.

His design of minarets in many early Islamic mosques many centuries later followed a similar three-stage design to that of the Pharos, attesting to the building's broader architectural authority.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Computer

A computer is a device for manipulating data according to a list of instructions. A list of computer instructions planned to perform some task is known as a program. When programs are contained in storage that may be easily customized by the computer itself, the device is said to have Von Neumann architecture. The ability to execute stored programs that is, programmability makes computers extremely versatile and distinguishes them from calculators. The Church Turing thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: Any computer with a certain minimum potential is, in principle, capable of performing the same tasks that any other computer can execute. Therefore, computers with potential and complexity ranging from that of a personal digital assistant to a supercomputer are all able to perform the same computational tasks so long as time and storage capacity are not considerations.
Computers take several physical forms. Early electronic computers were the mass of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers. Today, computers can be made little enough to fit into a wrist watch and powered from a watch battery.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Construction

Under project architecture and civil engineering, construction means building or assembly of any infrastructure on a site or sites. Though this may be thought of as a single activity, in fact construction is a feat of multitasking. Normally the job is managed by the construction manager, supervised by the project director, design engineer or project architect. While these people work in offices, every construction project requires a large number of laborers, carpenters, and other skilled tradesmen to complete the physical job of construction.
For the successful execution of a project functional planning is essential. Those concerned with the design and execution of the infrastructure in question must consider the environmental impact of the job, the unbeaten scheduling, budgeting, site safety, availability of materials, logistics, inconvenience to the public caused by construction delays, preparing tender documents, etc.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a coeducational public research university in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest university in Canada by enrollment. St. George is located in Downtown Toronto surrounding Queen's Park and the Ontario Legislature. Its two other campuses, the University of Toronto Scarborough and the University of Toronto at Mississauga are located in the eastern and western ends of the Greater Toronto Area.
The institution was founded as King's College by John Strachan. Its name was changed to the University of Toronto, after it ended ties with the Church of England to become a secular institution. University College was created as a constituent college and over time, the formerly independent Trinity College, Victoria University and St. Michael's College became federated with the university.
A university ranking by Newsweek International places the University of Toronto worldwide and first in Canada and similar academic rankings consistently place the university among the world's best. Artificial larynx, single-lung transplant, nerve transplant, artificial pancreas, chemical laser, the first practical electron microscope, and the extraction of insulin.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Deregulation of Natural Gas

The main objective of deregulation of natural gas is to discuss the key points nearby the deregulation of the natural gas industry. How the industry performed during a period of regulation and what transpired forcing a transform to deregulate them.

Deregulation is the de-emphasis of governmental oversight of actions in the private sector. It was known that regulation is where the government controls convinced aspects of the private sector, led to a monopolistic state amongst businesses and it was no longer viewed as productive with the modern growth of the economy. Combine this economic growth with rising oil prices, a growing dependency on natural gas, and technological advancements within the trade, and it becomes apparent why deregulation was in need to move in the late 1970s.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Research Animal Rights

The frantic and the high tech world we live in today have progressed through a series of life altering changes throughout the last couple of centuries. Nearly all of this progress can be traced back to the advancement of technology. The Technology has allowed humans to do everything from flying an airplane to creating clones. Ahead with the economical and educational benefits of technology, medical advances have soared. This has been raised by one of the most debated and biggest moral questions: “is it really necessary to take the lives of animals in the name of science and for the betterment of humanity?” While some social groups think animals should have the same rights as humans, the undeniable truth is that animal research is too important to all species in our world to be stopped.
Through the entire 20th century medicine as experienced phenomenal success and this can be attributed mainly to technology and the brilliant minds that applied it to medicine. Anyway, the advancement of medicine and human health has not come without cost. To find new and more efficient forms of treatments, scientist sacrificed many animals in their testing and research.
Many more changes are needed in our current methods of research. For the human beings this topic of death is still being debated, but animals are put to sleep every day when their owner or veterinarian decides the quality of the animal’s life will be too low for it to continue to survive.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Confidence

All Over time peoples feelings about themselves and others will change. They can feel strong and indestructible one minute than something could change the way they feel. A certain event could change ones self confidence. The People will become different when they are exposed to a certain situation. They should also take a 180 degree turnaround and become a totally new person. In The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Cranes the main character who will change from a coward in the beginning to a stronger courageous character at the end of the novel. The boy’s name is Henry Fleming is a young naive boy. He is not much sure what to expect when he goes to war.
He will have a conversation with the other soldiers in his regiment. They might have think that some of the soldiers will run during a battle. Henry got a strange feeling that he may be the one to run when the time comes. He will decide to bring up the topic during a conversation with another soldier by saying “Think any of the boys will run?” But an another soldier responds “Oh there may be a few of them, but there’s them kind in every regiment, specially when they first goes under fire”. Then Henry is afraid now after hearing what the soldier had to say. So Henry is much confused about war. The regiment accepts Henry and they nuture him so he will be able to fight again. The situation has become critically as something has to happen that will change Henry’s future. He has skilled a lot up to this point. But in the battle field when they turn back and start firing and Henry lost his cool. He cannot go back to his regiment because they will not accept him back into the group.
When Henry first had gone to battle he is relieved when the rebels retreat. Henry showed many signs of pride and courage. People make the war seemed like its a good thing but really its not.

Friday, August 25, 2006

The 2005 ENR

The 2005 ENR:

Operated 5,063 km of rail using standard gauge of 1435 mm. This is the same gauge as used by neighboring Libya and Israel. In the South the railway system of Sudan operates on a narrow gauge. Rail service is a critical part of the transportation infrastructure of the country but of limited service for transit. Majority of engines are diesel-driven. Sixty-three km are electrified, namely commuter lines between Cairo-Hulwan and Cairo-Heliopolis. While ENR purchases engines and rail abroad, passenger wagons are built and refurbished in Egypt by the Societe General Egyptienne de Materiel des Chemins de Fer. While some services have been privatized that is some food service, sleeper trains, ENR is considering further steps in privatization to increase efficiency and improve service. In addition ENR has dormant real estate holding that it plans to utilize in a more profitable way.