This is a great article to read. I'm sure everyone will enjoy.
SIT on the steps of Mexico's El Castillo pyramid in Chichen Itza and you may hear a confusing sound. As other visitors climb the colossal staircase their footsteps begin to sound like raindrops falling into a bucket of water as they near the top. Were the Mayan temple builders trying to communicate with their gods?
The discovery of the raindrop "music" in another pyramid suggests that at least some of Mexico's pyramids were deliberately built for this purpose. Some of the structures consist of a combination of steps and platforms, while others, like El Castillo, resemble the more even-stepped Egyptian pyramids.
Researchers were familiar with the raindrop sounds made by footsteps on El Castillo - a hollow pyramid on the Yucatán Peninsula. But why the steps should sound like this and whether the effect was intentional remained unclear.
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Source : New Scientist
Link : http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327266.200-mayans-played-pyramids-to-make-music-for-rain-god.html
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
100 Years From Now!
US science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson thinks British science fiction is in a golden age. It's time it won some literary awards – and for everyone to give it a go...
The new guest editor of 'NewScientist' Kim Stanley Robinson challenged eight leading British SF authors to write flash fiction about the world 100 years from now. So if you are also a science fiction writer, you can submit your flash SF at
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17779-new-scientist-flash-fiction-competition-2009.html
============================
And of course, here are 8 of the stories submitted by various SciFi authors so far...
1. Reflective Surface
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.300-reflective-surfaces-by-ken-macleod.html
2. A Little School
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.400-a-little-school-by-ian-mcdonald.html
3. 2109: The reality?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.500-2109-the-reality.html
4. Acid Rain
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.600-acid-rain-by-nicola-griffith.html
5. Kelvin 2.0
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.700-kelvin-20-by-stephen-baxter.html
6. Penance
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.800-penance-by-paul-mcauley.html
7. A Virtual Population Crisis
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327264.400-a-virtual-population-crisis-by-ian-watson.html
8. One Shot
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327264.500-one-shot-by-justina-robson.html
The new guest editor of 'NewScientist' Kim Stanley Robinson challenged eight leading British SF authors to write flash fiction about the world 100 years from now. So if you are also a science fiction writer, you can submit your flash SF at
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17779-new-scientist-flash-fiction-competition-2009.html
============================
And of course, here are 8 of the stories submitted by various SciFi authors so far...
1. Reflective Surface
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.300-reflective-surfaces-by-ken-macleod.html
2. A Little School
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.400-a-little-school-by-ian-mcdonald.html
3. 2109: The reality?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.500-2109-the-reality.html
4. Acid Rain
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.600-acid-rain-by-nicola-griffith.html
5. Kelvin 2.0
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.700-kelvin-20-by-stephen-baxter.html
6. Penance
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327263.800-penance-by-paul-mcauley.html
7. A Virtual Population Crisis
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327264.400-a-virtual-population-crisis-by-ian-watson.html
8. One Shot
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327264.500-one-shot-by-justina-robson.html
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Bermuda Triangle
From the book, mysteries of the world, these are theories and attempts at explanation of bermuda triangle. The following theories have been proposed:
1) Aliens from Venus have built a base some 3000 feet deep under the ocean where pressure conditions correspond to those on their home planet. They use strong magetic fields that cause matter to dematerialize.
2) the lost continent of Atlantis lies under this part of the sea. Atlantis sank during an inundation that followed an ancient atomic war.
3) the laws of physic work differntly here becuase of a disturbance in teh time-space continuum. The objects that disappeared reappear in the future in the past in another part of hte world or alternately can be found floating around the universe.
4) The effects of the mysterious "philadelphia Experiment" conducted by the US Navy in 1943 are reponsible.
5) Aliens have kidnapped people and taken objects back to their planet for study.
6) Aliens from a desert planet come here to soak up water, inadvertently sucking up hapless ships and airplanes at the same time.
7) A colony of unknow, human-like beings lives underwater here. They are reponsible for all of these events.
8) there is a kind of hole in the firmament directly over this area. This causes space to curve, pulling everyting that passes beneath it out into space.
9) Unknown, highly readioactive gases are emitted here from the center of the earth, destroying ships and airplanes adn inducing a trance-like state in people.
Eventhough i love the alien theory: soaking up water and sucking up ships and airplanes, for me it a tied between 4 and 9. what are ur theories?
1) Aliens from Venus have built a base some 3000 feet deep under the ocean where pressure conditions correspond to those on their home planet. They use strong magetic fields that cause matter to dematerialize.
2) the lost continent of Atlantis lies under this part of the sea. Atlantis sank during an inundation that followed an ancient atomic war.
3) the laws of physic work differntly here becuase of a disturbance in teh time-space continuum. The objects that disappeared reappear in the future in the past in another part of hte world or alternately can be found floating around the universe.
4) The effects of the mysterious "philadelphia Experiment" conducted by the US Navy in 1943 are reponsible.
5) Aliens have kidnapped people and taken objects back to their planet for study.
6) Aliens from a desert planet come here to soak up water, inadvertently sucking up hapless ships and airplanes at the same time.
7) A colony of unknow, human-like beings lives underwater here. They are reponsible for all of these events.
8) there is a kind of hole in the firmament directly over this area. This causes space to curve, pulling everyting that passes beneath it out into space.
9) Unknown, highly readioactive gases are emitted here from the center of the earth, destroying ships and airplanes adn inducing a trance-like state in people.
Eventhough i love the alien theory: soaking up water and sucking up ships and airplanes, for me it a tied between 4 and 9. what are ur theories?
Sangaha Sutta: The Bonds of Fellowship
Sangaha Sutta: The Bonds of Fellowship
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
© 1997–2009
"There are these four grounds for the bonds of fellowship. Which four? Generosity, kind words, beneficial help, consistency. These are the four grounds for the bonds of fellowship."
Generosity, kind words, beneficial help,
& consistency in the face of events,
in line with what's appropriate
in each case, each case.
These bonds of fellowship [function] in the world
like the linchpin in a moving cart.
Now, if these bonds of fellowship were lacking,
a mother would not receive
the honor & respect owed by her child,
nor would a father receive
what his child owes him.
But because the wise show regard
for these bonds of fellowship,
they achieve greatness
and are praised.
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
© 1997–2009
"There are these four grounds for the bonds of fellowship. Which four? Generosity, kind words, beneficial help, consistency. These are the four grounds for the bonds of fellowship."
Generosity, kind words, beneficial help,
& consistency in the face of events,
in line with what's appropriate
in each case, each case.
These bonds of fellowship [function] in the world
like the linchpin in a moving cart.
Now, if these bonds of fellowship were lacking,
a mother would not receive
the honor & respect owed by her child,
nor would a father receive
what his child owes him.
But because the wise show regard
for these bonds of fellowship,
they achieve greatness
and are praised.
DEFINITION OF SCIENCE
The word science comes from the Latin "scientia," meaning knowledge.
How do we define science? According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of science is "knowledge attained through study or practice," or "knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method [and] concerned with the physical world."
What does that really mean? Science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge. This system uses observation and experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena. The term science also refers to the organized body of knowledge people have gained using that system. Less formally, the word science often describes any systematic field of study or the knowledge gained from it.
What is the purpose of science? Perhaps the most general description is that the purpose of science is to produce useful models of reality.
Most scientific investigations use some form of the scientific method.
Science as defined above is sometimes called pure science to differentiate it from applied science, which is the application of research to human needs.
Fields of science are commonly classified along two major lines:
- Natural sciences, the study of the natural world, and
- Social sciences, the systematic study of human
behavior in the society.
How do we define science? According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of science is "knowledge attained through study or practice," or "knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method [and] concerned with the physical world."
What does that really mean? Science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge. This system uses observation and experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena. The term science also refers to the organized body of knowledge people have gained using that system. Less formally, the word science often describes any systematic field of study or the knowledge gained from it.
What is the purpose of science? Perhaps the most general description is that the purpose of science is to produce useful models of reality.
Most scientific investigations use some form of the scientific method.
Science as defined above is sometimes called pure science to differentiate it from applied science, which is the application of research to human needs.
Fields of science are commonly classified along two major lines:
- Natural sciences, the study of the natural world, and
- Social sciences, the systematic study of human
behavior in the society.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The right honourable computer, barrister-at-law
European researchers have created a legal analysis query engine that combines artificial intelligence, game theory and semantics to offer advice, conflict prevention and dispute settlement for European law, and it even supports policy. European law is complex, many layered and expanding. There are thousands of regulations, so many that compliance is difficult, time-consuming and expensive.
While harmonisation is underway, the process itself demands that individuals, companies and law firms often have to relearn the system.
Meanwhile, areas like intellectual property rights (IPR) and digital rights regulation that seek to combat piracy are becoming evermore complex to understand and apply consistently across Europe.
ALIS sought to develop a working system in IPR to tackle the fundamental technological challenges before expanding it to more areas later on.
The system is much more than a simple database of relevant legal regulations. It uses insights from game theory to help contentious parties come to an amicable agreement, either through conflict prevention or dispute resolution, and it can assist lawmaking too.
Game theory looks at how strategic interactions between rational people lead to outcomes reflecting real player preferences. In the Ultimatum game, for example, two players decide how a sum is to be divided. The proposer suggests what the split should be, the responder either can accept or reject this offer. But if the responder rejects the split, both players get nothing.
Researchers have found that often proposers offer 50:50, even though the responder might accept less. They also found that responders always reject splits where they get less than 20 percent. In economics, this would be considered irrational, because the responder loses too, but this illustrates that fairness is a very important element in strategic interactions.
These types of interactions can be rendered mathematically thanks to game theory, and the concept is so powerful that it has migrated from applied mathematics to social sciences like economics, political science, international relations and philosophy, as well as hard sciences like biology, engineering and computer science.
Game theory can be used to develop algorithms that find equilibria in games, markets, computational auctions, peer-to-peer systems, security and information markets. And, now with ALIS, it is available for legal systems too. This concept of equilibria supports conflict prevention, dispute resolution and offers decision support for lawmaking.
A key factor in the system is its test for regulatory compliance. This is very powerful. It can help citizens, companies and lawyers quickly scan the relevant legal corpus to discover if they are compliant. It is a key factor for the other roles in the ALIS system as well.
For conflict prevention, dispute resolution and lawmaking, the ALIS first establishes if the parties, or the proposed legislation, are compliant with current law. Once compliance is established, the system can present a series of options based on an analysis of the potential conflict or dispute, or it can provide information to further assist lawmakers to formulate policy.
Similarly, the tool aims to rapidly speed up the work done by lawyers, helping to resolve relatively straightforward cases faster, so they can concentrate on more complex problems.
Here, semantic technologies play a key role by establishing a machine-readable annotation of copyright law for several European countries.
There are two primary customers or users; software providers who could benefit from the methods, logic and innovative information processing techniques developed within ALIS; and legal service providers, lawyers, solicitors and others who can use the system to keep them up to date with a rapidly evolving legal framework and speed up query handling for clients.
In all, ALIS has created a platform that should help ensure legal compliance by citizens, companies and lawyers. And it will help improve the efficiency of justice, by contributing to conflict prevention and dispute resolution, keeping cases out of overworked courts.
But ALIS’ true genius is that it creates a powerful technological platform to access legal knowledge, a platform that will become stronger over time.
The ALIS project received funding from the ICT strand of the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme for research.
While harmonisation is underway, the process itself demands that individuals, companies and law firms often have to relearn the system.
Meanwhile, areas like intellectual property rights (IPR) and digital rights regulation that seek to combat piracy are becoming evermore complex to understand and apply consistently across Europe.
A lawyer called ALIS
Thankfully, help is at hand. The ALIS project has developed a computerised platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI), game theory and semantic technologies to ‘understand’ and track the regulations in a large, and expanding area of expertise – in this case IPR.ALIS sought to develop a working system in IPR to tackle the fundamental technological challenges before expanding it to more areas later on.
The system is much more than a simple database of relevant legal regulations. It uses insights from game theory to help contentious parties come to an amicable agreement, either through conflict prevention or dispute resolution, and it can assist lawmaking too.
Game theory looks at how strategic interactions between rational people lead to outcomes reflecting real player preferences. In the Ultimatum game, for example, two players decide how a sum is to be divided. The proposer suggests what the split should be, the responder either can accept or reject this offer. But if the responder rejects the split, both players get nothing.
Researchers have found that often proposers offer 50:50, even though the responder might accept less. They also found that responders always reject splits where they get less than 20 percent. In economics, this would be considered irrational, because the responder loses too, but this illustrates that fairness is a very important element in strategic interactions.
These types of interactions can be rendered mathematically thanks to game theory, and the concept is so powerful that it has migrated from applied mathematics to social sciences like economics, political science, international relations and philosophy, as well as hard sciences like biology, engineering and computer science.
Game theory can be used to develop algorithms that find equilibria in games, markets, computational auctions, peer-to-peer systems, security and information markets. And, now with ALIS, it is available for legal systems too. This concept of equilibria supports conflict prevention, dispute resolution and offers decision support for lawmaking.
A key factor in the system is its test for regulatory compliance. This is very powerful. It can help citizens, companies and lawyers quickly scan the relevant legal corpus to discover if they are compliant. It is a key factor for the other roles in the ALIS system as well.
For conflict prevention, dispute resolution and lawmaking, the ALIS first establishes if the parties, or the proposed legislation, are compliant with current law. Once compliance is established, the system can present a series of options based on an analysis of the potential conflict or dispute, or it can provide information to further assist lawmakers to formulate policy.
Similarly, the tool aims to rapidly speed up the work done by lawyers, helping to resolve relatively straightforward cases faster, so they can concentrate on more complex problems.
Here, semantic technologies play a key role by establishing a machine-readable annotation of copyright law for several European countries.
Exploiting the system
The ALIS project’s exploitation and dissemination activities are noteworthy. Mailings, brochures, as well as many presentations and meetings have taken place between potential customers and beneficiaries of the ALIS system.There are two primary customers or users; software providers who could benefit from the methods, logic and innovative information processing techniques developed within ALIS; and legal service providers, lawyers, solicitors and others who can use the system to keep them up to date with a rapidly evolving legal framework and speed up query handling for clients.
In all, ALIS has created a platform that should help ensure legal compliance by citizens, companies and lawyers. And it will help improve the efficiency of justice, by contributing to conflict prevention and dispute resolution, keeping cases out of overworked courts.
But ALIS’ true genius is that it creates a powerful technological platform to access legal knowledge, a platform that will become stronger over time.
The ALIS project received funding from the ICT strand of the EU’s Sixth Framework Programme for research.
Plasmobot
"THOUGH not famed for their intellect, single-celled organisms have already demonstrated a surprising degree of intelligence. Now a team at the University of the West of England (UWE) has secured £228,000 in funding to turn these organisms into engineering robots.
In recent years, single-celled organisms have been used to control six-legged robots, but Andrew Adamatzky at UWE wants to go one step further by making a complete "robot" out of a plasmodium slime mould, Physarum polycephalum, a commonly occurring mould that moves towards food sources such as bacteria and fungi, and shies away from light."
Read More at New Scientist.com by following the link below...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327245.100-plasmobot-the-slime-mould-robot.html
In recent years, single-celled organisms have been used to control six-legged robots, but Andrew Adamatzky at UWE wants to go one step further by making a complete "robot" out of a plasmodium slime mould, Physarum polycephalum, a commonly occurring mould that moves towards food sources such as bacteria and fungi, and shies away from light."
Read More at New Scientist.com by following the link below...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327245.100-plasmobot-the-slime-mould-robot.html
Friday, September 11, 2009
BEng (Honours) - Electronic Engineering - Sheffield Hallam University
BEng (Honours) - Electronic Engineering - Sheffield Hallam University
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All organisations, from hospitals and factories to banks, offices and small industrial concerns, increasingly depend on electronic technology. This technology is used in everything from production to administration and financial control.
This degree develops the specialised technical skills needed by employers in these fields.
You study electronic engineering, computing and electronic systems, while concentrating on the principles of electronic engineering. You also gain an appreciation of company structure and quality control.
The course includes specifics about systems applications, and software and hardware technologies. Other studies include computer modelling and mathematics for electronic engineering.
You learn the principal themes of • digital and analogue electronics • electronic systems design • signal processing • engineering analysis. These themes support further study of specialist applications of electronics to computer, communication and control systems. You can also design and build working devices, and evaluate commercial electronic products.
The course is vocational and produces engineers who can meet the needs of the wide range of industries that use new technology. The ever developing application of technology means there is a growing demand for engineering graduates.
All students take the first year core modules. These provide a common foundation of engineering principles, knowledge and key skills, while addressing the areas of engineering applications and personal skills development.
It also allows you to change your mind about which course you want to study at the end of the first year.
Mature students with relevant work experience and international students normally take the three year route.
You work in our electronic laboratories designing hardware and developing your practical skills.
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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
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