1248 résultats pour "soma"
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Puppets
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INTRODUCTION
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy are characters in an English hand puppet show that first appeared in 1662.
Rod puppets are controlled by rods attached to their limbs, heads, and bodies. Although the traditional rod puppets of Belgium and Sicily are worked from above, likemarionettes, most contemporary rod figures are operated from below. In theaters, rod puppeteers are frequently concealed from view by drapery or stage flats (fabric stretched across frames). On television and in films, rod and hand puppeteers usually hold their figures either above their heads or in front of their faces. In the lat...
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theories of Common-sense reasoning
formulas of some logical language, and that the reasoning tasks underlying this intelligence can then be accomplished by means of logical deduction. Both the idea of using logic as an underlying representation language for artificial intelligence and the emphasis on formalizing common-sense knowledge are present even in McCarthy's very early work (for example, McCarthy 1959 ), but the project receives its clearest articulation in a paper jointly authored by McCarthy and Patrick Hayes (1969 )...
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Excerpt from Timon of Athens - anthology.
Ha? A drum? Th' art quick,But yet I'll bury thee. Thou'lt go, strong thief,When gouty keepers of thee cannot stand.Nay, stay thou out for earnest. He keeps some of the gold, and buries the rest Enter Alcibiades, with drum and fife, in warlike manner; and Phrynia and Timandra ALCIBIADES. What art thou there? Speak. TIMON. A beast, as thou art. The canker gnaw thy heartFor showing me again the eyes of man! ALCIBIADES. What is thy name? Is man so hateful to theeThat art thyself a man? TIMON. I am M...
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Human Evolution.
Strepsirhines are the most primitive types of living primates. The last common ancestors of strepsirhines and other mammals—creatures similar to tree shrews andclassified as Plesiadapiformes—evolved at least 65 million years ago. The earliest primates evolved by about 55 million years ago, and fossil species similar to lemursevolved during the Eocene Epoch (about 55 million to 38 million years ago). Strepsirhines share all of the basic characteristics of primates, although their brains are notpa...
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Human Evolution - biology.
classified as Plesiadapiformes—evolved at least 65 million years ago. The earliest primates evolved by about 55 million years ago, and fossil species similar to lemursevolved during the Eocene Epoch (about 55 million to 38 million years ago). Strepsirhines share all of the basic characteristics of primates, although their brains are notparticularly large or complex and they have a more elaborate and sensitive olfactory system (sense of smell) than do other primates. B Haplorhines B1 Tarsiers T...
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Gambling.
C Lotteries Lotteries are another form of gambling. In a lottery, tickets are sold for a set amount and a share of the proceeds is returned to the winners, usually through a randomdraw. Most games allow players to pick their own numbers or let a computer randomly pick for them. Lotteries offer a wide variety of games, including weekly drawings,instant “scratch” tickets, daily games, and superlottos with prizes increasing until there is a winner. Large lottery prizes sometimes exceed $100 millio...
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Evolution - biology.
genetic diversity to extinction. Sexual reproduction ensures that the genes in a population are rearranged in each generation, a process termed recombination. Although the combinations of genes inindividuals change with each new generation, the gene frequency, or ratio of different alleles in the entire population, remains relatively constant if no evolutionaryforces act on the population. One such force is the introduction of new genes into the genetic material of the population, or gene pool...
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Cell (biology) - biology.
proteins, or other proteins required by the cell. While relatively simple in construction, prokaryotic cells display extremely complex activity. They have a greater range of biochemical reactions than those found in theirlarger relatives, the eukaryotic cells. The extraordinary biochemical diversity of prokaryotic cells is manifested in the wide-ranging lifestyles of the archaebacteria andthe bacteria, whose habitats include polar ice, deserts, and hydrothermal vents—deep regions of the ocean un...
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Animation
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INTRODUCTION
Finding Nemo
A clown fish named Marlin, left, and his friend Dory search for Marlin's son in the computer-animated feature film Finding
Nemo (2003).
Animator at WorkAnimators use computers for every part of the animation process, from creating a storyboard (a scene-by-sceneillustration of the plot) to imitating camera movement. This animator is creating a scene for the motion picture Antz(1998).C. Lepetit/Liaison Agency If an animator is basing the animation project on drawings, one of the most common animation techniques, he or she will first create a series of rough sketches thatoften will be filmed in a pencil test (simple line drawings...
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Christmas.
The new custom of Christmas gift giving allowed the marketplace to exert an unprecedented influence on holiday celebrations. Commercial innovations such asdepartment stores and mass advertising further expanded the custom of exchanging Christmas gifts. Seasonal retail sales helped fuel the economy, causing merchantsand advertisers to become some of the season’s most ardent promoters. Many holiday celebrants regretted these changes, however, and began voicing the nowcommon lament that Christmas h...
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Turtle.
Turtles use their jaws to cut and handle food. Instead of teeth, a turtle’s upper and lower jaws are covered by horny ridges, similar to a bird’s beak. Meat-eating turtlescommonly have knife-sharp ridges for slicing through their prey. Plant-eating turtles often have ridges with serrated edges that help them cut through tough plants.Turtles use their tongues in swallowing food, but unlike many other reptiles, such as chameleons, they cannot stick out their tongues to capture food. C Limb Structu...
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Turtle - biology.
Turtles use their jaws to cut and handle food. Instead of teeth, a turtle’s upper and lower jaws are covered by horny ridges, similar to a bird’s beak. Meat-eating turtlescommonly have knife-sharp ridges for slicing through their prey. Plant-eating turtles often have ridges with serrated edges that help them cut through tough plants.Turtles use their tongues in swallowing food, but unlike many other reptiles, such as chameleons, they cannot stick out their tongues to capture food. C Limb Structu...
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Native American Architecture.
B Relationship to the Universe and Nature A more profound difference between European American and Native American perceptions lay in how human beings saw themselves in relationship to the universe andin what they believed their responsibilities were to the natural world and to each other. Most European Americans saw themselves as separate from creation andadversaries of nature, ever struggling to conquer and subdue nature and force it to yield to their will. Native Americans saw themselves as...
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Global Warming.
some of the warming influence of increasing greenhouse gases. A1 Carbon Dioxide Carbon dioxide is the second most abundant greenhouse gas, after water vapor. Carbon dioxide constantly circulates in the environment through a variety of naturalprocesses known as the carbon cycle. It is released into the atmosphere from natural processes such as eruptions of volcanoes; the respiration of animals, whichbreathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide; and the burning or decay of plants and other organic...
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Psychotherapy.
Other managed-care companies pay therapists a set fee to meet with a client for up to a specified maximum number of sessions depending on the nature of theproblem, free of interference from case reviewers. For example, a managed-care firm may pay a therapist $200 to hold up to eight sessions with a person. If the clientuses all eight sessions, the therapist normally loses money. But if treatment stops after two or three sessions, the therapist makes a profit. This relatively new system iscontrov...
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Homosexuality.
that “the history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal,” in affirming that homosexuals are entitled to the same rights of marriage asheterosexuals. On May 17, 2004, same-sex marriages became legal in Massachusetts, and authorities there began to marry gay couples. State legislators pledged toamend the state constitution to ban gay marriage but allow civil unions. Such an amendment would require voter approval. A growing number of local governments and private co...
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Heracles (Herakles; Glory of Hera) Greek The
greatest hero of Greek mythology, he was called
Hercules by the Romans.
Amphitryon’s cattle. Heracles killed the lion and ever after wore its pelt (though some say that the pelt worn by Heracles was that of the Nemean lion; see The Twelve Labors of Heracles , right). Heracles then did battle with Erginus, King of Orchomenos, who attacked Thebes. Amphitryon died in this struggle. The victorious Heracles became the idol of Thebes. Creon, the new king of Thebes, gave his daughter Megara (2) to Heracles in marriage. The marriage was not a happy one, and in later years,...
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Antarctica - geography.
The geographic South Pole lies near the center of the continent in East Antarctica. This point is where all map lines of longitude converge at the southern end ofEarth’s axis of rotation. Distinct from the geographic south pole is the south magnetic pole, where the lines of force of Earth’s magnetic field emerge vertically,arching upward over the planet to enter Earth again at the north magnetic pole. The south-seeking end of a compass needle points to the south magnetic pole. Thesouth magnetic...
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Native American Architecture
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INTRODUCTION
Native American Architecture, traditional architecture of the peoples of who lived in North America before Europeans arrived.
Mound Builders who resided in the area.John Elk III/Bruce Coleman, Inc. Another mound building culture, named Hopewell, also appears to have originated in Ohio but expanded west to Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma, south to Louisiana,Mississippi, and Alabama, east to Georgia and the Appalachian Mountains, and north to Wisconsin, Michigan, and lower Ontario in Canada. The Hopewell culture lastedfrom about 200 BC to 400 AD. Hopewell people built large, linear mounds to create enclosures in geometrical...
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San Francisco - geography.
recognized symbol of the city, opened in 1937. It connects San Francisco to Marin County to the north, one of the wealthiest suburban areas in the nation. With the construction of the Bay and Golden Gate bridges and other links from the city to its suburbs, the San Francisco Bay area has become one large metropolitanregion. San Francisco itself is only 122 sq km (47 sq mi) of land area, but the city’s Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (defined by the Census Bureau as SanFrancisco, San Mateo,...
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Jazz
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INTRODUCTION
Joshua Redman
Saxophonist Joshua Redman, a graduate of Harvard University, became a fast-rising star in jazz in the 1990s.
performed a highly produced, jazz-inspired form of blues that was popular in traveling minstrel shows and vaudeville. Thisexample is from the song “St. Louis Blues,” written by American composer and trumpet player W. C. Handy in 1914 andrecorded by Smith in 1925."St. Louis Blues" performed by Bessie Smith, from The Riverside History of Classic Jazz (Cat.# Riverside RB-005) Riverside Records under master license to Fantasy, Inc. All rightsreserved./Frank DriggsCollection/Archive Photos Jazz is ro...
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Medicine.
C Other Health Professionals Medicine is not restricted to physicians. A wide variety of health care practitioners work in this exciting field. By far the largest professional group is nurses. Registerednurses help physicians during examinations, treatment, and surgery. They observe, evaluate, and record patients’ symptoms, administer medications, and provideother care ( see Nursing). Nurse practitioners perform basic duties once reserved for physicians, such as diagnosing and treating common i...
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Uzbekistan - country.
E Environmental Issues The evaporation of the Aral Sea is one of the worst ecological disasters in the world. The Aral has shrunk so much that it now holds only about one-fifth the volume ofwater it held in 1960. The shrinkage is due to irrigation withdrawals from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, a practice that began on a massive scale in the early 1960s aspart of the Soviet Union’s ill-conceived drive to increase cotton yields in Central Asia. Growing cotton in the naturally arid and saline soil...
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Russian Revolutions of 1917 (Histoire) .
as Marxists. They believed that the working class—with its struggles to organize trade unions and to bring about political reforms of benefit to the majority ofpeople—would become the primary force for revolutionary change. The Russian Marxists formed the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) in 1898. By 1903,however, the RSDLP had split into two factions. The faction called the Bolsheviks (from the Russian word for “majority”), led by Vladimir Ilich Lenin, favored a more centralized a...
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African American History - U.
In their day-to-day lives, slaves and servants shared similar grievances and frequently formed alliances. Advertisements seeking the return of slaves and servants whohad run away together filled colonial newspapers. When a slave named Charles escaped in 1740, the Pennsylvania Gazette reported that two white servants, a 'Scotch man' and an Englishman, escaped with him. Sometimes interracial alliances involved violence. During Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, slaves and servants took up armsagainst Na...
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Belize - country.
Education is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Attendance at primary schools was nearly universal in 2002–2003, but only 78 percent of children ofsecondary school age were enrolled in school. Higher education is available at colleges in Belize City and Corozal. The literacy rate of 93 percent is one of the highest inLatin America. C Government Belize is governed under a constitution that became effective at independence in 1981. Belize recognizes the British monarch as its o...
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Supreme Court of Canada.
whether the leave to appeal will be granted and the case heard by the Court. The Court has no specified criteria by which it determines whether to grant leave, and the Court does not give reasons for its decision. The key factor appears to be acase’s degree of national importance. Other factors might include the impact of uncertainty in the challenged law, the case’s appropriateness for developing the law torespond to changing social needs, and the presence of a split decision at the court of ap...
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Wisconsin (state) - geography.
-6° C (22° F) in the southeast, along the Lake Michigan shore. During winter extremely cold weather persists for several weeks at a time. C2 Precipitation Average annual precipitation ranges from 700 to 800 mm (28 to 32 in). Rainfall is generally heaviest during the spring and summer, and snowfall is generally moderatein the south, but can be quite heavy in the north. Thunderstorms, sometimes accompanied by devastating tornadoes, are common in spring and summer, particularly inthe southern part...
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Wisconsin (state) - USA History.
-6° C (22° F) in the southeast, along the Lake Michigan shore. During winter extremely cold weather persists for several weeks at a time. C2 Precipitation Average annual precipitation ranges from 700 to 800 mm (28 to 32 in). Rainfall is generally heaviest during the spring and summer, and snowfall is generally moderatein the south, but can be quite heavy in the north. Thunderstorms, sometimes accompanied by devastating tornadoes, are common in spring and summer, particularly inthe southern part...
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Islam.
commanded to face the Kaaba, an ancient shrine in the city of Mecca. The Qur’an also refers to the recitation of parts of the Qur’an as a form of prayer. However, evenwith its numerous references, the Qur’an alone does not give exact instructions for this central ritual of prayer. The most detailed descriptions of the rituals for prayer derive from the example set by the prophet Muhammad and are preserved in later Islamic traditions. Somedetails of these rituals vary, however all Muslims agree t...
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Native Americans of Middle and South America.
A line that snakes across central Mexico near the Tropic of Cancer forms the northern boundary of Mesoamerica; north of this line rainfall sharply declines and theclimate is much drier. The ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica all arose and developed in the area between this line and the Guatemalan highlands far to the south. Richvolcanic soils are found throughout much of the region. A2 People and Languages Mesoamerica was a great melting pot, home to many peoples and interrelated cultures. In...
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Electricity
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INTRODUCTION
Electricity, one of the basic forms of energy.
electrons in the neutral object are attracted to the positive object. Some of these electrons flow to the side of the neutral object that is nearest to the positive object.This side of the neutral object accumulates electrons and becomes negatively charged. Because electrons leave the far side of the neutral object while its protonsremain stationary, that side becomes positively charged. Since the negatively charged side of the neutral object is closest to the positive object, the attraction bet...
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Civil Rights Movement in the United States - U.
The Great Depression of the 1930s increased black protests against discrimination, especially in Northern cities. Blacks protested the refusal of white-owned businessesin all-black neighborhoods to hire black salespersons. Using the slogan “Don't Buy Where You Can't Work,” these campaigns persuaded blacks to boycott thosebusinesses and revealed a new militancy. During the same years, blacks organized school boycotts in Northern cities to protest discriminatory treatment of blackchildren. The bla...
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Cuban Missile Crisis.
inspect ships to determine whether they were carrying weapons. Kennedy warned that if Khrushchev fired missiles from Cuba, the result would be “a full retaliatoryresponse upon the Soviet Union.” Because international law defines a blockade as an act of war, Kennedy and his advisers decided to refer to the blockade as a quarantine. The United States wassupported by other members of the Organization of American States, an organization of nations in the western hemisphere that seek to cooperate on...
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Cuban Missile Crisis - U.
inspect ships to determine whether they were carrying weapons. Kennedy warned that if Khrushchev fired missiles from Cuba, the result would be “a full retaliatoryresponse upon the Soviet Union.” Because international law defines a blockade as an act of war, Kennedy and his advisers decided to refer to the blockade as a quarantine. The United States wassupported by other members of the Organization of American States, an organization of nations in the western hemisphere that seek to cooperate on...
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European Union .
safeguard the interests of the member states, a common assembly with advisory authority only, and a court of justice to settle disputes. D European Economic Community (EEC) In 1957 the participants in the ECSC signed two more treaties, known as the Treaties of Rome. These treaties created the European Atomic Energy Community(Euratom) for the development of peaceful uses of atomic energy and, most important, the European Economic Community (EEC, often referred to as the CommonMarket). The EEC tr...
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United States Government.
Article II establishes an executive department headed by a president and vice president. The article further describes the powers of the offices, the manner of election,and the qualifications for office. Of special significance is the president’s constitutional role as commander of the nation’s armed forces, which assures civilian controlover the military. Because the president is the head of the armed forces and only Congress can declare war, the authority of the military is diffused and its po...
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Colombia - country.
In Bogotá the average high temperature in January is 20°C (68°F), and in July the average high is 19°C (65°F). The highs for the same months in Barranquilla are 32°C(89°F) and 33°C (91°F). Throughout the year, three-month periods of rain and dry weather alternate. Along the Pacific coast precipitation is heavy. At Bogotá the annual rainfall averages about1,060 mm (about 42 in), and in Barranquilla it averages about 800 mm (about 32 in). Dry weather prevails on the slopes of the Cordillera Orient...
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London (England) - geography.
In the northern part of the West End is Bloomsbury, the city’s traditional intellectual center, with its concentration of bookshops and homes of writers and academics. Inthe early 20th century a number of famous writers, critics, and artists who lived here became known as the Bloomsbury Group. Here, too, is the British Museum, one ofLondon’s chief tourist attractions. Nearby is the giant complex of the University of London, whose various colleges and departments have taken over much ofBloomsbury...
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United States Senate.
providing for military forces, and declaring war. Article I, Section 8, also gives Congress implied powers—to “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper” forcarrying out the enumerated powers, and to investigate and oversee the executive branch. The Senate also has the power to conduct impeachment trials against thepresident, federal judges, and other officials. The Senate can only impeach someone after the House brings charges, however. A two-thirds majority vote of thesenators in the c...
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Qur'an.
man who profoundly influenced the history of the world. See Spread of Islam. Muhammad’s home, the Arab city of Mecca, was a major religious center and site of the revered sanctuary and shrine, the Kaaba. According to legend, the ancientreligious patriarch of the Hebrew Bible, Abraham, and his son, Ishmael, built the shrine using foundations laid by the first human being and father of humankind, Adam.During Muhammad’s years there, from about AD 570 to 622, Mecca was also an environment of spir...
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Gemstones.
In the late 1960s a method was developed for “growing” diamonds by heating a diamond particle to a high temperature and subjecting it to methane gas. The gasdecomposes into carbon atoms, which adhere to the diamond crystal. The crystal structure of the enlarged diamond is identical to that of a natural diamond. Diamondsof about 1 carat (200 mg or 0.007 oz) have been produced by this method, but their cost is still considerably higher than that of naturally occurring diamonds. Sapphires are made...
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Nebraska - geography.
by natural resource districts to limit the rate of pumping for irrigation. C Climate Nebraska has a typical continental climate with wide seasonal variations in temperature. C1 Temperature Winter temperatures below -20°C (0° F) and summer temperatures in the upper 30°s C (lower 100°s F) are common. The average January temperature varies from about -7° C (about 20° F) in the northeast to about -2° C (about 29° F) in the southwest. The average for July, thehottest month, ranges from about 26° C...
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Nebraska - USA History.
by natural resource districts to limit the rate of pumping for irrigation. C Climate Nebraska has a typical continental climate with wide seasonal variations in temperature. C1 Temperature Winter temperatures below -20°C (0° F) and summer temperatures in the upper 30°s C (lower 100°s F) are common. The average January temperature varies from about -7° C (about 20° F) in the northeast to about -2° C (about 29° F) in the southwest. The average for July, thehottest month, ranges from about 26° C...
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Radio Astronomy - astronomy.
equivalent to the apparent angular dimensions of a basketball at the distance of the moon. In 1984, the U.S. government appropriated funds for the construction of aninstallation called the very long baseline array (VLBA), a network of 10 radio antennas spread from the U.S.-Canadian border to Puerto Rico and from Hawaii to the U.S.Atlantic coast. The VLBA is expected to provide angular resolutions in the range of 200-millionths of an arc second. Canada and Australia are both planning similarprogr...
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Roman Empire .
A Government Augustus did not derive his power from any single office, but from the authority of his name and his victory. In fact, he carefully pieced together a patchwork of powersthat allowed him to be an absolute ruler and yet avoid the hatred Caesar aroused as dictator. In Latin, the name Augustus implies both political authority and religiousrespect. The Romans had for some time called Octavian imperator , a title once awarded to victorious generals that soon became associated with the r...
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Roman Empire - History.
A Government Augustus did not derive his power from any single office, but from the authority of his name and his victory. In fact, he carefully pieced together a patchwork of powersthat allowed him to be an absolute ruler and yet avoid the hatred Caesar aroused as dictator. In Latin, the name Augustus implies both political authority and religiousrespect. The Romans had for some time called Octavian imperator , a title once awarded to victorious generals that soon became associated with the r...
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American Westward Movement - U.
British expansion. However, Native Americans of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley lashed out against the English in an attempt to preserve their independence, theirland, and their way of life. With the Ottawa chief Pontiac as their most visible leader, the tribes waged a bloody and costly war. As a result, the British governmentdecided to keep the white settlers apart from the Native Americans. It issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, banning all white settlement beyond the Appalachians andstatin...
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Nanotechnology.
ever-finer method of reducing material to the nanoscale size. Instead, nanostructures would be assembled atom by atom and molecule by molecule, from the atomiclevel up, just as occurs in nature. However, assembly at this scale has its own challenges. In school, children learn about some of these challenges when they study the random Brownian motion seen in particles suspended in liquids such as water. Theparticles themselves are not moving. Rather, the water molecules that surround the particles...
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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INTRODUCTION
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an 18th-century Austrian classical composer and one of the most famous musicians of all time,
came from a family of musicians that included his father and sister.
The opera, Mitridati, rè di Ponto (Mithridates, King of Pontus), was produced in 1770 in Milan under Mozart’s direction with success. Also that year the pope made Mozart a knight of the Order of the Golden Spur. A Salzburg and Germany From 1775 to 1780 Mozart was based mainly in Salzburg working for the archbishop Hieronymous von Colloredo. Although dissatisfied with the low pay and limitedopportunities his employment offered, Mozart composed many works during this period, including his first...