Kitchens of the Future

I don’t know about you but, personally I love to cook and spend time in my kitchen. I also love new and exciting gadgets, now with the help of StumbleUpon, I have a wish list for kitchen gadgets I want.
The first items on my list come from The Top 25 Entries of Electrolux Design Lab 2010.

This is the Bio Robot Refrigerator by Yuriy Dmitriev.

How many times have you found yourself throwing away food because it got shoved in the back of the fridge and you forgot it was there? Well not anymore, with the Bio Robot Fridge all of your food is displayed right in front of your face eleminating the "back of the fridge"

"The Bio Robot fridge cools biopolymer gel through luminescence and uses non sticky, odorless gel to envelope stored food as individual pods. Sans doors and drawers, the fridge can be oriented vertical or horizontal, as per the home requirements."

I know I would love this because it would make my life so much easier (maybe even making the impossible, possible...) and food would never go bad by getting lost in the back of the fridge, saving you money, which is never a bad thing.

This is the Qumi Flexible Cooking Unit by Ilia Vostrov

This is a pretty cool concept for the kitchen, one dome that will cook virtually anything via your laptops or cell phones. This will eliminate kitchen clutter from having too many pots and pans and cookware. This also cuts down on the amount of dishes needing to be done.

"Qumi is a fold out universal kitchen set that can be used for heating, frying and steaming a wide variety of food types (including water based meals such as soup). Its supposed to be hung up on the induction charging hook, when not in use. The concept features no display or control panel, and all instructions are supposed to be processed via mobile devices in the network ready home of the future."


The last item on my list comes from Yanko Design and it's called the No More No Less Faucet. I know I hate trying to find a measuring cup every time I'm cooking, only to spend 5 minutes trying to get the perfect amount of water. With the N.M.N.L. faucet you get the perfect amount water every time without needed a measuring cup.

"Designer Jasper Hou is making that fantasy of cooking pleasure a reality with “No More No Less,” a quantitative tap with pre-control. N.M.N.L. does this with a simple countdown, knowing how much water comes out of the tap on full blast times the amount of time it comes out equals the amount you’ll get. Then there’s an LCD screen for control, temperature, and a 30 second on time.
The LCD screen is even powered by the water rushing below it. The 30 second meter turns the faucet off 30 seconds after the last use to make sure there’s no flooding and to assure low energy expenditure.The LCD screen is even powered by the water rushing below it. The 30 second meter turns the faucet off 30 seconds after the last use to make sure there’s no flooding and to assure low energy expenditure."


With all of these cool new gadgets cooking would be a breeze, not to mention a cool way to use new technologies. These items among many others are the new toys we hope to see in our kitchens of the future.

The Society of the Future

by Jake M


Think of all the problems facing modern civilization. Hunger, war, poverty, climate change- the list goes on and on. With all the pressure mounting on governments what can humanity do to maintain a livable planet.

One of the biggest problems is the problem of overpopulation. Many people believe that not too far off in the future there will be too many people and not enough resources. It's an issue because if that happens- total world civilization collapse. So it should be looked at at least just for the sake of avoiding a horrible apocalypse and the end of society.

. The Venus Project is an organization that believes they have the answer that could solve all the problems.

They have proposed a plan that would entail a massive change the likes have never been seen in human history. Their plan calls for humans to live in newly designed eco-friendly cities that use no fossil fuel and run entirely on green energy. They say that if you harness new energy sources like tidal energy cities can run entirely on reusable power of the ocean. The catch, they will be built ON the ocean.

You can have your shoreside mansion now, but in the future you can have your offshore mansion. Using automated water systems and mariculture and fish farming you could feed everyone in the city off of mother nature.

There could be a way to have millions of people without food or shelter to live offshore on the ocean and use the resources available to them that would be both efficient and sustainable. The very idea makes for a great sequel to Waterworld plot if Kevin Costner is interested.

The Jet Pack

We have finally reached the age where personal flight can be achieved. This concept can no longer be deemed a superpower because it is in fact possible and will be available for commercial sale. A company called Martin Aircraft has undertaken the daunting challenge in making a production jet pack. This was not an easy task, they had to borrow millions upon millions from investors, and they are still short on development costs. This goes to show if you wanna make man fly like he wasn't designed to, you gotta pay big time. The good thing for every other company that tries to make this product is they know its achievable, and profitable. When the company first set out to make the product in 1998 their focus was on military and social service sectors. That said there have been talks with over 20 government agencies regarding these machines and their availability. Now this really has no relevance to me, however United States border patrols would be inclined to purchase these for their arsenal given our ongoing border issues with Mexico. Martin company claims they have already have orders to produce at least 500 of these carriers, and have recently announced plans on making commercial flyers, so Bill Gates can fly from one island to the next.

Realistically we won't be seeing these crafts hovering the streets anytime soon, however it's a start to something that will more than likely be a norm to see maybe twenty years from now. There is great hype about this jet pack because it has so much technology from cutting edge research and development. With R&D comes high costs but, as long as investors continue to pump money into this project, Martin Aircraft will continue to develop and hopefully for their sake eventually turn a profit. There is no denying the crafts capabilities. The video is great quality so you can really grasp the heap of a craft literally hovering over the ground. This jet pack is going to make segways archaic. For organizations such as the United States border patrol, and local law enforcement this may be a revolutionary vehicle that will help agents from discovering illegal smuggling across our borders, and chasing criminals through cities. Time will tell when this machine is going to have value in our lives but rest assured its on its way.

http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=13119558

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TBndcBjQFM

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/4220781/Jetpack-firm-eyes-float-to-raise-cash

Witchcraft In The Elizabethan Era

“Witchcraft itself is better characterized than defined, for it has varying creedal, liturgical, psychical, magical, moral, and historical dimensions.”

- Donald Nugent

Homo sapiens have always been fearful of the unknown. Millions of years of evolution have rightfully taught us to be wary of what we don’t understand. However, there is a downside to the safety this cautiousness affords us. When we classify anything as evil, simply because we do not fully understand it, we sacrifice an opportunity to find out something about our universe. The parallel to this of course, is what happens when man embraces the same forces he does not fully understand and goes beyond the point of no return. This is the sort of paradox that’s been intertwined with human history from when our very first prehistoric ancestor decided to pick up a bone and go bash something’s brains out with it. Since something in our superior brains switched on and allowed us to start using tools as technology, the human race has struggled in dealing with its ability to shape the world around it. After all, what is technology if not just a means to an end? As times have changed, we still grapple with what rights and responsibilities go along with man’s unique power. Ultimately, there is no guidebook on how far is too far with technology. The only way to judge the present is to look to the past. In the debate over man’s use of technology in the modern world, a hindsight view of witchcraft in the Elizabethan era may shed light on contemporary scientific divisions. The issues over which are argued may have changed, but the reasons for those opposing viewpoints have remain constant for the 500 years separating the time of witches and today. An understanding can only be gained after the realization is reached that witchcraft half a century ago raised the same social dilemmas as modern technology does today. A comparison of competing ideologies in modern science to those held by both “good” and “bad” witches of the Elizabethan era will prove that witchcraft was not inherently evil as we perceive it in current times, and that it was truly just a primitive form of technology that reflected the either helpful or hurtful intentions of it’s human wielder.

In an effort to prove that witchcraft and those who preformed it were not necessarily wicked, we must first understand the conditions during the Elizabethan era that would act as evidence for the development of this incomplete viewpoint. The renaissance fractured the climate of the medieval ages in Europe and brought and paradigm shift to the way we explain the laws of or universe. Where once magic was an acceptable answer, this revolution in thought now demanded reason and evidence. Thus was gained the recognition of science in Europe. In the midst of this transition lay witchcraft. As an art of rituals that was rooted in mysticism, witchcraft was certainly shrouded in magic and forces beyond that of the physical universe. The reverse of this was the science in witchcraft that gave legitimacy to its power. For every superfluous ounce of deer’s blood added to a witch’s brew, equal quantities of actual poisons or opiates or hallucinogens may have been present. In her article, All Was This Hind Full Fill’d Of Faerie, Lauren Kassel gets to the crux of witchcraft’s place in this era. “The age of oracles had passed, miracles had ceased, protestant clerics had rejected the rituals of Rome, spirits and fairies had vanished, yet witches and conjurors were granted the abilities to command these obsolete powers.” ( Kassel) Essentially, witchcraft was caught between the doubts founded in reason and the anger born from religion. Nevertheless, witchcraft was able to stay afloat through this time of change and two contrasting branches of thought on the matter were able to form. This archetypical duel between those who wish to use their power for good and those who's intent was far more devious, played out in the theories of white and black witchcraft. Another excerpt from All Was This Hind Full Fill’d Of Faerie, proves that despite or modern view on European witchcraft, the populace of that era was fully aware of this distinction. “The wise women and the witches ‘were believed to be two separate species’ by the common people.” ( Kassel ) In order to see how the two types of witches represent opposing views on modern science the mysteries about their differences must be cleared up.

It is best to start from a point of common knowledge. When we hear the term witch, and our minds immediately jump to Satan worshippers and long black robes, what we are in fact imagining is only half of Elizabethan witchcraft. These nefarious workers of the night are what was considered black witches and were purveyors of the dark arts. These individuals brewed potions to manipulate the mind and trick the senses. They carried out bizarre ceremonies and were known to cast spells to harm others. Arguably, most black witches were less evil and more misunderstood. Old, poor, and widowed women were usually the targets of these claims and their problems were usually results of their surroundings. Regardless, there were those who used both the application of black witchcraft and they’re reputations as witches to overpower others. As Donald Nugent said in the Renaissance And/of Witchcraft, “Witchcraft relates to the will-to-power and has probably been more reactionary than anything.” He furthers the point be adding, “Perhaps the demonic is present wherever power is exalted over compassion.” ( Nugent ) Realistically, paranoia in a time of superstition meant many false claims of dangerous witchcraft. However, when focusing on only those who were truly black “witches” we must recognize that they used their power for personal gain at the expense of others.

It is with the knowledge that witchcraft was used as a technology with the capacity for destruction in the case of black witchcraft, that we can relate it to a pessimistic view of modern science. Anyone who would develop weapons to level cities or create propaganda to reach political means is the modern day equivalent to that black witchcraft. Technology has improved as we demand more and more efficient ways of killing each other but the idea of overcoming one another to meet our goals remains the same. The reasons behind the actions can be as varied in the modern world as they were in the Elizabethan era but this existence of those who would destroy with the power there given shows that this is a human trait and not something inseparable from witchcraft.

The yin to the yang of black witchcraft, was the art of the white witches. Often referred to as healers or cunning folk these individuals where much harder to classify then there black witch peers. Richard A. Horsley explains their function in the scholarly review, Further Reflections On Witchcraft And European Folk Religion.

“The cunning folk of the English country side were the leaders and practitioners of the people's religion as well as their folk medicine. The medical, divinatory, and other religious services provided by these wise women and men possessed of special supernatural powers and religious techniques were far more important in the lives of the people than the official religion. It has been estimated that the cunning folk were at least as numerous in sixteenth-century England as the official parish clergy. The services they performed were… divination of all sorts, finding of lost objects, disclosure of thieves, healing through folk medicine and enchantments, love magic, protective magic, and often midwifery. Some were specialists. Some offered a comprehensive range of services. Sometimes they drew on Christian religious language for incantations and prayers, while at other times their practices had no relation to established religious belief.” ( Horsley )

Though the white witch’s intentions appeared to be along the lines of aiding the community and using their skills as occupation, some still viewed any witchcraft as evil.

This leaps the gap to modern times where scientists still battle with ideological opponents over the morality of their work. White witches faced this principle stated in, Magic, White and Black: The Renaissance Magician as the Master of Occult Knowledge. “Those who used herbs for cures did so only through a pact with the Devil, either explicit or implicit.” ( Goff ) The same view is taken by some groups on the issue of stem cell research, for example. While scientists would defend their use of technology is for the greater good and general benefit of mankind, individuals who disagree with the process and not the intentions act to stop this modern day “witchcraft.” The white witches faced there on competitors and critics in their own lifetimes.

All witches faced obstacles, just as all modern scientists do. The difference in approach by both brands of witchcraft is what splits the two but is also what connects them to their present counterparts. The thread that ties all form of witches and scientists together would be their ability to shape the world around them.

In the end, the significance that we can attribute to the literal distinction between white and black witchcraft is minimal. As time trudges forward, the amount of relevant information we need to fit into our history textbooks will surely eradicate any traces of this separation of perceived good and evil. Even in modern times, common knowledge that not all witches had malicious intentions has begun to fade. Our popular media depicts witches as demonic in almost every instance and almost all children in western civilization are raised with a negative association to the word “witchcraft.” However, the true nature of this archaic division is far less trivial and unforgettable because it runs parallel to human existence. The transcendental feud between the use of control over our surroundings for either helpful or hurtful purposes is from the most primal level to the peak of human intellectuality, a divide that spans all of human history. The duality of man spawns from both his ability to shape the world around him for his own benefit, and the inherent responsibility that accompanies this power, which is that man must then also be a defender for the world around him. There were those individuals who, half a century ago, would use witchcraft to destroy, as there are those who would now use technology to destroy. The same can be said for individuals who would use their powers to save. When once we had potions, now we have nuclear bombs and what was once a healing ointment is, now a prescription drug. As the means-to-an-end changed from witchcraft to technology, and the answer to a question went from magic to science, mankind’s intentions have not. In this way, witchcraft in the Elizabethan Era cannot be classified as either beneficial or detrimental to mankind in the same way technology cannot be. If nothing else can be gained from this look into the past, then we should at least recognize the respect with which the unknown should be dealt. A sense of cautiousness should be applied alongside a natural inclination towards curiosity and most of all; judgment should be made only after adequate information is understood, for every encounter in our universe.

Works Consulted

De Blécourt, Willem. "Witch Doctors, Soothsayers and Priests. On Cunning Folk in European Historiography AndTradition." Social History 19.3 (1993): 285-303. JSTOR. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. .

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Horsley, Richard A. "Further Reflections on Witchcraft and European Folk Religion." History of Religions 19.1 (1979): 71-95. Jstor. The University of Chicago Press, Aug. 1979. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. .

Kassell, Lauren. "“All was this hind full fill'd of faerie,” or Magic and the Past in Early Modern England." Journal of the History of Ideas 67.1 (2006): 107-122. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 16 Oct. 2010

"Magic, White and Black: The Renaissance Magician as the Master of Occult Knowledge." Associated Content - Associatedcontent.com. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.

Nugent, Donald. "“The Renaissance And/of Witchcraft”." Jstor. Donald NugentSource: Church History, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Mar., 1971), Pp. 69-78Published By: Cambridge University Press on Behalf of the American Society of Church History, Mar. 1971. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. .

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Astronomy (Microcosm and macrocosm)

Isabella Panero, Nicole Brazill, Fletcher Ramsey, Jacob Brendler

Abstract

Space Exploration

Our exhibit piece discusses the events that led to the evolution of space exploration. The time period ranges from before the Renaissance, during, after, all the way up to modern day. The information in the time line covers each of those time periods in great detail. All of the events on the timeline were significant to development of technology in space.
The first section of the time line is before the Renaissance. Around 1700 B.C a collection of clay tablets called, “prayer to the gods of the night” are the oldest record of constellations known. The writings are from old Babylon and include four constellations, including “the wagon”, which was the Babylonian notation for Ursa Major (the big dipper). The first known record of a Geometric Planetary model is expressed by Greek astronomer and mathematician Eudoxus of Cnidus in 350 B.C. Determining a geometric model to attempt to explain the planets and suns movement was a large branch of the study of astronomy for the Greeks. Occurring from the 1300's to about 1700, Timbuktu, now a desolate town was once rich city, filled with a wealth of knowledge of various sciences. Until recently Africa's involvement in astronomy was unknown. However scientists recently uncovered thousands of manuscripts detailing the flow of knowledge into the city. One of the topics covered was astronomy, which at the time was hundreds of years ahead of European knowledge.
The next and potentially most important time period was the Renaissance. In April of 1611, Galileo demonstrated his new telescope to prominent observers in a villa outside of Rome. Observers were impressed by Galileo’s ability to use his optic tube to read inscriptions carved on a distant building. Julius Caesar Lagalla disputed the ability of the telescope accurately to show objects on the moon. The telescope became a perfect figure for reading because it, like reading, was understood as a technology of mediated knowledge. This time period is characterized by a new attention to the visual texture of the world as observers learn to see with a precision that made things both more minute and greatly magnified. Galileo and Cavendish adapted the visual technology of the telescope into a model of reading. Galileo introduced distortions into his engraving as a way of underlining the necessary distortion of the telescope. Galileo is one of the first astronomers to publish accounts of his work with the telescope. In 1608, the telescope was invented. The telescope occupies a position of historic preeminence, rivaled only by the microscope. The telescope can be considered the prototype of modern scientific instruments and learned men in the seventeenth century; the first century of its existence. News about the telescope spread quickly through Europe. Galileo states that he was not the first inventor of the telescope. Before the telescope could be invented, lenses had to exist. Lenses were precious stones grounded to lens-like shapes and used as magnifiers or as visual aids for people with defective sight to see better. Lenses were invented around 1450. For the telescope to work, there has to be two lenses of suitable focal lengths. With a Concave lens you can see small things afar off, very clearly and with Convex you can see things nearer to be greater. If you put both lenses together you can see things afar off and things near hand, both greater and clearly. In 1611-1687, Johannes Hevelius reflected on the difference between his own work and that of Galileo. Hevelius believed Galileo lacked a sufficiently good telescope, or he could not be sufficiently attentive to those observations of his, or most likely, he was ignorant of the art of picturing and drawing, which art serves this work greatly and no less than acute vision, patience, and toil. What separated Hevelius’s engravings of the moon from Galileo’s renditions was not so much technology or talent as a difference in the status of pictorial information in the science of astronomy. In 1564-1642, Galileo showed a number of pictures of the moon as seen through the telescope. The possibilities for transmitting pictorial statements changed in the Renaissance. Three interrelated factors contributed to a new approach to scientific illustrations: naturalism, perspective, and printing.
Many different types of telescopes continued to develop after the period of the Renaissance. The Keplerian Telescope was invented in 1611 by a German mathematician-astronomer, Johannes Kepler. This telescope differs from the Galilean telescope because it has a negative lens. This type of telescope actually, “appeared less than a year after Galileo's initial announcement of his astronomical discoveries” (Optics of the Galilean Telescope). Along with the telescope came lenses. “In 1733 a wealthy amateur astronomer, Chester Moor Hall, constructed the first achromatic or compound objective, with one component made of flint glass and the other of crown glass” (Refracting Telescopes). On March 13th, 1781 William Herschel discover Uranus and determined that it was, “1.787 million miles from the Sun and it takes 84 years to complete a revolution about the Sun” (Dunkerson). “By the time Herschel got the credit for discovery, it was in the constellation Gemini” (Dunkerson). The planet was actually spotted many times before its discovery, years later. Some other details about Uranus that were observed were that, “It is so small because it is so far from us though it is 32,500 miles in diameter. Its mass is 14.6 times as much as that of the Earth. Uranus rotates in 17.3 hours” (Dunkerson). There are 11 rings around Uranus and it has 22 moons.
The time line also discusses noteworthy events that have recently occurred. Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched into space by the United States of America. It was launched into space January 31st 1958, where it was put into orbit around the earth. The Mars Pathfinder Mission was a series of rovers that were sent to Mars (launched on December 4th 1996) that arrived on July 4th 1997. They were sent to Mars to roam the surface so that we could learn more about the planet that we didn’t know. NASA sent a new rover to Mars in 2003 where it is still roaming. Apollo 11 was the mission that landed the first man on the moon who was Neil Armstrong. It launched from Earth on July 16th 1969 and landed on the moon on July 20th 1969. The Voyager program was a NASA operation that sent two unmanned probes into space to take detailed photographs of the solar system that will give Earth detailed information about the solar system. Voyager 1 was launched on September 5th 1977. Voyager 2 was launched August 20th 1977. Gliese 581g is a planet that was recently discovered about 20 light years away. The planet discovered is believed to be earth-like with the potential for life. This provides a plausible answer to the argument of whether life exists somewhere other than Earth. The Hubble Telescope is a telescope that orbits the earth in space. The Hubble was launched into orbit on April 22nd 1990. This telescope is the largest telescope with a variety of purposes. It just recently celebrated its 20th anniversary in orbit.
It is obvious that technology has progressed immensely over the years. The research that went into the time line in our exhibit piece shows just how much technology has progressed. We went from studying constellations and planets to actually traveling into space. As the time line of space technology continues, we will see many more advancements in space.



Works Consulted

Abraham, Curtis. “Stars of the Sahara.” New Scientist 195.2617 (2007): 39-41.

Angelo, Joseph A. Space Technology. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2003. Print.

Bell, Edwin V. Neptune. 2001. Photograph. NSSDC Photo Gallery Neptune, Greenbelt, MD

Cowen, Ron. "Happy 20th, Hubble. (Cover story)." Science News 177.8 (2010): 16-21. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 17 Oct. 2010.

David, Leonard. "Apollo 11." Ad Astra 3.6 (1991): 32. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.

Dunkerson, Duane. "Uranus." Astrobrief Home Page. 2004. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.

Houlding, Deborah. Ptolomy Planet Chart. 2003. Photograph.

Galileo. 2009. Photograph. WordPress Entries

Goldstein, Bernard R. “The Status of Models in Ancient and Medieval Astronomy.” Centaurus 50. ½ (2008): 168-183

Jankvist, Uffe Thomas, and Bjørn Toldbod. "Mars Exploration Rover." Montana Mathematics Enthusiast 4.2 (2007): 154-173. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Oct. 2010.

"NASA - Explorer 1 Overview." NASA - Home. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. .

"Optics of the Galilean Telescope." Optics of the Singlet Refractor: Galileo vs. Kepler. 4 May 2009.Web. 15 Oct. 2010. .

Overbye, Dennis. "New Planet May Be Able To Nurture Organisms." New York Times 30 Sept. 2010: 28. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Oct. 2010.

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Web. 10 Oct. 2010.

Scantamburio, Luca. Apollo II. 2007. Photograph.
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(2006): 96-101.

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Sidoli, Nathan. “Heron's Dioptra 35 and Analemma Methods: An Astronomical Determination of
the Distance between Two Cities.” Centaurus 47.3 (2005): 236-258


Spiller, Elizabeth Albert. Reading through Galileo's Telescope: Margaret Cavendish and the Experience of Reading. Vol. 53. Chicago: Univeristy of Chicago, 2000. Print. No. 1.
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Winkler, Mary G., and Albert Van Helden. Representing the Heavens: Galileo and Visual Astronomy. Vol. 83. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1992. Print. No. 2.

Abstract

Rachel, Jess, Jesston, Tommy

Abstract

Mad Science

Amputation originated with the idea of giving a sense of wholeness and balance back to an individual who had lost some part of their body. Most religions feared that if an amputee lost a limb in this world, they would not be allowed to reclaim it in the next (Thurston). However as science advanced, amputees found they could regain more and more function from their fake limbs than they originally believe. Today, scientists are closer than ever to fully replacing what was lost by an amputee. As science begins to catch up to nature, a couple of questions inevitably arise. When does science surpass nature? What if people start to get prosthetic implants not to replace what has been lost, but to improve on what they have? Some already believe the next great evolution in humanity will not be a biological one, but one from technology.
In 1500 BC, First recorded prosthetic was made in Egypt. A gigantic toe made of leather and wood was found on a mummy buried within the tomb of Mery, a priest of Amun. In 484 BC, A Persian soldier escaped imprisonment by cutting off his leg than replacing it with a copper and wooden prosthetic. It was in 1505, a time where most prosthetics were modified crutches and hooks, that Gotz von Berlichinger, losing his hand in battle, replaced it with an Iron hand, which allowed for him to continue fighting and gave him the nickname “Gotz of the iron hand” (Thurston).
Ambroise Pare who lived between the years of 1510-1590, made great strides in the medical world with this work on making amputation more survivable. He designed a mechanical hand that uses catches and springs to operate. He also designed an above-knee which facilitated such features as a locking knee and a suspension harness. Such features are still used today in modern prosthetics.
During the battle of Waterloo in 1815, Henry William, Lord Paget, the first Marquess of Anglesey, known as The Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, took a bullet through his right knee. Amputation was needed immediately, no time for anesthetic. Williams was fitted with a leg designed by James Potts of London, and thus it became known as the “Anglesey Leg”. It consists of a wooden shank, a steel knee joint and an articulated foot (Thurston). While the materials that made the prosthetics advanced with time, the design didn’t really change. Not until 1984, when Van Phillips, an amputee himself, designed the flex foot. Made of carbon graphite, the flex foot allowed the wearer to run and jump, just as he or she could with a real foot. This allowed many amputees to live much more active lives (Inventor).
In a horrible accident happened in the year 2001, Jesse Sullivan, working with high power electrical wires, was horribly electrocuted, resulting in both of his harms having to be amputated. A few months later, Jesse was fitted with myoelectric arm devices, which uses nerve-muscle grafts to detect the desired motion the user wants. To put it simply, Jesse needs only to think of what he wants the arm to do and it will do it. For this device to work, nerves that once went to the lost limbs are attached to the healthy muscle, for Jesse it was his chest muscles. Those nerves grow, and when a person thinks about a certain movement for their arm, a certain portion of the new muscle will contract. The device will then read such contractions and implement them (Introducing).
Not more than four years ago, Stéphane Bédard, founder and Chief Operating Officer of Victhom’s Biotronix Division developed the power knee. Vaguely similar to its ancestor the Anglesey Leg, the power knee is an above the knee prosthetic with a built in computer that gets cues from the wearers other original leg. The power knee devise basically copies the repetitive movement from the other leg, which allows for the amputee to move around in a more natural way (Power Knee).

The Philosopher’s Stone is a substance that was highly sought after by alchemists during the middle ages and actually all throughout history. During the fifth century, Zosimus was the first person to think about the basics of the Philosopher’s Stone and try to discover it. It was believed that every metal; zinc, aluminum, lead, etc, had remnants of silver and gold. The Philosopher’s Stone was supposed to extract those remnants of gold and silver and transform that metal into gold or silver. Another thing that the Philosopher’s Stone did for its creator, and something much more amazing, was give eternal life and immortality. This was the real reason why so many people wanted to get their hands on it. It was thought even back to ancient China that gold had immortal powers and if a human consumed it then they would also become immortal (Philosopher’s Stone). This may be one of the reasons why people thought it could create immortality.

The Philosophers Stone and the ideas and ways of thinking that revolved around it all dealt with balance of nature and life and finding the answers to the universe. One of the recipes for the stone that Zosimus created included the lines, “…to distill this liquor for the purpose of separating the spiritual water, air, and fire, to fix the mercurial body in the spiritual water or to distill the spirit of liquid mercury found in it, to putrefy all…” (Philosopher’s Stone). In the picture that I have at the top of my display you can see that it’s divided into different segments. This diagram is meant to symbolize the base metal (worldly) transforming into gold (spiritual). The circle around the outside represents the cosmos, conscious, and God. The circle is meant to represent man and woman or mind over matter. The triangle represents the trinity of the human body; mind, body, and spirit. Lastly, the four sides of the square represent the four basic elements of alchemy; earth, wind, fire, and water.

Nicholas Flamel was one of the alchemists that wanted to discover the Philosopher’s Stone. Legend says that him and his wife Pernelle worked diligently and created the Philosopher’s Stone. It is also commonly believed that Flamel died when he was about 80 years old. The next question is how could the guy who discovered the Philosopher’s Stone die at age 80? Well that is something that Paul Lucas was wondering (Nicholas Flamel). He was an architect that was sent to France to study the science that they had. He was in a conversation with a Turk and he was very knowledgeable about alchemy and the Philosopher’s Stone. He told Lucas that Flamel was still alive and has been for 1000 years. This is all very far-fetched but interesting nonetheless.

Flamel was also a character in J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The Sorcerer’s Stone in this book is a direct reference to the Philosopher’s Stone. Rowling used Flamel as the creator of the Sorcerer’s Stone also which I find very interesting because all of the other characters are fictitious. Voldemort is trying to get his hands on the Sorcerer’s Stone because he is dying and needs the stone to live. While there are some differences to the two stones they are obviously direct relatives to each other.

Cloning is the act of replicating another being down to the genetics. Not only will a clone look like the thing that it is replicated it will also have all the same genes. There are multiple types of cloning and these different technologies “can be used for other purposes besides producing the genetic twin of another organism” (Cloning). The three types of cloning techniques are recombinant DNA technology, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. The uses of cloning are very important. “When it becomes possible to clone a human being, cloning could be used to save people’s lives” (McMahan) and this will be a breakthrough for the medical field. However, if you look at the Bible for answers on whether cloning is ethical you will find that it tells you it is not. One verse that stands out is, “Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3). Many argue that if you use a clone for transplantation it is unethical because you will essentially be killing the clone when the transplant occurs. The debate on what is ethical with cloning is ongoing and will be for many years. Another ethical issue that has been brought up is that “25 percent of cloned animals have overt problems… culturing or handling of the embryos can lead to developmental errors” (Choi), this causes individuals to feel uneasy when we are talking about actual individuals verse animals. No one wants to have to worry about being charged with murder when they are trying to keep themselves healthy but that is the issue at hand with having a clone. Cloning opens many doors in the medical field but it is not a clear cut issue. There are many grey areas when talking about cloning and those need to be cleared up before any major cloning is performed.

Josef Mengele was a true mad scientist. He was a nazi-era doctor that did his studies on humans. His studies almost always involved torture and/or death. Some experiments involved inflicting disease and trying to cure it. He did several experiments with malaria where he would test various pharmaceuticals on people he inflicted with malaria. This often led to a torturous death. He also would cause phosphorus burns and then attempt to treat them, torturing whomever his subject of the day was. Another goal of his was to find out a way to make salt water drinkable. Subjects would be starved and the only thing made available to them was “treated” salt water. He did several experiments on curing hypothermia where he would put people in cold for hours. Those that lived were then “warmed up” using various means. Still others were subjected to purposeful cuts. “To investigate the effectiveness of sulfanilamide. Wounds deliberately inflicted on the victims were infected with bacteria such as streptococcus, gas gangrene, and tetanus. Circulation of blood was interrupted by tying off blood vessels at both ends of the wound to create a condition similar to that of a battlefield wound. Infection was aggravated by forcing wood shavings and ground glass into the wounds. The infection was treated with sulfanilamide and other drugs to determine their effectiveness. Many victims died as a result of these experiments and others suffered serious injury and intense agony.” (Bülow, Louis)

There is a lot of modern controversy over Mengele’s experiments and whether or not we should use his findings. On one hand, we will never be able to replicate his results and some of his findings have significant importance in health. These people would have died in vain. On the other hand, the findings were gotten in such an unethical fashion, how could we use them? Would we just be shrugging off the deaths?

Works Consulted

Behling, Laura L. "Replacing the Patient: The Fiction of Prosthetics in Medical Practice." Journal of Medical Humanities 2005th ser. Vol. 26.Issue 1 (2005): 53-66. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Oct. 2010.

Bülow, Louis. "Josef Mengele and the Medical Experiments." Josef Mengele, The Angel Of Death. 2010. Web. .

Choi, Charles Q. "cloning of a human." Scientific American 302.6 (2010): 36-38. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct. 2010

"Cloning Ethics." Popular Issues - AllAboutPopularIssues.org. 2002. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/cloning-ethics.htm.

"Cloning Fact Sheet." Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Web. 15 Sept. 2010. http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml#whatis

"Dolly the Sheep." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Web. 15 Sept. 2010. http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/d/dolly_the_sheep.htm

Greig, David. "Ossur Rolls-out next Generation POWER KNEE." Gizmag. Gizmag, 24 Apr. 2009. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.

"Introducing Jesse Sullivan, the World's First "Bionic Man"" Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, #1 Rehabilitation Hospitat in America. Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.

"Inventor of the Week Archive - Flex-Foot." Lemelson-MIT Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jan. 2007. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.

Lifton, Robert Jay. The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide. New York: Basic, 2000. Print.

McMahan, Jeff. "Cloning, Killing and Identity." Journal of Medical Ethics. 2nd ed. Vol. 25. BMJ Group, 1999. 77-86. JSTOR. Web. .

Morales, Nestor Micheli. "Psychological aspects of human cloning and genetic manipulation: the identity and uniqueness of human beings." Reproductive BioMedicine Online 19.S2 (2009): 43-50. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Oct. 2010.

"Nicholas Flamel - Crystalinks." Crystalinks Home Page. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. <http://www.crystalinks.com/flamel.html>.

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Alchemy

For centuries the study and practice of alchemy was regarded as a sacred ritual. Alchemists held great esteem in early societies and their influence continued well into the Middle Ages. In fact, it wasn’t until scientific discoveries and advancements in the study of compositional matter in the 1700s did modern science replace alchemy as the dominant force for thinking in western civilization. Even with the decline of alchemy, there is still a place for it in modern society. Many scholars today are beginning to look back at the origins of alchemy and what alchemists tried to accomplish as a way to gain a greater understanding of its effect on the development of chemistry as a science.
The earliest documentation of the practicing of alchemy can be found in ancient Egypt. However, it spread to other parts of the world such as India, Persia, Asia and ancient Greece. It seemed to have flourished in the city of Alexandria right after Alexander the Great conquered the city in 330 B.C.
Shortly thereafter the city was the intellectual capital of the world and attracted scholars from all over. At that time the idea of chemistry, that is- the idea of a separate science apart from alchemy did not exist. As such, the Greek thinkers, specifically Aristotle and Plato’s views on physical science and matter were the most widely accepted views. Alchemy was a purely chemical endeavor and “based on the idea of formation and transmutation of metals from a lesser state to gold. (Ragai 60).
Eventually the mixture of Greek thinking and Egyptian astrology turned alchemy towards a more supernatural realm. The search for the perfect metal began to be perceived as a metaphor for the search of the perfect human soul.
This idea of transmutation is only possible however with the use of an elixir and is said to create a mystical substance known as the Philosopher’s Stone. Many alchemists believed this would grant the person who made it eternal life or immortality.
The concept of the Philosopher’s Stone is an almost universal theme in all cultures and civilizations. A study found that there were over 170 working synonyms of the idea that could be used ( Read 28). The origin of the Stone is believed to come from an ancient Hindu text, where Shiva, possesses an alchemical medium where the body turns to immortal gold ( Hagen). Since that time it has been elaborated on and spread to many different places.
The concept of the Philosopher’s Stone and the practice of alchemy made its way to Europe and continued into the Middle Ages. The teachings and views of Aristotle and the Greek thinkers were the accepted model of thinking during those times. Alchemy and its mystical aspects were based on this model of thinking and was unchallenged by science up until that point. This was partly because early chemists had a lack of reliable equipment and measuring materials, making experiments with consistent and accurate results difficult to accomplish.
Aristotle believed that all matter was made up of four “fundamental” elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. He believed that since everything was made up of these elements you could transmute an object to another completely different object by rearranging its fundamental particles (Haynes 269)
However as scientific advancements increased, such as the discovery of oxygen, Aristotle’s views began to get challenged for the first time in a thousand years. Another advantage new technology gave chemists was the ability to measure heat, which allowed chemists to heat up metal to specific degrees and not have to estimate the temperature. This made experiments easier to perform and record (Paneth 416) Other advancements include better materials, the discovery of atoms, and Robert Boyle’s discovery of the vacuum.
Many modern scholars would agree that modern alchemy is more about learning about it then actually doing it. It is important to look back and analyze the place this ancient superstitious tradition has in our modern scientific society. Many scholars have found that “medieval alchemists stumbled on experimental techniques and chemical properties which are consonant with modern chemistry” (Ragai 72)
In the medieval worldview its important to realize that alchemy, mystical theology and practical chemistry were blended together and the lines between them blurred.
Even in today’s time, people are still fascinated by alchemy and the idea of the Philosopher’s Stone. The idea of transmutation and its application beyond metals to an allegorical meaning about the human condition still has relevance now as much as it did during the time of the Renaissance. If we can look at alchemy as a blend of science and philosophy we can learn that even though a chemist might not consider alchemy legitimate, a philosopher would embrace the idea of being able to transform one’s soul.
It is crucial to understand that although alchemy may have no practical use to us, we can still learn from examining the path it laid for the development of chemistry. Distinguished thinkers such as Isaac Newton and Rene Descartes both dabbled in alchemy, as well as many other learned scholars making one wonder what could have made them want to indulge in that subject? Was it the lure of everlasting life or divine knowledge? Or was it simply looking for an answer for how Nature worked? When asked about practicing alchemy Newton declared his motive was, “ to discern the activity of God in all of Nature.” (Browne 8) Science may have taken over alchemy’s place, but it hasn’t wiped out its historical significance.


Works Consulted

Browne, Malcolm. “Alchemy: Clues to Chemistry”, International Herald Tribune, (April 12 1990) 8

Cherubim, By David. "Alchemy: The Black Art." Multidisciplinary View of the Religious, Spiritual and Esoteric Phenomena. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. Eamon, William. "Alchemy in Popular Culture: Leonardo Fioravanti and the Search for the Philosopher's Stone." JSTOR.

Hagen, William E. "The Philosopher's Stone." JSTOR. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.

Haynes, William. “Out of Alchemy into Chemistry”. The Scientific Monthly. Vol. 75 No. 5. 1952

Paneth, Fritz. “Ancient and Modern Alchemy”. Science. Vol. 64, No. 1661. Oct 1926. Pg 409-417

Ragai, Jehane. "The Philosopher's Stone: Alchemy and Chemistry." JSTOR. JSTOR. Web. 13 Oct. 2010

Read, John. Prelude to Chemistry (New York: The Macmillan Company 1937)