Sunday, October 31
Ancient Samhain
After the harvest work was complete, celebrants joined with Druid priests to light a community fire using a wheel that would cause friction and spark flames. The wheel was considered a representation of the sun and used along with prayers. Cattle were sacrificed, and participants took a flame from the communal bonfire back to their home to relight the hearth.
Early texts present Samhain as a mandatory celebration lasting three days and three nights where the community was required to show themselves to local kings or chieftains. Failure to participate was believed to result in punishment from the gods, usually illness or death.
There was also a military aspect to Samhain in Ireland, with holiday thrones prepared for commanders of soldiers. Anyone who committed a crime or used their weapons during the celebration faced a death sentence.
Some documents mention six days of drinking alcohol to excess, typically mead or beer, along with gluttonous feasts.
Samhain Monsters
Because the Celts believed that the barrier between worlds was breachable during Samhain, they prepared offerings that were left outside villages and fields for fairies, or Sidhs.
It was expected that ancestors might cross over during this time as well, and Celts would dress as animals and monsters so that fairies were not tempted to kidnap them.
Some specific monsters were associated with the mythology surrounding Samhain, including a shape-shifting creature called a Pukah that receives harvest offerings from the field. The Lady Gwyn is a headless woman dressed in white who chases night wanderers and was accompanied by a black pig.
The Dullahan sometimes appeared as impish creatures, sometimes headless men on horses who carried their heads. Riding flame-eyed horses, their appearance was a death omen to anyone who encountered them.
A group of hunters known as the Faery Host might also haunt Samhain and kidnap people. Similar are the Sluagh, who would come from the west to enter houses and steal souls.
Myths of Samhain
One of the most popular Samhain stories told during the festival was of “The Second Battle of Mag Tuired,” which portrays the final conflict between the Celtic pantheon known as the Tuatha de Danann and evil oppressors known as the Fomor. The myths state that the battle unfolded over the period of Samhain.
One of the most famous Samhain-related stories is “The Adventures of Nera,” in which the hero Nera encounters a corpse and fairies, and enters into the Otherworld.
Samhain figured into the adventures of mythological Celtic hero Fionn mac Cumhaill when he faced the fire-breathing underworld dweller Aillen, who would burn down the Hall of Tara every Samhain.
Samhain also figures into another Fionn mac Cumhaill legend, where the hero is sent to the Land Beneath the Wave. As well as taking place on Samhain, it features descriptions of the hero’s holiday gatherings.
Ancient Celts
The Celts were a collection of tribes with origins in central Europe that shared a similar language, religious beliefs, traditions and culture. It’s believed that the Celtic culture started to evolve as early as 1200 B.C. The Celts spread throughout western Europe—including Britain, Ireland, France and Spain—via migration. Their legacy remains most prominent in Ireland and Great Britain, where traces of their language and culture are still prominent today.
The existence of the Celts was first documented in the seventh or eighth century B.C. The Roman Empire, which ruled much of southern Europe at that time, referred to the Celts as “Galli,” meaning barbarians.
However, the Celts (pronounced with a hard “c” or “k” sound) were anything but barbarians, and many aspects of their culture and language have survived through the centuries.
Where Did The Celts Come From?
By the third century B.C., the Celts controlled much of the European continent north of the Alps mountain range, including present-day Ireland and Great Britain.
It is these islands off Europe’s western coast in which Celtic culture was allowed to survive and thrive, as the Roman Empire expanded on the European continent. Beginning with the reign of Julius Caesar in the first century B.C., the Romans launched a military campaign against the Celts, killing them by the thousands and destroying their culture in much of mainland Europe.
Caesar’s Roman armies attempted an invasion of Britain at this time, but were unsuccessful, and thus the Celtic people established a homeland there. As a result, many of their cultural traditions remain evident in present-day Ireland, Scotland and Wales, even now.
By the third century B.C., the Celts controlled much of the European continent north of the Alps mountain range, including present-day Ireland and Great Britain.
It is these islands off Europe’s western coast in which Celtic culture was allowed to survive and thrive, as the Roman Empire expanded on the European continent. Beginning with the reign of Julius Caesar in the first century B.C., the Romans launched a military campaign against the Celts, killing them by the thousands and destroying their culture in much of mainland Europe.
Caesar’s Roman armies attempted an invasion of Britain at this time, but were unsuccessful, and thus the Celtic people established a homeland there. As a result, many of their cultural traditions remain evident in present-day Ireland, Scotland and Wales, even now.
Celtics in Spain: The Galatians
Several tribes made up the larger population of the Celtic people. Indeed, the Gaels, Gauls, Britons, Irish and Galatians were all Celtic tribes.
The Galatians occupied much of the Asturias region of what is now northern Spain, and they successfully fought off attempted invasions by both the Romans and the Moors, the latter ruling much of present-day southern Spain.
Evidence of Galatian tradition remains in the region today. Descendants of the Galatians still participate in ancient outdoor dances, accompanied by bagpipes, an instrument that is often associated with more well-known Celtic regions such as Scotland and Ireland.
In addition, a Celtic symbol called the “Cruz de la Victoria” (similar to a Celtic cross) adorns the regional flag. The Galatians also settled in nearby Galicia, a region on the northwest coast of Spain.
Several tribes made up the larger population of the Celtic people. Indeed, the Gaels, Gauls, Britons, Irish and Galatians were all Celtic tribes.
The Galatians occupied much of the Asturias region of what is now northern Spain, and they successfully fought off attempted invasions by both the Romans and the Moors, the latter ruling much of present-day southern Spain.
Evidence of Galatian tradition remains in the region today. Descendants of the Galatians still participate in ancient outdoor dances, accompanied by bagpipes, an instrument that is often associated with more well-known Celtic regions such as Scotland and Ireland.
In addition, a Celtic symbol called the “Cruz de la Victoria” (similar to a Celtic cross) adorns the regional flag. The Galatians also settled in nearby Galicia, a region on the northwest coast of Spain.
Saturday, October 30
Solar Power Global Leader is CHINA
© Getty Images
China, the world’s largest carbon emitter, is on the cusp of a clean energy transition as new solar power becomes cheaper than coal throughout most of the country, according to a new study.
By 2023, China will have the capacity to deploy solar power nationwide at the same price as coal, and currently has that ability in three-quarters of the country, according to a joint study from Harvard, Tsinghua, Nankai and Renmin universities.
“Today subsidy-free solar power has become cheaper than coal power in most parts of China” in a trajectory spreading across the country, study coauthor Xi Lu said in a statement.
While the country is a long way from tapping that theoretical potential, the new research highlights “a crucial energy transition point” at which solar becomes a “cheaper alternative to coal-fired electricity and a more grid-compatible option,” said co-author Michael McElroy.
By 2060, the study found, China will have the capacity to meet 43 percent of its power needs with solar energy that costs less than 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour — less than half of China’s 2019 price for coal energy, and less than a quarter the current average U.S. energy cost.
That projection is much faster than previous studies, which researchers say failed to account for the way that China’s growing solar sector — which now represents a third of total global solar production — has benefited from technical advances and economies of scale.
The report comes ahead of the global climate summit in Scotland next month, where China’s plans to transition away from coal will be a major factor in the world’s ability to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
One key accelerant of China’s solar growth is the “cost of capital:” how much solar developers have to pay in interest or dividends to secure funding for new projects.
This number plummeted 63 percent in China between 2011 and 2018, even as government subsidies fell away, researchers said. READ MORE...
Detecting High Cholesterol
Among other things, cholesterol is one of the most important lipids or fats found in the body. It is key for the formation of organ cell membranes and is also used as ‘raw material for the synthesis of sex and thyroid hormones; among other things.
Thus, when cholesterol levels accumulate in the blood they can be a major problem and constitute a risk factor for the development of different cardiovascular diseases, and can even lead to death.
Hypercholesterolemia is the term used to define high blood cholesterol values. Thus, the Spanish Heart Foundation warns that, as a general rule, having high cholesterol levels does not manifest itself through any symptoms.
In other words, to determine the existence of hypercholesterolemia it will be necessary to perform a blood test that shows the values of cholesterol and triglycerides.
In this regard, Dr. Carlos Morillas, head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Section of the Hospital Universitario Dr Peset (Valencia, Spain), explains that «an analysis should be made with 12 hours of fasting in all persons over 40 years of age, or in case of presenting high cardiovascular risk at any age (less relevant fasting for LDL, but important for triglyceride values); and then a second check analysis in which secondary causes of this increase in cholesterol will be ruled out».
In other words, to determine the existence of hypercholesterolemia it will be necessary to perform a blood test that shows the values of cholesterol and triglycerides.
In this regard, Dr. Carlos Morillas, head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Section of the Hospital Universitario Dr Peset (Valencia, Spain), explains that «an analysis should be made with 12 hours of fasting in all persons over 40 years of age, or in case of presenting high cardiovascular risk at any age (less relevant fasting for LDL, but important for triglyceride values); and then a second check analysis in which secondary causes of this increase in cholesterol will be ruled out».
This is the only way to accurately determine the existence of high cholesterol levels and, if so, to establish a treatment to reduce them as soon as possible.
Reducing levels
In this sense, to reduce cholesterol levels, Dr. Morilla advocates establishing a healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet. That is, one that is low in saturated fats, cholesterol and trans fats.
Likewise, in this new dietary plan it will be advisable to limit the consumption of processed foods and red meat; at the same time it is advisable to increase the intake of fruits, vegetables and fish. Physical exercise is key to increasing HDL (good) cholesterol. READ MORE...
Practical Fusion Reactors
Matthew Wolford inspects the Electra argon- fluoride (ArF) laser US Navy/Jonathan Steffen
The US Naval Research Laboratory (AFL) is developing an Argon Fluoride (ArF) laser that may one day make fusion power a practical commercial technology. The wide-bandwidth ultraviolet laser is designed to have the shortest laser wavelength that can scale up to power a self-sustaining fusion reaction.
To call fusion energy a game changing technology is like saying that fire might one day find a practical application. In fact, the ability to generate clean energy from hydrogen in any desired quantity over any foreseeable timescale would fundamentally alter civilization in ways we can't imagine.
The problem is fusion power is like the proverbial rabbit pie recipe that begins with, "First, catch your rabbit." Though we can recreate the conditions found inside the Sun to produce fusion reactions on Earth, these are relegated to hydrogen bombs and laboratory experiments where it takes more energy to create the fusion reaction than we can get out of it – though recent experiments are getting much closer to turning that around.
The Nike laser lens array focusing 44 krypton-fluoride (KrF) laser beams onto targets NRLThe goal for the past 75 years has been to produce temperatures in excess of 100 million degrees C (180 million degrees F) and the pressure needed to ignite the fusion reaction and generate enough surplus energy to sustain it. That in itself would be a major achievement, but the technology also has to be able to sustain the reaction indefinitely, while also being cheap enough and the reactor small enough for it to be practical. READ MORE...
Friday, October 29
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