Iterative Lambert’s Trajectory Optimization for Extrasolar Bodies Interception

Interception of extrasolar objects is one of the major current astrophysical objectives since it allows gathering information on the formation and composition of other planetary systems. This paper develops a tool to design optimal orbits for the interception of these bodies considering the effects of different perturbation sources. The optimal trajectory is obtained by solving a Lambert’s problem that gives the required initial impulse. A numerical integration of a perturbed orbital model is calculated. This model considers the perturbations of the joint action of the gravitational potentials of the Solar System planets and the solar radiation pressure. These effects cause a deviation in the orbit that prevents the interception from taking place, so an iterative correction scheme of the initial estimated impulse is presented, capable of modifying the orbit and achieving a successful interception in a more realistic environment.

Moments of (Re)vision: Thomas Hardy Making Amends

Considered far less critically rewarding resources than those of the author’s prose, the manuscripts of Thomas Hardy’s verse have long been neglected. This essay seeks, in part, to challenge the ways in which we attribute significance to such documents, attempting a close textual study of the ‘fair’ copy of Moments of Vision (1917) – a late draft of the volume only minimally revised. The collection is one which invites us to attend to the hitherto overlooked, and in remaining attentive to the seemingly minor alterations of the manuscript itself, I work to uncover Hardy’s attempt to address an oversight of his own. Focusing upon the poems penned for Emma following her death, I read them against the narrative which has traditionally surrounded them: one of a re-visioning of a period of discontent. The manuscript’s revisions are rather those which work against the initial impulse to smooth over animosity, striving consistently to paint a harsher version of events, and to acknowledge differences now past alteration. The way in which an endlessly mutable form allows for reflection upon an ‘immutable’ division holds central focus, as I trace the ways in which this tension complicates the long-established view of the Emma verses as an ‘expiation’. I suggest, rather, that in keeping with a much wider sensibility found running through Hardy’s verse, these revisions work to undermine his attempt to offer the famously neglected Emma a long overdue attention; they are amendments, in short, which problematize the very possibility of amends.

Short-run and long-run ideologies: Calculating curves for Christianism and Sovietism

The research framework of this study is related to the problem of why and how the population´s beliefs born, develop and, finally extinct. In previous work, the kinetics of the groups that remain constant in their empire's nationalistic ideologies was developed. Now, this research tries to calculate how beliefs diminish until disappearing. Founded in basic historical data of two ideologies, Christianism and Sovietism, the aim of this work is to establish that the populations increase is inversely proportional to the difference between that population and the maximum Nm that could reach, dN / (Nm - N), and the elapsed time 1dt, where1 is a coefficient greater than zero. As an eternal duration is impossible, a decrement factor Nmexp (-2t) is introduced. This produces a differential equation that can be interpreted mechanically as the initial impulse that pushes and made it works. The conclusion can be desegregated in three parts: first, in terms of formal equations; second, in sociological terms, to say, religious beliefs are more important than political beliefs; and finally, in terms of political change, that is, slow transformations last very much longer than rapid ones.

Friedrich Nietzsche about “the Free Minds”

Introduction. The theme of “free minds”, which Nietzsche developed during his philosophical career, occupies an important place in his creative heritage. In a sense, it is a further development of Plato’s doctrine of the “true philosopher”, the bearer of exemplary piety and reason. By means of mental constructs “free mind”, “knowing man”, “theoretical man”, “free philosopher”, “Zarathustra” F. Nietzsche not only deeply and fully showed the creative principle of creative personalities, but also revealed the complex, sometimes their tragic life, because he often wrote about himself. The aim of the study is to trace the meaningful evolution of this important topic in the philosophy and life of the German philosopher. Materials and Methods. The works of F. Nietzshe served as the source of the research. In the course of the work, the method of thematic cultural analysis was used, which makes it possible to track the meaningful development of the main philosophical themes, their semantic interrelationships in the conceptual constructions of the philosopher. And also, the method of existential-transcendental analysis was used, with the help of which the opportunity opened up to study the living conditions and spiritual aspirations of the German philosopher. Discussion. “Free minds” always have to prove their right to exist. Unlike “bound minds”, they should strive to free themselves from petty connections and relationships in everyday life. In the guise of Zarathustra, F. Nietzsche created an almost ascetic image of a “free mind” that “scorched by the sun” in the desert, “hungry, strong and lonely” “breaks his heart”. If for Plato the highest ability of a person was his mind, which provided transcendental knowledge of metaphysical being, then for F. Nietzsche this was the volitional principle. Surviving the “great break” is a universal law for all “free minds” discovered by Nietzsche. He captured the moment of the “birth” of the “free mind”, the initial impulse, which will largely determine his further life path. Spiritual loneliness and independence are an indispensable condition for the life of a “free mind”. The last phase in the formation of a “free mind” is the realization of his fate as a lonely wanderer, destined and doomed to create new truths, values and ideas. Results. The great philosopher F. Nietzsche has always been a transcendental person, a genuine “free mind”, which predetermined the depth of his philosophical thought. In the last years of his philosophical activity, nihilistic attitudes began to gain strength, which led to an exacerbation of the conflict in his psyche. Therefore, the doctrine of the “free mind” is one of the main philosophical achievements of Friedrich Nietzsche.

THE CHAIN FOUNTAIN

If a beaker is fully filled with a chain and an initial impulse is given on one end of the chain, then the chain inside the beaker starts coming out of the beaker and grows in height passes. After sometime, the velocity with which the chain comes out of the beaker becomes constant and depends only upon the height of the beaker and the height to which the chain rises.

Pirouette Vertical Ground Reaction Force of Ballet Dancers and Non-Dancers

BACKGROUND: Different amounts of force are needed to produce an effective turn for the pirouette, especially vertical force. AIM: To examine the vertical force produced by the supporting leg during the execution of a pirouette en dehors of ballet dancer and non-dancer participants. METHOD: The participants included five ballet dancers who composed the ballet dancer group and eight girls without previous experience of dance training who composed the non-dancer group. The participants were invited to execute the pirouette en dehors on a force platform with each leg as the supporting leg. Two-way analyses of variance were used to test vertical reaction forces between the two groups over the preferred and non-preferred leg. RESULTS: Among the three vertical forces measured in the present study, the maximum vertical peak for the initial impulse was significantly higher for the ballet dancers compared to the non-dancer girls. The minimum vertical force and maximum vertical peak for the final impulse were similar between both groups. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the initial vertical force may be critical to the pirouette en dehors, determining proficient execution of this movement in ballet dancers.

WHEN DID THE CINEMA GO WIDESCREEN?

In the third paper of a series of articles on the dating of technical transitions in cinema, the transition to widescreen format is discussed. In accordance with the methodology adopted in the series, such a date is the transition through the middle, that is in this case the situation, when most films are shot with an aspect ratio exceeding 2:1. According to statistics collected at IMDB, this process turned out to be extremely long: if the active phases of the sound and color transitions took one to two decades, then the widescreen one took more than half a century. After the development of principal systems in the early fifties, cinema at first abandoned the Academy ratio as the dominative one a decade later, and then, in the mid-eighties, it turned out to the masked formats, and only in the early 2010s the cinema finally became widescreen. At that, both the initial impulse to the widescreen transition and the transition itself sixty years later, were the consequences of competition with the television. This was due to, in the first case, its initial expansion in the 4:3 format, and in the second one, the turning to 16:9 ratio.

Transfer of lightning optical radiation into space through the cloud layer

We have developed mathematical models and performed simulations of transfer of short optical impulses through the cloud layer into space. The main cloud layer variables chosen are its vertical optical and geometrical depths. The physical processes behind the time-amplitude characteristics of the radiative field are studied. It is shown that the presence of a cloud layer results in a formation of a secondary source at the upper boundary of a cloud and in substantial distortions in the temporal pattern of the initial impulse.

Responsibility, affective solidarity and transnational maternal feminism

Maternal health has become a top global priority. In contrast to the decline of the maternal subject (Stephens, 2011), and despite previous evidence that maternal health has struggled to find a place on the global policy agenda (Shiffman and Smith, 2007), it is now clear that the promotion of health for mothers and children is a staple of both government and private donor commitments. On humanitarian grounds, it makes sense to focus on maternal health and survival in the Global South. Death related to pregnancy or childbirth is a disheartening example of needless suffering. But beyond the initial impulse to reduce suffering, what motivates and/or requires action for addressing injustice in the form of distributional inequities for maternal and reproductive health? In this article, I make a case for the necessity and validity of transnational cooperation to address maternal mortality and morbidity in the Global South. The first component of my argument addresses the transnational elements of both global interconnectedness and responsibility to act. These elements are drawn from Iris Marion Young’s philosophical justification for North-South responsibility-taking. The second component of my argument adds the concept of affective solidarity to that of transnational responsibility. My argument in this section draws from Iris Marion Young’s earlier work on identity (Young, 1990) and embodiment (Young, 1984) and expands the analysis of affective solidarity as a form of both embodiment and political commitment in order to explain the mechanism for transnational connection and understanding. And the final component of my argument explains how both of these elements – transnational responsibility and affective solidarity – support a theory of transnational maternal feminism.

THE GLOBAL ENDODRAINAGE SYSTEM: SOME FLUID-PHYSICAL MECHANISMS OF GEODYNAMIC PROCESSES

The article presents the main results of more than forty-year studies of the hydrogeodeformation field. We have establish some new properties of lithospheric massifs, which are clearly detectable during the periods of fast geodynamic activation (FGeDA). These processes are contrastingly manifested within the planetary megastructure – the Global Endodrainage System (GEDS) of the Earth. The article discusses ideas about the conditions of formation, the specific features of functioning and the role of the asthenosphere as an essential element of the GEDS. It shows the dominant role of fluid processes that take place in the GEDS and provide the conditions for the ‘maturation’ of geodynamic catastrophes. The features of the formation of deformation disturbances and the dominant directions of the planetary migration of deformation impulses from the places of future catastrophic seismic events along the GEDS are considered. The regional hydrogeodeformation monitoring (HDGM) results give evidence of a close relationship between the lithospheric massifs in distant regions of the Earth: replica signals along the GDES length repeat an initial impulse originating from the area of a future seismic event. Attention is given to trigger effects that cause a seismic energy discharge at a large distance and, in some cases, can cause a cascade of earthquakes. It is proposed to create a HDGM system for monitoring of large seismic regions of the Earth.