Ancient He

The issues that will be discussed here are the possibilities of characterizing ancient He and Xe trapped in diamonds, and whether there are rare gas characteristics that can be used to identify specific sources of diamond volatiles. Ozima (1989) provides an early review of diamond data, and Lai (1994) and Begemann (1994) provide later appraisals. 

Variations in He/He ratios in diamonds have also been created by implantation of He from decay of U and Th outside the diamonds (Lai 1989). It has been shown that He concentrations are highest near diamond surfaces (Kurz et al. 1987 Verchovsky et al. 1993 Shelkov et al. 1998). The amounts found require a close association between diamonds and U-bearing phases. 

It must be concluded that the extensive research on rare gases in diamond has provided considerable information regarding isotopic effects in the mantle, perhaps related to environments unusually enriched in trace elements. However, it appears that no constraints regarding mantle rare gas components in the early Earth have been obtained. 

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Efis writings were numerous and his style was relatively straightforward. (Many of the books bearing his name may have been written by later alchemists and attributed to him.) He described ammonium chloride and showed how to prepare white lead. He distilled vinegar to obtain strong acetic acid, which had been the strongest acid known to the ancients. He even prepared weak nitric acid which, potentially at least, was much stronger. 

The most ancient uses of spices appear to be therapeutic in nature. The use of spices was common in China but tittle, if any, authentic Chinese records exist to confirm this. According to Chinese myths and legends, Shen Nung, the Divine Cultivator, founded Chinese medicine and discovered the curative powers of many herbs. He is said to have described more than 100 plants in a treatise reportedly written in 2700 BC. It has been shown, however, that no written language was available in China at that time. Although some of the herbal uses in the treatise go back several centuries BC, the work seems to have been produced by unknown authors in the first century AD. Other records on the use of cassia and ginger are known to have been written in the fifth and fourth centuries BC, in the latter case by Confucius. 

Natural and synthetic chemicals affect every phase of our daily Hves ia both good and noxious manners. The noxious effects of certain substances have been appreciated siace the time of the ancient Greeks. However, it was not until the sixteenth century that certain principles of toxicology became formulated as a result of the thoughts of Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim-Paracelsus (1493—1541). Among a variety of other achievements, he embodied the basis for contemporary appreciation of dose—response relationships ia his often paraphrased dictum "Only the dose makes a poison."... 

Introduction The enchanting flame has held a special mystery and charm the world over for thousands of years. According to Greek myth, Prometheus the Titan stole fire from the heavens and gave it to mortals—an act for which he was swiftly punished. Early people made use of it anyway. Soon the ancients came to regard fire as one of the basic elements of the world. It has since become the famihar sign of the hearth and the mark of youth and blood—as well as the object of intense curiosity and scientific investigation. 

In Ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder (c. a.d. 23-79) dedicated 37 volumes of Natural History to the emperor Titus. In the last of these books, dealing with gems and precious stones, he describes the properties of the fossil resin, amber. The ability of amber to attract dust was recognised and in fact the word electricity is derived from elektron, the Greek for amber. 

Cold-hammering was used in the late Stone Age to produce plates of gold for ornamental purposes, and this metal has always been synonymous with beauty, wealth and power. Considerable quantities were accumulated by ancient peoples. The coffin of Tutankhamun (a minor Pharaoh who was only 18 when he died) contained no less than 112 kg of gold, and the legendary Aztec and Inca hoards in Mexico and Peru were a major reason for the Spanish conquests of Central and South America in the early sixteenth century. Today, the greatest hoard of gold is the 30000 tonnes of bullion (i.e. bars) lying in the vaults of the US Federal Reserve Bank... 

Athletes have been trying to get an edge on their competitors probably even before the ancient Greek Olympians and Macedonian athletes were purported to have eaten ground donkey hooves to improve their running abilities. Today, a variety of ergogenically effective anabolic steroids are used by internationally renowned athletes. A few years ago, a successful Olympic track star confided to this writer that he did not want to use anabolic steroids but he was forced to do so because all of his competitors used them and he needed the extra edge just to stay even. 

Flamel, Nicholas. Hieroglyphicall figures which he caused to be painted upon an Arch in St. Innocents Church Yard in Paris Concerning both the theory and practise of the Philosophers Stone (1624). Contained in this very rare book is the symbolism and allusions to the inner meanings contained within the powerful symbols that yielded their ancient secrets to Flammel. Introduction by W.W. Westcott. Nicolas Flammel. rhttp //shop.ebrarv,com/1. 1995. 

Using the same practices that he employs with patients, Dr. Cavalli offers readers a plethora of personal exercises that, among other things, enables them to "type" themselves according to ancient alchemical identifiers of nature and personality. He then provides practices that can help free them from the grip of familiar problems and foster true personal growth. 

All human relationships are containers of emotional life, but what are the structures underlying them Nathan Schwartz-Sal ant looks at all kinds of relationships through an analyst s eye. By analogy with the ancient system of alchemy he shows how states of mind can undermine our relationships - in marriage, in creative work, in the workplace -and become transformative when brought to consciousness. It is only by learning how to access the interactive field of our relationships that we can enter this transformative process and explore its mysterious potential for self-realization... 

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