Perfect Nature

Newman, William Royall. Promethean ambitions alchemy and the quest to perfect Nature. Chicago Univ of Chicago P, 2004. xv, 333p. ISBN 0-226-57712-0... 

He knew more about rubber than anything else. A synthetic-rubber factory had much in common with him civilized, neat, more reminiscent of perfected nature than of Man. A rubber plant had to be absolutely clean a speck of dust mingling with the liquid rubber could mean a blowout on the highway some day. To plan a rubber factory, you did not begin with materials you put your finger to the wind, because the wind had to blow in the right direction to take off the carbide dust so that it "would not be thrown in your neighbor s face."... 

Promethean Ambitions Alchemy and the Quest to Perfect Nature. Chicago ... 

Progress in understanding stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis, and the discovery by Merrill (1952) of the unstable element technetium in the S star R Andromedae, demonstrating the occurrence of stellar nucleosynthesis within a few half-lives of Tc (i.e. < about 1 Myr see Fig. 1.8), has led to acceptance of the idea that abundance variations among stars are perfectly natural as a consequence of three main effects (see Fig. 3.37) ... 

It is easy to show that rn = r/2. Therefore, the emission anisotropy observed upon excitation by natural light is half that upon excitation by vertically polarized light. In view of the difficulty of producing perfectly natural light (i.e. totally unpolarized), vertically polarized light is always used in practice. Consequently, only excitation by polarized light will be considered in the rest of this chapter. 

In one sense, then, all appetites are acquired. Beyond early infancy, the ways we satisfy our appetites are virtually always mediated by accultur-ated tastes. On the other hand, addictions are in a sense perfectly natural. Our constitution is such that many of us are prone to become physically dependent when exposed to certain substances (or activities ) and to acquire appetitive desires for these. The idea that natural appetites (in contrast to addictions) are unacquired has to be interpreted in a way that is consistent with these truths. 

My investigation into IS began in 1992 and also started with GIS. Afterwards, the emphasis was diverted to LIS because of the intrinsic disadvantages of GIS and the perfect nature of LIS consequently the latter will be one of the focal points of the discussions in this book, distinguishing it from the two books mentioned above. 

Pretiosa margarita novella, 50b, as quoted in ibid., 172 n. 28. For more on Petrus Bonus and his role in the art-nature debate, see also William R. Newman, Promethean Ambitions Alchemy and the Quest to Perfect Nature (Chicago University of Chicago Press, 2004), 83-89. 

Radioactivity is a perfectly natural process and occurs all around us. Explain this statement. Summarize, in table form, the properties of the three main types of radiation coming from radioactive sources. 

The idea that the alchemist can perfect nature is Hermetic, and alchemy has been described as the Hermetic science par excellence. The Hermetic arts — alchemy, astrology and magic — were thought to have been revealed to humanity by the god Hermes in the mythical time before recorded history. All three share a... 

The thermodynamic stability of the colloidal gel state has a perfectly natural explanation in terms of the coulombic attraction theory. Just as —> 0 as Xm —> 2a,... 

For example, I may be in a state of rage, and as I get the advantage of my opponent, it is perfectly natural and reasonable, given my state, to want to destroy him completely. Further, I know I will enjoy destroying him it will be one of the greatest pleasures of my life That is the inherent logic of a state of rage. 

A near-perfect natural health food, a raw whole orange embodies abundant nutrient and phytochemical diversity in a package you can open yourself Rich in fiber (include the white pith) and vitamin C, a juicy, delicious whole orange makes for an easy way to get the main superfruit signatures—fiber, antioxidant A-C-E vitamins, carotenoids, and polyphenols. Just one small navel orange equals one fruit serving. 

In the midst of an unfamiliar and dangerous situation, whether a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, it is tempting to act according to certain human instincts. It seems perfectly natural to stop to help others or to try to contact family and friends. But, especially in the situations we are discussing here, taking the time to do so could well put your own survival at risk and might hinder that of others. Having a clear set of overall priorities is essential so that you can and will take the recommended actions quickly. 

Even in those cases where an aiialysis is qualitative, quantitative measures are employed in the processes associated with signal acquisition, data extraction, and data processing. The comparison of, say, a sample s infrared spectrum with a set of standard spectra contained in a pre-recorded database involves some quantitative measure of similarity in order to find and identify the best match. Differences in spectrometer performance, sample preparation methods, and the variability in sample composition due to impurities will all serve to make an exact match extremely unlikely. In quantitative analysis the variability in results may be even more evident. Within-laboratory tests amongst staff and inter-laboratory round-robin exercises often demonstrate the far from perfect nature of practical quantitative analysis. These experiments serve to confirm the need for analysts to appreciate the source of observed differences and to understand how such errors can be treated to obtain meaningful conclusions from the analysis. 

Each of these ideas has its part to play in making the manipulations that we shall be carrying out in the main part of this book seem perfectly natural and obvious. They all describe exactly the same mathematics and are all, in that sense, exactly equivalent. There is no question of any one of them being better or more accurate than any of the others in any absolute sense, though some may be more effective than others in making obvious some specific results. 

The separation and reduction is necessary to bring the imperfect to perfection. Nature did create these Hermaphrodites, but left them to be imperfect. However, when Nature ceases to be, the Art begins, and this Art is the Alchemy. 

---