Category Archives: Atmospheric

02-Cent

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Science

“Ignorance has been our king. Since the death of empire, he sits unchallenged on the throne of Man. His dynasty is age-old. His right to rule is now considered legitimate. Past sages have affirmed it. They did nothing to unseat him.

“Tomorrow, a new prince shall rule. Men of understanding, men of science shall stand behind his throne, and the universe will come to know his might. His name is Truth. His empire shall encompass the Earth. And the mastery of Man over the Earth shall be renewed. A century from now, men will fly through the air in mechanical birds. Metal carriages will race along roads of man-made stone. There will be buildings of thirty stories, ships that go under the sea, machines to perform all works.

“And how will this come to pass?”

He paused and lowered his voice. “In the same way all change comes to pass, I fear. And I am sorry it is so. It will come to pass by violence and upheaval, by flame and by fury, for no change comes calmly over the world.”

A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1959)

19-Orro

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Under the Weather

Imagine the horror with which darkness, rain, and wind, fill persons who have lost their way in the night; and who, consequently, have not the pleasant prospect of warm fires, dry cloaths, and other refreshments, to support their minds in struggling with the inclemencies of the weather.

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

19-Isle

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Radiance

High above the flying scud and dark-rolling clouds, there floated a little isle of sunlight, from which beamed forth an angel’s face; and this bright face shed a distinct spot of radiance upon the ship’s tossed deck.

“Ah, noble ship,” the angel seemed to say, “beat on, beat on, thou noble ship, and bear a hardy helm; for lo! the sun is breaking through; the clouds are rolling off – serenest azure is at hand.”

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

19-Huge

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Methinks we have hugely mistaken this matter of Life and Death. Methinks that what they call my shadow here on earth is my true substance. Methinks that in looking at things spiritual, we are too much like oysters observing the sun through the water, and thinking that thick water the thinnest of air. Methinks my body is but the lees of my better being. In fact take my body who will, take it I say, it is not me.

Chapter 3 – The Chapel, Moby Dick by Herman Melville

17-Fort

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Singer: Is there anything you’ve been able to draw upon, David? Is there comfort in the past?

Milch: I feel the past falling away and the attachments of regret for what wasn’t done or was done badly or was done without sufficient sympathy, and it was for that reason that our granddaughter’s visit was such a redemptive and compelling occurrence. Everything is an adventure for her and a delight and a surprise, an opening up, and that’s a big gratification.

Singer: I’ve never thought of you as a sentimental person, but maybe I misread that. How would you characterize yourself?

Milch: As an unsentimental person.

–David Milch’s Third Act by Mark Singer (New Yorker May 20, 2019)

27-Trip

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Dihydrogen Oxide

Triple Point

The triple point of pure water is at the temperature just above freezing (0.01° C) and at the pressure (0.006 atm) at which it can exist in equilibrium in all three states: liquid, solid, and gaseous.

Yes, water can freeze & boil at the same time!

The triple point is used to calibrate thermometers.