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volcano in 1982.]], Australia, while allowing ample access for visitors.]] [Site] Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. Manufactured objects and human interaction are not considered part of nature unless qualified in ways such as "human nature" or "the whole of nature". Nature is generally distinguished from the supernatural. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the galactic. [News] Hudson Stuns Nature Coast The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or "the course of things, natural character." Natura was a Latin translation of the Greek word physis (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants, animals, and other features of the world develop of their own accord.A useful though somewhat erratically presented account of the pre-Socratic use of the concept of φύσις may be found in Naddaf, Gerard The Greek Concept of Nature, SUNY Press, 2006. The word φύσις, while first used in connection with a plant in Homer (as we have seen), occurs very early in Greek philosophy, and in several senses. Generally, these senses match rather well the current senses in which the English word nature is used, as confirmed by Guthrie, W.K.C. Presocratic Tradition from Parmenides to Democritus (volume 2 of his History of Greek Philosophy), Cambridge UP, 1965. This is shown in the first written use of the word φύσις, in connection with a plant.The first known use of physis was by Homer in reference to the intrinsic qualities of a plant: ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας πόρε φάρμακον ἀργεϊφόντης ἐκ γαίης ἐρύσας, καί μοι φύσιν αὐτοῦ ἔδειξε. (So saying, Argeiphontes [1] gave me the herb, drawing it from the ground, and showed me its nature.) Odyssey 10.302-3 (ed. A.T. Murray). (The word is dealt with thoroughly in Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon.) For later but still very early Greek uses of the term, see related below. The concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is one of several expansions of the original notion; it began with certain core applications of the word φύσις by pre-Socratic philosophers, and has steadily gained currency ever since. This usage was confirmed during the advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries.Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687), for example, is translated "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", and reflects the then-current use of the words "natural philosophy", akin to "systematic study of nature"The etymology of the word "physical" shows its use as a synonym for "natural" in about the mid-15th century: [Image] Within the various uses of the word today, "nature" may refer to the general realm of various types of living plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes associated with inanimate objects – the way that particular types of things exist and change of their own accord, such as the weather and geology of the Earth, and the matter and energy of which all these things are composed. It is often taken to mean the "natural environment" or wilderness – wild animals, rocks, forest, beaches, and in general those things that have not been substantially altered by human intervention, or which persist despite human intervention. This more traditional concept of natural things which can still be found today implies a distinction between the natural and the artificial, with the latter being understood as that which has been brought into being by a human or human-like consciousness or mind. [Video] Keswick
Etymology's Principia Mathematica (1687) used "nature" as a synonym for the physical universe.]][Auction] Motivational Poster ~Lilypads/Beauty/Nature~ Home Decor The word nature means the universe, with all its phenomena.{{citation [Post] Science journal Nature endorses a presidential candidate: Barack Obama
Earth, taken in 1972 by the Apollo 17 crew. This image is the only photograph of its kind to date, showing a fully sunlit hemisphere of the Earth.]]Earth (or, "the earth") is the only planet known to support life, and as such, its natural features are the subject of many fields of scientific research. Within the solar system, it is third nearest to the sun; it is the largest terrestrial planet and the fifth largest overall. Its most prominent climatic features are its two large polar regions, two relatively narrow temperate zones, and a wide equatorial tropical to subtropical region.{{cite web [Site] Journal home : Nature Earth has evolved through geological and biological processes that have left traces of the original conditions. The outer surface is divided into several gradually migrating tectonic plates, which have changed relatively quickly several times. The interior remains active, with a thick layer of molten mantle and an iron-filled core that generates a magnetic field. [News] Wolf Howl at nature center The atmospheric conditions have been significantly altered from the original conditions by the presence of lifeforms, which create an ecological balance that stabilizes the surface conditions. Despite the wide regional variations in climate by latitude and other geographic factors, the long-term average global climate is quite stable during interglacial periods, and variations of a degree or two of average global temperature have historically had major effects on the ecological balance, and on the actual geography of the Earth. [Image]
Historical perspectiveEarth is estimated to have formed 4.55 billion years ago from the solar nebula, along with the Sun and other planets. The moon formed roughly 20 million years later. Initially molten, the outer layer of the planet cooled, resulting in the solid crust. Outgassing and volcanic activity produced the primordial atmosphere. Condensing water vapor, augmented by ice delivered by comets, produced the oceans.{{cite journal| first=A. | last=Morbidelli | coauthors=''et al.'' | year=2000 | url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000M&PS...35.1309M | title=Source Regions and Time Scales for the Delivery of Water to Earth | journal=Meteoritics & Planetary Science | volume=35 | issue=6 | pages=pp. 1309-1320}} The highly energetic chemistry is believed to have produced a self-replicating molecule around 4 billion years ago.{{cite news | title=Earth's Oldest Mineral Grains Suggest an Early Start for Life | publisher=NASA Astrobilogy Institute | date=2001-12-24 | url=http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/news_stories/news_detail.cfm?ID=76 | accessdate=2006-05-24}} [Video] Alzheimers and calpain protease, PMAP Continents formed, then broke up and reformed as the surface of Earth reshaped over hundreds of millions of years, occasionally combining to make a supercontinent. Roughly 750 million years ago, the earliest known supercontinent Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia which broke apart about 540 million years ago, then finally Pangaea, which broke apart about 180 million years ago. |pages=pp. 324-333 | pages = 324}} [Auction] A BIRDERS GUIDE TO FLORIDA ~ NATURE ~ WILDLIFE ~ FL,FLA have been part of nature on Earth for about the past 400 million years. These have needed to adapt and move many times as the continents and climates changed.]] [Post] Nature itself endorses Obama, reason, and the enlightenment There is significant evidence, still being discussed among scientists, that a severe glacial action during the Neoproterozoic era covered much of the planet in a sheet of ice. This hypothesis has been termed the "Snowball Earth", and it is of particular interest as it precedes the Cambrian explosion in which multicellular life forms began to proliferate about 530-540 million years ago. [Book] The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 (The Best American Series) Houghton Mifflin Since the Cambrian explosion there have been five distinctly identifiable mass extinctions. | pages = 1501}} The last mass extinction occurred some 65 million years ago, when a meteorite collision probably triggered the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but spared small animals such as mammals, which then resembled shrews. Over the past 65 million years, mammalian life diversified. [Site] The Nature Conservancy Several million years ago, a species of small African ape gained the ability to stand upright. The subsequent advent of human life, and the development of agriculture and further civilization allowed humans to affect the Earth more rapidly than any previous life form, affecting both the nature and quantity of other organisms as well as global climate. By comparison, the Oxygen Catastrophe, produced by the proliferation of algae during the Siderian period, required about 300 million years to culminate.) [News] Muncie nature preserve to be checked for contamination The present era is classified as part of a mass extinction event, the Holocene extinction event, the fastest ever to have occurred. Some, such as E. O. Wilson of Harvard University, predict that human destruction of the biosphere could cause the extinction of one-half of all species in the next 100 years."The mid-Holocene extinction of silver fir (Abies alba) in the ..." pdf The extent of the current extinction event is still being researched, debated and calculated by biologists.See, e.g. [2], [3], [4] [Image]
Atmosphere, climate and weatherThe atmosphere of the Earth serves as a key factor in sustaining the planetary ecosystem. The thin layer of gases that envelops the Earth is held in place by the planet's gravity. Dry air consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon and other inert gases, carbon dioxide, etc.; but air also contains a variable amount of water vapor. The atmospheric pressure declines steadily with altitude, and has a scale height of about 8 kilometres at the Earth's surface: the height at which the atmospheric pressure has declined by a factor of e (a mathematical constantequal to 2.71...).{{cite web| url = http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/ideal_gases_under_constant.htm | title = Ideal Gases under Constant Volume, Constant Pressure, Constant Temperature, & Adiabatic Conditions | publisher = NASA | accessdate = 2007-01-07}} The ozone layer of the Earth's atmosphere plays an important role in depleting the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation that reaches the surface. As DNA is readily damaged by UV light, this serves to protect life at the surface. The atmosphere also retains heat during the night, thereby reducing the daily temperature extremes.[Video] Madonna Feat. Britney Spears - Human Nature (Vancouver) thunderstorm.]]Terrestrial weather occurs almost exclusively in the lower part of the atmosphere, and serves as a convective system for redistributing heat. Ocean currents are another important factor in determining climate, particularly the major underwater thermohaline circulation which distributes heat energy from the equatorial oceans to the polar regions. These currents help to moderate the differences in temperature between winter and summer in the temperate zones. Also, without the redistributions of heat energy by the ocean currents and atmosphere, the tropics would be much hotter, and the polar regions much colder. [Auction] Genuine Nature Green Jade Necklace Weather can have both beneficial and harmful effects. Extremes in weather, such as tornadoes or hurricanes and cyclones, can expend large amounts of energy along their paths, and produce devastation. Surface vegetation has evolved a dependence on the seasonal variation of the weather, and sudden changes lasting only a few years can have a dramatic effect, both on the vegetation and on the animals dependent on its growth for their food. [Post] The week on Nature Network: Friday 31 October The planetary climate is a measure of the long-term trends in the weather. Various factors are known to influence the climate, including ocean currents, surface albedo, greenhouse gases, variations in the solar luminosity, and changes to the planet's orbit. Based on historical records, the Earth is known to have undergone drastic climate changes in the past, including ice ages. [Book] Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder Algonquin Books The climate of a region depends on a number of factors, especially latitude. A latitudinal band of the surface with similar climatic attributes forms a climate region. There are a number of such regions, ranging from the tropical climate at the equator to the polar climate in the northern and southern extremes. Weather is also influenced by the seasons, which result from the Earth's axis being tilted relative to its orbital plane. Thus, at any given time during the summer or winter, one part of the planet is more directly exposed to the rays of the sun. This exposure alternates as the Earth revolves in its orbit. At any given time, regardless of season, the northern and southern hemispheres experience opposite seasons. [Site] NATURE Weather is a chaotic system that is readily modified by small changes to the environment, so accurate weather forecasting is currently limited to only a few days. Overall, two things are currently happening worldwide: (1) temperature is increasing on the average; and (2) regional climates have been undergoing noticeable changes. [News] Nature’s wonders in vivid colours
Lifeis essential for continuing life]]Although there is no universal agreement on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that the biological manifestation of life is characterized by organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli and reproduction. Life may also be said to be simply the characteristic state of organisms.[Image] Properties common to terrestrial organisms (plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea and bacteria) are that they are cellular, carbon-and-water-based with complex organization, having a metabolism, a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, and reproduce. An entity with these properties is generally considered life. However, not every definition of life considers all of these properties to be essential. Human-made analogs of life may also be considered to be life. [Video] Maceio & Maragogi, Alagohas Brasil The biosphere is the part of Earth's outer shell — including air, land, surface rocks and water — within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. From the broadest geophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere (rocks), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere (air). Currently the entire Earth contains over 75 billion tons (150 trillion pounds or about 6.8 x 1013 kilograms) of biomass (life), which lives within various environments within the biosphere.The figure "about one-half of one percent" takes into account the following (See, e.g., , which takes global average weight as 60 kg.), the total human biomass is the average weight multiplied by the current human population of approximately 6.5 billion (see, e.g., ): Assuming 60–70 kg to be the average human mass (approximately 130–150 lb on the average), an approximation of total global human mass of between 390 billion (390×109) and 455 billion kg (between 845 billion and 975 billion lb, or about 423 million-488 million short tons). The total biomass of all kinds on earth is estimated to be in excess of 6.8 x 1013 kg (75 billion short tons). By these calculations, the portion of total biomass accounted for by humans would be very roughly 0.6%. [Auction] SET - RIPE RED AND BLUE GRAPE PRINTS-NATURE/FRUIT DECOR Over nine-tenths of the total biomass on Earth is plant life, on which animal life depends very heavily for its existence. More than 2 million species of plant and animal life have been identified to date, and estimates of the actual number of existing species range from several million to well over 50 million."Animal." World Book Encyclopedia. 16 vols. Chicago: World Book, 2003. This source gives an estimate of from 2-50 million. The number of individual species of life is constantly in some degree of flux, with new species appearing and others ceasing to exist on a continual basis. Website based on the contents of the book: The total number of species is presently in rapid decline. }} |pages=pp.1-2 | pages = 1}} [Post] Outdoor Hour Challenge #37 Spruce Trees
EvolutionLife, as we understand it, is currently only known to exist on the planet Earth. The origin of life is still a poorly understood process, but it is thought to have occurred about 3.9 to 3.5 billion years ago during the hadean or archean eons on a primordial earth that had a substantially different environment than is found at present. These life forms possessed the basic traits of self-replication and inheritable traits. Once life had appeared, the process of evolution by natural selection resulted in the formation of ever-more diverse life forms.[Book] Sharing Nature With Children (20th Anniversary Edition, Revised and Expanded) Dawn Publications (CA) Species that were unable to adapt to the changing environment and competition from other life forms became extinct. However, the fossil record retains evidence of many of these older species. Current fossil and DNA evidence shows that all existing species can trace a continual ancestry back to the first primitive life forms. [Site] eNature The advent of photosynthesis in very basic forms of plant life worldwide allowed the sun's energy to be harvested to create conditions allowing for more complex life. The resultant oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere and gave rise to the ozone layer. The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of yet more complex cells called eukaryotes. Cells within colonies became increasingly specialized, resulting in true multicellular organisms. With the ozone layer absorbing harmful ultraviolet radiation, life colonized the surface of Earth. [News] Work starts on state park's nature inn
MicrobesThe first form of life to develop on the Earth were microbes, and they remained the only form of life on the planet until about a billion years ago when multi-cellular organisms began to appear.{{cite journal |author = Schopf J | title = Disparate rates, differing fates: tempo and mode of evolution changed from the Precambrian to the Phanerozoic. | url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=44277&blobtype=pdf | journal = Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | volume = 91 | issue = 15 | format=PDF | pages = 6735-42 | year = 1994 | id = PMID 8041691 | pages = S14 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.91.15.6735 }} Microorganisms are single-celled organisms that are generally smaller than the human eye can see. They include Bacteria, Fungi, Archaea and Protista.[Image] These life forms are found in almost every location on the Earth where there is liquid water, including the interior of rocks within the planet.Their reproduction is both rapid and profuse. The combination of a high mutation rate and a horizontal gene transfer ability makes them highly adaptable, and able to survive in new environments, including outer space. They form an essential part of the planetary ecosystem. However some microorganisms are pathogenic and can post health risk to other organisms. [Video] Schreiber Beach
Plants and animalsThe distinction between plant and animal life is not sharply drawn, with some categories of life that stand between or across the two. Originally Aristotle divided all living things between plants, which generally do not move, and animals. In Linnaeus' system, these became the Kingdoms Vegetabilia (later Plantae) and Animalia. Since then, it has become clear that the Plantae as originally defined included several unrelated groups, and the fungi and several groups of algae were removed to new kingdoms. However, these are still often considered plants in many contexts. Bacterial life is sometimes included in flora, and some classifications use the term bacterial flora separately from plant flora.[Auction] Free S&H 33" Red 5.5-8mm Round nature Coral necklace Among the many ways of classifying plants are by regional floras, which, depending on the purpose of study, can also include fossil flora, remnants of plant life from a previous era. People in many regions and countries take great pride in their individual arrays of characteristic flora, which can vary widely across the globe due to differences in climate and terrain. [Post] When Ligers Attack [Nature Fights Back] Regional floras commonly are divided into categories such as native flora and agricultural and garden flora, the latter of which are intentionally grown and cultivated. Some types of "native flora" actually have been introduced centuries ago by people migrating from one region or continent to another, and become an integral part of the native, or natural flora of the place to which they were introduced. This is an example of how human interaction with nature can blur the boundary of what is considered nature. Another category of plant has historically been carved out for weeds. Though the term has fallen into disfavor among botanists as a formal way to categorize "useless" plants, the informal use of the word "weeds" to describe those plants that are deemed worthy of elimination is illustrative of the general tendency of people and societies to seek to alter or shape the course of nature. Similarly, animals are often categorized in ways such as domestic, farm animals, wild animals, pests, etc. according to their relationship to human life. [Site] nature: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. Note the tendency to congregate, one of nature's displays of what is sometimes called the herding instinct or herd behavior.]] [News] Baytown Nature Center ready to reopen Animals as a category have several characteristics that generally set them apart from other living things, though not traced by scientists to having legs or wings instead of roots and leaves. Animals are eukaryotic and usually multicellular (although see Myxozoa), which separates them from bacteria, archaea and most protists. They are heterotrophic, generally digesting food in an internal chamber, which separates them from plants and algae. They are also distinguished from plants, algae, and fungi by lacking cell walls. [Image] With a few exceptions, most notably the sponge (Phylum Porifera), animals have bodies differentiated into separate tissues. These include muscles, which are able to contract and control locomotion, and a nervous system, which sends and processes signals. There is also typically an internal digestive chamber. The eukaryotic cells possessed by all animals are surrounded by a characteristic extracellular matrix composed of collagen and elastic glycoproteins. This may be calcified to form structures like shell, bones, and spicules, a framework upon which cells can move about and be reorganized during development and maturation, and which supports the complex anatomy required for mobility. [Video] Nature of Power ===Ecosystems=== in Scotland forms a relatively isolated ecosystem. The fish community of this lake has remained unchanged over a very long period.]]All forms of life interact with the environment in which they exist, and also with other life forms. In the 20th century this premise gave rise to the concept of ecosystems, which can be defined as any situation where there is interaction between organisms and their environment. [Auction] Motivational Poster ~Tiger/Cat/Animal/Nature Home Decor Ecosystems are composed of a variety of abiotic and biotic components that function in an interrelated way. The structure and composition is determined by various environmental factors that are interrelated. Variations of these factors will initiate dynamic modifications to the ecosystem. Some of the more important components are: soil, atmosphere, radiation from the sun, water, and living organisms. [Post] Nature Blog Network Blog?!? Each living organism has a continual relationship with every other element that makes up its environment. Within the ecosystem, species are connected and dependent upon one another in the food chain, and exchange energy and matter between themselves as well as with their environment. . Pictured is the city of Chicago]]Every species has limits of tolerance to factors that affect its survival, reproductive success and ability to continue to thrive and interact sustainably with the rest of its environment, which in turn may have effects on these factors for many other species or even on the whole of life. esp. section on "Abiotic Factors and Tolerance Limits." The concept of an ecosystem is thus an important subject of study, as such study provides information needed to make decisions about how human life may interact in a way that allows the various ecosystems to be sustained for future use rather than used up or otherwise rendered ineffective. For the purpose of such study, a unit of smaller size is called a microecosystem. For example, an ecosystem can be a stone and all the life under it. A macroecosystem might involve a whole ecoregion, with its drainage basin. }} [Site] Nature Photographers The following ecosystems are examples of the kinds currently under intensive study:
[News] Griffith Challenge aims to raise $10,000 for Eagle River Nature Center Another classification can be made by reference to its communities, such as in the case of a human ecosystem. Regional groupings of distinctive plant and animals best adapted to the region's physical natural environment, latitude, altitude, and terrain are known as biomes. The broadest classification, today under wide study and analysis, and also subject to widespread arguments about its nature and validity, is that of the entire sum of life seen as analogous to a self-sustaining organism; a theory studied as earth system science (less formally known as Gaia theory). [Image]
Human interrelationshipin Hawaii are heavily modified by introduced invasive species such as She-oak.]]Although humans currently comprise only about one-half of one percent of the total living biomass on Earth, For an example of a range of opinions, see: and Ralph Waldo Emerson's analysis of the subject: the human effect on nature is disproportionately large (thus generating the appearance of such terms as man-nature continuum, humanized nature or human environment). Because of the extent of human influence, the boundaries between what we regard as nature and "made environments" is not clear cut except at the extremes. Even at the extremes, the amount of natural environment that is free of discernible human influence is presently diminishing at an increasingly rapid pace, or, according to some, has already disappeared.[Video] Our Better Angels The development of technology by the human race has allowed the greater exploitation of natural resources and has helped to alleviate some of the risk from natural hazards. In spite of this progress, however, the fate of human civilization remains closely linked to changes in the environment. There exists a highly complex feedback-loop between the use of advanced technology and changes to the environment that are only slowly becoming understood. Manmade threats to the Earth's natural environment include pollution, deforestation, and disasters such as oil spills. Humans have contributed to the extinction of many plants and animals. [Auction] 3 Grey Wolf Wall Art Prints/Posters ~ Nature Pictures Humans employ nature for both leisure and economic activities. The acquisition of natural resources for industrial use remains the primary component of the world's economic system. Some activities, such as hunting and fishing, are used for both sustenance and leisure, often by different people. Agriculture was first adopted around the 9th millennium BCE. Ranging from food production to energy, nature influences economic wealth. [Post] “Leaf Lamp” is Inspired by Mother Nature Although early humans gathered uncultivated plant materials for food and employed the medicinal properties of vegetation for healing, most modern human use of plants is through agriculture. The clearance of large tracts of land for crop growth has led to a significant reduction in the amount available of forestation and wetlands, resulting in the loss of habitat for many plant and animal species as well as increased erosion. [Book] Humans, Nature, and Birds: Science Art from Cave Walls to Computer Screens Yale University Press
Wilderness, a wilderness area in Queensland, Australia.]][Site] nature, nature pictures, nature photography at LiveScience.com Wilderness is generally defined as a natural environment on Earth that has not been directly modified by human activity. Ecologists consider wilderness areas to be an integral part of the planet's self-sustaining natural ecosystem (the biosphere). [News] Scott County Park awarded $98,000 grant for nature trail The word, "wilderness", derives from the notion of wildness; in other words that which is not controllable by humans. The word's etymology is from the Old English wildeornes, which in turn derives from wildeor meaning wild beast (wild + deor = beast, deer)."Wilderness", in The Collins English Dictionary (2000) From this point of view, it is the wildness of a place that makes it a wilderness. The mere presence or activity of people does not disqualify an area from being "wilderness." Many ecosystems that are, or have been, inhabited or influenced by activities of people may still be considered "wild." This way of looking at wilderness includes areas within which natural processes operate without very noticeable human interference. [Image]
Beauty in naturefry hatching. The root of the Latin "natura" {"nature") is "natus," from "nasci" ("to be born").]] artist Fan Kuan (c. 970–1020).]]Beauty in nature has long been a common theme in life and in art, and books emphasizing beauty in nature fill large sections of libraries and bookstores. That nature has been depicted and celebrated by so much art, photography, poetry and other literature shows the strength with which many people associate nature and beauty. Why this association exists, and what the association consists of, is studied by the branch of philosophy called aesthetics. Beyond certain basic characteristics that many philosophers agree about to explain what is seen as beautiful, the opinions are virtually endless. For an example of a range of opinions, see: and Ralph Waldo Emerson's analysis of the subject:[Video] ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING Looked at through the lens of the visual arts, nature and wildness have been important subjects in various epochs of world history. An early tradition of landscape art began in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The tradition of representing nature as it is became one of the aims of Chinese painting and was a significant influence in Asian art. Artists learned to depict mountains and rivers "from the perspective of nature as a whole and on the basis of their understanding of the laws of nature … as if seen through the eyes of a bird." In the 13th century, the Song Dynasty artist Shi Erji listed "scenes lacking any places made inaccessible by nature," as one of the 12 things to avoid in painting. Chinese brush painting Asia-art.net Accessed: May 20, 2006. [Auction] 2 Animal Art Prints Bald Eagle & Wolf Nature Home Decor In the Western world the idea of wilderness having intrinsic value emerged in the 1800s, especially in the works of the Romantic movement. British artists John Constable and JMW Turner turned their attention to capturing the beauty of the natural world in their paintings. Before that, paintings had been primarily of religious scenes or of human beings. William Wordsworth’s poetry described the wonder of the natural world, which had formerly been viewed as a threatening place. Increasingly the valuing of nature became an aspect of Western culture. History of Conservation BC Spaces for Nature. Accessed: May 20, 2006. This artistic movement also coincided with the Transcendentalist movement in the Western world. [Post] Does Nature Break the Second Law of Thermodynamics? Many scientists, who study nature in more specific and organized ways, also share the conviction that nature is beautiful; the French mathematician, Jules Henri Poincaré (1854-1912) said: The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful.If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if nature were not worth knowing, life would not be worth living. Of course I do not here speak of that beauty which strikes the senses, the beauty of qualities and of appearance; not that I undervalue such beauty, far from it, but it has nothing to do with science; I mean that profounder beauty which comes from the harmonious order of the parts and which a pure intelligence can grasp. A common classical idea of beautiful art involves the word mimesis, the imitation of nature. Also in the realm of ideas about beauty in nature is that the perfect is implied through symmetry, equal division, and other perfect mathematical forms and notions.
Matter and energyelectron orbitals shown as cross-sections with color-coded probability density]][News] Highway 25 bypass opening depends on Mother Nature Some fields of science see nature as matter in motion, obeying certain laws of nature which science seeks to understand. For this reason the most fundamental science is generally understood to be "physics"—the name for which is still recognizable as meaning that it is the study of nature. [Image] Matter is commonly defined as the substance of which physical objects are composed. It constitutes the observable universe. The visible components of the universe are now believed to compose only 4 percent of the total mass. The remainder is believed to consist of 23 percent cold dark matter and 73 percent dark energy. The exact nature of these components is still unknown and is currently under intensive investigation by physicists. [Video] Re: Why Nature Doesn't [Always] Suck...dream on The behavior of matter and energy throughout the observable universe appears to follow well-defined physical laws. These laws have been employed to produce cosmological models that successfully explain the structure and the evolution of the universe we can observe. The mathematical expressions of the laws of physics employ a set of twenty physical constants{{cite web | last = Taylor | first = Barry N. | year = 1971 | url = http://www.physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/introduction.html | title = Introduction to the constants for nonexperts | publisher = National Institute of Standards and Technology | accessdate = 2007-01-07}} that appear to be static across the observable universe. The values of these constants have been carefully measured, but the reason for their specific values remains a mystery. [Auction] 2 Power of Nature Wall Art Prints/Posters New York City
Nature beyond Earth, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 56,000 light years in diameter and approximately 60 million light years distant.]], the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, contains an estimated 10,000 galaxies in a patch of sky just one-tenth the diameter of the full moon. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF team.]][Post] Nature: “The values of scientific enquiry … suggest a preference ... Outer space, also simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmosphere of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace (and terrestrial locations). There is no discrete boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and space, as the atmosphere gradually attenuates with increasing altitude. Outer space within the solar system is called interplanetary space, which passes over into interstellar space at what is known as the heliopause. [Book] Force of Nature (Troubleshooters, Book 11) Ballantine Books Outer space is certainly spacious, but it is far from empty. Outer space is sparsely filled with several dozen types of organic molecules discovered to date by microwave spectroscopy, blackbody radiation left over from the big bang and the origin of the universe, and cosmic rays, which include ionized atomic nuclei and various subatomic particles. There is also some gas, plasma and dust, and small meteors. Additionally, there are signs of human life in outer space today, such as material left over from previous manned and unmanned launches which are a potential hazard to spacecraft. Some of this debris re-enters the atmosphere periodically. Although the planet Earth is currently the only known body within the solar system to support life, current evidence suggests that in the distant past the planet Mars possessed bodies of liquid water on the surface. For a brief period in Mars' history, it may have also been capable of forming life. At present though, most of the water remaining on Mars is frozen.If life exists at all on Mars, it is most likely to be located underground where liquid water can still exist. [News] Salmonella cases found at Plainville Nature's Fare Conditions on the other terrestrial planets, Mercury and Venus, appears to be too harsh to support life as we know it. But it has been conjectured that Europa, the fourth-largest moon of Jupiter, may possess a sub-surface ocean of liquid water and could potentially host life. [Image] Recently, the team of Stéphane Udry have discovered a new planet named Gliese 581 c, which is an extrasolar planet orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581. Gliese 581 c appears to lay in the habitable zone of space surrounding the star, and therefore could possibly host life as [Video] Lifeforms [Auction] (15)$1.00/1 NATURE'S BOUNTY PRODUCT CPNS exp 12/31/08 [Post] Nature's Microfluidic Transporter: Rotational Cytoplasmic ... | |
