A、ScientificDebate: Neptunism vs. Plutonism
1. For modern geologists, the question of how rocks are formed has been answereD、The processes by which sediments are cemented together to form sedimentary rocks, subterranean magma shoots to the surface to form igneous rocks, and intense heat and pressure transform both of these into metamorphic rocks are well understooD、But in the days when geology was just beginning to develop as a separate scientific discipline, the origin ofEarth’s rocks was the subject of an intense debate.Among the theories circulating around the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were two primary contenders: Neptunism, posited by the GermanAbraham Werner, and Plutonism, a theory of James Hutton, a Scottish geologist.
2. To fully understand the debate between Neptunism and Plutonism, it is essential to first examine the broader scientific context in place at the time.Before the nineteenth century, the accepted view ofEarth’s history was defined by a concept known asCatastrophism. Its basic tenets were that the planet was of a young age and that its past was marked by a series of distinct and catastrophic events. InEngland in particular, this theory was influenced by the belief that a worldwide flood had occurred as described in theChristianBible.
3. Werner’s theory of Neptunism relied on some of the assumptions inherent inCatastrophism. The word Neptunism comes from the name of the Roman god of the sea, Neptune, as Werner suggested that all ofEarth had once been covered by a vast, hot ocean.The waters of this ocean, he said, contained small amounts of diluted minerals. Over time, these ancient waters evaporated and sank lower, and as they disappeared, the minerals remained and fused into crystals to produce the rocks and landmasses visible onEarth’s surface.A、series of later catastrophic floods, such as the one reported in theBible, added more rocks and explained the different rock layers that geologists were beginning to discover around this time.
4.Concurrently, there were many other geologists who were starting to reject the notion ofCatastrophism.
Much of the contemporary evidence being collected regarding fossils and the complexity and diversity of geologic formations suggested that the planet was much older than anyone had previously thought,
As a result, the theory of Uniformitarianism was introduced, which stated thatEarth’s geologic processes were gradual and unfolding at an incredibly slow rate over an immense timeframe.
Even more important for the field of geology, Uniformitarianism held that those same processes were still occurring.

5. James Hutton was among the earliest proponents of Uniformitarianism, and it greatly informed his theory of Plutonism. Named for the Roman god of the underworld, Pluto, it stated thatEarth’s rocks were created through the tremendous heat and force of volcanic activity. Hutton described a continuous cycle by which heat deep withinEarth pushed up the land above, creating mountains and volcanoes, and deposited rocks on the surface. Erosion over time would break down the rocks and transport their sediments to the bottom of the oceans, where they were heated and turned into solid rock once more, and again lifted to the surface by volcanic activity.This concept of a long, continuous cycle was a clear expression of Uniformitarianism and provided a better explanation for how the geologic complexities ofEarth had taken shape.
6.During the first half of the nineteenth century, increasing numbers of scientists adopted Hutton’s views, and today he is often refe

Family Matters
This month, Wyoming passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents.Called the Maintenance of ParentsBill, it received the backing of the Government.
That does not mean it hasn’t generated discussion. Several members of the Parliament opposed the measure. Others who acknowledged the problem of the elderly poor believed it a disproportionate response. Still others believe it will subvert relations within the family, cynics dubbed it the "Sue Your Son" law.
Those who say that the bill does not promote filial responsibility, of course, are right. It has nothing to do with filial responsibility. It kicks in where filial responsibility fails.All the law can do is to provide a safety net where this morality proves insufficient. Wyoming needs this bill not to replace morality, but to provide incentives to show it up.
Wyoming faces the problems of an increasing proportion of people over 60 years of age.Demography is inexorable. In 1980, 7.2% of the population was in this bracket.By 2030, the proportion is projected to be 26%. The problem is not old age persen. It is that the ratio of economically active people to economically inactive people will decline.
But no amount of government exhortation or paternalism will completely eliminate the problem of old people who have insufficient means to make ends meet. Some people will fall through the holes in any safety net.
Traditionally, a person’s insurance against poverty in his old age was his family care and support for one’s parents is a universal value shared by all civilized societies.
The problem in Wyoming is that the moral obligation to look after one’s parents is unenforceable.A、father can be compelled by law to maintain his children.A、husband can be forced to support his wife.But, until now, a son or daughter had no legal obligation to support his or her parents.
In 1989, anAdvisoryCouncil was set up to look into the problems of the ageD、Its report stated with a tinge of complacency that 95% of those who did not have their own income were receiving cash contributions from relations.But what about the 5% who aren’t getting relatives’ support They have several options:
(a) get a job and work until they die;
(b) apply for public assistance (you have to be destitute to apply); or
(c) starve quietly. None of these options is socially acceptable.And what if this 5% figure grows, as it is likely to do, as society ages
The Maintenance of ParentsBill was put forth to encourage the traditional virtues that have so far kept Wyoming from some of the breakdowns encountered in other affluent societies. This legislation will allow a person to apply to the court for maintenance from any or all of his children. The court would have the discretion to refuse to make an order if it is unjust.
Those who deride the proposal for opening up the courts to family lawsuits miss the point. Only in extreme cases would any parent take his child to court. If it does indeed become law, the bill’s effect would be far more subtle.
First, it will reaffirm the notion that it is each individual’s—not society’s—responsibility to look after his parents. Wyoming is still conservative enough that most people will not object to this ideA、
Second, and more important, it will make those who are inclined to shirk their responsibilities think twice.A、[■]But to be sued by one’s parents would be a massive loss of face. It would be a public disgrace.B、[■] The hand of the conciliator would be immeasurably strengtheneD、C、[■] It is far more likely that some sort of amicable settlement would be reached if the recalcitrant son or daughter knows that the alternative is a public trial.D、[■]
It would be nice to think Wyoming doesn’t need this kind of law. Those of us who pus

Aspects of the Sun
Since the beginning of time, human beings have been fascinated by the dramas unfolding in the firmament above--the shifting arch of the sun, the changing faces of the moon, the regular patterns of stars turning as the seasons change. The study of these subtle patterns and relationships in the cosmos evolved intoAstronomy (or "law of the stars"), one of the oldest of the sciences. While different cultures, religions, and scientific theories all offer contrasting explanations for cosmic phenomena, there is one point on which they all agree: there would be no life onEarth if not for the sun.
Modern science has now proven that the sun, whose reliable path across the sky gives us the contours of our days and the duration of our nights, is the focal point of our solar system. The sun is, in fact, a star that is nearly 110 times the size ofEarth and comprises more than 99% of the solar system’s mass, which creates enough gravitational pull to extend to the outer reaches of our solar system and keep all manner of matter (planets, asteroids, meteors and even dust) in orbit. Like other stars, the sun is made up of various gases, the most prevalent being hydrogen at around 74%, and helium at around 25%.Because the sun’s gravitational force inward is equal to that of its thermal pressure outward, it is in a state of hydrostatic equilibrium, which causes the sun to compress into a sphere.
While the sun is a near perfect sphere and appears to the naked eye as a precise and sharply defined yellow circle against the sky (hence its ancient astronomical symbol of a circle with a point at its center), it does not actually have a definite edge or boundary. Instead, the density of its gases decreases exponentially with distance from the core. Like most stars, the sun generates heat and energy via nuclear fusion, which takes place in the core at the center of the sun. This energy must travel through a number of different layers before it reaches the photosphere, the first layer of the sun’s atmosphere, where it escapes into space as sunlight. It is the photosphere that we see when we look at the sun. The layer is about 100 km thick, which is relatively thin compared to other solar layers, and is much cooler than the sun’s outermost atmospheric layer called the coronA、One of the sun’s greatest mysteries is the incredible heat of the coronA、Usually heat decreases with distance from the core; this is true for the sun until you reach the corona, which becomes suddenly hotter by a factor of nearly 200 times that of the photosphere. The exact process of heating and maintaining the corona is still one of the unsolved solar mysteries that continue to fascinate and perplex scientists today.
Another solar mystery is the curious nature of solar flares.Equivalent to millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs detonated simultaneously, solar flares are the most intense
and energetic explosions that occur in our solar system. ■
A、These explosions occur on the sun’s photosphere and are difficult to view through the layer’s bright emissions, even with specialized equipment. Solar flares are directly linked to another more easily observable solar phenomenon--sunspots. With the invention of the telescope in 1608, astronomers were finally able to look into the face of the sun and see that it is not a perfect and unchanging yellow disc as they had expected, but that it is often marred by discernibleble mishes or dark spots. ■
B、These dark areas are the coolest regions on the sun’s photosphere and are characterized by intense magnetic activity. The frequency of sunspot occurrences follows an eleven-year solar or sunspot cycle. ■
C、At the minimum end of the cycle, there is very little sunspot activity and at the maximum end, there might be hundreds of visible sunspots.An increased number of sunspots indicates a correlated increase in solar flare activity. ■
D、

New-Age Transport
It looks as if it came straight from the set of Star Wars. It has four-wheel drive and rises above rocky surfaces. It lowers and raises its nose when going up and down hills.And when it comes to a river, it turns amphibious: two hydrojet power it along by blasting water under its body. There is room for two passengers and a driver, who sit inside a glass bubble operating electronic, aircraft-type controls.A、vehicle so daring on land and water needs windscreen wipers--but it doesn’t have any. Water molecules are disintegrated on the screen’s surface by ultrasonic sensors.
This unusual vehicle is the Racoon. It is an invention not of Hollywood but of Renault, a rather conservative French state-owned car-maker, better known for its family hatchbacks. Renault built the Racoon to explore new freedoms for designers and engineers created by advances in materials and manufacturing processes. Renault is thinking about startlingly different cars; other producers have radical new ideas for trains, boats and aeroplanes.
The first of the new freedoms is in design. Powerful computer-aided designCAD、systems can replace with a click of a computer mouse hours of laborious work done on thousands of drawing boards. So new products, no matter how complicated, can be developed much faster. For the first time,Boeing will not have to build a giant replica of its new airliner, the 777, to make sure all the bits fit together. ItsCA
D、system will take care of that.
But Renault is takingCA
D、further. It claims the Racoon is the world’s first vehicle to be designed within the digitised world of virtual reality.Complex programs were used to simulate the vehicle and the terrain that it was expected to cross. This allowed a team led by Patrick G. M. Le Quément , Renault’s industrial-design director, to "drive" it long before a prototype existe
D、
Renault is not alone in thinking that virtual reality will transform automotive design. InDetroit, Ford is also investigating its potential. Jack Turner, the firm’s head of design, would like designers in different parts of the world to work more closely together, linked by computers. They would do more than style cars. Virtual reality will allow engineers to peer inside the working part of a vehicle.Designers will watch beatings move, oil flow, gears mesh and hydraulics pump.As these techniques catch on, even stranger vehicles are likely to come along.
Transforming these creations from virtual reality to actual reality will also become easier, especially with advances in materials. Firms that once bashed everything out of steel now find that new alloys or composite materials (which can be made from mixtures of plastic, resin, ceramics and metals, reinforced with fibres such as glass or carbon) are changing the rules of manufacturing.At the same time, old materials keep getting better, as their producers try to secure their place in the factory of the future.
This competition is increasing the pace of development of all materials.
One company in this field is ScaledComposites.
It was started in 1982 byBurr Rutan, an aviator who has devised many unusual aircraft.
It has also worked on composite sails for theAmerica’sCup yacht race and on General Motors’ Ultralite, a 100-miles per-gallon experimental family car built from carbon fibre.
Again, the Racoon reflects this race between the old and the new. It uses conventional steel and what Renault describes as a new "high-limit elastic steel" in its chassis. This steel is 30% lighter than the usual kin
D、The Racoon also has parts made from c

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