The myth of psychical distance in aesthetic experience

The object of the present thesis is: 1. to question the modem and prevalent view that some kind of ‘psychical attitude’ is necessary to the emergence and success of an aesthetic experience. Edward BULLOUGH’s theory of ‘psychical distance’ has been chosen and thoroughly analyzed as a significant example of the above view. 2. to offer an alternative to the above theory, which is based on a teleological/cosmological argument, and which makes an aesthetic experience dependent on a metaphysical ‘intuition’ of our ‘attunement’ to, and ‘symbiosis’ with, the world. In support of my research, I examine and discuss: i. the aesthetic experience of ‘beautiful’ nature, ‘beautiful’ craftsmanship, and art, and I suggest some distinctions between them which have an important bearing on my rejection of ‘psychical distance’ as a viable aesthetic process. ii. how the unique nature and role of ‘genius’ in art provides us, not only with arguments supporting the views expressed in my theory, but with more reasons to believe that art is in a league apart in aesthetics, and could perhaps benefit further from its study through a philosophy of mind. iii. ‘expression’ and ‘communication’ as fundamental sources of, and constituents of art, and their application through a form of ‘Representational Symbolism’ developed in S. LANGER’s theory of aesthetics. iv. the need for a thorough familiarization and understanding of the content, context, and genetic sources of works of art, in order to achieve a rapprochement/communion between artists and the observers of their works. v. H.G. GADAMER’s theory of ‘play’, 1) as an explanation of how the essence of works of art, though shaped by the thoughts and feelings of artists, interpreters, and observers, is protected by the work’s ‘circle of meaning’ which sets observers at an ‘absolute distance’ from the work, making therefore ‘any practical purposive share’ in it impossible; and 2) as a hermeneutical approach which allows Gadamer to solve problems of ‘contemporaneity’ in art. vi. some important aspects of M. MERLEAU-PONTY’s theory of ‘perception’; in particular, his emphasis on the necessity, for an understanding of, and communion with, the world, of a grasp of nature’s language

Half-life Limit of 19Mg

A search for 19Mg was performed using projectile fragmentation of a 150 MeV/nucleon 36Ar beam. No events of 19Mg were observed. From the time-of-flight through the fragment separator an upper limit of 22 ns for the half-life of 19Mg was established

Photoproduction of π+ mesons from hydrogen

The differential cross section for π+ photoproduction has been determined at 19 points, at center-of-mass angles from 30 to 150 deg, and at photon energies from 162 to 225 MeV. The data are concentrated near 180 MeV, where a full angular distribution has been determined. The relative values of the cross sections are accurate to 5% or better, and the absolute normalization is accurate to 4%. The experiment provides data of improved accuracy which are in general consistent with previous results. The extrapolation to threshold gives a value for (k*/p*)(dσ/dΩ)* at threshold of 16.1±0.7 μb/sr, where k*, p*, and (dσ/dΩ)* are the photon energy, pion momentum, and differential cross section, all in the center-of-mass system

Production of Radioactive Nuclides in Inverse Reaction Kinematics

Efficient production of short-lived radioactive isotopes in inverse reaction kinematics is an important technique for various applications. It is particularly interesting when the isotope of interest is only a few nucleons away from a stable isotope. In this article production via charge exchange and stripping reactions in combination with a magnetic separator is explored. The relation between the separator transmission efficiency, the production yield, and the choice of beam energy is discussed. The results of some exploratory experiments will be presented.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to be submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Met

Effect of skin dielectric properties on the read range of epidermal ultra-high frequency radio-frequency identification tags

This Letter presents an investigation of the effect of human tissue conductivity and permittivity on the performance of epidermal transfer tattoo ultra-high frequency radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. The measurements were carried out on 20 individuals and the variations in the measured dielectric properties correlate well with variations in the measured tag read range on the individuals and to a lesser extent with their body mass index values. Simulation results also showed the effects of permittivity and conductivity on the designed resonance frequency of the RFID tag

Solid state NMR of salivary calculi: Proline-rich salivary proteins, citrate, polysaccharides, lipids, and organic–mineral interactions

Solid state NMR (ssNMR) can characterize mineral (31P) and organic (13C) components of human salivary stones (n = 8). All show apatitic 31P spectra. 13C ssNMR indicates more protein, of more consistent composition, than apatitic uroliths, with signals from Tyr, Phe and His prominent. Citrate and lipid, identified by dipolar dephasing (DD), and polysaccharides are also observable in varying amounts. 13C{31P} rotational echo double resonance (13C{31P} REDOR) identifies carbon atoms in close (< ca. 0.5 nm) proximity to phosphorus and therefore probably binding with mineral. Citrate, sugar and carboxylate signals undergo strong 13C{31P} REDOR, also seen to signals between 50 and 60 ppm, from protein α- carbons and, possibly, phosphoserines and phospholipids, and sometimes to a 35 – 40 ppm envelope containing Asp-Cβ and Glu-Cγ signals. Amino acid analysis indicates high proline and aromatic content. 13C ssNMR and amino acid composition is consistent with preponderance of proline-rich salivary proteins such as statherin.The U.K. EPSRC (Y. L.) and MRC (D. G. R.) for fundingThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.crci.2015.07.00