Kant and the problem of objectivity

This thesis took root in a dissatisfaction with the way in which the problem of objective knowledge - the problem of objectivity in general - in the context of Kant's theoretical enterprise, had been discussed and understood by those philosophers working in this area. In brief, too little attention has been given to works other than the Critique of Pure Reason, or when it has been given, it is usually under the awesome shadow of the First Critique. It is clear to me now that a complete picture of Kant's theory of objectivity cannot he understood from the Firs Critique alone; for Y.ant's philosophy and theory of science and scientific theorizing, tell a rather different story, about things in themselves, the unconditioned, and the conditions necessary and sufficient for objectivity. In order to present a cogent argument in defense of this thesis, it has been necessary to go through a number of Kant's works in some detail and this has meant writing an essay longer than I had expected to write when I first started; indeed, since I began, publications have appeared which touch upon some of the topics I discuss and these naturally suggest alternative ways of approaching the problems dealt with but for the most part, I am convinced that it was required to argue at length about the different aspects of the whole problem of objectivity, if my central thesis was to be at all persuasive. While I have no illusions about the extent to which I have answered the central problems of objectivity, I do think that there is more to the problems related to objectivity in the context of Kant's theoretical framework than has previously been generally understood.In this essay I have tried to work my way through to a general conclusion with respect to metaphysical theories pertaining to the nature of reality and the place of ontology and epistemology within such theories. It hardly needs to be said that a piece of work of this kind, ranging as it does over a wide spectrum of Kant's works, and attempting to address itself to many particular different issues in order to better pronounce on some import- :ant issues of a more general sort, is indebted to many authors who have written in or around the subject -area. The fact that I have relegated all references to secondary material to the notes is not meant to hide this debt but to make for an uncluttered text. My intellectual debts are many and cannot be represented by any single school or group of thinkers; I owe much to the work of Buchdahl, Putnam, Sellars and Silber all of whom may perhaps be said to be representative of the philosophical perspective according to which philosophical problems are properly understood and illuminating only when considered in the context of related problem areas. At any rate, from such as these I have profited greatly. There are many others whose work on Kantian and related problems have enriched my own appreciation of the difficulties involved in an issue such as the problem of objectivity and I try to acknowledge this appreciation whenever appropriate in the notes to the text

Thermochemical energy storage for a lunar base

A thermochemical solar energy storage concept involving the reversible reaction CaO + H2O yields Ca(OH)2 is proposed as a power system element for a lunar base. The operation and components of such a system are described. The CaO/H2O system is capable of generating electric power during both the day and night. Mass of the required amount of CaO is neglected since it is obtained from lunar soil. Potential technical problems, such as reactor design and lunar soil processing, are reviewed

The emittance of space radiator materials measured at elevated temperatures

The spectral emittances of textured space radiator materials between 1.7 and 14.7 micrometer have been evaluated at room temperature and elevated temperature (630 C) in air. Heating in air caused a permanent increase in spectral emittance for all materials tested: HCl/ion beam textured 304 stainless steel, untextured Ti (6 percent Al, 4 percent V), and sandblasted Ti (6 percent Al, 4 percent V). Changes in the surface chemistry and/or surface morphology of these materials were also observed. Elevated temperature spectral emittance was measured in an argon atmosphere and compared to the measurements in air. Similarity between the room temperature and elevated temperature spectral emittance measurements was also investigated, and limited agreement was found

Scoping Calculations of Power Sources for Nuclear Electric Propulsion

This technical memorandum describes models and calculational procedures to fully characterize the nuclear island of power sources for nuclear electric propulsion. Two computer codes were written: one for the gas-cooled NERVA derivative reactor and the other for liquid metal-cooled fuel pin reactors. These codes are going to be interfaced by NASA with the balance of plant in order to make scoping calculations for mission analysis

Scoping calculations of power sources for NEP

Three Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) systems are evaluated in the context of the two following criteria: (1) power levels (P)--10-50 Mw; and (2) core life (D)--2-10 yrs. The three types of reactors are as follows: (1) high temperature gas-cooled reactors of the NERVA derivative type; (2) lithium-cooled advanced fuel pin--one-phase flow; and (3) lithium-cooled Cermet--one-phase flow. The discussion is presented in vugraph form

Total hemispherical emittance measured at high temperatures by the calorimetric method

A calorimetric vacuum emissometer (CVE) capable of measuring total hemispherical emittance of surfaces at elevated temperatures was designed, built, and tested. Several materials with a wide range of emittances were measured in the CVE between 773 to 923 K. These results were compared to values calculated from spectral emittance curves measured in a room temperature Hohlraum reflectometer and in an open-air elevated temperature emissometer. The results differed by as much as 0.2 for some materials but were in closer agreement for the more highly-emitting, diffuse-reflecting samples. The differences were attributed to temperature, atmospheric, and directional effects, and errors in the Hohlraum and emissometer measurements (plus or minus 5 percent). The probable error of the CVE measurements was typically less than 1 percent

Conditions Around the Proton Beam Window of the Spallation Neutron Source

A proton beam window separates regions with different vacuum conditions in the last part of the path of the proton beam. Very near to the window an instrumentation box for beam diagnostics is going to be located. All components comprising the proton beam window assembly are going to be located in a box, which has to be serviced regularly through a channel perpendicular to the direction of the beam (2mA 1 GeV protons). Due to the strong effects of the proton window, the engineering design of this part of the target facility requires detailed calculations of the heating and dose distributions for beam on and off conditions as a function of the materials for the window and the shielding of the instrumentation box. A summary of the results, relevant to decisions to be taken regarding the design and operation of the facility, are presented