Revolution as exploration of the soul: Charles Robert Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer

The Romantic period is defined by the idea of revolution. In 1816, Percy Shelley wrote that the French Revolution of 1789 was still " the master theme of the epoch in which we live". The French Revolution, however, left its mark not only because it implanted republican ideals, it also created a fear of its anarchic and violent aftermath. No literary genre captures the hopes and fears associated with the idea of revolution better than the Gothic genre. Charles Robert Maturin's 1820 novel Melmoth the Wanderer captures this atmosphere perfectly. One of the earliest works of the Irish Gothic, the novel reflects both the appeal of the revolution and the conservative fear and resistance to fundamental change associated with it. The ambiguity and oscillating quality of the novel creates a feverish claustrophobia. I will apply Mikhail Bakhtin theory of the carnivalesque to explore the very modern quality of the text. Maturin's novel illustrates the tensions inherent in the Romantic period, and I use Bakhtin's theory to describe this tension as an attempt to describe the crisis of the traditional social order

Análisis de vías de agua de brocas de perforación diamantina mediante simulación numérica

El presente documento detalla la variación de las condiciones de trabajo que se obtiene al modificar la geometría de las vías de agua de las brocas de perforación diamantinas, las cuales son utilizadas como herramientas de corte durante los procesos de perforación. En la primera etapa de la investigación, el análisis de la problemática se realiza mediante simulaciones numéricas, siendo el alcance la comparación de las características fluido-dinámicas del flujo de enfriamiento tanto de las brocas con vías de agua estándar (radiales), como de las brocas con las vías de agua modificada (con un ángulo de inclinación). Posteriormente, con el objetivo de probar el desempeño de las brocas y el desgaste que se presenta en cada geometría, se realizaron ensayos experimentales (ensayos de perforación) en las instalaciones de la empresa Boyles Bros Diamantina. En esta etapa, es importante mencionar que la empresa dispuso de una máquina de perforación y de un área de sus instalaciones para el desarrollo de las pruebas experimentales. Finalmente, según los resultados obtenidos, se logra verificar que la modificación de la geometría de vías de agua influye en el desempeño de la broca de perforación de manera positiva. En el caso de la simulación numérica se observa un desarrollo del fluido más eficiente, con vectores de velocidad de mayor magnitud y con zonas de intensidad de turbulencia más uniformes, lo cual se traduce en una mejor capacidad de enfriamiento de la broca de perforación. En cuanto a los resultados de los ensayos experimentales, se observó una reducción aproximada del desgaste de la corona de 54 % durante los primeros 25 metros de perforación, así como un menor desgaste del casquillo de acero producto de una mejor evacuación de detritos (conglomerado de partículas rocosas y partículas de la matriz de la broca). Estos resultados demuestran que el diseño propuesto de vías de agua inclinadas es una alternativa viable con grandes beneficios, pues proporciona una mayor eficiencia en la capacidad de enfriamiento, y reduce tanto el calentamiento de la broca como la ductilidad de la matriz metálica, lo que en consecuencia permite disminuir las posibilidades de desgaste prematuro de la matriz y del casquillo de acero, lográndose mayores metrajes de perforación.Tesi

Rotational spectra of isotopic species of methyl cyanide, CH3_3CN, in their ground vibrational states up to terahertz frequencies

Methyl cyanide is an important trace molecule in star-forming regions. It is one of the more common molecules used to derive kinetic temperatures in such sources. As preparatory work for Herschel, SOFIA, and in particular ALMA we want to improve the rest frequencies of the main as well as minor isotopologs of methyl cyanide. The laboratory rotational spectrum of methyl cyanide in natural isotopic composition has been recorded up to 1.63 THz. Transitions with good signal-to-noise ratio could be identified for CH$_3$CN, $^{13}$CH$_3$CN, CH$_3^{13}$CN, CH$_3$C$^{15}$N, CH$_2$DCN, and $^{13}$CH$_3^{13}$CN in their ground vibrational states up to about 1.2 THz. The main isotopic species could be identified even in the highest frequency spectral recordings around 1.6 THz. The highest $J'$ quantum numbers included in the fit are 64 for $^{13}$CH$_3^{13}$CN and 89 for the main isotopic species. Greatly improved spectroscopic parameters have been obtained by fitting the present data together with previously reported transition frequencies. The present data will be helpful to identify isotopologs of methyl cyanide in the higher frequency bands of instruments such as the recently launched Herschel satellite, the upcoming airplane mission SOFIA or the radio telescope array ALMA.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, article appeared; CDMS links update

Vitória Bay Pollution Study in the Frame of the TAGUBAR Research Project: Geochemistry of the Sediments of Espírito Santo Bay

The Espírito SantoBay is located in Espírito Santo state in the eastern part of Brazil. It is surrounded by the city of Vitória on one side and by the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Superficial sediments of Espírito Santo Bay were analyzed at 12 (western shallow silt sediments) + 8 (eastern sandy sediments and relatively deep sampling stations) = 20 uniformly distributed sampling points, where geochemical analysis was performed. Nineteen elements were analyzed: Mo, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Ni, Mn, Fe, As, U, Th, Sr, Cd, Sb, Bi, V, Cr, Ba, and Al. This selection was made based on the most representative heavy metals present in this area and according to the results obtained from the geochemical analysis. Their concentrations were compared with metal contamination benchmarks such asscreening quick reference tables (SQuiRTs), effects rangelow (ERL), effects range median (ERM), threshold effects levels (TELs), probable effects levels (PELs), and apparent effects thresholds (AETs). The results indicated that there was no particular pollution condition able to alter the condition of any part of this water body. The authors conclude that the Espírito Santo Bay is only moderately polluted, and some elements are virtually absent

David Collings. 2019. Disastrous Subjectivities: Romanticism, Modernity, and the Real. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 248 pp.

One of the most persistent narratives about the Romantic period is concerned with the origin of modernity. Several fundamental transformations and events – the American Declaration of Independence, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the functional differentiation of society, the development of the modern scientific system, and the gradual secularisation of Western society – characterise the Romantic period as an age of transition towards something fundamentally new. Particularly the crisis of religion creates a sense that the concept of history is no longer experienced in terms of eschatology but rather as an immaimmanent trajectory without beginning or end