Alchemical Transformation: Consciousness and matter, form and information

There has grown up, relatively recently, a nucleus of interests called ìconsciousness studiesî in which physicists and mathematicians, as well as neuroscientists and psychologists, attempt to discover the origins of ìconsciousnessî within the brain. A variety of approaches are employed, some based upon neural networks, others that argue that consciousness must have a quantum mechanical basis, or involve self-organization arising out of non-linearity. A common thread is a certain sense of optimism that ìthe question of consciousnessî will yield its secrets in the same way as, for example, the genetic code or sub-atomic matter. I must confess that I find none of the approaches or arguments particularly convincing. It could be soî, I find myself thinking, but it could equally be otherwise.î My greatest concern is that old habits of thinking and ways of seeing, which could, in part, be termed mechanistic or reductionist abound in this new field, a field, I believe, that is radically different from anything science has hitherto explored. There are deep philosophical problems still to be debated, issues involving questions of identity, the role of the observer, the movement from object to process, the role of the subtle and the transformation of matter by what may lie beyond. We must move cautiously. The issue is informed from several different sources. There is the subjective, which can be perfectly rational and, in a cer tain sense, scientific. The subjective includes knowledge and approaches from the personal, the psychotherapeutic and various meditative and mystical traditions. Then there is our increasing scientific knowledge of the brain\u27s structure and chemistry, as well as the similarity of certain neurotransmitters to molecules employed by the immune system, which, distributed throughout the body, may well be as complex and equally subtle as the brain itself. Speculations about consciousness, non-locality, subtle levels of matter and active information also come from theoretical physics. Such an influx of creativity, from the theoretical sciences, is to be welcomed yet there is a danger of a certain naivetÈ capable of glossing over much deeper issues. To this list of sources I would add the philosophical tradition, of West and East, instruments of investigation that are sometimes ignored by scientists working in the field. Anyone speaking about consciousness , for example, should be cautioned by Wittgenstein\u27s writings on language games. Indeed, language is one of the key issues in our whole venture. Having had the privilege of discussions with Native American elders who speak the Algonquin family of languagesóall strongly verb-basedóI realize how deeply conditioned is our thinking by noun-based Indo- European languages. Our acts of speech incline us to perceive a world of objects and of concepts. The creation of the concept, placing a boundary around thoughts, ordering them into classes, and classes of classes, seems inevitable to us and the very basis of our logical thought. It is therefore salutary to realize that an equally rational and deeply philosophical people do not involve themselves with the creation of concepts but base their thinking on process, transformation and flux. Were a Blackfoot to write an essay on the subject of ìconsciousness (of course this concept itself would never arise) many of the problems that currently face us-would never arise; a different set of difficulties could, to us, be particularly illuminating. in particular, since group consciousness, shared dreams, constant transformation, and participation in a world of ìenergies or ìspirits,î seems perfectly natural, Blackfoot philosophers may be less interested in ìcollective mindî that in speculating as how such a thing as an individual consciousness and a fixed ego could ever emerge out of such a flux. In engaging in these investigations we should keep Niels Bohrís maxim before us, ìWe are suspended in language in such a way that we cannot say what is up and what is down. We must never forget that ìrealityî too is a human word just like ìwave\u27 or ìconsciousnessî. Our task is to learn to use these words correctly.

TOWARDS A PROCESS THEORY OF HEALING: ENERGY, ACTIVITY AND GLOBAL FORM

The paper begins with a discussion of the ideas of subtle energy and its circulation that appear common to many different healing cultures. These ideas are compared to and contrasted with notions of energy from within Western physics and it is suggested that some more subtle views, or paradigms, of energy are required within Western science. In particular, the implications of a process and verb-based world view are briefly explored, together with the possibility of a process-based mathematics. Within such a descriptive system notions of energy-process would be remarkably different. The paper then explores the extent to which such notions may be present, or have the potential for development within modern physics. These include such approaches as giving subtle forms to available energy, the activities of information and global correlations within systems and the notions of coherence whereby subtle correlations can produce powerful effects. In particular, the idea of non-logical and global correlation is discussed in the context of quantum theory and 50called Chaos Theory. Ideas of Gentle Action are also introduced and it is suggested how, through a field of global meaning (or nonlocal correlations), an active form of energy may circulate through the body and act to renew its functioning and bring the various organs into active balance. In this view, the various healing arts are designed to renew and foster the harmonious functioning of mind and body. Finally, in all appendix to this paper, a more technical account is presented of the sortS of Ilonlocal correlations that exist at the quantum level

The objective existence of evil in the early theology of Karl Barth

This thesis is concerned with the early theology of Karl Earth. That means all the material published between 1911 and 1931. Any work outside this period is referred to only in order to clarify a point under discussion. This is not an historical study, although reference is made to Earth's changing circumstances when appropriate. Primarily this thesis aims to be a discussion in systematic theology. It addresses the problem of theological objectivity, that is, how can the theologian when speaking of God say "this is the case". The thesis concentrates upon Earth's understanding of ontology as it fuelled his thinking during the early years. It highlights the way in which Earth's growing awareness of God's freedom, sovereignty and subjectivity formed the foundation of a theological approach. The thesis is selective in the material on which draws. Strong emphasis is placed upon the influences of Holy Scripture, the writings of Christoph Blumhardt and Franz Overbeck, along with the debates in which Barth engaged with the thinking of Schleiermacher and Harnack. Finally attention is drawn to the way in which Earth's study of the works of Anselm helped him overcome the weaknesses of his early thinking and move towards his Dogmatic approach

Evaluation of the synergistic erosion-corrosion behaviour of HVOF thermal spray coatings

The present study examines three High Velocity Oxy Fuel deposited coatings, Tungsten Carbide, Chromium Carbide and Aluminium Oxide, under slurry erosion-corrosion conditions. Coatings produced in this manner typically exhibit superior density and hardness over alternative thermal spray technologies, therefore are suitable for use in corrosive and highly erosive environments. The scope of the study concentrates on isolation of the contributing factors of erosion, corrosion and synergy through applied electrochemistry, as well as metallographic analysis to evaluate the mechanisms causing coating degradation. The aim of which is to provide comprehensive data on the performance of the mentioned coatings under erosion-corrosion in conditions representing a flowing environment. Results demonstrate the breakdown of Chromium Carbide and Aluminium Oxide coatings result in enhanced mass loss over the uncoated S355 steel. Despite this, results have shown Tungsten Carbide with a Cobalt binder to be an effective protective coating, resulting in a significant reduction in total material loss over uncoated S355 steel

Magnetic resonance relaxation at ultra low temperatures

The focus of this thesis is to produce highly polarised Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) samples for use in vivo applications. This work focuses on using the brute force method to polarise relevant molecules, for example, 13C labelled pyruvic acid and 13C labelled sodium acetate. The brute force method uses the Boltzmann distribution to polarise a sample by exposing it to large magnetic fields, 15 T, and ultra-low temperatures, ~20 mK. The disadvantage of using this method is the long polarisation time. To counteract the long relaxation times, two sets of relaxation agents were assessed: paramagnetic lanthanides and nanoparticles. Chelated gadolinium is routinely used as a spin-lattice, T1, contrast agent in clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). It is known that when the electron spin flip time is similar to the Larmor frequency, the T1¬ time of the nuclei is reduced. Each lanthanide has a different electron spin flip time, therefore, one lanthanide may be effective at low temperatures. Unfortunately the lanthanides do not prove to be efficient in the millikelvin regime, where the brute force method is at its most effective, so the lanthanides are of limited use. Metals are known to have short T1 times in the millikelvin regime due to the Korringa effect. The conduction electrons of the metal can contribute or absorb energy from nuclei, resulting in a reduction of the T1 of relevant molecules. By having a strong interaction between conduction electrons and the nuclei of interest, it could be possible to reduce the T1¬ of any nuclei of interest. To maximise the contact between the metals and the nuclei, metal nanoparticles were used. Copper and platinum nanoparticle samples are shown to enhance the relaxation rate of nearby protons, however, aluminium and silver nanoparticle samples, which are also expected to be effective, are not. This contradicts the idea that the Korringa effect is the only relaxation mechanism which relaxes the nuclei. The magnetic properties of nanoparticles can be different from their bulk counterpart, therefore, could be contributing to the relaxation of nearby nuclei. It would therefore be advantageous to study the nanoparticle’s magnetisation in a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID). Unfortunately, the interpretation of the magnetisation becomes very complicated, as the nanoparticles can react with the solvents. These reactions can result in a 1000-fold increase in the magnetisation of the sample. With the limited magnetic data collected in this work, it is difficult to correlate the nanoparticles magnetic properties with their effectiveness as a T1 relaxation agent

Magnetic resonance relaxation at ultra low temperatures

The focus of this thesis is to produce highly polarised Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) samples for use in vivo applications. This work focuses on using the brute force method to polarise relevant molecules, for example, 13C labelled pyruvic acid and 13C labelled sodium acetate. The brute force method uses the Boltzmann distribution to polarise a sample by exposing it to large magnetic fields, 15 T, and ultra-low temperatures, ~20 mK. The disadvantage of using this method is the long polarisation time. To counteract the long relaxation times, two sets of relaxation agents were assessed: paramagnetic lanthanides and nanoparticles. Chelated gadolinium is routinely used as a spin-lattice, T1, contrast agent in clinical Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). It is known that when the electron spin flip time is similar to the Larmor frequency, the T1¬ time of the nuclei is reduced. Each lanthanide has a different electron spin flip time, therefore, one lanthanide may be effective at low temperatures. Unfortunately the lanthanides do not prove to be efficient in the millikelvin regime, where the brute force method is at its most effective, so the lanthanides are of limited use. Metals are known to have short T1 times in the millikelvin regime due to the Korringa effect. The conduction electrons of the metal can contribute or absorb energy from nuclei, resulting in a reduction of the T1 of relevant molecules. By having a strong interaction between conduction electrons and the nuclei of interest, it could be possible to reduce the T1¬ of any nuclei of interest. To maximise the contact between the metals and the nuclei, metal nanoparticles were used. Copper and platinum nanoparticle samples are shown to enhance the relaxation rate of nearby protons, however, aluminium and silver nanoparticle samples, which are also expected to be effective, are not. This contradicts the idea that the Korringa effect is the only relaxation mechanism which relaxes the nuclei. The magnetic properties of nanoparticles can be different from their bulk counterpart, therefore, could be contributing to the relaxation of nearby nuclei. It would therefore be advantageous to study the nanoparticle’s magnetisation in a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID). Unfortunately, the interpretation of the magnetisation becomes very complicated, as the nanoparticles can react with the solvents. These reactions can result in a 1000-fold increase in the magnetisation of the sample. With the limited magnetic data collected in this work, it is difficult to correlate the nanoparticles magnetic properties with their effectiveness as a T1 relaxation agent

Performance evaluation of HVOF deposited cermet coatings under dry and slurry erosion

The present work reports on the examination of three High Velocity Oxy Fuel deposited coatings, Tungsten Carbide, Chromium Carbide and Aluminium Oxide, under slurry erosion and dry erosion conditions. The density and hardness of coatings produced in this manner are typically superior to other thermal spray processes, and are therefore suitable for use in corrosive and highly erosive environments. The primary aim of this investigation was to establish the total mass and volume loss from each coating under dry and slurry erosion testing conditions and compare the level of material loss following the respective testing regimes. The scope of the study incorporated the application of cathodic protection to prohibit the effects of corrosion in the case of slurry erosion testing. This approach ensured that any damage to the surface could be attributed to pure erosion, and as such, be assessed against the dry erosion test data. Subsequent examination of the resulting wear scars facilitated assessment of the level of damage caused by the impinging slurry. Results revealed variation in the level of degradation experienced by each coating type under the respective test conditions. Under both dry erosion and slurry erosion, Tungsten Carbide with a Cobalt binder proved an effective protective coating by exhibiting a reduction in material loss over other assessed coatings

Is the objective food environment associated with perceptions of the food environment?

Objective The present study examined whether objective measures of the food environment are associated with perceptions of the food environment and whether this relationship varies by socio-economic disadvantage.Design The study is a cross-sectional analysis of self-report surveys and objective environment data. Women reported their perceptions on the nutrition environment. Participants&rsquo; homes and food stores were geocoded to measure the objective community nutrition environment. Data on the average price and variety of fruit and vegetables were used to measure the objective consumer nutrition environment.Setting The study was conducted in Melbourne, Australia, in 2003&ndash;2004.Subjects Data presented are from a sample of 1393 women aged 18&ndash;65 years.Results Overall the match between the perceived and objective environment was poor, underscoring the limitations in using perceptions of the environment as a proxy for the objective environment. Socio-economic disadvantage had limited impact on the relationship between perceived and objective nutrition environment.Conclusions Further research is needed to understand the determinants of perceptions of the nutrition environment to enhance our understanding of the role of perceptions in nutrition choices and drivers of socio-economic inequalities in nutrition.<br /