64 research outputs found
Artifact and Artifact Categorization: Comparing Humans and Capuchin Monkeys
International audienceWe aim to show that far-related primates like humans and the capuchin monkeys show interesting correspondences in terms of artifact characterization and categorization. We investigate this issue by using a philosophically-inspired definition of physical artifact which, developed for human artifacts, turns out to be applicable for cross-species comparison. In this approach an artifact is created when an entity is intentionally selected and some capacities attributed to it (often characterizing a purpose). Behavioral studies suggest that this notion of artifact is not specific to the human kind. On the basis of the results of a series of field observations and experiments on wild capuchin monkeys that routinely use stone hammers and anvils, we show that the notions of intentional selection and attributed capacity appear to be at play in capuchins as well. The study also suggests that functional criteria and contextualization play a fundamental role in terms of artifact recognition and categorization in nonhuman primates
A New Cryogenic Apparatus to Search for the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment
A cryogenic apparatus is described that enables a new experiment, nEDM@SNS,
with a major improvement in sensitivity compared to the existing limit in the
search for a neutron Electric Dipole Moment (EDM). It uses superfluid He to
produce a high density of Ultra-Cold Neutrons (UCN) which are contained in a
suitably coated pair of measurement cells. The experiment, to be operated at
the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, uses polarized
He from an Atomic Beam Source injected into the superfluid He and
transported to the measurement cells as a co-magnetometer. The superfluid
He is also used as an insulating medium allowing significantly higher
electric fields, compared to previous experiments, to be maintained across the
measurement cells. These features provide an ultimate statistical uncertainty
for the EDM of e-cm, with anticipated systematic
uncertainties below this level
A Ciberguerra É Moderna! Uma Investigação sobre a Relação entre Tecnologia e Modernização na Guerra
Joseph Brent. Charles Sanders Peirce. A life. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis1993, xvi + 388 pp.
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