A Virtue Semantics

In this paper, I propose a virtue-theoretic approach to semantics, according to which the study of linguistic competence in particular, and the study of meaning and language in general, should focus on a speaker's interpretative virtues, such as charity and interpretability, rather than the speaker's knowledge of rules. The first part of the paper proffers an argument for shifting to virtue semantics, and the second part outlines the nature of such virtue semantics

Non-Adiabatic Effects on Electron Beam Quality for Frequency-Tunable Gyrotrons

We propose an unconventional electron gun structure in which the emitter is located on a concave cathode surface with a non-uniform electric field. Such a design violates the intuition that an emitter should place close to a uniform electric field to reduce the velocity spread. The commonly employed design guide based on the adiabatic condition predicts a huge velocity spread of 24%, but the simulation using EGUN code and verified with CST particle studio shows a very low spread of 2.8%. Examining the magnetic moment and the kinetic energy of the beam reveals that the electrons experience a relatively long acceleration process due to the much weak electric field. That's why the non-adiabatic effect matters. In addition to the cyclotron compression and the E$\times$B drift, the "resonant" polarization drift plays a crucial role in reducing the overall velocity spread.Simulations show a decent beam quality with the pitch factor of 1.5 and the transverse velocity spread of 2.8% over a wide range of the magnetic field (7.4-8.0 T) and the beam voltage (12-22 kV) with a high structural tolerance. The promising results with the wide working range enable the development of continuous frequency-tunable gyrotrons.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, and 2 table

Habit: A Rylean Conception

Tennis champion Maria Sharapova has a habit of grunting when she plays on the court. Assume that she also has a habit of hitting the ball in a certain way in a certain situation. The habit of on-court grunting might be bad, but can the habit of hitting the ball in a certain way in a certain situation be classified as intelligent? The fundamental questions here are as follows: What is habit? What is the relation between habit and skill? Is there such a thing as intelligent habit? In this paper I expound the nature of habit by developing and defending a Rylean conception of habit, according to which an acquired disposition is a habit if and only if the manifestation of the disposition is repeated, automatic, and uniform. One implication of this conception is that there is no such thing as intelligent habit. A practical application in athletic expertise is that sport coaches can help athletes go beyond repeated, automatic, and uniform dispositions in sport