Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orchestral Brandenburg Concertos; solo instrumental works such as the Cello Suites and Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier; organ works such as the Schübler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and choral works such as the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. He is known for his mastery of counterpoint, as heard in The Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue. Felix Mendelssohn precipitated the Bach Revival with a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829. Ever since, Bach has been acclaimed as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music.
The Bach family had already produced several composers when Johann Sebastian was born in Eisenach, the youngest child of the city musician Johann Ambrosius Bach. After being orphaned at age 10, he lived for five years with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph, then continued his musical education in Lüneburg. In 1703 he returned to Thuringia, working as a musician for Protestant churches in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen. Around that time he also paid extended visits to the courts in Weimar, where he expanded his organ repertory, and the reformed court at Köthen, where he was mostly engaged with chamber music. By 1723 he was hired as Thomaskantor, church music director of the city of Leipzig and thus responsible for music in four Lutheran city churches and for the St. Thomas School. He decided to compose annual cycles of church cantatas, and also wrote music for Leipzig University's student ensemble, Collegium Musicum. In 1726 he began publishing his organ and other keyboard music. In Leipzig, he had difficult relations with his employer, as he had during some of his earlier positions. This situation was somewhat remedied when his sovereign, Augustus III of Poland, granted him the title of court composer of the Elector of Saxony in 1736. In the last decades of his life, Bach reworked and extended many of his earlier compositions. He died due to complications following eye surgery in 1750 at the age of 65. Four of his twenty children, Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Christoph Friedrich, and Johann Christian, became composers.
Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France. His compositions include hundreds of cantatas, both sacred and secular. He composed Latin church music, Passions, oratorios, and motets. He adopted Lutheran hymns, not only in his larger vocal works but also in such works as his four-part chorales and his sacred songs. Bach wrote extensively for organ and other keyboard instruments. He composed concertos, for instance for violin and for harpsichord, and suites, as chamber music as well as for orchestra. Many of his works use contrapuntal techniques like canon and fugue.
Several decades after his death, in the 18th century, Bach was still primarily known as an organist. Several biographies of Bach were published in the 19th century, and by the end of that century all of his known music had been printed. Dissemination of Bach scholarship continued through periodicals (and later websites) devoted to him, other publications such as the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV, a numbered catalogue of his works), and new critical editions of his compositions. His music was further popularised by a multitude of arrangements, including the "Air on the G String" and "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", and recordings, among them three boxed sets of performances of his complete œuvre marking the 250th anniversary of his death.


Johann Sebastian Bach (disambiguation)


Johann Sebastian Bach (painter)


Johann Sebastian Bach Institute


Keyboard concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach


Leipzig Bach Museum


List of Bach cantatas


List of chorale harmonisations by Johann Sebastian Bach


List of church cantatas by liturgical occasion


List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach

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Lists of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach

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List of concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach


List of fugal works by Johann Sebastian Bach


List of keyboard and lute compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach


List of masses, passions and oratorios by Johann Sebastian Bach


List of motets by Johann Sebastian Bach


List of orchestral works by Johann Sebastian Bach


List of organ compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach


List of songs and arias by Johann Sebastian Bach


List of suites by Johann Sebastian Bach


Maria Barbara Bach


New Bach Edition


Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach


Orchestral suites (Bach)


Organ Sonatas (Bach)


Organ concerto (Bach)


Partita for Violin No. 2 (Bach)


Portraits of Johann Sebastian Bach


Sinfonia


Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (Bach)


Spitta's Johann Sebastian Bach


Wilhelm Friedemann Bach


Architecture

Architecture is the study and practice of designing structures, especially habitable ones. It utilizes civil engineering techniques, but is considered a visual art. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings or other structures. The term comes from Latin  architectura; from Ancient Greek  ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn) 'architect'; from  ἀρχι- (arkhi-) 'chief' and  τέκτων (téktōn) 'creator'. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.
The practice of architecture itself, which began in the prehistoric era, has been used as a way of expressing culture by civilizations on all seven continents. For this reason, architecture is considered to be a form of art. Texts on architecture have been written since ancient times. The earliest surviving text on architectural theories is the 1st century BC treatise De architectura by the Roman architect Vitruvius, according to whom a good building embodies firmitas, utilitas, and venustas (durability, utility, and beauty). Centuries later, Leon Battista Alberti developed his ideas further, seeing beauty as an objective quality of buildings to be found in their proportions. In the 19th century, Louis Sullivan declared that "form follows function". "Function" began to replace the classical "utility" and was understood to include not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological, and cultural dimensions. The idea of sustainable architecture was introduced in the late 20th century.
Architecture began as rural, oral vernacular architecture that developed from trial and error to successful replication. Ancient urban architecture was preoccupied with building religious structures and buildings symbolizing the political power of rulers until Greek and Roman architecture shifted focus to civic virtues. Indian and Chinese architecture influenced forms all over Asia and Buddhist architecture in particular took diverse local flavors. During the Middle Ages, pan-European styles of Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals and abbeys emerged while the Renaissance favored Classical forms implemented by architects known by name. Later, the roles of architects and engineers became separated.
Modern architecture began after World War I as an avant-garde movement that sought to develop a completely new style appropriate for a new post-war social and economic order focused on meeting the needs of the middle and working classes. Emphasis was put on modern techniques, materials, and simplified geometric forms, paving the way for high-rise superstructures. Many architects became disillusioned with modernism which they perceived as ahistorical and anti-aesthetic, and postmodern and contemporary architecture developed. Over the years, the field of architectural construction has branched out to include everything from ship design to interior decorating.


Architecture in Central Asia

Architecture in Central Asia refers to the architectural styles of the numerous societies that have occupied Central Asia throughout history. These styles include a regional tradition of Islamic and Iranian architecture, including Timurid architecture of the 14th and 15th centuries, as well as 20th-century Soviet Modernism. Central Asia is an area that encompasses land from the Xinjiang Province of China in the East to the Caspian Sea in the West. The region is made up of the countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. The influence of Timurid architecture can be recognised in numerous sites in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, whilst the influence of Persian architecture is seen frequently in Uzbekistan and in some examples in Turkmenistan. Examples of Soviet architecture can be found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.


Architecture in early modern Scotland

Architecture in early modern Scotland encompasses all building within the borders of the kingdom of Scotland, from the early sixteenth century to the mid-eighteenth century. The time period roughly corresponds to the early modern era in Europe, beginning with the Renaissance and Reformation and ending with the start of the Enlightenment and Industrialisation.
Vernacular architecture made use of local materials such as stone, turf and, where available, wood. Most of the population was housed in small hamlets and isolated dwellings. The most common form of dwelling throughout Scotland was the long house, shared by humans and animals. About ten percent of the population lived in the burghs, in a mixture of half-timbered and stone houses.
The impact of the Renaissance on Scottish architecture began in the reign of James III in the late fifteenth century with the rebuilding of royal palaces such as Linlithgow, and reached its peak under James V. The Reformation had a major impact on ecclesiastical architecture from the mid-sixteenth century onward, resulting in simple church buildings, devoid of ornamentation. From the 1560s great private houses were built in a distinctive style that became known as Scottish Baronial. Such houses combined Renaissance features with those of Scottish castles and tower houses, resulting in larger, more comfortable residences.
After the Restoration in 1660, there was a fashion for grand private houses in designs influenced by the Palladian style and associated with the architects Sir William Bruce (1630–1710) and James Smith (c. 1645–1731). After the Act of Union in 1707, the threat of Jacobite Rebellions led to the building of military defences such as Fort George near Inverness. Scotland produced some of the most significant architects of the eighteenth century, including Colen Campbell, James Gibbs and William Adam, who all had a major influence on Georgian architecture across Britain. The influence of Gibbs led to churches that employed classical elements, with a pedimented rectangular plan and often with a steeple.


Architecture in the United States

The architecture of the United States demonstrates a broad variety of architectural styles and built forms over the country's history of over two centuries of independence and former Spanish, French, Dutch and British rule.
Architecture in the United States has been shaped by many internal and external factors and regional distinctions. As a whole it represents a rich eclectic and innovative tradition.


Architecture of Africa

Like other aspects of the culture of Africa, the architecture of Africa is exceptionally diverse. Throughout the history of Africa, Africans have developed their own local architectural traditions. In some cases, broader regional styles can be identified, such as the Sudano-Sahelian architecture of West Africa. A common theme in traditional African architecture is the use of fractal scaling: small parts of the structure tend to look similar to larger parts, such as a circular village made of circular houses.
African architecture in some areas has been influenced by external cultures for centuries, according to available evidence. Western architecture has influenced coastal areas since the late 15th century and is now an important source of inspiration for many larger buildings, particularly in major cities.
African architecture uses a wide range of materials, including thatch, stick/wood, mud, mudbrick, rammed earth, and stone. These material preferences vary by region: North Africa for stone and rammed earth, the Horn of Africa for stone and mortar, West Africa for mud/adobe, Central Africa for thatch/wood and more perishable materials, Southeast and Southern Africa for stone and thatch/wood.
Author Binyavanga Wainaina argues that people from the west would portray Africa as a decrepit and barren land and had failed to look at the wonders of the continent.


Architecture of Bangladesh

The architecture of Bangladesh is intertwined with the architecture of the Bengal region and the broader Indian subcontinent. The architecture of Bangladesh has a long history and is rooted in Bangladesh's culture, religion and history. It has evolved over centuries and assimilated influences from social, religious and exotic communities. The architecture of Bangladesh bears a remarkable impact on the lifestyle, tradition and cultural life of Bangladeshi people. Bangladesh has many architectural relics and monuments dating back thousands of years.


Architecture of Colombia

Colombia's architectural heritage includes Spanish colonial architecture, such as Catholic churches. Its modern architecture represents various International Style architecture. In the postmodern architecture era, a wave of innovate and striking buildings have been designed.
Colombian cultural heritage includes indigenous, European, Indian and African influences. The country's colonial buildings reflect their Spanish (and particularly Andalusian origin, as seen in the traditional single-story) houses laid around a central patio, to be found both in colonial towns such as Santafé (Bogotá), Tunja or Cartagena, or in rural haciendas throughout the country. After gaining its independence, Colombia severed its links with Spain and looked elsewhere for new models, first England, then France, marking the beginning of what became known as Republican Architecture (Arquitectura republicana), an era that lasted well into the twentieth century, when the changes in architectural thinking in Europe brought Modern Architecture to the country during the last years before World War II.
Prominent Colombian architects include Rafael Esguerra, Daniel Bermúdez, Giancarlo Mazzanti, Rogelio Salmona, Álvaro Barrera, Patricio Samper Gnecco, Bruce Graham, Laureano Forero Ochoa, Pedro Nel Gómez, Raúl Fajardo Moreno, Rafael Esguerra, Arturo Robledo Ocampo and Simón Vélez. Firms include plan:B.
Jorge Arango, Andres Cortes, Jaime Correa and Felipe Hernandez (architect) were born in Colombia. Bruce Graham worked in Colombia. Expats such as Leopold Rother worked in Colombia.


Architecture of Croatia

The architecture of Croatia has roots in a long history: the Croats have inhabited the area for fourteen centuries, but there are important remnants of earlier periods still preserved in the country. The historic architecture of most old towns on the coast is Venetian, a legacy of the Venetian empire. The Habsburg and Ottoman empires also influenced the architecture of the region.


Architecture of England

The architecture of England is the architecture of the historic Kingdom of England up to 1707, and of England since then, but is deemed to include buildings created under English influence or by English architects in other parts of the world, particularly in the English overseas possessions and the later  British Empire, which developed into the present-day Commonwealth of Nations.
Apart from Anglo-Saxon architecture, the major non-vernacular forms employed in England before 1900 originated elsewhere in western Europe, chiefly in France and Italy, while 20th-century Modernist architecture derived from both European and American influences. Each of these foreign modes became assimilated within English architectural culture and gave rise to local variation and innovation, producing distinctive national forms. Among the most characteristic styles originating in England are the Perpendicular Gothic of the late Middle Ages, High Victorian Gothic and the Queen Anne style.


Architecture of Mexico

The architecture of Mexico reflects the influences of various cultures, regions, and periods that have shaped the country's history and identity. In the pre-Columbian era, distinct styles emerged that reflected the distinct cultures of the indigenous peoples of Mexico, particularly in the architecture of Mesoamerica. During the colonial era, the region was transformed by successive styles from Europe. With the foremost style during this era being Mexican Baroque.
In 19th century independent Mexico, foreign architectural influence lead to the gradual rise of Eclecticism, particularly during the Porfiriato. After the Mexican Revolution, there was a nationalist movement in the arts that promoted neo-Mesoamerican styles and a revival of Novohispanic styles.
By the mid-20th century, the nationalist architectural styles began to lose popularity as international architecture movements permeated. Nonetheless, architects during this era designed public and private projects that combined functionalism, regionalism, and modernism to create a distinctive Mexican style of architecture. Most notable among these architects was Luis Barragán.
In contemporary Mexico, the rise of globalization has led to the localization of international movements, including Postmodern, New Classical and Neomodern.


Architecture of Poland

The architecture of Poland reflects the country’s political, religious, and cultural development since 966 AD, when the Polish state first emerged. The country's architectural heritage is defined by a broad sequence of major European styles, each leaving a clear imprint on the country’s cities and landscapes, and the architectural forms and styles greatly differ between the various regions of Poland.
The Romanesque (10th and 11th century) and Gothic architecture (13th century) established Poland’s earliest monumental forms, in particular the Brick Gothic style which was utilised extensively in churches and castles during the Middle Ages and later in Gothic Revival. The Renaissance (early 16th century) introduced classical harmony and proportion, visible in planned urban layouts, arcaded courtyards, and façades with decorated attics above the cornice, which is the most recognisable feature of the Polish Renaissance. Notably, Mannerism and Northern Mannerism left a considerable legacy in built heritage across the country. Baroque architecture then became dominant (late 16th century), characterised by stucco decoration, ornamented interiors and palace complexes. Following the Partitions of Poland, under foreign rule, the late 18th and 19th century brought Neoclassicism, Eclecticism and industrial architecture.
In the 20th century, Poland’s architecture was shaped by modernism (functionalism), socialist realism, and extensive post-World War II reconstruction of major cities, especially Warsaw and Gdańsk. Modernist housing estates and public buildings became widespread between 1920 and 1939, while socialist realist projects emphasized monumental scale and ideological symbolism from 1949 until the mid-1950s. Between 1960 and 1989, prefabricated functionalist housing estates were the dominant form of architectural expression in which the form follows function. After 1989, largely controversial postmodernism became widespread before being succeeded by contemporary architecture in more recent years. At present, Poland leads in the adaptive reuse of industrial sites and in the revitalisation of its built heritage.
Several important works of Western architecture, such as the Wawel Hill, the Książ and Malbork castles, cityscapes of Toruń, Zamość, and Kraków are located in the country. Some of them are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Now Poland is developing modernist approaches in design with architects like Daniel Libeskind, Karol Żurawski, and Krzysztof Ingarden.


Architecture of Serbia

The architecture of Serbia has a long, rich and diverse history. Some of the major European style from Roman to Postmodern are demonstrated, including renowned examples of Raška, Serbo-Byzantine with its revival, Morava, Baroque, Classical and Modern architecture, with prime examples in Brutalism and Streamline Moderne.
Centuries of turbulent history of Serbia caused a great regional diversity and favored vernacular architecture. This made for a heterogeneous and diverse architectural style, with architecture differing from town to town.  While this diversity may still be witnessed in small towns, the devastation of architectural heritage in the larger cities during World War II, and subsequent socialist influence on architecture resulted in specific mix of architectural styles.


Architecture of Singapore

The architecture of Singapore displays a range of influences and styles from different places and periods. These range from the eclectic styles and hybrid forms of the colonial period to the tendency of more contemporary architecture to incorporate trends from around the world. In both aesthetic and technological terms, Singapore architecture may be divided into the more traditional pre-World War II colonial period, and the largely modern post-war and post-colonial period.
Traditional architecture in Singapore includes vernacular Malay houses, local hybrid shophouses and black and white bungalows, a range of places of worship reflecting the ethnic and religious diversity of the city-state as well as colonial civic and commercial architecture in European Neoclassical, gothic, palladian and renaissance styles.
Modern architecture in Singapore began with the transitional Art Deco style and the arrival of reinforced concrete as a popular building material. International Style modern architecture was popular from the 1950s to the 1970s, especially in the public housing apartment blocks. The Brutalist style of architecture was also popular in the 1970s. These styles coincided with the great urban renewal and building boom periods in Singapore history, and consequently these are the most common architectural styles seen on the island. Some of the more architecturally significant works of this period include Pearl Bank Apartments by Tan Cheng Siong, and the People's Park Complex and Golden Mile Complex by Design Partnership.
Post-modern architecture experiments, in both the 'historicist' and deconstructivist modes made an appearance in the 1980s, though the style was relatively muted in its expression. Another architectural trend has been the rediscovery of Singapore's architectural heritage, leading to an active conservation programme as well as a booming industry in the restoration of historic buildings, often adapting them to new uses. A recent example is the National Museum of Singapore.
An important area of local innovation has involved seeking to develop a form of modern architecture appropriate to Singapore's tropical climate. This climatically sensitive approach to architecture traces its roots back to the vernacular Malay houses and through to experiments by British colonial architects and early local nationalist architects to devise an authentically local architecture using modern construction methods. In the 1980s and especially from the late 1990s, this has led to a proliferation of what might be called 'modern tropical' architecture, or neo-tropical architecture. It involves a return to clean and simple rectilinear modernist forms, coupled with an emphasis of lush landscaping and sleek sun-shading in the form of metal or wood louvres, instead of the modernist glass curtain wall, which admits and traps solar heat. These architectural efforts have taken on a new relevance and urgency due to concerns about global warming, climate change and environmental sustainability, especially given that air conditioning in buildings is one of the largest consumers of electricity in Singapore, which is mostly generated by fossil fuels.

From the late 1990s, like many other global cities and aspiring global cities, the Singapore government consciously launched a drive to develop 'iconic' landmarks in the city to strengthen the Singapore brand identity as well as to attract foreign tourists, skilled immigrants, investments and buzz. Several such landmark projects have since been developed, sometimes through open or closed architectural design competitions. These include the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay arts centre, the Supreme Court of Singapore, the new National Library, Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort and the Singapore Flyer.


Art Deco in the United States

The Art Deco style, which originated in France just before World War I, had an important impact on architecture and design in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s.  The most notable examples are the skyscrapers of New York City, including the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center. It combined modern aesthetics, fine craftsmanship, and expensive materials, and became the symbol of luxury and modernity. While rarely used in residences, it was frequently used for office buildings, government buildings, train stations, movie theaters, diners and department stores. It also was frequently used in furniture, and in the design of automobiles, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as toasters and radio sets.
In the late 1930s, during the Great Depression, it featured prominently in the architecture of the immense public works projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration and the Public Works Administration, such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Hoover Dam. The style competed throughout the period with the modernist architecture, and came to an abrupt end in 1939 with the beginning of World War II.  The style was rediscovered in the 1960s, and many of the original buildings have been restored and are now historical landmarks.


Brutalist architecture

Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are known for minimalist construction showcasing the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. The style commonly makes use of exposed, unpainted concrete or brick, angular geometric shapes and a predominantly monochrome colour palette; other materials, such as steel, timber, and glass, are also featured.
Descended from modernism, brutalism is said to be a reaction against the nostalgia of architecture in the 1940s. Derived from the Swedish word nybrutalism, the term "new brutalism" was first used by British architects Alison and Peter Smithson for their pioneering approach to design. The style was further popularised in a 1955 essay by architectural critic Reyner Banham, who also associated the movement with the French phrases béton brut ("raw concrete") and art brut ("raw art"). The style, as developed by architects such as the Smithsons, Hungarian-born Ernő Goldfinger, and the British firm Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, was partly foreshadowed by the modernist work of other architects such as French-Swiss Le Corbusier, Estonian-American Louis Kahn, German-American Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Finnish Alvar Aalto.
In the United Kingdom, brutalism was featured in the design of utilitarian, low-cost social housing influenced by socialist principles and soon spread to other regions around the world, while being echoed by similar styles like in Eastern Europe. Brutalist designs became most commonly used in the design of institutional buildings, such as provincial legislatures, public works projects, universities, libraries, courts, and city halls. The popularity of the movement began to decline in the late 1970s, with some associating the style with urban decay and totalitarianism. Brutalism's popularity in socialist and communist nations owed to traditional styles being associated with the bourgeoisie, whereas concrete emphasized equality.
Brutalism has been polarising historically; specific buildings, as well as the movement as a whole, have drawn a range of criticism (often being described as "cold"). There are often public-led campaigns to demolish brutalist buildings. Some people are favourable to the style, and in the United Kingdom some buildings have been preserved.


Chinese architecture

Chinese architecture is the embodiment of an architectural style that has developed over millennia in China and has influenced architecture throughout East Asia. Since its emergence during the early ancient era, the structural principles of its architecture have remained largely unchanged. The main changes involved diverse decorative details. Starting with the Tang dynasty, Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the architectural styles of neighbouring East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Mongolia in addition to minor influences on the architecture of Southeast and South Asia including the countries of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and the Philippines.
Chinese architecture is characterized by bilateral symmetry, use of enclosed open spaces, feng shui (e.g. directional hierarchies), a horizontal emphasis, and an allusion to various cosmological, mythological or in general symbolic elements. Chinese architecture traditionally classifies structures according to type, ranging from pagodas to palaces. Due to the frequent use of wood, a relatively perishable material, as well as few monumental structures built of more durable materials, much historical knowledge of Chinese architecture derives from surviving miniature models in ceramic and published diagrams and specifications.
Although unifying aspects exist, Chinese architecture varies widely based on status or affiliation, such as whether the structures were constructed for emperors, commoners, or for religious purposes. Other variations in Chinese architecture are shown in vernacular styles associated with different geographic regions and different ethnic heritages.

The architecture of China is as old as Chinese civilization. From every source of information—literary, graphic, exemplary—there is strong evidence testifying to the fact that the Chinese have always enjoyed an indigenous system of construction that has retained its principal characteristics from prehistoric times to the present day. Over the vast area from Chinese Turkistan to Japan, from Manchuria to the northern half of French Indochina, the same system of construction is prevalent; and this was the area of Chinese cultural influence. That this system of construction could perpetuate itself for more than four thousand years over such a vast territory and still remain a living architecture, retaining its principal characteristics in spite of repeated foreign invasions—military, intellectual, and spiritual—is a phenomenon comparable only to the continuity of the civilization of which it is an integral part.
In more recent times, China has become the most rapidly modernizing country in the world. In the past few decades, cities like Shanghai have completely changed their skyline, with some of the world's tallest skyscrapers dotting the horizon. China also has one of the most extensive high speed rail networks, connecting and allowing its large population to travel more efficiently.
Throughout the 20th century, Chinese architects have attempted to bring traditional Chinese designs into modern architecture. Moreover, the pressure for urban development throughout China requires high speed construction and a greater floor area ratio: thus, in cities the demand for traditional Chinese buildings (which are normally less than 3 levels) has declined in favor of high-rises. However, the traditional skills of Chinese architecture, including major and minor carpentry, masonry, and stonemasonry, are used in the construction of vernacular architecture in China's rural areas.


The Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), or International Congresses of Modern Architecture, was an organization founded in 1928 and disbanded in 1959, responsible for a series of events and congresses arranged across Europe by the most prominent architects of the time, with the objective of spreading the principles of the Modern Movement focusing in all the main domains of architecture (such as landscape, urbanism, industrial design, and many others).


Constructivist architecture

Constructivist architecture was a constructivist style of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. Abstract and austere, the movement aimed to reflect modern industrial society and urban space, while rejecting decorative stylization in favor of the industrial assemblage of materials. Designs combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly communist social purpose. Although it was divided into several competing factions, the movement produced many pioneering projects and finished buildings, before falling out of favor around 1932. It has left marked effects on later developments in architecture.


Contemporary architecture

Contemporary architecture is the architecture of the 21st century. No single style is dominant. Contemporary architects work in several different styles, from postmodernism, high-tech architecture and new references and interpretations of traditional architecture like New Classical architecture to highly conceptual forms and designs, resembling sculpture on an enormous scale. Some of these styles and approaches make use of very advanced technology and modern building materials, such as tube structures which allow construction of buildings that are taller, lighter and stronger than those in the 20th century, while others prioritize the use of natural and ecological materials like stone, wood and lime. One technology that is common to all forms of contemporary architecture is the use of new techniques of computer-aided design, which allow buildings to be designed and modeled on computers in three dimensions, and constructed with more precision and speed.
Contemporary buildings and styles vary greatly. Some feature concrete structures wrapped in glass or aluminium screens, very asymmetric facades, and cantilevered sections which hang over the street. Skyscrapers twist, or break into crystal-like facets. Facades are designed to shimmer or change color at different times of day.
Whereas the major monuments of modern architecture in the 20th century were mostly concentrated in the Americas and Western Europe, contemporary architecture is global; important new buildings have been built in China, Russia, India and particularly in Arab states of the Persian Gulf; the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was the tallest building in the world in 2019, and the Shanghai Tower in China was the second-tallest.
Additionally, in the late 20th century, New Classical Architecture, a traditionalist response to modernist architecture, emerged, continuing into the 21st century. The 21st century saw the emergence of multiple organizations dedicated to the promotion of traditional architecture. Examples include the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU), the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA), the Driehaus Architecture Prize. Contemporary traditional architects include Michael Graves, Léon Krier, Yasmeen Lari, Robert Stern and Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil.
Recently, in the realm of contemporary architecture, a philosophy known as "New Contextualism" has emerged, primarily coined and propagated by Bangladeshi architect and academic Mohammad Habib Reza. This approach advocates for creating built environments that are profoundly informed by both historical precedents and future predictions, while embracing a holistic understanding of context. Unlike universalist or purely modernist perspectives, New Contextualism emphasizes the deep integration of a design within its specific setting, considering not only the immediate site but also broader universal values, regional characteristics, and the socio-cultural fabric of a place. It stresses the importance of equity, social justice, and the revitalization of vernacular building traditions to achieve sustainable and inclusive designs. The philosophy encourages the use of data analytics and scenario planning to anticipate future needs and challenges, aiming for timeless yet adaptable architectural solutions.
Most of the landmarks of contemporary architecture are the works of a small group of architects who work on an international scale. Many were designed by architects already famous in the late 20th century, including Mario Botta, Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Norman Foster, Ieoh Ming Pei, Dariush Borbor and Renzo Piano, while others are the work of a new generation born during or after World War II, including Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava, Daniel Libeskind, Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Rem Koolhaas, and Shigeru Ban. Other projects are the work of collectives of several architects, such as UNStudio and SANAA, or large multinational agencies such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, with thirty associate architects and large teams of engineers and designers, and Gensler, with 5,000 employees in 16 countries.


Dzong architecture

Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery (Dzongkha: རྫོང, Wylie: rdzong, [dzoŋ˩˨]) architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of courtyards, temples, administrative offices, and monks' accommodation.


Fascist architecture


Feminism and modern architecture


Functionalism (architecture)


Googie architecture


History of architecture


Industrial architecture


Interior architecture


International Style


Italian modern and contemporary architecture


Japanese architecture


Korean architecture


Miami Modern architecture


Mid-century modern


Minimalism

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Vietnamese architecture


Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately 14,060,000 km2 (5,430,000 sq mi) and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, although some oceanographers call it the Arctic Mediterranean Sea or North Polar Sea. It has also been described as being approximately equivalent to an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also seen as the northernmost part of the all-encompassing world ocean.
The Arctic Ocean includes the North Pole region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere and extends south to about 60°N. The Arctic Ocean is surrounded by Eurasia and North America, and the borders follow topographic features: the Bering Strait on the Pacific side and the Greenland Scotland Ridge on the Atlantic side. It is mostly covered by sea ice throughout the year and almost completely in winter. The Arctic Ocean's surface temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes; its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major oceans, due to low evaporation, heavy fresh water inflow from rivers and streams, and limited connection and outflow to surrounding oceanic waters with higher salinities. The summer shrinking of the ice has been quoted at 50%.The US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) uses satellite data to provide a daily record of Arctic sea ice cover and the rate of melting compared to an average period and specific past years, showing a continuous decline in sea ice extent. In September 2012, the Arctic ice extent reached a new record minimum. Compared to the average extent (1979–2000), the sea ice had diminished by 49%.


Bedford Institute of Oceanography

The Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) is a major Government of Canada ocean research facility located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.  BIO is the largest ocean research station in Canada. Established in 1962 as Canada's first, and currently largest, federal centre for oceanographic research, BIO derives its name from the Bedford Basin, an inland bay comprising the northern part of Halifax Harbour, upon which it is located.
Spread out over 40 acres (160,000 m2) of a former Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) property near Shannon Park in Dartmouth, BIO consists of a series of interconnected buildings housing research labs and offices, as well as docks for Canadian Coast Guard and RCN research vessels.
As the federal government seeks to concentrate its operations in the Halifax Regional Municipality, BIO is being considered for additional office buildings to house other non-oceanographic and non-research organizations and their employees. As such, new buildings have been built for the Canadian Coast Guard as well as Environment Canada in recent years.


Biological oceanography

Biological oceanography  is the study of how organisms affect and are affected by the physics, chemistry, and geology of the oceanographic system. Biological oceanography may also be referred to as ocean ecology, in which the root word of ecology is Oikos (oικoσ), meaning ‘house’ or ‘habitat’ in Greek. The main focus of biological oceanography is on the microorganisms within the ocean; looking at how they are affected by their environment and how that affects larger marine creatures and their ecosystem. Biological oceanography is similar to marine biology, but is different because of the perspective used to study the ocean. Biological oceanography takes a bottom-up approach (in terms of the food web), while marine biology studies the ocean from a top-down perspective. Biological oceanography mainly focuses on the ecosystem of the ocean with an emphasis on plankton: their diversity (morphology, nutritional sources, motility, and metabolism); their productivity and how that plays a role in the global carbon cycle; and their distribution (predation and life cycle).


Boaty McBoatface

Boaty McBoatface (informally known as Boaty) is part of a fleet of six "over-the-horizon" autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) of the Autosub Long Range (ALR) class. Launched in 2017, the ALRs are designed, owned and operated by the National Oceanography Centre in the UK. One of the many features of ALRs is a shore-launch capability.
Boaty and her fleet-mates are part of the UK National Marine Equipment Pool operated and maintained by the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.  The ALRs can contain or carry a wide range of oceanographic instruments and sensors to gather data to help understand ocean current and activity, and ultimately the Earth's climate.


CSIRO Division of Oceanography

The CSIRO Division of Oceanography (1981–1997) was a research section (Division) of the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and Research Organisation), Australia's national science research agency. It was split from the previous CSIRO Division of Fisheries and Oceanography in 1981 and merged again with the same entity in 1997.


Charles Alden Black

Charles Alden Black (March 6, 1919 – August 4, 2005) was an American businessman known for his work in aquaculture and oceanography as well as his marriage to Shirley Temple.


Drifter (oceanography)

A drifter (not to be confused with a float) is an oceanographic device floating on the surface to investigate ocean currents by tracking location. They can also measure other parameters like sea surface temperature, salinity, barometric pressure, and wave height. Modern drifters are typically tracked by satellite, often GPS. They are sometimes called Lagrangian drifters since the location of the measurements they make moves with the flow.  A major user of drifters is NOAA's Global Drifter Program.


The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) is an echelon IV component of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC), which provides worldwide meteorological and oceanographic data and analysis for the United States Navy and strategic allies of the United States. The center is based out of Monterey, California. FNMOC provides Global and Regional Weather Prediction Charts (WXMAP) and Global Ensemble Weather Prediction Charts (EFS). WxMAP depictions of NAVGEM predictions for side-by-side comparison with NCEP global NWS models (GFS) are also available. FNMOC provides Global and Regional Ocean Wave Prediction Charts (WW3), Global Ensemble Ocean Wave Prediction Charts (WW3 Ensemble), and Global Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Surface Anomaly Charts (NCODA). FNMOC provides links to satellite imagery of tropical cyclones (TCWEB) and current tropical storm forecast tracks.
FNMOC is composed of military and civilian personnel. The team consists of specialists in meteorology, oceanography, computer science, and Fleet operations. The team's efforts provide computerized weather and ocean prediction products, weather satellite imagery products, and related tactical decision aids and data, supporting virtually every combat platform and weapons system operated by the US Navy.


Fleet Weather Center San Diego

Fleet Weather Center San Diego (FWC-SD) is an echelon IV command reporting to Commander Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command and part of the Information Warfare Community. FWC-SD is located on Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California and consists of personnel across the Indo-Pacific who are responsible for delivering meteorology and oceanographic capability to Navy, Joint, and Coalition forces operating in Third, Fifth, and Seventh Fleets.


Float (oceanography)

A float (not to be confused with a drifter) is an oceanographic instrument platform used for making subsurface measurements in the ocean without the need for a ship, propeller, or a person operating it. Floats measure the physical and chemical aspects of the ocean in detail, such as measuring the direction and speed of water or the temperature and salinity. A float will descend to a predetermined depth where it will be neutrally buoyant. Once a certain amount of time has passed, most floats will rise back to the surface by increasing its buoyancy so it can transmit the data it collected to a satellite.  A float can collect data while it is neutrally buoyant or moving through the water column. Often, floats are treated as disposable, as the expense of recovering them from remote areas of the ocean is prohibitive; when the batteries fail, a float ceases to function, and drifts at depth until it runs aground or floods and sinks. In other cases, floats are deployed for a short time and recovered.


Forensic Oceanography

Forensic Oceanography is a collaborative project between Lorenzo Pezzani and Charles Heller in which they "critically investigate the militarised border regime imposed by Europe across the Mediterranean Sea". Pezzani is an architect based in London and Heller is a film-maker based in Tunis. They began in 2011 within Forensic Architecture. Forensic Oceanography's investigations form the basis of reports and visual interpretations, which have been exhibited in art galleries and at art festivals in Europe.


Institute of Oceanography

Institute of Oceanography may refer to:

Bedford Institute of Oceanography
Florida Institute of Oceanography
Skidaway Institute of Oceanography


Joint Typhoon Warning Center

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) is a joint United States Navy – United States Air Force command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The JTWC is responsible for the issuing of tropical cyclone warnings in the North-West Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, and Indian Ocean for all branches of the U.S. Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies. Their warnings are intended primarily for the protection of U.S. military ships and aircraft, as well as military installations jointly operated with other countries around the world. Its U.S. Navy components are aligned with the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command.


Journal of Oceanography

Journal of Oceanography is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published bimonthly by Springer Science+Business Media on behalf of the Oceanographic Society of Japan. It was established under the title Journal of the Oceanographical Society of Japan in 1942 and published articles both in English and Japanese; it was renamed to its current title in 1991. The journal covers developments in oceanography and its sub-disciplines, including physical oceanography, marine chemistry, biological oceanography, marine geology and paleoceanography. Its current editor-in-chief is Hiroaki Saito (University of Tokyo).


Journal of Physical Oceanography

The Journal of Physical Oceanography is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society. It was established in January 1971 and is available on the web since 1996. Online articles older than one year are available as open access. The editor-in-chief is Jerome Smith (Scripps Institution of Oceanography).


Limnology and Oceanography

Limnology and Oceanography (L&O) is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal focused on all aspects of limnology and oceanography. It was established in 1956 and originally published through the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), and now published in partnership with John Wiley and Sons. Occasionally, L&O publishes special issues focused on a specific topic in aquatic systems in addition to the six regular issues published each year.


Limnology and Oceanography: Methods

Limnology and Oceanography: Methods (L&O Methods) is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal focused on methodological aspects of the aquatic sciences, such as new measurement equipment and techniques or evaluations and comparisons of existing methods. It was established in 2003 and originally published through the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), and now published in partnership with John Wiley and Sons. Occasionally, L&O Methods publishes special issues focused on a specific topic in aquatic systems in addition to the twelve regular issues published each year.


Limnology and Oceanography Letters

Limnology and Oceanography Letters (L&O Letters) is a bimonthly, online open access, and peer-reviewed scientific journal focused on publishing innovative and trend-setting studies in all aspects of limnology and oceanography. It was established in 2016 and publishes four types of articles; Letters, Essays, Current Evidence, and Data Articles. L&O Letters is published through the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography in partnership with John Wiley and Sons. Occasionally, L&O Letters publishes special issues focused on a specific topic in aquatic systems in addition to the six regular issues published each year.


List of earth sciences awards

This list of earth sciences awards is an index to articles on notable awards for earth sciences, or natural science related to the planet Earth. It includes awards for meteorology, oceanography and paleontology, but excludes awards for environmental science, geography, geology and geophysics, which are covered by separate lists.


List of oceanographic institutions and programs

This is a list of oceanography institutions and programs worldwide. Oceanographic institutions and programs are broadly defined as places where scientific research is carried out relating to oceanography. This list is organized geographically. Some oceanographic institutions are standalone programs, such as non-governmental organizations or government-funded agencies. Other oceanographic institutions are departments within colleges and universities. While oceanographic research happens at many other departments at other colleges and universities, such as Biology and Geology departments, this list focuses on larger departments and large research centers specifically devoted to oceanography and marine science. Aquaria are not listed here.


Marine geology


Mediterranean seas

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Mindanao State University–Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography


Mooring (oceanography)


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National Oceanography Centre Southampton


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Oceanography

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Oceanography (journal)


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Remote sensing (oceanography)


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Rogue wave


Scripps Institution of Oceanography


Skidaway Institute of Oceanography


Spice (oceanography)


The Oceanography Society


Tsunami

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American philosophy

American philosophy is the activity, corpus, and tradition of philosophy produced by American people. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that while it lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can nevertheless be seen as both reflecting and shaping collective American identity over the history of the nation". The Ivy League colleges such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton have long been influential.
Colonial America was influenced by the Puritan thought of Samuel Johnson and Jonathan Edwards. The philosophy of the American Revolution and Founding Fathers of the United States such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson is largely seen as an extension of the European Enlightenment. A small number of philosophies are known as uniquely American in origin, namely pragmatism and transcendentalism, with their most prominent proponents being the philosophers William James and Ralph Waldo Emerson respectively.
American philosophy since the 20th century is mostly analytic philosophy. Some of the most prominent American analytic philosophers are W. V. O. Quine and Saul Kripke.


Analytic philosophy

Analytic philosophy is a broad school of thought or style in contemporary Western philosophy, especially anglophone philosophy, with an emphasis on analysis, clear prose, rigorous arguments, formal logic, mathematics, and the natural sciences (with less emphasis on the humanities). It is further characterized by the linguistic turn, or a concern with language and meaning.
Analytic philosophy is often contrasted with continental philosophy, a catch-all term for other methods prominent in continental Europe, most notably existentialism, phenomenology, and Hegelianism.   The distinction has also been drawn between "analytic" being academic or technical philosophy and "continental" being literary philosophy.
The proliferation of analytic philosophy began around the turn of the twentieth century and has been dominant since the second half of the century. Central figures in its history include Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, G. E. Moore, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Other important figures include Franz Brentano, the logical positivists (especially Rudolf Carnap), and the ordinary language philosophers.
Wilfrid Sellars, W. V. O. Quine, Saul Kripke, David Lewis, and others, led a decline of logical positivism and a subsequent revival in metaphysics. Analytic philosophy has also developed several new branches of philosophy and logic, notably philosophy of language, mathematics, and science, and modern predicate and mathematical logic.


Bicameral mentality

Bicameral mentality is a psychological hypothesis proposed by American psychologist Julian Jaynes. It suggests that early modern humans experienced thoughts and emotions not as originating within themselves but as commands from external "gods". According to the theory, the human mind once functioned with a division in which one part generated verbal instructions while a second part obeyed, forming a "bicameral mind". The eventual collapse of this mental structure is proposed to have led to the development of self-reflective consciousness in humans.
The term was coined by Jaynes, who presented the idea in his 1976 book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, wherein he makes the case that a bicameral mentality was the "normal and ubiquitous state" of the human mind as recently as 3,000 years ago, at the end of the Bronze Age.


Brian Glenney

Brian Glenney (born December 14, 1974) is an American Philosopher and Graffiti Artist most known for co-founding a street art project turned movement known as the Accessible Icon Project. The movement re-designed the International Symbol of Access to display an active, engaged image with focus on the person with disability. “It was intended as a kind of radical statement,” says Elizabeth Guffey, author of Designing Disability: Symbols, Space, and Society and professor of art history at SUNY Purchase. “The very oddity of it is people started taking it seriously as a new symbol, and it’s such a weird life that it’s lived, that it’s become a kind of legal symbol.”
The Accessible Icon is in use internationally. It is the default accessibility emoji and its use is a legal requirement in New York and Connecticut. and is used in numerous others, such as on placards in Washington state. However, the icon is also banned federally by the Federal Highway Administration for use on road signs in the United States and the International Organization for Standardization, which established the regular use of the original symbol under ISO 7001, has also rejected the design. The infamy of the Accessible Icon, with its illegal beginnings, and both legalized and banned status, makes it of considerable artistic value, as evidenced by its display and housing in many museum permanent collections, including Museum of Modern Art and Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. “We really like the situation we’re in,” Glenney says. “It gives visibility to the context of people with disabilities. It keeps them ‘in the market’ of ideas, so to speak. Our symbol is most successful when it's not fully legal—when there's lots of wrinkles and questions.”


Computational theory of mind

In philosophy of mind, the computational theory of mind (CTM), also known as computationalism, is a family of views that hold that the human mind is an information processing system and that cognition and consciousness together are a form of computation. It is closely related to functionalism, a broader theory that defines mental states by what they do rather than what they are made of.


Consciousness

Consciousness is being aware of something internal to one's self, or of states or objects in one's external environment. It has been the topic of extensive explanations, analyses, and debate among philosophers, scientists, and theologians for millennia. There is no consensus on what exactly needs to be studied, or whether consciousness can be considered a scientific concept. In some explanations it is synonymous with mind, while in others it is considered an aspect of it.
In the past, consciousness meant one's "inner life": the world of introspection, private thought, imagination, and volition. Today, it often includes various forms of cognition, experience, feeling, or perception. It may be awareness, awareness of awareness, metacognition, or self-awareness, either continuously changing or not. There is also a medical definition that helps, for example, to discern "coma" from other states. The disparate range of research, notions, and speculations raises some curiosity about whether the right questions are being asked.
Examples of the range of descriptions, definitions and explanations are: ordered distinction between self and environment, simple wakefulness, one's sense of selfhood or soul explored by "looking within", being a metaphorical "stream" of contents, or being a mental state, mental event, or mental process of the brain.

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David Chalmers

David John Chalmers (; born 20 April 1966) is an Australian philosopher and cognitive scientist, specializing in philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. He is a professor of philosophy and neural science at New York University (NYU), as well as co-director of NYU's Center for Mind, Brain and Consciousness (along with Ned Block). In 2006, he was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. In 2013, he was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Chalmers is best known for formulating the hard problem of consciousness, and for popularizing the philosophical zombie thought experiment.
Chalmers and David Bourget co-founded PhilPapers; a database of journal articles for philosophers.


Dualism (Indian philosophy)

Dualism in Indian philosophy is a belief, or large spectrum of beliefs, held by certain schools of Indian philosophy that reality is fundamentally composed of two parts or two types of existence. This mainly takes the form of either mind-matter dualism, as in some strands of Buddhist philosophy, or consciousness-nonconsciousness dualism in the Samkhya and Yoga schools of Hindu philosophy. These can be compared and contrasted with mind-body dualism in Western philosophy of mind and metaphysics.
Another form of dualism in Hindu philosophy is found in the Dvaita ("dualism") Vedanta school, which regards God and the world as two realities with distinct essences; this is a form of theistic dualism. By contrast, schools such as Advaita ("nondualism") Vedanta embrace nondualism or absolute monism, regarding dualism as an illusion (maya).


Embodied cognition

Embodied cognition represents a diverse group of theories which investigate how cognition is shaped by the bodily state and capacities of the organism. These embodied factors include the motor system, the perceptual system, bodily interactions with the environment (situatedness), and the assumptions about the world that shape the functional structure of the brain and body of the organism. Embodied cognition suggests that these elements are essential to a wide spectrum of cognitive functions, such as perception biases, memory recall, comprehension and high-level mental constructs (such as meaning attribution and categories) and performance on various cognitive tasks (reasoning or judgment).
The embodied mind thesis challenges other theories, such as cognitivism, computationalism, and Cartesian dualism. It is closely related to the extended mind thesis, situated cognition, and enactivism. The modern version depends on understandings drawn from up-to-date research in psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, dynamical systems, artificial intelligence, robotics, animal cognition, plant cognition, and neurobiology.


Epistemology

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called the theory of knowledge, it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowledge in the form of skills, and knowledge by acquaintance as a familiarity through experience. Epistemologists study the concepts of belief, truth, and justification to understand the nature of knowledge. To discover how knowledge arises, they investigate sources of justification, such as perception, introspection, memory, reason, and testimony.
The school of skepticism questions the human ability to attain knowledge, while fallibilism says that knowledge is never certain. Empiricists hold that all knowledge comes from sense experience, whereas rationalists believe that some knowledge does not depend on it. Coherentists argue that a belief is justified if it is consistent with other beliefs. Foundationalists, by contrast, maintain that the justification of basic beliefs does not depend on other beliefs. Internalism and externalism debate whether justification is determined solely by mental states or also by external circumstances.
Separate branches of epistemology focus on knowledge in specific fields, like scientific, mathematical, moral, and religious knowledge. Naturalized epistemology relies on empirical methods and discoveries, whereas formal epistemology uses formal tools from logic. Social epistemology investigates the communal aspect of knowledge, and historical epistemology examines its historical conditions. Epistemology is closely related to psychology, which infers the beliefs people hold from their words and actions, while epistemology studies the norms governing the evaluation of beliefs. It also intersects with fields such as decision theory, education, and anthropology.
Early reflections on the nature, sources, and scope of knowledge are found in ancient Greek, Indian, and Chinese philosophy. The relation between reason and faith was a central topic in the medieval period. The modern era was characterized by the contrasting perspectives of empiricism and rationalism. Epistemologists in the 20th century examined the components, structure, and value of knowledge while integrating insights from the natural sciences and linguistics.

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Existence

Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing. Existence is often contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one does not know whether the entity exists.
Ontology is the philosophical discipline studying the nature and types of existence. Singular existence is the existence of individual entities while general existence refers to the existence of concepts or universals. Entities present in space and time have concrete existence in contrast to abstract entities, like numbers and sets. Other distinctions are between possible, contingent, and necessary existence and between physical and mental existence. The common view is that an entity either exists or not with nothing in between, but some philosophers say that there are degrees of existence, meaning that some entities exist to a higher degree than others.
The orthodox position in ontology is that existence is a second-order property, or a property of properties. For example, to say that lions exist means that the property of being a lion is possessed by at least one entity. A different view sees existence as a first-order property, or a property of individuals, meaning existence is similar to other properties of individuals, like color and shape. Alexius Meinong and his followers accept this idea and say that not all individuals have this property; they state that there are some individuals, such as Santa Claus, that do not exist. Universalists reject this view; they see existence as a universal property of every individual.
The concept of existence has been discussed throughout the history of philosophy and already played a role in ancient philosophy, including Presocratic philosophy in Ancient Greece, Hindu and Buddhist philosophy in Ancient India, and Daoist philosophy in ancient China. It is relevant to fields such as logic, mathematics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and existentialism.


Extended mind thesis

In philosophy of mind, the extended mind thesis (EMT) says that the mind does not exclusively reside in the brain or even the body, but extends into the physical world. The thesis proposes that some objects in the external environment can be part of a cognitive process and in that way function as extensions of the mind itself. Examples of such objects are written calculations, a diary, or a personal computer; in general, it concerns objects that store information. The hypothesis considers the mind to encompass every level of cognition, including the physical level.
It was proposed by Andy Clark and David Chalmers in "The Extended Mind" (1998). They describe the idea as "active externalism, based on the active role of the environment in driving cognitive processes."
For the matter of personal identity (and the philosophy of self), the EMT has the implication that some parts of a person's identity can be determined by their environment.


Frances Egan

Frances Egan is a professor of philosophy at Rutgers University.    She has authored a number of articles and book chapters on philosophy of mind, philosophy of cognitive science, and perception.


Functionalism (philosophy of mind)

In philosophy of mind, functionalism is the thesis that each and every mental state (for example, the state of having a belief, of having a desire, or of being in pain) is constituted solely by its functional role, which means its causal relation to other mental states, sensory inputs, and behavioral outputs. Functionalism developed largely as an alternative to type physicalism and behaviorism.
Functionalism is a theoretical level between the physical implementation and behavioral output. Therefore, it is different from its predecessors of Cartesian dualism (advocating independent mental and physical substances) and Skinnerian behaviorism and physicalism (declaring only physical substances) because it is only concerned with the effective functions of the brain, through its organization or its "software programs".
Since a mental state is identified by a functional role, it is said to be realized on multiple levels; in other words, it is able to be manifested in various systems, even perhaps computers, so long as the system performs the appropriate functions. While a computer's program performs the functions via computations on inputs to give outputs, implemented via its electronic substrate, a brain performs the functions via its biological operation and stimulus responses.


Ghost in the machine

The "ghost in the machine" is a term originally used to describe and critique the concept of the mind existing alongside and separate from the body.  In more recent times, the term has several uses, including the concept that the intellectual part of the human mind is influenced by emotions; and within fiction, for an emergent consciousness residing in a computer.
The term originates with British philosopher Gilbert Ryle's description of René Descartes' mind–body dualism. Ryle introduced the phrase in The Concept of Mind (1949) to highlight the view of Descartes and others that mental and physical activity occur simultaneously but separately.


Hard problem of consciousness

In philosophy of mind, the hard problem of consciousness (or simply the hard problem) is to explain how and why organisms have qualia, phenomenal consciousness, or subjective experience. It is contrasted with the "easy problems" of explaining why and how physical systems give rise to the ability to discriminate, to integrate information, and to perform behavioural functions such as watching, listening, speaking (including generating an utterance that appears to refer to personal behaviour or belief), and so forth. The easy problems are amenable to functional explanation—that is, explanations that are mechanistic or behavioural—since each physical system can be explained purely by reference to the "structure and dynamics" that underpin the phenomenon.
Proponents of the hard problem hold that it is categorically different from the easy problems since no mechanistic or behavioural explanation could explain the character of an experience, not even in principle. Even after all the relevant functional facts are explicated, they argue, there will still remain a further question: "why is the performance of these functions accompanied by experience?" To bolster their case, proponents of the hard problem frequently turn to various philosophical thought experiments, involving philosophical zombies, or inverted qualia, or the ineffability of colour experiences, or the unknowability of foreign states of consciousness, such as the experience of being a bat.
The terms "hard problem" and "easy problems" were coined by the philosopher David Chalmers in a 1994 talk given at The Science of Consciousness conference held in Tucson, Arizona. The following year, the main talking points of Chalmers' talk were published in The Journal of Consciousness Studies. The publication gained significant attention from consciousness researchers and became the subject of a special volume of the journal, which was later published as a book. In 1996, Chalmers published The Conscious Mind, a book-length treatment of the hard problem, in which he elaborated on his core arguments and responded to counterarguments. His use of the word easy is "tongue-in-cheek". As the cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker puts it, they are about as easy as going to Mars or curing cancer. "That is, scientists more or less know what to look for, and with enough brainpower and funding, they would probably crack it in this century."
The existence of the hard problem is disputed. It has been accepted by some philosophers of mind such as Joseph Levine, Colin McGinn, and Ned Block and cognitive neuroscientists such as Francisco Varela, Giulio Tononi, and Christof Koch. On the other hand, its existence is rejected by other philosophers of mind, such as Daniel Dennett, Massimo Pigliucci, Thomas Metzinger, Patricia Churchland, and Keith Frankish, and by cognitive neuroscientists such as Stanislas Dehaene, Bernard Baars, Anil Seth, and Antonio Damasio. Clinical neurologist and sceptic Steven Novella has dismissed it as "the hard non-problem". According to a 2020 PhilPapers survey, a majority (62.4%) of the philosophers surveyed said they believed that the hard problem is a genuine problem, while 29.7% said that it does not exist.
There are a number of other potential philosophical problems that are related to the Hard Problem. Ned Block believes that there exists a "Harder Problem of Consciousness", due to the possibility of different physical and functional neurological systems potentially having phenomenal overlap. Another potential philosophical problem which is closely related to Benj Hellie's vertiginous question, dubbed "The Even Harder Problem of Consciousness", refers to why a given individual has their own particular personal identity, as opposed to existing as someone else. Finally, proposals in the 2020s have been made to reconcile views from neuroscience and the philosophy of mind from a representationalist perspective. This holds in particular for a cognitively inspired form of representationalism, which is presumed to offer a favourable perspective for bridging gaps between different views in cognitive neuroscience and the philosophy of mind, relating to concepts such as intentionality, emergence, consciousness, and qualia.


History of philosophy

The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, religious traditions, and proverbial lore.
Western philosophy originated with an inquiry into the fundamental nature of the cosmos in Ancient Greece. Subsequent philosophical developments covered a wide range of topics including the nature of reality and the mind, how people should act, and how to arrive at knowledge. The medieval period was focused more on theology. The Renaissance period saw a renewed interest in Ancient Greek philosophy and the emergence of humanism. The modern period was characterized by an increased focus on how philosophical and scientific knowledge is created. Its new ideas were used during the Enlightenment period to challenge traditional authorities. Influential developments in the 19th and 20th centuries included German idealism, pragmatism, positivism, formal logic, linguistic analysis, phenomenology, existentialism, and postmodernism.
Arabic–Persian philosophy was strongly influenced by Ancient Greek philosophers. It had its peak period during the Islamic Golden Age. One of its key topics was the relation between reason and revelation as two compatible ways of arriving at the truth. Avicenna developed a comprehensive philosophical system that synthesized Islamic faith and Greek philosophy. After the Islamic Golden Age, the influence of philosophical inquiry waned, partly due to Al-Ghazali's critique of philosophy. In the 17th century, Mulla Sadra developed a metaphysical system based on mysticism. Islamic modernism emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries as an attempt to reconcile traditional Islamic doctrines with modernity.
Indian philosophy is characterized by its combined interest in the nature of reality, the ways of arriving at knowledge, and the spiritual question of how to reach enlightenment. Its roots are in the religious scriptures known as the Vedas. Subsequent Indian philosophy is often divided into orthodox schools, which are closely associated with the teachings of the Vedas, and heterodox schools, like Buddhism and Jainism. Influential schools based on them include the Hindu schools of Advaita Vedanta and Navya-Nyāya as well as the Buddhist schools of Madhyamaka and Yogācāra. In the modern period, the exchange between Indian and Western thought led various Indian philosophers to develop comprehensive systems. They aimed to unite and harmonize diverse philosophical and religious schools of thought.
Central topics in Chinese philosophy were right social conduct, government, and self-cultivation. In early Chinese philosophy, Confucianism explored moral virtues and how they lead to harmony in society while Daoism focused on the relation between humans and nature. Later developments include the introduction and transformation of Buddhist teachings and the emergence of the schools of Xuanxue and Neo-Confucianism. The modern period in Chinese philosophy was characterized by its encounter with Western philosophy, specifically with Marxism. Other influential traditions in the history of philosophy were Japanese philosophy, Latin American philosophy, and African philosophy.


Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher. Born in Königsberg in the Kingdom of Prussia, he is considered one of the central thinkers of the Enlightenment. His comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, political theory, and the philosophy of religion have made him one of the most influential and highly discussed figures in modern Western philosophy.
Kant's philosophy is centered on the human subject and motivated by the desire to secure the possibility of both knowledge and morality against the threats of skepticism and determinism. In the Critique of Pure Reason (1781/1787), Kant argues for transcendental idealism, the doctrine that space and time are mere "forms of intuition" (German: Anschauung) that structure all experience and that we have knowledge only of "appearances" and not of the nature of things in themselves. Kant drew a parallel to the Copernican Revolution in his proposal to think of the objects of experience as conforming to people's spatial and temporal forms of intuition and the categories of the understanding, instead of the traditional method of showing how the mind might conform to its objects.
Kant believed that reason is the source of morality and that the categorical imperative binds all rational agents. He believed that aesthetics arises from a faculty of disinterested judgment. Kant hoped that perpetual peace could be secured through an international federation of republican states and international cooperation. Kant believed that true religion is grounded on morality. The exact nature of his religious views is a matter of dispute.


Infinite regress

Infinite regress is a philosophical concept to describe a series of entities. Each entity in the series depends on its predecessor, following a recursive principle. For example, the epistemic regress is a series of beliefs in which the justification of each belief depends on the justification of the belief that comes before it.
An infinite regress argument is an argument against a theory based on the fact that this theory leads to an infinite regress. For such an argument to be successful, it must demonstrate not just that the theory in question entails an infinite regress but also that this regress is vicious. There are different ways in which a regress can be vicious. The most serious form of viciousness involves a contradiction in the form of metaphysical impossibility. Other forms occur when the infinite regress is responsible for the theory in question being implausible or for its failure to solve the problem it was formulated to solve.
Traditionally, it was often assumed without much argument that each infinite regress is vicious but this assumption has been put into question in contemporary philosophy. While some philosophers have explicitly defended theories with infinite regresses, the more common strategy has been to reformulate the theory in question in a way that avoids the regress. One such strategy is foundationalism, which posits that there is a first element in the series from which all the other elements arise but which is not itself explained this way. Another way is coherentism, which is based on a holistic explanation that usually sees the entities in question not as a linear series but as an interconnected network.
Infinite regress arguments have been made in various areas of philosophy. Famous examples include the cosmological argument and Bradley's regress.


Interactionism (philosophy of mind)

Interactionism or interactionist dualism is the theory in the philosophy of mind which holds that matter and mind are two distinct and independent substances that exert causal effects on one another. An example of your mind influencing your body would be if you are depressed (which is related to your mind), you can observe the effects on your body, such as a slouched posture, a lackluster smile, etc. Another example, this time of your body affecting your mind would be: If you struck your toe very forcefully on a door (which is related to your body), you would experience terrible pain (which is related to your mind). Interactionism is one type of dualism, traditionally a type of substance dualism though more recently also sometimes a form of property dualism. Many philosophers and scientists have responded to this theory with arguments both supporting and opposing its relevance to life and whether the theory corresponds to reality.


Intuition


John Heil


Kenneth M. Sayre


List of philosophical problems


List of philosophies


List of publications in philosophy


Meaning (philosophy)


Mechanism (philosophy)


Medieval philosophy


Mental state


Metaphysics


Mind


Mind–body dualism


Mind–body problem


Non-physical entity


Outline of philosophy


Paul Thagard


Philosophy


Philosophy of mind


Proposition


Quietism (philosophy)


Reza Negarestani


Society of Mind


Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy)


Susan Schneider


Theory of mind


Thomas Nagel


Type physicalism


Western philosophy


World


Antimicrobial nanotechnology

Antimicrobial nanotechnology is the study of using biofilms to disrupt a microbe's cell membrane, deliver an electric charge to the microbe, and cause immediate cellular death via a "mechanical kill" process, preventing the original microbe from mutating into a superbug. The biofilms are made up of long atomic chains that can breach the cell wall. These spikes are roughly the size of a human hair and are far too small to injure large cells in mammals. These atom chains have a significant positive charge that attracts bacteria that are negatively charged. A new class of antimicrobial has been created by applying nanotechnology to the challenge of superbugs and multiple drug resistance organisms.


Applications of nanotechnology

The applications of nanotechnology include industrial, medicinal, and energy uses. Nanotechnology's use of smaller-sized materials allows for adjustment of molecules and substances at the nanoscale level, which can further enhance the mechanical properties of materials or grant access to less physically accessible areas of the body. Because nanoparticles and nanodevices are highly versatile through modification of their physiochemical properties, they have found uses in nanoscale electronics, cancer treatments, vaccines, hydrogen fuel cells, and nanographene batteries.


The University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) was established in 2003. It is one of four stand-alone research institutions at the university with more than 500 researchers, students and support staff. The inaugural Director was Peter Gray (2003 – 2015). The institute's second director, Professor Alan Rowan, commenced in 2016.
The AIBN is an integrated multi-disciplinary research institute bringing together researchers in the areas of bioengineering and nanotechnology. It is home to research groups working at the interface of the biological, chemical and physical sciences, and its applications in human health and environmental issues.
Notable work performed by the institute includes the needleless Nanopatch vaccine delivery device that is ready to begin human trials; local production of an experimental antibody for the treatment of the Hendra virus; and biofuel research.


Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the direct sequel to Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin. In the film, the surviving members of the Avengers and their allies attempt to reverse Thanos's actions in Infinity War, which erased half of all life in the universe.
The film was announced in October 2014 as Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2, but Marvel Studios later removed this title. The Russo brothers joined as directors in April 2015, with Markus and McFeely signing on to write the script a month later. It is a conclusion to the story of the MCU up to that point, ending several main characters' story arcs. The plot revisits moments from earlier films, bringing back actors and settings from throughout the franchise. Filming began in August 2017 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, shooting back-to-back with Infinity War, and ended in January 2018. Additional filming took place in the Metro and downtown Atlanta areas, New York state, Scotland, and England. The official title was announced in December 2018. With an estimated budget range of $356–400 million, Endgame is one of the most expensive films ever produced.
Avengers: Endgame premiered at the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 22, 2019, and was released in the United States on April 26 as part of Phase Three of the MCU. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its direction, acting, musical score, action scenes, visual effects, and emotional weight, with critics lauding its culmination of the 22-film story. It grossed nearly $2.8 billion worldwide, surpassing Infinity War's entire theatrical run in eleven days and setting several box-office records. It was the highest-grossing film of all time from July 2019 to March 2021, when it was surpassed by the previous record-holder, Avatar (2009). Endgame was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the 92nd Academy Awards, among numerous other accolades. An extended version, titled Avengers: Endgame Encore, will be released in theaters in September 2026 in anticipation of the film's two sequels, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which are respectively scheduled for release in December 2026 and 2027.


Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology

The Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology (CoEN) is a nanotechnology facility located at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). It is one of the 8 centers of excellence in Thailand.
The CoEN at the AIT is used for applied research and graduate education in nanotechnology. Current research activities at the CoEN focus on dye-sensitive solar cells, electronic devices, gas sensors, bio-diagnostic tools, specific microscopic sensors, heavy-metal-ion sensors for wastewater, environmental mitigation through visible light photocatalysis, the shake-up of nanoparticles, and layer-by-layer growth from colloidal particles, among others. The Master's degree program in Nanotechnology was launched in 2009. The center has over 30 members from 10 countries carrying out cross-disciplinary research in nanotechnology.
The Center collaborates with many international institutions, most notably:

State University of New York at Buffalo, United States,
S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, India,
Center of Photoelectrochemical Energy, Korea University, South Korea,
Center for Nanobioscience, Agharkar Research Institute, India,
Inorganic Materials Laboratory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden,
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland,
Uppsala University, Sweden,
University of Quebec, Canada,
Leibniz Institute of New Materials, Germany,
University of California, Berkeley, United States,
and Griffith University, Australia.


DNA nanotechnology

DNA nanotechnology is the design and manufacture of artificial nucleic acid structures for technological uses. In this field, nucleic acids are used as non-biological engineering materials for nanotechnology rather than as the carriers of genetic information in living cells. Researchers in the field have created static structures such as two- and three-dimensional crystal lattices, nanotubes, polyhedra, and arbitrary shapes, and functional devices such as molecular machines and DNA computers. The field is beginning to be used as a tool to solve basic science problems in structural biology and biophysics, including applications in X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of proteins to determine structures. Potential applications in molecular scale electronics and nanomedicine are also being investigated.
The conceptual foundation for DNA nanotechnology was first laid out by Nadrian Seeman in the early 1980s, and the field began to attract widespread interest in the mid-2000s. This use of nucleic acids is enabled by their strict base pairing rules, which cause only portions of strands with complementary base sequences to bind together to form strong, rigid double helix structures. This allows for the rational design of base sequences that will selectively assemble to form complex target structures with precisely controlled  nanoscale features. Several assembly methods are used to make these structures, including tile-based structures that assemble from smaller structures, folding structures using the DNA origami method, and dynamically reconfigurable structures using strand displacement methods. The field's name specifically references DNA, but the same principles have been used with other types of nucleic acids as well, leading to the occasional use of the alternative name nucleic acid nanotechnology.


Ethics of nanotechnologies

Ethics of nanotechnology is the study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in nanotechnology and its impacts.
According to Andrew Chen, ethical concerns about nanotechnologies should include the possibility of their military applications, the dangers posed by self-replicant nanomachines, and their use for surveillance monitoring and tracking. Risks to environment to public health are treated in a report from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment as well as is a report of the European Environment Agency. Academic works on ethics of nanotechnology can be found in the journal Nanoethics.


Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology

The Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology is an award given by the Foresight Institute for significant advances in nanotechnology.  Two prizes are awarded annually, in the categories of experimental and theoretical work. There is also a separate challenge award for making a nanoscale robotic arm and 8-bit adder.


Glossary of nanotechnology

This glossary of nanotechnology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to nanotechnology, its sub-disciplines, and related fields.
For more inclusive glossaries concerning related fields of science and technology, see Glossary of chemistry terms, Glossary of physics, Glossary of biology, and Glossary of engineering.


Gray goo

Gray goo (also spelled as grey goo) is a hypothetical global catastrophic scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating machines consume all biomass (and perhaps also everything else) on Earth while building many more of themselves, a scenario that has been called ecophagy (literally: "consumption of the environment"). The original idea assumed machines were designed to have this capability, while popularizations have assumed that machines might somehow gain this capability by accident.
Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally described by mathematician John von Neumann, and are sometimes referred to as von Neumann machines or clanking replicators.
The term gray goo was coined by nanotechnology pioneer K. Eric Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation. In 2004, he stated "I wish I had never used the term 'gray goo'," arguing that it had inspired public fears that interfered with research on more conventional, non-self replicating nanotechnology. Engines of Creation mentions "gray goo" as a thought experiment in two paragraphs and a note, while the popularized idea of gray goo was first publicized in a mass-circulation magazine, Omni, in November 1986.


Green nanotechnology

Green nanotechnology refers to the use of nanotechnology to enhance the environmental sustainability of processes producing negative externalities. It also refers to the use of the products of nanotechnology to enhance sustainability.  It includes making green nano-products and using nano-products in support of sustainability.
The word GREEN in the name Green Nanotechnology has dual meaning. On one hand it describes the environment friendly technologies utilized to synthesize particles in nano scale; on the other hand it refers to the nanoparticles synthesis mediated by extracts of chlorophyllus plants.
Green nanotechnology has been described as the development of clean technologies, "to minimize potential environmental and human health risks associated with the manufacture and use of nanotechnology products. It also encourages replacement of existing products with new nano-products that are more environmentally friendly throughout their lifecycle."


Heart nanotechnology

Heart nanotechnology is the "Engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale" ("Nanotechnology Research").


History of nanotechnology

The history of nanotechnology traces the development of the concepts and experimental work falling under the broad category of nanotechnology.  Although nanotechnology is a relatively recent development in scientific research, the development of its central  concepts happened over a longer period of time. The emergence of nanotechnology in the 1980s was caused by the convergence of experimental advances such as the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope in 1981 and the discovery of fullerenes in 1985, with the elucidation and popularization of a conceptual framework for the goals of nanotechnology beginning with the 1986 publication of the book Engines of Creation.  The field was subject to growing public awareness and controversy in the early 2000s, with prominent debates about both its potential implications as well as the feasibility of the applications envisioned by advocates of molecular nanotechnology, and with governments moving to promote and fund research into nanotechnology.  The early 2000s also saw the beginnings of commercial applications of nanotechnology, although these were limited to bulk applications of nanomaterials rather than the transformative applications envisioned by the field.