Quantum "packets"

One of the great discoveries of the 20th century was the development of the theory of quantum energy. It was found that energy came in distinct packets of energy called quantum. These quantum were the amount of energy needed to excite an electron from a lower shell of an atom to a higher one. Using this explanation scientist could excite atoms by sending in photons which would act to increase the quantum of a atom's electrons.

Before Creation

Now, are not those still full of their old carnal nature[429] who ask us: "What was God doing before he made heaven and earth? For if he was idle," they say, "and doing nothing, then why did he not continue in that state forever--doing nothing, as he had always done? If any new motion has arisen in God, and a new will to form a creature, which he had never before formed, how can that be a true eternity in which an act of will occurs that was not there before? For the will of God is not a created thing, but comes before the creation--and this is true because nothing could be created unless the will of the Creator came before it. The will of God, therefore, pertains to his very Essence. Yet if anything has arisen in the Essence of God that was not there before, then that Essence cannot truly be called eternal. But if it was the eternal will of God that the creation should come to be, why, then, is not the creation itself also from eternity?"

-Augustine's Confessions, book eleven, chapter X

A Mother's wish

Augustine's mother was indeed one of the most patient women in all history. Despite Augustine's lack of respect for her in his youth and his conversion to Manicheans for well over ten years, she never stopped trying to teach and change her son. It was her dream that he be reconciled with the church before she died, and as it turned out thats exactly what happened. Less than a month after Augustine's reconversion to orthodoxy, his mother died.

Lavoisier

A french scientist living during the French Revolution, Lavoisier was the first to accurately record the seperation of oxidized mercury into oxygen and mercury. His measurements led him to propose one of the fundamental theories of chemistry that mass is conserved. This discovery along with a book he published which became the first chemistry textbook have made Lovoisier one of France's greatest scientists. Unfortunately, he was put to death by the revolutionary government in the year 1794.

History of the Atom

History of the atom: In the 5th cent. B.C. the Greek philosophers Democritus and Leucippus proposed that matter was made up of tiny, indivisible particles in constant motion. Aristotle, however, did not accept the theory, and it was ignored for centuries. Modern atomic theory began with the publication in 1808 by John Dalton of his experimental conclusions that all atoms of an element have same size and weight, and that atoms of elements unite chemically in simple numerical ratios (as molecules) to form compounds. In 1911 Ernest Rutherford explained an atom's structure in terms of a positively charged nucleus surrounded by negatively charged electrons orbiting around it. In 1913 Niels Bohr used quantum theory to explain why electrons could remain in certain allowed orbits without radiating energy. The development of quantum mechanics during the 1920s resulted in a satisfactory explanation of all phenomena related to the role of electrons in atoms.

--http://www.neutron.anl.gov/hyper-physics/histatom.html

Fountain of Youth

The Fountain of Youth or rather the ability to live forever as a young and healthy person has a been a sonsuming urge for all mankind throughout history. Nothing scares us as much as death. Some have found consolation in religion such as the christians who believe that they will be reunited with God at the end of time and be in perfect happiness. Others have found their immortailty in the way that future generation will view them. Many who read the Iliad cannot believe the seemingly drastic measures to which the heroes will go to protect their honor, but for the Greeks and Trojans in the Iliad their honor as it will be passed down through the ages is what gives them their life after death. However, a more concrete approach to gain immortality was taken by Ponce de Leon who landed in Florida in the year 1513 in search for a legendary pool which would grant those who drank from it everlasting youth. Although he failed to find his pool of youth Ponce de Leon was the first European to set foot in what now is the United States. So it turns out that the search for immortality has indeed shaped the world, from the landing in Northern America to the religious wars of Europe.

Pantheons

Greece, Rome, Vikings, Aztecs, and Egyptians, they all have a extensive pantheon of gods and goddesses. Although, they are different pantheons, the similarities that arise between certain gods and goddeses of each culture are remarkable. Zeus and Jupiter, Thor and Set they all are gods of storm and lightning. In fact, almost all the gods and goddesses in one pantheon have a simaraculum of themselves in the other cultures.

Feudalism in Japan

Although best known in western Europe, feudalism also became a important social system in Japan where Samurai pledged their allegiance to their shogun for hundreds of years. Feudalism's faults were also found in Japan. Constant warfare which seems a hallmark of western medieval history was also rampant among the samurai elites of medieval Japan. In Japan however, the wars would temporarily cool when the emperor was at his height. The cyclic rise and wane of the emperor's powers, corresponded directly to the wars and rebellions fought amongst the shoguns of Japan.

Dreamcatchers

Origin of the Dream Catcher

Long ago in the ancient world of the Ojibwe Nation, the Clans were all located in one general area of that place known as Turtle Island. This is the way that the old Ojibwe storytellers say how Asibikaashi (Spider Woman) helped Wanabozhoo bring giizis (sun) back to the people. To this day, Asibikaashi will build her special lodge before dawn. If you are awake at dawn, as you should be, look for her lodge and you will see this miracle of how she captured the sunrise as the light sparkles on the dew which is gathered there.

Asibikaasi took care of her children, the people of the land, and she continues to do so to this day. When the Ojibwe Nation dispersed to the four corners of North America, to fill a prophecy, Asibikaashi had a difficult time making her journey to all those cradle boards, so the mothers, sisters, & Nokomis (grandmothers) took up the practice of weaving the magical webs for the new babies using willow hoops and sinew or cordage made from plants. It is in the shape of a circle to represent how giizis travels each day across the sky. The dream catcher will filter out all the bad bawedjigewin (dreams) & allow only good thoughts to enter into our minds when we are just abinooji. You will see a small hole in the center of each dream catcher where those good bawadjige may come through. With the first rays of sunlight, the bad dreams would perish.

When we see little asibikaashi, we should not fear her, but instead respect and protect her. In honor of their origin, the number of points where the web connected to the hoop numbered 8 for Spider Woman's eight legs or 7 for the Seven Prophecies.

-Native American Technology and Art

Versailles

Versailles, probably one of the most expensive building projects of all time, is the greatest palace in France even today. Built by Louis XIV, it was not just a 13 billion dollar home, it was also the means by which Louis controlled the rich and powerful nobility and the mobs. By removing himself from Paris, he eliminated the influence of the mob and by keeping all he nobles at Versailles under his watchful eye, he severely weakened the nobility.