Most elementary school students learn that matter exists in

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In May of 2013, the U. S. Storm Prediction Center sent out a tornado warning sixteen minutes before a devastating twister touched down in Newcastle, OK, killing twenty-four people and destroying dozens of homes and buildings. Despite the destruction and loss of life, the Newcastle tornado represented a milestone in tornado prediction, as the usual warning time is between ten and thirteen minutes. In Oklahoma that day, residents had the benefit of an additional three to six minutes of lead time as they scrambled to find shelter. Compared to tornado prediction in the 1980s, when the storms could be predicted just five minutes before touching down, the sixteen minute warning was truly remarkable. Scientists believe that even longer warnings are possible, but the prediction of these types of storms remains very challenging. In an era when meteorologists can forecast a hurricane a week in advance, it can be difficult to imagine that there remain weather events that cannot be accurately predicted with hours or days of advanced notice. Unfortunately, unlike hurricanes or blizzards, tornadoes are very short-lived weather events and their paths are much shorter. While a hurricane often begins as a storm cell off the African coast and is tracked for days, even weeks, using satellite imagery, as it moves thousands of miles east and makes landfall in North America, a tornado can appear suddenly as a result of an instant synthesis of multiple weather features. Tornadoes form suddenly, and meteorologists admit that there seem to be some elements of chance involved. A tornado forms when moist, warm air combines with faster-moving, cooler air and creates with wind shear. Wind shear is a significant difference in wind speed and direction over a short distance. Wind shear can be horizontal or vertical and can result in a rotation of wind currents. This rotation, combined with the different air temperatures can, but does not always, result in a tornado. The Midwest of the United States provides the perfect environment for these chance weather events. In an area known as Tornado Alley, which lies in the middle of the United States between the barriers of the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains, artic winds moving out of Canada and tropical winds moving north from the Gulf of Mexico collide. As early as 1870, the United States government noted the frequent proliferation of storms in this area, and began to track conditions likely to produce tornados. The first warnings, or probability predictions, provided residents with general information about a tornado “season” when it was more likely a storm would form. They did not predict specific storms, or even specific days on which a storm might occur. In 1953, the National Weather Service began a program that provided warnings of tornado-forming conditions as they emerged. While these warnings still did not predict specific storms, they were able to identify a time of day when conditions would be conducive to tornadoes. Prior to 1953, tornadoes killed at least 250 a year. With the warning system, that number dropped to 120 in 1953 and to 28 in 1962. It seemed, for a time, that a network of weather centers, by combining data and maintaining communication, were developing a successful means of giving residents some sort of advanced warning and, in some rare cases, even predicting a tornado touchdown a few minutes before it occurred. The accuracy, however, was spotty and communication between weather centers, in an era before satellite and cellular communication devices, was unreliable. Therefore, no consistent success in prediction was possible. With the advent of high-speed computing technology from the late 1960s to the present, tornado prediction has improved significantly. Scientists have developed mathematical models based on past tornado events. By using these models and measuring real-time atmospheric conditions, they can now identify more discrete areas that are likely to see tornado activity, and, with growing accuracy, pinpoint tornados as they begin to form, providing more precise probability models and advanced warnings of touchdowns. What is a reasonable conclusion the reader can draw from the information in the last paragraph?

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Most elementary school students learn that matter exists in three different states: gas, liquid, and solid. The states of matter, as everyone knows, describe how the atomic particles interact with one another and the distances and attractions that govern those interactions In 1995, a fourth form of matter was created by scientists working with ultra-cold atoms. This fourth form is called Bose-Einstein condensate. Long theorized as being a potential state of matter, Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) consists of a cluster of atoms cooled to temperatures so close to absolute zero that they merge into a single quantum state. In a single quantum state, all of the particles can be described mathematically as a single unit. The distinctions between particles dissipate and the cluster functions, to a great extent, as a single unit. Currently, the only use for BEC is for more research. Scientists are using BEC to simulate condensed matter systems, which are forms of matter in which the atoms or particles are highly concentrated. A potential application of BEC is in the development of quantum computers, which store and process information on subatomic particles. BEC is an attractive data storage solution because an infinite number of atoms can be merged into exactly the same quantum state, and would, therefore, allow for coherent transmission of information. Researchers have already had success creating BEC clouds of millions of atoms, an indication that, theoretically, the creation of large data storage clouds is feasible. How could one characterize the author’s certainty that quantum computers will be developed?

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Can Innovation Solve the Economic Crisis? Major shock has caused turbulence within the once stable European Union, a recession continues to create a decline in economic activity across the United States, and militarism is leaving immense debts that only create a larger burden around the globe. These factors point to the creation of an economic crisis where major financial institutions are losing portions of their value. Fewer resources are leading to greater debt and causing increasing resistance to the capitalistic system that Karl Marx was such a critic and admirer of. While economist John Maynard Keynes had nothing positive to say about Joseph Schumpeter's idea of creative destruction, his cycle of innovation may be able to solve the current economic crisis. Amidst economic downturn, the general business cycle will experience considerable decline. This affects all companies, industries, and countries in some way, as macroeconomic shock leads to a drop in domestic and export demand. The result is the decision to continue business as usual, reduce costs, or search for new opportunities. This search for new opportunities is what Chris Freeman and the Sussex School have coined as a way out. It is Freeman's belief that Schumpeter's idea of creative destruction and emerging technologies can lead to a collection of new clusters of innovation, which help the economy regain prosperity. Not only does this contradict Keynes’ belief that nothing good can come from creative destruction, but it also illustrates a process that allows some new businesses to interject their own expense in an attempt to create such innovation. These new businesses and competition will lead to financial and technological innovation. Technological innovation is a process that does not happen overnight, but may be in development for decades during an economic crisis or the result of a business cycle. A crisis creates a high mobility of finances and allows funds to be reallocated from established technologies to emerging ones. As new innovators step into the forefront of the economic arena, confrontation occurs between previous leaders and those that are attempting to take control. As economist Carlota Perez has argued, “from the confrontation between them will emerge the novel leaders and the industries that will serve as engines of growth of the economy,” (Perez 2009, page 781. )This process results in a techno-economic paradigm that can lead to increased productivity, more efficient equipment, and better organizational models. Additionally, there is a much wider market and outreach for the new technologies. Throughout this process, financial innovation is working behind the scenes to pioneer the new techno-paradigm. As new leaders emerge, the financial sector invents and diffuses new ways to acquire capital. In part, this new capital is acquired through new investors that are able to leverage and spread risk within this paradigm. Within this innovation, positive results can be seen in regards to the domestic and export demands for this new product, thus indicating that the economic demand or desire may have been somewhat related to the economic decline. While periods of financial and technological innovation have been observed cyclically throughout the past two centuries, Keynes, an economist whose ideas have been used to form Keynesian economics, held fast to the belief that nothing good could come from “creative destruction. ”One such example is the liberalization from the 1980s and 1990s, which boosted competition amongst companies, and created increased choices and flexibility for consumers, all while increasing the financial development. But certain flaws remained hidden. These flaws led to negative results, including misrepresented products. Keynes also thought that the desires of new investors with available capital would spawn more delinquencies, bankruptcies, and inadequately managed products. Additionally, these new innovators may not effectively know how to manage the risks that they are taking in an attempt to become successful entrepreneurs. Keynes believed that economic crisis could not rely on innovation, but needed to stimulate the economy using alternative methods, such as increased government investment and the reduction of interest rates. The recent economic downturn has prompted the United Kingdom to take actions mimicking those outlined by Keynes, asserting that innovation may not be the solution to economic crisis. Less than four years ago, in 2008, the Bank of England slashed interest rates to 4. 5%. This reduction came after the British government announced a plan to rescue Britain's banking sector to the tune of £500bn in government assistance. Similarly, in 2008, the United States government participated in the largest bailout of any government. Officially known as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the United States government supplied over $700 billion dollars to assist with risky and nonperforming debt, including mortgages, auto loans, college loans, and other ambiguous types of debt. The largest bailout in history, this is one of six major times that the government has attempted to boost the economy through such activity. Others include the Great Depression, where unemployment was at 25%. Additionally, government assistance was used in the Savings and Loan bailout of 1989; when Bear Stearns collapsed; and to assist with AIG, an insurance company that is recognizable around the globe. Also, in 2008 the United States government, committed up to $200 billion dollars to save mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Joseph Schumpeter and John Maynard Keynes had two very different views regarding a solution to the economic crisis. Both viewed the economic crisis as inevitable and the stimulation of the economy as necessary, but that is where their agreement ends. Schumpeter believed that people's disgruntlement and desire for more would lead them to finding new ways, new approaches, and thus new innovations that would spawn economic activity, resulting in strengthened economic activity. Contrary, to this, Keynes thought that ending an economic crisis would not come through innovation, but rather through government interventions. When looking back, it seems that neither Schumpeter’s innovation nor Keynesian models offers a perfect solution, but that the true key to solving economic crisis lies in a combination of the two. There are times that the actions of the government to reduce interest rates and provide government investments is ideal, while at other times it is periods of technological and financial innovation that propel economies out of crisis and into significant economic surges. It can be inferred that the author understands that:

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Completed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1506, the Mona Lisa is one of the most recognized images in the world. Over the centuries several theories have been proposed regarding the identity of the enigmatic subject of this portrait. While current scholars tend to agree that she is Lisa del Giocondo, the young wife of a wealthy Florence merchant, some dissenters argue that del Giocondo was, in fact, the subject of an earlier portrait, and not the smiling visage of the Mona Lisa. Scholars who reject the del Giocondo identification have proffered several alternative identities. Some scholars believe Mona Lisa was the Duchess of Milan, Isabella of Aragon. Da Vinci was the Aragon family painter for more than a decade and would have had the time and opportunity to create a portrait of the Duchess. Other scholars have theorized that Mona Lisa is the portrait of a mistress of Giuliano de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence in the early 1500s. More recently, scholars using digital analysis have determined that the Mona Lisa is da Vinci himself, painted as a woman. Digital analysis and comparisons of da Vinci’s facial features and those of the woman in the painting show almost perfect alignment of their features. However, other researchers have pointed out that, since the only images of da Vinci are paintings, primarily self-portraits, this alignment might be attributed to the artist, and not the subjects of the painting. Using modern scientific analysis to identify artists and their subjects has become more popular in the last few decades. In addition, the availability of laboratories using specialized equipment has increased for laypeople, or those who are not professional scientists. The internet provides a wealth of information for anyone interested in researching art, and communicating the findings of art historians is easier than ever due to the online publishing of academic journals. In 2010, an amateur researcher and art historian, Silvano Vinceti, assembled a team of researchers with the goal of finding the grave of Lisa del Giocondo and determining, by using advanced technology that performs facial imaging based on skeletal structure, if she was the original model for the Mona Lisa. This would not be Vinceti’s first art-history investigation. Earlier in 2010 he discovered the remains of the Italian artist, Caravaggio, and determined through analysis of the bone fragments that he had died of lead poisoning. In fact, Vinceti’s investigation supported a long-held belief among art historians that Caravaggio had gone mad before his death. The levels of lead present in the artist’s skeleton likely caused significant mental incapacitation before causing his death in 1610. Vinceti was able to compile data from analysis and prior scholars quickly and efficiently, leading to a confirmation of conclusions previously considered only suppositions. Vinceti’s Caravaggio investigation was not, however, without controversy. Another art historian, Tomaso Montanari, claimed that Vinceti’s interest in identifying Caravaggio was prurient and morbid, and intended only to attract tourists, rather than to shed light on the tragic life of the artist. He pointed out that violating the artist’s grave yielded little new information about the artist, nor was there any discernible upsurge in interest in Caravaggio’s work. Consistently critical of Vinceti’s projects, Montanari has predicted that the Mona Lisa project will be a failure, and questions the researcher’s motives. Montanari is among a small, but vocal group of highly-regarded art scholars who reject these types of investigations and the value they bring to the study of art. Nevertheless, Vinceti has achieved a significant first step in his research. In August of 2013, he and his team opened and entered a crypt in Florence that has been sealed for over 300 years. In it he hoped to find the final resting places of the Giocondos. Should the team find remains that may be those of the couple, the first step will be to carbon date a sample of any remaining organic material, such as bone or hair, to establish a date range during with they may have lived. If the remains do not date from the 1500s, they will be automatically disqualified from future testing or investigation. Critics claim that disrupting the tomb is not only disrespectful, but is also a vain effort. There are likely thousands of women buried in the large crypt and looking for a specific woman will be an arduous, if not futile, task. If Vinceti is successful in identifying a body that might have carried the enigmatic face of da Vinci’s portrait, and if those remains surmount the hurdle of carbon dating, the next step will be to attempt a DNA match with remains found in an earlier excavation of a different tomb, where Vinceti believes he has found Giocondo’s son. Even if the remains are confirmed to be those of Lisa del Giocondo, there is no guarantee Vinceti will be able to confirm anything more than the identity of a nearly 500-year-old skeleton. If the skull is not intact, digital scanning of the remains and a simulated reconstruction will be impossible and there will be no way to match the remains to da Vinci’s portrait. Despite these many hurdles Vinceti remains undaunted in his quest to, once and for all, confirm the identity of the most famous face in the world. What is the most likely reason the author has described multiple theories about the identity of the Mona Lisa?

4 votes

Completed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1506, the Mona Lisa is one of the most recognized images in the world. Over the centuries several theories have been proposed regarding the identity of the enigmatic subject of this portrait. While current scholars tend to agree that she is Lisa del Giocondo, the young wife of a wealthy Florence merchant, some dissenters argue that del Giocondo was, in fact, the subject of an earlier portrait, and not the smiling visage of the Mona Lisa. Scholars who reject the del Giocondo identification have proffered several alternative identities. Some scholars believe Mona Lisa was the Duchess of Milan, Isabella of Aragon. Da Vinci was the Aragon family painter for more than a decade and would have had the time and opportunity to create a portrait of the Duchess. Other scholars have theorized that Mona Lisa is the portrait of a mistress of Giuliano de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence in the early 1500s. More recently, scholars using digital analysis have determined that the Mona Lisa is da Vinci himself, painted as a woman. Digital analysis and comparisons of da Vinci’s facial features and those of the woman in the painting show almost perfect alignment of their features. However, other researchers have pointed out that, since the only images of da Vinci are paintings, primarily self-portraits, this alignment might be attributed to the artist, and not the subjects of the painting. Using modern scientific analysis to identify artists and their subjects has become more popular in the last few decades. In addition, the availability of laboratories using specialized equipment has increased for laypeople, or those who are not professional scientists. The internet provides a wealth of information for anyone interested in researching art, and communicating the findings of art historians is easier than ever due to the online publishing of academic journals. In 2010, an amateur researcher and art historian, Silvano Vinceti, assembled a team of researchers with the goal of finding the grave of Lisa del Giocondo and determining, by using advanced technology that performs facial imaging based on skeletal structure, if she was the original model for the Mona Lisa. This would not be Vinceti’s first art-history investigation. Earlier in 2010 he discovered the remains of the Italian artist, Caravaggio, and determined through analysis of the bone fragments that he had died of lead poisoning. In fact, Vinceti’s investigation supported a long-held belief among art historians that Caravaggio had gone mad before his death. The levels of lead present in the artist’s skeleton likely caused significant mental incapacitation before causing his death in 1610. Vinceti was able to compile data from analysis and prior scholars quickly and efficiently, leading to a confirmation of conclusions previously considered only suppositions. Vinceti’s Caravaggio investigation was not, however, without controversy. Another art historian, Tomaso Montanari, claimed that Vinceti’s interest in identifying Caravaggio was prurient and morbid, and intended only to attract tourists, rather than to shed light on the tragic life of the artist. He pointed out that violating the artist’s grave yielded little new information about the artist, nor was there any discernible upsurge in interest in Caravaggio’s work. Consistently critical of Vinceti’s projects, Montanari has predicted that the Mona Lisa project will be a failure, and questions the researcher’s motives. Montanari is among a small, but vocal group of highly-regarded art scholars who reject these types of investigations and the value they bring to the study of art. Nevertheless, Vinceti has achieved a significant first step in his research. In August of 2013, he and his team opened and entered a crypt in Florence that has been sealed for over 300 years. In it he hoped to find the final resting places of the Giocondos. Should the team find remains that may be those of the couple, the first step will be to carbon date a sample of any remaining organic material, such as bone or hair, to establish a date range during with they may have lived. If the remains do not date from the 1500s, they will be automatically disqualified from future testing or investigation. Critics claim that disrupting the tomb is not only disrespectful, but is also a vain effort. There are likely thousands of women buried in the large crypt and looking for a specific woman will be an arduous, if not futile, task. If Vinceti is successful in identifying a body that might have carried the enigmatic face of da Vinci’s portrait, and if those remains surmount the hurdle of carbon dating, the next step will be to attempt a DNA match with remains found in an earlier excavation of a different tomb, where Vinceti believes he has found Giocondo’s son. Even if the remains are confirmed to be those of Lisa del Giocondo, there is no guarantee Vinceti will be able to confirm anything more than the identity of a nearly 500-year-old skeleton. If the skull is not intact, digital scanning of the remains and a simulated reconstruction will be impossible and there will be no way to match the remains to da Vinci’s portrait. Despite these many hurdles Vinceti remains undaunted in his quest to, once and for all, confirm the identity of the most famous face in the world. What is the purpose of the third paragraph of this essay?

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