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Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), discovered in 1929 by Karl Lohmann,[1] is a multifunctional nucleotide primarily known in biochemistry as the "molecular currency" of intracellular energy transfer. In this role ATP transports chemical energy within cells. It is produced as an energy source during the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. The structure of this molecule consists of a purine base (adenine) attached to the 1' carbon atom of a pentose (ribose). Three phosphate groups are attached at the 5' carbon atom of the pentose. ATP is also one of four monomers (nucleotides) required for the synthesis of ribonucleic acids. Furthermore, in signal transduction pathways, ATP is used to provide the phosphate for protein kinase reactions.
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ATP production in an aerobic eukaryotic cell is tightly regulated by allosteric mechanisms, by feedback effects, and by the substrate concentration dependence of individual enzymes within the glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. Key control points occur in enzymatic reactions that are so energetically favorable that they are effectively irreversible under physiological conditions.
In glycolysis, hexokinase is directly inhibited by its product, glucose-6-phosphate, and pyruvate kinase is inhibited by ATP itself. The main control point for the glycolytic pathway is phosphofructokinase (PFK), which is allosterically inhibited by high concentrations of ATP and activated by high concentrations of AMP. The inhibition of PFK by ATP is unusual, since ATP is also a substrate in the reaction catalyzed by PFK; the biologically active form of the enzyme is a tetramer that exists in two possible conformations, only one of which binds the second substrate fructose-6-phosphate (F6P). The protein has two binding sites for ATP - the active site is accessible in either protein conformation, but ATP binding to the inhibitor site stabilizes the conformation that binds F6P poorly.[3] A number of other small molecules can compensate for the ATP-induced shift in equilibrium conformation and reactivate PFK, including cyclic AMP, ammonium ions, inorganic phosphate, and fructose 1,6 and 2,6 biphosphate.[3]
The citric acid cycle is regulated mainly by the availability of key substrates, particularly the ratio of NAD+ to NADH and the concentrations of calcium, inorganic phosphate, ATP, ADP, and AMP. Citrate - the molecule that gives its name to the cycle - is a feedback inhibitor of citrate synthase and also inhibits PFK, providing a direct link between the regulation of the citric acid cycle and glycolysis.[3]
In oxidative phosphorylation, the key control point is the reaction catalyzed by cytochrome c oxidase, which is regulated by the availability of its substrate, the reduced form of cytochrome c. The amount of reduced cytochrome c available is directly related to the amounts of other substrates:
Thus, a high ratio of [NADH] to [NAD+] or a low ratio of [ADP][Pi] to [ATP] imply a high amount of reduced cytochrome c and a high level of cytochrome c oxidase activity.[3] An additional level of regulation is introduced by the transport rates of ATP and NADH between the mitochondrial matrix and the cytoplasm.
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While physics deals with a wide variety of systems, there are certain theories that are used by all physicists. Each of these theories were experimentally tested numerous times and found correct as an approximation of nature (within a certain domain of validity). For instance, the theory of classical mechanics accurately describes the motion of objects, provided they are much larger than atoms and moving at much less than the speed of light. These theories continue to be areas of active research; for instance, a remarkable aspect of classical mechanics known as chaos was discovered in the 20th century, three centuries after the original formulation of classical mechanics by Isaac Newton (1642–1727). These "central theories" are important tools for research into more specialized topics, and any physicist, regardless of his or her specialization, is expected to be literate in them.
* Classical mechanics is a model of the physics of forces acting upon bodies. It is often referred to as "Newtonian mechanics" after Newton and his laws of motion. Classical mechanics is subdivided into statics (which models objects at rest), kinematics (which models objects in motion), and dynamics (which models objects subjected to forces). See also mechanics.
* Electromagnetism, or electromagnetic theory, is the physics of the electromagnetic field: a field, encompassing all of space, which exerts a force on those particles that possess the property of electric charge, and is in turn affected by the presence and motion of such particles. Electromagnetism encompasses various real-world electromagnetic phenomena.
* Thermodynamics is the branch of physics that deals with the action of heat and the conversions from one to another of various forms of energy. Thermodynamics is particularly concerned with how these affect temperature, pressure, volume, mechanical action, and work. Historically, it grew out of efforts to construct more efficient heat engines — devices for extracting useful work from expanding hot gases.
* Statistical mechanics, a related theory, is the branch of physics that analyzes macroscopic systems by applying statistical principles to their microscopic constituents and, thus, can be used to calculate the thermodynamic properties of bulk materials from the spectroscopic data of individual molecules.
* Quantum mechanics is the branch of mathematical physics treating atomic and subatomic systems and their interaction with radiation in terms of observable quantities. It is based on the observation that all forms of energy are released in discrete units or bundles called quanta. Quantum theory typically permits only probable or statistical calculation of the observed features of subatomic particles, understood in terms of wave functions.
* The theory of relativity, or relativity theory, is:
*
o A physical theory which is based on two postulates (1) that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant and independent of the source or observer and (2) that it is impossible to determine ones absolute velocity in any inertial systems and which leads to the deduction of the equivalence of mass and energy and of change in mass, dimension, and time with increased velocity — called also special relativity, special theory of relativity;
o An extension of the theory to include gravitation and related acceleration phenomena — called also general relativity, general theory of relativity.
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Now, after all that science, Something fun:
World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment.
It is the fourth game in the Warcraft series, excluding expansion packs and the cancelled Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans. The Warcraft games are set in the Warcraft Universe, a fantasy setting introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. World of Warcraft itself takes place within the world of Azeroth, four years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard's previous release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. World of Warcraft's release celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise.
Although its initial release was hampered by server stability and performance issues, problems which still intermittently recur,[1] the game is widely regarded as a success. On November 9, 2006, Blizzard announced that the subscriber base for World of Warcraft has reached a new milestone, with 7.5 million players worldwide. [2]
Gameplay
As an MMORPG, World of Warcraft is a radical departure from the standard real-time strategy wargame style of the other Warcraft games. As with other MMORPGs such as EverQuest, players control a character avatar within a persistent gameworld, exploring the landscape, fighting monsters and performing quests on behalf of computer controlled characters. The game rewards success through money, items and experience which allow players' characters to improve in skill and power. In addition, players may opt to take part in battles against other players, including both duels and fights against player characters allied with an enemy faction.
Many quests and monsters through the early and middle stages of gameplay can be conquered alone without the help of other players, particularly if the player's character is higher level than his opponents. Other portions of the game, such as its instanced dungeon areas, are designed to require players to work together for success. Dungeons are designed for parties ranging from two to five players, up to significantly more difficult "raids" (a term originating from EverQuest gameplay) requiring up to a maximum of 40 players. The highest level, most complex dungeons and encounters are designed to take raiding guilds months of playtime and many attempts before they succeed.
In particular, the game areas designed specifically for level 60 characters are generally much more raid-dependent (and time-consuming) than the relatively more casual experience of advancing one's character from levels 1 to 60.[3] The majority of World of Warcraft's endgame content (i.e., content specifically designed for level 60 characters) requires raiding, with raids making up the bulk of the game's development since release.[4]
Because characters cannot currently progress in experience level beyond 60, gameplay focus at that level typically changes for players wishing to further improve their combat power and effectiveness. Since combat and quests at level 60 earn the character money and items, but no experience, characters improve by continuing to upgrade their equipment. With few exceptions, the most powerful gear in the game is earned either as PVP rewards in battlegrounds, or by fighting consistently over a long course of time in the highest difficulty raid instances. Large PvE raids normally take a few hours to clear entire dungeons, such as Molten Core, Ahn'Qiraj, and Blackwing Lair. Because of the extreme damage monsters at this level of play can inflict, a common practice is to equip with 'resist' gear, meaning equipment specifically designed to maximize a character's resistance and defense against the opponents he expects to face in that particular raid, such as equipping items with high fire resistance before facing a raid involving monsters that primarily deal fire damage. It also helps to improve a character's reputation for factions associated with the instance, to make sure the character has enough cash saved up for repairs, and to purchase consumable items for use within the instance. For example, the newest 40 man instance, Naxxramas, requires the right reputation level to be allowed to enter the instance without expensive material costs.
System requirements
World of Warcraft runs natively on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Boxed copies of the game use a hybrid CD to install the game, eliminating the need for separate Mac and Windows retail products. The game allows all users to play together, regardless of their operating system.
As of July 2005, Blizzard has no immediate plans to release a Linux version.[citation needed] However, support for World of Warcraft is present in Windows API implementations Wine and Cedega, allowing the game to be played on Linux.[5] FreeBSD users have also been successful in using Wine to run the game.[6]
As of Patch 1.9.3 the game added native support for the newer Intel-powered Macs, making World of Warcraft a Universal application. As a result of this the minimum supported Mac OS X version has been changed to 10.3.9; World of Warcraft version 1.9.3 and later will not launch on older versions of Mac OS X.[7]
Due to the fact that new content is constantly being added to the game, official system requirements frequently change. As of version 1.12.0, the requirements for Windows have increased from requiring 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM and from Windows 98 to Windows 2000.[8] The system requirements currently are as follows:[9]
Windows
* Windows 2000 or newer
* Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon 800 MHz
* 512 MB or more of RAM
* 32 MB 3D video card with Hardware T&L or better
* 6.0 GB free HD space
* 4x CD-ROM drive
* 56k or better Internet connection
Macintosh
* Mac OS X 10.3.9 or newer
* 933 MHz or higher G4, or G5, or Intel processor
* 512 MB RAM or higher
* ATI or NVIDIA video card with 32 MB Video RAM or more
* 6.0 GB free HD space
* 4x CD-ROM drive
* 56k or better Internet connection
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And now, back to boring science:
Spacecraft propulsion is used to change the velocity of spacecraft and artificial satellites, or in short, to provide delta-v. There are many different methods. Each method has drawbacks and advantages, and spacecraft propulsion is an active area of research. Most spacecraft today are propelled by heating the reaction mass and allowing it to flow out the back of the vehicle. This sort of engine is called a rocket engine.
All current spacecraft use chemical rocket (bipropellant or solid-fuel) for launch, though some (such as the Pegasus rocket and SpaceShipOne) have used air-breathing engines on their first stage. Most satellites have simple reliable chemical rockets (often monopropellant rockets) or resistojet rockets to keep their station, although some use momentum wheels for attitude control. Newer geo-orbiting spacecraft are starting to use electric propulsion for north-south stationkeeping. Interplanetary vehicles mostly use chemical rockets as well, although a few have experimentally used ion thrusters with some success (a form of electric propulsion).
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The necessity for propulsion systems
Artificial satellites must be launched into orbit, and once there they must be placed in their nominal orbit. Once in the desired orbit, they often need some form of attitude control so that they are correctly pointed with respect to the Earth, the Sun, and possibly some astronomical object of interest. They are also subject to drag from the thin atmosphere, so that to stay in orbit for a long period of time some form of propulsion is occasionally necessary to make small corrections (orbital stationkeeping). Many satellites need to be moved from one orbit to another from time to time, and this also requires propulsion. When a satellite has exhausted its ability to adjust its orbit, its useful life is over.
Spacecraft designed to travel further also need propulsion methods. They need to be launched out of the Earth's atmosphere just as satellites do. Once there, they need to leave orbit and move around.
For interplanetary travel, a spacecraft must use its engines to leave Earth orbit. Once it has done so, it must somehow make its way to its destination. Current interplanetary spacecraft do this with a series of short-term orbital adjustments. In between these adjustments, the spacecraft simply falls freely along its orbit. The simplest fuel-efficient means to move from one circular orbit to another is with a Hohmann transfer orbit: the spacecraft begins in a roughly circular orbit around the Sun. A short period of thrust in the direction of motion accelerates or decelerates the spacecraft into an elliptical orbit around the Sun which is tangential to its previous orbit and also to the orbit of its destination. The spacecraft falls freely along this elliptical orbit until it reaches its destination, where another short period of thrust accelerates or decelerates it to match the orbit of its destination. Special methods such as aerobraking are sometimes used for this final orbital adjustment.
Artist's conception of a solar sail
Enlarge
Artist's conception of a solar sail
Some spacecraft propulsion methods such as solar sails provide very low but inexhaustible thrust;[1] an interplanetary vehicle using one of these methods would follow a rather different trajectory, either constantly thrusting against its direction of motion in order to decrease its distance from the Sun or constantly thrusting along its direction of motion to increase its distance from the Sun.
Spacecraft for interstellar travel also need propulsion methods. No such spacecraft has yet been built, but many designs have been discussed. Since interstellar distances are very great, a tremendous velocity is needed to get a spacecraft to its destination in a reasonable amount of time. Acquiring such a velocity on launch and getting rid of it on arrival will be a formidable challenge for spacecraft designers.
[edit] Effectiveness of propulsion systems
When in space, the purpose of a propulsion system is to change the velocity v of a spacecraft. Since this is more difficult for more massive spacecraft, designers generally discuss momentum, mv. The amount of change in momentum is called impulse. So the goal of a propulsion method in space is to create an impulse.
When launching a spacecraft from the Earth, a propulsion method must overcome a higher gravitational pull to provide a net positive acceleration. In orbit, the spacecraft tangential velocity provides a centrifugal force that counterweighs the gravity pull at a given path (which is actually the orbit path) so that any additional impulse, even very tiny, will result in a change in the orbit path.
The rate of change of velocity is called acceleration, and the rate of change of momentum is called force. To reach a given velocity, one can apply a small acceleration over a long period of time, or one can apply a large acceleration over a short time. Similarly, one can achieve a given impulse with a large force over a short time or a small force over a long time. This means that for maneuvering in space, a propulsion method that produces tiny accelerations but runs for a long time can produce the same impulse as a propulsion method that produces large accelerations for a short time. When launching from a planet, tiny accelerations cannot overcome the planet's gravitational pull and so cannot be used.
The law of conservation of momentum means that in order for a propulsion method to change the momentum of a space craft it must change the momentum of something else as well. A few designs take advantage of things like magnetic fields or light pressure in order to change the spacecraft's momentum, but in free space the rocket must bring along some mass to accelerate away in order to push itself forward. Such mass is called reaction mass.
In order for a rocket to work, it needs two things: reaction mass and energy. The impulse provided by launching a particle of reaction mass having mass m at velocity v is mv. But this particle has kinetic energy mv2/2, which must come from somewhere. In a conventional solid, liquid, or hybrid rocket, the fuel is burned, providing the energy, and the reaction products are allowed to flow out the back, providing the reaction mass. In an ion thruster, electricity is used to accelerate ions out the back. Here some other source must provide the electrical energy (perhaps a solar panel or a nuclear reactor), while the ions provide the reaction mass.
When discussing the efficiency of a propulsion system, designers often focus on effectively using the reaction mass. Reaction mass must be carried along with the rocket and is irretrievably consumed when used. One way of measuring the amount of impulse that can be obtained from a fixed amount of reaction mass is the specific impulse, the impulse per unit weight-on-Earth (typically designated by Isp). The unit for this value is seconds. Since the weight on Earth of the reaction mass is often unimportant when discussing vehicles in space, specific impulse can also be discussed in terms of impulse per unit mass. This alternate form of specific impulse uses the same units as velocity (e.g. m/s), and in fact it is equal to the effective exhaust velocity of the engine (typically designated ve). Confusingly, both values are sometimes called specific impulse. The two values differ by a factor of g, the acceleration due to gravity on the Earth's surface (Ispg = ve).
A rocket with a high exhaust velocity can achieve the same impulse with less reaction mass. However, the energy required for that impulse is proportional to the square of the exhaust velocity, so that more mass-efficient engines require much more energy. This is a problem if the engine is to provide a large amount of thrust. To generate a large amount of impulse per second, it must use a large amount of energy per second. So highly efficient engines require enormous amounts of energy per second to produce high thrusts. As a result, most high-efficiency engine designs also provide very low thrust.
[edit] Calculations
Burning the entire usable propellant of a spacecraft through the engines in a straight line in free space would produce a net velocity change to the vehicle; this number is termed 'delta-v'.
The total Äv of a vehicle can be calculated using the rocket equation, where M is the mass of fuel (or rather the mass of propellant), P is the mass of the payload (including the rocket structure), and ve is the velocity of the rocket exhaust. This is known as the Tsiolkovsky rocket equation:
\Delta V = -v_e \ln \left(\frac{M+P}{P}\right)
For historical reasons, as discussed above, ve is sometimes written as
ve = Ispgo
where Isp is the specific impulse of the rocket, measured in seconds, and go is the gravitational acceleration at sea level.
For a long voyage, the majority of the spacecraft's mass may be reaction mass. Since a rocket must carry all its reaction mass with it, most of the first reaction mass goes towards accelerating reaction mass rather than payload. If we have a payload of mass P, the spacecraft needs to change its velocity by Äv, and the rocket engine has exhaust velocity ve, then the mass M of reaction mass which is needed can be calculated using the rocket equation and the formula for Isp
M = P \left(e^{\Delta v/v_e}-1\right)
For Äv much smaller than ve, this equation is roughly linear, and little reaction mass is needed. If Äv is comparable to ve, then there needs to be about twice as much fuel as combined payload and structure (which includes engines, fuel tanks, and so on). Beyond this, the growth is exponential; speeds much higher than the exhaust velocity require very high ratios of fuel mass to payload and structural mass.
In order to achieve this, some amount of energy must go into accelerating the reaction mass. Every engine will waste some energy, but even assuming 100% efficiency, the engine will need energy amounting to
\begin{matrix} \frac{1}{2} \end{matrix} Mv_e^2
Comparing the rocket equation (which shows how much energy ends up in the final vehicle) and the above equation (which shows the total energy required) shows that even with 100% engine efficiency, certainly not all energy supplied ends up in the vehicle - some of it, indeed usually most of it, ends up as kinetic energy of the exhaust.
For a mission, for example, when launching from or landing on a planet, the effects of gravitational attraction and any atmospheric drag must be overcome by using fuel. It is typical to combine the effects of these and other effects into an effective mission delta-v. For example a launch mission to low Earth orbit requires about 9.3-10 km/s delta-v. These mission delta-vs are typically numerically integrated on a computer.
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Oh, math now!!!
Calculus is a central branch of mathematics. The word stems from the nascent development of mathematics: the early Greeks used pebbles arranged in patterns to learn arithmetic and geometry, and the Latin word for "pebble" is "calculus."
Calculus is built on two major complementary ideas, both of which rely critically on the concept of limits. The first is differential calculus, which is concerned with the instantaneous rate of change of quantities with respect to other quantities, or more precisely, the local behavior of functions. This can be illustrated by the slope of a function's graph. The second is integral calculus, which studies the accumulation of quantities, such as areas under a curve, linear distance traveled, or volume displaced. These two processes act inversely to each other, as shown by the fundamental theorem of calculus.
Examples of typical differential calculus problems include:
* finding the acceleration and velocity of a free-falling body at a particular moment.
* finding the optimal number of units a company should produce to maximize its profit.
Examples of integral calculus problems include:
* finding areas and volumes
* finding the amount of a liquid pumped by a pump with a set power input but varying conditions of pumping losses and pressure
* finding the amount of parking lot plowed by a snowplow of given power with varying rates of snowfall.
Today, calculus is used in every branch of the physical sciences, in computer science, in statistics, and in engineering; in economics, business, and medicine; and as a general method whenever the goal is an optimal solution to a problem that can be given in mathematical form.
The derivative measures the sensitivity of one variable to small changes in another variable. Consider the formula:
for an object moving at constant speed. The speed of a car, as measured by the speedometer, is the derivative of the car's distance traveled as a function of time. Calculus is a mathematical tool for dealing with this complex but natural and familiar situation.
Differential calculus can be used to determine the instantaneous speed at any given instant, while the formula "speed = distance divided by time" only gives the average speed, and cannot be applied to an instant in time because it then gives an undefined quotient zero divided by zero. Calculus avoids division by zero by using the concept of the limit which, roughly speaking, is a method of controlling an otherwise uncontrollable output, such as division by zero or multiplication by infinity. More formally, differential calculus defines the instantaneous rate of change (the derivative) of a mathematical function's value, with respect to changes of the variable. The derivative is defined as a limit of a difference quotient.
The derivative of a function, if it exists, gives information about its graph. It is useful for finding optimum solutions to problems, called maxima and minima of a function. It is proved mathematically that these optimum solutions exist either where the tangent of the graph is flat, so that the slope is zero; or where the graph has a sharp turn (cusp) where the derivative does not exist; or at the endpoints of the graph. Another application of differential calculus is Newton's method, a powerful equation solving algorithm. Differential calculus has been applied to many questions that were first formulated in other areas, such as business or medicine.
The derivative lies at the heart of the physical sciences. Newton's second law of motion expressly uses the term "rate of change" which is the derivative: The rate of change of momentum of a body is equal to the resultant force acting on the body and is in the same direction. Even the common expression of Newton's second law as: Force = Mass ~ Acceleration, involves differential calculus because acceleration is the derivative of velocity. (See Differential equation.) Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism and Einstein's theory of general relativity are also expressed in the language of differential calculus, as is the basic theory of electrical circuits and much of engineering. It is also applied to problems in biology, economics, and many other areas.
The derivative of a function y = f(x) with respect to x is usually expressed as either y Π(read "y-prime"), f ' (x) (read "f-prime of x") or as
\frac{d}{dx}(y)
which is commonly shortened to:
\frac{dy}{dx}
[edit] Integral calculus
Main article: Integral
There are two types of integral in calculus, the indefinite and the definite. The indefinite integral is simply the antiderivative. That is, F is an antiderivative of f when f is a derivative of F. (This use of capital letters and lower case letters is common in calculus. The lower case letter represents the derivative of the capital letter.)
The definite integral evaluates the cumulative effect of many small changes in a quantity. The simplest instance is the formula
for calculating the distance a car moves during a period of time when it is traveling at constant speed. The distance moved is the cumulative effect of the small distances moved in each instant. Calculus is also able to deal with the natural situation in which the car moves with changing speed.
Integral calculus determines the exact distance traveled during an interval of time by creating a series of better and better approximations, called Riemann sums, that approach the exact distance as a limit. More formally, we say that the definite integral of a function on an interval is a limit of Riemann sum approximations.
Applications of integral calculus arise whenever the problem is to compute a number that is in principle (approximately) equal to the sum of a large number of small quantities. The classic geometric application is to area computations. In principle, the area of a region can be approximated by chopping it up into many pieces (typically rectangles, or, in polar coordinates, circular sectors), and then adding the areas of those pieces. The length of an arc, the area of a surface, and the volume of a solid can also be expressed as definite integrals. Probability, the basis for statistics, provides another important application of integral calculus.
The symbol of integration is ç, a stretched s (which stands for "sum"). The precise meanings of expressions involving integrals can be found in the main article Integral. The definite integral, written as:
\int_a^b f(x)\, dx
is read "the integral from a to b of f-of-x dx".
[edit] Foundations
There is more than one rigorous approach to the foundation of calculus. The usual one is via the concept of limits defined on the continuum of real numbers. An alternative is nonstandard analysis, in which the real number system is augmented with infinitesimal and infinite numbers. The tools of calculus include techniques associated with elementary algebra, and mathematical induction. The foundations of calculus are included in the field of real analysis, which contains all full definitions and proofs of the theorems of calculus as well as generalisations such as measure theory and distribution theory.
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and here comes the fun part: CIVICS!
Ideas about governmental origin
There are a wide range of theories about the reasons for establishing governments. The four major ones are briefly described below. Note that they do not always fully oppose each other - it is possible for a person to subscribe to a combination of ideas from two or more of these theories.
[edit] Force Theory
Many political philosophies that are opposed to the existence of a government (such as Anarchism, and to a lesser extent Marxism), as well as others, emphasize the historical roots of governments - the fact that governments, along with private property, originated from the authority of warlords and petty despots who took, by force, certain patches of land as their own (and began exercising authority over the people living on that land). Thus, it is argued that governments exist to enforce the will of the strong and oppress the weak, maintaining and protecting the privilege of a ruling class. Mainstream anarchism argues that government primarily interferes to protect property rights, while Anarcho-capitalism argues that government primarily violates property rights. Other minority ideologies in anarchism such as Anarcho-primitivism argues against domestication, while Black anarchism and Anarcha-feminism argue that the ruling class is whites and men, respectively.
[edit] Order and tradition
The various forms of conservatism, by contrast, generally see the government as a positive force that brings order out of chaos, establishes laws to end the "war of all against all", encourages moral virtue while punishing vice, and respects tradition. Sometimes, in this view, the government is seen as something ordained by a higher power, as in the divine right of kings, which human beings have a duty to obey.
[edit] Natural rights
Natural rights are the basis for the theory of government shared by most branches of liberalism (including libertarianism). In this view, human beings are born with certain natural rights, and governments are established strictly for the purpose of protecting those rights. While there is much controversy in the details of natural rights, the tradition of liberalism generally recognize three fundamental natural rights: a right to life, liberty and property. These rights are a common thread of debate from modern natural rights theorists such as Tibor Machan to Enlightenment thinkers such as Locke, Kant, or Jefferson.
[edit] Social contract
One of the most influential theories of government in the past two hundred years has been the social contract, on which modern democracy and most forms of socialism are founded. The social contract theory holds that governments are created by the people in order to provide for collective needs (such as safety from crime, poverty, illiteracy) that cannot be properly satisfied using purely individual means. Governments thus exist for the purpose of serving the needs and wishes of the people, and their relationship with the people is clearly stipulated in a "social contract" (a constitution and a set of laws) which both the government and the people must abide by. If a majority is unhappy, it may change the social contract. If a minority is unhappy, it may persuade the majority to change the contract, or it may opt out of it by emigration or secession.
[edit] Governmental operations
Main article: government operations
Governments concern themselves with regulating and administering many areas of human activity, such as trade, education, or medicine. Governments also employ different methods to maintain the established order, such as secrecy, police and military forces, (particularly under despotism, see also police state), making agreements with other states, and maintaining support within the state. Typical methods of maintaining support and legitimacy include providing the infrastructure for administration, justice, transport, communication, social welfare etc., claiming support from deities, providing benefits to elites, providing shops for important posts within the state, limiting the power of the state through laws and constitutions and appealing to nationalism. Different political ideologies hold different ideas on what the government should or should not do. The modern standard unit of territory is a country. In addition to the meaning used above, the word state can refer either to a government or to its territory. Within a territory, subnational entities may have local governments which do not have the full power of a national government (for example, they will generally lack the authority to declare war or carry out diplomatic.
[edit] Size of government
Main articles: government ownership, government spending
The scale to which government should exist and operate in the world is a matter of debate. Government spending in developed countries varies considerably but generally makes up between about 30% and 70% of their GDP. One major exception is the United States, where central government spending takes up less than 20% of GDP.[citation needed]
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And now, for a limited time only, in Deutsch!
Ideas about governmental origin
There are a wide range of theories about the reasons for establishing governments. The four major ones are briefly described below. Note that they do not always fully oppose each other - it is possible for a person to subscribe to a combination of ideas from two or more of these theories.
[edit] Force Theory
Many political philosophies that are opposed to the existence of a government (such as Anarchism, and to a lesser extent Marxism), as well as others, emphasize the historical roots of governments - the fact that governments, along with private property, originated from the authority of warlords and petty despots who took, by force, certain patches of land as their own (and began exercising authority over the people living on that land). Thus, it is argued that governments exist to enforce the will of the strong and oppress the weak, maintaining and protecting the privilege of a ruling class. Mainstream anarchism argues that government primarily interferes to protect property rights, while Anarcho-capitalism argues that government primarily violates property rights. Other minority ideologies in anarchism such as Anarcho-primitivism argues against domestication, while Black anarchism and Anarcha-feminism argue that the ruling class is whites and men, respectively.
[edit] Order and tradition
The various forms of conservatism, by contrast, generally see the government as a positive force that brings order out of chaos, establishes laws to end the "war of all against all", encourages moral virtue while punishing vice, and respects tradition. Sometimes, in this view, the government is seen as something ordained by a higher power, as in the divine right of kings, which human beings have a duty to obey.
[edit] Natural rights
Natural rights are the basis for the theory of government shared by most branches of liberalism (including libertarianism). In this view, human beings are born with certain natural rights, and governments are established strictly for the purpose of protecting those rights. While there is much controversy in the details of natural rights, the tradition of liberalism generally recognize three fundamental natural rights: a right to life, liberty and property. These rights are a common thread of debate from modern natural rights theorists such as Tibor Machan to Enlightenment thinkers such as Locke, Kant, or Jefferson.
[edit] Social contract
One of the most influential theories of government in the past two hundred years has been the social contract, on which modern democracy and most forms of socialism are founded. The social contract theory holds that governments are created by the people in order to provide for collective needs (such as safety from crime, poverty, illiteracy) that cannot be properly satisfied using purely individual means. Governments thus exist for the purpose of serving the needs and wishes of the people, and their relationship with the people is clearly stipulated in a "social contract" (a constitution and a set of laws) which both the government and the people must abide by. If a majority is unhappy, it may change the social contract. If a minority is unhappy, it may persuade the majority to change the contract, or it may opt out of it by emigration or secession.
[edit] Governmental operations
Main article: government operations
Governments concern themselves with regulating and administering many areas of human activity, such as trade, education, or medicine. Governments also employ different methods to maintain the established order, such as secrecy, police and military forces, (particularly under despotism, see also police state), making agreements with other states, and maintaining support within the state. Typical methods of maintaining support and legitimacy include providing the infrastructure for administration, justice, transport, communication, social welfare etc., claiming support from deities, providing benefits to elites, providing shops for important posts within the state, limiting the power of the state through laws and constitutions and appealing to nationalism. Different political ideologies hold different ideas on what the government should or should not do. The modern standard unit of territory is a country. In addition to the meaning used above, the word state can refer either to a government or to its territory. Within a territory, subnational entities may have local governments which do not have the full power of a national government (for example, they will generally lack the authority to declare war or carry out diplomatic.
[edit] Size of government
Main articles: government ownership, government spending
The scale to which government should exist and operate in the world is a matter of debate. Government spending in developed countries varies considerably but generally makes up between about 30% and 70% of their GDP. One major exception is the United States, where central government spending takes up less than 20% of GDP.[citation needed]
Geografie
England umfasst die südliche Hälfte der Insel Großbritannien, grenzt im Norden an Schottland und im Westen an Wales und die Irische See. Im Osten grenzt England an die Nordsee, im Süden liegt England am Ärmelkanal.
Politik
Die Regierung des Königreichs hat, ebenso die königliche Familie, ihren Sitz in der englischen Hauptstadt London. England hat - im Gegensatz zu Schottland, Wales oder Nordirland - weder ein Landesparlament noch eine Landesregierung. Deren Aufgaben werden vom Parlament und der Regierung des Vereinigten Königreiches wahrgenommen. Dabei ist es heute üblich, dass sich bei Abstimmungen im Parlament, die nur England betreffen, die Abgeordneten der anderen Landesteile ihrer Stimme enthalten. Jedoch ist in Planung, England in verschiedene administrative Regionen mit eigener Verwaltung aufzuteilen (Devolution). Siehe auch: Liste der britischen Premierminister. England ist das einzige Land in Europa ohne niedergeschriebene Verfassung - daher kann man die Frage, ob England „nur“ ein Landesteil oder ein eigenständiger Staat ist nicht eindeutig beantworten.
Gender: Male Location: US
Currently: Eating chicken?
Meh, i'm bored.
But enough of that, another fun thing!
Overview
Civilization IV is a historical 4X game in which the player builds an empire from scratch. All standard full-length games begin in 4000 BC with a single settler to build one's first city and a scout or a warrior. From there, the player expands the empire while contending with rivals, utilizing the geography, and developing technology.
The player has several obstacles to face modelled on political or economical problems faced by real-world nations. Apart from this they also have to handle their diplomatic relations with rivals and their continuing quest for exploration and new resources. Other important tasks include the planning of where to build new cities and progress in science which reveals access to new technologies. A player has the choice of playing the part of a number of historical figures ranging from Elizabeth I (English Empire) to Mao Zedong (Chinese Empire).
The scope of the game ranges from a period near the stone-age to A.D. 2050. Civilizations gradually advance in technology based on their own production of "research" and sometimes the work of Great People. Technologies range from Writing and Pottery to Paper and Nuclear Fission. All technologies reveal new possibilities for a civilization and enable the chance to trade with other civilizations for military aid, gold, resources or other technologies. The concept of technological growth is based on a technology tree.
Another important concept in the game is the growth of culture, which expands one's cultural borders and can also cause one's culture to infiltrate into other civilization's, sometimes causing a city to rebel against its current owner. Culture is increased through the creation of World Wonders, which also have other effects, constructing certain buildings in cities, and the spreading of a number of religions (see below).
The game can be won through Conquest (conquering all other civilizations), Domination (controlling a dominant percentage of the world's land and the world's population), Space Race (being the first to construct the various parts of a space ship to fly to Alpha Centauri), Cultural (increasing the cultural ratings of three different cities to "legendary" levels), Diplomatic (through votes in the United Nations) or Time (having the most points at the end of 2050).
Civilization IV was released in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. Fans have made also Russian and Finnish translations.[1][2]
[edit] Gameplay
Mansa Musa, the leader of Mali, insulted by the player's decisions.
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Mansa Musa, the leader of Mali, insulted by the player's decisions.
[edit] Diplomacy
Diplomacy in Civilization is generally the trading of goods. Different trade options require different advancements to unlock, and some things may only be traded for certain other things (e.g., per turns deals must be compensated by another per turn deal). Players may trade technologies, resources (including luxuries such as wine), maps (to reveal information about the rest of the world) and gold. Advanced diplomacy options include the creation of trade embargoes, the promising of military aid, and the adoption of particular civics and/or a religion. The reasoning behind diplomacy is more transparent when compared to Civ3: the Diplomacy window now not only displays the other leaders' attitudes (friendly, pleased, cautious, annoyed, furious), but why they feel that way (e.g "-2: You refused to stop trading with our worst enemies!"). When a leader is friendly towards one's civilization, they are more likely to accept deals without unfair bargaining. Another new feature is the new abilities of the United Nations. The United Nations wonder allows passing global resolutions (e.g. the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) in addition to granting access to diplomatic victory. Unlike real-world resolutions, Civilization IV's resolutions are binding.
Another screenshot of a Civilization 4 game, this time played as the Germans during a buildup for war.
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Another screenshot of a Civilization 4 game, this time played as the Germans during a buildup for war.
[edit] Combat
Units no longer have separate attack and defense values. Instead, they have a base strength that is increased or decreased depending on the situation. The unit's strength also impacts how much damage it can do. Prior to the 1.52 patch, the unit's damage was calculated using its current strength (which also acts as life/hitpoints and changes accordingly). After the patch, the damage is calculated from the base strength - this means that badly damaged modern units can still easily win battles against obsolete units. Instead of generic increases in rank, individual units gain specific types of combat experience, such as bonuses against specific types of enemies or abilities like faster movement in forests. In total, there are 41 different types of combat promotions. It is also now possible for players to examine "combat odds" before attacking, giving the player a good sense as to whether a given attack will succeed or not, factoring in all the various bonuses and penalties associated with terrain, unit capabilities, and so forth.
The 1.61 patch brought further changes, and now damaged units attack or defend with the average of their current and full strengths.
[edit] Production and trade
The game features 32 types of resources, all of which are tradeable and require an improvement (such as a mine or an oil well) to be utilized. Some resources are required for certain units, buildings, or wonders (iron, copper); some may double the production speed of a certain wonder (marble, aluminium); and some act as luxuries like in Civ III, providing either happiness or health to all cities connected to them (fur, dye, incense). There are also three types of culture goods provided by World Wonders, rather than resources, that can be traded: Hit Singles, Hit Movies and Hit Musicals. To trade goods or to send them to other cities within one's border, they must have some form of connection between the goods and the city. In the later game, this connection can be through ocean tiles, but in the early game, it is limited to roads and rivers. Cities on the same river or coastline are automatically connected for trading purposes.
World Wonders range from the ancient Great Pyramid and Stonehenge to the futuristic Space Elevator seen above.
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World Wonders range from the ancient Great Pyramid and Stonehenge to the futuristic Space Elevator seen above.
Production (also known as "Hammers," the icon that represents it) is sometimes used as a resource-term on Civilization. Each tile provides a city with a certain amount of "Hammers" which collect up in the city to produce buildings and units. Unlike in Civilization III, the player is no longer able to transfer all production from one project to another, but all production on a certain project will remain. For example, if the player is building a temple but decides to switch to a harbor, production on the harbor will have to start from scratch. However, the temple stays in the building queue and retains its previous progress, aside from some decay over time. As an ancillary rule, if one culture is building a World Wonder but another empire completes it first, the losing culture is compensated with gold proportional to the amount of Production points lost.
[edit] Religion
The concept of separate religions is new to Civ4. In previous games, players could build temples and cathedrals, but the religion was just a generic feature of happiness and culture. There are now seven distinct religions in the game — Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism. To prevent anyone from being offended, there are no bonuses or traits specific to any religion, except that each religion is tied to a specific technological advance, and the four later religions (Christianity, Confucianism, Islam, and Taoism) begin with a free missionary; however, this is more for game balance than anything else. If a player is the first to discover a certain religion on the tech tree, they can "found" the new religion; a city with no religion or the newest city in that civilization's empire becomes that religion's holy city.
As the game progresses, both the players' and the AI's religions will slowly spread by themselves to cities that do not yet have formal religions. Players and the AI can also greatly accelerate the process through missionaries, monasteries, shrines, other buildings and units, and acts of diplomacy such as asking another nation to convert to one's religion. If a player controls the holy city of a religion, they are able to have line of sight in cities that share that religion, and can also build holy structures that inspire foreign citizens to send gold to that player's coffers by means of expending a Great Prophet in the holy city. Two civs with the same religion (e.g. the player and an AI civ) will be more friendly to one another in trade and diplomacy; those with different religions will display varying degrees of hostility. These effects are amplified for civilizations controlling their religion's holy city.
The new civics model of government also has a strong effect on religion: players can found a state religion, declare religious freedom, or take other actions that have profound impacts on the religious lives of their subjects. If a civilization has no declared religion, they are exempt from diplomatic advantages/disadvantages through religion.
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Nov 10th, 2006 04:14 AM
Caca! 
Hihi ppl!
