In the beginning there was … well, maybe there was no beginning. Perhaps our universe has always existed – and the new theory of quantum gravity shows how this could work.
“There are so many things in reality that most people associate with science fiction or even fantasy,” Bruno Bento, a physicist who studies the nature of time at the University of Liverpool in the UK, told Live Science.
In his work, he used a new theory of quantum gravity called the theory of causal sets, in which space and time are divided into discrete parts of space-time. According to this theory, at a certain level, there is a fundamental unit of space-time.
Bento and his collaborators used this causal approach to explore the beginning of the universe. They found that it is entirely possible that the universe did not have a beginning – it always existed in the infinite past and only recently turned into what we call the Big Bang.
Quantum of gravity.
Quantum gravity is perhaps the most vexing problem in modern physics. We have two extremely effective theories of the universe: quantum physics and general relativity. Quantum physics has successfully described three of the four fundamental forces of nature (electromagnetism, weak interaction, and strong interaction) down to microscopic scales. On the other hand, general relativity is the most powerful and complete description of gravity ever invented.
But for all its strengths, general relativity is incomplete. In at least two specific places in the Universe, the mathematics of general relativity simply does not work, without giving reliable results: at the centers of black holes and at the beginning of the Universe. These areas are called “singularities,” meaning points in spacetime where our current laws of physics collapse, and they are mathematical warning signs that general relativity is tripping over itself. Within both of these singularities, gravity becomes incredibly strong at very tiny length scales.
Thus, to unravel the mysteries of the singularities, physicists need a microscopic description of strong gravity, also called the quantum theory of gravity. There are many contenders, including string theory and loop quantum gravity.
And there is another approach that completely changes our understanding of space and time.
Causal set theory
In all modern theories of physics, space and time are continuous. They form the smooth fabric underlying all reality. In such a continuous space-time, two points can be as close to each other in space as possible, and two events can occur as close to each other in time as possible.
But another approach, called causal set theory, reimagines spacetime as a series of discrete fragments or spacetime “atoms.” This theory would impose strict limits on how close events can be in space and time, since they cannot be closer than the size of an “atom.”
For example, if you look at your screen and read this, everything seems smooth and continuous. But if you look at the same screen through a magnifying glass, you can see pixels dividing the space, and you find that it is impossible to bring two images on the screen closer than one pixel.
This theory of physics excited Bento. “I was thrilled to find this theory that not only tries to become as fundamental as possible – by approaching quantum gravity and actually redefining the very notion of spacetime – but also centralizing time and what it physically means. that time will pass, how physically your past really is and whether the future already exists, ”Bento told Live Science.
The beginning of time
Causal set theory is essential to the nature of time.
“A huge part of the philosophy of causal sets is that the passage of time is something physical and cannot be attributed to some emerging illusion or to something that happens in our brain that makes us think that time is passing; this walkthrough is itself a manifestation of physical theory, ”Bento said. “So, in causal set theory, the causal set will grow one atom at a time and get bigger and bigger.”
The causal set approach neatly removes the Big Bang singularity problem, because singularities cannot exist in theory. Matter cannot be compressed to infinitely tiny points – they can be no less than the size of an atom in space-time.
So what does the beginning of our universe look like without the Big Bang singularity? It was here that Bento and his collaborator Stav Zalel, a graduate student at Imperial College London, picked up the thread by exploring what causal set theory says about the early days of the universe. Their work was published on September 24 in the arXiv preprint database. (The article has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.)
The article explored “whether it should have started to exist in a causal approach,” Bento said. “In the original formulation and dynamics of the causal set, classically speaking, the causal set grows out of nothing into the universe we see today. Instead, there would be no Big Bang as a beginning in our work, since the causal set would be infinite until the past, and therefore there is always something before. “
Their work implies that the universe may not have had a beginning – that it simply has always existed. What we perceive as the Big Bang could only be a special moment in the evolution of this ever-existing causal aggregate, and not the true beginning.
However, there is still a lot of work to be done. It is not yet clear if this gratuitous causal approach can allow for physical theories that we can work with to describe the complex evolution of the universe during the Big Bang.
“One can still ask if this [causal approach] can be interpreted in a ‘smart’ way, or what such dynamics physically means in a broader sense, but we have shown that structure is indeed possible,” Bento said. “So at least mathematically it can be done.”
Rights chief highlights urgent need for action over thousands missing in Syria
Twelve years into the war in Syria, thousands of families “remain in the dark” when it comes to the fates of their missing relatives, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet told the General Assembly on Friday.
“The scale of this tragedy is daunting, with people going missing in different contexts, such as during hostilities, displacement or in detention. All too often, this is connected with a range of human rights violations and abuses,” she said, speaking via videolink from Geneva.
“Men and women, as well as children, including boys as young as 11, have suffered sexual violence while in detention.”
Families in pain
Ms. Bachelet told ambassadors that despite the tireless work of victim’s and survivor’s groups, as well as civil society, the current status of these persons remains unknown.
Some were forcibly disappeared, abducted or arbitrarily detained.
She also spoke of the pain experienced by their families, who should also be seen as victims.
“It is urgent that they are informed of the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones and be allowed to visit or communicate with them,” she said.
Women bear the burden
The impact on women relatives, as well as children, has been particularly severe.
Women have been forced to become the sole breadwinner for their families while carrying out “the often terrifying and demoralizing” search for their loved ones.
“Many are unable to sustain basic livelihoods, access their property, civil documentation, bank accounts, or access inheritance due in part to persisting discriminatory laws and practices pre-dating the conflict,” said Ms. Bachelet.
Furthermore, many women also have to fight for guardianship of their own children, often without social support and in the face of wider community stigmatization.
Families also face other obstacles and abuses that only add to their trauma, the UN rights chief said.
They include fear of reprisal when reporting cases, extortion, or bribes, as well as a “horrific” black market of forged and fake reports of detention and interrogation.
Give victims a voice
The High Commissioner’s Office, OHCHR, is preparing a report on the issue of missing persons in Syria and is committed to ensuring victims and their families have a voice in any solutions.
“Families’ views must inform any option designed to address this issue, and their active participation must be recognized,” said Ms. Bachelet.
“Not only are they the most affected; but their voice is crucial to identifying the needs of their families and the communities impacted by this tragedy, including financial and psycho-social support.”
Gender focus critical
OHCHR also wants to ensure the gendered impact of missing persons is also taken into consideration, and women’s perspectives on the issue are essential, she added.
Currently, consultations are also being held with numerous relevant bodies, such as the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Commission on Missing Persons, and the UN Working Group on enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
Ms. Bachelet said Governments can also “powerfully contribute” towards action on the issue, and her office has sought their inputs.
She stressed however, that the process for preparing the report is not an end in itself.
“It is essential that the international community respond to the magnitude and horror of the violations and crimes committed in Syria with concrete action to more strongly uphold human rights, human dignity and justice,” she said.
Council of Europe in Strasbourg. (Credit: THIX Photo)
The decision-making body of the Council has started its review process of a controversial drafted text that aim at protecting human rights and dignity of persons who are subjected to coercive measures in psychiatry. The text however has been the subject of widespread and consistent criticism since the work on it started several years ago. The United Nations human rights mechanism has pointed to the legal incompatibility with an existing UN human rights convention, that outlaw the use of these discriminatory and potentially abusive and humiliating practices in psychiatry. UN human rights experts has expressed a shock that the Council of Europe with the work on this new legal instrument that allows the use of these practices under certain conditions might “reverse all positive developments in Europe”. This criticism has been strengthened by voices within the Council of Europe itself, international disability and mental health groups and many others.
“CRPD is the most comprehensive instrument protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. It is also the starting point for the Swedish disability policy,” he added.
He stressed that Sweden is a strong supporter and advocate for the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities, including the right to effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others.
Discrimination on the grounds of disability should not occur
Mr Mårten Ehnberg noted that “Discrimination on the grounds of disability should not occur anywhere in society. Health care must be offered to everyone based on need and on equal terms. Care must be provided with respect of the individual patient’s needs. This is of course also applicable regarding psychiatric care.”
With this he puts his finger on the sore spot. The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – the UN Committee that monitors the implementation of the CRPD – during the first part of the drafting process of this possible new legal text of the Council of Europe issued a written statement to the Council of Europe. The Committee stated that: “The Committee would like to highlight that involuntary placement or institutionalization of all persons with disabilities, and particularly of persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, including persons with ‘‘mental disorders’’, is outlawed in international law by virtue of article 14 of the Convention, and constitutes arbitrary and discriminatory deprivation of liberty of persons with disabilities as it is carried out on the basis of actual or perceived impairment.”
To make any doubts on the question whether this concern all coercive psychiatric treatment, the UN Committee added, “The Committee would like to recall that involuntary institutionalization and involuntary treatment, which are grounded on therapeutic or medical necessity, do not constitute measures for protecting the human rights of persons with disabilities, but they are an infringement of persons with disabilities’ rights to liberty and security and their right to physical and mental integrity.”
Parliamentary assembly opposed
The UN does not stand alone. Mr Mårten Ehnberg told the European Times that “The Council of Europe’s work with the current drafted text (additional protocol) has previously been opposed by, inter alia, the Parliament of the Council of Europe (PACE), which on two occasions has recommended the Committee of Ministers to withdraw the proposal to draw up this protocol, on the basis that such an instrument, according to PACE, would be incompatible with the member states’ human rights obligations.”
Mr Mårten Ehnberg to this noted, that the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in turn had stated that “the utmost should be done to promote alternatives to involuntary measures but that such measures nevertheless, subject to strict protective conditions, may be justified in exceptional situations where there is a risk of serious damage to the health of the person concerned or to others.”
With this he quoted a statement that had been formulated in 2011, and has been used since by those who speak in favour of the drafted legal text.
It was originally formulated as part of the initial consideration whether a Council of Europe text regulating the use of coercive measures in psychiatry would be necessary or not.
During this early phase of the deliberation a Statement on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was drafted by the Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics. While seemingly concerning the CRPD the statement however factually only considers the Committee’s own Convention, and its reference work – the European Convention on Human Rights, referring to them as “international texts”.
The statement has been noted as rather deceptive. It lays out that the Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics considered the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, particularly whether articles 14, 15 and 17 were compatible with “the possibility to subject under certain conditions a person who has a mental disorder of a serious nature to involuntary placement or involuntary treatment, as foreseen in other national and international texts.” The statement then confirms this.
Comparative text on the key point in the statement of the Committee on Bioethics however show it in reality does not consider the CRPD’s text or spirit, but only text straight out of the Committee’s own convention:
The Council of Europe Committee’s Statement on the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: “Involuntary treatment or placement may only be justified, in connection with a mental disorder of a serious nature, if from the absence of treatment or placement serious harm is likely to result to the person’s health or to a third party.”
Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, Article 7: “Subject to protective conditions prescribed by law, including supervisory, control and appeal procedures, a person who has a mental disorder of a serious nature may be subjected, without his or her consent, to an intervention aimed at treating his or her mental disorder only where, without such treatment, serious harm is likely to result to his or her health.”
Further preparation of the drafted text
Mr Mårten Ehnberg, said that during the continued preparations, Sweden will continue to monitor that the necessary protective principles are upheld.
He stressed that, “It is not acceptable if compulsory care is used in a way that means that persons with disabilities, including psychosocial disabilities, are discriminated against and treated in an unacceptable way.”
He added that the Swedish Government is highly committed, both nationally and internationally, to further improve the enjoyment of human rights by persons with mental ill-health and disabilities, including psychosocial disabilities, as well as to promote the development of voluntary, community-based support and services.
He finished off noting, that the Swedish Government’s work regarding the rights of persons with disabilities will continue unabated.
In Finland the government also follow the process closely. Ms Krista Oinonen, Director of the Unit for Human Rights Courts and Conventions, Ministry for Foreign Affairs told the European Times, that: “Throughout the drafting process, Finland has also sought a constructive dialogue with civil society actors, and the Government is keeping Parliament duly informed. The Government has lately organised an extensive round of consultations among a large group of relevant authorities, CSOs and human rights actors.”
Ms Krista Oinonen could not give a conclusive viewpoint on the drafted possible legal text, as in Finland, the discussion about the draft text is still ongoing.
The question of icon-worship seems to be purely practical, given that icon-painting is a church-applied art. But in the Orthodox Church he received an extremely thorough, truly theological staging. What is the deep connection between Orthodoxy and icon-worship? Where the depth of communion with God can take place without icons, in the words of the Savior: “The time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” (John 4:21). But the icon depicts life in the age to come, life in the Holy Spirit, life in Christ, life with Heavenly Father. That is why the Church honors her icon.
Iconoclasm (the struggle against sacred images) raised a long-standing question: the denial of icons had existed for a long time, but the new Isaurian, imperial dynasty in Byzantium turned it into a banner of its cultural and political agenda.
And in the first catacomb period of persecution, the hidden Christian symbolism appeared. Both sculpturally and picturesquely depicted the quadrangular cross (sometimes as the letter X), dove, fish, ship – all understandable to Christian symbols, even those borrowed from mythology, such as Orpheus with his lyre or winged geniuses who became subsequently typical images of angels. The fourth century, the century of freedom, brought into Christian temples already as generally accepted ornaments on the walls whole biblical paintings and illustrations of the new Christian heroes, martyrs and ascetics. From the relatively abducted symbolism in the iconography in the IV century, we decisively move to concrete illustrations of biblical and evangelical deeds and the depiction of persons from church history. St. John Chrysostom informs us about the distribution of images – portraits of St. Meletius of Antioch. Blazh. Theodoret tells us about the portraits of Simeon the Pilgrim sold in Rome. Gregory of Nyssa is moved to tears by the picture of Isaac’s sacrifice.
Eusebius of Caesarea responded negatively to the desire of the sister of Emperor Constantius to have an icon of Christ. The divine nature is inconceivable, «but we are taught that His flesh is also dissolved in the glory of the Godhead, and mortal is swallowed up by life … So, who could depict through dead and soulless colors and shadows the radiant and radiant shining rays of light of His glory and dignity? »
In the West, in Spain, at the Council of Elvira (now the city of Grenada) (c. 300), a decree was passed against wall paintings in churches. Rule 36: “Placuit picturas in ecclesiis es de non debere, ne quod colitur aut adoratur, in parietibus depingatur.” This decree is a direct fight against false iconoclasm, ie. with the pagan extremes in the Christian circles from which the fathers of the council were frightened. Therefore, from the very beginning there was a purely internal and ecclesiastical disciplinary struggle against iconoclasm.
Monophysitism, with its spiritualist tendency to diminish human nature in Christ, was originally an iconoclastic current. Even in the reign of Zeno in kr. In the 5th century, the Monophysite Syrian bishop of Hierapolis (Mabuga) Philoxenus (Xenaia) wanted to abolish icons in his diocese. Severus of Antioch also denied the icons of Jesus Christ, the angels, and the images of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.
In the West, in Marseilles, Bishop Seren in 598 removed from the walls of the churches and threw out the icons, which, according to his observations, were superstitiously revered by his flock. Pope Gregory the Great wrote to Seren, praising him for his diligence, inconsideratum zelum, but condemning him for destroying icons that serve the common people instead of books. The pope demanded that Seren restore the icons and explain to the flock both his action and the true manner and meaning of the veneration of the icons.
Emerging from the 7th century Islam with its hostility to all kinds of images (picturesque and sculptural) of human and superhuman faces (impersonal pictures of the world and animals were not denied) revived doubts about the legitimacy of icons; not everywhere, but in the areas neighboring the Arabs: Asia Minor, Armenia. There, in the center of Asia Minor, lived the ancient anti-church heresies: Montanism, Marcionism, Paulicianism – anti-cultural and anti-iconic in the spirit of their doctrine. For whom Islam was more understandable and looked like a more perfect, “more spiritual” Christianity. In such an atmosphere, the emperors, repelling the centuries-old onslaught of fanatical Islam, could not help but be tempted to remove the unnecessary obstacle to a peaceful neighborhood with the religion of Muhammad. It is not in vain that the defenders of the icons called the emperors-iconoclasts “σαρακηνοφρονοι – Saracen sages.” (AV Kartashev, Ecumenical Councils / VII Ecumenical Council 787 /, https://www.sedmitza.ru/lib/text/435371/).
The iconoclastic emperors fought with perverse enthusiasm with monasteries and monks no less than with icons, preaching the secularization not only of monastic estates but also of social life in all spheres of culture and literature. Inspired by secular state interests, the emperors were drawn to the new “secular” spirit of the time.
The iconographic canon is a set of rules and norms that regulate the writing of icons. It basically contains a concept of image and symbol and fixes those features of the iconographic image that separate the divine, upper world from the earthly (lower) world.
The iconographic canon is realized in the so-called erminia (from the Greek explanation, guidance, description) or in the Russian version-originals. They consist of several parts:
facial originals – these are drawings (outlines) in which the main composition of the icon is fixed, with the corresponding color characteristics; interpretive originals – give a verbal description of the iconographic types and how the various saints are painted.
As Orthodoxy became the official religion, Byzantine priests and theologians gradually established rules for the veneration of icons, which explained in detail how to treat them, what could and should not be depicted.
The decrees of the Seventh Ecumenical Council against the Iconoclasts can be considered the prototype of the iconographic original. Iconoclasts oppose the veneration of icons. They considered sacred images to be idols, and their worship to be idolatry, relying on Old Testament commandments and the fact that the divine nature is inconceivable. The possibility of such an interpretation arises, because there was no uniform rule for the treatment of icons, and in the masses they were surrounded by superstitious worship. For example, they added some of the paint to the icon in the wine for communion and others. This raises the need for a complete teaching of the Church about the icon.
The Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council gathered the church experience from the first times and formulated the dogma of icon worship for all times and peoples who profess the Orthodox faith. on a par with Him. The dogma of icon-worship emphasizes that the veneration and worship of the icon does not refer to the material, not to the wood and the paint, but to the one depicted on it, therefore it does not have the character of idolatry.
It was explained that icon-worship was possible because of the incarnation of Jesus Christ in human form. To the extent that He Himself appeared to mankind, His portrayal is also possible.
An important testimony is the non-manufactured image of the Savior – the imprint of His face on the towel (tablecloth), so the first icon painter became Jesus Christ himself.
The Holy Fathers emphasized the importance of the image as a perception and influence on man. In addition, for illiterate people, icons served as the Gospel. Priests were tasked with explaining to the flock the true way of worshiping icons.
The decrees also say that in the future, in order to prevent the incorrect perception of the icons, the holy fathers of the Church will compose the composition of the icons, and the artists will perform the technical part. In this sense, the role of the holy fathers was subsequently played by the iconic original or erminia.
Better white walls than ugly murals. What must be the icon to reveal the God of man in the 21st century? – What the Gospel communicates through words, the icon must express through image!
The icon by its nature is called to represent the eternal, which is why it is so stable and unchanging. It does not need to reflect what belongs to the current fashion, for example, in architecture, in clothes, in make-up – all that the apostle called “a transitional image of this age” (1 Cor 7:31). In the ideal sense, the icon is called to reflect the meeting and unity of man and God. In all its fullness, this union will be shown to us only in the life of the next age, and today and now we see “as if through a blurred glass, divining” (1 Cor. 13:12), but we still look into eternity. Therefore, the language of icons must reflect this union of the temporal and the eternal, the union of man and the Eternal God. Because of this, so many features in the icon remain unchanged. However, we can talk a lot about the variability of styles in icon painting in different eras and countries. The style of the era characterizes the face of one time or another and naturally changes when the characteristics of time change. We do not need to look for the style of our time on the way of any special works, it comes organically, naturally it is necessary. The primary search must be to find the image of man united with God.
The task of modern ecclesiastical art is to re-feel the balance that the fathers of the ancient councils wisely established. On the one hand, not to fall into naturalism, illusoryness, sentimentality, when emotionality dominates, wins. But even if it does not fall into a dry sign, built on the fact that certain people have agreed on a certain meaning of this or that image. For example, understanding that a red cross in a red circle means a parking ban only makes sense when one has studied road signs. There are generally accepted “signs of visual communication” – road, orthographic, but there are also signs that for the uninitiated it is impossible to understand… The icon is not like that, it is far from esoteric, it is Revelation.
Excess in the external is a sign of defect / poverty of spirit. Laconism is always higher, nobler and more perfect. Through asceticism and laconicism, greater results can be achieved for the human soul. Today we often lack true asceticism and true laconicism. Sometimes we go beyond nine lands in the tenth, forgetting that the Mother of God always sees and hears everywhere. Each icon is miraculous in its own way. Our faith teaches us that both the Lord and the Mother of God, and each of our saints, hear our address to them. If we are sincere and turn to them with a pure heart, we always get an answer. Sometimes it is unexpected, sometimes it is difficult for us to accept it, but this answer is given not only in Jerusalem, not only in the Rila Monastery.
Orthodoxy can triumph not when it anathematizes those who sin, those who do not know Christ, but when we ourselves, including through the Great Canon of the Venerable Andrew of Crete, remember the abyss that separates us from God. And, remembering this, we begin with God’s help to overcome this abyss, “restoring” the image of God in ourselves. Here we must ask ourselves not the styles, but the image of God, which should be reflected within each of us. And if this process takes place in the depths of the human heart, then, in one way or another, it is reflected: by the icon painters – on the boards, by the mothers and fathers – in the upbringing of their children, by everyone – in his work; if it begins to manifest itself in the transformation of each individual person, society – then only Orthodoxy triumphs.
To a large extent, the absorption of vitamins, minerals and other useful nutrients that enter our body through food depends on the presence of phosphorus in it. That is why it is necessary to take it in adequate quantities. This ensures full absorption of all nutrients. This mineral is involved in energy metabolism, regulates hormone levels. It is also important for the acid-base balance of the body. Its deficiency can lead to cognitive impairment, as phosphorus is associated with brain function.
People who follow a vegetarian diet are most at risk of deficiency, as this element is found in meat and fish. Of course, not only in them, but in several other foods.
Broccoli
Broccoli should be present in the diet of anyone who cares about their health and figure. The fact is that this vegetable contains a large amount of B vitamins, vitamin. PP, E and C. In addition, it is rich in fiber, magnesium and calcium. At the same time, broccoli is a low-calorie product. And, of course, rich in phosphorus. They must be present in the menu of people who do not eat animal products.
Dairy products
Milk, kefir, yogurt, cheese – all these products are rich in phosphorus. But not only because of its content, they should be included in the menu – phosphorus is better absorbed by the body when consumed in combination with calcium, and it is found in abundance in all dairy products. Therefore, if you want to increase the amount of phosphorus intake, you should consume dairy products daily.
Corn
Corn, oats and barley – all these foods are a good source of phosphorus. In addition, they contain other elements that are also vital to the body. You can replace plain wheat flour with corn flour, for example. In this way you will get the necessary amount of phosphorus.
Important: The article is for informational purposes only and the information provided in it cannot replace the qualified opinion of a doctor or nutritionist!
why scientists believe that they came from outer space?
The largest black diamond was put up for auction. He is over a billion years old. The gemstone weighs 555.55 carats. But the mystery is that scientists still cannot unambiguously say where he and other black diamonds came from. The Russian media that writes about how the world will change in the future, about technology, science, space and IT – “Hi-tech” reports what theories are about this.
Black diamonds could have come from outer space, they are found only in the territory of two countries, and they are not always completely black – this is the main thing that we know about these unusual crystals.
What are black diamonds?
The real name of such diamonds – carbonado – is a polycrystalline variety of cubic black diamond. They are described as fine-grained, porous aggregates. They may be black, gray or slightly green in color.
The name carbonado comes from the word coal, as outwardly these diamonds looked like ordinary coal. The word began to be used when crystals were first found in Brazil in the 18th century.
The real name of such diamonds – carbonado – is a polycrystalline variety of cubic black diamond. They are described as fine-grained, porous aggregates. They may be black, gray or slightly green in color.
How are black diamonds formed?
The diamonds turned black due to tiny black inclusions and cracks. Most black diamonds are opaque and have a metallic sheen. There are units that can partially skip color. There are also different color combinations: some are black and some are dark brown. This can be seen if the stone is viewed from different angles.
For the first time, carbonados were discovered in 1843 in Brazil in alluvial deposits in the Cincora region. From the point of view of geology, all diamonds are formed in the same way in all territories. But at the same time, since 1900, for the entire period of diamond mining at popular deposits, not a single carbonado has been discovered. There are several explanations for this.
• Space theory
There is a version that black diamonds appeared on Earth from outer space, for example, after a supernova explosion.
Researchers from the United States have discovered rare compounds of titanium and nitrogen in carbonado, previously found only in meteorites. In another work, laboratory staff used an infrared synchrotron and discovered hydrogen, which is common in space, in carbonado. They noted that the diamond dust from which the crystals were obtained could have appeared after the rebirth of a supernova several billion years ago.
• Earth theory
But there is also a version that carbonados formed on Earth. Its supporters argue that in 1993 black diamonds were found in unusual volcano rocks called avachites.
US geologist Aaron Celestian believes that carbonades appeared in the bowels of the Earth and lie deeper than ordinary diamonds.
Where are black diamonds found?
Ordinary diamonds are mined in kimberlite rock, but carbonado is mined in alluvial residual deposits. There are tiny particles of diamonds in the crystals, but there are no remnants of minerals that form and are found deep in the mantle. This is what makes them different from regular diamonds.
The composition of carbonado contains hydrogen, nitrogen and osbornite, the latter is a natural variety of titanium nitride, which was found in meteorites.
Carbonado contains hydrogen, nitrogen and osbornite, the latter is a natural variety of titanium nitride, which was found in meteorites
When did black diamonds appear on Earth?
Geologists have calculated that black diamonds appeared on Earth approximately 2.6 to 3.5 billion years ago. Most often they are found in the Central African Republic and Brazil.
According to the researchers, during this period of time, the territories of modern Brazil and the Central African Republic were part of the Gondwana supercontinent. It is assumed that it was at this time that a meteorite that transferred diamonds hit our planet. Therefore, all the current deposits of carbonado are located in such a small area.
All hypotheses of the origin of black diamonds?
1. The emergence of organic carbon, which was under high pressure in the bowels of the Earth.
2. Impact or impact metamorphism is a process of transformation of the structure and mineral composition of rocks as a result of the fall of large meteorites on the Earth’s surface.
3. Radiation-induced formation of diamonds during spontaneous fission of uranium and thorium.
4. Accumulation in organic-rich sediments due to rapid pyrometamorphic processes, such as lightning strikes.
5. Formation inside a giant star that exploded in a supernova long ago.
6. Formation in interstellar space due to a collision with an asteroid.
The study of black diamonds will help scientists understand more about the structure of the bowels of the Earth and their formation, as well as the composition of celestial bodies that could transfer crystals to our planet. So far, the history of the origin of carbonado remains a mystery.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban continues to form the armed forces.
Recall that the Taliban * militants took power in the country into their own hands against the backdrop of the withdrawal of the American contingent. In September last year, the Taliban leaders * announced that the main backbone of the new Afghan army has been formed (the formation of non-assault battalions is continuing), moreover, it was based on representatives of special forces and the Badr (Badri) 313 assault groups. This Taliban special forces were armed with captured American weapons, including M16 assault rifles and M4 carbines.
Special detachments “Badr 313” operated in the most difficult sectors of the front for the Taliban (if the word “front” is at least somewhat relevant for Afghanistan). For example, they took part in the capture of the Salang pass during the assault operation in the Panjshir gorge.
Attention today is drawn to the fact that more and more representatives of the new Afghan special forces “Badr 313” in the photo and video footage pose not with American small arms, but with Kalashnikov assault rifles of various modifications. These are both “classic” AKM and AKMS variants.
Afghan sources indicate that Soviet-designed small arms are preferred in the Badr 313 assault squads. There is a gradual abandonment of American weapons in favor of Kalashnikov assault rifles.
There is no need to explain the reason for a long time – it (a Soviet-developed weapon) is more reliable. Taking into account the fact that for the assault detachments of the new Afghan special forces, jewelry accuracy of small arms is definitely not required, but it is required that it does not lose its “condition” even in the most difficult conditions of use and does not impose special maintenance requirements, the choice again falls on the “old kind “” Kalashnikov “.
After the end of the Second World War, Soviet designers were given the task of developing a mass car, which, in terms of technical characteristics, would not be inferior to the German version of the Opel Cadet.
At the same time, instead of two doors, the car was supposed to receive four. Thus, the history of Moskvich-400 began. The first copy rolled off the assembly line in 1946. At the same time, state acceptance testing of the “four hundredth” began in 1949. Thus, for three years the car, being a production version, was approved retroactively.
Already in 1948, the vehicle began to be delivered to Finland. Later, the car appeared in Poland and China.
The people called this “German” simply – “Moskvich”. The car turned out to be quite successful and even epoch-making. The car was distinguished by good external design, as well as reliability. The model received an independent suspension, a monocoque body and hydraulic brakes.
At the same time, the “four hundredth” did not have direction indicators. “Moskvich” was completed with a wiper, which functioned due to the engine camshaft.
They asked for 8 thousand rubles for a four-door sedan. At that time it was quite a lot of money. The vehicle has been produced for nine years. At the same time, 250,000 cars rolled off the assembly line. Ten percent of the cars were exported.
Modern Europeans owe their blue eyes to hunter-gatherers, their height to Asian nomads and their blond hair to Anatolian Neolithic farmers, Maylonline reported.
Estonian and Italian researchers have looked at how ancient human crossbreeding has helped shape our bodies today, including which historical groups have contributed to higher or lower heart rate, cholesterol and body mass index.
Most of Europe’s modern genetic makeup has been shaped by movements over the past 10,000 years, when local hunter-gatherers mingled with arriving Anatolian farmers from present-day Turkey and Asian nomads or Pontic steppe shepherds. The latter originate from some lands of modern Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan.
European hunter-gatherers, Anatolian farmers, steppe shepherds and ancient Siberian populations have been divided for thousands of years and evolving in different directions. But when they finally got together, their genome came in contact, and the genetic variants that characterize each of them mingled. This found a study led by scientists from the University of Tartu, Estonia and the Universities of Turin and Padua.
Black hair color comes from Siberians and steppe herders, chestnut – from European hunter-gatherers. The Russians were the Anatolian farmers.
Blue eyes are a legacy of European hunter-gatherers and Anatolian farmers, green from Siberians. The steppe herdsmen were tall.
The more frequent heartbeat is from European hunter-gatherers and Siberian populations, and the calmer – from Anatolian farmers.
High cholesterol comes from steppe pastoralists and low cholesterol from European hunter-gatherers.
The higher body mass index is inherited from European hunter-gatherers, and the lower – from Anatolian farmers.
The researchers worked with data from more than 50,000 samples from the Estonian Biobank.
Europe was formed by the original hunter-gatherers, Anatolian farmers and a third major population – steppe pastoralists. These nomads seem to have invaded Central Europe during the Early Bronze Age, about 4,500 years ago. They introduced domesticated horses and bicycles. They originate from the pit culture of the Russian-Ukrainian steppes north of the Black Sea, the genomic study revealed. About 75 percent of the genome in Central Europe 4,500 years ago is from steppe pastoralists. It is from them that a healthy physique originates, with a tall stature and a larger hip and waist.
A study published in the journal Nature in 2015 found that large-scale migration of people from the lands north of the Black Sea to Eastern, Central and Western Europe began around 2800 BC.
The focus on Estonia is solely due to the availability of data there and their relative lack elsewhere.
The leader of the USSR keeps his life a secret, and this gives rise to many legends about him
Yosif Dzhugashvili uses more than two dozen nicknames and names
On December 21, 1879 (actually December 18, 1878, but for some reason he later changed his date of birth, removing one year), Joseph Stalin was born. He has been in power for almost 30 years and there is hardly a figure in Russian history more mythologized than him. It is generally accepted that Stalin, as a young man, chose a biting last name and began to use it as a revolutionary pseudonym. But in fact he became Stalin at the age of 35. And before that he used over two dozen nicknames and names. There are many legends around his figures that are still popular today. Some appear in life, and others – in the post-Soviet period.
Ascetic / rich man
There are two opposing legends about Stalin’s finances. According to the first, Stalin was the greatest poor and ascetic of all rulers in history and had nothing but a tattered overcoat and pipe. According to another, Stalin is an Epicurean who organizes grand feasts, and the total value of the property he has is estimated at billions by today’s standards. As Secretary General, Stalin earned (by 1952) not much money – only 10 thousand rubles. And that’s all we know for sure about his finances.
It is true that his articles and books have been published in millions of copies in many languages around the world, from which he receives significant royalties. However, he has nothing to spend on them. Since 1917 it has been entirely state-supported.
Of course, Stalin was the richest man in the USSR. Even high-ranking nomenklatura figures, with the exception of members of the Politburo, are legally allowed to have no more than one dacha. Stalin has at least 12, not counting office apartments. In addition, each is equipped with the latest technology: refrigerators, swimming pools, cinemas and more, plus a huge staff of security guards and servants.
Stalin’s garage was full of luxury vehicles.
Stalin does not have a personal car, but he has a garage full of luxury models from abroad. For a long time his favorite was the elite Rolls-Royce Phantom II. In the late 1930s, he switched to the armored Packard Twelve. In recent years, Stalin has traveled in a custom-made armored ZIS-115. At the same time, he is extremely indifferent to the external attributes of prosperity – expensive clothes, jewelry.
Secret spy
There is a widespread legend that Stalin was recruited by the Security Department before the revolution and collaborated with him as a secret informant. In fact, the Bolsheviks regularly suspect each other of “provocation,” but there are no facts in favor of Stalin’s work for the security department.
After the death of the Secretary General, this legend was circulated by Orlov-Feldbin, a former high-ranking NKVD officer who fled to America in the late 1930s. In one of the articles, Orlov wrote that Stalin organized repression against a number of old Bolsheviks, who learned about his sins as a young man, trying to use this fact in the struggle for power. However, almost all researchers and biographers of Stalin consider this a lie.
Great religiosity
After the collapse of the USSR, the legends of Stalin’s secret religiosity became extremely popular. According to rumors, during the war the Secretary General ordered a special plane to fly around Moscow with the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God on board, and that Stalin personally went to the prophetess Matron of Moscow (later canonized) to ask her for advice.
Both legends appeared in the early 1990s and have no reliable evidence, let alone the fact that such actions are not entirely in the spirit of Stalin. The official church also denies these legends, despite their widespread popularity. Stalin himself publicly stated that it was the seminary that made him a staunch revolutionary. In his time, not under Lenin’s, most churches were closed, and the ringing of bells was legally banned in cities on the pretext that it hindered workers.
Princely origin
During his lifetime, the legend of Stalin’s princely origins was extremely popular in Georgia. It is said that the real father of the Secretary General is not the drunken shoemaker Visarion Dzhugashvili, but Prince Yakov Egnatashvili, whom his relatives call Koba. As if in honor of him, Stalin took him as his underground pseudonym.
Unlike most Stalinist legends, this one cannot be unequivocally refuted. True, Egnatashvili is not a prince, but only a rich merchant and owner of vineyards. Stalin’s mother Catherine worked for some time as a laundress in his house and they have a very close relationship. For example, Koba is the godfather of Stalin’s two older brothers, who died in infancy. Later, when Joseph left his family and went wandering, Egnatashvili helped Ekaterina with money, and thanks to his help, she paid for Stalin’s education.
In many sources one can read claims that Stalin had six toes on one foot. This legend is so widespread that it is found even in some serious research. However, none of those who know him and observe him in everyday life mentions this feature. And most importantly, the doctors who performed the autopsy on Stalin’s body after his death also did not reflect this fact in a very detailed forensic report.
