ASTROLOGY

Astrology (from Greek , astron, "constellation, star"; and -logia, "the study of") is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of celestial bodies and related details can provide useful information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters. A practitioner of astrology is called an astrologer or an astrologist.

Numerous traditions and applications employing astrological concepts have arisen since its earliest recorded beginnings in the Third millennium BC. Although scientists consider astrology a pseudoscience or superstition, it has played a role in the shaping of culture, early astronomy, The Bible and various disciplines throughout history.

Astrology and astronomy were often indistinguishable before the modern era, with the desire for predictive and divinatory knowledge one of the primary motivating factors for astronomical observation. Astronomy began to diverge from astrology after a period of gradual separation from the Renaissance up until the Eighteenth century. Eventually, astronomy distinguished itself as the scientific study of astronomical objects and phenomena without regard to the astrological understandings of these phenomena.

Astrologers believe that the movements and positions of celestial bodies either directly influence life on Earth or correspond somehow to events experienced on a human scale. Modern astrologers define astrology as a symbolic language, an art form, or a form of divination. Despite differences in definitions, a common assumption of astrology is that celestial placements can aid in the interpretation of past and present events and in the prediction of the future.

PLASTIC

Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular weight, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce costs. The word derives from the Greek (plastikos), "fit for molding", from (plastos) "molded".

It refers to their malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, that allows them to be cast, pressed, or extruded into an enormous variety of shapes—such as films, fibers, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more. The common word "plastic" should not be confused with the technical adjective "plastic", which is applied to any material which undergoes a permanent change of shape (a "plastic deformation") when strained beyond a certain point.

Aluminum, for instance, is "plastic" in this sense, but not "a plastic" in the common sense; while some plastics, in their finished forms, will break before deforming — and therefore are not "plastic" in the technical sense. There are two types of plastics, thermoplastic and thermoset. Thermoplastics, if exposed to heat, will melt in two to seven minutes. Thermosets will keep their shape until they are a charred, smoking mess. Some examples of thermoplastics are grocery bags, piano keys and some automobile parts. Examples of thermosets are kid's dinner sets and circuit boards.

Plastics can be classified by their chemical structure, namely the molecular units that make up the polymer's backbone and side chains. Some important groups in these classifications are the acrylics, polyesters, silicones, polyurethanes, and halogenated plastics. Plastics can also be classified by the chemical process used in their synthesis, e.g. as condensation, polyaddition, cross-linking, etc.

CARTOON

The word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time. The original meaning was in fine art, and there cartoon meant a preparatory drawing for a piece of art such as a painting or tapestry. The somewhat more modern meaning was that of humorous illustrations in magazines and newspapers.

Even more recently there are now several contemporary meanings, including creative visual work for print media, for electronic media, and even animated films and animated digital media. When the word cartoon is applied to print media, it most often refers to a humorous single-panel drawing or gag cartoon, most of which have captions and do not use speech balloons. The word cartoon is not often used to refer to a comic strip.

The artists who draw cartoons are known as cartoonists. A cartoon (from the Italian "cartone" and Dutch word "karton", meaning strong, heavy paper or pasteboard) is a full-size drawing made on sturdy paper as a study or modello for a painting, stained glass, or tapestry. Cartoons were typically used in the production of frescoes, to accurately link the component parts of the composition when painted on damp plaster over a series of days (giornate).

Such cartoons often have pinpricks along the outlines of the design; a bag of soot was then patted or "pounced" over the cartoon, held against the wall to leave black dots on the plaster ("pouncing"). Cartoons by painters, such as the Raphael Cartoons in London and examples by Leonardo da Vinci, are highly prized in their own right. Tapestry cartoons, usually coloured, were followed by eye by the weavers on the loom.

SEASON

Season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather. Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution. In temperate and polar regions, the seasons are marked by changes in the intensity of sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface, variations of which may cause animals to go into hibernation or to migrate, and plants to be dormant.

During June, July, and August; the northern hemisphere is exposed to more direct sunlight because the northern hemisphere faces the sun. The same is true of the southern hemisphere in December, January, and February. Contrary to common beliefs, the seasons do not result from the varying distance between the Earth and the Sun. Instead the tilt of the Earth causes the Sun to be higher in the sky during the summer months which increases the solar flux.

In temperate and polar regions generally four seasons are recognized: spring, summer, autumn, winter. In some tropical and subtropical regions it is more common to speak of the rainy (or wet, or monsoon) season versus the dry season, because the amount of precipitation may vary more dramatically than the average temperature. For example, in Nicaragua, the dry season is called Summer (Oct to May) and the rainy season is called Winter (Apr to Nov) even though it is located in the northern hemisphere.

In other tropical areas a three-way division into hot, rainy and cool season is used. In some parts of the world, special "seasons" are loosely defined based upon important events such as a hurricane season, tornado season or a wildfire season. Chinese seasons are traditionally based on twenty four periods known as solar terms, and begin at the midpoint of solstices and equinoxes.

CULTURE

Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate") is a term that has different meanings. For example, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of hundred and sixty four definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses:

An excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities and an integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning and the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group. When the concept first emerged in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe, it connoted a process of cultivation or improvement, as in agriculture or horticulture.

In the nineteenth century, it came to refer first to the betterment or refinement of the individual, especially through education, and then to the fulfillment of national aspirations or ideals. In the mid-nineteenth century, some scientists used the term "culture" to refer to a universal human capacity.In the twentieth century, "culture" emerged as a concept central to anthropology, encompassing all human phenomena that are not purely results of human genetics.

Specifically, the term "culture" in American anthropology had two meanings: the evolved human capacity to classify and represent experiences with symbols, and to act imaginatively and creatively; and the distinct ways that people living in different parts of the world classified and represented their experiences, and acted creatively. Following World War II, the term became important, albeit with different meanings, in other disciplines such as sociology, cultural studies, organizational psychology and management studies.

CHESS

Chess is a recreational and competitive game played between two players. The current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the fifteenth century after evolving from similar, much older games of Indian and Persian origin. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.

The game is played on a square chequered chessboard with Sixty Four squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. At the start, each player (one controlling the white pieces, the other controlling the black pieces) controls sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "check") and there is no way to remove it from attack on the next move.

The tradition of organized competitive chess started in the sixteenth century and has developed extensively. Chess today is a recognized sport of the International Olympic Committee. The first official World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title; Viswanathan Anand is the current World Champion. Theoreticians have developed extensive chess strategies and tactics since the game's inception. Aspects of art are found in chess composition.

One of the goals of early computer scientists was to create a chess-playing machine. Today's chess is deeply influenced by the abilities of current chess programs and the ability to play against others online. Deep Blue became the first computer to beat the reigning World Champion in a match when it defeated Garry Kasparov.

INDUSTRY

An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent, industrious") is the manufacturing of a good or service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products.

There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction, and manufacturing; the tertiary sector, which deals with services (such as law and medicine) and distribution of manufactured goods; and the quaternary sector, a relatively new type of knowledge industry focusing on technological research, design and development such as computer programming, and biochemistry. A fifth quinary sector has been proposed encompassing nonprofit activities. The economy is also broadly separated into public sector and private sector, with industry generally categorized as private.

Industry in the sense of manufacturing became a key sector of production and labour in European and North American countries during the Industrial Revolution, which upset previous mercantile and feudal economies through many successive rapid advances in technology, such as the steel and coal production. It is aided by technological advances, and has continued to develop into new types and sectors to this day. Industrial countries then assumed a capitalist economic policy. Railroads and steam-powered ships began speedily establishing links with previously unreachable world markets, enabling private companies to develop to then-unheard of size and wealth.

Following the Industrial Revolution, perhaps a third of the world's economic output is derived from manufacturing industries—more than agriculture's share. Many developed countries (for example the UK, the U.S., and Canada) and many developing/semi-developed countries (People's Republic of China, India etc.) depend significantly on industry. Industries, the countries they reside in, and the economies of those countries are interlinked in a complex web of interdependence.