Word: phenomena
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
HAIR FROM shortly after we are born until shortly after we die, we all must deal with the constant growth of one of nature's most wonderful and perplexing phenomena. For most of us the periodic cutting of the hair is a ritual, less pleasant than going to a ballgame but more fun than seeing the dentist...
Realizing the importance of his discovery, Shelton moved quickly to contact the International Astronomical Union's telegram service in Cambridge, Mass., the world's clearinghouse for announcements of new comets, asteroids and other transient astronomical phenomena. Shelton was the first to report the supernova, but, according to Service Director Brian Marsden, a New Zealand amateur astronomer named Albert Jones also spotted it that night. By the end of the day the service had sent telegrams announcing the supernova, officially designated 1987A, to some 150 institutions around the world...
THERE ARE TWO common responses to such phenomena, neither appropriate. The first is to blame the victims; the other is to search for a situation where racism presented itself in all its ugliness. "Then racism becomes a visible issue with clearly moral implications. But such occurrences are increasingly rare, for the KKK has little influence. The racism which plagues Black Americans today cannot be found in rural Georgia. It's more subtle but also more widespread...
...capital of Uzbekistan, Gorbachev gave a speech to local party officials on such familiar problems as economic inefficiency and official corruption. But at one point his address took a distinctly unfamiliar turn. According to the Uzbek daily Pravda Vostoka, Gorbachev called for a "firm and uncompromising struggle against religious phenomena." Then he said, "We must be strict above all with Communists and senior officials, particularly those who say they defend our morality and ideals but in fact help promote backward views and themselves take part in religious ceremonies...
Indeed, the theory could explain not only the large-scale structure of the universe but also the origin of galaxies and other puzzling celestial phenomena. It combines some of the most advanced ideas in astrophysics and elementary-particle physics, and joins the independent research of Ostriker and Physicist Edward Witten. The unifying element: the cosmic strings -- bizarre, hypothetical entities that are thinner than an atomic nucleus, as long as the universe is wide, and so dense that a mile-long segment would weigh as much as the earth...