Ink and acrylic marker on paper 6.75" x 9.75" 7.2025. www.saatchiart.com/art/Drawing-Self-replicating-Surface-P...

Catherine’s Little Free Library in Old Northeast St. Pete, photographed in the company of an affectionate cat.

More generally, labyrinth might be applied to any extremely complicated maze-like structure. Herodotus, in Book II of his Histories, describes as a "labyrinth" a building complex in Egypt, "near the place called the City of Crocodiles," that he considered to surpass the pyramids:

It has twelve covered courts — six in a row facing north, six south — the gates of the one range exactly fronting the gates of the other. Inside, the building is of two storeys and contains three thousand rooms, of which half are underground, and the other half directly above them. I was taken through the rooms in the upper storey, so what I shall say of them is from my own observation, but the underground ones I can speak of only from report, because the Egyptians in charge refused to let me see them, as they contain the tombs of the kings who built the labyrinth, and also the tombs of the sacred crocodiles. The upper rooms, on the contrary, I did actually see, and it is hard to believe that they are the work of men; the baffling and intricate passages from room to room and from court to court were an endless wonder to me, as we passed from a courtyard into rooms, from rooms into galleries, from galleries into more rooms and thence into yet more courtyards. The roof of every chamber, courtyard, and gallery is, like the walls, of stone. The walls are covered with carved figures, and each court is exquisitely built of white marble and surrounded by a colonnade.

During the 19th century, the remains of this structure were discovered by Flinders Petrie at the foot of the pyramid of Amenemhat III at Hawara in the Faiyum Oasis. The Classical accounts of various authors (Herodotus, Strabo, Pliny the Elder, among others) are not entirely consistent, perhaps due to degradation of the structure during Classical times. In origin, the structure was likely a collection of funerary temples such as are commonly found near Egyptian pyramids.

In 1898, the Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities described the structure as "the largest of all the temples of Egypt, the so-called Labyrinth, of which, however, only the foundation stones have been preserved."

Herodotus' description of the Egyptian Labyrinth inspired some central scenes in Bolesław Prus' 1895 historical novel, Pharaoh.

Although early Cretan coins occasionally exhibit branching (multicursal) patterns, the single-path (unicursal) seven-course "Classical" design without branching or dead ends became associated with the Labyrinth on coins as early as 430 BC, and similar non-branching patterns became widely used as visual representations of the Labyrinth – even though both logic and literary descriptions make it clear that the Minotaur was trapped in a complex branching maze. Even as the designs became more elaborate, visual depictions of the mythological Labyrinth from Roman times until the Renaissance are almost invariably unicursal. Branching mazes were reintroduced only when garden mazes became popular during the Renaissance.

In English, the term labyrinth is generally synonymous with maze. As a result of the long history of unicursal representation of the mythological Labyrinth, however, many contemporary scholars and enthusiasts observe a distinction between the two. In this specialized usage maze refers to a complex branching multicursal puzzle with choices of path and direction, while a unicursal labyrinth has only a single path to the center. A labyrinth in this sense has an unambiguous route to the center and back and presents no navigational challenge.Labyrinth is a word of pre-Greek, Minoan origin, which the Greeks associated with the palace of Knossos in Crete. It is also widely associated with the Lydian word labrys ("double-edged axe"), and since the double axe motif appears in the ruins at Knossos, it has been suggested that the original labyrinth was the royal Minoan palace in Crete. This designation may not have been limited to Knossos, because the same symbols were discovered in other palaces in Crete.The first ever organized group to officially call themselves Gnostics had lived on the island of Crete Cretan_Labyrinthand many other lands around the world for thousands of years. They were said to have come to Crete from Egypt with their Phoenician Prince Cadmus. According to Herodotus and Strabo, these people were originally known as the Phoenicians who accompanied Cadmus out of Phoenicia.The meaning of Cadmus is “he who came from the East.” These ancient Gnostics were known by several names over this long-span of time; such as the Curetes, Telchines, Ophites, Hivites, the Priests of Pan, and the Sons of Mizraim (Hebrew), meaning “Sons of Egypt.” In the bible they are called the Nephilim, the Sons of God, Sons of Abraham, and Sons of Noah who are the original Phoenician Hebrews and Israelites that created the esoteric gnostic literature masterpieces known as the Old and New Testament Bibles.Their symbols are the serpent, the bull, the ram and horns (hippocampus or ammon’s horn). They were the followers of the”The Sacred Serpent,” “The Sacred Bull,” “The Sun in Taurus,” “The Soul of Osiris,” and “The Retiring of the Bull.” These gnostics were also the original builders of the city of the Ram that we know of as Rome (Rama), by its founder Romulus (Ram-ulus). An interesting note is that this is the year 2015, the year of the Ram. It makes sense that the Romans (Ram-ans) originally came from Egypt and then Crete because of their reverence for the obelisk of Ramses II, and Caesar’s needle.It was on Crete where the Gnostic Sons of Egypt had built the ancient city of Gnosis that today is called Knossos (/ˈnɒsəs/; also spelled Knossus, Cnossus, Greek Κνωσός, pronounced [knoˈsos] ). The word Knossos is derived from the etymology of the word Gnosis. A word that simply means “know, knowledge, knowledgeable, knowingly, etc.,” and are derived from the Old Latin words, ‘Gnosoo,’ where we get the modern Latin word ‘novi’ which is a noun that means “actual knowledge which is the result of past learning,” and ‘noscos’ which is the present use of the verb ‘novi,’ and it denotes “to learn.”In the city of Gnosis they had built the world’s most famous Gnostic Labyrinth of Initiation ever known.reverence for the obelisk of Ramses II, and Caesar’s needle.

Labrys was a cult-word that was probably introduced from Anatolia, where such symbols have been found in Çatal Höyük from the Neolithic age. In Labraunda of Caria the double-axe accompanies the storm-god Zeus Labraundos (Ζεὺς Λαβρανδεύς). It also accompanies the Hurrian god of sky and storm Teshub (his Hittite and Luwian name was Tarhun).

Labrys, however, comes from Lydian, not Minoan, and the association of labyrinth with labrys remains speculative.[15] The Linear B (Mycenaean) inscription on tablet ΚΝ Gg 702 is interpreted as da-pu2-ri-to-jo, po-ti-ni-ja (labyrinthoio potnia, "Mistress of the labyrinth). The word daburinthos (labyrinthos) may show the same equivocation between initial d- and l- as is found in the variation of the early Hittite royal name Tabarna / Labarna (where written t- may represent phonetic d-). The original Minoan word, which is attested in Linear A tablets, appears to refer to labyrinthine underground grottoes, such as seen at Gortyn.[18] Pliny the Elder's four examples of labyrinths are all complex underground structures, and this appears to have been the standard Classical understanding of the word.

By the 4th century BC, the Greeks also associated the Labyrinth with the familiar "Greek key" patterns of endlessly running meanders.[20] Coins from Knossos were struck with the labyrinth symbol in the 5th through 3rd centuries BC. The predominant labyrinth form during this period is the simple seven-circuit style known as the classical labyrinth, and over time the term labyrinth came to be applied to any unicursal maze, which were typically rendered as circular or rectangular patterns.Silver coin from Knossos representing the Labyrinth, 400 BC. In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (Greek: Λαβύρινθος labyrinthos) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the hero Theseus. Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it.

It was on Crete where the Gnostic Sons of Egypt had built the ancient city of Gnosis that today is called Knossos (/ˈnɒsəs/; also spelled Knossus, Cnossus, Greek Κνωσός, pronounced [knoˈsos] ). The word Knossos is derived from the etymology of the word Gnosis. A word that simply means “know, knowledge, knowledgeable, knowingly, etc.,” and are derived from the Old Latin words, ‘Gnosoo,’ where we get the modern Latin word ‘novi’ which is a noun that means “actual knowledge which is the result of past learning,” and ‘noscos’ which is the present use of the verb ‘novi,’ and it denotes “to learn.”

In the city of Gnosis they had built the world’s most famous Gnostic Labyrinth of Initiation ever known.

It was here in the city of Knossos where Sir Arthur Evans had discovered evidence of Europe’s oldest merchant people whom he called the ‘Minoans.’ A name that means the “Children of Jupiter”, with their King Minos (Jupiter). It is in this City of Gnosis that Evans had discovered the famous, and mysterious structure called “the labyrinth.”

The great inventor Daedalus was said to have designed the labyrinth, and the gnostic kings of CreteLabyrinth kept the great half man and half bull Minotaur in it. Here is Sir Arthur Evans explanation of the story of the labyrinth; “and the fondness of the Cretans for bull fights as the foundation of the legend of the Minotaur, while the tribute of the Athenians indicates the widespread power of the Cretan kings which extended over the whole Egean region. This dominance rested wholly on sea-power and was so great that the palace at Knossos was without walls and fortifications. The strong defence of the island state was evidently its fleet, and practically the whole intercourse of these Mediterranean lands was carried on by the Cretan ships.”When the Bronze Age site at Knossos was excavated by explorer Arthur Evans, the complexity of the architecture prompted him to suggest that the palace had been the Labyrinth of Daedalus. Evans found various bull motifs, including an image of a man leaping over the horns of a bull, as well as depictions of a labrys carved into the walls. On the strength of a passage in the Iliad,[21] it has been suggested that the palace was the site of a dancing-ground made for Ariadne by the craftsman Daedalus, where young men and women, of the age of those sent to Crete as prey for the Minotaur, would dance together. By extension, in popular legend the palace is associated with the myth of the Minotaur.

In the 2000s, archaeologists explored other potential sites of the labyrinth. Oxford University geographer Nicholas Howarth believes that 'Evans's hypothesis that the palace of Knossos is also the Labyrinth must be treated sceptically.' Howarth and his team conducted a search of an underground complex known as the Skotino cave but concluded that it was formed naturally. Another contender is a series of underground tunnels at Gortyn, accessed by a narrow crack but expanding into interlinking caverns. Unlike the Skotino cave, these caverns have smooth walls and columns, and appear to have been at least partially man-made. This site corresponds to an unusual labyrinth symbol on a 16th-century map of Crete contained in a book of maps in the library of Christ Church, Oxford. A map of the caves themselves was produced by the French in 1821. The site was also used by German soldiers to store ammunition during the Second World War. Howarth's investigation was shown on a documentary[ produced for the National Geographic Channel.

The etymology of the word labyrinth (labyrinthine or labyrinthian) is made of the three words, lab, ryne and thian. The meaning of lab is a building, part of a building, or other place equipped to conduct scientific experiments, tests, investigations, or to manufacture. This gave rise to the current definition of laboratory, and labor. The meaning of the word ryn or ryne is a course, race, a course of years, watercourse (blood course) and life. The meaning of the word thine or thian is heaven.

One of the rituals was known as the “Mistress of the Labyrinth” which was said to be the Phoenician and Greek view a gnostic prison of the soul is which the initiate has to battle the dreaded Minotaur in order to find their ways out of the massive maze. Very few people were known to have escaped from the Labyrinth to find true gnosis. The one who killed the Minotaur was the founder-king of Athens, Theseus. His name means The Zeus or The Jupiter.

The labyrinth rituals were symbolic to the illusions of the lower world through which wanders the soul of man in its search for truth. The Minotaur symbolizes man who is part animal and part divine as he moves down his path of gnosis as he is entangled in the maze of worldly ignorance that seeks to destroy his soul. The labyrinth is the building or temple of our bodies and heads in which we make sense of spiritual motion of the soul in our blood. It is the gnostic path of manmade mazes to our pasts that we search the many false courses to that one path of truth inside each one of us known as heaven.

moe-sword. The city where this plan would help take form, would be on the island of Crete which happens to be named after the Greek word Kriti (Kri-ti), which means ‘creation.’The meaning of the English word Cre’ate, is “to form out of nothing, to creo, creatum – cause to exist.” Hence, FIAT LUX. An island named after creation that also happens to be the home of one of the original “Ancient City of Gnosis and that today is called, Knossos.”

This great Cretan Gnostic labyrinth built by the Sons of Mizraim who were also known as the Nephilim would become the blueprints for our modern world that we see today. The ancient secret gnostic rites and initiations to gnosis would then become the base teachings of world-wid Alchemy, religious orders such as the Rosicrucians, Illuminati and many other secret orders.

Carving showing the warrior Abhimanyu entering the chakravyuha – Hoysaleswara temple, Halebidu, India

A design essentially identical to the 7-course "classical" pattern appeared in Native American culture, the Tohono O'odham people labyrinth which features I'itoi, the "Man in the Maze." The Tonoho O'odham pattern has two distinct differences from the classical: it is radial in design, and the entrance is at the top, where traditional labyrinths have the entrance at the bottom (see below). The earliest appearances cannot be dated securely; the oldest is commonly dated to the 17th century.The Chakravyūha or Padmavyūha is a multi-tiered defensive formation that looks like a blooming lotus (पद्म padma) or disc (चक्र chakra) when viewed from above.[1] The warriors at each interleaving position would be in an increasingly tough position to fight. The formation was used in the battle of Kurukshetra by Dronacharya, who became commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army after the fall of Bhishma Pitamaha.

The various vyūhas (military formations) were studied by the Kauravas and Pandavas alike. Most of them can be beaten using a counter-measure targeted specifically against that formation. It is important to observe that in the form of battle described in the Mahabharata, it was important to place powerful fighters in positions where they could inflict maximum damage to the opposing force, or defend their own side. As per this military strategy, a specific stationary object or a moving object or person could be captured, surrounded and fully secured during battle.

The formation begins with two soldiers on both sides, with other soldiers following them at a distance of three hands, drawing up seven circles and culminating in the end which is the place where the captured person or object is to be kept. In order to form the Chakravyuha, the commander has to identify soldiers who will form this formation. The number of soldiers to be deployed and the size of the Chakravyuha is calculated as per the resistance estimated. Once drawn, the foremost soldiers come on either side of the opponent to be captured, engage briefly and then advance. Their place is taken up by the next soldiers on either side, who again engage the opponent briefly and then advance. In this fashion, a number of soldiers pass the enemy and proceed in a circular pattern. By the time the rear of the formation arrives, the oblivious enemy is surrounded on all sides by seven tiers of soldiers. The last soldiers of the formation give the signal of completing the Chakravyuha. On the signal, every soldier who so far has been facing outwards turns inwards to face the opponent. It is only then that the captured enemy realizes his captivity. The army maintains the circular formation and can lead away the captive as well.

A prehistoric petroglyph on a riverbank in Goa shows the same pattern and has been dated to circa 2500 BC.[33] Other examples have been found among cave art in northern India and on a dolmen shrine in the Nilgiri Mountains, but are difficult to date accurately. Early labyrinths in India typically follow the Classical pattern or a local variant of it; some have been described as plans of forts or cities.

Labyrinths appear in Indian manuscripts and Tantric texts from the 17th century onward. They are often called "Chakravyuha" in reference to an impregnable battle formation described in the ancient Mahabharata epic. Lanka, the capital city of mythic Rāvana, is described as a labyrinth in the 1910 translation of Al-Beruni's India (c. 1030 AD) p. 306 (with a diagram on the following page).

By the White Sea, notably on the Solovetsky Islands, there have been preserved more than 30 stone labyrinths. The most remarkable monument is the Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island - a group of 13–14 stone labyrinths on 0.4 km2 area of one small island. These labyrinths are thought to be 2,000–3,000 years old.

Today the magical labyrinth would represent this whole world as we know it. I don’t know about you but I have almost found my way out of the maze by fighting my own Minotaur beast of a self to reach a place of heaven called gnosis. Hopefully, the kings in charge of the labyrinth haven’t deemed us all unworthy, and marked for death by closing the exit.The labyrinth can be a powerful tool for inner enhancement and development. It is designed specifically for this purpose. When walking the labyrinth, we find our perspective constantly changing. Our vision and physical bodies are never facing the same direction for long. This is a technique to coax our inner knowing out from within.

Further, the spiraling inward motion is a physical replication of our spiritual tendency to seek within the highest truths in order to find eternal freedom. When we are moving outward from the source, it is an action that we have made the divine connection and now we are expressing our completeness outwardly – essentially sharing our highest good with all around us.Secondary security in case of prison break. They wanted to make it hard to wake up their worst enemies. The system lords did not trust each other, so the Labyrinth was created to prevent any system lord from gaining access their worst enemies. Hades was entrusted to watch over it and knew that if he decided to take advantage of it, all System Lords would come down on him. Unfortunately that’s exactly what happened.Persephone was Hades’ Queen. She ruled over his kingdom while he was away, but was unable to hold on to it. As it collapsed, she hid in the prison ship to escape Hades’ enemies. She used the prison ship as her Palace towards the end because it was so easy to hide in. She brought along her lover, Daedalus, a young Go’auld subservient to Persephone with his own plans.The ship travels on what seems to be a series of random jumps from world to world. Daedalus set the ship to do this to escape Persephone’s enemies. But over time, it has been damaged by attacks from random raiders, other system lords that might have stumbled on it. So now the pattern Daedalus has set up is random and stuck. It must be repaired and the ship stabilized.The ship makes regular stops to pick up “prisoners” – the teleport run – and pick up supplies – teleport water and food stuffs from preprogrammed worlds Daedalus found rich of those resources.The Clans sent their worst political enemies, the strongest opponents to uninifcation, and their war criminals to the Labyrinth ship. They have also sent their harshest criminals and insane. All the clans believed that the sentence was worse then death and had no idea the truth behind the Temple of Persephone. There is a sampling of all the clans on the ship, surviving on the hydroponics bays they were able to acquire throughout the ship.

It is important to note that walking the labyrinth (mentally or physically) is not intended to be overly challenging. There are no dead-ends with the labyrinth, only meandering waves of smooth lines designed to gently nudge us back to our destination.

This is where labyrinths are often confused with mazes. Big difference. Mazes are designed to challenge intellect and strategic skills. Whereas the labyrinth is an exercise in soul development.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinth

Apox

Lightroom 5 replication to get the Kodak Ultramax Look

“The Eye Moment photos by Nolan H. Rhodes”

“Theeyeofthemoment21@gmail.com”

“www.flickr.com/photos/the_eye_of_the_moment”

“Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws.”

This was a quick way of using up all my spare grey bricks and is an attempt at replicating the Custom House in Dublin. This is the first version, I later modified the central dome which can be seen in the other photos. A snippet of info on the real building is provided below.

The Custom House is a neoclassical 18th century landmark building in Dublin situated on the banks of the main river in the city. The building was built for the purpose of collecting custom duties and perhaps unsurprisingly was not a very popular building (Wikipedia page).

“The Eye Moment photos by Nolan H. Rhodes”

“Theeyeofthemoment21@gmail.com”

“www.flickr.com/photos/the_eye_of_the_moment”

“Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws.”

Avatar costumes replicated by Alpha Auer for the project "Russian Avant-garde" in sl.

LM: slurl.com/secondlife/LEA8/22/102/56

El Lissitzky (Russian artist and graphic designer, 1890 - 1941) created his series of architectonic figures after seeing a production of “Victory Over the Sun”, the futuristic Russian opera with music by Mikhail Matyushin (Russian painter and composer, 1861 – 1934) and costumes/stage designed by Kasimir Malevich (Russian painter and art theoretician, 1879 – 1935). Paired up with Malevich’s set design and costumes, this pro-technological phonosemantic opera inspired Lissitzky to recreate figures of the opera’s main protagonists as suprematist automatons.

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This article is about the group of viruses. For the disease involved in the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, see Coronavirus disease 2019. For the virus that causes this disease, see Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

Orthocoronavirinae

Coronaviruses 004 lores.jpg

Transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of avian infectious bronchitis virus

SARS-CoV-2 without background.png

Illustration of the morphology of coronaviruses; the club-shaped viral spike peplomers, colored red, create the look of a corona surrounding the virion when observed with an electron microscope.

Virus classification e

(unranked):Virus

Realm:Riboviria

Phylum:incertae sedis

Order:Nidovirales

Family:Coronaviridae

Subfamily:Orthocoronavirinae

Genera[1]

Alphacoronavirus

Betacoronavirus

Gammacoronavirus

Deltacoronavirus

Synonyms[2][3][4]

Coronavirinae

Coronaviruses are a group of related viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses include some cases of the common cold (which has other possible causes, predominantly rhinoviruses), while more lethal varieties can cause SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Symptoms in other species vary: in chickens, they cause an upper respiratory tract disease, while in cows and pigs they cause diarrhea. There are yet to be vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human coronavirus infections.

Coronaviruses constitute the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, in the family Coronaviridae, order Nidovirales, and realm Riboviria.[5][6] They are enveloped viruses with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. The genome size of coronaviruses ranges from approximately 26 to 32 kilobases, one of the largest among RNA viruses.[7] They have characteristic club-shaped spikes that project from their surface, which in electron micrographs create an image reminiscent of the solar corona from which their name derives.[8]

Contents

1Discovery

2Etymology

3Morphology

4Genome

5Life cycle

5.1Entry

5.2Replication

5.3Release

6Transmission

7Taxonomy

8Evolution

9Human coronaviruses

10Outbreaks of coronavirus diseases

10.1Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

10.2Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)

10.3Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

11Other animals

11.1Diseases caused

11.2Domestic animals

12Genomic cis-acting elements

13Genome packaging

14See also

15References

16Further reading

Discovery

Coronaviruses were first discovered in the 1930s when an acute respiratory infection of domesticated chickens was shown to be caused by infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). In the 1940s, two more animal coronaviruses, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) and transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), were isolated.[9]

Human coronaviruses were discovered in the 1960s.[10] The earliest ones studied were from human patients with the common cold, which were later named human coronavirus 229E and human coronavirus OC43.[11] Other human coronaviruses have since been identified, including SARS-CoV in 2003, HCoV NL63 in 2004, HKU1 in 2005, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019. Most of these have involved serious respiratory tract infections.

Etymology

The name "coronavirus" is derived from Latin corona, meaning "crown" or "wreath", itself a borrowing from Greek κορώνη korṓnē, "garland, wreath". The name refers to the characteristic appearance of virions (the infective form of the virus) by electron microscopy, which have a fringe of large, bulbous surface projections creating an image reminiscent of a crown or of a solar corona. This morphology is created by the viral spike peplomers, which are proteins on the surface of the virus.[8][12]

Morphology

Cross-sectional model of a coronavirus

Cross-sectional model of a coronavirus

Coronaviruses are large pleomorphic spherical particles with bulbous surface projections.[13] The average diameter of the virus particles is around 120 nm (.12 μm). The diameter of the envelope is ~80 nm (.08 μm) and the spikes are ~20 nm (.02 μm) long. The envelope of the virus in electron micrographs appears as a distinct pair of electron dense shells.[14][15]

The viral envelope consists of a lipid bilayer where the membrane (M), envelope (E) and spike (S) structural proteins are anchored.[16] A subset of coronaviruses (specifically the members of betacoronavirus subgroup A) also have a shorter spike-like surface protein called hemagglutinin esterase (HE).[5]

Inside the envelope, there is the nucleocapsid, which is formed from multiple copies of the nucleocapsid (N) protein, which are bound to the positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome in a continuous beads-on-a-string type conformation.[15][17] The lipid bilayer envelope, membrane proteins, and nucleocapsid protect the virus when it is outside the host cell.[18]

Genome

See also: Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus § Genome

Schematic representation of the genome organization and functional domains of S protein for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV

Coronaviruses contain a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome. The genome size for coronaviruses ranges from 26.4 to 31.7 kilobases.[7] The genome size is one of the largest among RNA viruses. The genome has a 5′ methylated cap and a 3′ polyadenylated tail.[15]

The genome organization for a coronavirus is 5′-leader-UTR-replicase/transcriptase-spike (S)-envelope (E)-membrane (M)-nucleocapsid (N)-3′UTR-poly (A) tail. The open reading frames 1a and 1b, which occupy the first two-thirds of the genome, encode the replicase/transcriptase polyprotein. The replicase/transcriptase polyprotein self cleaves to form nonstructural proteins.[15]

The later reading frames encode the four major structural proteins: spike, envelope, membrane, and nucleocapsid.[19] Interspersed between these reading frames are the reading frames for the accessory proteins. The number of accessory proteins and their function is unique depending on the specific coronavirus.[15]

Life cycle

Entry

The life cycle of a coronavirus

Infection begins when the viral spike (S) glycoprotein attaches to its complementary host cell receptor. After attachment, a protease of the host cell cleaves and activates the receptor-attached spike protein. Depending on the host cell protease available, cleavage and activation allows the virus to enter the host cell by endocytosis or direct fusion of the viral envelop with the host membrane.[20]

On entry into the host cell, the virus particle is uncoated, and its genome enters the cell cytoplasm.[15] The coronavirus RNA genome has a 5′ methylated cap and a 3′ polyadenylated tail, which allows the RNA to attach to the host cell's ribosome for translation.[15] The host ribosome translates the initial overlapping open reading frame of the virus genome and forms a long polyprotein. The polyprotein has its own proteases which cleave the polyprotein into multiple nonstructural proteins.[15]

Replication

A number of the nonstructural proteins coalesce to form a multi-protein replicase-transcriptase complex (RTC). The main replicase-transcriptase protein is the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). It is directly involved in the replication and transcription of RNA from an RNA strand. The other nonstructural proteins in the complex assist in the replication and transcription process. The exoribonuclease nonstructural protein, for instance, provides extra fidelity to replication by providing a proofreading function which the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase lacks.[21]

One of the main functions of the complex is to replicate the viral genome. RdRp directly mediates the synthesis of negative-sense genomic RNA from the positive-sense genomic RNA. This is followed by the replication of positive-sense genomic RNA from the negative-sense genomic RNA.[15] The other important function of the complex is to transcribe the viral genome. RdRp directly mediates the synthesis of negative-sense subgenomic RNA molecules from the positive-sense genomic RNA. This is followed by the transcription of these negative-sense subgenomic RNA molecules to their corresponding positive-sense mRNAs.[15]

Release

The replicated positive-sense genomic RNA becomes the genome of the progeny viruses. The mRNAs are gene transcripts of the last third of the virus genome after the initial overlapping reading frame. These mRNAs are translated by the host's ribosomes into the structural proteins and a number of accessory proteins.[15] RNA translation occurs inside the endoplasmic reticulum. The viral structural proteins S, E, and M move along the secretory pathway into the Golgi intermediate compartment. There, the M proteins direct most protein-protein interactions required for assembly of viruses following its binding to the nucleocapsid.[22] Progeny viruses are then released from the host cell by exocytosis through secretory vesicles.[22]

Transmission

The interaction of the coronavirus spike protein with its complement host cell receptor is central in determining the tissue tropism, infectivity, and species range of the virus.[23][24] The SARS coronavirus, for example, infects human cells by attaching to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor.[25]

Taxonomy

For a more detailed list of members, see Coronaviridae.

Phylogenetic tree of coronaviruses

The scientific name for coronavirus is Orthocoronavirinae or Coronavirinae.[2][3][4] Coronavirus belongs to the family of Coronaviridae.

Genus: Alphacoronavirus

Species: Human coronavirus 229E, Human coronavirus NL63, Miniopterus bat coronavirus 1, Miniopterus bat coronavirus HKU8, Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, Rhinolophus bat coronavirus HKU2, Scotophilus bat coronavirus 512

Genus Betacoronavirus; type species: Murine coronavirus

Species: Betacoronavirus 1 (Human coronavirus OC43), Human coronavirus HKU1, Murine coronavirus, Pipistrellus bat coronavirus HKU5, Rousettus bat coronavirus HKU9, Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2), Tylonycteris bat coronavirus HKU4, Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, Hedgehog coronavirus 1 (EriCoV)

Genus Gammacoronavirus; type species: Infectious bronchitis virus

Species: Beluga whale coronavirus SW1, Infectious bronchitis virus

Genus Deltacoronavirus; type species: Bulbul coronavirus HKU11

Species: Bulbul coronavirus HKU11, Porcine coronavirus HKU15

Evolution

The most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all coronaviruses has been estimated to have existed as recently as 8000 BCE, though some models place the MRCA as far back as 55 million years or more, implying long term coevolution with bats.[26] The MRCAs of the alphacoronavirus line has been placed at about 2400 BCE, the betacoronavirus line at 3300 BCE, the gammacoronavirus line at 2800 BCE, and the deltacoronavirus line at about 3000 BCE. It appears that bats and birds, as warm-blooded flying vertebrates, are ideal hosts for the coronavirus gene source (with bats for alphacoronavirus and betacoronavirus, and birds for gammacoronavirus and deltacoronavirus) to fuel coronavirus evolution and dissemination.[27]

Bovine coronavirus and canine respiratory coronaviruses diverged from a common ancestor recently (~ 1950).[28] Bovine coronavirus and human coronavirus OC43 diverged around the 1890s. Bovine coronavirus diverged from the equine coronavirus species at the end of the 18th century.[29]

The MRCA of human coronavirus OC43 has been dated to the 1950s.[30]

MERS-CoV, although related to several bat coronavirus species, appears to have diverged from these several centuries ago.[31] The human coronavirus NL63 and a bat coronavirus shared an MRCA 563–822 years ago.[32]

The most closely related bat coronavirus and SARS-CoV diverged in 1986.[33] A path of evolution of the SARS virus and keen relationship with bats have been proposed. The authors suggest that the coronaviruses have been coevolved with bats for a long time and the ancestors of SARS-CoV first infected the species of the genus Hipposideridae, subsequently spread to species of the Rhinolophidae and then to civets, and finally to humans.[34][35]

Alpaca coronavirus and human coronavirus 229E diverged before 1960.[36]

Human coronaviruses

Illustration of SARSr-CoV virion

Coronaviruses vary significantly in risk factor. Some can kill more than 30% of those infected (such as MERS-CoV), and some are relatively harmless, such as the common cold.[15] Coronaviruses cause colds with major symptoms, such as fever, and a sore throat from swollen adenoids, occurring primarily in the winter and early spring seasons.[37] Coronaviruses can cause pneumonia (either direct viral pneumonia or secondary bacterial pneumonia) and bronchitis (either direct viral bronchitis or secondary bacterial bronchitis).[38] The human coronavirus discovered in 2003, SARS-CoV, which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), has a unique pathogenesis because it causes both upper and lower respiratory tract infections.[38]

Six species of human coronaviruses are known, with one species subdivided into two different strains, making seven strains of human coronaviruses altogether. Four of these strains produce the generally mild symptoms of the common cold:

Human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43), of the genus β-CoV

Human coronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1), β-CoV, its genome has 75% similarity to OC43[39]

Human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E), α-CoV

Human coronavirus NL63 (HCoV-NL63), α-CoV

Three strains (two species) produce symptoms that are potentially severe; all three of these are β-CoV strains:

Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

The coronaviruses HCoV-229E, -NL63, -OC43, and -HKU1 continually circulate in the human population and cause respiratory infections in adults and children worldwide.[40]

Outbreaks of coronavirus diseases

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

Main article: Severe acute respiratory syndrome

Characteristics of human coronavirus strains

MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2,

and related diseases

MERS-CoVSARS-CoVSARS-CoV-2

DiseaseMERSSARSCOVID-19

Outbreaks2012, 2015,

20182002–20042019–2020

pandemic

Epidemiology

Date of first

identified caseJune

2012November

2002December

2019[41]

Location of first

identified caseJeddah,

Saudi ArabiaShunde,

ChinaWuhan,

China

Age average5644[42][a]56[43]

Sex ratio3.3:10.8:1[44]1.6:1[43]

Confirmed cases24948096[45]1,601,018[46][b]

Deaths858774[45]95,718[46][b]

Case fatality rate37%9.2%6.0%[46]

Symptoms

Fever98%99–100%87.9%[47]

Dry cough47%29–75%67.7%[47]

Dyspnea72%40–42%18.6%[47]

Diarrhea26%20–25%3.7%[47]

Sore throat21%13–25%13.9%[47]

Ventilatory support24.5%[48]14–20%4.1%[49]

Notes

^ Based on data from Hong Kong.

^ Jump up to: a b Data as of 10 April 2020.

vte

In 2003, following the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which had begun the prior year in Asia, and secondary cases elsewhere in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a press release stating that a novel coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the causative agent for SARS. The virus was officially named the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). More than 8,000 people were infected, about ten percent of whom died.[25]

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)

Main article: Middle East respiratory syndrome

In September 2012, a new type of coronavirus was identified, initially called Novel Coronavirus 2012, and now officially named Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).[50][51] The World Health Organization issued a global alert soon after.[52] The WHO update on 28 September 2012 said the virus did not seem to pass easily from person to person.[53] However, on 12 May 2013, a case of human-to-human transmission in France was confirmed by the French Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.[54] In addition, cases of human-to-human transmission were reported by the Ministry of Health in Tunisia. Two confirmed cases involved people who seemed to have caught the disease from their late father, who became ill after a visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Despite this, it appears the virus had trouble spreading from human to human, as most individuals who are infected do not transmit the virus.[55] By 30 October 2013, there were 124 cases and 52 deaths in Saudi Arabia.[56]

After the Dutch Erasmus Medical Centre sequenced the virus, the virus was given a new name, Human Coronavirus—Erasmus Medical Centre (HCoV-EMC). The final name for the virus is Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The only U.S. cases (both survived) were recorded in May 2014.[57]

In May 2015, an outbreak of MERS-CoV occurred in the Republic of Korea, when a man who had traveled to the Middle East, visited four hospitals in the Seoul area to treat his illness. This caused one of the largest outbreaks of MERS-CoV outside the Middle East.[58] As of December 2019, 2,468 cases of MERS-CoV infection had been confirmed by laboratory tests, 851 of which were fatal, a mortality rate of approximately 34.5%.[59]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Main article: Coronavirus disease 2019

In December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak was reported in Wuhan, China.[60] On 31 December 2019, the outbreak was traced to a novel strain of coronavirus,[61] which was given the interim name 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO),[62][63][64] later renamed SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Some researchers have suggested the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market may not be the original source of viral transmission to humans.[65][66]

As of 10 April 2020, there have been at least 95,718[46] confirmed deaths and more than 1,601,018[46] confirmed cases in the coronavirus pneumonia pandemic. The Wuhan strain has been identified as a new strain of Betacoronavirus from group 2B with approximately 70% genetic similarity to the SARS-CoV.[67] The virus has a 96% similarity to a bat coronavirus, so it is widely suspected to originate from bats as well.[65][68] The pandemic has resulted in travel restrictions and nationwide lockdowns in several countries.

Other animals

Coronaviruses have been recognized as causing pathological conditions in veterinary medicine since the 1930s.[9] Except for avian infectious bronchitis, the major related diseases have mainly an intestinal location.[69]

Diseases caused

Coronaviruses primarily infect the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of mammals and birds. They also cause a range of diseases in farm animals and domesticated pets, some of which can be serious and are a threat to the farming industry. In chickens, the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), a coronavirus, targets not only the respiratory tract but also the urogenital tract. The virus can spread to different organs throughout the chicken.[70] Economically significant coronaviruses of farm animals include porcine coronavirus (transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus, TGE) and bovine coronavirus, which both result in diarrhea in young animals. Feline coronavirus: two forms, feline enteric coronavirus is a pathogen of minor clinical significance, but spontaneous mutation of this virus can result in feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a disease associated with high mortality. Similarly, there are two types of coronavirus that infect ferrets: Ferret enteric coronavirus causes a gastrointestinal syndrome known as epizootic catarrhal enteritis (ECE), and a more lethal systemic version of the virus (like FIP in cats) known as ferret systemic coronavirus (FSC).[71] There are two types of canine coronavirus (CCoV), one that causes mild gastrointestinal disease and one that has been found to cause respiratory disease. Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is a coronavirus that causes an epidemic murine illness with high mortality, especially among colonies of laboratory mice.[72] Sialodacryoadenitis virus (SDAV) is highly infectious coronavirus of laboratory rats, which can be transmitted between individuals by direct contact and indirectly by aerosol. Acute infections have high morbidity and tropism for the salivary, lachrymal and harderian glands.[73]

A HKU2-related bat coronavirus called swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) causes diarrhea in pigs.[74]

Prior to the discovery of SARS-CoV, MHV had been the best-studied coronavirus both in vivo and in vitro as well as at the molecular level. Some strains of MHV cause a progressive demyelinating encephalitis in mice which has been used as a murine model for multiple sclerosis. Significant research efforts have been focused on elucidating the viral pathogenesis of these animal coronaviruses, especially by virologists interested in veterinary and zoonotic diseases.[75]

Domestic animals

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) causes avian infectious bronchitis.

Porcine coronavirus (transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus of pigs, TGEV).[76][77]

Bovine coronavirus (BCV), responsible for severe profuse enteritis in of young calves.

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) causes mild enteritis in cats as well as severe Feline infectious peritonitis (other variants of the same virus).

the two types of canine coronavirus (CCoV) (one causing enteritis, the other found in respiratory diseases).

Turkey coronavirus (TCV) causes enteritis in turkeys.

Ferret enteric coronavirus causes epizootic catarrhal enteritis in ferrets.

Ferret systemic coronavirus causes FIP-like systemic syndrome in ferrets.[78]

Pantropic canine coronavirus.

Rabbit enteric coronavirus causes acute gastrointestinal disease and diarrhea in young European rabbits. Mortality rates are high.[79]

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PED or PEDV), has emerged around the world.[80]

Genomic cis-acting elements

In common with the genomes of all other RNA viruses, coronavirus genomes contain cis-acting RNA elements that ensure the specific replication of viral RNA by a virally encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The embedded cis-acting elements devoted to coronavirus replication constitute a small fraction of the total genome, but this is presumed to be a reflection of the fact that coronaviruses have the largest genomes of all RNA viruses. The boundaries of cis-acting elements essential to replication are fairly well-defined, and the RNA secondary structures of these regions are understood. However, how these cis-acting structures and sequences interact with the viral replicase and host cell components to allow RNA synthesis is not well understood.[81][5]

Genome packaging

The assembly of infectious coronavirus particles requires the selection of viral genomic RNA from a cellular pool that contains an abundant excess of non-viral and viral RNAs. Among the seven to ten specific viral mRNAs synthesized in virus-infected cells, only the full-length genomic RNA is packaged efficiently into coronavirus particles. Studies have revealed cis-acting elements and trans-acting viral factors involved in the coronavirus genome encapsidation and packaging. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of genome selection and packaging is critical for developing antiviral strategies and viral expression vectors based on the coronavirus genome.[81][5]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus

Experimenting with some of my old photos

Replicating a scene from the 1990s, LSL's 87002 'Royal Sovereign' leads a full Intercity Mk3 set over Docker Viaduct, working 1Z87 London Euston - Glasgow Central 'The Electric Scot'. DVT 82139 was on the rear.

Entropy, as expressed by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, is an all pervasive natural force, similar in importance to gravity or electro- magnetism. Its attributes involve the flow of what we call "time". It shows why time travel is impossible and why water only runs downhill. Entropy permeates all aspects of human existence. Entropy explains why it is easy to lose money and difficult to make money. Entropy is the force behind Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong, must go wrong. Is time-travel impossible? Why does water only run downhill? Why is it easy to lose money but difficult to acquire it? The answer to these and many other puzzling questions rests in the Second Law of Thermodynamics, in Entropy. The so-called Second Law relates closely to the term Entropy. An understanding of this fundamental law of nature and its ramification provides great insights in the way the world really works. Entropy, as expressed by the Second Law, is the ultimate Natural Law because it determines the flow of what we call "time". Thus, entropy deals with the very existence of the universe. The term entropy describes phenomena that have the most profound effect on all events in human existence, including our ability to achieve happiness by aligning ourselves with Objective Reality.

The Second Law holds a unique position in science because it has never evolved from a theory such as the Theory of Relativity or the Theory of Quantum Mechanics. The Second Law is empirical. There is no fully satisfactory theoretical proof for the Second Law, although there are some connections to Quantum Mechanics, Probability and Relativity. Once a Unified Field Theory, the Theory of Everything, is developed, it will and must account for Entropy. Many scientists, who claimed that this Law is paradoxical in nature, have tried to attack it. However, in all instances the alleged paradoxes were due to faulty reasoning. The Second Law has prevailed and has established itself as the most fundamental of all Natural Laws.

The profound nature of the Second Law manifests itself in every aspect of human existence. It covers questions pertaining to the obscure beginnings of the universe to the way we pour milk in our coffee. I remember my high school teacher posing the question: You have a cup of very hot coffee that you would like to drink as soon as possible, let us say, within 5 minutes. Should you first add the desired quantity of cold milk to the coffee and then let the coffee sit for 5 minutes? Alternatively, do you let the coffee sit for 5 minutes and then add the same quantity of milk?

The answer is not intuitive but it is simple, if we are familiar with the Second Law: The rate of heat exchange between the hot coffee and the ambient air depends on their temperature differential. The higher the temperature differential, the faster will be the rate of exchange. Within the 5-minute waiting period, heat transfers to the air at a higher rate if we do not add the cold milk initially to the coffee. If we add the milk at the beginning, instead of at the end of the 5 minutes, the energy transfer will slow down and the coffee will be markedly hotter at the end of 5 minutes.

This revelation does not appear to be a momentous event. It was only intended to indicate the pervasiveness of the Second Law, especially in view of the fact that most people are seemingly ignorant of it. The point is, the Second Law is not intuitive. We have to acquire the relevant knowledge by a rational thought process in order to take advantage of it. The cup of coffee is not important but the principle behind the cup permeates all of our existence: In order to optimize the effectiveness of our actions it is helpful to understand the implications of Entropy.

Entropy describes the degradation of energy to perform work. What is energy? On the high school level, we simply defined energy as the capacity to do work. However, the real question is, What factor, precisely, is doing this work? Why does energy have the capacity to perform work? The HOWs in life are easy, the WHYs are the tough ones.

Energy is the raw material of the universe. At the time of the Big Bang, about 13.7 billion years ago, there was nothing but raw energy. There was no mass with a physical attribute. It was only much later in the nascent universe that this primal energy transformed itself into physical mass, stars, nebula and black holes. Stars, and particularly supernovas, are the factories of the elements, such as iron, from which human beings are formed.

As we know from Einstein's famous formula E = m c^2, mass and energy are freely convertible into each other. The Hydrogen Bomb demonstrates this conversion in a spectacular fashion. Most of the energy it generates is due to the conversion of matter into energy. Such conversion of matter into energy, and vice-versa, is also a less spectacular event in everyday phenomena although it is usually so minuscule as to escape our attention: When we exercise vigorously, we convert chemical energy into radiated heat energy. All this radiated energy that leaves our body has mass, just as light has energy and weight, although it will not register on our bathroom scale.

In cognizance of these basic facts, we can stipulate that energy is the basic raw material that makes up the universe and all that is contained within it, including human beings. The essence of the universe is the unity of energy, time and space.

Energy is essentially a heat phenomenon. Heat and work are mechanisms by which systems exchange energy with one another. The mechanical equivalent of heat is called a Joule. 4.2 joules are the equivalent of one calorie, the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

In order for energy to perform work, a difference must exist between energy at a high potential and energy at a more randomized, diluted, potential. The term entropy is a measure of the degree to which energy has lost the capacity to perform useful work. Entropy signifies the dilution, the randomization of energy. We may look at water in two lakes, connected by a canal. Unless the lakes are at a different level, unless they are at a different energy potential, there is plenty of water, but all this water has no potential energy and cannot perform any useful work because it cannot change levels. This ability or inability to perform useful work is an analogy to and is at the heart of the term entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Let us back up a little: This whole subject of Thermodynamics sounds like a very complicated affair. Indeed, it is both very simple and extremely complex. There are three Laws of Thermodynamics, but we need to concern ourselves only with the first two laws because they are closely interwoven and can actually be expressed in one sentence: The total energy content of the universe is constant and the total entropy, the non-usable energy, is constantly increasing. There you have it: The combination of the first and second law of thermodynamics.

Very interesting, but what does it mean? It means that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can be transformed into mass, chemical energy, heat energy, latent energy and work, but it cannot be created and it cannot disappear. Energy is also in a constant, inevitable and irreversible process of becoming increasingly randomized. Salt crystals may be dissolved in a beaker of water without losing its identity as salt. The salt became more randomized when it dissolved in the water. The Law of Entropy decrees that it cannot reconvert itself to the less randomized, crystalline version. The salt cannot reconstitute itself as crystals, unless we introduce external energy to evaporate the water.

The amount of energy in the universe was established at the time of the Big Bang. At that point, energy was extremely concentrated and ordered. Since then, the universe has expanded vastly and energy has become more diluted and randomized. It is inherent in the nature of the universe that this process must and will continue. If it were to stop, the universe would cease to exist.

This increasing randomization of energy, entropy, is part of the structure of the universe. The energy dilemma does not involve the amount of energy that is available; it involves the form in which the energy is available. The universe is involved in a constant process of converting one form of energy into another form and in doing so, it inevitably must convert part of the original energy into more randomized, less usable, heat energy. Potential energy is organized energy whereas heat represents randomized, disorganized energy. Heat energy is irretrievable energy. Although the energy contained in heat is not destroyed, it has become unavailable for producing work. All forms of energy are degraded incessantly and irreversibly to an inferior, lower-quality, more-randomized form of energy: Heat.

By the same principle, the solar energy that pours out of the furnace of the sun travels on and on until it eventually becomes scattered throughout the universe: It becomes so randomized that it becomes unusable for the performance of work. Therefore, we must stipulate that entropy, as a measure of the randomness of energy in the universe, is always increasing.

The question arises, what will happen when all the usable energy in the universe is converted into randomized heat energy and is no longer capable of performing such work as expanding the universe. We refer to this condition as the Heat Death of the Universe: Once all the energy in the universe is converted to and randomized as heat, then the universe will be in a state of energy equilibrium, everything will be of the same temperature and entropy will remain constant. This is where science gets more complicated and involves the microwave background radiation consisting of photons near, but not quite at, absolute Zero. Scientists have recently detected this microwave background radiation and have thus confirmed the connectivity between Thermodynamics and Quantum Mechanics.

Before we go on to some practical manifestations of entropy, we need to be aware of a very important characteristic of entropy: The Laws of Thermodynamics pertain only to a system that we refer to as a closed system: An entity that does not exchange energy, information or mass with anything outside the system. The universe in its totality is a closed system because no new energy is injected into it. Therefore, all laws of Thermodynamics apply to the universe. Earth is not a closed system because our sun constantly injects it with new energy. This infusion of energy into the non-closed system of the earth makes it possible to comply with the Second Law while achieving an increase in the complexity of life forms, as necessitated by the process of evolution.

The laws of thermodynamics are among the very few laws of nature that describe phenomena that are an integral part of the origin of the universe, of the Big Bang. The other laws in this category are gravity, relativity, nuclear binding forces and electromagnetism. Human beings need not concern themselves with the effects of relativity or quantum mechanics. However, the phenomena of thermodynamics constantly and profoundly affect all human beings.

If there are any laws that have truly universal applicability and that also affect ordinary human affairs, they are the Laws of Thermodynamics. The following statement contains the essence of Entropy: In any transformation of energy from one form to another, useful energy is lost irreversibly. The German physicist Clausius first used the term Entropy in 1865 to describe the nature of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Even great physicists of that period, like James Maxwell, had trouble with a concept involving only negatives and dealing with the idea of measuring a state of disorder. Today we can condense the statement of Entropy by stating: Entropy in a closed system can never decrease. There are no exceptions to this statement.

The Second Law decrees that water can only flow downhill. Objects do not run uphill by themselves. If we wish to have water run uphill, we must supply outside energy to pump it up the hill.

A clock gradually runs down because the latent energy in its spring is used to run the clock and part of this energy is converted to irretrievable heat. Because the heat cannot be reconstituted into usable energy, this energy is lost irretrievably and the clock cannot rewind itself.

Even in the most complex energy transformations, there is a forward direction to the process because only an outside energy source can reverse a heat-process within a closed system. The burning of gasoline in a car creates mechanical energy and heat. However, no process in the universe will allow the exhaust gases to re-combine with the heat energy and reconstitute the original gasoline: The heat energy of the burning gasoline has achieved a higher and irreversible state of randomization: The entropy of the system, and the universe, is irreversibly increased, as required by the Second Law.

The close relationship of entropy to the statistical laws of probability becomes clear when we hold a stack of five coins in a hand and throw them on a flat surface. Instead of retaining their previous order and proximity, they scatter and increase their randomness. The fall of the coins generated and dissipated the tiniest little bit of heat and the lack of this heat prevented the coins from reforming in the same stack as before. Entropy always drives all transformation of energy in such a way as to increase irreversible randomness.

Ice must have a tendency to melt because H2O molecules in ice crystals are more orderly than in the form of water. Ice crystals tend to become randomized by changing from orderly ice crystals to a more disorderly state as a liquid.

Water must evaporate: A gaseous structure is more randomized than a liquid state.

Time can only flow in one direction: The arrow of time can only move from the dead past to the non-existing future. The Second Law is closely interwoven with the laws of probability. Therefore, the laws of entropy are statistical laws. If we apply statistical laws applicable to entropy to future events, they provide meaningful results; if we apply them to past events, they are meaningless. Therefore, time can flow only from the dead past toward the future, which does not yet exist. Time travel will always remain impossible: It is inherently impossible to move from one state of non-existence to other states of non-existence. The Second Law decrees that the universe would have to cease to exist in order to allow for time-travel.

The laws of thermodynamics are the descriptors of the universe and do not permit perpetual motion machines. We would only waste our time and money if we were to attempt building a machine that not only can run forever, but that could even produce excess energy while doing so.

Heat flows from a hot object to a cold object, never the other way around. When we drop a hot peace of metal in a container of cold water, the metal cools and the water heats up until their temperatures have equalized. During this process the entropy, the randomness of the system consisting of the water and the metal, increases and no further useful work can be performed because there is no longer a temperature differential between the water and the metal: The system has become randomized.

This manifestation of the Second Law can be stated quite simply: Heat energy will not flow from a cooler to a warmer body. It would be foolish to try to warm our hands on a block of ice although there is considerable heat in the ice. If we compare the heat of ice with the heat of liquid hydrogen, ice would appear to be very hot, indeed. It would be easy to build a machine that runs on the heat differential between the cold block of ice and the much colder liquid hydrogen. However, since the heat in the ice is at a much lower level than the heat in our body, heat cannot flow from the ice to our hands. We cannot warm our hands by immersing them in ice. We have always known this fact. Now we know why we cannot warm our hand by touching a block of ice.

Bridges and buildings will inevitably collapse, unless entropy is counteracted by the addition of new energy, such as money, energy, power or labor, to the system. If we do not paint the bridge, it will eventually, but inevitably, collapse.

Money is not energy but it represents energy. Therefore, money becomes randomized automatically, in compliance with the Second Law. As we only know too well, money has a distinct tendency to dissipate, to randomize. On the other hand, the creation of wealth requires an infusion of energy from a source outside the system, such as a competent strategy or the contribution of additional capital or labor.

We know empirically, that things do not organize themselves into artifacts that are more complex unless new energy is inserted from outside the system. This fact is obvious because a broken window will not repair itself. Without competent management, without the energy to organize and structure transactions, a business will fail, a victim of entropy.

Without new software, without the infusion of new energy from outside the computer system, a computer will never acquire new capabilities, but its hard-drive will fill up with defects and clutter due to the degeneration of the data it holds. A well known fact.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics is closely interwoven with the future of the universe and with all life on earth. Sometimes people say that the existence of life on earth violates or contradicts the Second Law. However, this is not the case; we know of nothing in the universe that violates the Second Law.

The definition of life revolves around three prerequisites: The organism must be able to replicate itself, the organism must be capable of energy conversion and the organism must be subject to evolution. The essence of evolution is an increase in complexity, as is obvious when we consider the evolution of living organisms over eons of time.

An increase in complexity entails an increase in the orderliness of the organizational character of the organism: Life represents a decrease of entropy, a decrease of randomness. Such a decrease in randomization can only come about as a result of an infusion of energy from the outside of the closed system, from the outside of the organism. Therefore, the ability to utilize energy by converting it to a usable form, is the essence of all things that we call alive or living. In the case of life on earth, the outside energy is derived from the sun. No sunlight, no life on earth.

This is the chain of life on earth: No energy, no evolution. -- No evolution, no life -- No energy, no life

The discussion of energy is significant, because nothing happens in the universe without energy. The whole universe is a cauldron of energy conversions. As far as human beings are concerned, we need to remember that the standard of living of a person or a nation is determined primarily by the availability of usable energy sources, such as oil or nuclear energy. Without sources of energy to turn our wheels and to compensate for entropy, humanity would revert to the primeval existence of hunters and gatherers.

Many people have trouble understanding the principle of entropy because it is a concept of negatives, because it is a measure of the disorder, of the randomness of a closed system. Every biochemical function requires a decrease in entropy, which can only be achieved by the infusion of energy into a life-sustaining system.

Many people erroneously believe that everything that we use up can be recycled and reused if we only develop the appropriate technology. However, the Second Law makes it inherently impossible to achieve complete reconstitution or recycling. In order to recycle a used product, we must insert additional energy in the collecting, transportation and reprocessing of used materials and this energy expenditure contributes to the overall entropy, the randomness, of the environment. Thus, discards can be recycled only by the expenditure of additional energy and at the expense of increasing the entropy of the universe as a whole. On a light note: Every time someone lights a cigarette, he increases the entropy of the universe and contributes to the energy death of the universe.

Why is this discussion of entropy and the Second Law so important to us, to ordinary human beings? After all, most of us are more concerned with living a happy life, than the heat death of the universe. The problem is that the Second Law has a tendency to interfere with our happiness because it has a pervasive, pernicious effect on our lives. It is imperative that we are aware of the impairments caused by entropy in order to counteract them effectively.

If we encounter a problem in life, it is most important to be fully cognizant of the precise nature and cause of the problem. In trying to resolve the problem, it would be counter-productive to invoke the help of imagined superior beings, instead of dealing with the problem in a realistic, purposeful manner. Unless we understand the nature of entropy, we cannot resolve the deleterious effects that make it difficult to achieve desired results. Therefore, a profound knowledge of the Second Law is extremely important to our quest for happiness.

"Murphy's Law" is well known. After allowing for many humorous embellishments and variations on the basic theme, Mr. Murphy’s proposition states: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." A corollary version claims: "Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse".

We laugh about this aspect of life because we have all experienced the effect of Mr. Murphy's Law on many occasions. Rather than recognize Murphy's Law as a humorous version of a basic law of nature, we usually look upon it as a quirk of nature. Nothing could be further from the truth: When we look at the Second Law of Thermodynamics, we realize that Mr. Murphy's law is an inescapable consequence of the principle of Entropy.

Unless we constantly insert new energy into a house by maintaining it, painting it, repairing it, the structure will eventually but inevitably be leveled to the ground. Its molecules will move from a lower level of randomization, from structure, to a higher level of randomization, towards unstructured debris.

Entropy is the reason why paint peels, why hot coffee turns cold. Furthermore, entropy is the reason why investments have a preordained inclination to go sour -- unless we enhance success by inserting into the investment system additional energy in the form of strategy, work, calculated risk or other forms of energy. Entropy ensures that sugar, which becomes more randomized when it is dissolved in water, will not reconstitute itself in the crystalline form -- unless we apply heat energy from outside the system and evaporate the water.

Wherever we look, whatever we do, we must be acutely aware of the immutable laws of thermodynamics, especially the easily overlooked Second Law: Entropy. This fundamental law of physics ranks with other fundamental manifestations of the universe such as gravity, time and electromagnetism.

Anything that can go wrong not only will go wrong, it must go wrong, as decreed by the Second Law of Thermodynamics

www.rationality.net/entropy.htm

Replicating a photo that I had taken 14 years before. The world has changed a bit since then ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckingham_Palace

Probably my favorite colored turn out

//sooc

Cathedral Sq. Christchurch July 25, 2013, New Zealand.

A lobby group fighting to save ChristChurch Cathedral from demolition has lost its legal battle.

The Court of Appeal has today upheld a High Court decision which means that the Church Property Trust (CPT) can continue its partial deconstruction of the Cathedral.

Following the extensive damage from the Canterbury quakes, CPT decided to partially demolish the cathedral for safety reasons.

However, the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust (GCBT) has challenged the lawfulness of the CPT's decision in two court cases.

Today, the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the High Court's decision.

"The practical effect of this decision is that the CPT is able to deconstruct the Cathedral for the purpose of building a new cathedral, and the new cathedral need not replicate the original Cathedral," the decision states.

Following the decision, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said he was hopeful that opponents of the demolition will take today's decision on the chin, and move on.

He added that he thinks the city as a whole needs to move forward and the future of the square plays a key role in this.

Now, CPT can proceed with its deconstruction of the cathedral.

"We are very grateful that the Court of Appeal took the time and effort to give us such a clear decision," said Bishop Victoria Matthews.

However, the Bishop told ONE News that locals should not expect to see demolition begin just yet.

The Great Christchurch Building Trust is not conceding defeat just yet.

"No, [it is] not the end, because look the truth is we were only one player here. I know there are other people lined up that've got other means of fighting this decision other than the one we've taken," the GCBT's Jim Anderton said.

"There's also the issue of the historic places trust. This is a category one building," he said.

Mr Anderton will announce whether or not he is sticking around for another fight within the next fortnight.

Taken from: tvnz.co.nz/national-news/battle-save-christchurch-cathedr...

More info in the sq: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_Square,_Christchurch

hopefully not repeating history

Replicating a late 1950's photo of how tight Ranelagh Bridge Service Depot was, here a couple of GW's Express Loco's are squeezed in between the Sub Station on the right, with the Mews to the left.

Towering over it all is GW's Records Office.

In OO gauge I've had to truncate it's width but it slides in nicely to finish off that corner.

The fire escape was made using 'H' section plastic strip coupled with the cut down step sections from an ancient Hornby Footbridge I bought at a rail show. Unfortunately, the hand rails from the kit won't work as they are made from a 'poly' type plastic that won't take superglue, so it's back to the drawing board until I find another option

"Replicate"

I seldom shoot reflection when shooting landscapes but when I saw this picturesque view, I quickly decided to set up my gears and shoot.

This is a replica of Cathedral Parish of St. Joseph and can be found inside Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan. The original church is standing still at Balanga, Bataan.

Bagac , Bataan

November | 2016

Taken using Fujifilm XT-10 and Fujinon XC 16-50mm

Mounted on Manfrotto 055V tripod

#LasCasasFilipinasDeAcuzar #Bagac #Balanga #Bataan #Tourism #Travel #Landscapes #Photography #EverydayPhilippines #PhilippineTourism #BataanTourism #Fujifilm #FujifilmPh #Xpph #mirrorlessrevolution #Manfrotto #BlueHour

Roster shots of locomotives only get you so far when you're researching details and paint schemes. This overhead view of BN 2519 shows how the top edge of the white nose stripe on the GN's Big Sky Blue paint job actually rolled over the top of the nose on EMD 2nd generation power. The white paint wasn't on the flat of the nose. Just the long radius of the bend between the vertical and horizontal surfaces of the nose assembly. Now go back and look at my model paint job again of BN 2519. Whichever side you're viewing, you can't see the white paint on top of the nose on the opposite side. But it sure came close to being on top of the nose. As a custom painter I was able to replicate this rather exactly. Most modern models that are factory painted tend to get this wrong. Maybe these images will help future production efforts.

Our animated android named Rogg replicated a bottle of coco using the replicator behind him. Rogg misunderstands double meanings of words from Earth. He is a co-co-host of the talk show airing on television in 14 U.S. Cities/Markets with Star Trek news and Interviews. This segment was an animated portion shot to use Rogg in the Ambassadors quarters, while the live action talk show hosts are on the bridge.

A screenshot from the live action TV talk show "A Captain's Log" in the 16th episode. Designed in Winter 2022 by Ian H. Stewart.

IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt14728224/

Trying to replicate Rurouni Kenshin pose using my recently-paint-built Perfect Grade Gundam Kit.

Picture shot with Nikon D80 with Tamron Macro Lense

For this model I have sought to replicate the Lego Creator Classic Pickup as is - rather than morph it into a particular vehicle brand. For the basis of the pickup, I used my early 1950s Ford F1 model as a basis.

The Ford F1 was the first in a long line of best-sellers in the segment for Ford Motor Company, having replaced the pre-War truck models with a much more sophisticated and comfortable vehicle.

When I first designed the Base Ford F1 vehicle, more than a decade ago, I was broadly unfamiliar with the vehicle proportions (you don't see many driving around these days). For this significant update of the model, I have included a much taller cabin and windshield, along with more sculpting of the front fenders and hood. The Lego model also featured squarer rear fenders as well.

This scale does not permit the usage of the (rather clever) lift in/out wooden tray extenders, bu t I have sought to achieve a similar (but slimmer) effect with 3mm circular rods and some of the new end connectors.

I am also quite pleased with the outcome of the design of the front grille at the smaller scale, particularly as the official set executes this (generic) part of the truck very effectively.

Generative pattern

which one to choose for the ANSH group pool- duckies or sprinkles?? oddly enough i think not the duckies.

ANSH scavenger4 "Replicate 1 0 0 by using objects" (bonus)

the bonus ducky pic for today ~grin~

124/365 aDaD "a duck a day" day112

the whole aDaD album is here:

www.flickr.com/photos/muffett68/albums/72157709771680081

Replicating the other side of the model after solving one side is easy to build. Attaching it? A half hour.

Replicating Red Necks

Despite its chilling temperatures, the Arctic tundra is a hotbed of reproduction. Many avian species, like the Red-necked Phalarope seen flying across frigid waters, seem oblivious to the cold, and, in fact, fly from potentially warmer waters to the Alaskan tundra to breed each summer season. For many, it is the only time that they spend significant time on land. Many pass the winter months out at sea and out of sight for most humans. It’s a wet and chilling concept for landlubbers like us, but is it the norm for these animals. The effects of global warming and Arctic drilling have yet to be determined. Most certainly, oil spills could spell disaster for some species that depend upon finite areas for their reproduction. Spills in the Arctic would be almost impossible to clean up, leading to death and destruction on epic scales. Perhaps we need to temper our red necked ways when it comes to exploring for petroleum in vital areas of the globe. #RedNeckedPhalarope

It was not my intention here to replicate an actual member of the Malcolm Group fleet, but I did become aware of the existence of similar vehicle during the production of this image. The rear body is different and there are subtle differences in the lettering but I am pleased with the overall similarity. And, of course, it has ensured the credibility of the final product.

This is my second collaboration with Dutch photographer Martin Vonk, who provided the base image of a Dutch-registered vehicle. Further versions are in preparation in alternative liveries (15-Mar-14)

See my WH Malcolm Group set here:

www.flickr.com/photos/northernblue109/sets/72157644051857...

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All rights reserved. Follow the link below for terms and conditions, additional information about my work; and to request work from me. I cannot undertake to respond to requests, or to queries of a general nature, which are posted as comments under individual images

www.flickr.com/photos/northernblue109/6046035749/in/set-7...

replicating "Vermeer's Girl With The Pearl Earring" with tape.

The original - I am not sure why I find these symettry images so personally satisfying - my brain must be wierd

My attempt to replicate the most-produced fully tracked armoured German fighting vehicle during World War II. Commonly known as the StuG III, it started its career as mobile assault gun but quickly revealed itself as an excellent tank destroyer.

This StuG III Ausf. G is an early production model and this can be seen by the gun mantlet shape and the absence of machine gun on top of the roof.

My model is inspired by the various existing models (BrickMania, Custom-Bricks...). Stickers are from BKM and CB, tracks are from CB. Minifig is from BKM.

This gorgeous bacterial polysome was recently published in Cell. You can think of it as a 9-head programmable nanofabricator.

The ribosome reads the digital code of mRNA and manufactures most of what we care about in our bodies from a sequential concatenation of amino acids into proteins. The ribosome is a wonderful existence proof of the power and robustness of molecular machines. It is roughly 20nm on a side and consists of only 99 thousand atoms.

The numbered ribosomes are shown tightly bound to a single mRNA strand at the core, with each mRNA making its own protein. The two major subunits of each ribosome are blue and yellow. The nascent protein chains being cranked out in close proximity to each other are green and red.

The researchers conclude: “this arrangement maximizes the distance between nascent chains on adjacent ribosomes, thereby reducing the probability of intermolecular interactions that would give rise to aggregation and limit productive folding.”

To me it looks like hyperbolic crochet. (I’ll post a comparison image below)

…a mesmerizing image to behold during the Synthetic Genomics board meeting today. Another example of perceiving beauty in the accumulated complexity of simple iterative algorithms… like a 3D cellular automata from Wolfram or a hyperbolic coral reef.

Replicating Batman from the 90s cartoon is a bit more difficult than you'd think because of his colors. I mean, sometimes his cape and cowl are black, sometimes they have dark blue highlights. The inside lining of his cape is definably blue, though. This pic shows the weirdness of his colors. So, would this minifig here make the best BTAS Batman, or should it just stay all blue?

Replicated the linen suit that I made for my Iplehouse SID for Kingdom Doll Nelson.

hopefully not repeating history

Replication of the scene from ALIEN (1979). Might make a good Wallpaper.

After successfully replicating a LUT that I liked from another image processing program, I realized it might work well on some photos I took last May around the Perigord Noir region of France.

From a message shared with a friend here on Flickr -

RawTherapee is free - rawtherapee.com/

You'll need to add Pat David's HaldCLUT film emulation collection - rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Film_Simulation

Relatedly, if you already use the Gimp (see: www.gimp.org/ ) their most recent versions include 32bit floating-point color-space precision settings. I've been waiting 18 years for this (which is why I went with RawTherapee some years back as it was built to have a large color space to work in).

To get film emulation and some other interesting LUTs into the Gimp, check out G'Mic - patdavid.net/2013/08/film-emulation-presets-in-gmic-gimp/

G'Mic site - gmic.eu/

Presenting my LEGO Architecture interpretation of Caerphilly Castle; a commissioned model for Cadw with Little Big Art.

I’ve captured and replicated the architectural essence of Caerphilly Castle, such as the iconic leaning tower and the ruins across the landmark.

The structure is designed to provide a true-to-life colour and relative scale depiction adding an extra dimension and feel of authenticity to this detailed recreation of Wales’ biggest castle!

Highlights

-Blogged On BBC.co.uk:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-37185546

-Blogged On ITV.com:

www.itv.com/news/wales/2016-08-25/how-you-can-help-caerph...

-Blogged On WalesOnline.co.uk:

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/what-caerphilly-cas...

-LEGO Ideas:

ideas.lego.com/projects/150517

hopefully not repeating history

In replicating this fifth-gen stealth fighter, I was aiming for:

– Smooth: nearly studless in form.

– Integrated: packing in a host of features.

– Fresh: incorporating new pieces and techniques.

and of course, purist! (at least, for now; I may experiment with designing some Marine Corps liveries on waterslide decals for mere aesthetic decoration that denotes the squadron affiliation…)

The 1:40 scale replica includes:

– Opening cockpit that holds pilot, control panel, and joystick

– Hidden weapon bays in fuselage for stealth missions

– Optional exterior loadout for air-to-ground attacks

– Retracting landing gear that supports the model

– Opening flaps, rotating fan blades, and tilting vector nozzle for VTOL

– Stable Technic display stand and brick-built name plaque.

This is the first MOC I’ve finished in about five years (during which I completed my university degree, got my full-time career job, moved out, got married, and a few other things), after working on it off-and-on for at least three years. [The real-life aircraft has suffered from its own extensive delays in design / production, so I guess it could be worse where my LEGO one is concerned. XD]

A big thank-you to everyone who has inspired me along the way, including special acknowledgements to AFOL friends like the Chiles family and Eli Willsea for helping rekindle my joy in the hobby; Brickmania, for showing me a few new hinge techniques that I incorporated during these last few months of the design process; and especially my lovely wife Natalie who, bless her heart, has allowed the dining room of our tiny apartment to serve as my building studio and encouraged me to use it more often as such!

Let me know what you guys think!