Coal is a readily combustible black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. It is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly sulfur, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.

Coal was formed from layer upon layer of annual plant remains accumulating slowly that were protected from biodegradation by usually acidic covering waters that gave a natural antiseptic effect combating microorganisms and then later mud deposits protecting against oxidization in the widespread shallow seas — mainly during the Carboniferous period — thus trapping atmospheric carbon in the ground in immense peat bogs that eventually were covered over and deeply buried by sediments under which they metamorphosed into coal. In this manner, over time, the chemical and physical properties of the plant remains (believed to mainly have been fern-like species antedating more modern plant and tree species) were changed by geological action to create a solid material.

Coal was used in Britain during the Bronze Age, where it has been detected as forming part of the composition of funeral pyres. The earliest recognized use is from the Shenyang area 4000 BC where Neolithic inhabitants had begun carving ornaments from black lignite, but it was not until the Han Dynasty that coal was also used for fuel. In Roman Britain, with the exception of two modern fields, the Romans were exploiting coals in all the major coalfields in England and Wales by the end of the second century AD. Evidence of trade in coal has been found at the inland port of Heronbridge, where coal from the Midlands was transported via the Car Dyke for use in drying grain. Evidence of coal’s use for iron-working in the city during the Roman period has been found.

It is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide, as well as one of the largest worldwide sources of carbon dioxide emissions. Gross carbon dioxide emissions from coal usage are slightly more than those from petroleum and about double the amount from natural gas. Coal is extracted from the ground by mining, either underground or in open pits.

Coal is the official state mineral of Kentucky and the official state rock of Utah. Both U.S. states have a historic link to coal mining. Some cultures uphold that children who misbehave will receive only a lump of coal from Santa Claus for Christmas in their stockings instead of presents. It is also customary and lucky in Scotland to give coal as a gift on New Year’s Day. It happens as part of First-Footing and represents warmth for the year to come.

In traditional Chinese culture, qi (or “chi”)  is an active principle forming part of any living thing. It is frequently translated as energy flow, and is often compared to Western notions of vitalism as well as the yogic notion of prana. The literal translation is “air” or “breath”. The earliest way of writing qi consisted of three wavy lines, used to represent one’s breath seen on a cold day.

Theories of traditional Chinese medicine assert that the body has natural patterns of qi that circulate in channels called meridians. Symptoms of various illnesses are often believed to be the product of disrupted, blocked, or unbalanced qi movement  through the body’s meridians, as well as deficiencies or imbalances of qi in the various organs. Traditional Chinese medicine often seeks to relieve these imbalances by adjusting the circulation of qi in the body using a variety of therapeutic techniques. Some of these techniques include herbal medicines, special diets, physical training regimens, massage to clear blockages, and acupuncture.

It has been hypothesized that the alleged therapeutic effects of acupuncture can be explained by endorphin-release, by relaxation or by simple placebo effects. The NIH Consensus Statement on acupuncture in 1997 noted that concepts such as qi “are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture.”

More recent investigations point to connective tissue mechanotransduction, in other words a domino effect caused by the specific twisting and knotting of the fabric of the body. The connections with electric conductivity were studied in the United States in the late 19th Century, and are currently the subject of more active research.

There are many uses of the term “qi” in acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, but it’s an imprecise concept of which the best, non-poetic translation is probably “stuff”.

The traditional Chinese art of geomancy, the placement and arrangement of space called feng shui, is based on calculating the balance of qi. The retention or dissipation of qi is believed to affect the health, wealth, energy level, luck and many other aspects of the occupants of the space. Color, shape and the physical location of each item in a space affects the flow of qi by slowing it down, redirecting it or accelerating it, which directly affects the energy level of the occupants. Feng shui is said to be a form of qi divination.

Honey is created by bees as a food source. In cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use their stored honey as their source of energy. By contriving for bee swarms to nest in artificial hives, people have been able to semi-domesticate the insects, and harvest excess honey. In the hive there are three types of bee: a single female queen bee, a seasonally variable number of male drone bees to fertilize new queens, and some 20,000 to 40,000 female worker bees.

The worker bees raise larvae and collect the nectar that will become honey in the hive. Leaving the hive, they collect sugar-rich flower nectar and return. In the process, they release pheromones. These pheromones lead other bees to rich nectar sites by “smell”. Honeybees also release pheromones at the entrance to the hive, which enables returning bees to return to the proper hive.

In the hive the bees use their “honey stomachs” to ingest and regurgitate the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested. The bees work together as a group with the regurgitation and digestion until the product reaches a desired quality. It is then stored in honeycomb cells. After the final regurgitation, the honeycomb is left unsealed. However, the nectar is still high in both water content and natural yeasts which, unchecked, would cause the sugars in the nectar to ferment.

The process continues as bees inside the hive fan their wings, creating a strong draft across the honeycomb which enhances evaporation of much of the water from the nectar. This reduction in water content raises the sugar concentration and prevents fermentation. Ripe honey, as removed from the hive by a beekeeper, has a long shelf life and will not ferment if properly sealed.

Honey use and production has a long and varied history. In many cultures, honey has associations that go beyond its use as a food. Honey is frequently a talisman and symbol of sweetness. Eva Crane’s The Archaeology of Beekeeping states that humans began hunting for honey at least 10,000 years ago. She evidences this with a cave painting in Valencia, Spain. The painting is a Mesolithic rock painting, showing two female honey-hunters collecting honey and honeycomb from a wild bee hive. The two women are depicted in the nude, carrying baskets, and using a long wobbly ladder in order to reach the wild nest.

In Ancient Egypt, honey was used to sweeten cakes and biscuits, and was used in many other dishes. Ancient Egyptian peoples also used honey for embalming the dead. In the Roman Empire, honey was possibly used instead of gold to pay taxes. Pliny the Elder devotes considerable space in his book Naturalis Historia to the bee and honey, and its many uses. The fertility god of Egypt, Min, was offered honey. In some parts of post-classical Greece, like Rhodes, it was formerly the custom for a bride to dip her fingers in honey and make the sign of the cross before entering her new home.

In Jewish tradition, honey is a symbol for the new year, Rosh Hashana. At the traditional meal for that holiday, apple slices are dipped in honey and eaten to bring a sweet new year. Some Rosh Hashana greetings show honey and an apple, symbolizing the feast. In some congregations, small straws of honey are given out to usher in the new year.

In Buddhism, honey plays an important role in the festival of Madhu Purnima, celebrated by Buddhists in India and Bangladesh. The day commemorates Buddha’s making peace among his disciples by retreating into the wilderness. The legend has it that while he was there, a monkey brought him honey to eat. On Madhu Purnima, Buddhists remember this act by giving honey to monks. The monkey’s gift is frequently depicted in Buddhist art.

The word “honey”, along with variations like “honey bun” and the abbreviation “hon”, has become a term of endearment in most of the English-speaking world. In some places it is used for loved ones. in others, such as the American South, it is used when addressing casual acquaintances or even strangers.

In many children’s books bears are depicted as eating honey, even though most bears actually eat a wide variety of foods, and bears seen at beehives are usually more interested in bee larvae than honey. In some European languages the word for bear is coined from the noun which means honey and the verb which means to eat (Croatian ‘medvjed’). Honey is sometimes sold in bear-shaped jars or squeeze bottles.

Vitalism is a doctrine which states that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle distinct from biochemical reactions. Where vitalism explicitly invokes a vital principle, that element is often referred to as the energy which some equate with the soul.

It has a long history in medical philosophies. Most traditional healing practices posited that disease was the result of some imbalance in the vital energies which distinguish living from non-living matter. In the Western tradition founded by Hippocrates, these vital forces were associated with the four temperaments and humours. Eastern traditions posited similar forces such as qi and prana. Vitalistic thinking has also been identified in the naive biological theories of children.

The notion that bodily functions are due to a vitalistic principle existing in all living creatures has roots going back at least to ancient Egypt. While vitalist ideas have been commonplace in traditional medicine, attempts to construct workable scientific models date from the 1600s, when it was argued that matter existed in two radically different forms, observable by their behavior with regard to heat. These two forms of matter were termed organic and inorganic. Inorganic matter could be melted, but could also be restored to its former condition by removing the heat. Organic compounds disintegrated when heated, transforming into new forms that could not be restored to the original. It was argued that the essential difference between the two forms of matter was the vital force, present only in organic material.

Aided by the development of the microscope in the Netherlands in the early 1600s, the germ theory of disease eventually challenged the role of vitalism in Western medicine. The cellular composition of the organs of human anatomy and the ensuing molecular analysis of the maintenance of life slowly became better understood, reducing the need to explain things in terms of mystical vital forces.

While contemporary conventional medicine has distanced itself from the less reductionistic and more vitalistic approach of traditional medicine, some areas of complementary medicine continue to espouse various forms of vitalistic concept and worldview, such as alternative medical systems or systems of therapy and practice.

The therapies that continue to be most intimately associated with vitalism are bioenergetic medicines in the category of energy therapies. This field may be further divided into bioelectromagnetic medicines and biofield therapies. Compared with bioenergetic medicines, biofield therapies have a stronger identity with vitalism. Examples of biofield therapies include therapeutic touch, Reiki, external qi and chakra healing. Biofield therapies are medical treatments in which the subtle energy field of a patient is manipulated by a biofield practitioner. The subtle energy is held to exist beyond the electromagnetic energy that is produced by the heart and brain.

Fluorescence is a luminescence that is mostly found as an optical phenomenon. The term fluorescence was coined by George Gabriel Stokes in a 1852 paper. The name was given as a description of the essence of the mineral fluorite, composed of calcium fluoride, which gave a visible emission when illuminated with UV radiation.

The common fluorescent tube relies on fluorescence. Inside the glass tube is a partial vacuum and a small amount of mercury. An electric discharge in the tube causes the mercury atoms to emit light. The emitted light is in the ultraviolet range, is invisible, and is harmful to most living organisms. The tube is lined with a coating of a fluorescent material, called the phosphor, which absorbs the ultraviolet and re-emits visible light.

All plants, algae, and cyanobacteria are naturally fluorescent, since chlorophyll a is fluorescent. Some flowers also contain other more visibly fluorescent pigments like betaxanthins, increasing visibility to pollinators.

Plants have also been genetically modified to fluoresce. There are many types of green fluorescent proteins that absorb and emit at different wavelengths. This enables the production of many differently labeled fluorescent molecules in a single plant.

Plant fluorescence is being found to be highly useful for the University of Florida and the NASA staff. These individuals are working together to learn more about the planet Mars. These scientists and engineers have chosen the Arabidopsis mustard plant to go to Mars, for many reasons.

Reporter genes have been added to this plant to glow for different environmental stressors. These stressors include temperature, drought, disease, metal content in the soil and peroxides. Each stressor will glow at a different wavelength that will be monitored. By doing such an experiment more will be learned about the environment on Mars in order to modify plant life to be able to survive there.

Crude oil (petroleum) fluoresces in a range of colors, from dull brown for heavy oils and tars through to bright yellowish and bluish white for very light oils and condensates. This phenomenon is used in oil exploration drilling to identify very small amounts of oil in drill cuttings and core samples.

Polarity therapy is a synthesis of ancient Eastern and alternative medicine health care ideas, centered on the concept of a human energy field. Using touch, verbal interaction, exercise, nutrition and other methods, practitioners of polarity therapy seek to balance and restore the natural flow of energy which flows from the universe and into the body. The aim is to re-establish balance. In addition to polarity bodywork, specific polarity yoga exercises, positive thinking, and nutritional recommendations enhance vitality.

Practitioners of polarity therapy use a subtle, invisible and intangible energetic system as the substrate for all phenomena. According to proponents, if the energetic flow is corrected and restored to its original design, the form will follow. Further, they claim that blockages in the flow of energy lead to pain and disease, or are experienced as stuck emotions and lack of vitality. They claim that this is similar to the measurable and quantifiable electromagnetic bond between electron and proton that forms atoms.

Polarity therapists work with the complementary or polarized forces, which they describe with the traditional Chinese words yin and yang. Although the concept of polarity implies two forces in opposition, these dualities are said by some to be mediated by a subtle third neutral factor, leading to the idea that phenomena are essentially triune in nature.

They claim expertise in energetic anatomy and work with energetic patterns similar to acupuncture meridians and marma points. The Caduseus, representative of the ida and pingala, is another aspect of the system that is thought to be manipulated during certain types of polarity treatments. Various esoteric energetic patterns are traced on the body, allegedly to integrate consciousness and fully connect various part of the being.

Polarity therapy is often connected with other forms of alternative medicine, such as Oriental medicine, Ayurveda, craniosacral therapy and osteopathy, which all claim to explore the subtle energetic factors in health conditions from their particular cultural viewpoints. Many chiropractic, osteopathic, and cranial manipulations and naturopathic perspectives and techniques are explored.

Research and testing on polarity therapy has been carried out primarily by advocates or practitioners, and most evidence is anecdotal. There is no scientific evidence for the efficacy of the technique or its underlying ideas. Proponents such as Gary Schwartz claim their ideas about a human energy field to be validated by other believers in the paranormal.

The Sun is a yellow dwarf star at the center of our Solar System. Energy from the Sun, in the form of sunlight, supports almost all life on Earth and regulates the Earth’s climate and weather.

Sunlight is Earth’s primary source of energy. Photosynthesis by plants captures the energy of sunlight and converts it to chemical form, while direct heating or electrical conversion by solar cells are used by solar power equipment to generate electricity or to do other useful work. The energy stored in petroleum and other fossil fuels was originally converted from sunlight by photosynthesis in the distant past.

Humanity’s most fundamental understanding of the Sun is as the luminous disk in the sky, whose presence above the horizon creates day and whose absence causes night. In many prehistoric and ancient cultures, the Sun was thought to be a solar deity or other supernatural phenomenon.

Worship of the Sun was central to civilizations such as the Inca of South America and the Aztecs of what is now Mexico. Many ancient monuments were constructed with solar phenomena in mind. Stone megaliths accurately mark the summer or winter solstice. Some of the most prominent megaliths are located in Nabta Playa in Egypt and at Stonehenge in England. The pyramid of El Castillo in Mexico is designed to cast shadows in the shape of serpents climbing the pyramid at the vernal and autumn equinoxes.

During the Roman era the winter solstice was a holiday celebrated as Sol Invictus which is an antecedent to Christmas. With respect to the fixed stars, the Sun appears from Earth to revolve once a year along the ecliptic through the zodiac, and so Greek astronomers considered it to be one of the seven planets, after which the seven days of the week are named in some languages.

Ultraviolet light from the Sun has antiseptic properties and can be used to sanitize tools and water. It also causes sunburn, and has other medical effects such as the production of Vitamin D. Ultraviolet light is strongly attenuated by Earth’s ozone layer, so that the amount of UV varies greatly with latitude and has been partially responsible for many biological adaptations, including variations in human skin color in different regions of the globe.

Observed from Earth, the Sun’s path across the sky varies throughout the year. While the most obvious variation in the Sun’s apparent position through the year is a north south swing over 47 degrees of angle, there is an east west component as well, caused by the acceleration of the Earth as it approaches its perihelion with the Sun, and the reduction in the Earth’s speed as it moves away to approach its aphelion. The north south swing in apparent angle is the main source of seasons on Earth.

A rare optical phenomenon may occur shortly after sunset or before sunrise, known as a green flash. The flash is caused by light from the sun just below the horizon being bent, usually through a temperature inversion, towards the observer. Light of shorter wavelengths, such as violet, blue and green, is bent more than that of the longer wavelengths yellow, orange and red, but the violet and blue light is scattered more, leaving light that is perceived as green.

Sunlight is very bright, and looking directly at the Sun with the naked eye for brief periods can be painful, but is not particularly hazardous for normal eyes. Looking directly at the Sun causes visual artifacts and temporary partial blindness. Long-duration viewing of the direct Sun with the naked eye can begin to cause sunburn-like lesions on the retina after about 100 seconds, particularly under conditions where the light from the Sun is intense and well focused.

Partial solar eclipses are hazardous to view because the eye’s pupil is not adapted to the unusually high visual contrast. The pupil dilates according to the total amount of light in the field of view, not by the brightest object in the field. In the overall gloom, the pupil expands, and each retinal cell exposed to the solar image receives about ten times more light than it would looking at the non-eclipsed Sun. This can damage or kill those cells, resulting in small permanent blind spots for the viewer.

The Calla Lily is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa from South Africa north to Malawi. The flower serves as a symbol of Easter and signifies purity and hope, especially the white lily. There are many legends that are related to the flower, and in Roman mythology it is associated with Juno, a daughter of Saturn.

They are rhizomatous perennial plants growing to 2-3 feet tall with a white flower shaped like a funnel with a yellow central spadix. All Calla Lillies produce large, showy flowers and are often grown both as ornamental plants and for cut flowers. Some of its relatives of the plant can survive minimum winter temperatures below zero

Many plants in the family are heat producing. Their flowers can reach up to 100 degrees F even when the surrounding air temperature is much lower. One reason for this unusually high temperature is to attract insects to pollinate the plant, rewarding them with heat energy. Another reason is to prevent tissue damage in cold regions. The eastern skunk cabbage is a related species in the family that also produces heat as well as odor. This is to attract flies to pollinate the plant. The heat produced by the plant helps to convey the scent further.

All species are endemic to Southern Africa. It grows naturally in marshy areas and is only deciduous when water becomes scarce. It grows continuously when watered and fed regularly. The Calla Lily is a very strong and sturdy plant, being able to grow in many soils and habitats, multiplying by rhizome offsets. It is naturalised and regarded as a weed throughout much of the world.

The reason behind the use of lily in the festival of Easter is that it represents purity and it is for this reason it is associated with mother Mary. During the tradition of Easter the Calla Lily is used to honour the resurrection of Jesus and it is for this reason that churches are decorated with white lilies. Lilies also serve as a gift during the festival. It has often been used in many paintings, and is visible in many of Diego Rivera’s works of art.

The species are very poisonous, capable of killing livestock and children. All parts of the plant are toxic, and produce skin rashes. Irritation and swelling of the mouth and throat, acute vomiting and diarrhea occur when it is injested.