Be Honest Beyond Reproach
Even a person who has a reputation for honesty should be careful to avoid doing things that might give others the impression that he is dishonest.
Rabbi Yehuda Leib Chasman once gave a large sum of charity money to a student to distribute. Noticing that the student did not count the money right away, Rabbi Chasman wanted to teach him an important lesson, so he purposely handed over a lesser sum.
The student soon rushed back, upset that some of the money was missing. Rabbi Chasman revealed to the student that he purposely gave him less money so he would learn to be more careful in the future.
Love Yehuda Lave
Thanks to Stationary Engine Magazine, I've found out that some researchers at Birmingham University have been making tiny petrol engines to form power packs for portable electric devices or power micro vehicles and robots.
"General hydrocarbon fuels have an energy density over 100 times more than current batteries. Microengines are designed to convert the chemical energy of hydrocarbon fuels either to mechanical energy to drive microdevices, such as micro air vehicles and microrobots, or to electric energy by driving a micropower generator to produce electricity. The micropower plant can be used to power portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers, PDA and mobile phones"
The microengine research at Birmingham started in 1999 and the first phase of the project was funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council. The scientists have worked on issues such as the fabrication process, ensuring high precision, handling the high temperatures using ceramic meterials and determining the minimum size for a combustion chamber.
They have produced a few engine designs including a single piston reciprocating engine and a micro Wankel engine. They have also made advancements in UV-lithography which could be useful for lots of different types of Microelectromechanical systems.
Other Universities are doing similar research and Berkley has also been working on a MEMS rotary IC engine and also a mini engine which could generate up to 100W.
Even a person who has a reputation for honesty should be careful to avoid doing things that might give others the impression that he is dishonest.
Rabbi Yehuda Leib Chasman once gave a large sum of charity money to a student to distribute. Noticing that the student did not count the money right away, Rabbi Chasman wanted to teach him an important lesson, so he purposely handed over a lesser sum.
The student soon rushed back, upset that some of the money was missing. Rabbi Chasman revealed to the student that he purposely gave him less money so he would learn to be more careful in the future.
Love Yehuda Lave
Micro Engines
"General hydrocarbon fuels have an energy density over 100 times more than current batteries. Microengines are designed to convert the chemical energy of hydrocarbon fuels either to mechanical energy to drive microdevices, such as micro air vehicles and microrobots, or to electric energy by driving a micropower generator to produce electricity. The micropower plant can be used to power portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers, PDA and mobile phones"
The microengine research at Birmingham started in 1999 and the first phase of the project was funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council. The scientists have worked on issues such as the fabrication process, ensuring high precision, handling the high temperatures using ceramic meterials and determining the minimum size for a combustion chamber.
They have produced a few engine designs including a single piston reciprocating engine and a micro Wankel engine. They have also made advancements in UV-lithography which could be useful for lots of different types of Microelectromechanical systems.
Other Universities are doing similar research and Berkley has also been working on a MEMS rotary IC engine and also a mini engine which could generate up to 100W.
Rabbi Sprecher on Evolution
Is There Conflict Between Evolution And Judaism?
The Torah and science are completely compatible. Judaism insists that this world is not the result of an accident or blind chance but the result of a purposeful Act of Creation. Once the principle of Divine Creation is accepted Judaism allows much latitude in belief as to how the creation was effected.
There is no religious objection to the acceptance of the Theory of Evolution provided it is agreed that each stage in the evolutionary process was brought about by G-d.
Rabbi Ovadia Seforno states that the creation of Adam was the end of a long process, which began with an animal that gradually evolved until this creature was given the G-dly soul and received the image of G-d.
Rav Kook explains that just as the Nation of Israel evolved spiritually from 49 levels of impurity to 49 levels of purity, so too did G-d use evolution in the physical process of creation. The gematria - numerical value - of the word teva (nature) equals G-d.
There are remarkable similarities between the account of the Creation as given in Genesis and the Theory of Evolution.
First, light was created, then the firmament, followed by sea, land and vegetation. The creation of the Heavenly bodies was followed by fish and birds, and then by land animals. Only finally, as the culmination of G-d's work, was man created.
Indeed, the Bible's description of the Creation in a natural progression points to its Divine origin, because no mortal at the time of Moses could have known that modern geologists also believe that plants and water-based animals were the first to be created.
The Ramban on Genesis 2:7 writes about the guided evolution of life from inert matter to Adam. He also says the six "days" of creation in the Biblical account were six periods or stages of creation. In any case, the length of the first three days before the creation of the sun must have been different in length from our measurement of time by the sun.
"A thousand or even a million years are in G-d's sight as only one day" (Psalms 90:4). What is suggested by the six "days" is that the time of Creation, however long in itself, was insignificant to the Eternal.
The traditional Jewish method of reckoning years from the Creation of the World appears, at first sight, to be a difficulty. No scientist would accept that the world was created only 5768 years ago. However, if the Hebrew date is reckoned from the end of creation of the sixth day, when fully developed man was created, the difficulty disappears. Science would agree that man as we know him is not older than some 6,000 years.
The Bible does not deny that man developed from the ape, but it does deny that man is a soulless simian. Science has yet to explain how man, who developed from the ape, became endowed with speech, mind, soul, and personality, how he has a feeling for the higher things in life - religion, morality and ethics.
Nor is there a single factor that can explain the birth of life or of natural evolution. Science explains given matter, how the world functions.
However, the Torah explains why the world was created - to live in it, in accordance with the Divine Will.
There is no conflict between science and religion. Science reveals a world charged with G-d's grandeur. The more our scientific knowledge increases the more will we be able to appreciate the marvels, and wonders of G-d's Creation.
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