Creationism | EPFL Graph Search

Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. In its broadest sense, creationism includes a continuum of religious views, which vary in their acceptance or rejection of scientific explanations such as evolution that describe the origin and development of natural phenomena. The term creationism most often refers to belief in special creation; the claim that the universe and lifeforms were created as they exist today by divine action, and that the only true explanations are those which are compatible with a Christian fundamentalist literal interpretation of the creation myth found in the Bible's Genesis creation narrative. Since the 1970s, the most common form of this has been Young Earth creationism which posits special creation of the universe and lifeforms within the last 10,000 years on the basis of flood geology, and promotes pseudoscientifi

Création d'une structure d'accueil pour le site paléontologique de Courtedoux (JU)

Fanny Chariatte

Il y a 150 millions d'années le plateau de Courtedoux (Jura-Suisse) ressemblait à une vaste plage des Bahamas sur laquelle dinosaures bipèdes et quadrupèdes se côtoyaient. Le sable y était fin, la mer chaude et le climat tropical. Grâce à la réunion de ces éléments géologique et climatique, les sédiments se sont rapidement asséchés permettant une bonne conservation des traces. Aujourd'hui, suite aux travaux de construction de l'autoroute A16 dite Transjurane, un nombre très important de ces fossiles et de ces traces de dinosaures ont été dégagés le long du tracé. Afin de valoriser ces découvertes d'importance mondiale, le projet propose la création d'une structure d'accueil. Elle offre, d'une part, la possibilité de recevoir les scientifiques et d'autre part d'accueillir les classes et le grand public. Les laboratoires, bureaux, mais aussi les espaces d'accueil, d'exposition et d'information sont réunis dans un même volume. Les scientifiques et les néophytes ont ainsi l'opportunité de partager les mêmes lieux et d'échanger au sujet de nouvelles découvertes. Sur ce large plateau, traces du passé et traces contemporaines se frôlent. Le projet va donc à leur rencontre et les met en scène de manière à ce que le visiteur perçoive la richesse de ce qui l'entoure. Fossiles, traces, agriculture, autoroute, nature autant de termes qui vont guider le visiteur au fil d'un parcours de découverte à travers le temps…

2009

A Third Way Alternative; Critical Assessments from the Model of the Yugoslav City

Jana Konstantinova

This dissertation aims to demonstrate the development, meaning and significance of cultural infrastructure in the cities of Skopje, Belgrade and Sarajevo (1945-1991). In the historic context, culture became the fundamental critical tool with which to yield a vivid cultural scene, and it coincides with the emergence of remarkable cultural artefacts - including 'the right architecture'. The thesis recognizes a common (Yugoslav) Creative Model behind this âmovementâ, which stimulated and anticipated the emergence of the elements that eventually form the cultural artefacts. For the purpose of studying the strengths and weaknesses of the model, the exercise investigates the extensive body of cultural creations which emerged through the model. As such, the thesis highlights the flow of creativity, and the particular understanding of creativity as a âlife qualityâ in support of the theoretical concept of balance which emerged in the local context - striving for equilibrium between the man-made, the human (civic) and the natural environment. The aims of the research are threefold. Firstly, to understand the objectives on which the model is created; secondly, to reposition the object â cultural artefact â as a departure point of analysis of the model; and thirdly, to analyze the evolution of the cultural infrastructure in the environments to trace the transformations of the model. To that end an analysis of the entire cultural creation of the epoch has been carried out in relation with the specific interest of the thesis. The exercises are conducted by drawing from the primary data sets (the press: both architectural and cultural magazines) and the secondary sets of data (original documents and testimonials with the protagonists: wider cultural milieu). Bridging the epistemological gap in the academic discourse, exemplifying the selected cities not as isolated case studies but in comparative synthesis, the thesis positions these rich cultural, spatial and social qualities (collected in the form of a critical archive) and their common Creative Model as the possibility to depart from the neo-liberal paradigm still affecting regions globally and to re-imagine our own current models for human settlements in ways more open to people, nature and culture.

EPFL2021

Etude par STM de la déposition d'agrégats d'or sur TiO2 et mesure de l'émission électronique secondaire induite par l'impact d'agrégats sur une surface

Pierre Convers

This thesis work focuses on impact and diffusion processes as well as equilibrium positions of a metal deposited on a surface. The metal is deposited in the form of clusters containing n atoms in a controlled way. Gold or silver clusters cations (Au+n and Ag+n ) are used. Their size (n ∈ [1, 9]), charge state and deposition energy (E = 10 - 4500 eV) are well defined. The surface being at room temperature during the deposition, can be annealed and transferred in a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) after deposition. The variable temperature microscope was developed during this thesis. The approach of the tip is carried out by an axial motor, which renders the microscope very stable. The first part of this work treats of the evolution of gold deposited on a TiO2(110) surface. Position and size of gold islands created by cluster or atomic depositions are determined by STM. Compared to atomic deposition at the same energy (10 < E < 100 eV), the cluster deposition produces smaller islands with a large islands density after annealing at 800 K. Regardless the deposition conditions, gold atoms diffuse on the surface already at 300 K. The impact energy is the key parameter to reduce the diffusion by cluster or atomic implantation or defect creation. Upon a high energy deposition, part of the deposited gold is invisible to the STM. The fate of these gold atoms is unclear : they are either buried under the surface or ejected in vacuum at the impact. The control of the islands size should permit the creation of a stable system with an optimum catalytic activity (i. e. CO combustion). Research groups have shown that this activity is strongly influenced by the islands size. It is equal to zero if the diameter is greater than 5 nm. The second part of this work is devoted to the electron emission γ induced by the impact of silver clusters Ag+n on a Pt and HOPG surface. Measurements are made by varying the impact energy (and so the speed v) of size-selected clusters on a defined surface. Impact velocity ranges from 104 to 105 m/s, which is lower than the classical threshold. Nevertheless every cluster size produces an electron emission. A potential emission (γ(v=0) ≠ 0) is observed for the monomer on both surfaces, which is caused by excited ions in a metastable state. The γ(v) curves are increasing, and no mesurable oscillation are observed. This does not confirm earlier work by Meiwes-Broer et al. These authors found oscillations in γ on similar systems relating them to the electronic structure of the clusters and the surface. A model based on heating of the electron gas is developed. This model gives good agreements with the γ(v) curves. The electronic temperature is estimated to 3000-8000 K. Similar behavior on both surfaces (Pt and HOPG) depending of the cluster size is shown. This behavior is probably related to the geometrical structure of the clusters. Finally, a more pronounced molecular effect is observed for the HOPG : the number of electrons emitted by the impact of a Ag+n is up to 7 times higher than the number of electrons emitted by impacts of n independent atoms. This value is smaller than 2 for the Pt surface.