The Confederacy of Independent Systems was first shown in Attack of the Clones. This movement, led by chancellor Palpatine, gained support and soon had support from thousands of solar systems. The Galactic Republic feared that a war would begin. Count Dooku and the Separatist leaders were getting ready for a war. Nute Gunray, leader of the Trade Federation, gave thousands of battle droids to the Separatist army. Other leaders, such as Poggle the Lesser and San Hill, gave money and droids to the Separatist cause. On the planet Geonosis, Count Dooku met with the leaders of powerful companies. Count Dooku gave his offer and the Confederacy of Independent Systems was formed. The Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi overheard the meeting and sent a warning to the Republic. The Republic sent a newly created clone army to fight the battle droids. This battle on Geonosis began the Clone Wars. The Geonosian Archduke Poggle the Lesser gives the plans of a new weapon to Count Dooku. Count Dooku leaves the planet and goes to Coruscant. He gives the plans to Darth Sidious as well as telling him that the war has begun.
During the Clone Wars, fighting between the Republic and the Separatists continued. Jedi were sent to help the clone armies overcome their enemies. The droid armies fought to hold more planets in its grip. For three years the fighting took place across the Galaxy. The Separatists gained several new allies during the Clone Wars. After the death of Jango Fett on Geonosis, a new bounty hunter named Durge took his place. Count Dooku found a woman named Asajj Ventress who was powerful in the Force. Asajj Ventress proved to be a powerful commander in the Separatist army. A new leader of the Separatists rose at this time. General Grievous was half droid and half alien. He was trained in lightsaber combat by Count Dooku and became feared by Jedi throughout the Galaxy. One of the final and most daring attacks on the Republic came when General Grievous led a large fleet of starships to Coruscant to capture Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is taken from Coruscant and put on the starship "The Invisible Hand". The Battle of Coruscant is fought both on the ground and in space. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker get on "The Invisible Hand" and rescue Palpatine. During this rescue, Anakin kills Count Dooku. General Grievous escapes and the Separatist forces are defeated. General Grievous, now the leader of the CIS, goes to Utapau to talk to the leaders of the businesses. Grievous is told by Darth Sidious to move the leaders to Mustafar. Droid armies' attack on Kashyyyk and Utapau. Obi-Wan Kenobi kills General Grievous on Utapau. Nute Gunray becomes the leader after both the deaths of Count Dooku and General Grievous. The new Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, was sent to Mustafar to kill the leaders. After he finished this job, all droid forces were stopped. This marked the end of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the beginning of the Galactic Empire.
Hedone
Hedone in Greek mythology (which the Romans called Voluptas) was the daughter of Eros and Psyche. She was seen as the personification of lust.
Psyche (psychology)
The psyche is the human mind, conscious and unconscious. The word has a long history, going back to the ancient Greek philosophers such as Heraclitus and Plato.
It was used in older psychology and philosophy as meaning the source or cause of human nature. It is not a scientific term, but the word "psychology" is derived from it. The English word soul was sometimes used synonymously in older texts.
In modern times the word is used as a synonym of mind.
Lamellibrachia
Lamellibrachia is a genus of "cold seep tube worms". These are related to giant tube worms. They live on the floor of the oceans, near cold seeps. There crude oil and methane leak out of the ocean floor.
The worm forms a symbiosis with certain bacteria which can oxidise sulphides. The worm provides the bacteria with hydrogen sulphide and oxygen. It does this by taking them up from the environment and binding them to a haemoglobin molecule. In return, the bacteria feed the worm. The worms can grow to a length of about 3 metres.
Together, they form a 'biogenic habitat' by creating groups of hundreds or thousands of individuals. Living in these aggregations are over a hundred different species of organism, many of which are found only at these seeps.
Cold seeps and hydrothermal vents are the only known communities that do not rely on photosynthesis for food and energy production. Unlike hydrothermal vents, which are short-lived environments, cold seeps leak oil and gas slowly. Probably because of the cooler temperatures and stability, many cold seep organisms are much longer-lived than those inhabiting hydrothermal vents. These worm grow very slowly, but can reach lengths of over 10 feet (3 metres). This means individuals may live over 250 years.
Giant tube worm
The giant tube worm ("Riftia pachyptila") is an annelid. They live on the floor of the oceans (mainly Pacific Ocean), usually near black smokers, a type of hydrothermal vent. They can tolerate extremely high temperatures and levels of sulfur. They live in symbiosis with certain bacteria. The bacteria enter the mouth of a young tube worm, but when the worm gets older its mouth and gut seal up, trapping the bacteria forever. These bacteria are fed with sulfur compounds and oxygen. The bacteria then turn these compounds into organic molecules on which the host worms feed.
Trans-Siberian railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway or Trans-Siberian Railroad is a set of railways that goes from Moscow and European Russia to the Russian Far East provinces, Mongolia, China and the Sea of Japan.
Because Russia is such a big country, travel from one end and the other is an important problem. In the 1890s, the Russians began building the longest railway in the world to connect Moscow to the Pacific Ocean. Before the railway was built, the trip took about a year along very rough roads. One reason for building the "Trans-Sib" was military: to transport troops to the East in order to protect the country against Japan and China. Another reason was to transport food from the farming areas of south-western Siberia to the people in the European part of Russia. Many cities and industries are built up along the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway. In 1900, it connected with the West Siberian Railway.
Nuclear reaction
A nuclear reaction is a process involving an atomic nucleus or more than one nucleus. The most common kinds are
In the case of radioactivity the reaction is . Fission and fusion can be done on purpose, to release energy. This energy can then be used for different things, for example to make steam (as in a nuclear power plant). It can also be used as energy for a bomb.
In the example figure Li fuses with deuterium. This makes Beryllium which then decays into two alpha particles.
Nuclear reactions occur in the sun, in nuclear reactors, in particle accelerators, and in outer space. Other than radioactive decay, very few nuclear reactions occur on earth except in these special places. Nuclear reactors use nuclear reactions to make heat and electricity. Accelerators sometimes cause nuclear reactions to make radioactive materials. Particles from outer space cause nuclear reactions in earth's atmosphere that make air slightly radioactive.
Nuclear reactions differ from chemical reactions in that they do not need a catalyst. Radioactive decay also cannot be stopped, sped up or slowed down.
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican church in the City of London. The original version was built by Mellitus in 604 AD. He was Bishop of the East Saxons.
In 962 and 1087, the cathedral burnt down and was built again. Before today's version of the cathedral, there were four others. The earlier ones burnt down.