Plato's design systems that reduce the apparent irregularities in the Essay

Plato's design systems that reduce the apparent irregularities in the motions of the planets to regular motions in perfectly re - Essay Example Plato's later dialogues abound in mathematical allegories. Timaeus begins with a very long one, Statesman contains a short one, the Republic has three, and both Critias and Laws are permeated with them from beginning to end. When Plato died in 347 B.C. his pupils and friends immediately began to argue about these mathematical constructions and about Plato's purpose in using them for models of souls, cities, and the planetary system. By the beginning of the Christian era much of Plato's mathematics had become a riddle. Many rivals clamored for recognition as the â€Å"single harmony† Socrates heard from the planets.1 A certain number which he confidently proclaimed â€Å"sovereign† in political theory was labelled â€Å"numero Platonis obscurius† by Cicero (c. 100 A.D.), with the hearty concurrence of later scholars; an interpretation which Nicomachus promised at about this time was either lost or never written. By the fifth century A.D., Proclus, one of the last to head the Platonic Academy, could not pretend to understand Plato's arithmetic, although he was astute enough to label as spurious a then popular interpretation of the Timaeus â€Å"World-Soul.† Down through history Plato's mathematical allegories defied Platonists either to reconstruct his arithmetic or to find in it the implications he claimed for it. In 1937 Francis Cornford, concluded that the difficulties which arise in abstracting a planetary system from Plato's musical arithmetic in Timaeus were due to a metal â€Å"armillary sphere† which the Academy possessed. â€Å"Plato probably had it before him as he wrote.†5 In 1945, in his translation of the Republic, Cornford not only omitted â€Å"the extremely obscure description† of Socrates' â€Å"sovereign number,† but he also allowed himself to â€Å"simplify the text† of the tyrant's allegory. The theoretical cosmic psychologies proposed by Plato found practical application in the wo rk of Claudius Ptolemy. Ptolemy has a claim to being the most influential of classical astronomers on account of the respect with which his encyclopaedic work on mathematical astronomy, the Syntaxis, or Almagest. While the Almagest, is usually the centre of attention when Ptolemy's astronomy is examined, if his cosmology is to be understood on its own terms, its purpose cannot be understood independently of two of his other works, the Harmonics and the Tetrabiblos, in both of which he raised the soul's relationship with the stars. Ptolemy his work in two phases, the first was concerned with the measurement of celestial positions and the second with the measurement of their effects which was foundations of western astrology. Those effects might be felt in the natural world but also in the psychological, the realm of the soul. Ptolemy's psychological astronomy can be divided into two forms, the contemplative and the analytical. Kepler was also influenced by Plato's Ideas. He used Plat o's regular solids to describe planetary motion. He assigned the cube to Saturn, the tetrahedron to Jupiter, the dodecahedron to Mars, the icosahedron to Venus, and the octahedron to Mercury. He is remembered in the history of sciences for his three planetary laws. Kepler's first law abolishes the old axiom of the circular orbits of the planets. The second law breaks with another axiom of traditional astronomy, according to which the

Manufacturing Systems Theory Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Manufacturing Systems Theory - Lab Report Example Normally, this department employs vendor management system in order to maximize its value to the firm by dealing and controlling with suppliers. Just-in-time management system is also utilized in-order to manage inventory and minimize costs. The transformation process is the process of converting input materials into finish products and services needed by the customers. It has several subsystems that work hand-in-hand, with overlapping functions and continuous roles. These subsystems are planning, sourcing, manufacturing and logistics. The transformation process involves different systems in manufacturing. The component systems include sourcing, planning, manufacturing and logistics. The planning and development of products is an essential element for transformation. The inputs for planning include customer requirements and technical information. The information is converted through production planning and schedules using a material resource planning system. The outputs of the department are efficient use of resources, finished product and safer work environment. The manufacturing process is the core process of transformation. The inputs of manufacturing include the raw materials, people, equipments and energy. These inputs are utilized in producing goods, operating the plant and processing materials. The outputs of manufacturing are the finished goods, final assembly or end product that meets the objectives of department and the requirements of the customers. Just-in-time system, lean manufacturing system and flexible manufacturing systems are employed in modern manufacturing firms in order to be effective, efficient and responsive to the demands of the markets. Logistics is a system of warehousing and distribution of finish products intended for the customers. The inputs of logistics are the finish products that are packed and ready for the customers. The transformation process includes the management of the distribution system and allocation of shipment activities. The output is the finished products delivered to the customers, on-time and as required. Total quality management is system of measurements, analysis and improvements. Quality management system is important for the continual improvement of business processes employed in the organization. The system converts information gathered during every processes of manufacturing into analysis and recommendations that are necessary for improvements. Quality management systems may include six sigma practices, business process re-engineering, kaizen and ISO quality systems. Management involves planning, leading, organizing and controlling the whole organization and all the business processes of the firm. The inputs of management include the reports and analysis that are produced in the total quality management system. It is the responsibility of management to utilize the reports and analysis in order to allocate resources, create business strategies and forecast market demands in order for the organization to generate competitive advantage as well as sustain the existence of the business. Corporate and business strategies are the outputs of management. Marketing is another output of management that is focused on the acquisition of new customers and maintenance of existing ones. The inputs of marketing are the