Reply to Nathan: How to reconstruct the causal argument

Nicholas Nathan tries to resist the current version of the causal argument for sense-data in two ways. First he suggests that, on what he considers to be the correct re-construction of the argument, it equivocates on the sense of proximate cause. Second he defends a form of disjunctivism, by claiming that there might be an extra mechanism involved in producing veridical hallucination, that is not present in perception. I argue that Nathan’s reconstruction of the argument is not the appropriate one, and that, properly interpreted, the argument does not equivocate on proximate cause. Furthermore, I claim that his postulation of a modified mechanism for hallucinations is implausibly ad hoc.     

Sub-bundles of the complexified tangent bundle

We study embeddings of complex vector bundles, especially line bundles, in the complexification of the tangent bundle of a manifold. The aim is to understand implications of properties of interest in partial differential equations.

     

Bases,spanning sets,and the axiom of choice

Two theorems are proved: First that the statement “there exists a field F such that for every vector space over F, every generating set contains a basis” implies the axiom of choice. This generalizes theorems of Halpern, Blass, and Keremedis. Secondly, we prove that the assertion that every vector space over ?₂ has a basis implies that every well‐ordered collection of two‐element sets has a choice function. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Triple quadrupole mass spectrometry as applied to flame diagnostics: study of the C2H4/N2O/Ar flame

A recently developed research apparatus for characterization of low-pressure premixed flames has been developed and was used to characterize the C₂H₄/N₂O/Ar flame at 20 torr. This instrument incorporates several diagnostic techniques in one apparatus so that individual techniques can be quantitatively compared and the usable detection range (both in terms of resolution and species detection) expanded. Results discussed in this report include mass analysis by triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and temperature measurement by thermocouple. Concentration profiles in the one-dimensional flame include CO, N₂, and C₂H₄, at nominal m/z 28 as well as CO₂ and N₂O at m/z 44.     

Performance and analysis of saddle point preconditioners for the discrete steady-state Navier-Stokes equations

Summary. We examine the convergence characteristics of iterative methods based on a new preconditioning operator for solving the linear systems arising from discretization and linearization of the steady-state Navier-Stokes equations. With a combination of analytic and empirical results, we study the effects of fundamental parameters on convergence. We demonstrate that the preconditioned problem has an eigenvalue distribution consisting of a tightly clustered set together with a small number of outliers. The structure of these distributions is independent of the discretization mesh size, but the cardinality of the set of outliers increases slowly as the viscosity becomes smaller. These characteristics are directly correlated with the convergence properties of iterative solvers. Received August 5, 2000 / Published online June 20, 2001     

Spectroscopic studies of new model compounds for poly[N,N′-bis(phenoxyphenyl)pyromellitimide]

New model compounds for poly[N,N′-bis(phenoxyphenyl)pyromellitimide] have been synthesized in order to investigate the formation of imine bonds which are proposed to form during the curing process and lead to crosslinking in the bulk polymer. Raman studies show that terminal amines can react with imide carbonyls during curing to form C?N bonds. The Raman band due to C?N appears at 1656 cm^?1 and the band due to C?O closest to the imine bond is observed at 1742 cm^?1. These results are in agreement with previously published results on vapor deposited polyimide films.