grammar - Meaning of くる in 鼻の奥まで染みこんでくる

独特の臭いだな。鼻の奥まで染みこんでくるぞ。

穴から水が溢れてくる

水槽に手を入れると舐め回してくる人なつっこいホトケドジョウ

てくる is something I've never really seen a clear and comprehensive explanation of the different uses and what they mean. They all just focus on the difference between the meanings and not going into depth about them.

Taking http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/64270/meaning/m1u/%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8B/ definitions

1) 少しずつ移行したり、程度が進んだりして、しだいにその状態になる
Indicates gradual change
e.g. 最近太ってきた

2) ある動作・状態が前から続いている
A certain action or situation has continued from the past
e.g. 俺はこの国を守ってきた

3) ある動作をしてもとに戻る。…しに行って帰る

To do something and return
e.g. ちょっとビール買ってくる

4) ある動作・状態をそのまま続けながら、こちらへ近づく
To describe a motion coming towards the speaker.
e.g. 先生が歩いてくる

In the examples above what 'meaning' does くる represent?

Answer

Please read this question first: Difference between -ていく and -てくる

Particularly, Flaw's answer there is the most relevant. Your example sentences all correspond to the definition 「4) こちらへ近づく」, but note that this 近づく does not always refer to the physical movement of something. Very frequently, this くる is used when something is moving toward the speaker psychologically.

In your examples, we can probably say the 臭い and the 水 are actually coming to the speaker physically, but the more important implication is "the 臭い/水 is going to involve me." In the ホトケドジョウ's example, its physical movement is not necessarily important, but "the ホトケドジョウ is going to interact with me" is the important nuance of that くる.

To take another example, 友達が私に話しかけて来た is a common expression, and this can be used even when the friend had been next to the speaker for an hour. On the other hand, 友達が私に話しかけた would usually sound unnatural because it sounds as if the speaker were impersonally describing someone else's affairs.

orthography - Reduction of the diphthong "ou" to "ō" in Middle and Modern Japanese

I noticed that in the word 子牛 both "o" and "u" are pronounced while in the word 格子 there is a long "ō" and they are, respectively, written in rōmaji (Hepburn romanization) koushi and kōshi. What I'd like to ask you is if: 1) in Middle Japanese the diphthong "ou" was reduced to "ō" only when the two vowels were part of the same syllable (like in 格子) 2) the reduction happened only in kango and waseigo or it happened also in some yamato kotoba

Answer

No, coalescence also occurs between syllables, and even involving vowels from different morphemes. In fact it's not clear whether /ou/ was even a diphthong to being with; it's quite possible that it only ever existed as a hiatus. In modern Tokyo Japanese probably only /ai/, /oi/ and /ui/ are actual diphthongs (every vowel sequence ending in -u needs another syllable for it; they coalesce nonetheless).

No, it happened throughout the entire lexicon. Primitive Japanese had no sequential vowels, so yamato-kotoba examples aren't as plentiful as kango; but some vowel sequences did emerge later, and among them, /ou/ did coalesce into /o:/. For example, *saso-pu → saso-u → sasō.

Notice that /au/ also coalesced into /o:/, so that /au/ and /ou/ merged. Diphthongs in /-i/, by contrast, were resistant and survived to this day. So hayau → hayō but hayai → hayai.

Regarding questions raised in the comment thread:

Consider:

• Conclusive (終止形) suffix -u: saso-u /saso:/


• Adjectival suffix -u: samuk-aro-u /samukaro:/


• 御宇 gyo-u /gyo:/


• 如雨露 jo-u-ro /Zo:ro/

By contrast:

• 子牛 ko-usi /kousi/


• 小唄 ko-uta /kouta/


• 壇ノ浦 dan-no-ura /daNnoura/


• 選挙運動 senkyo-undō /seNkjoundo:/


• 左顧右眄 sako-uben /sakouben/

For the purposes of coalescence, compound words (words made of two free words) count as "different words". So a word like usi or uta won't lose its u-, but a bound suffix might.

Notice that this is consistent with other forms of coalescence in Japanese. So au > ō regardless of whether it was found in native Japanese or Sinitic words, and across morpheme boundaries (haya-u → hayō), but not across word boundaries (matu-ga-ura ­→ matu-ga-ura). Even other sound changes behave similarly; 買ひ → ka-wi → ka-i (cross-morpheme lenition) vs. 朝日 → asa-hi (no cross-word lenition).

The final -u doesn't coalesce: /ko:u/, /do:u/. However, the previous /o:/ is already long, so they wouldn't coalesce anyway (/o::/ isn't a legal coda).

From the above, it seems like not (except indirectly, insofar as diphthongs are rare in yamato-kotoba and free-word compounds are plentiful).

Sources:

• Kubozono, Diphthongs and vowel coalescence (in: The Handbook of Japanese Phonetics and Phonology)


• Kenkyūsha's Japanese-English dictionary, for pronunciation guides.

korban - Why must Chata'os Ha-meisos be treated so harshly?

There are certain cases in which an animal designated for a sin offering (Chat'as) could not be brought in the Temple, but was required to be killed ("חטאות המתות"), according to some opinions, by starvation. This seems like it conflicts with the Torah's notion of not causing "tza'ar ba'alei chayyim", excessive pain to animals. How can we reconcile this?

Answer

Tzaar baalei chayim is usually measured by the ratio of animal pain to human gain. I guess the gain is considered high/necessary enough here?

The Noda BiHudah says directly killing the animal in any normal sort of way, e.g. deer hunting, is not considered tzaar baalei chayim per se. But yes, starvation is more problematic.

hashkafah philosophy - What is "Beyt Shamai/Beyt Hilel" for citing Mishnayot?

This question is intended to clarify D.S'.question - how-can-bet-shamai-argue-on-shamai:

1. 
   
   

   What exactly is called "Beyt Shammay/Hillel"? We don't find this term with other great Rabbis, such as R' Akiva's 24K students are not called Beyt R"A or Beyt Rabbi in terms of Mishnayos in their names. (We do find in the Gemmorah discussions in different Shuls like "תנא דבי ר ישמעאל" or "תנא דבי אליהו" etc.).

   
   


2. 
   

   If a statement is made in the name of B"H or B"S, ממה נפשך, if they followed their Rabbi the Mishnah should say "Hillel says" or "Shammay says", but if they contradicted their Rabbi's view, it should not be mentioned in their Bayt's name, but in their particular originator's. How this can be explained?

   
   

halacha - No Blessing on marital relations?

Yebamoth 61b discusses the positive commandment of being fruitful and multiplying. As far as I am aware, one makes no blessing before intercourse. why not?

Please cite sources!

Answer

The Maggid Ta'alumos to the Rif on Maseches Berachos, daf 35a (25a in pages of the Rif) says that we do not make the blessing because she may not get pregnant and then the mitzvah was not fulfilled. He also addresses that Onah is a negative commandment and therefore has no blessing.

However, he does indicate that the blessings under the Chuppah do constitute a general birkas hamitzvah.

filters - Trivial echo separation

Say we have a signal S, and we composite it with a 0.1-volume 30-sample-delayed version of itself, so:

T(k) = S(k) + 0.1*S(k-30)

How would one rearrange this equation to make S the subject?

i.e given the resultant signal T, and the fact that we know the parameters of the echo (0.1 and 30), how to reproduce the original S?

Answer

The way the signal $T(k)$ is generated is by applying an FIR (finite impulse response) filter to the signal $S(k)$. The transfer function of this FIR filter is

$$H(z)=1+0.1z^{-30}$$

If you want to compensate for such a filter, you need a filter with a transfer function which is the inverse of $H(z)$:

$$G(z)=1/H(z)=\frac{1}{1+0.1z^{-30}}$$

This is a recursive filter with an infinitely long impulse response (IIR). If you filter the signal $T(k)$ with this IIR filter, the result will be $S(k)$.

halacha - Bes El or Bes Kel?

There is at least one city mentioned in Tanach named Bes El, written as two words; that name currently belongs to a city in Israel and a number of synagogues and Reform temples. Does that "El" have the status of a shem (name of God), so that one should replace it (e.g. with "Kel") under certain circumstances (e.g., I think, when writing it on a paper that will be put in the garbage, though consult your rabbi for practical guidance)?

Answer

There is a dispute about it (in connection with writing a Sefer Torah, whether the sofer should declare it holy or not).

R. Elazar Fleckeles (Meleches Hakodesh, Lech Lecha 1) suggests that this depends on an earlier machlokes, recorded in the Yerushalmi (Megillah 1:9) and Maseches Sofrim (5:10), as to whether the name should be written closed-up (ביתאל) or as two words. Since the halachah is that we write it as two words, he says, then the second element should be considered holy. (Although he also cites Birkei Yosef (Yoreh De'ah 276:29) that some soferim have a tradition to consider it non-holy, and so he accepts that such soferim should continue this practice.)

Kesses Hasofer states flatly that it is kodesh, and in Lishkas Hasofer there (note 9) he says that this may be true even according to the opinion that the name is written as ביתאל. (Which, I guess, raises the question, according to him, of names like שמואל.)

On the other hand, Beis Aharon states that it is definitely chol, based on Targum Onkelos, which doesn't translate the name (whereas he usually translates the name א-ל as א-להא).

All of this is as far as writing it in a Sefer Torah. I don't know whether this would also affect how it should be spoken (when not saying a complete pasuk).

halacha - What b'racha do you say on seeing the Aurora Borealis (if any)?

If one is so lucky as to see the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) or its southern equivalent, does one say a b'racha? If so which one? I've heard that oseh ma'aseh v'reishit applies to comets and shooting stars; would the same b'racha apply to an aurora too?

Answer

Aish pathways says

the blessing Oseh Ma’aseh Veraishit is said upon seeing spectacular mountains, deserts, lightning, earthquakes, hurricanes, astronomical phenomena, and impressive bodies of water.

The Wikipedia entry for Aurora is titled “Aurora (astronomy)”.

Thus the bracha Oseh Ma’aseh Veraishit seems right. But CYLOR.

Edit: In the light of the comment from @Double AA, I would suggest a slight modification to the Aish pathways text as follows:

astronomical phenomena which are impressive to the viewer (compare making the blessing only on “mountains and hills in which the greatness of the Creator is evident” of O Ch 228 (3) and Piskei Teshuvos 228 (4) who writes that the condition “in which the greatness of the Creator is evident” will depend on the degree to which the viewer is impressed.)

CYLOR about a really impressive sunrise or sunset!

grammar - What does 辞書形＋といけない mean?

Usually といけない follows ない形 of 辞書形. For example,

• 寝る前に、歯を磨かないといけない。I have to brush my teeth before sleeping.


• 明日までに宿題を出さないといけない。I have to hand in my homework by tomorrow.

Today, I read a new grammar 辞書形＋といけない. I really don't know what this grammar mean. For example,

• 風邪を引くといけないから、暖かい服を着たほうがいい。


• 子供が寂しがるといけないと思って、おもちゃで遊ばせておきました。


• 子供に言い過ぎるといけないと思うが、すぐ口を出してしまう。

The book also provides other but similar meanings for each sentence above as follows.

• ～引いてはから～ is equal to ～引くといけないから～


• ～寂しがってはと思って～ is equal to ～寂しがるといけないと思って～


• ～言い過ぎてはと思うが～ is equal to ～言い過ぎるといけないと思うが～

Any comments and suggestion are appreciated.

Answer

I think that what is important to see here is that the と here is the conditional-と.

• 歯を磨かないと…if you don't brush your teeth


• 風邪を引くと…if you catch a cold

Next step is to understand the いけない part. You can see it as won't go (well) in the meaning of not good.

• 歯を磨かないといけない…if you don't brush your teeth, that'll be not good. (Hence the meaning of: you must brush your teeth.)



• 風邪を引くといけないから、暖かい服を着たほうがいい。…because if you catch a cold it will be no good, you'd better wear a warm piece of clothing. (Hence, you should wear a warm piece of clothing because you don't want to end up catching a cold.)

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Here ては is a shortened version of てはだめだ・てはいけない・てはならない. Again, ては indicates conditional.

So 引いては~から　≒　引いてはいけない　≒　引くといけない

hashkafah philosophy - Is it heresy to read the Bible literally?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in this debate with Richard Dawkins says:

Rabbis in the 10th century laid down the following principle: If a biblical narrative is incompatible with established scientific fact, it is not to be read literally.... And in Judaism we take a strong view on this, and we have now for 2000 years, and we say reading the Bible literally is heresy.

Is this true? Which rabbis said this, and where exactly? Because while I can understand minor details being understood in the context of scientific knowledge, I'm unfamiliar with a principle that would allow one to throw out whole stories that have long been understood as historical, saying they're just symbolic as Rabbi Sacks does with Adam and Eve. Because with that method, as soon as science contradicts the Bible, then the event didn't happen, and that seems (to me) like taking the easy way and making a slightly different new religion every time just because the old one was proven wrong in a detail.

Answer

The term "literal" and its Hebrew or English counter-parts are not terms with hard and fast meanings so any discussion must necessarily be careful to clarify how the terms are being used in the immediate context.

Generally "literal" meaning refers to the apparent meaning that the reader would reasonably be expected to take away from it. This can also be referred to as the "plain" meaning.

Sometimes "literal" is used in contrast to the "plain" meaning to indicate a meaning that would conform strictly to the words being used without regard to the internal or external context which would provide nuance to how they are used. I would tend to use the term "hyper-literal" for this.

In this later category we may find an excellent example of a "literal" or "hyper-literal" reading which would constitute heresy. Terms such as "the hand of God" or the like do not need to be taken as theological statements about God's anatomy, and those who make such an inference run afoul of one of the Rambam's 13 principles of faith (see also Mishneh Torah Yesodei HaTorah 1:8 and Hilchos Teshuvah 3:7).

Generally, however, we have the concept from Chazal that “אֵין מִקְרָא יוֹצֵא מִידֵי פְּשׁוּטוֹ” Scripture doesn't depart from its plain meaning. (Yevamos 24a and elsewhere). While this is a full discussion on its own, with its own limitations, this is a general principle that guided the Gedolei HaRishonim. Along these lines Rav Saadia Gaon wrote, “it is a well known fact that every statement found in the Bible is to be understood in its literal sense.” (Book of Belief and Opinions/Emunos v'Deos 7:2, Rosenblatt, page 265). And the Rambam explained that, “a mere argument in favour of a certain theory is not sufficient reason for rejecting the literal meaning of a Biblical text.” (Guide for the Perplexed II:25, Friedlander). There is precedent for taking interpretive liberties but one must beware of the limitations of both the Rishonim who speak on the matter as well as basic intellectual honesty.

periodic trends - Available orbitals for promotion

I am under the impression that elements from the third period onwards can promote electrons into d orbitals to form hybridised orbitals. Why would an element in the third period promote an electron to the 3d orbital when we learn that 4s orbitals are filled first because they are lower in energy (is it to do with orbital penetration?) Why also can a 2nd period p block element not promote to 3s?

analytical chemistry - If polar non-polar intermolecular forces are stronger, why do polar compounds elute first in GC?

I remembering reading that the interaction between a polar molecule and non-polar molecule is stronger than the interaction between two non-polar molecules.

However, in analytical chemistry classes, we are told that polar molecules elute first in a Gas Chromatograph that has a non-polar column. According to http://www.chem.ucla.edu/~bacher/General/30BL/gc/theory.html

If the polarity of the stationary phase and compound are similar, the retention time increases because the compound interacts stronger with the stationary phase. As a result, polar compounds have long retention times on polar stationary phases and shorter retention times on non-polar columns using the same temperature.

These two concepts seem to conflict. Is there something else that is going on? Shouldn't polar compounds elute last even if the stationary phase is non-polar.

(Also sidenote: most mobile phases in Gas Chromatography are non-polar: helium, argon, or nitrogen)

Answer

I think you're incorrectly remembering something you've been told. People speak of the adage "like-dissolves-like" which really means that polar things interact best with polar things and nonpolar interact best with nonpolar. There are always exceptions and fringe cases, but that adage works pretty well here. Nonpolar molecules interact with other nonpolar molecules pretty much exclusively through dispersion forces. These are the so-called "instantaneous dipoles" you have probably heard of. Polar molecules usually have some way of interacting through dipole-dipole interactions, hydrogen bonding, or simple electrostatics.

Note that the mobile phase, i.e. the carrier gas, does not have a large effect on the retention time in GC, so it really is mostly due to the simplified explanation of intermolecular forces given above.

One might ask why the polar molecules don't also have large dispersion interactions with the stationary phase (they certainly have some), and this is due to two effects. First, polar molecules tend to interact fairly strongly with each other in the gas-phase, and so there is less of an energetic gain for interacting with the stationary phase. This is a problem because interacting with the stationary phase is entropically unfavorable. Second, many polar molecules are smaller than a lot of the nonpolar systems that are studied using GC, and dispersion is correlated with surface area, so the polar molecules tend to have weaker dispersive interactions even ignoring the first point.

minhag - Do we say "Ma Tovu" each time we enter the synagogue?

There is a custom to say the paragraph “מה טובו” on entering the synagogue (see “Avodah Shebelev” Rabbi A Z Sternbuch, 5753, page 18).

The idea (but without the possuk of “Ma Tovu”) is mentioned in Mishnah Berurah just before 46 [1]. Simon 46 is entitled 'הלכות ברכות השחר וכ‏‏‏. From the fact that it is mentioned in this Simon can I assume that it is only to be said in the morning when entering the synagogue, or should it be said every time one enters a synagogue?

Answer

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 151:1, discusses what one should do who needs to enter a synagogue not for prayer or similar purposes. It (and Mishna B'rura and Aruch Hashulchan there) do not say to say "Ma tovu".

Aruch Hashulchan 46:16 seems, a little more explicitly than the Mishna B'rura you cite, to restrict "Ma tovu" to shacharis:

The language of prayer before "Baruch sheamar" is printed in prayer books: When one enters the synagogue, he should say "Ma tovu", "Adon olam", …

Neither Mishna B'rura nor Aruch Hashulchan mentions "Ma tovu" when discussing what one says before mincha (MB 234:6–7; AHS 234:1–2,7) or maariv (MB 236:1, 237:2; AHS 237:1–2).

halacha - Is Abuse of Drugs Asur and if so what is the Isur?

I'm not referring to drugs that harm the body. I am asking about someone who uses opioid pain killers to feel "high" and as a coping mechanism. The route of administration is not dangerous like needles or smoking.

Answer

In my understanding, Mutar and Asur are not dichotomous values of the Halakha, rather it is a long scale ranging from very bad explicit sins to highest levels of Kiddush Hashem.

Depending on person's spiritual level on this scale, all behaviors are valued as either Isur or Heter, relatively to his level. For example, using opioids for recreation for a Torah scholar would fall under Bitul Torah and be seriously Asur, but for one who use it to stay away from adultery or eases keeping Shabbos, that can turn into not only Mutar but almost a Mitzvah.

My point is, that as smoking (or other use) is not an explicit prohibition, it must be seen relatively to one's spiritual level.

halacha - Is getting a tattoo of the Star of David "ironic"?

Amare Stoudemire, a professional basketball player and practicing Jew, has a Star of David tattoo. In an article at ProBasketballTalk, Kurt Helin calls this tattoo "ironic." But he links to a well-researched article that does not clearly define whether or not Star of David tattoos or tattoos in general are in fact banned in Judaism.

What is the current perception of tattoos in Judaism and does that perception change based on the content of the tattoo?

Is Amare's tattoo indeed ironic?

fft - How to find phase difference between 2 signals, one has an unknown function

I have a system that is forced by a sinusoidal function with specific amplitude, phase and frequency ( all these are known ahead of time). I get a deformation of sinusoidal form as well (think of a damped harmonic response), and I would like to find the phase lag. I was advised to use correlation but I don't have the function that produces the response, only gathered data. This what I am doing but honestly I am not confident in my findings:

    y =[] %this is the gathered data, first column is time, second is deformation
    frequency =1000; %Hz,i know this for a fact
    t=y(:,1);        %just getting the time to produce a sine wave for calibrating

    fs =  14*frequency; %this is random, i m just making sure i m above 2*frequency.
    Nfft = fs ;

    sine_wave = 1+sin(2*pi*frequency*t + pi/2);%I need to 1 + for physical reasons


    FFT_sine_wave =fft(sine_wave,Nfft)/Nfft; %FFT of sine_wave
    FFT_Y2 =fft(y(:,2),Nfft)/Nfft;           %FFT of response

    magsine_wave = abs(FFT_sine_wave);       %magnitude of sine_wave
    magY2 = abs(FFT_Y2);                     %magnitude of response

    f=linspace(-fs/2, fs/2, Nfft);           %frequency vector 

   [old_max_sine_wave index_sine_wave] = max(magsine_wave);
   magsine_wave(index_sine_wave) = -Inf;  %getting rid of the DC offset


    [old_max_Y2 index_Y2] = max(magY2);
    magY2(index_Y2) = -Inf;

    [maxAmp_sine_wave index_sine_wave] = max(magsine_wave); %Finding new amplitudes
    [maxAmp_Y2 index_Y2] = max(magY2);

    new_ang = angle(FFT_sine_wave);    %getting the angles of sin wave

    ang_miew = new_ang(8002)*(180/pi)+180 % 8002 is where f = 1000 Hz falls in frequency  

                                          %vector, so i use the index to find angle

    amp_miew = 2*abs(FFT_sine_wave(index_sine_wave)) %this gives me the correct amplitude

     new_angY2 = angle(FFT_Y2)*(180/pi);  %same reasoning as above
     ang_miewY2 = new_angY2(8002)+180

Please help me out, if any of you need the y vector that gives the time and deformation please let me know. I am in dire need of help! Thank you in advance

Medical image dataset

I am doing some project on medical image processing and I need some uncompressed medical images especially magnetic resonance angiography, vessel and so on. I have searched a lot but most of the available images are in JPEG format which is not a suitable format due to its lossy compression. Do you know any free dataset which have uncompressed medical images especially those mentioned?

Answer

The problem you are most likely having is that you need to search for files in the correct format. DICOM is what you need to look for. A few hits:

1. One example


2. A library from a DICOM viewer software producer


3. A library of images from Siemens

You will also need a DICOM viewer.
Image J is free (non-commercial, no restrictions on use) and can be used under Windows, Mac, and Linux - it does require Java.

There are other viewers available, free as well as commercial. Just search for DICOM viewers.

computational chemistry - Structure that breaks InChI

I am currently testing a piece of software that generates the InChI for a given structure. I also want to test error situations as end users will also deliver the mol files that will be used as input for the software.

I have found this description about what the current version of InChI cannot represent (Technical FAQ section 4.15 at inchi-trust.org)

InChI currently does not support the representation of:

• Polymers


• Complex organometallics


• Markush structures


• Mixtures


• Conformers


• Excited state and spin isomers


• Non-local stereochemistry/chirality


• Topological isomers



• Cluster molecules


• Polymorphs


• Unspecific isotopic enrichment


• Reactions

Also, InChI is not suitable for very large compounds; technically, InChI input may not contain more than 1023 atoms.

Please note that there are IUPAC InChI subcommittee working groups currently addressing some of these matters. Details of these efforts can be found at: http://iupac.org/web/ins/802

Unfortunately I am lacking the chemical background to generate a suitable structure as molfile that meets the described features to produce an error as an InChI cannot be generated for it.

Answer

Okay, let's tackle at least one problem here. Consider the rotation of 1,2-dichloroethane (BP86/cc-pVDZ):

These conformational changes can be further rationalised:

• C and C' are the same conformation, since these are mirror images.


• The same applies to B and B'.


• A and C are local minima and can be referred to as conformes in the above given way


• B and D are transition states - they are not stable.
  If you consider the rotation A to C as a reaction, this state would mark the maximum energy needed for the conversion. I believe with reactions it is meant, that an accurate description of the transition state by InChI is not possible.

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For the term non-local chirality I suggest you look at BINAP or BINOL.

In this case I have used a slightly abridged version of BINAP for educational purposes, where $\ce{Ph -> Me}$.

Other wonderful examples of non-local chirality include helicenes, which have helical chirality. Here is one example of a fancy azonia derivative of hexahelicene (parent compound and links). The structure is available at the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) Database. I removed the anion and converted it to xyz coordinates which I include in the appendix. Here are the structures, left P-chirality, right M-chirality:

On another account of non/local chirality, there is the planar chirality, as can be seen in trans-Cyclooctene (the bottom two). For further reading I suggest Neuenschwander et.al. "The Conformations of Cyclooctene: Consequences for Epoxidation Chemistry."

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Markush Structures are a kind of summary structure for certain compound classes. A very simple example would be a monosubstituted biphenyl system, where the upper structure is a representation of all three below. However, it is noteworthy, that each instance of a Markush structure can be well explained by InChI.

More complicated structures are often used in patents and in other scientific publications, usually specifically referring to a very general procedure or mechanism. I found one on wikipedia commons, that could well represent a million molecules:

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And another way to break the InChI are clusters. Although the definition is not very specific, the $\ce{[KO{}^{\mathit{t}}Bu]_4}$ tetramer (wikipedia, chemspider) certainly contains one. While the monomer can be described via InChI, the tetra- or Polymer should fail. It was published by Chisholm et.al. in Polyhedron and the *.cif file can be obtained from CCDB. I cleaned it up a little bit and included the *.xyz in the appendix. You can quite nicely see the $\ce{K4}$ tetrahedral cluster in the middle (hydrogens omitted for clarity).

---

Last but not least, I'd like to cover the matter of complicated organometallic molecules. As such I'd like to introduce the Grubbs' catalysts. Grubbs obtained the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2005 for his research in conjunction with Yves Chauvin and Richard R. Schrock. One of the key publications was "Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of norbornene by a Group VIII carbene complex in protic media". The crystal structure can also be obtained at CCDC. Another example stems from "Synthesis and Applications of $\ce{RuCl2(=CHR')(PR3)2}$:  The Influence of the Alkylidene Moiety on Metathesis Activity" and is also available via CCDC. This structure can also be found in the appendix. It is generally known as a 1st generation Grubbs catalyst (Hydrogens omitted for clarity).

---

The following section contains the nuclear coordinates in *.xyz(XMol) file format and angstroms as unit. (If not denoted otherwise, structures are obtained at BP86/cc-pVDZ.)

1,2-dichloroethane A

C        0.000000000      0.000000000      0.000000000
C        0.000000000      0.000000000      1.521307000
Cl       1.723641000      0.000000000     -0.593797000
H       -0.486731000     -0.904743000     -0.410753000
H       -0.486731000      0.904743000     -0.410753000
Cl      -1.723641000      0.000000000      2.115104000

H        0.486731000     -0.904743000      1.932060000
H        0.486731000      0.904743000      1.932060000

1,2-dichloroethane B

C        0.030242000      0.085780000     -0.007620000
C       -0.030242000      0.085780000      1.528927000
Cl       1.518312000     -0.758527000     -0.631286000
H       -0.837191000     -0.442465000     -0.444148000
H        0.070555000      1.115212000     -0.412109000
Cl      -1.518312000     -0.758527000      2.152593000

H        0.837191000     -0.442465000      1.965455000
H       -0.070555000      1.115212000      1.933416000

1,2-dichloroethane C

C        0.066377000      0.127741000      0.004558000
C       -0.066377000      0.127741000      1.516749000
Cl       1.083384000     -1.241726000     -0.615213000
H       -0.919786000      0.050600000     -0.492443000
H        0.568277000      1.063384000     -0.317636000
Cl      -1.083384000     -1.241726000      2.136520000

H        0.919786000      0.050600000      2.013750000
H       -0.568277000      1.063384000      1.838943000

1,2-dichloroethane D

C        0.164887000      0.141535000     -0.000240000
C       -0.164887000      0.141535000      1.521547000
Cl       0.337146000     -1.473219000     -0.795160000
H       -0.633932000      0.666019000     -0.558099000
H        1.123149000      0.665665000     -0.177529000
Cl      -0.337146000     -1.473219000      2.316468000

H        0.633932000      0.666019000      2.079406000
H       -1.123149000      0.665665000      1.698836000

R-BINAP

C       -0.086423000     -0.055821000     -0.031546000
C       -0.090885000     -0.047699000      1.480085000
C        1.148913000     -0.158515000      2.237313000
C        1.064686000     -0.139089000      3.676951000
C       -0.131097000     -0.014450000      4.357670000
C       -1.357362000      0.116010000      3.652970000

C       -1.345263000      0.107319000      2.211098000
P        2.768926000     -0.321256000      1.451350000
H        1.988600000     -0.233144000      4.265654000
H       -0.135982000     -0.008251000      5.459401000
C       -2.590782000      0.269421000      4.370415000
C       -2.623021000      0.305506000      1.559779000
C        0.437392000      1.073619000     -0.788457000
C        0.410661000      0.991852000     -2.228054000
C       -0.079670000     -0.105834000     -2.908992000
C       -0.579162000     -1.233570000     -2.204534000

C       -0.579999000     -1.219208000     -0.762676000
P        1.107602000      2.557133000     -0.001640000
H        0.790955000      1.839345000     -2.816335000
H       -0.077540000     -0.112552000     -4.010726000
C       -1.063317000     -2.378355000     -2.921905000
C       -1.047368000     -2.424579000     -0.111239000
C       -3.792005000      0.431032000      3.705083000
H       -2.558632000      0.263827000      5.471798000
H       -4.735477000      0.552772000      4.258523000
C       -3.797353000      0.457087000      2.279022000

H       -2.662047000      0.340912000      0.466043000
H       -4.750761000      0.602046000      1.748556000
C       -1.503463000     -3.517255000     -0.830391000
H       -1.036094000     -2.475958000      0.982488000
H       -1.854657000     -4.415344000     -0.299810000
C       -1.523650000     -3.499569000     -2.256520000
H       -1.052652000     -2.347534000     -4.023279000
H       -1.890198000     -4.377463000     -2.809877000
C        4.061075000     -0.509159000      2.730645000
C        2.844045000     -1.846744000      0.446017000

C        1.585856000      3.772639000     -1.280334000
C       -0.173490000      3.383258000      1.008127000
H        0.254332000      4.289560000      1.485098000
H       -1.067700000      3.703930000      0.418133000
H       -0.532498000      2.717241000      1.815764000
H        1.997887000      4.670081000     -0.777298000
H        2.377005000      3.362349000     -1.938832000
H        0.749130000      4.118465000     -1.941170000
H        5.044249000     -0.601334000      2.227532000
H        4.100503000      0.383637000      3.385840000

H        3.944572000     -1.404262000      3.395364000
H        3.842692000     -1.931312000     -0.030903000
H        2.674387000     -2.779210000      1.039384000
H        2.087489000     -1.826871000     -0.361580000

S-BINAP

C       -1.383946000     -3.448543000     -2.256996000
C       -1.065989000     -2.266144000     -2.910129000
C       -0.652376000     -1.110469000     -2.179491000
C       -0.563545000     -1.177237000     -0.738280000

C       -0.899026000     -2.413534000     -0.098700000
C       -1.299620000     -3.519323000     -0.838209000
C       -0.154302000     -0.008671000      0.004167000
C        0.166467000      1.182512000     -0.673969000
C        0.072046000      1.221328000     -2.098779000
C       -0.323252000      0.113168000     -2.831301000
C       -0.061735000     -0.093981000      1.507135000
C       -1.110430000      0.372113000      2.322674000
C       -0.989013000      0.267385000      3.742090000
C        0.132224000     -0.289631000      4.336601000

C        1.210137000     -0.777916000      3.542877000
C        1.113248000     -0.682564000      2.103804000
C        2.206553000     -1.174312000      1.320794000
C        3.329975000     -1.726929000      1.922868000
C        3.419059000     -1.820539000      3.340084000
C        2.377998000     -1.353835000      4.130094000
P       -2.590653000      1.186493000      1.502738000
C       -3.750658000     -0.293139000      1.402088000
P        0.636241000      2.692004000      0.339668000
C        2.511918000      2.555623000      0.253510000

C       -3.385046000      2.079953000      2.947654000
C        0.388676000      4.078351000     -0.898992000
H       -1.802841000      0.635802000      4.383638000
H        0.202504000     -0.360978000      5.434128000
H        0.319305000      2.150696000     -2.632672000
H       -0.386992000      0.166196000     -3.930250000
H        2.436377000     -1.419019000      5.228476000
H        4.313241000     -2.262708000      3.805535000
H        2.146133000     -1.110484000      0.224695000
H        4.157224000     -2.097887000      1.298347000

H       -0.834575000     -2.478936000      0.997042000
H       -1.552289000     -4.458551000     -0.322477000
H       -1.128190000     -2.199481000     -4.008215000
H       -1.700498000     -4.331984000     -2.832408000
H        2.950535000      3.473538000      0.698290000
H        2.842563000      1.687658000      0.858736000
H        2.884117000      2.439555000     -0.786611000
H        0.678948000      5.023670000     -0.395042000
H        0.990357000      3.982867000     -1.828352000
H       -0.686746000      4.150262000     -1.160750000

H       -4.302108000      2.573768000      2.564446000
H       -3.673500000      1.421270000      3.794842000
H       -2.700063000      2.872570000      3.312044000
H       -4.742112000      0.063129000      1.051704000
H       -3.359638000     -1.014277000      0.656570000
H       -3.871382000     -0.807607000      2.379049000

M-8a-azonia[6]helicene (from crystal structure)

N        3.565811000      0.259443000     13.724558000
C        7.445232000     -1.196589000     12.564039000

C        8.629416000     -1.762757000     12.151335000
C        8.885324000     -1.978555000     10.783139000
C        7.914184000     -1.694865000      9.864763000
C        6.665024000     -1.171130000     10.265448000
C        5.584378000     -1.088690000      9.330104000
C        4.339207000     -0.800151000      9.738213000
C        4.088732000     -0.406137000     11.083608000
C        2.763235000     -0.187914000     11.543327000
C        2.522579000      0.029096000     12.830042000
C        3.246403000      0.443720000     15.064121000

C        4.198045000      0.692252000     15.970654000
C        5.531025000      0.961394000     15.546639000
C        6.527506000      1.327523000     16.488699000
C        7.769629000      1.675468000     16.086777000
C        8.044342000      1.864594000     14.697195000
C        9.259232000      2.459858000     14.281133000
C        9.466841000      2.806590000     12.982045000
C        8.445715000      2.608977000     12.035743000
C        7.265466000      1.985829000     12.396483000
C        7.061105000      1.553020000     13.720492000

C        5.833567000      0.912900000     14.172787000
C        4.884651000      0.303088000     13.284635000
C        5.151668000     -0.288539000     12.002691000
C        6.444932000     -0.841371000     11.632053000
H        7.296301000     -1.066868000     13.466331000
H        9.304643000     -2.036748000     12.840647000
H        9.760406000     -2.388329000     10.496986000
H        8.038683000     -1.964007000      8.943383000
H        5.780686000     -1.333585000      8.395468000
H        3.604979000     -0.909262000      9.084780000

H        2.029733000     -0.315211000     10.922946000
H        1.672696000      0.060618000     13.273677000
H        2.290439000      0.327335000     15.253240000
H        3.954366000      0.824398000     16.914659000
H        6.255785000      1.333585000     17.427224000
H        8.447606000      1.891266000     16.702563000
H        9.925491000      2.630800000     14.988120000
H       10.286033000      3.200604000     12.619714000
H        8.559741000      2.909640000     11.135042000
H        6.570317000      1.891266000     11.711236000

M-8a-azonia[6]helicene (from BP86/STO-3G)

N        0.241946000      3.510759000     13.746203000
C       -1.207087000      7.492952000     12.512135000
C       -1.801472000      8.692275000     12.089683000
C       -2.102492000      8.912745000     10.707738000
C       -1.853647000      7.899258000      9.772330000
C       -1.278056000      6.643678000     10.182732000
C       -1.146616000      5.553783000      9.229249000
C       -0.770948000      4.283969000      9.646130000

C       -0.392477000      4.045979000     11.023979000
C       -0.161103000      2.688046000     11.484550000
C        0.042219000      2.428893000     12.821687000
C        0.400500000      3.183323000     15.136378000
C        0.639392000      4.176721000     16.059802000
C        0.949043000      5.527644000     15.625469000
C        1.361398000      6.519481000     16.597330000
C        1.808770000      7.766658000     16.182869000
C        1.981223000      8.066019000     14.770425000
C        2.627560000      9.287588000     14.362758000

C        2.913363000      9.530579000     13.012425000
C        2.578886000      8.546652000     12.028110000
C        1.916409000      7.363991000     12.392255000
C        1.565834000      7.097902000     13.763105000
C        0.907348000      5.851096000     14.211296000
C        0.281492000      4.885356000     13.292158000
C       -0.309154000      5.144896000     11.968134000
C       -0.894790000      6.445456000     11.575101000
H       -1.007504000      7.339193000     13.585554000
H       -2.048406000      9.472285000     12.834293000

H       -2.558542000      9.868716000     10.388465000
H       -2.123797000      8.035037000      8.708340000
H       -1.422274000      5.738729000      8.172836000
H       -0.763274000      3.430969000      8.943112000
H       -0.251900000      1.843110000     10.776492000
H        0.087281000      1.420761000     13.274365000
H        0.295196000      2.107892000     15.372408000
H        0.697253000      3.916258000     17.133249000
H        1.320711000      6.254708000     17.669775000
H        2.110372000      8.530075000     16.926174000

H        2.921715000     10.016221000     15.141242000
H        3.423497000     10.463796000     12.708003000
H        2.853573000      8.716110000     10.969950000
H        1.691114000      6.611596000     11.618453000

$\ce{KO{}^{\mathit{t}}Bu}$ tetramer (from crystal structure)

K       -1.309381000     -1.309381000     -1.309381000
O       -1.313567000      1.313567000     -1.313567000
C       -2.107232000      2.107232000     -2.107232000
C       -3.502008000      2.298114000     -1.478495000

H       -3.842748000      1.465100000     -1.465100000
H       -4.060420000      2.821364000     -2.059512000
H       -3.516240000      2.821364000     -0.619528000
O       -1.313567000     -1.313567000      1.313567000
O        1.313567000     -1.313567000     -1.313567000
K       -1.309381000      1.309381000      1.309381000
K        1.309381000      1.309381000     -1.309381000
C       -1.478495000      3.502008000     -2.298114000
C       -2.298114000      1.478495000     -3.502008000
K        1.309381000     -1.309381000      1.309381000

C       -2.107232000     -2.107232000      2.107232000
C        2.107232000     -2.107232000     -2.107232000
O        1.313567000      1.313567000      1.313567000
H       -1.465100000      3.842748000     -1.465100000
H       -2.059512000      4.060420000     -2.821364000
H       -0.619528000      3.516240000     -2.821364000
H       -1.465100000      1.465100000     -3.842748000
H       -2.821364000      2.059512000     -4.060420000
H       -2.821364000      0.619528000     -3.516240000
C       -1.478495000     -3.502008000      2.298114000

C       -3.502008000     -2.298114000      1.478495000
C       -2.298114000     -1.478495000      3.502008000
C        3.502008000     -1.478495000     -2.298114000
C        1.478495000     -2.298114000     -3.502008000
C        2.298114000     -3.502008000     -1.478495000
C        2.107232000      2.107232000      2.107232000
H       -1.465100000     -3.842748000      1.465100000
H       -2.059512000     -4.060420000      2.821364000
H       -0.619528000     -3.516240000      2.821364000
H       -3.842748000     -1.465100000      1.465100000

H       -4.060420000     -2.821364000      2.059512000
H       -3.516240000     -2.821364000      0.619528000
H       -1.465100000     -1.465100000      3.842748000
H       -2.821364000     -2.059512000      4.060420000
H       -2.821364000     -0.619528000      3.516240000
H        1.465100000     -1.465100000     -3.842748000
H        3.842748000     -1.465100000     -1.465100000
H        4.060420000     -2.059512000     -2.821364000
H        3.516240000     -0.619528000     -2.821364000
H        2.059512000     -2.821364000     -4.060420000

H        0.619528000     -2.821364000     -3.516240000
H        1.465100000     -3.842748000     -1.465100000
H        2.821364000     -4.060420000     -2.059512000
H        2.821364000     -3.516240000     -0.619528000
C        1.478495000      2.298114000      3.502008000
C        3.502008000      1.478495000      2.298114000
C        2.298114000      3.502008000      1.478495000
H        1.465100000      1.465100000      3.842748000
H        2.059512000      2.821364000      4.060420000
H        0.619528000      2.821364000      3.516240000

H        3.842748000      1.465100000      1.465100000
H        4.060420000      2.059512000      2.821364000
H        3.516240000      0.619528000      2.821364000
H        1.465100000      3.842748000      1.465100000
H        2.821364000      4.060420000      2.059512000
H        2.821364000      3.516240000      0.619528000

Grubbs I catalyst

Ru      1.923022    1.782458    4.279841
Cl      3.508375    2.054525    6.061616

P       0.620071    3.495015    5.336792
C       2.967497    2.881791    3.239789
Cl      0.101984    1.197998    2.838894
P       2.855052   -0.401312    3.741075
C       2.954465    3.343954    1.839333
Cl      3.310061    4.678711   -2.473972
C       1.880873    3.257547    0.960743
C       1.973325    3.667349   -0.352875
C       3.185197    4.168660   -0.812833
C       4.252303    4.292067    0.012884

C       4.145603    3.890748    1.341393
C      -0.637087    4.207002    4.175769
C      -1.979932    4.694567    4.692950
C      -2.932151    4.983356    3.538285
C      -2.339331    5.946324    2.517809
C      -0.957803    5.505405    2.056512
C      -0.041546    5.252113    3.235271
C       1.483967    4.856669    6.241316
C       0.518279    5.817396    6.934517
C       1.256971    6.738015    7.899778

C       2.346867    7.495106    7.161401
C       3.302557    6.547168    6.465690
C       2.565538    5.630984    5.497585
C      -0.333586    2.698072    6.719178
C      -1.014762    1.418485    6.241149
C      -1.859827    0.796208    7.358000
C      -1.043744    0.536540    8.601177
C      -0.361483    1.805588    9.075860
C       0.493782    2.427234    7.979254
C       2.628515   -0.975242    1.991593

C       3.236690   -0.059043    0.937820
C       2.687448   -0.416553   -0.435697
C       2.971677   -1.856587   -0.778868
C       2.466883   -2.799363    0.290130
C       2.999176   -2.423218    1.675026
C       4.622054   -0.540862    4.248552
C       5.523290    0.453308    3.517538
C       6.887074    0.518241    4.175936
C       7.549339   -0.842629    4.233326
C       6.649166   -1.859830    4.903939

C       5.271941   -1.927013    4.232992
C       1.995357   -1.737789    4.704830
C       2.010202   -1.452357    6.212537
C       1.292567   -2.535071    7.008639
C      -0.120796   -2.764155    6.507353
C      -0.110733   -3.109699    5.031603
C       0.567738   -2.010334    4.218268
H       3.716836    3.154747    3.670969
H       1.120535    2.917815    1.276640
H       1.189061    3.632874   -0.962082

H       5.017596    4.645026   -0.262690
H       4.792512    4.003484    1.897392
H      -0.815388    3.399122    3.615754
H      -1.902150    5.510235    5.223685
H      -2.378700    3.974732    5.228704
H      -3.726326    5.342882    3.821555
H      -3.181986    4.184074    3.125510
H      -2.984577    6.066660    1.748479
H      -2.250423    6.781889    2.909669
H      -1.054116    4.674447    1.537657

H      -0.576082    6.145292    1.467384
H       0.723372    4.965838    2.939787
H       0.125317    6.138803    3.761321
H       1.921040    4.375890    6.908583
H       1.676706    6.235725    8.636983
H      -0.145301    5.369077    7.433963
H       0.091950    6.422548    6.224250
H       0.676388    7.347621    8.295653
H       2.791319    8.070082    7.723424
H       1.896364    8.099751    6.522077

H       3.914233    7.048872    6.008409
H       3.698100    6.058287    7.055823
H       3.116098    5.021349    5.094850
H       2.158660    6.180195    4.786983
H      -1.006024    3.336226    6.935353
H      -1.559257    1.598311    5.456258
H      -0.325083    0.765200    6.003389
H      -2.608220    1.404611    7.524315
H      -2.214635    0.029761    7.044111
H      -0.418035   -0.117788    8.397718

H      -1.627822    0.182306    9.277813
H       0.176244    1.645756    9.829964
H      -1.053680    2.460437    9.333028
H       0.877440    3.225032    8.287287
H       1.235327    1.881817    7.763580
H       1.720632   -0.869158    1.853889
H       4.184273   -0.146643    0.965428
H       3.012517    0.820454    1.136093
H       1.847900   -0.200343   -0.409930
H       3.096540    0.151437   -1.100956

H       3.904789   -1.982340   -0.878422
H       2.584028   -2.105280   -1.617970
H       2.763571   -3.703670    0.105411
H       1.556168   -2.778368    0.317905
H       4.607903   -0.216537    5.166797
H       3.990062   -2.477871    1.686571
H       2.642313   -3.025155    2.339113
H       5.156005    1.289122    3.512016
H       5.590006    0.129866    2.598457
H       6.737696    0.838429    5.032942

H       7.431919    1.106030    3.739569
H       8.390108   -0.830548    4.679900
H       7.729962   -1.148361    3.309561
H       6.514020   -1.632968    5.797587
H       7.041226   -2.668142    4.887375
H       4.662063   -2.600521    4.676553
H       5.418404   -2.225128    3.326293
H       2.516573   -2.545817    4.572816
H       1.564734   -0.621934    6.319621
H       2.866067   -1.356878    6.528769

H       1.774146   -3.375710    6.968817
H       1.285356   -2.270001    7.937592
H      -0.502310   -3.449358    7.037418
H      -0.746615   -1.928105    6.670990
H       0.328488   -3.937948    4.917492
H      -1.013735   -3.235955    4.696631
H       0.558651   -2.294513    3.264385
H       0.034321   -1.214512    4.228140

family members - Kaddish yatom: what if a parent really *is* wicked?

I understand that a soul may be judged for a full 12 months after death but that we (generally) only say kaddish yatom for a parent for 11 months because the longest period is for the worst sinners and we presume that our parents are not wicked.

But what if they are? What if, chas v'shalom, one has the misfortune of being the child of somebody he understands to be among the worst sinners and thus in need of the full 12 months? Should he say say kaddish for the full 12 months (to continue to provide benefit to the soul), or should he say it for only 11 months to avoid calling attention to the deceased's wickedness? Does it depend on how public the wickedness is -- maybe if "everybody knows" you go for the full year but if it's more private you don't?

I'd like to clarify that this question is asked out of intellectual curiosity and not out of need. B"H my parents are (a) still alive and (b) definitely not wicked.

usage - Why is 間{かん} used to denote some amounts of time but not others?

I've been thinking about how to express a duration of time and how in the past I have added 間{かん} in situations where I found that I shouldn't have.

Take the following sentences as examples.

○：　３０分後ご飯を食べる。

☓：　３０分間後ご飯を食べる

○：　３年前日本に行った。

☓：　３年間前日本に行った。

○：　３時間後出かける。

☓：　３時後出かける。

Of course there are other examples that I could give but I think this kind of boils it down to the main point. When I think of 間 as a concept I generally think of it as an emphasis on start-to-finish time, like １年間日本語コース or something like that. Why, then, does this not apply to expressing time in the future/past? Specifically I have said before something like １年間後日本に行く or something like that, using 年間 in the same way that you would use 時間, only later to find that is not natural usage.

So this leads to the question of why these words cannot all be used in a consistent way. Is there something special about 時間 as a word that excuses it from counter, or are the rules inconsistent, or is there a pattern that I'm missing? I'm aware of 時間 as the word for hours, but as in Chocolate's answer, we don't say 一時間間.

Answer

Yes, [一分間]{いっぷんかん}, [一ヶ月間]{いっかげつかん} and [一年間]{いちねんかん} exist, but the [間]{かん} in them is not the same as in [一時間]{いちじかん} and [一週間]{いっしゅうかん}.

The 間 in 一時間 and 一週間 is a part of the counter words for "hour" and "week", but the counter words for "minute", "month" and "year" are 分, ヶ月 and 年 (not 分間, ヵ月間, 年間), and the 間 in 一分間, 一ヶ月間 and 一年間 is more like "for~~" or "during~~". So I think this is why you can say [一時間後]{いちじかんご} and [一週間後]{いっしゅうかんご} but not [一年間後]{いちねんかんご} or [一分間後]{いっぷんかんご}.

You can say [一週間]{いっしゅうかん}の[間]{あいだ}, [一時間]{いちじかん}の[間]{あいだ}, but [一分間]{いっぷんかん}の[間]{あいだ}, [一ヶ月間]{いっかげつかん}の[間]{あいだ} and [一年間]{いちねんかん}の[間]{あいだ} would be grammatically redundant, although quite a lot of people use ~~分間の間, ~~年間の間.

Don't ask me why we don't say [一週間間]{いっしゅうかんかん} for "for one week" or [一時間間]{いちじかんかん} for "for one hour" while we say [一分間]{いっぷんかん} (for one minute), [一ヶ月間]{いっかげつかん} (for one month), and [一年間]{いちねんかん} (for one year). (^_^;)

particle の - 「の」in「お嫁さんにしたいの好き」

A line (highlighted) from an anime named 「あの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない。」:

めんま「めんまもじんたん好きー」

じんたん「好きだって、友だちの好きとか、それだけじゃねえからな」

めんま「わかってるよ、お嫁さんにしたいの好きでしょ？」

I guess「お嫁さんにしたいの好き」is said to contrast with「友だちの好き」above. However, the structure of 用言+の＋好き sounds kind of uncommon to me. In most cases I would expect a 「ほど」or「くらい」instead of a「の」here.

So the question is:

How productive is the usage of the 「の」here? How weird are「手を握ったの親しい」「消えてもらいたいの嫌い」etc.

Answer

I interpret it as that being the "kind" of fondness this person has. It might make more sense if you put quotes around it or add という.

「お嫁さんにしたい」の好き

お嫁さんにしたいという好き

お嫁さんにしたい is being used as a phrase to describe what kind of 好き it is but not in a way that follows the normal rules of grammar, or to put it more precisely, not in a way that follows how you might expect the phrase "お嫁さんにしたい" to be used. That is to say, it's not "I like you as a friend" but rather "I like you like 'I want you to be my wife.'" Similarly, 好き is not being used in its normal sense of ～が好き but rather as a representation of the word itself. So for example, in English you can say "cats are cute," but you can also say "'cats' is a cute word" and still be correct even though you're saying "cats is."

Basically these words and phrases are being nominalized and used as you would expect a noun be used.

hashkafah philosophy - Is Jewish theology Panentheistic by definition?

Is the Jewish view that everything in creation is a hidden manifestation of God, i.e. that God is enclothed so to speak, in every element of creation, similar to Panentheism.

Or is God "outside" of His creations, so to speak, guiding them from His "place".

Or perhaps a third possibility?

grammar - にしても and としても, is there a difference?

にしても and としても...Don't they both have a meaning of "even if"? Is there any subtle difference between these two forms?

Answer

There is some overlapping meaning. There are also some differences.

I think you may be touching on the deeper subject of the differences between に and と.

Comparing the definitions of に and と shows that they can both be used to refer to the result（結果） of something. に shows the result of becoming (dynamic) and と shows the result of being (stative).

According to the 大辞林, the に in にしても is a form of the word なり which is a contraction of にあり and is related to なる.

The と in としても is a form of the word たり which is a contraction of てあり, showing completed action and is related to である.

にしても ⇒ になるとしても ⇒ になっても
としても ⇒ であるとしても ⇒ であっても

にしても implies "even when" something becomes the case

としても implies "even if" something is the case or "even as", "even for".

Obviously there is some overlap in English as well between "even when" and "even if" and I think that this generally agrees with the overlap in Japanese between にしても and としても.

So let's compare two sentences:

赤としても黒としても．．．事実は変わらない

（赤であっても黒であっても）

You could think of this as "even if it's red, even if it's black", which in context might give you something like this:

• "Whether it's red or black won't change the facts"

Or you could think of it as "even as red, even as black"...

• "Even as red or black, it wouldn't change the facts"

Or you could think of it as "even for red, even for black"...

• "The facts aren't going to change for red or black"

赤にしても黒にしても．．．事実は変わらない

（赤になっても黒になっても）

This could be thought of as "even when it's red, even when it's black".

In context, maybe something like this:

• "The facts won't change whether we make it red or black"

Or you could think of it as "even for red, even for black"...

• "The facts won't change for red or black"

However, using にしても I think it's difficult to get the meaning "even as" because while として implies taking on a role as something （医者として - "as a doctor"）, にして can't really fully express the idea of taking on a role.

Just as a final note, I think using the volitional ～しましょう makes the difference between に and と a little clearer.

赤にしましょう - Let's make it red

赤としましょう - Let's say that it's red

particle と - How do I interpret にならないとも限りません?

あの人を匿うことで迷惑な事態にならないとも限りません。

I'm having trouble interpreting the above phrase especially the とも。

Would it mean something like

"Hiding that person might cause trouble(?)"

Answer

～とは限りません is a set phrase that means "You cannot take it for granted that ～", "It's not always true that ～". You can find examples here. This と is a quotative particle, は is a topic marker. ～ないとは限りません is a double-negative expression which effectively means "It's possible that ～".

You can replace this は with も and say ～とも限りません, which also means the same thing.

The difference between ～とは限りません and ～とも限りません is small, but the former sounds a little more direct and the latter sounds a little more reserved. This is one of the basic roles of the particle も. See: What is the difference between 「とは限らない」and 「とも限らない」

あの人を匿うことで迷惑な事態にならないとも限りません。
You cannot assume you won't run into trouble by sheltering that person.
(i.e., You may run into trouble if you hide that person.)

organic chemistry - Which platonic solids have been built as carbon skeletons?

There are 5 platonic solids: the tetrahedron, the octahedron, the cube, the dodecahedron and the icosahedron.

How many of these have been realised as carbon skeletons by chemical synthesis?

Answer

The previous answer and comments have already listed out the known platonic hydrocarbons, however, since the OP had expressed an interest in the synthesis of these platonic hydrocarbons in one of his comments, I have provided some commentary to that effect along with links to the original papers that first reported these compounds. Also, of interest would be this paper

Tetrahedrane

Technically speaking, Tetrahedrane ($\ce{C4H4}$) still remains a hypothetical compound, as an unsubstituted version hasn't been synthesised yet.

Two stable derivatives, whose synthesis has been achieved include tetra-tert-butyltetrahedrane (prepared in 1978 by Günther Maier) and tetra(trimethylsilyl)tetrahedrane (reported in 2002).

Tetra-tert-butyltetrahedrane

The original paper discussing the synthesis can be found here. The synthesis has been summarised below. The authors rationalise the stability of this compound as follows:

If all the corners of the tetrahedrane unit are occupied by bulky groups then on lengthening one bond of the ring skeleton , two tert-butyl groups tending to increase their mutual separation will be forced back together by the other ones ("corset effect"); a tetrahedral structure permits the four substituents to adopt a regular spherical distribution and hence a maximum mutual separation.

In simpler terms, trying to break a bond forces the bulky substituents together increasing strain.

Tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)tetrahedrane

Again, the synthetic route is given below. The original paper is also by Günther Maier.

Reaction with methyllithium has yielded the stable tetrahedranyllithium derivative. These coupling reactions with this lithium compound have allowed access to more derivatives, for example the dimer in the last step of the reaction scheme given above.

This compound is far more stable than the tert-butyl analogue. On account of the silicon–carbon bond being longer than a carbon–carbon bond, the corset effect is reduced. $\sigma$-donor character of the trimethylsilyl explains the increased stabilisation of the tetrahedrane.

The tetrahedrane skeleton is made up of banana bonds, and hence the carbon atoms are high in s-orbital character

Cubane

Cubane was first synthetically realised by Eaton and Cole in 1964. The synthetic scheme from the original paper is given below:

Note: In the original synthesis, the starting material for this, 2-bromocyclopentadienone, was obtained from 2-cyclopentenone via allylic bromination with N-bromosuccinimide in carbon tetrachloride followed by addition of molecular bromine to the alkene gives a 2,3,4-tribromocyclopentanone. After treatment of this compound with diethylamine in diethyl ether, which causes elimination of two equivalents of hydrogen bromide, we get the desired diene product.

Again, the cubane is kinetically stable because of lack of readily accessible decomposition paths.

Dodecahedrane

Dodecahedrane was synthesised by Leo Paquette in 1982, and later by Prinzbach (via pagodane) in 1987.

The pagodane synthetic route has been given below.

Paquette's 1982 organic synthesis takes about 29 steps, and starts from cyclopentadiene, and for the sake of brevity, I have not presented it here.

syntax - Is repetition of words in questions, such as the 番 in 電話番号 は何番ですか common in Japanese?

In this other question, the answers say that 電話{でんわ}番号{ばんごう}は何番ですか is a common way of asking for someones number. I was thrown off by the repitition of 番, but the answers say it's commonly used. So it got me thinking, is this kind of repeatition common and are there other phrases or situations like this where, a word is repeated?

Answer

A. 電話{でんわ}番号{ばんごう}は何番{なんばん}ですか。(What is your phone number?)

B. 今年{ことし}は何年{なんねん}ですか。(What year is this?)

C. 好{す}きな色{いろ}は何色{なにいろ}ですか。(What is your favorite color?)

D. この車{くるま}はあなたの車{くるま}ですか。(Is this your car?)

All of these four sentences include a kind of duplication, but nobody feels that they are redundant.

Perhaps you think that A, B, C and D can be said differently as follows.

---

A'. #電話番号は何{なん}ですか。

B'. #今年は何{なん}ですか。

C'. 好きな色は何{なん}ですか。

D'. この車はあなたの (or あなたのもの）ですか。

A' and B' are not correct. Neither of them makes sense.
They are questions for the number, the order, or the numbering of something. Then you need to use the counter suffix with 何{なん}, as 何番, 何年, 何人, 何本, etc.

C' and D' are perfectly correct. ''色'' in ''何色'' is not a counter suffix. So you can say ''何{なん}の色{いろ}'' instead of ''何色{なにいろ}''.
By the way, if 何色 is read as ''なんしょく'', it is a question for ''how many colors''. Please look at this question and my answer if you'd like more details about this.

---

A''. #電話は何番ですか。

B''. !今は何年ですか。

C''. !好きなのは何色ですか。

D''. これはあなたの車ですか。

A'' is still strange, even more than A'.

は plays a role to indicate what the speaker is talking about. You're talking about the phone of your friend, not about the phone number, so A, the first one, is the most natural.

B'' and C'' are actually used sometimes, but they are less common than B and C are.

How about D''? The word ''これ'' is used when both the speaker and the listener recognize the thing and it is near the speaker or near both of them. (This page would be helpful.) When it's obvious what you're referring to, ''これ'' is used instead of ''この車''.

organic chemistry - Friedel-Crafts reaction of anisole?

We know that phenol and aniline, despite being strongly activating, are unable to to undergo Friedel-Crafts reactions because they form complexes with $\ce{AlCl3}$, thanks to the lone pair on nitrogen and oxygen atoms.

However, according to my notes (and Google) anisole does undergo Friedel-Crafts reactions. How can it be possible, why is there no complex formation this time?

Also, I wanted to know how can we say that a certain group like $\ce{OH}$ will surely form a complex? Is containing a lone pair a sufficient condition?

Answer

Friedel-Crafts acylation of anisole with acetyl chloride and aluminium chloride as catalyst is a standard laboratory procedure to synthesize acetanisole.

            

The fact that this reaction is possible does not imply that there is no complex formation with $\ce{AlCl3}$. On the contrary, it is quite probable that such complexes do form due to the interaction of the methoxy oxygen with $\ce{AlCl3}$.

Therefore, and to compensate the formation of complexes with the resulting ketone, $\ce{AlCl3}$ is added in more than two-fold excess in the above synthesis.

halacha - is it permitted to make a snowman?

Is it permitted to make a snowman? Or is it considered constructing a graven image?

Prompted by this: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/saudi-arabia-issues-fatwa---4967400

Answer

According to Volume 3 Issue 8 of "Halachicly Speaking" (page 3) it is permissible for two reasons:

1. No one bows down to snowmen



2. A snowman does not last for very long.

halacha - Lechem Mishneh by the Third Shabbos Meal

Is one required to have Lechem Mishneh by the Third Shabbos Meal?

Answer

One should have Lehem Mishneh by Seudas Shlishis and it is preferable to have Lehem Mishneh by any meal one has on Shabbos, even if he decides to have a fourth or fifth meal as well!

Shulhan Aruch, Orach Haim, Siman 291, S'if 4

periodic table - How come uranium's relative atomic mass is 238.03 when it only contains isotopes with a mass number of 238 or less?

I have always been led to understand that the mass of an element on the periodic table is the weighted average atomic mass over all naturally occurring isotopes. This seems to make sense with all the elements I have looked at except for uranium. Wikipedia's featured article on the element assures me that uranium's relative atomic mass is 238.03. The commonest isotope is U-238, mixed with 0.72% of U-235 and 0.005% of U-234, plus traces of a couple of isotopes with smaller mass numbers.

How then can uranium's relative atomic mass exceed 238? Either I have completely misunderstood something, or there is something else at work - relativistic maybe?

Answer

Approximately 99.3% of uranium on Earth is the $\mathrm{^{238}U}$ isotope, and this specific isotope has an atomic mass of $\mathrm{238.05\ u}$, where $\mathrm{u}$ is the atomic mass unit, equivalent to 1/12 the mass of a $\mathrm{^{12}C}$ atom. Including the other isotopes to obtain the average atomic mass drags the value down a little, but it still ends up being slightly larger than $\mathrm{238\ u}$.

It is interesting to point out why the atomic mass is slightly different from the mass number. The masses of a free proton or neutron are both slightly larger than $\mathrm{1\ u}$ ($\mathrm{1.0073\ u}$ and $\mathrm{1.0087\ u}$, respectively). Some of this mass is converted to energy and lost when neutrons and protons (collectively called nucleons) bind to form nuclei, which means bound nuclei will always be lighter than the sum of the masses of their component nucleons. Different nuclei release different amounts of energy per nucleon depending on how many protons and neutrons are inside the nucleus, and on their relative proportions. Very interestingly, the curve for nuclear binding energy per nucleon versus mass number starts off at zero for $\mathrm{^{1}H}$ (there can be no attractive nuclear forces between nucleons if there's only one nucleon!), then rises until it shows a maximum around nickel (specifically for the isotope $\mathrm{^{62}Ni}$) and from there on slowly decreases.

Since the atomic mass unit is standardized with respect to the $\mathrm{^{12}C}$ isotope of carbon, then in approximate terms, the nuclei with a lower binding energy per nucleon than $\mathrm{^{12}C}$ will have less of the initial free proton/neutron mass lost to energy (and thus an isotope will have an atomic mass slightly higher than its mass number), while for nuclei with a higher binding energy per nucleon than $\mathrm{^{12}C}$, more mass will be lost to energy and the resulting isotope will have an atomic mass slightly lower than its mass number.

Taking a horizontal line through the $\mathrm{^{12}C}$ isotope in this graph and looking at its intersections with the nuclear binding energy curve will show the regions where this flip happens; isotopes for atoms below carbon will tend to have higher atomic mass than mass number, isotopes for atoms between carbon and thorium tend to have a lower atomic mass than mass number, and then isotopes for atoms above thorium (such as $\mathrm{^{238}U}$) will again tend to have higher atomic masses than mass numbers. This is only an approximate analysis, as protons and neutrons don't have the same mass, so isotopes very close to the transition region don't behave perfectly smoothly.

Edit: The flipping effect I mention can be seen very nicely in the list of isotopes shown in this site. Look at the (atomic) masses for the isotopes, and see how the fractional part of the mass starts out as circa $.01$ (above the isotope's mass number), then decreases to $.001$, reaches exactly zero (by definition) for $\mathrm{^{12}C}$, then soon after flips under to $.999$ and keeps going lower all the way to $.90$ around zirconium and tin isotopes before slowly rising up to $.98$ for bismuth $\mathrm{^{209}Bi}$ and then flipping back over to $.04$ for thorium and $.05$ for uranium.

Now here's a question: I said the maximum of nuclear binding energy per nucleon happened at $\mathrm{^{62}Ni}$, so why does the fractional part of the masses in the table keep decreasing all the way to tin $\mathrm{^{116}Sn}$? It's because these masses are not normalized with respect to how many protons and neutrons there are in the nucleus. If you were to take all the isotopic masses and divide them by their respective mass numbers, you would see the minimum around $\mathrm{^{62}Ni}$, as expected (actually, the minimum ratio of isotope mass to mass number happens at $\mathrm{^{56}Fe}$ because it has a slightly higher proportion of protons to neutrons. As I said, the small difference between proton and neutron masses creates slight irregularities which I did not take into account for simplicity).

baal teshuva - Back to orthodoxy, can't stop violating a commandment for the sake of someone's life

There was this mathematician Kurt Goedel who died of starvation because he ate nothing but food prepared by his wife who was hospitalised for a long period. This is a fact. There are people who die for such reasons.

So now we have this jew who was supposed to be an atheist and happy about it, who moved to a building where an utterly alone sickly old blind man lived next door. The good hearted jew engaged happily in helping out the old man and they eventually buddied up. Every saturday afternoon the jew would come to the old man's flat, bring some food, put the kettle on, put the telly on and they would watch the afternoon film together. At last after years the old blind man had someone to tell him what's going on on the telly. These saturday afternoons became the old man's delight! One day the jew even agreed to accompany the old man every sunday morning to the temple of idolworshipping and sit by the side of the old man watching the priests and the congregation drooling over their idols. At last after years the old blind man had someone to take him by the hand through the streets. These sunday mornings became the old man's delight! Then suddenly one day the was-supposed-to-be-a-happy-atheist-forever jew felt a click in his head and he found his whole life out of place and decided to put things back in order. There will be no more visits to the temple of idolworshipping. Sorry, old man. And as for saturday afternoons... could we make it sunday afternoon instead? This is what the jew told the old man one day, though he knew the old man would take it very badly. The next day the old man jumped out from his window and expired on the pavement. Now, the old man was doing as fine as he could before the jew came along. It was the good hearted atheist jew who offered support and company.

The question is did the jew commit oblique murder? Should have the jew kept violating a whole range of commandments in order to save the old man from the inevitable suicide? Is this a case of pikuach nefesh?

In short: there was a time when this jew wasn't observant and actively created around him a ring of dependence, people who depend on him. This ring he can't keep if he's to become fully observant neither he can destroy it without destroying a life, really, physical death involved.

This is not hypothetical, it happens all the time, either with old people or with other circumstances.

By the way, old people really sometimes jump out of windows for such petty things as their cats gone missing. And there's no free will involved or need for psychiatrists. This is just how 90 year old brains sometimes work.

parshanut torah comment - Esav was coming with 400 men: why then

Why was Esav going toward Yaakov (Gen. 33:1, 32:7) if he had (27:41) planned to wait to kill him until Yitzchak was dead?

(Please cite your source, if any.)

Answer

Interestingly, Daas Zekeinim and Kli Yakar (to Gen. 32:8) say that when Yaakov heard that Eisav was planning to attack, he was distressed thinking that this must mean that indeed Yitzchak was already dead and that Eisav therefore feels free to kill him.

Rashbam (to 32:7) suggests that indeed Eisav meant well in coming out towards Yaakov with his 400 men - he meant them as an honor guard for him - but that Yaakov suspected that his intentions were in fact evil.

Ramban (to 32:8) writes that Eisav didn't specifically say that he intended to harm Yaakov, but that Yaakov's messengers figured this out by talking to his men. According to this latter approach, it could be that Eisav in fact wasn't planning to kill Yaakov outright, just to scare him (maybe enough so that he'd die of a heart attack or something, without having to actually lay hands on him? After all, Eisav did always try to hide his evil deeds with a veneer of innocence - see Rashi to Gen. 26:34).

theology - How can we know God?

How can we know God? Isn't God unknowable? We learn and study and follow God's commands and pray, but how do we know God (as opposed to what God wants)?

What is a true way to know GOD better? Which commands in Torah are related to my question?

Answer

Like anything in a relationship, it can only be partially captured or described in words. We still learn a lot from others before and around us in the way that they've known Him, so here are some thoughts.

The essence of your question seems to come from the fact that God is not part of creation, nor truly comparable to anything else in our experience of nature. We can't define His essence and we can't perceive with our minds or our senses the fulness of who He is. We know how to have a relationship with other humans, but how can we truly know someone who is not at all human; not even a part of the world around us, but in fact its Creator? He is not abstract or vague or senseless in who He actually is, but in our eyes He is beyond all our categories and imagination.

In the book Building a Sanctuary in the Heart (available online at bilvavi.net), there's a quote that struck me when I read it: "He is hidden from their intellects, yet revealed in their hearts." I asked a rabbi about this and he replied that even though our minds and senses can't perceive God's 'essence', we perceive His actions and can grow to understand them. And as the rabbi understood it, when we think about His actions our hearts get to know Him. A lot of the strongest, most tangible metaphors of God's actions in Judaism and in our everyday lives stand to this effect. Not in the sense of defining Him, but in the sense of His love for us. When people study His Torah, and step out into living it in real life, their hearts get to feel His holiness. When you accept His blessings in creation, from each breath, to everything you eat and drink, to the ability to trust and thank Him for His wisdom in every part of life (as in Psalm 139), you strengthen your knowledge of who you are as a creation and of who He is as Creator and giver.

Even though we can't understand the process of creation in general, we can see that it exists. In the same way, we can't understand how humans could have a relationship with God, but Tanach and the Jewish testimony about God narrate the creation of such a relationship in the world. If you can accept this testimony, you find that obedience to God is another way of knowing Him: using our ability to choose His ways allows us to draw closer to Him in both love and experience. The cause and effect of such a thing is beyond our speculation, but the reality is something we experience. Righteousness, justice, purity, kindness, and obedience that is either natural or costly to us; every connection with these things is an immediate connection with God.

So in both thankfulness for His actions and obedience to His ways in wisdom, Judaism spends a lot of energy and focus on the belief that God has made ways for humanity to know Him. He is hidden to our minds, but His actions aren't, and He is known by heart. Knowledge itself is a wide and varied thing: you can have intellectual knowledge, but also relational knowledge; you can know something distantly as a fact, or you can be deeply aware of it often. These kinds of knowing are connected in our experience. And kind of like in a human relationship, where we know some things about the other and there's a lot left to learn about them, we can still say it is them that we love and connect with. From God, this is a gift.

I'll note that I'm not Jewish and don't know a lot about Judaism, so I never post comments on this site... but these are some things that relate closely to the question and that I think are valuable.

Edit: I heard a six year old Jewish boy recently tell me that your neshama can see God. I thought it was a good way to put it (he learnt it at school, I think).

theology - Why did Yonah run away?

If Yonah understood that he was being commanded by God, then how could he have possibly thought that he could run away? Did he believe that God was tied to a particular land, the way pagan gods were thought to be tied to theirs, and that if he just got out of Israel he would be ok? But Nineveh is not in Israel either. At the time he ran, did Yonah perhaps not yet understand Who was commanding him?

Answer

Yonah was a navi who was living in the kingdom of Israel before its exile by Sancheriv. God told him to go to Ninveh, which was in Ashur.

In general, God is not concerned enough with the affairs of non jewish nations to send them messages through a navi to repent, which is why they don't have their own prophets to begin with. Yonah concluded that their repentance must be relevant to Israel in some way, particularly to exile them from their land. (Yonah knew that the Jews weren't on the highest spiritual level at that point.)

Therefore, Yonah refused to go, not wanting to play any part in Israel's destruction. He hoped that God would choose another navi in his place, as clearly, if God wanted this done, it must be necessary. But not him. To try and ensure this, Yonah tried to flee to outside of Eretz Yisrael, as he believed that nevua does not exist outside of the land (which is true, with few exceptions). Thus, he thought, God would be forced to send someone else.

See Abarbanel (Yonah 1).