I argue that in modern algebraic-formulated science the ‘physical constant’ can be understood, for practical purposes, as an ‘identifier’ of a universal law of nature. This identifying role is possible because the concept of ‘physical constant’ fulfills the same need for universality, stability, and fundamentality (as universal laws) for increasing the epistemic value of a scientific theory. This can be demonstrated in two different ways. The first involves a thought experiment envisioning science without physical constants, which appears to be a science of local and particular laws. The second is the observation that physical constants mostly emerge as components in an algebraic formulation of universal laws, but not in the algebraic formulation of particular laws. This observation about the link between physical constants and universal laws of nature, if correct, makes two contributions. First, it clarifies, at least partially, the ambiguity in the use (and the absence) of the concept ‘law’ in contemporary science. Second, it can help in distinguishing between a universal law and a particular law, while avoiding one of the abiding philosophical problems regarding laws of nature—the problem of the ceteris-paribus criterion for a generalization.
This study tested the hypothesis that the changes in hydrophysical parameters and heterogeneity of water flow in an aeolian sandy soil have the same trend as the process of succession. Three sub-sites were demarcated at the area of about 50 m x 50 m. The first sub-site was located at the pine-forest glade covered with a biological soil crust and represented the initial stage of succession. The second sub-site was located at the grassland and represented more advanced stage of succession. The third sub-site was located at the pine forest with 30-year old Scots pines and represented advanced stage (close to climax) of succession. The sandy soil at the surface was compared to the soil at the pine-forest glade at 50 cm depth, which served as a control because it had a similar texture but limited impact of vegetation or organic matter. It was found that any type of vegetation cover studied had a strong influence on hydrophysical parameters and heterogeneity of water flow in an aeolian sandy soil during hot and dry spells. The changes in some hydrophysical parameters (WDPT, R, k(-2 cm), Sw(-2 cm), ECS and DPF) and heterogeneity of water flow in an aeolian sandy soil had the same trend as the process of succession, but it was not so in the case of Ks and Se(-2 cm), probably due to the higher content of smaller soil particles in grassland soil in comparison with that content at other sub-sites. Both the persistence and index of water repellency of pure sand differed significantly from those of grassland, glade and forest soils. The highest repellency parameter values in forest soil resulted in the lowest value of both the water sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity in this soil in comparison with other soils studied. The highest value of ethanol sorptivity and the lowest value of saturated hydraulic conductivity in the grassland soil in comparison with other soils studied were due to the higher content of fine-grained (silt and clay) particles in the grassland soil. The effective cross section and the degree of preferential flow of pure sand differed significantly from those of grassland, glade and forest soils. The change in soil hydrophysical parameters due to soil water repellency resulted in preferential flow in the grassland, glade and forest soils, while the wetting front in pure sand area exhibited a form typical of that for stable flow. The latter shape of the wetting front can be expected in the studied soils in spring, when soil water repellency is alleviated substantially., The columnar shape of the wetting front, which can be met during heavy rains following long dry and hot spells, was attributed to redistribution of applied water on the surface to a series of micro-catchments, which acted as runon and runoff zones., V príspevku sa testovala hypotéza, že zmeny hydrofyzikálnych parametrov a heterogenita prúdenia vody v piesočnatej pôde majú rovnaký trend ako proces sukcesie. Na ploche asi 50 m x 50 m sa vytýčili tri parcely. Prvá parcela sa nachádzala na čistine pokrytej biologickým pôdnym pokryvom a reprezentovala počiatočné štádium sukcesie. Druhá parcela sa nachádzala na zatrávnenej ploche a reprezentovala rozvinutejšie štádium sukcesie. Tretia parcela sa nachádzala v borovicovom lese a reprezentovala rozvinuté štádium sukcesie (blízke ku klimaxovej vegetácii). Piesočnatá pôda na povrchu parciel sa porovnávala s pôdou z čistiny v hĺbke 50 cm, ktorá slúžila ako kontrola, pretože mala skoro rovnakú textúru, avšak veľmi malý vplyv vegetácie alebo organickej hmoty. Zistili sme, že akýkoľvek typ študovaného vegetačného pokryvu mal veľký vplyv na hydrofyzikálne parametre a heterogenitu prúdenia vody v piesočnatej pôde počas horúcich a suchých období. Zmeny niektorých hydrofyzikálnych parametrov (WDPT, R, k(-2 cm), Sw(-2 cm), ECS a DPF) a heterogenity prúdenia vody v piesočnatej pôde mali rovnaký trend ako proces sukcesie, neplatilo to však v prípade Ks a Se(-2 cm), pravdepodobne v dôsledku vyššieho obsahu malých pôdnych častíc v pôde s trávnatým pokryvom v porovnaní s inými parcelami. Stálosť aj index vodoodpudivosti čistého piesku sa štatisticky významne líšili od hodnôt týchto parametrov v pôde pod trávou, biologickým pôdnym pokryvom a borovicami. Najvyššie hodnoty parametrov vodoodpudivosti v tráve pod borovicami mali za následok najnižšie hodnoty sorptivity pre vodu a hydraulickej vodivosti v tejto pôde v porovnaní s ostatnými študovanými pôdami. Najvyššie hodnoty sorptivity pre etanol a najnižšie hodnoty nasýtenej hydraulickej vodivosti v pôde pod trávou v porovnaní s inými pôdami boli pravdepodobne spôsobené vyšším obsahom malých pôdnych častíc v tejto pôde. Efektívny prierez (ECS) a stupeň preferovaného prúdenia (DPF) čistého piesku sa štatisticky významne líšili od hodnôt týchto parametrov v pôde pod trávou, biologickým pôdnym pokryvom a borovicami. Zmeny hydrofyzikálnych parametrov pôdy v dôsledku jej vodoodpudivosti mala za následok preferované prúdenie v pôde pod trávou, biologickým pôdnym pokryvom a borovicami, zatiaľ čo čelo omáčania v čistom piesku malo tvar typický pre stabilné prúdenie. Takýto tvar čela omáčania možno vo všetkých študovaných pôdach očakávať na jar, keď je vodoodpudivosť pôdy podstatne znížená v dôsledku jej zvýšenej vlhkosti., and Čelo omáčania v tvare prstov, ktoré možno očakávať počas prívalových dažďov nasledujúcich po dlhých suchých a horúcich obdobiach, možno pričítať redistribúcii vody na povrchu pôdy do viacerých mikropovodí, ktoré sa správali ako vtokové a odtokové oblasti
Water erosion is an important degradation agent not only on the agricultural land but it also shows up on the forested soil. It is associated with the progress of forest mechanisation and with changing forest cover and it occurs especially on the Flysch substratum under exceptional hydrometerological situations. Research of water erosion has been organized by the Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology of the Ostrava university since 1976 till 2000 in the central part of the Moravskoslezske Beskydy Mts. (NE part of the Czech Republic). The article shows main results of analysis of suspended load regime. Suspended load as a transition part of the erosional products is an evidence of the intensity of erosional processes in the observed catchments. and Vodní eroze je důležitým degradačním činitelem nejen na zemědělské půdě, ale také na půdě lesní. Vodní eroze je spojená s rozvojem mechanizace lesních prací a se změnou skladby lesních porostů, a to zvláště ve flyšovém podloží při výjimečných hydrometeorologických situacích. Výzkum vodní eroze lesní půdy byl organizován Katedrou fyzické geografie a geoekologie Ostravské univerzity od roku 1976 do roku 2000 ve střední části Moravskoslezských Beskdyd (severovýchodní část České republiky). Studie obsahuje hlavní výsledky analýzy plaveninového režimu, který jako transportní část erozních produktů svědčí o intenzitě erozních procesů ve sledovaných povodích.
The project was aimed at comparing suspended load in four model river basins which are about of the same area and where each of them represents different geographical environment within the territory of the Czech Republic. We have chosen the Blšanka River basin, and basins of the rivers of Lužická Nisa, Loučka and Olšava as model territories. We have developed a model of the erosion risk for these basins. The model is based on a multi-criterion scale evaluation of chief erosion factors so that we can compare the potential of river basins for the sediment transport and define the chief risky areas. The sediment transport was evaluated for closing profiles of model river basins. We defined basic types of run-off situations to characterise the relationship between the content of sediments and the water flow. Mains trends in the development of erosion processes and suspended load are discussed in conclusion. and Hlavním cílem projektu bylo porovnat transport plavenin ve čtyřech modelových povodích, která jsou navzájem porovnatelná svojí plochou a zároveň reprezentují odlišné geografické prostředí území České republiky. Jako modelová území byla zvolena povodí Blšanky, Lužické Nisy, Loučky a Olšavy. Pro sledovaná povodí byl vytvořen model erozní ohroženosti založený na multikriteriálním bodovém hodnocení hlavních erozních faktorů s cílem porovnat potenciál povodí pro transport plavenin a vymezit hlavní rizikové oblasti. Transport plavenin byl vyhodnocen pro uzávěrové profily modelových povodí. Pro bližší charakteristiku vztahu mezi obsahem plavenin a průtokem vody byly vymezeny základní typy odtokových situací. V závěru jsou diskutovány trendy ve vývoji erozních procesů a transportu plavenin.
This essay deals with the relationship between philosophy of law and philosophy of language. The author closely follows the discussion concerning the determination of the content of the law which has been remarked by current semantics and pragmatics in philosophy of language. According to a view that has considerable currency at present, philosophy of language and linguistics have a direct bearing on the content of the law. The general outlook of this view - the communicative-content theory of law (the communication theory) can be captured in the following way. Legal texts are linguistic texts, so the meaning or content of a legal text is an instance of linguistic meaning generally. It therefore stands to reason that, in order to understand the meaning of an authoritative legal text or utterance, such as a statute or regulation, we should look to our best theories about language and communication., Tato esej pojednává o vztahu mezi filozofií práva a filosofií jazyka. Autorka úzce navazuje na diskusi o vymezení obsahu zákona, která byla v současné době sémantikou a pragmatikou ve filosofii jazyka poznamenána. Podle názoru, který má v současné době značnou měnu, má filosofie jazyka a lingvistiky přímý vliv na obsah zákona. Obecná perspektiva tohoto pohledu - teorie komunikativního obsahu práva ( teorie komunikace) lze zachytit následujícím způsobem. Právní texty jsou lingvistické texty, takže význam nebo obsah právního textu je obecně známkou lingvistického významu. Proto je rozumné, abychom pochopili význam autoritativního právního textu nebo projevu, jako je zákon nebo nařízení, a měli bychom se zaměřit na naše nejlepší teorie o jazyce a komunikaci., and Marek Neština
This work examines the main features of the flash flood regime in Central Europe as revealed by an analysis of flash floods that have occurred in Slovakia. The work is organized into the following two parts: The first part focuses on estimating the rainfall-runoff relationships for 3 major flash flood events, which were among the most severe events since 1998 and caused a loss of lives and a large amount of damage. The selected flash floods occurred on the 20th of July, 1998, in the Malá Svinka and Dubovický Creek basins; the 24th of July, 2001, at Štrbský Creek; and the 19th of June, 2004, at Turniansky Creek. The analysis aims to assess the flash flood peaks and rainfall-runoff properties by combining post-flood surveys and the application of hydrological and hydraulic post-event analyses. Next, a spatially-distributed hydrological model based on the availability of the raster information of the landscape’s topography, soil and vegetation properties, and rainfall data was used to simulate the runoff. The results from the application of the distributed hydrological model were used to analyse the consistency of the surveyed peak discharges with respect to the estimated rainfall properties and drainage basins. In the second part these data were combined with observations from flash flood events which were observed during the last 100 years and are focused on an analysis of the relationship between the flood peaks and the catchment area. The envelope curve was shown to exhibit a more pronounced decrease with the catchment size with respect to other flash flood relationships found in the Mediterranean region. The differences between the two relationships mainly reflect changes in the coverage of the storm sizes and hydrological characteristics between the two regions.