Composition of
Substances
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Last
Update: 3/30/02
Copyright© 1996-2002. All rights reserved. See Terms of Usage.
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#$TangibleStuffCompositionType tangible
stuff types
A collection of collections. Instances are
subcollections of #$PartiallyTangible
whose membership is based only on the physical and/or
chemical composition of the elements, and not on any other
property. Thus #$TangibleStuffCompositionType
does not have as elements any collections whose instances
are determined by the physical state they are in. For
example, the collection #$Water is an instance of #$TangibleStuffCompositionType:
instances of #$Water are all pieces of substance with the
chemical composition H20. On the other hand , the collection
of all pieces of ice [i.e., (#$SolidFn
#$Water)] is not a #$TangibleStuffCompositionType,
because membership in the collection of ice depends not
solely on the substance's composition, but also on its
physical state. More sample instances of #$TangibleStuffCompositionType:
the collections #$Nylon, #$GasolineFuel, #$CottageCheese,
#$FattyTissue, #$BabyPowder, #$Nitrogen, and #$Glass.
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direct instance of: #$SecondOrderCollection
direct specialization of:
#$ExistingStuffType
direct generalization of:
#$ChemicalCompoundType
#$PureCompoundType
#$PhysicalCompositionPredicate composition predicate
A collection of predicates that are used to relate
a partially tangible thing to its partially tangible parts
or components, where those parts or components might or
might not be spatially continuous or discrete. Each instance
of #$PhysicalCompositionPredicate
has an arity of 2, and both argument places are constrained
(see #$argIsa) to instances of #$PartiallyTangible,
or some subcollection thereof. Each instance of #$PhysicalCompositionPredicate
is a specialization of the predicate #$physicalDecompositions
(q.v.); consequently, for each instance PRED of #$PhysicalCompositionPredicate,
either (#$genlPreds PRED #$physicalDecompositions)
or (#$genlInverse PRED #$physicalDecompositions) holds.
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direct instance of:
#$PredicateCategory
direct specialization of:
#$CotemporalPredicate #$PartPredicate
direct generalization of:
#$PhysicalPartPredicate
Mixtures Solutions Suspensions
#$Mixture mixtures
A specialization of #$PartiallyTangible.
Each instance of #$Mixture is a
partially tangible thing composed of two or more different
constituents (see the predicate #$constituents)
which have been mixed. The inputs to this mixing do not form
chemical bonds among themselves, and at a later time the
mixture may be separated back out into these inputs.
Specializations of #$Mixture
include #$Blood, #$Mud, #$Air, and #$CarbonatedBeverage.
Note that each instance of #$Mixture has a
composition but not a structure; thus, the following are
_not_ instances of #$Mixture, since
all have some structure: a wet sponge, a person, or a
portion of plywood.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingStuffType
direct specialization of:
#$PartiallyTangible
direct generalization of:
#$Solution
#$Air #$Suspension
#$MetalAlloy
#$Solution solutions
(tangible things)
An instance of #$ExistingStuffType,
and a specialization of #$Mixture. Each
instance of #$Solution is a
mixture of two or more chemically distinct substances.
Instances of #$Solution are
homogeneous, meaning that the composition at any one point
in a given instance is the same as that at any other point.
In contrast, instances of #$Suspension
are mixtures in which small discontinuous particles are
surrounded by a continuous fluid. The #$solvent of
every #$Solution has
the #$stateOfMatter
#$LiquidStateOfMatter. Thus #$Solutions
also normally exhibit the properties of a liquid, since #$solvents are
#$mainConstituents.
Examples of #$Solutions
include a sample of seawater, a cup of coffee, a tincture of
iodine, some vanilla extract.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingStuffType
direct specialization of:
#$Mixture
direct generalization of: #$Water-Saline
#$Suspension suspensions
A collection of tangible stuffs; a subcollection of
#$Mixture. Each
instance of #$Suspension
is a mixture which has exactly one #$suspendingFluid
and at least one kind of #$suspendedPart.
Each of the #$suspendedParts
is an instance of #$Particle, and
there are a mob of them. Some suspensions are fairly stable
(e.g., mayonnaise), while others tend to separate quickly
(e.g., sugar stirred into cold lemonade). Other examples of
#$Suspension:
a #$CloudInSky, a
spray of aerosol deodorant.
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direct instance of:
#$ExistingStuffType
direct specialization of:
#$Mixture
#$suspendingFluid suspending fluid
The predicate #$suspendingFluid
indicates the particular fluid in which particles are
suspended in a particular instance of #$Suspension.
Thus, (#$suspendingFluid
SUS FLU) means that FLU is among the #$constituents
of the #$Suspension
SUS, FLU is a fluid (i.e., liquid OR gas), and FLU is the
fluid constituent which suspends the particles in SUS. For
example, in an instance of #$CloudlikeObject, the #$suspendingFluid
is the portion of #$Air that is surrounding and supporting
the droplets of water vapour in the cloud. In muddy water,
the #$suspendingFluid
is that instance of #$Water which is supporting the
particles of soil.
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direct instance of: #$AntiTransitiveBinaryPredicate
#$AsymmetricBinaryPredicate #$PhysicalCompositionPredicate
#$CotemporalObjectsSlot
direct specialization of:
#$mainConstituent
#$suspendedPart suspended part
The predicate #$suspendedPart
indicates an instance of #$Particle which
is suspended in a particular instance of #$Suspension.
Thus, (#$suspendedPart
SUS PART) means that PART is a #$Particle
suspended in the #$suspendingFluid
of the #$Suspension
SUS. Examples: in an instance of #$CloudOfH2O, the
(typical) #$suspendedPart
is a #$Particle
of water; in muddy water, the (typical) #$suspendedPart
is a #$Particle
of soil.
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direct instance of:
#$PhysicalCompositionPredicate
#$AntiSymmetricBinaryPredicate #$CotemporalObjectsSlot
direct specialization of:
#$constituents
#$solvent solvent
(composition predicate)
The predicate #$solvent
indicates a particular liquid in a #$Solution in
which the #$solute is dissolved.
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direct instance of: #$AntiSymmetricBinaryPredicate
#$PhysicalCompositionPredicate
#$CotemporalObjectsSlot
direct specialization of:
#$mainConstituent
#$solute solute
The predicate #$solute
indicates a particular instance of #$PartiallyTangible
in a #$Solution
which is dissolved in the #$solvent of
that #$Solution.
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direct instance of: #$AntiTransitiveBinaryPredicate
#$AsymmetricBinaryPredicate #$PhysicalCompositionPredicate
#$CotemporalObjectsSlot
direct specialization of:
#$constituents
Specifying Composition
#$NoteAboutIsaVsMainConstituentVsConstituents note
about isa vs main constituent vs constituents
When to use #$isa, #$mainConstituent,
or #$constituents.
We develop the following example as a basis for explaining
the differences. Consider X, where (#$isa X #$Water).
If we add some other substance(s) to X, to the point where
the mixture acquires some salient characteristic(s)
different from #$Water while retaining all the main
properties, then we should assert (#$mainConstituent
X W), where W is the original water -- i.e., (#$isa W #$Water) --
and X is the whole new mixture of W with some other
stuff(s). Suppose we add enough enough other stuff that the
physical properties of the mixture become significantly
different from those of water; then we should assert only (#$constituents
X W). #$isa - Use
#$isa if X
would commonly be referred to as `water', including cases in
which a small number of minor characteristics are different
due to some admixture. Examples (arguably, 3 and 4 are
borderline cases): 1. An instance of (#$PureFn #$Water)
#$isa
#$Water. 2. An instance of #$Water-Ingestible #$isa #$Water (but
may have trace constituents). 3. An instance of #$PoolWater
#$isa #$Water
(but has some #$Chlorine as a salient #$constituents).
4. An instance of #$SeaWater #$isa #$Water (but
has some #$Salt-NaCl as a salient #$constituents).
#$mainConstituent
- Use #$mainConstituent
when X contains other substances besides water, would NOT
commonly referred to as `water', and yet has MOST of the
material properties of water. As a rule, most of the
properties of the #$mainConstituent
transfer to the substance it's a part of. Often such
substances have at least one important and/or perceptible
characteristic (due to admixture) that is quite different
from the properties of water. Examples: 1. An instance of
#$Lemonade is NOT called `water' but has water as a #$mainConstituent.
It tastes quite different from water. It has nutritional
(caloric) value. It is a human-made beverage. 2. An instance
of #$Coffee-Beverage is NOT called `water' but has water as
a #$mainConstituent.
It tastes quite different from water. It contains caffeine.
Also, a specific inference about coffee's (lack of)
transparency should override the transparency which would
otherwise be inferred from the material properties of its #$mainConstituent.
3. Aqueous hydrochloric acid has many of the properties of
its main constituent, water -- for example, transparency,
viscosity, density, freezing point, etc. But it also has the
very important difference that it is highly acidic, caustic,
etc. -- and attributing to it water's potability would be
disastrous. #$constituents
- Use #$constituents
when X is NOT commonly referred to as `water' and has FEW
properties of water, even though X contains water. Examples:
1. An instance of (#$SolidFn
#$Gelatin) is NOT called `water', and though it has water
among its #$constituents,
gelatin has very few of the properties of water. 2. An
instance of #$Concrete is NOT called `water'; though it has
water among its #$constituents,
it has none of the salient characteristics of water. 3. An
instance of #$Mud is NOT called `water' and has few
characteristics of water, though water is among its #$constituents.
Its #$mainConstituent
is some portion of #$Soil-Generic.
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direct instance of:
#$Individual
#$constituents constituent
(spatially intrinsic slot)
The predicate #$constituents
is used to indicate a particular #$PartiallyTangible
which makes up another (possibly non-distinct) #$PartiallyTangible
thing. (#$constituents
WHL PART) means that the individual object WHL is partially
constituted by PART, and PART is more or less uniformly
distributed in WHL. For example, the two teaspoons of
chocolate syrup that I put in my milk become #$constituents
of my glass of chocolate milk. Note that #$constituents
does not entail any special kind of association or bond
among the constituents of a thing; they might be simply
mixed, they might be chemically bonded, and they might be
part of some complex structure.
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direct instance of:
#$CotemporalObjectsSlot
#$AntiSymmetricBinaryPredicate #$ReflexiveBinaryPredicate
#$TransitiveBinaryPredicate #$PhysicalCompositionPredicate
direct specialization of:
#$physicalDecompositions
#$mainConstituent main constituent
(#$mainConstituent
WHOLE PART) means that WHOLE is partially constituted by
PART (so that (#$constituents
WHOLE PART) holds), and (as a default) the physical
properties of WHOLE are those of PART. For example, for a
particular instance of #$Lemonade, there is an instance of
#$Water which is the #$mainConstituent,
and most of the physical properties of the instance of
#$Lemonade derive from the instance of #$Water. On the other
hand, a person is _not_ considered to have some portion of
#$Water as #$mainConstituent,
even though much of a person's mass is #$Water, since the
physical properties of a person are not the same as those of water.
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direct instance of: #$AntiSymmetricBinaryPredicate
#$PhysicalCompositionPredicate
#$CotemporalObjectsSlot
#$FunctionalSlot
direct specialization of: #$conceptuallyRelated #$constituents
#$ingredients ingredient
(composition predicate)
The predicate #$ingredients
is used to indicate a particular input used to make a
particular artifact. (#$ingredients
ART INGR) means that the #$PartiallyTangible
thing INGR was one of the #$inputs to the
creation of the #$Artifact ART, and
INGR is one of ART's #$physicalDecompositions.
Note that #$ingredients
applies only to those inputs which retain their identity in
the creation process and which are incorporated into the
resulting #$Artifact. For
example, a meatball can be considered an ingredient of a
plate of spaghetti, and a portion of ground beef can be
considered an ingredient of the meatball. On the other hand,
we would not say that an egg is an ingredient of the
meatball, even though it was an input to the creation
process, because its identity was not preserved.
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direct instance of: #$AsymmetricBinaryPredicate #$PhysicalCompositionPredicate
#$TransitiveBinaryPredicate #$CotemporalObjectsSlot
direct specialization of: #$physicallyContains #$physicalDecompositions
Purity
#$PureFn pure fn
An instance of #$CollectionDenotingFunction.
(#$PureFn X)
denotes the subcollection of the #$ChemicalCompoundType
X whose instances are chemically pure. Note that #$PureFn can be
applied only to instances of #$ChemicalCompoundType
(such as #$Fructose or #$Water), but not to mixtures (such
as #$Air). See also #$PureCompound.
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direct instance of: #$UnaryIntersectionFunction #$Individual
#$PureCompound pure compounds
A collection of tangible stuffs. Each instance of
#$PureCompound
is a chemically pure portion of stuff belonging to some
particular #$ChemicalCompoundType
(e.g., #$Carbon, #$Water, #$Cellulose ). `Chemically pure'
applies to a piece of stuff which has no sub-portions that
fail to conform to the chemical composition of its (single)
#$ChemicalCompoundType.
In typical contexts, most common portions of a #$ChemicalCompoundType
will not be instances of #$PureCompound
. For example, a piece of pencil lead, though mostly carbon,
will not be an instance since it is not pure carbon and any
portion of ordinary tap water will contain too many
impurities. Many sub-portions of either a piece of pencil
lead or portion of tap water will fail to conform to the
chemical composition of either carbon or water. Some
instances of #$ChemicalCompoundType
are subcollections of #$PureCompound
in most contexts but not in all. In typical domestic
contexts, for example, a piece of ordinary distilled water
would be an instance of #$PureCompound
. However, in a clean room or microchip manufacturing
context, ordinary distilled water would probably be
considerd impure (see #$ImpureCompound). In general, to
refer to a pure instance of a substance one can use the
function #$PureFn, e.g. (#$PureFn
#$Carbon). Note that #$PureFn has #$PureCompound
as a #$resultGenl
. Since this kind of purity is relative to specified
chemical composition only, #$PureCompound
(and #$PureFn)
does not pertain to mixtures in Cyc (such as #$Air). Cf. #$Mixture, #$ChemicalCompoundType.
See also #$PureCompoundType
and #$ImpureCompound.
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direct instance of:
#$TangibleStuffCompositionType
direct specialization of:
#$InanimateThing
#$PureCompoundType types
of pure chemical compound
A collection of collections. Every instance of #$PureCompoundType
is a collection which is a subcollection of both #$PureCompound
and of some particular #$ChemicalCompoundType
(e.g., #$Carbon, #$Water, #$Cellulose). Each instance of #$PureCompoundType
is defined ONLY by the properties of its #$ChemicalCompoundType,
and of #$PureCompound
(q.v.). For example, (#$PureFn
#$Fructose) is an instance of #$PureCompoundType,
but the subcollections of #$Fructose, such as (say) `pure
fructose derived from honey' would not be instances of #$PureCompoundType.
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direct instance of: #$SecondOrderCollection
direct specialization of:
#$TangibleStuffCompositionType
Cyc
has a representation scheme for one sense of `purity', which is
chemical purity. See #$PureCompound, #$PureFn, and #$PureCompoundType.
Copyright© 1996-2002. All rights reserved. See Terms of Usage.