Metamorphosis Essay, Research Paper

Metamorphosis: In biology, striking change of form or structure in an individual

after hatching or birth. Hormones called molting and juvenile hormones, which

are not species specific, apparently regulate the changes. These physical

changes as well as those involving growth and differentiation are accompanied by

alterations of the organism’s physiology, biochemistry, and behavior. From

animal development. Metamorphosis, the transformation of the larva into an

adult, is a more or less complicated process depending on the degree of

difference between the two forms. The transformation may be gradual, extend over

a long period, and involve a number of intermediate stages; alternatively, the

transformation may be achieved in one step. In the latter case, especially if

the difference between the larva and adult is great, large parts of the body of

the larva, including all the specifically larval organs, disintegrate (necrobiotic

metamorphosis). Critical mass: ?n nuclear physics, the minimum amount of a

given fissile material necessary to achieve a self-sustaining fission chain

reaction under stated conditions. Its size depends on several factors, including

the kind of fissile material used, its concentration and purity, and the

composition and geometry of the surrounding reaction system. History &

Philosophy. The study either of the historical process and its development or of

the methods used by historians to understand their material. The term history

may be employed in two quite different senses: it may mean (1) the events and

actions that together make up the human past, or (2) the accounts given of that

past and the modes of investigation whereby they are arrived at or constructed.