The Importance of Rings in Science and Technology
Rings are usually worn on the fingers as symbols of affection and commitment. In some cultures, the choice of finger and ring for wearing is believed to carry a spiritual or mystical meaning. The rings are often made of precious metal or gemstones. They are often given as a symbol of love or marriage and are traditionally exchanged on the day of the engagement or wedding. Rings are also often a sign of wealth and status. In science and technology, rings are used in a number of applications. Examples include signalling, detecting and measuring the position of objects or particles in an electromagnetic field, and in detecting rotational motion. Rings in physics and mathematics are objects that have the properties of an abelian group under addition, closed under multiplication and associative, with the property that multiplication distributes over addition. Such rings are important in number theory, algebraic geometry and invariant theory. They are also fundamental to many areas of astronomy and are an essential tool in determining the orbits of planets, stars and other objects in our solar system. There are several ways that a ring can be designed. Some are made of precious metals, while others are made of less expensive materials such as leather or plastic. The basic design consists of three parts: the circle or hoop, the shoulders and the bezel. The hoop may be circular, semicircular or flat. The shoulders consist of a thickening or enlargement of the circle wide enough to support the bezel. The bezel is the top part of the ring that holds the gem or other ornament. A ring is often a circle of diamonds, sapphires or other precious stones. It is sometimes made of gold, silver or platinum. Occasionally, it is made of other metals such as titanium. In the case of rare and valuable rings, such as those of royal families or ancient civilizations, they can be very elaborate, with intricate patterns and carvings. In a video game, a ring prevents the player from being defeated when they are holding it. However, it cannot protect the holder from certain dangers such as falling into bottomless pits or failing missions with a time limit. Mary Douglas found an anthropological connection between the use of rings and the structuralist theories of language of Roman Jakobson in her book Thinking in Circles (1921–May 2007). Ring structures were often used by some African cultures, and she notes that Western readers are slow to recognise these patterns in texts. Astronomers are searching for clues to the origin of rings around some of the outer planets in our solar system, and to their disintegration in some cases. This has led to speculation that they may be the remains of moons that broke apart, or even objects from the Kuiper belt that were drawn close to Earth by gravity. In the meantime, we are still learning about the structure and composition of the rings themselves.