What is Act: Definition and 193 Discussions

The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was an Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush.
USA PATRIOT is a backronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.The Patriot Act was enacted following the September 11 attacks with the stated goal of dramatically tightening U.S. national security, particularly as it related to foreign terrorism. In general, the act included three main provisions:

expanded abilities of law enforcement to surveil, including by tapping domestic and international phones;
eased interagency communication to allow federal agencies to more effectively use all available resources in counterterrorism efforts; and
increased penalties for terrorism crimes and an expanded list of activities which would qualify someone to be charged with terrorism.

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  1. QuarkCharmer

    News The Woman's Option to Raise Kids (WORK) Act: Discussion

    Anyone heard about this yet? Work Act: I'm curious what peoples thoughts on this are.
  2. A

    How to Determine if Friction Will Act?

    Let's consider a system of three boxes stacked vertically, resting on the ground. There is friction acting between all surfaces involved. I push on the middle box, but without enough force to move the system at all. If we are to analyze the middle box, we'll see a static friction force...
  3. M

    Which substance can act only as a reducing agent?

    Homework Statement Which substance can act only as a reducing agent? I2 BrCl NaBr HIO4 Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution If a substance oxidizes something, the substance itself becomes reduced (gains electrons.) Halogens have high electron affinities and accept...
  4. M

    With which sample(s) of halide does sulphuric acid act as an oxidising agent?

    Concentrated sulphuric acid is added to separate solid samples of sodium chloride, sodium bromide or sodium iodide. With which sample(s) does sulphuric acid act as an oxidising agent? A sodium chloride only B sodium chloride and sodium bromide C sodium bromide and sodium iodide D...
  5. Spinnor

    Can a potential act in a small region of spacetime?

    I would like to perturb the wave-function of a localized charged particle with a potential that is close to a delta function in space and time. Do Maxwell's equations prevent such a potential in theory if not in practice? If so can I in a very loose sense think of the potential as giving the...
  6. Simfish

    Do some geologists actually act a lot like Randy Marsh?

    Or in other words, are a lot of geologists pretty crazy and funny at the same time? I'm getting this sense just by looking at the presentations of the geologists at the Yale Geology & Geophysics open house. It makes me wish that people in other fields had the same sense of humor that...
  7. L

    What forces do act upon light?

    I am not able to understand light although I guess I am not the only one since It is such an abstract subject. When light with its own duality wave-particle goes through the air, does it experiment any collision against it? Because air must have particles, atoms... should not there be a...
  8. E

    How Do Satellites Stay in Orbit with Centripetal and Gravitational Forces?

    I'm really confused I have learned at school that the satellite remains in it's orbit because it's in an equilibrium state due to Centripetal force and the gravitational force but how? Doesn't the centripetal force and the the gravitational force both of them act toward the the earth? And what...
  9. J

    News National Defense Authorization Act: Military can detain US citizens?

    The National Defense Authorization Act was passed in the Senate 93-7. In this bill, language was inserted that may be interpreted to mean the military can hold US citizens indefinitely without trial. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/12/senate-military-detention/ Is a Wired editorial on...
  10. S

    Why do birds on power lines not act as resistors?

    Imagine a circuit with a cell and no resistors. If I connected a resistor to two points in the circuit, would a current flow through it? Does a bird on a power line act like this? Why does it not get electrocuted? Sorry if this is a stupid question - I'm terrible with electronics! :blushing:
  11. S

    Why do the forces of nature act on each other?

    why do fundamental forces of nature exist? Is it to attain a state of equilibrium? For e.g. is a positive charge is attracted to a negative charge to attain a state of equilibrium? Then why do forces like gravity, strong force, weak force exist?
  12. C

    News Major Portion of Affordable Care Act Axed

    Last Friday, the administration killed a major portion of the healthcare law, called CLASS, or the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/14/ap/health/main20120670.shtml ). Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius...
  13. T

    Does the converse of Lenz's Law act to compensate for E flux?

    Lenz's Law says that the induced emf from a change in B flux creates a B field that compensates for the flux change. I know that a changing E field induces a magnetic field as well, but does that magnetic field act in a way to compensate for the change in the E field? Or is that not physically...
  14. D

    How does a very long object in space act with time

    If i put a 100 light year long string in space in a straight line and i put a astronaut at each end. Then the astronaut at one end took hold of the string and pulled it, would the person who is 100 light years away at the other end of the string see immediately the string move away from him...
  15. A

    3 forces act in equilibrium, calculate their angles

    I have 3 forces, I assume that the resultant is equilibrium, that is just a guess. a - 12N b - 5N c - 13N how do i calculate the angles between the forces. I think I have to use the cosine rule but am not really sure. I have a book Physics made Simple but it doesn't really help Alan
  16. S

    Testing Questions about the SAT and ACT

    I have a few questions about the SAT and ACT college admission tests. *How many questions are there on the SAT and ACT? *How long does each test typically take to complete? *How are the tests scored? *What is the "average" score for both tests? *Which test is easier? *Do certain colleges...
  17. T

    Three forces act on a moving object

    Homework Statement Three forces act on a moving object. One force has a magnitude of 80.0 N and is directed due north. Another force has a magnitude of 60.0 N and is directed due west. What must be the magnitude and direction of the third force, such that the object continues to move with a...
  18. N

    Photons, what makes them a act like a wave?

    If photons exist relatively unbounded by time, then does this mean they're outside of time, or experiencing past/present/future all in the same instance? Does this imply that they can match the quantum state of any pair photon/electron within some range, which is based on the charge of the...
  19. O

    Forces and factors which act upon masses as they aproach c, and how they do so.

    If the increase in an entity's inertia as it aproaches the speed of light causes a distortion in it's mass, then does the gravity of the entity become distorted as well? And if so, by what degree?
  20. T

    How does the electron's vanishing act work?

    When I was in School, my science teachers over-simplified everything to the point of being totally wrong. I guess, that's how they themselves were taught by their teachers.. or it could be that they have no idea they are wrong... or it could be that I didn't really understand them well (for a...
  21. W

    Stainless steel electrodes act as battery?

    I have two probes. They consist of a stainless steel cylinder inside another, one held by epoxy and one held by acrylic. I can measure a voltage difference between them. I have placed them in tap water and applied a 5V difference across them then disconnected the voltage. The problem is that...
  22. M

    Can the Beta carbons of ketones act as nucleophiles? And one more question.

    [PLAIN]http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/4545/asdfrr.jpg I'm wondering what the mechanism would be of the reaction in the pic I've attached. It does seem the Beta carbon acts as a nucleophile and attacks the carboxylic acid. I have a couple of questions, one general (#1) and one specific to...
  23. M

    When does LiAlH4 act as a base and when does it act as a nucleophile?

    When you throw in LiAlH4 with a carboxylic acid, you always see the reaction being written out as the Hydride ion attacking the carbonyl function. But why can't it just de-protonate the OH? Also, can't LAH also deprotonate alpha carbons of carbonyl functions that are pretty acidic? Why...
  24. M

    News Freedom of Information Act - taken too far? (Palin Emails)

    Primary Issue CNN's Email Archive of Sarah Palin I am personally on the fence about this, and am very interested to hear opinions on the merits and disadvantages of this type of action (the media posting the entire email-log of a politician for public consumption). On one hand, I am all...
  25. C

    News Assuming Affordable Care Act Is Shot Down, Should There Be a Healthcare Hospital Tax?

    So I was discussing the issue of healthcare with a friend, and he pointed out something I hadn't thought of, but that I think makes sense---basically, he emphasized how Ronald Reagan signed legislation that made it where hospitals are mandated to treat a person if they are taken into the...
  26. P

    How Can Headphones Act as Antennas

    If you've used Apple's latest iPods, you know that they feature a built-in radio that uses the headphones themselves as an antenna. But how is this possible? I really have two questions about this: 1.) Aren't the headphone wires shielded and insulated so that they should not be able to...
  27. M

    Rule Util vs Act Util: Explaining the Differences

    Hi this is my first time posting. Can someone please explain to me how rule-utilitarianism appears to solve some of the problems with act utilitarianism. Also, what are the problems related to act-util? I am writing an essay and this question really has me stumped. Thanks for the help.
  28. P

    Why Can't P-N Junction Connected Series Act as a P-N-P Transistor?

    Hi I'm practising past papers however have no answers. one of the questions says: Why can a p-n junction connected in series with an n-p junction not act as an p-n-p transistor. My only thoughts were that the base element must be thin (approx 10 wavelengths of light) and in thus in this...
  29. Spinnor

    Could cell phones act as cell phone relay towers in an emergancy?

    In an emergency could scattered cell phones form a communications network if properly programed without need for relay towers? I'm guessing such a system might have severe limitations but if the software was built in it might be an inexpensive way to keep communications going during an...
  30. R

    A set the quaternion group could act on

    Homework Statement Find the smallest integer n such that the quaternion group G has a faithful operation on a set Sof order n. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution So the homomorphism between G and permutations of S is injective. which means the order of S_n is bigger...
  31. Z

    How would gravity or any 1/r^2 force act in one dimension?

    From what I know, in 2 dimensions gravity works as 1 / R, 3 dimensions is 1 / R^2, and in 4 dimensions 1 / R^3 But what about one dimension? Is it just proportional to R? So the formula would be F = GMMR? Please explain in detail, how gravity would behave in one dimension and how...
  32. P

    Does a perfect concave mirror act as a radiation heatpump

    if one was able to make a perfect concave mirror with half a cube shape perfect mirror in front of it ( so thermally isolated from outside with a perfect vacuum inside it) And a black body almost covering the front of the Concave mirror that is red hot and another much smaller black body in the...
  33. A

    The Inequities of the Americans with Disabilities Act

    The Americans with Disability Act is a horrible law. First, as disabled goes, I am pretty bad. So I need accomodations and cannot just get around. So in theory the ADA should help me, well it does not. The critics of the ADA are correct, all it did was elevate people who are disabled...
  34. V

    Simple act of taking derivatives, I suppose

    I am having bit of a problem proving Eq. (0.2): (0.1) \text{ } G_{\omega}(t-t^\prime)=\theta(t-t^\prime) \frac{e^{-i\omega(t-t^\prime)}}{2\omega}+\theta(t^\prime-t) \frac{e^{i\omega(t-t^\prime)}}{2\omega} (0.2) \text { }\left (-\partial^2_{t}-\omega^2 \right ) G_\omega...
  35. edward

    Underwater Activity at Big Oil Spill Site

    For the past several days there has been a lot of underwater activity going on at the site of the big oil spill. Equipment coming down and going up, ROV'S are moving around and apparently installing a lot of equipment for the newest containment attempt This one container in particular...
  36. S

    Does the Force of gravity act at an object every second?

    If something has a mass of 1 kg and is at some height at rest, and I drop it, it will experience of force due to gravity of about 10 N. So does that mean that every second that passes by the objects feels a force 10 N pulling it downwards? So let's say that object falls for 20 seconds, would...
  37. Z

    Do massive objects in space act as gyroscopes?

    I just learned about gyroscopes and their precision this year in Physics. I was just curious since massive objects in space tend to rotate around their own axes and have considerable gravitational forces, do they have a precision movement? I understand the momentum vector will naturally want...
  38. R

    Calculators Which graphing calculator to buy? approved for the SAT, ACT, AP

    I'm currently taking a high-school pre-calculus class and next year I'm going to be taking AP Calculus and Physics I. I plan to major in Physics in college and I'm looking for a calculator that will get me through all of that. I need one that's approved for the SAT, ACT, AP, and is powerful...
  39. B

    Where will the normal force on the block act if it tips?

    Homework Statement A cube of side l rests on a rough floor. It is subjected to a steady horizontal pull F, exerted a distance h above the floor as shown below. As F increases, the block will either begin to slide, or begin to tip over and thus rotate. Determine the coefficient of static...
  40. W

    Moments and which direction they act

    if i have a fixed x and y-axis and i have a few forcesin both negative and positive directions when i calculate the sum of the moments how am I meant to know which direction they act M=Fd
  41. L

    Srednicki 2.17. How does metric act on Levi Cevita symbol?

    Sorry to be asking again so soon, the help yesterday was great. I'm now trying to reach 2.17 from the generator commutation relation: [M^{\mu\nu}, M^{\rho\sigma}]=i\hbar(g^{\mu\rho}M^{\nu\sigma}-g^{\nu\rho}M^{\mu\sigma})+... 2.16 J is defined by its components as...
  42. O

    Is it possible for a given lens to act as converging lens

    Question: Is it possible for a given lens to act as converging lens in one medium and a diverging lens in another? What i was thinking: Yes. Let say we put the lens underwater. It slows the light down and turns the image upside down as it passes through the converging lens, turning it...
  43. Y

    Some enzymes are good, some act poorly what are charateristics of a good enzyme?

    As in Title, help much appreciated! thanks
  44. P

    Why do stationary waves not act like destructive ones?

    Homework Statement To create a standing wave, two progressive waves must be traveling in opposite directions along the same line. They also must have the same frequency, wavelength and therefore speed. Destructive waves are similar only they travel in opposite directions. Why does it...
  45. Q

    Why oxygen, cannot act as a pi-donor while NO can?

    Hi, I have learned that pi-donor are those ligands which donate their pi electrons to metal centre while pi-acceptor accepts electron from filled d(pi) orbital to their pi* orbital. Now, I'm confused, why oxygen, having two pi* electrons cannot act as a pi-donor while NO, having one pi*...
  46. M

    When do inductors act like a short circuit and when they dont?

    -My professor said that if i is constant through an inductor that V=0 through the formula V=L(dv/dt) . So if an inductor is in series with a voltage source it will act like a short circuit. But if the inductor is in series with a resistor and the voltage source the inductor will not act like a...
  47. C

    Does Torque act on a disc rotating with constant angular velocity

    Hey Folks I have rather a silly doubt i guess... It goes like this Consider a disc rotating about a fixed axis with constant angular velocity. Which means it has no angular acceleration ie it must be 0. Now since Torque=(moment of inertia)*(angular acceleration). hence the torque acting on...
  48. M

    Can centripetal and centrigugal force act together?

    can centripetal and centrigugal force act together?
  49. Q

    Testing 30+ on the ACT and 1500 on SAT what to do?

    Hi. I'm currently a IB junior at one of these Not-so-great high schools. And I've been Physics+Math freak ever since I discovered how the world really works from my friend's physics book last year(may be a bit late). Studying IB physics and Calculus right now, hopefully will be able to pass both...
  50. C

    How to make light act like a particle?

    I have learned of quantum theory and I am doing a 4,000 word essay (IB FTW...). My question is "is light a particle or wave, and what effects it and why." I am going to be doing Thomas Young's double slit experiment which would show that light behaves as a wave (with DeBroglie's Hypothesis). I...
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