Puffy Lux Hybrid | Award-Winning Memory Foam Mattresses

An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.

An award may be described by three aspects: 1) to whom it is given to 2) what 3) by whom, all varying according to purpose.

The recipient is often awarded to an individual, a student, athlete or representative of a group of people, be it an organisation, a sports team or a whole country. The award item may be a decoration or an insignia suitable for wearing, such as a medal, badge, award pin or rosette. It can also be a token object such as a certificate, diploma, championship belt, trophy or plaque. The award may also be accompanied by a title of honor, and an object of direct cash value, such as prize money or a scholarship.

Furthermore, an honorable mention is an award given, typically in education, that does not confer the recipient(s) a higher standing but is considered worth mentioning in an honourable way. An award may be conferred as a state decoration by a sovereign state, dynasty or other public authority (see fount of honour), or a private organisation or individual. The latter may also include ecclesiastical authorities, such as in the case of ecclesiastical awards.

For example, the Nobel Prize recognizes contributions to society, while the Pulitzer Prize honors literary achievements. An award may be a public acknowledgment of excellence without any tangible token or prize.

Awards for sports tournaments often take the form of cups, following a tradition harking back to the ancient Greek tripod given to winners in athletic contests. The Stanley Cup is a modern example. In contrast, awards for employee recognition often take the form of plaques or crystal pieces. An award may carry a monetary prize given to the recipient.

Finally, an award may recognize participation rather than victory. There is controversy regarding the appropriateness of participation awards for students in United States schools.

A relative field to awards is phaleristics, an auxiliary science of history and numismatics which studies orders, fraternities and award items, such as medals and other decorations.

Foams are two-phase material systems where a gas is dispersed in a second, non-gaseous material, specifically, in which gas cells are enclosed by a distinct liquid or solid material.^{: 6 : 4} The foam "may contain more or less liquid [or solid] according to circumstances",^: 6 although in the case of gas-liquid foams, the gas occupies most of the volume.^: 4 The word derives from the medieval German and otherwise obsolete veim, in reference to the "frothy head forming in the glass once the beer has been freshly poured" (cf. ausgefeimt).^: 1

Theories regarding foam formation, structure, and properties—in physics and physical chemistry—differ somewhat between liquid and solid foams in that the former are dynamic (e.g., in their being "continuously deformed"), as a result of gas diffusing between cells, liquid draining from the foam into a bulk liquid, etc.^: 1–2 Theories regarding liquid foams have as direct analogs theories regarding emulsions,^: 3 two-phase material systems in which one liquid is enclosed by another.

In most foams, the volume of gas is large, with thin films of liquid or solid separating the regions of gas. A bath sponge and the head on a glass of beer are examples of foams; soap foams are also known as suds.

Solid foams can be closed-cell or open-cell. In closed-cell foam, the gas forms discrete pockets, each completely surrounded by the solid material. In open-cell foam, gas pockets connect to each other. A bath sponge is an example of an open-cell foam: water easily flows through the entire structure, displacing the air. A sleeping mat is an example of a product composed of closed-cell foam.

Foams are examples of dispersed media. In general, gas is present, so it divides into gas bubbles of different sizes (i.e., the material is polydisperse)—separated by liquid regions that may form films, thinner and thinner when the liquid phase drains out of the system films. When the principal scale is small, i.e., for a very fine foam, this dispersed medium can be considered a type of colloid.

Foam can also refer to something that is analogous to foam, such as quantum foam.

The lux (symbol: lx) is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the irradiance, as perceived by the spectrally unequally responding human eye, of light that hits or passes through a surface. It is analogous to the radiometric unit watt per square metre, but with the power at each wavelength weighted according to the luminosity function, a model of human visual brightness perception, standardized by the CIE and ISO. In English, "lux" is used as both the singular and plural form. The word is derived from the Latin word for "light", lux.

Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, it would be impossible for language, relationships, or personal identity to develop. Memory loss is usually described as forgetfulness or amnesia.

Memory is often understood as an informational processing system with explicit and implicit functioning that is made up of a sensory processor, short-term (or working) memory, and long-term memory. This can be related to the neuron. The sensory processor allows information from the outside world to be sensed in the form of chemical and physical stimuli and attended to various levels of focus and intent. Working memory serves as an encoding and retrieval processor. Information in the form of stimuli is encoded in accordance with explicit or implicit functions by the working memory processor. The working memory also retrieves information from previously stored material. Finally, the function of long-term memory is to store through various categorical models or systems.

Declarative, or explicit memory, is the conscious storage and recollection of data. Under declarative memory resides semantic and episodic memory. Semantic memory refers to memory that is encoded with specific meaning. Meanwhile, episodic memory refers to information that is encoded along a spatial and temporal plane. Declarative memory is usually the primary process thought of when referencing memory. Non-declarative, or implicit, memory is the unconscious storage and recollection of information. An example of a non-declarative process would be the unconscious learning or retrieval of information by way of procedural memory, or a priming phenomenon. Priming is the process of subliminally arousing specific responses from memory and shows that not all memory is consciously activated, whereas procedural memory is the slow and gradual learning of skills that often occurs without conscious attention to learning.

Memory is not a perfect processor and is affected by many factors. The ways by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved can all be corrupted. Pain, for example, has been identified as a physical condition that impairs memory, and has been noted in animal models as well as chronic pain patients. The amount of attention given new stimuli can diminish the amount of information that becomes encoded for storage. Also, the storage process can become corrupted by physical damage to areas of the brain that are associated with memory storage, such as the hippocampus. Finally, the retrieval of information from long-term memory can be disrupted because of decay within long-term memory. Normal functioning, decay over time, and brain damage all affect the accuracy and capacity of the memory.