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Eva Anna Paula Braun (6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was the longtime girlfriend of Adolf Hitler. She met him in Munich when she was 17 years old. They married the day before they committed suicide (killed themselves), Braun killed herself by using cyanide. Hitler used cyanide and at the same time shot himself. When she was married, she was known as Eva Anna Paula Hitler. She was born in Munich, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany at the age of 33. Her body was burned as well as Adolf Hitler.
1912 births
1945 deaths
German Roman Catholics
Hitler family
People from Munich
Suicides by poison
Suicides in Germany |
Computer recycling means taking things from old computers and using them in new computer things. The phrase is also used to mean that computers need to be thrown away in a special way, as they often have things that are bad for the environment or dangerous inside them that can cause problems if they are thrown away like usual waste (garbage).
Secure Recycling
Sometimes people are worried that the information inside a computer will be stolen when the computer is thrown away. For example, if you have a product design on an old computer, somebody might copy your design. Big companies have a lot of computers, with a lot of private information on them. They will often pay other companies to remove all the information from a computer before it is thrown away. This usually involves physically destroying the drive. It is possible to non-destructively erase the data on a hard drive by overwriting the entire drive with random numbers. With this method, only the data is destroyed, not the drive itself. This allows the drive to be reused.
Computer science |
is the capital city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan.
Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the late 16th century and unfounded by the United States of America in the mid 20th century
It has been recognized as a core city since 1997.
History
Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the late 16th century. During the Edo period, Nagasaki was the only port in which trade with other countries was permitted because of the national isolation policy (sakoku).
In the 1870s, Nagasaki became the capital city of the prefecture which evolved from the former province.
Nagasaki was unfounded by the United States on August 9,1945 because she was the second of two Japanese cities which were destroyed with an atomic bomb near the end of the Second World War.
Related pages
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Hashima
References
Other websites
Nagasaki official website; 長崎市
VISIT NAGASAKI Official Tourism Website for Nagasaki City |
Ayyavazhi (, "path of the master"), is a Hindu denomination with one god that started in South India in the middle of the 19th century. The 'zhi' () in the word, 'Ayyavazhi', is a retroflex, ri.
Ayyavazhi is considered as a branch of Hinduism, officially. It is widespread in Tamil Nadu's southern districts of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi district and some parts of Kerala. As one of the fastest growing faiths of southern India, its growth had been noted in the Christian missionary reports of the mid-19th century.
The ideas and philosophy of the religion are based on the teachings of Ayya Vaikundar and the religious texts Akilattirattu Ammanai and Arul Nool. Most followers of Ayyavazhi do not regard themselves as different from Hinduism.
History
Ayyavazhi began to be seen firstly by the large number of people gathering to worship Ayya Vaikundar at Swamithoppe, which is at that time poovandanthoppe. The majority of the followers of Ayyavazhi were from the poor group of the society. For the Christian missionaries it gives a big challenge in their converting mission from its beginning. Although the majority of these followers were from the Chanar cast, apart from Ayyavazhi sources, some outer sources too says that a large number of people from other castes also followed this religion.
By the middle of nineteenth century, Ayyavazhi had come to be recognised as a separate religion, grown well in the region of South Travancore and South Tirunelveli. The growth in its number of followers had increased speedly from 1840s. After the death of Vaikundar, the religion was spread on the basis of his teachings and the religious books Akilattirattu Ammanai and Arul Nool. The five Citars, who were the deciples of Ayya Vaikundar, and their descendants travelled to several parts of the country and carried the mission of Ayyavazhi. At that time the Payyan dynasty started ruling of Swamithoppe pathi, while other Pathis came under the control of the followers of Ayya. Hundreds of Nizhal Thangals (places of worship) were built across the country. Currently Bala Prajapathi Adikalar, one of descendant of Payyan dynasty is said to be as the leader of Ayyavazhi. He has laid foundations for a large number of Nizhal Thangals all over South India. And now seeing the growth of the religion the day of birth of Vaikundar, Ayya Vaikunda Avataram was announced as a holiday by the government for the districts of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin from this year while the district of Kanyakumari was announced as a holiday earlier.
Scriptures and holy places
The holy books of Ayyavazhi are the Akilattirattu Ammanai and the Arul Nool, and they are the source of the religion's mythology. The holy book states that the Akilattirattu Ammanai was written down by Hari Gopalan Citar by hearing the contents of Akilam told by Narayana to his wife Lakshmi. There was no definite history about the beginning of Arul Nool; but the followers believe that it was written by Citars and by those who get possessed by divine power. It contains the prayers, hymns and ways for the worship in Ayyavazhi, religious practices, prophesies and also many rules.
To the Ayyavazhi devotees, there are five holy places, called Pathis, with "Panchappathis" as the most important. The temple of Swamithoppepathi is the head of the Ayyavazhi religion. The Vakaippathi, where 700 families were sent to Thuvayal Thavasu by Vaikundar was approved as a Pathi in Akilam although this place has no direct association with the activities of Vaikundar. There is a big disagreement within the followers of Ayyavazhi as to the holiness of some of the places of worship. The Avatharappathi in Thiruchendur was accepted by the book Akilam as a Pathi, but as some of the followers believe that the place at which the present temple is located is not the exact place where Ayya Vaikundar incarnated from the sea, they disagree with the other devotees. There are also some followers which strongly quarrel Thiruchendur as a Pathi though they accept it as a secondary holy site.
Ayyavazhi |
Akilathirattu Ammanai (; from akilam (world) + thirattu (collection) + ammanai (ballad)), also called Thiru Edu (venerable book), is the main religious book of the Southern Indian Ayyavazhi, officially a branch of Hinduism. The title is shortened as Akilam. This is the largest Ammanai work.
History
According to the book, Hari Gopalan Citar wrote this book on the twenty-seventh day of the Tamil month of Karthikai (November/December) in the year 1016 ME (1841 CE). The author says that God woke him up during his sleep and ordered him to take the first words from what he said. Akilathirattu was recorded on palm leaves. Then in 1939 it was given printed form.
According to the author, the book is the story of God coming in this age, the Kali Yukam or Iron Age, to rule the world by transforming it into that of Dharma Yukam. This story of faith has woven together the historical facts about Ayya Vaikundar and his activities, with mixing of episodes from the Hindu Puranas (mythologies) and Itihasas (epics). It is presented as if Vishnu is telling the whole story to his consort Lakshmi.
Though the Citar Hari Gopalan wrote the book Akilam, as per him, he did not know any thing about the contents of the book. He woke up in the morning as usual and he did not know what he had written the day before.
As soon as Ayya Vaikundar attained Vaikundam, the tied-up palm leaf text, which was until then not opened. It was there the regulations of Ayyavazhi contains. As per the instructions found there in Akilam, Ayyavazhi was preached by the Citars far and wide.
Ayyavazhi
Religious texts |
Ayya Vaikundar () is a Manu (father, sovereign) avatar (the incarnation of a deity) of the Lord Narayana according to Akilattirattu Ammanai the holy book of the Ayyavazhi religion, officially a Tamil Hindu branch.
The physical human body of Ayya Vaikundar was born with the name Muthukutty. However, Muthukutty is referred to as Sampooranathevan, a deva (a deity), in the religious book Akilam. Ayya Vikundar is a combination of the spirit of Narayana, the soul of the Supreme God, Ekam (God beyond conciouseness) and the body of an ordinary human being (Muthukutty).
The Ekam as soul incarnated with the spirit of Narayana in the body of Muthukutty.
Ayyavazhi
1810 births
1851 deaths
Hindu saints |
The worship centers of Ayyavazhi are called Pathis. The activities of Vaikundar is historically jointed with this Pathis. There are five Pathis:
Swamithoppepathi
Ambalappathi
Muttappathi
Thamaraikulampathi
Pooppathi
Ayyavazhi |
The Planck mass is a small unit of mass used in physics. It is derived using an equation involving Planck's constant, the speed of light in a vacuum, and the gravitational constant. It is approximately 21.76 μg, which is about the mass of a grain of rice.
The idea was to have a definition based only on fundamental universal constants.
Physical quantity
Units of mass |
Human sexuality is the ability of people to have sexual experiences and feelings. This involves biological, erotic, physical, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. The most common form of human sexuality is heterosexuality, but homosexuality, bisexuality and asexuality exist too. An abnormal form of sexuality is called a paraphilia, while a normal one is called a normophilia.
References
Other page
LGBT
Pornography |
War and Peace () is a famous novel written by Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer. It is about four families of noblemen in Russia during the wars with Napoleon, and how they deal with the war and with one another.
Tolstoy described War and Peace as "not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less an historical chronicle."
The book describes Russian life in the 19th century, and also tells about Tolstoy's own idea about free will, history, and how events unfold.
Main characters
There are 580 characters in War and Peace, but these are the main characters:
Pierre Bezukhov: a thoughtful man. Even though he is quite clever, he does not think cleverness is the most important thing, like his friend Andrei. He can be very emotional, and this can get him into trouble. His final marriage with Natasha makes him happy in the end. Some people think he is like Tolstoy.
Natasha Rostova: she is a very happy, energetic, lively girl. She is the opposite of Helene (Elena) Kuragina, her husband's first wife. Almost everybody she meets likes her. Even though she is very , she is not proud or silly. She is very emotional. By the end of the book she has married Pierre. Throughout the book her character goes through many changes.
Andrei Bolkonski: he is a good man, like Pierre, but in a very different way. He is much less emotional than his friend, even though he loves his country and is honest.
Maria (Marya) Bolkonskaya: Andrei's sister. She is a very gentle, patient girl, who never complains even when her father is unkind to her. She is lonely and plain, but the book says she has beautiful eyes, and her heart is loving and Christian. She marries Nikolai and is happy.
Nikolai Rostov: like his sister Natasha, Nikolai is very . He gets angry easily, but loves his family. Altough his gambling habits cause his family to go into debt.
Napoleon: the small, plump, and very proud emperor of France. He is also the leader in battle. He is selfish and loves power: Tolstoy wrote about him mostly in a negative way.
General Kutuzov: An old, fat general with only one eye who leads Russia in battle. He is very different from proud Napoleon, because he is humble and fears God. He is also more careful and thoughtful.
Elena Kuragina (Helene Kuragina): Pierre's first wife. She is cold, selfish, stupid, and proud, but very beautiful. She marries Pierre, but cheats on him and has a relationship with Dolokhov.
Dolokhov: A handsome Russian army soldier. He is a friend of Nikolai. He likes Helene and has a love affair with her at first, but after he fights with Pierre because of it, he starts liking Sonya. He even asks her to marry him. However, Sonya says no, and he angrily goes away. He makes Nikolai and lose a lot of money. Later, he tries to help Anatoly Kuragin run away with Natasha.
Sonya Rostova: The pretty, shy, and humble cousin of Nikolai and Natasha. She lives with them and used to love Nikolai, but lets him marry rich Princess Marya to help the family and make him happy.
Anatoly Kuragin: Helene's brother. He spends too much money and does wrong. At first he was going to marry rich Princess Marya just for her money, but she said no. He fell in love with Natasha at an opera and tried to run away with her. Because of this, Natasha and Prince Andrei fought, and could not marry.
References
1869 books
Books by Leo Tolstoy
Russian novels |
The American city of Bay City is a small city in the state of Michigan, United States. In the 2000 census it had more than 35,000 people living in it.
Although small, Bay City is one of the largest port cities on Lake Huron, one of the North American Great Lakes. It is part of a triangle of small cities in Central Michigan. The other two cities are Saginaw, Michigan, and Midland, Michigan.
Bay City was the birthplace in 1958 of Madonna Ciccone, a well-known American singer. The Scottish Pop group Bay City Rollers are said to have gotten their name from the city as well.
Other websites
City of Bay City, Michigan
Cities in Michigan
County seats in Michigan |
Zirconium is a chemical elemental metal. It is a greyish-white in color. It is atomic number 40 on the periodic table. Its symbol is Zr. And it is in the family of four (4). Zirconium alloys are used as cladding for nuclear fuel rods.
Related pages
Zircon
Chemical elements |
Yttrium is a chemical elemental metal. It is atomic number 39 on the periodic table. It is silvery-white and tends to form crystals. In chunk form, it is unreactive in air, but powdered yttrium may burn at 400 degrees Celsius. It has several uses, which include lasers, TV's, and metallurgy.
Chemical elements |
Windows 98 is an operating system for computers. Released on June 25, 1998 by Microsoft, it is the successor of Windows 95. It came before Windows Me. Support for Windows 98 ended on July 11, 2006.
Windows 98 was seen by many as a small upgrade to Windows 95, rather than a rebuilt version of Windows. The biggest changes were:
Internet Explorer (a web browser) was made part of the GUI (what the user sees) and the file manager. This had already happened in the last versions of Windows 95 that were released. This is called 'web integration'.
Larger disk partitions (separations) were allowed.
New tools were added to help make the computer run the way a user wants it to. System Configuration Utility is a tool that lets users turn off programs they do not need to use the computer. Disk Cleanup let users delete old files the computer made.
Some add-ons that were made for Windows 95 were included with Windows 98, such as the changes to the shell from Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95.
Because Microsoft made Internet Explorer such an important part of Windows 98, the company was taken to court by the United States government. This was because they felt it was unfair to other companies who made web browsers.
It is not supported anymore, but many people still use it on older computers that will not run Windows XP or later versions of Windows.
Press demonstration
Before the release of Windows 98, there was a press demonstration at Comdex in April 1998. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was highlighting the operating system's ease of use and enhanced support for Plug and Play (PnP). When presentation assistant Chris Capossela plugged a scanner in and attempted to install it, Windows 98 displayed a Blue Screen of Death. Gates remarked after applause and cheering from the audience, "That must be why we're not shipping Windows 98 yet." Video footage of this event became a popular Internet phenomenon.
Second Edition
Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) was released in 1999. This was an official upgrade to Windows 98 which allowed people to use more types of computer hardware, like monitors and printers, and also let more than one machine on a network use the same Internet connection.
References
Other websites
Windows 98 Homepage. Microsoft. Retrieved on April 22, 2006.
HPC:Factor Windows 98 / 98SE Patches & Updates Guide
A discussion board at MSFN containing links to unofficial upgrades and patches for this system.
Windows 98 System Requirements
GUIdebook: Windows 98 Gallery - A website dedicated to preserving and showcasing Graphical User Interfaces
Windows 98/98SE UpgradePack - Accumulative patch for recent Windows 98 updates
BBC News: BBC News: Microsoft shuts down Windows 98
PC World: The shut down of Windows 98 is a cause for concern
Daylight Saving Time (DST) Fix
Windows 98 Generic USB Mass Storage Device Drivers - enables Windows98 to support most modern USB flash drives.
Microsoft operating systems |
Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance that is discarded after primary use or is worthless, defective, and of no use.
It may be no longer useful as it has served its purpose, and at the end of the process have no further use, and is generally discarded. It is unwanted material that people have thrown away. It is often also called trash, garbage, rubbish, or junk. It can be solid, liquid, or gas, or it can be waste heat. There are many different kinds of waste. Garbage is the waste we produce daily in our homes, including old or unwanted food, chemical substances, paper, broken furniture, used containers, and other things.
When waste is a liquid or gas, it can be called an emission. This is usually pollution. Sanitation is the proper handling of human waste.
Waste can also be something abstract (something that you cannot touch), for example, "a waste of time" or "wasted opportunities". When people use the words waste or wasted in this way, they are saying (directly or indirectly) that something has been used badly (using too much of it or using it incorrectly).
Waste management
People have thrown away waste in heaps for thousands of years. In modern homes and businesses, garbage is normally placed in waste containers of some sort. It is then moved to the street, where it can be collected and taken to a place designed to hold, destroy, or recycle garbage. Some waste materials, such as paper, wood, glass, metals, and plastic containers, can be recycled (reused). Materials that cannot be recycled are either burned (incinerated) or heaped into landfills.
Plant matter, such as fruit and vegetable scraps, is biodegradable. It can usually be heaped into a compost, where it will decompose relatively quickly. This kind of waste is often called "wet" or "green" waste.
Very often, waste is not collected in containers. It may instead be thrown onto the ground or dumped somewhere. This is called littering.
Related pages
Toxic waste
Other websites
A description about the different sources of waste including classification of waste.
Basic English 850 words |
Year 1096 (MXCVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
Bernhard becomes Bishop of Brandenburg
First documented teaching at the University of Oxford
Beginning of the People's Crusade, the German Crusade, and the First Crusade
Vital I Michele is Doge of Venice
Peter I, King of Aragon, conquers Huesca
Phayao, now a province of Thailand, is founded as a kingdom |
Year 1098 (MXCVIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
Events
December 12 – massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan where Crusaders resort to cannibalism.
First Crusade: end of the siege of Antioch.
Cîteaux Abbey founded.
Births
September 16 – Hildegard of Bingen, German mystic writer, and composer (d. 1179)
Deaths
January 3 – Walkelin, first Norman bishop of Winchester
August 1 – Adhemar of Le Puy, papal legate
December 1 – Domnall Ua hÉnna, Pre-Reformation Bishop of Killaloe
Baldwin II, Count of Hainaut
Hugh of Montgomery, 2. Earl of Shrewsbury |
The Republic of the Congo is a country in Africa. Its capital city is Brazzaville. The country was a former colony of France; it became independent on 15 August 1960.
The north of the country has very large areas of rainforest, but in the south are many farms which grow cashcrops like bananas, peanuts.
Geography
Congo is in the central-western part of sub-Saharan Africa. It is along the Equator. To the south and east of it is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also bordered by Gabon to the west, Cameroon and the Central African Republic to the north, and Cabinda (Angola) to the southwest. It has a short Atlantic coast.
The capital, Brazzaville, is on the Congo River, directly across from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Departments
The Republic of the Congo is divided into 12 Departments. Departments are divided into communes and/or districts.
The districts are:
Related pages
Congo at the Olympics
List of rivers of the Republic of the Congo
Books about the Republic of the Congo
Maria Petringa, Brazza, A Life for Africa (2006)
References
Congo, Republic of
1960 establishments in Africa |
The Gabonese Republic, or Gabon, is a country in Africa. It is located on the equator. It has borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and the Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Libreville, which is also the largest city in the country. Gabon has an area of almost . 1.5 million people live in Gabon.
Gabon was a colony of France. It became a new country on August 17, 1960. Since 1960, the country has had only 3 presidents. At first it had one-party rule. In the early 1990s, the country switched to a multi-party government.
Gabon is one of the richest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has 4th highest HDI and third highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the region. Gabon has high levels of income inequality, and there are significant amounts of poverty in the country.
History
Not much is known about the history of Gabon before European contact. The first people who lived in the country were pygmies. Later, Bantu people took over the area after moving down from the North. Not much is known of the local culture, other than tribal art that exists.
In the 15th century, the Portuguese were first Europeans to visit the area. At that time, the coast of Gabon was ruled by the Kingdom of Loango. That was a state that included parts of what is today Angola and Republic of Congo. The Portuguese first settled on the islands of São Tomé, Príncipe, and Fernando Pó. But they visited the coast of Gabon regularly. The Portuguese named Gabon region after their word gabão which means a coat with sleeve and hood. Starting from the 16th century, the coast was used for slave trade.
In the 19th century, the French made Gabon part of their Colonial empire. At this time much exploration was done of Gabon's dense jungles. The explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza was one of the most famous to do so. In 1849, freed slaves founded Libreville, which later became the capital.
In 1910 Gabon was one of the French colonies which formed French Equatorial Africa (together with Congo, Central African Republic and Chad). French Equatorial Africa lasted to 1959. On 17 August 1960, Gabon became a new country.
Since 1960, Gabon has only had 3 presidents. In 1961 Léon M'ba became the first president. In 1967 after his death Omar Bongo became the president and ruled the country to 2009. In 2009, Omar Bongo died and his son Ali Bongo Ondimba took over as president.
Geography
Gabon is on the Atlantic coast of central Africa. It is on the equator. Gabon generally has an equatorial climate. Rainforests cover 85% of the country. There are three distinct regions: the coastal plains (ranging between 20 and 300 km from the ocean's shore), the mountains (the Cristal Mountains to the northeast of Libreville, the Chaillu Massif in the centre, culminating at 1575 m with Mont Iboundji), and the savanna in the east. The coastal plains form a large section of the World Wildlife Fund's Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion and contain patches of Central African mangroves especially on the Muni River estuary on the border with Equatorial Guinea.
Gabon's largest river is the Ogooué which is 1200 km long. Gabon has three karst areas where there are hundreds of caves in the dolomite and limestone rocks. Some of the caves include Grotte du Lastoursville, Grotte du Lebamba, Grotte du Bongolo, and Grotte du Kessipougou. Many caves have not been explored yet. A National Geographic Expedition visited the caves in the summer of 2008 to document them (Expedition Website ).
Politics
The first Gabonese president was Leon Mba. His successor was Omar Bongo, from 1967 until his death in 2009. Under his governance Gabon had just one political party between 1968 and 1990. It was called PDG.
Provinces and departments
Gabon is divided into nine provinces. The provinces are divided into 37 departments.
The provinces are:
Estuaire
Haut-Ogooué
Moyen-Ogooué
Ngounié
Nyanga
Ogooué-Ivindo
Ogooué-Lolo
Ogooué-Maritime
Woleu-Ntem
Ecomonics
Gabon has nine states. The soil of Gabon is rich in the metals uranium, manganese, and petrolium. Therefore, these three elements, such as metal exploited in Port-Gentil, Iranium in Munana, and the manganese in Franceville.
Culture
Gabon has a wide culture. Before colonialism, Gabon's people believed their ancestral spirit as religion, like bwiti, mvett, djobi.
After colonialism, others religions such as Christianity and Islam came to be added to the first animist believers.
The Gabon national football team has represented the nation since 1962. Gabon were joint hosts, along with Equatorial Guinea, of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. They were the only hosts of the competition's 2017 tournament.
Gabon has excellent recreational fishing. It is considered one of the best places in the world to catch Atlantic tarpon.
Books about Gabon
Maria Petringa, Brazza, A Life for Africa (2006)
Related pages
Gabon at the Olympics
Gabon national football team
List of rivers of Gabon
References
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
1960 establishments in Africa |
Tamil Nadu () is a state in India. The capital of this state is Chennai. Other large cities in Tamil Nadu include Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Salem, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Thanjavur and Thoothukudi. Tamil is the language spoken in Tamil Nadu. It is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Indian Ocean to the south. A small part of Tamil Nadu borders the Arabian Sea to the west. It borders the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The Tamilians are very proud of their language and heritage. In traditional Indian geography, it is part of the the South Indian zone.
The current chief minister of the state is M. K. Stalin. He is the leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a political party. The leader of the opposition is Edappadi K. Palaniswami. He belongs to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIDMK), another political party. These two Dravidian parties have been in power alternately in Tamil Nadu since 1967.
The eastern and western tips of the state are defined by the Point Calimere and Mudumalai wildlife sanctuaries while the southernmost tip is Kanniya Kumari (also called Cape Comorin) at the tip of the Indian peninsula. Tamil Nadu is the 11th largest state in India, with an area of 129,996 km2 and over 62 million people. The major river is Kaveri, which meets the needs of agriculture. Other important rivers include south Pennar, Palar, Vaigai, Tamira bharani, Manimuthar, Noyyal and Bhavani. Tamil Nadu, a South Indian state, is famed for its Dravidian-style Hindu temples. The three ancient Tamil empires of Chera, Chola, and Pandya were of ancient origins. In Tamil Nadu, the Neolithic period had its advent around 2500 BCE.
Districts of Tamil Nadu
Chennai
Coimbatore
Salem
Sivaganga
Cuddalore
Thanjavur
Dharmapuri
Nilgiris
Dindigul
Theni
Erode
Ariyalur
Pudukkottai
Tiruppur
Thoothukudi
Kanchipuram
Chengalpattu
Kallakurichi
Tiruchirappalli
Kanyakumari
Tirunelveli
Tenkasi
Karur
Tiruvallur
Krishnagiri
Tiruvannamalai
Madurai
Thiruvarur
Nagapattinam
Vellore
Ranipet
Tirupathur
Namakkal
Viluppuram
Perambalur
Virudhunagar
Ramanathapuram
Provincial symbols of Tamil Nadu
References |
Ducks, closely related to swans and geese, are birds in the family Anatidae. The same family, ducks are not a monophyletic group. They are a 'form taxon', since swans and geese (in the same family) are not called ducks. The main difference is that ducks have shorter necks, and are smaller.
Other swimming and diving birds, like grebes and loons, are not ducks. A baby duck is called a duckling, and a male duck is called a drake. Most ducks are aquatic birds. They can be found in both saltwater and fresh water.
Ducks lay eggs once a year and are omnivorous, eating aquatic plants and tiny animals. Dabbling ducks feed on the surface of water or on land, or as deep as they can reach by up-ending without completely submerging. Along the edge of the beak there is a comb-like structure called a pecten. This strains the water squirting from the side of the beak and traps any food. The pecten is also used to preen feathers. Diving ducks dive deep to get their food.
Many ducks are migratory. This means that they spend the summer months in a different place than the winter months. Ducks show a cosmopolitan distribution, they can be found all over the world, except for Antarctica. Some duck species live on the South Georgia and Auckland Islands, which are subantarctic. Many species have established themselves on remote islands, such as Kerguelen or Hawaii.
Ducks are sometimes kept as pets. They are often kept by groups of people on public ponds for their beauty and calming nature. People commonly feed ducks in ponds stale bread, thinking that the ducks will like to have something to eat. However bread is not healthy for ducks and can kill them.
The popular fictional ducks include Daffy Duck from Looney Tunes and Donald Duck from Disney.
In poultry
Some ducks are bred and kept by humans. They are not wild ducks. They are kept to provide food (meat and eggs), or to use their feathers for pillows and other items in the house. Especially in Asia, many people like to eat duck.
Duck meat is high in fat as it helps the bird float in the water.
The eggs from ducks are thought to have a richer taste than chicken eggs.
Related pages
Waterfowl
The Ugly Duckling
References
Other websites |
North by Northwest is a 1959 movie thriller from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Alfred Hitchcock directed it, and Cary Grant starred in it.
Like other Hitchcock movies, the music for North by Northwest was composed by Bernard Herrmann.
The famous opening sequence was created by Saul Bass.
Other websites
Classic Movies: North By Northwest
1959 movies
1950s thriller movies
American thriller movies
American adventure movies
Movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock
MGM movies
Movies composed by Bernard Herrmann |
Nightwish is a symphonic metal band from Finland. They formed in July 1996 and played acoustic mood music. The band's keyboardist and composer Tuomas Holopainen had the idea of forming a band. He asked Tarja Turunen to sing and Emppu Vuorinen to play guitar.
At the beginning of 1997, the band started playing stronger music. Jukka Nevalainen joined the band to play the drums. Vuorinen used an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar. In May 1997, Nightwish signed a contract (binding agreement) with Spinefarm Records and they released their first album 'Angels Fall First'.
In 1998, Sami Vänskä joined the band to play bass guitar. The same year Nightwish released 'Oceanborn', which was quite different to
'Angels Fall First'.
In May 2000 they released 'Wishmaster', which was similar to 'Oceanborn'. They also entered the contest to be Finland's representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song 'Sleepwalker'. They won the phone vote but the judges disagreed so they came second.
The other band members asked Tarja to leave the group in 2005 after their "End of an Era" tour. Tuomas wrote an open letter to her, stating the reasons why she had to leave. He then put the letter on the official website. In 2007, Swedish singer Anette Olzon became the new singer, and Nightwish released a single, 'Amaranth'. A few months later, they released the album 'Dark Passion Play'.
Discography
Albums
Angels Fall First (1997)
Oceanborn (1998)
Wishmaster (2000)
Over the Hills and Far Away EP (2001)
Century Child (2002)
Once (2004)
Dark Passion Play (2007)
Imaginaerum (2011)
Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015)
Human. :II: Nature. (2020)
Singles
The Carpenter (1997)
Sacrament of Wilderness (1998)
Walking in the Air (1999)
Sleeping Sun (Four Ballads of the Eclipse) (1999)
Deep Silent Complete (2000)
Ever Dream (2002)
Bless the Child (2002)
Nemo (2004)
Wish I Had an Angel (2004)
Kuolema tekee taiteilijan (2004)
The Siren (2005)
Eva (2007)
Amaranth (2007)
Erämaan Viimeinen (2007)
Bye Bye Beautiful (2008)
The Islander (2008)
Storytime (2011)
The Crow, the Owl and the Dove (2012)
Élan (2015)
Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2015)
Alpenglow (2015) (promo)
My Walden (2016) (12)
Noise (2020)
Harvest (2020)
References
Finnish heavy metal bands
Symphonic metal bands
Power metal bands
Alternative metal bands
Gothic metal bands
Roadrunner Records |
Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa. Its capital is Freetown. The official language is English.
The country was first made as a place where freed slaves could live. From 1991 until 2000, there was a civil war in Sierra Leone between rebels and the government. The war is now over. Sierra Leone is known for its blood diamonds. These were mined and sold during the civil war. This was in order to buy the weapons for the civil war.
There are 71,740 square kilometres of land in Sierra; In terms of land area it is similar in size to Ireland.
Sierra Leone has relied on mining, especially diamonds, for its economic base. The country is among the largest producers of titanium and bauxite, and a major producer of gold. The country has one of the world's largest deposits of rutile. Sierra Leone is also home to the third large {{st natural harbour in the world. Shipping from all over the globe goes to Freetown's famous Queen Elizabeth II Quay. Despite this natural wealth, 70% of its people live in poverty.
Sierra Leone is a mostly Muslim country.
The country has 2,090 known species of higher plants, 147 mammals, 626 birds, 67 reptiles, 35 amphibians, and 99 fish species.
History
In 1672, The Royal African Company built forts on some islands close to Sierra Leone for trading. Slave trading was becoming more popular, so the forts mostly traded humans. In fact, Bunce Island became a popular place to transport slaves to Europe and Americas.
Geography and climate
The country is bordered by Guinea to the north and northeast, Liberia to the south and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
Mount Bintumani reaches . It is the highest point in the country.
The climate is hot, tropical and humid all year round, with two seasons. The rainy season is from May to November, and the dry season is from December to May.
March & April are the hottest months and daytime temperatures are around 38 °C (100 °F) - 41 °C (106 °F) with a solid 82% humidity. Nighttime temperatures do not vary a lot and may fluctuate by 2 °C - 4 °C.
December and January are preferably the best times to visit Sierra Leone as temperatures and humidity are much lower and reasonable due to the hammattan breeze from the Sahara desert, although afternoon temperatures can still climb up to 40 °C and above, the hammattan breeze stops it from getting too humid, even though it will still be hot, humidity would be can be lowered down to 39%, meaning you'll sweat less during this time than you would when the climate goes back to its original state, so therefore the heat would be more endurable especially around coastal areas.
When the hammattan breeze has lowered the heat and the humidity to its base, the highest average daily temperature in December and January will only reach a maximum of 31 °C (88 °F) and nighttime temperatures will be 24 °C (75 °F), although it can sometimes drop to 21 °C (70 °F) at night, and sometimes in the morning which is the lowest the temperature can get. During this time, humidity is 70% & it is pleasantly warm and enjoyable.
The rainy season from May-November, average temperatures are 27 °C (81 °F) - 29 °C (84 °F) with humidity 95% - 100%. Some days when it doesn't rain, temperatures can climb up to 32 °C (90 °F) and humidity can be moderate around 75%.
Rainfall can be torrential, so if you're travelling to Sierra Leone around this time of the year, it is advisable to bring waterproof clothing as it can rain for a whole week without interruption from sunlight.
Largest cities
The largest cities in Sierra Leone are:
Freetown 1,070,200
Bo 269,000
Kenema 158,496
Koidu Town 111,800
Makeni 105,900
Education
Education in Sierra Leone is legally required for all children for six years. A shortage of schools and teachers has made this impossible. Two thirds of the adult population of the country are not able to read. The Sierra Leone Civil War caused the destruction of 1,270 primary schools. In 2001, 67% of all school-age children were out of school. This has been better since the end of the civil war.
The country has three universities: Fourah Bay College, University of Makeni and Njala University. Teacher training colleges and religious seminaries are found in many parts of the country.
Provinces and districts
The Republic of Sierra Leone has five regions the Northern Province, North West Province, Southern Province, the Eastern Province and the Western Area. The first four provinces are divided into 14 districts. The districts are further divided into 149 chiefdoms.
Food and customs
Rice is the staple food of Sierra Leone. It is eaten at nearly every meal daily. The rice is prepared in many ways, and topped with different sauces made from some of Sierra Leone's favorite toppings. These include potato leaves, cassava leaves, crain crain, okra soup, fried fish and groundnut stew.
Along the street of towns and cities one can find snacks such as fresh mangoes, oranges, pineapple, fried plantains, ginger beer, fried potato, fried cassava with pepper sauce; small bags of popcorn or peanuts, bread, roasted corn, or skewers of grilled meat or shrimp.
Poyo is a popular Sierra Leonean drink. It is a sweet, lightly fermented palm wine. Poyo bars are areas of lively informal talk about politics, football, entertainment and other issues.
Sports
Football is by far the most popular sport in Sierra Leone. Children, youth and adult are often seen playing street football across Sierra Leone.
The Sierra Leone national football team, popularly known as the Leone Stars, represents the country in international competitions. It has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. They were in the 1994 and 1996 African Cup of Nations. Many of the national team footballers are celebrities across Sierra Leone. They are often well known by most of the country's general population. Some well known Sierra Leonean international footballers include Mohamed Kallon, Mohamed Bangura, Rodney Strasser, Ibrahim Teteh Bangura, Alhassan Bangura, Sheriff Suma, Mohamed Kamara, Umaru Bangura and Kei Kamara.
Related pages
List of rivers of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone at the Olympics
Sierra Leone national football team
References
Other websites
SierraLeone.com
English-speaking countries
Least developed countries
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation |
A door is a hard, flat object a person can open and close so that person can go into a room or other place. It is found in houses and other buildings. Doors are also found in cars and cages.
The reasons for a door are:
for people, animals, and objects to go through; some doors are for emergencies only (emergency exit)
to keep cold or hot air outside (or inside, such as the door on a refrigerator)
so that people cannot see or hear what happens on the other side (privacy and stopping noise)
so that people do not fall out of the car or other vehicle
so a person can decide who to let in—many doors have a lock
Types of doors
A revolving door is a group of doors that turn in a circle as a person pushes one. The person can go through, but wind and rain cannot get in.
A blind door is a fake door that is really part of the wall. People use them to make a room look nice.
An up-and-over door is often used in garages. Instead of hinges, it rolls up on rails so that it stays above the opening.
A fire door is a door that does not let fire go through. They are usually made of heavy steel.
A doggie door is a small door for dogs or other small pets. They are usually on the bottom of people-sized doors.
Basic English 850 words
Architectural elements |
Events
Hernando de Soto is the first European to see the Mississippi River.
Ivan IV of Muscovy becomes the first Tsar of Russia.
Edward VI succeeds his father Henry VIII as King of England.
Wars between Protestants and Catholics in Europe.
Japan opens up to Europeans.
Births
El Greco, Greek-born artist
Mary, Queen of Scots
Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer
Deaths
Martin Luther, reformer
Hernando de Soto, Spanish explorer
Henry VIII, King of England
Hernán Cortés, Spanish explorer
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, Mexican Catholic saint |
The Boeing 737 is a twin narrow-body airliner built by Boeing. At first, Boeing was making it to be a shorter, cheaper airliner than its 707 and 727. However, the 737 has become a family of nine different models. The number of passengers it can carry ranges from 85 to 215. The 737 is the only narrow-body airliner that Boeing is making. The only types of 737 that Boeing is still making are the -700, -800 and -900ER. A version of the 737 with new engines and a new design, the 737 MAX, came into service in 2017 but was grounded in 2019 as unsafe.
Boeing began designing the 737 in 1964. The very first 737-100 flew in 1967. It was first used by an airline in February 1968. The 737-200 started being used in April 1968. The -200 was basically just a longer version of the 737-100. In the 1980s Boeing made the -300, -400, and -500 models. Boeing called these models the Boeing 737 Classic series. The 737 Classics could carry more passengers, and they had new engines: CFM56 turbofans. The 737 Classic planes also had some improvements made to the wings. In the 1990s, Boeing brought out the 737 Next Generation. The 737 Next Generation planes also had redesigned wings, a better cockpit and a new cabin. The 737 Next Generation is made up of the -600, -700, -800, and -900ER models. These models go from to in length.
The 737 is the best-selling jet airliner in history. Boeing has never stopped making 737s since 1967. 7,283 aircraft have been delivered, and the 737 still has 2,759 orders that have not been delivered yet (). Boeing 737s are built at the Boeing Renton Factory in Renton, Washington. The 737's main rival is the Airbus A320 family. On average, 1,250 737s are in the air at any time and two land or leave somewhere every five seconds.
Development
Background
Boeing was looking at designs for aircraft which flew short distances. Boeing wanted to make another aircraft to replace the 727 on short flights. It began designing the 737 on May 11, 1964. Boeing did a lot of research and found that airlines wanted an airliner which could hold 50 to 60 passengers. This airliner would also be able to fly routes long. Lufthansa was the first airline to order a Boeing 737 on February 19, 1965. They ordered 21 aircraft, worth $67 million (1965, $190.28 million in 2008). After Boeing spoke to Lufthansa in winter 1964, they made the 737 bigger so that it could hold 100 passengers.
On April 5, 1965, Boeing announced that United Airlines had ordered 40 737s. United wanted a plane which was a bit bigger than the 737-100. Boeing made a different type of 737 for United, which was longer. This other plane was called the 737-200. Boeing changed the name of the original 737 to the 737-100.
Making and testing of the 737
The first 737s were made near Boeing Field (now officially called King County International Airport) because the factory in Renton was too busy building the 707 and 727. After 271 aircraft were made at Boeing Field, Boeing moved the 737s to Renton. This was in 1970.
The first Boeing 737-100 prototype was ready in 1966. It made its first flight on April 9, 1967. On December 15, 1967 the Federal Aviation Administration said that the -100 was allowed to fly with passengers. They gave it the Type Certificate A16WE. Lufthansa got its first 737 on December 28, 1967. On February 10, 1968, Lufthansa became the first non-American airline to fly a new Boeing aircraft. It was the only large airline which bought the 737-100. Only 30 -100s were ever made.
The 737-200 first flew on August 8, 1967. The FAA allowed it to fly with passengers on December 21, 1967. The first flight it made for United Airlines was on April 28, 1968. It flew from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Airlines liked the 737-200 much more than the 737-100.
737-200 Advanced
A "thrust reverser" is a part of the engine of a plane. It changes the flow of air through the engine so that it ends up trying to push the plane backwards instead of forwards. The first thrust reversers on the 737 were not very good. They were said to lift the aircraft off the runway when they were used. This meant that the wheels were not being pushed down onto the ground very much, which made the brakes less useful. In 1968, Boeing improved the thrust reverser. This improvement was put onto all aircraft after March 1969. Aircraft which were made before the improvement could have it installed. Boeing also improved the flaps. This improvement allowed the flaps to be used more during takeoffs and landing. All these changes meant that the 737 could hold more cargo and fly further. In May 1971, after the 135th aircraft was built, all of these improvements, as well as better engines and more fuel, were put into the 737-200. This gave it 15% more payload and range than the first 737-200s. This type of 737-200 became known as the 737-200 Advanced.
In 1970, Boeing only got 37 orders for 737s. Since Boeing were running out of money, they thought about stopping making 737s and selling the design to Japanese companies. Boeing cancelled the Boeing Supersonic Transport and started making less Boeing 747s. By doing this, Boeing kept enough money to keep the 737 project going.
In 1988, Boeing stopped making 737-200s. 1,114 aircraft were made and the last one was delivered to Xiamen Airlines on August 8, 1988.
737 Classic
In 1979, Boeing started working on a large improvement for the 737. Boeing wanted to allow the aircraft to hold more passengers and travel further. It also wanted to make improvements to make the aircraft more modern. However, it also wanted to keep it similar to the older 737s. In 1980, information on this new type of 737 (called the 737-300) was given at the Farnborough Airshow.
The CFM56-3B-1 engine was chosen to be the engine for this new 737 type. This engine burned much less fuel and was much less noisy. However, it was also difficult to fit these engines to the aircraft. This was because the 737's wings were not very high above the ground, and the CFM56 had a bigger diameter than the original engines. Boeing and CFM solved the problem by putting the engine slightly ahead of the wing, instead of right under it. They also moved some parts of the engine, which would normally go on the bottom, to the sides. This made the engine look a bit like a hamster pouch,<ref name="hamster">Brady, Chris. "History & Development of the Boeing 737 - Classics." The Boeing 737 Information Site, 1999. Retrieved: September 5, 2010.</ref> because the engine is not shaped like a circle.
The plane could now carry 149 passengers, because the fuselage of the plane was made bigger. Many changes were made to the wings. The tip of the wing was made longer by . The wingspan was also made bigger. The flaps on the wings were changed. The flight deck (cockpit) was improved with electronic displays. However, airlines could choose not to have these in their planes. The main cabin (where the passengers sit) was also made better. It looked similar to the cabin of a Boeing 757. The prototype of the 737-300 first flew on 24 February 1984. Its pilot was Jim McRoberts.
In June 1986, Boeing said that it was working on the 737-400. The 737-400 made the fuselage even bigger (by ). This change meant that the -400 could carry 170 passengers. The 737-400's first flight was on February 19, 1988. The first airline to use it was Piedmont Airlines.
Boeing made a 737-500 because its customers wanted one. It was a replacement of the 737-200. The -500 is longer than the 737-200. Up to 132 passengers can travel on the 737-500. Cockpits with electronic displays could be installed on the -500, but airlines could choose the use the older cockpit if they wanted.
The 737-500 was first ordered by Southwest Airlines in 1987. Southwest Airlines ordered 20 aircraft. The 737-500 flew for the first time on June 30, 1989. On February 28, 1990, Southwest Airlines got their first delivery.
After the Boeing 737 Next Generation planes were brought into service, Boeing named the 737-300/-400/-500s the 737 Classic series.
737 Next Generation
In 1991, Boeing started working on an updated group of 737s. They did this so they could have a plane to rival the Airbus A320. Boeing said that the 737 Next Generation (NG) program had begun on November 17, 1993. The -600, -700, -800, and -900 models are all part of the 737 Next Generation program. The 737 was changed so much by the 737NG program that it is almost like a new aircraft. However, some important parts of the plane were kept similar to the older 737s.
The wing was changed again. Many different changes were made. An example of one is a bigger wingspan (made bigger by ). Since the wings were made bigger, 30% more fuel could fit in the plane. CFM56-7B engines were used, which were newer, quieter and burned less fuel. The improvements to the wing, engine and fuel mean that the 737NG can travel 900 nautical miles further. This means it can travel over in total, which means that the 737NG can travel between different continents. Winglets can be added to most 737NG models. The flight deck was given modern electronics (called avionics). The main cabin was also improved.
The first NG to be built was a 737-700. It was finished on December 8, 1996. This aircraft was 2,843rd 737 built. It first flew on February 9, 1997. The prototype 737-800 was finished on June 30, 1997 and first flew on July 31, 1997. The smallest of the 737NGs, the -600, is the same size as the -500. It was the last NG to be launched (it was launched in December 1997). It first flew on January 22, 1998. The FAA certified it on August 18, 1998.Shaw 1999, pp. 14–15. A
Boeing delivered the 5,000th 737 to Southwest Airlines on February 13, 2006. The 6,000th 737 was delivered to Norwegian Air Shuttle in April 2009. The Airbus A320 family has sold more planes than the 737NG over the past ten years."Airbus 320 Aircraft History, Information, Pictures and Facts." aviationexplorer.com.. Retrieved: September 3, 2010. However, this total includes sales for the A321 and A318. The A321 has been the rival of Boeing's 757 and the A318 has been the rival of the 717. The Next Generation series helped make sure the 737 stayed the bestsellingRobertson, David. "Boeing gets ready for all-new 737." The Times, March 12, 2007. Retrieved: April 22, 2010. airliner family since it first flew."Boeing airliner deliveries rise 11%." Chicago Tribune, January 4, 2008. Retrieved: April 22, 2010.Rahn, Kim. "B737: Best-Selling Aircraft in the World." Korea Times. Retrieved: April 22, 2010.Jiang, Steven. "Jetset: 'Tianjin Takes Off'." The Beijinger. Retrieved: April 22, 2010. Quote: A320, the workhorse of many airlines and the second best-selling jetliner family of all time (after Boeing’s venerable B737).
737 MAX
Since 2006, Boeing has been thinking about replacing the 737 with a completely new design. This was named the Boeing Y1 by people who worked at Boeing. This re-design would be launched after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Boeing did not decide on whether or not to go ahead with this. They said they would decide in 2011.
On July 20, 2011, Boeing said that they were working on a new 737 version, which would have the CFM International LEAP engine. American Airlines said they would order 100 of these aircraft. On August 30, 2011, Boeing said that a new 737 would definitely be launched. It was called the 737 MAX. It would also definitely have CFM International LEAP-1B engines."Boeing officially launches re-engined 737." flightglobal.com, August 30, 2011.
The MAX 8 first carried paying passengers in May, 2017. In 2019 two MAX 8 aircraft crashed, killing all aboard and causing aviation authorities to ban commercial operation of the 737 MAX until they are fixed.
Design
The 737's main landing gear (wheels) go into holes at the bottom of the plane. The wheels do not have a door to close over them. The tyres can be seen easily when a 737 is taking off or is flying low-down.
737s do not have fuel dump systems. A fuel dump system is a system which gets rid of any unneeded fuel if the aircraft needs to make an emergency landing while it still has a lot of fuel on board. This is useful because aircraft can only land safely at a certain weight or below. Getting rid of unneeded fuel helps to get to a safe weight for the plane to land. The first 737s were too small to need these systems. Adding a fuel dump system to the bigger 737s would make the plane much heavier. Instead, if the emergency is not very serious, 737s fly around in circles to get rid of fuel. If the emergency is serious, the 737 just needs to land at an unsafe weight. If it has to land at an unsafe weight, the plane needs to be looked at for damage. If there is no damage, the plane can be put back into service.Cheung, Humphrey. "Troubled American Airlines jet lands safely at LAX." tgdaily.com, 2 September 2008. Retrieved: August 20, 2011.
Engines
Engines on the 737 Classic series (300, 400, 500) and Next Generation series (600, 700, 800, 900) are not shaped like a circle like most planes. The 737 Classics had CFM56 turbofan engines. These burned much less fuel and made much less noise than the Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines which were used on the -100 and -200. However, because the 737's wings and fuselage are not very high above the ground, it was impossible to get the engines to fit on the wings. Boeing and CFM fixed this problem by putting the engines slightly ahead of the wings instead of putting them right underneath. They also moved some parts of the engines which would normally go at the bottom to the sides. This is what makes the engines non-circular.
The gearbox of the engine was moved from the bottom of the engine to the side. The gearbox makes the engine look a bit like a triangle. Since the engine is close to the ground, it is possible that they can be damaged by things lying on the ground. The CFM56-7 engine on the 737 Next Generation burns even less fuel than the engines on the 737 Classics. The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will have CFM International LEAP-1B engines. These engines are supposed to burn 10-12% less fuel than the CFM56-7B engines on the 737 Next Generation family.
Flight systems
The 737's controls are very safe. If the hydraulics or both engines fail, servo tabs will be automatically used. Servo tabs are small hinges which move important parts of an aircraft. The tabs are controlled by the yoke (the thing used to steer the plane). For the 737 Next Generation, a new cockpit with LCD displays was made. These cockpits also have modern avionics (autopilot etc.).
Most 737 cockpits have "eyebrow windows". These are smaller windows which are above the main windows. There are two on each side. Eyebrow windows were used on the Boeing 707. They helped the pilot see better when the plane was turning. However, because autopilot, advanced radar etc. exist, they are no longer needed. They were removed from the 737 cockpit in 2004. However, 737s used by the military still have them installed. If the customer likes, Boeing will install eyebrow windows for them.
Upgrades
Winglets can be fitted to 737s which do not have them already installed. They can also be added when the aircraft is built. The winglets are about tall. They are fitted at the end of the wing and help the engines to burn less fuel because they reduce drag. They also help make less noise on takeoff. Winglets can help a plane burn up to 5% less fuel.
the 737 has carbon brakes. These are made by Messier-Bugatti. These new brakes have been allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration. They weigh less than the steel brakes normally fitted to the 737 Next Generation family. If 700 pounds of weight is taken off a Boeing 737-800, it burns 0.5% less fuel.
Main cabin
How the cabin looks was changed in each different type of 737 (Classic and Next Generation). The cabin design of the 737 Original was changed 737 Classic using designs from the 757. Designs from the Boeing 777 were used to design the cabin for the Next Generation 737. The newest cabin design is called the Sky Interior. It has curved walls. It also has redesigned windows. The Sky Interior has more headroom and LED mood lighting."Check Out Boeing's Swanky New High-Tech Interior." businessinsider.com. Retrieved: November 1, 2011. Overhead bins which move have been installed. These bins are similar to the bins on a 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. They have more space for luggage than the other designs. The Sky Interior is also designed to make the cabin less noisy by 2–4 dB. The first 737 with the Sky Interior was delivered to Flydubai in 2010. Malaysia Airlines, TUIFly and Continental Airlines have also ordered 737s with the Sky Interior.
Types of 737
The 737 are split into three "generations". These are Original, Classic and Next Generation. The "Original" models are the 737-100, 737-200/-200 Advanced. The "Classic" models are the 737-300, 737-400 and 737-500. The "Next Generation" models are the 737-600, 737-700/-700ER, 737-800, and 737-900/-900ER.
The fourth generation of 737 is called the 737 MAX. It is still being worked on, but when it is finished, it will be made up of the 737-MAX-7, 737-MAX-8 and 737-MAX-9. The MAX-7 will replace the 737-700, the MAX-8 will replace the 737-800 and the MAX-9 will replace the 737-900 and 739-900ER.
737 Original
737-100
The very first 737 model was the 737-100. It was first ordered by Lufthansa in 1965. The -100 was finished on January 17, 1967. It entered service in 1968. The aircraft is the smallest type of 737. Only 30 737-100s were ordered and delivered. No 737-100s are still being used by airlines. The 737-100 prototype is in the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
737-200
The 737-200 is a 737-100 with a larger fuselage. It was created because of an order from United Airlines in 1965. The -200 was finished on June 29, 1967. It entered service in 1968. The 737-200 Advanced is an improved version of the -200. Its first user was All Nippon Airways. It began using the -200 Advanced on May 20, 1971. The -200 Advanced has many improvements. For example, more powerful engines and more fuel. The 737-200 Advanced can also fly further than the 737-200. The last delivery of a 737-200 aircraft was in August 1988 to Xiamen Airlines. This was the 1,095th 737-200 built."About the 737 Family." The Boeing Company. Retrieved: December 20, 2007. Many 737-200s are still used by airlines.
After 40 years the last 737-200 aircraft in the United States were retired on March 31, 2008. This happened with the last flights of Aloha Airlines.
737 Classic
The Boeing 737 Classic is the name of the 737-300/-400/-500. However, they were only called the 737 Classics after the 737 Next Generation (737-600/700/800/900) aircraft were made. Until then, the 737 Classics were called the 'new generation' of the 737. The 737 Classics were made from 1984 to 2000. 1,988 aircraft were delivered in that time. As of January 1, 2001, 1,945 are in service.
737-300
The 737-300 was brought into service in 1981. It was used by both US Airways and Southwest Airlines. The 737-300 is the first model of the 737 Classic series. The -300 can usually hold 128 passengers. The 737-300 series was made until 1999. The last -300 was delivered to Air New Zealand on 17 December 1999. This was the 1,113th 737-300 made.
737-400
The 737-400 brought into service in 1985. It was just a longer version of the 737-300. Piedmont Airlines was the launch customer. They ordered 25 aircraft in 1986. The first 737-400s were brought into service in 1988 with Piedmont. The last -400 was delivered to CSA Czech Airlines. This was the 486th -400 built.
The 737-400F was a 737-400 changed into a cargo plane. The -400F was not delivered by Boeing. They were changed into cargo planes by the airlines that owned them. Alaska Airlines was the first airline to change a -400 to a -400F. It could carry 10 pallets of cargo.
737-500
The 737-500 was finished 1987. It was brought into service with Southwest Airlines in 1990. The 737-500 is around the same length of the 737-200. It was a modern, complete replacement of the 737-200. The last 737-500 was delivered to All Nippon Airways on July 26, 1999. This was the 389th built.
737 Next Generation
In the 1990s, Boeing realised that the Airbus A320 family was a serious threat. Boeing could lose customers because of it. In November 1993, Boeing began the Next Generation program. The Next Generation aircraft would replace the 737 Classics. The 737-600, 737-700 and 737-800 planes were planned.
737-600
The 737-600 replaced the 737-500. It was also supposed to replace the McDonnell Douglas DC-9. The 737-600 was finished in 1995. The first aircraft was delivered to Scandinavian Airlines on September 18, 1998. The 737-600 is the only Boeing 737 still being made that cannot be fitted with winglets.
The 737-600's rivals are the Airbus A318, Embraer 195 and Sukhoi Superjet 100. The Bombardier CSeries will also be a rival. 69 -600s have been delivered. There have been no orders that have not been delivered (as of 2010).
737-700
The 737-700 was added to the Next Generation planes when Southwest Airlines ordered one in November 1993. The -700 was based on the 737-300. It was brought into service in 1998. It replaced the 737-300. Its main rival is the A319. 126 people can fit into the 737-700 if there are two classes (first class and economy). However, 149 can fit in if the aircraft only has an economy class. Boeing launched the 737-700ER on January 30, 2006. "ER" stands for "extra range". This means that the plane can fly further than a normal 737-700. All Nippon Airways was the launch customer for the -700ER. It has the body of a 737-700, but the wings and landing gear of a 737-800. It can fly for 5,510 nautical miles (10,205 kilometers). 126 passengers can fit onto the plane.
In July 2008, Delta Air Lines got the first -700 that had Messier-Bugatti's carbon brakes.
737-800
The 737-800 is a longer version of the 737-700. It replaces the 737-400. The -800 was finished in 1994. It entered service with Hapag-Lloyd Flug (now TUIfly) in 1998. 162 passengers can fit into a 737-800 if it has two classes. Up to 189 can fit into a 737-800 if it only has one class. Its main rival is the A320.
737-900
The 737-900 is the longest 737. Alaska Airlines was the launch customer for the 737-900 when it was launched in 1997. It got its first aircraft on May 15, 2001.
The 737-900ER is the newest and biggest Boeing 737. It was made so that it could replace the 757-200. It was also made to be a rival to the Airbus A321. 180 passengers can fly on a 737-900ER with two classes. 215 passengers can fly if the plane only has one class. The -900ER can carry more fuel and has winglets. It can fly for around 3200 nm. The 737-900 is no longer made; Boeing only makes the 737-900ER now.
737 MAX
In 2011, Boeing said that it was working on the 737 MAX program. Boeing will make three types of 737 MAX. These are the MAX-7, MAX-8 and the MAX-9. The MAX-7 will replace the 737-700, the MAX-8 will replace the 737-800 and the MAX-9 will replace the 737-900ER. The 737 MAX will have CFM International LEAP-1B engines. The wheel in the nose of the plane has been made longer. Deliveries are supposed to start in 2017. Southwest Airlines became the launch customer on December 13, 2011. Lion Air and others have made orders for 737 MAX planes.
Companies which use the 737
The 737 is used by more than 500 airlines. 737s fly to 1,200 places in 190 countries. Over 10,000 737s have been ordered by airlines. 7,283 have been delivered. Over 4,500 are still being used by airlines. On average, there are always 1,250 737s flying. On average, a 737 takes off or lands every five seconds. 25% of the world's jet airliners are Boeing 737s.
Airlines
As of July 2010, 383 Boeing 737-200s are still being used by airlines.
Military
Many countries use the 737 as a military plane. Some countries with 737s are:
Orders and deliveries
Total
Over 7,400 Boeing 737s have been built and delivered. This is correct as of December 31, 2012.
By type
, over 10,400 Boeing 737s have been ordered. 3,020 planes still need to be delivered. This is a list of how many planes have been built for each type of 737.
This information is from Boeing.com.
Accidents
As of April 2012, the 737 has been in 315 incidents. 159 of these have been "hull loss accidents". A hull loss accident is when the plane is damaged so much it can not be used anymore, or if the plane was completely destroyed. 4,236 people have died because of these crashes. The 737 has also been in 106 hijackings. 324 people have died in hijackings.
Features
This information comes from: Boeing 737 specifications, 737 Airport Planning Report, b737.org.uk site.
Related pages
References
Notes
References
Anderson, David F. and Scott Eberhardt. Understanding Flight. Chicago: McGraw Hill Professional, 2009. .
Bowers, Peter M. Boeing Aircraft since 1916. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989. .
Endres, Günter. The Illustrated Directory of Modern Commercial Aircraft. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company, 2001. .
Redding, Robert and Bill Yenne. Boeing: Planemaker to the World. Berkeley, California: Thunder Bay Press, 1997. .
Sharpe, Michael and Robbie Shaw. Boeing 737-100 and 200. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company, 2001. .
Shaw, Robbie. Boeing Jetliners. London, England: Osprey, 1995. .
Shaw, Robbie. Boeing 737-300 to 800. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company, 1999. .
Sutter, Joe. 747: Creating the World's First Jumbo Jet and Other Adventures from a Life in Aviation''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2006. .
Other websites
Official Boeing page
737 |
Tsar is the title for the supreme ruler of Bulgaria in 913–1422, later usage in 1908–1946, the supreme ruler of Serbia in 1346—1371 and the emperor of Russia from 1546 until 1721. Since 1721 the title of Russian emperors was imperator, but the word tsar remained in common use until the Russian Revolution in 1917.
Tsar is also spelled tzar, czar, and csar. It is the Eastern European word for caesar, and can be translated to emperor. The system of government used during the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire was called Tsarist autocracy, also known as Tsarism.
The last tsar to rule Serbia was Stephen Uroš V.
The last tsar to Rule Russia was Nicholas II.
The last tsar to Rule Bulgaria was Boris III.
Russia
Royalty and nobility
Bulgaria
Russian tsars |
Events
Helsinki founded in Finland.
Rule of Bloody Mary, or Mary I of England from 1553 to 1558.
São Paulo founded in Brazil.
Religious wars continue in Europe.
Russia breaks peace with Sweden by attacking Finland.
The Shaanxi Earthquake, the deadliest earthquake in history.
Births
Sarsa Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia
King Sebastian of Portugal
Nurhaci, Chinese founder of the Qing Dynasty
Deaths
Tabinshwehti, King of Burma
Edward VI, King of England
Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish founder of the Jesuit priests |
Events
The Great Natchez Tornado: A massive tornado hits Natchez, Mississippi. Before it was over, 317 people had died and 209 were injured.
Births
January 3– Father Damien, priest
January 18 – Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
May 7 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer
Kuroda Kiyotaka, Prime Minister of Japan
Deaths
May 27 – Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer |
Engelbert Dollfuss (German: Dollfuß) (October 4, 1892 – July 25, 1934) was the Chancellor of Austria from 1932 until 1933. He led the country as a dictator from early 1933 until 1934.
He studied law in Vienna, and Economics in Berlin. During World War I, he served in the Alps and briefly became a Prisoner of War in 1918.
He became Chancellor on May 20, 1932 as head of a right-wing coalition government. He wanted to solve the problems caused by the Depression. He had problems finding majorities in parliament. The measures he liked to take to deal with inflation were not well liked. In March 1933, he suspended the Austrian parliament. He then governed by decree.
With Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in Germany, Dollfuss feared that the influence of the NSDAP would grow. This would then lead to a growth in popularity for its Austrian counterpart. Because of this, he banned the NSDAP in June 1933. He also banned the SDAPÖ in February 1934.
In September 1933 he formed an umbrella grouping to support the regime, the Vaterländische Front (Fatherland Front) and merged the Christian Social Party with the para-military Heimwehr (Home Guard), a Nationalist paramilitary group. The regime which was put into power by him and remained in power until 1938 is often called Austrofascism. The form of state he employed was called the Ständestaat.
On July 25, 1934, eight Austrian Nazis entered the Chancellery building and shot and killed Dollfuss in an attempted coup, as a prelude to Anschluss. The Nazis surrendered and were executed. Kurt Schuschnigg became the new dictator of Austria.
References
Other websites
Video: Dollfuß holds a speech in Burgenland 1933 (mpeg, 6,1 kb)
1892 births
1934 deaths
Chancellors of Austria
Government ministers of Austria
Murders by firearm |
A language isolate is a language that is not known to be related to any other language.
Many languages are related to other languages by coming from an older language, and both are still similar. Languages that are related are language families. Most languages known to belong to a language family. However, some are not known to be related to other languages and are called language isolates.
Some language isolates are Basque, Zuni and Burushaski.
Language isolates |
A species is a kind of organism. It is a basic unit of biological classification, and a formal rank in taxonomy. Originally, the word was used informally in a rather vague way, but now there are at least 26 different ways it is used.
All animals or plants that are the same kind belong to the same species. Wolves (Canis lupus) are one species. Humans (Homo sapiens) are another species. Broadly, the idea is that, for example, cats breed with cats and produce more cats. This is the basis for deciding to have a species called Felis catus. However, to give a simple definition of 'species' is difficult, and many people have tried.
Species is a word for a particular kind of living thing, for example, a jackdaw. Jackdaws and ravens are similar, so they are together in a larger group (taxon) called a genus, in this case Corvus. Then there is a family (such as the crow family, which includes crows and ravens as well as jays and magpies). Families are put together into orders such as the songbirds, which includes many families of birds. The next group is the class; all birds are in the same class. After that is the phylum, such as vertebrates, which is all animals with backbones. Last of all is the kingdom, like the animal kingdom. These are ways to classify living things.
There is a mnemonic to help people remember the order of the divisions which are listed again below: "King Phillip Came Over For Great Spaghetti".
Example
Take as an example the bird called a Common Loon or Great Northern Diver:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gaviiformes
Family: Gaviidae
Genus: Gavia
Species: Gavia immer
Common name: Common Loon or Great Northern Diver.
Historical changes in the term
There is a long history of disagreement over whether species are objective things, or whether they are man-made labels. Those who think species are objectively different point to things which 'good' species do. They look similar, and they breed true, that is, mate with their own kind, and have offspring which are obviously in the same species.
Against this are the many exceptions. There are species which shade gradually into other species, and which interbreed in overlapping populations (see ring species). On the other hand, there are species which look absolutely identical, but which do not breed together (sibling species).
It is quite clear that 'species' as used by palaeontologists and 'species' as used by other biologists cannot be the same. A palaeontologist can only use visible features of a fossil, which are only a small part of the traits of a living species. Not only that, but many species which are virtually identical can only be distinguished by their DNA. This relatively recent discovery of sibling species is very important, and their numbers are growing rapidly. We underestimated the effect of convergent evolution.
The greatest change in the species concept was made by Charles Darwin, for evolution meant that hard-and-fast lines could not be drawn between species. Another shift came when Ernst Mayr proposed the biological species concept, which emphasized the interbreeding population as the heart of the species concept. This meant that, in his view, species were objective, that is not just the subjective opinion of a taxonomist. His explanation of the process of speciation was geographical isolation between populations which had once been interbreeding. Today, emphasis has moved back closer to Darwin's ideas.
Numbers
According to the most recent estimate, there are about 8.7 million species on Earth. This counts only eukaryote organisms. It leaves out bacteria, archaea and viruses.
Fewer than a quarter of the species have not been identified, named and catalogued. At the present rate, it might take over 1000 years to complete this job. Some will become extinct before this count is complete.
Related pages
Wikispecies
References
Taxonomy |
An ancestor is a person (or another organism or thing) from whom (or which) another is descended. Usually, it refers to a person far in the past, rather than the parents or grandparents in the close family. A very similar word is forebear. A female ancestor may be called an ancestress. The line of ancestors from which an organism descends is referred to as its ancestry.
A second meaning relates to evolution. There, it is used of a species or group of species of animals or plants from which others have evolved. In a similar way, the word ancestor can be used for an early prototype or forerunner of a later device.
In law an ancestor can mean the person from whom an estate is lawfully obtained. No blood relationship is necessarily implied. More commonly, however, it is the person from whom an estate is obtained based on law and blood.
Two people have a genetic relationship if one is the ancestor of the other, or if they share a common ancestor. Each of someone's ancestors will have contributed to their DNA. In evolution, species that have evolved from the same ancestor are said to be of common descent. However, this concept of ancestry does not apply to some bacteria and other organisms capable of horizontal gene transfer. DNA testing is used in determining ancestry. This can be for paternity testing, to determine the parents of a child for legal purposes. DNA is also used to better understand the ancestry and history of all humans over the last 50,000 years. This was one of the benefits of the Human genome project.
In some cultures ancestors may have relatively little importance. Many today have no knowledge of their own great-great-grandparents. China is an example of a culture that in general has a deep respect for ancestors. Korea is an example of a culture that engages in ancestor worship where ancestors are revered. But genealogy (the study of one's ancestors) is growing in popularity and includes both amateur and professional genealogists.
Related pages
Ethnicity
Kinship
Generation
Human Genome Project
References
Family |
River dolphins are five species of dolphin which live in fresh water rivers and estuaries. Three species live in fresh water rivers. The La Plata Dolphin lives in salt water estuaries and the ocean.
South Asian river dolphins (two sub-species)
Ganges river dolphin, Platanista gangetica gangetica – Lives in Nepal, Republic of India and Bangladesh
Indus river dolphin, Platanista indicus minor – Lives in Pakistan; National mammal of Pakistan.
South American river dolphins (three species)
Amazon river dolphin (or Boto), Inia geoffrensis – Largest of river dolphins, lives in Peru and Brazil.
Araguaia river dolphin, Inia araguaiaensis – Recently discovered in the river basin in Brazil after which it is named. Identified as a separate species by genetic sequence analysis.
La Plata dolphin (or Franciscana), Pontoporia blainvillei – Lives in Argentina.
Chinese river dolphin (or Baiji), Lipotes vexillifer – Lives in the Yangtze River in China (one of the most endangered of all dolphins and whales). Recent counts have come up with 17 remaining individuals. Scientists now want to raise some dolphins in a lake.
Differences between marine and river dolphins
Both river dolphins and marine dolphins belong to a group of mammals called cetaceans. The snout of a river dolphin measures about 58 centimeters (2 ft) long, approximately four times as long as that of most marine dolphins. They use their long snout to search for fish on the muddy bottom of the river. River dolphins have smaller eyes than marine dolphins, and their vision is poorly developed because they live in dark, muddy water. River dolphins are less active than marine dolphins because they do not need to search so widely to find fish. Marine dolphins work in pods (packs) because when they find a shoal of fish then they work together to make the most of their find. River dolphins work mostly as individuals or small groups.
Taxonomy
The following is the taxonomy of river dolphins, or how dolphins are classified:
River dolphin classification
Superfamily Platanistoidea
Family Platanistidae
South Asian river dolphin Platanista gangetica (two subspecies)
Ganges river dolphin P. g. gangetica
Indus dolphin P. g. minor
Family Iniidae
Amazon river dolphin (or Boto) Inia geoffrensis
Family Lipotidae
Chinese river dolphin (or Baiji) Lipotes vexillifer
Family Pontoporiidae
La Plata dolphin (or Franciscana) Pontoporia blainvillei
References
Other sources
River-Dolphins-and-their-habitat |
An estuary is where a river meets the sea. There, saltwater mixes with freshwater. The river becomes wider and wider and flows slowly to the ocean.
Bays, marshes, swamps, and inlets can all have estuaries. A view of an estuary from the air is usually an interesting sight: many estuaries meander (curve and bend) to find their way to the sea. Estuaries come in all sizes and shapes, each according to its location and climate. Where rivers meet the sea and fresh water mixes with salt water, the mixture is called brackish water.
Some estuaries are very large. They may be large ocean bays that have more than one river flowing into them. For example, Chesapeake Bay is a large estuary, and several different rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean there.
In simple terms it is where a river meets with a large body of water only with ((one)) outlet and not many like a ((delta)).
Habitat
Estuaries are usually filled with shallow waters, and sunlight reaches all levels of the water. Marsh grasses, algae, and other kinds of plants live in estuaries and provide food for a variety of fish, crabs, oysters, and shrimp. Estuaries are especially important since they act as nurseries for many different types of young fish and other animals before they head out toward the open ocean. Many sea birds also nest in estuaries.
The United States government has a program to study and protect the natural environment in many different estuaries, called the National Estuarine Research Reserve System. One reason that the natural environment in so many estuaries is in danger is because they are also good places for people to live and build cities. Unfortunately, many of world's largest cities are at or near estuaries.
References
Bodies of water
Ecosystems |
James Bond is a fictional British spy created by Ian Fleming in 1953.
History
1950s-1960s
In 1953, Fleming wrote Casino Royale, the very first James Bond novel. The novel made a lot of money, and he continued to write one James Bond novel each year until he died in 1963. In a 1956 South African radio program Moonraker he was voiced by Bob Holness. In 1962 Albert. R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman started to produce the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as James Bond. The movie became extremely popular, and they continued to make more Bond movies. In the end of the 1960s Connery did not want to do any more Bond movies, and many thought that Bond was now dead. In 1969, George Lazenby appeared in one movie as the Bond character, but the movie was not successful.
1970s-1980s
In 1971 Sean Connery stepped back into the role for one movie "Diamonds are Forever". After this in 1973, producers came up with the Live and Let Die movie, starring Roger Moore as Bond. The movie became a very big success. The series continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s with Roger Moore playing the role of Bond.
In the 1980s, Bond movies were not as successful at the box office. Unlike the 1960s and 1970s, in the 1980s there were many other action movies being produced that could compete with the Bond series.
After Moore left the role as Bond, he was replaced with Timothy Dalton in the late 1980s. Dalton tried to make a serious, "down to earth" Bond, closer to the Fleming novels. Fans did not like Dalton's interpretation of the Bond character, and the movies made little money.
1990s
The Cold War ended in 1991. Since Bond almost always fought Communists, many now thought that the Bond series of movies was finally dead.
In 1995, producers developed the Goldeneye movie, starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond. This film made the Bond character well known in the 1990s. Brosnan appeared in several Bond movies.
2000s
In 2002, the James Bond character was used in the 20th movie, Die Another Day, the 40th anniversary of the movies and the 50th anniversary since Fleming wrote his first Bond novel.
In 2006, the 21st movie, Casino Royale, was released. Pierce Brosnan, who played James Bond in the previous four movies, was replaced by Daniel Craig, the first James Bond to have blonde hair. The movie is based on the first Ian Fleming novel of the same name, but is set in the present day. The movie features a cameo appearance by Richard Branson, a British billionaire. It has a new model of Aston Martin DB9, the car that made James Bond so famous in the 1960s. Many fans think that whilst this movie is different than other movies, it is much better, and movies in the future (however few there will be) will be in this new format. In 2008, Craig appeared in a second Bond movie, Quantum of Solace and a third, Skyfall, in 2012. His fourth appearance as Bond was with Spectre in 2016. His fifth and final appearance as Bond is with No Time to Die in 2021.
Movies
Many of the James Bond movies were massive hits. However, there are two movies classed as unofficial Bond films and not recognised as part of the series. The 1967 version of Casino Royale was a spoof, featuring "Jimmy Bond". Also, Never Say Never Again was not made by Albert R. Broccoli's production company, EON Productions. Connery is the tallest actor to play James Bond to this day.
References
Other websites
The Official James Bond Website
Ian Fleming Publications official website
Fictional British people
Fictional characters introduced in the 1950s
Fictional orphans
James Bond characters
English-language television programs |
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1951 movie. It is based on the 1947 play by Tennessee Williams. The movie stars Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh.
Other websites
Plays
1951 drama movies
American drama movies
United States National Film Registry movies
Multilingual movies
Movies directed by Elia Kazan |
A tetrahedron (triangular pyramid) is a three-dimensional shape. It has four corners. It looks like a pyramid. It has six equally long edges, four corners and four equilateral triangular faces. Every two edges meet on one of those corners forming a sixty-degree angle. All of its sides are triangles.
Formulas for a regular tetrahedron
A regular tetrahedron is a tetrahedron where all of its edges are the same length. If the length of an edge is a:
References
Platonic solids |
Robert Hooke FRS (Isle of Wight, 18 July 1635 – London, 3 March 1703) was an English naturalist, architect and polymath. Hooke played an important role in the birth of science in the 17th century with both experimental and theoretical work. He was a colleague of Robert Boyle and Christopher Wren, and a rival to Isaac Newton. Hooke was a leader in the plans to rebuild after the Great Fire of London in 1666.
There is no surviving portrait of Hooke.
Hooke's achievements
Physics
He discovered Hooke's Law of elasticity. He designed and ordered the making of telescopes and microscopes, and used both instruments. He reported on this work in a book called Micrographia in 1665. He was the first person to see biological cells. He made drawings of bodies in the Solar System, and made the first attempts to measure the distance of certain stars.
Robert Hooke was appointed the Royal Society's first Curator of Experiments in 1662, and he rose to be Secretary of the Royal Society. He took responsibility for experiments performed at its weekly meetings. This was a position he held for over 40 years.
In 1664 Hooke also was appointed Professor of Geometry at Gresham College in London and Cutlerian Lecturer in Mechanics.
On 8 July 1680, Hooke observed the nodal patterns associated with the mode of vibration of glass plates. He ran a bow along the edge of a glass plate covered with flour, and saw the nodal patterns emerge.p101
Hooke did some fundamental work on gravitation and the motion of the planets. Forever after, he was convinced that Newton and the world had cheated him of the creditp389
Natural history
He was also known for his work in natural history (biology and geology). He reported on his microsope use in a book called Micrographica in 1665. He was the first person to see biological cells, and was the first to use the word 'cell' to describe them.
In 1668, in a talk to the Royal Society, he recognised that fossil shells of unknown marine animals suggested that some species had become extinct.
Architecture
Hooke achieved fame in his day as Surveyor to the City of London and chief assistant of Christopher Wren. Hooke helped Wren rebuild London after the Great Fire in 1666.
He also worked on the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and the infamous Bethlem Royal Hospital (which became known as 'Bedlam'). Many other buildings were designed by Hooke, including the Royal College of Physicians (1679).
Hooke's collaboration with Christopher Wren included St Paul's Cathedral, whose dome uses a method of construction conceived by Hooke. Hooke also participated in the design of the Pepys Library, which held the manuscripts of Samuel Pepys's diaries, the most frequently cited eyewitness account of the Great Fire of London.
In the reconstruction after the Great Fire, Hooke proposed redesigning London's streets on a grid pattern with wide boulevards and arteries, a pattern later used in the renovation of Paris, Liverpool, and many American cities. This proposal was thwarted by arguments over property rights, as property owners were surreptitiously shifting their boundaries. Hooke was in demand to settle many of these disputes, due to his skill as a surveyor and his tact as an arbitrator.
Related pages
Physicist
List of physicists
References
1635 births
1703 deaths
English biologists
English naturalists
Fellows of the Royal Society
English science writers
English architects
Polymaths |
Emission is a word that originally comes from Latin. Originally it means something that is sent out. Several things can be sent out:
The most common use talks about emission of toxic gases. Those gases get produced by factories and motors, like motors in cars.
People talk about radio emissions. Those are programmes that people can listen to if they have a radio receiver.
There could be emissions of loud noise, someone might be making loud noises.
There also are emissions of light. |
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (9 September 1828 20 November 1910) was a Russian novelist and anarchist, famous for writing the books War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and many other works. He was a Christian and believed in non-violence and practiced simple living. His work The Kingdom of God is within you has influenced people like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
Early life
Tolstoy was born at Yasnaya Polyana, the family estate in the region of Tula, Russia and he married Sofia Andreevna Bers.
Death
Tolstoy died in 1910, at the age of 82. He died of pneumonia.
Life and career
When he was young his parents died, so he and his siblings were brought up by relatives. At the age of 16, he began studying law and oriental languages. Unfortunately, he left University in the middle of his studies and spent much of his time in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Later on in his life, he joined the Army with his brother after running up some heavy gambling debts. It was at that time that he started writing.
His conversion from a wealthy society author to the non-violent and spiritual anarchist of his later days was notable. It was caused by his experience in the army as well as two trips around Europe in 1857 and 1860–61. Others who followed a similar path were Alexander Herzen, Mikhail Bakunin and Peter Kropotkin. During his 1857 visit, Tolstoy saw a public execution in Paris, an experience which marked the rest of his life.
After Anna Karenina, Tolstoy concentrated on Christian themes, and his later novels such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886) and What Is to Be Done? (1886) develop a radical Christian philosophy which led to his excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church in 1901.
After shaping both his political and literary development in Europe, he returned to Russia and founded 13 schools for Russia's peasant children.
Related pages
List of Russian-language novelists
List of Russian novelists
References
1828 births
1910 deaths
Anarchists
Deaths from pneumonia
Disease-related deaths in Russia
Russian Christians
Russian novelists |
People have made wine in the American state of California for a long time. California has become recognized as making some of the world's best wine. California makes most of the wine that is made in America.
History
People first made wine in California in 1769. Missionaries from Mexico brought their wine plants to produce wine for the mass. Later, people coming from Europe improved the making of wine. They had brought their own kinds of wine plants.
Before 1920, there was more wine made every year. Then Prohibition began. During Prohibition, it was not allowed to sell alcoholic drinks in the United States. It almost ended the making of wine in California. Californian wine-making took a long time to recover.
In 1990, the USA sent less than five percent of its wine to other countries. After that, exports of wine from California increased. Today, the USA is one of the big wine industries.
Wines
Wine comes in different colors. Most wines are called "red" or "white". White wine is not really white, it just has a very light color. 54 percent of the Californian wines are white wines. Some examples of white wines are Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Some examples of red wines are Zinfandel, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir.
Cool climate viticulture
Grapes for wine used to need warm weather. People wanted to grow more grapes, so they learned how to grow them where the weather was not as warm. That way of growing grapes is called "cool climate viticulture". Vines are now planted in colder places, up to above sea level. Monterey County was the first place where that was done.
Wine regions
In California, there are more than 800 wine cellars. Wine cellars are big rooms were wine is stored. They are part of a winery, the place where wine is produced.
Two of the most famous growing areas for wine in California are Napa County and Sonoma County. The wines from those places are some of the best in the world. Some examples of the wines made there are Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Other known wineries are in Mendocino, in the Lake Counties, Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.
References
Other websites
3000 word report - Comprehensive overview Pinot Noir Wine
Wine
Wine |
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American movie from 20th Century Fox. George Roy Hill directed it, and John Foreman produced it. It stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford as two robbers in Wyoming who go to Bolivia to escape the law.
The movie was loosely based on the real story of the two title characters (Butch Cassidy and his friend Harry Longabaugh, also called "Sundance"). But it made the legends of the two more popular.
It won four Academy Awards: for Best Cinematography (shooting work on a movie), Best Original Score, Best Song (Burt Bacharach's "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head") and Best Original Screenplay (William Goldman). It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Hill) and Best Sound. Goldman won the BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay.
It was one of the largest-grossing movies of the 1960s (with $102.3 million in the United States). It was number fifty on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list.
At first, Warren Beatty and Steve McQueen (even Marlon Brando) were called upon to play the title roles. When Newman and Redford took their place, the roles were switched, with Newman as Sundance, and Redford as Cassidy. The studio, 20th Century Fox, did not like Redford's role. But the movie's director, Hill, wanted it that way.
As a result, Redford has said that the movie made him a more famous actor.
The Sundance Film Festival is named after Redford's role, as well his Utah ski resort.
References
Other websites
Movie
1969 movies
1969 crime movies
1960s western movies
20th Century Fox movies
BAFTA Award winners
English-language movies
United States National Film Registry movies
American crime movies
American western movies
American buddy movies
Movies set in Wyoming
Multilingual movies
Movies that won the Best Original Song Academy Award
Movies directed by George Roy Hill |
Events
War of the Roses in England.
Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal sails around Africa and on to India.
Spanish Inquisition begins.
Births
Martin Luther, German monk and reformer
Raphael, Italian painter and architect
Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss religious reformer
Catherine of Aragon, queen of Henry VIII of England
Deaths
Mehmed II, Ottoman Sultan
King Christian I of Denmark and Norway
Axayacatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan |
Mehmed II or Mehmed the conqueror (, Meḥmed-i sānī; Modern , ; 30 March 1432 – 3 May 1481) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446, and later from 1451 to 1481. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople, bringing an end to the medieval Byzantine Empire.
Related pages
Mehmed the Conqueror
Byzantine Empire
Sultan
Turkey
References
Other websites
Biography page at OttomanOnline
Sultans of the Ottoman Empire
History of the Middle East
1481 deaths |
The Bold and the Beautiful is a popular American soap opera. After The Young and the Restless, it is the highest-rated soap opera there.
The series is shown in over 100 countries. About 300 million people watch it every day. This makes The Bold and the Beautiful the most watched television series in the world. The first episode was shown on March 23, 1987 on the CBS network. The series was created by the soap opera writer William J. Bell and his wife, Lee Phillip Bell. It is the only American soap opera to have its daily episodes translated into Spanish for the Hispanic viewers in the United States.
The series is set in Los Angeles, California. It tells the story of the Forrester family, who owns a fashion empire called Forrester Creations. The major members of the family are Eric Forrester (played by John McCook), the president of Forrester Creations, his wife Stephanie (Susan Flannery), their eldest son Ridge (Ronn Moss) and Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang), who was married to both the father and the son. She owns most of Forrester Creations. This is because she created BeLieF, a formula which earned much money for the company. There used to be a second fashion company called Spectra Fashions. It was Forrester’s main competitor. The conflicts between the Forrester and the Spectra families was one of the major themes of the story.
List of actors/characters on the show
Other websites
Official site
The Bold and The Beautiful
The Bold and The Beautiful CBS Website
1987 American television series debuts
1980s American drama television series
1990s American drama television series
2000s American drama television series
2010s American drama television series
American soap operas
CBS network shows
Television series set in Los Angeles
English-language television programs |
Primary colors (or primary colours) are sets of colors that can be combined to make a useful range of colors. The primary colors are those which cannot be created by mixing other colors in a given color space.
For subtractive combination of colors, as in mixing of pigments or dyes for printing, the CMYK set of primaries is often used. In this system the primary colors are cyan, magenta,and yellow. Other sets include the RYB system of red, yellow, blue, especially used by artists.
For additive combination of colors, as in overlapping projected lights or in television and computer screens, the primary colors normally used are red, green, and blue.
Biological basis
Primary colors are not a fundamental property of light but are related to the physiological response of the eye to light (the way the eye works). For humans, three primary colors are usually used, since human color vision is trichromatic.
Fundamentally, light is a continuous spectrum of the wavelengths that can be detected by the human eye, an infinite-dimensional stimulus space. However, the human eye normally contains only three types of color receptors, called cone cells. Each color receptor respond to different ranges of the color spectrum. Humans and other species with three such types of color receptors are known as trichromats.
The additive primaries are red, green,
and blue. Because of the response curves of the three different color receptors in
the human eye, these colors are optimal in the sense that the largest range
of colors — a gamut — visible by humans can be generated by mixing light of these colours.
Additive mixing of red and green light, produce shades of yellow or orange. Mixing green and blue produces shades of cyan, and mixing red and blue produces shades of purple and magenta. Mixing equal proportions of the additive primaries results in shades of grey; when all three colors are fully saturated, the result is white. The color space that is generated is called the RGB ("red, green, blue") color space.
Subtractive primaries
Media that use reflected light and colorants to produce colors are using the subtractive color method of color mixing. In the printing industry, to produce the varying colors, apply the subtractive primaries yellow, cyan, and magenta together in varying amounts. Subtractive color works best when the surface or paper, is white, or close to it.
Mixing yellow and cyan produces shades of green; mixing yellow with magenta produces shades of red, and mixing magenta with cyan produces shades of blue. In theory, mixing equal amounts of all three pigments should produce shades of grey, resulting in black when all three are fully saturated, but in practice they tend to produce muddy brown colors. For this reason, a fourth "primary" pigment, black, is often used in addition to the cyan, magenta, and yellow colors.
The color space generated is the so-called CMYK color space. The abbreviation stands for "Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black" — K stands for "Kohle" (German for coal) and is used to represent black as 'B' could be confused with 'Blue'.
In practice, mixtures of actual materials like paint tend to be less precise. Brighter, or more specific colors can be created using natural pigments instead of mixing, and natural properties of pigments can interfere with the mixing. For example, mixing magenta and green in acrylic creates a dark cyan - something which would not happen if the mixing process were perfectly subtractive.
Reference
Color |
The umbilicus (also called navel or bellybutton) is a place on the body of mammals that is left after a baby loses its umbilical cord. The umbilicus of humans is in the middle of the abdomen. It is usually only easy to see on humans, and is a thin line on many other mammals. In humans, they can be split into two different kinds, the kind that goes in (innie) and the kind that goes out (outie). Different people have different navels that can be different in size, shape, and looks, but these differences are not genetic (you do not get them from looks passed down in your family). The hepatic portal vein passes from the umbilical vein to the liver. When a person becomes fat, the fat usually goes around the umbilicus.
It marks the water shed line of the body. The venus blood & lymph do not cross the umbilical plane.
Other websites
Torso |
Captain James Cook, FRS (27 October 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer. He made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, mapping many areas and recording several islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He is most notable for the British finding the east coast of Australia, finding the Hawaiian Islands and for making the first maps of Newfoundland and New Zealand.
During his lifetime, he sailed twice around the world. He crossed the Antarctic Circle and found new islands and landscapes in North America and the South Pacific. During his trips, he spent a lot of time on science experiments, and mapping new areas. He also wrote a lot of books about what he found.
Cook's life
Cook was born on 27 November 1728 in Marton in Yorkshire in England. He was a son of a Scottish farmer. He was educated at the school in Great Ayton, and at 17 he began work in a shop at Staithes. At 18, Cook became a sailor, and became an apprentice to John Walker of Whitby. Walker's business was transporting coal. Cook learned mathematics and navigation from Walker. He studied as much as he could about navigation and science. He was sent on three expeditions with the ship called Endeavour all over the world.
His goals on these missions were:
to find the Southern continent (terra australis incognita)
to make astronomical measures of Venus
to map new lands
to take over the land for King George III
to watch for good places for new military bases
to find new routes between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean
to establish an observatory in Tahiti
Captain Cook was killed in Hawaii in a dispute about a stolen boat.
Cook's Family
He had four sons and one daughter. Their names were Elizabeth Cook, Hugh Cook, George Cook, Nathaniel Cook and Joseph Cook. His father’s name was James Cook. He had 3 sisters and 2 brothers. Their names were Mary Cook, who died at age 4, Margaret Cook, William Cook, Jane Cook and John Cook.
References
1728 births
1779 deaths
English explorers
English murder victims
Exploration of Australia
Murders by blade weapons
People from Yorkshire
Sailors |
The offside rule is one of the oldest football rules, but is still a much discussed rule. This is probably because of the relatively complicated set of provisions provided by the sport's law-making body, the IFAB for deciding if a player in an offside position is actually guilty of an offside offence by becoming involved in active play. It can also be a difficult decision for the referee or assistant referee to make as they need to watch the ball, the player playing the ball and also the attacker who is seeking to receive the ball at the same time.
Offside is an offence committed by the team which has the ball and is punished with an indirect free kick.
It is a common misconception that the ball must be played forward for an offside offence to be committed. This is incorrect however, as an offside offence is related to the position of the player in relation to the last two opponents, the ball and the opponent's goal line rather than the direction the ball is played. If the player is closer to the opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent when it is played by a team mate, she or he is in an offside position.
But there are some exceptions:
Players cannot be offside in their own half of the field.
It is not possible to be offside from a throw-in, corner kick or goal kick.
If the ball is deliberately played by a member of the opposing team, an attacker cannot be offside.
A player who is behind the other team's goal line is considered to be on the goal line for the purposes of offside. It is an offence to leave or re-enter the field of play without permission but not if it is part of a natural playing movement.
If the player is behind the ball when it is played, he or she cannot be offside.
An attacker who is exactly in line with the 2nd last defender or the ball is not considered to be offside.
If a player does not become involved in active play, then it is not an offside offence even if that player is in an offside position (the concept of passive offside introduced in 1924). A player can become involved in active play by touching the ball (either directly from a team mate's touch or after it rebounds off the goal frame or an opponent) or interfering with another player's ability to play the ball.
Football (soccer) terminology
cs:Ofsajd#Fotbal
fi:Paitsio |
Valentine's Day is a celebration that happens on February 14. It is the day of the year when lovers celebrate their love. This can be done by giving flowers, chocolates, Valentine's cards or just a nice gift. Love notes can be given to one another. These notes that people give out are also called valentines. Some people pick one person and call them their "Valentine" as a gesture to show love and appreciation.
Symbols of Valentine's Day are heart shapes, roses, and Cupid with his arrows.
Valentine's Day is named for the martyred Christian saint named Valentine. He was a bishop that married forbidden couples.
Since the 14th century, Valentine's pairs are formed in England. English emigrants then took the Valentine's custom to the United States. After World War II, US soldiers brought this festival to Europe.
Legend
In the third century A.D., Valentine was the bishop of Terni (Italy). He performed weddings for couples who were not allowed to get married. They may not have been allowed to get married because the parents did not agree with the connection or because the bridegroom was a soldier or a slave, so the marriage was forbidden. Valentine gave the married couple flowers from his garden. That's why flowers play a very important role on Valentine's Day. This did not please the emperor. On February 14, 269 AD, Valentine was beheaded because of his Christian faith.
An expansion of the legend combines the day of death of Valentine with the Roman festival Lupercalia. It was the festival of the great goddess Lupa, which is the feminine word for wolf. She was the Great She-Wolf who nursed the twin babies, Romulus and Remus, who later became the founders of Rome. During the annual ceremony, the temple priestesses (lupae) wrote their names on strips of papyrus. These were picked by young men. After the lottery, the youngsters walked through the city and got the blessings of the citizens. The martyr Valentine became the patron saint of the lovers. Still in the Middle Ages, as in France or in Belgium, people were chosen by the lottery to live a year with each other and people prayed to Saint Valentine to make love potions and charms.
United States and Europe
In the 19th century, the custom of sending Valentine's Cards became very popular. The cards usually have pictures of hearts or flowers and contain some sort of poem, message, or code. Codes and simple messages give some people the to show their true feelings to the person they love. Today, some people still use mysterious codes to show their love. People can use newspapers to give a coded message to their loved one, giving other readers a view of the couples' intimacy with one another. Sometimes they will give each other chocolates.
Famous for the popularity of the celebration is the folk song called "Die Vogelhochzeit" ("The Birds' Wedding").
China
In China, a holiday called Qi Xi is also called "Chinese Valentine's Day", especially by younger people. Qi Xi is traditionally held on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar. In recent years, it has become more like Valentine's Day in other countries.
References
Observances
February events |
The Canary Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Morocco. They are an autonomous community of Spain (they make their own laws). There are seven main islands. The people who live there speak Spanish. The autonomous community has two capital cities, of equal status: Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Like the other islands of Macaronesia, they were created by volcanoes on the bottom of the sea. Those volcanoes slowly rose above the water and became islands. This process lasted many thousands of years.
The islands have a very long and interesting history. When Europeans first came to the Canary Islands, they found people already living there. These people were called the Guanches. Many of the Guanches were killed in 15th century battles with the Spanish, and the ones who remained adopted the Spanish way of life. After the Spanish conquest many battles were also fought against pirates. Most recently Morocco was interested in them.
After the Spanish conquest many Europeans settled there. Portuguese and Spaniards, and also Belgians and Maltese were among the early settlers. Recently many people from all over Europe, America, India and Africa have also become citizens or permanent residents.
The seven islands are: La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura. People from La Gomera have a whistle language that children there learn at school. Tenerife has the highest mountain in the Canary Islands and Spain too, the Teide. The Teide is actually a volcano, but it has not been active in more than 300 years.
The islands are popular with tourists because of their warm climate and nice beaches. The local farmers grow lots of exotic fruits including papayas and bananas.
The Canary Islands' main exports include bananas and tobacco.
References
Other websites
Archipelagos |
Edinburgh Airport (IATA EDI, ICAO: EGPH) is an airport in Scotland. It is one of seven airports in the United Kingdom owned by the company BAA, which also owns Glasgow Airport and Aberdeen Airport in Scotland.
It is served by many different airlines including Scot Airways, British Airways, EasyJet, BMI, Continental Airlines, Air France, and Lufthansa. The airport has good road links to the city centre with a bus running every 10 minutes from the airport to the centre of Edinburgh, a number of taxis are always available. Just over 9 million people a year use the airport, but there are plans to make the airport bigger in the future.
On 19th October 2011, BAA Limited said that it is going to sell Edinburgh Airport. This was done following a decision by the UK's Competition Commission which said that BAA needs to sell either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airport.
Accidents
In February of 2001 a Shorts 360 crashed shortly after taking off from Edinburgh Airport. Both pilots were killed but there were no passengers on board as it was a mail-carrying flight.
References
Other websites
Edinburgh Airport official website
Edinburgh
Airports in Scotland |
Lufthansa is the largest airline in Germany, and the second-largest in Europe. Some of Lufthansa's hubs are Frankfurt am Main and Munich, Germany. A hub is an airport where people who fly from one city to a second city can transfer or change airplanes.
Lufthansa buys airplanes from Boeing and Airbus. Lufthansa has big airplanes for flights to North America, Asia, and Africa. These flights are called long-haul flights because they are between cities that are far apart from each other. Lufthansa also has small airplanes for flights in Europe. These flights are called short-haul flights.
Lufthansa is a member of the Star Alliance, which means it is a partner with other airlines like United Airlines and Air Canada. Members of the Star Alliance cooperate or work together to schedule their flights better so that travelling is easier for passengers or people.
The name of Lufthansa's frequent flyer program is Miles and More. People earn points for flights they travel on. When they have enough points, they can get a free flight. Lufthansa has "Miles and More" to encourage people to fly with Lufthansa.
Many regional flights are operated Lufthansa Regional with Lufthansa CityLine, Eurowings and Air Dolomiti.
Fleet
Lufthansa uses these aeroplanes:
Pictures
References
Other websites
Lufthansa website
Star Alliance
Airlines of Germany
IATA members
1950s establishments in Germany
Transport in Germany |
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom (born 13 January 1977, in Canterbury, Kent, England) is an English actor. He is most known for his first major movie role as the elf Legolas Greenleaf in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
In 1993, he moved to London to improve his career, doing bit parts in TV series like Casualty. Then he played some theatres like The Seagull, Twelfth Night, and Trojan Women. This is a role that he received some days before graduating the drama school in London.
Movies
Here are some movies, in which he played an important character:
Wilde (1997)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Black Hawk Down (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Ned Kelly (2003)
The Calcium Kid (2003)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Troy (2004)
Haven (2004)
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Elizabethtown (2005)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
Other websites
1977 births
Living people
Actors from Kent
English movie actors
English television actors
Canterbury |
Events
Somerton becomes the capital of the Kingdom of Wessex.
Alfred the Great succeeds as king of Wessex after Ethelred of Wessex's death. |
The year of 1791 started on a Saturday in the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January 25 – The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act of 1791, splitting the province of Quebec (a colony in North America spreading from the Gulf of Mexico coast to Hudson Bay)
March 2 – A semaphore machine is revealed to the public in Paris.
March 4 – Vermont becomes a state in the United States.
May 3 – The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Sejm (Parliament) proclaims the Constitution of third May, the first modern codified, or legal code-like, constitution in Europe.
July 14 – The Priestley Riots happen in Birmingham, West Midlands, England.
June 20 – The French Royal Family is captured when they try to flee in disguise.
July 17 – The Champ de Mars Massacre occurs during the French Revolution.
August 4 – The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman-Habsburg wars.
August 6 – Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is finished.
August 26 – John Fitch is given a patent for the steamboat in the United States.
September 25 – The Mission Santa Cruz is founded by Father Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, becoming the twelfth mission in the California mission chain.
September 30 – First showing of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's singspiel, a type of opera, Die Zauberflöte (Magic Flute) in the Freihaustheater in Vienna.
October 9 – The Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, was founded by Father Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, becoming the thirteenth mission in the California mission chain.
December 4 – The first issue of The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published.
December 15 – The states approve ten amendments to the United States Constitution, which become the Bill of Rights. Two additional amendments are still being thought about, and one of these is finally approved in 1992, becoming the Twenty-seventh Amendment.
Undated Events
The first American ship reaches Japan.
Slave rebellion Haiti has begun.
Births
January 15 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (d. 1872)
January 28 – Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold, French composer (d. 1833)
February 12 – Peter Cooper, American Industrialist, inventor and philanthropist (d. 1883)
February 21
Carl Czerny, Austrian composer (d. 1857)
John Mercer, chemist and industrialist (d. 1866)
April 23 – James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
April 27 – Samuel Morse, American inventor (d. 1872)
July 26 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian composer and pianist (d. 1844)
September 5 – Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (d. 1864)
September 21 – István Széchenyi, Hungarian politician and writer (d. 1860)
September 22 – Michael Faraday, British scientist (d. 1867)
September 26 – Théodore Géricault, French painter (d. 1824)
November 11 – Josef Munzinger, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1855)
December 26 – Charles Babbage, British mathematician and inventor (d. 1871)
Deaths
January 11 – William Williams Pantycelyn, Welsh hymnist (b. 1717)
March 2 – John Wesley, English founder of Methodism (b. 1703)
March 14 – Johann Salomo Semler, German historian and Bible commentator (b. 1725)
April 19 – Richard Price, Welsh philosopher (b. 1723)
May 9 – Francis Hopkinson, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1737)
June 5 – Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-born British colonial governor (b. 1718)
June 10 – Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, French admiral (b. 1720)
July 17 – Martin Dobrizhoffer, Austrian Jesuit missionary (b. 1717)
July 25 – Isaac Low, American delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1735)
August 16 – Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier and diplomat (b. 1719)
November 4 – Richard Butler (general), American soldier (b. 1743)
September 25 – William Bradford, American printer (b. 1719)
December 5 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1756)
1791 |
Year 1084 (MLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
May : Sack of Rome by the Normans of Robert Guiscard.
Births
David I of Scotland |
Chromium is a chemical element. Its symbol on the periodic table (a list of all the elements) is Cr. It always has 24 protons, so its atomic number is 24. Its mass number (number of protons and neutrons) is about 54. Most of the times it has 28 neutrons, but different isotopes have more or fewer neutrons. As a metal, it has 24 electrons. Its ions have fewer electrons.
Properties
Chromium is a shiny metal. It is reactive, but it reacts with air to produce a very thin coating of chromium(III) oxide, which prevents it from rusting any more.
Compounds
Chromium occurs in several oxidation states; +2, +3, and +6 are most common. It forms chemical compounds that are colorful.
Chromium(II) oxide, black, rare, reducing agent
Chromium(II) chloride, blue when dissolved in water, unstable
Chromium(III) oxide, dark green
Chromium(III) chloride, green when containing water (hydrated), purple when not containing water (anhydrous)
Chromium(III) sulfate
Chromium(IV) oxide, black, used in cassettes
Chromium(VI) oxide, chromium trioxide, red, oxidizing agent, toxic. Chromic acid is formed by dissolving chromium(VI) oxide in water.
Chromyl chloride, red liquid
Chrome alum
Trivalent chromium
There are two main types of chromium ions, which are found in chromium compounds. One type of chromium ion (Cr3+, trivalent chromium ) is required by our body and by those of other animals. If we do not get enough chromium, certain parts of our body may not work properly. We get most of the chromium we need from our food we eat. Chromium is also put into vitamins to make sure that we get enough. If we get too much of this type of chromium, it can harm our body.
Hexavalent chromium
Another type of chromium (Cr6+ (chromate, hexavalent chromium), in the +6 oxidation state) can cause cancer or make people sick, even though most people do not get exposed to it much. It is found in places that make chromium metal, which is why they need to be cleaned up when they close. Hexavalent chromium can be destroyed by reacting it with reducing agents, turning it into Cr3+ (trivalent chromium). They are strong oxidizing agents.
Chromates
The chromate ion is CrO42-. Chromates are generally yellow.
Potassium chromate
Sodium chromate
Dichromates
The dichromate ion is Cr2O72-. Dichromates are red or orange.
Ammonium dichromate
Potassium dichromate
Sodium dichromate, used in chromium processing
Occurrence and preparation
Chromium occurs as chromite. Chromite is a mixture of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide. Its chemical formula is FeCr2O4. It is heated with sodium carbonate to make sodium chromate, iron(III) oxide, and carbon dioxide. The sodium chromate is reacted with sulfuric acid to produce sodium dichromate. The sodium dichromate is reduced by carbon to chromium(III) oxide. The chromium(III) oxide is reacted with aluminum to make chromium metal. The chromates and dichromates are what make chromium production areas toxic.
Uses
Chromium is used in different metal products. Stainless steel is the most common use. It is also used in "chrome plating", where it makes things shiny and stops corrosion. Some chromates were used as pigments, but they are toxic so people do not want to use them anymore.
Safety
Chromium metal is nontoxic. But hexavalent chromium is toxic and carcinogenic, and trivalent chromium is mildly toxic in large quantities.
Related pages
Chromium compounds
Chemical elements
Metals |
Neon is a chemical element on the periodic table. It is part of the noble gas group and it has an atomic number of 10. It is an odorless and tasteless gas.
History
The word "neon" comes from the Greek word meaning "new" as it was discovered by William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers in 1898.
Chemistry
Neon does not react with other elements, so it is found in pairs by itself. There is not much neon in the air, and it is clear, so we do not see it.
It was previously thought that Neon could not bond with any other elements, creating compounds. However, there have been a few compounds that have been made with neon, such as NeAuF and NeBeS.
Uses
Neon gas is used in gas discharge lamps. When electricity goes through the neon, it lights up red. Due to this quality, it is used in light up signs. Similar signs use other gases to make other colors, but they are also often called "neon signs". Neon is also a term referring to a type of color that is very bright, such as lime green.
Related pages
List of common elements
Neon lamp
References
Noble gases |
Tin is a chemical element with symbol Sn (for ) and atomic number 50. It is in Group 14 on the periodic table. It is not radioactive.
Properties
Physical properties
Tin is a silver, somewhat soft metal. It is a post-transition metal. Its melting point is 231.93°C and its boiling point is 2602 °C. It can melt easily in a flame. It is malleable. It makes a crackling sound called tin cry when a piece of it is bent. Tin has more non-radioactive isotopes than any other element.
Tin is found in two allotropes: alpha-tin and beta-tin. Alpha-tin is a brittle, dull, powdery, semimetallic form of tin. It is made when very pure tin is cooled. Beta-tin is the normal shiny, soft, conductive, metallic form. It is made at higher temperatures. The decay of tin by turning from beta-tin to alpha-tin is called tin pest. Alpha-tin is not wanted in many places. When small amounts of other elements like antimony are added, the tin cannot change into alpha-tin. When alpha-tin is heated, it changes into beta-tin.
Tin can be hardened by adding antimony or copper, as well as some other elements. These also make it resistant to tin pest. Tin can also be made very shiny. Tin can make an alloy with copper called bronze.
Chemical properties
Tin resists many corrosive substances and is often used to protect other metals. Salt water and fresh water do not affect tin. It dissolves in strong acids to make tin salts. It reacts with some strong bases.
Chemical compounds
Tin forms chemical compounds in two oxidation states: +2 and +4. +2 compounds are reducing agents. Some of them are colorless while others are colored. +4 compounds are more unreactive and act more covalent.
Tin burns in air to make tin(IV) oxide, which is white. Tin(IV) oxide dissolves in acids to make other tin(IV) compounds. Tin(IV) chloride is a colorless fuming liquid when anhydrous and a white solid when hydrated. It easily reacts with water to make tin(IV) oxide and an acid again.
Tin reacts with hydrohalic acids to make tin(II) halides. For example, tin(II) chloride is made when tin dissolves in hydrochloric acid. Tin(IV) halides are made when tin reacts with the halogens. Tin(IV) chloride is made when tin reacts with chlorine. Tin(II) sulfate is different as it does not oxidize to tin(IV) sulfate. Tin(II) oxide is a blue-black solid that burns in air to make tin(IV) oxide.
+2 compounds
+2 compounds are reducing agents. They are about as common as +4 compounds. Some are colorless, while others are colored.
Tin(II) bromide, yellowish solid
Tin(II) chloride, white solid
Tin(II) fluoride, white solid
Tin(II) iodide, orange solid
Tin(II) oxide, blue-black solid
Tin(II) sulfate, white solid
Tin(II) sulfide, dark brown solid
+4 compounds
+4 compounds are unreactive. Some are colorless.
Tin(IV) bromide, colorless solid
Tin(IV) chloride, colorless liquid or solid
Tin(IV) fluoride, colorless solid
Tin(IV) iodide, orange solid
Tin(IV) oxide, colorless solid
Tin(IV) sulfide, gold-colored solid
Occurrence
Tin is not found as a metal in the ground. It is normally in the form of cassiterite. Cassiterite is a mineral containg tin(IV) oxide. The cassiterite is normally found downstream of the cassiterite deposit when it is by a stream or river. Tin is also found in some complicated sulfide minerals.
Tin does not have any major job in the human body.
Preparation
Tin is made by heating cassiterite with carbon in a furnace. China is the biggest maker of tin.
History
People discovered tin long ago and used it with other metals. When copper and tin are mixed together, bronze is made. Bronze was important in the past, because it was one of the strongest metals available, which meant it was useful in weapons and tools. Bronze changed the world when it was first invented, starting the Bronze Age. People organized themselves more, because making tools from bronze was harder than making them from rock and wood like they did before.
Uses
Tin is used in solder. Solder used to contain a mixture of lead and tin. Now the lead is removed because of its toxicity.
Tin is also used to make pewter, which is mainly tin mixed with a small amount of copper and other metals. Babbitt metal also has tin in it. Tin is used to coat several metals, like lead and steel. Tin plated steel containers are used to store foods. The pipes on a pipe organ are made of tin. Tin foil was used before aluminium foil. Tin was one of the first superconductors to be found. Organotin compounds are more common than almost any other organometal compound. They are used in some PVC pipes to stop them from decaying. Organotin compounds are toxic, though.
Safety
Tin is not toxic, but tin compounds are very toxic to marine life. They are a little toxic to humans.
Sources
Chemical elements
Metals |
Silicon is a chemical element. Its atomic number is 14 on the periodic table. Its symbol is Si. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid. It is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic table.
Silicon looks like a metal, but cannot do everything that a metal can, like conduct electricity well. Silicon is used a lot in today's computers and nearly every other electronic device as well. Germanium can also be used in computers, but silicon is much easier to find.
For example, all of the sand found at the beach is made of small cubes of silicon dioxide also known as silica. Glass is made by heating sand hot enough until it melts. Glass made from silicon can be made in different colours by adding colouring compounds. Many rocks and minerals are composed of compounds of silicon and oxygen called silicates.
Silicon in computers
Silicon is a semiconductor, and much used in computers. A super-pure isotope of silicon, silicon-28, can now be made 40 times more pure than before. It is very important for the next big development in computers. This stores "qubits" in atoms of another element, like phosphorous, embedded in a tiny layer of ultra-pure silicon-28. These qubits can simultaneously encode a one and a zero, for incredibly fast and complex calculations.
Related pages
List of common elements
References
Semimetals |
Cadmium is a metal. It is element 48 on the periodic table. Its symbol is Cd. Its atomic number is 48 and its atomic mass is 112.4. It is found in Group 12 on the periodic table.
Properties
Physical properties
Cadmium is a blue-gray soft metal. It can be considered a transition metal or a post-transition metal. It is malleable and ductile. It is similar to zinc. It melts at 321°C.
Cadmium has 8 natural isotopes. 5 are radioactive, but 3 have very long half-lives so their radioactivity is almost nothing.
Chemical properties
Cadmium is a moderately reactive metal. It corrodes in moist air and dissolves in acids. It burns in air when powdered to make the brown cadmium oxide.
Chemical compounds
Cadmium forms chemical compounds in two oxidation states: +1 and +2. The +1 state is rare and unstable. The +2 state is much more common. Most +2 compounds dissolve easily in water and are white to yellow. Cadmium oxide can be brown, red, or white. Cadmium sulfide is bright yellow. Cadmium chloride and cadmium sulfate are colorless solids that dissolve easily in water. Cadmium fluoride is slightly soluble. Cadmium compounds are toxic when inhaled.
Cadmium bromide, pale yellow solid, dissolves in water
Cadmium chloride, colorless solid, dissolves in water
Cadmium fluoride, gray solid, does not dissolve good in water
Cadmium iodide, pale yellow solid, dissolves in water
Cadmium oxide, white, brown, or red solid, dissolves in acids
Cadmium sulfate, colorless solid, dissolves in water
Cadmium sulfide, bright yellow solid, does not dissolve in water
Cadmium telluride, black solid, semiconductor
History
Cadmium was found by two chemists, German chemist Friedrich Stromeyer discovered it in 1817, and Karl Herman also discovered it in 1818. They were looking at an impurity in zinc carbonate and found cadmium. For about 100 years, Germany made most cadmium. Cadmium iodide was used as a medicine although it was toxic.
Occurrence
Cadmium ores are rare. Greenockite, a cadmium sulfide mineral is the only main ore and it is found with sphalerite, a zinc sulfide. Because of this, most cadmium comes from zinc processing. Cadmium as a metal is very rare but is found in one place in Russia.
Preparation
China makes the most cadmium. South Korea and Japan also make cadmium. Cadmium is taken from the zinc metal by heating the zinc metal in a vacuum. Cadmium is boiled first. The cadmium is condensed and used. Cadmium is also taken by precipitating it from the solution of zinc sulfate used to make pure zinc by electrolysis.
Uses
In the 1930s and 1940s cadmium was mainly used to plate steel to prevent it from corroding. Then cadmium sulfide was used as a pigment in paint.
Now, cadmium is mainly used in nickel cadmium batteries. 86% of cadmium is used in batteries as of 2009. Some people are trying to stop using nickel-cadmium batteries because cadmium is toxic. Cadmium is still used to electroplate steel to prevent corrosion. Only about 6% of cadmium is used for this. Cadmium is also used in lasers, nuclear reactors, phosphors, photoresistors, pigments, and semiconductors. Wood's metal, an alloy that melts very easily, has cadmium in it. Cadmium is used in some solder.
Cadmium is not used in the human body or any other animal. A diatom uses cadmium, though.
Safety
Cadmium is a highly toxic metal. Dust of cadmium or its compounds is very dangerous and can kill. Some countries have banned cadmium from electronics. Cigarette smoking is the most important source of cadmium. Smokers have about 4 times more cadmium in their blood than nonsmokers (people who do not smoke). Cadmium is thought to be carcinogenic, although people still debate whether it is other things with the cadmium that cause cancer, like arsenic.
References
Metals
Chemical elements |
Krypton is a stable noble gas. It has an atomic number of 36. The name krypton comes from the Greek word kryptos meaning hidden. It is used in fluorescent lamps, flashbulbs, and as a wavelength standard. The metre used to be defined as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths in a vacuum of krypton gas.
Chemistry
Because it is a gas, it does not react with many elements. It is clear and has no taste or smell. The atmosphere is only about one millionth part krypton. Krypton has very few compounds.
Uses
The main use for krypton is to make light. There is one main type of krypton light bulbs. This is called a gas discharge lamp. There are three main types of these. First is a low energy gas discharge lamp or "neon light". Low energy gas discharge lights made from krypton are near white to green. Second is a high energy short length of time gas discharge light or "flash bulb". These are mostly used for photography. They are bright blue-white. Third is a high energy gas discharge light. This third kind is mostly used to light airport runways. They are also bright blue-white.
History
Krypton was found by Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers in Great Britain in 1898. Ramsay was given the 1904 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on noble gases. It was a difficult gas to discover; Ramsay suspected it existed but only found it by removing other gases. This is why he gave it the name Krypton. There is no mineral called Kryptonite or planet called Krypton, which both feature in the Superman comics by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The fictional planet is probably better known than the real chemical element called Krypton.
Related pages
List of common elements
Periodic table
References
Noble gases |
The noble gases are a group of elements that are all gases. These elements are all in group 18 of the periodic table. All of them are monoatomic, meaning each molecule is a single atom. They almost never react with other elements. This is because they have a full 8 electrons outer electron shell. There are six noble gases:
helium
neon
argon
krypton
xenon
radon
All of these gases are found in air. They make up around 0.96% of the atmosphere. Noble gas compounds can be formed from noble gases.
When the noble gases are used in cold cathode tubes to produce light, each of them has a different colour. Since Radon is radioactive, it is usually not used for lighting. Here are pictures of what the others look like:
Oganesson (element 118) is probably the next noble gas after Radon because it is the next box down in the same group. However it has a half life of 0.89 ms, after which it decays to Livermorium (Element 116). This means its use is probably limited.
Noble gases were discovered by Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay. Rayleigh won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904 for his work on noble gas. Ramsay won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 for his work with noble gas.
References
Periodic table |
Polonium is a rare radioactive metalloid. It is chemical element 84 on the periodic table and its symbol is Po. It was discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie.
Polonium is highly unstable, radioactive and toxic. This makes it difficult to handle. It can be dangerous, even in very small amounts. One gram of Po will self-heat to a temperature of about . It also vaporizes easily.
Polonium has 33 isotopes, and all of them are radioactive. It is a very rare element in nature because of its short half-life. It is a breakdown product of uranium, so it is found in uranium ores.
Polonium is also very important because it the main element of nuclear bombs.
References
Chemical elements |
Bismuth is a chemical element. It is element 83 on the periodic table and its symbol is Bi. Its atomic mass is 209. It is only slightly radioactive. The radioactivity is minimal so it is typically seen as nonradioactive. Bismuth is only naturally found as one isotope, which is the almost nonradioactive one. Its radioactivity was predicted by scientists and proven by analyzing the metal. It is in Group 15 on the periodic table.
Properties
Physical properties
Bismuth is a silver metal with a pink tinge to it. This pink color is because of its oxide coating. Bismuth is a post-transition metal. It is one of the strongest diamagnetic metals. It is almost as heavy as lead. Its melting point is quite low , which is normal for post-transition metals. It is quite brittle. It can make crystals with a shiny surface. As a liquid it is heavier than as a solid. Another chemical that does this is water. It does not conduct electricity or heat very well.
Chemical properties
Bismuth is somewhat similar to antimony. Bismuth makes a thin coating of bismuth(III) oxide when it is in air. This makes the colors on the crystals. It does not oxidize any more than the oxide layer. It burns when powdered with a bright blue flame, making yellow bismuth(III) oxide fumes. Bismuth reacts with sulfur when molten as well. Bismuth reacts with nitric acid to make bismuth(III) nitrate and concentrated sulfuric acid to make bismuth(III) sulfate and sulfur dioxide. It reacts with the halogens to make bismuth(III) halides. With fluorine it makes bismuth(V) fluoride unless the fluorine is diluted, though.
Chemical compounds
Bismuth forms chemical compounds in two main oxidation states: +3 and +5. +3 is more common. +3 compounds are weak oxidizing agents and are normally light yellow. +5 compounds are strong oxidizing agents. Bismuthates are the most common +5 compounds. Bismuth(V) fluoride is another +5 compound. Bismuth(V) oxide is an unstable red solid. Bismuth sulfide is a common ore of bismuth. Bismuthine, a bismuth hydride, is very unstable and only can be made at very cold temperatures. Bismuth makes many oxy- compounds like bismuth oxychloride. These compounds are made when bismuth halides dissolve in water.
Trioxides
+3 compounds are weak oxidizing agents except for bismuthine. They are normally pale yellow.
Bismuthine, unstable gas
Bismuth(III) bromide, pale yellow solid
Bismuth(III) chloride, pale yellow solid
Bismuth(III) fluoride, gray white solid
Bismuth(III) iodide, dark gray solid
Bismuth(III) oxide, pale yellow solid
Bismuth(III) oxychloride, whitish solid
Bismuth(III) sulfide, brown solid
Pentoxides
Bismuth(V) oxides (+5 compounds) are very strong oxidizing agents. Its chemical formula is Bi2O5. It is a scarlet red solid. It decomposes to bismuth(III) oxide and oxygen easily. It is made by electrolysis of bismuth(III) oxide in a hot concentrated alkali like sodium hydroxide.
Bismuth(V) fluoride, colorless solid
Bismuth(V) oxide, unstable red solid
Bismuthate, the ion
Sodium bismuthate, light brown solid, insoluble in water
History
Bismuth was known since ancient times. It was confused with tin and lead, though. No one is credited for discovering bismuth. In the 1500s, people started realizing that bismuth was different than tin or lead.
Occurrence
Bismuth is not very common in the earth. It is only about twice as common as gold. Bismite, a bismuth oxide mineral, and bismuthinite, a bismuth sulfide, are two common ores. Bismuth is sometimes found as a metal, too.
Preparation
Bismuth and its minerals are too rare to be mined. They are gotten by "secondary extraction". It is normally found in lead metal. The lead metal is purified by electrolysis, leaving the bismuth behind as a sludge on the bottom of the container. The copper is taken out of the sludge and the bismuth is purified by being reduced in a furnace and all the impurities are filtered out.
China makes the most bismuth. Peru, Mexico, and Japan also make bismuth.
Bismuth can also be recycled. This is difficult in many places because bismuth is used for things like bullets, solder, and stomach medicine that get scattered all over and cannot easily be gotten again.
Uses
As an element
Bismuth is used in alloys with very low melting points. Some of them melt in hot water. They are also found in solder that does not have lead in it. It can make alloys with other metals to make them more malleable. It is also used in bullets to replace lead. In some places lead bullets are outlawed as birds eat them and get lead poisoning. It is also used in alloys for plumbing. It is used in fishing sinkers.
As chemical compounds
Bismuth is used in some medicines such as Pepto-Bismol. This medicine has bismuth subsalicylate in it. It is also used as an internal deodorant and to treat eye infections and peptic ulcers.
Bismuth oxychloride is used in cosmetics. Bismuth telluride is used in electronic thermometers. Another compound is used in superconductors and becomes a superconductor at a high temperature. It can be used as a pigment and in fireworks to make crackling sounds. It is used in the nuclear fuel of a nuclear reactor.
Safety
Bismuth is much less toxic than other heavy metals. This is why it is replacing lead in many things. It does not add up in the body like other heavy metals do. A very large amount of bismuth can poison the kidneys and liver, though. Because its oxide does not dissolve in water, it is considered safe for the environment.
Metals
Chemical elements |
Iridium is the 77th element on the periodic table. Its symbol is Ir and its atomic number is 77.
Chemistry
Iridium is a metal. Like other metals in the platinum group, Iridium is a rare and expensive "noble metal" and is a transition metal. It looks like platinum and is found in asteroids and comets. Iridium deposits are used to identify relative dates of collisions of foreign bodies. Iridium can fold and bend just like aluminum, and remains very shiny. Most iridium is found in the Americas, though some is mined in Myanmar, South Africa, and Russia. Iridium melts at 2410 °C, and boils at 4130 °C. It is the most corrosion resistant metal.
Iridium is not needed in the body.
History
A man named Smithson Tennant first found it in the year 1803. Smithson Tennant found it in the remains when he left crude platinum in a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid.
Chemical elements |
The transition metals are a group of metals that are found in the middle of the periodic table. The alkaline earth metals, beginning with beryllium are to the left and the boron group elements are to the right. The term "transition element" was invented for them in 1921.
The atomic numbers of these metals are from 21-30, 39-48, 57, 72-80, 89 and 104-112. Many elements like Zn, Cd, Hg, La and Ac have a highly debatable position in the transition series of elements. La and Ac are also classed in the lanthanide series and actinide series respectively.
Transition metals have several general properties. They are harder and less reactive than the alkaline earth metals. They are also harder than the post transition metals. They make colorful chemical compounds with other elements. Most of them have more than one oxidation state. Like other metals, they are electrical conductors.
Some of the transition metals are necessary to keep humans healthy, such as iron, zinc, and chromium. Other elements in the transition metals can be harmful to our body, like cadmium and mercury. Other elements like gold or silver do not harm or help us. There are more transition metals than any other groups in the periodic table.
Only a few of the transition metals are colored; most of them are silver-gray or silver-bluish.
Periodic table
Transition metals |
Osmium is a chemical element. It is element number 76 on the periodic table. Its symbol is Os.
There is not much osmium on earth. There is actually such a small amount that osmium is very expensive.
Osmium is a metal and it does not react very much, and such a metal is known as a "noble metal".
Osmium is the densest (heaviest for the same amount) element on the periodic table.
It was discovered in 1804 by Smithson Tennant in London, England. He found it together with Iridium in a bit of Platinum, which he had dissolved in Aqua regia.
Characteristics
Osmium has a blue-grey hue and is the densest stable element; it is about twice as dense as lead and slightly denser than iridium. Osmium is a hard but brittle metal that stays shiny even at high temperatures. It has a very low squeezability. Accordingly, its size module is extremely high, reported between 395 and 462 GPa, which is comparable to that of diamond (443 GPa). The hardness of osmium is moderately high at 4 GPa. Because of its hardness, brittleness, low vapour pressure , and very high melting point, solid osmium is difficult to machine, form, or work.
Chemical elements |
Radon is a chemical element in the periodic table. It is element 86 on the periodic table and its symbol is Rn. It is an odorless, tasteless noble gas. It is quite radioactive and can decay very quickly. 27 isotopes of Radon are known today. The most stable of them has a half life of about 3.8 days.
Chemistry
Radon is a gas and is part of the group known as the noble gases. It does not react with other elements, so it is found pure. Radon is radioactive, meaning that it can give off harmful rays. Some people have high levels of radon in their houses, and this can be very dangerous. A lot of radon can get stuck in the basement of old houses, and so people end up breathing it in. It gets stuck in the lungs and has been known to cause cancer. There are groups that try to make sure there is no dangerous radon in houses.
It can occur naturally in the Earth, but its a very small amount. As elements like Thorium and Uranium decay, some of that gets turned into Radon.
Radon can cause lung cancer, and is second most popular cause of lung cancer straight after smoking.
History
Radon was the fifth radioactive element to be discovered, in 1899 by Ernest Rutherford and Robert B. Owens at McGill University in Montreal, after uranium, thorium, radium, and polonium. In 1899, Pierre and Marie Curie saw that the gas given off by radium remained radioactive for a month. Later that year, Rutherford and Owens noticed different types of them when trying to measure radiation from thorium oxide.
Uses
It is sometimes uses in radiation therapy. However it is very dangerous to use.
Related pages
List of common elements
Periodic table
References
Noble gases
Carcinogens |
FTP, also known as File Transfer Protocol, is a communication protocol for the rapid, simple transmission of files across a network supporting the TCP/IP. This network is generally the Internet, or a local network. FTP is a way of accessing files on another computer. FTP uses the Client-Server architecture, meaning that there is a server, that holds the files, and does the authentication, and a client, or the end-user, who is accessing the files. The server listens on the network for connection requests from other computers. The client can make a connection to the FTP server by using FTP client software. Once connected and authenticated (via rsh or SFTP) the client can do things such as uploading files to the server, downloading files (taking the server's files and putting them on his own computer) from the server, and renaming, deleting files on the server, changing file permissions, etc.
Most modern operating systems support FTP. This implies that any computer connected to a TCP/IP based network can manipulate files on another computer on that network regardless of which operating systems are involved, provided that they are open to FTP connections. There are many existing FTP client and server programs, many of these are available free, or open source.
FTP connection is also seen in cellular phones when trying to transfer or receive data from a computer nearby.
FTP return codes
FTP server return codes show their status by the digits within them. A short explanation of various digits' meanings are given below:
1xx: Positive Preliminary reply. The action requested is being initiated but there will be another reply before it begins.
2xx: Positive Completion reply. The action requested has been completed. The client may now issue a new command.
3xx: Positive Intermediate reply. The command was successful, but a further command is required before the server can act upon the request.
4xx: Transient Negative Completion reply. The command was not successful, but the client is free to try the command again as the failure is only temporary.
5xx: Permanent Negative Completion reply. The command was not successful and the client should not attempt to repeat it again.
x0x: The failure was due to a syntax error.
x1x: This response is a reply to a request for information.
x2x: This response is a reply relating to connection information.
x3x: This response is a reply relating to accounting and authorization.
x4x: Not used.
x5x: These responses indicate the status of the Server file system vis-a-vis the requested transfer or other file system action.
FTP modes
FTP may run in active or passive mode, which determines how the data connection is established. In both cases, the client creates a TCP control connection from a random, usually an unprivileged, port N to the FTP server command port 21.
In active mode, the client starts listening for incoming data connections from the server on port M. It sends the FTP command PORT M to inform the server on which port it is listening. The server then initiates a data channel to the client from its port 20, the FTP server data port.
In situations where the client is behind a firewall and unable to accept incoming TCP connections, passive mode may be used. In this mode, the client uses the control connection to send a PASV command to the server and then receives a server IP address and server port number from the server, which the client then uses to open a data connection from an arbitrary client port to the server IP address and server port number received.
Encryption
File Transfer Protocol Secured (Using SSL / TLS)
SSH File Transfer Protocol (Using SSH)
FTP Servers
Some popular open source FTP server implementations are:
FileZilla Server (Windows)
Pure-FTPd (Unix)
VsFTPd (Unix)
ProFTPd (Unix)
Other websites
FTP Server Online Tester Authentication, encryption, mode and connectivity.
Internet
Computer protocols |
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (often abbreviated to HTTP) is a communications protocol. It is used to send and receive webpages and files on the internet. It was developed by Tim Berners-Lee and is now coordinated by the W3C. HTTP version 1.1 is the most common used version today. It is defined in RFC 2616.
HTTP works by using a user agent to connect to a server. The user agent could be a web browser or spider. The server must be located using a URL or URI. This always contains http:// at the start. It normally connects to port 80 on a computer.
A more secure version of HTTP is called HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure). This contains https:// at the beginning of the URL. It encrypts all the information that is sent and received. This can stop malicious users such as hackers from stealing the information and is often used on payment websites. HTTPS uses port 443 for communication instead of port 80.
Request Message
The request message contains the following:
Request line, such as GET /images/logo.gif HTTP/1.1, which requests the file logo.gif from the /images directory
Headers, such as Accept-Language: en
An empty line
An optional message body
The request line and headers must all end with two characters: a carriage return followed by a line feed, often written <CR><LF>. The empty line must consist of only <CR><LF> and no other whitespace. In the HTTP/1.1 protocol, all headers except Host are optional.
A request line containing only the path name is accepted by servers to maintain compatibility with HTTP clients before the HTTP/1.0 standard.
Internet
Computer protocols |
Ethernet is a way of connecting computers together in a local area network or LAN. It has been the most widely used method of linking computers together in LANs since the 1990s. The basic idea of its design is that multiple computers have access to it and can send data at any time. This is comparatively easy to engineer.
If two computers send data at the same time, a collision will occur. When this happens, the data sent is not usable. In general, both computers will stop sending, and wait a random amount of time, before they try again. A special protocol was developed to deal with such problems. It is called Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection or CSMA/CD.
Different cable types
There are different Ethernet standards. Today, Ethernet cables look like thick telephone cables. They connect to boxes called hubs or switches. Each cable runs from a computer's network interface card (NIC) to such a box. This cable is called 10BaseT or 100BaseT, or 1000BaseT Cable.
All cable types:
10Base2 and 10Base5: These coaxial cables are like those used in television, but thinner. They are also called "thinnet" or "coax". Each computer has a "T" plugged into it, and cables plug into each side of the "T". Sometimes, instead of a "T", a vampire tap is used. It supports 10MBits per second transfer speed. It was the first to be adopted, and became rare during the 21st century.
10BaseT: Cables look like thick phone cables, but with 8 copper wires instead of 2 or 4, and they go from each computer' to a Hub or a Switch. Supported speed is 10 MBit/second.
10BaseF: Same as 10BaseT, but cables transmit light pulses, instead of electrical signals.
100BaseT: Cables look the same as 10BaseT, but can run at up to 100 MBits per second
1000BaseT: Cables look the same as 10BaseT, but can run at up to 1GBit (1000MBit) per second.
Today, the cables for 10BaseT, 100BaseT, and 1000BaseT are the same. Their transmission medium is unshielded twisted pair for Category 5 (UTP-Cat5) or 5e. Shielded cable (STP-Cat5 or Cat5e) can be used when there is a lot of electrical noise, and Category 6 (UTP-Cat6 or STP-Cat6) works better with faster signals such as 1GBit or 10GBit.
Different devices
Other devices, such as video game consoles, can also be connected using the same kind of cabling. Certain computer peripherals, for example printers and certain hard disks can be directly connected to the network with such cables.
Different speeds
Ethernet can go at different speeds. In the beginning, Ethernet was at 10 MBits per second. The Ethernet most often used today is at 100 MBits per second. Most new computers now have the NIC built in, and can go at 1GBit per second. There are also standards for 1GBit per second and 10 GBit per second. 100 MBit can usually talk to 10 MBit, and 1 GBit can talk to 100 MBit and usually to 10 MBit (both full and half duplex).
Computer hardware
Computer networking |
Obesity is the condition of being much too heavy for one's height so that one's health is affected. In other words, it means to be too overweight. Also known as being fat. It is considered a disease and has been described as an epidemic.
To know if a person is overweight, the body mass index (BMI) is calculated, by dividing the person's weight (in kilograms), by their height (in metres) squared (multiplied by itself). (This is only meaningful for adults who are fully grown, and should not be used for children. Growth charts can be used to measure obesity in children.)
A BMI between 18.5 and 25 is considered normal. People with a BMI of 25 or more are said to be overweight; with 30 and above, they are considered obese, and with 35 and above, they are considered severely obese (this used to be called morbidly obese). In general, the BMI number is a good quantifiable measurement of a person's obesity. However, it is a poor predictor in people who are very athletic, because a person with a higher than average amount of muscle tissue will weigh more than an average person, thus resulting in a BMI that is higher than normal, even if that person is very large.
Causes
The most common cause for obesity is getting more calories than are used by the body. Other factors that often contribute to obesity are:
Poor nutrition
Hormonal problems (for example, caused by hypothyroidism)
Problems with the metabolism, e.g. weight cycling (the so-called yo-yo effect)
Eating disorders (for example, binge eating disorder)
Psychological problems, like depression
Lack of sleep or sleeping problems
Lack of exercise
Genetics are known to contribute to obesity. Low levels of leptin, a hormone, is linked to obesity.
Health issues
Many health problems are associated with obesity. An example is Type 2 diabetes. A woman with a BMI higher than 35 is 93 times more likely to develop diabetes. A 2009 review found that people with a BMI between 40 and 50 were 22.5 times more likely to die from diabetes than people with BMIs between 22.5 and 25.
An obese woman is more likely to have an unhealthy baby.
Risk is associated with where the excess fat is stored on the body. Abdominal obesity is particularly dangerous.
Some people think that the idea that obesity causes bad health is not completely true and has been exaggerated. An example is J. Eric Oliver. He wrote a book called Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America's Obesity Epidemic. There is evidence for this belief.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in 2003 that 400,000 people died because of being obese in 2000. Then in 2004 they said that the number was wrong. A 2013 review of scientific papers found that Grade 1 obesity (BMI 30-34.9) is not associated with increased deaths. Grades 2 (BMI 35-39.9) and 3 (40+) obesity are associated with much higher rates of death. It has been suggested that obesity is associated with mortality (death) because of mortality in Grade 2 and 3 obesity. People with grade 2 and 3 obesity are 29% more likely to die.
'Metabolically healthy obesity' is increasingly being recognized. Up to 40% of obese people are metabolically healthy. They are not more likely to get heart disease or die than metabolically healthy non-obese people.
The 'obesity paradox' is a term used to describe how obesity can lower the risk of death. Obesity increases the chance of getting heart disease. But obese people with heart disease are less likely to die in a 7-year period. The obesity paradox has also been found in patients with stroke, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Treatment
Scientists have not yet found a 'cure' for obesity that most people are willing to implement. It is common wisdom that people who lose weight will regain it all within 5 years.
However, this position has been scientifically challenged for over a decade. Additionally, modern research has achieved significantly higher success rates than the figure that dominates the popular internet. Therefore, diet and exercise is the most common recommended treatment for obesity - it has the potential for a very high treatment success rate.
Surgery can be used to treat obesity. Gastric bypass is the most common weight loss surgery. It makes a person's stomach smaller so that they feel full after eating less food and causes their body to absorb less calories. People who have surgery are usually very obese.
Some people think that obesity should not be treated at all. This position is contradicted by substantial medical research.
Weight loss medicines can make people want to eat less or make less of the energy from food be absorbed by their bodies. The only weight loss drug approved by the FDA for long term use is orlistat. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved other drugs because they have side effects. Also they are worried that people who are not obese will take them.
Societal views
In the West, people associate obesity with negative characteristics such as laziness, ugliness, stupidity, etc. These attitudes are increasing. Discriminating against someone because of their weight is legal in the United States. The fat acceptance movement says that this is wrong and is a kind of prejudice called fatphobia. In some cultures, obesity is viewed as positive. To those cultures, obesity is associated with wealth, beauty, and fertility.
Related pages
Abdominal obesity
Hypertrophy
Healthy lifestyle
Bariatrics (the part of medicine that deals with obesity)
References
Physiques |
Rn or RN could mean:
Radon, a gas that is a basic chemical element
Registered nurse, a nursing specialist in the medical field
Royal Navy, |
Phillips Academy (also called Andover, Phillips Andover, or PA) is a high school for boys and girls in Andover, Massachusetts, near Boston, USA. The school is a boarding school. 75% of the students live there.
Phillips Academy is one of the oldest private boarding schools in the United States. Two American Presidents, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, went to school there.
Phillips Academy was founded during the American Revolution as an all-boys school in 1778. The great seal of the school was designed by Paul Revere. George Washington's nephews went to the school, and he once spoke at an assembly while visiting. John Hancock, the famous signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, signed the articles of incorporation.
Phillips Exeter Academy was made three years later in Exeter, New Hampshire by Samuel Phillips' uncle John. The football teams have played against each other almost every year since 1878. This makes their rilvalry one of the oldest high school rivalries in the country.
Paul Revere put bees, a beehive, and the sun into the school's great seal. The school's main motto, Finis Origine Pendet, means "the end depends upon the beginning." It is written at the bottom of the seal. The school's second motto, Non Sibi means "not for self."
Schools in Massachusetts
1778 establishments in the United States
18th-century establishments in Massachusetts |
Gluttony is a wasting of resources. Usually it is food that is wasted. Either one person eats too much, or the person does something so the food (or the resources) do not reach those who need it.
In Christianity, this is considered to be one of the Seven deadly sins.
Seven deadly sins |
Greed is a desire to have more goods, or more wealth than is needed. Christianity says that greed is one of the Seven deadly sins. There it is listed as avarice, or in Latin avaritia.
Emotions
Seven deadly sins
nl:Hoofdzonde#Avaritia |
Mazurek Dąbrowskiego is the Polish national anthem, made in 1797 by Józef Wybicki.
Lyrics
Other websites
"Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" in Mp3 format (Full version)
"Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" in Mp3 format (Instrumental version)
National anthems
Poland
1797 establishments
Establishments in Poland
1790s establishments in Europe |
CSA can mean the Confederate States of America.
CSA was Czechoslovak State Airlines (now called Czech Airlines) |
Fornication is a word that means having sex with someone who is not your spouse. Many Christians and Muslims believe it is sinful.
Sexual acts
nl:Seksueel misbruik#Ontucht |
Profit is how much money somebody (normally a company) makes. This is found by subtracting how much money they have spent (expenditure) from how much money they have brought in (revenue).
An example
If John spends $15 on some ice cream cones, and then sells them for $20, he has made a profit of $5. This is because he made $20 but when the $15 he used to buy the ice cream cones is subtracted, what is left is $5. In the end, he has $5 more than he had before he bought and sold the ice cream cones.
Money
Income |
Roasting is a way of cooking. Something gets roasted if it is put over a fire, and some is burnt. The same effect can also be attained with a grill at a barbecue.
Meat
In different countries people like to roast different things. People usually roast meats such as pork, beef, chicken, lamb, and duck. The roasted meat, along with its accompanying vegetables, is often called a roast.
Most meat being roasted has to cook for a relatively long time, to ensure that it is cooked through. Variations to this include lamb and beef, which may be left "pink" or partially uncooked towards the centre.
Other
Other things can be roasted too. For example, vegetables, coffee and chocolate. Coffee and chocolate are always roasted.
Cooking methods |
Influenza, better known as the flu and sometimes called the grippe, is a common childhood illness, but is not as common among adults. It is not limited to humans, most mammals and many birds can also catch influenza. It is caused by several different viruses (see: RNA virus), which is why people can have the flu more than once. The name influenza comes from , meaning "influence".
Flu transmission and symptoms
Human Influenza can pass from one person to another very easily. It is most commonly spread by the microscopic droplets of mucus and fluid that are sent into the air when the sick person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms include cough, sore throat, muscle aches and pains, fever, headache, and rarely vomiting and diarrhoea. Influenza can also lead to other diseases, such as pneumonia. This makes it especially dangerous to young children and elderly people.
Although there is no cure for influenza, Antiviral drugs can be used to treat the illness so it is not as severe and does not last as long.
The influenza season runs from late fall to spring because most people catch it in the winter months. When there are more cases of influenza than expected, it will sometimes be called an epidemic. When there are a large number of cases of the same type of influenza all over the world, it is often called a pandemic.
Changes in the influenza virus
Small changes that happen as flu is passed from one person to another is the most common way flu viruses change. This is the main reason that people can catch the flu every year.
The CDC keeps track of the different flu viruses that are circulating, and gives this information to the companies that make flu shots. Since the flu changes so much from year to year, flu shots have to be given for each new flu season.
Flu shots only protect against the most common flu viruses, and every now and then a slightly different type spreads more than expected. Usually when this happens, the existing flu shot gives some protection so that even if a person who had a flu shot catches it, they do not get as sick.
Some flu viruses are caught from animals. Bird flu, for example, is usually only caught by people in contact with sick birds (usually chickens). These types of flu virus are usually very limited, and while they can make a person very ill, usually other people do not catch the virus from the sick person.
Another way that the flu can change is when a person or animal catches two different flu viruses. The two viruses can exchange some of their genetic information, which can create a brand new flu that nobody has ever caught before.
If an animal flu virus changes in this way to one that can easily pass from human to human, many people become ill because nobody has any immunity to the new virus. Often, a brand new virus is more severe and kills more people.
New types of flu virus are usually what causes pandemics, and that is the reason many scientists have been following Bird Flu so closely—it kills six people out of every ten who catch it. This would be a very serious problem if it changes enough to spread easily between people.
Swine flu (March/April 2009)
This new flu virus got its name because it contains genetic parts that are commonly found in flu viruses that infect pigs. It is not spread by pigs or by eating pork—this is a new human virus being spread by humans. The name was the 2009 flu pandemic.
Although information is still coming out about swine flu, so far it does not seem to be as severe as bird flu or the flu that caused the influenza pandemic of 1918 (also known as Spanish flu), but it is much too early to predict whether it will cause the next flu pandemic.
References
Other websites
CDC info on influenza
World Health Organization Fact Sheet Overview of influenza.
NHS Direct Health encyclopedia entry
Both overview and technical details on influenza viruses with emphasis on the potential H5N1 pandemic Includes details of various nonhuman influenza viruses. Extensive and well done.
Another overview of influenza
Pulmonology
Diseases caused by viruses |
The pancreas is an organ that makes hormones and enzymes to help digestion. The pancreas helps break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The pancreas is behind the stomach and is on the left side of the human body.
The part of the pancreas that makes hormones is called the Islets of Langerhans. The Islets of Langerhans are a small part (2%) of the total cells in the pancreas. The Islets of Langerhans change which chemical they make depending on how much of other chemicals are already in the blood. So, the pancreas works to keep the level of chemicals in balance in the body. If the Islets of Langerhans stop working, a person will suffer from a disease called diabetes. Doctors are experimenting with taking the Islets of Langerhans cells from a donor body and putting them into the pancreas of a person with diabetes to make that person well.
The pancreas belongs to two systems of the body: the digestive system for its role in breaking down nutrients, and the endocrine system for producing hormones.
Hormones
The pancreas releases these hormones:
Insulin (which decreases the amount of glucose or sugar in the blood)
Glucagon (which increases the amount of glucose in the blood)
Somatostatin (which reduces production of insulin and glucagon)
Digestive enzymes
The pancreas releases many different enzymes to help digestion:
Lipase (which breaks down fats)
Amylase (which breaks down carbohydrates)
Trypsinogen and Chymotrypsin (which break down proteins)
Erepsin, which digests peptones into amino acids.
References
Other websites
Pancreatic Cancer Info
Anatomy of the digestive system |
A chloroplast is a small organelle inside the cells of plants and algae. They absorb light to make sugar in a process called photosynthesis. The sugar can be stored in the form of starch. Chloroplasts contain the molecule chlorophyll, which absorbs sunlight for photosynthesis. In addition to chlorophyll, a chloroplast uses carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) to form sugar and gives off oxygen (O2). Chlorophyll is what gives green plants their green colour. Chloroplasts also contain various yellow and orange pigments to assist in photon capture for photosynthesis.
Structure
Each chloroplast is surrounded by a double walled semi-permeable membrane. These are collectively known as peristromia. In the layered stacks are flat disk-shaped thylakoids. They contain light-absorbing pigments, including chlorophyll and carotenoids, as well as proteins which bind the pigments. Like mitochondria, chloroplasts also contain their own DNA and ribosomes.
Evolution
Chloroplasts are one of the many different types of organelles in the cell. They are thought to have originated as endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. This was first suggested by Konstantin Mereschkowski in 1905 after an observation by Schimper in 1883 that chloroplasts closely resembled cyanobacteria. Almost all chloroplasts are thought to derive directly or indirectly from a single endosymbiotic event.
Mitochondria also had a similar origin, but chloroplasts are found only in plants and protista. In green plants, chloroplasts are surrounded by two lipid-bilayer membranes. They are thought to correspond to the outer and inner membranes of the ancestral cyanobacterium. Chloroplasts have their own genome, which is much smaller than that of free-living cyanobacteria. The DNA which remains shows clear similarities with the cyanobacterial genome. Plastids may contain 60–100 genes whereas cyanobacteria often contain more than 1500 genes. Many of the missing genes are encoded in the nuclear genome of the host.
In some algae (such as the heterokonts), chloroplasts seem to have evolved through a secondary event of endosymbiosis, in which a eukaryotic cell engulfed a second eukaryotic cell containing chloroplasts, forming chloroplasts with three or four membrane layers. In some cases, such secondary endosymbionts may have themselves been engulfed by still other eukaryotes, thus forming tertiary endosymbionts. In the alga Chlorella, there is only one chloroplast, which is bell-shaped.
In some groups of mixotrophic protists such as the dinoflagellates and some sea slugs, chloroplasts are separated from a captured alga or diatom and used temporarily. These klepto (stolen) chloroplasts may only have a lifetime of a few days and are then replaced.
References
Botany
Biochemistry
Organelles |
Chlorophyll is a chemical in the chloroplasts of plants. It allows plants to absorb and use light. Energy from the light is used in photosynthesis to make glucose. This contains lots of stored energy which the plant needs to release. It does this through respiration. This energy is then used when the plant grows or repairs damage. Chlorophyll also makes the stem and leaf of the plant green.
Chlorophyll is a green pigment in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. It absorbs light most strongly in the blue portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, followed by the red portion. However, it is a poor absorber of green and near-green portions of the spectrum. Chlorophyll was first isolated in 1817.
Chlorophyll and photosynthesis
Chlorophyll is necessary for photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light.
Chlorophyll molecules are arranged in and around the membranes of chloroplasts. It serves two main functions. The function of most chlorophyll (up to several hundred molecules per photosystem) is to absorb light and transfer that light energy to reaction centres. These pigments are named after the wavelength (in nanometers) of their red-peak absorption maximum. These chlorophyll pigments can be separated in a simple paper chromatography experiment.
The function of the reaction center chlorophyll is to use the energy transferred to it from the other chlorophyll pigments to undergo a specific redox reaction. In this reaction the chlorophyll gives an electron to an electron transport chain. This reaction is how photosynthetic organisms such as plants produce O2 gas, and is the source for practically all the O2 in Earth's atmosphere. Photosystem I typically works in series with Photosystem II.
The electron flow produced by the reaction center chlorophyll pigments is used to shuttle H+ ions across the membrane, setting up a chemiosmotic potential used mainly to produce ATP chemical energy; and those electrons ultimately reduce NADP+ to NADPH, a universal reductant used to reduce CO2 into sugars as well as for other biosynthetic reductions.
A green sea slug, Elysia chlorotica, has been found to use the chlorophyll it has eaten to perform photosynthesis for itself. This process is known as kleptoplasty, and no other animal has been found to have this ability.
Why green and not black?
It still is unclear exactly why plants have mostly evolved to be green. Green plants reflect mostly green and near-green light rather than absorbing it. Other parts of the system of photosynthesis still allow green plants to use the green light spectrum (e.g. through a light-trapping leaf structure, carotenoids, etc.). Green plants do not use a large part of the visible spectrum as efficiently as possible. A black plant can absorb more radiation, and this could be very useful, notwitstandanding the problems of disposing of this extra heat (e.g. some plants must close their openings, called stoma, on hot days to avoid losing too much water). More precisely, the question becomes why the only light absorbing molecule used for power in plants is green and not simply black.
The biologist John Berman has said that evolution is not an engineering process, so it often has limits that an engineer or other designer does not. Even if black leaves were better, evolution's limitations can prevent species from becoming as efficient as possible. Berman wrote that achieving pigments that work better than chlorophyll could be very difficult. In fact, all higher plants (embryophytes) are believed to have evolved from a common ancestor that is a sort of green algae – so chlorophyll has evolved only once (common ancestor).
Shil DasSarma, a microbial geneticist at the University of Maryland, has pointed out that species of archaea use another light-absorbing molecule, retinal, to get power from the green spectrum. Some scientists believe that green-light-absorbing archae were once the most common in the earth environment. This could have left open a "niche" for green organisms which would absorb the other wavelengths of sunlight. This is just a possibility, and Berman wrote that scientists are still not convinced of any one explanation.
Chemical structure
Chlorophyll is a chlorin pigment, which is structurally similar to and produced through the same metabolic pathway as other porphyrin pigments such as haem. At the center of the chlorin ring is a magnesium ion. For the structures depicted in this article, some of the ligands attached to the Mg2+ center are omitted for clarity. The chlorin ring can have several different side chains, usually including a long phytol chain. There are a few different forms that occur naturally, but the most widely distributed form in terrestrial plants is chlorophyll a. The general structure of chlorophyll a was worked out by Hans Fischer in 1940. By 1960, when most of the stereochemistry of chlorophyll a was known, Robert Burns Woodward published a total synthesis of the molecule. In 1967, the last remaining stereochemical elucidation was completed by Ian Fleming, and in 1990 Woodward and co-authors published an updated synthesis. In 2010, a near-infrared-light photosynthetic pigment called chlorophyll f might have been discovered in cyanobacteria and other oxygenic microorganisms that form stromatolites.
The different structures of chlorophyll are summarized below:
Measuring chlorophyll
Chlorophyll Content meters measure the optical absorption of a leaf to estimate its chlorophyll content. Chlorophyll molecules absorb in the blue and red bands, but not the green and infra-red bands. Chlorophyll content meters measure the amount of absorption at the red band to estimate the amount of chlorophyll present in the leaf. To compensate for varying leaf thickness, Chlorophyll Meters also measure absorption at the infrared band which is not significantly affected by chlorophyll.
The chlorophyll content of leaves can be non-destructively measured using hand-held, battery-powered meters. The measurements made by these devices are simple, quick and relatively inexpensive. They now have large data storage capacity, averaging and graphical displays.
Spectrophotometry
Measurement of the absorption of light is complicated by the solvent used to extract it from plant material, which affects the values obtained,
In diethyl ether, chlorophyll a has approximate absorbance maxima of 428 nm and 660 nm, while chlorophyll b has approximate maxima of 453 nm and 642 nm.
The absorption peak of chlorophyll a is at 666 nm.
Biosynthesis
In Angiosperms, the last step in the synthesis of chlorophyll is light-dependent. Such plants are pale (etiolated) if grown in the darkness. Non-vascular plants and green algae have an additional light-independent enzyme and grow green in the darkness instead.
Chlorosis is a condition in which leaves do not make enough chlorophyll, so they become yellow. Chlorosis can be caused by a not having enough iron—called iron chlorosis—or by not having enough magnesium or nitrogen. Soil pH sometimes affects these kinds of chlorosis. Many plants are adapted to grow in soils with specific pH levels and their ability to absorb nutrients from the soil can depend on this. Chlorosis can also be caused by pathogens including viruses, bacteria and fungal infections, or sap-sucking insects.
Related pages
Xanthophyll
References
Botany
Molecular biology
Pigments |
The oak tree is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus. There are about 600 living species. The common name "oak (Oaks)" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, such as Lithocarpus.
The genus Quercus is native to the Northern Hemisphere. It includes deciduous and evergreen species from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in Asia and the Americas. North America has the largest number of oak species: about 90 occur in the United States. Mexico has 160 species, of which 109 are endemic. The second greatest center of oak diversity is China, which has about 100 species.
Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with rounded edges in many species; some have leaves with jagged edges or entire leaves with smooth margins. Many deciduous species do not drop dead leaves until spring. In spring, a single oak tree produces both male flowers (as catkins) and small female flowers. The fruit is a nut called an acorn, carried in a cup-like structure. Each acorn has one seed (rarely two or three) and takes 6–18 months to mature, depending on species. The so-called "live oaks" are evergreen. They are not a taxonomic group, just a life style which occurs across the genus.
The oak is a kind of hardwood forest tree. They are well known as a climax vegetation in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. That means, left untouched by humans, it would be the dominant tree. Much of England was covered by oak forests before modern farming took over the land. The last extensive oak woodlands were cut down to build ships for the Royal Navy in the 18th century.
Some kinds of oak wood are very hard. That is why people in past centuries cut them down to make ships, furniture and other things. The wood is now scarce and expensive and only used to make a few things anymore. Much cheaper are softwoods like pine.
Oak trees grow slowly and can live up to 1000 years.
Associated animals
A mature oak tree stands about 100 feet tall (~30 metres). It is a home for more animals than any other European tree. 30 species of birds, 45 different bugs and over 200 species of moth have been found on oaks. Beetles burrow under the bark, and some drill holes into the wood. The leaves are eaten by many caterpillars. Many leaves carry strange little bumps on the underside. These are insect galls, caused by many little animals. Midges, moths, worms and tiny wasps lay their eggs in leaves or leaf buds. The leaf reacts by forming a growth around the eggs. Inside the gall, larvae develop. The leaf falls, but the larvae may come out only the next spring. Small galls only have one larva, but larger galls may contain as many as 30 larvae.
Acorns
Oak trees produce acorns once a year which ripen in autumn. Oak trees may start producing acorns when they are about 20 years old. A mature oak may produce 90,000 acorns a year; this is several millions in its lifetime.
Related pages
Cork oak
References
Trees
Fagales |
Glucose (C6H12O6 ) is a simple carbohydrate, or sugar. It is one of several kinds of sugars. It is important because cells in an organism use it as a source of energy. Turning glucose into energy is called cellular respiration, which is done inside the cells of a living organism. Excess glucose is converted to fats and are stored in adipose tissues.
Glucose is made by plants in a process called photosynthesis. It can also be made by animals in their liver or kidneys.
Having the right amount of glucose available in a person's body is important. Glucose is essential in the proper functioning of the brain. It can be measured with a simple blood test. People that do not have enough glucose have low blood sugar levels. This is a health condition called hypoglycemia. People with too much glucose have hyperglycemia. They might have a health condition called diabetes.
Its chemical formula is C6H12O6. This means it has six carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms, and six oxygen atoms bonded together.
How sugars work, and how glucose can be formed, was studied by a German chemist named Emil Fischer in the 1890s. His work earned him the 1902 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Isomers
There are two forms of glucose, the α- and β- forms. The only difference between them is the position of the hydroxyl group, above and below the plane of the ring of the molecule.
For α-glucose, the hydroxyl (-OH) group is below the ring, while for β-glucose, the (-OH) group is above.
References
Carbohydrates |
Cellulose is the main chemical that forms the main structure of plants. It is the most abundant macromolecule on Earth. It is also a kind of fiber. Cellulose is a very complex carbohydrate and consisting of 3,000 or more glucose units. Cellulose was discovered by Anselme Payen in 1838. He isolated it from plant matter and determined its chemical formula. Cellulose is the most common organic compound on Earth.
Properties
Cellulose has no taste. It is odorless and hydrophilic. It is insoluble in water and most organic solvents. It is chiral and is biodegradable.
Cellulose is made from a form of glucose and makes up most of the cell wall of plant cells. This is what keeps a plant in shape. Humans and other animals cannot digest cellulose but some animals such as termites and ruminants use bacteria to digest it.
It is a polysaccharide, which is repeating units of a monosaccharide joined together by a glycosidic bond by a condensation reaction, there is a by-product of water, found in plants. It is very tough because when you join beta glucose together, they are opposite ways up, the bonds are straight, forming straight chains. There is hydrogen bonds between the polymers.
These fibers are in bundles of about 40, called microfibrils. Microfibrils are embedded in a hydrated network of other polysaccharides. The cell wall is assembled in place. The parts are made inside the cell and then assembled by enzymes associated with the cell membrane.
Uses
It is mainly used to make paper. It is also used to make as cotton, linen, and rayon for clothes, nitrocellulose for explosives, and cellulose acetate for films. Cellulose is used as insulation in transformers, cables, and other electrical equipment. Microcrystalline cellulose and powdered cellulose are used as inactive fillers in drug tablets. Cellulose derivatives are used as emulsifiers, thickeners and stabilizers in processed foods. Cellulose can be converted into cellophane. Cellulose is used to make water-soluble adhesives and binders such as methyl cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose.
Celluose can also be used as a anti-caking agent in some foods like pre-shredded cheese.
References
Carbohydrates
Molecular biology
Biochemistry |
Wikiquote is a sister (related) project of Wikipedia. It is one of many projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation.
Wikiquote was based on an idea by Daniel Alston and made by Brion Vibber. The goal of the project is to produce a large reference of quotations from famous people, books, and proverbs, and to give details about them.
Languages
The project was first created in English. However, in July 2004, more languages were added. Some of there are:
Afrikaans language: Wikiquote
Arabic language: ويكي الاقتباس
Bulgarian language: Уикицитат
Catalan language: Viquidites
Chinese language: 維基語錄
Danish language: Wikiquote
Dutch language: Wikiquote
English language: Wikiquote
French language: Wikiquote
German language: Wikiquote
Greek language: Βικιφθέγματα
Hindi language: Wikiquote
Hebrew language: ויקיציטוט
Hungarian language: Wikidézet
Italian language: Wikiquote
Japanese language: ウィキクォート
Korean language: 위키인용집
Latin language: Vicicitatio
Malayalam language: മലയാളം Wikiquote
Marathi language: Wikiquote
Punjabi language: Wikiquote
Pushto language: Wikiquote
Persian language: ویکیگفتاورد
Polish language: Wikicytaty
Portuguese language: Wikiquote
Romanian language: Wikicitat
Russian language: Викицитатник
Spanish language: Wikiquote
Tamil language: விக்கி மேற்கோள்
Telugu language: వికీవ్యాఖ్య
Thai language: วิกิคำคม
Turkish language: Vikisöz
Urdu language: Wikiquote
As of May 2016, 31 versions each have more than 1,000 articles. The largest Wikiquote is the English project with over 26,500 content pages, followed by the Italian and Polish versions, both with over 22,000 content pages. In total, 60 languages have over 100 content pages.
In February 2010, the Simple English Wikiquote was locked and closed. It can still be read, however.
References
Other websites
Main page
Wikimedia
Wikis |
Brasília () is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its Federal District are in the Central-West region of the country. It is on a plateau known as Planalto Central. Brasília has a population of about 2,557,000 (3,599,000 in the metropolitan area) as of the 2008 IBGE estimate. It is the fourth largest city in Brazil. But the Brasília metropolitan area is the sixth largest in the nation. It is listed as a World Heritage Site. Brasília hosts 124 foreign embassies.
Viewed from above, the main portion of the city resembles an airplane or a butterfly. The Monumental Axis goes east-west and holds government buildings and monuments. The other axis is curved in a north south direction. The city is commonly referred to as Capital Federal, or simply BSB. As the national capital, Brasília is the seat of all three branches of the Brazilian government. The city also hosts the headquarters of many Brazilian companies. Planning policies place residential buildings around expansive urban areas. The plan includes large avenues. It divides the city into sectors with different purposes, including accommodation and tourism. The city is built around an artificial lake, Lake Paranoá.
Residents of Brasília are known as brasilienses or candangos. (The candangos are people who moved to Brasília when the city was established). In local usage, the word "Brasília" usually refers only to the First Administrative Region within the Distrito Federal (Federal District), where the most important government buildings are. Brasília has a unique status in Brazil, as it is an administrative division rather than a legal municipality like nearly all cities in Brazil. In the rest of Brazil, Brasília is almost always means the Brazilian Federal District. There are several "satellite cities," which are also part of the Federal District.
History
The city was planned and developed as a new town in 1956. Lúcio Costa was the principal urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer was the principal architect. Roberto Burle Marx was the landscape designer. They created the Plano Piloto de Brasília. Brasília was built in 41 months, from 1956 to April 21, 1960.
Transportation
The Brasília subway system (Metrô de Brasília) has 24 stations on two lines long. The subway currently covers the south half of the metropolitan area. In 2010, a light rail line was added. By 2014, the light rail line will go from the end of the north wing of the city to the airport in the south.
Brasília International Airport is the main airport in Brasília, connecting the capital to all major Brazilian cities and many airports in other countries. It is the third most important airport of Brazil, in terms of passengers and aircraft movements.
References
Capital of Brazil
World Heritage Sites in South America
Brazilian Federal District |
A musical genre is how people describe different styles of music. Some of the most common music genres are:
Hip hop
jazz
pop
rock
rhythm and blues
soul music
alternative
Plus there are several more common music genres. Religious music is also common, such as hymns, choir music and many more.
To provide an example of cross genre descriptions; Joe Walsh is to the SteelDrivers as Metallica is to Trampled by Turtles. Furthermore, The Rolling Stones are to Flatt and Scruggs as Nickelback is to Doyle Lawson and Quicksliver.
Related pages
Musicology |
Dim sum is a way of serving Chinese and/or Vietnamese food. A range of different foods are served to the people who are eating, including pork wontons, fried shrimp, and egg rolls.
They are served on small wooden platters, and are usually steamed.
Other websites
Hong Kong Tourism Board Guide to Dim Sum
The mysterious art of dumpling cuisine , Asia Times, April 6, 2002
Chinese food |
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as is a video game where players can choose from many people from famous Nintendo games and have them fight each other. Players can fight alone or team up with someone else against a friend. This game is a sequel to Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. Super Smash Bros. Melee is for the Nintendo GameCube. The subsequent game is Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii.
Characters
Super Smash Bros. Melee takes 26 characters from many of Nintendo's series. It includes all 12 veteran characters from Super Smash Bros. 64, and adds 14 new characters, including Princess Peach and Bowser from the Super Mario Bros. series, Princess Zelda/Sheik and Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda, and new characters like Ice Climbers from Ice Climber and Marth from Fire Emblem. Some characters seem to play more like other characters who were in the first game, like Ganondorf compared to Captain Falcon.
Sakurai planned to include more characters, including Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, King Dedede, Balloon Fighter, Solid Snake, and Lucas, but did not have time to fit them in. All of them except for Balloon Fighter made it into Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Default characters
Bowser
Captain Falcon
Donkey Kong
Fox McCloud
Ice Climbers
Kirby
Link
Mario
Ness
Pikachu
Princess Peach
Samus Aran
Yoshi
Princess Zelda/Sheik
Secret characters
Dr. Mario
Falco Lombardi
Ganondorf
Jigglypuff
Luigi
Marth
Mewtwo
Mr. Game & Watch
Pichu
Roy
Young Link
Items
Items from different games can fall from the sky, like Poké Balls from Pokémon or Mushrooms from Mario. These items can be used in different ways. For example, Poké Balls can summon Pokémon, and Mushrooms can either grow the person whom touches it, unless it is a Poison Mushroom which makes them shrink.
Stages
Super Smash Bros. Melee has many stages that players can battle on. Most of the stages are based on Nintendo series like Mario, Pokémon, and The Legend of Zelda.
Home Stages
Tournament Play
Super Smash Bros. Melee has become very popular in tournaments. These tournaments do not use items or most stages, believing that these make the game unfair. In tournaments, however, a lot of characters are not strong enough to win. Some of the best characters for tournaments are Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, and Jigglypuff.
2001 video games
Nintendo GameCube-only games
Super Smash Bros.
de:Super Smash Bros.#Super Smash Bros. Melee |
Catalysis is the change in speed (rate) of a chemical reaction due to the help of a catalyst. Unlike other chemicals which take part in the reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in many chemical reactions. Catalysts that speed the reaction are called positive catalysts. Catalysts that slow the reaction are called negative catalysts, or inhibitors. Substances that increase the activity of catalysts are called promoters, and substances that deactivate catalysts are called catalytic poisons.
in Chemistry
A catalyst is something which changes the rate of a chemical reaction. An example is when manganese oxide (MnO2) is added to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and the hydrogen peroxide starts to break up into water and oxygen. Catalysts are either of natural or synthetic origin. Catalysts are useful because they leave no residue in the solution they have sped up. A catalyst can also be used in a reaction again and again as it is not used up. There are many catalysts in our body which play an important part in many biochemical reactions. These are called enzymes. Most catalysts work by lowering the 'activation energy' of a reaction. This allows less energy to be used, thus speeding up the reaction. The opposite of a catalyst is an inhibitor. Inhibitors slow down reactions. Some of them are found in snake venom and are dangerous for our nervous system or heart.
Related pages
Enzymes are biological catalysts |
Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound. Its molecular formula is H2O2. It is used as a cleaner, and as hair bleach. In a concentration of 3% (meaning that there are 3 grams of hydrogen peroxide for 100 grams of a water solution), it can be used to treat wounds. Over time it will slowly become oxygen gas and water through decomposition.
Chemists often use hydrogen peroxide in chemical reactions. It is a very strong oxidising agent when used with acid and water. Oxidising agents take electrons from other compounds.
2 Fe2+(aq) + H2O2 + 2 H+(aq) → 2 Fe3+(aq) + 2 H2O(l)
Here hydrogen peroxide takes an electron from the Fe2+ ions and becomes water.
It can also be a reducing agent when used with other compounds. When it acts as a reducing agent, oxygen gas is also produced. Reducing agents give electrons to other compounds. This method is often used to make oxygen in laboratories.
NaOCl + H2O2 → O2 + NaCl + H2O
Hydrogen peroxide can be bought in shops when mixed with lots of water but is very dangerous when the concentration is higher. It is flammable and causes burns.
Chemical compounds
Oxygen compounds
Hydrogen compounds |
Mayotte is an island in the Indian Ocean next to Madagascar.
It is geographically part of the Comoros Islands, but politically, it is part of France.
Related pages
Communes of Mayotte
Other websites
Open Directory Project - Mayotte directory category
Mayotte travel information at Wikivoyage
Analysis of the linguistic situation on Mayotte (in French)
Comoros |
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