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Joseph Priestley

Joseph Priestley

Joseph Priestley (March 13 1733–February 8 1804) was an English chemist, philosopher, dissenting clergyman, and educator. He is known for his investigations of carbon dioxide and the co-discovery of oxygen.

Early life and education

He was born in Birstall parish, six miles from Leeds, Yorkshire. He learned a variety of languages, both classical and modern, in his youth, including several Semitic languages; he also studied what was then called natural history. The school he attended was called Batley Grammar School which still exists, and now has a junior and infants section for children between the ages of 2-10, named Priestley House. In 1751 he entered Daventry, a school under Nonconformist auspices, and there his religious views took shape. He became an adherent of Arianism and a fervent abolitionist. In September, 1755, he started as a parish minister in Needham Market, Suffolk, though he was not officially ordained until May 18, 1762. Because he stammered and the parish was not suited to his heterodox ideas, nor did they want a bachelor for their minister, he was unpopular in his Suffolk parish and he ultimately went to Nantwich, Cheshire. He established a private school in connection with the church in Nantwich where he preached, and derived his income from that school.

Warrington

Subsequently he went to Warrington, the biggest of the dissenting academies in England, as a tutor in belles-lettres. By this time his religious ideas had matured to Socinianism, a form of Unitarianism. At Warrington, he associated with other liberal-minded tutors. A sympathetic printer, William Eyres, was willing to publish his work. It was here that he published his grammar book in 1761 (a remarkably liberal grammar for its day) and other books on history and educational theory. He taught anatomy and astronomy and led field trips for his students to collect fossils and botanical specimens. Both modern history and the sciences were subjects which had not been taught in any schools before Priestley.

Leeds

On June 23 1762, Priestley married Mary Wilkinson of Wrexham, and by September 1767 the combination of his finances and her health caused him to relocate to Leeds. He there took charge of the Mill Hill congregation. In Leeds Priestley also published two political works, Essay on the First Principles of Government 1768 and The Present State of Liberty in Great Britain and her Colonies 1769, and also in 1769 Remarks on Dr Blackstone's Commentaries where he defended constitutional rights of dissenters against William Blackstone. Priestley's house was next to a brewery and Priestley began to experiment with the gas given off by fermenting beer. His first experiments involved demonstrating that the gas would extinguish lighted wood chips. He then noticed that the gas appeared to be heavier than normal air as it remained in the vats and did not mix with the air in the room. The gas, which Priestley called "fixed air" and had already been discovered and named "mephitic air" by Joseph Black, was carbon dioxide. Priestley discovered a method of impregnating water with the carbon dioxide by placing a bowl of water above a vat of fermenting beer. The carbon dioxide soon became dissolved in the water and Priestley found that the impregnated water developed a pleasant sweet acidic taste. He began to offer the treated water to friends as a refreshing drink. In 1772 Priestley published a paper entitled Impregnating Water with Fixed Air in which he described a process of dripping sulfuric acid (or oil of vitriol as Priestley knew it) onto chalk in order to produce carbon dioxide and forcing the gas to dissolve by agitating a bowl of water in contact with the gas. In December of 1772 Priestley was hired by Lord Shelburne, as his personal librarian, and stayed in that post until 1780. In 1772 Priestley wrote Observations on Civil Liberty and the Nature and Justice of the War with America. Whilst tutoring his benefactor's sons at Bowood House near Calne in 1774 he discovered oxygen, unaware of Carl Wilhelm Scheele's prior discovery sometime before 1773. Priestley discovery was published in 1775 in Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air and in 1777 Scheele's discovery was published in his book Chemical Treatise on Air and Fire. Both Priestley and Scheele were unaware that oxygen was a chemical element; Priestley named the gas (which he had generated by heating red mercuric oxide with a "burning lens") "de-phlogisticated air", in accordance with the phlogiston theory which held at the time. In his experiments he managed to identify eight distinct gases, disproving the commonly held view that there was just one "air". There is a statue of Priestley in Leeds City Square.

Birmingham

In 1780 he moved to Birmingham and was appointed junior minister of the New Meeting Society. He became a member of the Lunar Society, but his admiration for the French Revolution caused him to be driven out of the city in the Priestley Riots of 1791. He is remembered there by the Moonstones, and a more traditional statue in Chamberlain Square in the city centre. The latter is a 1951 recast, in bronze, of a white marble original by A. W. Williamson, unveiled in 1874.

London and USA

He next moved to London where he received an invitation to become morning preacher at Gravel Pit Chapel, Hackney. His three sons emigrated to the United States in 1793. The following June, Priestley followed them, seeking political and religious freedom. Although never naturalized, he lived in Northumberland, Pennsylvania for the last decade of his life.

Honours and extras

Priestley College in Warrington is a sixth form college (for 16–19 year olds) named in his honour. It is the largest sixth form college in Warrington, and within its main building, a statue of Joseph Priestley stands, watching over the students as they pass through the reception area. The writer Hilaire Belloc was Priestley's great-grandson.

See also


- Antoine Lavoisier
- Christian anarchism
- Contributions to liberal theory
- English Dissenters
- Liberalism

External links


- [http://www.priestleysociety.net/ The Joseph Priestley Society]
- [http://www.josephpriestley.info/ Joseph Priestley Information Website]
- [http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/chemistry/institutes/1992/Priestley.html A comprehensive Biography at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation]
- [http://www.thoemmes.com/encyclopedia/priestley.htm A detailed biographical article from the Thoemmes Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century British Philosophers.]
- [http://www.priestley.ac.uk/ Priestley Sixth Form College, Warrington, named for Joseph Priestley] Priestley, Joseph Priestley, Joseph Priestley, Joseph Priestley, Joseph Priestley, Joseph Priestley, Joseph Priestley, Joseph Priestley, Joseph ja:ジョゼフ・プリーストリー ms:Joseph Priestley

1733

Events


- February 12 - British colonist James Oglethorpe founds Savannah, Georgia.
- May 29 - Right of Canadians to keep Indian slaves upheld at Quebec.
- July 30 - First Freemasons lodge opened in what will become the United States.

Births


- March 13 - Joseph Priestley, English scientist and minister (d. 1804)
- May 4 - Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (d. 1799)
- July 27 - Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (d. 1779)
- September 18 - George Read, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1798)
- October 14 - François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (d. 1798)

Deaths


- January 25 - Gilbert Heathcote, Mayor of London
- February 1 - King August II of Poland (b. 1670)
- March 4 - Claude de Forbin, French naval commander (b. 1656)
- April 19 - Elizabeth Villiers, mistress of William II of England
- May 10 - Barton Booth, English actor (b. 1681)
- May 18 - Georg Böhm, German organist (b. 1661)
- August 16 - Matthew Tindal, English deist (b. 1657)
- June 23 - Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, Swiss scholar (b. 1672)
- September 12 - François Couperin, French composer (b. 1668)
- October 25 - Giovanni Gerolamo Saccheri, Italian mathematician (b. 1667)
- October 31 - Eberhard IV Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg, (b. 1676) Category:1733 ko:1733년

February 8

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 326 days remaining, 327 in leap years.

Events


- 421 - Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire
- 1555 - Laurence Saunders is led barefoot to his execution and burned at the stake.
- 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots is executed.
- 1601 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed
- 1622 - King James I of England disbands the English Parliament
- 1692 - A doctor in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony declares that three teenaged girls are under domination of Satan, leading to the Salem witch trials.
- 1693 - The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a charter.
- 1807 - Battle of Eylau - Napoleon defeats Russians under General Benigssen.
- 1837 - Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
- 1849 - Roman Republic established
- 1855 - The Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
- 1867 - The Ausgleich results in the establishment of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary,
- 1887 - The Dawes Act authorized the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
- 1900 - British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
- 1904 - Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
- 1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
- 1915 - D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
- 1918 - The Stars and Stripes newspaper publishes for the first time.
- 1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
- 1924 - Death penalty: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.
- 1936 - Jay Berwanger becomes the first person to be selected by a National Football League draft, by the Philadelphia Eagles.
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Kursk - the Russian army captures the city
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal - United States forces defeat Japanese troops.
- 1949 - Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary sentenced for treason.
- 1960 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
- 1963 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
- 1968 - American civil rights movement: A civil rights protest staged at a white-only bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina is broken-up by highway patrolmen leading to the deaths of three college students.
- 1969 - The last weekly issue of the Saturday Evening Post hits magazine stands.
- 1971 - The Nasdaq stock market index debuts.
- 1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the temporary American space station Skylab return to Earth.
- 1974 - Military coup in Upper Volta.
- 1978 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
- 1979 - Denis Sassou-Nguesso became the President of the People's Republic of the Congo for the first time.
- 1983 - Racehorse Shergar is kidnapped in County Kildare, Ireland. The fate of the horse is still unknown.
- 1984 - 1984 Winter Olympics open in Sarajevo.
- 1985 - After 6-1/2 years, the television series The Dukes of Hazzard goes off the air.
- 1989 - An Independent Air Boeing 707 crashes into Santa Maria mountain in Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal, killing 144.
- 1993 - General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
- 1996 - The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
- 2001 - Disney's California Adventure, the Disneyland Resort's second park in its 46-year history, opens.
- 2002 - Opening ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.
- 2005 - Israel and Palestinians agree to cease-fire.

Births


- 412 - Proclus, Greek philosopher (d. 487)
- 1191 - Yaroslav II of Russia (d. 1246)
- 1291 - King Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
- 1487 - Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
- 1552 - Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
- 1577 - Robert Burton, English cleric and writer (d. 1640)
- 1586 - Jacob Praetorius, German composer (d. 1651)
- 1649 - Gabriel Daniel, French Jesuit historian (d. 1728)
- 1677 - Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (d. 1756)
- 1685 - Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian (d. 1770)
- 1720 - Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
- 1804 - Richard Lemon Lander, British explorer (d. 1834)
- 1807 - Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and naturalist (d. 1889)
- 1819 - John Ruskin, English author
- 1820 - William Tecumseh Sherman, American Union general (d. 1891)
- 1828 - Jules Verne, French author (d. 1905)
- 1834 - Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (d. 1907)
- 1851 - Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
- 1878 - Martin Buber, German philosopher (d. 1965)
- 1880 - Franz Marc, German painter (d. 1916)
- 1886 - Charles Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1888 - Dame Edith Evans, British actress (d. 1976)
- 1894 - Ludwig Marcuse, German author and philosopher (d. 1971)
- 1895 - King Vidor, American film director (d. 1982)
- 1902 - Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (d. 1966)
- 1903 - Greta Keller, Austrian-born cabaret singer and actress (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Chester Carlson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1968)
- 1911 - Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (d. 1979)
- 1911 - Big Joe Turner, American singer (d. 1985)
- 1918 - Fred Blassie, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1920 - Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1925 - Jack Lemmon, American actor and film director (d. 2001)
- 1926 - Neal Cassady, American writer (d. 1968)
- 1926 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Alejandro Rey, Argentine actor (d. 1987)
- 1931 - James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
- 1932 - John Williams, American composer and conductor
- 1933 - Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
- 1933 - Jack Larson, American actor
- 1937 - Manfred Krug, German actor
- 1940 - Ted Koppel, American journalist
- 1941 - Nick Nolte, American actor
- 1942 - Robert Klein, American comedian
- 1942 - Terry Melcher, American musician and record producer (d. 2004)
- 1948 - John Ford Coley, American pop singer
- 1949 - Brooke Adams, American actress
- 1950 - Dan Seals, American singer
- 1953 - Mary Steenburgen, American actress
- 1955 - John Grisham, American novelist
- 1961 - Vince Neil, American musician
- 1968 - Gary Coleman, American actor
- 1972 - Paul Wight, American professional wrestler
- 1974 - Seth Green, American actor
- 1977 - Dave Farrell, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1977 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
- 1983 - Jim Verraros, American singer
- 1987 - Jessica Huang, Saudi Arabian born Asian-American actress

Deaths


- 1250 - Robert I of Artois, French crusader (killed in battle) (b. 1216)
- 1250 - William II Longespee
- 1265 - Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
- 1296 - King Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
- 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots (executed) (b. 1542)
- 1599 - Robert Rollock, Scottish educator
- 1623 - Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English politician (b. 1546)
- 1696 - Tsar Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
- 1709 - Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (b. 1658)
- 1725 - Tsar Peter I of Russia (b. 1672)
- 1749 - Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
- 1750 - Aaron Hill, English writer (b. 1685)
- 1768 - George Dance the Elder, English architect (b. 1695)
- 1772 - Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales (b. 1719)
- 1849 - France Prešeren, Slovenian poet (b. 1800)
- 1856 - Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist (b. 1773)
- 1910 - Hans Jæger, Norwegian writer and political activist (b. 1854)
- 1921 - Peter Kropotkin, Russian anarchist (b. 1842)
- 1929 - Maria Christina, Queen Regent of Spain (b. 1858)
- 1956 - Connie Mack, baseball commissioner and manager (b. 1862)
- 1957 - Walther Bothe, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1957 - John von Neumann, Hungarian-born mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
- 1960 - Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect (b. 1880)
- 1964 - Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist (b. 1888)
- 1973 - Max Yasgur, American Woodstock Festival host
- 1975 - Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- 1977 - Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist (b. 1901)
- 1984 - Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (b. 1903)
- 1985 - Sir William Lyons, British automobile manufacturer
- 1990 - Del Shannon, American entertainer (suicide) (b. 1934)
- 1993 - N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader
- 1994 - Raymond Scott, American actor and inventor
- 1998 - Halldór Laxness, Icelandic writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1998 - Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
- 1999 - Iris Murdoch, Irish author (b. 1919)
- 2000 - Sid Abel, Canadian hockey player and coach
- 2000 - Derrick Thomas, American football player
- 2001 - Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director
- 2002 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian
- 2004 - Julius Schwartz, American comic book and science fiction editor

Holidays and observances


- Feast day of Saint Jerome Emiliani
- Slovenia - Prešeren Day, the Slovenian cultural holiday

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/8 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050208.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- February 7 - February 9 - January 8 - March 8 -- listing of all days ko:2월 8일 ja:2月8日 nb:8. februar simple:February 8 th:8 กุมภาพันธ์

England

:For an explanation of often-confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). England is a nation and the largest and most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom accounting for more than 83% of the total UK population. It occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and shares land borders with fellow home nations Scotland, to the north, and Wales, to the west. Elsewhere, it is bordered by the sea. England is named after the Angles, one of a number of Germanic tribes believed to have originated in Angeln in Northern Germany, who settled in England in the 5th and 6th centuries. It has not had a distinct political identity since 1707, when Great Britain was established as a unified political entity; however, it has a legal identity separate from those of Scotland and Northern Ireland, as part of the entity "England and Wales;". England's largest city, London, is also the capital of the United Kingdom.

History

Main article: History of England England has been inhabited for at least 500,000 years, although the repeated Ice Ages made much of Britain uninhabitable for extended periods until as recently as 20,000 years ago. Stone Age hunter-gatherers eventually gave way to farmers and permanent settlements, with a spectacular and sophisticated megalithic civilisation arising in western England some 4,000 years ago. It was replaced around 1,500 years later by Celtic tribes migrating from Western and continental Europe, mainly from France. These tribes were known collectively as "Britons", a name bestowed by Phoenician traders — an indication of how, even at this early date, the island was part of a Europe-wide trading network. The Britons were significant players in continental politics and supported their allies in Gaul militarily during the Gallic Wars with the Roman Republic. This prompted the Romans to invade and subdue the island, first with Julius Caesar's raid in 55 BC, and then the Emperor Claudius' conquest in the following century. The whole southern part of the island — roughly corresponding to modern day England and Wales — became a prosperous part of the Roman Empire. It was finally abandoned early in the 5th century when a weakening Empire pulled back its legions to defend borders on the Continent. Unaided by the Roman army, Roman Britannia could not long resist the Germanic tribes who arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries, enveloping the majority of modern day England in a new culture and language and pushing Romano-British rule back into modern-day Wales and western extremities of England, notably Cornwall and Cumbria. Others emigrated across the channel to modern-day Brittany, thus giving it its name and language (Breton). But many of the Romano-British remained in and were assimilated into the newly "English" areas. The invaders fell into three main groups: the Jutes, the Saxons, and the Angles. As they became more civilised, recognisable states formed and began to merge with one another. (The most well-known state of affairs being the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy.) From time to time throughout this period, one Anglo-Saxon king, recognised as the "Bretwalda" by other rulers, had effective control of all or most of the English; so it is impossible to identify the precise moment when the Kingdom of England was unified. In some sense, real unity came as a response to the Danish Viking incursions which occupied the eastern half of "England" in the 8th century. Egbert, King of Wessex (d. 839) is often regarded as the first king of all the English, although the title "King of England" was first adopted, two generations later, by Alfred the Great (ruled 871–899). The principal legacy left behind in those territories from which the language of the Britons were displaced is that of toponyms. Many of the place-names in England and to a lesser extent Scotland are derived from celtic British names, including London, Dumbarton, York, Dorchester, Dover and Colchester. Several place-name elements are thought to be wholly or partly Brythonic in origin, particularly bre-, bal-, and -dun for hills, carr for a high rocky place, coomb for a small deep valley. Until recently it has been believed that those areas settled by the Anglo-Saxons were uninhabited at the time or the Britons had fled before them. However, genetic studies show that the British were not pushed out to the Celtic fringes – many tribes remained in what was to become England (see C. Capelli et al. A Y chromosome census of the British Isles. Current Biology 13, 979–984, (2003)). Capelli's findings strengthen the research of Steven Bassett of the University of Birmingham; his work during the 1990s suggests that much of the West Midlands was only very lightly colonised with Anglian and Saxon settlements.
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,—
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
The English are great lovers of themselves, and of everything belonging to them; they think that there are no other men than themselves, and no other world but England; and whenever they see a handsome foreigner, they say that 'he looks like an Englishman', and that 'it is a great pity that he should not be an Englishmen'.
Venetian ambassador to England
Early 16th century
Charlotte Augusta Sneyd
Italian Relations of England (p. 20)
Richard II] Richard II] In 1066, William the Conqueror and the Normans conquered the existing Kingdom of England and instituted an Anglo-Norman administration and nobility who, retaining proto-French as their language for the next three hundred years, ruled as custodians over English commoners. Although the language and racial distinctions faded rapidly during the middle ages, the class system born in the Norman/Saxon divide persisted longer — arguably with traces lasting to the modern day. While Old English continued to be spoken by common folk, Norman feudal lords significantly influenced the language with French words and customs being adopted over the succeeding centuries evolving to a Romance-Germanic hybrid of Middle English widely spoken in Chaucer's time. England came repeatedly into conflict with Wales and Scotland, at the time an independent principality and an independent kingdom respectively, as its rulers sought to expand Norman power across the entire island of Britain. The conquest of Wales was achieved in the 13th century, when it was annexed to England and gradually came to be a part of that kingdom for most legal purposes, although in the modern era it is more usually thought of as a separate nation (fielding, for example, its own athletic teams). Norman power in Scotland waxed and waned over the years, with the Scots managing to maintain a varying degree of independence despite repeated wars with the English. Although it was on the whole only a moderately successful power in military terms, England became one of the wealthiest states in medieval Europe, due chiefly to its dominance in the lucrative wool market. The failure of English territorial ambitions in continental Europe prompted the kingdom's rulers to look further afield, creating the foundations of the mercantile and colonial network that was to become the British Empire. The turmoil of the Reformation embroiled England in religious wars with Europe's Catholic powers, notably Spain, but the kingdom preserved its independence as much through luck as through the skill of charismatic rulers such as Elizabeth I. Elizabeth's successor, James I was already king of Scotland (as James VI); and this personal union of the two crowns into the crown of Great Brittaine was followed a century later by the Act of Union 1707, which formally unified England, Scotland and Wales into the Kingdom of Great Britain. This later became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801 to 1927) and then the modern state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1927 to present) For post-unification history, see history of the United Kingdom.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the United Kingdom, Government of England Since the promulgation of the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan and the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542, Wales has shared a legal identity with England as the joint entity of England and Wales. The Act of Union with the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain, subsuming England, Wales and Scotland into a single political entity. Scotland, along with Northern Ireland, retain separate legal systems. The duchy of Cornwall also retains some unique rights. All of Great Britain has been ruled by the government of the United Kingdom since that date, although in 1999 the first elections to the newly created Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales left England as the only part of the Union with no devolved assembly or parliament. As all legislation for England is passed by Parliament at Westminster there are some complaints about the ability of non-English Members of Parliament to influence purely English affairs. This apparent anomaly has been highlighted by both English and non-English politicians, often those opposed to devolution, and has become popularly known as the West Lothian question. Administratively, England is something of an anomaly within the UK. Unlike the other three nations, it has no local parliament or government and its administrative affairs are dealt with by a combination of the UK government, the UK parliament and a number of England-specific quangos, such as English Heritage. There are calls from some for a devolved English Parliament and from others for the dissolution of the UK and an independent England. The current Labour government favoured the establishment of regional administration, claiming that England was too large to be governed as a sub-state entity. A referendum on this issue in North East England on 4 November 2004 decisively rejected the proposal. Some criticised the English regional proposals for not decentralising enough, saying that they amounted not to devolution, but to little more than local government reorganisation, with no real power being removed from central government. The English regions would not even have had the limited powers of the Welsh Assembly, much less the tax-varying and legislative powers of the Scottish Parliament. Rather, power was simply re-allocated within the region, with little new resource allocation and no real prospects of Assemblies being able to change the pattern of regional aid. Responsibility for regional transport was added to the proposals late in the process. This was perhaps crucial in the North East, where resentment at the Barnett Formula, which delivers greater regional aid to adjacent Scotland, was a significant impetus for the North East devolution campaign. There has also been a campaign for a Cornish assembly along Welsh lines by groups such as Mebyon Kernow, which recently collected 50,000 signatures in support. Some eurosceptics believe that the establishment of English regions as administrative entities is designed to undermine the concept of English nationhood and more easily fit England into a European federal model. Conventionally the national capital of England is London, although technically it would be more exact to call London the capital of "England and Wales" given England's lack of a distinctive political identity separate from the Principality. Winchester served as the country's first national capital until some time in the late 11th century after the Norman Conquest. The City of London became England's commercial capital, while the City of Westminster (where the Royal court was located) became the political capital. These roles have, broadly speaking, been maintained to the present day.

Subdivisions

Main article: Subdivisions of England Historically, the highest level of local government in England was the county. These divisions had emerged from a range of units of old, pre-unification England, whether they were Kingdoms, such as Essex and Sussex; Duchies, such as Yorkshire, Cornwall and Lancashire or simply tracts of land given to some noble, as is the case with Berkshire. Until 1867, they were subdivided into smaller divisions called hundreds. These counties all still exist in, or near to, their original form as the traditional counties. In many places, however, they have been heavily modified or abolished outright as administrative counties. This came about due to a number of factors. The fact that the counties were so small meant, and still means, that there was no regional government able to coordinate an overarching plan for the area. This was especially true in the metropolitan areas surrounding the cities, as the county lines were usually drawn up before the industrial revolution and the mass urbanisation of England. The solution was the creation of large metropolitan counties centred on cities. These were later broken up, with several other counties, into unitary authorities, unifying the county and district/borough levels of government. London is a special case, and is the one region which currently has a representative authority as well as a directly elected mayor. The 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London remain the local form of government in the city. Other than Greater London, the official regions are:
- North East England
- North West England
- Yorkshire and the Humber
- West Midlands
- East Midlands
- East of England
- South West England
- South East England Outside London the regions have very little power and are not accountable to elected representatives; regional authority is placed in the hands of unelected assemblies. If, as now seems unlikely, regions opt to replace these bodies with elected assemblies, local government in England will remain as variable and, some might say, as confusing as ever

Geography

Main articles: Geography of the United Kingdom, Geography of England Geography of England England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 38 km (24 statute mile or 21 nautical mile) sea gap. Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. The dividing line between terrain types is usually indicated by the Tees-Exe line. There is also an area of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, much of which has been drained for agricultural use. The list of England's largest cities is much debated because in British English the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area"; these are hard to define and various other definitions are preferred by some people to boost the ranking of their own city. London is by far the largest English city. Manchester and Birmingham vie for second place. A number of other cities, mainly in the north of England, are of substantial size and influence. These include: Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bristol and Sheffield Using the standard U.S. city limits definition of a city the top six are: Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool and Manchester. Note that London is not on this list (Greater London is a region and the City of London is tiny), and that one of the two candidates for the status of England's "second city", Manchester, is down in sixth. In the UK, this method of ranking cities is generally used only by people whose own city is promoted by it. The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, links England to the European mainland. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel. The largest harbour in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Internationally, it is the second largest harbour in the world, although this fact is disputed (See harbors for a list of other potential second largest harbours) The highest temperature ever recorded in England is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on August 10, 2003 in Kent. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/3153532.stm]. The lowest temperature ever recorded in England is -26.1 °C (-15.0 °F) on January 10, 1982 at Newport in Shropshire. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/england/#temperature]

Major rivers

Shropshire.]]
- Thames
- Severn
- Trent
- Humber
- Yorkshire Ouse
- Tyne
- Mersey
- Dee
- Avon Main article: Waterways in the United Kingdom

Major Conurbations

:See main article: List of towns in England The largest cities in England are much debated but according to the urban area populations (continuous built up areas) these would be the 15 largest conurbations. (Population figures taken from 2001 census) #Greater London (8,278,251) #West Midlands (2,284,093) #Greater Manchester (2,244,931) #Leeds/Bradford (1,499,465) #Tyneside (879,996) #Liverpool (816,216) #Nottingham (666,358) #Sheffield (640,720) #Bristol (551,066) #Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton (461,181) #Portsmouth (442,252) #Leicester (441,213) #Bournemouth/Poole (383,713) #Reading (369,804) #Teesside (365,323)

Economy

Main article: Economy of England

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of England, Population of England England is both the most populous and the most ethnically diverse nation in the United Kingdom with around 49 million inhabitants, of which roughly a tenth are from non-White ethnic groups. It is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, second only to the Netherlands. This population is made up of, and descended from, immigrants who have arrived over millennia. The principal waves of migration have been in c. 600 BC (Celts), the Roman period (garrison soldiers from throughout the Empire), 350–550 (Angles, Saxons, Jutes), 800–900 (Vikings, Danes), 1066 (Normans), 1650–1750 (European refugees and Huguenots), 1840–1850 (Irish), 1880–1940 (Irish, Jews), 1950— (Irish, Caribbeans, Africans, South Asians), 1985— (citizens of European Community member states especially Ireland, East Europeans, Iranians, Kurds, refugees). The general prosperity of England as the largest partner of the UK, has also made it a destination for economic migrants particularly from Ireland and Scotland. This segment of English homogeneous society continues to create a diverse and dynamic language that is widely used internationally. The other image of foreign ethnic components in England is still mostly seen as a legacy of the British Empire; especially the Commonwealth of Nations.

English identity

The simplest view is that an English person is someone who is from England and holds British nationality, regardless of his or her racial origin. However, inhabitants of England quite commonly refer to themselves as "British" rather than "English"; centuries of English dominance within the United Kingdom has created a situation where to be English is, as a linguist would put it, an "unmarked" state (i.e. a British person, institution, custom, city, etc. is assumed English unless specified otherwise). The English frequently include their neighbours in the general term "British" while the Scots and Welsh, proud of their separate identities, tend to be more forward about referring to themselves by one of those more specific terms. Although currently a part of England, a notable percentage of those living in Cornwall feel similarly, considering themselves Cornish first. One significant exception is in Northern Ireland, where the Unionist community tend to identify very strongly as "British" (Republicans living in the province are more likely to consider themselves "Irish"), and there is not a "Northern Ireland" or "Northern Irish" identity to the same extent as there is (e.g.) a Scottish one. A person, therefore, using the term "English" to describe him or herself (regardless of personal history) may be going out of his or her way to do so; hence he or she may also be seen (rightly or wrongly, and not necessarily pejoratively) as nationalistic. While Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Cornish patriotism are widely exhibited, specifically English patriotism has often been viewed with suspicion, and most English people feel more comfortable identifying themselves with Britain as a whole. However, this may be to avoid being seen as bullies by their neighbours. The extent to which specifically English patriotism is linked to a right-wing xenophobic agenda has also generated discomfort. The appropriation of English symbols by racist far-right organisations such as the National Front made many people uncomfortable with expressions of Englishness. In recent years, English identity has recently been a topic of debate in the national press, with many English people trying to "reclaim" the term and the flag from the far-right. See English nationalism. One notable exception to the above is in relation to sports, in particular Association football, Rugby football and to a lesser extent Cricket. Transient successes are often accompanied by a revival of the use of the "St George's Cross". While it has not yet replaced the "Union Flag" its use is on the increase. Many English people who have spent a lot of time overseas fall into the habit of referring to themselves as "English". It is the most recognisable designation by speakers of many languages, especially where their own language uses a similar word. Even in other English-speaking countries, people are often perplexed by concepts of "British" or the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". All these distinctions are only possible because there is no "English citizenship" or legal definition of Englishness. Moreover, the hazy understanding many people have of the distinction between "England" and "Britain" compounds the confusion. If in doubt, refer to an "English" person as "British": this will always be correct. It may not be as precise as "English", but it will avoid offence in the event the person is actually from a different part of Britain.

Culture

Union Flag Main article: Culture of England
- English literature
  - Sir Thomas Browne
  - Geoffrey Chaucer
  - John Milton
  - William Shakespeare
  - Jane Austen
  - Mary Shelley
  - Charles Dickens
  - Thomas Hardy
  - George Orwell
  - J. R. R. Tolkien
  - C. S. Lewis
  - Douglas Adams
- List of national parks of England and Wales
- Food and Drink
- English folklore
- English art
  - English school of painting
- Music of England

Languages

Music of England.]] As its name suggests, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal tongue today (although not officially designated as such). An Indo-European language in Anglo-Frisian branch of the Germanic family, it is closely related to Scots and Frisian. As the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms merged into England, "Old English" emerged; some of its literature and poetry has survived. Used by aristocracy and commoners alike before the Norman Conquest (1066), English was displaced in cultured contexts under the new regime by the Norman French language of the new Anglo-French aristocracy. Its use was confined primarily to the lower social classes while official business was conducted in a mixture of Latin and French. Over the following centuries, however, English gradually came back into fashion among all classes and for all official business except certain traditional ceremonies. (Some survive to this day.) But Middle English, as it had by now become, showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. During the Renaissance, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins; and more recent years, Modern English has extended this custom, being always remarkable for its far-flung willingness to incorporate foreign-influenced words. The law does not recognise any language as being official, but English is the only language used in England for general official business. The other national languages of the UK (Welsh, Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic) are confined to their respective nations, and only Welsh is treated by law as an equal to English (and then only for organisations which do business in Wales). The only non-Anglic native spoken language in England is the Cornish language, a Celtic language spoken in Cornwall, which became extinct in the 19th century but has been revived and is spoken in various degrees of fluency by around 3,500 people. This has no official status (unlike Welsh) and is not required for official use, but is nonetheless supported by national and local government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Cornwall County Council has produced [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/cornish/strategy/english/engl01.htm a draft strategy] to develop these plans. There is, however, no programme as yet for public bodies to actively promote the language. Scots is spoken by some adjacent to the Anglo-Scottish Border. Most deaf people within England speak British sign language (BSL), a sign language native to Britain. The British Deaf Association estimates that 70,000 people throughout the UK speak BSL as their first or preferred language, but does not give statistics specific to England. Like Cornish, BSL has no official status, but has been granted a degree of recognition by the government. The BBC broadcasts several of its programmes with BSL interpreters. Different languages from around the world, especially from the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, have been brought to England by immigrants. Many of these are widely spoken within ethnic minority communities, including Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Chinese and Vietnamese. These are often used by official bodies to communicate with the relevant sections of the community, particularly in big cities, but this occurs on an "as needed" basis rather than as the result of specific legislative ordinances. Other languages have also traditionally been spoken by minority populations in England, including Romany. Despite the relatively small size of the nation, there are a large number of distinct English regional accents. Those with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood elsewhere in the country.

Nomenclature

The country is named after the Angles, one of several Germanic tribes who settled the country in the 5th and 6th centuries. There are two distinct linguistic patterns for the name of the country. The majority of European languages use names akin to "England":
- "England" (Danish, German, Swedish, Norwegian)
- "Engeland" (Dutch)
- "Inglismaa" (Estonian)
- "Angleterre" (French)
- "Inghilterra" (Italian)
- "Inglaterra" (Spanish, Portuguese, Galician)
- "Anglia" (Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian)
- "Anglija" (Russian, Slovene, Lithuanian, Ukrainian)
- "Engleska" (Croatian, Serbian)
- "Αγγλία" ("Anglía") (Greek)
- "Englanti" (Finnish) The Celtic names are quite different:
- "Bro-Saoz" (Breton)
- "Pow Sows" (Cornish)
- "Sasana" (Irish)
- "Sasainn" (Scottish Gaelic)
- "Lloegr" (Welsh) — but "Saeson" for the inhabitants.
- "Sostyn" (Manx Gaelic) Except for Lloegr, which is an ancient geographic term, these names are all derived from the Saxons, another family of Germanic tribes which arrived at about the same time as the Angles. See: Wiktionary:England for a further list of non-English names for England. "England" is sometimes mistakenly used to refer to the entire United Kingdom, the island of Great Britain, or the British Isles. This may offend people from other parts of the UK. Frequently the English use the less-specific "Britain" or "the UK", even when "England" is technically correct and commonly also use "England" when "Britain" would be correct. Alternative names include:
- the slang "Blighty", from the Hindustani "bila yati" meaning "foreign"
- "Albion", an ancient name popularised by Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy in the 1st century. Supposedly referring to the white (Latin alba) cliffs of Dover, this term has also been interpreted as a relative of Alba, today the Scots Gaelic name for Scotland. Whatever its origins, "Albion" originally referred to the whole island of Great Britain and is still sometimes seen that way today — but is more often used for England.
- More poetically, England has been called "this sceptred isle...this other Eden" and "this green and pleasant land", quotations respectively from the poetry of William Shakespeare (in Richard II) and William Blake (And did those feet in ancient time). The inhabitants of England are the English. The slang terms sometimes used for them include "Sassenachs" (from the Scots Gaelic), "Limeys" (in reference to the citrus fruits carried aboard English sailing vessels to prevent scurvy) and "Pom/Pommy" (used in Australian English and New Zealand English), but these may be perceived as offensive. Also see alternative words for British.

Symbols and insignia

alternative words for British.]] The two traditional symbols of England are the St. George's cross (the English flag) and the Three Lions coat of arms (see above), both derived from the great Norman powers that formed the monarchy – the Cross of Aquitaine and the Lions of Anjou. The three lions were first definitely used by Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) in the late 12th century (although it is also possible that Henry I may have bestowed it on his son Henry before then). Historian Simon Schama has argued that the Three Lions are the true symbol of England because the English throne descended down the Angevin line. A red cross acted as a symbol for many Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. It became associated with St George and England, along with other countries and cities (such as Georgia, Milan and the Republic of Genoa), which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner. It remained in national use until 1707, when the Union Flag (which English and Scottish ships had used at sea since 1606) was adopted for all purposes to unite the whole of Great Britain under a common flag. The flag of England no longer has much of an official role, but it is widely flown by Church of England properties and at sporting events. (Paradoxically, the latter is a fairly recent development; until the late 20th century, it was commonplace for fans of English teams to wave the Union Flag, rather than the St George's Cross). The rose is widely recognised as the national flower of England and is used in a variety of contexts. Predominantly, this is a red rose (which also symbolises Lancashire), such as the badge of the English Rugby Union team. However, a white rose (which also symbolises Yorkshire) or a "tudor rose" (symbolising the end of the War of the Roses) may also be used on different occasions. The Three Lions badge performs a similar role for the English national football team and English national cricket team.

National anthems

Although England does not have an official anthem of its own, the following are widely regarded as English national hymns:
- "Jerusalem:" Words by William Blake, Music by Hubert Parry
- "I Vow to Thee, My Country": Words by Cecil Spring-Rice, Music by Gustav Holst
- "Land of Hope and Glory": Words by A C Benson, Music by Edward Elgar (although this refers to all of Great Britain, not only England)
- "Nimrod": Music by Edward Elgar "God Save The Queen" (the national anthem for the UK as a whole) is usually played for English sporting events (e.g. football matches), although "Land of Hope and Glory" has also been used as the English anthem for the Commonwealth Games. "Rule Britannia" despite being a song about Britain as a whole was often used for the English national football team when they play against another of the home nations but more recently "God Save The Queen" has been used by both the rugby and football teams. Many believe that English teams should use their own anthems, most popular of which is the use of "Jerusalem".

References


- [http://www.statistics.gov.uk Office of National Statistics]

See also


-
- English language
- English law
- English (people)
- List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree
- List of English people
- Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named)
- UK topics
- List of not fully sovereign nations
- Education in England

References

External links


- [http://www.enjoyengland.com/ The official website of the English Tourist Board — Enjoy England]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/ BBC Nations]: articles on England and her neighbours Category:Monarchies Category:European countries als:England zh-min-nan:England ko:잉글랜드 ms:England ja:イングランド simple:England th:แคว้นอังกฤษ



Clergyman

:see also Holy Orders The following terms have traditional meanings for the Anglican Church, and possibly beyond:
- A churchman is in principle a member of a church congregation, in practice someone in holy orders.
- A clergyman can be assumed to be in holy orders. The clergy is a term applied widely across many religions, while clergyman has connotations at least of Protestantism: while a priest might be Catholic, Anglo-Catholic or Orthodox Christian. A minister might belong to any Protestant church (not Catholic).
- A pastor is the senior local minister (or priest), for example in a parish.
- A preacher, from the Anglican point of view, is a colloquialism used for a clergyman rather than a formal title — or it may be someone who preaches.
- A canon is a priest who is specifically attached to a cathedral and has some responsibility in its organisation.
- A prebendary is a type of canon.
- A dean is the head canon.
- A subdean is a dean's deputy.
- A prelate has some canonical jurisdiction; in practice this is a close synonym of bishop.
- An archbishop has an archdiocese; in practice metropolitan bishop means much the same.
- A cleric: the same as clergyman, and the same root etymologically speaking, but the very old meaning as clerk might simply be someone literate.
- Vicars, rectors and curates are different types of parish priests.
- A deacon or deaconess is a particular status within those who are ordained.
- An archdeacon has an administrative post at diocese level.
- A chaplain is seconded to some institution, or a family; there is no implication about denomination.
- A divine (noun) meant someone learned in theology, which was traditionally called divinity, really the Latinate equivalent. Churchwardens, Vergers and sextons are auxiliaries. Some of these terms are obsolescent. Divine is probably not current, and prelate is now uncommon. Category:Anglicanism



Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas comprised of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. A very widely known chemical compound, it is frequently called by its formula CO2. In its solid state, it is commonly known as dry ice. Carbon dioxide derives from multiple sources including volcanic outgassing, the combustion of organic matter and respiration processes of living aerobic organisms. It is also produced by various microorganisms from fermentation and cellular respiration. Plants utilize carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, using both the carbon and the oxygen to construct carbohydrates. In addition, plants also release oxygen to the atmosphere, which is subsequently used for respiration by heterotrophic organisms, forming a cycle. It is present in the Earth's atmosphere at a low concentration and acts as a greenhouse gas. It is a major component of the carbon cycle.

Chemical and physical properties

Carbon dioxide is a colorless gas which, when inhaled at high concentrations (a dangerous activity because of the associated asphyxiation risk), produces a sour taste in the mouth and a stinging sensation in the nose and throat. These effects result from the gas dissolving in the mucous membranes and saliva, forming a weak solution of carbonic acid. Its density at 25 °C is 1.98 kg m−3, about 1.5 times that of air. The carbon dioxide molecule (O=C=O) contains two double bonds and has a linear shape. It has no electrical dipole. As it is fully oxidized, it is not very reactive and, in particular, not flammable. At temperatures below −78 °C, carbon dioxide condenses into a white solid called dry ice. Liquid carbon dioxide forms only at pressures above 5.1 atm; at atmospheric pressure, it passes directly between the gaseous and solid phases in a process called sublimation. Water will absorb its own volume of carbon dioxide, and more than this under pressure. About 1% of the dissolved carbon dioxide turns into carbonic acid. The carbonic acid in turn dissociates partly to form bicarbonate and carbonate ions. Test For Carbon Dioxide. When a lighted splint is inserted into a test tube containing carbon dioxide, the flame is immediately extinguished, as carbon dioxide does not support combustion. (Certain fire extinguishers contain carbon dioxide to extinguish the flame). To further confirm that the gas is carbon dioxide, the gas may be bubbled into calcium hydroxide solution. The calcium hydroxide turns milky because of the formation of calcium carbonate.

Uses

Liquid and solid carbon dioxide are important refrigerants, especially in the food industry, where they are employed during the transportation and storage of ice cream and other frozen foods. Carbon dioxide is used to produce carbonated soft drinks and soda water. Traditionally, the carbonation in beer and sparkling wine comes about through natural fermentation, but some manufacturers carbonate these beverages artificially. The leavening agents used in baking produce carbon dioxide to cause dough to rise. Baker's yeast produces carbon dioxide by fermentation within the dough, while chemical leaveners such as baking powder and baking soda release carbon dioxide when heated or exposed to acids. Carbon dioxide is often used as an inexpensive, nonflammable pressurized gas. Life jackets often contain canisters of pressured carbon dioxide for quick inflation. Steel capsules are also sold as supplies of compressed gas for airguns, paintball markers, for inflating bicycle tires, and for making seltzer. Rapid vaporization of liquid CO2 is used for blasting in coal mines. Carbon dioxide extinguishes flames, and some fire extinguishers, especially those designed for electrical fires, contain liquid carbon dioxide under pressure. Carbon dioxide also finds use as an atmosphere for welding, although in the welding arc, it reacts to oxidize most metals. Use in the automotive industry is common despite significant evidence that welds made in carbon dioxide are brittler than those made in more inert atmospheres, and that such weld joints deteriorate over time because of the formation of carbonic acid. It is used as a welding gas primarily because it is much less expensive than more inert gases such as argon or helium. Liquid carbon dioxide is a good solvent for many organic compounds, and is used to remove caffeine from coffee. It has begun to attract attention in the pharmaceutical and other chemical processing industries as a less toxic alternative to more traditional solvents such as organochlorides. (See green chemistry.) Plants require carbon dioxide to conduct photosynthesis, and greenhouses may enrich their atmospheres with additional CO2 to boost plant growth. It has been proposed that carbon dioxide from power generation be bubbled into ponds to grow algae that could then be converted into biodiesel fuel. High levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere effectively exterminate many pests. Greenhouses will raise the level of CO2 to 10,000 ppm (1%) for several hours to eliminate pests such as whitefly, spider mites, and others. In medicine, up to 5% carbon dioxide is added to pure oxygen for stimulation of breathing after apnea and to stabilize the O2/CO2 balance in blood. A common type of industrial gas laser, the carbon dioxide laser, uses carbon dioxide as a medium. Carbon dioxide is commonly injected into or adjacent to producing oil wells. It will act as both a pressurizing agent and, when dissolved into the underground crude oil, will significantly reduce its viscosity, enabling the oil to flow more rapidly through the earth to the removal well. In mature oil fields, extensive pipe networks are used to carry the carbon dioxide to the injection points.

Dry Ice

Dry ice is a genericized trademark for solid ("frozen") carbon dioxide. The term was coined in 1925 by Prest Air Devices, a company formed in Long Island City, New York in 1923. Dry ice at normal pressures does not melt into liquid carbon dioxide but rather sublimates directly into carbon dioxide gas at −78.5 °C (−109.3 °F). Hence it is called "dry ice" as opposed to normal "wet" ice (frozen water). Dry ice is produced by compressing carbon dioxide gas to a liquid form, removing the heat produced by the compression (see Charles' law), and then letting the liquid carbon dioxide expand quickly. This expansion causes a drop in temperature so that some of the CO2 freezes into "snow", which is then compressed into pellets or blocks.

Uses

temperature, New York, USA)]]
- Cooling foodstuffs, biological samples, and other perishable items.
- Producing "dry ice fog" for special effects. When dry ice is put into contact with water, the frozen carbon dioxide sublimates into a mixture of cold carbon dioxide gas and cold humid air. This causes condensation and the formation of fog; see fog machine. The effect of fog by the mixture of dry ice with water, is best formed when the water is warm, rather than cold.
- Tiny pellets of dry ice (instead of sand) are shot at a surface to be cleaned. Dry ice is not as hard as sand, but it speeds processing by sublimating to nothing and does not produce nearly as much lung-damaging dust.
- Increasing precipitation from existing clouds or decreasing cloud thickness by cloud seeding.
- Producing carbon dioxide gas as needed in such systems as the fuel tank inerting syste