:: wikimiki.org ::

Dredge

Dredge

Dredging is miscellaneous excavator-type work underwater, usually in shallow sea or fresh water.
A dredge is a device for scraping or sucking the seabed, used for dredging.
A dredger is a ship or boat equipped with a dredge.
American usage sometimes calls the ship or boat a dredge.
- These words also have other unrelated meanings: see #Other meanings of the word. There are various types of dredgers.
- http://www.solentwaters.co.uk/Ships%20and%20Ports/Vessel%20Types%203/page4.html and http://www.solentwaters.co.uk/Ships%20and%20Ports/Vessel%20Types%203/page5.html describe several types of dredgers at length with images.
- http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/dredgers.asp is a list of dredgers built on the Clyde.

Types of dredging

- Capital dredging: carried out to create a new harbor or berth or waterway. It is usually carried out with a cutter-suction dredge.
- Maintenance dredging: deepening navigable seaports and waterways which have become silted with the passage of time, due to sand and mud deposited by water currents, until they may become too shallow for navigation. This is often carried out with a THSD = trailer hopper suction dredger. Most dredging is for this purpose.
- Removing sediment and trash and debris from the bottoms of rivers and canals and harbors.
- Land reclamation.
- Getting useful material from the seabed. One possible type in the future, is recovering natural metal ore nodules from the abyssal plains.
- Putting sand on beaches.

Suction dredgers

These operate by sucking through a long tube, like some vacuum cleaners.
A trailer suction dredger is so called because it trails its suction pipe when working.

Cutter-suction dredger

In a cutter-suction dredger or CSD, the suction tube has a cutter head at the end, to loosen the earth so it can be sucked up easier.

Auger suction dredger

This works like a cutter suction dredger, but the cutting tool is a rotating Archimedean screw set at right angles to the suction pipe.

Jet-lift dredger

This uses the Venturi effect of a concentrated high-speed stream of water to pull the nearby water, together with bed material, into a pipe.

Air-lift dredger

An Airlift (dredging device) is a type of small suction dredge. It is sometimes used like other dredges. At other times, often an airlift is used handheld underwater by a diver. It works by blowing air into the pipe, and the air rises dragging water with it.

Bucket dredger

A bucket dredger is a dredger equipped with a bucket dredge, which is a device that picks up sediment by mechanical means, often with many buckets attached to a wheel or chain. Some bucket dredgers and grab dredgers are powerful enough to rip out coral reef to make a shipping channel.

Grab dredger

A grab dredger picks up seabed material with a clamshell grab, which hangs from an onboard crane, or is carried by a hydraulic arm, or is mounted like on a dragline.

Backhoe/dipper dredge

A backhoe/dipper dredge has a backhoe like on some excavators. A crude but usable backhoe dredger can be made by mounting a land-type backhoe excavator on a pontoon. The largest backhoe dredger in the world, Bean Excavations dredge Tauracavor, features a barge mounted Liebherr 996 excavator: see [http://www.cfbean.com/beanexca/defaultcont.htm Bean Excavation].

Water injection dredger

A water injection dredger injects water into the seabed to loosen the sediment, which then becomes a turbidity current, which flows away downslope or is carried away in natural currents.

Pneumatic dredger

Here, there is a chamber with inlets. The water is pumped out of it with the inlets closed. The inlets are then opened to let material in. The chamber is then pumped empty. The cycle is repeated. It is usually suspended from a crane on land or from a small pontoon or barge. Its effectiveness depends on depth pressure.

Bed leveler

This is a bar or blade which is pulled over the seabed behind any suitable ship or boat. It has the effect of a bulldozer.

Krabbelaar

This is an early type of dredger which was formerly used in shallow water in the Netherlands. It was a flat-bottomed boat with spikes sticking out of its bottom. As tide current pulled the boat, the spikes scraped seabed material loose, and the tide current washed the material away, hopefully to deeper water. krabbelaar is Dutch for "scratcher".

Fishing dredges

There are types of dredges used for collecting scallops or oysters from the seabed. They tend to have the form of a scoop made of chain mesh. They are towed by a fishing boat. Scallop dredging is very destructive to the seabed, and nowadays is often replaced by scuba diving to collect the scallops.

Amphibious dredger

Some of these are any of the above types of dredger, which can operate normally, or by extending legs so it stands on the seabed with its hull out of the water. Some forms can go on land. Some of these are land-type backhoe excavators whose wheels are on long hinged legs so it can drive into shallow water and keep its cab out of water. Some of these may not have a floatable hull and, if so, cannot work in deep water. Some makes are:-
- [http://commercial.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=24071 Apollo Duck].
- [http://www.sandhurst-mfg.com/sandhurst/sandhurst.html Sandhurst Group Ltd] (click on "Special Products" in the left margin) make a "pontoon dredger". It can float.
- [http://www.wright-international.com/ Wright International]'s Amphibious Dredger.
- [http://www.richardsmalleyinternational.co.uk/1dredger.htm Richard Smalley]'s Amphibious Dredger.
- [http://www.inlanddredging.com/page3.htm Inland Dredging Ltd]'s Watermaster is said to be able to dredge and do various crane-type jobs in shallow water or on land.
- [http://www.gendredge.com/gc350.php This form by Gendredge Pty Ltd] has 4 legs, each with a caterpillar track on its end.
- [http://www.susumoengineering.com/dredgers1.ht Susumo Engineering] makes a backhoe dredger which has a pontoon hull and can float, and also has wheels on legs.
- Oliver Evans (1755-1819) in 1804 invented an amphibious dredger which was America's first steam-powered road vehicle.

Submersible dredger

These are usually used to recover useful materials from the seabed. Many of them travel on caterpillar tracks. [http://www.nio.org/past_events/inchoe/dredging_eia.jsp#dredging_1 This link] describes a type intended to walk on legs on the seabed. It is a summary of the article "Concept of a mathematical model for prediction of major design parameters of a submersible dredger/miner" by Sritama Sarkar, Neil Bose, Mridul Sarkar, and Dan Walker, in "3rd Indian National Conference on Harbour and Ocean Engineering, [http://www.nio.org National Institute of Oceanography]", Dona Paula, Goa 403 004 India, 7 - 9 December 2004: see http://www.nio.org for more information about publisher etc. Punaise is a subersible dredging pump station. See http://www.dgn.nl/html/en/specials.htm#PUNAISE . (punaise is French for "bug".) [http://www.nexans.com/internet/Content.nx?contentId=4603 Spider] made by [http://www.nexans.com Nexans] crawls on the seabed on tracks and levels the seabed and lays cable. It is remote controlled from the surface. I do not know if there are any neutrally-buoyant submarines which can dredge.

Drag

In some police departments a small dredge (sometimes called a drag) is used to find and recover objects and bodies from underwater. The bodies may be murder victims, or people who committed suicide by drowning, or victims of accidents. It is sometimes pulled by men walking on the bank.

Disposal of the dredgings

In a "hopper dredger", the dredgings end up in a big onboard hold called a "hopper", which has doors in its bottom. The excess water in the dredgings is spilled off by sedimentation: as the mud and sand settle to the bottom of the hopper, the water is siphoned from the top and returned to the sea to reduce weight and increase the amount of dredgings that can be carried in one load. When the hopper is filled with slurry, the dredger stops dredging and goes to a dump site and opens the bottom hopper doors, dumping the slurry out. Or the hopper can be emptied from above. A suction hopper dredger is usually used for maintenance dredging. Sometimes with a suction dredger the slurry of dredgings and water is pumped straight into pipes which deposit it on nearby land by pipes; or in barges (also called scows), which deposit it in the deep sea or on land.

External links to dredging companies

The companies marked # are claimed to be the largest dredging companies in the world.
- [http://www.cfbean.com/cfbean/default.htm Bean Dredging]
- [http://www.dredging.org/ Central Dredging Association]
- [http://www.dredge-india.com/ Dredging Corporation of India Limited] #
- [http://www.dredging.com/ Dredging International] #
- [http://www.dscdredge.com Dredging Supply Company]
- [http://www.dredge.com/ Ellicott Dredging]
- [http://www.gldd.com/ Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co.] #
- [http://www.ihcholland.com/ IHC Holland]
- [http://www.iadc-dredging.com/ International Association of Dredging Companies]
- [http://www.jandenul.com/ Jan de Nul] #
- [http://www.boskalis.com/ Royal Boskalis Westminster nv] #
- [http://www.twinkleco.com Twinkle Co]
- [http://www.vanoord.com/ Van Oord Dredging] #
- [http://www.udl.com.hk/ UDL Dredging]

Other meanings of the word

- A dredge is also a piece of heavy equipment used to remove overburden in an open pit or strip mine, or, in the case of gold placer mining, to pick up ore and gravel and send it through sluices to remove gold and deposit the remaining rock, or tailings, behind the dredge.
- See Drag line excavator, otherwise called a dragline.
- In agriculture, dredge is the product of a harvest of barley and oats sown together.
- The verb dredge is sometimes used in cookery to mean sprinkling a powder (e.g. flour or icing sugar) over a food item.
- Dredger (comic character) was a tough Dirty Harry-type cop in the comic Action. Category:Engineering vehicles Category:Coastal construction

Excavator

An excavator, also called a 360-degree excavator or digger, sometimes abbreviated simply to a 360, is an engineering vehicle consisting of a backhoe and cab mounted on a pivot (turntable is a more apt description) atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. Note: the term excavator is sometimes used as a general term for any piece of digging equipment. Tracked excavators are sometimes called trackhoes. Excavators are used in many roles:
- Digging of trenches, holes, foundations
- Demolition
- General grading/landscaping
- Heavy lift, e.g. lifting and placing of pipes
- River dredging
- Mining, especially, but not only open-pit mining Image:kubotaminidigger.jpg|Mini digger by Kubota Image:mustang.jpg|Mustang Compact Excavator Image:Blmexcavsm.jpg|A Caterpillar excavator at work Excavators come in a wide variety of sizes. The smaller ones are called mini-excavators or compact excavators. One manufacturer's largest model weighs 84980 kg (187,360 lb) and has a maximum bucket size of 4.5 m³ (5.9 yd³). The same manufacturer's smallest mini-excavator weighs 1470 kg (3240 lb), has a maximum bucket size of 0.036 m³ (0.048 yd³) and the width of its tracks can be adjusted to 89 cm (35 inches). Another company makes a mini excavator that will fit through a doorway with tracks that can be adjusted to only 70 cm (28 inches) wide. Often the bucket can be replaced with other tools like a breaker, a grapple or an auger. Excavators are usually employed together with loaders and bulldozers. Most smaller excavators have a small backfill (or dozer-) blade. It's a horizontal bulldozer like blade attached to the undercarriage and is used for pushing removed material back into a hole.

External links

Major manufacturers

- Hyundai Heavy Industries: [http://www.hyundai-ce.com/ website]
- Mustang: [http://www.mustangmfg.com website]
- Manitowoc Company: [http://www.manitowoc.com website]
- Case CE: [http://www.casece.com website]
- Caterpillar Inc: [http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=37840&x=7 website]
- Daewoo
- Hydrema: [http://www.hydrema.com/ website]
- JCB: [http://www.jcb.com/ website]
- Kobelco: [http://www.kobelcoamerica.com/ website]
- Komatsu: [http://www.komatsu.com/ website]
- Volvo Construction Equipment: [http://www.volvo.com/constructionequipment/ website]

General information

- [http://www.butler-machinery.com/jpegs/color7up2.jpg A drawing of a wheeled excavator]
- [http://www.butler-machinery.com/jpegs/color7up4.jpg A drawing of a tracked 311 CAT excavator]
- [http://www.sfu.ca/casr/101-vehdaewoo.htm Excavators of the Canadian Engineering forces] Category:Engineering vehicles ja:油圧ショベル

Clyde

Clyde may refer to:
- The River Clyde and Firth of Clyde in Scotland.
- HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane and Coulport, two locations which are home to the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent.
- Several vessels of the Royal Navy named HMS Clyde.
- Clyde, New Zealand, location of the Clyde Dam.
- Australia:
- Clyde, New South Wales
- Clyde, Victoria
- Clyde River, New South Wales
- Canada:
- Clyde, Prince Edward Island
- Clyde, Quebec
- Clyde, Ontario
- Clyde (municipal district), Alberta
- Clyde (village), Alberta
- Clyde, Nunavut
- United States of America:
- Clyde, California
- Clyde, Michigan
- Clyde, New York
- Clyde, North Carolina
- Clyde, Ohio
- Clyde, Texas
- Clyde Township, Michigan
- Clyde Barrow, of the infamous criminal duo Bonnie and Clyde.
- Clyde, one of the four ghosts in Pac-Man.
- Clyde Engineering, an Australian locomotive builder (now part of EDi Rail.
- Clyde F.C., a Scottish football (soccer) team.
- Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde (1792–1863), British soldier and administrator.
- Norman Clyde (1885–1972), British mountaineer and nature photographer.
- Clyde, a fictional character in the 1992 Moonlite Software Computer Game Clyde's Adventure.

Ore

)]] An ore is a mineral deposit containing a metal or other valuable resource in economically viable concentrations. Usually, it is used in the context of a mineral deposit from which it is economical to extract its metallic component. Ores are mined. Ore minerals are generally oxides, sulfides, silicates, or native metals that are not commonly concentrated in the Earth's crust. The ores must be processed to extract the metals of interest from the waste rock and from the ore minerals. Ore bodies are formed by a variety of geological processes. The abundance of an ore will directly affect the costs associated with mining the ore and the subsequent cost of the metal extracted.

Important ore minerals

- Argentite: Ag₂S
- Barite: BaSO₄
- Beryl: Be₃Al₂(SiO₃)₆
- Bornite: Cu₅FeS₄
- Cassiterite: SnO₂
- Chalcocite: Cu₂S
- Chalcopyrite: CuFeS₂
- Chromite: (Fe,Mg)Cr₂O₄
- Cinnabar: HgS
- Cobaltite: (Co,Fe)AsS
- Columbite-Tantalite or Coltan: (Fe,Mn)(Nb,Ta)₂O₆
- Galena: PbS
- Gold: Au
- Hematite: Fe₂O₃
- Ilmenite: FeTiO₃
- Magnetite: Fe₃O₄
- Molybdenite: MoS₂
- Pentlandite:(Fe,Ni)₉S₈
- Scheelite: CaWO₄
- Sphalerite: ZnS
- Uraninite: UO₂
- Wolframite: (Fe,Mn)WO₄ Category:Economic geology

Abyssal plain

Abyssal plains are flat or very gently sloping areas of the deep ocean basin floor. They are among the Earth's flattest and smoothest regions and the least explored. Abyssal plains cover approximately 40% of the ocean floor and reach depths between 2,200 and 5,500 m (7,200 and 18,000 ft). They generally lie between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-oceanic ridge. Abyssal plains result from the blanketing of an originally uneven surface of oceanic crust by fine-grained sediments, mainly clay and silt. Much of this sediment is deposited from turbidity currents that have been channeled from the continental margins along submarine canyons down into deeper water. The remainder of the sediment comprises chiefly dust (clay particles) blown out to sea from land, and the remains of small marine plants and animals (the plankton), which sink from the upper layer of the ocean. The sediment deposition rate in remote areas are estimated at two to three centimetres per thousand years. In some areas of the plains manganese nodules are common with significant varying concentrations of metals, iron, nickel, cobalt, and copper. These nodules provide a sigificant resource for future mining ventures. Sediment covered abyssal plains are less common in the Pacific than in other major ocean basins because sediments from turbidity currents are trapped in submarine trenches that border the Pacific Ocean.

List of Abyssal plains

;Atlantic ocean
- Labrador plain,
- Irminger plain,
- Iceland plain,
- Norvegian plain,
- Cape Verde plain,
- Sierra Leone plain,
- Guinea plain,
- Angola plain,
- Cape plain,
- Argentine plain,
- Brasil plain,
- Guayana plain,
- Mexico plain, ;Indian ocean:
- Agulhas plain,
- Natal plain,
- Madagaskar plain,
- Somalian plain,
- Arabian plain,
- Middle-Indian plain,
- Andamanian plain,
- Wharton plain,
- Perth's plain,
- Crozet's plain,
- Atlantic-Indian plain,
- North Australian plain,
- South Australian plain, ;Pacific ocean:
- Celebes' plain,
- South Chinese plain,
- West Carolinian plain,
- East Carolinian plain,
- Coral sea plain,
- Tasman plain,
- Southern Fiji plain,
- Northern Fiji plain,
- Melanesian plain,
- East Mariana plain,
- Northwestern Pacific plain,
- Japanese plain,
- Kurillian plain,
- Middle Pacific plain,
- Southwestern Pacific plain,
- Southeastern Pacific plain,
- Chile plain,
- Peru plain,
- Guatemala plain Category:Oceanography ja:深海平原

Vacuum cleaner

A vacuum cleaner is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from carpeted floors. Most homes with carpeted floors in developed countries possess a domestic vacuum cleaner for cleaning. The dirt is collected by a filtering system or a cyclone for later disposal.

Configurations

Several general configurations for vacuum cleaners have emerged:
- Upright vacuum cleaners have the pump mounted directly above the suction intake, with the bag mounted on the handle, which rises to about waist height. Upright designs usually employ mechanical beaters, often rotating brushes, to help disturb dust to be vacuumed up; these beaters are usually driven by a belt attached to the vacuum motor.
- Canister (or cylinder) designs have the motor and bag in a separate canister unit (usually mounted on wheels) connected to the vacuum head by a flexible hose. Although upright units have been tested as more effective (mainly because of the beaters), the lighter, more manoeuverable heads of canister models are popular. Some upmarket canister models have "power heads", which contain the same sort of mechanical beaters as in uprght units, although such beaters are driven by a separate electric motor.
- Back-pack vacs are commonly used for commercial cleaning: they allow the user to move rapidly about a large area. They are essentially canister vacuum cleaners, except that straps are used to carry the canister unit on the user's back.
- Built-in or central vacuum cleaners move the suction motor and bag to a central location in the building and provide vacuum inlets at strategic places throughout the building: only the hose and pickup head need be carried from room to room; and the hose is commonly 8 m (25 ft) long, allowing a large range of movement without changing vacuum inlets. Plastic piping connects the vacuum outlets to the central unit. The vacuum head may either be unpowered or have beaters operated by an electric motor or air-driven motor. The dirt bag in a central vacuum system is usually so large that emptying or changing needs to be done less often, perhaps once per year.
- Robotic vacuum cleaners move autonomously, usually in a mostly chaotic pattern ('random bounce'). Some come back to a docking station to charge their batteries, and a few are able to empty their dust containers into the dock as well.
- Small hand-held vacuum cleaners, either battery-operated or electric, are also popular for cleaning up smaller spills. Most vacuum cleaners are supplied with attachments that allow them to reach otherwise inaccessible places and to be used for cleaning such surfaces as upholstery. Wet vacs can be used to clean up liquid spills. Shop vacs commonly can accommodate both wet and dry soilage; some are also equipped with a switch for reversing the flow of suction, a useful function.

History

The first hand-powered cleaner using vacuum principles may have been the "Whirlwind", invented in Chicago in 1865. The first powered cleaner employing a vacuum was patented by H. Cecil Booth, a British engineer, in 1901. He noticed a device used in trains that blew dust off the chairs, and thought it would be much more useful to have one that sucked dust. He tested the idea by laying a handkerchief on the seat of a dinner chair, putting his mouth to it and sucking hard. He nearly choked, but upon seeing the dust and dirt collected on the underside of the handkerchief he realised the idea could work. Booth worked to create a device operating on such principles, and patented such a machine in Britain: the large device, known as the Puffing Billy, was drawn by horses and parked outside the building to be cleaned; suction was then provided by an internal-combustion engine burning petrol (gasoline). However, Booth never achieved great success with his invention. 1901 In 1905 "Griffith's Improved Vacuum Apparatus for Removing Dust from Carpets" was another manually operated cleaner, patented by Walter Griffiths Manufacturer, Birmingham, England. It was portable, easy to store, and powered by "any one person (such as the ordinary domestic servant)", who would have the task of compressing a bellows-like contraption to suck up dust through a removable, flexible pipe, to which a variety of shaped nozzles could be attached. This was arguably the first domestic vacuum-cleaning device to resemble the modern vacuum cleaner. Another inventor, in the United States, had much better luck with an electric vacuum cleaner. In 1906, James Murray Spangler, a janitor in Canton, Ohio, rigged a vacuum cleaner out of a fan, a box, and a pillowcase. In addition to suction, Spangler's design incorporated a rotating brush to loosen debris. He patented it in 1908, and eventually sold the idea to his cousin's "Hoover Harness and Leather Goods Factory". In the United States, Hoover remains one of the leading manufacturers of household goods, including cleaners; and Hoover became very wealthy from the invention. In Britain, Hoover has become so associated with the manufacture of vacuum cleaners that "hoover" (without initial capitalization) often is used as a generic term and even as a verb: "I've just hoovered the carpet". For many years after their introduction, vacuum cleaners remained a luxury item; but after World War II they became ubiquitous among the rising middle classes. They tend to be more common in Western countries because, in some parts of the world, wall-to-wall carpeting is uncommon and homes have tile or hardwood floors, which are easily swept, wiped, or mopped.

Recent developments

Vacuum cleaners working on the cyclone principle became popular in the 1990s. These were adapted from industrial cyclonic separators by James Dyson in 1985. He launched his cyclone cleaner first in Japan in the 1980s at a cost of about US$1,800 and later the Dyson DC01 upright in the UK in 1995 for £200. It was expected that people would not buy a vacuum cleaner at twice the price of a normal cleaner, but it later became the most popular cleaner in the U.K.. Cyclonic cleaners do not use bags: instead, the dust collects in a detachable, cylindrical collection vessel. Air and dust are blown at high speed into the collection vessel at a direction tangential to the vessel wall, creating a vortex. The dust particles and other debris move to the outside of the vessel by centrifugal force, where they fall because of gravity, and clean air from the center of the vortex is expelled from the machine after passing through a number of successively finer filters at the top of the container. The first filter is intended to trap particles which could damage the subsequent filters that remove fine dust particles. The filters must regularly be cleaned or replaced to ensure that the machine continues to perform efficiently. Since Dyson, several other companies have introduced cyclone models, including Hoover, and the cheapest model is no more expensive than a conventional cleaner. In early 2000 several companies developed robotic vacuum cleaners. Some examples are Roomba, Robomaxx, Trilobite and FloorBot. These machines move by themselves in patterns across a floor, cleaning surface dust and debris into their dustbin. They usually can navigate around furniture and find their recharging stations. Most robotic vacuum cleaners are designed for home use, although there are more capable models for operation in offices, hotels, hospitals, etc. By the end of 2003 about 570,000 units were sold worldwide. In 2004 a British company released Airider, a hovering vacuum cleaner that floats on a cushion of air. It is claimed to be light weight and easier to manoeuvre (compared to using wheels), although it is not the first vacuum cleaner to do this.

Vacuum cleaner specifications

The performance of a vacuum cleaner, when mentioned at all by the manufacturer, can be measured by several parameters:
- airflow, in cubic feet per minute (CFM or ft³/min) or litres per second (l/s)
- air speed, in miles per hour (mph) or metres per second (m/s)
- suction, vacuum, or water lift, in inches of water or pascals (Pa) The suction is the maximum pressure difference that the pump can create. For example, a typical domestic model has a suction of about negative 20 kPa. This means that it can lower the pressure inside the hose from normal atmospheric pressure (about 100 kPa) by 20 kPa. The higher the suction rating, the more powerful the cleaner. One inch of water is equivalent to about 249 Pa; hence, the typical suction is 80 inches of water. The power consumption of a cleaner, in watts, is often the only figure stated. Many North American vacuum manufacturers only give the current in amperes (e.g. "12 amps"[http://www.hoover.com/db/xq/asp.hvrProductMain/CatID.1/SubID.2/ProdID.152/ModID.1775/qx/U6616900.htm]) and the consumer is left to multiply that by the line voltage of 120 volts to get the power ratings in volt amperes (not quite the same as watts for AC current, see AC voltages). The power does not indicate how effective the cleaner is, only how much electricity it consumes. The amount of this power that is converted into airflow at the end of the cleaning hose is sometimes stated, and is measured in air watts: the units are simply watts; "air" is used to clarify that this is output power, not input electrical power. This is calculated using the formula:

Electric mop combo

Some vacuum cleaners are combined with electric mops in the same machine: for dry and a later wet clean.

External links

- [http://housekeeping.about.com/od/vacuumcleaners Vacuum Cleaner Questions and Reviews]
- [http://www.housekeepingchannel.com/showarticle.php?id=112 Eight myths of vacuuming]
- [http://www.137.com/museum/ The Vintage Vacuum Cleaner Museum]
- [http://www.gizmohighway.com/history/vacuum.htm Vacuum Cleaner History - Gizmohighway Technology Guide]
- [http://www.newcomen.com/excerpts/vacuum_cleaner/index.htm Newcomen Society paper]
- [http://www.thevacuumcleaner.co.uk Artist Activist The Vacuum Cleaner]
- Robotic vacuum-cleaners:
- [http://www.friendlyrobotics.com/friendly_vac/ Friendly Vac RV400]
- [http://www.buy-roomba-vacuum.com Roomba Vacuums]
- [http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2003-01-10-4 Electrolux Trilobite].
- [http://vacuumuk.ronniebou.net/vacuum/vacuum.html Robo Maxx].
- [http://www.modern-originals.com/produit.asp?reference=10166 Robotic vacuum cleaner solutions].

References

- The origin of the vacuum cleaner - H. Cecil Booth, Transactions of the Newcomen Society, 1934–1935, Volume 15. Category:Domotics Category:Home appliances Category:Cleaning tools Category:Vacuum cleaner ja:掃除機

Airlift (dredging device)

An Airlift is device based on a pipe, used in nautical archaeology to suck small objects, sand and mud from the sea bed and to transport the resulting debris upwards and away from its source. It is sometimes called a suction dredge. Typically the air lift is constructed from a 3 metre to 10 metre long, 10 cm diameter pipe. A controllable compressed air supply vents into the inside, lower end of the pipe. The input end is always the lower end. Compressed air is injected into the pipe in one to three second bursts with an interval long enough to let the resulting bubble to rise to the higher, output end of the pipe. The bubble moves water through the pipe sucking debris from the lower end and depositing it from the upper end of the pipe. It is often designed to be hand-operated by a diver. Category:Diving equipment Airlift pumps are used by water utilities, farmers and others to extract water from deep wells. In such cases the pipes can be 30, 60 or more meters deep underground. Airlift pumps are governed by the physics of 2 phase flow.

Diver

- A diver is an person who practices scuba diving or surface supplied diving.
- A diver is the European name for a group of aquatic birds of the order Gaviiformes, in North America called loons.
- A diver is an athlete who practices diving in the sense of jumping or falling deliberately into water.
- The word diver was a British WWII armed forces code name for the German V1 flying bomb.
- In older English usage including the Authorized Version of the Bible, divers often is an adjective meaning "diverse, various".

Wheel

: A wheel is a circular object that, together with an axle, allows low friction in motion by rolling. Common examples are found in transport applications. More generally the term is also used for circular objects rotating for other purposes, such as a wheel and axle and a flywheel.

Mechanics

Wheels are used in conjunction with an axle, either the wheel turns on the axle or the wheel is rigidly attached to the axle which then turns in bearings in the body of the vehicle. The mechanics are the same in either case. The low density of the friction (compared to dragging) is explained as follows:
- the sliding distance is reduced, because the sliding takes place between the wheels and the axles or between the axles and the bearings
- the coefficient of kinetic friction μ for the sliding friction is less Example:
- If dragging a 100 kg object for 10 m along a surface with μ = 0.5, the normal force on Earth is 980 N and the work done (required energy) is 980 × 10 × 0.5 = 4900 joules.
- Now give the object 4 wheels. The normal force between the 4 wheels and axles is the same (in total) 980 N, assume μ = 0.1, finally the most important factor is the wheel diameter (1000 mm) and axle diameter (50 mm). Now while the object still moves 10 m the sliding frictional surfaces only slide over each other a distance of 0.5 m. So work done is 980 x 0.5 x 0.1 = 49 joules. Additional energy is lost at the wheel to road interface (rolling friction), but it is deformation loss which can be very small. An example would be train wheels on rail tracks). The tradeoff is that a wheeled object in motion carries more momentum than dragging, and thus require an external force in the opposite direction in order to stop the object or change its direction, for example, such as brakes.

History of the wheel

brakesian "battle standard of Ur" (circa 2600 BC)]] According to most authorities, the wheel was invented in ancient Mesopotamia in the 5th millennium BC, originally in the function of potter's wheels. A possibly independent invention in China dates to around 2800 BC. It is also thought that the invention of the wheel dated back to Ancient India. Though they did not develop the wheel proper, the Olmec and certain other western hemisphere cultures seem to have approached the concept, as wheel-like worked stones have been found on objects identified as children's toys dating to about 1500 BC. The wheel was apparently unknown in sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, and the Americas until relatively recent contacts with Eurasians. Eurasian. The wheel is dated late second millennium BCE and was excavated at Choqa Zanbil.]] The invention of the wheel thus falls in the late Neolithic and may be seen in conjunction with the other technological advances that gave rise to the early Bronze Age. Note that this implies the passage of several wheel-less millennia, even after the invention of agriculture. Early wheels were simple wooden disks with a hole for the axle. In the early Roman empire, most horse-carts used a design featuring two chords across the wheel. The spoked wheel was invented much more recently, and allowed the construction of lighter and swifter vehicles. The earliest known examples are in the context of the Andronovo culture, dating to ca 2000 BC (see chariot). Celtic chariots introduced an iron rim around the wheel in the 1st millennium BC. The spoked wheel was in continued use without major modification until the early 20th century. The invention of the wheel turned out to be of great importance not only as a transportation device, but for the development of technology in general, important applications including the water wheel, the cogwheel (see also antikythera mechanism), the spinning wheel, the astrolabe or torquetum. More modern descendents of the wheel include the propeller, the jet engine, the flywheel (gyroscope) and the turbine. The central importance of the wheel also resulted in its becoming a strong cultural and spiritual metaphor for a cycle or regular repetition (see chakra, reincarnation). In July 2001, the wheel was the object of an innovative, but non-inventive, patent as a "circular transportation facilitation device". The patent was obtained by John Keogh, a lawyer from Melbourne, Australia, with the declared intention of demonstrating the unfairness and inaccuracy of the modern patent system.

References

# Casson, Lionel, "Travel in the Ancient World", The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1994. # http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1418000/1418165.stm

Wheeled vehicles

Vehicles are classified according to number of wheels: # Unicycle, monocycle # Bicycle # Tricycle # Quadricycle

Other options

Ground transport devices without wheels include
- travois
- hovercraft
- magnetic levitation train
- sled

External links

- [http://spp.pinyin.info/abstracts/spp099_wheeled_vehicles.html early wheeled transport around the world, especially China] Category:Mechanical engineering ms:Roda ja:車輪 simple:Wheel

Dragline

, then to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, now at to Oakridge, Tennessee, ORNL. All are United States Department of Energy sites.]] Dragline excavation systems are heavy equipment used in civil engineering and surface mining. In civil engineering the smaller types are used for road and port construction. The larger types are used in strip-mining operations to extract coal and these are amongst the largest mobile equipment (not water-borne), and weigh in the vinicity of 2000 metric tonnes. A dragline bucket system consists of a large bucket which is suspended from a boom (A large truss like structure). The bucket is maneuvered by means of a number of ropes and chains. The hoistrope, powered by large diesel or electric motors, supports the bucket and hoist-coupler assembly from the boom. The dragrope is used to draw the bucket assembly horizontally. By skillful maneuver of the hoist and the dragropes the bucket is controlled for various operations. A schematic of a large dragline bucket system is shown below. electric motor

Operation

In a typical cycle of excavation, the bucket is positioned above the material to be excavated. The bucket is then lowered and the dragrope is then drawn so that the bucket is dragged along the surface of the material. The bucket is then lifted by using the hoist rope. A swing operation is then performed to move the bucket to the place where the material is to be dumped. The dragrope is then released causing the bucket to tilt making the material in the bucket to fall down. This is called a dump operation.

Draglines in mining

A large dragline system used in the open pit mining industry costs approximately US$20-50 million. A typical bucket has a volume ranging from 30 to 60 cubic metres (Extremely large buckets range up to 150 cubic metres). The length of the boom ranges from 45 to 100 metres. In a single cycle it can move up to 450 metric tonnes of material. A notable feature of mining draglines is that they are not fuel powered like most other mining equipment. Their power consumption is so great that they have a direct connection to the high-voltage grid at 11 kV. Many (possibly anecdotal) stories have been told about the blackout-causing effects of mining draglines. For instance, there is a long-lived story that, back in the 1970s, if all 7 of Peak Downs (a very large coal mine in central Queensland, Australia) draglines turned simultaneously, they would black-out all of North Queensland. In all but the smallest of draglines, movement is accomplised by 'walking' using pontoons, as caterpillar tracks place too much pressure on the ground, and have great difficultly under the immense weight of the dragline. Maximum speed is only up to a few hundred metres per hour. If travelling medium distances, (about 30-100 km), a special dragline carrier can be brought in to transport the dragline. Above this distance, disassembly is generally required.

Limitations

The primary limitations of draglines are their boom height and boom length. This limits where the dragline can dump the waste material. Inherent with their construction, a dragline is most efficient excavating material below the level of their tracks, a dragline is not suitable to load piled up material (like a wheel loader can). Despite their limitations, and their extreme capital cost, draglines remain popular with many mines, due to their reliability, and extremely low waste removal cost. Draglines have different cutting sequences. The first is the side cast, method using offset benches, this involves throwing the overburden sideways onto blasted material, to make a bench. The second is a key pass, this pass cuts a key at the toe of the new highwall, it also shifts the bench further towards the low-wall, this may also require a chop pass if the wall in blocky. A chop pass involves the bucket being dropped down onto a angled highwall to scale the surface. The next sequence is the blocks pass, this is the slowest operation however moves most of the material. It involves using the key to access to bottom of the material to lift it up to spoil or to an elevated bench level. The final cut if required is a pull back, this pulls material back further to the low-wall side.

Examples

The British firm of Ransome and Rapier produced a few large (1400-1800 ton) excavators, the largest in Europe at the time. Power was from internal combustion engines driving generators. One, named SUNDEW, was used in a quarry from 1957 to 1974. After its working life at the first site in Rutland was finished it walked 13 miles to a new life at Corby, the walk took 9 months. Smaller draglines were also commonly used before hydraulic machines become widespread. Firms such as Ruston and Bucyrus made models such as the RB10 which were popular for small building works and drainage work. Several of these can still be seen in the English Fens of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and parts of Norfolk) usually associated with drainage pumping engines. The coal mining dragline known as Big Muskie, owned by the Central Ohio Coal Company (a division of American Electric Power), was the world's largest mobile earth-moving machine, weighing nearly 13,000 metric tons and standing nearly 22 stories tall. It operated in the U.S. state of Ohio from 1969 to 1991, and was powered by 13,800 volts of electricity. The GEM of Egypt (GEM standing for "giant excavating machine" and Egypt referring to the Egypt Valley in eastern Ohio where it was first put to use), which operated from 1967 to 1988, was of comparable size. Big Brutus was at one time the second largest dragline shovel, and remains on display at the Big Brutus museum in West Mineral, Kansas.

History

The original dragline was invented and developed by Alonzo Pawling and Henry Harnischfeger, whom co-founded P&H Mining Equipment in 1884.

References

K. Pathak, K. Dasgupta, A. Chattopadhyay, "Determination of the working zone of a dragline bucket - A graphical approach", Doncaster, The Institution of mining engineers, 1992. Peter Ridley, Peter Corke, "Calculation of Dragline bucket pose under gravity loading", Mechanism and machine theory, Vol. 35, 2000. Category:Mining Category:Engineering vehicles

Excavator

External links

Major manufacturers

General information

Backhoe

A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment consisting of a digging bucket on the end of an articulated arm (also called a stick or dipper). Modern backhoes are powered by hydraulics. They are typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader. (Similar attachments for skid loaders are still called backhoes even though they are mounted on the front of the vehicle.) A backhoe attached to a swiveling cab on top of tracks is called an excavator. The British company JCB developed the early backhoes. Their first tractor equipped with both a backhoe and a front mounted loading bucket was completed in 1953 and set the standard pattern for future designs. Because of this backhoe-equipped diggers are commonly called 'JCBs' in the UK. The founder of the JCB company holds the honour of being the only non-American in the US construction industry's Hall of Fame. Category:Engineering vehicles ja:バックホー A backhoe is an excavator. Sometimes people call JCBs "excavators," but JCBs (3cx, 414, 416, 4cx) also have a front mounted bucket for loading. That's why it is called a backhoe loader. The picture on right hand shows a backhoe attachment fitted on the front of a Skid loader.

Backhoe Manufacturers

- [http://www.casece.com Case]
- [http://www.cat.com Caterpillar]
- [http://www.ford.com Ford]
- [http://www.jcb.com JCB]
- [http://www.johndeere.com John Deere]
- [http://www.kpxtractors.com/backhoes.html KPX]
- [http://www.masseyferguson.com Massey Ferguson]
- [http://www.terex.com Terex]
- [http://www.terramite.com Terramite]

External links

- [http://www.kpxtractors.com/backhoes.html Backhoe pictures]
- [http://science.howstuffworks.com/backhoe-loader.htm HowStuffWorks page on backhoe loaders], including animations and a simulator

Pontoon

: For the card game, see Pontoon (cards). Pontoon (cards) A pontoon is a buoyant device, either of solid lightweight material or constructed as a watertight chamber, used to support objects above or below water. Pontoons may be simply constructed from closed cylinders such as pipes or barrels or fabricated as boxes from metal or concrete. These may be used to support a simple platform, creating a raft. A raft supporting a house-like structure is one form of houseboat. Pontoons may be used to support docks or floating bridges. In the case of a dock the entire device is sometimes called a pontoon. Pontoons of sophisticated construction and shape are used to support aircraft so they may be operated from water. Such pontoons may also contain landing gear so that the aircraft may operate on both land and water. Such aircraft are called amphibious floatplanes. Floatplanes are distinct from flying boats in which the aircraft fuselage forms a watertight hull. Pontoons are useful in the salvage of sunken vessels. They may be used to support cranes that lift the boat via cables. In other cases they may be sunk and attached to the vessel underwater. The water inside the pontoon is then displaced with compressed air to float the pontoon.

External link

- [http://www.pagat.com/banking/pontoon.html Pontoon]. Category:Ship construction Category:Coastal construction

Bulldozer

A bulldozer is a powerful crawler (caterpillar tracked tractor) equipped with a blade. The term "bulldozer" is often used to mean any heavy engineering vehicle, but precisely, the term refers only to a tractor (usually tracked) fitted with a dozer blade. That is the meaning used herein. engineering vehicle.]]

History

The first bulldozers were adapted from farm tractors that were used to plough fields. To dig canals, raise earth dams, and do other earthmoving jobs, the tractors were equipped with a large thick metal plate in front. This thick metal plate (it got its curved shape later) is called a "blade". The blade peels layers of soil and pushes it forward as the tractor advances. Several specialised blades have been developed: for high volume loads such as coal, rakes to remove only larger boulders, or blades with razor sharp edges to cut tree stumps. In some early models the driver sat on top in the open ithout a cabin. Over the years, when engineers needed equipment to complete large scale earthworks, firms like the CAT, Komatsu, Fiat-Allis, John Deere, International Harvester, Case, Liebherr, Terex and JCB started to manufacture large tracked-type earthmoving machines. They were large, noisy, and powerful, and therefore nicknamed "bulldozer". Through the years, bulldozers got bigger, more powerful, and more sophisticated. Important improvements include more powerful engines, more reliable drive trains, better tracks, raised cabins, and hydraulic (instead of early models' cable operated) arms that enable more precise manipulation of the blade and automated controls. As an option, bulldozers can be equipped with a rear ripper claw to loosen rocky soils or to break up pavement (roads). The best known maker of bulldozers is probably the Caterpillar Tractor Company, which earned its reputation for making tough durable reliable machines. Although these machines began as modified farm tractors, they became the mainstay for big civil construction projects, and found their way into use by military construction units throughout the world. Their best known model, the Caterpillar D9, was also used to clear mines and demolish enemy structures.

History of the word

- Around 1880: In the USA, a "bull-dose" was a large and efficient dose of any sort of medicine or punishment. 'Bull-dosing' meant a severe whipping or coercion, or other intimidation such as at gunpoint.
- 1886: "bulldozer" meant a large-caliber pistol and the person who wielded it.
- Late 1800s: "bulldozing" meant using big force to push over or through any obstacle.
- Later: applied to the vehicle.

Description

Most often, bulldozers are large and powerful tracked engineering vehicles. The tracks give them excellent ground hold and mobility through very rough terrain. Wide tracks help distribute the bulldozer's weight over large area (decreasing pressure), thus preventing it from sinking in sandy or muddy ground. Extra wide tracks are known as 'swamp tracks'. Bulldozers have excellent ground hold and a torque divider designed to convert the engine's power into dragging ability , letting the bulldozer use its own weight to push very heavy things and remove obstacles that are stuck in the ground. The Caterpillar D9, for example, can easily tow tanks that weigh more than 70 tons. Because of these attributes, bulldozers are used to clear areas of obstacles, shrubbery, burnt vehicles, and remains of structures. Sometimes a bulldozer is used to push another piece of earthmoving equipment known as a "scraper". The towed Fresno Scraper, invented in 1883 by James Porteous, was the first design to enable this to be done economically, removing the soil from the cut and depositing it elsewhere on shallow ground (fill). The bulldozer's primary tools are the blade and the ripper.

Ripper

The ripper is the long claw-like device on the back of the bulldozer. Rippers can come singly (single shank) or in groups or two or more (multi shank rippers). Usually, a single shank is preferred for heavy ripping. The ripper shank is fitted with a replaceable tungsten steel alloy tip. Ripping rock lets the ground surface rock be broken into small rubble easy to handle and transport, which can then be removed so grading can take place. Agricultural ripping lets rocky or very hard earth be broken up so otherwise unploughable land can be farmed. For example, much of the very best land in the California wine country consists of old lava flows: with heavy bulldozers such as the Caterpillar D9 and the Caterpillar D11 the lava is shattered allowing practical agriculture for the wine industry. Also, hard earth can be ripped and decompacted to allow planting of orchards which otherwise could not grow on the land.

Blade

The bulldozer blade is a piece of heavy metal plate, installed on the front of the tractor, with the aim of pushing things, handle rough obstacles and shoving sand, dirt and debris. The dozer blade on front of the tractor usually comes in 3 varieties: # A Straight Blade ("S-Blade") which is short and has no lateral curve, no side wings, and can be used for fine grading. # A Universal Blade ("U-Blade") which is tall and very curved, and has large side wings to carry more material. # A "S-U" combination blade which is shorter, has less curvature, and smaller side wings.

Modifications

Bulldozers have been further modified over time to evolve into new machines which are capable of working in ways that the original bulldozer can not. One example is that loader tractors were created by removing the blade and substituting a large volume bucket and hydraulic arms which can raise and lower the bucket, thus making it useful for scooping up earth and loading it into trucks. Other modifications to the original bulldozer include making it smaller to let it operate in small work areas where movement is limited, such as in mining. A very small bulldozer is sometimes called a calfdozer: see [http://www.fao.org//docrep/x5366e/x5366e0o.jpg the image at this link] and [http://www.dearman.freeserve.co.uk/p06.htm this link]. Nevertheless, the original earthmoving bulldozers are still irreplaceable as their tasks are concentrated in deforestation, earthmoving, ground leveling, and road carving. The heavy bulldozers are mainly employed to level the terrain to make it fit to construct on. ever, is mainly done by small bulldozers and loader tractors.

Uses

Bulldozers can be found on large and small scale construction sites, mines, roadsides, military bases, heavy industry factories, and large governmental projects. Some bulldozers, especially bulldozers in military usage, have been fitted with armor in order to protect the driver from enemy fire, thus enabling the bulldozer to operate in battle zones. The most famous armored bulldozer is probably the IDF Caterpillar D9, used by the Israeli Defense Forces for detonating explosive charges and demolishing terrorists' structures under fire. Caterpillar does not make nor install the armor—that is entirely the work of the IDF. However, various users including the US military buy armor kits from the IDF and fit them onto their own D9s. The design varies but the armor kit on average adds 10 tonnes to the weight of the bulldozer, which weighs about 49 tonnes without the armor. Some bulldozers have been fitted with armor by non-government civilian operators to prevent bystanders or police from interfering with the work performed by the bulldozer. See: Marvin Heemeyer, 'Killdozer'. 'Killdozer'

Derivative word uses

The [http://www.reefseekers.com/PIXPAGES/Yap-Palau%20'04/Yellow_goby__bulldozer_shrimp.jpg bulldozer shrimp] is a tropical sea shrimp so named because it spends much of its time pushing sand out of its hole.

External links

- [http://www.dataviewbooks.com/constr.html Construction Vehicles Reference CD]
- [http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltractor.htm History of farm tractors and bulldozers]
- [http://www.kenkenkikki.jp/special/no02/e_index.htm The mechanism of a bulldozer] (Short illustrated explanation, with GIF animations, fit for kids)
- [http://mypage.bluewin.ch/MarkusN/usa01/site_preparation_de.html German page with photos of engineering vehicles: bulldozers, graders, etc]
- [http://www.vannattabros.com/dozer.html Van Naatta Bulldozers]
- Pictures and photographs
- [http://dj.schepsel.nl/geluidloos/fotopag.php?f=41&taal=en Old bulldozer traversing a cocoa plantation in Ghana]
- [http://www.renicoplant.co.za/images/Plant%20Pics/Cat%20D8%20Bulldozer.jpg Modern CAT D8 bulldozer]
- [http://www.jpower.net/bulldozer.jpg Small old bulldozer with open cabin]
- [http://www.atst.ru/cat9b.jpg Modern huge CAT D9 bulldozer]
- [http://www.mischa2000.de/Technik/Raupen/CAT__R_/CAT-Dozer-D11-02.jpg CAT largest conventional bulldozer: the D11 dozer] Category:Engineering vehicles Category:Agricultural machinery ja:ブルドーザー

Netherlands

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland; IPA pronunciation: /"ne:dərlant/) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that is formed by the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). The Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch, located in northwestern Europe. It borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east. In many countries, the Netherlands is often referred to by the name Holland, and even within the Netherlands itself this name is occasionally used as an acceptable translation of the country's name. However widespread, this usage is technically incorrect, as "Holland" is actually a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands, divided into two provinces. Also, the English plural form 'the Netherlands' is a remnant from times when the country was not yet independent and united. See below under 'naming conventions'. The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated and geographically low-lying countries in the world (its name literally means "low country") and is famous for its dikes, windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, bicycles and social tolerance. Its liberal policies (towards drugs and prostitution among other things) receive international attention. The country is host to the International Court of Justice. The English adjective and noun for "of or relating to the Netherlands" is "Dutch," which is also the name of the Dutch language. In the Netherlands, "Netherlands" is sometimes used as an adjective. The origin of this local usage may be that the Dutch word for "Dutch" is Nederlands and to avoid confusion with the words "Duits" (in Dutch) and "Deutsch" (in German) that refer to the country Germany and its language.

Capital

Amsterdam is the hoofdstad ("capital city"), where according to the constitution, the sovereign must be sworn in. The Hague is the Netherlands regeringszetel or residentie (seat of government, residence of the monarch). It is the seat of government, the home of the monarch, and the location of most foreign embassies.

History

:For more details on this topic, see History of the Netherlands and Dutch monarchy. Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, the region was part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which also includes most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land of France and Germany. In 1568 the Eighty Years' War started after the entire population had been condemned to death by the Holy See and confirmed by the king, and in 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces declared itself independent and formed the Union of Utrecht, which is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. Philip II, the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go that easily. It would not be until 1648 that Spain would recognize Dutch independence. After gaining formal independence from the Spanish Empire under King Philip IV, the Dutch grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century during the period of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. In the era, referred to as the Dutch Golden Age, colonies and trading posts were established all over the globe. (See Dutch colonial empire) Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world. In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as such less benign phenomena as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636-1637, and according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider - Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount ("Japan Goes Dutch", London Review of Books [April 5, 2001]: 3-7). After briefly being incorporated in the First French Empire under Napoleon, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815, consisting of the present day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In addition, the king of the Netherlands became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Belgium rebelled and gained independence in 1830, while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890 as a result of ascendancy laws which prevented Queen Wilhelmina from becoming Grand Duke. The Netherlands possessed several colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname (the latter was traded with the British for New Amsterdam, now known as New York). These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively). Only then did they become official colonies. During the 19th century, The Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighboring countries, mainly due to its unique infrastructure of waterways and reliance on wind power. After remaining neutral in World War I, over 100,000 Dutch Jews were murdered in the Holocaust of World War II, along with significant numbers of Dutch Roma (gypsies). After the war, the Dutch economy prospered again, being a member of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and European Economic Community unions. The Netherlands was among the twelve founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the European Union.

Naming conventions

The name Holland is often used, incorrectly, for The Netherlands, especially in other languages. The origin of the misnomer lies in the fact that the region of Holland was the economic powerhouse during the time of the United Provinces (1581-1795). After the Napoleonic era, Holland became a mere province of the Kingdom and was split into North and South Holland in 1840. Many people, especially from the northern and southern provinces, object to the use of the name Holland for The Netherlands. But to avoid confusion when addressing other nationals, the Dutch themselves often use the name 'Holland'. The plural "Netherlands" is actually an archaic term, referring to the time when it was a collection of regions that were not yet fully united. In The Netherlands itself the country is called Nederland (literally meaning "low country"), the people are called Nederlanders ("Dutch" in English) and the language is called Nederlands (again, "Dutch" in English); the -s in Nederlands is not a plural ending, but rather is cognate to the English suffix -ish. The English word "Dutch" is akin to the German word Deutsch, which originally meant "(Language) of the (common) people" in contrast with the medieval elite who spoke Latin. An old term for the language of The Netherlands is Diets or Nederdietsch. All these terms derive from what in Latin was known as Theodisca, from Germanic
- Þeudiskaz.

Politics

The Netherlands has been a parliamentary democracy since 1848 and a constitutional monarchy since 1815; before that it had been a republic from 1581 to 1806 (it was occupied by France between 1806 and 1815). The pro forma head of state, since 1980, is Queen Beatrix of the House of Orange-Nassau. The Dutch monarch has little political power, but serves mostly as a ceremonial figurehead to represent the nation. Dutch governments always consist of a coalition, as there is not (and has never been) a single political party large enough to get the majority vote. Formally, the queen appoints the members of the government. In practice, once the results of parliamentary elections are known, a coalition government is formed (in a process of negotiations that can take several months), after which the government formed in this way is officially appointed by the queen. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, in Dutch Minister President or Premier, a primus inter pares who is usually also the leader of the largest party in the coalition. The degree of influence the queen has on actual government decision making is a topic of ongoing speculation. The parliament consists of two houses. The 150 members of the Lower House (Tweede Kamer, or Second Chamber) are elected every four years in direct elections. The provincial parliaments are directly elected every 4 years as well. The members of the provincial parliaments vote (indirectly) for the less important Senate (Eerste Kamer, or First Chamber). Together, the First and Second Chamber are known as the Staten Generaal, the States General. Political scientists consider The Netherlands a classic example of a consociational state, at least in part caused by the necessity in the Netherlands since the middle ages for different cities to cooperate in order to fight the water (different cities were at the time like different countries by today's standards, and often at war). This necessity to reach an agreement despite differences is called the polder model in Dutch. Also, the Netherlands has long been a nation of traders and for international trade one has to be tolerant of the other person's culture. The Netherlands is a neutral country in most international affairs and thus managed to keep out of World War I (although this did not work in World War II). As a result, the Dutch have a 'friendly' reputation in other countries, to the point that bearers of a Dutch passport often have relatively little difficulty getting into other countries, for visits or even for emigration purposes. However, the early years of the 21st century have seen a political change with the right wing in politics gaining on the left. This is illustrated by the quick rise (and fall) of the LPF. Pim Fortuyn, its founder, held former cabinets responsible for the failing integration of immigrants. The present government is led by the cabinet Balkenende II. This cabinet got some critique about economic reforms and the immigration policies. On June 1 2005 the Dutch electorate voted in a referendum against the proposed EU Constitution by a majority of 61.6%, three days after the French had also voted against. See also: Prime Minister of the Netherlands, List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands

Provinces

List of Prime Ministers of the Netherlands The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris van de Koningin (Commissionair of the Queen).
- Friesland - north west; capital Leeuwarden
- Groningen - north east; capital Groningen
- Drenthe - south of Groningen; capital Assen
- Overijssel - east central, south of Drenthe; capital Zwolle
- Flevoland - central, north of Utrecht; capital Lelystad
- Gelderland - east central, south of Overijssel; capital Arnhem
- Utrecht - central; capital Utrecht
- North Holland - (Noord-Holland) north west (including Amsterdam); capital Haarlem
- South Holland - (Zuid-Holland) west central, south of North Holland (including Rotterdam); capital The Hague (s-Gravenhage or Den Haag)
- Zeeland - south west; capital Middelburg
- North Brabant - (Noord-Brabant) south central; capital 's-Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch)
- Limburg - south east; capital Maastricht. All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), together 467; see Municipalities in the Netherlands, and also List of cities in the Netherlands by province. The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are twenty seven. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence. See also: Ranked list of Dutch provinces.
Geography
Ranked list of Dutch provinces Ranked list of Dutch provinces A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is the flatness of the country. About half of its surface area is less than 1 m above sea level, and large parts of it are actually below sea level (see [http://www.minbuza.nl/default.asp?CMS_ITEM=MBZ302750 map showing these areas]). An extensive range of dikes and dunes protect these areas from flooding. Numerous massive pumping stations keep the ground water level in check. The highest point, the Vaalserberg, in the south-eastern most point of the country, is 321 m above sea level. A substantial part of the Netherlands, for example, all of Flevoland and large parts of Holland, has been reclaimed from the sea. These areas are known as polders. This has led to the saying "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands." In years past, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably due to human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss are the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the south west, and the 1287 storm, which killed 50,000 people and created the Zuyderzee (now dammed in and renamed the IJsselmeer - see below) in the northwest, giving Amsterdam direct access to the sea. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72 km² Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the southcentre. The most recent parts of Zeeland were flooded during the North Sea Flood of 1953 and 1,836 people were killed, after which the Delta Plan was executed. The disasters were partially man-made; the people drained relatively high lying swampland for use as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, locking the land users in a vicious circle whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The vicious circle is unsolvable and remains to this day. Up until the 19th century peat was dug up, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem. To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (English "waterbodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (The waterbodies are still around today performing the exact same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. In the 13th century, windmills came into use to pump water out of the areas by now below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former Zuyderzee (Southern Sea) off from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 1,650 km² were reclaimed from the sea. After the 1953 disaster, the Delta project, a vast construction effort designed to end the threat from the sea once and for all, was launched in 1958 and largely completed in 2002. The official goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in Holland to once per 10,000 years. (For the rest of the country, the protection-level is once per 4,000 years). This was achieved by raising 3,000 km of outer sea-dikes and 10,000 km of inner, canal, and river dikes to "delta" height, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally incur additional Delta project work in the form of dike re-enforcements. The Delta project is the single largest construction effort in human history and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Because of the high cost of maintaining the polders some have argued that maybe some of the deepest polders should be given up. Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climatic change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but also erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow. These flooded polders might then be used as water catchments to take part of the blow. The country is divided into two main parts by three rivers Rhine (Rijn), Waal, and Meuse (Maas). The south western part of the Netherlands is actually one big river delta of these rivers. These rivers not only function as a natural barrier, but also as a cultural divide, as is evident in the different dialects spoken north and south of these great rivers and the (previous) religious dominance of Catholics in the south and Calvinists in the north. The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is south west, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. See also: National parks (Netherlands).
Economy
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy in which the government has reduced its role since the 1980s. Industrial activity is predominantly in food-processing (for example Unilever and Heineken), chemicals (for example DSM), petroleum refining (for example Royal Dutch Shell), and electrical machinery (for example Philips). A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the US and France. Other important parts of the economy are international trade (Dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the VOC), banking and transport (for example the Rotterdam harbour). The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners. As a founding member of the Euro, the Netherlands replaced its former currency, the Gulden, on January 1 1999 along with the other adopters of the single European currency, with the actual Euro coins and banknotes following on January 1, 2002. However, in the first years of the third millennium, economic and employment growth came to a standstill, which the government tried to resolve by cutting into its expenses. In 2003 the economy shrunk 0.9%. In 2004, the recession was over and the economy began its slow recovery with a meager 1.3% growth. The CPB ("Centraal Plan Bureau", Central Planning Bureau), a think tank of leading Dutch economists linked with the government, expects a recovery of the economy in 2005, with a growth of 2.25%. In 2004, inflation was 1.2%, the lowest level since 1989.
- Economic data for the Netherlands: [http://statline.cbs.nl Dutch] [http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/start.asp?lp=Search/Search&LA=EN English]
- List of Dutch companies
Demographics
The Netherlands is the 15th most densely populated country in the world, with 393 inhabitants per square km (or 482/km² if only the land area is counted, 20% is water). Partly because of this it is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the world. Internet penetration [http://www.internetworldstats.com/top25.htm] is at 66.2% the 7th highest in the world. According CBS Statline, the official statistics bureau of the Netherlands, the ethnic origins of the citizens are very diverse. The vast majority of the population however still remains Dutch. They were: 80.8% Dutch, 8.7% other European, 2.2% Turkish, 1.9% Moroccan, 6.4% other There are no cities with a population over 1 million in the Netherlands, but the 'four big cities' as they are called (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) can in many ways be regarded as one 'big city' agglomeration, the Randstad ('fringe city'), with an agricultural 'green heart' (het Groene Hart). This is illustrated by the idea to create a circular train network with a frequency and carriages similar to a metropolitan railway.
Languages
The official language is Dutch, which is spoken by practically all inhabitants. Another official language is Frisian, which is spoken in the northern province of Friesland and has a strong resemblance to English. Frisian is co-official only in the province of Friesland, although with a few restrictions. Several dialects of Plattdüütsch are spoken in much of the north and are recognised as regional languages, as protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. To the south, the Dutch language shifts into other varieties of Low Franconian and German, which may or may not be best classified as Dutch, most notably West Flemish. One of these, Limburgish, which is spoken in the south-eastern province of Limburg has been recognised as a minority language since