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Flange

Flange

:See also flanging, a type of sound effect. sound effect A flange is an external or internal rib, or rim, for strength, as the flange of an iron beam; or for a guide, as the flange of a train wheel; or for attachment to another object, as the flange on the end of a pipe, steam cylinder, etc. Alternatively, a flange can be a plate or ring to form a rim at the end of a pipe when fastened to the pipe. A blind flange is a plate for covering or closing the end of a pipe. A flange joint is a joint, as that of pipes, where the connecting pieces have flanges by which the parts are bolted together. A flange rail is a rail with a flange on one side, to keep wheels, etc. from running off. Flange turning is the process of forming a flange on a wrought iron plate by bending and hammering it while hot. Servo flange Flange is also a slang term for female genitalia in parts of the UK and Ireland. The phrase "a flange of baboons" is also occasionally used as a way of referring to a baboon troop [http://www.markhorrell.com/travel/ethiopia/simiens/flange.html]. This usage is derived from a sketch about the talking gorilla Gerald in the British TV comedy series, Not The Nine O'clock News.

Flanging

Flanging is a time-domain based audio effect that occurs when two identical signals are mixed together, but with one signal time-delayed by a small and gradually changing amount, usually smaller than 20 ms (milliseconds). This produces a swept 'comb filter' effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum, related to each other in a linear harmonic series. Varying the time delay causes these to sweep up and down the frequency spectrum. Part of the output signal is usually fed back to the input (a 're-circulating delay line'), producing a resonance effect which further enhances the intensity of the peaks and troughs. The phase of the fed-back signal is sometimes inverted, producing another variation on the flanging sound. A flanger is a device dedicated to creating this sound effect. Listen a short sample folowed by two flanging versions.

Comparison with phasing

a short sample folowed by two flanging versions Flanging is actually one specific type of phasing. In phasing, a signal is passed through one or more allpass filters which have non-linear frequency phase response. This results in phase differences in the output signal that depend on the input signal frequency. When used with multi-frequency signals like music, various frequencies in the original signal are delayed by different amounts, causing peaks and troughs in the output signal which are not in a linear harmonic series. By contrast, flanging relies on an overall uniform time delay to the entire signal, which is equivalent to phasing as described above but with a filter that has a linear phase response across the frequency spectrum. The result is an output signal with peaks and troughs which are in a linear harmonic series. Extending the comb analogy, flanging uses a comb filter with regularly-spaced teeth, whereas phasing uses a comb filter with irregularly-spaced teeth. To the ear, flanging and phasing sound similar, yet they are recognizable as distinct colorations.

Origin

The name flanging comes from the original method of creation. You start with two 3-headed tape recorders - 3 heads means one for recording, one for playback and one for erase - put into record mode. You record the same signal into both machines. The playback head is located after the recording head so you can hear the actual recording. You then take the playback-head output from these two recorders and mix them together, recording them onto a 3rd recorder. Obviously, these tape recorders will be slightly out of sync already and create a phasing effect when you mix in the second machine. In fact, the best effect is created by purposefully making the second machine run a fraction faster than the first. The effect can then be accentuated by putting a finger on the flange (that is to say, the rim) of one of the tape reels so that machine is slowed down, slipping out of sync by tiny degrees. A listener will hear the familiar "drainpipe" swooping effect as shifting sum-and-difference harmonics are created. When the operator removes his/her finger the tape speeds up again, making the effect move back in the other direction. The classic flanging effect is believed to have been first perfected during 1966 by George Chkiantz, an engineer employed at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, although it can be heard in The Big Hurt by Toni Fisher which rose to #3 in the Billboard chart in 1959. One of the first instances of the sound being used on a commercial pop recording was the Small Faces' 1967 single Itchycoo Park, recorded at Olympic and engineered by Chkiantz's colleague Glyn Johns. If the frequency response of this effect is plotted on a graph, the trace resembles a comb, and so is called a comb filter. Once the operator takes his/her finger off, that player will speed up until its tachometer is back in phase with the master, and as this happens, the flanging effect will be repeated, with the harmonics swooping gradually higher until both signals pass momentarily through the silent perfect sync point again. It is often aesthetically better not to let the two tapes reach this point, but to start the reel-slowing again just before they get back into sync. John Lennon of the Beatles used the term 'flanging' to refer to automatic double tracking, a technique developed at Abbey Road Studios by recording engineer Ken Townshend, in answer to producer George Martin's joking assertion that the ADT effect employed a "double-bifurcated sploshing flange". This usage of the term is coincidental. Standard flanging was used on the Beatles song "Blue Jay Way", written and sung by George Harrison. In the 1970s, advances in solid state electronics made the flanging effect possible using integrated circuit technology. Solid state flanging devices fall into two categories: analog and digital. The flanging effect in most newer digital flangers relies on DSP technology. Flanging can also be accomplished using computer software. Even today, though, many studio practitioners prefer the sound of analog tape flanging, finding the serendipitous nature of human intervention more interesting than the clinical perfection created by purely electronic means. Tape flanging requires bulky hardware and takes quite a knack to get right, but some consider the results to be well worth the time and effort. Note that the original tape-flanging effect sounds a little different from the later electronic and software re-creations. This is because, not only is the signal time-delayed, but the response characteristics at different frequencies of the magnetic tape and tape heads inevitably introduced some phase shifts into the signals as well. Thus, whilst the peaks and troughs of the comb filter are more-or-less in a linear harmonic series, there is a significant amount of non-linear behaviour too, causing the timbre of tape-flanging to sound more like a combination of what came to be known as flanging and phasing.

Recordings with a prominent flanging effect

- The ending of "Freeze Frame", by the J. Geils Band
- "Itchycoo Park" by the Small Faces
- "Blue Jay Way" performed by the Beatles
- "Celtic Rock" by Donovan (Open Road)
- Paranoid by Black Sabbath
- The bridge of "Life in the Fast Lane" performed by The Eagles
- A New World Record by Electric Light Orchestra
- Various parts of "Rock You Like a Hurricane" performed by Scorpions

External links

- http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/~jos/waveguide/Flanging.html
- http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Articles/Flanging/ category:audio effects

Sound effect

For the album, see Sound Affects. Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. In motion picture and television production, a sound effect is a sound recorded and presented to make a specific storytelling or creative point without the use of dialogue or music. The term often refers to a process applied to a recording, without necessarily referring to the recording itself. In professional motion picture and television production, the segregations between dialogue, music, and sound effects recordings are quite severe, and it is important to understand that in such contexts dialogue and music recordings are never referred to as sound effects, though the processes applied to them, such as reverberation or flanging, often are.

History

The use of sound effects originated in theater; by some accounts sound effects were already in use in Classical Antiquity. Various devices were used to simulate such sounds as thunder or approaching horse hooves off stage. The repertory of early theatrical sound effects became more elaborate in the early modern era, and various mechanical devices were constructed to produce more and better sounds. Large urban theaters often had large collections of such devices. Samples of such vintage sound effects can occasionally be heard in early audio recordings of Vaudeville acts, although by contemporary accounts the effects in the primitive early recording studios were less elaborate than those in theaters. The field of sound effects advanced considerably in the 1920s, first with the impetus of radio. Most early radio was live, and featured many live theatrical productions which made much use of sound effects. The better radio studios often employed several sound effects men working at the same time on productions. In the mid 1920s, the advances in recording technology with improved electronic microphones allowed for the practice of having pre-recorded repertories of sound effects on 78 rpm records. Actual recordings of motorcars, airplanes, large crowds laughing or shouting, etc. could then be added to radio dramas via the discs. In the late 1920s motion picture studios switched from silent film to sound, opening up another venue for sound effects.

In film

In the context of motion pictures and television, sound effects refers to an entire hierarchy of sound elements, whose production encompass many different disciplines, including:
- Hard sound effects are common sounds that appear on screen, such as door slams, weapons firing, and cars driving by.
- Background (or BG) sound effects are sounds that do not explicitly synchronize with the picture, but indicate setting to the audience, such as forest sounds, the buzzing of fluorescent lights, and car interiors. The sound of people talking in the background is also considered a "BG," but only if the speaker is unintelligible and the language is unrecognizable (this is known as walla). These background noises are also called ambience or atmos ("atmosphere").
- Foley sound effects are sounds that synchronize on screen, and require the expertise of a foley artist to properly record. Footsteps, the movement of hand props, and the rustling of cloth are common foley units.
- Design sound effects are sounds that do not normally occur in nature, or are impossible to record in nature. These sounds are used to suggest futuristic technology, or are used in a musical fashion to create an emotional mood. Each of these sound "food groups" are specialized, with sound editors known as specialists in an area of sound effects (e.g. a "Car cutter" or "Guns cutter"). The process of creating sound effects can be separated into two steps: the recording of the effects, and the processing. Large libraries of commercial sound effects are available to content producers (similar to the Wilhelm scream), but on large projects sound effects may be custom-recorded for the purpose.

In video games

The principles involved with modern video game sound effects (since the introduction of sample playback) are essentially the same as those of motion pictures. Typically a game project requires two jobs to be completed: sounds must be recorded or selected from a library and a sound engine must be programmed so that those sounds can be incorporated into the game's interactive environment. Historically the simplicity of game environments reduced the required number of sounds needed, and thus only one or two people were directly responsible for the sound recording and design. As the video game business has grown and computer sound reproduction quality has increased, however, the team of sound designers dedicated to game projects has likewise grown and the demands placed on them may now approach those of mid-budget motion pictures.

Recording effects

The best sound effects originate from original sources; the best sounds of machine-gun fire are original recordings of actual machine guns, as opposed to a synthesized or sampled/sequenced effect of a machine gun. When the producer or content creator demands high-fidelity sound effects, the sound editor usually must augment his available library with new sound effects recorded in the field. When the required sound effect is of a small subject, such as scissors cutting, cloth ripping, or footsteps, the sound effect is best recorded in a studio, under controlled conditions. Such small sounds are often delegated to a foley artist and foley editor. Many sound effects cannot be recorded in a studio, such as explosions, gunfire, and automobile or aircraft maneuvers. These effects must be recorded by a sound effects editor or a professional sound effects recordist. When such "big" sounds are required, the recordist will begin contacting professionals or technicians in the same way a producer may arrange a crew; if the recordist needs an explosion, he may contact a demolition company to see if any buildings are scheduled to be destroyed with explosives in the near future. If the recordist requires a volley of cannon fire, he may contact historical re-enactors or gun enthusiasts. People are often excited to participate in something that will be used in a motion picture, and love to help. Depending on the effect, recordists may use several DAT, hard disk, or Nagra recorders and large numbers of microphones. During a cannon- and musket-fire recording session for the 2003 film The Alamo, conducted by Jon Johnson and Charles Maynes, two to three DAT machines were used. One machine was stationed near the cannon itself, so it could record the actual firing. Another was stationed several hundred yards away, below the trajectory of the ball, to record the sound of the cannonball passing by. When the crew recorded musket-fire, a set of microphones were arrayed close to the target (in this case a swine carcass) to record the musket-ball impacts. A counter-example is the common technique for recording an automobile. For recording "Onboard" car sounds (which include the car interiors), a three-microphone technique is common. Two microphones record the engine directly: one is taped to the underside of the hood, near the engine block. The second microphone is covered in a wind screen and tightly attached to the rear bumper, within an inch or so of the tail pipe. The third microphone, which is often a stereo microphone, is stationed inside the car to get the car interior. Having all of these tracks at once gives a sound designer or mixer a great deal of control over how he wants the car to sound. In order to make the car more ominous or low, he can mix in more of the tailpipe recording; if he wants the car to sound like its running pedal-to-the-metal, he can mix in more of the engine recording and back off on the interior perspective. In cartoons, a pencil being dragged down a washboard may be used to simulate the sound of a sputtering engine.

Processing effects

As the car example demonstrates, the ability to make multiple simultaneous recordings of the same subject—through the use of several DAT or multitrack recorders—has made sound recording into a sophisticated craft, and allows the sound effect to be shaped by the sound editor or sound designer, not just for realism, but for emotional effect. Once the sound effects are recorded or captured, they are usually loaded into a computer integrated with an audio non-linear editing system. This allows a sound editor or sound designer to heavily manipulate a sound to meet his needs. The most common sound design tool is the use of layering to create a new, interesting sound out of two or three old, average sounds. For example, the sound of a bullet impact into a pig (from the above example) may be mixed with the sound of a melon being gouged to add to the "stickiness" or "gore" of the effect. If the effect is featured in a close-up, the designer may also add an "impact sweetener" from his library. The sweetener may simply be the sound of a hammer pounding hardwood, equalized so that only the low-end can be heard. The low end gives the three sounds together added weight, so that the audience actually "feels" the weight of the bullet hit the victim. If the victim is the bad guy, and his death is climactic, the sound designer may add reverb to the impact, in order to enhance the dramatic beat. And then, as the victim falls over in slow motion, the sound editor may add the sound of a broom whooshing by a microphone, pitch-shifted down and time-expanded to further emphasize the death. If the movie is a science-fiction film, the designer may phaser the whoosh to give it a more sci-fi feel. (For a list of many the sound effects processes available to a sound designer, see the bottom of this article.)

Aesthetics in film

When creating sound effects for films, sound recordists and editors do not generally concern themselves with the verisimilitude or true-to-lifeness of the sounds they present. The sound of a bullet entering a person from a close distance may sound nothing like the sound designed in the above example, but since very few people are aware of how such a thing actually sounds, the job of designing the effect is mainly an issue of creating a conjectural sound which feeds the audience's expectations while still suspending disbelief. In the previous example, the phased 'whoosh' of the victim's fall has no analogue in real life experience, but it is emotionally immediate. If a sound editor uses such sounds in the context of emotional climax or a character's subjective experience, they can add to the drama of a situation in a way visuals simply cannot. If a visual effects artist were to do something similar to the 'whooshing fall' example, it would probably look ridiculous or at least excessively melodramatic. The "Conjectural Sound" principle applies even to happenstance sounds, like tires squealing or doorknobs turning or people walking. If the sound editor wants to communicate that a driver is in a hurry to leave, he will cut the sound of tires squealing when the car accelerates from a stop; even if the car is on a dirt road, the effect will work if the audience is dramatically engaged. If a character is afraid of someone on the other side of a door, the turning of the doorknob can take a second or more, and the mechanism of the knob can possess dozens of clicking parts. A skillful Foley artist can make someone walking calmly across the screen seem terrified simply by giving the actor a different gait.

Techniques

In music and film/television production, typical effects used in recording and amplified performances are:
- echo - one or several delayed signals are added to the original signal. To be perceived as echo, the delay has to be of order 50 ms or above. Short of actually playing a sound in the desired environment, the effect of echo can be implemented using either digital or analog methods. Analog echo effects are implemented using tape delays and/or spring reverbs. When large numbers of delayed signals are mixed over several seconds, the resulting sound has the effect of being presented in a large room, and it is more commonly called reverberation or reverb for short.
- flanger - a delayed signal is added to the original signal with a continuously-variable delay (usually smaller than 10 ms). This effect is now done electronically using DSP, but originally the effect was created by playing the same recording on two synchronized tape players, and then mixing the signals together. As long as the machines were synchronized, the mix would sound more-or-less normal, but if the operator placed his finger on the flange of one of the players (hence "flanger"), that machine would slow down and it signal would fall out-of-phase with its partner, producing a phasing effect. Once the operator took his finger off, the player would speed up until its tachometer was back in phase with the master, and as this happened, the phasing effect would appear to slide up the frequency spectrum. This phasing up-and-down the register can be performed rhythmically.
- phaser - the signal is split, a portion is filtered with an all-pass filter to produce a phase-shift, and then the unfiltered and filtered signals are mixed. The phaser effect was originally a simpler implementation of the flanger effect since delays were difficult to implement with analog equipment. Phasers are often used to give a "synthesized" or electronic effect to natural sounds, such as human speech. The voice of C-3PO from Star Wars was created by taking the actor's voice and treating it with a phaser.
- chorus - a delayed signal is added to the original signal with a constant delay. The delay has to be short in order not to be perceived as echo, but above 5 ms to be audible. If the delay is too short, it will destructively interfere with the un-delayed signal and create a flanging effect. Often, the delayed signals will be pitch shifted to create a harmony with the original signal.
- equalization - different frequency bands are attenuated or amplified to produce desired spectral characteristics. Abbreviated EQ.
- filtering - Equalization is a form of filtering. In the general sense, frequency ranges can be emphasized or attenuated using low-pass, high-pass, band-pass or band-stop filters. Band-pass filtering of voice can simulate the effect of a telephone because telephones use band-pass filters.
- overdrive effects such as the use of a fuzz box can be used to produce distorted sounds, such as for imitating robotic voices or radiotelephone traffic. The most basic overdrive effect involves clipping the signal when its absolute value exceeds a certain threshold.
- pitch shift - similar to pitch correction, this effect shifts a signal up or down in pitch. For example, a signal may be shifted an octave up or down. This is usually applied to the entire signal, and not to each note separately. One application of pitch shifting is pitch correction. Here a musical signal is tuned to the correct pitch using digital signal processing techniques. This effect is ubiquitous in karaoke machines and is often used to assist pop singers who sing out of tune. It is also used intentionally for aesthetic effect in such pop songs as Cher's Believe and Madonna's Die Another Day.
- time stretching - the opposite of pitch shift, that is, the process of changing the speed of an audio signal without affecting its pitch.
- resonators - emphasize harmonic frequency content on specified frequencies.
- synthesizer - generate artificially almost any sound by either imitating natural sounds or creating completely new sounds.
- modulation - to change the frequency or amplitude of a carrier signal in relation to a predefined signal. Ring modulation, also known as amplitude modulation, is an effect made famous by Doctor Who's Daleks and commonly used throughout sci-fi.
- compression - the reduction of the dynamic range of a sound to avoid unintentional fluctuation in the dynamics. Level compression is not to be confused with audio data compression, where the amount of data is reduced without affecting the amplitude of the sound it represents.
- 3D audio effects - place sounds outside the stereo basis
- reverse echo - a swelling effect created by reversing an audio signal and recording echo and/or delay whilst the signal runs in reverse. When played back forward the last echos are heard before the effected sound creating a rush like swell preceding and during playback. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin claims to be the inventor of this effect which can be heard in the bridge of Whole Lotta Love.

External links

- [http://www.marblehead.net/foley/specifics.html How to make your own Foley sound effects]
- [http://3345.com.au/cyclopedia/lev2_sound_definitions.htm DJ Resources on Sound Effects]

Rib

:This article is about the bones called ribs. For other meanings, see rib (disambiguation). rib (disambiguation) In anatomy, ribs (Latin costae) are the long curved bones which form the rib cage. Ribs surround the chest (Latin thorax) of land vertebrates, and protect the lungs, heart, and other internal organs of the thoracic cavity. In mammals, one generally thinks of ribs only occurring in the chest. However, fused-on remnants of ribs can be traced in development in neck vertebrae and sacral vertebrae. In reptiles, ribs sometimes occur in all vertebrae from the neck to the sacrum. Fish can have up to four ribs on each vertebrae and this can easily be seen in the herring, although not all fish have this many.

Types of Ribs

The human skeleton has 24 ribs, 12 on each side. (A small proportion have one pair more or fewer.) They are attached behind the vertebral column. The first seven pairs are connected to the sternum in front and are known as true ribs (costae verae, I-VII). The eighth, ninth, and tenth are attached in front to the cartilaginous portion of the next rib above and are known as false ribs (costae spuriae, VIII-X). The lower two, that is the eleventh and twelfth, are not attached in front and are called floating ribs (costae fluitantes, XI-XII). The spaces between the ribs are known as intercostal spaces; they contain the intercostal muscles, nerves, and arteries. The rib cage allows for breathing due to its elasticity. In some humans, the rib remnant of the 7th neck vertebra on one or both sides is replaced by a free extra rib called a cervical rib, which can cause trouble for the nerves going to the arm.

Rib Anatomy

Typical ribs

The third through ninth ribs are "typical ribs" since they share the same structure. They each have a head that has two facets separated by a crest. One head articulates with the rib's corresponding vertebra and one head articulates with the vertebra superior (above) to it. They have a neck that connects the head with the shaft. The neck meets the shaft at a tubercle. The shaft is thin, flat, and curved. The curve is most prominent at the costal angle. The concave (inside) surface has a groove to protect the intercostal nerve and vessels.

Atypical ribs

The atypical ribs are the 1st, 2nd, and 10th to 12th.
- The first rib has a shaft that is wide and nearly horizontal, and has the shapest curve of the seven true ribs. Its head has a single facet to articulate with the first thoracic vertebra (T1). It also has two grooves for the subclavian vessels, which are separated by the scalene tubercle.
- The second rib is thinner, less curved, and longer than the first rib. It has two facets to articulate with T2 and T1, and a tubercle for muscles to attach to.
- The 10th to 12th ribs have only one facet on their head, and the 11th and 12th ribs are short with no necks or tubercles.

Rib Fractures and Associated Injuries

The first rib is rarely fractured because of its protected position behind the clavicle (collarbone). However, if it is broken serious damage can occur to the brachial plexus of nerves and the subclavian vessels. The middle ribs are the ones most commonly fractured. Fractures usually occur from direct blows or from indirect crushing injuries. The weakest part of a rib is just anterior to its angle, but a fracture can occur anywhere. A lower rib fracture has the complication of potentially injuring the diaphragm, which could result in a diaphragmatic hernia. Rib fractures are painful because the ribs have to move for inspiration and expiration of air. Rib pain may also be associated with metastasis of cancer, especially from the breast or prostate.

Bifid rib, bifurcated rib

A Bifid rib or bifurcated rib is a congenital abnormality occurring in about 1% of the population. The sternal end of the rib is cleaved into two. It is usually unilateral. Effects of this neuroskeletal anomaly can include respiratory difficulties, neurological difficulties, limitations, and limited energy from the stress of needing to compensate for the neurophysiological difficulties.

Biblical Legend

There is a legend that men have one rib fewer than women. This is false, and originates from the Bible's description of the creation of Eve (from the rib of Adam). The Bible never speaks of men having one rib fewer than women, however.

Notes

References

- Clinically Oriented Anatomy, 4th ed. Keith L. Moor and Robert F. Dalley. pp. 62-64 Category:Thorax Category:Skeletal system ja:肋骨

Strength

Strength may refer to
- Physical strength of organisms' means (especially the muscles of most metazoa) of locomotion and movement
- Strength of materials in physics, engineering and materials science
- Strength is a rap compilation presented by Asiatic Warriors
- Strength (VIII) is a Major Arcana card in Tarot.
- The word strengths is one of the longest English words with one syllable.
- Strength, or one of its synonyms, is the most common character attribute seen in role-playing games.
- Strong cryptography is a term used for forms of cryptography that are extremely resistent to cryptanalysis.
- Strength of the mind, determined and sure
- the band Strength based in Portland, Oregon, see Strength (band).

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe (L.: Ferrum) and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 metal. Iron is notable for being the final element produced by stellar nucleosynthesis, and thus the heaviest element which does not require a supernova or similarly cataclysmic event for its formation. It is therefore the most abundant heavy metal in the universe.

Notable characteristics

Iron is the most abundant metal on Earth, and is believed to be the tenth most abundant element in the universe. Iron is also the most abundant (by mass, 34.6%) element making up the Earth; the concentration of iron in the various layers of the Earth ranges from high at the inner core to about 5% in the outer crust; it is possible the Earth's inner core consists of a single iron crystal although it is more likely to be a mixture of iron and nickel; the large amount of iron in the Earth is thought to contribute to its magnetic field. Iron is a metal extracted from iron ore, and is hardly ever found in the free (elemental) state. In order to obtain elemental iron, the impurities must be removed by chemical reduction. Iron is used in the production of steel, which is not an element but an alloy, a solution of different metals (and some non-metals, particularly carbon). Nuclei of iron have some of the highest binding energies per nucleon, superseded only by the nickel isotope ⁶²Ni. The universally most abundant of the highly stable nucleides is, however, ⁵⁶Fe. This is formed by nuclear fusion in the stars. Although a further tiny energy gain could be extracted by synthesizing ⁶²Ni, conditions in stars are not right for this process to be favoured. When a very large star contracts at the end of its life, internal pressure and temperature rise, allowing the star to produce progressively heavier elements, despite these being less stable than the elements around mass number 60 (the "iron group"). This leads to a supernova. Some cosmological models with an open universe predict that there will be a phase where as a result of slow fusion and fission reactions, everything will become iron.

Applications

Iron is the most used of all the metals, comprising 95 percent of all the metal tonnage produced worldwide. Its combination of low cost and high strength make it indispensable, especially in applications like automobiles, the hulls of large ships, and structural components for buildings. Steel is the best known alloy of iron, and some of the forms that iron takes include:
- Pig iron has 4% – 5% carbon and contains varying amounts of contaminants such as sulfur, silicon and phosphorus. Its only significance is that of an intermediate step on the way from iron ore to cast iron and steel.
- Cast iron contains 2% – 4.0% carbon , 1% – 6% silicon , and small amounts of manganese. Contaminants present in pig iron that negatively affect the material properties, such as sulfur and phosphorus, have been reduced to an acceptable level. It has a melting point in the range of 1420–1470 K, which is lower than either of its two main components, and makes it the first product to be melted when carbon and iron are heated together. Its mechanical properties vary greatly, dependant upon the form carbon takes in the alloy. 'White' cast irons contain their carbon in the form of cementite, or iron carbide. This hard, brittle compound dominates the mechanical properties of white cast irons, rendering them hard, but unresistant to shock. The broken surface of a white cast iron is full of fine facets of the broken carbide, a very pale, silvery, shiny material, hence the appellation. In 'grey' cast iron, the carbon exists free as fine flakes of graphite , and also, renders the material brittle due to the stress-raising nature of the sharp edged flakes of graphite. A newer variant of grey iron, referred to as 'ductile iron' is specially treated with trace amounts of magnesium to alter the shape of graphite to sheroids, or nodules, vastly increasing the toughness and strength of the material.
- Carbon steel contains between 0.5% and 1.5% carbon, with small amounts of manganese, sulfur, phosphorus, and silicon.
- Wrought iron contains less than 0.2% carbon. It is a tough, malleable product, not as fusible as pig iron. It has a very small amount of carbon, a few tenths of a percent. If honed to an edge, it loses it quickly. Wrought iron is characterised, especially in old samples, by the presence of fine 'stringers' or filaments of slag entrapped in the metal.
- Alloy steels contain varying amounts of carbon as well as other metals, such as chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, nickel, tungsten, etc. They are used for structural purposes, as their alloy content raises their cost and necessitates justification of their use. Recent developments in ferrous metallurgy have produced a growing range of microalloyed steels, also termed 'HSLA' or high-strength, low alloy steels, containing tiny additions to produce high strengths and often spectacular toughness at minimal cost.
- Iron(III) oxides are used in the production of magnetic storage in computers. They are often mixed with other compounds, and retain their magnetic properties in solution.

History

The first signs of use of iron come from the Sumerians and the Egyptians, where around 4000 BC, a few items, such as the tips of spears, daggers and ornaments, were being fashioned from iron recovered from meteorites. Because meteorites fall from the sky some linguists have conjectured that the English word iron (OE īsern), which has cognates in many northern and western European languages, derives from the Etruscan aisar which means "the gods". By 3000 BC to 2000 BC, increasing numbers of smelted iron objects (distinguishable from meteoric iron by the lack of nickel in the product) appear in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Egypt. However, their use appears to be ceremonial, and iron was an expensive metal, more expensive than gold. In the Iliad, weaponry is mostly bronze, but iron ingots are used for trade. Some resources (see the reference What Caused the Iron Age? below) suggest that iron was being created then as a by-product of copper refining, as sponge iron, and was not reproducible by the metallurgy of the time. By 1600 BC to 1200 BC, iron was used increasingly in the Middle East, but did not supplant the dominant use of bronze. bronze In the period from the 12th to 10th century BC, there was a rapid transition in the Middle East from bronze to iron tools and weapons. The critical factor in this transition does not appear to be the sudden onset of a superior ironworking technology, but instead the disruption of the supply of tin. This period of transition, which occurred at different times in different parts of the world, is the ushering in of an age of civilization called the Iron Age. Concurrent with the transition from bronze to iron was the discovery of carburization, which was the process of adding carbon to the irons of the time. Iron was recovered as sponge iron, a mix of iron and slag with some carbon and/or carbide, which was then repeatedly hammered and folded over to free the mass of slag and oxidise out carbon content, so creating the product wrought iron. Wrought iron was very low in carbon content and was not easily hardened by quenching. The people of the Middle East found that a much harder product could be created by the long term heating of a wrought iron object in a bed of charcoal, which was then quenched in water or oil. The resulting product, which had a surface of steel, was harder and less brittle than the bronze it began to replace. In China the first irons used were also meteoric iron, with archeological evidence for items made of wrought iron appearing in the northwest, near Xinjiang, in the 8th century BC. These items were made of wrought iron, created by the same processes used in the Middle East and Europe, and were thought to be imported by non-Chinese people. In the later years of the Zhou Dynasty (ca 550 BC), a new iron manufacturing capability began because of a highly developed kiln technology. Producing blast furnaces capable of temperatures exceeding 1300 K, the Chinese developed the manufacture of cast, or pig iron. Iron was used in India as early as 250 BCE. The famous iron pillar in the Qutb complex in Delhi is made of very pure iron (98%) and has not rusted or eroded till this day. Delhi of wood annually from 1827 to 1891.]] If iron ores are heated with carbon to 1420–1470 K, a molten liquid is formed, an alloy of about 96.5% iron and 3.5% carbon. This product is strong, can be cast into intricate shapes, but is too brittle to be worked, unless the product is decarburized to remove most of the carbon. The vast majority of Chinese iron manufacture, from the Zhou dynasty onward, was of cast iron. Iron, however, remained a pedestrian product, used by farmers for hundreds of years, and did not really affect the nobility of China until the Qin dynasty (ca 221 BC). Cast iron development lagged in Europe, as the smelters could only achieve temperatures of about 1000 K. Through a good portion of the Middle Ages, in Western Europe, iron was still being made by the working of sponge iron into wrought iron. Some of the earliest casting of iron in Europe occurred in Sweden, in two sites, Lapphyttan and Vinarhyttan, between 1150 and 1350 AD. There are suggestions by scholars that the practice may have followed the Mongols across Russia to these sites, but there is no clear proof of this hypothesis. In any event, by the late fourteenth century, a market for cast iron goods began to form, as a demand developed for cast iron cannonballs. Early iron smelting (as the process is called) used charcoal as both the heat source and the reducing agent. In 18th century England, wood supplies ran down and coke, a fossil fuel, was used as an alternative. This innovation by Abraham Darby supplied the energy for the Industrial Revolution.

Occurrence

Industrial Revolution Iron is one of the more common elements on Earth, making up about 5% of the Earth's crust. Most of this iron is found in various iron oxides, such as the minerals hematite, magnetite, and taconite. The earth's core is believed to consist largely of a metallic iron-nickel alloy. About 5% of the meteorites similarly consist of iron-nickel alloy. Although rare, these are the major form of natural metallic iron on the earth's surface. Iron is also one of the least reactive metals, and therefore, it is sometimes found pure in nature.

Extraction from ore

Industrially, iron is extracted from its ores, principally hematite (nominally Fe₂O₃) and magnetite (Fe₃O₄) by a carbothermic reaction (reduction with carbon) in a blast furnace at temperatures of about 2000°C. In a blast furnace, iron ore, carbon in the form of coke, and a flux such as limestone are fed into the top of the furnace, while a blast of heated air is forced into the furnace at the bottom. In the furnace, the coke reacts with oxygen in the air blast to produce carbon monoxide: :6 C + 3 O₂ → 6 CO The carbon monoxide reduces the iron ore (in the chemical equation below, hematite) to molten iron, becoming carbon dioxide in the process: :6 CO + 2 Fe₂O₃ → 4 Fe + 6 CO₂ The flux is present to melt impurities in the ore, principally silicon dioxide sand and other silicates. Common fluxes include limestone (principally calcium carbonate) and dolomite (magnesium carbonate). Other fluxes may be used depending on the impurities that need to be removed from the ore. In the heat of the furnace the limestone flux decomposes to calcium oxide (quicklime): :CaCO₃ → CaO + CO₂ Then calcium oxide combines then with silicon dioxide to form a slag. :CaO + SiO₂ → CaSiO₃ The slag melts in the heat of the furnace, which silicon dioxide would not have. In the bottom of the furnace, the molten slag floats on top of the more dense liquid iron, and spouts in the side of the furnace may be opened to drain off either the iron or the slag. The iron, once cooled, is called pig iron, while the slag can be used as a material in road construction or to improve mineral-poor soils for agriculture. Approximately 1100Mt (million tons) of iron ore was produced in the world in 2000, with a gross market value of approximately 25 billion US dollars. While ore production occurs in 48 countries, the five largest producers were China, Brazil, Australia, Russia and India, accounting for 70% of world iron ore production. The 1100Mt of iron ore was used to produce approximately 572Mt of pig iron.

Compounds

2000 production.]] Common oxidation states of iron include:
- the Iron(-II) state, Fe^2- (e.g. Fe(CO)₄^2-,Fe(CO)₂(NO)₂.
- the Iron(0) state, Fe(CO)₅, Fe(PF₃)₅.
- the Iron(I) state, [Fe(H₂O)₅NO]²⁺.
- the Iron(II) state, Fe²⁺, previously ferrous is very common.
- the Iron(III) state, Fe³⁺, previously ferric, is also very common, for example in rust.
- the Iron(IV) state, Fe⁴⁺, previously ferryl, stabilized in some enzymes (e.g. peroxidases).
- the Iron(VI) state, Fe⁶⁺ is also known, if rare, in potassium ferrate. Iron carbide Fe₃C is known as cementite.

Biological role

Iron is essential to all organisms, except for a few bacteria. It is mostly stably incorporated in the inside of metalloproteins, because in exposed or in free form it causes production of free radicals that are generally toxic to cells. To say that iron is free doesn't mean that it is free floating in the bodily fluids. Iron binds avidly to virtually all biomolecules so it will adhere nonspecifically to cell membranes, nucleic acids, proteins etc. Many animals incorporate iron into the heme complex, an essential component of cytochromes, which are proteins involved in redox reactions (including but not limited to cellular respiration), and of oxygen carrying proteins hemoglobin and myoglobin. Inorganic iron involved in redox reactions is also found in the iron-sulfur clusters of many enzymes, such as nitrogenase (involved in the synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen) and hydrogenase. A class of non-heme iron proteins is responsible for a wide range of functions within several life forms, such as enzymes methane monooxygenase (oxidizes methane to methanol), ribonucleotide reductase (reduces ribose to deoxyribose; DNA biosynthesis), hemerythrins (oxygen transport and fixation in marine invertebrates) and purple acid phosphatase (hydrolysis of phosphate esters). When the body is fighting a bacterial infection, the body sequesters iron inside of cells (mostly stored in the storage molecule ferritin so that it cannot be used by bacteria. Iron distribution is heavily regulated in mammals, both as a defense against bacterial infection as well as the potential biological toxicity of iron. The iron absorbed from the duodenum binds to transferrin, and is carried by blood to different cells. There it gets by an as yet unknown mechanism incorporated into target proteins. [http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0000079]. A lengthier article on the system of human iron regulation can be found in the article on human iron metabolism. Good sources of dietary iron include meat, fish, poultry, lentils, beans, leaf vegetables, tofu, chickpeas, black-eyed pea, strawberries and farina. Iron provided by dietary supplements is often found as Iron (II) fumarate. The RDA for iron varies considerably based on the age, gender, and source of dietary iron (heme-based iron has higher bioavailability)[http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/7/294/0.pdf]. Also note the section below on precautions.

Isotopes

Naturally occurring iron consists of four isotopes: 5.845% of radioactive ⁵⁴Fe (half-life: >3.1E22 years), 91.754% of stable ⁵⁶Fe, 2.119% of stable ⁵⁷Fe and 0.282% of stable ⁵⁸Fe. ⁶⁰Fe is an extinct radionuclide of long half-life (1.5 million years). Much of the past work on measuring the isotopic composition of Fe has centered on determining ⁶⁰Fe variations due to processes accompanying nucleosynthesis (i.e., meteorite studies) and ore formation. The isotope ⁵⁶Fe is of particular interest to nuclear scientists. A common misconception is that this isotope represents the most stable nucleus possible, and that it thus would be impossible to perform fission or fusion on ⁵⁶Fe and still liberate energy. This is not true, as both ⁶²Ni and ⁵⁸Fe are more stable. In phases of the meteorites Semarkona and Chervony Kut a correlation between the concentration of ⁶⁰Ni, the daughter product of ⁶⁰Fe, and the abundance of the stable iron isotopes could be found which is evidence for the existence of ⁶⁰Fe at time formation of solar system. Possibly the energy released by the decay of ⁶⁰Fe contributed, together with the energy released by decay of the radionuclide ²⁶Al, to the remelting and differentiation of asteroids after their formation 4.6 billion years ago. The abundance of ⁶⁰Ni present in extraterrestrial material may also provide further insight into the origin of the solar system and its early history. Of the stable isotopes, only ⁵⁷Fe has a nuclear spin (−1/2). For this reason, ⁵⁷Fe has application as a spin isotope in chemistry and biochemistry.

Precautions

Excessive dietary iron is toxic, because excess ferrous iron reacts with peroxides in the body, producing free radicals. When iron is in normal quantity, the body's own antioxidant mechanisms can control this process. In excess, uncontrollable quantities of free radicals are produced. The lethal dose of iron in a two-year-old is about three grams of iron. One gram can induce severe poisoning. There are reported cases of children being poisoned by consuming between 10 and 50 tablets of ferrous sulfate over a period of several hours. Over-consumption of iron is the single highest cause of death in children by unintentional ingestion of pharmaceuticals. The DRI lists the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for adults as 45 mg/day. For children under fourteen years old the UL is 40 mg/day. If iron intake is excessive a number of iron overload disorders can result, such as hemochromatosis. For this reason, people should not take iron supplements unless they suffer from iron deficiency and have consulted a doctor. Blood donors are at special risk of low iron levels and are often recommended to supplement their iron intake. A specific chelating agent called Desferrioxime is used to expell excess iron from the body in case of iron toxicity.

References

- [http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/26.html Los Alamos National Laboratory — Iron]

External links

- [http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Fe/index.html WebElements.com – Iron]
- [http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele026.html It's Elemental – Iron]
- [http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/nucbin2.html The Most Tightly Bound Nuclei] Category:Chemical elements Category:Transition metals ko:철 ms:Besi ja:鉄 simple:Iron th:เหล็ก

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

Joint

A joint is the location at which two bones make contact. Joints are constructed to both allow movement and provide mechanical support.

Classification

Structure and function of a joint are closely related.

Structural classification

Structurally, joints are classified as:
- fibrous - bones are connected by fibrous connective tissue.
- cartilaginous - bones are connected by cartilage.
- synovial - there is a space (synovial cavity) between the articulating bones.

Fibrous joints

In fibrous joints bones are joined by tight and inflexible layers of dense connective tissue, consisting mainly of collagen fibers. In adults, these are not designed to allow any movement; however, in children, fibrous joints have not solidified and are movable. Examples of fibrous joints are:
- Cranial sutures, joining the bones of the cranium.
- Gomphoses, the joints between the roots of the teeth and their sockets (or alveoli) in maxilla and mandible.

Cartilaginous joints

In cartilaginous joints (also known as synchondroses) bones are connected entirely by cartilage. In comparison to synovial joints, cartilaginous joints allow only slight movement. Examples of cartilaginous joints are the pubic symphysis, the joints between the ribs and the sternum, and the cartilage connecting the growth regions of immature long bones. Another example is in the spinal column - the cartilaginous region between adjacent vertebrae.

Synovial joints

The term "Synovial joint" and "Diarthrosis joint" are often used interchangably, although the first term refers to the structure and the second one to the function. For more details, see "Diarthrosis joints" below.

Functional classification

Functionally, they can be classified as:
- synarthrosis - permit no movement.
- amphiarthrosis - permit little movement.
- diarthrosis - permit a variety of movements (e.g. flexion, adduction, pronation). Only synovial joints are diarthrosis.

Synarthrosis joints

Synarthroses are joints with very little (if any) mobility. They can be categorised by how the two bones are joined together:
- Syndesmoses are joints where the two bones are joined by one of more ligaments.
- Synchondroses are joints where the two bones are joined by a piece of cartilage.
- Synostoses are the fusion of two bones, to the point that they are practically one bone. In humans, the plates of the cranium, initially separate, fuse together as the child approaches adulthood. Children whose craniums fuse too early may suffer deformities and brain damage, as the skull does not expand properly to accommodate the growing brain - a condition known as craniostenosis.
- Amphiarthroses are slightly moveable joints where the two bone surfaces at the joint - both covered in hyaline cartilage - are joined by strands of fibrocartilage.

Amphiarthrosis joints

Most amphiarthrosis joints are cartilaginous. See above for more details.

Diarthrosis joints

fibrocartilage Diarthroses (sometimes called synovial joints and also diarthroidal joints) are the most common and most moveable type of joint in the body. The whole of a diarthrosis is contained by a ligamentous sac called the articluar capsule. The surfaces of the two bones at the joint are covered in cartilage. The thickness of the cartilage varies with each joint, and sometimes may be of uneven thickness. Articular cartilage is multi-layered. A thin superficial layer provides a smooth surface for the two bones to slide against each other. Of all the layers, it has the highest concentration of collagen and the lowest concentration of proteoglycans, making it very resistant to shear stresses. Deeper than that is an intermediate layer, which is mechanically designed to absorb shocks and distribute the load efficiently. The deepest layer is highly calcified, and anchors the articular cartilage to the bone. In joints where the two surfaces do not fit snugly together, a meniscus or multiple folds of fibro-cartilage within the joint correct the fit, ensuring stability and the optimal distribution of load forces. The synovium is a membrane that covers all the non-cartilaginous surfaces within the articular capsule. It secretes synovial fluid into the joint, which nourishes and lubricates the articular cartilage. The synovium is separated from the capsule by a layer of celluar tissue that contains blood vessels and nerves. Synovial joints can be further grouped by their shape, which controls the movement they allow:
- Gliding joints, such as in the carpals of the wrist. These joints allow a wide variety of movement, but not much distance.
- Hinge joints, such as the elbow (between the humerus and the ulna). These joints act like a door hinge, allowing flexion and extension in just one plane.
- Pivot joints, such as the elbow (between the radius and the ulna). This is where one bone rotates about another.
- Condyloid (ellipsoid) joints, such as the knee. When the knee is extended there is no rotation, when it is flexed some rotation is possible. A condyloid joint is where two bones fit together with an odd shape (e.g. an ellipse), and one bone is concave, the other convex. Some classifications make a distinction between condyloid and ellipsoid joints.
- Saddle joints, such as at the thumb (between the metacarpal and carpal). Saddle joints, which resemble a saddle, permit the same movements as the condyloid joints.
- Ball and socket joints, such as the hip joint. These allow a wide arrange of movement.

External links

- [http://www.shockfamily.net/skeleton/JOINTS.HTML Illustration of synovial joints] Category:Skeletal system ja:関節

Gorilla

Gorilla gorilla
Gorilla beringei The gorilla, the largest of the primates, is a ground-dwelling herbivore that inhabits the forests of central Africa. There are two species of gorilla, both in the genus Gorilla; each species has two subspecies. Both species of gorilla are endangered, and have been subject to intense poaching for a long time. Threats to gorilla survival include habitat destruction and the bushmeat trade. All gorillas share a single blood type, B.

Physical characteristics

Gorillas move about by knuckle-walking. Males range in height from 1.65 m to 1.75 m, and in weight from 140 kg to 165 kg. Females are about half the weight of males. Gestation is 8 ½ months. There are typically 3–4 years between births. Infants stay with their mothers for 3–4 years. Females mature at 10–12 years (earlier in captivity); males 11–13 years, sometimes sooner if they assume leadership early. Lifespan is between 30–50 years. The Philadelphia Zoo's Massa set the longevity record of 54 years at the time of his death. Gorillas are mainly vegetarian, eating fruits, leaves, and shoots. Insect meat makes 1-2% of their diet.

Strength

Gorillas are renowned for their strength; however, their exact strength is unknown.

Gorilla culture

vegetarian vegetarian A silverback is an adult male gorilla, typically more than 12 years of age and named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on his back A silverback gorilla has large canines that come with maturity. Blackbacks are sexually immature males of up to 11 years of age. Silverbacks are the strong, dominant troop leaders. Each typically leads a troop of 5 to 30 gorillas and is the center of the troop's attention, making all the decisions, mediating conflicts, determining the movements of the group, leading the others to feeding sites and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troop. Males will slowly begin to leave their original troop when they are about 11 years old, travelling alone or with a group of other males for 2–5 years before being able to attract females to form a new group and start breeding. While infant gorillas normally stay with their mother for 3–4 years, silverbacks will care for weaned young orphans. If challenged by a younger or even by an outsider male, a silverback will scream, beat his chest, shake broken-off branches at the intruder, bare his teeth then charge forward. If he is killed by disease, accident, fighting or poachers, the group will split up or be taken over in its entirety by a male descendant or even an unrelated male; there is a strong risk that a new male may kill the infants of the dead silverback.

Intelligence

Gorillas are closely related to humans and are considered highly intelligent. A few individuals in captivity, such as Koko, have been taught a subset of sign language (see animal language for a discussion).

Tool use

animal language The following observations were made by a team led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society in September 2005. Gorillas are now known to use tools in the wild. A female gorilla in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo was recorded using a stick to gauge the depth of water whilst crossing a swamp. A second female was seen using a tree stump as a bridge and also as a support whilst fishing in the swamp. This means that all of the great apes are now known to use tools. [http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0030380]. Also in September of 2005, a two and a half year old gorilla in the Republic of Congo was discovered using rocks to smash open palm nuts. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/10/18/nutcracking.gorillas.ap/index.html].

Classification

Primatologists continue to explore the relationships between various gorilla populations. The most recent publication (Primate Taxonomy, Colin Groves 2001 ISBN 1-56098-872-X) lists two recognized species, with four subspecies: Gorilla gorilla, Western Gorilla
- Gorilla gorilla gorilla Western Lowland Gorilla
- Gorilla gorilla diehli Cross River Gorilla Gorilla beringei, Eastern Gorilla
- Gorilla beringei beringei, Mountain Gorilla
- Gorilla beringei graueri, Eastern Lowland Gorilla Eastern Lowland Gorilla

Gorillas in pop culture

- The gorilla suit is an eternally popular gag costume. On The Zone on YTV, a recurring character is Gorilla Stan, who is actually a person wearing a cheap Halloween costume.
- A gorilla is a mascot for a number of sports teams:
- The NBA's Phoenix Suns mastcot is The Gorilla.
- Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, is the only public college in the United States to have a gorilla as mascot.
- Boarding school Phillips Academy, in Andover, Massachusetts, also has a gorilla as an informal mascot.
- The giant gorilla is a recurring theme in film, especially in the various incarnations of King Kong and Mighty Joe Young. In Planet of the Apes, gorillas fill security/military roles.
- The namesake of the Donkey Kong video game franchise is a gorilla.
- Optimus Primal on Beast Wars and Beast Machines starts out as a regular gorilla. His beast modes get more technological in each incarnation.
- The protagonist of Don Martin's Mad Magazine strip "National Gorilla-Suit Day" is ever beset by gorillas (or persons dressed as gorillas).
- In the anime series "Sakigake! Cromartie High School," a gorilla is one of the more powerful delinquents at Cromartie High. He (she?) also plays backup guitar for "Freddie," a fellow student who may or may not be Freddie Mercury.
- A well-known vacuum cleaner repair shop in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, The Hilly Billy Vac Shack, has a gorilla-costumed mascot who waves at motorists, holding a sign saying "Hilly-Billy likes you!" In recent years, the owner has had legal problems because his roller-blading gorilla mascot was found to be disturbing traffic by waving at them from the road. "Is a gorilla on roller-skates considered a pedestrian?" was the question on the minds of the court.
- A gorilla teaches the protagonist about the history of humanity and the effect "civilized" culture has had on other species in the award-winning novel Ishmael, written by Daniel Quinn.
- Gorillas were frequently used as a gimmick to sell comics during the Silver Age of Comic Books: see Gorillas in comics.

External links

- [http://www.gorilla-haven.org/ghfamous.htm Gorilla Haven] - information about gorillas
- [http://homepage.mac.com/wildlifeweb/gorillas/ Gorillas Online] - natural history, genetics, conservation and photos
- [http://www.koko.org/ The Gorilla Foundation], home of Koko the gorilla famous for her sign language skills
- [http://homepage.mac.com/wildlifeweb/gorillas/images/ Tim Knight's Gorilla Gallery] - gorilla pictures
- [http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/gorilla Primate Info Net Gorilla Factsheet] - taxonomy, ecology, behavior and conservation
- [http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-gorilla.html San Diego Zoo Gorilla Factsheet] - features a video and photos
- [http://www.worldwildlife.org/gorillas/ World Wildlife Fund: Gorillas] - conservation, facts and photos Category:Apes Category:Wildlife of Africa ko:고릴라 ja:ゴリラ th:กอริลลา

Not The Nine O'Clock News

Not The Nine O'Clock News was a ground-breaking comedy television programme shown on the BBC broadcast from 1979 to 1982. It featured a new generation of young comedians, principally Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones, and helped to bring alternative comedy to the mainstream. Rather than being written by a single team of writers, it gave virtually anyone involved in UK comedy scriptwriting a chance to demonstrate their talents, creaming the best of their contributions. It was the first mainstream show to include short sketches lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes, creating a format which has lasted until the present (and gave its name to a more recent BBC comedy sketch show — The Fast Show).

History

The Fast Show, and Mel Smith, with Pamela Stephenson at the front.]] Not The Nine O'Clock News was produced by John Lloyd, a mainstay in much of British comedy as well as the BBC light entertainment department. Lloyd pitched the idea of a sketch show to the heads of BBC comedy and light entertainment, and was given a six-show series, on condition that he collaborate with Sean Hardie, who had worked previously in current affairs at the BBC. Their original cast list was Rowan Atkinson, Christopher Godwin, John Gorman, Chris Langham, Willoughby Goddard and Jonathan Hyde, and was scheduled to be broadcast on 2 April 1979. The first episode was supposed to have been one of the first cross-over created episodes in television history. Originally scheduled to air after Fawlty Towers, John Cleese was to have introduced the first episode in a sketch referring to the then-current technicians' strike, explaining (in character as Basil Fawlty) that there was no show ready that week, so a "tatty revue" would be broadcast instead. Fortunately for some fans, who consider the episode to be rather unfunny, the 1979 general election intervened, and the show was pulled as being too political. (The sketch with Cleese was eventually broadcast later that year, when by a stroke of luck the final episode of Fawlty Towers went out during broadcast run of the first series of Not The Nine O'Clock News, though the original significance of the sketch was lost.) Lloyd and Hardie regrouped, and decided to recast the show, keeping only Langham and Atkinson from the original cast. They wanted to bring in a woman: Victoria Wood turned down the opportunity, but Lloyd met Pamela Stephenson at a party and shortly afterwards she agreed to join the cast. Atkinson, Langham and Stephenson were joined by Mel Smith. The first series was sufficiently popular to merit a second series. Langham was replaced as a main cast member by Griff Rhys Jones, who had already appeared in minor roles, and the second series was an instant major success, and Atkinson, Stephenson, Smith and Rhys Jones quickly became stars. The second series won the Silver Rose at the Montreux Festival . The show ran for a total of 28 episodes, of 30 minutes each:
- October 17, 1979 – November 20, 1979: 6 episodes
- March 31, 1980 – May 12, 1980: 7 episodes
- October 27, 1980 – December 15, 1980: 8 episodes
- February 1, 1982 – March 12, 1982: 7 episodes Main writers included David Renwick, Colin Bostock-Smith, Andy Hamilton, Peter Brewis, Richard Curtis, and Clive Anderson. However, the producers operated an "open door" policy, and accepted scripts for sketches from virtually any source, which allowed it to select the best product from a wide range of writers and enable the show to include items relating to the current news recorded days before the actual broadcast. Howard Goodall, subsequently writer of the Red Dwarf, Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley theme tunes (amongst others) was also involved musically. Bill Wilson directed the first three series, Geoff Posner the fourth. Not The Nine O'Clock News became a stage show in Oxford and London in 1982, but the main actors decided to end the project while it was a success and left for new projects: Stephenson began a Hollywood film career, Atkinson recorded the first series of Blackadder in 1983, and Smith and Jones became a double act in Alas Smith and Jones. A successful American adaptation, Not Necessarily The News ran for 6 years, from 1983–9 on the Home Box Office cable television channel.

Name and format

The show's name derived from its broadcast schedule — it was transmitted on BBC Two at the same time as the main Nine O'Clock News went out on BBC One, leading to the opportunity for some amusing continuity announcements. However, this soon worked against the schedulers, who found that the audience they were hoping to attract were often drawn to both the Nine O'Clock News and Not The Nine O'Clock News. For this reason, Not The Nine O'Clock News was swiftly moved to 9.30 pm. Starring a new generation of young comedians, it helped bring alternative comedy to the mainstream. It presented a series of individual sketches which were often topical or generally satirical. Unlike other sketch shows up until then, which were based on simple stereotypes or idyllic views of Britain, Not The Nine O'Clock News was modern and aggressive — its sketches featured comedy from the likes of punk rockers, bodily functions, and kebabs, rather than men in tweed jackets and gentle country pubs. Each sketch could last from a few seconds to a few minutes, creating a format which has lasted until the present (and gave its name to a more recent BBC comedy sketch show — The Fast Show). The show made heavy use of the revolution in video editing and recording which was taking place at the time, and the fast pace of the show was enhanced by the use of jump cutting of archive news footage, usually of politicians, royalty or famous people. The cutting would make it appear that Margaret Thatcher was crashing a car, as one example (she would later complain about this unfair manipulation of actual events). The show was usually shot on film for outside broadcast and video for studio performances, and innovative video effects, provided by the then all-new Quantel Paintbox video effects unit, were often a key element of the musical numbers in the show.

Memorable sketches

Quantel Paintbox Quantel Paintbox Memorable sketches include:
- A darts parody featuring the "sportsmen" being scored on units of alcohol instead of the darts
- A hi-fi shop with disdainful staff, making fun of the ignorance of a customer ("A gramophone?")
- Rowan Atkinson addressing the Conservative party conference, interspersed with footage of applauding government ministers. Railing against non-white immigration, he remarks that they cannot help it if they are from India, adding, "And I like curry. But now that we've got the recipe, is there any reason for them to stay?"
- The General Synod's Life of Christ (a parody of the controversy surrounding the film Monty Python's Life of Brian)
- Constable Savage (a barbed attack on alleged police treatment of ethnic minorities) [http://www.wepsite.de/constable_savage.htm]
- Rowan Atkinson as a vicar trying to express his support for homosexuals within the Church ("Are you a gay Christian?"), not very convincingly and with great embarrassment
- Gerald the Intelligent Gorilla ("Gerald was wild when he was captured." "Wild? I was absolutely livid!")
- Come Home to a Real Fire (Buy a Cottage in Wales) (a reference to a spate of arson attacks by Welsh people against English people's second homes, and a parody of the contemporary coal marketing campaign). The Welsh were frequent targets of attack, as was the UK political party the Liberal Party.
- Pamela Stephenson doing a couple of send-ups of Janet Street-Porter, exaggerated almost to the point of incomprehensibility.
- Film of Roy Jenkins, the then-leader of the Social Democratic Party, standing behind a lecture stand played to the sound of a man urinating into a bucket.
- A spoof of the BBC Two channel close-down announcement in which the clock moves to the right to reveal Atkinson running a moistened finger around a champagne glass to produce the closed-channel tone.
- A spoof of religious affairs programmes chaired by Stephenson in which Atkinson complains to an Anglican Priest, "Where was God when I cut my finger?" to which Stephenson replies, "I think it's fair to say God can't be everywhere at once," to which the Priest snaps, "Of course he can, he's omnipresent!"
- Two men in the stands at a women's football (soccer) game, commenting on the utter poorness of the game. The conversation ends up to the point where the men are about to stop going to such sport matches, when the game finally ends, and the players take off their shirts, revealing that the women are not wearing bras or other undergarments. The entire crowd cheer the exhibition.
- Atkinson, walking down a street, spots the camera filming him, smiles, waves, and, not looking where he is going, walks into a tree. The same format was used in other sketches with different results.
- Atkinson as a vicar introducing a broadcast of "Songs of Praise" from his church lambasting the suspiciously devout congregation "And didn't the hat shop do well this week!", before introducing the first hymn "All Christian men give praise, the 'Beeb' is back in town".
- Trade union representatives issuing demands to corporate bosses in order to avoid a strike - the demands included the chance to sleep with the boss's wife. They were also offered use of the boss's swivel chair and an automatic bottle opener.
- A meeting of Trade Unionists, where the Chair announces a refreshment break asking "tea or coffee?". The resulting show of hands is counted in terms of the unions' block votes.
- Two men in outer space in a spacecraft, only to find, knocking at the window, a Salvation Army member outside with a collection box and copies of War Cry magazine.
- The space shuttle Columbia takeoff, with the sound effect of an old car trying to start up, rev its engine, and pull away changing gears. The show usually ended with a musical parody or pastiche (as would Spitting Image in later years), normally either from the writing team of Curtis & Goodall, or penned by the show's musical director, Philip Pope. Titles included "I Like Truckin'", "Nice Video (Shame About the Song)", "Sooper Dooper" (an ABBA parody), "Gob On You" (unusually, written by Chris Judge Smith), the "Ayatollah Song" (featuring Pamela Stephenson singing "Ayatollah, Khomeini closer...") and, for the final episode, "The Memory Kinda Lingers" (a verbal pun on the oral sexual act performed on a woman).

Commercial releases

Video and DVD

Two highly-edited videos of the show, entitled Nice Video, Shame about the Hedgehog and The Gorilla Kinda Lingers were released in the mid-1990s. More recently, in August 2003 the BBC released the first DVD from the series, the originally titled The Best Of Not the Nine O'Clock News — Volume One, which received a follow up Volume Two a year later.

Audio

Three albums were released at the time NTNON was screening, entitled Not the Nine O'Clock News, Hedgehog Sandwich and (The Memory) Kinda Lingers respectively. These albums were very successful, with the first two both reaching the top ten of the UK albums chart, a rare feat for a spoken-word LP. The original version of The Memory Kinda Lingers was a double-LP. The second disc is titled Not in Front of the Audience and is a live recording of the cast's stage show. Hedgehog Sandwich and the first disc of The Memory Kinda Lingers are now combined on a BBC double-length cassette. The Ayatollah Song b/w Gob on You was also released as a single.

Books and Misc

Three books were released to tie in with the series; Not! the Nine O'Clock News, whose cover was a spoof of the short-lived "Now!" magazine, Not the Royal Wedding (the royal wedding in question being the marriage of Charles and Diana), and Not the General Election, a tie in with the 1983 General Election. Finally, two 'page-a-day' tear-off calendars, edited by John Lloyd were released in the early 1980s; Not 1982 and Not 1983.

External links

- [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/N/htmlN/notthenine/notthenine.htm Brief Biographical Information]
- [http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-5270/Not_the_Nine_OClock_News/ TV Tome episode guide]
- [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/N/htmlN/notthenine/notthenine.htm Encyclopedia of Television]
- [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/570920/index.html British Film Institute Screen Online]

References

- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/n/notthenineoclock_7774885.shtml The BBC's guide to the programme] Category:BBC television programmes Category:British television sketch shows

Chráněná krajinná oblast České středohoří

Chráněná krajinná oblast České středohoří se rozkládá mezi Louny a Českou Lípou. Je součástí podkrušnohorské subprovincie. Rozloha je 1063,17 km² (celé pohoří 1600 km²). CHKO byla založena v roce 1976. Zaujímá části území sedmi okresů (Česká Lípa,