title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: In 1934, Bankhead had an affair with the artist Rex Whistler who, according to his biographer Anna Thomasson, lost his virginity to her at the age of 29. Offering him what Thomasson calls "an uncomplicated crash-course in sex", Bankhead's glamour and charisma appealed to the "instinctively submissive Rex". One afternoon in early 1934, Bankhead's friend David Herbert called at her suite at the Hotel Splendide in Piccadilly, only to be informed by her maid that "Miss Bankhead is in the bath with Mr Rex Whistler". Hearing Herbert's voice down the hall, Bankhead reportedly shouted, "I'm just trying to show Rex I'm definitely a blonde!"


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Rumors about Bankhead's sex life have lingered for years. In the 1920s, British domestic spy agency MI5 tried to investigate allegations she had been seducing schoolboys at Eton College but the headmaster refused to cooperate.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: In addition to her many affairs with men, she was also linked romantically with female personalities of the day, including Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Hattie McDaniel, Beatrice Lillie, Alla Nazimova, Blyth Daly, writers Mercedes de Acosta and Eva Le Gallienne, and singer Billie Holiday. Actress Patsy Kelly confirmed she had a sexual relationship with Bankhead when she worked for her as a personal assistant. John Gruen's "Menotti: A Biography" notes an incident in which Jane Bowles chased Bankhead around Capricorn, Gian Carlo Menotti and Samuel Barber's Mount Kisco estate, insisting that Bankhead needed to play the lesbian character Inès in Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit" (which Paul Bowles had recently translated). Bankhead locked herself in the bathroom and kept insisting, "That lesbian! I wouldn't know a thing about it."


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Bankhead never publicly used the term "bisexual" to describe herself, preferring to use the term "ambisextrous" instead.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Bankhead moved into 230 East 62nd Street in the late 1950s, and then to a co-op at 333 East 57th Street (unit #13E).


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Bankhead died at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan on December 12, 1968, at age 66. The cause of death was pleural double pneumonia. Her pneumonia was complicated by emphysema due to cigarette smoking and malnutrition, but it may also have been exacerbated by a strain of the flu which was endemic at that time. Her last coherent words reportedly were a garbled request for "codeine ... bourbon".


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: On December 14, 1968, St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Chestertown, Maryland held a private funeral; Bankhead was buried at St. Paul's cemetery.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: On December 16, 1968, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York City held a memorial service for Bankhead.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Bankhead is regarded as one of the great stage actresses of the 20th century, acclaimed for her natural eloquence and dynamism. She excelled in both serious and comedic roles, and for over two decades, she was among the most celebrated actresses in Broadway or London's West End, praised in the superlative "perhaps the greatest actress this country has ever produced". For the most part, Bankhead was lauded even in her failed vehicles, and she was considered by critics to be a rare and unique talent. At the height of her career, she was a "living legend", Broadway's most original leading lady. Her eccentric personality was an asset to her career rather than a hindrance, but as years of hard living took their toll, her highly publicized and often scandalous private life began to undermine her reputation. Obituaries on her passing reflected on how far she had fallen from her former grandeur, à la John Barrymore. The critic Brooks Atkinson was more candid: "Since Miss Bankhead lived as she wanted to, there is no point in deploring the loss of a talented actress". However, the legend which had ruined her career made her an enormously popular icon in both the theatrical and especially the gay community. Decades of sustained interest in Bankhead eventually realized itself in a renewed appreciation for her body of work.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Among Bankhead's awards were a New York Drama Critics Award for Best Performance by an actress in "The Skin of Our Teeth" in 1942, as well as a "Variety" award in "The Little Foxes" and "Skin". She was nominated for a Tony award for her performance in "Midgie Purvis", and won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Actress in a Film for her work in "Lifeboat". Bankhead was the first white woman to be featured on the cover of "Ebony "magazine, and was one of the very few actresses and the only stage actress to have a cover on both "Time" and "Life". In 1928, she was honored as one of the 10 most remarkable women in London. A resolution honoring her achievements was passed in the Alabama Legislature. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Bankhead has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6141 Hollywood Blvd. Bankhead was (posthumously) one of the original members of the American Theater Hall of Fame inducted upon its establishment in 1972.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Bankhead earned her greatest acclaim for two classic roles she originated: Regina in Lillian Hellman's "The Little Foxes" and Sabina in Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of our Teeth". At the Algonquin Hotel, Bankhead left prominent impressions upon playwrights such as Zoe Akins and Rachel Crothers. Crothers later wrote the play "Everyday" for Bankhead, and Akins patterned the character of Eva Lovelace in her play "Morning Glory" on Bankhead. She became good friends with Tennessee Williams, who was immediately struck upon meeting her, describing her as "result[ing] from the fantastic crossbreeding of a moth and a tiger". Williams wrote four female roles for her, Myra Torrance in "Battle of Angels", Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire", Princess Kosmonopolis in "Sweet Bird of Youth", and Flora Goforth in "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore". A song in the 1937 musical "I'd Rather Be Right", "Off the Record", contains the line "I'm not so fond of Bankhead, but I'd love to meet Tallulah". The Bankhead Theater (Livermore Performing Arts Center) has her namesake.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: A collection of 50 portraits of Bankhead in her London years is housed in the United Kingdom's National Portrait Gallery.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Augustus John painted a portrait of Bankhead in 1929 which is considered one of his greatest pieces. Frank Dobson also sculpted a bust of Bankhead during her London period.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: A Tallulah Bankhead Tribute was held by the Walker County Arts Alliance in her hometown of Jasper, Alabama, on June 11–15, 2015.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Bankhead left a lasting impact on American culture despite modern audiences being unfamiliar with the stage performances for which she was most acclaimed. Bankhead remains far more prominent in the public imagination than contemporary Broadway actresses of her caliber, and due to her unique personality and often self-destructive behavior.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Many critics (and Bankhead herself) compared the characterization of Margo Channing in "All About Eve" to that of Bankhead.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: The costume designer Edith Head had explicitly admitted to styling Channing's appearance to that of Bankhead.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: The 1964 one-act play "Dutchman" by Amiri Baraka has the protagonist address the white woman antagonist by Bankhead's name repeatedly.


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: Bankhead's voice and personality inspired voice actress Betty Lou Gerson's work on the character Cruella De Vil in Walt Disney Pictures' "One Hundred and One Dalmatians", which the studio calls "a manic take-off on famous actress Tallulah Bankhead".


title: Tallulah Bankhead

text: A cocktail at the Ritz Hotel in London is called "The Tallulah", named for the occasion when Bankhead visited the hotel and drank champagne out of her shoe.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The 2022 FIA World Rally Championship was the 50th season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing competition recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews competed for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers, Manufacturers and Teams. Crews were free to compete in cars complying with Groups Rally1 to Rally5 regulations; however, only manufacturers competing with Rally1 cars homologated under radically new regulations were eligible to score points in the manufacturers' championship. The championship began in January 2022 with the Rallye Monte-Carlo and concluded in November 2022 with Rally Japan. The series was supported by the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3 classes at every round of the championship with the junior category at selected events.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were the reigning drivers' and co-drivers' champions, having secured their eighth championship titles at the 2021 Rally Monza. However, Ingrassia did not defend his title as he retired from competition at the end of 2021 season. Toyota were the defending manufacturers' champions.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: At the conclusion of the championship, Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen won their first World Rally Championship after winning the 2022 Rally New Zealand. At the age of twenty-two, Rovanperä became the youngest World Rally Champion. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja finished second, trailing by fifty points. Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe were third, a further twelve points behind. In the manufacturers' championship, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT successfully defended their title at the 2022 Rally Catalunya, a seventy-point lead over Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT, with M-Sport Ford WRT in third.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The following teams, drivers and co-drivers contested the 2022 World Championship under Rally1 regulations.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The below crews were not entered to score manufacturer points and were entered in Rally1 cars as privateers or under arrangement with the manufacturers.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The below crews were entered to score team points in Rally1 cars as privateers or under arrangement with the manufacturers.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: For the first three years life-cycle of Rally1 regulations, they would keep the Global Race Engine architecture (Inline 4-cylinder, 1.6 litre, direct injection turbo).


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: M-Sport expanded their programme from two regular crews to three full-time entries. The British team was led by Craig Breen and Paul Nagle, who signed a two-year full-time contract. However, Breen and Nagle parted away as Nagle announced his retirement from full-time competition after the 2022 Rally Catalunya. James Fulton joined alongside Breen from the 2022 Rally Japan onwards. Gus Greensmith remained with the team and would again contest a full campaign. He was co-driven by Jonas Andersson. Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria were also retained with the team. Nine-time World Champion Sébastien Loeb joined the team with new co-driver Isabelle Galmiche to compete at selected events. Extra cars also entered at the selected events, sharing-driven by the crew led by Lorenzo Bertelli and Pierre-Louis Loubet, who was confirmed to be co-driven once again with Vincent Landais. M-Sport long-time customer Jourdan Serderidis, who became the first privateer to buy a Rally1 car, also shared the seat.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Hyundai retained the crew of Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja and of Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe as their two full-time competitors. Oliver Solberg stepped up into the Hyundai manufacturer team to share the third car with the crew lead by Dani Sordo. Andrea Adamo left his role as team principal. Solberg's program came to an halt after the 2022 Rally New Zealand due to a series of inconsistent performance.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Toyota renewed contracts with the crew of Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin and of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen. Eight-time World Champion Sébastien Ogier had also announced his intention to retire from the sport at the end of . Later he decided to only contest selected events of the 2022 season. This restricted his chances of winning a ninth championship title. Ogier had previously planned to retire at the end of the 2020 championship, but the disruption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the reduced number of events in 2020 prompted him to reconsider. Benjamin Veillas became Ogier's new co-driver following the retirement of Julien Ingrassia at the end of the 2021 championship. However, their partnership came to an end after the victory in Spain, with Landais replaced Veillas in Japan. Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm, who previously drove for Toyota from to , returned to the team to share the third car with Ogier and Veillas. Takamoto Katsuta again contested a full campaign in a fourth car, this time under the new entrant Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Next Generation, with Aaron Johnston becoming his co-driver on a full-time basis.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The championship introduced a new set of technical regulations known as "Rally1" to replace the World Rally Car. The Rally1 regulations placed a greater emphasis on standardised parts than in previous years to make the sport more accessible.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Rally1 was also introduced hybrid drivetrains to the sport for the first time. This took the form of an e-motor that produces fitted to current 1.6 L turbocharged inline-4 engine and must be used to power the car when travelling around service parks and through built-up areas when driving between stages. Drivers were free to use the e-motor to offer additional power when competing in a stage, with the FIA dictating how much power can be used and how long a driver can deploy it for. The hybrid system and the software governing its use will be standardised for three years as a way of keeping the costs of competing down. The system was provided by Compact Dynamics, a subsidiary of Formula E team Audi Sport ABT supplier Schaeffler.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The championship was also introduced with a standardised safety structure in a bid to improve safety standards. This coincided with the homologation requirements being re-written to allow teams to enter a scaled chassis based on production cars rather than having to adapt a chassis to fit a roadgoing model.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The eligibility requirements for crews entering events were simplified and streamlined into a system called the "FIA Rally Pyramid". The top tier of the sport was known as "Rally1". The second tier, "Rally2", was for manufacturer teams and professional independent teams in the World Rally Championship-2. This was followed by "Rally3" for privately entered and "gentlemen driver" crews competing in the World Rally Championship-3. "Rally4" and "Rally5" entries would not contest their own dedicated championship, but would be permitted to enter WRC rallies.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Specific liaison sections in which Rally1 competitors must drive in full electric mode was introduced into the championship.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Following calls from WRC manufacturers, time penalty for competitors who missed a special stage due to hybrid issue was reduced from ten minutes to two minutes from the 2022 Croatia Rally onwards.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: New season, new rules, new cars, as the FIA World Rally Championship entered the Groups Rally era at Monte-Carlo. Nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb returned to the championship with M-Sport and was immediately in a battle for the victory with reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier. It was not until the final stage of Saturday, when Ogier and Benjamin Veillas had a stunning run with slick tyres through the icy stage, that the time difference began to open up with Loeb and Isabelle Galmiche trailing by over twenty seconds. However, a front-left puncture at the penultimate stage plus a penalty for a jump-start at the Power Stage lost Ogier and Veillas the lead, handing the rally victory to Loeb and Galmiche. This was Loeb's eightieth rally victory and his first since the 2018 Rally Catalunya. The victory also saw Loeb became the oldest driver to win a World Rally Championship event and Galmiche became the first female winner of a WRC fixture since . Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin were also in the fight for the win before they went off-road. Hyundai's 2022 campaign seemed in deep trouble, not only because of a lack of speed in comparison to M-Sport and Toyota, but also for its poor reliability which saw a series of mechanical failures that forced the crews of Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja and of Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmondson into retirements. The third crew of Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe overcame a damper issue, only to finish in sixth place, over eight minutes off the lead.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The first leg of Rally Sweden saw five drivers leading in seven stages. Road opener Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen faced the challenge to sweep loose snow, but they slotted into second overall by the end of Friday. The Finnish crew soon overhauled overnight leader Neuville and Wydaeghe on the following day and held on to the lead to grab their third career victory. Evans and Martin were running second while chasing down the rally leaders, but their effort was undone when they crashed on the final day and retired from the event. Tänak and Järveoja also retired on Friday following a hybrid unit issue, but they rejoined the rally and won the Power Stage. Craig Breen and Paul Nagle also had a weekend to forget as they beached their Puma on just the second stage of the rally. They eventually finished the event in last position, but did collect one consolation point from the Power Stage.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The Croatia Rally oversaw a series of punctures, with surprisingly low-grip conditions on wet tarmac making the rally eventful. Championship leaders Rovanperä and Halttunen held a long-lived lead, which was over a minute at one point. However, a compromised tyre choice plus a flat tyre saw the lead snatched by Tänak and Järveoja of Hyundai after the penultimate stage. Rovanperä and Halttunen gave a final push at the Power Stage to overcome Tänak and Järveoja, and with it, a back-to-back victory and a commanding lead of twenty-nine points in the championships. The final podium spot was covered by Neuville and Wydaeghe, who were given a total of two-minute time penalty for late check-in, speeding during road section. The trouble-some season campaign of Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria is yet to start as they retired for the third rally in a row after crashing into the front garden of a neighbouring house.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Heading into the gravel seasons, championship leaders Rovanperä and Halttunen would become the road opener, but that did not sacrifice their performance. Their consistent pace at the opening day of Rally de Portugal saw them maximize the benefit from their rivals' troubles to acquire a better road position for Saturday. This was further transferred to blistering pace, as they overhauled long-time rally leader teammates Evans and Martin by the end of Saturday and eventually won their third event of the season, making it a hat-trick, with another Power Stage win. The victory also saw the Finnish crew increase their championship leads to a commanding advantage of forty-six points. The returning Hyundai crew of Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera put on a show with the Toyota crew of Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston, with the Hyundai pair coming out in front to round out of the final podium, edging out by just over two seconds.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: A couple of crews were battling for the lead as the Sardegna rally began, with Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm came out in the lead at the end of the first leg. However, the Finnish crew crashed out at the opening stage of the following day, handing the rally lead to Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja. The former world champions steadily increased their lead and eventually took the victory, ending their winning drought that lasted 462 days. Moving to Kenya, teams and crews had to face challenging conditions. While both M-Sport and Hyundai suffering, Toyota steered out of troubles and finished the event with a 1-2-3-4 finish, the first team to do so since Citroën Total WRT at the 2010 Rally Bulgaria. Championship leaders Rovanperä and Halttunen sealed the victory, their fourth of the season. The Finnish crew once again extended their lead in the championships, sixty-five points clear in the title race. The unstoppable form of Rovanperä and Halttunen continued in Estonia, where the Finnish crew claimed their fifth win in six rallies. Halfway through the season, their championship leads were stretching to a doughty eighty-three points.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: For the past five years, Toyota dominated the Rally Finland. However, the 2022 event was spoiled by the Hyundai crew of Tänak and Järveoja, who led the event from the start to finish but the first stage to secure their second win of the season. This helped the 2019 champions climbed up to second in the championships. The victory was also the first ever triumph in Finland for the South Korean manufacturer. Championship leaders Rovanperä and Halttunen were compromised by their road position on Friday, but they fought back to take the runner-up spot. Teammates Lappi and Ferm rounded out of the podium despite of a roll during the penultimate stage.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The second pure-asphalt event was held in Ypres, where several infamous junction cuts caught out several top runners, including all three M-Sport crews, local heroes Neuville and Wydaeghe and championship leaders Rovanperä and Halttunen. The tricky tarmac did not trap the Hyundai crew of Tänak and Järveoja, who fended off the Toyota pair of Evans and Martin to secure their third victory of the season. Lappi and Ferm achieved back-to-back podium finish, with Solberg and Edmondson completed the rally in a career-high fourth place. Hyundai carried on their form at Acropolis, finishing the rally with a first-ever 1-2-3 in team history, with Neuville and Wydaeghe took the victory. Meanwhile, Rovanperä and Halttunen only took four points from the weekend, and therefore their championship leads were slashed to fifty-three points.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Rovanperä and Halttunen turned the table around as they won the following event, which was enough for the Finn to secure their first world titles. At the age of 22 years and 1 day, Rovanperä also became the youngest World Rally Champion, breaking the previous record set by Colin McRae at the age of 27 years and 89 days in . Toyota also secured the manufacturers' title at the following round, with Ogier and Veillas — who sealed the first victory in his career — claimed the win.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The final round of the season, the Rally Japan started with the Hyundai of Sordo and Carrera destroyed by fire on the second stage. Major controversy started after SS4, when WRC-2 competitor Sami Pajari almost collided with a civilian vehicle that entered the stage route. With Ogier and new co-driver Landais collecting a puncture and Breen and new co-driver James Fulton crashing out, Evans and Martin took the early lead ahead of Neuville and Rovanpera at the end of Friday. Rovanperä and Halttunen later dropped down to 12th after changing a puncture and damaging a wheel, with Neuville and Wydaeghe surpassing Evans and Martin for the lead at the end of Saturday. Neuville and Wydaeghe eventually won the rally, with teammate Tänak and Järveoja completed a Hyundai 1-2 at their final outing for the team. Local hero Katsuta and Johnston rounded out of the podium. An early puncture and a late struggling in the rain on Sunday saw Evans further dropped down to fifth.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event. In the manufacturers' championship, teams are eligible to nominate three crews to score points, but these points are only awarded to the top two classified finishers representing a manufacturer and driving a 2022-specification Rally1 car. There are also five bonus points awarded to the winners of the Power Stage, four points for second place, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Power Stage points are awarded in the drivers', co-drivers' and manufacturers' championships.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The driver who recorded a top-ten finish was taken into account for the championship regardless of the categories.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: The co-driver who recorded a top-ten finish was taken into account for the championship regardless of the categories.


title: 2022 World Rally Championship

text: Only the best two results of each manufacturer in the respective overall classification and Power Stage at each rally were taken into account for the championship.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: , ), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", and , "to make") or silver. It is also called the elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and for achieving immortality; for many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal in alchemy. The philosopher's stone was the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest, enlightenment, and heavenly bliss. Efforts to discover the philosopher's stone were known as the Magnum Opus ("Great Work").


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The earliest known written mention of the philosopher's stone is in the "Cheirokmeta" by Zosimos of Panopolis (c. 300 AD). Alchemical writers assign a longer history. Elias Ashmole and the anonymous author of "Gloria Mundi" (1620) claim that its history goes back to Adam, who acquired the knowledge of the stone directly from God. This knowledge was said to be passed down through biblical patriarchs, giving them their longevity. The legend of the stone was also compared to the biblical history of the Temple of Solomon and the rejected cornerstone described in Psalm 118.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The theoretical roots outlining the stone's creation can be traced to Greek philosophy. Alchemists later used the classical elements, the concept of "anima mundi", and Creation stories presented in texts like Plato's "Timaeus" as analogies for their process. According to Plato, the four elements are derived from a common source or "prima materia" (first matter), associated with chaos. "Prima materia" is also the name alchemists assign to the starting ingredient for the creation of the philosopher's stone. The importance of this philosophical first matter persisted throughout the history of alchemy. In the seventeenth century, Thomas Vaughan writes, "the first matter of the stone is the very same with the first matter of all things."


title: Philosopher's stone

text: In the Byzantine Empire and the Arab empires, early medieval alchemists built upon the work of Zosimos. Byzantine and Arab alchemists were fascinated by the concept of metal transmutation and attempted to carry out the process. The eighth-century Muslim alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan (Latinized as "Geber") analyzed each classical element in terms of the four basic qualities. Fire was both hot and dry, earth cold and dry, water cold and moist, and air hot and moist. He theorized that every metal was a combination of these four principles, two of them interior and two exterior. From this premise, it was reasoned that the transmutation of one metal into another could be effected by the rearrangement of its basic qualities. This change would be mediated by a substance, which came to be called "xerion" in Greek and "al-iksir" in Arabic (from which the word "elixir" is derived). It was often considered to exist as a dry red powder (also known as "al-kibrit al-ahmar", red sulfur) made from a legendary stone—the philosopher's stone. The elixir powder came to be regarded as a crucial component of transmutation by later Arab alchemists.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: In the 11th century, there was a debate among Muslim world chemists on whether the transmutation of substances was possible. A leading opponent was the Persian polymath Avicenna (Ibn Sina), who discredited the theory of the transmutation of substances, stating, "Those of the chemical craft know well that no change can be effected in the different species of substances, though they can produce the appearance of such change."


title: Philosopher's stone

text: According to legend, the 13th-century scientist and philosopher, Albertus Magnus, is said to have discovered the philosopher's stone. Magnus does not confirm he discovered the stone in his writings, but he did record that he witnessed the creation of gold by "transmutation".


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The 16th-century Swiss alchemist Paracelsus ("Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim") believed in the existence of alkahest, which he thought to be an undiscovered element from which all other elements (earth, fire, water, air) were simply derivative forms. Paracelsus believed that this element was, in fact, the philosopher's stone.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The English philosopher Sir Thomas Browne in his spiritual testament "Religio Medici" (1643) identified the religious aspect of the quest for the philosopher's Stone when declaring:


title: Philosopher's stone

text: A mystical text published in the 17th century called the "Mutus Liber" appears to be a symbolic instruction manual for concocting a philosopher's stone. Called the "wordless book", it was a collection of 15 illustrations.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The equivalent of the philosopher's stone in Buddhism and Hinduism is the "Cintamani", also spelled as "Chintamani". It is also referred to as Paras/Parasmani (, ) or Paris ().


title: Philosopher's stone

text: In Mahayana Buddhism, "Chintamani" is held by the bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara and Ksitigarbha. It is also seen carried upon the back of the Lung ta (wind horse) which is depicted on Tibetan prayer flags. By reciting the Dharani of Chintamani, Buddhist tradition maintains that one attains the Wisdom of Buddhas, is able to understand the truth of the Buddhas, and turns afflictions into Bodhi. It is said to allow one to see the Holy Retinue of Amitabha and his assembly upon one's deathbed. In Tibetan Buddhist tradition the Chintamani is sometimes depicted as a luminous pearl and is in the possession of several different forms of the Buddha.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: Within Hinduism it is connected with the gods Vishnu and Ganesha. In Hindu tradition it is often depicted as a fabulous jewel in the possession of the Nāga king or as on the forehead of the Makara. The "Yoga Vasistha", originally written in the tenth century AD, contains a story about the philosopher's stone.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: A great Hindu sage wrote about the spiritual accomplishment of Gnosis using the metaphor of the philosopher's stone. Sant Jnaneshwar (1275–1296) wrote a commentary with 17 references to the philosopher's stone that explicitly transmutes base metal into gold. The seventh-century Siddhar Thirumoolar in his classic "Tirumandhiram" explains man's path to immortal divinity. In verse 2709 he declares that the name of God, Shiva is an alchemical vehicle that turns the body into immortal gold.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: Another depiction of the philosopher's stone is the Shyāmantaka Mani (). According to Hindu mythology, the Shyāmantaka Mani is a ruby, capable of preventing all-natural calamities such as droughts, floods, etc. around its owner, as well as producing eight bhāras (≈170 pounds or 77 kilograms) of gold, every day.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The most commonly mentioned properties are the ability to transmute base metals into gold or silver, and the ability to heal all forms of illness and prolong the life of any person who consumes a small part of the philosopher's stone diluted in wine. Other mentioned properties include: creation of perpetually burning lamps, transmutation of common crystals into precious stones and diamonds, reviving of dead plants, creation of flexible or malleable glass, and the creation of a clone or homunculus.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: Numerous synonyms were used to make oblique reference to the stone, such as "white stone" ("calculus albus", identified with the "calculus candidus" of Revelation 2:17 which was taken as a symbol of the glory of heaven), "vitriol" (as expressed in the backronym "Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem"), also "lapis noster", "lapis occultus", "in water at the box", and numerous oblique, mystical or mythological references such as "Adam, Aer, Animal, Alkahest, Antidotus, Antimonium, Aqua benedicta, Aqua volans per aeram, Arcanum, Atramentum, Autumnus, Basilicus, Brutorum cor, Bufo, Capillus, Capistrum auri, Carbones, Cerberus, Chaos, Cinis cineris, Crocus, Dominus philosophorum, Divine quintessence, Draco elixir, Filius ignis, Fimus, Folium, Frater, Granum, Granum frumenti, Haematites, Hepar, Herba, Herbalis, Lac, Melancholia, Ovum philosophorum, Panacea salutifera, Pandora, Phoenix, Philosophic mercury, Pyrites, Radices arboris solares, Regina, Rex regum, Sal metallorum, Salvator terrenus, Talcum, Thesaurus, Ventus hermetis". Many of the medieval allegories for a Christ were adopted for the "lapis", and the Christ and the Stone were indeed taken as identical in a mystical sense. The name of "Stone" or "lapis" itself is informed by early Christian allegory, such as Priscillian (4th century), who stated,


title: Philosopher's stone

text: In some texts, it is simply called "stone", or our stone, or in the case of Thomas Norton's Ordinal, "oure delycious stone". The stone was frequently praised and referred to in such terms.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: It may be noted that the Latin expression , as well as the Arabic from which the Latin derives, both employ the plural form of the word for "philosopher". Thus a literal translation would be "philosophers' stone" rather than "philosopher's stone".


title: Philosopher's stone

text: Descriptions of the philosopher's stone are numerous and various. According to alchemical texts, the stone of the philosophers came in two varieties, prepared by an almost identical method: white (for the purpose of making silver), and red (for the purpose of making gold), the white stone being a less matured version of the red stone. Some ancient and medieval alchemical texts leave clues to the physical appearance of the stone of the philosophers, specifically the red stone. It is often said to be orange (saffron colored) or red when ground to powder. Or in a solid form, an intermediate between red and purple, transparent and glass-like. The weight is spoken of as being heavier than gold, and it is soluble in any liquid, and incombustible in fire.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: Alchemical authors sometimes suggest that the stone's descriptors are metaphorical. The appearance is expressed geometrically in Michael Maier's "Atalanta Fugiens" Emblem XXI: "Make of a man and woman a circle; then a quadrangle; out of this a triangle; make again a circle, and you will have the Stone of the Wise. Thus is made the stone, which thou canst not discover, unless you, through diligence, learn to understand this geometrical teaching." He further describes in greater detail the metaphysical nature of the meaning of the emblem as a divine union of feminine and masculine principles:


title: Philosopher's stone

text: Rupescissa uses the imagery of the Christian passion, saying that it ascends "from the sepulcher of the Most Excellent King, shining and glorious, resuscitated from the dead and wearing a red diadem...".


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The various names and attributes assigned to the philosopher's stone have led to long-standing speculation on its composition and source. Exoteric candidates have been found in metals, plants, rocks, chemical compounds, and bodily products such as hair, urine, and eggs. Justus von Liebig states that 'it was indispensable that every substance accessible... should be observed and examined'. Alchemists once thought a key component in the creation of the stone was a mythical element named carmot.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: Esoteric hermetic alchemists may reject work on exoteric substances, instead directing their search for the philosopher's stone inward. Though esoteric and exoteric approaches are sometimes mixed, it is clear that some authors "are not concerned with material substances but are employing the language of exoteric alchemy for the sole purpose of expressing theological, philosophical, or mystical beliefs and aspirations". New interpretations continue to be developed around spagyric, chemical, and esoteric schools of thought.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The transmutation mediated by the stone has also been interpreted as a psychological process. Idries Shah devotes a chapter of his book, "The Sufis", to provide a detailed analysis of the symbolic significance of alchemical work with the philosopher's stone. His analysis is based in part on a linguistic interpretation through Arabic equivalents of one of the terms for the stone (Azoth) as well as for sulfur, salt, and mercury.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The philosopher's stone is created by the alchemical method known as The Magnum Opus or The Great Work. Often expressed as a series of color changes or chemical processes, the instructions for creating the philosopher's stone are varied. When expressed in colors, the work may pass through phases of nigredo, albedo, citrinitas, and rubedo. When expressed as a series of chemical processes it often includes seven or twelve stages concluding in multiplication, and projection.


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The philosopher's stone has been an inspiration, plot feature, or subject of innumerable artistic works: animations, comics, films, musical compositions, novels, and video games. Examples include "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," "Fullmetal Alchemist, and" "The Mystery of Mamo."


title: Philosopher's stone

text: The philosopher's stone is an important motif in Gothic fiction, and originated in William Godwin's 1799 novel "St. Leon".


title: Scottish Fold

text: The Scottish Fold is a breed of domestic cat with a natural dominant gene mutation that affects cartilage throughout the body, causing the ears to "fold", bending forward and down towards the front of the head, which gives the cat what is often described as an "owl-like" appearance.


title: Scottish Fold

text: Originally called lop-eared or lops after the lop-eared rabbit, "Scottish Fold" became the breed's name in 1966. Depending on registries, longhaired Scottish Folds are varyingly known as Highland Fold, Scottish Fold Longhair, Longhair Fold and Coupari.


title: Scottish Fold

text: The original Scottish Fold was a white barn cat named Susie, who was found at a farm near Coupar Angus in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1961. Susie's ears had an unusual fold in their middle, making her resemble an owl. When Susie had kittens, two of them were born with folded ears, and one was acquired by William Ross, a neighbouring farmer and cat-fancier. Ross registered the breed with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) in the United Kingdom in 1966 and started to breed Scottish Fold kittens with the help of geneticist Pat Turner. The breeding program produced 76 kittens in the first three years – 42 with folded ears and 34 with straight ears. The conclusion from this was that the ear mutation is due to a simple dominant gene.


title: Scottish Fold

text: Susie's only reproducing offspring was a female Fold named Snooks who was also white; a second kitten was neutered shortly after birth. Three months after Snooks' birth, Susie was killed by a car. All Scottish Fold cats share a common ancestry to Susie.


title: Scottish Fold

text: The breed was not accepted for showing in Europe and the GCCF withdrew registrations in 1971 due to crippling deformity of the limbs and tail in some cats and concerns about genetic difficulties and ear problems such as infection, mites, and deafness, but the Folds were exported to America and the breed continued to be established using crosses with British Shorthairs and American Shorthairs. Since the initial concerns were brought, the Fold breed has not had the mite and infection problems, though wax buildup in the ears may be greater than in other cats. The concerns about deformities may have been caused by osteochondrodysplasia, which causes abnormalities in bone and cartilage throughout the body.


title: Scottish Fold

text: The rare distinctive physical traits of the breed, combined with their reputation as unusually loving companions, make Folds highly sought-after pets and Fold kittens typically cost considerably more than kittens of more common breeds. Scottish folds are also popular among celebrities, one of them being American singer Taylor Swift, who has named her two Scottish fold cats after well-known fictional characters – "Meredith Grey", "Olivia Benson".


title: Scottish Fold

text: Scottish Fold kittens that do not develop folded ears are known as Scottish Straights. The original cats only had one fold in their ears, but due to selective breeding, breeders have increased the fold to a double or triple crease that causes the ear to lie totally flat against the head.


title: Scottish Fold

text: The Scottish Fold is a medium to large sized cat, which can come in any color, even calico. Males typically weigh , and females weigh . The Fold's entire body structure, especially the head and face, is generally rounded, and the eyes large and round. The nose is short with a gentle curve, and the cat's body is well-rounded with a padded look and medium-to-short legs. The head is domed at the top, and the neck very short. The broadly-spaced eyes give the Scottish Fold a "sweet expression". The scottish fold's ears are folded hence the name "Scottish Fold".


title: Scottish Fold

text: Scottish Folds can be either long- or short-haired, and they may have nearly any coat color or combination of colours (including white). Shorthair Scottish Folds have thick and soft fur, with longhair Folds having longer and exceptionally dense fur around their upper thighs, toes, ears, and tail.


title: Scottish Fold

text: Scottish Folds, whether with folded ears or with normal ears, are typically good-natured and placid and adjust to other animals within a household extremely well. They tend to become very attached to their human caregivers and are by nature quite affectionate. Folds also receive high marks for playfulness, grooming and intelligence. Scottish Folds like to be outdoors and enjoy outdoor games and activities. Loneliness is something they heavily dislike.


title: Scottish Fold

text: Folds are also known for sleeping on their backs. Scottish Folds typically have soft voices and display a complex repertoire of meows and purrs not found in better-known breeds. Folds are also known for sitting with their legs stretched out and their paws on their belly. This position is called the "Buddha Position".


title: Scottish Fold

text: An early study suggested that the fold is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. A later study suggested an incomplete dominance. A cat with folded ears may have either one (heterozygous) or two copies (homozygous) of the dominant fold gene (Fd). A cat with normal ears should have two copies of the normal gene (fd).


title: Scottish Fold

text: Mating a homozygous fold with any cat will produce all folds, but because homozygous folds are prone to severe health issues, breeding for them is generally considered unethical. A homozygous to normal mating will produce only heterozygous folds but presumably in ethical breeding programs, there will be no homozygous cats available to breed from.


title: Scottish Fold

text: The only generally accepted breeding gives a 50% chance of producing heterozygous folds and 50% chance of producing progeny with normal genes.


title: Scottish Fold

text: There is suspicion that some non-fold litters are genetically heterozygous folds but because of very low expression of the gene, appear to be straight-eared. Such kittens may develop folded ears initially which then straighten back out. Because of this there are suggestions by some breeders to avoid mating Folds with straight-eared Scottish Folds but only use British Shorthairs (BSH) as outcross. If Scottish Shorthairs are to be used, they should be test mated to a BSH to make sure that they are not genetically folds. If such apparent straight-eared cats are mated with a fold, there is a 75% chance of folds (25% homozygous folds, 50% heterozygous folds) and 25% chance of straight ears.


title: Scottish Fold

text: In 2016 the genetic mutation responsible for the folded ears and the osteochondrodysplasia (OCD) was identified. It was found in a gene encoding a calcium permeable ion channel, transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 4 (TRPV4). The mutation is a V342F substitution (c.1024G>T) in the fifth ankyrin repeat within the N-terminal cytoplasmic domain. It was also found in a human patient with metatropic dysplasia.


title: Scottish Fold

text: Scottish folds are also prone to degenerative joint disease (a type of arthritis), most commonly affecting the tail, ankles, and knees which can result in reduced range of motion.


title: Scottish Fold

text: Osteochondrodysplasia (OCD) is a developmental abnormality that affects cartilage and bone development throughout the body. This condition causes the ear fold in the breed and, in studies conducted so far, all Fold cats are affected by it. Homozygous Folds are affected by malformed bone structures and develop severe painful degenerative joint diseases at an early age. This condition also affects heterozygous Folds, but usually to a much lesser extent and at a later age. Some will be asymptomatic..


title: Scottish Fold

text: In a study of Rorden four radiologists, blinded to the ear phenotype, assessed radiographs of 22 Scottish Fold/Straight cats. All cats were genotyped showing the heterozygous mutation in all folded ear cats but not in straight cats. Each reviewer gave on average the folded ear cats a worse "severity score", however the images showed much milder signs than previously published. The authors state that the severity of OCD in heterozygous cats is very variable and subtle. This could be due to other modifier genes or nurture (climate, diet, exercise). So it was shown that the least affected folded ear cat was given identical or less score than the highest rated straight ear cat.


title: Scottish Fold

text: In a case study of Takanosu two Scottish Fold mixed cats with severe exostosis in the hind leg are described. Interestingly both cats were homozygous for the TrpV4 mutation, assuming the parental cats had both the c.1024G>T mutation in the TrpV4 gene. This reinforces the hypothesis that mostly homozygous Scottish Folds are severely affected. On the other hand it is concerning that still Scottish Fold cats are bred with each other, also breeding with other cat strains with skeletal abnormalities (Munchkin, American Curl) should be avoided.


title: Scottish Fold

text: While ethical breeders breed Fold/non-Fold and not Fold/Fold (in the same way Munchkins are bred) to avoid producing homozygous Folds, because heterozygous Folds can also develop progressive arthritis of varying severity, some researchers recommend abandoning the breeding of Fold cats entirely. For this reason, the breed is not accepted by either the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy or the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe).


title: Scottish Fold

text: CFA breeders have stated that using only Fold to non-Fold breeding has eliminated problems with stiff tails, shortened tails and bone lesions. In the FIFe discussion, the representative for British breeders claimed that they were not seeing the problem in their cats, and that the study which showed that all heterozygous also have the condition had a small sample size. An offer of free X-ray radiography was presented to 300 breeders to find a Fold cat with healthy hind legs, but it was never taken up. A similar offer was set up by the World Cat Federation together with researcher Leslie Lyons but there was also no response. FiFe stated that they will not consider recognizing Scottish Folds if breeders will not allow their breed to be scrutinized.


title: Scottish Fold

text: In a report on Scottish Folds, the Breed Standards Advisory Council (BSAC) for New Zealand Cat Fancy (NZCF) states that "Breeders may not have appreciated the strength of the evidence that heterozygous cats can and do develop [feline] OCD." While research shows that all heterozygous Folds develop OCD, and anecdotal evidence shows that heterozygous Folds can and do develop OCD, they do not show whether mildly affected parents are more likely to have mildly affected offspring. They also do not show what percentage of Folds are severely affected. The report states that there is not enough information to justify banning Scottish Fold matings, but enough to justify a level of concern. Recommended guidelines include:


title: Scottish Fold

text: The short novel "The Cat Who Went to Paris" by Peter Gethers features "the most famous Scottish Fold" according to Grace Sutton of The Cat Fanciers' Association. The book documents the life of Gethers and his Fold, Norton, from their first meeting to Norton's eventual death and Gethers' experiences after the loss.


title: Scottish Fold

text: Dai J, Kim OH, Cho TJ, Schmidt-Rimpler M, Tonoki H, Takikawa K,et a. Novel and recurrent TRPV4 mutations and their association with distinct phenotypes within the TRPV4 dysplasia family. J Med Genet. 2010 Oct;47(10):704-9. doi: 10.1136/jmg.2009.075358. Epub 2010 Jun 24. PMID: 20577006.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pressure, a colligative property that is driven by chemical potential differences of the solvent, a thermodynamic parameter. Reverse osmosis can remove many types of dissolved and suspended chemical species as well as biological ones (principally bacteria) from water, and is used in both industrial processes and the production of potable water. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To be "selective", this membrane should not allow large molecules or ions through the pores (holes), but should allow smaller components of the solution (such as solvent molecules, e.g., water, HO) to pass freely.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In the normal osmosis process, the solvent naturally moves from an area of low solute concentration (high water potential), through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration (low water potential). The driving force for the movement of the solvent is the reduction in the Gibbs free energy of the system when the difference in solvent concentration on either side of a membrane is reduced, generating osmotic pressure due to the solvent moving into the more concentrated solution. Applying an external pressure to reverse the natural flow of pure solvent, thus, is reverse osmosis. The process is similar to other membrane technology applications.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Reverse osmosis differs from filtration in that the mechanism of fluid flow is by osmosis across a membrane. The predominant removal mechanism in membrane filtration is straining, or size exclusion, where the pores are 0.01 micrometers or larger, so the process can theoretically achieve perfect efficiency regardless of parameters such as the solution's pressure and concentration. Reverse osmosis instead involves solvent diffusion across a membrane that is either nonporous or uses nanofiltration with pores 0.001 micrometers in size. The predominant removal mechanism is from differences in solubility or diffusivity, and the process is dependent on pressure, solute concentration, and other conditions.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Reverse osmosis is most commonly known for its use in drinking water purification from seawater, removing the salt and other effluent materials from the water molecules.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: A process of osmosis through semipermeable membranes was first observed in 1748 by Jean-Antoine Nollet. For the following 200 years, osmosis was only a phenomenon observed in the laboratory. In 1950, the University of California at Los Angeles first investigated desalination of seawater using semipermeable membranes. Researchers from both University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Florida successfully produced fresh water from seawater in the mid-1950s, but the flux was too low to be commercially viable until the discovery at University of California at Los Angeles by Sidney Loeb and Srinivasa Sourirajan at the National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, of techniques for making asymmetric membranes characterized by an effectively thin "skin" layer supported atop a highly porous and much thicker substrate region of the membrane. John Cadotte, of Filmtec corporation, discovered that membranes with particularly high flux and low salt passage could be made by interfacial polymerization of "m"-phenylene diamine and trimesoyl chloride. Cadotte's patent on this process was the subject of litigation and has since expired. Almost all commercial reverse-osmosis membrane is now made by this method. By 2019, there were approximately 16,000 desalination plants operating around the world, producing around of desalinated water for human use. Around half of this capacity was in the Middle East and North Africa region.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In 1977 Cape Coral, Florida became the first municipality in the United States to use the RO process on a large scale with an initial operating capacity of 11.35 million liters (3 million US gal) per day. By 1985, due to the rapid growth in population of Cape Coral, the city had the largest low-pressure reverse-osmosis plant in the world, capable of producing 56.8 million liters (15 million US gal) per day (MGD).


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Formally, reverse osmosis is the process of forcing a solvent from a region of high solute concentration through a semipermeable membrane to a region of low-solute concentration by applying a pressure in excess of the osmotic pressure. The largest and most important application of reverse osmosis is the separation of pure water from seawater and brackish waters; seawater or brackish water is pressurized against one surface of the membrane, causing transport of salt-depleted water across the membrane and emergence of potable drinking water from the low-pressure side.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: The membranes used for reverse osmosis have a dense layer in the polymer matrix—either the skin of an asymmetric membrane or an interfacially polymerized layer within a thin-film-composite membrane—where the separation occurs. In most cases, the membrane is designed to allow only water to pass through this dense layer while preventing the passage of solutes (such as salt ions). This process requires that a high pressure be exerted on the high-concentration side of the membrane, usually 2–17 bar (30–250 psi) for fresh and brackish water, and 40–82 bar (600–1200 psi) for seawater, which has around 27 bar (390 psi) natural osmotic pressure that must be overcome. This process is best known for its use in desalination (removing the salt and other minerals from sea water to produce fresh water), but since the early 1970s, it has also been used to purify fresh water for medical, industrial and domestic applications.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Around the world, household drinking water purification systems, including a reverse osmosis step, are commonly used for improving water for drinking and cooking.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In some systems, the carbon prefilter is omitted, and a cellulose triacetate membrane is used. CTA (cellulose triacetate) is a paper by-product membrane bonded to a synthetic layer and is made to allow contact with chlorine in the water. These require a small amount of chlorine in the water source to prevent bacteria from forming on it. The typical rejection rate for CTA membranes is 85–95%.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: The cellulose triacetate membrane is prone to rotting unless protected by chlorinated water, while the thin-film composite membrane is prone to breaking down under the influence of chlorine. A thin-film composite (TFC) membrane is made of synthetic material, and requires chlorine to be removed before the water enters the membrane. To protect the TFC membrane elements from chlorine damage, carbon filters are used as pre-treatment in all residential reverse osmosis systems. TFC membranes have a higher rejection rate of 95–98% and a longer life than CTA membranes.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Portable reverse osmosis water processors are sold for personal water purification in various locations. To work effectively, the water feeding to these units should be under some pressure (280 kPa (40 psi) or greater is the norm). Portable reverse osmosis water processors can be used by people who live in rural areas without clean water, far away from the city's water pipes. Rural people filter river or ocean water themselves, as the device is easy to use (saline water may need special membranes). Some travelers on long boating, fishing, or island camping trips, or in countries where the local water supply is polluted or substandard, use reverse osmosis water processors coupled with one or more ultraviolet sterilizers.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In the production of bottled mineral water, the water passes through a reverse osmosis water processor to remove pollutants and microorganisms. In European countries, though, such processing of natural mineral water (as defined by a European directive) is not allowed under European law. In practice, a fraction of the living bacteria can and do pass through reverse osmosis membranes through minor imperfections, or bypass the membrane entirely through tiny leaks in surrounding seals. Thus, complete reverse osmosis systems may include additional water treatment stages that use ultraviolet light or ozone to prevent microbiological contamination.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Membrane pore sizes can vary from 0.1 to 5,000 nm depending on filter type. Particle filtration removes particles of 1 µm or larger. Microfiltration removes particles of 50 nm or larger. Ultrafiltration removes particles of roughly 3 nm or larger. Nanofiltration removes particles of 1 nm or larger. Reverse osmosis is in the final category of membrane filtration, hyperfiltration, and removes particles larger than 0.1 nm. For the purposes of household water filtration when there is no need to remove excessive dissolved minerals (soften water), the alternative to reverse osmosis filtration is an activated carbon filter with a microfiltration membrane.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: A solar-powered desalination unit produces potable water from saline water by using a photovoltaic system that converts solar power into the required energy for reverse osmosis. Due to the extensive availability of sunlight across different geographies, solar-powered reverse osmosis lends itself well to drinking water purification in remote settings lacking an electricity grid. Moreover, solar energy overcomes the usually high-energy operating costs as well as greenhouse emissions of conventional reverse osmosis systems, making it a sustainable freshwater solution compatible to developing contexts. For example, a solar-powered desalination unit designed for remote communities has been successfully tested in the Northern Territory of Australia.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: While the intermittent nature of sunlight and its variable intensity throughout the day makes PV efficiency prediction difficult and desalination during night time challenging, several solutions exist. For example, batteries, which provide the energy required for desalination in non-sunlight hours can be used to store solar energy in daytime. Apart from the use of conventional batteries, alternative methods for solar energy storage exist. For example, thermal energy storage systems solve this storage problem and ensure constant performance even during non-sunlight hours and cloudy days, improving overall efficiency.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: A reverse osmosis water purification unit (ROWPU) is a portable, self-contained water treatment plant. Designed for military use, it can provide potable water from nearly any water source. There are many models in use by the United States armed forces and the Canadian Forces. Some models are containerized, some are trailers, and some are vehicles unto themselves.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Each branch of the United States armed forces has their own series of reverse osmosis water purification unit models, but they are all similar. The water is pumped from its raw source into the reverse osmosis water purification unit module, where it is treated with a polymer to initiate coagulation. Next, it is run through a multi-media filter where it undergoes primary treatment by removing turbidity. It is then pumped through a cartridge filter which is usually spiral-wound cotton. This process clarifies the water of any particles larger than 5 µm and eliminates almost all turbidity.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: The clarified water is then fed through a high-pressure piston pump into a series of vessels where it is subject to reverse osmosis. The product water is free of 90.00–99.98% of the raw water's total dissolved solids and by military standards, should have no more than 1000–1500 parts per million by measure of electrical conductivity. It is then disinfected with chlorine and stored for later use.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Rain water collected from storm drains is purified with reverse osmosis water processors and used for landscape irrigation and industrial cooling in Los Angeles and other cities, as a solution to the problem of water shortages.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In industry, reverse osmosis removes minerals from boiler water at power plants. The water is distilled multiple times. It must be as pure as possible so it does not leave deposits on the machinery or cause corrosion. The deposits inside or outside the boiler tubes may result in under-performance of the boiler, reducing its efficiency and resulting in poor steam production, hence poor power production at the turbine.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: It is also used to clean effluent and brackish groundwater. The effluent in larger volumes (more than 500 m/day) should be treated in an effluent treatment plant first, and then the clear effluent is subjected to reverse osmosis system. Treatment cost is reduced significantly and membrane life of the reverse osmosis system is increased.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Reverse osmosis process for water purification does not require thermal energy. Flow-through reverse osmosis systems can be regulated by high-pressure pumps. The recovery of purified water depends upon various factors, including membrane sizes, membrane pore size, temperature, operating pressure, and membrane surface area.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In 2002, Singapore announced that a process named NEWater would be a significant part of its future water plans. It involves using reverse osmosis to treat domestic wastewater before discharging the NEWater back into the reservoirs.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In addition to desalination, reverse osmosis is a more economical operation for concentrating food liquids (such as fruit juices) than conventional heat-treatment processes. Research has been done on concentration of orange juice and tomato juice. Its advantages include a lower operating cost and the ability to avoid heat-treatment processes, which makes it suitable for heat-sensitive substances such as the protein and enzymes found in most food products.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Reverse osmosis is extensively used in the dairy industry for the production of whey protein powders and for the concentration of milk to reduce shipping costs. In whey applications, the whey (liquid remaining after cheese manufacture) is concentrated with reverse osmosis from 6% total solids to 10–20% total solids before ultrafiltration processing. The ultrafiltration retentate can then be used to make various whey powders, including whey protein isolate. Additionally, the ultrafiltration permeate, which contains lactose, is concentrated by reverse osmosis from 5% total solids to 18–22% total solids to reduce crystallization and drying costs of the lactose powder.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Although use of the process was once avoided in the wine industry, it is now widely understood and used. An estimated 60 reverse osmosis machines were in use in Bordeaux, France, in 2002. Known users include many of the elite-classed growths (Kramer) such as Château Léoville-Las Cases in Bordeaux.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In 1946, some maple syrup producers started using reverse osmosis to remove water from sap before the sap is boiled down to syrup. The use of reverse osmosis allows about 75–90% of the water to be removed from the sap, reducing energy consumption and exposure of the syrup to high temperatures. Microbial contamination and degradation of the membranes must be monitored.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: When beer at normal alcohol concentration is subject to reverse osmosis, both water and alcohol pass across the membrane more readily than the other components, leaving a "beer concentrate". The concentrate is then diluted with fresh water to restore the non-volatile components to their original intensity.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: For small-scale hydrogen production, reverse osmosis is sometimes used to prevent formation of mineral deposits on the surface of electrodes.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Many reef aquarium keepers use reverse osmosis systems for their artificial mixture of seawater. Ordinary tap water can contain excessive chlorine, chloramines, copper, nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, silicates, or many other chemicals detrimental to the sensitive organisms in a reef environment. Contaminants such as nitrogen compounds and phosphates can lead to excessive and unwanted algae growth. An effective combination of both reverse osmosis and deionization is the most popular among reef aquarium keepers, and is preferred above other water purification processes due to the low cost of ownership and minimal operating costs. Where chlorine and chloramines are found in the water, carbon filtration is needed before the membrane, as the common residential membrane used by reef keepers does not cope with these compounds.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Freshwater aquarists also use reverse osmosis systems to duplicate the very soft waters found in many tropical water bodies. Whilst many tropical fish can survive in suitably treated tap water, breeding can be impossible. Many aquatic shops sell containers of reverse osmosis water for this purpose.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: An increasingly popular method of cleaning windows is the so-called "water-fed pole" system. Instead of washing the windows with detergent in the conventional way, they are scrubbed with highly purified water, typically containing less than 10 ppm dissolved solids, using a brush on the end of a long pole which is wielded from ground level. Reverse osmosis is commonly used to purify the water.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Treatment with reverse osmosis is limited, resulting in low recoveries on high concentration (measured with electrical conductivity) and fouling of the RO membranes. Reverse osmosis applicability is limited by conductivity, organics, and scaling inorganic elements such as CaSO, Si, Fe and Ba. Low organic scaling can use two different technologies, one is using spiral wound membrane type of module, and for high organic scaling, high conductivity and higher pressure (up to 90 bars) disc tube modules with reverse-osmosis membranes can be used. Disc tube modules were redesigned for landfill leachate purification, that is usually contaminated with high levels of organic material. Due to the cross-flow with high velocity it is given a flow booster pump, that is recirculating the flow over the same membrane surface between 1.5 and 3 times before it is released as a concentrate. High velocity is also good against membrane scaling and allows successful membrane cleaning.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Areas that have either no or limited surface water or groundwater may choose to desalinate. Reverse osmosis is an increasingly common method of desalination, because of its relatively low energy consumption.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In recent years, energy consumption has dropped to around , with the development of more efficient energy recovery devices and improved membrane materials. According to the International Desalination Association, for 2011, reverse osmosis was used in 66% of installed desalination capacity (0.0445 of 0.0674 km³/day), and nearly all new plants. Other plants mainly use thermal distillation methods: multiple-effect distillation and Multi-Stage Flash.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Sea-water reverse-osmosis (SWRO) desalination, a membrane process, has been commercially used since the early 1970s. Its first practical use was demonstrated by Sidney Loeb from University of California at Los Angeles in Coalinga, California, and Srinivasa Sourirajan of National Research Council, Canada. Because no heating or phase changes are needed, energy requirements are low, around 3 kWh/m, in comparison to other processes of desalination, but are still much higher than those required for other forms of water supply, including reverse osmosis treatment of wastewater, at 0.1 to 1 kWh/m. Up to 50% of the seawater input can be recovered as fresh water, though lower recoveries may reduce membrane fouling and energy consumption.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Brackish water reverse osmosis refers to desalination of water with a lower salt content than sea water, usually from river estuaries or saline wells. The process is substantially the same as sea water reverse osmosis, but requires lower pressures and therefore less energy. Up to 80% of the feed water input can be recovered as fresh water, depending on feed salinity.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: The Ashkelon sea water reverse osmosis desalination plant in Israel is the largest in the world. The project was developed as a build-operate-transfer by a consortium of three international companies: Veolia water, IDE Technologies, and Elran.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Pretreatment is important when working with reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes due to the nature of their spiral-wound design. The material is engineered in such a fashion as to allow only one-way flow through the system. As such, the spiral-wound design does not allow for backpulsing with water or air agitation to scour its surface and remove solids. Since accumulated material cannot be removed from the membrane surface systems, they are highly susceptible to fouling (loss of production capacity). Therefore, pretreatment is a necessity for any reverse osmosis or nanofiltration system. Pretreatment in sea water reverse osmosis systems has four major components:


title: Reverse osmosis

text: The high pressure pump supplies the pressure needed to push water through the membrane, even as the membrane rejects the passage of salt through it. Typical pressures for brackish water range from 1.6 to 2.6 MPa (225 to 376 psi). In the case of seawater, they range from 5.5 to 8 MPa (800 to 1,180 psi). This requires a large amount of energy. Where energy recovery is used, part of the high pressure pump's work is done by the energy recovery device, reducing the system energy inputs.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: The membrane assembly consists of a pressure vessel with a membrane that allows feedwater to be pressed against it. The membrane must be strong enough to withstand whatever pressure is applied against it. Reverse-osmosis membranes are made in a variety of configurations, with the two most common configurations being spiral-wound and hollow-fiber.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Only a part of the saline feed water pumped into the membrane assembly passes through the membrane with the salt removed. The remaining "concentrate" flow passes along the saline side of the membrane to flush away the concentrated salt solution. The percentage of desalinated water produced versus the saline water feed flow is known as the "recovery ratio". This varies with the salinity of the feed water and the system design parameters: typically 20% for small seawater systems, 40% – 50% for larger seawater systems, and 80% – 85% for brackish water. The concentrate flow is at typically only 3 bar / 50 psi less than the feed pressure, and thus still carries much of the high-pressure pump input energy.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: The desalinated water purity is a function of the feed water salinity, membrane selection and recovery ratio. To achieve higher purity a second pass can be added which generally requires re-pumping. Purity expressed as total dissolved solids typically varies from 100 to 400 parts per million (ppm or mg/litre)on a seawater feed. A level of 500 ppm is generally accepted as the upper limit for drinking water, while the US Food and Drug Administration classifies mineral water as water containing at least 250 ppm.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Energy recovery can reduce energy consumption by 50% or more. Much of the high pressure pump input energy can be recovered from the concentrate flow, and the increasing efficiency of energy recovery devices has greatly reduced the energy needs of reverse osmosis desalination. Devices used, in order of invention, are:


title: Reverse osmosis

text: The desalinated water is stabilized to protect downstream pipelines and storage, usually by adding lime or caustic soda to prevent corrosion of concrete-lined surfaces. Liming material is used to adjust pH between 6.8 and 8.1 to meet the potable water specifications, primarily for effective disinfection and for corrosion control. Remineralisation may be needed to replace minerals removed from the water by desalination, although this process has proved to be costly and not very convenient if it is intended to meet mineral demand by humans and plants. The very same mineral demand that freshwater sources provided previously. For instance water from Israel's national water carrier typically contains dissolved magnesium levels of 20 to 25 mg/liter, while water from the Ashkelon plant has no magnesium. After farmers used this water, magnesium-deficiency symptoms appeared in crops, including tomatoes, basil, and flowers, and had to be remedied by fertilization. Current Israeli drinking water standards set a minimum calcium level of 20 mg/liter. The postdesalination treatment in the Ashkelon plant uses sulfuric acid to dissolve calcite (limestone), resulting in calcium


title: Reverse osmosis

text: concentration of 40 to 46 mg/liter. This is still lower than the 45 to 60 mg/liter found in typical Israeli fresh water.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Post-treatment consists of preparing the water for distribution after filtration. Reverse osmosis is an effective barrier to pathogens, but post-treatment provides secondary protection against compromised membranes and downstream problems. Disinfection by means of ultraviolet (UV) lamps (sometimes called germicidal or bactericidal) may be employed to sterilize pathogens which bypassed the reverse-osmosis process. Chlorination or chloramination (chlorine and ammonia) protects against pathogens which may have lodged in the distribution system downstream, such as from new construction, backwash, compromised pipes, etc.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Household reverse-osmosis units use a lot of water because they have low back pressure. Earlier they used to recover only 5 to 15% of the water entering the system. However, the latest RO water purifiers can recover 40 to 55% of water. The remainder is discharged as wastewater. Because wastewater carries with it the rejected contaminants, methods to recover this water are not practical for household systems. Wastewater is typically connected to the house drains and will add to the load on the household septic system. A reverse-osmosis unit delivering of treated water per day may discharge between of wastewater daily. Due to this very reason, National Green Tribunal of India proposed to ban RO water purification systems in areas where the total dissolved solids (TDS) measure in water is less than 500 mg/liter This has a disastrous consequence for mega cities like Delhi where large-scale use of household RO devices has increased the total water demand of the already water-parched National Capital Territory of India.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Large-scale industrial/municipal systems recover typically 75% to 80% of the feed water, or as high as 90%, because they can generate the high pressure needed for higher recovery reverse osmosis filtration. On the other hand, as recovery of wastewater increases in commercial operations, effective contaminant removal rates tend to become reduced, as evidenced by product water total dissolved solids levels.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Reverse osmosis per its construction removes both harmful contaminants present in the water, as well as some desirable minerals. Modern studies on this matter have been quite shallow, citing lack of funding and interest in such study, as re-mineralization on the treatment plants today is done to prevent pipeline corrosion without going into human health aspect. They do, however link to older, more thorough studies that at one hand show some relation between long-term health effects and consumption of water low on calcium and magnesium, on the other confess that none of these older studies comply to modern standards of research.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Depending upon the desired product, either the solvent or solute stream of reverse osmosis will be waste. For food concentration applications, the concentrated solute stream is the product and the solvent stream is waste. For water treatment applications, the solvent stream is purified water and the solute stream is concentrated waste. The solvent waste stream from food processing may be used as reclaimed water, but there may be fewer options for disposal of a concentrated waste solute stream. Ships may use marine dumping and coastal desalination plants typically use marine outfalls. Landlocked reverse osmosis plants may require evaporation ponds or injection wells to avoid polluting groundwater or surface runoff.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Since the 1970s, prefiltration of high-fouling waters with another larger-pore membrane, with less hydraulic energy requirement, has been evaluated and sometimes used. However, this means that the water passes through two membranes and is often repressurized, which requires more energy to be put into the system, and thus increases the cost.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: Other recent developmental work has focused on integrating reverse osmosis with electrodialysis to improve recovery of valuable deionized products, or to minimize the volume of concentrate requiring discharge or disposal.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In the last few years, many domestic RO water purifier companies have begun finding solution to this problem. The most promising solution amongst these appears to be LPHR. LPHR, or low-pressure high-recovery multistage RO process produces a very concentrated brine and freshwater at the same time. More importantly, it was found to be economically feasible for a water recovery  of more than  70% with an OPD between 58 and 65  bar to produce a freshwater product containing no more than 350  ppm TDS from a seawater feed with 35,000  ppm TDS.


title: Reverse osmosis

text: In the production of drinking water, the latest developments include nanoscale and graphene membranes.


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: My Brilliant Friend () is an Italian- and Neapolitan-language coming-of-age drama television series created by Saverio Costanzo for HBO, RAI and TIMvision. Named after the first of four novels in the Neapolitan Novels series by Elena Ferrante, the entire literary work will be adapted into four eight-episode seasons. The series is a co-production between Italian production companies Wildside, Fandango, The Apartment, Mowe and international film groups Umedia and Fremantle.


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: The first two episodes were presented at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, in 2018. The first season premiered on HBO on November 18, 2018, and on Rai 1 and TIMvision on November 27, 2018. A second season, based on Ferrante's second Neapolitan Novel and titled "My Brilliant Friend: The Story of a New Name" (), was confirmed in December 2018, and premiered on Rai 1 on February 10, 2020, and on HBO on March 16, 2020. The first two episodes of the second season were screened in selected Italian cinemas from January 27 to 29, 2020.


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: In April 2020, the series was renewed for a third season, based on the third novel in the series, "Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay". The eight-episode third season premiered on Rai 1 on February 6, 2022, and on HBO on February 28, 2022. In March 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth and final season, based on the final novel in Ferrante's series: "The Story of the Lost Child".


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: Commissioned by Rai Fiction, HBO and TIMvision, the first season was produced by Italian production companies Wildside and Fandango and international film group Umedia. TIMvision withdrew from the project after the first season, while production companies The Apartment and Mowe joined production for the second season.


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: On February 18, 2020, Gaia Girace announced that she would leave the series after playing Lila in three episodes of the third season, as a new and older actress would be cast for the following episodes. However, the director of the third season, Daniele Luchetti, later opted to retain Girace and Mazzucco for the duration of the season.


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: The soundtrack album for the first season was released by Deutsche Grammophon on December 7, 2018, for digital download. It was preceded by the release of the single "Elena & Lila" on November 30, 2018.


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: The soundtrack album for the second season was released by Deutsche Grammophon on May 1, 2020, for digital download. The soundtrack features material from Richter's solo discography.


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: The soundtrack album for the third season was released by Deutsche Grammophon on March 4, 2022, for digital download. The soundtrack features material from Richter's solo discography.


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: The series has received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a 93% "certified fresh" rating with an average score of 8.4 out of 10 based on 57 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, ""My Brilliant Friend" is an expansive epic that gleans rapturous beauty from the most desolate of circumstances, but it is the intimacy between the central duo – and the remarkable performances that bring them to life – that audiences will remember most vividly". On Metacritic, it has a score of 87 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett of "The Guardian" stated "How revolutionary it still feels to see female friendship explored onscreen in this way. It goes without saying that it takes the Bechdel test and turns it into ragù."


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a 100% "certified fresh" rating with an average score of 9.5 out of 10 based on 15 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, "Gorgeously shot and full of incredible performances, "My Brilliant Friend"s second season expands its small world with rich results." On Metacritic, it has a score of 92 out of 100 based on 8 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: My Brilliant Friend (TV series)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has a 100% "certified fresh" rating with an average score of 9.2 out of 10 based on 11 reviews. On Metacritic, it has a score of 96 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 28 sports and 302 events, one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics. This was the first time China had hosted the Olympic Games, and the third time the Summer Olympic Games had been held in East Asia, following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. These were also the second Summer Olympic Games to be held in a communist state, the first being the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union (with venues in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Estonia).


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, having won a majority of votes from members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after two rounds of voting. The Government of the People's Republic of China promoted the 2008 Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transport systems. 37 venues were used to host the events, including twelve constructed specifically for the 2008 Games. The equestrian events were held in Hong Kong, making these the third Olympics for which the events were held under the jurisdiction of two different NOCs. The sailing events were contested in Qingdao, while the football events took place across several different cities.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: The official logo for the 2008 Games, titled "Dancing Beijing "(舞动北京), created by Guo Chunning (郭春宁), featured the Chinese character for "capital" (, stylized into the shape of a human being) in reference to the host city. The 2008 Olympics were watched by 3.5 billion people worldwide, and featured the longest distance for an Olympic Torch relay. The 2008 Games also set numerous world and Olympic records, and were the most expensive Summer Olympics of all time, and the second most expensive overall, after the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. The opening ceremony was lauded by spectators and numerous international presses as spectacular, spellbinding, and by many accounts, "the greatest ever in the history of Olympics". Beijing hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics, making it the first city ever to host both the Summer and Winter Games.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: An unprecedented 87 countries won at least one medal during the 2008 Games. Host nation China won the most gold medals (48), and became the seventh different team to top an overall Summer Olympics medal tally, winning a total of 100 medals overall. The United States placed second in the gold medal tally but won the highest number of medals overall (112). The third place in the gold medal tally was achieved by Russia.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: This Olympic Games marked the return of the Summer Olympic Games to Asia after the 1988 Olympics in South Korea. It was the first Olympics for Serbia as a separate state since 1912 and the first ever for Montenegro, having separated from Serbia in 2006. It was also the first Olympics for Nepal as a republic, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu. Mongolia and Panama each won their first ever Olympic gold medal. In addition, Afghanistan, Mauritius, Serbia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Togo won their first ever Olympic medals at these Games. North Korea, having symbolically marched with South Korea as one team at the opening ceremonies of the preceding three Games that it entered (2000 in Sydney, 2004 in Athens, and 2006 in Turin), paraded separately this time.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: Under the direction of Liu Qi, Beijing was elected as the host city for the 2008 Summer Olympics on 13 July 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, defeating bids from Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka. Prior to the session, five other cities (Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and Seville) had submitted bids to the IOC, but failed to make the short list chosen by the IOC Executive Committee in 2000. After the first round of voting, Beijing held a significant lead over the other four candidates. Osaka received only six votes and was eliminated. In the second round, Beijing was supported by a majority of voters, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds. Toronto's bid was its fifth failure since 1960 (failed bids for 1960, 1964, 1976 and 1996 Games, losing to Rome, Tokyo, Montreal and Atlanta).


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: Members of the IOC did not disclose their votes, but news reports speculated that broad international support led to China's selection, especially from developing nations that had received assistance from China to construct stadiums. The size of China, its increased enforcement of doping controls, and sympathy concerning its loss of the 2000 Summer Olympics to Sydney were all factors in the decision. Eight years earlier, Beijing had led every round of voting for the 2000 Summer Olympics before losing to Sydney by two votes in the final round.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: Human rights concerns expressed by Amnesty International and politicians in both Europe and the United States were considered by the delegates, according to IOC Executive Director François Carrard. Carrard and others suggested that the selection might lead to improvements in human rights in China. In addition, many IOC delegates who had formerly been athletes expressed concern about heat and air quality during the Games, considering the high levels of air pollution in Beijing. China outlined plans to address these environmental concerns in its bid application.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: The "Oxford Olympics Study 2016" estimates the outturn cost of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics at US$6.8 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 2% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, (i) "operational costs" incurred by the organizing committee to stage the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii) "direct capital costs" incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. Indirect capital costs are "not" included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The Beijing Olympics' cost of US$6.8 billion compares with costs of US$4.6 billion for Rio 2016 and US$15 billion for London 2012. The average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is US$5.2 billion.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: On 6 March 2009, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games reported that total spending on the Games was "generally as much as that of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games", which was equivalent to about US$15 billion. They went on to claim that surplus revenues from the Games would exceed the original target of $16 million. Other reports, however, estimated the total costs from $40 to $44 billion, which would make the Games "far and away the most expensive ever".


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: Its budget was later exceeded by the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which suffered from major cost overruns; the 2014 Winter Olympics costed roughly US$50 billion in public funding.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: By May 2007 the construction of all 31 Beijing-based Olympic Games venues had begun. The Chinese government renovated and constructed six venues outside Beijing, and constructed 59 training facilities. The largest structures built were the Beijing National Stadium, Beijing National Indoor Stadium, Beijing National Aquatics Center, Peking University Gymnasium, Olympic Green Convention Center, Olympic Green, and Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. Almost 85% of the construction budget for the six main venues was funded by $2.1 billion (RMB¥17.4 billion) in corporate bids and tenders. Investments were expected from corporations seeking ownership rights after the Olympics. Some events were held outside Beijing, namely football in Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Tianjin; sailing in Qingdao; and, because of the "uncertainties of equine diseases and major difficulties in establishing a disease-free zone", the equestrian events were held in Hong Kong.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: The showpiece of the 2008 Summer Olympics was the Beijing National Stadium, nicknamed "The Bird's Nest" because of its nest-like skeletal structure. The stadium hosted both the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the athletics competition. Construction of the venue began on 24 December 2003. The Guangdong Olympic Stadium was originally planned, constructed, and completed in 2001 to help host the Games, but a decision was made to construct a new stadium in Beijing. In 2001, the city held a bidding process to select the best arena design. Several criteria were required of each design, including flexibility for post-Olympics use, a retractable roof, and low maintenance costs. The entry list was narrowed to thirteen final designs. The bird's nest model submitted by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron in collaboration with Li Xinggang of China Architecture Design and Research Group (CADG) was selected as the top design by both a professional panel and by a broader audience during a public exhibition. The selection of the design became official in April 2003. Construction of the stadium was a joint venture among the original designers, project architect Stefan Marbach, artist Ai Weiwei, and a group of CADG architects led by Li Xinggang. Its $423 million cost was funded by the state-owned corporate conglomerate CITIC and the Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Company.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: The 2008 Beijing Olympics caused traditional Hutong neighborhoods to be cleared to construct modern Olympic stadiums. In an effort to ensure success for the Games, the government invested billions in building new infrastructure, although clearance to tiny, outdated neighborhoods in Beijing called hutongs resulted (Petrun). Jim Yardley, a "New York Times" reporter interviewed Pan Jinyu, a 64-year-old local resident: "They [the government] don't want foreigners to see this scarred old face." Feng Shuqin and her husband, Zheng Zhanlin, had lived in their house for 50 years, and the family had owned the property before the Communists took control in 1949. The government, trying to clear the area, offered them to move with a compensatory sum of US$175,000, but the family insisted the land was worth US$1.4 million (Yardley). Michael Meyer, an American who lives in the hutongs, reported that 500,000 residents were relocated from their homes before the Olympics began (Meyer).


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: To prepare for Olympic visitors, Beijing's transportation infrastructure was expanded. Beijing's airport underwent a major renovation with the addition of the new Terminal 3, designed by architect Norman Foster. Within the city itself, Beijing's subway was doubled in capacity and length, with the addition of seven lines and 80 stations to the previously existing four lines and 64 stations. Included in this expansion was a new link connecting to the city's airport. A fleet of thousands of buses, minibuses, and official cars transported spectators, athletes, and officials between venues.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: In an effort to improve air quality, the city placed restrictions on construction sites and gas stations and limited the use of commercial and passenger vehicles in Beijing. From 20 July through 20 September, passenger vehicle restrictions were placed on alternative days depending on the terminal digit of the car's license plate. It was anticipated that this measure would take 45% of Beijing's 3.3 million cars off the streets. The boosted public transport network was expected to absorb the demand created by these restrictions and the influx of visitors, which was estimated at more than 4 million additional passengers per day.


title: 2008 Summer Olympics

text: The 2008 Summer Olympics emblem was known as Dancing Beijing. The emblem combined a traditional Chinese red seal and a representation of the calligraphic character for "capital" (京, also the second character of Beijing's Chinese name) with athletic features. The open arms of the calligraphic word symbolized the invitation from China to the world to share in its culture. IOC president Jacques Rogge was rather pleased with the emblem, saying, "Your new emblem immediately conveys the awesome beauty and power of China which are embodied in your heritage and your people."