A Ponzi scheme is a special kind of fraud. It is based on a fake investment that one schemer (or group of schemers) gets other people to give money to.

In Ponzi schemes, the schemer basically says, "I found a great way to make money fast. The more you give me, the more I can invest in that cause, and the more I can earn for us all". But a Ponzi scheme doesn't actually "earn money". Instead, all of the scheme's money comes from the investors.

Once a Ponzi scheme gets too many investors, the system will always crash. This is because the investors all expect more money than they invested, and they will get impatient.

These schemes always stop one of three ways:
 The schemer runs away with the money they got. This is what schemers try to do.
 The schemer runs out of money; They will be unable to promise money back right away. This is called liquidity, and makes investors panic and demand their money back, often all at once.
 Authorities (or sometimes whistleblowers on the inside) find out about the scheme and stop it.

The scheme was named after a man named Charles Ponzi. He used the scheme after moving from Italy to the United States in 1903. (Ponzi didn't invent the scheme, though. In 1857, Charles Dickens wrote a book called Little Dorrit about a scheme like this. The scheme is a simple idea, and probably very old.) However, Ponzi's scheme was so big that it became the most popular. His original scheme was based on using countries' money-exchange rates to make money, based on international postage stamps. But money soon stopped being invested in coupons, and went to early investors, and a lot to Ponzi himself.

Ponzi schemes can be run anywhere, even online, and are being run even now.

More examples
People advertising Ponzi schemes often use impressive words, that are actually very vague. Examples are:
Hedge Futures Trading (taking a good risk)
High-yield investment programs (gives you back a lot of money)
Offshore Investment (makes money easily in other countries)
Schemers often depend on investors not actually knowing about economics. The Madoff scandal of 2008 showed that even sophisticated people like bankers can fall for them. People are fooled by the schemer seeming to have financial skill or reputation.

Sometimes, the schemers claim that money can only be made if the investment is kept a secret (away from the authorities or public). For example, Bernard Madoff only allowed the accounting firm run by his brother-in-law to perform audits on his "hedge fund", claiming it had to be kept a secret to earn money.

Since the investment is very vague, not many investors come very fast. But the scheme often gets speed like this:
 An early investor earns money and gets to keep it. It's actually money from a later investor, but the early investor doesn't know this.
 This investor is very happy, and tells other people about the "investment", wanting to help the "investment" make more money for all of them.
 New investors tell more investors, etc.

Schemers often try to tempt the early investors to "re-invest" the money they've "earned". Schemers sometimes send investors "invoices", showing investors how much they've "earned" and how much they'll keep "earning" if they keep "investing".

Schemers also try to make sure new investors can't take their money back, by making the rules tighter. In this case, the schemer will often have a few investors say they kept their money, making the investment still look productive enough to be good.

What is not a Ponzi scheme
 A multilevel pyramid scheme is like a Ponzi scheme. Both rely on fake financial promises and investments, but there are differences:
In a multilevel scheme, the second "level" of investors find their own investors to make a third "level", each profiting directly from the next level. Ponzi schemes "center" around the original schemer.
Multilevel schemes only brag about the money the investors from getting new investors. This makes multilevel schemes look good to poor people. Ponzi schemes brag about having special connections with hard-to-find sources. This makes Ponzi schemes look good to rich people
Multilevel schemes "crash" faster. This is because multilevel schemes depend completely on finding new victims. Ponzi schemers can just tempt early investors to reinvest the money they've gotten.

 A bubble: A "bubble" is about re-selling. A bubble is when people buy up all of a product they can, to re-sell it all at a higher price, as many times as they can. The bubble "pops" when buyers stop buying the product, and re-sellers are stuck with product they paid too much for. (The product can be anything.) As long as buyers keep paying more, re-sellers can keep making money. Bubbles don't even need central schemers, because people can do this accidentally. (For example, land prices can "bubble" this way. Prices can increase from wanting to build close to big neighborhoods. Once there's no more new land, re-sellers are stuck with their land.) Bubbles are often said to be based on the "greater fool" theory (depending on people who are "fooled" into paying "greater" prices).  But really, according to the Austrian Business Cycle Theory, bubbles are caused by giving loans to buyers for a certain kind of transaction, and in this case would qualify as a Ponzi scheme. In this case, the loan-givers are the schemers, making money from the losing re-sellers.

 "Robbing Peter to pay Paul": This is when people with debt borrow money to pay their debt, and borrow more money to pay back that debt. This is not a Ponzi scheme, because the debt-havers were not promised high returns or anything. Also, the lenders don't always make money.

 Multi-level marketing: Multi-level marketing (MLM) is when companies sell investors things to re-sell directly to customers. Re-sellers can also make money by referring new re-sellers to the company. This may seem similar to a pyramid scheme, but it's not always the same thing. Honest and legal multi-level markets do exist, and a lot of them simply make money by buying in bulk..

Related pages
 White-collar crime

References

More reading

Other websites
 Ponzi scheme definition with distinctions, history, and other information
Financial crimes

Ponzi scheme


Nuevo León is a state in the northeast of Mexico and south of Texas. It is known as the financial center of the country. It has a wide range of tourist attractions, such as museums, thematic parks, natural parks, grottos, as well as archaeological sites, gastronomy, and folklore. Its capital, Monterrey, the city of the mountains, is host venue of important international events, congresses, fairs, conventions and exhibitions.

Nuevo León


Waterproofing is the process of making an object or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet environments or underwater to specified depths.

Water-resistant and waterproof often refer to resistance to penetration of water in its liquid state and possibly under pressure, whereas damp proof refers to resistance to humidity or dampness. Permeation of water vapour through a material or structure is reported as a moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR).

The hulls of boats and ships were once waterproofed by applying tar or pitch. Modern items may be waterproofed by applying water-repellent coatings or by sealing seams with gaskets or o-rings.

Waterproofing is used in reference to building structures (such as basements, decks, or wet areas), watercraft, canvas, clothing (raincoats or waders), electronic devices and paper packaging (such as cartons for liquids).

In construction

In construction, a building or structure is waterproofed with the use of membranes and coatings to protect contents and structural integrity. The waterproofing of the building envelope in construction specifications is listed under 07 - Thermal and Moisture Protection within MasterFormat 2004, by the Construction Specifications Institute, and includes roofing and waterproofing materials.

In building construction, waterproofing is a fundamental aspect of creating a building envelope, which is a controlled environment. The roof covering materials, siding, foundations, and all of the various penetrations through these surfaces must be water-resistant and sometimes waterproof. Roofing materials are generally designed to be water-resistant and shed water from a sloping roof, but in some conditions, such as ice damming and on flat roofs, the roofing must be waterproof. Many types of waterproof membrane systems are available, including felt paper or tar paper with asphalt or tar to make a built-up roof, other bituminous waterproofing, ethylene propylene diene monomer EPDM rubber, hypalon, polyvinyl chloride, liquid roofing, and more.

Walls are not subjected to standing water, and the water-resistant membranes used as housewraps are designed to be porous enough to let moisture escape. Walls also have vapor barriers or air barriers. Damp proofing is another aspect of waterproofing. Masonry walls are built with a damp-proof course to prevent rising damp, and the concrete in foundations needs to be damp-proofed or waterproofed with a liquid coating, basement waterproofing membrane (even under the concrete slab floor where polyethylene sheeting is commonly used), or an additive to the concrete.

Within the waterproofing industry, below-ground waterproofing is generally divided into two areas:
 Tanking: This is waterproofing used where the below-ground structure will be sitting in the water table continuously or periodically. This causes hydrostatic pressure on both the membrane and structure and requires full encapsulation of the basement structure in a tanking membrane, under slab and walls.
 Damp proofing: This is waterproofing used where the water table is lower than the structure and there is good free-draining fill. The membrane deals with the shedding of water and the ingress of water vapor only, with no hydrostatic pressure. Generally, this incorporates a damp proof membrane (DPM) to the walls with a polythene DPM under the slab. With higher grade DPM, some protection from short-term Hydrostatic pressure can be gained by transitioning the higher quality wall DPM to the slab polythene under the footing, rather than at the footing face.

In buildings using earth sheltering, too much humidity can be a potential problem, so waterproofing is critical. Water seepage can lead to mold growth, causing significant damage and air quality issues. Properly waterproofing foundation walls is required to prevent deterioration and seepage.

Another specialized area of waterproofing is rooftop decks and balconies. Waterproofing systems have become quite sophisticated and are a very specialized area. Failed waterproof decks, whether made of polymer or tile, are one of the leading causes of water damage to building structures and personal injury when they fail. Where major problems occur in the construction industry is when improper products are used for the wrong application. While the term waterproof is used for many products, each of them has a very specific area of application, and when manufacturer specifications and installation procedures are not followed, the consequences can be severe. Another factor is the impact of expansion and contraction on waterproofing systems for decks. Decks constantly move with changes in temperatures, putting stress on the waterproofing systems. One of the leading causes of waterproof deck system failures is the movement of underlying substrates (plywood) that cause too much stress on the membranes resulting in a failure of the system. While beyond the scope of this reference document, waterproofing of decks and balconies is a complex of many complimentary elements. These include the waterproofing membrane used, adequate slope-drainage, proper flashing details, and proper construction materials.

The penetrations through a building envelope must be built in a way such that water does not enter the building, such as using flashing and special fittings for pipes, vents, wires, etc. Some caulkings are durable, but many are unreliable for waterproofing.

Also, many types of geomembranes are available to control water, gases, or pollution.

From the late 1990s to the 2010s, the construction industry has had technological advances in waterproofing materials, including integral waterproofing systems and more advanced membrane materials. Integral systems such as hycrete work within the matrix of a concrete structure, giving the concrete itself a waterproof quality. There are two main types of integral waterproofing systems: the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic systems. A hydrophilic system typically uses a crystallization technology that replaces the water in the concrete with insoluble crystals. Various brands available in the market claim similar properties, but not all can react with a wide range of cement hydration by-products and thus require caution. Hydrophobic systems use concrete sealers or even fatty acids to block pores within the concrete, preventing water passage.

Sometimes the same materials used to keep water out of buildings are used to keep water in, such as a pool or pond liners.

New membrane materials seek to overcome shortcomings in older methods like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Generally, new technology in waterproof membranes relies on polymer-based materials that are very adhesive to create a seamless barrier around the outside of a structure.

Waterproofing should not be confused with roofing, since roofing cannot necessarily withstand hydrostatic head while waterproofing can.

The standards for waterproofing bathrooms in domestic construction have improved over the years, due in large part to the general tightening of building codes.

In clothing

Some garments, and tents, are designed to give greater or lesser protection against rain. For urban use raincoats and jackets are used; for outdoor activities in rough weather there is a range of hiking apparel. Typical descriptions are "showerproof", "water resistant", and "waterproof". These terms are not precisely defined. A showerproof garment will usually be treated with a water-resisting coating, but is not rated to resist a specific hydrostatic head. This is suitable for protection against light rain, but after a short time water will penetrate. A water-resistant garment is similar, perhaps slightly more resistant to water but also not rated to resist a specific hydrostatic head. A garment described as waterproof will have a water-repellent coating, with the seams also taped to prevent water ingress there. Better waterproof garments have a membrane lining designed to keep water out but allow trapped moisture to escape ("breathability")—a totally waterproof garment would retain body sweat and become clammy. Waterproof garments specify their hydrostatic rating, ranging from 1,500 for light rain, to 20,000 for heavy rain.

Waterproof garments are intended for use in weather conditions which are often windy as well as wet and are usually also wind resistant.

Footwear can also be made waterproof by using a variety of methods including but not limited to, the application of beeswax, waterproofing spray, or mink oil.

In other objects
Waterproofing methods have been implemented in many types of objects, including paper packaging, cosmetics, and more recently, consumer electronics. Electronic devices used in military and severe commercial environments are routinely conformally coated in accordance with IPC-CC-830 to resist moisture and corrosion but encapsulation is needed to become truly waterproof. Even though it is possible to find waterproof wrapping or other types of protective cases for electronic devices, a new technology enabled the release of diverse waterproof smartphones and tablets in 2013. This method is based on a special nanotechnology coating a thousand times thinner than a human hair which protects electronic equipment from damage due to the penetration of water. Several manufacturers use the nano coating method on their smartphones, tablets, and digital cameras.

A 2013 study found that nanotextured surfaces using cone forms produce highly water-repellent surfaces. These nanocone textures are superhydrophobic (extremely water-hating).

Applications
Waterproof packaging or other types of protective cases for electronic devices can be found. A new technology enabled the release of various waterproof smartphones and tablets in 2013.
A study from 2013 found that nano-textured surfaces using cone shapes produce highly water-repellent surfaces. These "nanocone" textures are superhydrophobic.

Standards
ASTM C1127 – Standard Guide for Use of High Solids Content, Cold Liquid-Applied Elastomeric Waterproofing Membrane with an Integral Wearing Surface
ASTM D779 – Standard Test Method for Determining the Water Vapor Resistance of Sheet Materials in Contact with Liquid Water by the Dry Indicator Method
ASTM D2099 – Standard Test Method for Dynamic Water Resistance of Shoe Upper Leather by the Maeser Water Penetration Tester
ASTM D3393 – Standard Specification for Coated Fabrics Waterproofness
D6135 – Standard Practice for Application of Self-Adhering Modified Bituminous Waterproofing
ASTM D7281 – Standard Test Method for Determining Water Migration Resistance Through Roof Membranes
British Standards Institution BS.8102:2009 – "Protection of Below Ground Structures against Water from the Ground".
IEC 60529 – Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code)
ISO 2281 – Horology — Water-resistant watches

See also

Saint-Gobain
Bituminous waterproofing
Building insulation
Durable water repellent (DWR) coatings
IP Code (used on mobile phones)
Sika AG
Soundproofing
Truscon Laboratories
Water Resistant mark
Waterproof fabric
Waterproof paper

References

External links

Moisture protection
Physical quantities
Water
Gardening aids

Waterproofing


Dance music is music that is made to be danced to.  In a broader sense, an enormous amount of music sounds like dance music, even if it is not composed for dancing.  The history of dance music is similar to the history of dance as well as to the history of music.

Dance music was probably the first kind of music there was.  Thousands of years ago human beings must have discovered the joy of making noises by beating sticks in rhythm.  They probably danced as they did this.

We know that the Ancient Greeks danced to music, although we do not know much about what that music was like.

In the Dark Ages (before the Middle Ages) dancing was very popular.  The Christian Church thought that dancing was bad because it was always linked to the devil.  This is why the church people thought that musical instruments were bad, because instruments were used for dancing.

The earliest Western dance music that we know are some of the medieval dances such as caroles and the Estampie.   Composers started to write their music down on music staves.  Dance music had to have a regular beat so that the dancers could dance in time.  This is why barlines were invented.  The music was divided into bars with a particular number of beats in each bar.  This was different from church music which was based on plainchant which was very free in the way it was sung.

In the Baroque period many composers started to write pieces of music which were based on dance rhythms.  Composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach wrote suites which were collections of dance movements.  The most popular dances in a suite were: allemande, courante, sarabande, minuet and gigue.  Even when not writing dance movements, a lot of Baroque music is based on dance rhythms, for example: the grand opening chorus of Bach's St Matthew Passion is based on the rhythm of a sicilienne.

In the Classical music period composers wrote a lot of symphonies and string quartets.  They had four movements.  The third was normally a minuet, although it was not for dancing to.  Composers such as Mozart and Schubert also wrote a lot of music which was for dancing or easy listening.  This was the popular music of its time.

In the Romantic era the waltz became popular.  Many waltzes were written to be danced to, but other composers simply wrote music (especially piano music) called "waltz".  Chopin wrote piano pieces called after several kinds of dance: waltz, polonaise, mazurka etc.  Ballet had become very popular.  There was a lot of dance music in operas, especially in French operas.

In the 20th century "dance music" was often thought of as meaning:  music played by dance bands.  This kind of music developed into rock and roll in the 1960s.  Nowadays there is a wide variety of popular dance music, including  hip hop.  Spanish or  Latin American dances such as the samba, tango and cha cha cha are popular all over the world. Towards the end of the 20th century, a form of dance music known as electronic dance music (EDM) arose. This is electronic music which is made in a specific way as to be danced to, usually in the setting of a nightclub, discothèque or a party. Genres of EDM include post-disco, techno, house and trance, amongst several others.

fi:Dance

Dance music


A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.

The oldest known depiction of hair styling is hair braiding which dates back about 30,000 years. Women's hair was often elaborately and carefully dressed in special ways, though it was also often kept covered outside the home, especially for married women.

Prehistory and history
People's hairstyles are largely determined by the fashions of the culture they live in. Hairstyles are markers and signifiers of social class, age, marital status, racial identification, political beliefs, and attitudes about gender.

Some people may cover their hair totally or partially for cultural or religious reasons. Notable examples of head covering include women in Islam who wear the hijab, married women in Haredi Judaism who wear the sheitel or tichel, married Himba men who cover their hair except when in mourning, Tuareg men who wear a veil, and baptized men and women in Sikhism who wear the dastar.

Paleolithic
The oldest known reproduction of hair braiding lies back about 30,000 years: the Venus of Willendorf, now known in academia as the Woman of Willendorf, of a female figurine from the Paleolithic, estimated to have been made between about 28,000 and 25,000 BCE.The Venus of Brassempouy counts about 25,000 years old and indisputably shows hairstyling.

Bronze Age

In the Bronze Age, razors were known and in use by some men, but not on a daily basis since the procedure was rather unpleasant and required resharpening of the tool which reduced its endurance.

Ancient history
In ancient civilizations, women's hair was often elaborately and carefully dressed in special ways. Women coloured their hair, curled it, and pinned it up (ponytail) in a variety of ways. They set their hair in waves and curls using wet clay, which they dried in the sun and then combed out, or else by using a jelly made of quince seeds soaked in water, or curling tongs and curling irons of various kinds.

Roman Empire and Middle Ages

Between 27 BC and 102 AD, in Imperial Rome, women wore their hair in complicated styles: a mass of curls on top, or in rows of waves, drawn back into ringlets or braids. Eventually noblewomen's hairstyles grew so complex that they required daily attention from several slaves and a stylist in order to be maintained. The hair was often lightened using wood ash, unslaked lime and sodium bicarbonate, or darkened with copper filings, oak-apples or leeches marinated in wine and vinegar.  It was augmented by wigs, hairpieces and pads, and held in place by nets, pins, combs and pomade. Under the Byzantine Empire, noblewomen covered most of their hair with silk caps and pearl nets.

From the time of the Roman Empire until the Middle Ages, most women grew their hair as long as it would naturally grow. It was normally just styled through cutting, as women's hair was tied up on the head and covered on most occasions when outside the home by using a snood, kerchief or veil; for an adult woman to wear uncovered and loose hair in the street was often restricted to prostitutes. Braiding and tying the hair was common. In the 16th century, women began to wear their hair in extremely ornate styles, often decorated with pearls, precious stones, ribbons, and veils. Women used a technique called "lacing" or "taping," in which cords or ribbons were used to bind the hair around their heads. During this period, most of the hair was braided and hidden under wimples, veils or couvrechefs. In the later half of the 15th century and on into the 16th century, a very high hairline on the forehead was considered attractive, and wealthy women frequently plucked out hair at their temples and the napes of their necks, or used depilatory cream to remove it, if it would otherwise be visible at the edges of their hair coverings. Working-class women in this period wore their hair in simple styles.

Early modern history

Male styles
During the 15th and 16th centuries, European men wore their hair cropped no longer than shoulder-length, with very fashionable men wearing bangs or fringes. In Italy, it was common for men to dye their hair. In the early 17th century male hairstyles grew longer, with waves or curls being considered desirable in upper-class European men.

The male wig was supposedly pioneered by King Louis XIII of France (1601–1643) in 1624 when he had prematurely begun to bald. This fashion was largely promoted by his son and successor Louis XIV of France (1638–1715) that contributed to its spread in European and European-influenced countries. The beard had been in a long decline and now disappeared among the upper classes.

Perukes or periwigs for men were introduced into the English-speaking world with other French styles when Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, following a lengthy exile in France. These wigs were shoulder-length or longer, imitating the long hair that had become fashionable among men since the 1620s. Their use soon became popular in the English court. The London diarist Samuel Pepys recorded the day in 1665 that a barber had shaved his head and that he tried on his new periwig for the first time, but in a year of plague he was uneasy about wearing it:3rd September 1665: Up, and put on my coloured silk suit, very fine, and my new periwig, bought a good while since, but darst not wear it because the plague was in Westminster when I bought it. And it is a wonder what will be the fashion after the plague is done as to periwigs, for nobody will dare to buy any hair for fear of the infection? That it had been cut off the heads of people dead of the plague.

Late 17th-century wigs were very long and wavy (see George I below), but became shorter in the mid-18th century, by which time they were normally white (George II). A very common style had a single stiff curl running round the head at the end of the hair. By the late 18th century the natural hair was often powdered to achieve the impression of a short wig, tied into a small tail or "queue" behind (George III).

Short hair for fashionable men was a product of the Neoclassical movement. Classically inspired male hair styles included the Bedford Crop, arguably the precursor of most plain modern male styles, which was invented by the radical politician Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford as a protest against a tax on hair powder; he encouraged his friends to adopt it by betting them they would not. Another influential style (or group of styles) was named by the French "à la Titus" after Titus Junius Brutus (not in fact the Roman Emperor Titus as often assumed), with hair short and layered but somewhat piled up on the crown, often with restrained quiffs or locks hanging down; variants are familiar from the hair of both Napoleon and George IV. The style was supposed to have been introduced by the actor François-Joseph Talma, who upstaged his wigged co-actors when appearing in productions of works such as Voltaire's Brutus (about Lucius Junius Brutus, who orders the execution of his son Titus).  In 1799, a Parisian fashion magazine reported that even bald men were adopting Titus wigs, and the style was also worn by women, the Journal de Paris reporting in 1802 that "more than half of elegant women were wearing their hair or wig à la Titus".

In the early 19th century the male beard, and also moustaches and sideburns, made a strong reappearance, associated with the Romantic movement, and all remained very common until the 1890s, after which younger men ceased to wear them, with World War I, when the majority of men in many countries saw military service, finally despatching the full beard except for older men retaining the styles of their youth, and those affecting a Bohemian look. The short military-style moustache remained popular.

Female styles

From the 16th to the 19th century, European women's hair became more visible while their hair coverings grew smaller, with both becoming more elaborate, and with hairstyles beginning to include ornamentation such as flowers, ostrich plumes, ropes of pearls, jewels, ribbons and small crafted objects such as replicas of ships and windmills. Bound hair was felt to be symbolic of propriety: loosening one's hair was considered immodest and sexual, and sometimes was felt to have supernatural connotations. Red hair was popular, particularly in England during the reign of the red-haired Elizabeth I, and women and aristocratic men used borax, saltpeter, saffron and sulfur powder to dye their hair red, making themselves nauseated and giving themselves headaches and nosebleeds. During this period in Spain and Latin cultures, women wore lace mantillas, often worn over a high comb,  and in Buenos Aires, there developed a fashion for extremely large tortoise-shell hair combs called peinetón, which could measure up to three feet in height and width, and which are said by historians to have reflected the growing influence of France, rather than Spain, upon Argentinians.

In the middle of the 18th century the pouf style developed, with women creating volume in the hair at the front of the head, usually with a pad underneath to lift it higher, and ornamented the back with seashells, pearls or gemstones. In 1750, women began dressing their hair with perfumed pomade and powdering it white. Just before World War I, some women began wearing silk turbans over their hair.

Japan
In the early 1870s, in a shift that historians attribute to the influence of the West, Japanese men began cutting their hair into styles known as  or  (which roughly means "random cropping"). During this period, Japanese women were still wearing traditional hairstyles held up with combs, pins, and sticks crafted from tortoise, metal, wood and other materials, but in the middle 1880s, upper-class Japanese women began pushing back their hair in the Western style (known as ), or adopting Westernized versions of traditional Japanese hairstyles (these were called , or literally, "soirée chignon").

Inter-war years
During the First World War, women around the world started to shift to shorter hairstyles that were easier to manage. In the 1920s women started for the first time to bob, shingle and crop their hair, often covering it with small head-hugging cloche hats. In Korea, the bob was called . Women began marcelling their hair, creating deep waves in it using heated scissor irons. Durable permanent waving became popular also in this period: it was an expensive, uncomfortable and time-consuming process, in which the hair was put in curlers and inserted into a steam or dry heat machine. During the 1930s women began to wear their hair slightly longer, in pageboys, bobs or waves and curls.

During this period, Western men began to wear their hair in ways popularized by movie stars such as Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Rudolph Valentino. Men wore their hair short, and either parted on the side or in the middle, or combed straight back, and used pomade, creams and tonics to keep their hair in place. At the beginning of the Second World War and for some time afterwards, men's haircuts grew shorter, mimicking the military crewcut.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Japanese women began wearing their hair in a style called  (literally, "ear hiding"), in which hair was pulled back to cover the ears and tied into a bun at the nape of the neck. Waved or curled hair became increasingly popular for Japanese women throughout this period, and permanent waves, though controversial, were extremely popular. Bobbed hair also became more popular for Japanese women, mainly among actresses and , or "cut-hair girls," young Japanese women who followed Westernized fashions and lifestyles in the 1920s.

Post-war years

After the war, women started to wear their hair in softer, more natural styles. In the early 1950s women's hair was generally curled and worn in a variety of styles and lengths. In the later 1950s, high bouffant and beehive styles, sometimes nicknamed B-52s for their similarity to the bulbous noses of the B-52 Stratofortress bomber, became popular.  During this period many women washed and set their hair only once a week, and kept it in place by wearing curlers every night and reteasing and respraying it every morning.  In the 1960s, many women began to wear their hair in short modern cuts such as the pixie cut, while in the 1970s, hair tended to be longer and looser. In both the 1960s and 1970s many men and women wore their hair very long and straight. Women straightened their hair through chemical straightening processes, by ironing their hair at home with a clothes iron, or by rolling it up with large empty cans while wet. African-American men and women began wearing their hair naturally (unprocessed) in large Afros, sometimes ornamented with Afro picks made from wood or plastic. By the end of the 1970s the Afro had fallen out of favour among African-Americans, and was being replaced by other natural hairstyles such as corn rows and dreadlocks.

Contemporary hairstyles

Since the 1960s and 1970s, women have worn their hair in a wide variety of fairly natural styles. In the 1980s, women pulled back their hair with scrunchies, stretchy ponytail holders made from cloth over fabric bands. Women also often wear glittery ornaments today, as well as claw-style barrettes used to secure ponytails and other upswept or partially upswept hairstyles.

Today, women and men can choose from a broad range of hairstyles, but they are still expected to wear their hair in ways that conform to gender norms: in much of the world, men with long hair and women whose hair does not appear carefully groomed may face various forms of discrimination, including harassment, social shaming or workplace discrimination. This is somewhat less true of African-American men, who wear their hair in a variety of styles that overlap with those of African-American women, including box braids and cornrows fastened with rubber bands and dreadlocks.

Defining factors

A hairstyle's aesthetic considerations may be determined by many factors, such as the subject's physical attributes and desired self-image and/or the stylist's artistic instincts.

Physical factors include natural hair type and growth patterns, face and head shape from various angles, and overall body proportions; medical considerations may also apply. Self-image may be directed toward conforming to mainstream values (military-style crew cuts or current "fad" hairstyles such as the Dido flip), identifying with distinctively groomed subgroups (e.g., punk hair), or obeying religious dictates (e.g., Orthodox Jewish have payot, Rastafari have Dreadlocks, North India jatas, or the Sikh practice of Kesh), though this is highly contextual such that "mainstream" look in one setting may be limited to a "subgroup" in another.

A hairstyle is achieved by arranging hair in a certain way, occasionally using combs, a blow-dryer, gel, or other products. The practice of styling hair is often called hairdressing, especially when done as an occupation.

Hairstyling may also include adding accessories (such as headbands or barrettes) to the hair to hold it in place, enhance its ornamental appearance, or partially or fully conceal it with coverings such as a kippah, hijab, tam or turban.

Process

Hair dressing may include cuts, weaves, coloring, extensions, perms, permanent relaxers, curling, and any other form of styling or texturing.

Washing
Stylists often wash a subject's hair first, so that the hair is cut while still slightly damp. Compared to dry hair, wet hair can be easier to manage in a cut/style situation because the added weight and surface tension of the water cause the strands to stretch downward and cling together along the hair's length, holding a line and making it easier for the stylist to create a form. It is important to note that this method of cutting hair while wet, may be most suitable (or common) for straight hair types. Curly, kinky and other types of hair textures with considerable volume may benefit from cutting while dry, as the hair is in a more natural state and the hair can be cut evenly.

Cutting
Hair cutting or hair trimming is intended to create or maintain a specific shape and form. There are ways to trim one's own hair but usually another person is enlisted to perform the process, as it is difficult to maintain symmetry while cutting hair at the back of one's head.

Cutting hair is often done with hair clipper, scissors, and razors. Combs and hair grips are often employed to isolate a section of hair which is then trimmed.

Brushing and combing
Brushes and combs are used to organize and untangle the hair, encouraging all of the strands to lie in the same direction and removing debris such as lint, dandruff, or hairs that have already shed from their follicles but continue to cling to the other hairs.

There are all manner of detangling tools available in a wide variety of price ranges. Combs come in all shapes and sizes and all manner of materials including plastics, wood, and horn. Similarly, brushes also come in all sizes and shapes, including various paddle shapes. Most benefit from using some form of a wide tooth comb for detangling. Most physicians advise against sharing hair care instruments like combs and clips, to prevent spreading hair conditions like dandruff and head lice.

The historical dictum to brush hair with one hundred strokes every day is somewhat archaic, dating from a time when hair was washed less frequently; the brushstrokes would spread the scalp's natural oils down through the hair, creating a protective effect. Now, however, this does not apply when the natural oils have been washed off by frequent shampoos. Also, hairbrushes are now usually made with rigid plastic bristles instead of the natural boar's bristles that were once standard; the plastic bristles increase the likelihood of actually injuring the scalp and hair with excessively vigorous brushing. However, traditional brushes with boar's bristles are still commonly used among African Americans and those with coarse or kinky textures to soften and lay down curls and waves.

Drying
Hair dryers speed the drying process of hair by blowing air, which is usually heated, over the wet hair shaft to accelerate the rate of water evaporation.

Excessive heat may increase the rate of shaft-splitting or other damage to the hair.  Hair dryer diffusers can be used to widen the stream of air flow so it is weaker but covers a larger area of the hair.

Hair dryers can also be used as a tool to sculpt the hair to a very slight degree. Proper technique involves aiming the dryer such that the air does not blow onto the face or scalp, which can cause burns.

Other common hair drying techniques include towel drying and air drying.

Braiding and updos
Tight or frequent braiding may pull at the hair roots and cause traction alopecia. Rubber bands with metal clasps or tight clips, which bend the hair shaft at extreme angles, can have the same effect.

An updo is a hair style that involves arranging the hair so that it is carried high on the head. It can be as simple as a ponytail, but is more commonly associated with more elaborate styles intended for special occasions such as a prom or weddings.

If hair is pinned too tightly, or the whole updo slips causing pulling on the hair in the follicle at the hair root, it can cause aggravation to the hair follicle and result in headaches. Although some people of African heritage may use braiding extensions (long term braiding hairstyle) as a form of convenience and/or as a reflection of personal style, it is important not to keep the braids up longer than needed to avoid hair breakage or hair loss. Proper braiding technique and maintenance can result in no hair damage even with repeated braid styles.

Curling and straightening
Curling and straightening hair requires the stylist to use a curling rod or a flat iron to get a desired look. These irons use heat to manipulate the hair into a variety of waves, curls and reversing natural curls and temporarily straightening the hair. Straightening or even curling hair can damage it due to direct heat from the iron and applying chemicals afterwards to keep its shape.
There are irons that have a function to straighten or curl hair even when it's damp (from showering or wetting the hair), but this requires more heat than the average iron (temperatures can range from ). Heat protection sprays and hair-repairing shampoos and conditioners can protect hair from damage caused by the direct heat from the irons.

Industry

Hair styling is a major world industry, from the salon itself to products, advertising, and even magazines on the subject. In the United States, most hairstylists are licensed after obtaining training at a cosmetology or beauty school.

In recent years, competitive events for professional stylists have grown in popularity. Stylists compete on deadline to create the most elaborate hairstyle using props, lights and other accessories.

Tools

Styling tools may include hair irons (including flat, curling, and crimping irons), hair dryers, hair brushes and hair rollers. Hair dressing might also include the use of hair product to add texture, shine, curl, volume or hold to a particular style.  Hairpins are also used when creating particular hairstyles.  Their uses and designs vary over different cultural backgrounds.

Products
Styling products aside from shampoo and conditioner are many and varied. Leave-in conditioner, conditioning treatments, mousse, gels, lotions, waxes, creams, clays, serums, oils, and sprays are used to change the texture or shape of the hair, or to hold it in place in a certain style. Applied properly, most styling products will not damage the hair apart from drying it out; most styling products contain alcohols, which can dissolve oils. Many hair products contain chemicals which can cause build-up, resulting in dull hair or a change in perceived texture.

Wigs

Care of human or other natural hair wigs is similar to care of a normal head of hair in that the wig can be brushed, styled, and kept clean using haircare products. Wigs can serve as a form of protective styling that allows freedom of control of the hairstyling.

Synthetic wigs are usually made from a fine fiber that mimics human hair. This fiber can be made in almost any color and hairstyle, and is often glossier than human hair. However, this fiber is sensitive to heat and cannot be styled with flat irons or curling irons. There is a newer synthetic fiber that can take heat up to a certain temperature.

Human hair wigs can be styled with heat, and they must be brushed only when dry. Synthetic and human hair wigs should be brushed dry before shampooing to remove tangles. To clean the wig, the wig should be dipped into a container with water and mild shampoo, then dipped in clear water and moved up and down to remove excess water. The wig must then be air dried naturally into its own hairstyle. Proper maintenance can make a human hair wig last for many years.

Functional and decorative ornaments
There are many options to embellish and arrange the hair. Hairpins, clasps, barrettes, headbands, ribbons, rubber bands, scrunchies, and combs can be used to achieve a variety of styles. There are also many decorative ornaments that, while they may have clasps to affix them to the hair, are used solely for appearance and do not aid in keeping the hair in place. In India for example, the Gajra (flower garland) is common there are heaps on hair.

Social and cultural implications

Gender
At most times in most cultures, men have worn their hair in styles that are different from women's. American sociologist Rose Weitz once wrote that the most widespread cultural rule about hair is that women's hair must differ from men's hair. An exception is the men and women living in the Orinoco-Amazon Basin, where traditionally both genders have worn their hair cut into a bowl shape. In Western countries in the 1960s, both young men and young women wore their hair long and natural, and since then it has become more common for men to grow their hair. During most periods in human history when men and women wore similar hairstyles, as in the 1920s and 1960s, it has generated significant social concern and approbation.

Religion
Hair in religion also plays an important role since women and men, when deciding to dedicate their life to faith, often change their haircut. Catholic nuns often cut their hair very short, and men who joined Catholic monastic orders in the eighth century adopted what was known as the tonsure, which involved shaving the tops of their heads and leaving a ring of hair around the bald crown. Many Buddhists, Hajj pilgrims and Vaisnavas, especially members of the Hare Krishna movement who are brahmacharis or sannyasis, shave their heads. Some Hindu and most Buddhist monks and nuns shave their heads upon entering their order, and Korean Buddhist monks and nuns have their heads shaved every 15 days. Adherents of Sikhism are required to wear their hair unshorn. Women usually wear it in a braid or a bun and men cover it with a turban.

Marital status
In the 1800s, American women started wearing their hair up when they became ready to get married. Among the Fulani people of west Africa, unmarried women wear their hair ornamented with small amber beads and coins, while married women wear large amber ornaments. Marriage is signified among the Toposa women of South Sudan by wearing the hair in many small pigtails. Unmarried Hopi women have traditionally worn a "butterfly" hairstyle characterized by a twist or whorl of hair at each side of the face. Hindu widows in India used to shave their heads as part of their mourning although that practice has mostly disappeared.

Life transitions
In many cultures, including Hindu culture and among the Wayana people of the Guiana highlands, young people have historically shaved off their hair to denote coming-of-age. Women in India historically have signified adulthood by switching from wearing two braids to one. Among the Rendille of north-eastern Kenya and the Tchikrin people of the Brazilian rainforest, both men and women shave their heads after the death of a close family member. When a man died in ancient Greece, his wife cut off her hair and buried it with him, and in Hindu families, the chief mourner is expected to shave his or her head 3 days after the death.

Social class
Upper-class people have always used their hairstyles to signal wealth and status. Wealthy Roman women wore complex hairstyles that needed the labours of several people to maintain them, and rich people have also often chosen hairstyles that restricted or burdened their movement, making it obvious that they did not need to work. Wealthy people's hairstyles used to be at the cutting edge of fashion, setting the styles for the less wealthy. But today, the wealthy are generally observed to wear their hair in conservative styles that date back decades prior.

Middle-class hairstyles tend to be understated and professional. Middle-class people aspire to have their hair look healthy and natural, implying that they have the resources to live a healthy lifestyle and take good care of themselves.

European-influenced Working-class people's haircuts have tended to be somewhat simple. Working-class men have often shaved their heads or worn their hair close-cropped. While working-class women typically with long hair often have their hair sinched back away from their faces and secured on their scalp.

Haircuts in space

Haircuts also occur in the International Space Station. During the various expeditions astronauts use hair clippers attached to vacuum devices for grooming their colleagues so that the cut hair will not drift inside the weightless environment of the space station and become a nuisance to the astronauts or a hazard to the sensitive equipment installations inside the station.

Haircutting in space was also used for charitable purposes in the case of astronaut Sunita Williams who obtained such a haircut by fellow astronaut Joan Higginbotham inside  the International Space Station. Sunita's ponytail was brought back to earth with the STS-116 crew and was donated to Locks of Love.

Hairstyles and Health
Hair, when it is natural and meets certain criteria, is one of the indicators of a person's good or poor health. This is one of the explanations for the significant role that hairstyles play in both sexual and emotional attraction.

In the past, certain products used for hair graying (such as lead oxide or lead combs) have been a source of lead poisoning. Hair is sensitive to air pollution, particularly to various metallic pollutants in the environment (such as lead, mercury, or arsenic). These metals can also be absorbed through food and beverages, as hair bioconcentrates and stores them from the bloodstream to the skin. Additionally, certain medications can lead to hair loss, and this may be worsened by specific hairstyles.

According to a study published in 2016 by the American Academy of Dermatology and notably reported by The Root and Science magazine, certain tightly braided hairstyles that exert significant and constant tension on the scalp can contribute to a specific form of alopecia known as traction alopecia (TA). This article categorized hairstyling practices into high, moderate, and low-risk categories of induced alopecia, enabling dermatologists and physicians to provide more precise advice to affected patients.

This is the case with common hairstyles among African-American women, including extensions, braids, and dreadlocks. This may explain why approximately one-third of black women suffer from hair loss. Hair damage can be further exacerbated by the use of chemical products used for chemical straightening. The study's findings support recommendations to wear looser hairstyles and avoid keeping braids and extensions for more than a few months.

Certain products (hair dyes, hairsprays, bleaches, etc.) may contain allergenic ingredients. Several studies suggest that certain hairstyles or the use of bleaching or dyeing products may increase the risk of certain cancers (melanomas, as well as carcinomas); thus, long and dark hair that shades the skin and protects it from excessive ultraviolet exposure could be a protective factor against certain skin cancers (such as ear cancers).

See also
 Asymmetric cut
 Eponymous hairstyle
 Historical Christian hairstyles
 List of hairstyles
 Regular haircut
 Roman hairstyles
 Osadia
 Hair loss

References

External links

Style

Hairstyle


Emperor/Empress of India (Shahanshah-e-Hind in Hindustani) was used as a title by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II, and also by the colonial British monarchs during the rule of British India.

Sometimes, the term "Emperor of India" is also used to refer to Indian emperors such as Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Dynasty and Emperor Akbar of the Mughal empire. However, they did not claim this title for themselves.

Bahadur Shah II

Although the Mughal dynasty ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th century onwards, they simply used the title Shahanshah (considered in the West to be the same as emperor). However dring the Indian revolt of 1857 against the British, the rebel sepoys seized Delhi and called the Mughal Bahadur Shah II as Shahanshah-e-Hind, or Emperor of India. After the Brtish defeated the rebels, he was captured and was forced to live in Rangoon, Burma in 1858, this ended the rule of the Mughals.

British monarchs

After the Mughal Emperor ended by the British East India Company, the title "Empress of India" was taken by Queen Victoria from 1 May 1876.

Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is usually credited with creating the title for her. Also, the title was created when it became evident that Queen Victoria's daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal, would become an empress when her husband ascended the German imperial throne, many people thought it was wrong for the daughter to be an empress while her mother was just a Queen.

When Victoria died, and her son Edward VII ascended the throne, his title became "Emperor of India". The title continued until India and Pakistan became independent from the United Kingdom at midnight on 14/15 August 1947.

When signing their name for Indian business, a British King-Emperor or the Queen-Empress used the initials R I (Rex/Regina Imperator/Imperatrix) or the shorter version Ind. Imp. (Indiae Imperator/Imperatrix) after their name. This was also used on many British coins, including some 1948 coins of George VI.

King of India and Pakistan
George VI continued to hold the title King of India for two years during the short Governor-Generalships of Lord Mountbatten and of C. Rajagopalachari until India became a republic on 26 January 1950. George VI remained as King of the United Kingdom and King of Pakistan until his death in 1952. Pakistan became a republic on 23 March 1956, Elizabeth II was Queen of Pakistan for four years.

Related pages
 Mughal Empire
 Governor-General of Pakistan
 Governor-General

Notes

British India
British monarchy

Emperor of India


The Magic Flute (German: Die Zauberflöte, K. 620) is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder.

It premiered in Vienna on 30 September 1791 at Schikaneder's theater, the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden. The story has traditional fairy tale themes and Masonic elements.

Roles

The story of the opera

Act One
Prince Tamino has got lost in the forest and now finds himself in a country which is ruled by the Queen of the Night. A huge monster chases him and he is very frightened. He falls down in a faint. Three ladies who work for the Queen of the Night come and kill the monster. Then they see the handsome prince and they argue about which one of them will stay to look after him.

The three ladies go off and Papageno enters. Papageno is a birdcatcher whose job is to catch birds for the Queen of the Night. He is a happy, simple young man. Tamino wakes up, sees him and asks him who he is. Papageno introduces himself. He has not noticed the dead monster. Tamino sees that the monster is dead and asks him who killed it. Papageno suddenly notices it and then decides to pretend that he killed it himself. The three ladies hear what he says and they come and punish him by giving him a stone instead of bread and wine, and by padlocking his mouth so that he cannot speak. Then they give Tamino a portrait of Princess Pamina. She is the daughter of the Queen of the Night. They tell him that Pamina has been captured by an evil man called Sarastro. In fact, Sarastro is a good man, and he is looking after Pamina because her mother, the Queen of the Night, is evil. The prince does not know this. He is already in love with the princess just from looking at her picture, and decides to go and rescue her.

The three ladies give the Prince a magic flute which will protect him if he finds himself in danger.  They promise Papageno that he, too, will find a lovely wife for himself if he goes with Tamino.  They take off his padlock and give him a set of magic bells which will help him if he is in danger.  They are told that three lovely boys will show them the way.

In the next scene we see Princess Pamina who is being guarded by a cruel Moor called Monostatos.  He has tied the princess up.  Papageno arrives and both men are frightened of one another.  Monostatos runs away, Papageno unties the rope around the princess and tells her about the prince who is on his way to rescue her.

In the next scene Tamino finds himself in a holy place.  The three boys have guided him there.  They tell him he must be patient and silent.  He meets a priest who tells him he must not think that Sarastro is cruel.  He tells him that Pamina is alive.  Tamino is very happy to hear this, takes his flute and plays.  The animals from the forest come round him.  Pamina and Papagena are caught by Monostatos.  He is about to tie them up, but Papageno plays his magic bells and, when they hear the music, Monostatos and all the animals cannot help dancing and they disappear, still dancing.  Sarastro enters.  He tells Pamina once more that she must stay with him to learn how to live a good, virtuous  life.  She must not become evil like her mother.  Monostatos enters with Tamino whom he has caught.  Tamino and Pamina see one another and embrace.  Sarastro says that Monostatos must have a beating.  He says that Tamino and Pamina cannot have one another yet.  First they will have to go to the temple and go through some trials to show that they are good.

Act Two

Sarastro explains to the priests that Tamino and Pamina will have to go through the trials to show that they are worthy of one another.  If they can do this then they will be able to defeat the evil power of the Queen of the Night.

Tamino and Papageno go through the trials together.  Tamino remains calm and brave.  Papageno is frightened and finds it difficult to keep quiet, but he continues because he has been promised that a girl called Papagena will be waiting for him.

In the first trial the Three Ladies try to make them think that the dark place they are in will lead them to death.  In the second trial they see Monostatos about to rape Pamina.  The Queen of the Night explains why she wants power.  She says that Tamino and Pamina will be cursed unless Sarastro is killed.  Tamino realizes that this is all part of the trial and he must not do anything.  Papageno is given food and drink by Papagena who is disguised as an old lady.  Tamino plays his flute.  Pamina appears but turns her back on him. The Queen of the Night sings a very famous song in this section. It is famous because it reaches the highest ranges of a female voice.

Tamino and Pamina have to go through the last trial together.  Papagena enters and dances, then, when Papageno promises to be true, she throws off her disguise and disappears.  Pamina thinks her mother is going to use her dagger, but at the last moment the boys save her and take her to Tamino.  Tamino plays the flute as they go together through fire and water.  The chorus sing in triumph.

Papageno cannot call Papagena back with his shepherd pipe.  The three boys remind him about his magic bells.  He plays them and Papagena appears.  They are united.

In the last scene Monostatos and the Queen of the Night enter to do battle, but they are defeated.  Good triumphs over evil.

Masonic ideas in the opera

Mozart belonged to a group of Freemasons.  The Magic Flute is full of Masonic symbols.  For example: the number three is an important number in masonry and there are lot of things in the opera that happen in threes:  there are three long chords at the beginning of overture, and the three chords appear again in the scene in the temple.  Even the key is E flat major which has a key signature of three flats.  There are three ladies, three young boys and three trials.  The scenery used in the early productions make it look as if the story comes from Egypt or somewhere in the Orient.  Mozart and Schickaneder meant this to have a Masonic meaning. The trials are similar to the rituals in Masonic ceremonies.

Movie versions
Trollflöjten (1975), directed by Ingmar Bergman, in Swedish
The Magic Flute (2006) directed by Kenneth Branagh, set during World War I

Compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1790s operas
1791

The Magic Flute


The Lower Jurassic is the first geological epoch in the Jurassic that began 201.3 million years ago, and ended at 174.1 million years ago.

The Jurassic period is divided into Lower, Middle and Upper. The Lower Jurassic started after the end-Triassic extinction event at 201.3 million years ago (mya). Its rocks form in Europe the Lias group of marine strata consisting mostly of limestone, with some clays and siltstone. It was in this formation on the Dorset Jurassic Coast that Mary Anning did much of her work. The mudstones of the earliest Jurassic (Blue Lias)  give way to carbonate rocks as the water deepens in the Middle Jurassic.

The Jurassic period was one of the time periods when dinosaurs were on the Earth. By this time, many groups of the Triassic period had become extinct.

Britain
At the start of the Jurassic, Britain was warm temperate to subtropical, between 30° and 40° north of the equator. Temperature would have been in the range of 12–29°C.

Shallow seas were over southern England; higher ground like the Mendip Hills were a string of islands stretching westwards South Wales.

North America

The Lower Jurassic in western North America is quite different. It is continental in origin, sandstones laid down in shifting streams and rivers. These sandstones were laid down over a long period from the later Permian to the Lower Jurassic.

Related pages
Blue Lias
Jurassic
Middle Jurassic
Upper Jurassic

References

Jurassic

Lower Jurassic


Amaldus Clarin Nielsen (23 May 1838 – 10 December 1932) was a Norwegian painter.

Early life
He was born in Halse as a son of shipmaster and merchant Niels Clemetsen Nielsen (1795–1845) and his wife Andrea Marie Møller (1802–1866). He grew up in Mandal in Vest-Agder county, Norway. He lived most of his childhood and adolescence without a father. He received some tuition from a traveling drawing teacher and traveled to Copenhagen to study in 1854.

Career
After one year of painting studies in Copenhagen, he enrolled at the Academy of Art in 1855. He failed to progress in the academy's system, but with financial support from his brother and business owner Diderik Cappelen (1856–1935), he studied under Hans Gude at the Düsseldorf Academy from 1857 to 1859. He spent the years 1859 to 1863 travelling over Western and Southern Norway, and spent 1863 to 1864 in Düsseldorf again. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. He then travelled home due to illness, moved to Christiania where he sealed a deal to make paintings that the Christiania Kunstforening would sell at auctions, securing a steady income. He spent the years 1867 to 1868 in Karlsruhe before finally settling at Majorstuen in 1869.

He painted in the naturalist style, and has been called "Norway's first naturalist painter". Important paintings include Hvalørhei (1874), Skovbillede (1896), Morgen ved Ny-Hellesund (1885, one of several from Ny-Hellesund), Ensomt sted (1901), Fra Bankefjorden (1910) and Kveld på Jæren (1925) Most of his paintings portrayed Western and Southern Norway, but also Østfold.

He participated almost annually in the Autumn Exhibit between 1883 and 1911, and held notable exhibitions in Christiania Kunstforening (1895, 1906, 1924, 1931), at the 1862 International Exhibition, the Exposition Universelle of 1889 and in Munich in 1913. Eleven of his works are owned by the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. He is also represented in Mandal Kunstforening and Mandal Bymuseum, but is perhaps best known for the collection of about 300 works which was donated to Oslo municipality by Nielsen's heirs in 1933. Since 1994 this collection is on permanent exhibit in the Stenersen Museum. Nielsen was also decorated as a Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1890. The square Amaldus Nielsens plass, which includes a bust of Nielsen, was named after him.

Personal life
In October 1868 in Christiania he married Johanne Nicoline Augusta Vangensteen, born 1845 as a daughter of district stipendiary magistrate Ove Bodvar Hussein Vangensteen (1806–1859). The couple had eleven children. Both his wife and three children died in March 1886 from a diphtheria epidemic. After a period of grief, he married Laura Tandberg (1857–1928) in February 1888 in Risør. Nielsen died in December 1932, aged 94, from pneumonia.

Gallery

References

1838 births
1932 deaths
19th-century Norwegian painters
20th-century Norwegian painters
Norwegian male painters
People from Mandal, Norway
Norwegian expatriates in Denmark
Norwegian expatriates in Germany
Painters from Oslo
Deaths from pneumonia in Norway
19th-century Norwegian male artists
20th-century Norwegian male artists
Düsseldorf school of painting

Amaldus Nielsen


James Watt (19 January 1736  25 August 1819) was a Scottish mathematician and engineer. He did not invent the first steam engine, but he did modify it to work better. There were other patented steam engines (such as the Savery and Newcomen steam engines) in use by the time Watt started his work on them. His major contribution is in developing the modern form of the steam engine. The Watt steam engine is credited for driving the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. James Watt was a brilliant engineer and he also transformed the Newcomen engine.

The modern unit of power, the watt, is named after him. It replaced the horsepower invented by Watt.

Biography
James Watt was born on 19 January 1736 in Greenock, Renfrewshire. His father was a shipwright, ship owner and contractor, and served as the town's chief baillie. His mother, Agnes Muirhead, came from a distinguished family and was well educated. Both were Presbyterians and strong Covenanters. Watt's grandfather, Thomas Watt, taught mathematics and was a baillie to the Baron of Cartsburn. Watt did not go to school every day. At first, he was mostly schooled at home by his mother but later he attended Greenock grammar school. He exhibited great skill with his hands and a natural ability for mathematics, although Latin and Greek failed to interest him. He also absorbed the legends and lore of the Scottish people.

The centrifugal governor

One of Watt's many improvements was the invention of a "centrifugal governor" to regulate automatically the speed of the engine. This is most obvious on steam engines where it regulates the admission of steam into the cylinder(s). It is also found on internal combustion engines and variously fueled turbines, and in some modern striking clocks.

A centrifugal governor is a homeostatic device which controls the speed of an engine by regulating the amount of "intermediate substance" (steam) which drives the machine. This keeps a near constant speed whatever the load or fuel supply conditions. It uses the principle of proportional control: this means the stopping of (in this case) steam varies according to the speed of the machine.

On Watt's fly-ball device, as the machine speeds up, the balls fly round faster. As they fly round faster, they move out from the central post. As they move out from the central post, they close the steam supply more firmly. As they do so, the machine slows down and the balls spin more slowly, and allow more steam into the cylinders. In addition, the system has a safety release valve to allow excess steam to escape without driving the wheels. 500 Boulton & Watt engines were built by the firm between 1775 and 1800.

Later, this kind of feedback loop became an important tool of cybernetics.

Partnership
Watt went into partnership with a fellow member of the Midlands Lunar Society, Matthew Boulton. The firm of Boulton & Watt designed and built steam engines, and was very important in the Industrial Revolution.

The Soho Foundry
At first the partnership made the drawing and specifications for the engines, and supervised the work to erect it on the customer's property. They produced almost none of the parts themselves. Watt did most of his work at his home in Harper's Hill in Birmingham, while Boulton worked at the Soho Manufactory.

Gradually the partners began to actually make more and more of the parts, and by 1795 they purchased a property about a mile away from the Soho manufactory, on the banks of the Birmingham Canal. There they built a new foundry for making the engines. The Soho Foundry opened in 1796 at a time when Watt's sons, Gregory and James Jr. were heavily involved in the management of the enterprise. In 1800, the year of Watt's retirement, the firm made a total of forty-one engines.

Watt retired in 1800, the same year that his fundamental patent and partnership with Boulton expired. The famous partnership was transferred to the men's sons, Matthew Robinson Boulton and James Watt Jr. Longtime firm engineer William Murdoch was soon made a partner and the firm prospered.

Other websites
History of Steam Engines

References

1736 births
1819 deaths
British mechanical engineers
British inventors
Members of the Lunar Society
Scottish mathematicians
People from Greenock

James Watt


In biology, a mutation is a change in the genetic material. This means changes to the DNA or to the chromosomes which carry the DNA. These changes are heritable (can be passed on to the next generation) unless they have lethal effects.

Mutations can happen for several reasons. It can happen because of errors when meiosis produces the gametes (eggs & sperms). Damage by radiation, or by certain chemicals may cause mutations. Mutations occur at random.

Also, by derivation, an individual carrying the mutation may be called a mutant or a mutation. So is the trait (character) most obviously affected by the mutation.

Types of mutation

DNA mutations
When DNA is copied mistakes are sometimes made – these are called mutations. There are four main types of mutations:
 Deletion, where one or more DNA bases are left out.
 Insertion, where one or more extra base is put in.
 Substitution, where one or more bases are changed for another base in the sequence.
 Duplication, where whole genes are copied.

Chromosome mutations
These terms are explained in the third diagram.
 Deletion: a piece of chromosome is lost, together with any genes which may be on it.
 Duplication: part of a chromosome is repeated
 Inversion: part of a chromosome is reversed end to end
 Insertion: a smaller chromosome is added into a longer chromosome
 Translocation: part of a chromosome gets moved onto another chromosome

Results of mutation
Mutations may be bad for the organism, or neutral, or benefit the organism. Sometimes mutations are fatal for the organism – the protein made by the 'new' DNA does not work at all, and causing the embryo to die. On the other hand, evolution is moved forward by mutations, when the new version of the protein works better for the organism.

Mutations are the ultimate source of variation, upon which natural selection acts. What happens is that some mutations affect the organism's ability to live and reproduce. This is an important part of the theory of evolution. The amount of heritable variation carried by a population can be huge, and as a result natural populations can change and adapt to conditions in their environment.

References

Related pages
 Variation

Classical genetics
Cell biology

Mutation


Æx oðra naman Æx-in-Profentse is Franclandes burg, in þæs rīces sūþdǣle.  Hiere nama on Francum is Aix (man sægþ "eks"), oþþe Aix-en-Provence, forþǣm is Aix nama be manigum ƿicum geboren þā stent ofer hātum ƿiellum.  Hiere nama is of þǣm Lǣden naman Aquae Sextiae.

Æx stent 189 mīla be norðen Marseille þǣre ceastre. He is in Profentse-landscipe, and in þǣre Bouches-du-Rhône département, ðærof is hit sous-préfecture (se is 'underþegndōm'). Þēos burg hæfþ ymbe 130,000 onƿuniendas.

Se mētere Paul Cezanne ƿæs geboren in Æxe, and ƿunode and āmētede þǣr sƿā geþogen.

Stǣr

Aix (Aquae Sextiae) ƿearþ geseted in 123 BC fram þǽm Rómániscan consule Sextius Calvinus, þe his naman his springum geaf, sƿá "Aquae Sextiae Salluvorum." In 102 BC his neāhness ƿæs the scene of the Battle of Aquae Sextae when Romans under Gaius Marius defeated the Cimbri and Teutones, with mass suicides among the captured ƿifmannum, which passed into Roman legends of Germanic heroism (cf Ierome, letter cxxiii.8, 409 A.D. ).

In the 4th century BC it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda. It was occupied by the Visigoths in 477. In the succeeding century was repeatedly plundered by the Franks and Lombards, and was occupied by the Saracens in 731. Aix, which during the middle ages was the capital of the county of Provence, did not reach its zenith until after the 12th century, when, under the houses of Aragon and Anjou, it became an artistic centre and seat of learning.

With the rest of Provence, it passed to the crown of Francland in 1487, and in
1501 Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence which existed until 1789. In the 17th and 18th centuries the town was the seat of the intendance of Provence.

Geography

Aix-en-Provence is situated in a plain overlooking the Arc, about a mile from the right bank of the river. The city slopes from North to South and the Montagne Sainte Victoire can easily be seen to the Norþ East.

Síena

The Cours Mirabeau, a wide thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane-trees, bordered by fine houses and decorated by fountains, divides the town into two portions.  The new town extends to the south and west, the old town with its wide but irregular streets and its old mansions dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries lies to the north.

Aix is an important educational centre, being the seat of the faculties of law and letters of the university of Aix-Marseille, and there is a lot of students lodging and parties in the old town and around university buildings in the new part of downtown.

The cathedral of Saint-Sauveur, which dates from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, is situated in this portion of Aix. It is preceded by a rich portal in the Gothic style with elaborately carved doors, and is flanked on the north by an uncompleted tower. The interior contains tapestry of the 16th century, other works of art and a baptism pool from first century.  The archbishop's palace and a Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side.  The church of Saint-Jean-de-Malto, dating from the 13th century, contains some valuable pictures.

The Hotel de Ville, a building in the classical style of the middle of the 17th century, looks on to a picturesque square.  It contains some fine woodwork and a large library which includes many valuable manuscripts. At its side rises a handsome clock-tower erected in 1505.

Aix hæfþ manige ƿlitige ƿæterƿiellas, þára án is in þǽm Cours Mirabeau.  And hé is onstigen fram manlícan þæs le bon Roi René, count of Provence, who held a brilliant court at Aix in the 15th century. Aix hæfþ háte springas, remarkable for their heat and containing lime and carbonic acid.
The bathing establishment was built in 1705 near the site of the ancient baths of Sextius, of which vestiges still remain.

Se tún, which is the seat of an archbishop and court of appeal, and the centre of an académie (educational circumscription), numbers among its public institutions a Court of assizes, tribunals of first instance and of commerce, and a chamber of arts and manufactures.  It also has training-colleges, a lycée, a school of art and technics, museums of antiquities, natural history and painting, and several learned societies.

Aix is often referred to as séo burg þúsanda springa.  Among them are the Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins (Fountain of the Four Dolphins), built in 1667 by Jean-Claude Rambot; King René's Fountain, built in the 19th century, of Roi René holding a bunch of Muscat grapes, which he introduced into Provence; the hot-water fountain dating back to 1734, which is covered in moss due to the 35 °C (93 °F) water; and the great fountain, from 1860, at La Rotonde, the large roundabout at the center of town.

Economy

The industries formerly include flour-milling, the manufacture of confectionery, iron-ware and hats, manufacture of matches and the distillation of olive-oil.

But now they more include :
 Tourism
 Electronic Industry
 Development services (computer science)
 Provence Crafts
 Universities
 still, distillation of olive-oil
 manufacture of the famous "calissons", sweets made of almond pasta flavoured with "confit" melon and orange.

Miscellaneous

Aix-en-Provence ƿæs se byrdstede tó:

 Eleanore of Provence (gedéadod 1291), cƿén consort of King Henry III of England
 Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), métere
 Maurice Rouvier (1842-1911), politician

Aix hosted the ninth Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne in 1953.

Séo éac
 Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen)
 Aix-les-Bains

Útanƿeard bend

 Tourist office website
 Cyberflag : Fanne Aix-en-Provence
 Ambihtlic stede þæs túnes Aix-en-Provence

Communes of Bouches-du-Rhône
Byrig on Francum
Profentse

Æx-in-Profentse


The Andes are a mountain range along the western coast of South America.

They stretch over 7,000 km / 4,400 miles from the south of Argentina and Chile to the north of Colombia. They are also found in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.

The Amazon river system has its sources in the eastern flanks of the Andes.

The Andes are the longest exposed mountain range of the world, and the second-highest after the Himalayas. The Andes mountain range is the highest mountain range outside Asia.

Aconcagua, the highest peak, rises to 6,962 m (22,841 ft) above sea level. The top of Mount Chimborazo in the Ecuadorean Andes is the point on the Earth's surface most distant from its center. Mount Chimborazo is an inactive volcano in Ecuador, which last erupted over a thousand years ago.

Geography

The Andes has three sections:
The southern Andes in Argentina and Chile;
The central Andes, having the Chilean and Peruvian mountain system and parts of Bolivia;
The northern part in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.

The northern part has two parallel ranges. They are the Cordillera Occidental (western) and the Cordillera Oriental (eastern). The term cordillera comes from the Spanish word meaning 'rope'.

In Colombia, north to the border with Ecuador, the Andes split in three parallel ranges, western, central and eastern.

In the north the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Snowy Mountain Range of Saint Martha) is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range.

The western range of the eastern Cordillia Oriental is the only one which reaches Colombia .

The Andes range is about  wide throughout its length, except in Bolivia where it is  wide. The islands of the Dutch Caribbean Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, which lie in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, represent the submerged tops of the northern edge of the Andes range.

Geology
The Andes are a Mesozoic–Tertiary orogenic belt of mountains along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

The Andes are the result of plate tectonics processes, caused by the subduction of oceanic crust beneath the South American continental plate. South America, like North America, has been moving west since the Cretaceous period. Thus the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate formed the Andes. This was caused by the westward movement of South America.

The formation of the modern Andes began with the events of the Triassic and Jurassic when Pangea begun to break up and several rifts developed. It was during the Cretaceous period that the Andes began to take their present form, by the uplifting, faulting and folding of sedimentary and metamorphic rock of the ancient cratons to the east. The rise of the Andes has not been constant and different regions have had different degrees of tectonic stress, uplift, and weathering.

Climate

The climate in the Andes differs depending on which area, the altitude, and how close it is to the sea. The southern section is rainy and cool. The central Andes are dry. The northern Andes are normally rainy and warm, with an average temperature of  in Colombia. The climate is known to change very much in rather short distances. Rainforests exist just miles away from the snow covered peak Cotopaxi. The mountains have a large effect on the temperatures of nearby areas. The snow line depends on the location. It is at between 4,500 and 4,800 m (14,800–15,800 ft) in the tropical Ecuadorian, Colombian, Venezuelan, and northern Peruvian Andes, going up to 4,800–5,200 m (15,800–17,060 ft) in the drier mountains of southern Peru south to northern Chile south to about 30°S, then going down to  on Aconcagua at 32°S,  at 40°S,  at 50°S, and only  in Tierra del Fuego at 55°S; from 50°S, many of the bigger glaciers go down to sea level.

The Andes of Chile and Argentina can be put in two climatic and glaciological zones; the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes.

Plants
Rainforests used to hold much of the northern Andes but are now reduced, especially in the Chocó and inter-Andean valleys of Colombia. Farming, deforestation, illegal crops, and population growth has done this.

A direct opposite of the humid Andean slopes are the mostly dry Andean slopes in most of western Peru, Chile and Argentina. That area, and many Interandean Valles, normally have deciduous woodland, shrub and xeric (dry) vegetation, up to the mostly lifeless Atacama Desert.

About 30,000 species of vascular plants live in the Andes. About half of those are endemic to the region: it is a hotspot. The small tree Cinchona pubescens is a source of quinine used to treat malaria. It is found widely in the Andes as far south as Bolivia. Other important crops that came from the Andes are tobacco and potatoes.

The high-altitude Polylepis forests and woodlands are found in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. These trees are called Queñua, Yagual and other names. They grow at altitudes of  above sea level. It is still unclear if the patchy distribution of these forests and woodlands is natural, or the result of clearing which began during the Incan time. Regardless, in modern times the clearance has had a faster pace, and the trees are now endangered.  Some think as little as 10% of the original woodland is still here.

Wildlife

The Andes has a lot of wildlife. With almost 1,000 species, of which about 2/3 are endemic to the region, the Andes is the most important region in the world for amphibians.
Animal diversity in the Andes is high, with almost 600 species of mammals (13% endemic), more than 1,700 species of birds (1/3 endemic), more than 600 species of reptiles (45% endemic), and almost 400 species of fish (1/3 endemic).

The Vicuña and Guanaco can be found living in the Altiplano, while the closely related domesticated Llama and Alpaca are commonly kept by locals as pack animals and for their meat and wool. The nocturnal chinchillas, two threatened members of the rodent order, live in the Andes' alpine regions. The Andean Condor, the largest bird of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, lives throughout much of the Andes but mostly in very low numbers. Other animals found in the mostly open habitats of the high Andes are the huemul, cougar, and foxes in the genus Pseudalopex. And for birds, some species of tinamous (they are members of the genus Nothoprocta), are the Andean Goose, Giant Coot, flamingos (mainly associated with hypersaline lakes),  Lesser Rhea, Andean Flicker, Diademed Sandpiper-plover, miners, sierra-finches and diuca-finches.

References

Related pages
 List of mountains in the Andes

Mountains of South America

Andes


Masaccio (, , ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a famous painter of the Italian Renaissance. He worked in Florence. Masaccio was a nickname that meant Fat Untidy Tom. He lived a very short life and only a few of his paintings exist, but they were so different to the style of other artists around him that they helped other painters to see things in a new way.

Biography

Youth
Masaccio was born on 21 December, 1401, in the town of San Giovanni Valdarno, in the valley of the Arno River, near Florence. He was the son of a notary, a person who writes legal documents. His older brother became a painter and moved to Florence to the workshop of a painter called Bicci di Lorenzo. It is not known for certain, but it is thought that Masaccio may have trained at the same workshop. Masaccio's brother was nicknamed Lo Scheggia which means The Splinter, so it is thought that he was a skinny as Masaccio.

In 1422, when he was 21, Masaccio was already known as a painter, because he joined the Company of Saint Luke, which was a guild that helped artists and set down the rules for their employment.

Earliest painting
The earliest known painting by Masaccio is the San Giovenale Triptych, dating from 1422. A "triptych" is a painting in three parts, most often used as an altarpiece. This altarpiece has in the middle panel the Virgin Mary and Christ Child on a throne. The wings, or side panels, each show two saints. Kneeling in front of the Virgin Mary are two little angels. One of the things that makes this painting different from most other paintings of the same time is that the angels are shown from the back. Their position is an invitation for the viewer to kneel down and worship the Virgin and Child as well. Masaccio used this way of making the viewer feel part of the scene in many of his paintings.

The plump solemn Baby Jesus with his fingers in his mouth, the three-dimensional look of the figures and the lack of rich decoration make this picture look very different from most other altarpieces of this time, which were painted in a style called International Gothic.

Portraits
In April 1422 an event took place in Florence that was to be important in Masaccio's life. A new church was opened, and there was a grand procession and feast to celebrate. The church was Santa Maria del Carmine and Masaccio went along with his good friends, the sculptor Donatello, the architect Brunelleschi and the painter Masolino.

After the feast day, it seems that Masaccio went to Rome, probably with his friends. Brunelleschi and Donatello like to spend a lot of time poking around among the ruins of Ancient Rome. It is believed that on this trip Masaccio also spent a lot of time poking around in the ruins. What he saw were the sculptures of a previous age- more lifelike and realistic than anything that he had ever seen before. Many of the sculptures showed pocessions of figures, but each figure was different from the next, so that they all looked like real individual people.

When Masaccio returned to Florence he was given a job, a commission to paint a fresco of the procession that had taken place for the opening of the new church. Masaccio was inspired by what he had seen in Rome.
The writer Vasari, who must have seen the picture before it was destroyed in the late 1500s, wrote that the people were in rows that were five or six deep, but painted in such a way that they were all different, fat ones and thin ones, tall ones and short ones, some in long cloaks, some in big hats, and every single one was a portrait of a real person who lived in Florence at the time. And of course, Masaccio put his friends Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masolino into the picture. Luckily, several artists made drawings at some time in the 1500s, so part of the design has been recorded, even though the painting itself has gone.

Working with Masolino
In the Uffizi Gallery in Florence is an altarpiece that shows the Madonna and Child with Saint Anne. The Madonna and Child are seated on a throne, as is usual. Saint Anne, who was the mother of the Virgin Mary, is shown standing behind Mary with one hand on her daughter's shoulder and the other hand above the head of the Baby Jesus in a sign of blessing. The painting may have been done for a convent of nuns who honoured Saint Anne.

It is believed that this painting is a collaboration; that two artists worked on it together. It is believed by Art Historians that Masaccio painted Mary and Jesus and the angel near the top right. It is believed that Saint Anne and the other four angels were painted by Masolino.

Masolino was 17 years older than Masaccio. His name was Tommaso da Panicale, so when the two began to work together, they were known as Masaccio and Masolino, which means "Little Tom". Those are the names by which they are remembered as painters.

The Brancacci Chapel

Collaborating
The Brancacci Chapel is a large chapel at the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine where Masaccio had previously worked painting the procession. It was sponsored by the Brancacci family who paid for its decoration. There are no written records to show why or how it happened, but it seems that Masaccio and Masolino were given the job together. At first everything went very well and then things went very badly. It looked as if the job would never be finished. In fact, it is lucky that the paintings in the chapel survived at all.

The job seems to have started in 1423 or 1424 but this is not certain. The plan of the paintings was to show firstly how Sin came into the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. A painting by Masolino shows their disobedience in taking fruit from the forbidden tree. A painting opposite it by Masaccio shows Adam and Eve in disgrace, being chased out of the Garden of Eden. The rest of the paintings show The Life of Saint Peter. This is because Saint Peter was the founder of the Catholic Church and the paintings were meant to show that the best way to know about God's love is through the Church.

It seems that Masaccio and Masolino happily planned a scheme of frescoes that went together is a pleasing way, even though they are in two styles. It is not hard to tell which scenes Masolino painted and which were done by Masaccio. Masolino's are prettier and more elegant. Masaccio's scenes show figures that are strong and have drapes like the statues that he saw in Rome. The thing that was most different in his painting to other artists of the same time was that the figures looked very solid and three-dimensional. He was influenced by the paintings of Giotto who had worked in Florence at the Church of Santa Croce nearly a hundred years earlier, but whose style of painting had given way to the International Gothic style.

Apart from the Adam and Eve scenes, which are the smallest of the pictures, the most famous is Masaccio's picture of The Tribute Money. This large picture is set partly against a background of mountains and a lake, and partly against the background of a town which is similar to Florence. There are three scenes from the story. In the centre of the picture is a large group, Jesus and his twelve disciples. A tax collector has come to ask for a payment, but none of the men have any money. Jesus tells Peter to go fishing in the lake. Peter looks rather annoyed, wondering what good it will do. To the left, the small figure of Peter is kneeling at the edge of the lake with a fish he has caught. Inside the fish is a coin. To the right side of the picture, Peter is shown giving the coin to the tax collector. He no longer looks argumentative. Instead, he looks humble. Masaccio has expertly shown the feelings of the characters, not only by their faces, but also through body language.

Neither Masaccio nor Masolino were able to work on the frescoes continuously, as they both kept getting other jobs to attend to. In 1428 Masaccio was asked to go to Rome to paint an altarpiece for one of the most important and ancient churches, Santa Maria Maggiore. He only painted one panel, Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist, before he died at the age of 27 years. Masolino and perhaps another artist, Domenico Veneziano worked on, and finished the altarpiece, which was later broken into pieces and scattered to galleries in different countries. Masaccio's panel is in the National Gallery, London.

Masolino lived for another 19 years, but he never went back to finish the Brancacci frescoes. The Brancacci family fell into disgrace and were chased out of Florence. One of Masaccio's pictures was attacked because it had portraits of some of the Brancacci family in it. Some 50 years later, in the 1480s, all the scenes that remained incomplete or not begun were painted by Filippino Lippi, who tried to respect the styles that Masaccio and Masolino had used before him.

Damage
The chapel, which was dedicated to Saint Peter, was re-dedicated to Our Lady of the Common People and to her honour a magnificent ancient altarpiece by Coppo di Marcovaldo, dating from about 1280 was put into place. Because this image of the Virgin Mary was said to work miracles, many hundreds of candles were lit in front of it which soon stained the frescoes so that their bright colours could no longer be seen. Eventually the painting was moved to a different church. Then part of the roof fell in and had to be replaced. More damage was done in re-decorating. In 1680 the Marquis Francesco Ferroni decided that the paintings were too old-fashioned and should all be pulled down. Luckily the Grand Duchess Vittoria della Rovere stopped this from happening. In 1734 a painter called Antonio Pillori cleaned the frescoes. Then in the 1770, there was a fire in the church, causing worse staining and some damage to the frescoes. (Luckily the precious altarpiece had been moved.)

Discoveries
In recent years there have been four interesting discoveries. During a minor cleaning in 1904 two slabs of marble near the altar were moved. Underneath were the bright colours that showed what the frescoes should look like. Examination of the areas where two windows had been changed showed the plans for two paintings that had been destroyed. The final discoveries in the chapel itself were two painted roundels with little angel faces in them, one by Masaccio and one by Masolino.

There was a problem to be solved in the minds of some art historians. Despite these interesting findings, there was a scene missing from the story of Saint Peter. It is the scene where Jesus says "You are Peter, and on this Rock I build my Church." This part of the story is of the greatest importance to the Roman Catholic Church because Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, and so the Pope rules as his direct line. The scene is usually shown by Jesus giving Peter the Keys of Heaven. The Keys, for hundreds of years, have been the symbol of the Pope. But the story of the Keys is completely missing.

Then, in the 1940s, John Pope-Hennessy, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, realised that the museum owned a work of art that was exactly the thing that was missing from the Brancacci Chapel. It was a thin, almost flat marble slab delicately carved with the scene of Jesus giving the Keys to Peter. It was just the right size to make the front of an altar. And although it could not be proved, it was almost certainly carved by Masaccio's friend, Donatello.

The Trinity
At some time while he was working on the Brancacci Chapel, Masaccio painted a fresco for another church in Florence, Santa Maria Novella, the church of the Dominican Order. This is a very remarkable painting and one of Masaccio's most famous. It shows the Holy Trinity, (or God in three parts). God is shown as the eternal Creator, as the humble Sacrifice in Jesus on the Cross and as the inspiring Spirit. On either side of the Cross stand the Virgin Mary and Saint John. The two kneeling figures are the family who paid for the painting.

Masaccio has painted this very holy scene as if it was taking place in a deep recess or small chapel in the wall of the church. He has done this by using very accurate perspective. It is believed that the architect Brunelleschi may have helped him with this, as the painted architecture looks very much like buildings that Brunelleschi designed.
RealJonWills

Influence
Vasari writes that Masaccio was not very famous in his own time. In 1440 his body was brought home to Florence and buried at Santa Maria del Carmine but no monument was put up in his honour. Shortly afterwards people began to honour him as a painter. Michelangelo and many other painters and sculptors went to the Brancacci Chapel to study Masaccio's paintings. His influence can be seen in the paintings of Fra Angelico, Piero della Francesca, Ghirlandaio and particularly Michelangelo.

Related pages
 List of Italian painters

References

 Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Painters, translated by George Bull, Penguin Classics,
 Ornella Casazza, Masaccio, Scala/Riverside, 1990,

1401 births
1428 deaths
15th-century Italian painters
Renaissance

Masaccio


A tehsil (also known as a mandal, tehsil, tahasil, taluka, taluk, or taluq) is a unit of government in Pakistan and in the Republic of India - it is similar to a county. It usually consists of a town (possibly more towns) and the villages around the towns.

In Pakistan, Tehsils are the second administrative division. They are further subdivided into Union Councils. Many Tehsils are grouped together into a district (Zillah). In Sindh the name taluka is generally used instead of tehsil.

In India, some states use taluk or taluka, others use tehsil. The TK often found in Indian addresses stands for Taluk.

Local government of Pakistan
Local government in India

Tehsil


The word Benedictine usually refers to a follower of the Order of Saint Benedict. These people usually lead a life in an abbey. They follow the rule of Benedict of Nursia. Benedict lived in the 6th century. He made some rules, called the Rule of St Benedict these people follow. The rules can be summed up by pax (peace) and ora et labora (pray and work).

Most Benedictines see themselves as part of the Catholic Church. Some can also be found in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church. Officially, the order is known as Ordo Sancti Benedicti (OSB).

6th-century works

Benedictine


Ecologie, or ecological science, is the scienteific study o the deistribution an rowth o leivin organisms an the wey that thir properties is affectit bi interactions atween the organisms an thair environs. The environs o an organism includes baith the pheesical properties, them that can be descrieved as the soum o local abiotic factors like climate an geologie, as weel as the ither organisms that shares its habitat. The wird oekologie wis cleckit in 1866 bi the German biologist, Ernst Haeckel, frae the Greek oikos meanin "hoosehauld" an logos meanin "study"; that is, the "study o the hoosehauld o naitur".
biology is as well the study of the human body or focile this is known as geology

Ecologie