The Islamic world or Muslim world consists of all people who believe in Islam. It is not an exact location, but rather a community. When they do things together as Muslims, they are the "umma", which means "community" referring to all of the believers. The faith emphasizes unity and defense of fellow Muslims, so it is common for these nations to cooperate. Recent conflicts in the Muslim World have sometimes spread because of this desire to cooperate (see below). It is also likely that some have been made shorter and less damaging because of it. Some might even have never started.

Demographics
Muslims are in many countries. In 52 nations, Muslims are the majority. Almost all are Sunni. They speak about 60 languages and come from all ethnic backgrounds.

 10.4 million Muslims in Canada and the United States
 2.2 million Muslims in Latin and Central America
 10.0 million Muslims in the European Union plus Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania
 few or none in Eastern Europe, Norway
 62.4 million Muslims in Turkey
 284.4 million Muslims in the Arab League including Iraq (with about 15 million Shia, 60% of the population)
 254.0 Muslims in Sub-Saharan Africa
 65.4 million Muslims (90% Shia) in Iran
 48.5 million Muslims in Central Asia - in Azerbaijan, Uzebekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan - formerly republics of the Soviet Union.
 26.7 million Muslims in Russia
 22.7 million Muslims in Afghanistan
 230.0 million Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh (formerly East Bengal provincial region).
 133.3 million Muslims in India (included Jammu and Kashmir) - the world's largest minority population
 133.1 million Muslims in China - a close second
 34.6 million Muslims in Somalia
 196.3 million Muslims in Indonesia
 30.0 million Muslims in the rest of South-East Asia, especially Malaysia
 few or none in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia, or the South Pacific

 1.5 billion people total

Media
The Al-Jazeera satellite TV network in the Arabic language is a news source many Muslims watch.

In most Muslim nations, the government is the main source of news. This sometimes makes it very difficult or dangerous to make anti-government statements.

There are, however, many other news programmes and websites in the Muslim world.

Islam in law and ethics
Islamic law exists in many variations - in Arabic it is called shariah - five schools of which were created centuries ago. These are the classical fiqh: the Hanafi school from India, Pakistan and Bangaladesh, West Africa, Egypt, the Maliki in North Africa and West Africa, the Shafi in Malaysia and Indonesia, the Hanbali in Arabia, and Jaferi in Iran and Iraq - where the majority is Shia. All five are very old and many Muslims feel a new fiqh must be created for modern society. Islam has a method for doing this, al-urf and ijtihad are the words to describe this method, but they have not been used in a long time, and few people are trusted enough to use them to make new laws.

So, in most of the Muslim world, people are very conservative, especially about alcohol, adultery, abortion and women working in jobs where they are used to lure customers.

Muslim women often dress extremely modestly, and many do so by choice. But in some countries they have been forced to do so against their will. This is one of the things that causes tension between the Western World and that of Muslims.

Islamic economics bans debt but in most Muslim countries Western banking is allowed. This is another issue that many Muslims have with the Western world.

Islam in politics
One quarter of the world population share Islam as an ethical tradition.

Many people in these countries also see Islam as a political movement. In democratic countries there is usually at least one Islamic party.

Political Islam is powerful in all Muslim-majority countries. Islamic parties in Pakistan and Algeria have taken power.

Many in these movements call themselves Islamists, which also sometimes describes more militant Islamic groups. The relationships between these groups and their views of democracy are complex.

Some of these groups are called terrorists because they attack civilians of other non-Muslim nations, to make a political point.

Conflicts with Israel and the US
Israel is very unpopular in the Muslim world, because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the way that the state of Israel came into being in 1948 which many Arabs thought was unfair.

Some Muslims see this as a fight against Judaism or Jews, but not all. In Morocco for instance, the Islamists recently invited Jews to join the party. Jewish groups also cooperate with Arabs in the West Bank, where Neturei Karta (anti-Zionist orthodox Jewish) leader Rabbi Mosche Hirsch served as the Minister for Jewish Affairs in the Fatah before there was a Palestinian Authority. Like the Arabs, this small group of Jews thought the way Israel was created was not right. However, very few Jews believe this, and most support Israel as a state.

In 1979 there was a big shift in the way the Muslim world dealt with the rest of the world. In that year, Egypt made peace with Israel, Iran became an Islamic state after a revolution, and there was an invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. A lot of things changed in that year. By 2001 the Soviet Union was gone, Jordan had also made peace with Israel, and on September 11, 2001 there were major attacks on the U.S. - which most people believe were made to drive the United States out of the Muslim world, especially Saudi Arabia. In many ways the events of 1979 led to the events of 2001.

The 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 2003 invasion of Iraq are called part of a War on Terrorism by the United States. Many or most Muslims see it as a War on Islam. After the invasion, the Islamic parties won more seats, and a majority of Muslims polled in many nations expressed support for Osama bin Laden and said he would "do the right thing". Olivier Roy is a French scholar who thinks that this does not express support for al-Qaeda or militant Islam but opposing colonialism and what many Muslims call racism - favourable treatment for Jews especially those living in West Bank settlements, many of whom have American or British passport, and which the United Nations says have no right to live there.

The situation is very complicated and there are many different views of it.

Organization
The Organization of Islamic Conference formed in 1969 lets the Muslim nations work as a group. Russia joined in 2003.

The Arab League is a smaller group of only the Arab countries.

OPEC is another forum where issues between the Muslim and non-Muslim world come up. In 1973 to protest U.S. support for Israel there was an oil embargo which caused the 1973 energy crisis.

Related pages
History of Islam
Hajj

World

Islamic world


A biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots (vegetative structures); then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually, the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming a rosette. Many biennials require a cold treatment, before they will flower. The next spring/summer the stem of the biennial plant becomes much longer. The plant then flowers, produces fruits and seeds before it finally dies. There are far fewer biennials than either perennials or annuals.

Under extreme climatic conditions, a biennial plant may complete its lifecycle in a very short period of time (e.g. 3 or 4 months instead of 2 years). This is quite common in vegetable or flower seedlings that were exposed to cold conditions, before they were planted in the ground. This behaviour leads to many normally biennial plants being treated as annuals in some areas.
Flowering can be induced in some biennials by application of the plant hormone gibberellin, but this is rarely done commercially.

From a gardener's perspective, a plant's status as annual, biennial, or perennial often varies based on location or purpose. Biennials grown for flowers, fruits, or seeds need to be grown for two years. Biennials that are grown for edible leaves or roots are grown as annuals, e.g. beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, parsley, and Swiss chard. If a normally biennial plant is grown in extremely harsh conditions, it is likely to be treated as an annual because it will not survive the winter cold. Conversely, an annual grown under extremely favourable conditions may have highly successful seed propagation, giving it the appearance of being biennial or perennial. Some short-lived perennials may appear to be biennial rather than perennial. True biennials flower only once, while many perennials will flower every year once mature.

Examples of biennial plants are parsley, Lunaria, silverbeet, sweet William, colic weed, and carrot. The pansy is a biennial often grown as an annual. Plant breeders have produced annual cultivars of several biennials that will flower the first year from seed, e.g. foxglove, stock, and hollyhock.

Biennials may be kept alive longer than two years under environmental conditions that prevent them from flowering. Biennial sugar beet was prevented from flowering by not giving it the cold treatment required for flowering. It was kept alive in a greenhouse for 41 months.

References

Other websites
 Plant life cycles

Types of plants

he:בוטניקה - מונחים#צורות חיים של צמחים

Biennial plant


The Arctic is the area around the Earth's North Pole. The Arctic includes parts of Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Lapland and Svalbard as well as the Arctic Ocean.  It is an ocean, mostly covered with ice.  Most scientists call the area north of the treeline Arctic. Trees will not grow when the temperatures get too cold. The forests of the continents end in the far north or high up a mountain. The place where in the trees stop is called the tree line.

The area north of the treeline is not an empty ice field. In fact, the only large ice-covered land is central Greenland, which is covered year-round by a continental glacier. The land of the Arctic is around the edges of the Arctic Circle and is usually covered with tundra.  A tundra is a cold, almost treeless plain covered with moss and sedges (grasslike plants).

Tundras get little rain or snow. However, they are very wet in the summer time because, three feet (1m) or so below the surface, the ground is always frozen. This permafrost is a layer of ice with the hardness of stone that keeps water from soaking into the earth beneath it. Permafrost can be thousands of feet thick. In the summer the ground on top thaws out when the sun shines and the snow that did fall melts. But the melted snow cannot drain into the ground; it just soaks the topsoil. There is no place for the water to go, except to form lakes and puddles on top of the ground until it freezes again or dries up.

In the Arctic, during summer there are nights when the Sun never sets. This is because during summer there, the North Pole points toward the Sun. So, sometimes people call it the Land of the Midnight Sun.

The word 'Arctic' comes from the Greek word αρκτος, meaning "bear". The North Pole aims at the stars called the Great Bear and the Little Bear.

Plant life
In some parts of the Arctic the ground is covered with bright-colored flowers during the short summer. These little plants have very short stems. They must stay close to the ground, because the earth is warmer than the biting winds that blow above it. Even some rocks have plants growing on them. These rock plants are called lichens. Lichens grows on bare rocks. Yellow reindeer moss is really a lichen. It grows slowly, but often grows over six inches (15 cm) tall. It is spongy and full of water. This plant is the summer food for reindeer.

Trees are rare on the tundra.  Only in the protected valleys or along the riverbanks are small trees able to grow.  Rivers come into the Arctic from the warmer south.  The places along their banks are a little bit warmer than the rest of the tundra, and trees can grow there.  Otherwise only a few clusters of bushes grow sparingly.  Berries are the only fruit that grows in the Arctic.

Each summer the ice and snow melt, allowing the animals to find food and the plants to flower. The moisture from the snow stays near the top of the ground's surface. Plant roots can use it for their growth. Even so, in many places the soil is too poor for plant's growth. Less than half of the tundra has plants growing on it.

Animal life
The polar bear is the world's largest meat-eating land animal. Polar bears are well adapted to hunt seals out on the ice. They are excellent swimmers, and the coldest water does not bother them. They wait by breathing holes if they pick up the scent of a seal. They can also break through the ice at thin areas. Sometimes they can sneak up on a sleeping seal. They have a very strong sense of smell, which they use to find prey out on the ice. Polar bears get most of their food when there is pack ice. They must eat and store fat before the ice is gone: they cannot catch seals in open water. After mating, females dig themselves into a den of snow on land for the rest of the winter. There, they have their cubs, usually twins. Bears usually eat fish, birds' eggs, seaweed, and dead whales, but they would rather have a meal of seal or walrus.

The Arctic fox often trails the bears onto the ice to eat their leftover food. The fox also eats rabbits, lemmings, and voles.
The lemmings and voles are the rodents of the Arctic. The lemmings have very short tails. They live underground in summer. Because the top soil freezes in the winter, they cannot burrow underground then, so they live under the snow during the colder months. They eat plants and roots. In a year with plenty of food, millions of lemmings will be roaming the tundra. The owls and foxes have more food than they can eat. They have more young in years when there are many lemmings. However, the tundra does not have enough food for millions of lemmings. They rush across the tundra looking for food, and are eaten by predators or starve to death. Some try to swim across lakes or rivers and drown. The few that remain continue to have families.

Caribou and their relative, the reindeer, also live in the Arctic. The caribou are now found mostly in North America, and they are larger than the reindeer. Large herds feed on the grass and lichens. When fall comes, they move south to winter feeding grounds. They dig through the snow with their sharp hoofs for food. Their hollow fur creates a cushion of air around them that helps them to stay warm. In the spring they return north to the summer pastures, where their calves are born. An hour or so after being born, the calves are able to follow the herd toward the Arctic Ocean. Most of the world's reindeer live in Europe and Asia. Some of these reindeer are not wild. They have been tamed by herdsmen who protect them from wolves and lead the migrations each spring and fall. Also, the musk ox, which looks like a shaggy buffalo, lives in the Arctic.

In summer, many birds visit the Arctic, and most of them are water birds, such as geese, ducks, swans, loons, and Arctic terns. Flying in for the summer, they raise their young and return south for the winter. The snowy owl and the ptarmigan stay all year. The color of the snowy owl matches the snow. The ptarmigan's summer plumage changes to white when it gets colder.

The smallest animals of the Arctic are the flies and the mosquitoes. Thick swarms  bite both men and animals in the summer. The reindeer try to escape the mosquitoes by running to higher pastures, but the only real help comes with the snow and cold, when the swarms die off for another season.

Human life
One of the surprises of the Arctic is that many people live there. Some people have lived there for thousands of years. Eskimo and Lapp people lived in the Arctic long before electric heaters, snow-mobiles, and modern houses.

The Lapps

In an extremely northern part of Europe there is a place called Lapland. It is not a country, but parts of four countries. The people who lived there are called Lapps by outsiders. They call themselves Sami. The Lapps of these four countries lived there long before the countries of Northway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia were created. There were several kinds of Lapp people. Some lived by the ocean and lived mostly on fish. Another group lived along the warmer rivers. These people did a little farming, hunting, and fishing to live.

But the best known of the Lapp people were the nomads who raised reindeer. The Lapps survived in their harsh homeland by domesticating the reindeer. The Lapps were able to get everything they needed from the deer. They ate mostly meat, milk, and cheese. Their clothes were made from reindeer skins and wool. Their tents were also made from deer skins. They are known for the beautifully decorated woollen clothing they made.

The Lapps protected the herds, moving with them as they migrated from summer to winter pastures. They used trained reindeer to pull sleds carrying their supplies. During the winter, the herds moved south of the treeline. The Lapps would live nearby in homes made of logs or sod. The Lapps were very careful not to waste anything they got from the reindeer. Milk was taken from the reindeer to drink or make cheese. Meat was taken for food. The blood was frozen in chunks and used for soup and pancakes. Knives and belt buckles were carved from the bones and antlers. The sinews were used as sewing thread. Cleaned-out stomachs were used to carry milk or cheese. Every part of a dead reindeer was used.

Winter clothing was made from layers of deer skin. The inside layer would be worn with the fur facing in toward the person's skin. The second layer was worn with the fur facing out. Boots were also made of fur, lined with grass that had been gathered during the short summer. Every evening the grass would be taken out and dried by the fire, so it would be ready to use again the next day. Thus, a Lapp could be warm and comfortable in even the coldest weather.

Today only a few of the Lapp people still follow the herds. Those few use modern tools on their ancient migration. They use snowmobiles to herd the reindeer and rifles to kill the wolves that chase them. Even helicopters and radios are used to locate and move the reindeer. Most of the Lapp people now live on small farms in one of the four nations of Lapland. They raise crops and animals, including a few reindeer, to meet their needs. The sale of reindeer meat is an important source of income for the Lapp people.

Eskimos

Eskimos are Arctic people, too. They sometimes ate raw meat. Eskimos were also nomads, but they did not have any animals except for dogs, which they used for pulling their sleds and helping them hunt. They were hunters and gatherers, and they lived off on whatever they found or killed. Like the Lapps, though, they were very careful to make good use of every part of the animals they killed. Eskimos lived in tents during the summer, and sod houses or igloos in the winter. The Eskimos made very clever things from the bones, antlers, and wood they had.  They built different kinds of boats.

Eskimos did not have a government or laws. They learned early in life to help each other to survive. Always sharing food, they usually moved around in small groups looking for food. Sometimes they'd get together in a large group when they hunted big animals such as whales. The men did the hunting and building the homes, and the women cooked, made the clothes, and took care of the children.

The Arctic today
The Arctic region has many minerals that are important to people. Iron, lead, coal, copper, gold, and tin are all mined in different parts of this cold land. Large amounts of petroleum have been discovered in the Arctic in Russia, Alaska, and Canada. People live and work in the Arctic to remove these valuable minerals and sell them.

The oil in Alaska, for example, is very important to the United States. The main source is the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field on Alaska's north coast. It was discovered in 1968. Plans were quickly made to build a pipeline to bring the oil to an ice-free port so it could be shipped south. Oil companies spent billions of dollars to build the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in the mid-1970s. It had to be built above the ground in the northern section because of the permafrost. The warm oil in the pipes could have melted the permafrost and caused the ground to sink. That would have broken the pipes and caused an oil spill. The pipeline was completed in 1977. It brings oil to the seaport of Valdez on Alaska's south coast. From there the oil is taken by huge tankers to refineries along the west coast of the United States. If you live in western America, your family car may have Alaskan gasoline in its tank.

Russia has more land in the Arctic than any other nation. The Russian Arctic in Asia and the area just south of it are called Siberia. It is such an empty, harsh place that it has been used as a penal colony for many years. The old Russian rulers and the modern communist Soviets would send criminals and people who disagreed with the government to live there. However, many people were also sent there to remove minerals, harvest trees from forests, and build cities.

Russia has a huge port city right in Lapland, within the Arctic Circle. Murmansk is the largest city north of the Arctic Circle. The port is kept ice-free by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream coming up around Norway and Sweden from the South Atlantic. Huge icebreakers work to keep a path open so ships can reach the port. The port ships out fish, minerals, and lumber to Russia and the rest of the world.

The Arctic is also the shortest way (Great circle route) for airlines to fly between some cities on different continents. The flight from London to Tokyo, for example, is 1,400 miles shorter if flown across the top of the world instead of the old route south across Europe and Asia. The polar route from San Francisco to Norway is several hours shorter than the same flight going across the United States and the Pacific Ocean.

Thus, man is making use of the Arctic in various ways even though it is a hard place to live.

References

Arctic


Baltistan (), also known as بلتیول (Baltiyul) in the Balti language, is a region in northern Pakistan. It borders Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China.  It lies in the Karakoram mountains just to the south of K2, the world's second highest mountain.  It is an extremely mountainous region, with an average altitude of over 3,350 m (11,000 ft). It is inhabited principally by Balti Shi'a Muslims of Tibetan descent who converted from Tibetan Buddhism before the 16th century.

Baltistan was an independent state but was occupied by the Raja (King) of Kashmir in the nineteenth century.  In 1947 when India and Pakistan gained independence, it was still part of Kashmir. Now the region is divided between Pakistan and India.

The elections on 12 November 2009 brought about a major change and upheaval in the Baltistan region, which had been once an area ruled by a feudal Raja and then an area under Pakistani military control. It is believed that democracy in the region will also help to bring about more economic development and public empowerment.

Related pages
 Ladakh

Other websites

 The Changing Northern Areas
 Pakistan's Northern Areas dilemma
 Tourism Northeran Areas
 Pakistan's Northern Areas

Regions of Pakistan
Gilgit-Baltistan

Baltistan


The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a former royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the département of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the musée d'Archéologie nationale (National Museum of Archaeology).

History

12th–13th centuries

The first castle, named the Grand Châtelet, was built on the site by Louis VI in 1124. The castle was expanded by Louis IX in the 1230s.

Louis IX's chapelle Saint Louis at the castle belongs to the Rayonnant phase of French Gothic architecture. A 1238 charter of Louis IX instituting a regular religious service at the chapel is the first mention of a chapel having been built at the royal castle. This was a Sainte Chapelle, to house a relic of the Crown of Thorns or the True Cross. Its plan and architecture prefigure the major Sainte-Chapelle which Saint Louis built within the Palais de la Cité at Paris between 1240 and 1248. Both buildings were built by Louis's favourite architect Pierre de Montreuil, who adapted the architectural formulae invented at Saint Germain for use in Paris. A single nave ends in a chevet, with almost all the wall areas filled by tall narrow glass windows, between which are large exterior buttresses. The ogives of the vault rest on columns between the bays and the column bases are placed behind a low isolated arcade. The building can thus be open and empty of all internal supports. This large number of windows is also enabled by the pierre armée technique, with metal elements built into the structure of the walls to ensure the stones' stability. The west wall is adorned by a large Gothic rose window in the Rayonnant Gothic style. It was in this chapel in 1238 that Baldwin II of Constantinople presented Louis with the relic of the crown of thorns and, though they were intended for the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, they were housed here until the Paris chapel was consecrated in April 1248.

The castle was burned by the Black Prince in 1346; of it, only the Gothic chapel remains from the site's medieval phase. This Château Vieux was rebuilt by Charles V in the 1360s on the old foundations.

16th–18th centuries

The oldest parts of the current château were reconstructed by Francis I in 1539, and have subsequently been expanded several times. On 10 July 1547 a political rivalry came to a head in a bloody game here. Against the odds, Guy Chabot, 7th baron de Jarnac triumphed over François de Vivonne, seigneur de la Chasteigneraie, giving rise to the coup de Jarnac.

Henry II built a separate new château nearby, to designs by Philibert de l'Orme. It stood at the crest of a slope, which was shaped, under the direction of Étienne du Pérac into three massive descending terraces and narrower subsidiary mediating terraces, which were linked by divided symmetrical stairs and ramps and extended a single axis that finished at the edge of the Seine; the design took many cues from the Villa Lante at Bagnaia. "Étienne du Pérac had spent a long time in Italy, and one manifestation of his interest in gardens of this type is his well-known view of the Villa d'Este, engraved in 1573."

The gardens laid out at Saint-Germain-en-Laye were among a half-dozen gardens introducing the Italian garden style to France that laid the groundwork for the French formal garden. Unlike the parterres that were laid out in casual relation to existing châteaux, often on difficult sites originally selected for defensive reasons,
these new gardens extended the central axis of a symmetrical building façade in rigorously symmetrical axial designs of patterned parterres, gravel walks, fountains and basins, and formally planted bosquets; they began the tradition that reached its apex after 1650 in the gardens of André Le Nôtre.  According to Claude Mollet's Théâtre des plans et jardinage the parterres were laid out in 1595 for Henry IV by Mollet, trained at Anet and the progenitor of a dynasty of royal gardeners. One of the parterre designs by Mollet at Saint-Germain-en-Laye was illustrated in Olivier de Serres'  (1600), but the Château Neuf and the whole of its spectacular series of terraces can be fully seen in an engraving after Alexandre Francini, 1614.

Louis XIV was born at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1638.  One of du Pérac's retaining walls collapsed in 1660, and Louis undertook a renovation of the gardens in 1662. At his majority he established his court here in 1666, but he preferred the Château Vieux: the Château Neuf was abandoned in the 1660s and demolished. From 1663 until 1682, when the king removed definitively to Versailles, the team that he inherited from the unfortunate Nicolas Fouquet—Louis Le Vau, Jules Hardouin-Mansart and André Le Nôtre laboured to give the ancient pile a more suitable aspect.

The gardens were remade by André Le Nôtre from 1669 to 1673, and include a 2.4 kilometre long stone terrace which provides a view over the valley of the Seine and, in the distance, Paris.

Louis XIV turned the château over to King James II of England after his exile from Britain in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. King James lived in the château for thirteen years, and his daughter Louise-Marie Stuart was born in exile here in 1692. King James lies buried in the nearby Church of Saint-Germain; his wife Mary of Modena remained at the château until her death in 1718.  Their son James left the château in 1716, ultimately settling in Rome.  Many Jacobites—supporters of the exiled Stuarts—remained at the château until the French Revolution, leaving in 1793. The Jacobites often consisted of former members of the Jacobite court, and the apartments left empty in the château by the Jacobite court pensioners upon their death, were often passed down to their widows and children by the caretaker of the château, Adrien Maurice, 3rd Duke of Noailles. The Jacobite colony at Saint-Germain was still dominant in the 1750s, when they were however treated with increasing hostility. After the death of the Duke de Noailles in 1766, who had been responsible for the continuing Jacobite dominance because of his preference to give rooms to Jacobites, the British dominance quickly decreased and more French inhabitants were given lodgings in the château: the last member of the Stuart court was Theresa O'Connel, who died in 1778. The last descendants of the British Jacobites, by then mostly bearing French names, were evicted when the building was confiscated by the government during the French revolution in 1793.

19th–21st centuries
In the 19th century, Napoleon I established his cavalry officers' training school here. Napoleon III initiated restoration of the castle by Eugène Millet, starting in 1862. It became the Musée des Antiquités Nationales (National Museum of Antiquities) in 1867, displaying the archeological objects of France. Auguste Lafollye took over responsibility for the restoration on Millet's death in 1879, continuing until 1889. His goal, and that of his successor Honoré Daumet, was to restore the French Renaissance style of Francis I.

On September 10, 1919 the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, ending hostilities between the Allies of World War I and Austria, was signed at the château.

During the German occupation (1940–44), the château served as the headquarters of the German Army in France.

The museum was renamed the Musée d'Archéologie Nationale in 2005. Its collections include finds from Paleolithic to Merovingian times.

Gallery

Notes

External links

  (French version of page also includes the history of the Château)
 The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, National Museum of Archaeology - The official website of France
  "St-Germain-en-Laye: un haut lieu de la royauté
 Discover the Castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on Eurochannel

Buildings and structures completed in 1124
12th-century fortifications
Houses completed in 1539
Saint-Germain-En-Laye
Saint-Germain-En-Laye
Ancien Régime French architecture
Châteaux with Renaissance gardens in France
Châteaux with formal gardens in France
Renaissance architecture in France
Museums in Yvelines
1539 establishments in France
Réunion des Musées Nationaux
Tourist attractions in Yvelines
Francis I of France
James II of England
Mary of Modena
Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye


The Wehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. The Wehrmacht consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe (air force).

The Waffen-SS, an initially small armed section of Heinrich Himmler's Allgemeine SS that grew to nearly a million strong during World War II, was not part of the Wehrmacht, but subject to its Supreme Command.

Origin and use of the terms
Before the rise of the NSDAP, the term Wehrmacht was used in a generic sense to describe armed forces of any nation, being utilized as the "home defence" version of the more general Streitmacht. For example, the term Britische Wehrmacht would identify the British armed forces. Article 47 of the Weimar Constitution of 1919 declared "Der Reichspräsident hat den Oberbefehl über die gesamte Wehrmacht des Reiches" (meaning: "The Reichspräsident holds supreme command of all armed forces of the Reich"). To make a distinction, the term Reichswehr was commonly used to identify the German armed forces.

In 1935, the Reichswehr was renamed Wehrmacht. After World War II and under the Allied occupation of Germany, the Wehrmacht was abolished.

Today the term Wehrmacht refers to Germany's armed forces during the Nazi Germany era and World War II, both in German and English. Note: The Wehrmacht was not only the army (Wehrmacht Heer). Wehrmacht vehicles used by Heer, Luftwaffe or Kriegsmarine had license plates with WH, WL or WM.

History
World War I ended with the armistice (ceasefire) of 11 November 1918. The armed forces were called Friedensheer (peace army) in January 1919. In March 1919, the national assemby passed a law founding a 420,000 strong preliminary army as Vorläufige Reichswehr. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced in May and, in June, Germany was forced to sign the contract. Among other terms, the army was limited to one hundred thousand men with fifteen thousand more in the navy. Tanks and heavy artillery were forbidden and the air force was dissolved. A new post-war military (the Reichswehr) was established on 23 March 1921.

Germany immediately found ways not to keep to these conditions. A secret collaboration with the Soviet Union began after the treaty of Rapallo. Germany helped the Soviet Union with industrialisation and Soviet officers were to be trained in Germany. German tank and air force specialists could exercise in the Soviet Union. German chemical weapons research and manufacture would be done there, plus other projects. Around three hundred German pilots received training at Lipetsk, some tank training took place near Kazan and toxic gas was developed at Saratov for the German army.

After the death of President Paul von Hindenburg on 2 August 1934, Hitler assumed the office of Reichspräsident, and thus became commander in chief. All officers and soldiers of the German armed forces had to swear a personal oath of loyalty to the Führer, as  Adolf Hitler now was called. By 1935, Germany was openly breaking the military restrictions of the Versailles Treaty, and conscription was reintroduced on 16 March 1935.

The size of the standing army remained at about the 100,000-man mark decreed by the treaty, but a new group of conscripts equal to this size would receive training each year. The conscription law formalized the name Wehrmacht.  The existence of the Wehrmacht was officially announced on 15 October 1935 under Nazi authority. The insignia was a simpler version of the Iron Cross (the straight-armed so-called Balkenkreuz or beamed cross). This had been used as an aircraft and tank marking late in World War I.

War years

Army
The German Army (Wehrmacht) entered the war with a minority of its formations motorized; infantry remained approximately 90% foot-borne throughout the war, and artillery primarily horse-drawn. The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the reason for the success of the German invasions of Poland (September 1939), Norway (April 1940), Denmark, Belgium, France and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941) and the early campaigns in the Soviet Union (June 1941).

With the entry of the United States in December 1941, the Wehrmacht found itself engaged in ground campaigns against two major industrial powers. At this critical juncture, Hitler assumed personal control of the Wehrmacht high command, and his personal failings as a military commander arguably contributed to major defeats in the spring of 1943, at Stalingrad and Tunis in North Africa.

Air Force
The German Air Force (Luftwaffe), led by Hermann Göring, contributed many units of ground forces to the war in Russia as well as the Normandy front. In 1940, the Fallschirmjäger paratroops conquered the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael and took part in the airborne invasion of Norway, but after suffering heavy losses in the Battle of Crete, large scale airdrops were discontinued. Operating as ordinary infantry, the 1st Fallschirmjäger Division took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino.

Navy
The German Navy (Kriegsmarine) played a major role in the Second World War as control over the commerce routes in the Atlantic was crucial for Germany, Britain and later the Soviet Union. In the Battle of the Atlantic, the initially successful German U-boat fleet arm was eventually defeated due to Allied technological advances like sonar, radar, and the breaking of the Enigma code. Large surface vessels were few in number due to construction limitations by international treaties prior to 1935. The "pocket battleships" Admiral Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer were important as commerce raiders only in the opening year of the war. No aircraft carrier was operational as German leadership lost interest in the Graf Zeppelin which had been launched in 1938. Following the loss of Bismarck in 1941, with Allied air superiority threatening the remaining battlecruisers in French Atlantic harbours, the ships were ordered to go back to German ports.

Waffen-SS
Although the Waffen-SS was not technically a part of the Wehrmacht, they were under the control of the Wehrmacht High Command during World War 2. They were considered as elite troops, and suffered heavy losses (more than the normal army).

War crimes

The Wehrmacht was used as a tool of state policy in the Second World War, for both military and political aims. There is considerable controversy over the allegations that the Wehrmacht was found to be significantly rather than incidentally involved in the Holocaust, especially because the elements of the SS involved in the Holocaust were not the Waffen-SS and not under the control of the OKW or field commanders. The Wehrmacht ordered and participated in massacres of civilians for reprisals, executions of prisoners of war, summary executions of Soviet political officers and executions of military and civilian hostages as punishment for partisan activities in occupied territories.However, the oft-repeeated claim of breaking the Geneva convention by its treatment of Russian prisoners of war is not correct. Common Clause 2 of the Geneva Convention states that the treatment requirements apply where both parties are signatories of the Conventions. The Germans were signatories, The Russians refused to sign.

Related pages
 Afrika Korps
 Waffen-SS
 World War II

References

 Max Hastings, Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy 1944, 1985, reissued 1999, Pan,
 Max Hastings, Armageddon: The Battle for Germany 1945, 2004, Macmillan,
 Anthony A Evans, World War II: An Illustrated Miscellany, 2005, Worth Press,
 Geoffrey P. Megargee, "War of Annihilation. Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front, 1941", 2006, Rowman & Littelefield,
 W.J.K. Davies, German Army Handbook, 1973, Ian Allen Ltd., Shepperton, Surrey,
 Fest, Joachim; Plotting Hitler's Death—The Story of the German Resistance, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1996.

Other websites

 Extensive history and information about German armed forces from 1919 to 1945
 Archives of the German military manuals including secret manuals of Enigma and Cryptography
 The Wehrmacht, the Holocaust, and War Crimes
 The Wehrmacht: A Criminal Organization? A review of Hannes Heer and Klaus Naumann work on the subject

Nazi Germany
German military organizations

Wehrmacht


A producer is something or somebody that creates one thing or one being.

Entertainment producers
In the entertainment industry, a producer is a person who makes things happen. The producer is of the person in charge of providing the money and hire people to do the job. It is also the job of the producer to deal with getting whatever is being made out to the public. A movie producer must find people to provide money to make the movie, hire the main actors and director for the movie, and get the movie distributed so that people can see it. Producers are commonly found dealing with movies, television, and music.

Executive producer
In large entertainment companies, the title of executive producer is often given to people who provide a large amount of money to get something created. Other executive producers speak for the CEO of the company on how the movie or television program is made.

In smaller companies, especially for television series, the executive producer is often the creator of the series. Main writers who have been with the series for a long time are often given the title of executive producer.

Entertainment occupations

Producer


The Haber process or the Haber-Bosch process is a chemical reaction that uses nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas to create the chemical compound ammonia. The Haber process uses temperatures ranging from 400°C to 450°C under a pressure of 200 atm. The Haber process uses a catalyst mostly made up of iron.

History

The Haber process is named after the German scientist Fritz Haber. Haber was the first person to successfully complete the process. In 1909, Haber's process could produce about one cup of ammonia every two hours. Carl Bosch helped to develop the Haber process for industry. In 1913, the German company BASF started using the Haber process to make ammonia. During World War I, the Haber process was used to make explosives. The Germans kept this a secret until after the war. In 1918, Haber won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and in 1931, Bosch also shared a Nobel Prize.

The Haber process is still important today because it produces ammonia, which is needed for fertilizer and for many other purposes. The Haber process produces about 500 million tons (453 billion kilograms) of fertilizer every year. This fertilizer helps to feed about 40% of the world's population.

The process

The gases for the Haber process must be prepared before changing them into ammonia. After that is done, ammonia is created by using magnetite (iron oxide) as the catalyst:

N2 + 3H2  2NH3

In this process, only about 15% of the nitrogen and hydrogen is changed into ammonia. However, the unused nitrogen and hydrogen is recycled. Overall, 98% of nitrogen and hydrogen can be changed into ammonia.

References

.

Chemical processes
Physical chemistry

Haber process


Honour, spelt honor in the United States, is the idea of the trustworthiness and social status of a person by the society, by judgement of his actions. The idea of honour, like most cultural things, is very different from place to place, and through time. In Europe in the Middle Ages, honour took form in the code of Chivalry. In Japan, a similar thing happened with Bushido. As time passed, the honour of a gentleman and his family was generally expressed in the practice of duelling. The idea has declined in modern times, but still exists, mostly as an approval of one's actions by the society.

Related pages
Honor killing

Virtues
Society

Honour


A logo is a picture or drawing that is used by a person, group, or company to mark who they are. A wordmark, or 'logotype', is a logo made entirely of a word or words. It is usually the name of a product or organisation.

A company or group can use a 'logo' on the things that they make, like on the things they sell, on letters, and in advertisements. When a person sees the logo picture, that person knows that the thing they see the logo on came from that company.

Logos can have letters and words in them. Many logos have the name of the company or group in them.

Most logos are very simple drawings with only a small number of colors. Some logos are only in black and white.

In many countries, companies and groups should tell their country's government about the logo they are using. If they do this, the government can help stop a different company or group from using the same logo, so that every one can be sure that the logo is only used by the people who used it first. This is sometimes called a 'trade mark'.

Logos are not used only by companies. Many schools have logos. Some cities have logos. Clubs can have logos. Even people can have their own logos if they want. The heraldic badge is probably the oldest form of logo in the world.

References

Related pages
Logogram

Symbols

Logo


Perseus "Percy" Jackson is the main character and narrator of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He is a demigod, meaning he is half-mortal and half god. His father is Poseidon, the god of the sea, and his mother is the mortal Sally Jackson.

First introduced in The Lightning Thief as a troubled twelve-year old who finds out that he is a demigod, Percy goes on many adventures in the series to save his friends and the gods of Mount Olympus.

Percy is played by Logan Lerman in the movie Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

Percy will be played by Walker Scobell in the TV series for Disney+.

Character traits
He always tells horses, which his father is said to have created, not to call him "boss" or "lord" whenever they talk to him but does not get annoyed when Annabeth calls him "seaweed-brain". His fatal flaw is loyalty.  Percy, like most boys his age, has trouble talking to girls. Athena said that Percy's fatal flaw is personal loyalty. He will do anything to save his friends and loved ones. Kronos uses this flaw to control him several times in the series, such as when his mother is held hostage when Grover is trapped on Polyphemus' island, and when Annabeth is kidnapped.

In the books

The Lightning Thief

Perseus "Percy" Jackson is introduced as a troubled 12-year-old boy who is a student with dyslexia, which makes it hard for him to read, and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), which makes it hard for him to pay attention. He has been kicked out of every single school he has gone to. He has just been kicked out of Yancy Academy in Upstate New York. He has few friends at the school, his best friend being Grover Underwood, a satyr (half human, half goat) disguised as a human.

During a field trip to a museum, Percy is annoyed by the school bully, Nancy Bobofit, for intimidating Grover and in a fit of rage, accidentally summons water from a nearby fountain to pull her in, but he didn't know how he did it. Mrs. Dodds, his pre-algebra teacher, witnesses the whole scene and tells him to follow her into the museum for a "talk." Suddenly, she turns into the Fury Alecto, and attacks him, looking like a bat-like figure with humongous fangs. Percy manages to destroy her using Mr. Brunner's pen, Riptide, that transforms into a sword in his hand. However, when Percy returns to the bus and asks his classmates, nobody remembers Mrs. Dodds because of a force known as the Mist. The only person that may remember her was Grover, who always hesitated before he answered. Everybody else believed her name was Mrs. Kerr.

Percy asks what just happened, and Mr. Brunner says he saw nothing and that Percy should bring his own things to write with in the future. Percy asks his classmates about it, but they act like there was never any "Mrs. Dodds". Percy sees that Grover is lying when he hesitates whenever Percy mentions "Mrs. Dodds". Percy overhears Grover and Mr. Brunner talking about him later in the school year. As he is going home on a bus with Grover, he sees three old ladies knitting a giant sock. Grover looks really worried about them. Percy leaves Grover at the bus stop and takes a taxi to his apartment on his own.

His mother arrives soon after he gets home and tells him that they can go to Montauk Beach for the entire weekend. Percy is happy that something good has finally happened and packs his things and leaves. At the beach, Percy wakes up in the middle of the night in a storm and is shocked to see Grover coming to him and his mom, telling them to leave. Percy is confused, but his mother takes them both in the car and drives quickly away.

After hearing a growl behind them, his mom arrives at a hill and pushes both boys out of the car. Percy sees that the thing chasing them is a Minotaur, who charges them. Percy and his mom dodge it, but Grover is too slow and the Minotaur charges him. Percy manages to defeat the Minotaur, but not before it dissolves Percy's mother into light and sends her to the Underworld. Percy drags Grover up the hill to Camp Half-Blood, where Percy passes out on the doorway of the Big House.

Percy learns that Camp Half-Blood is a place for demigods like him. He meets a future friend, Annabeth Chase. He learns that Mr. Brunner is actually the centaur (half human, half horse) Chiron, the camp's activity director. He also learns that the director of the camp is the god Dionysus. He is introduced to Luke Castellan, the leader of the Hermes cabin. Later, in a capture-the-flag game, Percy single-handed defeats Clarisse, leader of the Ares cabin, and three others when he healed his injuries in water. This is when he learned that he is the son of Poseidon as a holographic trident appears over his head. Soon after learning that Zeus's lightning bolt has been stolen, Percy embarks on his first and eventually successful quest along with Grover and Annabeth to retrieve it.

The Sea of Monsters

Thalia's tree, the magical border of Camp Half-Blood, has been poisoned. Chiron is blamed for the poisoning and is dismissed from camp; Tantalus, who comes from the Fields of Punishment and cannot have food or water, takes the job. The only thing able to rid the tree of its poison is the Golden Fleece, which is located on the island of Polyphemus (another son of Poseidon), in the Sea of Monsters (the Bermuda Triangle).

Clarisse, the daughter of Ares and longtime enemy of Percy, is given the quest to go into the Sea of Monsters to bring back the Golden Fleece, which has healing powers for plants, animals, and humans. Percy and Annabeth decide to go also, not just for the Golden Fleece, but for their friend Grover who is trapped in Polyphemus' cave. Tyson, a young Cyclops whom Percy befriended at school that year, joins them on their journey. Tyson is Poseidon's son and therefore Percy's half-brother.

As they enter the Sea of Monsters, they have to get past Scylla and Charybdis. Instead of trying to sail in between the two, Clarisse automatically goes for Charybdis and Tyson supposedly dies in Clarisse's ship after it sinks. After that, Percy and Annabeth journey to many dangerous islands, and Annabeth tells Percy many things about how Thalia died and she also mentions her prophecy and tells Percy that he has a choice to make when he becomes 16 years old. Fighting their way through many other obstacles, like the Sirens and Circe's island, they join up with Clarisse, Grover, and later Tyson (who did not die), and leave with the Golden Fleece.

When they return to the mortal world, they send off Clarisse on an airplane to camp alone, and Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson are kidnapped by Luke. In a duel with him, Percy is nearly killed. He is saved by Chiron, who is proven innocent, and his relatives, the Party Ponies. When they return to camp the Fleece is put on the tree. The Fleece not only revives Thalia's tree, but Thalia too. It turns out that this was actually Kronos's plan, done so that he would have another chance to control the prophecy which governs the future of Olympus and the Olympians.

At the end Percy and Annabeth win a chariot race and Annabeth kisses Percy on the cheek and he liked it so he kissed her back.

The Titan's Curse

In the third book, Grover finds two demigods at a school, Bianca and Nico di Angelo. Percy, Grover, Thalia and two of Artemis' hunters, Zoë and Bianca (who later chose to become a hunter, upsetting Nico), are sent on a quest to save Artemis, who has been kidnapped. Percy is really going to save Annabeth, who was captured while they were saving the di Angelo's.

During the journey, Percy meets a mortal girl at Hoover Dam, named Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who can see through the Mist. She helps him escape from skeletal warriors who were trying to attack Percy and his friends.

While warning them about the junkyard of the gods, Aphrodite, goddess of love, tells Percy there is a romantic future waiting for him with Annabeth. Bianca is killed by a crazed robot in the junkyard of the gods while trying to get a figurine for her brother Nico. She said it was the only figurine he was missing in his collection. During the battle with Atlas, Zoë receives deadly injuries; she is poisoned by her old friend Ladon; her father, Atlas, makes the final strike that kills her and Atlas holds the burden of holding the sky again. Upon entering Olympus, the Gods decide whether to kill Thalia, Percy and Bessie (the ophiotaurus) who may hold the decision to tear down Olympus according to the Great Prophecy. Thalia becomes one of Artemis' hunters, eliminating her as a potential recipient of the Great Prophecy. In the end, the gods decide to leave Percy alive and keep the Ophiotaurus in safety at the throne room. Afterward, a feast is held in honor of the heroes and Athena tells Percy that she disapproves of his friendship with her daughter. At camp, Percy tells Nico about Bianca's death; he sprints into the woods. From then on, Nico hates Percy, blaming him for his sister's death. Annabeth, Percy and Grover search for Nico and cannot find him. Percy then holds the figurine of the god Bianca gave him at the junk yard. Suddenly, he realizes who Nico's father is: Hades, lord of the dead.

The Battle of the Labyrinth

In book four, the Labyrinth of Daedalus is discovered. Camp Half-Blood is in danger of being invaded by Kronos' army by means of the Labyrinth. Chiron sends Annabeth along with Percy, Grover, and Tyson into the Labyrinth on a quest to find Daedalus. In this, they hope to use his knowledge to help thwart any attacks that are carried out using the giant underground maze. They eventually find Daedalus, who has made himself a new body, and has disguised himself as the swordplay counselor.
There is a battle, as Kronos' army attacks Camp Half-Blood through the Labyrinth. Many are injured and some are left dead. Daedalus shows up to help along with his giant pet hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary. Daedalus has escaped death for centuries, but gives himself over to Nico di Angelo, a son of Hades, so he can accept his punishment in the Underworld and also so he can see his son Icarus and his nephew Perdix. Percy inherits Mrs. O'Leary; they have grown fond of each other. Percy and Annabeth's relationship starts to take on a new edge to it. Annabeth saves Percy several times and kisses him once because she thinks he is going to die. She also makes a big scene in front of all the campers when she realized that Percy was alive.

The Last Olympian

In book five, Percy discovers the truth behind the Great Prophecy. The campers find out there is a spy among them who is reporting everything to Kronos, who took over Luke's body in the fourth book. Percy battles Kronos many times, and eventually becomes invincible from bathing in the River Styx.

In the beginning, Percy and Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus are sent on a quest to blow up Luke's demon cruise ship, and Beckendorf is killed.

Percy and Nico sneak out of camp, and meet Hestia, who shows Percy part of Luke's past, and they meet Luke's mother.

A war between the Titans and Olympians ensues, one that has been in the making for much of the series. In the end, Luke, who is also invincible from bathing in the River Styx, kills himself in order to send Kronos back to Tartarus. Silena Beuregard turns out to be the spy. She is a good person inside, but Luke threatens her, and they make a deal that Beckendorf will not be hurt, as she was Beckendorf's girlfriend. Silena dies trying to kill a drakon, disguised as Clarisse, which upsets Clarisse greatly.In the end of the book, Luke commits suicide to save the Olympians.

Annabeth admits she never loved Luke, and that she cared for him only as a brother. She and Percy finally cement their relationship. Percy tries to tell her about his feelings at the River Styx, but says that she is not making it easy. She says: "I will never, ever make it easy for you Seaweed Brain. Get used to it", then kisses him, after which the other campers throw them into the canoe lake. Percy then creates an air bubble and they share "pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.".

Movie
Percy was played by Logan Lerman in the movie Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief. That movie was adapted from the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief. A movie of the second book, The Sea of Monsters was released on August 7, 2013 in the United States.

Powers/abilities
Percy, like most demigods, has two main disabilities:

 ADHD, which actually is heightened alertness that keeps half-bloods ready for battle.
 Dyslexia, since his brain is hard-wired for reading Ancient Greek instead of modern languages.

In The Lightning Thief, Percy is given a magically enchanted sword called Anaklusmos (Riptide). It is made of celestial bronze, a fictional metal which will injure immortals and monsters, but not wound mortals. Many demigods use celestial bronze weapons.

Children of the "big three" (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) are more powerful than demigods of the other Greek gods and goddesses. Hence, Percy has a wide range of abilities.

 Percy is a naturally talented swordsman, often able to hold his own against larger, stronger, and more experienced opponents.
 Percy possesses incredible physical strength. He tore a horn off the head of the Minotaur, and was able to bear the weight of the sky, the curse of Atlas.
 Percy has clairvoyant dreams, causing him to watch events in distant locations as an out-of-body experience. This could be the work of Apollo, the God of Prophecy, because he told Percy, "How important dreams could be."
 Percy has a psychic connection with his friend Grover called an empathy link.
 In The Last Olympian, Percy bathes in the River Styx (like Achilles), making him nearly invulnerable except in one weak point (the small of his back) and also granting him increased skill, strength, and puts him into a frenzy in battle.

Aquatic (water) powers
Percy has a lot of powers specifically connected to the things controlled by of Poseidon: seas, horses, sea creatures, and earthquakes. His water-related abilities tend to be stronger in sea water than in fresh water.

 When standing or immersed in water, Percy gains a lot of strength, combat (fighting) skill, and speed.
 Percy can control large amounts of water with great force (hydrokinesis). For example, he can redirect rivers, create currents to push boats, or even increase surface tension to the point where it is firm enough to stand upon.
 Percy can breathe underwater. He is unharmed by water pressure of any amount, or by falling from high up into water.
 When Percy is underwater, he stays dry unless he consciously (thinks about it) forces himself to become wet. When Percy touches objects underwater, they become dry.
 Percy can create seawater with no effort with things that used to be in the sea (such as petrified (solid) seashells, as in the book The Battle Of The Labyrinth)
 Percy can communicate telepathically with sea animals, most of whom also obey him and treat him with respect.
 Percy can communicate with equine animals (horses, zebras, pegasi, etc.), because his father created them out of sea foam.
 While at sea, Percy has perfect bearings on his exact coordinates.
 Percy can control all parts of boats telekinetically, especially sails.
 Percy can sense where objects are underwater.
 Percy can communicate with children of Poseidon, such as Cyclopes, underwater.
 Percy is very resistant to burning, and is even able to survive while immersed in magma because of the power of the ocean inside of him.
 Percy can make water appear from nothing, though doing so is particularly hard on his body.
 Percy can summon hurricanes, as he did in The Last Olympian, since his father is the god of the sea and storms.
 Percy can release the oxygen diffused in water and force the surrounding water to recede, making an air bubble so his friends with non-hydrokenetic abilities can breathe.
 Percy can control ocean currents to propel him at great force underwater, or even up into the air, as he does in his duel with Ares.
 Percy can harden water (without freezing it) to form shields. It is quite possible that he could use this skill to other purposes, combat or otherwise.
 Percy can heal small cuts when on water, he also gains a burst of energy as seen in his fight with elements of the Ares cabin The Lightning Thief.
 Percy can make earthquakes (as in The Battle Of The Labyrinth)
 Percy can create small cyclones around his body (in the last olympian)
Percy can control not only water but other liquids too, only held back from using his power by a promise to Annabeth, his girlfriend (The House of Hades)
 Percy can also sometimes control humans, because humans are 71% water.

Romance
 Annabeth Chase: Throughout the  series, it is shown that they have feelings for each other ; in each book there are hints of romantic tension and flirting. Percy and Annabeth first meet in The Lightning Thief when Percy wakes up after passing out to see Annabeth, whom he described as "pretty", spoon-feeding him nectar and ambrosia, the food of the gods. Percy is confused and irritated by Annabeth's behavior in the beginning of The Lightning Thief, but they develop a solid friendship at the end of the novel from all they had experienced together. In The Battle of the Labyrinth, Percy and Annabeth were supposed to meet up after school for lunch and a movie which Percy's mother, Sally, referred to as a "date" and teased him about it. It is revealed in The Sea of Monsters that Percy carried a picture of Annabeth in his binder and that Annabeth had been tailing Percy with her cap of invisibility on. In The Titan's Curse, Percy meets Aphrodite (Percy momentarily thought she resembled Annabeth), who tells him that he will have a tragic love life; incidentally, Percy meets Rachel a little while after. At the end of the book, he nearly has a heart attack, thinking Annabeth was about to join the Hunters of Artemis. Annabeth kisses him four times, once after winning the chariot race in The Sea of Monsters, though that was only on the cheek, again as she leaves him to fight the telekhines at Mount St. Helens in The Battle of the Labyrinth, in the dining area of Camp Half-Blood, prior to all the other campers throwing them in the canoe lake in The Last Olympian, where they share an underwater kiss. Also in The Last Olympian when Percy and Annabeth were inspecting Athena's cabin, Percy states that "sure, she'd always been cute, but she was starting to be seriously beautiful". When Percy goes to the River Styx to bathe, he is supposed to envision the one thing that keeps him tied to the mortal world. He thinks of Annabeth pulling him out of the water at the canoe lake. Annabeth is also the only person who knows Percy's vulnerable spot. When Kronos is spotted during the battle in The Last Olympian, Percy orders a retreat, but Annabeth stays behind to help him, taking a knife that would have killed him. At the end of The Last Olympian when Luke is dying, he asks Annabeth if she ever loved him, to which she replies that she only loved him as a brother, looking up to Percy.In the second series, they are dating and shown to be in love. Several times, both Annabeth and Percy say that they cannot live without the other. They say that they love each other and kiss throughout the books. This pairing is commonly referred to as Percabeth( per- sa- beth).
 Calypso: Percy, stranded on Ogygia island after being badly burned, is nursed back to health by Calypso. She appears to be around sixteen with almond eyes and caramel hair; Percy thinks she is more beautiful than Aphrodite (goddess of love). Despite the fact that he never expresses love for her, Percy enjoys her company and admires her beauty and grace. When leaving the island, he says she will always be his biggest "what if". She says the gods allow a hero to wash up on her shore every thousand years, always someone she cannot help falling in love with and who cannot stay. She extends him an offer to stay, which would make him immortal, saving him from the prophecy predicting his death when he turns sixteen. However, his friends and family need his help and he chooses to leave. In the end of The Battle of the Labyrinth, he plants a sprig of moonlace in Manhattan, fulfilling his promise to her to plant a garden at his home. In The Last Olympian, he says that Calypso should be excused and released.
 Rachel Elizabeth Dare: Even though Percy is not known to love Rachel, it is known that she likes him. Percy was unsure about having a crush on Rachel and never truly admits it. His feelings were mixed mainly because of his feelings towards Annabeth. In time, his growing feelings for Annabeth stopped him from ever developing a relationship with Rachel. In The Last Olympian, Rachel kisses Percy in Paul's Prius right before he sets off to the Princess Andromeda, where it was very likely he could have died. On Olympus, Rachel tells Percy that he was just a distraction for her. She tells him that they can never be together because she took on the spirit of the oracle, restricting her from dating. Percy thinks of this as Rachel "dumping" him but takes it very lightly and says he intends to continue to be friends with her.

Relationship with Olympians
 Poseidon: Percy is on good terms with Poseidon primarily because he is his son. At the end of The Battle of the Labyrinth, Poseidon states that Percy is his favorite son. Poseidon even forgives Percy for sitting on his throne in The Last Olympian. Poseidon states that not even Hercules is as good a hero as him.
 Zeus: Zeus, the king of the Gods, has mixed feelings for Percy. He is upset over Percy's birth because it violates the pact that he, Poseidon, and Hades made after World War Two to not bear any more children, but is pleased when Percy returns his Master Bolt to him in The Lightning Thief. During the winter solstice in The Titan's Curse, Zeus votes to let Percy live, but this may have been tied to the fate of his own daughter, Thalia, as well. However, Thalia had agreed to become one of Artemis' Hunters before this, so it is possible that this may not have mattered. In spite of all of this, Zeus tells Percy that if he ever finds him in his realm (the sky), he will strike him down. After Percy fights in the battle at the end of The Last Olympian, Zeus offers Percy godhood, and therefore immortality, for saving Olympus from the Titans.
 Hades: Hades, the lord of the underworld, has mixed feelings about Percy. Percy previously accuses him of stealing Zeus' Master Bolt when it was in fact Luke who stole it. Later however, he returns to Hades his Helm of Darkness and clears his name of all charges pressed against him. In The Last Olympian, Hades is shown assisting Percy during the war, even talking with his son, Nico, who also has a decent relationship with Percy, afterwards. When mentioned by Percy during his decision of rejecting immortality, Hades is shown casually addressing him, with none of the malice that he normally shows throughout the series.
 Ares: The god of war dislikes Percy. His hatred for Percy only intensifies when Percy defeats him in a duel in The Lightning Thief. It is dangerous for Percy that they are on bad terms because Ares, being the god of war, thinks highly of revenge and is quite violent. Ares puts a curse on Percy, saying that when he needs his sword the most, it will fail him. He only goes along with granting Percy godhood because he can fight him as many times as he wants and Percy will just keep coming back.
 Athena: The goddess of wisdom, war, strategy, industry, justice and skill disapproves of Percy's friendship with her daughter Annabeth because of the historical rivalry between herself and Poseidon, but Percy has not done anything against her directly. In The Titan's Curse, she may have helped to guide him at the Hoover Dam. However, in the same book, she also voted that he be destroyed. In The Last Olympian, Athena is on good terms with Percy, with the exception of his relationship with Annabeth.
 Hera: the goddess of women,marriage and family, neither likes nor dislikes Percy. Near the end of The Battle of the Labyrinth he and Annabeth both disagree with her views of families having to be perfect, siding with Hephaestus on the matter instead, even though Hera helped them numerous times in the book. Percy also insults her by mentioning Thalia, one of Zeus' children not borne by her, whom Hera historically despises, along with Hercules. She swears to make Annabeth regret her decision, much like Ares did to Percy, but it is not directly stated whether she included Percy in this statement. She makes Ares write a thank you letter to Poseidon for saving Olympus, revealing that she may care for him.
 Dionysus (aka "Mr. D"): Percy primarily has been on Mr. D's bad side from the very second they met. Percy does not like Dionysus very much either, for he constantly antagonizes Percy (and all other demigods, for that matter) by never calling them by their real names (preferring to call him "Peter Johnson" or "Perry Johansson"), but he saves Percy's life in The Titan's Curse. One of the other reasons he may dislike half-bloods is because of the way they treat mortals; he mentions Theseus and Ariadne, Jason and Medea, and alludes to Hercules and Zoё Nightshade in The Titan's Curse, mentioning how the former in all three cases used and later abandoned the latter. However, at the end of the Battle of the Labyrinth, their relationship comes to better terms after one of Dionysus' sons dies in the final battle. Dionysus believes Grover's news of Pan's death, disbands the Council of Cloven Elders when they are at a tie, and cures Chris Rodriguez, a previous traitor half-blood, of the madness he obtained in the Labyrinth. Most shockingly, he calls Percy by his real name, although he later denies this. They are on much better terms by the end of The Battle of the Labyrinth. Although Dionysus denies this, he favours Percy with his judgement, help, and advice, more than any other god in the series. This may be proof that Dionysus is acknowledging Percy, and that their relationship is improving.
 Hephaestus: Is grateful to Percy for having discovered who was using his forge under Mt. St. Helens, even though he causes an eruption that destroyed the forge and awakened Typhon (who had been imprisoned under it), but also dispersed and/or killed the users. At the end of the 5th book, Hephaestus said that Percy had done a 'Pretty bang up job, mostly'. Historically, Hephaestus and Poseidon have close ties in the terms of the Cyclopes who work for both of them.
 Artemis: Percy is on Artemis' good side since he helped find and save her in The Titan's Curse. She even declared him a hero in the halls of Olympus itself and started calling him a man rather than a boy after he helped her defeat Atlas. His respect for Zoë Nightshade, and his deep loyalty, regardless of gender, has also improved her view of him.
 Hermes: Percy is on good terms with Hermes, who convinced him to go on a quest in The Sea of Monsters and gave him magic items to assist him in his journey. He also explained the relationship between gods and heroes to him. Their relationship took a turn for the worse after realizing that Percy could not save Luke and Hermes grew bitter to all heroes. But after the war, their relationship was mended upon Percy's counseling and sympathy of Luke's situation and prophecy as well as how powerless Hermes was, on some occasions, when somebody includes Luke Castellan, Hermes gets mad at that person.
 Aphrodite: Aphrodite is on Percy's good side, probably because she is intrigued by Percy's desire to save Annabeth. She expressed an interest in their relationship, meaning that she plans to meddle with it in some way. She also said she would make Percy's love life hard, just because she likes him. The way she meddled with it was by making Percy meet Rachel and causing him to be confused about Annabeth.
 Apollo: Apollo treats Percy like a younger cousin (which he is). The sun god helped Percy twice in The Titan's Curse so that they could save Artemis, his sister. Being the god of prophecy, he also told Percy how important dreams could be.
 Demeter: Demeter and Percy have a poor relationship due to Percy's lack of respect towards her.
 Hestia: Percy and Hestia have a good relationship. In The Last Olympian, Percy entrusts her with Pandora's pithos that contains the spirit of hope, Elpis, saying that "hope is best kept by the hearth". This helps mend her anger towards the gods for giving her a small role, as well as her perception of demigods, which Kronos had used to bring many of the minor gods to his side. She also helps him and shows him the stories of Luke.

References

Other websites
Official Percy Jackson Site

Percy Jackson and the Olympians characters
Fictional characters introduced in 2005

Percy Jackson


Pain is a symptom of being hurt or sick. It is a bad sensation that is physical and emotional.

Most pain starts when part of the body is hurt. Nerves in that part send messages through senses to the brain. Those messages tell the brain that the body is being damaged. Pain is not just the message the nerve sends to the brain. It is the bad emotion felt because of that damage.

The message that the nerve sends to the brain is called nociception. What is experienced because of the nociception is pain.

Kinds of pain
Pain can be acute or chronic. Acute means it only happens a short time. Chronic means the pain lasts a long time.

Pain can be from different types of injury:
Cutaneous pain is from damage to the skin. This is the pain a person feels when their wrist is cut with a knife.
Visceral pain is from damage to the organs inside the body – like the stomach, kidney, and heart. This is the pain a person feels when they have an ulcer.
Somatic pain is from muscles, bones, and joints. This is the pain a person feels when they sprain (twist) a joint like the ankle.

Pain can also happen when there is no underlying injury or cause. Pain can happen just because the nerves do not work right. This is called neuropathic pain.

Treatments for pain
For most pain, the best treatment is to stop the damage that makes the pain. If the ankle is sprained, doctors tell the person not to walk on it. They tell them to put ice on it. This helps the injury stop. For an ulcer in the stomach, doctors stop the acid made in the stomach. This helps the ulcer to heal.

But many kinds of pain also need medicines to feel better. There are many different kinds of medicines for pain:
NSAIDs (acronym for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). These medicines decrease the inflammation where the person is hurt. They also work in the brain to decrease pain. Examples are aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. These medicines can make someone sleepy but they are not addictive. They can cause problems with kidneys and with peptic ulcers.
Opioids are narcotic pain relievers. They do not have the kidney and stomach problems that NSAIDs have. But they can make someone very sleepy and have other potential side effects, such as lack of coordination, inability to concentrate, blurred vision, and weight gain. They can be addictive.
Acetaminophen (e.g. Tylenol) is not a narcotic or an NSAID. So it is much safer than either one, but can cause liver damage.
Anti-seizure medicines (also called antiepileptics or anti-convulsants) – many of these medicines work for chronic neuropathic pain. Other pain medicines may not work at all for those kinds of pain. Examples are carbamazepine and gabapentin.
Anti-depression medicines can also help chronic pain, even if it is not neuropathic pain. This is partly because of an affect on pain itself. But it also helps, because living in chronic pain can cause depression.

There are doctors who specialize in pain management. These are usually anesthesiologists but may also have any one of a number of underlying areas of specialization, such as neurology, physiatry, or internal medicine.

Chronic pain
A new genetic method of treating chronic pain is in the research stage. The idea is to inactivate (turn off) gene HCN2, which plays a key role in chronic pain. Experiments on mice suggest this will work.

Related pages
 Back pain
 Chronic pain
 Migraine
 Peripheral neuropathy
 Myalgia

References

Other websites
 American Pain Foundation
 Back Pain, Neck Pain, Lower Back Pain - Spine-health.com
 Pain Management
 Back Pain - spinehealthlife.com

Basic English 850 words

Pain


An oboe is a woodwind instrument with a double reed. It looks very similar to the clarinet, and may be confused with it. While the clarinet's shape remains cylindrical, the oboe's body is conical. The sounds produced by clarinets and oboes are very different. An oboe's sound is produced by blowing air through the double reed at the upper end of the instrument which forces the two reeds to vibrate together which produces the sound. The oboe has four parts: the bell, lower joint, upper joint, and the reed. A person that plays the oboe is called an oboist. A typical orchestra may have two oboes but sometimes three. Sometimes there is also a cor anglais which sounds a fifth lower than the oboe. Very occasionally there is also a bass oboe, which sounds an octave below the oboe. Gustav Holst used one in his Suite "The Planets".

The oboe came from the shawm which was a medieval and Renaissance instrument. It became popular in the Baroque period. Bach and Handel both used it in most of their orchestral music. Many Italian composers such as Antonio Vivaldi wrote concertos for the instrument, and it is used in a lot of chamber music. At this time it hardly had any keys, but over time more keys were added which made it easier to play the sharps and flats.

Later composers to write for the oboe as a solo instrument include Mozart, Weber, Richard Strauss, Vaughan Williams and Francis Poulenc.

It is normal for the principal oboist in an orchestra to play the note A for the rest of the orchestra to tune their instruments to.

The name oboe comes from French language hautbois, meaning "high wood", a high-pitched woodwind instrument.

Double reed instruments

Oboe


Electric power transmission is the transmitting of electricity to places where it will be used.  Specifically, it is the bulk transfer of electrical power from the power plant to substations near populated areas.  Electric power distribution is the delivery from the substation to the consumers.  Due to the large amount of power and long distances, transmission normally takes place at high voltage (110 kV or above).

Electricity is usually transmitted over long distance through overhead power transmission lines. Underground power transmission is used only in densely populated areas (such as large cities) because of the high cost of installation and maintenance and because the power losses increase dramatically compared with overhead transmission unless superconductors and cryogenic technology are used.

A power transmission system is sometimes referred to colloquially as a "grid"; however, for reasons of economy, the network is rarely a true grid. Redundant paths and lines are provided so that power can be routed from any power plant to any load center, through a variety of routes, based on the economics of the transmission path and the cost of power.

Further reading
 Grigsby, L. L., et al. The Electric Power Engineering Handbook. USA: CRC Press. (2001).
 Westinghouse Electric Corporation, "Electric power transmission patents; Tesla polyphase system". (Transmission of power; polyphase system; Tesla patents)

Related pages
 Transmission tower
 Superconductor
 Electric power distribution
 High-voltage direct current

Other websites
 United States: Transmission Lineworker Community Website
 Japan: World's First In-Grid High-Temperature Superconducting Power Cable System
 A Power Grid for the Hydrogen Economy: Overview/A Continental SuperGrid
 Global Energy Network Institute (GENI) - The GENI Initiative focuses on linking renewable energy resources around the world using international electricity transmission.
 Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE), the association of transmission system operators in continental Europe, running one of the two largest power transmission systems in the world
 Non-Ionizing Radiation, Part 1: Static and Extremely Low-Frequency (ELF) Electric and Magnetic Fields (2002)  by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
 A summary of the IARC report by GreenFacts.

Electricity

Electric power transmission


Welding is a way of heating pieces of metal using electricity or a flame so that they melt and stick together. There are many kinds of welding, including arc welding, resistance welding, and gas welding. The most common type is arc welding. Anyone who is near arc welding needs to wear a special helmet or goggles because the arc is so bright. Looking at the arc without visual protection may cause permanent eye damage. It is also important to cover all your skin because it can give you something like a sunburn. Hot sparks from the weld can burn any skin that is showing. One kind of welding that does not use an arc is Oxy-fuel welding (OFW), sometimes called gas welding. OFW uses a flame to heat up the metal. There are other kinds of welding that do not use an arc.

Arc Welding
Any welding process that utilizes an electric arc is known as arc welding. The common forms of arc welding include:

 Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW): SMAW is also known as "stick" welding.
 Gas metal arc welding (GMAW): GMAW is also known as MIG (metal/inert gas welding).
 Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW): GTAW is also known as TIG (tungsten inert gas welding).

Arc welding heats metals by making a high-current electric arc between pieces of metal to be joined and an electrode.

Use of the electrode varies based on the type of welding process. In SMAW, GMAW, and related welding processes, the electrode is consumed and becomes part of the weld. The electrode is usually made of the same kind of metal to be welded. Because the electrode is consumed by the welding process, the electrode must constantly be fed into the weld. The SMAW welding process features a "stick" electrode impregnated with a weld promoter known as flux, clamped to the end.

The GMAW welding process uses a thin wire on a rotating spool, as a continuous electrode.  The size of this electrode varies from around 0.635 millimeters to about 4 millimeters.  The welding machine has a motor-driven spool inside that feeds the wire electrode into the weld.

The TIG welding (GTAW) process features an electrode that is not consumed by the welding process as the metal that makes up the weld does not have any electricity flowing through it. The electrode is made of Tungsten, so used as it will not melt while immersed in the electrical arc. A filler metal, in the form of a rod, can be used to add metal to the weld area.

Almost all welding uses filler metal to fill in the small gap between the metal pieces. The extra metal helps to make the weld strong. Sometimes welds need to be made without any filler metal. Welding with no filler metal is called autogenous welding.

Shielding in arc welding
All types of welding require that the hot metal have protection. Dirt, rust, grease, and even the oxidation of the metal under the weld process can prevent a proper weld joint. As such welding processes use one of two protection methods: flux, and shielding gas.

Welding flux may be used in a solid, liquid, or paste form. During welding, the flux will melt and some of it will evaporate. This creates a small pocket of gas around the weld. This pocket of gas prevents oxidation of the metal under weld. Melted flux, through a corrosive reaction, cleans contaminants that prevent a proper weld. After welding, the flux solidifies. This layer of solid flux is called slag, and must be removed from the weld. The SMAW weld process most commonly uses flux, and is most commonly used on steel.

Shielding gas protects the weld by being a pocket of gas around the weld. The purpose of this gas is to keep normal air out, especially oxygen. It is different from flux because there is no liquid on the weld. There is only a gas around the weld. Because there is no liquid, it will not clean up dirt and other things on the metal. This means that the metal has to be clean before it is welded. If it is not, the dirt and other things could cause problems. The gases that are usually used are argon, helium, and a mixture that is 3 parts argon and one part carbon dioxide. Other mixtures of gases can have nitrogen, hydrogen, or even a little bit of oxygen in them. One kind of welding that uses shielding gas is gas metal arc welding. It is usually used in factories to make things.

Welding that uses flux is easier to do outside when it is windy. This is because the liquid flux is protecting the hot metal and it will not blow away. Also, the flux is always making the pocket of gas which keeps the electric arc from going out. Welding that uses shielding gas usually cannot be used outside because the gas would blow away if there were any wind.

Other kinds of welding
Some kinds of welding do not use an electric arc. They might use a flame, electricity without an arc, an energy beam, or physical force. The most common type of welding that does not use an arc is called gas welding. In gas welding, a flammable(meaning it will burn) gas and oxygen are combined and burn at the end of a torch. Gas welding does not need any special shielding because a flame which is adjusted right has no extra oxygen in it. It is still important to make sure the metal is clean. The flame heats up the metal so much that it melts. When both the pieces of metal are melted at the edge, the liquid metal becomes one piece.

The other kind of welding that does not use an arc still uses electricity. It is called resistance welding. With this kind, two pieces of thin metal are pinched together and then electricity is made to go through them. This makes the metal get really hot and melt where it is pinched together. The two pieces melt together at that place. Sometimes this is called spot welding because the welding can only happen at one small place(or spot) at a time.

Forge welding is the first kind of welding that ever was used. Forge welding needs the two pieces of metal to so hot that they almost melt. Then they are beat together with hammers until they are one piece.

The other kinds of welding that do not use an arc are hard to do, and usually new. They are expensive too. Most of these kinds of welding are only done where specially needed. They might use an electron beam, laser, or ultrasonic sound waves.

Energy for welding
Every kind of welding needs to use energy. This energy is usually heat, but sometimes force is used to make a weld. When heat is used, it can be from electricity or from fire.

Power supplies for arc welding
A lot of electricity is used in arc welding. Some kinds of welding use alternating current like the electricity that buildings use. Other kinds use direct current like the electricity in a car or most things with a battery. Almost all kinds of welding use a lower voltage than the electricity that comes from a power plant. Arc welding requires using a special power supply that makes the electricity from the power plant usable for welding. A power supply lowers the voltage and controls the amount of current. The power supply usually has controls on it that allow these things to be changed. For kinds of arc welding that use alternating current, sometimes the power supply can do special things to make the electricity alternate differently. Some power supplies do not plug into a power plug, but instead generate their own electricity. These kind of power supplies have an engine that turns a generator head to make the electricity. The engine might run on gasoline, diesel fuel, or propane.

Energy for other kinds of welding
OFW uses a flame from burning fuel gas and oxygen to heat up the metal. This fuel gas is almost always acetylene. Acetylene is a flammable gas that burns very hot, hotter than any other gas. That is why it is used most of the time. Other gases like propane, natural gas, or other industrial gases can be used too.

Some kinds of welding do not use heat to make the weld. These kinds of welding can get hot, but they do not make the metal melt. Forge welding is an example of this. Friction stir welding is a special kind of welding that does not use heat. It uses a very powerful motor and a special spinning bit to mix the metals together at the edge. This seems odd because metals are a solid. this is why it takes a lot of force to do and is very hard. The energy for this kind of welding is mechanical energy from the spinning bit.

Other websites

 The American Welding Society

Construction
Metalworking

Welding


A world's fair is a large exhibition of industry and culture. They are also called expositions or expos. This type of exhibition occurs since the middle of the 19th century. The Bureau of International Expositions officially takes care of them. The "Bureau of International Expositions" is usually abbreviated BIE, from the organization's name in French: Bureau International des Expositions.

List of official world expositions (BIE):

Exhibitions

World's Fair


The 26th century BC is a century which was from the year 2600 BC to 2501 BC.

Events

c. 2900 BC – 2334 BC: Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period continue.
c. 2600 BC: The Harappan civilization rises to become a powerful civilization.
c. 2600 BC: Pre-Palace Period, phase I, in Crete
c. 2600 BC – 2500 BC: Wild horses still provide hunting feasts in Denmark. )
c. 2600 BC – 1900 BC: Large water tank, possibly a public or ritual bathing area, Mohenjo-Daro, Indus Valley Civilization, Harappan, is made.
c. 2589 BC: Pharaoh Khufu starts to rule (other date is 2601 BC).
c. 2578 BC: Khufu died.
c. 2575 BC: Old Kingdom in Egypt 4th Dynasty Snofru is Pharaoh.
c. 2570 BC: Khafra started to rule in Ancient Egypt.
c. 2566 BC: Pharaoh Khufu dies (other date is 2578 BC).
c. 2558 BC: Pharaoh Khafra starts to rule (other date is 2570 BC).
c. 2550 BC: Completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
c. 2550 BC: Egyptian rulers contact Western Desert oases, such as Dakhla Oasis.
c. 2550 BC: About this time, Mesannepada is king of Ur (followed by his son, A-annepadda) who founds the First dynasty of Ur and overthrows the last king of Uruk, as well as Mesalim of Kish.
c. 2550 BC – 2400 BC: Great Lyre with bull's head, from the tomb of King Meskalamdug, Ur (modern Muqaiyir, Iraq, is made. It is now kept at University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.
c. 2544 BC: Khafra died.
c. 2533 BC: Menkaura started to rule in Ancient Egypt.
c. 2532 BC: Pharaoh Khafra dies (other date is 2544 BC).
c. 2532 BC: Pharaoh Menkaura starts to rule (other date is 2533 BC).
c. 2515 BC: Menkaura died.
c. 2510 BC – 2460 BC: Ti watching a hippopotamus hunt, tomb of Ti, Saqqara, Fifth dynasty of Egypt, is made. Discovered by French archeologist Auguste Mariette in 1865.
c. 2503 BC: Pharaoh Menkaura dies (other date is 2515 BC).
c. 2500 BC: The legendary line of Sanhuangwudi rulers of China is founded by Huang Di.
c. 2500 BC: The construction of the stone circle at Stonehenge begins and continues for the next five hundred years.
c. 2500 BC: "Menkaura and a Queen, perhaps his wife, Queen Khamerernebty II" sculpture, later found at Giza. Fourth Dynasty. It is now in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Significant people
c. 2601 BC–2578 BC—reign of Pharaoh Khufu of Egypt's Fourth Dynasty

2599 BC—Huni is Pharaoh.
2575 BC—Old Kingdom in Egypt; 4th Dynasty; Sneferu is Pharaoh.
2528 BC—Ra'djedef is Pharaoh.
2520 BC—Khep-heren (Ra'kha'ef) is Pharaoh.

Deaths
Khufu dies

Inventions, discoveries, introductions
Rock drawings at Rødøy in Norway show the use of skis
Bactrian Camel and Dromedary are domesticated

26th century BC


Central Asia is a region in Asia. The countries in Central Asia are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan (which are mainly Turkic states) but also includes Tajikistan, and parts of China and Mongolia. The United Nations also includes Afghanistan as part of Central Asia.

History
People have lived in the region of Central Asia since prehistoric times. Most of the region was part of the Silk Road. It was a part of the Persian Empire until Alexander The Great captured it. When he died, the land was given to his general Seleucus. Seleucus slowly lost it to the Parthians.  When the Parthians (the Parthians were Persians) lost power, the Sassanids added it to their own Persian empire. However, a couple years later, during about the 600's A.D, Arab armies spreading the faith of Islam quickly captured it. A while later, an Iranian dynasty got semi- autonomy under the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. They were known as the Samanids. The Samanids controlled most of Central Asia and Northwestern Iran. They had power over this area during the 10th century. With them, Central Asian cities, such as Bukhara and Samarkand, grew in culture.

However, Turkic armies from this area took the region away from them. They were known as the Seljuk Turks. At the same time, Timur captured it. After his death, the Timurids (the name of the people of the dynasty Timur founded) could not hold unto their empire. They lost it to the Mongols. When the Mongols captured it, burned it to the ground. A while later, some rulers decided to make their own empires under that of the Mongols. These empires were known as Khanates. During the 19th century the Russian Empire conquered these lands. Many years later in 1991, all of the countries of Central Asia declared independence.

Economy
Uzbekistan has much cotton. Kazakhstan is rich because it has sold oil, gas and metals to Europe and China. Turkmenistan has adjusted better to independence from the Soviet Union than the other Central Asian countries, but it has been run by a dictatorship. Other than Kazakhstan, most of Central Asia are mostly underdeveloped.

Related pages
 Dagestan
 East Turkestan (Xinjiang, China)
 Kashmir (Northern Pakistan and India)
 Kazakhstan
 Kyrgyzstan
 Tajikistan (South-central Asia)
 Tatarstan
 Turkmenistan (South-central Asia)
 Uzbekistan
 Mongolia (and Inner Mongolia, China)
 Soviet Union
 Soviet Central Asia

 General Map of Central Asia: I from 1874

References

Central Asia


Escape velocity is the initial speed that something would need to completely escape the gravity of a large body, like a star or a planet (such as the Earth), by mere inertia.

If a ball is thrown upwards while standing on the ground, the ball will reach a certain height (the faster thrown - the higher) and fall back down. But imagine if the ball is thrown fast enough that it never falls back down, and instead travels into space farther and farther away from the Earth. The minimum speed at which this could happen is called the escape velocity.

The escape velocity at the surface of the Earth is 11.2 kilometers per second (or 6.96 miles per second), assuming there is no drag.

This is, of course, a very high speed compared to how fast a ball can be thrown. Even a bullet shot into the sky will fall back down, because its initial speed of nearly 1 kilometer per second (or 0.621 miles per second) is far from escape velocity.

Spacecraft starting from the surface of Earth has a zero initial speed. But, if it has enough fuel, it may be permanently accelerated by its engine until it reaches escape velocity. Then it will travel into space even after the engine is shut off.

References

Astrophysics

Escape velocity


The Lighthouse of Alexandria, or the Pharos, was a tall tower built between 285 and 247 BCE. It was built on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to serve as a lighthouse for sailors. The top of the tower had a mirror that reflected sunlight during the day; a fire was lit at night.

The word for "lighthouse" in some languages is pharos or its  equivalent.

Construction
Legend holds that Ptolemy I Soter would not allow Sostratus to put his name on the tower, but the architect left the following inscription on the base's walls:
ΣΟΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ ΔΕΞΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΚΝΙΔΙΟΣ ΘΕΟΙΣ ΣΩΤΕΡΣΙΝ ΥΠΕΡ ΤΩΝ ΠΛΩΙΖΟΜΕΝΩΝ. (Sostratus of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, to the Gods protecting those upon the sea.)
These words were hidden under a layer of plaster, on top of which was chiseled another inscription honoring Ptolemy the king as builder of the Pharos. After centuries the plaster wore away, revealing the name of Sostratus, the son of Dexiphanes.

With a height estimated at between 115 and 145 meters (384 – 469 ft), it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries. It was identified as one of the Seven Wonders of the World by Antipater of Sidon. It was the third tallest building after the two Great Pyramids (of Khufu and Khafra). It was destroyed by earthquakes.

Recent archaeological research
Divers discovered remains of the lighthouse in fall 1994 on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour. Some of these remains were brought up and were lying at the harbour on public view at the end of 1995. An episode of the PBS television series Nova chronicled the discovery. Later satellite imaging has revealed further remains. It is possible to go diving and see the ruins.

References

Buildings and structures in Ancient Egypt
Seven Wonders of the World
Ptolemaic Alexandria
Lighthouses
Transport in Egypt
3rd-century BC buildings and structures

Lighthouse of Alexandria