omniomni/omni-engineering huggingface dataset:
Fletcher's Canal. Fletcher's Canal was a  long canal in Greater Manchester, which connected the Wet Earth Colliery to the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal at Clifton Aqueduct. The canal is now derelict and no longer used.

The canal was built on the south bank of the River Irwell through the area now known as Clifton Country Park. West of Pilkington's long sections of the canal are evident, although none of these sections hold water. As the canal passes through Clifton Country Park a footpath is maintained along the former towpath. Some of the original features are still evident, albeit in extremely poor condition.

History
Between 1752 and 1756, James Brindley devised a method of pumping water from the nearby Wet Earth Colliery using power harnessed from the River Irwell via a water wheel.

Around 1790-91 Matthew Fletcher began widening some of the original Brindley water channels to create a new canal, latterly known as Fletcher's Canal. In 1799 Benjamin Outram installed a lock  along the canal, to avoid taking too much water. The canal construction was completed and navigable by 1800.

In 1867 the original Brindley water wheel was decommissioned and replaced with a water turbine. This was replaced by a steam pump in 1924. Wet Earth Colliery was closed in 1928, and in 1952 the canal was closed and abandoned.

See also

Canals of Great Britain
History of the British canal system
Wet Earth Colliery
Pilkington Lancastrian Pottery

References

Bibliography

External links

Images of Fletcher's Canal
Manchester Bolton and Bury canal society
Pennine Waterways - Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal
Manchester Bury and Bolton canal non-official website
Waterway recovery group website
Dave Lane home page, includes information about Fletcher's Canal

Canals in Salford
Irwell Valley
Canals opened in 1800
Ping-pong scheme. Algorithms said to employ a ping-pong scheme exist in different fields of software engineering. They are characterized by an alternation between two entities. In the examples described below, these entities are communication partners, network paths or file blocks.

Databases
In most database management systems durable database transactions are supported through a log file. However, multiple writes to the same page of that file can produce a slim chance of data loss. Assuming for simplicity that the log file is organized in pages whose size matches the block size of its underlying medium, the following problem can occur:

If the very last page of the log file is only partially filled with data and has to be written to permanent storage in this state, the very same page will have to be overwritten during the next write operation. If a crash happens during that later write operation, previously stored log data may be lost.

The ping-pong scheme described in Transaction Processing eliminates this problem by alternately writing the contents of said (logical) last page to two different physical pages inside the log file (the actual last page i and its empty successor i+1). Once said logical log page is no longer the last page (i.e. it is completely filled with log data), it is written one last time to the regular physical position (i) inside the log file.

This scheme requires the usage of time stamps for each page in order to distinguish the most recent version of the logical last page one from its predecessor.

Networking

Internet
A functionality which lets a computer A find out whether a computer B is reachable and responding is built into the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). Through an "Echo Request" Computer A asks B to send back an "Echo Reply". These two messages are also sometimes called "ping" and "pong" for historical purposes.

Routing
In routing, a Ping-Pong scheme is a simple algorithm for distributing data packets across two paths. If you had two paths A and B, then the algorithm would randomly start with one of the paths and then switch back and forth between the two.

If you were to get the next path from a function call, it would look like this in Python:
def get_next_path():
    """
    This function is a generator that infinitely yields the strings "A" and "B" in an alternating sequence.

    Yields:
      str: The next string in the sequence, either "A" or "B".
    """
    while True:
        yield "A"
        yield "B"

References

Algorithms
Articles with example Python (programming language) code
GAF Turana. The GAF Turana was a target drone produced by the Australian Government Aircraft Factories (GAF). The name is believed to be from an Aboriginal Australian word meaning rainbow.

The Turana target drone was designed and built in Australia as a development of the Ikara anti-submarine weapon system. It was a target drone with remote control that was launched from the Ikara launcher for use in naval anti-aircraft target practice.

Design and development
The Turana had a composite metal/fibre glass structure and was powered by a Microturbo Cougar 022 Turbojet.

The Turana was first flown from Woomera in August 1971. The program was cancelled in 1979 as water ingress during recovery of the drone was causing failure of the electronics.

See also
List of unmanned aerial vehicles

Notes

References

Further reading

External links
Turana target drone Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS)

GAF aircraft
Target drones
Unmanned aerial vehicles of Australia
Aircraft first flown in 1971
Single-engined jet aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
Elefunk. Elefunk is a 2008 puzzle video game developed by British studios 8bit Games and Big Head Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It was released on the PlayStation Network. It is a physics-based puzzle game like Bridge Constructor but much more elaborate and not limited to bridges.

Gameplay
Elefunk is a puzzle game, where players build bridges from various joints and slants. Resilience is tested with elephants; the bridges are built to prevent them from falling. The game has 20+ levels, various construction materials, different environments, multiplayer and online leaderboards.

There are 4 stages in the game; Waterfall, Desert (which consists of the elephants rolling down making the levels more difficult), Swamp (which consists of ropes and wooden pieces) and Circus, the final stage. At the end of each stage there is a bonus level where players control a ramp and try to reach a target.

Reception

Elefunk received mixed reviews from critics upon release. On Metacritic, the game holds a score of 70/100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On GameRankings, the game holds a score of 70.62% based on 13 reviews.

References

External links
 Gamasutra preview
 Developer website

2008 video games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
PlayStation 3 games
PlayStation 3-only games
PlayStation Network games
Puzzle video games
Sony Interactive Entertainment games
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Sorbitan. Sorbitan is a mixture of isomeric organic compounds derived from the dehydration of sorbitol and is an intermediate in the conversion of sorbitol to isosorbide. Sorbitan is primarily used in the production of surfactants such as polysorbates; which are important emulsifying agents, with a total annual demand of more than 10,000 tons in 2012. Sorbitan and Sorbitol esters are an uncommon allergen.

Synthesis
Sorbitan is produced by the dehydration of sorbitol and is an intermediate in the conversion of sorbitol to isosorbide. The dehydration reaction usually produces sorbitan as a mixture of five- and six-membered cyclic ethers (1,4-anhydrosorbitol,  1,5-anhydrosorbitol and 1,4,3,6-dianhydrosorbitol) with the five-membered 1,4-anhydrosorbitol form being the dominant product.  The rate of formation of sorbitan is typically greater than that of isosorbide, which allows it to be produced selectively, providing the reaction conditions are carefully controlled. The dehydration reaction has been shown to work even in the presence of excess water.

Surfactant derivatives

Esters
Sorbitan esters (also known as Spans) are nonionic surfactants that are used as emulsifying agents in the preparation of emulsions, creams, and ointments for pharmaceutical and cosmetic use. When used alone they produce stable water-in-oil emulsions but they are frequently used with a polysorbate in varying proportions to produce water-in-oil or oil-in-water emulsions or creams with a variety of different textures and consistencies. Sorbitan esters are also used as emulsifiers and stabilisers in food.

Polysorbate

Ethoxylated sorbitan esters are known as polysorbates (trade name: Tweens). They are an important class of emulsifiers used in a variety of settings, including pharmaceuticals and food.

References

Tetrahydrofurans
Non-ionic surfactants
Monosaccharide derivatives
Fouga CM.10. The Fouga CM.10 was an assault glider designed for the French Army shortly after World War II, capable of carrying 35 troops, later converted as a powered transport.

Design and development
The CM.10 was a high-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration with fixed tricycle undercarriage. Flight trials with the glider prototypes were of mixed results with the first prototype crashing on 5 May 1948 whilst being flown by CEV Brétigny. A production order for 100 was placed with Fouga, but cancelled after only 5 gliders had been built.

Undaunted, Fouga adapted the design as an airliner, adding two SNECMA 12S piston engines. Two of the production CM.10 gliders were converted to the powered version, CM.100-01,  the first prototype (registration F-WFAV), was first flown on 19 January 1949, but no order resulted for this aircraft. It was later tested with Turbomeca Piméné turbojets mounted on the wingtips as the CM.101R-01. The second aircraft, which was converted as CM.101R-02, (registration F-WFAV), was first flown on 23 Aug 1951.

Variants
CM.10
The original assault glider design, two prototypes built; CM.10-01, first flight 7 June 1947 at Mont de Marsan, crashed on 5 May 1948 whilst on trials at CEV Brétigny; CM.10-02 was first flown in late 1948. Production orders for 100 were cancelled after five gliders were built.
CM.100
Two CM.10 production gliders powered by two SNECMA 12S-02 engines in nacelles on each wing.
CM.101R
The two CM.100s fitted with auxiliary Turbomeca Piméné turbojets on the wing-tips.
CM.103R
A proposed military transport derivative with Turbomeca Marboré wing-tip auxiliary turbojets.

Specifications (CM.100)

See also

Notes

References

External links

 aviafrance.com

CM.10
1940s French military transport aircraft
Glider aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1947
Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear
Jacques E. Brandenberger. Jacques Edwin Brandenberger (19 October 1872 – 13 July 1954) was a Swiss chemist and textile engineer who in 1908 invented cellophane.  He was awarded the Franklin Institute's Elliott Cresson Medal in 1937.

Brandenberger was born in Zurich in 1872. He graduated from the University of Bern in 1895. In 1908 Brandenberger invented cellophane. Made from wood cellulose, cellophane was intended as a coating to make cloth more resistant to staining. After several years of further research and refinements, he began production of cellophane in 1920 marketing it for industrial purposes. He sold the US rights to DuPont in 1923.

References

External links
 Dr. J. E. Brandenberger Foundation
 Biography at National Inventors Hall of Fame
  Composite cellulose film, May 21, 1918

20th-century Swiss chemists
20th-century Swiss inventors
1872 births
Scientists from Zurich
1954 deaths
2-Cyanoguanidine. 2-Cyanoguanidine is a nitrile derived from guanidine. It is a dimer of cyanamide, from which it can be prepared. 2-Cyanoguanidine is a colourless solid that is soluble in water, acetone, and alcohol, but not nonpolar organic solvents.

Production and use
2-Cyanoguanidine is produced by treating cyanamide with base. It is produced in soil by decomposition of cyanamide. A variety of useful compounds are produced from 2-cyanoguanidine, guanidines and melamine.  For example, acetoguanamine and benzoguanamine are prepared by condensation of cyanoguanidine with the nitrile:
(H2N)2C=NCN + RCN → (CNH2)2(CR)N3

Cyanoguanidine is also used as a slow fertilizer. Formerly, it was used as a fuel in some explosives. It is used in the adhesive industry as a curing agent for epoxy resins.

Chemistry

Two tautomeric forms exist, differing in the protonation and bonding of the nitrogen to which the nitrile group is attached.

2-Cyanoguanidine can also exist in a zwitterionic form via a formal acid–base reaction among the nitrogens.

Loss of ammonia (NH3) from the zwitterionic form, followed by deprotonation of the remaining central nitrogen atom, gives the dicyanamide anion, [N(CN)2]−.

Drugs List
2-Cyanoguanidine finds use in the synthesis of the following list of agents:
Amanozine
Azapropazone
Buformin
Chlorazanil
Chlorproguanil
Clociguanil
Cloguanamil
Cloquanamil
Cycloguanil
Dametralast
Diallylmelamine (DAM)
Guanazole
Irsogladine
Metformin
Methylphenobarbital
Moroxydine
Oxonazine
Phenformin
Phenylbiguanide
NSC-127755
Triazinate

References

External links
 
 OECD document 
 Entry at chemicalland21.com

Guanidines
Cyanamides
Cyanoguanidines
RunBot. RunBot  is a miniature bipedal robot which belongs to the class of limit cycle walkers. Instead of using a central pattern generator it uses reflexes which generate the gait. The reflexes are triggered by ground contact sensors in the feet which then activate the motors. The generation of the walking gait is straightforward: when a foot touches the ground the other leg is lifted upwards so that the robot falls forward. This then causes this leg to touch the ground and so forth. The walking speed can be improved by means of reinforcement learning because there are only a few parameters in this scheme. RunBot was built in 2005 by Tao Geng as part of his PhD under supervision of Prof Woergoetter and after an idea by Dr Porr to use a walking robot to benchmark reflex based reinforcement learning rules. Its movements and adaptability are based on the work of neurophysiologist Nikolai Bernstein.

Since its inception the RunBot has undergone numerous design iterations, for example where a moveable upper body mass on the robot keeps the walking pattern stable even on uneven terrain.

Design
The locomotion system is kept simple with four motors: one on each of two knees, one on each of two hips. The sensory system is of similar simplicity, with the ability to detect the ground contact and the angles of the hips/knee motors. The motors are controlled by force and not by angle.

References

External links
Runbot's creators recorded demonstrations of RunBot:
 
 
 
 
 

Bipedal robots
2007 robots
Science and technology in Europe
Robot legs
Electrostatic separator. An electrostatic separator is a device for separating particles by mass in a low energy charged beam.

An example is the electrostatic precipitator used in coal-fired power plants to treat exhaust gas, removing small particles that cause air pollution. 

Electrostatic separation is a process that uses electrostatic charges to separate crushed particles of material. An industrial process used to separate large amounts of material particles, electrostatic separating is most often used in the process of sorting mineral ore. This process can help remove valuable material from ore, or it can help remove foreign material to purify a substance. In mining, the process of crushing mining ore into particles for the purpose of separating minerals is called beneficiation.

Generally, electrostatic charges are used to attract or repel differently charged material. When electrostatic separation uses the force of attraction to sort particles, conducting particles stick to an oppositely charged object, such as a metal drum, thereby separating them from the particle mixture. When this type of beneficiation uses repelling force, it is normally employed to change the trajectory of falling objects to sort them into different places. This way, when a mixture of particles falls past a repelling object, the particles with the correct charge fall away from the other particles when they are repelled by the similarly charged object.

An electric charge can be positive or negative — objects with a positive charge repel other positively charged objects, thereby causing them to push away from each other, while a positively charged object would attract to a negatively charged object, thereby causing the two to draw together. 

Experiments showing electrostatic sorting in action can help make the process more clear. To exhibit electrostatic separation at home, an experiment can be conducted using peanuts that are still in their shells. When the shells are rubbed off of the peanuts and gently smashed into pieces, an electrostatically charged device, like a comb rubbed quickly against a wool sweater, will pick up the peanut shells with static electricity. The lightweight crushed shells that are oppositely charged from the comb easily move away from the edible peanut parts when the comb is passed nearby.

The electrostatic separation of conductors is one method of beneficiation; another common beneficiation method is magnetic beneficiation. Electrostatic separation is a preferred sorting method when dealing with separating conductors from electrostatic separation non-conductors. In a similar way to that in which electrostatic separation sorts particles with different electrostatic charges magnetic beneficiation sorts particles that respond to a magnetic field. Electrostatic beneficiation is effective for removing particulate matter, such as ash from mined coal, while magnetic separation functions well for removing the magnetic iron ore from deposits of clay in the earth.

References

Separation processes
Air filters
Chemical equipment
KTM Class 81. The Class 81 is the first and oldest type of electric multiple unit introduced by Keretapi Tanah Melayu for its KTM Komuter service. 18 sets were designed by Hunslet TPL and built by Ganz Works in 1993-1994.

The Class 81 currently operates in a fixed 3-car formation for its regular service. The middle coach is exclusively for women and children.

The KTM Class 81 design is derived from the British Rail Class 323, with the main alteration being that it has single leaf swing-plug doors instead of a double leaf type.

Description
The EMUs were built from 1993 to 1994 and entered service on 3 August 1995. The EMUs were the first electric trains of any kind in KTM's history. They operate in multiple-unit formation, The EMUs were state-of-the-art, with remote-controlled pneumatic doors, Automatic Train Protection (ATP), train data recorder, wheel-slip control, GTO/IGBT traction electronics and regenerative braking, and ran from  overhead catenary supply. Up to the point of their introduction no other KTM motive power used these modern train control systems.

The train runs in a 3-car formation. They were once run in 3+3 formations during rush hour, but this configuration was discontinued.

The cessation of Jenbacher’s rail operations resulted in loss of spare parts for these trains. Over the years, their maintenance lapsed, resulting in poor reliability and premature failure. As a result, some had to be used as dummy coaches in a hybrid service. A diesel locomotive pulled the coaches and a power generator was attached at the end. The hybrid service started in 2009 and ended in 2012, when new trains rendered this stopgap measure unnecessary.

Many trains were rendered surplus after the introduction of the Class 92 in 2012. Some were brought down to be converted to intercity sets, while others were scrapped. The refurbished sets could not be used as intercity sets in the end as regulations mandate that long distance trains have a toilet, which this class lacks.

The class disappeared from passenger service from 2012 to 2018. However, in 2018, many of the refurbished EMUs were brought back into service. They currently operate on the Batu Caves shuttle, the Northern Sector and occasionally the Central sector.

Gallery

References

KTM Komuter
Electric multiple units of Malaysia
Train-related introductions in 1994
25 kV AC multiple units
Ganz-Mavag multiple units
3D Core Graphics System. The 3D Core Graphics System (a.k.a. Core) was the very first graphical standard ever developed.  A group of 25 experts of the ACM Special Interest Group SIGGRAPH developed this "conceptual framework".  The specifications were published in 1977 and it became a foundation for many future developments in the field of computer graphics.

External links 
 The History of Computer Graphics Standards Development
 History of Computer Graphics

References

Graphics standards
Boisavia Anjou. 

The Boisavia B.260 Anjou (later developed by SIPA as the Sipavia Anjou) was a four-seat twin-engine light aircraft developed in France in the 1950s. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration with retractable tricycle undercarriage.  Intended by Boisavia as a touring aircraft, it did not find a market and only the single prototype was constructed. At this point, the firm sold the design to SIPA, which modified the design and re-engined it with Lycoming O-360 engines, but found that they could not sell it either. At a time when the twin-engine light plane market was already dominated by all-metal American aircraft, the Anjou's fabric-over-tube construction was something of an anachronism, and all development was soon ceased. Plans to develop a stretched version with three extra seats and Potez 4D engines were also abandoned.

Variants
 B.260 - Boisavia prototype with Regnier 4L engines (1 built)
 S.261 - SIPA conversion with Lycoming O-360 engines (1 converted)
 S.262 - Planned seven-seat version (not built)

Specifications (B.260)

References

Further reading

External links
 aviafrance.com
 luftfahrt-archiv.de

Anjou
Abandoned civil aircraft projects
1950s French civil utility aircraft
SIPA aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1956
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft
Sony Lissa. Lissa was a range of HiFi components by Sony, based on the i.LINK S200 interconnect standard and styled in a novel, minimalist design. It was introduced in 2000. Produced as a single series with a unique design.

Although the receiver had some analogue inputs, the components required just a digital i.LINK connection to hook up. The other components only featured a power cord and two i.LINK ports on the rear panel.

The MiniDisc recorder/player & CD player implement the 1394TA specifications:
 AV/C Disc Subunit General Specification
 AV/C Disc Media Type Specification - MD audio
 AV/C Disc Media Type Specification - CD-DA
 AV/C Descriptor Mechanism Specification
 AV/C Information Block Types Specification
These devices can be controlled by either the STR-LSA1 receiver, or through a computer (Windows or Mac) using standard AV/C commands.
The MiniDisc deck appears to be the most complete implementation of the Disc Subunit specification in consumer equipment.

Products 
Only four components and one set of speakers were ever introduced:
 CDP-LSA1 – CD player
 SDP-LSA10 - DVD /  SACD player
 MDS-LSA1 – MiniDisc recorder
 STR-LSA1 – Receiver
 SS-LA500ED – Speakers

for the latest, the speakers were 
a 2.1 system

External links
 

Sony products