Tag Archives: Invention

Plate Armour

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Plate Armour

Plate armour has saved the lives of millions.

  • Plate armour is an invention designed as a body covering, that was worn to defend against attacks, and was most commonly used for humans, but it was also used on horses.
  • The stereotypical image of plate armour is often known as a ‘suit of armour’.
  • The Ancient Greeks and Romans were major innovators in using plate armour, with the torso most protected, although full body coverings were relatively non-existent during this time.
  • Plate armour was reinvented in Medieval Europe around the 1200s, and reached a full suit by the 1400s, capable of protecting the entire body.
  •  A full suit of plate armour, including the helmet, generally weighed around 15 to 29 kilograms (33 to 64 pounds) and only minimally restricted movement.

Plate Amour, Suit, Metal, Shiny, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Medieval, Armor

  • The development of plate armour led to the redevelopment of weaponry, with such weapons aimed at penetrating the weakest points of the armour.
  • Plate armour declined in viability by the late 1600s due to the introduction of practical and portable fire-powered weapons, which most armour was useless in defending against.
  • A suit of plate amour typically consisted of a helmet, a torso covering, leg and arm coverings, and a pair of gauntlets to cover the hands.
  • Plate armour ranged in quality and price, from those available to commoners, to those commissioned by royalty, and they are still available for sale today, mainly as collector’s item or used for medieval festivities.
  • Either steel or iron was normally used to craft plate amour, and higher quality armour was generally well-tempered.
Bibliography:
Armour, 2013, Medieval Warfare, http://www.medievalwarfare.info/armour.htm
Arms and Armor—Common Misconceptions and Frequently Asked Questions, 2015, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/aams/hd_aams.htm
Plate Amour, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_armour

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Glass

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Glass

The facts are reinforced with a nice layer of glass.

  • Glass is a common material popularly used for the construction of an object or a building, and is frequently used to make various types of containers, windows, beads, toy marbles and sculpting.
  • Light can reflect, refract and pass through glass, while the material is also impervious to water, has a slow erosion rate and is resistant to chemicals.
  • Silica is generally used in the making of glass, which is most often derived from sand, and it typically has other chemical additives, most commonly limestone and soda ash, for ease of use, durability, and to improve its properties.
  • Glass-making practices originated in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia around 3500 BC, although material of volcanic origin, mainly obsidian, were utilised prior to this time; while containers made of the material were made from the 1500s BC.
  • Glass is generally transparent, although it can also be opaque, with colourings derived from foreign particles or ions that can include metals and oxides and other compounds, while brown and green colours are the most commonly used.

Glass, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Invention, Colour, Clear, Transparency, Material, Assortment

  • The Great Conservatory at Chatsworth, built in the 1830s, in England’s Derbyshire, was among the first buildings to use glass as a major construction material, and along with the 1851 Crystal Palace built in England’s London by the same designer, Joseph Paxton, it contributed to revolutionising the material for construction purposes.
  • The 1800s and 1900s saw the most innovation of glassmaking techniques, including laminating and frosting, along with a comeback of historical methods.
  • To make glass, appropriate materials are melted at extremely high temperatures, refined and then moulded or formed through methods including blowing and pressing.
  • The mass production of glass products increased from the late 1800s onwards, with the introduction of automated bottle and sheet making machinery.
  • As glass is 100% recyclable, it can be recycled over and over, and when it goes through the recycling process, it uses less natural resources and 75% less energy than if it was made from raw materials, and it reduces the quantity of rubbish going to landfill.
Bibliography:
Glass, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass
History of Glass, 2013, British Glass, http://www.britglass.org.uk/history-of-glass
History of Glass, n.d., History of Glass, http://www.historyofglass.com/

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Match

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Match

Strike a flame with a match.

  • Matches are disposable items useful for the convenient and inexpensive ability to quickly light a flame.
  • Typically matches are a wooden or cardboard stick with an end cap, called a ‘head’, that ignites under friction.
  • Heads of matches are commonly made of phosphorus sesquisulfide, potassium chlorate, or antimony (III) sulphide.
  • The term ‘match’ comes from the word ‘meiche’, meaning ‘candle wick’ in Old French.
  • There are two main variants of matches, ‘safety’ variants, which generally cannot alight unless stricken upon a specially made material; and those that can ignite using friction on a dry, rough surface, known as ‘strike-anywhere’ variants.

Matches, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Fire, Invention, Wooden, Redheads, Red Phosphorus, White

  • Simple matches originated from as early as the mid 950s in China as sulphur-dipped wooden sticks, although they were possibly used a few hundred years earlier.
  • A variety of matches were invented in the early 1800s, including the chemical match in 1805, by Jean Chancel of Paris, France, although most were not safe or economical.
  • The first practical match to light through friction was invented by the Englishman John Walker, a chemist, in 1826, and improvements were made to it in 1830, by Charles Sauria of France.
  • A striking surface especially made for matches originated in Sweden, invented by Gustaf Pasch in 1844, notably using red phosphorus, as opposed to the previously used white phosphorus heads, and this was the beginning of the ‘safety’ version.
  • Surfaces made for match striking typically contain red phosphorus, glass crystals, carbon black, a binder and a neutraliser.
Bibliography:
The Chemistry of Matches, 2015, Compound Interest, http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/11/20/matches/
A History of the Match, n.d, The Museum of Everyday Life, http://museumofeverydaylife.org/exhibitions-collections/current-exhibitions/history-of-the-match
Match, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match

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Medal

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Medal

Take a medallion as your prize.

  • A medal is a flat, generally disc-like piece of metal, typically engraved and awarded to a person or group, that has accomplished a significant achievement.
  • ‘Medals’ are also called ‘medallions’, and large ones are often known as ‘table medals’.
  • The term ‘medal’ originates from the Latin words ‘medalia’ – a coin having a value of half a denarius, or ‘metallum’ – meaning ‘metal’ which developed into a word meaning ‘coin’.
  • Medals may be hung from a ribbon to be worn around one’s neck or pinned onto clothing, depending on their design and purpose.
  • Typically, medals have an embossed design that may include symbols or faces, as well as text.

Medal, Invention, Award, Trivia, Ribbon, Metal, Facts, Red, Academics

  • The earliest known record of a medal was in the 300s BC, and they were particularly used in the Greek and Roman societies and often made of, or similar to, golden coins.
  • The common metals used in the making of medals are gold, tin, platinum, bronze, copper, iron and silver, and sometimes a combination of materials are used.
  • Medals can vary greatly in size, from those as small as pendants, to those much too large to wear.
  • Medals are commonly distributed to those who are top achievers in the educational, military, sporting and scientific fields.
  • Some artists use medals as their primary canvas, popularly engraving portraits, and they are known as medallists.
Bibliography:
Medal, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal

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Railroad Track

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Railroad Track

Railroad tracks are quite directional and controlling, if you think about it.

  • Railroad tracks are constructions that direct and provide a platform for trains to move along.
  • ‘Railroad tracks’ are also known as ‘railway tracks’, ‘train tracks’, ‘permanent ways’, and simply ‘tracks’.
  • The width of railroad tracks can vary greatly, from 0.38 to 2.14 metres (1.25 to 7 feet), with the standard gauge measuring 1.435 metres (4.7 feet).
  • Four main parts make up a railroad track – a pair of rails, which hold the train’s wheels; sleepers, which support and hold the rails in place; fasteners, that secure the sleepers and rails together; and the ballast that the sleepers sit on, which allows water to drain away and reduces the growth of vegetation around the track.
  • Early railroad tracks were known as ‘wagonways’ and were grooves cut into the ground or rock, to guide the movement of wheeled vehicles, and these are believed to have existed as early as 600 BC, and later they were commonly used in mines, from the first century BC.

Railroad Track, Invention, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Train, Line, Transport, Station

  • Railroad tracks are typically made of wooden or concrete sleepers and steel rails, that are placed on a ‘ballast’, a track bed of crushed stone, or a concrete platform known as a ‘ballastless’.
  • Improvements on wagonways in mines were made with the use of timber, until iron railroad tracks were first crafted in the early to mid 1700s, while more practical steel rails emerged in 1857, which boasted increased durability.
  • The rails of railroad tracks were originally too fragile to support the heavy weight of a steam locomotive, although an innovation of long wrought iron rails, created by English railway engineer, John Birkinshaw, in 1820 led to viable, durable tracks.
  • The fasteners of railroad tracks have historically included the combination of baseplates and spikes, bolts or screws, while springs or clips attached to baseplates are becoming increasingly common in modern times.
  • Railroad tracks are to be maintained on a routine basis to avoid train derailments, which includes the spraying of tracks to ensure no plants grow there.
Bibliography:
Lewis M, Railways in the Greek and Roman World, n.d, Science News, http://www.sciencenews.gr/docs/diolkos.pdf
Permanent Way (History), 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_way_(history)
Track (Railway Transport), 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_(rail_transport)

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Ram-air Parachute

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Ram-air Parachute

Ram-air parachutes are full of air.

  • Ram-air parachutes are a type of parafoil parachute or canopy, used to lower one’s descent speed so that safe arrival on the ground can be achieved, or to glide in the air, although those used for gliding purposes are typically called a ‘paraglider’.
  • Ram-air parachutes can be either rectangular in shape, known in parachuting jargon as ‘square’, or tapered, known as ‘elliptical’.
  • The primary advantage ram-air parachutes have over other variants is greater control over direction and speed, and the design also provides lift.
  • A ram-air parachute is made of two fabric layers, typically rip-stop nylon, with a cell-like airfoil in between, which when moving, automatically fills with air.
  • Ram-air parachutes that are the combination of an elliptical shape and small, are notoriously more difficult to control, compared to larger or square ones, primarily due to increased moving speed.

Ram-air Parachute, Trivia, Ten Random Facts, Flight, Gliding, Jump, Yellow, Blue, Rectangular, Sport, Invention

  • The parafoil design that the ram-air parachute is based on was designed by Canadian Domina Jalbert, in the late 1950s to early 1960s, a patent for which was filed in 1964.
  • The deployment of ram-air parachutes was originally so fast that is was dangerous, however, they have since been designed so that a slower deployment speed is achieved to avoid body injuries, though these speeds differ greatly depending on the parachute.
  • The ram-air parachute has been the most common form of parachute used for humans since its rise in the 1970s.
  • Ram-air parachutes are used in a number of different applications including sky diving, base jumping, paragliding, and for military purposes.
  • Ram-air parachutes and paragliders generally range from 6.5 to at least 41 square metres (70 to 441 square feet) in size, and sizes vary according to their use and user expertise.
Bibliography:
O’Neil A, What’s A “Ram-Air” Canopy?, n.d, About Sports, http://extremesports.about.com/od/air-sports/g/ram-air.htm
Parachute, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute#Ram-air
Skydiving FAQ, n.d, Fabulous Rocketeers, http://www.fabulousrocketeers.com/Photo_Sabre2.htm

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