Thermometers measure temperature, by using materials that change in
some way when they are heated or cooled. In a mercury or alcohol thermometer the liquid
expands as it is heated and contracts when it is cooled, so the length of the
liquid column is longer or shorter depending on the temperature. Modern thermometers are calibrated in standard
temperature units such as Fahrenheit (used in the United States) or Celsius
(used in Canada) and Kelvin (used mostly by scientists). Before there was the thermometer, there was
the earlier and closely related thermoscope, best described as a thermometer
without a scale. A thermoscope only
showed the differences in temperatures, for example, it could show something
was getting hotter. However, the
thermoscope did not measure all the data that a thermometer could, for example
an exact temperature in degrees. Several
inventors invented a version of the thermoscope at the same time. In 1593, Galileo Galilei invented a rudimentary water thermoscope, which for
the first time, allowed temperature variations to be measured. Today, Galileo's invention is called the
Galileo Thermometer, even though by definition it was really a thermoscope. It was a container filled with bulbs of
varying mass, each with a temperature marking, the buoyancy of water changes
with temperature, some of the bulbs sink while others float, the lowest bulb
indicated what temperature it was. In
1612, the Italian inventor Santorio Santorio became
the first inventor to put a numerical scale on his thermoscope. In 1654, the first enclosed liquid-in-a-glass
thermometer was invented by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand II. The Duke used alcohol as his liquid. However, it was still inaccurate and used no
standardized scale. Daniel Gabriel
Fahrenheit was the German physicist who invented a alcohol thermometer in 1709,
and the mercury thermometer in 1714. In
1724, he introduced the standard temperature scale that bears his name -
Fahrenheit Scale - that was used to record changes in temperature in an
accurate fashion. The Celsius temperature scale is also referred to as
the "centigrade" scale. Centigrade
means "consisting of or divided into 100 degrees". In 1742, the Celsius scale was invented by
Swedish Astronomer Anders Celsius. Lord Kelvin took the whole process one step further with his
invention of the Kelvin Scale in 1848. The
Kelvin Scale measures the ultimate extremes of hot and cold. Kelvin developed
the idea of absolute temperature, what is called the "Second Law of
Thermodynamics", and developed the dynamical theory of heat. Read more at http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/History-Of-The-Thermometer.htm
THE THREE C'S Q. One
problem that always trips me up is knowing the correct use of comprise,
consist, and constitute. Is there a rule
of thumb for knowing when to favor one over the others? A. Change them all to "makes up" or
"is made up of." Well, maybe
not all, but I prefer that construction. Remember that nothing is
"comprised of." The whole
comprises the parts. That's the one that people most often get wrong. Bill Walsh
Rotten stone,
or rottenstone, is a form of powdered stone which is used to polish wood and
some soft metals; you may also hear it referred to as tripoli. This product can be useful to have around the home, as it can be utilized to buff
out stains in addition to being used to finish wood.
Classically, rotten stone
is made from soft, powdered limestone mixed with silica. The result is a soft abrasive powder which can
be used towards the end of the finishing process to create a smooth, clean
finish. Typically, rotten stone is
applied after varnishing and a rough polishing with pumice powder, which buffs
out the big uneven spots, making it easier to use the rotten stone. After polishing, the wood should have a
bright, glossy finish. Rotten stone
comes in powder form, meaning that people must mix it into a paste before using
it. Many woodworkers use oil to make
their rotten stone paste, although it is also possible to use water. Rotten stone can also be used on some metals,
like brass, in addition to
wood.
John Winslow Irving, born on March 2, 1942 in Exeter,
New Hampshire, pursued wrestling and worked as a teacher before shooting to
fame with his bestselling 1978 novel, The
World According to Garp, which won the National Book Award. He later crafted the 1985 novel The Cider House Rules, for
which he also wrote the screenplay adaption, winning an Oscar for his efforts. When he was 15, Irving read Great
Expectations by Charles Dickens, which had a profound effect on his
life and inspired much of his future writing.
Irving
studied as an undergrad at the University of New Hampshire, and went on to earn
an Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Iowa, studying fiction and
graduating in 1967. He published his
first book, Setting Free the Bears, in 1968, and taught at the
University of Iowa and Mount Holyoke through the '70s, while continuing to
write and publish novels like The Water-Method Man and The
158-Pound Marriage. http://www.biography.com/people/john-irving-39979#awesm=~oG7LNTChVP3RBK
The New York Public Library's Rose Main Reading Room will remain closed for the next six months for
inspection and repairs after a plaster rosette fell from its ceiling, library
officials said June 16, 2014. The
reading room is the jewel of the library's flagship Fifth Avenue building,
which draws 2.3 million visits a year. The
room's 52-foot-tall ceilings are adorned with painted clouds and other
decorations molded in plaster. The reading room, and the adjacent Bill Blass
Public Catalog Room, have been closed since the plaster fell on May 29 at about
2 a.m., while the library was closed. The
fallen rosette was about 12 to 16 inches wide.
The library's recently scrapped
renovation plan wouldn't have altered the reading room, but would have gutted
the historic book stacks that provide its structural support. The library in early May announced that the
stacks would be preserved, after concluding that the renovation would cost $200
million more than expected. Jennifer
Maloney See beautiful pictures at http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-new-york-public-librarys-rose-main-reading-room-will-close-for-six-months-after-plaster-fell-from-the-ceiling-in-may-1402958037?tesla=y&mod=djemITP_h&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304068704579628702469129092.html?mod=djemITP_h
Apple Inc
reached an out-of-court settlement with U.S. states and other complainants in
an e-book price-fixing class action lawsuit on June 16, 2014, effectively
avoiding a trial in which the iPad maker faced more than $800 million in
claims. U.S. District Judge in Manhattan
Denise Cote ordered the parties to submit a filing to seek approval of their
settlement within 30 days.
The terms of the
settlement, which still needs court approval, have not been revealed. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Apple and
five publishers in April 2012, accusing them of working together illegally to
increase e-book prices. Since then, 33
states and U.S. territories have separately sued Apple on behalf of their
consumers, while individual consumers in other states and territories filed a
class action lawsuit. The complainants
are seeking up to $840 million in damages for e-book customers. The exact
amount of damages was to be litigated at a trial scheduled for July 14. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/17/us-apple-ebooks-settlement-idUSKBN0ES0GH20140617
Food companies
go to great lengths to safeguard their coveted recipes—KFC’s (YUM) and Coca-Cola’s (KO) are stored
in vaults—no doubt because they’re considered to be any successful
brand’s secret weapon. Yet curiously, a
recipe isn’t always owned by the restaurant. Such has been the case at fried-chicken chain Popeyes (PLKI), which announced on June
17, 2014 that it just bought several recipes used in its core menu for $43
million. (The chain won’t specify which
recipes.) How did it not own its
recipes? Until now, the recipes have
belonged to Diversified Foods and Seasonings, a Louisiana
food manufacturer started by Popeyes founder Al Copeland in 1984 after he
opened Popeyes. For the last 23 years
the chicken chain has paid DFS a $3.1 million “spice royalty” to license the
use of its recipes. It’s a peculiar
arrangement dating back to the early 1990s, when Copeland was forced to step
down as chief executive of Popeyes’ parent company following a bankruptcy
reorganization. It left him as a franchisee
of 26 Popeyes and Church’s restaurants, and with a 12-year contract to supply
DFS products to the chain. DFS makes
biscuit, cake, and meat mixes; batters; seasoning blends; gravies; soups;
sauces; and sides like macaroni and cheese, spinach and artichoke dip, and
jambalaya and grits, according to its website at http://diversified-foods.com/products.
After he left Popeyes, Copeland retained
ownership of Popeyes’ recipes and continued to collect royalties for their use.
Copeland died in 2008, and DFS is now
owned by his estate. Venessa Wong http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-17/popeyes-buys-its-recipes-for-43-million-dot-wait-popeyes-didnt-own-its-recipes
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 1163
June 18, 2014 On this date in 1812, War of 1812: The U.S. Congress declared war on Great Britain, Canada, and Ireland.
On this date in 1858, Charles Darwin received a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical
conclusions about evolution as
Darwin's own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory. On this date in 1873, Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote
in the 1872
presidential election.
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