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en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Quantum_theory_of_observation/Quant...
Quantum theory of observation - Thierry Dugnolle
Quantum physics for dummies
Fundamental principles and concepts
Examples of measurements
Entanglement
General theory of measurement
The forest of destinies
The appearance of relative classical worlds in the quantum Universe
Quantum entanglement is the fundamental concept to explain the reality of observation.
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Wave-particle duality
Is light a flow of particles or a wave phenomenon ? Light rays could be particle paths and they were regarded thus by Newton in his Optics. Light reflection in a mirror is then naturally interpreted with the hypothesis that particles of light, or photons, are like bouncing balls. Nevertheless Huygens argued that this phenomenon and others were better interpreted with the hypothesis that light rays are perpendicular lines to wave fronts.
Photography gives an evidence of the existence of particles of light, for traces left by light are always like impacts of particles.
But if light is made of particles how can we explain interference patterns such as those found by Young and Fresnel ? Interference is always interference between waves. It seems there can not be any interference with particles. An interference pattern is an experimental evidence that light is a wave phenomenon. It is confirmed by Maxwell's theory of electomagnetism, which defines light as an electromagnetic wave.
That light be made of particles is not contradicted by the existence of interference patterns. Here is what we can see if we look at how an interference pattern appears on a photographic plate (see photo - animated in original publication)
The wave phenomenon, interference, results from impacts of particles.
The superposition principle gives a very direct explanation of wave-particle duality. Any physical system is a particle or a system of particles, but these behave sometimes like waves because they can be in many places at the same time. The wave of a particle or of a system of particles determines its diffuse presence.
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Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
seop.illc.uva.nl/entries/qt-entangle/
1. Quantum Entanglement
In 1935 and 1936, Schrödinger published a two-part article in the Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society in which he discussed and extended an argument by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen. The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) argument was, in many ways, the culmination of Einstein’s critique of the orthodox Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and was designed to show that the theory is incomplete. (See the entries on the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen argument in quantum theory and the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.)
In classical mechanics the state of a system is essentially a list of the system’s properties — more precisely, it is the specification of a set of parameters from which the list of properties can be reconstructed: the positions and momenta of all the particles comprising the system (or similar parameters in the case of fields).
The dynamics of the theory specifies how properties change in terms of a law of evolution for the state. In a letter to Max Born, Wolfgang Pauli characterized this mode of description of physical systems as a ‘detached observer’ idealization (see The Born-Einstein Letters, Born, 1992; p. 218).
On the Copenhagen interpretation, such a description is not possible for quantum systems. Instead, the quantum state of a system should be understood as a catalogue of what an observer has done to the system and what has been observed, and the import of the state then lies in the probabilities that can be inferred (in terms of the theory) for the outcomes of possible future observations on the system.
Einstein rejected this view and proposed a series of arguments to show that the quantum state is simply an incomplete characterization of a quantum system. The missing parameters are sometimes referred to as ‘hidden parameters’ or ‘hidden variables.’
It should not be supposed that Einstein’s notion of a complete theory included the requirement that the theory should be deterministic. Rather, he required certain conditions of separability and locality for composite systems consisting of separated component systems: each component system separately should be characterized by its own properties (its own ‘being-thus,’ as Einstein put it — ‘So-sein’ in German), and it should be impossible to alter the properties of a distant system instantaneously (or the probabilities of these properties) by acting on a local system.
In later analyses, notably in Bell’s argument for the nonlocality of quantum correlations, it became apparent that these conditions, suitably formulated as probability constraints, are equivalent to the requirement that statistical correlations between separated systems should be reducible to probability distributions over common causes (deterministic or stochastic) in the sense of Reichenbach. (See the entries on Bell’s theorem and Reichenbach’s common cause principle.)
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Sondergerät SG104 "Münchhausen" was a German airborne recoillless 355.6 mm (14-inch) caliber gun, intended to engage even the roughest enemy battleships, primarily those of the Royal Navy. The design of this unusual and massive weapon began in 1939. The rationale behind it was that a battleship’s most vulnerable part was the deck – a flat surface, with relatively thin armor (as typical hits were expected on the flanks) and ideally with vital targets underneath, so that a single, good hit would cripple of even destroy a ship. The purpose of such a high angle of attack was likely to allow the projectile to penetrate the target ship's deck, where the ship's armor, if there was any, would have been much thinner than the armor on its sidesHowever, hitting the deck properly with another ship’s main gun was not easy, since it could only be affected through indirect hits and the typical angle of the attack from aballistic shot would not necessarily be ideal for deep penetration, esp. at long range.
The solution to this problem: ensure that the heavy projectile would hit its target directly from above, ideally at a very steep angle. To achieve this, the gun with battleship caliber was “relocated” from a carrier ship or a coastal battery onto an aircraft – specifically to a type that was capable of dive-bombing, a feature that almost any German bomber model of the time offered.
Firing such a heavy weapon caused a lot fo problems, which were severe even if the gun was mounted on a ship or on land. To compensate for such a large-caliber gun’s recoil and to make firing a 14 in shell (which alone weighed around almost 700 kg/1.550 lb, plus the charge) from a relatively light airframe feasible, the respective gun had to be as light as possible and avoid any recoil, which would easily tear an aircraft – even a bomber – apart upon firing. Therefore, the Gerät 104 was designed as a recoilless cannon. Its firing system involved venting the same amount of the weapon's propellant gas for its round to the rear of the launch tube (which was open at both ends), in the same fashion as a rocket launcher. This created a forward directed momentum which was nearly equal to the rearward momentum (recoil) imparted to the system by accelerating the projectile itself. The balance thus created did not leave much net momentum to be imparted to the weapon's mounting or the carrying airframe in the form of felt recoil. A further share of the recoil induced by the moving round itself could be compensated by a muzzle brake which re-directed a part of the firing gases backwards. Since recoil had been mostly negated, a heavy and complex recoil damping mechanism was not necessary – even though the weapon itself was huge and heavy.
Work on the "Münchhausen" device (a secret project handle after a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in the late 18th century who reputedly had ridden on a cannonball between enemy frontlines), was done by Rheinmetall-Borsig and lasted until 1941. The first test of a prototype weapon was conducted on 9th of September 1940 in Unterlüss with a satisfactory result, even though the weapon was only mounted onto an open rack and not integrated into an airframe yet. At that time, potential carriers were the Ju 88, the Dornier Do 217 and the new Junkers Ju 288. Even though the system’s efficacy was doubted, the prospect of delivering a single, fatal blow to an important , armored arget superseded any doubts at the RLM, and the project was greenlit in early 1942 for the next stage: the integration of the Sondergerät 104 into an existing airframe. The Ju 88 and its successor, the Ju 188, turned out to be too light and lacked carrying capacity for the complete, loaded weapon, and the favored Ju 288 was never produced, so that only the Dornier Do 217 or the bigger He 177 remained as a suitable carriers. The Do 217 was eventually chosen because it had the biggest payload and the airframe was proven and readily available.
After calculations had verified that the designed 14 in rifle would have effectively no recoil, preliminary tests with dumm airframes were carried out. After ground trials with a Do 217 E day bomber to check recoil and blast effects on the airframe, the development and production of a limited Nullserie (pre-production series) of the dedicated Do 217 F variant for field tests and eventual operational use against British sea and land targets was ordered in April 1942.
The resulting Do 217 F-0 was based on the late “E” bomber variant and powered by a pair of BMW 801 radial engines. It was, however, heavily modified for its unique weapon and the highly specialized mission profile: upon arriving at the zone of operation at high altitude, the aircraft would initiate a dive with an angle of attack between 50° and 80° from the horizontal, firing the SG 104 at an altitude between 6,000 and 2,000 meters. The flight time of the projectile could range from 16.0 seconds for a shot from an altitude of 6,000 meters at a 50° angle to just 4.4 seconds for a shot from 2.000 meters at an almost vertical 80° angle. Muzzle velocity of the SG 104 was only 300 m/s, but, prior to impact, the effective velocity of the projectile was projected to range between 449 and 468 m/s (1,616 to 1,674 km/h). Together with the round's weight of roughly 700 kg (1.550 lb) and a hardened tip, this would still ensure a high penetration potential.
The operational Sondergerät 104 had an empty mass of 2.780 kg (6,123 lb) and its complete 14 inch double cartridge weighed around 1.600 kg (3,525 lb). The loaded mass of the weapon was 4,237 kg, stretching the limits of the Do 217’s load capacity to the maximum, so that some armor and less vital pieces of equipment were deleted. Crew and defensive armament were reduced to a minimum.
Even though there had been plans to integrate the wepaon into the airframe (on the Ju 288), the Gerät 104 was on the Do 217 F-0 mounted externally and occupied the whole space under the aircraft, precluding any use of the bomb bay. The latter was occupied by the Gerät 104’s complex mount, which extended to the outside under a streamlined fairing and held the weapon at a distance from the airframe. Between the mount’s struts inside of the fuselage, an additional fuel tank for balance reasons was added, too.
The gun’s center, where the heavy round was carried, was positioned under the aircraft’s center of gravity, so that the gun barrel markedly protruded from under the aircraft’s nose. To make enough space, the Do 217 Es bomb aimer’s ventral gondola and his rearward-facing defensive position under the cockpit were omitted and faired over. The nose section was also totally different: the original extensive glazing (the so-called “Kampfkopf”) was replaced by a smaller, conventional canopy, similar to the later Do 217 J and N night fighter versions, together with a solid nose - the original glass panels would have easily shattered upon firing the gun, esp. in a steep high-speed dive. A "Lotfernrohr" bomb aiming device was still installed in a streamlined and protected fairing, though, so that the navigator could guide the pilot during the approach to the target and during the attack run.
To stabilize the heavy aircraft during its attack and to time- and safely pull out of the dive, a massive mechanical dive brake was mounted at the extended tail tip, which unfolded with four "petals". A charecteristic stabilizing dorsal strake was added between the twin fins, too.
The ventral area behind the gun’s rear-facing muzzle received additional metal plating and blast guiding vanes, after trials in late 1940 had revealed that firing the SG 104 could easily damage the Do 217’s tail structure, esp. all of the tail surfaces’ rudders and the fins’ lower ends in particular. Due to all this extra weight, the Do 217 F-0’s defensive armament consisted only of a single 13 mm MG 131 machine gun in a manually operated dorsal position behind the cockpit cabin, which offered space for a crew of three. A fixed 15 mm MG 151 autocannon was mounted in the nose, too, a weapon with a long barrel for extended range and accuracy. It was not an offensive weapon, though, rather intended as an aiming aid for the SG 104 because it was loaded with tracer bullets: during the final phase of the attack dive, the pilot kept firing the MG 151, and the bullet trail showed if he was on target to fire the SG 104 when the right altitude/range had been reached.
The first Do 217 F-0 was flown and tested in late 1943, and after some detail changes the type was cleared for a limited production run of ten aircraft in January 1944. The first operational machine was delivered to a dedicated testing commando, the Erprobungskommando 104 “Münchhausen”, also known as “Sonderkommando Münchhausen” or simply “E-Staffel 104”. The unit was based at Bordeaux/Merignac and directly attached to the KG 40's as a staff flight. At that time, KG 40 operated Do 217 and He 177 bombers and frequently flew reconnaissance and anti-shipping missions over the Atlantic west of France, up to the British west and southern coast, equipped with experimental Henschel Hs 293 glide bombs.
Initial flights confirmed that the Do 217 airframe was burdened with the SG 104 to its limits, the already rather sluggish aircraft (the Do 217 had generally a high wing loading and was not easy to fly) lost anything that was left of what could be called agility. It needed an experienced pilot to handle it safely, esp. during start and landing. It is no wonder that two Do 217 F-0s suffered ground accidents during the first two weeks of operations, but the machines could be repaired, resume the test program and carry out attack missions.
However, during one of the first test shots with the weapon, one Do 217 F-0 lost its complete tail section though the gun blast, and the aircraft crashed into the Bay of Biscay, killing the complete crew.
On 4th or April 1944 the first "hot" attack against an enemy ship was executed in the Celtic Sea off of Brest, against a convoy of 20 ships homeward bound from Gibraltar. The attack was not successful, though, the shot missing its target, and the German bomber was attacked and heavily damaged by British Bristol Beaufighters that had been deployed to protect the ships. The Do 217F-0 eventually crashed and sank into the Atlantic before it could reach land again.
A couple of days later, on 10th of April, the first attempt to attack and destroy a land target was undertaken: two Do 217 F-0s took off to attack Bouldnor Battery, an armored British artillery position located on the Isle of Wight. One machine had to abort the attack due to oil leakages, the second Do 217 F-0 eventually reached its target and made a shallow attack run, but heavy fog obscured the location and the otherwise successful shot missed the fortification. Upon return to its home base the aircraft was intercepted by RAF fighters over the Channel and heavily damaged, even though German fighters deployed from France came to the rescue, fought the British attackers off and escorted the limping Do 217 F-0 back to its home base.
These events revealed that the overall SG 104 concept was generally feasible, but also showed that the Do 217 F-0 was very vulnerable without air superiority or a suitable escort, so that new tactics had to be developed. One consequence was that further Do 217 F-0 deployments were now supported by V/KG 40, the Luftwaffe's only long range maritime fighter unit. These escorts consisted of Junkers Ju 88C-6s, which were capable of keeping up with the Do 217 F-0 and fend of intercepting RAF Coastal Command’s Beaufighters and later also Mosquitos.
In the meantime, tests with the SG 104 progressed and several modifications were tested on different EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s. One major upgrade was a further strengthening of the tail section, which added another 200 kg (440 lb) to the aircraft's dry weight. Furthermore, at least three aircraft were outfitted with additional dive brakes under the outer wings, so that the dive could be better controlled and intercepted. these aircraft, however, lost their plumbed underwing hardpoints, but these were only ever used for drop tanks during transfer flights - a loaded SG 104 precluded any other ordnance. On two other aircraft the SG 104 was modified to test different muzzle brakes and deflectors for the rear-facing opening, so that the gun blast was more effectively guided away from the airframe to prevent instability and structural damage. For instance, one machine was equipped with a bifurcated blast deflector that directed the rearward gasses partly sideways, away from the fuselage.
These tests did not last long, though. During the Allied Normandy landings in June 1944 E-Staffel 104 was hastily thrown into action and made several poorly-prepared attack runs against Allied support ships. The biggest success was a full hit and the resulting sinking of the Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Svenner (G03) by "1A+BA" at dawn on 6th of June, off Sword, one of the Allied landing zones. Other targets were engaged, too, but only with little effect. This involvement, however, led to the loss of three Do 217 F-0s within just two days and four more heavily damaged aircraft – leaving only two of EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s operational.
With the Allied invasion of France and a worsening war condition, the SG 104 program was stopped in August 1944 and the idea of an airborne anti-ship gun axed in favor of more flexible guided weapons like the Hs 293 missile and the Fritz-X glide bomb. Plans for a further developed weapon with a three-round drum magazine were immediately stopped, also because there was no carrier aircraft in sight that could carry and deploy this complex 6.5 tons weapon. However, work on the SG 104 and the experience gained from EKdo 104's field tests were not in vain. The knowledge gathered from the Münchhausen program was directly used for the design of a wide range of other, smaller recoilless aircraft weapons, including the magnetically-triggered SG 113 "Förstersonde" anti-tank weapon or the lightweight SG 118 "Rohrblock" unguided air-to-air missile battery for the Heinkel He 162 "Volksjäger".
General characteristics:
Crew: 3 (pilot, navigator, radio operator/gunner)
Length: 20,73 m (67 ft 11 in) overall
18,93 m (62 ft 3/4 in) hull only
Wingspan: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)
Height: 4.97 m (16 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 57 m² (610 sq ft)
Empty weight: 9,065 kg (19,985 lb)
Empty equipped weight:10,950 kg (24,140 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 16,700 kg (36,817 lb)
Fuel capacity: 2,960 l (780 US gal; 650 imp gal) in fuselage tank and four wing tanks
Powerplant:
2× BMW 801D-2 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, delivering
1,300 kW (1,700 hp) each for take-off and 1,070 kW (1,440 hp) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft),
driving 3-bladed VDM constant-speed propellers
Performance:
Maximum speed: 475 km/h (295 mph, 256 kn) at sea level
560 km/h (350 mph; 300 kn) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) with loaded Gerät 104 at optimum altitude
Range: 2,180 km (1,350 mi, 1,180 nmi) with maximum internal fuel
Ferry range: 2,500 km (1,600 mi, 1,300 nmi); unarmed, with auxiliary fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 7,370 m (24,180 ft) with loaded Gerät 104,
9,500 m (31,200 ft) after firing
Rate of climb: 3.5 m/s (690 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 4 minutes 10 seconds
2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 8 minutes 20 seconds
6,100 m (20,000 ft) in 24 minutes 40 seconds
Armament:
1x 355.6 mm (14-inch) Sondergerät 104 recoilless gun with a single round in ventral position
1x 15 mm (0.787 in) MG 151 machine cannon with 200 rounds, fixed in the nose
1x 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine gun with 500 rounds, movable in dorsal position
Two underwing hardpoints for a 900 l drop tank each, but only used during unarmed ferry flights
The kit and its assembly:
This was another submission to the "Gunships" group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2021, and inspiration struck when I realized that I had two Italeri Do 217 in The Stash - a bomber and a night fighter - that could be combined into a suitable (fictional) carrier for a Sondergerät 104. This mighty weapon actually existed and even reached the hardware/test stage - but it was never integrated into an airframe and tested in flight. But that's what this model is supposed to depict.
On the Do 217, the Sg 104 would have been carried externally under the fuselage, even though there had been plans to integrate this recoilless rifle into airframes, esp. into the Ju 288. Since the latter never made it into production, the Do 217 would have been the most logical alternative, also because it had the highest payload of all German bombers during WWII and probably the only aircraft capable of carrying and deploying the Münchhausen device, as the SG 104 was also known.
The fictional Do 217 F-0 is a kitbashing, using a Do 217 N fuselage, combined with the wings from a Do 217 K bomber, plus some modifications. What initially sounded like a simple plan soon turned into a improvisation mess: it took some time to realize that I had already donated the Do 217 K's BMW 801 engines to another project, an upgraded He 115... I did not want to use the nightfighter's more powerful DB 603s, and I was lucky to have an Italeri Ju 188 kit at hand which comes with optional BMW 801s and Jumo 211s. Transplanting these engines onto the Do 217's wings took some tailoring of the adapter plates, but was feasible. However, the BMW 801s from the Ju 188 kit have a flaw: they lack the engine's characteristic cooling fans... Another lucky find: I found two such parts in the scrap box, even though from different kits - one left over from another Italeri Do 217 K, the other one from what I assume is/was an Italeri 1:72 Fw 190 A/F. To make matters worse, one propeller from the Ju 188 kit was missing, so that I had to find a(nother) replacement. :-/
I eventually used something that looked like an 1:72 F6F Hellcat propeller, but I an not certain about this because I have never built this model...? With some trimming on the blades' trailing edges and other mods, the donor's overall look could be adapted to the Ju 188 benchmark. Both propellers were mounted on metal axis' so that they could also carry the cooling fans. Lots of work, but the result looks quite good.
The Do 217 N's hull lost the lower rear gunner position and its ventral gondola, which was faired over with a piece of styrene sheet. The pilot was taken OOB, the gunner in the rear position was replaced by a more blob-like crew member from the scrap box. The plan to add a navigator in the seat to the lower right of the pilot did not work out due to space shortage, but this figure would probably have been invisble, anyway.
All gun openings in the nose were filled and PSRed away, and a fairing for a bomb aiming device and a single gun (the barrel is a hollow steel needle) were added.
The SG 104 was scratched. Starting point was a white metal replacement barrel for an 1:35 ISU-152 SPG with a brass muzzle brake. However, after dry-fitting the barrel under the hull the barrel turned out to be much too wide, so that only the muzzal brake survived and the rest of the weapon was created from a buddy refueling pod (from an Italeri 1:72 Luftwaffe Tornado, because of its two conical ends) and protective plastic caps from medical canulas. To attach this creation to the hull I abused a conformal belly tank from a Matchbox Gloster Meteor night fighter and tailored it into a streamlined fairing. While this quite a Frankenstein creation, the overall dimensions match the real SG 104 prototype and its look well.
Other cosmetic modifications include a pair of underwing dive brakes, translanted from an Italeri 1:72 Ju 88 A-4 kit, an extended (scratched) tail "stinger" which resembles the real dive brake arrangement that was installed on some Do 217 E bombers, and I added blast deflector vanes and a dorsal stabilizer fin.
In order to provide the aircraft with enough ground clearance, the tail wheel was slightly extended. Thanks to the long tail stinger, this is not blatantly obvious.
Painting and markings:
This was not an easy choice, but as a kind of prototype I decided that the paint scheme should be rather conservative. However, German aircraft operating over the Atlantic tended to carry rather pale schemes, so that the standard pattern of RLM 70/71/65 (Dunkelgrün, Schwarzgrün and Hellblau) with a low waterline - typical for experimental types - would hardly be appropriate.
I eventually found a compromise on a He 177 bomber (coded 6N+BN) from 1944 that was operated by KG 100: this particular aircraft had a lightened upper camouflage - still a standard splinter scheme but consisting of RLM 71 and 02 (Dunkelgrün and Grau; I used Modelmaster 2081 and Humbrol 240), a combination that had been used on German fighters during the Battle of Britain when the standard colors turned out to be too dark for operations over the Channel. The aircraft also carried standard RLM 65 (or maybe the new RLM76) underneath (Humbrol 65) and on the fin, but with a very high and slightly wavy waterline. As a rather unusual feature, no typical camouflage mottles were carried on the flanks or the fin, giving the aircraft a very bleak and simple look.
Despite my fears that this might look rather boring I adapted this scheme for the Do 217 F-0, and once basic painting was completed I was rather pleased by the aircraft's look! As an aircraft operated at the Western front, no additional markings like fuselage bands were carried.
To set the SG 104 apart from the airframe, I painted the weapon's visible parts in RLM 66 (Schwarzgrau, Humbrol 67), because this tone was frequently used for machinery (including the interior surfaces of aircraft towards 1945).
RLM 02 was also used for the interior surfaces and the landing gear, even though I used a slightly different, lighter shade in form of Revell 45 (Helloliv).
A light black ink washing was applied and post-shading to emphasize panel lines. Most markings/decals came from a Begemot 1:72 He 11 sheet, including the unusual green tactical code - it belongs to a staff unit, a suitable marking for such an experimental aircraft. The green (Humbrol 2) was carried over to the tips of the propeller spinners. The unit's code "1A" is fictional, AFAIK this combination had never been used by the Luftwaffe.
The small unit badge was alucky find: it actually depicts the fictional Baron von Münchhausen riding on a cannonball, and it comes from an Academy 1:72 Me 163 kit and its respective sheet. The mission markings underneath, depicting two anti-ship missions plus a successful sinking, came from a TL Modellbau 1:72 scale sheet with generic German WWII victory markings.
After some soot stains around the engine exhaust and weapon muzzles had been added with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and final details like position lights and wire antennae (from heated black plastic sprue material) were added.
Well, what started as a combination of two kits of the same kind with a simple huge pipe underneath turned out to be more demanding than expected. The (incomplete) replacement engines were quite a challenge, and body work on the hull (tail stinger, fairing for the SG 104 as well as the weapon itself) turned out to be more complex and extensive than initially thought of. The result looks quite convincing, also supported by the rather simple paint scheme which IMHO just "looks right" and very convincing. And the whole thing is probably the most direct representation of the inspiring "Gunship" theme!
Thisi is just one of several photographs that I'll be sharing. This one was underexposed so I could emphasize the solar flares and show that there were at least 3 flares at the moment I captured this photograph. Interesting note that the larger flare at center-bottom, due to the softer focus around the edges took the shape of a heart.
About Solar Flares:
Considered our solar system's largest explosive events, solar flares occur when magnetic energy associated with sunspots is released, creating intense bursts of radiation.
(c) Kelly Shipp
April 8, 2024. Conway, Arkansas.
Photo # K04_8463ac.
The Nelson's Monument is a commemorative column or tower built in memorial to Admiral Horatio Nelson, situated on the Denes, Great Yarmouth in the county of Norfolk, England. It was designated as a Grade I listed structure in 1953.
Designed by architect William Wilkins, it was raised in the period 1817–19 from money raised by a committee of local magnates. The first custodian of the monument was former Able Seaman James Sharman, a member of the crew of HMS Victory from Norfolk and one of those who carried Nelson below decks after he was shot.
The monument, correctly called the Norfolk Naval Pillar, is in the style of a Doric column topped by six caryatid figures that support a statue of Britannia proudly standing atop a globe inscribed with the motto from Nelson's coat of arms Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat (translates to 'Let him who has merited it take the palm'), she holds an olive branch in her outstretched right hand, a trident in her left and looks inland – said to be towards Nelson's birthplace in Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk. The whole monument is 144 ft (44 m) high, compared to 169 ft (52 m) for the monument in Trafalgar Square and the top is reached by some two hundred and seventeen steps. The structure was completely restored in time for the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005. In 2006 it was removed from English Heritage's Buildings At Risk register. In August 2006 it was rededicated. It currently stands, albeit separated in its own small railed plot, in an industrial estate. The monument is open to the public on a limited basis.
During the evenings of September 5, 6 and 7, 2019 featured the moon and the solar system’s two largest gas giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn. Given clear skies, you can’t miss the moon and Jupiter. The moon is the second-brightest celestial object, after the sun; Jupiter ranks as the fourth-brightest, after the planet Venus, which was in the sun’s glare this month. With Venus gone from our sky, there was no way to mistake Venus for Jupiter in September 2019. Jupiter is simply the brightest starlike object visible.
The moon reached its first quarter phase on September 6, 2019, at 03:10 a.m. Universal Time (UTC). At first quarter, the one half of the moon is illuminated in sunshine while the dark half is engulfed in the moon’s own shadow.
The dark side of a waxing moon always points eastward (direction of sunrise). And the moon in its orbit always travels toward the east, too, relative to the sky background. The moon travels about 1/2 degree eastward – its own width on our sky’s dome – every hour. So the moon went past Jupiter, and then past Saturn.
The moon swang 2 degrees (4 moon-diameters) to the north of Jupiter on September 6, 2019, at 6:52am UTC. Then the moon (more precisely: the center of the moon) swept 0.04 degree to the south of Saturn on September 8, 2019, at 13:53 UTC. In other words, if you were at the right spot on Earth (Australia and Indonesia) you could have actually watched the moon occult (cover over) Saturn on the night of September 8-9.
In this black and white infrared image, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 1:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 3, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the horizontal integration facility at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 2:49am launch on March 2, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
You might find it hard to see on your phone’s screen but the planet Saturn is about to disappear over the hills in this image, captured at the Tallowa Dam, south of Sydney, Australia. Saturn is very close to the treeline, between about one third and one half way in from the left of the shot. Our solar system’s second-largest planet has been lurking around the constellation Scorpio this year and is easy to mistake for the “supergiant” star Antares, which is back towards the left and up higher than Saturn. Forming a triangle with Saturn and Antares is Mars, which has been prominent in this part of the sky right throughout 2016.
The rich starfields and interstellar dust lanes of the Milky Way’s galactic core region form a strip from left to right, dominating the top one third of the photo. These dust structures are visible to us because they block out the light of stars closer in to the galaxy’s centre. I love how they look wispy and wind-blown in the area at top right.
This photo is made up of two overlapping images, each shot with my Canon EOS 6D, fitted with a Canon 40mm STM lens at f/2.8, with a 10 second exposure at ISO 8000.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen after being raised into a vertical position on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 2:49am launch on March 2, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The AAPRCO's Autumn Explorer is southbound on Vermont Railway's B&R Sub at MP 51 three miles south of Rutland Yard on VRS' former Rutland mainline that once extended all the way to Chatham, NY.
The train left Albany-Rensselaer in the morning behind two Amtrak P42s and traveled up CP's ex D&H Canadian main. At Whitehall they diverges on to Vermont Rail System's CLP mainline, also former D&H for the trip to Rutland, VT. There the Amtrak power was exchanged for red GP40-2 307 that will take the train south all the way to Hoosick Junction before returning to North Bennington to spend the night, then the train will travel north to Burlington where it will spend a few days.
The eight PVs on this year's trip listed in order are the: NYC 3, Promontory Point, Northern Sky, Northern Dreams, Dagny Taggart, San Marino, Wisconsin, and Chapel Hill.
Erected in 1860 the 190 ft tall steeple of Grace Congregational Church in the distance completes the New England tableau as fall colors begin to pop in the surrounding Green Mountains.
Clarendon, Vermont
Sunday September 27, 2020
Note: The image is not at full resolution, but is best viewed as LARGE as possible. Zoom in and out by clicking on the image.
WARNING:
Don't look at the Sun though a Telescope's Eyepiece or Finder Scope without protective Solar filters, as it can cause permanent eye damage. The same applies when you use a camera, and look through the Camera's Eyepiece. If at all possible, rather look at the Sun in Live View on the Camera's LCD Screen.
About this photo:
The Sun on 28 March 2016 from the Southern Hemisphere. Our Star is ever changing, and today there was a huge Sunspot.
This image was created by Stacking several 16 bit RAW images, that were photographed with a Canon 60Da DSLR, on a 6" wide field Newtonian Reflector Telescope (Astrograph).
Scale Reference:
If you consider that the planet Earth fits into the volume of the Sun 1.3 million times, the scale of the Sunspot becomes apparent. Don't be alarmed, this is normal.
Wavelength of Light:
This is a photograph of the Sun was mostly photographed in the wavelengths of visible light, and the H-Alpha (Ha) Infrared (IR) spectral line of Hydrogen at 656.28 nm).
Over 99.999% of the light was blocked with a R-G "White Light" Solar filter. Some finer details like the surface granulation and filaments are visible due to the use of an additional Baader Planetarium Solar Continuum filter (passing a narrowband spectral wavelength of light at 540 nm).
About Sunspots:
The dark spots are cooler holes in the Sun's Photosphere and are called Sunspots. The Photosphere has a temperature of 5,800 degrees Kelvin, and Sunspots have temperatures of about 3,800 degrees K. Sunspots only appear to be dark, as they are surrounded by much brighter and hotter regions of the Sun's Photosphere.
With the use of extreme narrowband Hydrogen-Alpha Solar filters, Ca K-Line filters, and other wavelengths of light like Ultraviolet (UV), the detail of the Sun's surface, prominences and solar flares will be apparent.
About the Sun:
The Sun is a G-type Main-Sequence Yellow Dwarf (G2V) Star. As far as stars go, the Sun is a very average star in the middle of its life cycle (around 5 billion years old). To give an indication of the Sun's size, about 1.3 million Earth sized planets can fit into the volume of the Sun. Through the process of fusion, the Sun burns approximately 600 million tonnes (metric tons) of Hydrogen each second, turning it into 596 million tonnes of Helium. As the Hydrogen nuclei fuse, Photons are emitted, which in short is why the Sun and other stars shine.
The Sun is roughly 150,000,000 km (93,205,679 mi) from Earth. The speed of light is 300,000 km/sec (186,000 miles/sec), which means that the light took just over 8 light-minutes (8 minutes and 26 seconds) to reach my Telescope.
The mass of the Sun is about 2 Nonillion kilograms:
M☉ = (1.98855±0.00025) × 10^30 kilograms or 10^27 metric tons, and is referred to as 1 Solar Mass. The Sun contains 99.86% of the mass in our Solar System.
About Hydrogen and the Chemical Elements:
The Hydrogen Atom is the simplest and most abundant element in the Universe (with only 1 Proton and 1 Electron). Through the process of fusion, more complex elements are made at different stages of a star's life and death cycle.
This is what Carl Sagan meant with one of his well known quotes from Cosmos, "The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff."
About the Milky Way, and our Solar System's place within it:
The Milky Way Galaxy is estimated to have over 400 billion stars. Stars are suns, and just like in our Solar System, many of the stars have planets with moons orbiting them. Our sun is a middle aged Yellow Dwarf star, located in the Orion Arm (or Orion Spur) of the Milky Way Galaxy. It's a minor side spiral arm, located between two larger arms of the Milky Way Galaxy's spiral. The Milky Way is merely one mid-sized barred spiral Galaxy, amongst over 100 billion other Galaxies in the observable Universe. When we look up at the night sky from Earth, we see a glimpse of the Carina-Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. It takes about 250 million years for the Milky Way Galaxy's spiral arms to complete one rotation.
The size, distance and age of the Universe is far beyond human comprehension. The known Universe is estimated to contain over One Billion Trillion stars.
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
Click on this link to view an image that illustrates ''our Solar System's position within the Milky Way Galaxy''.
View the spectacular images and videos captured in several wavelengths of light with the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Martin
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Ex. NVS # 126 from Schwerin arrived in Almaty in 2004 in the years of the system's slight revival after the 90s. As all other Schweriners, it contained a second cabless twin car. The latter was in service until 2006 and 1027 was the last of the operating multiple-units here. The head car was running through the next years until the arrival of ex-Berliners in 2013.
Toraygyrov koshesi, Almaty, KZ
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch on 6:54 p.m. ET on May 19, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The River Tummel (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Theimheil) is a river in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Water from the Tummel is used in the Tummel hydro-electric power scheme, operated by SSE.
As a tributary of the River Tay, the Tummel is included as part of the River Tay Special Area of Conservation. The designation notes the river system's importance for salmon, otters, brook lampreys, river lampreys and sea lampreys.
Discharging from Loch Rannoch, it flows east to a point near the Falls of Tummel, where it bends to the southeast, a direction which it maintains until it falls into the River Tay, just below Logierait, after a course of 58 miles (93 km) from its source in Stob Ghabbar (3,565 ft (1,087 m)). Its only considerable affluent is the Garry, 24 miles (39 km) long, an impetuous river which issues from Loch Garry (2.5 mi (4.0 km) and 1,334 ft (407 m) above sea level). Some 2 miles from its outlet from Loch Rannoch the river expands into Dunalastair Water (or Dunalastair Reservoir), a man made loch formed by a weir, part of the Tummel Hydro Electric power scheme. About midway in its course the Tummel expands into Loch Tummel, between which and the confluence with the Garry occur the Pass and Falls of the Tummel, which are rather in the nature of rapids, the descent altogether amounting to 15 ft (4.6 m). Loch Tummel was previously 4.43 km (2.75 mi) long and 39 m (128 ft) deep, but with the construction of the Clunie Dam in 1950, the water level was raised by 4.5 metres, and Loch Tummel is now approximately 11 km (7 mi) long.
The scenery throughout this reach is most picturesque, culminating at the point above the eastern extremity of the loch, known as the "Queen's View" (Queen Victoria made the view famous in 1866, although it is said to have been named after Queen Isabel, wife of Robert the Bruce). The chief places of interest on the river are Kinloch Rannoch; Dunalastair, a rocky hill in well-wooded grounds, the embellishment of which was largely due to Alexander Robertson of Struan, the Jacobite and poet, from whom the spot takes its name (the stronghold of Alexander); Foss; Faskally House (beautifully situated on the left bank); Pitlochry; and Ballinluig.
The ancient name of the river, in its upper reaches at least, was the Dubhag.
Whose RR is this??? RF&P GP40-2-141 & Family Lines Caboose-05750 are parked W/B on track one at the east end of a section of double track on Chessie System's Philly Sub. The signal for track two will soon turn to green for an approaching E/B. Once the E/B passes, 141 & cab will get a green to back past the signal and cross over to continue west on track two to Bay View.
Check our accessible text here.
The Moon is believed to be around 4.5 billion years old, born from a giant collision of a Mars-sized object with the young Earth early in the Solar System’s 4.6 billion year history.
Image description: Moon with a birthday cake on top showing 4.5 billion years.
Credits: ESA
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen inside the Vertical Integration Facility before being rolled out to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 6:54 p.m. ET on May 19, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 1:20 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 3, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Four multiple-units take a regular weekend break at the system's Bury depot. I feel sure that a lot of the graffiti that covered these trains in their latter days was perpetrated at this location! This photo was taken in earlier days when such graffiti was unheard of.
With the growing success of their VCS line, EP Industries decided to delve into the drone market with their ACS (Automated Combat System) line. The first in the series was the RF-X02A, which uses a heavily modified AI system from a Hornet system. The unit saw moderate success, but it was not until the release of the unit's full-armor set that it came into widespread use. The extra armor not only adds new weapons, but covers most of the system's more integral parts with bio-laminate plates, greatly increasing its effectiveness in battle, at the cost of higher energy consumption.
This is based around Lu Sim's reFrame design. I swear it's coincidence that we both built mass-produced looking frames at the same time :P They even share some ideas and techniques!
I was impressed by the customizability & proportions of the reFrame, although the articulation of the basic design was kinda limited (namely in the arms) so I had to address that in this build. When the base mech was built, I felt like it needed something more, and thus the armor set was born. The armor doesn't really hinder the articulation at all, although it does make the waist joint want to bend all the time. I also tried to combine a more Japanese-esque head with a drone-like one, and I think it turned out okay.
Next up: Droneuary!
(Although I guess this technically counts as a drone, doesn't it?)
Cu tren EC 274 METROPOLITAN Budapest Nyugati - Praha hlavni nadrazi.
With train 274 "METROPOLITAN" Budapest Nyugati to Praha hlavni nadrazi.
Praha hlavni nadrazi,
02.08.2023
Springtime at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Minnehaha Falls
Minnehaha Falls is located near the confluence of Minnehaha Creek and the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The creek starts its journey to the Mississippi at Lake Minnetonka. Including Lake Minnetonka, the Minnehaha Creek watershed covers 181 square miles, winding its way through several west suburban communities for 22 miles before it falls over the 53 foot ledge at Minnehaha Falls and then enters the Mississippi. The falls are rich in geologic and human history.
Minnehaha Falls are only about 10,000 years old (very young in geological time). St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River, which have now eroded to a point about six miles upriver in downtown Minneapolis, used to be downstream of the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnehaha Creek.
The events that led up to the way the falls look today are complex, but a simple explanation is that when St. Anthony Falls reached and passed Minnehaha creek, a new waterfall formed on the creek, and the force of the water altered the route of the creek and the river. The part of Minnehaha Creek between the falls and the Mississippi began to flow through the old Mississippi river bed, and the Mississippi cut a new course.
Erosion within the last century has resulted in a waterfall that is fairly narrowly channeled and vigorous, especially after a heavy rain or during spring runoff. Photographs of the falls from the 1800's and early 1900's show a much wider, curtain-like character to the falls. When the falls are dry, the older, much-broader ledge can be seen.
The falls are ever-changing; sometimes just a trickle, sometimes a torrent. A plaque in the park explains that during a drought in 1964 when Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey paid a visit to the park, the city had to open up several fire hydrants upstream on Minnehaha Creek to increase water flow over the falls and ensure a good photo op.
The falls area has long been an important site to the native Dakota people. "Minnehaha" means "falling water" or "curling water" in Dakota, not "laughing water" as it is often translated. The "laughing water" translation erroneously came from Mary Eastman's book "Dacotah", published in 1849. The name comes from the Dakota language elements "mni", meaning water, and "ȟaȟa", meaning waterfall. The Dakota called Minnehaha Creek "wakpa cistinna", meaning "little river".
White settlers discovered the falls around 1820, not long after arriving in Minnesota. The site of Minnehaha Falls is only a couple of miles from Fort Snelling, one of the first places in the region inhabited by white Europeans. On the Fort map of 1823, the falls were named "Brown's Falls" in honor of United States Army commander Jacob Brown, who had been commander-in-chief of the army since 1814.
The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made the falls famous in "The Song of Hiawatha" (1855), a poem based on Indian legend. A Jakob Fjelde sculpture of the Indian leader Hiawatha and his wife stands on an island in the creek, a short way above the falls. The falls began to become a tourist destination after the publication of the poem. Though Longfellow never visited the falls himself, he was reportedly inspired by the stories of Mary Eastman and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft and images of the falls.
Minnehaha Park
Beginning in 1885, the Minnesota State Legislature began acquiring the land to become the first Minnesota State Park, but in 1889 it was turned over to the city of Minneapolis for a city park. Park visitors could fish, swim, picnic, and visit the Longfellow Zoological Gardens. The park also featured a carnival, horse-racing and a campground through the 1930s.
Today, the park is part of the National Park System's Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. It is basically divided into two main portions; an upper section above the falls which is kept trimmed and maintained like many other city parks, and the lower section which is largely left in a natural state, with trails following the creek down to the Mississippi.
There are WPA-built stairways and retaining walls along the edges of the glen and creek bed. The park has picnic areas for large or small gatherings, a playground, and an off-leash dog park. A bike rental company operates at the falls in the summer months.
The Pergola Garden overlooks the falls and is a popular wedding location. There is a seafood restaurant and a bandstand at the park at the old picnic pavilion, both open in the summer. The park also boasts several historic buildings including the Minnehaha Depot (AKA "the Princess Depot") built in 1875, and sculptures including the Hiawatha sculpture mentioned above and a mask of Chief Little Crow who was murdered after the 1862 Dakota conflict. The location of the statue is in an area sacred to Native Americans.
If you ever get to the Minneapolis area, Minnehaha Park is a "must see" destination!
The above information was obtained and paraphrased from several online sources including WIkipedia, Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis: The Complete Guide and the former AllExperts website.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Thursday, July 29, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
A tremendous storm system pounded the eastern side of Wayne County, Utah on June 5th. At sunset the edge of the system s right over Torrey giving us some amazing light.
© 2015, Fremont River Photography
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Friday, March 1, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 2:49am launch on March 2, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
EVA Astronaut Bruce McCandless II, is using a special power tool to conduct an experiment. His feet are anchored in the mobile foot restraints, which are connected to the Remote Manipulator System's (RMS) End Effector. The Shuttle pallet satellite (SPAS-01A) serves as a test subject for McCandless's experiment. The SPAS-01A is located in the center of the open cargo bay. Behind him is the protective cradle for the Westar VI satellite.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: S84-27036
Date: February 12, 1984
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, Thursday, May 19, 2022 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch 6:54 p.m. ET, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Star Hawk Vx
Less than three lunar months after the mysterious disappearence of Unitron system's Star Hawk V test prototype, sightings were reported of a Galaxy Patrol that bore a striking resemblance to the missing craft.
Galaxy Patrol Engineering and Weapons Division added upgraded proton fusion gravity drive engines designed for a much larger craft, making the Vx capable of achieving incredible speeds and distances. Unitron surveillance gear was scrapped in favor of twin triple-barrel plasma cannons and photon missile batteries.
The Vx also displays the Galaxy Patrol’s dark blue and orange livery and characteristic bling.
Unitron system representatives deny any link to their missing craft.
Denver's history of boiler houses is tied to the nation's oldest continuous district steam heating system, started in 1880 by the Denver City Steam Heating Co. This system, powered by boiler houses, delivered steam to downtown buildings, offering a safer alternative to numerous individual, on-site boilers that posed explosion risks, such as the fatal 1895 Gumry Hotel explosion. The system, which grew to include the CB&Q Powerhouse and the boiler house of the Denver Medical Depot, has continuously evolved to supply steam for heating and cooling.
The Rise of Centralized Steam Heating
1879-1880:
Local businessmen formed the Denver City Steam Heating Co., installing a Holly district steam system and beginning steam service on November 5, 1880.
Safety & Growth:
The system provided a safer alternative to the dangerous on-site coal-fired boilers that were common in Denver and other cities at the time. A major boost to the system's popularity came after the 1895 Gumry Hotel boiler explosion, which killed 22 people, highlighting the risks of individual boilers.
By the late 1880s, the system was expanded with new boilers and a larger distribution pipe network.
The System's Evolution
Ownership Changes:
In 1909, the system was acquired by the Denver Gas and Electric Co., which later became part of the Public Service Company of Colorado.
Technological Advancements:
Engineers continued to upgrade the system, with innovations like using steam from a new turbine to supply the downtown network in 1949.
Boiler Houses:
Boiler houses, such as the one at the former CB&Q Denver Shops and the 1942 Denver Medical Depot, were crucial industrial landmarks, providing heat for large complexes.
Enduring Legacy
Longevity:
The Denver system is recognized as the oldest continuously operating commercial district heating system in the world.
Current Operation:
The network continues to supply steam to customers in downtown Denver, although its future is uncertain.
FOUR! No, not the great Miles Davis jazz tune, but four wheel sets with four MDOT F9PHs 7184, 7183, 7185 & 7181. The F's are laying over in Chessie System's Brunswick Yard on an early Sunday afternoon. On Monday morn, they will get to work shoving a horde of commuters to work.
3. Man Wearing Bear Hat
Totem Bight State Historical Park, Ketchikan, Alaska
This Tlingit grave marker was copied from Cat Island by Tlingit carver Charles Brown.
In 1995, Israel Shotridge carveda second replica.
It depicts a man of the Bear clan wearing a large, carved wooden hat surmounted by a bear’s head and surrounded on the brim by painted whales.
Bear and Wolf
Bear and Wolf may appear similar, but the wolf has sharp teeth and a more slender snout.
dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/totembgh.htm
(The number corresponds to the numbers on the totem-pole map in Alaska State Park System's Guide to Totem Bight State Historical Site.)
The San Francisco Muni's 2019 heritage weekend September 7-8 featured the public debut of former Sacramento-Clay Line Car 19, built in 1883 by the Central Pacific Railroad Company in Sacramento. Now fully restored, it is the system's oldest (and largest) operating cable car. The weekend's festivities included public operation of the car on all of the surviving cable lines, including the non-revenue trackage.
More on this car's unique history can be found here: www.sfmta.com/blog/cable-car-19-make-historic-debut-muni-...
Boeing and NASA teams participate in a mission dress rehearsal to prepare for the landing of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in White Sands, New Mexico, Monday, May 23, 2022. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off on May 19, 2022, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for NASA Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff for OFT-2 occurred at 6:54 p.m. EDT. Starliner is expected to arrive at the space station for docking about 24 hours later with more than 500 pounds of NASA cargo. The flight test is designed to test the system’s end-to-end capabilities for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program providing valuable data towards NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular crewed flights to and from the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kevin Davis and Chris Coleman
Guests wait to watch the second and final qualification motor (QM-2) test for the Space Launch System’s booster, Tuesday, June 28, 2016, at Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems test facilities in Promontory, Utah. During the Space Launch System flight the boosters will provide more than 75 percent of the thrust needed to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth, the first step on NASA’s Journey to Mars. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Since 2011, Europe has been building a world-class satellite navigation system, serving billions of users worldwide. Today, the Galileo constellation counts over 30 satellites in orbit, fully occupying all slots across its three orbital planes, with two spare satellites per plane for added resilience.
On 17 December, two Galileo satellites will be launched on Ariane 6, the 14th launch of the Galileo programme for operational satellites. This is the first of three Ariane 6's that will deliver the final six first-generation Galileo satellites, further strengthening the system’s robustness.
For the December 2025 launch, the European Space Agency is responsible for carrying out the Galileo launch with Arianespace. The Galileo programme is managed by the European Commission under the EU Space programme. Once in orbit, the EU Agency for the Space Programme will bring the satellites into service and oversee their operation.
Credits: ESA
Derby trolleybus 236 is captured at Alvaston, turning onto Harvey Road from Shardlow Road. The scene is still recognisable, but a line of mature trees somewhat obscures the view of the shop frontages today.
The operational complications of Derby's trolleybus system has been occasionally commented on by enthusiasts of the time. To the uninitiated, it was said to be difficult to follow the intricacies of the system's interworked routes and short workings.
The trolley is displaying the 22 service destination, but could have been working a 41 service and has been destinated in anticipation of arriving at the Mitre Island on Osmaston Park Road, ready to work the 22 to Morden Green? I would welcome the thoughts of those with far greater knowledge of the Derby trolleybus system than I possess.
236 was one of eight new trolleybuses (236-243), delivered to the Transport Department between February and May 1960. All Roe bodied Sunbeam F4 trolleys, they would be the last newly delivered trolleybuses to the operator before the decision was taken to abandon the system. Today, sister 237 exists in a fully restored and operational state at the Transport Museum at Carlton Colville, near Lowestoft in Suffolk.
Technicians with NASA's Exploration Ground Systems lower a mock-up, or pathfinder, of the Space Launch System's (SLS) center booster segment onto an aft pathfinder segment inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 14, 2020. Teams rehearsed stacking both pathfinder segments on top of the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the VAB in preparation for the Artemis I launch. Stacking of the actual SLS booster segments will occur later this year, when the rocket's core stage arrives at Kennedy. Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will test SLS and the Orion spacecraft as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
This research explores The National Palace of Culture's signage system. Its different elements are documented, selected and organized in order to reveal the system's logic and its relation with the rest of what is called "The Palace of Culture".
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch on 6:54 p.m. ET on May 19, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, left, and Suni Williams, right, take a selfie as a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission, Thursday, July 29, 2021 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 will be Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for launch at 2:53 p.m. EDT Friday, July 30, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Epps and Williams are assigned to fly on Starliner’s first operation mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
1. Don’t use his name;
2. Remember this is a regime and he’s not acting alone;
3. Do not argue with those who support him–it doesn’t work;
4. Focus on his policies, not his orange-ness and mental state;
5. Keep your message positive; they want the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which their darkest policies will grow;
6. No more helpless/hopeless talk;
7. Support artists and the arts;
8. Be careful not to spread fake news. Check it;
9. Take care of yourselves; and
10. Resist!
And keep demonstrations peaceful. In the words of John Lennon, “When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight! Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.”
When you post or talk about him, don’t assign his actions to him, assign them to “The Republican Administration,” or “The Republicans.” This will have several effects: the Republican legislators will either have to take responsibility for their association with him or stand up for what some of them don’t like; he will not get the focus of attention he craves; Republican representatives will become very concerned about their re-elections.
Peter.
(Please copy and paste to all of your accounts – it will reach a wider audience than just sharing)
SOURCE: J. Jerrald Hayes
Rationally Thinking Out Loud
In this image, Mercury's horizon cuts a striking edge against the stark blackness of space. On the right, sunlight harshly brings the landscape into relief while on the left, the surface is shrouded in the darkness of night.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS's limb imaging campaign. Once per week, MDIS captures images of Mercury's limb, with an emphasis on imaging the southern hemisphere limb. These limb images provide information about Mercury's shape and complement measurements of topography made by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) of Mercury's northern hemisphere.
The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. In the mission's more than three years of orbital operations, MESSENGER has acquired over 250,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is capable of continuing orbital operations until early 2015.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test mission, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test will be Starliner’s maiden mission to the International Space Station for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 6:36 a.m. EST launch on Dec. 20, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Ex. NVS # 126 from Schwerin arrived in Almaty in 2004 in the years of the system's slight revival after the 90s. As all other Schweriners, it contained a second cabless twin car. The latter was in service until 2006 and 1027 was the last of the operating multiple-units here. The head car was running through the next years until the arrival of ex-Berliners in 2013.
[AET / АЭТ] Tatra T3DC # 1027
Makatayev koshesi, Almaty, KZ 🇰🇿
Less than three lunar months after the mysterious disappearence of Unitron system's Star Hawk V test prototype, sightings were reported of a Galaxy Patrol fighter that bore a striking resemblance to the missing craft.
Galaxy Patrol Engineering ...
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Avenue de Fonsny 21/04/2021 18h49
PCC tram with fleetnumber 7927 on line 81 on the Avenue de Fonsny near the station Bruxelles Midi on its way to Montgomery and coming from Marius Renard. This tram is part of a series of 61 trams with a length of 27 meters and with three sections. This series has been delivered in 1977 and 1978. Tram line 81 has a length of 13.8 kilometers and has 35 stops.
Trams in Brussels
The Brussels tram (or streetcar) system is a transport system in Brussels, Belgium. It is the 16th largest tram system in the world by route length, and in 2012 carried some 123.5 million passengers. As of 2017, the tram system's total route length was 141.1 km, making it one of the larger tram networks in Europe. In 2016, the Brussels tram system consisted of 17 tram lines (three of which – lines 3, 4 and 7 – qualified as premetro lines). Its development has demonstrated many of the quandaries that face local public transport planners. The Brussels tram system also has a number of interesting peculiarities.
STATISTICS
- Passenger journeys (2016): 126.4 million
- Length of tram line (double-track, 2016): 141.1 km, of which 80.6 km are in dedicated lanes (i.e. own right-of-way) and 12.1 km of which are in tunnels or underground
- Average distance between stops: 395 metres
- Vehicle-kilometres travelled (2016): 15.2 million
- Commercial speed (2016) 16.0 km/hr
- Share of passengers holding a season-ticket (2016): 87%
- Number of trams (2021): 388
- Peak run-out (winter 2017): 301
- Number of depots: 6, with 2 workshops
- Number of points: c. 850 including those in depots
[ Wikipedia - Tram Brussels (ENG) ]
Gornergratbahn AG (GGB, BVZ Holding AG): The Gornergrat rack railway connects Zermatt (1605 m a.s.l.) with the summit of Gornergrat (3089 m a.s.l.), in a route of 9.3 km. Of metric gauge, it is one of the few railways in the world that has a three-phase electrification, at 750 V/50 Hz. It uses the Abt system's rack. The line was put into service in 1898, and is electrified from the beginning. The service is mainly provided with EMUs of two cars, of three different generations.
Here we see a train formed by two articulated EMUs of the most modern generation (numbers 3083 and 3084, part of series Beh 4/6 3081-3084, built by Stadler in 2006), just arrived to Gornergrat.
NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, second from right, watches as a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Thursday, May 19, 2022, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test and will dock to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 launched at 6:54 p.m. ET, and will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)