1.
Construction aggregate
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Aggregates are the most mined materials in the world. Aggregates are a component of composite materials such as concrete and asphalt concrete, aggregates are also used as base material under foundations, roads, and railroads. Preferred bitumenous aggregate sizes for road construction are given in EN13043 as d/D, the same classification sizing is used for larger armour stone sizes in EN13383, EN12620 for concrete aggregate, EN13242 for base layers of road construction and EN13450 for railway ballast. These products include specific types of coarse and fine aggregate designed for such uses as additives to asphalt and concrete mixes, state transportation departments further refine aggregate material specifications in order to tailor aggregate use to the needs and available supply in their particular locations. In addition, there are materials that are used as specialty lightweight aggregates, clay, pumice, perlite. People have used sand and stone for foundations for thousands of years, significant refinement of the production and use of aggregate occurred during the Roman Empire, which used aggregate to build its vast network of roads and aqueducts. The invention of concrete, which was essential to architecture utilizing arches, created an immediate, vitruvius writes in De architectura, Economy denotes the proper management of materials and of site, as well as a thrifty balancing of cost and common sense in the construction of works. This will be observed if, in the first place, the architect does not demand things which cannot be found or made ready without great expense, for example, it is not everywhere that there is plenty of pit-sand, rubble, fir, clear fir, and marble. Where there is no pit sand, we must use the kinds washed up by rivers or by the sea. the advent of modern blasting methods enabled the development of quarries, which are now used throughout the world, wherever competent bedrock deposits of aggregate quality exist. In many places, good limestone, granite, marble or other quality stone bedrock deposits do not exist, in these areas, natural sand and gravel are mined for use as aggregate. Where neither stone, nor sand and gravel, are available, construction demand is satisfied by shipping in aggregate by rail. Additionally, demand for aggregates can be satisfied through the use of slag. However, the available tonnages and lesser quality of these materials prevent them from being a replacement for mined aggregates on a large scale. Large stone quarry and sand and gravel operations exist near virtually all population centers, limestone and granite are also produced in large amounts as dimension stone. The great majority of crushed stone is moved by truck from the quarry/plant to the first point of sale or use. According to the USGS,2006 U. S. sand and gravel production was 1.32 billion tonnes valued at $8.54 billion, the great majority of this was again moved by truck, instead of by electric train. Currently, total U. S. aggregate demand by final market sector was 30%–35% for non-residential building, 25% for highways, the largest-volume of recycled material used as construction aggregate is blast furnace and steel furnace slag. Blast furnace slag is either air-cooled or granulated, if the granulated blast furnace slag accesses free lime during hydration, it develops strong hydraulic cementitious properties and can partly substitute for portland cement in concrete
2.
Landscape design
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Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practised by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garden design, Landscape design focuses on both the integrated master landscape planning of a property and the specific garden design of landscape elements and plants within it. The practical, aesthetic, horticultural, and environmental sustainability are also components of landscape design and it is often divided into hardscape design and softscape design. Landscape designers often collaborate with related disciplines such as architecture and geography, soils and civil engineering, surveying, landscape contracting, botany, design projects may involve two different professional roles, landscape design and landscape architecture. There can be significant overlap of talent and skill between the two roles, depending on the education, licensing, and experience of the professional, both landscape designers and landscape architects practice landscape design. There are innumerable other design factors and considerations brought to the process of designing a garden that is beautiful, well-functioning. The professional section of garden designers in Europe and the Americas went by the name Landscape Gardener, in the 1890s, the distinct classification of landscape architect was created, with educational and licensing test requirements for using the title legally. Beatrix Farrand, the woman in the founding group, refused the title preferring Landscape Gardener. Matching the client and technical needs of a project, and the practitioner with talent, legal qualifications. Institutional education in landscape design appeared in the early 20th century, over time it became available at various levels. Departments of landscape architecture are located within university schools of architecture or environmental design, specialties and minors are available in horticultural botany, horticulture, natural resources, landscape engineering, construction management, fine and applied arts, and landscape design history. Traditionally, hand drawn drawings documented the design and position of features for construction, many landscape designers have an interest and involvement with gardening, personally or professionally. Some integrate this scope with their practice, informally or as licensed landscape contractors. Gardens are dynamic and not static after construction and planting are completed, involvement with landscape management and direction of ongoing garden direction, evolution, and care depend on the professionals and clients needs and inclinations. As with the other interrelated landscape disciplines, there can be overlap of services offered under the titles of landscape designer or professional gardener, garden design Landscape architecture Landscape assessment Landscape design history Landscape planning Space in landscape design Concrete landscape curbing
3.
Crusher
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A crusher is a machine designed to reduce large rocks into smaller rocks, gravel, or rock dust. The earliest crushers were hand-held stones, where the weight of the stone provided a boost to muscle power, querns and mortars are types of these crushing devices. In industry, crushers are machines which use a surface to break or compress materials into small fractional chunks or denser masses. Abraham Darby a century later relocated to Bristol where he had established a building brass and bronze industry by importing Dutch workers, both materials were considered superior to iron for cannon, and machines as they were better understood. But Darby would change the world in key ways. Where the Dutch had failed in casting iron, one of Darbys apprentices, John Thomas succeeded in 1707, concurrently, mines needed drained resulting in Savery and Newcomens early steam driven pumping systems. The deeper the mines went, the larger the demand became for better pumps, the greater the demand for iron, the greater the need for coal, the greater the demand for each. Seeing ahead clearly, Darby, sold off his brass business interests and relocated to Coalbrookdale with its coal mines, water power. Over that decade his foundries developed iron casting technologies and began to supplant other metals in many applications and he adapted Coking of his fuel by copying Brewers practices. Economies of scale gradually infused industrial enterprises, while became a key bottleneck as the volume of moved materials continued to increase following demand. This spurred numerous projects, inspired laying first wooden, then iron protected rails using draft animals to pull loads in the emerging bulk goods transportation dependent economy. Like mine pumps, the internal conveyors and trip-hammers contained within these 7—11 story buildings, each crusher is designed to work with a certain maximum size of raw material, and often delivers its output to a screening machine which sorts and directs the product for further processing. Typically, crushing stages are followed by milling stages if the materials need to be further reduced, additionally rockbreakers are typically located next to a crusher to reduce oversize material too large for a crusher. Crushers are used to reduce particle size enough so that the material can be processed into finer particles in a grinder, a typical processing line at a mine might consist of a crusher followed by a SAG mill followed by a ball mill. In this context, the SAG mill and ball mill are considered rather than crushers. In operation, the raw material is delivered to the primary crushers hopper by dump trucks. Primary crushing reduces the large pieces to a size which can be handled by the downstream machinery, some crushers are mobile and can crush rocks as large as 60 inches. Primarily used in-pit at the mine face these units are able to move with the large infeed machines to increase the tonnage produced, in a mobile road operation, these crushed rocks are directly combined with concrete and asphalt which are then deposited on to a road surface
4.
Gravel
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Gravel /ˈɡrævəl/ is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel is categorized by the Udden-Wentworth scale into granular gravel and pebble gravel, one cubic metre of gravel typically weighs about 1,800 kg. Gravel is an important commercial product, with a number of applications, many roadways are surfaced with gravel, especially in rural areas where there is little traffic. Globally, far more roads are surfaced with gravel than with concrete or tarmac, both sand and small gravel are also important for the manufacture of concrete. Large gravel deposits are a geological feature, being formed as a result of the weathering. The action of rivers and waves tends to pile up gravel in large accumulations and this can sometimes result in gravel becoming compacted and concreted into the sedimentary rock called conglomerate. Where natural gravel deposits are insufficient for human purposes, gravel is often produced by quarrying and crushing hard-wearing rocks, such as sandstone, limestone, quarries where gravel is extracted are known as gravel pits. Southern England possesses particularly large concentrations of them due to the deposition of gravel in the region during the Ice Ages. As of 2006, the United States is the leading producer and consumer of gravel. The word gravel comes from the Breton language, adding the -el suffix in Breton denotes the component parts of something larger. Thus gravel means the stones which make up such a beach on the coast. Many dictionaries ignore the Breton language, citing Old French gravele or gravelle, Gravel often has the meaning a mixture of different size pieces of stone mixed with sand and possibly some clay. American English also allows small stones without sand mixed in also known as crushed stone, types of gravel include, Bank gravel, naturally deposited gravel intermixed with sand or clay found in and next to rivers and streams. Also known as Bank run or River run, bench gravel, a bed of gravel located on the side of a valley above the present stream bottom, indicating the former location of the stream bed when it was at a higher level. Creek rock, this is rounded, semi-polished stones, potentially of a wide range of types. It is also used as concrete aggregate and less often as a paving surface. Crushed stone, rock crushed and graded by screens and then mixed to a blend of stones and fines and it is widely used as a surfacing for roads and driveways, sometimes with tar applied over it. Crushed stone may be made from granite, limestone, dolomite, also known as crusher run, DGA QP, and shoulder stone
5.
Riprap
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It is made from a variety of rock types, commonly granite or limestone, and occasionally concrete rubble from building and paving demolition. It can be used on any waterway or water containment where there is potential for water erosion, underwater, rock armour caps submerged tunnels to protect against accidental anchor strikes or sinking debris. Ciria-CUR - Rock Manual - The use of rock in hydraulic engineering, allsop - Breakwaters, coastal structures and coastlines
6.
Track ballast
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Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties and it is used to bear the load from the railroad ties, to facilitate drainage of water, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track structure. This also serves to hold the track in place as the roll by. It is typically made of crushed stone, although ballast has sometimes consisted of other, less suitable materials, the term ballast comes from a nautical term for the stones used to stabilize a ship. The appropriate thickness of a layer of track ballast depends on the size and spacing of the ties, the amount of traffic on the line, and various other factors. Track ballast should never be laid down less than 150 mm thick, an insufficient depth of ballast causes overloading of the underlying soil, and in unfavourable conditions overloading the soil causes the track to sink, usually unevenly. Ballast less than 300 mm thick can lead to vibrations that damage nearby structures, however, increasing the depth beyond 300 mm adds no extra benefit in reducing vibration. In turn, track ballast typically rests on a layer of crushed stones. The sub-ballast layer gives a solid support for the top ballast, sometimes an elastic mat is placed on the layer of sub-ballast and beneath the ballast, thereby significantly reducing vibration. The ballast shoulder always should be at least 150 mm wide, the shape of the ballast is also important. Stones must be cut, with sharp edges, so that they properly interlock and grip the ties in order to fully secure them against movement. In order to let the stones fully settle and interlock, speed limits are often lowered on sections of track for a period of time after new ballast has been laid. If ballast is badly fouled, the clogging will reduce its ability to drain properly, therefore, keeping the ballast clean is essential. Bioremediation can be used to clean ballast and it is not always necessary to replace the ballast if it is fouled, nor must all the ballast be removed if it is to be cleaned. Removing and cleaning the ballast from the shoulder is often sufficient, such machines can clean up to two kilometres of ballast in an hour. In such cases, it is necessary to replace the ballast altogether, the dump and jack method cannot of course be used through tunnels, under overbridges, and where there are platforms. Where the track is laid over a swamp, such as the Hexham swamp in Australia, the ballast continuously sinks, after 150 years of topping up, there appears to be 10 m of sunken ballast under the tracks. Chat Moss in the United Kingdom is similar, regular inspection of the ballast shoulder is important, as noted earlier, the lateral stability of the track depends upon the shoulder
7.
Composite material
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The individual components remain separate and distinct within the finished structure. The new material may be preferred for reasons, common examples include materials which are stronger, lighter. More recently, researchers have begun to actively include sensing, actuation, computation and communication into composites. The most advanced examples perform routinely on spacecraft and aircraft in demanding environments, the earliest man-made composite materials were straw and mud combined to form bricks for building construction. Ancient brick-making was documented by Egyptian tomb paintings, wattle and daub is one of the oldest man-made composite materials, at over 6000 years old. Concrete is also a material, and is used more than any other man-made material in the world. As of 2006, about 7.5 billion cubic metres of concrete are made each year—more than one metre for every person on Earth. 2181–2055 BC and was used for death masks Cob Mud Bricks, concrete was described by Vitruvius, writing around 25 BC in his Ten Books on Architecture, distinguished types of aggregate appropriate for the preparation of lime mortars. For structural mortars, he recommended pozzolana, which were volcanic sands from the beds of Pozzuoli brownish-yellow-gray in colour near Naples. Natural cement-stones, after burning, produced cements used in concretes from post-Roman times into the 20th century, the glass fiber is relatively strong and stiff, whereas the polymer is ductile. Thus the resulting fiberglass is relatively stiff, strong, flexible, concrete is the most common artificial composite material of all and typically consists of loose stones held with a matrix of cement. Concrete is a material, and will not compress or shatter even under quite a large compressive force. However, concrete cannot survive tensile loading, therefore, to give concrete the ability to resist being stretched, steel bars, which can resist high stretching forces, are often added to concrete to form reinforced concrete. Fibre-reinforced polymers or FRPs include carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer or CFRP, and glass-reinforced plastic or GRP, if classified by matrix then there are thermoplastic composites, short fiber thermoplastics, long fibre thermoplastics or long fibre-reinforced thermoplastics. There are numerous thermoset composites, including paper composite panels, many advanced thermoset polymer matrix systems usually incorporate aramid fibre and carbon fibre in an epoxy resin matrix. Shape memory polymer composites are high-performance composites, formulated using fibre or fabric reinforcement and they can also be reheated and reshaped repeatedly without losing their material properties. These composites are ideal for such as lightweight, rigid, deployable structures, rapid manufacturing. Although high strain composites exhibit many similarities to shape memory polymers, Composites can also use metal fibres reinforcing other metals, as in metal matrix composites or ceramic matrix composites, which includes bone, cermet and concrete
8.
Tarmacadam
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Tarmac is a type of road surfacing material patented by English inventor Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1902. The term is used, with varying degrees of correctness, for a variety of other materials, including tar-grouted macadam, bituminous surface treatments. The term is often used to describe airport aprons, taxiways. Pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam in the 1820s, Macadam roads are prone to rutting and generating dust. Methods to stabilize macadam surfaces with tar date back to at least 1834 when John Henry Cassell, operating from Cassells Patent Lava Stone Works in Millwall, patented lava stone. This method involved spreading tar on the subgrade, placing a typical macadam layer, tar-grouted macadam was in use well before 1900, and involved scarifying the surface of an existing macadam pavement, spreading tar, and re-compacting. In 1901, Edgar Purnell Hooley was walking in Denby, Derbyshire when he noticed a smooth stretch of road close to an ironworks. He was informed that a barrel of tar had fallen onto the road, Hooley noticed this unintentional resurfacing had solidified the road, and there was no rutting and no dust. Hooleys 1902 patent for tarmac involved mechanically mixing tar and aggregate prior to lay-down, the tar was modified by adding small amounts of Portland cement, resin, and pitch. Nottinghams Radcliffe Road became the first tarmac road in the world, in 1903 Hooley formed Tar Macadam Syndicate Ltd and registered tarmac as a trademark. As petroleum production increased, the by-product bitumen became available in greater quantities, the Wick Airport at Wick in Caithness, Scotland, is one of the few airports that still have real tarmac runways. Similarly in the UK the word tarmac is much more used by the public when referring to asphalt concrete. Tarmac is a trademark although it is frequently written with a lower-case initial letter. History of road transport – covers the development of road-building techniques Asphalt concrete Pavement Tarmac Limited
9.
Asphalt concrete
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Asphalt concrete is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parking lots, airports, as well as the core of embankment dams. It consists of mineral aggregate bound together with asphalt, laid in layers, the process was refined and enhanced by Belgian inventor and U. S. immigrant Edward de Smedt. The abbreviation AC is sometimes used for asphalt concrete but can also denote asphalt content or asphalt cement, mixing is generally performed with the aggregate at about 300 °F for virgin asphalt and 330 °F for polymer modified asphalt, and the asphalt cement at 200 °F. Paving and compaction must be performed while the asphalt is sufficiently hot, in many countries paving is restricted to summer months because in winter the compacted base will cool the asphalt too much before it is able to be packed to the required density. HMAC is the form of asphalt concrete most commonly used on high traffic pavements such as those on major highways, racetracks and it is also used as an environmental liner for landfills, reservoirs, and fish hatchery ponds. Superpave, short for superior performing asphalt pavement, is a pavement system designed to provide longer lasting roadways, key components of the system are careful selection of binders and aggregates, volumetric proportioning of ingredients, and evaluation of the finished product. Warm mix asphalt concrete is produced by adding either zeolites, waxes, asphalt emulsions and this allows significantly lower mixing and laying temperatures and results in lower consumption of fossil fuels, thus releasing less carbon dioxide, aerosols and vapors. The usage of additives in hot mixed asphalt may afford easier compaction. Use of warm mix is rapidly expanding, a survey of US asphalt producers found that nearly 25% of asphalt produced in 2012 was warm mix, a 416% increase since 2009. Cold mix asphalt concrete is produced by emulsifying the asphalt in water with soap prior to mixing with the aggregate, while in its emulsified state the asphalt is less viscous and the mixture is easy to work and compact. The emulsion will break after enough water evaporates and the mix will, ideally. Cold mix is used as a patching material and on lesser trafficked service roads. Cut-back asphalt concrete is a form of cold mix asphalt produced by dissolving the binder in kerosene or another lighter fraction of petroleum prior to mixing with the aggregate, while in its dissolved state the asphalt is less viscous and the mix is easy to work and compact. After the mix is laid down the lighter fraction evaporates, because of concerns with pollution from the volatile organic compounds in the lighter fraction, cut-back asphalt has been largely replaced by asphalt emulsion. Mastic asphalt concrete or sheet asphalt is produced by heating hard grade blown bitumen in a green cooker until it has become a liquid after which the aggregate mix is then added. Mastic asphalt concrete is laid to a thickness of around 3⁄4–1 3⁄16 inches for footpath and road applications. HMAC layers are used both in reinforcement operations and in the construction of new reinforcements for medium and heavy traffic, in base layers, they tend to exhibit a greater capacity of absorbing tensions and, in general, better fatigue resistance. In addition to the asphalt and aggregate, additives, such as polymers, Asphalt concrete pavements—especially those at airfields—are sometimes called tarmac for historical reasons, although they do not contain tar and are not constructed using the macadam process
10.
Limestone
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Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine. Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may also form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble
11.
Quarry
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A quarry is a place from which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate has been excavated from the ground. A quarry is the thing as an open-pit mine from which minerals are extracted. The only non-trivial difference between the two is that open-pit mines that produce building materials and dimension stone are commonly referred to as quarries, the word quarry can also include the underground quarrying for stone, such as Bath stone. The surfaces are polished and finished with varying degrees of sheen or luster, polished slabs are often cut into tiles or countertops and installed in many kinds of residential and commercial properties. Natural stone quarried from the earth is considered a luxury and tends to be a highly durable surface. Quarries in level areas with shallow groundwater or which are located close to surface water often have engineering problems with drainage, generally the water is removed by pumping while the quarry is operational, but for high inflows more complex approaches may be required. For example, the Coquina quarry is excavated to more than 60 feet below sea level, to reduce surface leakage, a moat lined with clay was constructed around the entire quarry. Ground water entering the pit is pumped up into the moat, as a quarry becomes deeper, water inflows generally increase and it also becomes more expensive to lift the water higher during removal, this can become the limiting factor in quarry depth. Some water-filled quarries are worked from beneath the water, by dredging, many people and municipalities consider quarries to be eyesores and require various abatement methods to address problems with noise, dust, and appearance. One of the effective and famous examples of successful quarry restoration is Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC. A further problem is pollution of roads from trucks leaving the quarries, to control and restrain the pollution of public roads, wheel washing systems are becoming more common. Many quarries naturally fill with water after abandonment and become lakes, water-filled quarries can be very deep with water, often 50 feet or more, that is often surprisingly cold. Unexpectedly cold water can cause a swimmers muscles to weaken, it can also cause shock. Though quarry water is very clear, submerged quarry stones. Several people drown in quarries each year, however, many inactive quarries are converted into safe swimming sites
12.
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
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Bellefonte is a borough and the county seat of Centre County in the U. S. state of Pennsylvania. It lies about twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, the borough population was 6,187 at the 2010 Census. It houses the courthouse located downtown on the square, Bellefonte has also been home to five of Pennsylvanias governors as well as two other governors. All seven are commemorated in a monument overlooking Talleyrand Park, however, the spring, which serves as the towns water supply, has been covered to comply with DEP water purity laws. The early development of Bellefonte had been as a natural town and it started with one house and a crossroad, then iron was found and the town grew. William Lamb sold his mill to John Dunlop and the next year James Dunlop, Johns father, as the years went by, Bellefonte boomed and soon became the most influential town between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. Bellefonte was a frequent stop in the airmail route. The route ran from New York to San Francisco and opened August 20,1920, currently Bellefonte is home to the Red Raiders, the Bellefonte School Districts mascot. The school colors are red and white, the Bellefonte Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The Bellefonte Academy was listed until 2008, after having been destroyed by fire in 2004, the Bush House Hotel was financed by Daniel G. Bush and built in 1868. It was one of the first hotels in the country to have electric lights, a man would stand at the train station and call out to the passengers, Walk ya to the Bush House. The Bush House, the Brockerhoff House, the Haag House, thomas Edison stayed at the Bush House. In the recent years, the Bush House had several businesses in it including Schnitzels Restaurant, the Bush House burned down on February 8,2006. Another fire heavily damaged one of the other landmark buildings less than four years later. The Cadillac Building, so named because it was built as a Cadillac dealership in 1916, was a mix use commercial and residential property hit by a devastating fire on December 22,2009. Christmas tree lights in one of the apartment units were determined to be the cause, Cadillac Building is being rebuilt to hold 11 housing units, an office building to maintain properties, and a floor of community space with a completion of Fall 2016. It will remain a part of the Bellefonte Historic District, the popular song After the Ball was said to have been first sung in public here. It was eventually used as a movie theater, first showing silent films
13.
Natural resource
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Natural resources are resources that exist without actions of humankind. This includes all valued characteristics such as magnetic, gravitational, on earth it includes, sunlight, atmosphere, water, land along with all vegetation and animal life that naturally subsists upon or within the heretofore identified characteristics and substances. Particular areas such as the rainforest in Fatu-Hiva are often characterized by the biodiversity and geodiversity existent in their ecosystems, Natural resources may be further classified in different ways. Natural resources are materials and components that can be found within the environment, every man-made product is composed of natural resources. Some natural resources such as sunlight and air can be found everywhere, however, most resources only occur in small sporadic areas, and are referred to as localised resources. There are very few resources that are considered inexhaustible – these are solar radiation, geothermal energy, the vast majority of resources are theoretically exhaustible, which means they have a finite quantity and can be depleted if managed improperly. There are various methods of categorizing natural resources, these include source of origin, stage of development, fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category because they are formed from decayed organic matter. Abiotic – Abiotic resources are those that come from non-living, non-organic material, examples of abiotic resources include land, fresh water, air and heavy metals including ores such as gold, iron, copper, silver, etc. For example, petroleum occurs with sedimentary rocks in various regions, Actual resources — Actual resources are those that have been surveyed, their quantity and quality determined and are being used in present times. The development of a resource, such as wood processing depends upon the technology available. Reserve resources — The part of a resource which can be developed profitably in the future is called a reserve resource. Stock resources — Stock resources are those that have been surveyed, renewability is a very popular topic and many natural resources can be categorized as either renewable or non-renewable, Renewable resources — Renewable resources can be replenished naturally. Some of these resources, like sunlight, air, wind, water, etc. are continuously available, though many renewable resources do not have such a rapid recovery rate, these resources are susceptible to depletion by over-use. Non-renewable resources – Non-renewable resources either form slowly or do not naturally form in the environment, minerals are the most common resource included in this category. Some resources actually naturally deplete in amount without human interference, the most notable of these being radio-active elements such as uranium, of these, the metallic minerals can be re-used by recycling them, but coal and petroleum cannot be recycled. Once they are used they take millions of years to replenish. Resource extraction involves any activity that withdraws resources from nature and this can range in scale from the traditional use of preindustrial societies, to global industry. Extractive industries are, along with agriculture, the basis of the sector of the economy
14.
Raw material
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As feedstock, the term connotes these materials are bottleneck assets and are highly important with regards to producing other products. This phenomenon, known as Dutch disease or the resource curse, an example of this is the geological scandal of the Democratic Republic of Congo as it is rich in raw materials, the Second Congo War focused on controlling these raw materials. Raw materials are used by non-humans, such as birds using found objects. Karl Marx, Capital, Vol.1, Part III, Chap
15.
Construction
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Construction is the process of constructing a building or infrastructure. Construction as an industry comprises six to nine percent of the domestic product of developed countries. Construction starts with planning, design, and financing, and continues until the project is built, large-scale construction requires collaboration across multiple disciplines. An architect normally manages the job, and a manager, design engineer. For the successful execution of a project, effective planning is essential, the largest construction projects are referred to as megaprojects. Construction is a term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations. Construction is used as a verb, the act of building, and a noun, how a building was built, in general, there are three sectors of construction, buildings, infrastructure and industrial. Building construction is further divided into residential and non-residential. Infrastructure is often called heavy/highway, heavy civil or heavy engineering and it includes large public works, dams, bridges, highways, water/wastewater and utility distribution. Industrial includes refineries, process chemical, power generation, mills, there are other ways to break the industry into sectors or markets. Engineering News-Record is a magazine for the construction industry. Each year, ENR compiles and reports on data about the size of design and they publish a list of the largest companies in the United States and also a list the largest global firms. In 2014, ENR compiled the data in nine market segments and it was divided as transportation, petroleum, buildings, power, industrial, water, manufacturing, sewer/waste, telecom, hazardous waste plus a tenth category for other projects. In their reporting on the Top 400, they used data on transportation, sewer, hazardous waste, the Standard Industrial Classification and the newer North American Industry Classification System have a classification system for companies that perform or otherwise engage in construction. To recognize the differences of companies in this sector, it is divided into three subsectors, building construction, heavy and civil engineering construction, and specialty trade contractors, there are also categories for construction service firms and construction managers. Building construction is the process of adding structure to real property or construction of buildings, the majority of building construction jobs are small renovations, such as addition of a room, or renovation of a bathroom. Often, the owner of the property acts as laborer, paymaster, for this reason, those with experience in the field make detailed plans and maintain careful oversight during the project to ensure a positive outcome. Residential construction practices, technologies, and resources must conform to local building authority regulations, materials readily available in the area generally dictate the construction materials used
16.
Dolomite
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Dolomite is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate, ideally CaMg2. The term is used for a sedimentary carbonate rock composed mostly of the mineral dolomite. An alternative name used for the dolomitic rock type is dolostone. Most probably the mineral dolomite was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1768, nicolas-Théodore de Saussure first named the mineral in March 1792. The mineral dolomite crystallizes in the trigonal-rhombohedral system and it forms white, tan, gray, or pink crystals. Dolomite is a carbonate, having an alternating structural arrangement of calcium and magnesium ions. It does not rapidly dissolve or effervesce in dilute hydrochloric acid as calcite does, solid solution exists between dolomite, the iron-dominant ankerite and the manganese-dominant kutnohorite. Small amounts of iron in the give the crystals a yellow to brown tint. Manganese substitutes in the structure also up to three percent MnO. A high manganese content gives the crystals a rosy pink color, lead, zinc, and cobalt also substitute in the structure for magnesium. The mineral dolomite is closely related to huntite Mg3Ca4, because dolomite can be dissolved by slightly acidic water, areas of dolomite are important as aquifers and contribute to karst terrain formation. Modern dolomite formation has been found to occur under conditions in supersaturated saline lagoons along the Rio de Janeiro coast of Brazil, namely, Lagoa Vermelha. It is often thought that dolomite will develop only with the help of sulfate-reducing bacteria, however, low-temperature dolomite may occur in natural environments rich in organic matter and microbial cell surfaces. This occurs as a result of magnesium complexation by carboxyl groups associated with organic matter, vast deposits of dolomite are present in the geological record, but the mineral is relatively rare in modern environments. Reproducible, inorganic low-temperature syntheses of dolomite and magnesite were published for the first time in 1999, the general principle governing the course of this irreversible geochemical reaction has been coined breaking Ostwalds step rule. There is some evidence for an occurrence of dolomite. One example is that of the formation of dolomite in the bladder of a Dalmatian dog. In 2015, it was discovered that the direct crystallization of dolomite can occur from solution at temperatures between 60 and 220 °C
17.
Road
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Roads consist of one or two roadways, each with one or more lanes and any associated sidewalks and road verges. Roads that are available for use by the public may be referred to as parkways, avenues, freeways, interstates, highways, or primary, secondary, and tertiary local roads. In urban areas roads may diverge through a city or village and be named as streets, serving a function as urban space easement. Modern roads are normally smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel, historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance. In the United Kingdom there is ambiguity between the terms highway and road. The Highway code details rules for road users and this includes footpaths, bridleways and cycle tracks, and also road and driveways on private land and many car parks. Vehicle Excise Duty, a use tax, is payable on some vehicles used on the public road. The definition of a road depends on the definition of a highway, in the United States, laws distinguish between public roads, which are open to public use, and private roads, which are privately controlled. The assertion that the first pathways were the trails made by animals has not been universally accepted, others believe that some roads originated from following animal trails. The Icknield Way is given as an example of type of road origination. By about 10,000 BC, rough roads/pathways were used by human travelers, the worlds oldest known paved road was constructed in Egypt some time between 2600 and 2200 BC. Stone-paved streets are found in the city of Ur in the Middle East dating back to 4000 BC, corduroy roads are found dating to 4000 BC in Glastonbury, England. The Sweet Track, a timber causeway in England, is one of the oldest engineered roads discovered. Built in winter 3807 BC or spring 3806 BC, tree-ring dating enabled very precise dating and it was claimed to be the oldest road in the world until the 2009 discovery of a 6, 000-year-old trackway in Plumstead, London. Brick-paved streets were used in India as early as 3000 BC, in 500 BC, Darius I the Great started an extensive road system for Persia, including the Royal Road, which was one of the finest highways of its time. The road remained in use after Roman times, a hybrid of road transport and ship transport beginning in about 1740 is the horse-drawn boat in which the horse follows a cleared path along the river bank. From about 312 BC, the Roman Empire built straight strong stone Roman roads throughout Europe and North Africa, at its peak the Roman Empire was connected by 29 major roads moving out from Rome and covering 78,000 kilometers or 52,964 Roman miles of paved roads. In the 8th century AD, many roads were built throughout the Arab Empire, the most sophisticated roads were those in Baghdad, which were paved with tar
18.
Sand
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Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. It is defined by size, being finer than gravel and coarser than silt, Sand can also refer to a textural class of soil or soil type, i. e. a soil containing more than 85% sand-sized particles by mass. The second most common type of sand is calcium carbonate, for example aragonite, for example, it is the primary form of sand apparent in areas where reefs have dominated the ecosystem for millions of years like the Caribbean. Sand is a non renewable resource over human timescales, and sand suitable for making concrete is in high demand, in terms of particle size as used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 mm to 2 mm. An individual particle in this size is termed a sand grain. Sand grains are between gravel and silt, a 1953 engineering standard published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials set the minimum sand size at 0.074 mm. A1938 specification of the United States Department of Agriculture was 0.05 mm. Sand feels gritty when rubbed between the fingers. ISO14688 grades sands as fine, medium and coarse with ranges 0.063 mm to 0.2 mm to 0.63 mm to 2.0 mm. In the United States, sand is commonly divided into five sub-categories based on size, very fine sand, fine sand, medium sand, coarse sand, and very coarse sand. These sizes are based on the Krumbein phi scale, where size in Φ = -log2D, on this scale, for sand the value of Φ varies from −1 to +4, with the divisions between sub-categories at whole numbers. The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources. The gypsum sand dunes of the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico are famous for their bright, arkose is a sand or sandstone with considerable feldspar content, derived from weathering and erosion of a granitic rock outcrop. Some sands contain magnetite, chlorite, glauconite or gypsum, Sands rich in magnetite are dark to black in color, as are sands derived from volcanic basalts and obsidian. Chlorite-glauconite bearing sands are typically green in color, as are sands derived from basaltic with a high olivine content, many sands, especially those found extensively in Southern Europe, have iron impurities within the quartz crystals of the sand, giving a deep yellow color. Sand deposits in some areas contain garnets and other resistant minerals, the study of individual grains can reveal much historical information as to the origin and kind of transport of the grain. Quartz sand that is weathered from granite or gneiss quartz crystals will be angular. It is called grus in geology or sharp sand in the trade where it is preferred for concrete. Sand that is transported long distances by water or wind will be rounded, people who collect sand as a hobby are known as arenophiles
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Slag
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Slag is the glass-like by-product left over after a desired metal has been separated from its raw ore. Slag is usually a mixture of oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and elemental metals, in nature, iron, copper, lead, nickel and other metals are found in impure states called ores, often oxidized and mixed in with silicates of other metals. During smelting, when the ore is exposed to high temperatures, Slag is the collection of compounds that are removed. In many smelting processes, oxides are introduced to control the slag chemistry, assisting in the removal of impurities, in this case, the slag is termed synthetic. Ferrous and non-ferrous smelting processes produce different slags, the smelting of copper and lead in non-ferrous smelting, for instance, is designed to remove the iron and silica that often occurs with those ores, and separates them as iron-silicate-based slags. Slag from steel mills in ferrous smelting, on the hand, is designed to minimize iron loss and so mainly contains oxides of calcium, silicon, magnesium. Any sandy component or quartz component of the original ore automatically carries through the process as silicon dioxide. As the slag is channeled out of the furnace, water is poured over it and this rapid cooling, often from a temperature of around 2,600 °F, is the start of the granulating process. This process causes several chemical reactions to take place within the slag, the water carries the slag in its slurry format to a large agitation tank, from where it is pumped along a piping system into a number of gravel based filter beds. The filter beds then retain the slag granules, while the drains away and is returned to the system. During the Bronze Age of the Mediterranean there were a vast number of metallurgical processes in use. A slag by-product of such workings was a colorful, glassy and it was primarily blue or green and was formerly chipped away and melted down to make glassware products and jewelry. It was also ground into powder to add to glazes for use in ceramics, some of the earliest such uses for the by-products of slag have been found in ancient Egypt. Historically, the re-smelting of iron ore slag was common practice, during the early 20th century, iron ore slag was also ground to a powder and used to make agate glass, also known as slag glass. Ground granulated slag is used in concrete in combination with Portland cement as part of a blended cement. Ground granulated slag reacts with water to produce cementitious properties, concrete containing ground granulated slag develops strength over a longer period, leading to reduced permeability and better durability. Since the unit volume of Portland cement is reduced, this concrete is less vulnerable to alkali-silica, the slag can also be used to create fibers used as an insulation material called slag wool
20.
Sintered
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Sintering is the process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by heat or pressure without melting it to the point of liquefaction. Sintering happens naturally in mineral deposits or as a process used with metals, ceramics, plastics. The atoms in the materials diffuse across the boundaries of the particles, fusing the particles together, the study of sintering in metallurgy powder-related processes is known as powder metallurgy. An example of sintering can be observed when ice cubes in a glass of water adhere to each other, examples of pressure-driven sintering are the compacting of snowfall to a glacier, or the forming of a hard snowball by pressing loose snow together. The word sinter comes from the Middle High German sinter, a cognate of English cinder, the driving force for densification is the change in free energy from the decrease in surface area and lowering of the surface free energy by the replacement of solid-vapor interfaces. It forms new but lower-energy solid-solid interfaces with a decrease in free energy occurring. On a microscopic scale, material transfer is affected by the change in pressure, If the size of the particle is small, these effects become very large in magnitude. For properties such as strength and conductivity, the area in relation to the particle size is the determining factor. The variables that can be controlled for any material are the temperature. Through time, the radius and the vapor pressure are proportional to 2/3 and to 1/3. The source of power for solid-state processes is the change in free or chemical energy between the neck and the surface of the particle. The pore elimination occurs faster for a trial with many pores of uniform size, for the latter portions of the process, boundary and lattice diffusion from the boundary become important. Sintering is part of the process used in the manufacture of pottery. These objects are made from such as glass, alumina, zirconia, silica, magnesia, lime, beryllium oxide. Some ceramic raw materials have an affinity for water and a lower plasticity index than clay. Sintering is performed at high temperature, besides, second and/or third external force could be used. Commonly used second external force is pressure, so, the sintering that performed just using temperature is generally called pressureless sintering. Pressureless sintering is possible with graded metal-ceramic composites, with a nanoparticle sintering aid, a variant used for 3D shapes is called hot isostatic pressing
21.
Clay
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Clay is a fine-grained natural rock or soil material that combines one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure. Clays are plastic due to water content and become hard, brittle. Depending on the content in which it is found, clay can appear in various colours from white to dull grey or brown to deep orange-red. Although many naturally occurring deposits include both silts and clay, clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by differences in size, silts, which are fine-grained soils that do not include clay minerals, tend to have larger particle sizes than clays. There is, however, some overlap in size and other physical properties. The distinction between silt and clay varies by discipline, geologists and soil scientists usually consider the separation to occur at a particle size of 2 µm, sedimentologists often use 4–5 μm, and colloid chemists use 1 μm. Geotechnical engineers distinguish between silts and clays based on the plasticity properties of the soil, as measured by the soils Atterberg limits, ISO14688 grades clay particles as being smaller than 2 μm and silt particles as being larger. These solvents, usually acidic, migrate through the rock after leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to the process, some clay minerals are formed through hydrothermal activity. There are two types of deposits, primary and secondary. Primary clays form as residual deposits in soil and remain at the site of formation, secondary clays are clays that have been transported from their original location by water erosion and deposited in a new sedimentary deposit. Clay deposits are associated with very low energy depositional environments such as large lakes. Depending on the source, there are three or four main groups of clays, kaolinite, montmorillonite-smectite, illite, and chlorite. Chlorites are not always considered to be a clay, sometimes being classified as a group within the phyllosilicates. There are approximately 30 different types of clays in these categories. Varve is clay with visible annual layers, which are formed by deposition of those layers and are marked by differences in erosion. This type of deposit is common in glacial lakes
22.
Shale
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Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable, shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering or bedding less than one centimeter in thickness, called fissility. Mudstones, on the hand, are similar in composition. Before the mid 19th century, the slate, shale. In the context of underground mining, shale was frequently referred to as slate well into the 20th century. Non-fissile rocks of similar composition but made of smaller than 0.06 mm are described as mudstones or claystone. Rocks with similar sizes but with less clay and therefore grittier are siltstones. Shale is the most common sedimentary rock, shales are typically composed of variable amounts of clay minerals and quartz grains and the typical color is gray. Addition of variable amounts of minor constituents alters the color of the rock, black shale results from the presence of greater than one percent carbonaceous material and indicates a reducing environment. Black shale can also be referred to as black metal, red, brown and green colors are indicative of ferric oxide, iron hydroxide, or micaceous minerals. Clays are the constituent of shales and other mudrocks. The clay minerals represented are largely kaolinite, montmorillonite and illite, clay minerals of Late Tertiary mudstones are expandable smectites whereas in older rocks especially in mid- to early Paleozoic shales illites predominate. The transformation of smectite to illite produces silica, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron and these released elements form authigenic quartz, chert, calcite, dolomite, ankerite, hematite and albite, all trace to minor minerals found in shales and other mudrocks. Shales and mudrocks contain roughly 95 percent of the matter in all sedimentary rocks. However, this amounts to less than one percent by mass in an average shale, black shales, which form in anoxic conditions, contain reduced free carbon along with ferrous iron and sulfur. Pyrite and amorphous iron sulfide along with carbon produce the black coloration, the process in the rock cycle which forms shale is called compaction. The fine particles that compose shale can remain suspended in long after the larger particles of sand have deposited. Shales are typically deposited in very slow moving water and are found in lakes and lagoonal deposits, in river deltas, on floodplains
23.
Perlite
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Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass that has a relatively high water content, typically formed by the hydration of obsidian. It occurs naturally and has the property of greatly expanding when heated sufficiently. It is a mineral and a commercial product useful for its low density after processing. Perlite softens when it reaches temperatures of 850–900 °C, water trapped in the structure of the material vaporises and escapes, and this causes the expansion of the material to 7–16 times its original volume. The expanded material is a brilliant white, due to the reflectivity of the trapped bubbles, unexpanded perlite has a bulk density around 1100 kg/m3, while typical expanded perlite has a bulk density of about 30–150 kg/m3. The world reserves of perlite are estimated at 700 million tonnes, in 2011,1.7 million tonnes were produced, mostly by Greece, United States and Turkey. However, no information for China – a leading producer – was available, because of its low density and relatively low price, many commercial applications for perlite have developed. In the construction and manufacturing fields, it is used in lightweight plasters, concrete and mortar, insulation, in horticulture, perlite can be used as a soil amendment or alone as a medium for hydroponics or for starting cuttings. When used as an amendment it has high permeability / low water retention, perlite is an excellent filtration aid and is used extensively as an alternative to diatomaceous earth. The popularity of usage as a filter medium is growing considerably worldwide. Perlite filters are commonplace in filtering beer before it is bottled. Small quantities of perlite are also used in foundries, cryogenic insulation and it is also used by the explosives industry. Due to thermal and mechanical stability, non-toxicity, and high resistance against microbial attacks and organic solvents, perlite was found to be an excellent support for immobilization of biocatalysts such as enzymes for bioremediation and sensing applications. Perlite can be substituted for all of its uses, substitutes include, Diatomite Expanded clay Shale Pumice Slag Vermiculite People can be exposed to perlite in the workplace by breathing in dust, skin contact, and eye contact. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set the limit for perlite exposure in the workplace as 15 mg/m3 total exposure and 5 mg/m3 respiratory exposure over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has set a recommended limit of 10 mg/m3 total exposure and 5 mg/m3 respiratory exposure over an 8-hour workday. Popular Mechanics, December 1954, p.136, CDC - NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
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Vermiculite
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Vermiculite is a hydrous phyllosilicate mineral. It undergoes significant expansion when heated, exfoliation occurs when the mineral is heated sufficiently, and the effect is routinely produced in commercial furnaces. Vermiculite is formed by weathering or hydrothermal alteration of biotite or phlogopite, large commercial vermiculite mines currently exist in Russia, South Africa, China, and Brazil. Vermiculite was first described in 1824 for an occurrence in Millbury and its name is from Latin vermiculare, to breed worms, for the manner in which it exfoliates when heated. It typically occurs as a product at the contact between felsic and mafic or ultramafic rocks such as pyroxenites and dunites. It also occurs in carbonatites and metamorphosed magnesium rich limestone, associated mineral phases include, corundum, apatite, serpentine and talc. It occurs interlayered with chlorite, biotite and phlogopite, Vermiculite is a 2,1 clay, meaning it has 2 tetrahedral sheets for every one octahedral sheet. It is a limited expansion clay with a medium shrink-swell capacity, Vermiculite has a high cation exchange capacity at 100-150 meq/100 g. Vermiculite clays are weathered micas in which the potassium ions between the sheets are replaced by magnesium and iron ions. Moulded shapes, this process involves mixing exfoliated vermiculite with inorganic bonding agents such as sodium silicate and potassium to produce an earth damp mixture. This material is then pressed into shape in a mold and then heat cured at temperatures up to 180 °C for up to 24 hours. This is then dewatered by pressing or by using one of the Fourdriner/Magnani/Hatschek processes to form a board which is then heat cured under pressure for periods of up to 24 hours. Brake linings, finer grades of exfoliated vermiculite are being used in brake linings primarily for the automotive market, in many cases, vermiculite-based roof screeds are used in conjunction with other insulation materials, such as polystyrene board, to form a total roofing system. These mixes promote faster growth and give quick anchorage to young roots. The mixture helps retain air, plant food, and moisture and these mixes were pioneered by Boodley and Sheldrake. Exfoliated vermiculite is used as a growing media for hydroponics Seed germination, vermiculite, alone or mixed with soil or peat, is used to germinate seeds. When vermiculite is used alone, seedlings should be fed with a weak fertilizer solution when the first true leaves appear, a tablespoon of soluble fertilizer per one imperial gallon of water is the recommended mix Storing bulbs and root crops, pour vermiculite around bulbs placed in container. If clumps are dug, allow to dry for a few hours in the sun and then place in cartons or bushel baskets, the absorptive power of vermiculite acts as a regulator that prevents mildew and moisture fluctuation during the storage period
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Barge
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A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and must be towed or pushed by towboats, Barge is attested from 1300, from Old French barge, from Vulgar Latin barga. The word originally could refer to any small boat, the modern meaning arose around 1480, bark small ship is attested from 1420, from Old French barque, from Vulgar Latin barca. The more precise meaning three-masted ship arose in the 17th century, both are probably derived from the Latin barica, from Greek, βάρις, translit. Egyptian boat, from Coptic, ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ bāri small boat, hieroglyphic Egyptian, by extension, the term embark literally means to board the kind of boat called a barque. The long pole used to maneuver or propel a barge has given rise to the saying I wouldnt touch that with a barge pole. On the British canal system, the barge is used to describe a boat wider than a narrowboat. In the United States, deckhands perform the labor and are supervised by a leadman or the mate, the captain and pilot steer the towboat, which pushes one or more barges held together with rigging, collectively called the tow. The crew live aboard the towboat as it travels along the river system or the intracoastal waterways. These towboats travel between ports and are also called line-haul boats, poles are used on barges to fend off the barge as it nears other vessels or a wharf. These are often called pike poles, barges are used today for low-value bulk items, as the cost of hauling goods by barge is very low. Barges are also used for heavy or bulky items, a typical American barge measures 195 by 35 feet. The most common European barge measures 76.5 by 11.4 metres, as an example, on June 26,2006, a 565-short-ton catalytic cracking unit reactor was shipped by barge from the Tulsa Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma to a refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Extremely large objects are normally shipped in sections and assembled onsite, of the reactors 700-mile journey, only about 40 miles were traveled overland, from the final port to the refinery. Canal barges are made for the particular canal in which they will operate. Many barges, primarily Dutch barges, which were designed for carrying cargo along the canals of Europe, are no longer large enough to compete in this industry with larger newer vessels. Many of these barges have been renovated and are now used as hotel barges carrying holidaymakers along the same canals on which they once carried grain or coal. This holds true today, for areas of the world
26.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
27.
Commodity
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In economics, a commodity is a marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs. Economic commodities comprise goods and services, the word commodity came into use in English in the 15th century, from the French commodité, amenity, convenience. Going further back, the French word derives from the Latin commoditas, meaning suitability, convenience, the Latin word commodus meant variously appropriate, proper measure, time, or condition, and advantage, benefit. The term commodity is specifically used for a good or service when the demand for it has no qualitative differentiation across a market. In other words, a commodity good or service has full or partial but substantial fungibility, that is, the market treats its instances as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. As the saying goes, From the taste of wheat, it is not possible to tell who produced it, a Russian serf, petroleum and copper are other examples of such commodities, their supply and demand being a part of one universal market. Items such as systems, on the other hand, have many aspects of product differentiation, such as the brand, the user interface. The demand for one type of stereo may be larger than demand for another. In contrast, one of the characteristics of a commodity good is that its price is determined as a function of its market as a whole, well-established physical commodities have actively traded spot and derivative markets. Generally, these are basic resources and agricultural products such as ore, sugar. Soft commodities are goods that are grown, while hard commodities are ones that are extracted through mining, there is another important class of energy commodities which includes electricity, gas, coal and oil. Electricity has the characteristic that it is usually uneconomical to store, hence. Commoditization occurs as a goods or services market loses differentiation across its supply base, as such, goods that formerly carried premium margins for market participants have become commodities, such as generic pharmaceuticals and DRAM chips. Following this trend, nanomaterials are emerging from carrying premium profit margins for market participants to a status of commodification, there is a spectrum of commoditization, rather than a binary distinction of commodity versus differentiable product. Many products degree of commoditization depends on the mentality and means. For example, milk, eggs, and notebook paper are not differentiated by many customers, for them, other customers take into consideration other factors besides price, such as environmental sustainability and animal welfare. This is a list of companies trading globally in commodities, descending by size as of October 28,2011, on a commodity exchange, it is the underlying standard stated in the contract that defines the commodity, not any quality inherent in a specific producers product. Commodities exchanges include, Bourse Africa Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Chicago Board of Trade Chicago Mercantile Exchange Dalian Commodity Exchange Euronext and these markets will quickly respond to changes in supply and demand to find an equilibrium price and quantity
28.
Environmental law
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The core environmental law regimes address environmental pollution. Other areas, such as environmental impact assessment, may not fit neatly into either category, early examples of legal enactments designed to consciously preserve the environment, for its own sake or human enjoyment, are found throughout history. In the common law, the protection was found in the law of nuisance. Thus smells emanating from pig stys, strict liability against dumping rubbish, private enforcement, however, was limited and found to be woefully inadequate to deal with major environmental threats, particularly threats to common resources. During the Great Stink of 1858, the dumping of sewerage into the River Thames began to smell so ghastly in the heat that Parliament had to be evacuated. In 19 days, Parliament passed a further Act to build the London sewerage system, London also suffered from terrible air pollution, and this culminated in the Great Smog of 1952, which in turn triggered its on legislative response, the Clean Air Act 1956. The basic regulatory structure was to set limits on emissions for households, notwithstanding early analogues, the concept of environmental law as a separate and distinct body of law is a twentieth-century development. Air quality laws govern the emission of air pollutants into the atmosphere, a specialized subset of air quality laws regulate the quality of air inside buildings. Air quality laws are designed specifically to protect human health by limiting or eliminating airborne pollutant concentrations. Regulatory efforts include identifying and categorizing air pollutants, setting limits on acceptable emissions levels, Water quality laws govern the release of pollutants into water resources, including surface water, ground water, and stored drinking water. Some water quality laws, such as drinking water regulations, may be designed solely with reference to human health, regulatory areas include sewage treatment and disposal, industrial and agricultural waste water management, and control of surface runoff from construction sites and urban environments. Waste management laws govern the transport, treatment, storage, and disposal of all manner of waste, including solid waste, hazardous waste. Regulatory efforts include identifying and categorizing waste types and mandating transport, treatment, storage, Environmental cleanup laws govern the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, sediment, surface water, or ground water. Chemical safety laws govern the use of chemicals in human activities, as contrasted with media-oriented environmental laws, chemical control laws seek to manage the pollutants themselves. Regulatory efforts include banning specific chemical constituents in consumer products, Environmental impact assessment is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or concrete projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. Environmental assessments may be governed by rules of administrative procedure regarding public participation and documentation of decision making, Water resources laws govern the ownership and use of water resources, including surface water and ground water. Regulatory areas may include water conservation, use restrictions, and ownership regimes, mineral resource laws cover several basic topics, including the ownership of the mineral resource and who can work them. Mining is also affected by regulations regarding the health and safety of miners
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Occupational safety and health
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These terms of course also refer to the goals of this field, so their use in the sense of this article was originally an abbreviation of occupational safety and health program/department etc. The goals of occupational safety and health programs include to foster a safe, OSH may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, and many others who might be affected by the workplace environment. In the United States, the occupational health and safety is referred to as occupational health and occupational and non-occupational safety. In common-law jurisdictions, employers have a common law duty to take care of the safety of their employees. As defined by the World Health Organization occupational health deals with all aspects of health, Health has been defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Occupational health is a field of healthcare concerned with enabling an individual to undertake their occupation. Health has been defined as It contrasts, for example, with the promotion of health and safety at work, since 1950, the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization have shared a common definition of occupational health. It was adopted by the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its first session in 1950, the concept of working culture is intended in this context to mean a reflection of the essential value systems adopted by the undertaking concerned. Such a culture is reflected in practice in the systems, personnel policy, principles for participation, training policies. Professionals advise on a range of occupational health matters. The research and regulation of safety and health are a relatively recent phenomenon. As labor movements arose in response to concerns in the wake of the industrial revolution. The initial remit of the Inspectorate was to police restrictions on the hours in the textile industry of children. The commission sparked public outrage resulted in the Mines Act of 1842. Otto von Bismarck inaugurated the first social insurance legislation in 1883, similar acts followed in other countries, partly in response to labor unrest. Although work provides many economic and other benefits, an array of workplace hazards also present risks to the health. Personal protective equipment can protect against many of these hazards. Physical hazards affect many people in the workplace, Falls are also a common cause of occupational injuries and fatalities, especially in construction, extraction, transportation, healthcare, and building cleaning and maintenance
30.
Productivity
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Productivity describes various measures of the efficiency of production. A productivity measure is expressed as the ratio of output to inputs used in a production process, Productivity is a crucial factor in production performance of firms and nations. Productivity growth also helps businesses to be more profitable, there are many different definitions of productivity and the choice among them depends on the purpose of the productivity measurement and/or data availability. Productivity measures that use one class of inputs or factors, in practice, measurement in production means measures of partial productivity. Interpreted correctly, these components are indicative of productivity development, and approximate the efficiency with which inputs are used in an economy to produce goods, however, productivity is only measured partially – or approximately. At the company level, typical partial productivity measures are such things as worker hours, before widespread use of computer networks, partial productivity was tracked in tabular form and with hand-drawn graphs. Tabulating machines for data processing began being used in the 1920s and 1930s. By the late 1970s inexpensive computers allowed industrial operations to process control. Today data collection is largely computerized and almost any variable can be viewed graphically in real time or retrieved for selected time periods, in macroeconomics, a common partial productivity measure is labour productivity. Labour productivity is an indicator of several economic indicators as it offers a dynamic measure of economic growth, competitiveness. It is the measure of productivity which helps explain the principal economic foundations that are necessary for both economic growth and social development. In general labour productivity is equal to the ratio between a measure of volume and a measure of input use. This is done in order to avoid double-counting when an output of one firm is used as an input by another in the same measurement, in macroeconomics the most well-known and used measure of value-added is the Gross Domestic Product or GDP. It is widely used as a measure of the growth of nations. GDP is the income available for paying capital costs, labor compensation, taxes, some economists instead use gross value added, there is normally a strong correlation between GDP and GVA. The measure of input use reflects the time, effort and skills of the workforce, denominator of the ratio of labour productivity, the input measure is the most important factor that influences the measure of labour productivity. Labour input is measured either by the number of hours worked of all persons employed or total employment. There are both advantages and disadvantages associated with the different input measures that are used in the calculation of labour productivity, however, the quality of hours-worked estimates is not always clear
31.
Automation
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Some processes have been completely automated. The biggest benefit of automation is that it saves labor, however, it is used to save energy and materials and to improve quality, accuracy. The term automation, inspired by the word automatic, was not widely used before 1947. It was during this time industry was rapidly adopting feedback controllers. Automation has been achieved by means including mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, electronic devices and computers. Complicated systems, such as factories, airplanes and ships typically use all these combined techniques. Fundamentally, there are two types of control loop, open loop control, and closed loop control, in open loop control, the control action from the controller is independent of the process output. A good example of this is a central heating boiler controlled only by a timer, so heat is applied for a constant time. In closed loop control, the action from the controller is dependent on the process output. A closed loop controller therefore has a loop which ensures the controller exerts a control action to give a process output the same as the Reference input or set point. For this reason, closed loop controllers are also called feedback controllers, the theoretical basis of closed loop automation is control theory. The control action is the form of the output action. One of the simplest types of control is on-off control, an example is the thermostat used on household appliances which either opens or closes an electrical contact. Sequence control, in which a sequence of discrete operations is performed. An elevator control system is an example of sequence control, a proportional–integral–derivative controller is a control loop feedback mechanism widely used in industrial control systems. Sequential control may be either to a sequence or to a logical one that will perform different actions depending on various system states. An example of an adjustable but otherwise fixed sequence is a timer on a lawn sprinkler, States refer to the various conditions that can occur in a use or sequence scenario of the system. An example is an elevator, which uses logic based on the state to perform certain actions in response to its state
32.
Economies of scale
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Often operational efficiency is also greater with increasing scale, leading to lower variable cost as well. Economies of scale apply to a variety of organizational and business situations and at levels, such as a business or manufacturing unit. Some economies of scale, such as capital cost of manufacturing facilities and friction loss of transportation, the economic concept dates back to Adam Smith and the idea of obtaining larger production returns through the use of division of labor. Diseconomies of scale are the opposite, Economies of scale often have limits, such as passing the optimum design point where costs per additional unit begin to increase. Common limits include exceeding the nearby raw material supply, such as wood in the lumber, pulp, a common limit for low cost per unit weight commodities is saturating the regional market, thus having to ship product uneconomical distances. Other limits include using energy less efficiently or having a defect rate. Large producers are usually efficient at long runs of a product grade and they will therefore avoid specialty grades even though they have higher margins. Often smaller manufacturing facilities remain viable by changing from commodity grade production to specialty products, the simple meaning of economies of scale is doing things more efficiently with increasing size or speed of operation. Economies of scale often originate with fixed capital, which is lowered per unit of production as design capacity increases, in wholesale and retail distribution, increasing the speed of operations, such as order fulfillment, lowers the cost of both fixed and working capital. Other common sources of economies of scale are purchasing, managerial, financial, marketing, each of these factors reduces the long run average costs of production by shifting the short-run average total cost curve down and to the right. Economies of the scale is a concept that may explain real world phenomena such as patterns of international trade or the number of firms in a market. The exploitation of economies of scale helps explain why companies grow large in some industries, a lone car maker may be profitable, but even more so if they exported cars to global markets in addition to selling to the local market. Economies of scale play a role in a natural monopoly. There is a distinction between two types of economies of scale, internal and external, conversely, an industry exhibits an external economy of scale when costs drop due to the introduction of more firms, thus allowing for more efficient use of specialized services and machinery. Instead, he believes that economies will come from improving the flow of a service, in trying to manage and reduce unit costs, firms often raise total costs by creating failure demand. This law has an effect on the capital cost of such things as buildings, factories, pipelines, ships. In structural engineering, the strength of beams increases with the cube of the thickness, drag loss of vehicles like aircraft or ships generally increases less than proportional with increasing cargo volume, although the physical details can be quite complicated. Therefore, making them larger usually results in fuel consumption per ton of cargo at a given speed
33.
United States Geological Survey
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The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its resources. The organization has four science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology. The USGS is a research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, the USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, the current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is science for a changing world. The agencys previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its anniversary, was Earth Science in the Public Service. Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, the USGS was created, by a last-minute amendment and it was charged with the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the legislation also provided that the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30,1879. Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies, after a short tenure, King was succeeded in the directors chair by John Wesley Powell. Administratively, it is divided into a Headquarters unit and six Regional Units, Other specific programs include, Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location, the USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System. The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and it also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards, USGS has released the UCERF California earthquake forecast. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time, the USGS operates the streamgaging network for the United States, with over 7400 streamgages. Real-time streamflow data are available online, since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar, and planetary exploration and mapping. USGS operates a number of related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program. USGS Water data is available from their National Water Information System database
34.
Lime (material)
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Lime is a calcium-containing inorganic material in which carbonates, oxides, and hydroxides predominate. In the strict sense of the term, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide and it is also the name of the natural mineral CaO which occurs as a product of coal seam fires and in altered limestone xenoliths in volcanic ejecta. The word lime originates with its earliest use as building mortar and has the sense of sticking or adhering and these materials are still used in large quantities as building and engineering materials, as chemical feedstocks, and for sugar refining, among other uses. Lime industries and the use of many of the resulting products date from prehistoric times in both the Old World and the New World, Lime is used extensively for wastewater treatment with ferrous sulfate. The rocks and minerals from which these materials are derived, typically limestone or chalk, are composed primarily of calcium carbonate and they may be cut, crushed or pulverized and chemically altered. Lime kilns are the used for lime burning and slaking. When the term is encountered in a context, it usually refers to agricultural lime. Otherwise it most commonly means slaked lime, as the dangerous form is usually described more specifically as quicklime or burnt lime. In the lime industry, limestone is a term for rocks that contain 80% or more of calcium or magnesium carbonates, including marble, chalk, oolite. Further classification is by composition as high calcium, argillaceous, silicious, conglomerate, magnesian, dolomite, uncommon sources of lime include coral, sea shells, calcite, and ankerite. Limestone is extracted from quarries or mines, dry slaking is when quicklime is slaked with just enough water to hydrate the quicklime, but remain as a powder and is referred to as hydrated lime. In wet slaking, enough water, but not too much, is added to hydrate the quicklime to a referred to as lime putty. Because lime has a property with bricks and stones, it is often used as binding material in masonry works. It is also used in whitewashing as wall coat to adhere the whitewash onto the wall, the process by which limestone is converted to quicklime by heating, then to slaked lime by hydration, and naturally reverts to calcium carbonate by carbonation is called the lime cycle. The conditions and compounds present during each step of the cycle have a strong influence of the end product, thus the complex. An example is when slaked lime is mixed into a slurry with sand. When the masonry has been laid, the lime in the mortar slowly begins to react with carbon dioxide to form calcium carbonate according to the reaction. The carbon dioxide that takes part in reaction is principally available in the air or dissolved in rainwater so pure lime mortar will not recarbonate under water or inside a thick masonry wall
35.
Marble
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Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Geologists use the marble to refer to metamorphosed limestone, however. Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material and this stem is also the basis for the English word marmoreal, meaning marble-like. In Hungarian it is called márvány, Marble is a rock resulting from metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks, most commonly limestone or dolomite rock. Metamorphism causes variable recrystallization of the carbonate mineral grains. The resulting marble rock is composed of an interlocking mosaic of carbonate crystals. Primary sedimentary textures and structures of the carbonate rock have typically been modified or destroyed. Pure white marble is the result of metamorphism of a very pure limestone or dolomite protolith, green coloration is often due to serpentine resulting from originally magnesium-rich limestone or dolostone with silica impurities. These various impurities have been mobilized and recrystallized by the intense pressure, examples of historically notable marble varieties and locations, White marble has been prized for its use in sculptures since classical times. This preference has to do with its softness, which made it easier to carve, relative isotropy and homogeneity, construction marble is a stone which is composed of calcite, dolomite or serpentine which is capable of taking a polish. More generally in construction, specifically the dimension stone trade, the marble is used for any crystalline calcitic rock useful as building stone. For example, Tennessee marble is really a dense granular fossiliferous gray to pink to maroon Ordovician limestone that geologists call the Holston Formation. Ashgabat, the city of Turkmenistan, was recorded in the 2013 Guinness Book of Records as having the worlds highest concentration of white marble buildings. According to the United States Geological Survey, U. S. domestic marble production in 2006 was 46,400 tons valued at about $18.1 million, compared to 72,300 tons valued at $18.9 million in 2005. Crushed marble production in 2006 was 11.8 million tons valued at $116 million, of which 6.5 million tons was finely ground calcium carbonate and the rest was construction aggregate. For comparison,2005 crushed marble production was 7.76 million tons valued at $58.7 million, of which 4.8 million tons was finely ground calcium carbonate, U. S. dimension marble demand is about 1.3 million tons. The DSAN World Demand for Marble Index has shown a growth of 12% annually for the 2000–2006 period, the largest dimension marble application is tile. In 1998, marble production was dominated by 4 countries that accounted for almost half of production of marble
36.
Calcium carbonate
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Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a substance found in rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite and is the main component of pearls and the shells of marine organisms, snails. Calcium carbonate is the ingredient in agricultural lime and is created when calcium ions in hard water react with carbonate ions to create limescale. It is medicinally used as a supplement or as an antacid. Calcium carbonate shares the properties of other carbonates. CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O → Ca2 This reaction is important in the erosion of rock, forming caverns. An unusual form of calcium carbonate is the hexahydrate, ikaite, ikaite is stable only below 6 °C. The vast majority of calcium used in industry is extracted by mining or quarrying. Pure calcium carbonate, can be produced from a quarried source. Alternatively, calcium carbonate is prepared from calcium oxide, other forms can be prepared, the denser, orthorhombic λ-CaCO3 and μ-CaCO3, occurring as the mineral vaterite. The aragonite form can be prepared by precipitation at temperatures above 85 °C, calcite contains calcium atoms coordinated by 6 oxygen atoms, in aragonite they are coordinated by 9 oxygen atoms. The vaterite structure is not fully understood, magnesium carbonate MgCO3 has the calcite structure, whereas strontium and barium carbonate adopt the aragonite structure, reflecting their larger ionic radii. Calcite, aragonite and vaterite are pure calcium carbonate minerals, industrially important source rocks which are predominantly calcium carbonate include limestone, chalk, marble and travertine. Eggshells, snail shells and most seashells are predominantly calcium carbonate, oyster shells have enjoyed recent recognition as a source of dietary calcium, but are also a practical industrial source. While not practical as a source, dark green vegetables such as broccoli. Beyond Earth, strong evidence suggests the presence of Calcium carbonate on Mars, signs of Calcium Carbonate have been detected at more than one location. This provides some evidence for the past presence of liquid water, Carbonate is found frequently in geologic settings and constitute an enormous carbon reservoir. Calcium carbonate occurs as aragonite, calcite and dolomite, the carbonate minerals form the rock types, limestone, chalk, marble, travertine, tufa, and others
37.
Soil
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Soil is a mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids, and countless organisms that together support life on Earth. Soil is called the Skin of the Earth and interfaces with the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the term pedolith, used commonly to refer to the soil, literally translates ground stone. Soil consists of a phase of minerals and organic matter, as well as a porous phase that holds gases. Accordingly, soils are often treated as a system of solids, liquids. Soil is a product of the influence of climate, relief, organisms, Soil continually undergoes development by way of numerous physical, chemical and biological processes, which include weathering with associated erosion. Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness soil has been considered as an ecosystem by soil ecologists. Most soils have a dry bulk density between 1.1 and 1.6 g/cm3, while the particle density is much higher. Little of the soil of planet Earth is older than the Pleistocene and none is older than the Cenozoic, Soil science has two basic branches of study, edaphology and pedology. Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils on living things, pedology is focused on the formation, description, and classification of soils in their natural environment. In engineering terms, soil is referred to as regolith, or loose material that lies above the solid geology. Soil is commonly referred to as earth or dirt, technically, as soil resources serve as a basis for food security, the international community advocates its sustainable and responsible use through different types of soil governance. Soil is a component of the Earths ecosystem. The worlds ecosystems are impacted in far-reaching ways by the carried out in the soil, from ozone depletion and global warming, to rainforest destruction. Following the atmosphere, the soil is the next largest carbon reservoir on Earth, as the planet warms, soils will add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere due to its increased biological activity at higher temperatures. Thus, soil carbon losses likely have a positive feedback response to global warming. Since soil has a range of available niches and habitats. A gram of soil can contain billions of organisms, belonging to thousands of species, mostly microbial, Soil has a mean prokaryotic density of roughly 108 organisms per gram, whereas the ocean has no more than 107 procaryotic organisms per milliliter of seawater. Since plant roots need oxygen, ventilation is an important characteristic of soil and this ventilation can be accomplished via networks of interconnected soil pores, which also absorb and hold rainwater making it readily available for plant uptake
38.
Soil acidity
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The soil pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity in soils. PH is defined as the logarithm of the activity of hydronium ions in a solution. In water, it ranges from -1 to 14, with 7 being neutral. A pH below 7 is acidic and above 7 is alkaline, Soil pH is considered a master variable in soils as it controls many chemical processes that take place. It specifically affects plant nutrient availability by controlling the chemical forms of the nutrient, the optimum pH range for most plants is between 5.5 and 7.0, however many plants have adapted to thrive at pH values outside this range. While pH is the measure of H+ in solution, Al3+ is important in acid soils because between pH4 and 6, Al3+ reacts with water forming AlOH2+, and Al2+, releasing extra H+ ions, every Al3+ ion can create 3 H+ ions. Many other processes contribute to the formation of soils including rainfall, fertilizer use, plant root activity. Acid soils can also be caused by such as acid rain. Rainfall, Acid soils are most often found in areas of high rainfall, excess rainfall leaches base cation from the soil, increasing the percentage of Al3+ and H+ relative to other cations. Additionally, rainwater has a slightly acidic pH of 5.7 due to a reaction with CO2 in the atmosphere that forms carbonic acid, Fertilizer use, Ammonium fertilizers react in the soil in a process called nitrification to form nitrate, and in the process release H+ ions. Plant root activity, Plants take up nutrients in the form of ions, however plants must maintain a neutral charge in their roots. In order to compensate for the positive charge, they will release H+ ions from the root. Some plants will also exude organic acids into the soil to acidify the zone around their roots to help solubilize metal nutrients that are insoluble at neutral pH, weathering of minerals, Both primary and secondary minerals that compose soil contain Al. Highly weathered soils are characterized by having high concentrations of Fe. Acid rain, When atmospheric water reacts with sulfur and nitrogen compounds that result from industrial processes, however the amount of acidity that is deposited in rainwater is much less, on average, than that created through agricultural activities. Mine spoil, Severely acidic conditions can form in soils near mine spoils due to the oxidation of pyrite, Potential acid sulfate soils naturally formed in waterlogged coastal and estuarine environments can become highly acidic when drained or excavated. Decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms releases CO2 which when mixed with water can form carbonic acid. Alkaline soils have a high saturation of base cations and this is due to an accumulation of soluble salts which are classified as either saline soil, sodic soil, saline-sodic soil or alkaline soil
39.
Soil conditioner
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A soil conditioner is a product which is added to soil to improve the soil’s physical qualities, usually its fertility and sometimes its mechanics. They can make poor soils more usable, and can be used to maintain soils in peak condition, a wide variety of materials have been described as soil conditioners due to their ability to improve soil quality. Many soil conditioners come in the form of certified organic products, soil conditioners of almost every description are readily available from online stores or local nurseries as well as garden supply stores. The most common use of soil conditioners is to improve soil structure, soils tend to become compacted over time. Soil compaction impedes root growth, decreasing the ability of plants to take up nutrients, soil conditioners can add more loft and texture to keep the soil loose. For centuries people have been adding things to poor soils to improve their ability to support plant growth. Some of these materials, such as compost, clay and peat, are used extensively today. Many soil amendments also add nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen, additional nutrients, such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, may be augmented by amendments as well. This enriches the soil, allowing plants to grow bigger and stronger, soil amendments can also greatly increase the cation exchange capacity of soils. Soils act as the storehouses of plant nutrients, the relative ability of soils to store one particular group of nutrients, the cations, is referred to as cation exchange capacity or CEC. The most common soil cations are calcium, magnesium, potassium, ammonium, hydrogen, the total number of cations a soil can hold, its total negative charge, is the soils cation exchange capacity. The higher the CEC, the higher the charge and the more cations that can be held and exchanged with plant roots. Soil conditioners may be used to water retention in dry. The first synthetic soil conditioners were introduced in the 1950s, when the chemical hydrolysed polyacrylonitrile was the most used, interest disappeared when experiments proved them to be phytotoxic due to their high acrylamide monomer residue. Soil conditioners may be applied in a number of ways, some are worked into the soil with a tiller before planting. Others are applied after planting, or periodically during the growing season, soil testing should be performed prior to applying a soil conditioner to learn more about the composition and structure of the soil. This testing will determine which conditioners will be appropriate for the conditions. While adding a soil conditioner to crops or a garden can seem like a way to get healthier plants
40.
Manganese
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Manganese is a chemical element with symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is not found as an element in nature, it is often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a metal with important industrial metal alloy uses, particularly in stainless steels, by the mid-18th century, Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele had used pyrolusite to produce chlorine. Scheele and others were aware that pyrolusite contained a new element, johan Gottlieb Gahn was the first to isolate an impure sample of manganese metal in 1774, which he did by reducing the dioxide with carbon. Manganese phosphating is used for rust and corrosion prevention on steel, ionized manganese is used industrially as pigments of various colors, which depend on the oxidation state of the ions. The permanganates of alkali and alkaline earth metals are powerful oxidizers, Manganese dioxide is used as the cathode material in zinc-carbon and alkaline batteries. In biology, manganese ions function as cofactors for a variety of enzymes with many functions. Manganese enzymes are essential in detoxification of superoxide free radicals in organisms that must deal with elemental oxygen. Manganese also functions in the complex of photosynthetic plants. The element is a trace mineral for all known living organisms but is a neurotoxin. In larger amounts, and apparently with far greater effectiveness through inhalation, Manganese is a silvery-gray metal that resembles iron. It is hard and very brittle, difficult to fuse, Manganese metal and its common ions are paramagnetic. Manganese tarnishes slowly in air and oxidizes like iron in water containing dissolved oxygen, naturally occurring manganese is composed of one stable isotope, 55Mn. Eighteen radioisotopes have been isolated and described, the most stable being 53Mn with a half-life of 3.7 million years, 54Mn with a half-life of 312.3 days, and 52Mn with a half-life of 5.591 days. All of the radioactive isotopes have half-lives of less than three hours, and the majority of less than one minute. Manganese also has three meta states, Manganese is part of the iron group of elements, which are thought to be synthesized in large stars shortly before the supernova explosion. 53Mn decays to 53Cr with a half-life of 3.7 million years, because of its relatively short half-life, 53Mn is relatively rare, produced by cosmic rays impact on iron. Manganese isotopic contents are combined with chromium isotopic contents and have found application in isotope geology
41.
Blast furnace
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A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron, but also others such as lead or copper. The end products are usually molten metal and slag phases tapped from the bottom, the downward flow of the ore and flux in contact with an upflow of hot, carbon monoxide-rich combustion gases is a countercurrent exchange and chemical reaction process. In contrast, air furnaces are naturally aspirated, usually by the convection of hot gases in a chimney flue, according to this broad definition, bloomeries for iron, blowing houses for tin, and smelt mills for lead would be classified as blast furnaces. Blast furnaces existed in China from about 1st century AD and in the West from the High Middle Ages and they spread from the region around Namur in Wallonia in the late 15th century, being introduced to England in 1491. The fuel used in these was invariably charcoal, the successful substitution of coke for charcoal is widely attributed to Abraham Darby in 1709. The efficiency of the process was enhanced by the practice of preheating the combustion air. The oldest extant blast furnaces were built during the Han Dynasty of China in the 1st century AD. However, cast iron tools and weapons were widespread in China by the 5th century BC. These early furnaces had clay walls and used phosphorus-containing minerals as a flux, the effectiveness of the Chinese blast furnace was enhanced during this period by the engineer Du Shi, who applied the power of waterwheels to piston-bellows in forging cast iron. He suggests that early blast furnace and cast iron production evolved from furnaces used to melt bronze, certainly, though, iron was essential to military success by the time the State of Qin had unified China. Usage of the blast and cupola furnace remained widespread during the Song and Tang Dynasties and this may have happened as early as the 4th century AD. The Chinese blast furnace remained in use well until the 20th century, the backyard furnaces favoured by Mao Zedong during the Great Leap Forward were of this type. In the regions with strong traditions of metallurgy, the production actually increased during this period. In most places in the other than in China, there is no evidence of the use of the blast furnace. Instead, iron was made by reduction in bloomeries. The bloomery process was invented probably in modern-day Xinjiang or other parts of Western China by Hans or Mongols around 800 BC. Iron finds in China proper are few before bloomeries were supplanted by the blast furnace in the 5th century BC which seems to have developed independently in the southern Chinese cultural sphere, in Europe, the Greeks, Celts, Romans, and Carthaginians all used this process. Several examples have found in France, and materials found in Tunisia suggest they were used there as well as in Antioch during the Hellenistic Period
42.
Gangue
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In mining, gangue is the commercially worthless material that surrounds, or is closely mixed with, a wanted mineral in an ore deposit. It is thus distinct from overburden, which is the rock or materials overlying an ore or mineral body that are displaced during mining without being processed. The separation of mineral from gangue is known as mineral processing, mineral dressing and it is a necessary and often significant, aspect of mining. It can be a process, depending on the nature of the minerals involved. The ease with which the ore can be separated also plays an important part, minerals that were once thought of as gangue, and were dumped, may later find a commercial use. When this happens the old dumps are often reworked to extract the wanted mineral, for example, in copper mines in the 19th century the mineral arsenopyrite was dumped until arsenic became popular as an insecticide later in the century. In the 21st century, the use of gangue has been considered from a point of view. For example, in 2002, about 130 million tons of gangue were produced per year from mining in China. This, mixed with the 60 million tons of coal mud also produced, could be used for generation. The estimated cost of projects would be up to 4 billion yuan. Froth flotation Magnetic separation Vanning Extractive Metallurgy Mineral processing An Elementary Outline Of Mechanical Processes, by G. W. Danforth
43.
Huntington Desert Garden
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The Huntington Desert Garden is part of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Desert Garden is one of the worlds largest and oldest collections of cacti, succulents and other desert plants, collected from throughout the world. It contains plants from extreme environments, many of which were acquired by Henry E. Huntington and William Hertrich in trips taken to several countries in North, Central and South America. One of the Huntington’s most botanically important gardens, the Desert Garden brought together a group of largely unknown. Containing a broad category of xerophytes, the Desert Garden grew to preeminence and remains today among the world’s finest, Mr. Huntington was not initially interested in establishing a Desert Garden. He did not like cacti at all, due to some unfortunate prickly pear encounters during railroad construction work. But Hertrich was persistent, and, once won over, Mr. Huntington built a spur to his garden, to bring in rock, soil. As Gary Lyons, a curator, remarked, its very convenient to have a rail spur, and deep pockets. A trip to Arizona in 1908 filled three railroad cars for the back to the garden. Famed Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx called the Huntington Desert Garden the most extraordinary garden in the world, the Desert Garden agave and yucca collections, along with the cacti, are among the Huntington’s most significant research collections. Huntington boasts the largest Yucca filifera in the world, the Huntingtons Beaucarnea, Ponytail Palms, members of the agave family, are some of the oldest specimens in cultivation, and among the earliest plantings in the Desert Garden. Aloes constitute one of the largest collections outside Africa, aloe arborescens has an unrivalled winter display of fiery red flower stalks. About 200 of the world’s 300 species of aloes reside in the upper garden, aloe bainesii, which can grow fifty feet high, is the tallest. Puyas are terrestrial bromeliads that put on a floral display in April. Most desert columnar plants belong to the genus Cereus and they form the structure of much of the Desert Garden landscape, producing flowers in late summer and colorful fruit in September and October. Cereus xanthocarpus, at twenty tons, is the gardens most massive plant and this tree-like cactus was already a mature specimen when planted in 1905. It is approximately 125 years old, the most spectacular cactus displays are the 500 bright yellow-spined Golden Barrel Cactus, the largest being more than 85 years old. They flower in the Spring, and are native to central Mexico and this is probably the best display of Golden Barrels in the world
44.
Road metal
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Road surface or pavement is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, cobblestone and granite setts were extensively used, Road surfaces are frequently marked to guide traffic. Today, permeable paving methods are beginning to be used for low-impact roadways and walkways, asphalt, sometimes called flexible pavement due to the nature in which it distributes loads, has been widely used since the 1920s. The viscous nature of the bitumen binder allows asphalt concrete to sustain significant plastic deformation, most asphalt surfaces are laid on a gravel base, which is generally at least as thick as the asphalt layer, although some full depth asphalt surfaces are laid directly on the native subgrade. In areas with soft or expansive subgrades such as clay or peat. Depending on the temperature at which it is applied, asphalt is categorized as hot mix, warm mix, hot mix asphalt is applied at temperatures over 300 °F with a free floating screed. Warm mix asphalt is applied at temperatures of 200–250 °F, resulting in reduced energy usage, cold mix asphalt is often used on lower volume rural roads, where hot mix asphalt would cool too much on the long trip from the asphalt plant to the construction site. An asphalt concrete surface will generally be constructed for primary highways having an average annual daily traffic load greater than 1200 vehicles per day. Advantages of asphalt roadways include relatively low noise, relatively low cost compared with other paving methods, in the mid-1960s, rubberized asphalt was used for the first time, mixing crumb rubber from used tires with asphalt. Also, application of rubberized asphalt is more temperature-sensitive, and in many locations can only be applied at times of the year. Study results of the long-term acoustic benefits of rubberized asphalt are inconclusive, compared to traditional passive attenuating measures, rubberized asphalt provides shorter-lasting and lesser acoustic benefits at typically much greater expense. Concrete surfaces are created using a mix of Portland cement, coarse aggregate, sand. In many cases there will also be Portland cement substitutes added and this can reduce the cost of the concrete and improve its physical properties. The water allows the mix to combine molecularly in a reaction called hydration. Concrete surfaces have been refined into three types, jointed plain, jointed reinforced and continuously reinforced. The one item that each type is the jointing system used to control crack development. Jointed plain concrete pavements contain enough joints to control the location of all the expected shrinkage cracks, the concrete cracks at the joints and not elsewhere in the slabs. Jointed plain pavements do not contain any steel reinforcement, however, there may be smooth steel bars at transverse joints and deformed steel bars at longitudinal joints
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Mulch
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A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of an area of soil. It may be permanent or temporary and it may be applied to bare soil, or around existing plants. Mulches of manure or compost will be incorporated naturally into the soil by the activity of worms, the process is used both in commercial crop production and in gardening, and when applied correctly can dramatically improve soil productivity. Many materials are used as mulches, which are used to retain moisture, regulate soil temperature, suppress weed growth. They are applied to the surface, around trees, paths, flower beds, to prevent soil erosion on slopes. Mulch layers are two inches or more deep when applied. They are applied at times of the year depending on the purpose. Towards the beginning of the growing season mulches serve initially to warm the soil by helping it retain heat which is lost during the night and this allows early seeding and transplanting of certain crops, and encourages faster growth. As the season progresses, mulch stabilizes the temperature and moisture. The effect of mulch upon soil moisture content is complex, Mulch forms a layer between the soil and the atmosphere which prevents sunlight from reaching the soil surface, thus reducing evaporation. However, mulch can prevent water from reaching the soil by absorbing or blocking water from light rains. As it decays and enriches the soils, I add more, plastic mulch used in large-scale commercial production is laid down with a tractor-drawn or standalone layer of plastic mulch. This is usually part of a mechanical process, where raised beds are formed, plastic is rolled out on top. Drip irrigation is required, with drip tape laid under the plastic. Materials used as mulches vary and depend on a number of factors, many of these materials also act as a direct composting system, such as the mulched clippings of a mulching lawn mower, or other organics applied as sheet composting. Compost, fully composted materials are used to avoid possible phytotoxicity problems, materials that are free of seeds are ideally used, to prevent weeds being introduced by the mulch. Old carpet, makes a free, readily available mulch, Rubber mulch, made from recycled tire rubber. Plastic mulch, crops grow through slits or holes in plastic sheeting
