1.
Fire test
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A fire test is a means of determining whether fire protection products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a building code or other applicable legislation. Successful tests in laboratories holding national accreditation for testing and certification result in the issuance of a certification listing, the listing is public domain, whereas the test report itself is proprietary information belonging to the test sponsor. There are many different types of fire tests apart from those on firestops, walls and floors themselves can be tested, closures within them, such as windows, fire doors, fire dampers, structural steel, and more. Fire tests are conducted both on fire protection and on passive fire protection items. Each have different test methods and scales, there are full scale, small scale and bench scale tests. There are tests on systems, such as the one below, fire testing must consider all applicable provisions of the intended product certification. It is also prudent to test products in such a manner as to ease of use and broad, economical applications with regards to listing and approval use. Tests can be bench scale, medium scale, or full scale, typical information gathered from full scale testing is heat release rate vs. time, smoke production and species composition, radiant heat, and interaction with fire control or suppression systems. Many fire tests are run by official laboratories for the purpose of product certification, some universities have functioning fire research groups which are equipped to run fire tests on building materials. The below photos illustrate types of testing as seen in the United States. Brown to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, watchdog groups, and the press
2.
Time
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Time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events that occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future. Time is often referred to as the dimension, along with the three spatial dimensions. Time has long been an important subject of study in religion, philosophy, and science, nevertheless, diverse fields such as business, industry, sports, the sciences, and the performing arts all incorporate some notion of time into their respective measuring systems. Two contrasting viewpoints on time divide prominent philosophers, one view is that time is part of the fundamental structure of the universe—a dimension independent of events, in which events occur in sequence. Isaac Newton subscribed to this realist view, and hence it is referred to as Newtonian time. This second view, in the tradition of Gottfried Leibniz and Immanuel Kant, holds that time is neither an event nor a thing, Time in physics is unambiguously operationally defined as what a clock reads. Time is one of the seven fundamental physical quantities in both the International System of Units and International System of Quantities, Time is used to define other quantities—such as velocity—so defining time in terms of such quantities would result in circularity of definition. The operational definition leaves aside the question there is something called time, apart from the counting activity just mentioned, that flows. Investigations of a single continuum called spacetime bring questions about space into questions about time, questions that have their roots in the works of early students of natural philosophy. Furthermore, it may be there is a subjective component to time. Temporal measurement has occupied scientists and technologists, and was a motivation in navigation. Periodic events and periodic motion have long served as standards for units of time, examples include the apparent motion of the sun across the sky, the phases of the moon, the swing of a pendulum, and the beat of a heart. Currently, the unit of time, the second, is defined by measuring the electronic transition frequency of caesium atoms. Time is also of significant social importance, having economic value as well as value, due to an awareness of the limited time in each day. In day-to-day life, the clock is consulted for periods less than a day whereas the calendar is consulted for periods longer than a day, increasingly, personal electronic devices display both calendars and clocks simultaneously. The number that marks the occurrence of an event as to hour or date is obtained by counting from a fiducial epoch—a central reference point. Artifacts from the Paleolithic suggest that the moon was used to time as early as 6,000 years ago. Lunar calendars were among the first to appear, either 12 or 13 lunar months, without intercalation to add days or months to some years, seasons quickly drift in a calendar based solely on twelve lunar months
3.
Firestop
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A firestop is a fire protection system made of various components used to seal openings and joints in fire-resistance rated wall or floor assemblies. For penetrating cables, these can also be called as Multi Cable Transits, firestops are designed to restore the continuous fire-resistance of wall or floor assemblies, impeding the spread of fire by filling the openings in them with fire-resistant materials. A firestop is a protection system made of various components used to seal openings. Firestops are designed to restore the fire-resistance of wall or floor assemblies, unprotected openings in fire separations cancel out the fire-resistance ratings of the fire separations, allowing the spread of fire, usually past the limits of the fire safety plan of a building. There are a number of openings with which firestoppage is concerned, firestops should be maintained in accordance with the listing, approval use, and compliance. Construction documentation sometimes includes an inventory of all firestops in a building, with drawings indicating location, using this, a building owner can meet the requirements of the fire code related to fire barriers during the period of building occupation. Otherwise, improper repairs may result, which would violate the fire code, spray fireproofing of structural steel is most efficiently accomplished before interior partitions are built, otherwise a conflict with fire stops in firewalls could result. Firestops must adhere to the bare, dry, unobstructed surfaces of the barrier which is penetrated. Spray fireproofing cannot be applied prior to stopping at these surfaces. Spraying the upper room perimeter with fireproofing may also result in covering of wall/ceiling joints and these joints are then not visually observed and not provided with proper fire stopping, violating the fire integrity of the passive fire barrier. This requires knowledge of the certification listing that was used for each opening. The materials used in firestops do not have ratings on their own, for instance, a two-hour rated pipe penetration firestop may consist of a layer of caulking over packed rockwool. This overall arrangement provides the two-hour rating, not the caulking, however, both the individual firestop materials and the overall firestop assembly are listed per listing and approval use and compliance. In those cases in which it is difficult to assess the impact, it often must be assumed to be zero and it is, therefore, necessary to be able to match each opening in fire-resistance rated wall or floor in a building with a certification listing. There are thousands of listings by various certification and testing laboratories, firestops should be routinely inspected and maintained to mitigate the effects of time and re-entries. In North American unionized construction sites, firestopping is often performed by members of the insulating trades, insulators are the only building trade that includes firestop installation, theory and practical firestop training within its apprenticeship program. Germanys GBA also offers a passive fire protection course, resulting in a certificate designation Brandschutzfachkraft, in Europe as well as North America, all major firestop installers with nuclear installation experience are, by background, insulators first. The generic material types used and the sets needed between insulation and firestop installations are similar
4.
Building
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A building or edifice is a structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. To better understand the term building compare the list of nonbuilding structures, Buildings serve several needs of society – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a division of the human habitat. Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have become objects or canvasses of much artistic expression. In recent years, interest in planning and building practices has also become an intentional part of the design process of many new buildings. The word building is both a noun and a verb also an adverb, the structure itself and the act of making it. As a noun, a building is a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place, there was a building on the corner. In the broadest interpretation a fence or wall is a building, however, the word structure is used more broadly than building including natural and man-made formations and does not necessarily have walls. Structure is more likely to be used for a fence, as a verb, building is the act of construction. Structural height in technical usage is the height to the highest architectural detail on building from street-level, depending on how they are classified, spires and masts may or may not be included in this height. Spires and masts used as antennas are not generally included, the definition of a low-rise vs. a high-rise building is a matter of debate, but generally three storeys or less is considered low-rise. A report by Shinichi Fujimura of a shelter built 500000 years ago is doubtful since Fujimura was later found to have faked many of his findings. Supposed remains of huts found at the Terra Amata site in Nice purportedly dating from 200000 to 400000 years ago have also called into question. There is clear evidence of homebuilding from around 18000 BC, Buildings became common during the Neolithic. Single-family residential buildings are most often called houses or homes, residential buildings containing more than one dwelling unit are called a duplex, apartment building to differentiate them from individual houses. A condominium is an apartment that the occupant owns rather than rents, houses which were built as a single dwelling may later be divided into apartments or bedsitters, they may also be converted to another use e. g. an office or a shop. Building types may range from huts to multimillion-dollar high-rise apartment blocks able to house thousands of people, increasing settlement density in buildings is usually a response to high ground prices resulting from many people wanting to live close to work or similar attractors. Other common building materials are brick, concrete or combinations of either of these with stone, also if the residents are in need of special care such as a nursing home, orphanage or prison, or in group housing like barracks or dormitories
5.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
6.
North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
7.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
8.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
9.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
