1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
Loch Katrine
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Loch Katrine is a freshwater loch and scenic attraction in the Trossachs area of the Scottish Highlands. It is within the district of Stirling, the loch is 13 kilometres long and 1 kilometre wide at the widest point and runs the length of Strath Gartney. It is a destination for tourists and day visitors from Glasgow. The loch derives its name from the term cateran from the Gaelic ceathairne and it is the fictional setting of Sir Walter Scotts poem The Lady of the Lake and of the subsequent opera by Gioachino Rossini, La donna del lago. Robert Roy MacGregor was born at the head of the loch, Loch Katrine is now owned by Scottish Water, and has been the primary water reservoir for much of the city of Glasgow and its surrounding areas since 1859. The water level has been raised by around 1. Milngavie itself is situated at almost 122 metres above sea level - sufficient to provide water pressure to the majority of the city without the need for pumping. The system can deliver up to 230,000,000 litres a day, construction was started in 1855 and the works was opened by Queen Victoria in 1859. The aqueduct project was built under the guidance of the eminent civil engineer John Frederick Bateman, the second aqueduct was opened in 1901. A longer tunnel beneath Ben Aan which brings water from the Glen Finglas Reservoir was completed in 1958, oil-fired vessels are not permitted to sail its waters due to the danger of pollution to the drinking water of Glasgow. The steamboat SS Sir Walter Scott has provided sailings on the loch since 1900 and it was coal-fired until 2007, when it was converted to use bio-diesel fuel, and continues to provide local tourist transport between Trossachs Pier and Stronachlachar during the summer. The main access points for Loch Katrine are either via Trossachs Pier at the eastern end or Stronachlachar towards the western end of the loch. Trossachs Pier essentially consists of a space, pier, gift shop. The roads and paths do not circle the loch completely, as the road stops at Glasahoile. There are several islands in Loch Katrine such as Ellens Isle. Fly and boat fishing for trout is permitted on the loch from spring to autumn, Loch Katrine is also the name of a lake in North Canterbury, New Zealand. Loch Katrine is the namesake of The Athole Highlanders Farewell to Loch Katrine, in 1844, William Henry Fox Talbot took an early photograph of the loch, entitled Scenery of Loch Katrine. List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom Newton, M. Bho Chluaidh gu Calasraid Acair 1999 ISBN 0-86152-265-6 Loch Katrine tourist brochure produced by the Scottish Tourist Board
3.
Compound steam engine
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A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. Multiple-expansion engines employ additional cylinders, of lower pressure, to extract further energy from the steam. Invented in 1781, this technique was first employed on a Cornish beam engine in 1804, around 1850, compound engines were first introduced into Lancashire textile mills. In a single-expansion steam engine, the steam enters the cylinder at boiler pressure through an inlet valve. The steam pressure forces the piston down the cylinder, until the valve shuts and this cut-off allows much more work to be extracted, since the expansion of the steam is doing additional work beyond that done by the steam at boiler pressure. An earlier cut-off increases the ratio, which in principle allows more energy to be extracted and increases efficiency. This temperature drop would occur if the cylinder were perfectly insulating so that no heat is released from the system. As a result, steam enters the cylinder at high temperature, the changing steam temperature alternately heats and cools the cylinder with every stroke and is a source of inefficiency which increases at higher expansion ratios. Beyond a certain point, further increasing the ratio will actually decrease efficiency due to the increased heating and cooling. A method to lessen the magnitude of this heating and cooling was invented in 1804 by British engineer Arthur Woolf, in the compound engine, high-pressure steam from the boiler first expands in a high-pressure cylinder and then enters one or more subsequent lower pressure cylinders. The complete expansion of the steam occurs across multiple cylinders and, as there is less expansion in each cylinder and this reduces the magnitude of cylinder heating and cooling, making higher expansion ratios practical and increasing the efficiency of the engine. There are other advantages, as the range is smaller, cylinder condensation is reduced. Loss due to condensation is restricted to the LP cylinder, pressure difference is less in each cylinder so there is less steam leakage at the piston and valves. The turning moment is uniform, so balancing is easier. Only the smaller HP cylinder needs to be built to withstand the highest pressure, similarly, components are subject to less strain, so they can be lighter. The reciprocating parts of the engine are lighter, reducing the engine vibrations, the compound could be started at any point in the cycle, and in the event of mechanical failure the compound could be reset to act as a simple, and thus keep running. To derive equal work from lower-pressure steam requires a larger cylinder volume as this steam occupies a greater volume, therefore, the bore, and often the stroke, are increased in low-pressure cylinders, resulting in larger cylinders. Double-expansion engines expand the steam in two stages, but this does not imply that all engines have two cylinders
4.
Steamship
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A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically drive propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into usage during the early 1800s, however. Steamships usually use the designations of PS for paddle steamer or SS for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, SS is assumed by many to stand for steam ship, Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as MV for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use SS for most modern vessels. The steamship was preceded by smaller vessels designed for insular transportation, once the technology of steam was mastered at this level, steam engines were mounted on larger, and eventually, ocean-going vessels. Becoming reliable, and propelled by screw rather than paddlewheels, the changed the design of ships for faster. Paddlewheels as the main motive source became standard on these early vessels and it was an effective means of propulsion under ideal conditions but otherwise had serious drawbacks. Within a few decades of the development of the river and canal steamboat, the first sea-going steamboat was Richard Wrights first steamboat Experiment, an ex-French lugger, she steamed from Leeds to Yarmouth in July 1813. She carried passengers and freight to Paris in 1822 at an speed of 8 knots. The American ship SS Savannah first crossed the Atlantic Ocean, another claimant is the Canadian ship SS Royal William in 1833. The SS Archimedes, built in Britain in 1839 by Francis Pettit Smith, was the worlds first steamship to be driven by a screw propeller. It had considerable influence on development, encouraging the adoption of screw propulsion by the Royal Navy. The key innovation that made ocean-going steamers viable was the change from the paddle-wheel to the screw-propeller as the mechanism of propulsion and these steamships quickly became more popular, because the propellers efficiency was consistent regardless of the depth at which it operated. Being smaller in size and mass and being submerged, it was also far less prone to damage. The development of screw propulsion relied on the technological innovations. Steam engines had to be designed with the power delivered at the bottom of the machinery, a paddle steamers engines drive a shaft that is positioned above the waterline, with the cylinders positioned below the shaft. SS Great Britain used chain drive to power from a paddlers engine to the propeller shaft - the result of a late design change to propeller propulsion. An effective stern tube and associated bearings were required, the stern tube contains the propeller shaft where it passes through the hull structure
5.
Trossachs
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The Trossachs is a small woodland glen in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies between Ben Aan to the north and Ben Venue to the south, with Loch Katrine to the west, however, the name is used generally to refer to the wider area of wooded glens and braes with quiet lochs, lying to the east of Ben Lomond. The Lake of Menteith, lies about six miles to the south east of the glen, the poem gives a roll call of Trossachs place names, the lady herself being found on Loch Katrine. Scott followed up with his 1817 historical novel Rob Roy romanticising the outlaw cattle thief Raibert Ruadh born by Loch Katrine, the Trossachs Hotel was built on the north bank of Loch Achray in response to the growing number of tourists visiting the region. The building now functions as the Tigh Mor Trossachs holiday apartments, in 1859, a dam was built at the eastern end of Loch Katrine and connecting aqueducts were added to as part of a new main water supply to Glasgow. At the expense of the Glasgow water company, Queen Victoria had a house built overlooking the loch. The house, Royal Cottage, later became accommodation for the employees of Scottish Water, a steamer service was introduced, and the SS Sir Walter Scott, launched in 1900, remains in operation. The area is now part of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, scenic boat rides on Loch Katrine are also popular with visitors. The small town of Callander and the village of Aberfoyle lie at the edge of the Trossachs, the leading Victorian art critic John Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais spent the summer of 1853 together at Glenfinlas in the Trossachs. Millais started a painting of John Ruskin during the visit, which he finished the following year, the painting is held in a private collection, but was on show at an exhibition on the Pre-Raphaelites at Tate Britain in London during 2004. John Ruskin himself was interested in the rock formations in the area
6.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
7.
Walter Scott
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Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, FRSE was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet. Many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature, famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, Old Mortality, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor. A prominent member of the Tory establishment in Edinburgh, Scott was an member of the Highland Society. He survived a bout of polio in 1773 that left him lame. To cure his lameness he was sent in 1773 to live in the rural Scottish Borders at his grandparents farm at Sandyknowe, adjacent to the ruin of Smailholm Tower. Here he was taught to read by his aunt Jenny, and learned from her the speech patterns and many of the tales and legends that characterised much of his work. In January 1775 he returned to Edinburgh, and that went with his aunt Jenny to take spa treatment at Bath in England. In the winter of 1776 he went back to Sandyknowe, with another attempt at a cure at Prestonpans during the following summer. In 1778, Scott returned to Edinburgh for private education to him for school. In October 1779 he began at the Royal High School of Edinburgh and he was now well able to walk and explore the city and the surrounding countryside. His reading included chivalric romances, poems, history and travel books and he was given private tuition by James Mitchell in arithmetic and writing, and learned from him the history of the Church of Scotland with emphasis on the Covenanters. Scott began studying classics at the University of Edinburgh in November 1783, at the age of 12, in March 1786 he began an apprenticeship in his fathers office to become a Writer to the Signet. While at the university Scott had become a friend of Adam Ferguson, Scott met the blind poet Thomas Blacklock, who lent him books and introduced him to James Macphersons Ossian cycle of poems. During the winter of 1786–87 the 15-year-old Scott saw Robert Burns at one of these salons, for what was to be their only meeting. When Burns noticed a print illustrating the poem The Justice of the Peace and asked who had written the poem, only Scott knew that it was by John Langhorne, and was thanked by Burns. When it was decided that he would become a lawyer, he returned to the university to study law, first taking classes in Moral Philosophy, after completing his studies in law, he became a lawyer in Edinburgh. As a lawyers clerk he made his first visit to the Scottish Highlands directing an eviction and he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1792. He had an unsuccessful love suit with Williamina Belsches of Fettercairn, as a boy, youth and young man, Scott was fascinated by the oral traditions of the Scottish Borders
8.
Lady of the Lake
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Lady of the Lake is the name of the ruler of Avalon in the Arthurian legend. She plays a role in many stories, including giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin. Different writers and copyists give the Arthurian character the name Nimue, Viviane, Vivien, Elaine, Ninianne, Nivian, Nyneve, or Evienne, among other variations. The Lancelot-Grail Cycle provides a backstory for the Lady of the Lake, Viviane, in the prose Merlin section, though Merlin, through his power of foresight knows beforehand that this will happen, he is unable to counteract Viviane because of the truth this ability of foresight holds. He decides to do nothing for his situation other than to continue to teach her his secrets until she takes the opportunity to entrap and entomb him in a tree, a stone or a cave. Sir Thomas Malory also uses both Ladies of the Lake in his Le Morte dArthur, he leaves the first one unnamed, Malorys original Lady is presented as an early benefactor of King Arthur who grants him Excalibur when his original sword is damaged. She is later beheaded by Sir Balin as a result of a kin feud between them and a dispute over an enchanted sword, according to the Vulgate Merlin, it was the goddess Dianas enchantment, given to Dyonas, that caused Viviane to be so alluring to Merlin. The Vulgate Lancelot tells us that she was the Queen of Sicily, the continuation post-vulgata Merlin describes how she killed her lover to be with another man, but then she was beheaded by this man to be a murderess. This story was transferred to a lake in France, and was later called the Lake of Diana. In Sir Thomas Malorys text, Le Morte DArthur, he refers to Nimue as one of two Ladies of the Lake, without Nimue the Arthurian tale would not be as potent as it is with her. Malorys Nimue does not conform to the stereotypes surrounding her role, firstly, it is not Nimues hand that juts out the lake to hand Excalibur to Arthur. According to Malory, this belongs to the other Lady of the Lake. In Malorys text, Nimues character evolves from the dependent maiden to a woman who takes charge in order to help. She is married to Sir Pelleas and outwardly acts as an obedient wife, Nimue is a different kind of woman, one who does not shrink behind the male figures in her life. Instead, she is pragmatic, unflappable, and knowledgeable, similarly, Malory also introduces a character named Nyneve. This woman is another character for whom the title Lady of the Lake fits, similar to Nymue, Nyneve is sympathetic to Arthur and also marries Pelleas. She heavily stresses justice based on the greater good, in Malorys text, Nyneve is loosely related to Arthur receiving Excalibur. In Le Morte DArthur this king receives Excalibur three times, Once from the stone, once from the unidentified Lady of the Lake and once in a battle from Nyneve
9.
Glasgow
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Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and third largest in the United Kingdom. Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is now one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and it is situated on the River Clyde in the countrys West Central Lowlands. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as Glaswegians, Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Britain. From the 18th century the city grew as one of Great Britains main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America. Glasgow was the Second City of the British Empire for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Glasgow grew in population, reaching a peak of 1,128,473 in 1939. The entire region surrounding the conurbation covers about 2.3 million people, at the 2011 census, Glasgow had a population density of 8, 790/sq mi, the highest of any Scottish city. Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and is well known in the sporting world for the football rivalry of the Old Firm between Celtic and Rangers. Glasgow is also known for Glasgow patter, a dialect that is noted for being difficult to understand by those from outside the city. Glasgow is the form of the ancient Cumbric name Glas Cau. Possibly referring to the area of Molendinar Burn where Glasgow Cathedral now stands, the later Gaelic name Baile Glas Chu, town of the grey dog, is purely a folk-etymology. The present site of Glasgow has been settled since prehistoric times, it is for settlement, being the furthest downstream fording point of the River Clyde, the origins of Glasgow as an established city derive ultimately from its medieval position as Scotlands second largest bishopric. Glasgow increased in importance during the 10th and 11th centuries as the site of this bishopric, reorganised by King David I of Scotland and John, there had been an earlier religious site established by Saint Mungo in the 6th century. The bishopric became one of the largest and wealthiest in the Kingdom of Scotland, bringing wealth, sometime between 1189 and 1195 this status was supplemented by an annual fair, which survives as the Glasgow Fair. Glasgow grew over the following centuries, the first bridge over the River Clyde at Glasgow was recorded from around 1285, giving its name to the Briggait area of the city, forming the main North-South route over the river via Glasgow Cross. The founding of the University of Glasgow in 1451 and elevation of the bishopric to become the Archdiocese of Glasgow in 1492 increased the towns religious and educational status and landed wealth. Its early trade was in agriculture, brewing and fishing, with cured salmon and herring being exported to Europe, Glasgow was subsequently raised to the status of Royal Burgh in 1611. The citys Tobacco Lords created a water port at Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde. By the late 18th century more than half of the British tobacco trade was concentrated on Glasgows River Clyde, at the time, Glasgow held a commercial importance as the city participated in the trade of sugar, tobacco and later cotton
10.
Aqueduct (water supply)
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An aqueduct is a watercourse constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the aqueduct is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels. The term aqueduct also often refers specifically to a bridge on an artificial watercourse, the word is derived from the Latin aqua and ducere. Aqueducts were used in ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, and ancient Rome, in modern times, the largest aqueducts of all have been built in the United States to supply the countrys biggest cities. The simplest aqueducts are small ditches cut into the earth, much larger channels may be used in modern aqueducts. Aqueducts sometimes run for some or all of their path through tunnels constructed underground, modern aqueducts may also use pipelines. Historically, agricultural societies have constructed aqueducts to irrigate crops and supply large cities with drinking water, the Indian subcontinent is believed to have some of the earliest aqueducts. Evidence can be found at the sites of present-day Hampi, Karnataka, the massive aqueducts near river Tungabhadra supplying irrigation water were once 15 miles long. The waterways supplied water to royal bath tubs, in Persia from early times a system of underground aqueducts called qanāts were constructed, a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping tunnels. This technique, taps into subterranean water in a manner that water to the surface without need for pumping. The water drains relying on gravity, with the lower than the source. Allows water to be transported long distances in hot dry climates without losing a large proportion of the water to seepage. Throughout Petra, Jordan, the Nabataean engineers took advantage of natural spring. They constructed aqueducts and piping systems that allowed water to flow across mountains, through gorges and into the temples, homes, and gardens of Petras citizens. Walking through the Siq, one can spot the remains of channels that directed water to the city center. On the island of Samos, the Tunnel of Eupalinos was built during the reign of Polycrates and it is considered an underground aqueduct and brought fresh water to Pythagoreion for roughly a thousand years. Roman aqueducts were built in all parts of the Roman Empire, from Germany to Africa, and especially in the city of Rome, where they totaled over 415 kilometres. The aqueducts supplied water to public baths and for drinking water, in large cities across the empire
United Kingdom
