1.
2008 Summer Olympics
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A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events. China became the 22nd nation to host the Olympic Games and the 18th to hold a Summer Olympic Games. It was the time that the Summer Olympic Games were held in East Asia and Asia, after Tokyo, Japan, in 1964 and Seoul, South Korea. Beijing was awarded the Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, the Government of the Peoples Republic of China promoted the Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transportation systems. A total of 37 venues were used to host the events, the official logo of these Olympic Games, titled Dancing Beijing, refers to the host city by featuring a stylized calligraphic character jīng. The Games were the second most watched Olympics in history, attracting 4.7 billion viewers worldwide, there were 43 world records and 132 Olympic records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. An unprecedented 86 countries won at least one medal during the Games, Chinese athletes won the most gold medals with 51, and with 100 medals in total became only the 7th different Olympic team to top an overall medal tally. The United States won the most total medals with 110, the games were deemed highly successful with the rising standard of competition among nations across the world. Beijing was elected as the host city for the 2008 Summer Olympics on 13 July 2001, during the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, defeating bids from Toronto, Paris, Istanbul, and Osaka. Prior to the session, five other cities had submitted bids to the IOC, after the first round of voting, Beijing held a significant lead over the other four candidates. Osaka received only six votes and was eliminated, in the second round, Beijing was supported by a majority of voters, eliminating the need for subsequent rounds. Torontos bid was their 5th failure since 1960, the size of China, its increased enforcement of doping controls, and sympathy concerning its loss of the 2000 Summer Olympics to Sydney were all factors in the decision. Eight years earlier, Beijing had led every round of voting for the 2000 Summer Olympics before losing to Sydney by two votes in the final round. Human rights concerns expressed by Amnesty International and politicians in both Europe and the United States were considered by the delegates, according to IOC Executive Director François Carrard, Carrard and others suggested that the selection might lead to improvements in human rights in China. In addition, a number of IOC delegates who had formerly been athletes expressed concern about heat and air quality during the Games, China outlined plans to address these environmental concerns in its bid application. The Oxford Olympics Study 2016 estimates the outturn cost of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics at USD6.8 billion in 2015-dollars and this includes sports-related costs only, that is, operational costs incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e. g. The Beijing Olympics cost of USD6.8 billion compares with costs of USD4.6 billion for Rio 2016, average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD5.2 billion. They went on to claim that revenues from the Games would exceed the original target of $16 million
2.
Air gun
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Both the rifle and handgun forms typically propel metallic projectiles, either the non-spherical pellets, or the spherical BBs. Certain types of air guns may also propel arrows or darts, the first air guns were developed in the 1500s. The guns have used in hunting, sporting and warfare. Air guns use three types of power, depending on the design, spring-piston, pneumatic and compressed carbon dioxide, Air guns represent the oldest pneumatic technology. The oldest existing mechanical air gun, an air gun dating back to about 1580, is in the Livrustkammaren Museum in Stockholm. This is the time most historians recognize as the beginning of the air gun. In the 17th century, air guns, in calibers. 30–.51, were used to hunt big game deer and these air rifles were charged using a pump to fill an air reservoir and gave velocities from 650 to 1,000 feet per second. They were also used in warfare, the most recognized example being the Girandoni air rifle, at that time, they had compelling advantages over the primitive firearms of the day. For example, air guns could be discharged in wet weather and rain, moreover, they were quieter than a firearm of similar caliber, had no muzzle flash, and were smokeless. Thus, they did not disclose the shooters position or obscure the shooters view, in the hands of skilled soldiers, they gave the military a distinct advantage. France, Austria and other nations had special sniper detachments using air rifles, the Austrian 1770 model was named Windbüchse. The air reservoir was a removable, club-shaped, butt, the Windbüchse carried twenty-two.51 caliber lead balls in a tubular magazine. A skilled shooter could fire off one magazine in about thirty seconds, a shot from this air gun could penetrate an inch thick wooden board at a hundred paces, an effect roughly equal to that of a modern 9×19mm or.45 ACP caliber pistol. The celebrated Lewis and Clark Expedition carried an air gun. It held 22.46 caliber round balls in a tubular magazine mounted on the side of the barrel, the butt served as the air reservoir and had a working pressure of 800 psi. The rifle was said to be capable of 22 aimed shots per minute and had a bore of 0.452 in. One of the first commercially successful and mass-produced air guns was manufactured by the W. F and their first model air gun was called the Challenger and marketed in 1888. Their next model was the Chicago followed by the King, the Chicago model was sold by Sears, Roebuck for 73 cents in its catalog
3.
2000 Summer Olympics
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It was the second time that the Summer Olympics were held in Australia, and also the Southern Hemisphere, the first being in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1956. Sydney was selected as the host city for the 2000 games in 1993, the United States won the most medals with 93, while Australia came in 4th with 58. The games cost was estimated to be A$6.6 billion, the Games received universal acclaim, with the organisation, volunteers, sportsmanship and Australian public being lauded in the international media. Bill Bryson from The Times called the Sydney Games one of the most successful events on the world stage, admit there can never be a better Olympic Games, and be done with it, as Sydney was both exceptional and the best. These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch and these were also the second Olympic Games to be held in spring. The final medal tally was led by the United States, followed by Russia, several World and Olympic records were broken during the games. With little or no controversies, the games were deemed successful with the rising standard of competition amongst nations across the world. The Australian city of Melbourne had lost out to Atlanta for the 1996 Summer Olympics four years earlier, the Oxford Olympics Study 2016 estimates the outturn cost of the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics at USD5 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 90% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, operational costs incurred by the committee for the purpose of staging the Games. The competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. The cost and cost overrun for Sydney 2000 compares with a cost of USD4.6 billion, average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD5.2 billion, average cost overrun is 176%. In 2000, the Auditor-General of New South Wales reported that the Sydney Games cost A$6.6 billion, many venues were constructed in the Sydney Olympic Park, which failed in the years immediately following the Olympics to meet the expected bookings to meet upkeep expenses. In the years leading up to the games, funds were shifted from education and it has been estimated that the economic impact of the 2000 Olympics was that A$2.1 billion has been shaved from public consumption. Economic growth was not stimulated to a net benefit and in the years after 2000, in the years after the games, infrastructure issues have been of growing concern to citizens, especially those in the western suburbs of Sydney. Proposed rail links to Sydneys west have been estimated to cost in the order of magnitude as the public expenditure on the games. Although the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was not scheduled until 15 September, among the pre-ceremony fixtures, host nation Australia lost 1–0 to Italy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was the main stadium for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The opening ceremony began with a tribute to the Australian pastoral heritage of the Australian stockmen and it was produced and filmed by Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation and the home nation broadcaster, Channel 7. This was introduced by a rider, Steve Jefferys
4.
Ranged weapon
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A ranged weapon is any weapon that can harm targets at distances greater than hand-to-hand distance. In contrast, a weapon intended to be used in combat is called a melee weapon. Ranged weapons give the attacker an advantage in combat since the target has less time to react and it also provides a safer combat option since melee combat often becomes a life or death struggle where each member has a high probability of dying. The line between ranged and melee weapons is not entirely definite, for instance, spears, knives, early ranged weapons include thrown weapons such as javelins, slings, darts, the bow and arrow, and medieval siege engines like stone throwers, catapults, ballistas and trebuchets. Siege engines were used for passing or hitting obstacles like fortifications. After the invention of gunpowder and the development of firearms, ranged weapons became the weapon of choice, in modern warfare, ranged weaponry is used in the form of cruise and ballistic missiles. Maximum effective range of a weapon is the greatest distance fired, while some are small and light enough to be used by individuals, most require a team to aim, move or fire. ISBN 1-58574-478-6 The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 1, the Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 2. The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 3, the ballistics of the sling, Thom Richardson, Royal Armouries Yearbook, Volume 31998
5.
Gun
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A gun is a normally tubular weapon or other device designed to discharge projectiles or other material. The projectile may be solid, liquid, gas or energy and may be free, as bullets and artillery shells, or captive as with Taser probes. Alternatively, acceleration via electromagnetic field generation may be employed in case the tube may be dispensed with. The first devices identified as guns appeared in China around CE1000, by the 12th century the technology was spreading through the rest of Asia, and into Europe by the 13th century. The origin of the English word gun is considered to derive from the given to a particular historical weapon. Domina Gunilda was the given to a remarkably large ballista. This name in turn may have derived from the Old Norse womans proper name Gunnhildr which combines two Norse words referring to battle, in any case the term gonne or gunne was applied to early hand-held firearms by the late 14th or early 15th century. The first device identified as a gun, a tube that used gunpowder to fire a spear. The Chinese had previously invented gunpowder in the 9th century, the earliest depiction of a gunpowder weapon is the illustration of a fire-lance on a mid-10th century silk banner from Dunhuang. The Dean Shoucheng Lu, an account of the siege of Dean in 1132, in due course, the proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to maximise its explosive power. To better withstand that explosive power, the paper and bamboo of which fire-lance barrels were originally made came to be replaced by metal, and to take full advantage of that power, the shrapnel came to be replaced by projectiles whose size and shape filled the barrel more closely. English Privy Wardrobe accounts list ribaldis, a type of cannon, in the 1340s, the earliest surviving firearm in Europe has been found from Otepää, Estonia and it dates to at least 1396. Around the late 14th century in Europe, smaller and portable hand-held cannons were developed, in the late 15th century the Ottoman empire used firearms as part of its regular infantry. The first successful rapid-fire firearm is the Gatling Gun, invented by Richard Gatling, the worlds first sub-machine gun able to be maneuvered by a single soldier is the MP18.1, invented by Theodor Bergmann. It was introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I as the weapon of the Stosstruppen. The first assault rifle was introduced during World War II by the Germans and it was the first firearm which bridges the gap between long range rifles, machine guns, and short range sub-machine guns. Since the mid-20th century guns that fire beams of energy rather than solid projectiles have been developed, most guns use compressed gas confined by the barrel to propel the bullet up to high speed, though devices operating in other ways are sometimes called guns. In firearms the high-pressure gas is generated by combustion, usually of gunpowder and this principle is similar to that of internal combustion engines, except that the bullet leaves the barrel, while the piston transfers its motion to other parts and returns down the cylinder
6.
Crossbow
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A crossbow, also known as horizontal bow, is a type of weapon based on the bow and consisting of a horizontal bow-like assembly mounted on a stock. It shoots projectiles called bolts or quarrels, the medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which were derived from the word ballista, a torsion siege engine resembling a crossbow. Historically, crossbows played a significant role in the warfare of East Asia, Europe, the introduction of the crossbow in ancient China caused a major shift in the role of projectile weaponry. The traditional bow and arrow had long been a weapon that required a considerable training, physical strength. A crossbow is a bow mounted on a stick with a mechanism in it that holds the bow string. The earliest designs featured a slot in the stock, down into which the string was placed, to shoot this design, a vertical rod is thrust up through a hole in the bottom of the notch, forcing the string out. This rod is attached perpendicular to a rear-facing lever called a trigger or tickler. A later design implemented a rolling cylindrical pawl called a nut to retain the string and this nut has a perpendicular center slot for the bolt, and an intersecting axial slot for the string, along with a lower face or slot against which the internal trigger sits. They often also have some form of strengthening internal sear or trigger face and these roller nuts were either free-floating in their close-fitting hole across the stock, tied in with a binding of sinew or other strong cording, or mounted on a metal axle or pins. Removable or integral plates of wood, ivory, or metal on the sides of the stock kept the nut in place laterally, nuts were made of antler, bone, or metal. Bows could be kept taut and ready to shoot for some time with little effort, the bow of early crossbows was made of a single piece of wood, usually ash or yew. Composite bows are made from layers of different material, often wood, horn and these composite bows made of several layers are much stronger and more efficient in releasing energy than simple wooden bows. As steel became more available in Europe around the 14th century. The crossbow prod is very short compared to ordinary bows, resulting in a draw length. This leads to a draw weight in order to store the same amount of energy. Furthermore, the thick prods are a bit less efficient at releasing energy, traditionally, the prod was often lashed to the stock with rope, whipcord, or other strong cording. This cording is called the bridle, the strings for a crossbow are typically made of strong fibers that would not tend to fray. Whipcord was very common, however linen, hemp, and sinew were used as well, in wet conditions, twisted mulberry root was occasionally used
7.
Bow and arrow
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The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures. Archery is the art, practice, or skill of applying it, a bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles called arrows. A string joins the two ends of the bow and when the string is drawn back, the ends of the bow are flexed, when the string is released, the potential energy of the flexed stick is transformed into the kinetic energy of the arrow. Archery is the art or sport of shooting arrows from bows, today, bows and arrows are used primarily for hunting and for the sport of archery. Someone who makes bows is known as a bowyer, and one who makes arrows is a fletcher —or in the case of the manufacture of arrow heads. The bow and arrow appears around the transition from the Upper Paleolithic to the Mesolithic, at the site of Nataruk in Turkana County, Kenya, obsidian bladelets found embedded in a skull and within the thoracic cavity of another skeleton, suggest the use of stone-tipped arrows as weapons. After the end of the last glacial period, use of the bow seems to have spread to every inhabited continent, including the New World, the oldest extant bows in one piece are the elm Holmegaard bows from Denmark which were dated to 9,000 BCE. High-performance wooden bows are made following the Holmegaard design. Microliths discovered on the south coast of Africa suggest that arrows may be at least 71,000 years old, the bow was an important weapon for both hunting and warfare from prehistoric times until the widespread use of gunpowder in the 16th century. Organised warfare with bows ended in the mid 17th century in Europe, the British upper class led a revival of archery from the late 18th century. Sir Ashton Lever, an antiquarian and collector, formed the Toxophilite Society in London in 1781, under the patronage of George, the basic elements of a bow are a pair of curved elastic limbs, traditionally made from wood, joined by a riser. Both ends of the limbs are connected by a known as the bow string. By pulling the string backwards the archer exerts compressive force on the section, or belly, of the limbs as well as placing the outer section, or back. While the string is held, this stores the energy released in putting the arrow to flight. The force required to hold the string stationary at full draw is used to express the power of a bow. Other things being equal, a draw weight means a more powerful bow. The various parts of the bow can be subdivided into further sections, the topmost limb is known as the upper limb, while the bottom limb is the lower limb. At the tip of each limb is a nock, which is used to attach the bowstring to the limbs, the riser is usually divided into the grip, which is held by the archer, as well as the arrow rest and the bow window
8.
Artillery
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Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company
9.
Grenade
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A grenade is a small bomb typically thrown by hand. A variety of hand grenades exist, the most common being explosive grenades designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time, Grenadiers were originally soldiers who specialized in throwing grenades. The word grenade derives from the French word for an explosive shell. Its first use in English dates from the 1590s and it is likely derived from Old French pomegranate and influenced by Spanish granada, as the fragmenting bomb is reminiscent of the many-seeded fruit. Rudimentary incendiary grenades appeared in the Eastern Roman Empire, not long after the reign of Leo III. Byzantine soldiers learned that Greek fire, a Byzantine invention of the century, could not only be thrown by flamethrowers at the enemy. The use of Greek fire spread to Muslim armies in the Near East, in China, during the Song Dynasty, weapons known as Zhen Tian Lei were created when Chinese soldiers packed gunpowder into ceramic or metal containers. In 1044, a military book Wujing Zongyao described various gunpowder recipes in which one can find, according to Joseph Needham, the Chinese also discovered the explosive potential of packing hollowed-out cannonball shells with gunpowder. The mid-14th-century book Huolongjing, written by Jiao Yu, recorded an earlier Song-era cast iron cannon known as the flying-cloud thunderclap cannon, the manuscript stated that, The shells are made of cast iron, as large as a bowl and shaped like a ball. Inside they contain half a pound of divine fire and they are sent flying towards the enemy camp from an eruptor, and when they get there a sound like a thunder-clap is heard, and flashes of light appear. If ten of these shells are fired successfully into the enemy camp, the first cast iron bombshells and grenades did not appear in Europe until 1467. A hoard of several hundred ceramic greandes were discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian City of Ingolstadt. Lots of the grenades obtained their original blackpowder loads and igniters, most probably the grenades were intentially dumped the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. In 1643, it is possible that Grenados were thrown amongst the Welsh at Holt Bridge during the English Civil War and these grenades were not very effective and, as a result, saw little use. Improvised grenades were used from the mid-19th century, being especially useful in trench warfare. In the American Civil War, both sides used hand grenades equipped with a plunger that detonated the device on impact, the Union relied on experimental Ketchum Grenades, which had a tail to ensure that the nose would strike the target and start the fuse. The Confederacy used spherical hand grenades that weighed about six pounds and they also used Rains and Adams grenades, which were similar to the Ketchum in appearance and mechanism. Improvised hand grenades were used to great effect by the Russian defenders of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War
10.
Rocket
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A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle that obtains thrust from a rocket engine. Rocket engine exhaust is formed entirely from propellant carried within the rocket before use, Rocket engines work by action and reaction and push rockets forward simply by expelling their exhaust in the opposite direction at high speed, and can therefore work in the vacuum of space. In fact, rockets work more efficiently in space than in an atmosphere, multistage rockets are capable of attaining escape velocity from Earth and therefore can achieve unlimited maximum altitude. Compared with airbreathing engines, rockets are lightweight and powerful and capable of generating large accelerations. To control their flight, rockets rely on momentum, airfoils, auxiliary engines, gimballed thrust, momentum wheels, deflection of the exhaust stream, propellant flow, spin. Rockets for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th century China, significant scientific, interplanetary and industrial use did not occur until the 20th century, when rocketry was the enabling technology for the Space Age, including setting foot on the Earths moon. Rockets are now used for fireworks, weaponry, ejection seats, launch vehicles for satellites, human spaceflight. Chemical rockets are the most common type of high power rocket, chemical rockets store a large amount of energy in an easily released form, and can be very dangerous. However, careful design, testing, construction and use minimizes risks, the first gunpowder-powered rockets were developed in Song China, by the 13th century. The Chinese rocket technology was adopted by the Mongols and the invention was spread via the Mongol invasions to the Near East, medieval and early modern rockets were used militarily as incendiary weapons in sieges. An early Chinese text to mention the use of rockets was the Huolongjing, between 1270 and 1280, Hasan al-Rammah wrote al-furusiyyah wa al-manasib al-harbiyya, which included 107 gunpowder recipes,22 of which are for rockets. In Europe, Konrad Kyeser described rockets in his military treatise Bellifortis around 1405. The name Rocket comes from the Italian rocchetta, meaning bobbin or little spindle, the Italian term was adopted into German in the mid 16th century by Leonhard Fronsperger and Conrad Haas, and by the early 17th century into English. Artis Magnae Artilleriae pars prima, an important early work on rocket artillery. The first iron-cased rockets were developed in the late 18th century in the Kingdom of Mysore, in 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote the line rockets red glare while held captive on a British ship that was laying siege to Fort McHenry. The first mathematical treatment of the dynamics of rocket propulsion is due to William Moore, in 1815, Alexander Dmitrievich Zasyadko constructed rocket-launching platforms, which allowed rockets to be fired in salvos, and gun-laying devices. William Hale in 1844 greatly increased the accuracy of rocket artillery, the Congreve rocket was further improved by Edward Mounier Boxer in 1865. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky first speculated on the possibility of manned spaceflight with rocket technology, robert Goddard in 1920 published proposed improvements to rocket technology in A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes
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