Biography.

Early life.

Robert Kocharyan was born in Stepanakert, NKAO, Azerbaijan SSR. He received his secondary education there and from 1972 to 1974 served in the Soviet Army.

Presidency.

After his predecessor Levon Ter-Petrossian was ousted as President, Kocharyan was elected Armenia's second President on 30 March 1998, defeating his main rival, Karen Demirchyan, in an early presidential election marred by irregularities and violations by both sides as reported by international electoral observers. Complaints included that Kocharyan had not been an Armenian citizen for ten years as required by the constitution, even though it would have been impossible for him to be a 10-year citizen of a republic that was less than 7 years old; however, the Armenian constitution recognized the Armenian SSR as its predecessor state.  During his presidency, several opposition leaders in the Armenian Parliament and the Prime Minister of Armenia were killed by gunmen in an episode known as the 1999 Armenian parliament shooting. Kocharyan himself negotiated with the terrorists to release the MP hostages.  In 2001 Kocharyan was attending a jazz performance at Poplavok cafe in Yerevan, and was greeted by former classmate Poghos Poghosyan with the words "Hi Rob". The casualness of the greeting was taken as an insult, and Kocharyan's bodyguards took Poghosyan into the cafe toilet and killed him. The bodyguard, Aghamal Harutiunyan, received a one-year suspended jail term for the killing.

2003 election.

The 2003 Armenian Presidential election was held on 19 February and 5 March 2003. No candidate received a majority in the first round of the election with the incumbent President Kocharyan winning slightly under 50% of the vote. Therefore, a second round was held and Kocharyan defeated Stepan Demirchyan with official results showed him winning just over 67% of the vote.  In both rounds, electoral observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe reported significant amounts of electoral fraud by Demirchyan's supporters and numerous supporters of Demirchyan were arrested before the second round took place. Demirchyan described the election as having been rigged and called on his supporters to rally against the results. Tens of thousands of Armenians protested in the days after the election against the results and called on President Kocharyan to step down. However Kocharyan was sworn in for a second term in early April and the constitutional court upheld the election, while recommending that a referendum be held within a year to confirm the election result. On April 14, 2004 Armenian poet Silva Kaputikyan wrote an open letter "Kocharyan Must Go", where she protested Kocharyan's harsh methods towards the demonstrators on April 12–13, 2004. She also turned back Mesrop Mashtots Medal awarded by Kocharyan some years ago.

2008 election.

A presidential election was held in Armenia on 19 February 2008. The incumbent President Kocharyan, who was ineligible for a third consecutive term, backed the candidacy of Prime Minister of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.  Following the election result, protests organized by supporters of unsuccessful candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian began in Yerevan's Freedom Square and accompanied by mass disorders. On March 1, the demonstrators were dispersed by police and military forces. Ten people were killed during skirmishes between police and crowd, and President Kocharyan declared a 20-day state of emergency. This was followed by mass arrests and purges of prominent members of the opposition, as well as a de facto ban on any further anti-government protests.

Foreign policy.

As President, Kocharyan continued to negotiate a peaceful resolution with Azerbaijani Presidents Heydar Aliyev and Ilham Aliyev on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. In October 1999, Kocharyan became the first President of Armenia to visit Azerbaijan, holding talks with Aliyev at the border of the two countries. Talks between Ilham Aliyev and Kocharyan were held in September 2004 in Astana, Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit. Reportedly, one of the suggestions put forward was the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the Azeri territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh, and holding referendums (plebiscites) in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan proper regarding the future status of the region. On 10–11 February 2006, Kocharyan and Aliyev met in Rambouillet, France to discuss the fundamental principles of a settlement to the conflict, including the withdrawal of troops, formation of international peacekeeping troops, and the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.  During the weeks and days before the talks in France, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen expressed cautious optimism that some form of an agreement was possible. French President Jacques Chirac met with both leaders separately and expressed hope that the talks would be fruitful. Contrary to the initial optimism, the Rambouillet talks did not produce any agreement, with key issues such as the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and whether Armenian troops would withdraw from Kalbajar still being contentious. The next session of the talks was held in March 2006 in Washington, D.C. Russian President, Vladimir Putin applied pressure to both parties to settle the disputes. Later in 2006 there was a meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents in Minsk on 28 November and ministerial meetings were held in Moscow. "These talks did not initiate any progress, but I hope that the time for a solution will come" said Peter Semneby, EU envoy for the South Caucasus.  In September 2006, in his congratulatory message on the occasion of 15th anniversary of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Kocharyan said "The Karabakhi people made their historic choice, defended their national interests in the war that was forced upon them. Today, they are building a free and independent state." The accompanying message said that the duty of the Republic of Armenia and all Armenians is to contribute to the strengthening and development of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as to the international recognition of the republic's independence.

Arrest.

On July 26, 2018 the Special Investigative Service (SIS) of Armenia charged Kocharian with “overthrowing constitutional order of Armenia” during the final weeks of his rule. The SIS asked a Yerevan court to remand him in pre-trial custody. On July 27, 2018 he was arrested. On August 13, 2018 Kocharyan was freed from custody following a court ruling, but remained accused of the charges he was arrested for. On December 7, 2018 Kocharyan was arrested again following another ruling by the Court of Appeals. In 2019, all property of Robert Kocharyan, other than his pension, was arrested by the court. On May 18, 2019 Kocharyan was freed on bail from pre-trial detention. On June 25, 2019 he was arrested for the third time.

Personal life.

He and his wife, Bella Kocharyan, have three children: Sedrak, Gayane, and Levon; all of whom were born in Stepanakert. In addition to his native Armenian, Kocharyan speaks Russian and English.

Robert Sedraki Kocharyan ( ; born 31 August 1954) is an Armenian politician who served as the second President of Armenia between 1998 and 2008. He was previously President of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Armenia from 1997 to 1998.


Taxonomy.

The terns are small to medium-sized seabirds, gull-like in appearance, but usually with a more delicate, lighter build and shorter, weaker legs. They have long, pointed wings, which gives them a fast buoyant flight, and often a deeply forked tail. Most species are grey above and white below, and have a black cap which is reduced or flecked with white in the winter.  The Sandwich tern was originally described by ornithologist John Latham in 1787 as "Sterna sandvicensis", but was recently moved to its current genus "Thalasseus" (Boie, 1822) following mitochondrial DNA studies which confirmed that the three types of head pattern (white crown, black cap, and black cap with a white blaze on the forehead) found amongst the terns corresponded to distinct clades. The current genus name is derived from Greek "Thalassa", "sea", and "sandvicensis", like the English name, refers to Sandwich, Kent, Latham's type locality. In birds, the specific name "sandvicensis" usually denotes that the species was first described from Hawaii, formerly known as the "Sandwich Islands", but the Sandwich tern does not occur there.  This bird has no subspecies. A former subspecies are now treated as a separate species called Cabot's tern ("T. acuflavidus"), which breeds on the Atlantic coasts of North America, northern and eastern South America, and has wandered to Western Europe.

Description.

This is a medium-large tern, long with an wingspan, which is unlikely to be confused within most of its range, although the South American race could be confused with the elegant tern.  The Sandwich tern's thin sharp bill is black with a yellow tip, except in the yellow or orange billed South American race. Its short legs are black. Its upperwings are pale grey and its underparts white, and this tern looks very pale in flight, although the primary flight feathers darken during the summer. The lesser crested tern and elegant tern differ in having all-orange bills; lesser crested also differs in having a grey rump and marginally stouter bill, and elegant in having a slightly longer, slenderer bill. Chinese crested tern is the most similar to Sandwich, but has a reversal of the bill colour, yellow with a black tip; it does not overlap in range with Sandwich tern so confusion is unlikely.  In winter, the adult Sandwich tern's forehead becomes white. Juvenile Sandwich terns have dark tips to their tails, and a scaly appearance on their back and wings, like juvenile roseate terns.  The Sandwich tern is a vocal bird; its call is a characteristic loud grating "kear-ik" or "kerr ink".

Behaviour.

This species breeds in very dense colonies on coasts and islands, and exceptionally inland on suitable large freshwater lakes close to the coast. It nests in a ground scrape and lays one to three eggs. Unlike some of the smaller white terns, it is not very aggressive toward potential predators, relying on the sheer density of the nests—often only apart and nesting close to other more aggressive species such as Arctic terns and black-headed gulls to avoid predation.  Like all "Thalasseus" terns, the Sandwich tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, almost invariably from the sea. It usually dives directly, and not from the "stepped-hover" favoured by Arctic terns. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.

Status.

The Sandwich tern has an extensive global range estimated at. It has a population estimated at 460,000–500,000 individuals. Population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as least concern.  The Sandwich tern is among the taxa to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Parties to the agreement are required to engage in a wide range of conservation actions which are describes in a detailed action plan. This plan should address key issues such as species and habitat conservation, management of human activities, research, education, and implementation.

The Sandwich tern ("Thalasseus sandvicensis") is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern ("T. bengalensis"), Chinese crested tern ("T. bernsteini"), Cabot's tern ("T. acuflavidus"), and elegant tern ("T. elegans") and has been known to interbreed with the lesser crested. It breeds in the Palearctic from Europe to the Caspian Sea wintering to S Africa, India and Sri Lanka


History.

Mustang was once an independent kingdom, although closely tied by language and culture to Tibet. From the 15th century to the 17th century, its strategic location granted Mustang control over the trade between the Himalayas and India. At the end of the 18th century the kingdom was annexed by Nepal and became a dependency of the Kingdom of Nepal since 1795  Kingdom of Lo Manthang supported Tibet and the Qing Empire during the Sino-Nepalese War.  Though still recognized by many Mustang residents, the monarchy ceased to exist on October 7, 2008, by order of the Government of Nepal. The last official and later unofficial king (raja or "gyelpo") was Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista (1930–2016), who traced his lineage directly back to Ame Pal, the warrior who founded this Buddhist kingdom in 1380. Ame Pal oversaw the founding and building of much of the Lo and Mustang capital of Lo Manthang, a walled city that has changed little in appearance since that time period.  In 2007, a shepherd in Mustang discovered a collection of 55 cave paintings depicting the life of the Buddha.

Climate.

Upper Mustang has a "trans-Himalayan climate" which is cool and semi-arid with precipitation in the range of. It is in the rain shadow of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges.  The Day and Night Temperature in Upper Mustang according to the months is shown below:

Demographics.

The population of the whole Mustang District in 2001 was 14,981, spread between three towns and approximately thirty smaller settlements. The inhabitants are either Thakalis, Gurung or, in traditional Mustang, primarily Tibetan.  Most of the population of Mustang lives near the Kali Gandaki River, above sea level. The tough conditions cause a large winter migration into lower regions of Nepal. The administrative center of Mustang District is at Jomsom ( south of Kagbeni) which has had an airport since 1962 and has become the main tourist entry point since Mustang was opened to western tourism in 1992.

Geography.

The main hydrographic feature of Mustang is the Gandaki River. The river runs southward towards Nepal Terai, bisecting Mustang. Routes paralleling the river once served as a major trade route between Tibet and India, especially for salt. Part of the river valley in the southern Mustang District forms the Kali Gandaki Gorge, by some measures the deepest gorge in the world.  Traditional Mustang (the Lo Kingdom) is north–south at its longest, east–west at its widest and ranges from a low point of above sea level on the Kali Gandaki River just north of Kagbeni to at Khamjung Himal, a peak in southeast Mustang.

Transport.

Upper Mustang is on an ancient trade route between Nepal and Tibet exploiting the lowest pass Kora La through the Himalaya west of Sikkim. This route remained in use until China's annexation of Tibet in 1950.  Mechanized access inside Nepal began with the opening of an airstrip at Jomsom at the approximate boundary between the southern "Thak" and northern "Lo" sections of the valley, which was in operation by the 1960s.  China eventually decided to revitalize trade and in 2001 completed a road from the international border to Lo Manthang. Across the TAR border is Zhongba County of Shigatse Prefecture. China National Highway 219 follows the valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo River some north of the border.  Meanwhile, road-building from the south was inhibited by difficulties along the Kali Gandaki Gorge to the south, but proceeded incrementally. In 2010, a gap remained but the road was completed before 2015 and is suitable for high clearance and four wheel drive vehicles. Currently, the easiest and only widely used road corridor, from Kathmandu to Lhasa—named Arniko Highway in Nepal and China National Highway 318 in the TAR—traverses a pass. This is some higher than Kora La.

Tourism.

Foreign visitors have been allowed to the region since 1992, but tourism to Upper Mustang is regulated. Foreigners need to obtain a special permit to enter, costing US$50 per day per person. Most tourists travel by foot over largely the same trade route used in the 15th century. Over a thousand western trekkers now visit each year, with over 2,000 in 2008. August and October are the peak visiting months. On August 27, 2010, local youth leaders in Mustang threatened to bar tourists beginning October 1, 2010 due to the refusal of the Nepalese government to provide any of the $50 per day fee to the local economy. Visitation, however, continued uninterrupted beyond that date.  Mustang is rich in Buddhist culture, similar to the area of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is an alternate way to experience the Tibetan culture and landscape to the tours provided by the Chinese government. The Tiji festival in Lo-Manthang is another popular destination for tourists in the area seeking to experience the native culture.  The first westerner in Mustang was Toni Hagen, Swiss explorer and geologist, who visited the Kingdom in 1952 during one of his travels across the Himalayas. French Michel Peissel is considered the first westerner to stay in Lo Manthang, during the first authorised exploration of Mustang in 1964.

Upper Mustang Permit.

You need two permits to visit Upper Mustang.

Mustang (from the Tibetan "möntang" (), "Mustāṃg" "fertile plain"), formerly Kingdom of Lo, is a remote and isolated region of the Nepalese Himalayas. The "Upper Mustang" was a restricted demilitarized area until 1992 which makes it one of the most preserved regions in the world, with a majority of the population still speaking traditional Tibetic languages. Tibetan culture has been preserved by the relative isolation of the region from the outside world. Life in Mustang revolves around tourism, animal husbandry and trade.


Early life.

Alain was born in 1868 in Mortagne-au-Perche (Orne). He entered lycée d'Alençon in 1881 and studied there for five years. On 13 June 1956, the lycée was renamed lycée Alain, after its most famous student.

Career.

After Alain qualified at the École Normale Supérieure and received the agrégation in philosophy, he taught at various institutions: Pontivy, Lorient, "Lycée Pierre Corneille" in Rouen, and, in Paris: (Lycée Condorcet and Lycée Michelet). From 1903, he contributed to several journals using his pseudonym, Alain. He was most commonly referred to as "Alain" by his pupils and peers.  In 1909, he was appointed a teacher (or professor) at the Lycée Henri-IV in Paris. He deeply influenced his pupils, who included Raymond Aron, Simone Weil, Georges Canguilhem, and André Maurois. Reviewing the beneficial effect he had on his former pupils Simone Weil and Simone de Beauvoir, Professor John Hellman writes that Alain was the greatest teacher of their generation.  Alain foretold and denounced the First World War but, when hostilities began, he enlisted as a soldier and, refusing promotion, served in the ranks for the whole war. During those years, while in the trenches, he wrote "Mars, ou la guerre jugée" (1921) [Mars, or The Truth about War], "Quatre-vingt-un chapitres sur l'esprit et les passions" (1917) [Eighty-One Chapters about the Spirit and Passions], and "Le système des beaux-arts" (1920) [System of the Fine Arts].  He later wrote many other books including "Propos sur le bonheur" (1925) [About Happiness], "Le citoyen contre les pouvoirs" (1926) [The Citizen against the Powers], "Les Idées et les âges" (1927) [Ideas and Ages], "Entretiens au bord de la mer" (1931) [Conversations by the Edge of the Sea], "Propos sur l'éducation" (1932) [About Education], "Idées" (1932) [Ideas], "Les Dieux" (1934) [The Gods], "Histoire de mes pensées" (1936) [History of my Thoughts], and "Les Aventures de coeur" (1945) [Adventures of the Heart].  He was a leading theorist of radicalism, and his influence extended through the Third and Fourth Republics. He stressed individualism, seeking to defend the citizen against the state. He warned against all forms of power – military, clerical, and economic. To oppose them he exalted the small farmer, the small shopkeeper, the small town, and the little man. He idealized country life and saw Paris as a dangerous font of power. Despite the liberalism of his published work, during World War II he expressed right-wing views in some of his private writings: in July 1940 he expressed hope that the Free French Forces would be defeated, and he also described Adolf Hitler as "a modern mind, an invincible spirit", who dealt with the "Jewish question" with "extraordinary eloquence and remarkable sincerity".  In his diary published under the title "Journal inédit" by Emmanuel Blondel, Alain writes "I would like, as far as I am concerned, to get rid of antisemitism, but I can't achieve this." ("Journal inédit", Editions des equateurs). He calls his own antisemitism, in a self-disapproving manner, a "sad passion" using a spinozist expression meaning "a passion that expresses weakness, powerlessness". In 1946, in a new Preface to his book "Spinoza" Alain writes: " Tel est donc le sens du Spinozisme, sens bien positif et bien aisé à saisir, pourvu qu'on soit persuadé que l'on est en présence de l'Esprit universel. Cette persuasion vous rendra la pensée supportable, et soudain vous vous reconnaîtrez homme, toujours à la lumière de l'axiome : Homo homini deus, qui est la clef de la future République et de l'égalité 1848. Je dis égalité, parce qu'il ne se peut pas que l'homme n'ait pas de passions et parce que toute affection cesse d'être une passion dès qu'on en forme une idée adéquate. Là est le secret de la Paix, qui dans tous les cas est la Paix de l'âme, vérité très méconnue. Par ce moyen vous formerez le parti Spinoza, que vous vous garderez d'appeler le parti juif, mais qui n'en sera pas moins ce parti-là. Alors, sans combat, le nazisme, le fascisme et toute sorte de despotisme seront vaincus, et la méchanceté exactement impuissante, comme elle est (car elle n'est rien). Tel est l'avenir prochain, que renferme ce petit livre." The last lines of this quotation, expressing Alain's public thought regarding antisemitic hatred and nazism, deserve attention: "Then [when enlightened men have formed the "Spinoza party", the "jewish party"] without fight, nazism, fascism and all other kinds of despotism will be defeated and malevolence will be properly powerless, as it is actually (for malevolence by itself is nothing). Such is the future that is coming, the future that is contained in this little book." (Alain, "Spinoza", Gallimard, Collection TEL, Preface, 1946).  The same ambiguity can be observed as to Alain's attitude towards Hitler. In his "Propos", Alain writes that Hitler is "a great patriot". But he adds "When I say that Hitler is one of these great leaders, understand carefully that I feel sorry for the people that have such leaders, and also sorry for their neighbours". ("Propos d'Alain", Propos du 10 avril 1936, Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, Copyright 1956, page 1305).

Death.

He died in 1951. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Émile-Auguste Chartier (; 3 March 1868 – 2 June 1951), commonly known as Alain (), was a French philosopher, journalist, and pacifist. He adopted his pseudonym in homage to the 15th-century Norman poet Alain Chartier.


Development.

In the late 1940s, the Soviet Union was strongly committed to matching the United States in strategic bombing capability. The Soviets' only long-range bomber at the time was Tupolev's Tu-4 'Bull', a reverse-engineered copy of the American B-29 Superfortress. The development of the notably powerful Mikulin AM-3 turbojet led to the possibility of a large, jet-powered bomber.  The Tupolev design bureau began work on the Tu-88 ("Aircraft N") prototypes in 1950. The Tu-88 first flew on 27 April 1952. After winning a competition against the Ilyushin Il-46, it was approved for production in December 1952. The first production bombers entered service with Frontal Aviation in 1954, receiving the service designation Tu-16. It received the NATO reporting name Badger-A.  It had a new, large swept wing and two large Mikulin AM-3 turbojets, one in each wing root. It could carry a single massive FAB-9000 conventional bomb (the Russian equivalent of the British Grand Slam (bomb)) or various nuclear weapons for a range of around Production took place in 3 aviation plants - in Kazan, Kuybyshev and Voronezh.  Although the Tu-16 began as a high-altitude, free-fall bomber, in the mid-1950s it was equipped to carry early Soviet cruise missiles. The Tu-16KS-1 (Badger-B) version could carry AS-1 missiles over a combat radius of. These very large weapons were aerodynamically similar to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter, fitted with either a nuclear or conventional warhead, having a range of about. They were intended for use primarily against US Navy aircraft carriers and other large surface ships. Subsequent Tu-16s were converted to carry later, more advanced missiles, while their designations changed several times.  A versatile design, the Tu-16 was built in numerous specialized variants for aerial reconnaissance, maritime surveillance, electronic intelligence gathering (ELINT), and electronic warfare (ECM). A total of 1,507 aircraft were constructed in three plants in the Soviet Union, in 1954–1962. A civilian adaptation, the Tupolev Tu-104, saw passenger service with Aeroflot. The Tu-16 was also exported to Indonesia, Egypt, and Iraq. It continued to be used by the Air Forces and naval aviation of the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia, until 1993.  Delivery of the Tu-16 to China began in 1958, and the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation (XAC) license-produced the aircraft under the Chinese designation Xian H-6. At least 120 of these aircraft remain in service. On 14 May 1965, one of the PLAAF Tu-16 bombers carried out the first airborne nuclear weapon test inside China.

Variants.

Among the main production variants of the Badger were the Tu-16 and Tu-16A bombers and Tu-16KS and Tu-16K-10 missile carriers, Tu-16SPS, "Elka", and Tu-16Ye ECM aircraft, Tu-16R reconnaissance aircraft, and Tu-16T torpedo bombers; others were produced from conversions. Individual aircraft could be modified several times, with designations changed, especially concerning missile-carrying aircraft.

The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) was a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has flown for more than 60 years, and the Chinese licence-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force.


History.

A succession of FET-like devices was patented by Julius Lilienfeld in the 1920s and 1930s. However, materials science and fabrication technology would require decades of advances before FETs could actually be manufactured.  JFET was first patented by Heinrich Welker in 1945. During 1940s, researchers John Bardeen, Walter Houser Brattain, and William Shockley were trying to build a FET, but failed in their repeated attempts. They discovered the point-contact transistor in the course of trying to diagnose the reasons for their failures. Following Shockley's theoretical treatment on JFET in 1952, a working practical JFET was made in 1953 by George F. Dacey and Ian M. Ross. Japanese engineers Jun-ichi Nishizawa and Y. Watanabe applied for a patent for a similar device in 1950 termed Static induction transistor (SIT). The SIT is a type of JFET with a short channel length.

Structure.

The JFET is a long channel of semiconductor material, doped to contain an abundance of positive charge carriers or holes ("p-type"), or of negative carriers or electrons ("n-type"). Ohmic contacts at each end form the source (S) and the drain (D). A pn-junction is formed on one or both sides of the channel, or surrounding it, using a region with doping opposite to that of the channel, and biased using an ohmic gate contact (G).

Function.

JFET operation can be compared to that of a garden hose. The flow of water through a hose can be controlled by squeezing it to reduce the cross section and the flow of electric charge through a JFET is controlled by constricting the current-carrying channel. The current also depends on the electric field between source and drain (analogous to the difference in pressure on either end of the hose). This current dependency is not supported by the characteristics shown in the diagram above a certain applied voltage. This is the "saturation region", and the JFET is normally operated in this constant-current region where device current is virtually unaffected by drain-source voltage. The JFET shares this constant-current characteristic with junction transistors and with thermionic tube (valve) tetrodes and pentodes.  Constriction of the conducting channel is accomplished using the field effect: a voltage between the gate and the source is applied to reverse bias the gate-source pn-junction, thereby widening the depletion layer of this junction (see top figure), encroaching upon the conducting channel and restricting its cross-sectional area. The depletion layer is so-called because it is depleted of mobile carriers and so is electrically non-conducting for practical purposes.  When the depletion layer spans the width of the conduction channel, "pinch-off" is achieved and drain-to-source conduction stops. Pinch-off occurs at a particular reverse bias (V) of the gate-source junction. The pinch-off voltage (V) varies considerably, even among devices of the same type. For example, V for the Temic J202 device varies from to. Typical values vary from to.  To switch off an n-channel device requires a negative gate-source voltage (V). Conversely, to switch off a p-channel device requires positive V.  In normal operation, the electric field developed by the gate blocks source-drain conduction to some extent.  Some JFET devices are symmetrical with respect to the source and drain.

Schematic symbols.

The JFET gate is sometimes drawn in the middle of the channel (instead of at the drain or source electrode as in these examples). This symmetry suggests that "drain" and "source" are interchangeable, so the symbol should be used only for those JFETs where they are indeed interchangeable.  Officially, the style of the symbol should show the component inside a circle (representing the envelope of a discrete device). This is true in both the US and Europe. The symbol is usually drawn without the circle when drawing schematics of integrated circuits. More recently, the symbol is often drawn without its circle even for discrete devices.  In every case the arrow head shows the polarity of the P-N junction formed between the channel and the gate. As with an ordinary diode, the arrow points from P to N, the direction of conventional current when forward-biased. An English mnemonic is that the arrow of an N-channel device "points in".

Comparison with other transistors.

At room temperature, JFET gate current (the reverse leakage of the gate-to-channel junction) is comparable to that of a MOSFET (which has insulating oxide between gate and channel), but much less than the base current of a bipolar junction transistor. The JFET has higher gain (transconductance) than the MOSFET, as well as lower flicker noise, and is therefore used in some low-noise, high input-impedance op-amps.

Mathematical model.

The current in N-JFET due to a small voltage V (that is, in the linear ohmic region) is given by treating the channel as a rectangular bar of material of electrical conductivity formula_1: where

Linear region.

Then the drain current in the "linear region" can be approximated as:  In terms of formula_4, the drain current can be expressed as:

Constant current region.

The drain current in the "saturation region" is often approximated in terms of gate bias as:  where  In the "saturation region", the JFET drain current is most significantly affected by the gate–source voltage and barely affected by the drain–source voltage.  If the channel doping is uniform, such that the depletion region thickness will grow in proportion to the square root of the absolute value of the gate–source voltage, then the channel thickness "b" can be expressed in terms of the zero-bias channel thickness "a" as:  where

Transconductance.

The transconductance for the junction FET is given by formula_8, where V is the pinchoff voltage and I is the maximum drain current.

The junction gate field-effect transistor (JFET) is one of the simplest types of field-effect transistor. JFETs are three-terminal semiconductor devices that can be used as electronically-controlled switches, amplifiers, or voltage-controlled resistors.


Early life.

Charles was born in Kassel on 19 December 1744 as the second surviving son of Hesse-Kassel's then hereditary prince, the future Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and his first wife Princess Mary of Great Britain. His mother was a daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach and a sister of Queen Louise of Denmark.  His father, the future landgrave (who reigned from 1760 and died in 1785), left the family in 1747 and converted to Catholicism in 1749. In 1755 he formally ended the marriage with Mary. The grandfather, William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse, granted the county of Hanau and its revenues to Mary and her sons.  The young Prince Charles and his two brothers, William and Frederick, were raised by their mother and fostered by Protestant relatives since 1747.  In 1756, Mary moved to Denmark to look after her sister, Queen Louise of Denmark's children. She took her own children with her and they were raised at the royal court at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The Hessian princes later remained in Denmark, becoming important lords and royal functionaries. Only the eldest brother William returned to Hesse, in 1785, upon ascending the landgraviate.

Early career.

Charles began a military career in Denmark. In 1758 he was appointed colonel, at the age of 20 major general and in 1765 was put in charge of the artillery. After his cousin, King Christian VII, acceded to the throne in 1766, he was appointed lieutenant general, commander of the Royal Guard, knight of the Order of the Elephant and member of the Privy Council.  In 1766, he was appointed Governor-General of Norway as successor to Jacob Benzon (1688–1775). He held the position until 1768 but which remained mostly titular, as he never went to Norway during this period.  In 1763, his elder brother William married their first cousin, Danish Princess Caroline. Charles followed suit on 30 August 1766 at Christiansborg Palace — his wife was Louise of Denmark, and Charles thus became brother-in-law to his cousin, King Christian VII of Denmark. The marriage took place despite advice given against it, due to many accusations of debauchery by Prince Charles and the poor influence he had on the King.  Shortly after, Charles fell into disfavour at court, and in early 1767 he and Louise left Copenhagen to live with his mother in the county of Hanau. They would have their first child, Marie Sophie, there in 1767 and then their second child, William, in 1769.  In 1768, Charles purchased the landed property and village of Offenbach-Rumpenheim from the Edelsheim family. In 1771 he had the manor expanded into a castle and princely seat. His mother Mary lived in the palace until her death in 1772. In 1781, Charles sold the Rumpenheim Palace to his younger brother, Frederick.

Governor of Schleswig-Holstein.

In 1769, Prince Charles of Hesse was appointed royal Governor of the twin duchies of Schleswig and Holstein (initially only the royal share, so-called Holstein-Glückstadt before in 1773 the king also acquired the ducal share in Holstein) on behalf of the government of his brother-in-law, King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway. Charles took up residence at Gottorp Castle in Schleswig with his family. They would have their third child Frederick there in 1771.  In 1770, King Christian VII gave his sister the estate of Tegelhof in Güby between the City of Schleswig and Eckernförde. From 1772 to 1776, Charles had a summer residence constructed on the site which he named Louisenlund in honour of his wife.  In September 1772, Charles was appointed commander-in-chief of the Norwegian army and he and Louise moved to Christiana. The assignment was a consequence of the coup d'état of King Gustav III of Sweden on 19 August 1772 and the subsequent prospect of war with Sweden. While in Norway, Princess Louise gave birth to their fourth child Juliane in 1773. Even though Charles returned to Schleswig-Holstein in 1774, he continued to function as commander-in-chief of the Norwegian army until 1814. At the time of his return from Norway, he was appointed field marshal.  During the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778-79, he acted as a volunteer in the army of Frederick the Great and gained the trust of the Prussian king. Once, when Frederick was speaking against Christianity, he noticed a lack of sympathy of Charles' part. In response to an inquiry from the king, Charles said, "Sire, I am not more sure of having the honour of seeing you, than I am that Jesus Christ existed and died for us as our Saviour on the cross." After a moment of surprised silence, Frederick declared, "You are the first man who has ever declared such a belief in my hearing."  In 1788, the Swedish attack on Russia during the Russo Swedish War forced Denmark-Norway to declare war on Sweden in accordance with its 1773 treaty obligations to Russia. Prince Charles was put in command of a Norwegian army which briefly invaded Sweden through Bohuslän and won the Battle of Kvistrum Bridge. The army was closing in on Gothenburg, when peace was signed on 9 July 1789 following the diplomatic intervention of Great Britain and Prussia, bringing this so-called Lingonberry War to an end. On 12 November, the Norwegian army retreated back to Norway. During the retreat, the Danish-Norwegian army lost 1,500-3,000 men to hunger, disease, poor sanitary conditions, and exposure to continual autumn rainfall. Prince Charles was later criticised for his direction of the campaign and although he continued to function as commander-in-chief, he had lost his popularity in Norway.  When the crown prince and regent of Denmark, the future Frederick VI married Charles's eldest daughter Marie Sophie in 1790, he made several unsuccessful attempts at substantially influencing decisions of the government and the regent.  Charles was a remarkable patron of theater and opera. He had his own court theater in Schleswig, and he involved himself extensively in its operations.  During the Napoleonic Wars, he was in command of the army which briefly occupied Hamburg and Lübeck in 1801.  On 25 January 1805, Charles was granted the title "Landgrave of Hesse" by his elder brother, who had assumed the higher dignity and titulary of Imperial Prince-Elector.  In 1807, the manor and village of Gereby by the Schlei near Kappeln in Schwansen was renamed Carlsburg in honour of Prince Charles. Charles had purchased the property of Gereby in 1785, where he abolished serfdom in 1790.  Following the death of his father's first cousin, prince Friedrich Wilhelm von Hessenstein, he inherited the estate of Panker in Holstein in 1808.  In 1814 he was appointed general field marshal, and in 1816 Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog.

Marriage and issue.

On 30 August 1766 at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Charles married Princess Louise of Denmark, his first cousin, the youngest daughter of his aunt, Princess Louise of Great Britain, and King Frederick V of Denmark and Norway, who died the same year. The couple had the following children:  Princess Louise died at Gottorp Castle on 12 January 1831. Prince Charles died on 17 August 1836 in the castle of Louisenlund in Güby, Schleswig.

Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel (); (); () (19 December 1744 – 17 August 1836) was a cadet member of the house of Hesse-Kassel and a Danish general field marshal. Brought up with relatives at the Danish court, he spent most of his life in Denmark, serving as royal governor of the twin duchies of Schleswig-Holstein from 1769 to 1836 and commander-in-chief of the Norwegian army from 1772 to 1814.


Collections.

Modern art (1905–1960).

Many styles of modern art, including Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, Abstract art, Surrealism are represented with works by Matisse, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, Raoul Dufy, Albert Marquet, Le Douanier Rousseau, Paul Signac, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Fernand Léger, Juan Gris, Frida Kahlo, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, August Macke, Alexej von Jawlensky, Emil Nolde, Oskar Kokoschka, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Kurt Schwitters, Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, Carlo Carrà, Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Gino Severini, Marc Chagall, Natalia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, Alexander Rodchenko, František Kupka, Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Kasimir Malevich, Jacques Villon, Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay, Georges Rouault, Balthus, Max Beckmann, Constantin Brâncuși, Alexander Calder, Chaïm Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani, Kees van Dongen, Jean Arp, Giorgio de Chirico, André Breton, Magritte, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Man Ray, Alberto Giacometti, René Iché, Nicolas de Staël, André Masson, Yves Tanguy, Jean Tinguely, Simon Hantaï, Yves Klein, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Willem de Kooning, and Francis Bacon.

Contemporary art (art from 1960 on).

Pop Art, Nouveau Réalisme, Conceptual art and other tendencies or groups are represented with works by Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, Rauschenberg, Dan Flavin, Eduardo Arroyo, Dan Graham, Daniel Buren, George Brecht, Arman, César, Bill Viola, Anish Kapoor, Wim Delvoye, Yves Klein, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Yaacov Agam, Vasarely, John Cage, Cindy Sherman, Dieter Roth, Beuys, Roy Lichtenstein, Burhan Dogancay, Dubuffet, Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Gilbert & George, David Hockney, Louise Bourgeois, and Art & Language.  Works of architecture and design include Philippe Starck, Jean Nouvel, and Dominique Perrault.

The Musée National d'Art Moderne (, "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement of the city. It is among the most visited art museums in the world and one of the largest for modern and contemporary art.


Overview.

Adolf Anderssen was one of the strongest players of his time, and many consider him to have been the world's strongest player after his victory in the London 1851 chess tournament. Lionel Kieseritzky lived in France much of his life, where he gave chess lessons, and played games for five francs an hour at the Café de la Régence in Paris. His strength was shown most favourably when giving great odds to weak players; against masters, he was less convincing.  Played between the two great players in London, the Immortal Game was an informal one, played during a break in a formal tournament. Kieseritzky was very impressed when the game was over, and telegraphed the moves of the game to his Parisian chess club. The French chess magazine "La Régence" published the game in July 1851. This game was nicknamed "The Immortal Game" in 1855 by the Austrian Ernst Falkbeer.  This game is acclaimed as an exemplar of the romantic style of chess play in the 19th century, where rapid and attack were considered the most effective way to win, where many gambits and counter-gambits were offered (and not accepting them would be considered slightly ungentlemanly), and where was often held in contempt. These games, with their rapid attacks and counter-attacks, are often entertaining to review, even if some of the moves would no longer be considered optimal by modern standards.  In this game, Anderssen won despite sacrificing a bishop (on move 11), both rooks (starting on move 18), and the queen (on move 22) to produce checkmate against Kieseritzky, who only lost three pawns. He offered both rooks to show that two active pieces are worth a dozen inactive pieces. Anderssen later demonstrated the same kind of approach in the Evergreen Game.  Some published versions of the game have errors, as described in the annotations.

Annotated game.

White: Adolf Anderssen Black: Lionel Kieseritzky Opening: Bishop's Gambit ("ECO" C33)  1. e4 e5 2. f4  2... exf4 3. Bc4  3... Qh4+ 4. Kf1 b5 (see diagram)  5. Bxb5 Nf6 6. Nf3  6... Qh6 7. d3  7... Nh5  8. Nh4 Qg5  9. Nf5 c6  10. g4 Nf6 11. Rg1 (see diagram)  11... cxb5?  12. h4!  12... Qg6 13. h5 Qg5 14. Qf3  14... Ng8  15. Bxf4 Qf6 16. Nc3 Bc5  17. Nd5  17... Qxb2 (see diagram)  18. Bd6!  18... Bxg1?  19. e5!  19... Qxa1+ 20. Ke2  20... Na6  21. Nxg7+ Kd8 22. Qf6+! (see diagram)  22... Nxf6 23. Be7#  Savielly Tartakower described this as "a beautiful game".

The Immortal Game was a chess game played by Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky on 21 June 1851 in London, during a break of the first international tournament. The bold sacrifices made by Anderssen to secure victory have made it one of the most famous chess games of all time. Anderssen gave up both rooks and a bishop, then his queen, checkmating his opponent with his three remaining. In 1996, Bill Hartston called the game an achievement "perhaps unparalleled in chess literature".


Biography.

Louise Henriëtte was born in The Hague, the eldest daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. She grew up at the court of her father, the "Stadtholder" of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel.

Marriage.

Louise Henriëtte had to abandon her love for Henri Charles de La Trémoille, Prince of Talmant, son of Henry de La Trémoille, as her mother had royal ambitions for her. However, attempts to conclude an engagement with King Charles II of England came to nothing. Finally she was forced to marry Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620-1688), "the Great Elector," at The Hague on 7 December 1646, her nineteenth birthday.  The Electorate of Brandenburg regarded this marriage as beneficial by reason of the connections with the Orange family it created in the hope of obtaining assistance for Brandenburg's struggle for influence in Pomerania.

Electress.

The couple lived in Cleves for the first years of their marriage, but they moved to Brandenburg, Frederick William's seat, in 1648. During her marriage, Luise Henriette followed her spouse and traveled between The Hague, Königsberg, Berlin and Cleves on campaigns, inspections, war and battle fields in Poland and Denmark. She acted as her husband's political adviser and was described as a pragmatist. She managed, through correspondence with the Queen of Poland, Marie Louise Gonzaga, to make an alliance with Poland in exchange for the Polish recognition of Prussia as a province of Brandenburg. It was said of her : "Few Electresses had been allowed so much influence". Luise Henriette had a new castle in Dutch style built in Bötzow in 1650-52 and called it Oranienburg, which became the name for the entire town in 1653. She was also involved in the design and development of the Lustgarten in Berlin. In 1663, she installed the first porcelain cabinet in Europe. In 1665, she founded an orphanage with places for 24 children. She was described as truly kind and gentle with a sharp intellect: her advice was vital for her spouse, and their marriage was considered a role model. During time of war, she made great efforts to soften the damages upon society.  A Protestant religious community known as the "Luise-Henrietten-Stift" in nearby Lehnin Abbey was named after her.

Children.

With Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, she had six children.  Luise Henriette died in Berlin and was buried in the Berliner Dom.

Louise Henrietta of Nassau (, ; 7 December 1627 – 18 June 1667) was a Countess of Nassau, granddaughter of William I, Prince of Orange, "William the Silent", and an Electress of Brandenburg.


Design.

The Voskhod spacecraft was, essentially, a Vostok spacecraft that had a backup solid fuel retrorocket added to the top of the descent module. The ejection seat was removed for more space and two or three crew couches were added to the interior at a 90° angle to that of the Vostok crew position. There was no provision for crew escape in the event of a launch or landing emergency.  Lack of space meant that the three crew members of Voskhod 1 did not wear space suits. Both crew members wore spacesuits on the Voskhod 2 mission, as it involved an EVA and used an inflatable airlock. This allowed cosmonaut Alexei Leonov to exit and re-enter the craft. It was needed because the vehicle's electrical and environmental systems were air-cooled, and complete capsule depressurization would lead to overheating. The airlock weighed, was in diameter, high when collapsed for launch. When extended in orbit, it was long, had an internal diameter of and an external diameter of. The second crew member wore a spacesuit as a precaution against accidental descent module depressurization. The airlock was jettisoned after use.  The lack of ejection seats meant that the Voskhod crew would return to Earth inside their spacecraft, unlike the Vostok cosmonauts who ejected and parachuted down separately. Because of this, a new landing system was developed, which added a small solid-fuel rocket to the parachute lines. It fired as the descent module neared touchdown, providing a softer landing.  A backup solid-fueled retrorocket was added to the top of the descent module in the event that the main retrorocket failed. This had not been necessary on Vostok as the orbit was low enough that the spacecraft would decay in ten days if the retrorocket failed, there being enough onboard consumables to sustain the cosmonaut that long. In any case, the Blok E equipped R-7 booster lacked sufficient lift capacity for a backup retrorocket. Since Voskhod was well below the maximum lift capacity of the larger Blok I equipped R-7, it would be put into a quite high orbit and not decay in ten days.  Voskhod utilized the 11A57 booster, essentially the Molniya 8K78L with the Blok L stage removed to create a medium-lift LEO launcher, and later the launch vehicle for the Soyuz program.  The spacecraft notably lacked any launch escape system, meaning that the crew would not survive a booster failure that occurred in the first 2.5 minutes of launch (after payload shroud jettison, the descent module could simply be detached). Although work had begun on an LES in 1962, it was not ready yet and so the engineers and cosmonauts simply had to gamble that the booster functioned properly during ascent, as by 1964, the R-7's success rate was improving but still not perfect.

Vostok 3KV (1964).

Also known as Voskhod. Adaptation of the Vostok spacecraft for three cosmonauts. This version flew twice, on 6 October 1964 uncrewed (as Kosmos 47) and on 12 October 1964 crewed as Voskhod 1.

Voskhod 3KD (1965).

This version flew twice, on 22 February 1965 uncrewed (as Kosmos 57) and on 18 March 1965 crewed as the Voskhod 2 spacecraft.

Reentry Module.

Reentry Module: Voskhod SA. Also known as: (sphere).

Equipment Module.

Equipment Module: Voskhod PA. Also known as:.

Auxiliary Retrorocket Module.

Auxiliary Retrorocket Module: Voskhod KDU. Also known as: Engine unit

The Voskhod (, ""Sunrise"") was a spacecraft built by the Soviet Union's space program for human spaceflight as part of the Voskhod programme. It was a development of and a follow-on to the Vostok spacecraft. Voskhod 1 was used for a three-man flight whereas Voskhod 2 had a crew of two. They consisted of a spherical descent module (diameter ), which housed the cosmonauts, and instruments, and a conical equipment module (mass, long, wide), which contained propellant and the engine system. Voskhod was superseded by the Soyuz spacecraft in 1967.


History.

What is commonly known today as the "Dutch method" for the preparation of white lead was described as early as Theophrastus of Eresos (ca. 300 BC), in his brief work on rocks or minerals, "On Stones" or "History of Stones." His directions for the process were repeated throughout history by many authors of chemical and alchemical literature. The uses of cerussa were described as an external medication and pigment.  Clifford Dyer Holley quotes from Theophrastus' "History of Stones" as follows, in his book "The Lead and Zinc Pigments".  Lead is placed in earthen vessels over sharp vinegar, and after it has acquired some thickness of a sort of rust, which it commonly does in about ten days, they open the vessels and scrape it off, as it were, in a sort of foulness; they then place the lead over vinegar again, repeating over and over again the same method of scraping it till it has wholly dissolved. What has been scraped off they then beat to powder and boil for a long time, and what at last subsides to the bottom of the vessel is ceruse. Later descriptions of the Dutch process involved casting metallic lead as thin buckles and corroded with acetic acid in the presence of carbon dioxide. This was done by placing them over pots with a little vinegar (which contains acetic acid). These were stacked up and covered with a mixture of decaying dung and spent tanner's bark, which supplied the CO, and left for six to fourteen weeks, by which time the blue-grey lead had corroded to white lead. The pots were then taken to a separating table where scraping and pounding removed the white lead from the buckles. The powder was then dried and packed for shipment or shipped as a paste. One benefit of the process was that it was not necessary to dry the paste of white lead, removing its water. All that needed was to mill the paste with linseed oil, and the white lead would take up the oil and reject the residual water, to give white lead in oil.

Paints.

White lead has been the principal white pigment of classical European oil painting. There have been claims that it is partly responsible for darkening of old paintings over time, reacting with trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide in the air to produce black lead sulfide. Other authorities dispute this; the most traditional view is that impermanent pigments and dirty varnish (which is often cleanable) are more likely responsible for darkening.  Paintings and the role of varnish, which might protect the white lead yet itself darken, aside—according to Michelle Facini, a paper conservator at the National Gallery of Art, lead carbonate to lead sulfide is indeed what happens to some lead chalks/paints in drawings and watercolors and other works done on paper and unvarnished. Varnish is meant to be removable from an oil painting, to strip off when it dirties or cracks; but on paper it soaks through and becomes inseparable from the paper fibers, ruinous as it ages. This is why works on paper are never, or should never, be varnished.  In any event, white lead has been mostly supplanted in artistic use by titanium white, which has much higher tinting strength than white lead. Critics argue that many of these substitutes are much less permanent. White lead is less used by today's painters, not because of its toxicity directly; but simply because its toxicity in other contexts has led to trade restrictions that make white lead difficult for artists to obtain in sufficient quantities. Winsor & Newton, the English paint company, was restricted in 2014 from selling its flake white in tubes and now must sell exclusively in tins.  In the eighteenth century, white lead paints were routinely used to repaint the hulls and floors of Royal Navy vessels, to waterproof the timbers and limit infestation by shipworm.

Other synonyms (as an art pigment).

Among the synonyms for white lead are Berlin white, Cremnitz white, Dutch white lead, flake white, Flemish white, Krems white, London white, Pigment White 1, Roman white, silver white, slate white, Vienna white, and white lead.

White lead is the basic lead carbonate, 2PbCO·Pb(OH). It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite, a hydrate of cerussite. It was formerly used as an ingredient for lead paint and a cosmetic called Venetian ceruse, because of its opacity and the satiny smooth mixture it made with dryable oils. However, it tended to cause lead poisoning, and its use has been banned in most countries.


Early life.

Lichtenfeld was born on May 26, 1910, to a Hungarians-Jewish family in Budapest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He grew up in Pressburg (Pozsony, today's Bratislava). His family moved to Bratislava, where his father, Samuel Lichtenfeld, was a chief inspector on the Bratislava police force and a former circus acrobat. Lichtenfeld trained at the Hercules Gymnasium, which was owned by his father, who taught self-defense.  Lichtenfeld was a successful boxer, wrestler, and gymnast since his youth. He competed at national and international levels and was a champion and member of the Slovak National Wrestling Team. In 1928, he won the Slovak Youth Wrestling Championship, and in 1929, the adult championship in the light and middleweight divisions. That year, he also won the national boxing championship and an international gymnastics championship.

Development of Krav Maga.

In the late 1930s, anti-Semitic riots threatened the Jewish population of Bratislava. Together with other Jewish boxers and wrestlers, Lichtenfeld helped to defend his Jewish neighborhood against racist gangs. He quickly decided that sport has little in common with real combat and began developing a system of techniques for practical self-defense in life-threatening situations.  In 1935, Lichtenfeld visited Mandatory Palestine with a team of Jewish wrestlers to participate in the Maccabiah Games but could not participate because of a broken rib that resulted from his training while en route. This led to the fundamental Krav Maga precept, 'do not get hurt' while training. Lichtenfeld returned to Czechoslovakia to face increasing anti-Semitic violence. Lichtenfeld organized a group of young Jews to protect his community. On the streets, he acquired hard won experience and the crucial understanding of the differences between sport fighting and street fighting. He developed his fundamental self-defense principle: 'use natural movements and reactions' for defense, combined with an immediate and decisive counterattack. From this evolved the refined theory of'simultaneous defense and attack' while 'never occupying two hands in the same defensive movement.'  In 1940, Lichtenfeld fled the rise of Nazism in Slovakia, heading for Palestine on the Aliyah Bet vessel, "Pencho", which shipwrecked on the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean Sea. He reached Palestine in 1942 after serving with distinction in the British supervised Free Czechoslovak Legion in North Africa. The Haganah's leaders immediately recognized Lichtenfeld's fighting prowess and ingenuity. In 1944 Lichtenfeld began training fighters in his areas of expertise: physical fitness, swimming, wrestling, use of the knife, and defenses against knife attacks. During this period, Lichtenfeld trained several elite units of the Haganah and Palmach (striking force of the Haganah and forerunner of the special units of the IDF), including the Pal-yam, as well as groups of police officers. In 1948, when the State of Israel was founded and the IDF was formed, Lichtenfeld became Chief Instructor for Physical Fitness and Krav Maga at the IDF School of Combat Fitness. He served in the IDF for about 20 years, during which time he developed and refined his unique method for self-defense and hand-to-hand combat. After he finished his active duty, Lichtenfeld began adapting and modifying Krav Maga to civilian needs.  The method was formulated to suit everyone – man and woman, boy or girl, who might need it to save his or her life or survive an attack while sustaining minimal harm, whatever the background of the attack – criminal, nationalistic, or other. To disseminate his method, Lichtenfeld established two training centers, one in Tel Aviv and the other in Netanya.

Later life.

In 1964, Lichtenfeld retired from the Israeli military. He then modified Krav Maga to fit the needs of police forces and ordinary civilians. He trained teams of Krav Maga instructors, who were accredited by him and the Israeli Ministry of Education. He also created the Israeli Krav Maga Association (IKMA) on October 22, 1978, and the International Krav Maga Federation in 1995. On January 9, 1998, Lichtenfeld died in Netanya, Israel, at the age of 87.

Emrich "Imre" Lichtenfeld () (May 26, 1910 – January 9, 1998) was a Hungarian-born Israeli martial artist who founded the Krav Maga self-defense system. He was also known as Imi Sde-Or (), the Hebrew calque of his surname.


Family.

Theodora was a daughter of the "sebastokratōr" Isaac Komnenos by his second wife, Eirene Synadene. Her father was a son of Emperor John II Komnenos and Piroska of Hungary, daughter of King Ladislaus I of Hungary.  Her paternal uncles included Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Her half-sister Maria Komnene married King Stephen IV of Hungary.

Queen consort of Jerusalem.

Baldwin III of Jerusalem had taken control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother and Regent Queen Melisende in 1153. He was unmarried, however, and around 1157 it was decided by the "Haute Cour" that a wife should be sought from the Byzantine Empire, the kingdom's most powerful and wealthy neighbour. A Byzantine alliance would hopefully also bring much-needed money and military assistance against Nūr al-Dīn, sultan of Syria and Jerusalem's greatest enemy.  Attard, archbishop of Nazareth, Humphrey II of Toron, constable of Jerusalem, Joscelin Piscellus, and William de Barris were sent to Constantinople to negotiate a marriage for the king (Attard died while on the mission). The ambassadors were delayed in Constantinople for almost an entire year but it was finally decided that Theodora would be chosen as Baldwin's wife. She was at the time only 12 or 13 years old, but was already renowned for her beauty. Her dowry was worth 100,000 hyperpyra, and William of Tyre estimated that her extravagant wedding clothes cost another 14,000 hyperpyra. As a dower from Baldwin, Theodora was granted the city of Acre, which she would hold as her own should Baldwin die childless.  The ambassadors arrived in Jerusalem with Theodora in September 1158. Aimery of Limoges, the patriarch of Antioch, performed the marriage, as the patriarch of Jerusalem had not yet been consecrated. Baldwin was previously known for his frivolous lifestyle, but now became a devoted and loyal husband. The marriage was short and childless: Baldwin died only a few years later in 1162, leaving Theodora a widow at the age of about 17. Theodora received the city of Acre, as promised.

Relationship with Andronikos I Komnenos.

A few years later in 1166, Theodora's kinsman Andronikos, a first cousin of her father, visited the kingdom and was named lord of Beirut by Baldwin's brother and successor Amalric I. Andronikos invited Theodora to Beirut, and the two eloped to Damascus, or as William says, Andronikos abducted her in collusion with Nūr al-Dīn. It was likely not an abduction; Andronikos was already married, and had already had an affair with Philippa, a sister of Prince Bohemund III of Antioch and of Manuel's wife Maria of Antioch, and he was likely trying to escape persecution by Manuel, who did not approve of these incestuous affairs. As there was no legal marriage, Acre was returned to King Amalric. Amalric had also married a Byzantine princess, Maria Komnene, and the imperial alliance remained intact.  At the court of Nūr al-Dīn in Damascus, Andronikos and Theodora had two children together, Alexios and Eirene, although Andronikos was inevitably excommunicated. They also travelled to Baghdad, and then to the Sultanate of Rum where Andronikos was made lord of a castle in Paphlagonia.  Some years later Theodora and her children were captured and handed over to the emperor Manuel, who kept them in Constantinople as a bait to encourage Andronikos to return to his Byzantine allegiance. He did in fact capitulate and visited Constantinople in 1180 to submit to Manuel.  When he finally returned to Constantinople in 1182, becoming emperor in 1183, there is no evidence that Theodora went back to live with him. It was at this time, however, that their daughter Eirene married Alexios Komnenos, an illegitimate son of Emperor Manuel I by of Theodora Vatatzina. At this time, too, Theodora interceded with Andronikos to pay the ransom for her nephew, Isaac, a former Byzantine governor of Isauria now a captive in Armenia; Andronikos afterwards regretted doing so, since Isaac rebelled and seized control of Cyprus.  K. Varzos suggests that Theodora Komnene and Theodora Vatatzina eventually conspired against Andronikos, but there seems to be no positive evidence of this. Her later history is not known.

Namesakes.

Another Theodora Komnene was the wife of Prince Bohemund III of Antioch and sister of Queen Maria Komnene of Jerusalem. A third Theodora Komnene was the wife of Duke Henry II of Austria and mother of Duke Leopold V of Austria.

Sources.

Theodora Komnene or Comnena ( ) (born ) was a niece of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus, and wife of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem.


Personal life.

Zöggeler was born in Meran, South Tyrol, into a farming family. A Carabiniere by profession, he began to luge at a very young age, over natural tracks. He won the junior World Cup when he was 14, and made his debut with the Italian national team at the age of 19. He also took three medals at the Junior World Championships: a silver in 1992 followed by two golds in 1993 and 1994. Despite a lack of tracks in Italy until the construction of the Cesana Pariol track for the 2006 Winter Olympics, he evolved into one of the most effective lugers ever.  Zöggeler lives in the town of Lana, in South Tyrol. He got married on 12 May 2007, and had two children, Nina and Thomas. During times when he is not training, Zöggeler enjoys swimming, field hockey, and collecting and watching television dramas. He is the uncle of fellow luger Sandra Robatscher.

Achievements.

At the Winter Olympics, Zöggeler has won six medals in the same individual competition in six consecutive Olympics, the first to do so; including two golds (2002, 2006), one silver (1998), and three bronze (1994, 2010, 2014).  He has sixteen medals at the FIL World Luge Championships, including six golds (Men's singles: 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2011), five silvers (Men's singles: 2000, 2007, 2009; Mixed team: 1995, 2007), and five bronzes (Mixed team: 1996, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2012).  At the FIL European Luge Championships, Zöggeler has earned eighteen medals. This includes four golds (Men's singles: 2004, 2008 and 2014; Mixed team: 1994), six silvers (Men's singles: 2006, 2012; Mixed team: 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2013), and eight bronzes (Men's singles: 1994, 2000, 2002; Mixed team: 1996, 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2014).  He won the overall Luge World Cup in men's singles ten times (1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11). This is another record together with Markus Prock.  Zöggeler's 57 individual wins in the World Cup (), he is first of all time, beating the previous record of 33 wins by both German Georg Hackl and Austrian Markus Prock. He also took 26 seconds and 20 thirds in World Cup races.  He also won 20 Italian national championship titles between 1993 and 2013.  Zöggeler was made a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2010.  In March 2018 a 37-minute documentary film "Armin Zöggeler: La leggenda dello slittino" ("Armin Zöggeler: the Legend of Luge") was exhibited and made available for loan free of charge in Bolzano, with Zöggeler meeting members of the audience after the screening.

Sports career.

Zöggeler carried the Italian flag at the closing ceremonies of the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics.  For the 2010 Winter Olympics, Zöggeler was given the opportunity to carry the flag for Italy at the opening ceremony, but he declined because the first two runs of the Olympic luge competition were scheduled at the Whistler Sliding Centre for the following evening. The honour instead went to cross-country skier Giorgio Di Centa.  He carried the flag for the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.  On 9 February 2014, Zöggeler became the first person in history to win six medals in the same individual competition in six consecutive Olympics, by winning a bronze. Other athletes who won medals in six consecutive Olympics did not do so in the same individual competition: Aladár Gerevich, a fencer from Hungary, won six gold medals between 1932 and 1960 with the Hungarian team; Elisabeta Lipă, a rower from Romania, won her medals between 1984 and 2004 in different disciplines (single scull, double scull, quadruple scull and eight).  In October 2014, Zöggeler announced his retirement from competition, taking up a post as head of materials research and development for the Italian luge team, working with the Italian National Olympic Committee, the Italian Winter Sports Federation and Ferrari. He joined the Italian National Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission in 2016.

Armin Zöggeler OMRI (born 4 January 1974) is a retired Italian luger and double Olympic champion. He is one of the most successful men in the sport, nicknamed "Il Cannibale" ("The Cannibal"), for his notable series of victories, or "The Iceblood Champion", for his always cold, rational approach to the races. Fellow luger Tucker West described Zöggeler as the sport's equivalent of Michael Jordan.


Implementation.

SLI allows two, three, or four graphics processing units (GPUs) to share the workload when rendering real-time 3D computer graphics. Ideally, identical GPUs are installed on the motherboard that contains enough PCI Express slots, set up in a master–slave configuration. All graphics cards are given an equal workload to render, but the final output of each card is sent to the master card via a connector called the SLI Bridge. For example, in a two graphics card setup, the master works on the top half of the scene, the slave the bottom half. Once the slave is done, it sends its render to the master to combine into one image before sending it to the monitor.  The SLI bridge is used to reduce bandwidth constraints and send data between both graphics cards directly. It is possible to run SLI without using the bridge connector on a pair of "low-end to mid-range" graphics cards (e.g. 7100GS or 6600GT) with Nvidia's Forceware drivers 80.XX or later. Since these graphics cards do not use as much bandwidth, data can be relayed through just the chipsets on the motherboard. However, if there are two "high-end" graphics cards installed and the SLI bridge is omitted, the performance will suffer severely, as the chipset does not have enough bandwidth.  Configurations currently include: Nvidia has created a set of custom video game profiles in cooperation with video game publishers that will automatically enable SLI in the mode that gives the largest performance boost.  Nvidia has 3 types of SLI bridges: The Standard Bridge is traditionally included with motherboards that support SLI and is recommended for monitors up to 1920×1080 and 2560×1440@60 Hz. The LED Bridge is sold by Nvidia, EVGA, and others and is recommended for monitors up to 2560×1440@120 Hz+ and 4K. The LED Bridges can only function at the increased Pixel Clock if the GPU supports that clock. The High-Bandwidth Bridge is only sold by Nvidia and is recommended for monitors up to 5K and Surround.  The following table provides an overview on the maximum theoretical bandwidth for data transfers depending on bridge type specifications as found on the open market:

SLI Modes.

Split Frame Rendering (SFR).

This analyzes the rendered image in order to split the workload equally between the two GPUs. To do this, the frame is split horizontally in varying ratios depending on geometry. For example, in a scene where the top half of the frame is mostly empty sky, the dividing line will lower, balancing geometry workload between the two GPUs.

Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR).

Each GPU renders entire frames in sequence. For example, in a Two-Way setup, one GPU renders the odd frames, the other the even frames, one after the other. Finished outputs are sent to the master for display. Ideally, this would result in the rendering time being cut by the number of GPUs available. In their advertising, Nvidia claims up to 1.9x the performance of one card with the Two-Way setup. While AFR may produce higher overall framerates than SFR, it also exhibits the temporal artifact known as Micro stuttering, which may affect frame rate perception. It is noteworthy that while the frequency at which frames arrive may be doubled, the time to produce the frame is not reduced - which means that AFR is not a viable method of reducing input lag.

SLI Antialiasing.

This is a standalone rendering mode that offers up to double the antialiasing performance by splitting the antialiasing workload between the two graphics cards, offering superior image quality. One GPU performs an antialiasing pattern which is slightly offset to the usual pattern (for example, slightly up and to the right), and the second GPU uses a pattern offset by an equal amount in the opposite direction (down and to the left). Compositing both the results gives higher image quality than is normally possible. This mode is not intended for higher frame rates, and can actually lower performance, but is instead intended for games which are not GPU-bound, offering a clearer image in place of better performance. When enabled, SLI Antialiasing offers advanced antialiasing options: SLI 8X, SLI 16X, and SLI 32x (for Quad SLI systems only).

Hybrid SLI.

Hybrid SLI is the generic name for two technologies, GeForce Boost and HybridPower.  GeForce Boost allowed the rendering power of an IGP and a discrete GPU to be combined in order to increase performance.  HybridPower, on the other hand, is another mode that is not for performance enhancement. The setup consists of an IGP as well as a GPU on MXM module. The IGP would assist the GPU to boost performance when the laptop is plugged to a power socket while the MXM module would be shut down when the laptop was unplugged from power socket to lower overall graphics power consumption. Hybrid SLI is also available on desktop Motherboards and PCs with PCI-E discrete video cards. NVIDIA claims that twice the performance can be achieved with a Hybrid SLI capable IGP motherboard and a GeForce 8400 GS video card.  HybridPower was later renamed as Nvidia Optimus.

SLI HB.

In May 2016 Nvidia announced that the GeForce 10 series would feature a new SLI HB (High Bandwidth) bridge; this bridge uses 2 SLI fingers on the PCB of each card and essentially doubles the available bandwidth between them. Currently, only GeForce 10 series cards support SLI HB and only 2-way SLI is supported over this bridge for single-GPU cards. SLI HB interface runs at 650 MHz, while legacy SLI interface runs at slower 400 MHz.  Electrically there is little difference between the regular SLI bridge and the SLI HB bridge. It is similar to two regular bridges combined in one PCB. The signal quality of the bridge improved, however, as the SLI HB bridge has an adjusted trace-length to make sure all traces on the bridge have exactly the same length.  A PC gaming magazine has done research with x-rays for comparing SLI bridges with their SLI HB successors and found adjusted signal lengths by planned Meandering of certain wires so that clock rates can go up from 400 MHz to 650 MHz and thus the data rates along with that. With the increased bus width a noticeable bandwidth increase should be expected. Tests with a GTX 1080 GPU-board model showed that the improvements in gaming performance is quite marginal. Other than that it got found that LED illuminated bridges (often back-side-illuminating some logo) will mainly result in a noticeable increased market price at a comparable base functionality.

Scalable Link Interface (SLI) is a brand name for a multi-GPU technology developed by Nvidia for linking two or more video cards together to produce a single output. SLI is a parallel processing algorithm for computer graphics, meant to increase the available processing power.


Biography.

Carulli was born to an affluent, upper-class family in Naples. His father, Michele, was a distinguished literator, secretary to the delegate of the Neapolitan Jurisdiction. Like many of his contemporaries, he was taught musical theory by a priest, who was also an amateur musician. Carulli's first instrument was the cello, but when he was twenty he discovered the guitar and devoted his life to the study and advancement of the guitar. As there were no professional guitar teachers in Naples at the time, Carulli developed his own style of playing.  Carulli was a gifted performer. His concerts in Naples were so popular that he soon began touring Europe. Around 1801 Carulli married a French woman, Marie-Josephine Boyer, and had a son with her. A few years later Carulli started to compose in Milan, where he contributed to local publications. After a highly successful Paris tour, Carulli moved there. At the time the city was known as the'music-capital' of the world, and he stayed there for the rest of his life.  Carulli became highly successful as a guitar teacher in Paris. It was also here that the majority of his works were published. Later in his life he became a self-publisher and, in addition to his own music, published the works of other prominent guitarists including Filippo Gragnani whom he befriended and who later dedicated three guitar duets to Carulli.  Carulli also began to experiment with instrument making toward the end of his life and, in collaboration with the Parisian luthier René Lacôte, developed a 10-string instrument, the "Decacorde".  Carulli died in Paris on 17 February 1841, eight days after his 71st birthday.

Music/style.

Carulli was among the most prolific composers of his time. He wrote more than four hundred works for the guitar, and countless others for various instrumental combinations, always including the guitar. His most influential work, the "Method, op. 27", published in 1810, contains pieces still widely used today in training students of the classical guitar. Along with numerous works for two guitars, works for guitar with violin or flute, and three concertos for guitar with chamber orchestra, Carulli also composed several works for guitar and piano (in collaboration with his son, Gustavo).  Many of the pieces now regarded as Carulli's finest were initially turned down by publishers who considered them too difficult for the average recreational guitarist. It is likely that many of his best works remained unpublished and are now lost. Nevertheless, several of Carulli's published works point at the likely quality and sophistication of his concert music, the "Six Andantes Op. 320" (dedicated to the guitarist Matteo Carcassi) being a good example. The great majority of Carulli's surviving works, however, were those considered marketable enough by mainstream Parisian publishers aiming at an amateur recreational market.  In addition to his highly successful "Methode Op. 27" (which went through four editions during his lifetime and a major revision, as Op. 241), Carulli also published several supplements to the method, along with a method without explanatory text ("L'Anti Methode Op. 272"), a method for the decacorde, a harmony treatise, a treatise dealing with guitar accompaniment of the voice, and several collections of vocalises and solfèges. The latter studies were intended to exploit the guitar’s accompanying capabilities, and to be used by both singer-guitarists amateurs, and voice teachers who were not proficient figured bass readers.  Classical guitarists have recorded many of his works. Arguably his most famous work is a duet for guitar and flute, which was recorded by Alexander Lagoya and Jean-Pierre Rampal, although his Duo in G Op.34 achieved a measure of indirect fame in Britain as the theme tune of cult 1980s science fiction/television game show "The Adventure Game". The Duo in G has been recorded several times, most famously by Julian Bream and John Williams.

Instruments used by Carulli.

Among the guitars used by Carulli, one finds

Ferdinando Maria Meinrado Francesco Pascale Rosario Carulli (9 February 1770 – 17 February 1841) was an Italian composer for classical guitar and the author of the influential "Méthode complète pour guitare ou lyre", op. 27 (1810), which contains music still used by student guitarists today. He wrote a variety of works for classical guitar, including numerous solo and chamber works and several concertos. He was an extremely prolific writer, composing over 400 works for the instrument.


Structure of solutions.

When one pair of Bézout coefficients has been computed (e.g., using extended Euclidean algorithm), all pairs can be represented in the form  where is an arbitrary integer and the fractions simplify to integers.  Among these pairs of Bézout coefficients, exactly two of them satisfy and equality may occur only if one of and divides the other.  This relies on a property of Euclidean division: given two integers "c" and "d", if "d" does not divide "c", there is exactly one pair such that and, and another one such that and.  The two pairs of small Bézout's coefficients are obtained from the given one by choosing for in the above formula either of the two integers next to formula_5.  The Extended Euclidean algorithm always produces one of these two minimal pairs.

Example.

Let "a" = 12 and "b" = 42, gcd (12, 42) = 6. Then we have the following Bézout's identities, with the Bézout coefficients written in red for the minimal pairs and in blue for the other ones.  If is the original pair of Bézout coefficients, then formula_7 yields the minimal pairs via resp. : and.

Proof.

Given any nonzero integers and, let formula_8 The set is nonempty since it contains either or (with and ). Since is a nonempty set of positive integers, it has a minimum element formula_9, by the Well-ordering principle. To prove that is the greatest common divisor of and, we must prove that is a common divisor of and, and that for any other common divisor, one has.  The Euclidean division of by may be written The remainder is in formula_11, because Thus is of the form formula_13, and hence formula_14. However,, and is the smallest positive integer in : the remainder can therefore not be in, making necessarily 0. This implies that is a divisor of. Similarly is also a divisor of, and is a common divisor of and.  Now, let be any common divisor of and ; that is, there exist and such that That is is a divisor of, and, therefore

Generalizations.

For three or more integers.

Bézout's identity can be extended to more than two integers: if  then there are integers formula_17 such that  has the following properties:

For polynomials.

Bézout's identity works for univariate polynomials over a field exactly in the same ways as for integers. In particular the Bézout's coefficients and the greatest common divisor may be computed with the extended Euclidean algorithm.  As the common roots of two polynomials are the roots of their greatest common divisor, Bézout's identity and fundamental theorem of algebra imply the following result:  The generalization of this result to any number of polynomials and indeterminates is Hilbert's Nullstellensatz.

For principal ideal domains.

As noted in the introduction, Bézout's identity works not only in the ring of integers, but also in any other principal ideal domain (PID). That is, if "R" is a PID, and "a" and "b" are elements of "R", and "d" is a greatest common divisor of "a" and "b", then there are elements "x" and "y" in "R" such that "ax" + "by" = "d". The reason is that the ideal "Ra"+"Rb" is principal and equal to "Rd".  An integral domain in which Bézout's identity holds is called a Bézout domain.

History.

French mathematician Étienne Bézout (1730–1783) proved this identity for polynomials. However, this statement for integers can be found already in the work of another French mathematician, Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac (1581–1638).

In elementary number theory, Bézout's identity (also called Bézout's lemma) is the following theorem: The integers "x" and "y" are called Bézout coefficients for ("a", "b"); they are not unique. A pair of Bézout coefficients can be computed by the extended Euclidean algorithm. If both "a" and "b" are nonzero, the extended Euclidean algorithm produces one of the two pairs such that formula_1 and formula_2 (equality may occur only if one of "a" and "b" is a multiple of the other).


History.

With the rise of Hitler and his demands for unification of German minorities, including the Sudeten Germans, and return of other claimed territories—Sudetenland—the alarmed Czechoslovak leadership began defensive plans. While some basic defensive structures were built early on, it was not until after conferences with French military on their design that a full scale effort began.  A change in the design philosophy was noticeable in the "pillboxes" and larger blockhouses similar to the French Maginot line when the massive construction program began in 1936. The original plan was to have the first stage of construction finished in 1941–1942, whilst the full system should have been completed by the early 1950s.  Construction was very rapid, and by the time of the Munich Agreement in September 1938, there were completed in total 264 heavy blockhouses (small forts or elements of strongholds) and 10,014 light pillboxes, which means about 20 percent of the heavy objects and 70 percent of the light objects. Moreover, many other objects were near completion and would have been functional at least as shelters despite missing certain heavy armaments in some structures.  After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia border regions as a result of the Sudeten Crisis, the Germans used these objects to test and develop new weapons and tactics, plan, and practise the attacks eventually used against the Maginot Line and Belgium's forts, resulting in astounding success. After the fall of Belgium, France and the Low Countries, the Germans began to dismantle the "Beneš Wall", blowing up the cupolas, or removing them and the embrasures, some of which were eventually installed in the Atlantic Wall.  Later in the war, with the Soviet forces to the east collapsing the German front, the Germans hurriedly repaired what they could of the fortifications, often just bricking up the holes where the embrasures once were, leaving a small hole for a machine gun. The east–west portion of the line that ran from Ostrava to Opava which is a river valley with a steep rise to the south, became the scene of intense fighting. It is unknown how vital those fortifications were to German defense, but after hurried patching of some buildings leaving holes for machine-gun nests they were used against the Soviet advance from 17 to 26 April 1945.  During World War II the Germans had removed many armored parts like domes, cupolas and embrasures from the majority of the objects. Some objects became subjects of German penetration shells or explosives testing and are heavily damaged. In the post-war period, many of the remaining armoured parts were scrapped as a result of a loss of their strategic value and general drive for steel.  After the war they were further stripped of useful materials, and then sealed. A couple of the large underground structures continued to be used long after as military hardware storage, and some still are to this day, by the once again independent Czech Army.

Design.

The basic philosophy of the design was a mutual defensive line, that is, most of the firepower was directed laterally from the approaching enemy. The facing wall of all the fortifications, large and small, was the thickest, covered with boulders and debris, and covered again with soil so even the largest caliber shells would have lost most of their energy before reaching the concrete. The only frontal armament was machine gun ports in cupolas designed for observation and anti-infantry purposes. Any enemy units that tried to go between the blockhouses would have been stopped by anti-tank, anti-infantry barricades, machine gun and cannon fire. A few of the larger blockhouses, or artillery forts, had indirect fire mortars and heavy cannon mounts. Behind the major structures were two rows of smaller four-to-seven-man pillboxes that mirrored their larger relatives, with a well protected front and lateral cross fire to stop any enemy that managed to get on top of the fort, or come up from behind. Most of the lines consisted of just the smaller pillboxes.  The "light objects" were simple hollow boxes with one or two machine gun positions, a retractable observation periscope, grenade tubes, hand-operated air blower, and a solid inner door at 90 degrees to a steel bar outer door. The machine gun was mounted near the end of the barrel, so that the port hole was only large enough for the bullets and a scope to see through, unlike most other designs where a large opening is used. A heavy steel plate could be slid down to quickly close the tiny hole for added protection.  The "heavy objects" were infantry blockhouses very similar to the southern part of the Maginot Line, but with substantial improvements. Just like the pillboxes, the cannons and machine guns were pivoted at the tip, and this time fully enclosed, protecting the occupants from all but the heaviest of cannons. The fortresses had a full ventilation system with filtration so even chemical attacks would not affect the defenders. Besides grid power, a two-cylinder diesel engine provided internal power. These fortifications also had full toilet and wash basin amenities, a luxury compared to its French counterpart casemates – however, these facilities were designed to be used only during the combat. While largely hollow with a few concrete walls as part of the structure, each chamber was further divided into smaller rooms by simple brick and mortar walls, with a last gap at the ceiling filled with tarred cork, since construction of a few of the casemates stopped before the internal walls were finished.

Current state.

Today almost all of the remaining light objects are freely accessible. Some of the heavy objects are also accessible, others may be rented or sold to enthusiasts. A certain number were turned into museums and very few into depots. The "Hanička" Artillery Fort was being rebuilt into a modern shelter for the Ministry of Interior between 1979 and 1993, but declared unneeded in 1995. A museum has been created here.  Many of the open museums are located between Ostrava and Opava, close to the present Polish border which had been the German border before World War II. Of the eight artillery forts that were either completed or under construction by September 1938, six now function as museums while two are still used by the military.

Czechoslovakia built a system of border fortifications as well as some fortified defensive lines inland, from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against the rising threat of Nazi Germany. The objective of the fortifications was to prevent the taking of key areas by an enemy—not only Germany but also Hungary and Poland—by means of a sudden attack before the mobilization of the Czechoslovak Army could be completed, and to enable effective defense until allies—Britain and France, and possibly the Soviet Union—could help.


Classical bulges.

Bulges that have properties similar to those of elliptical galaxies are often called "classical bulges" due to their similarity to the historic view of bulges. These bulges are composed primarily of stars that are older, Population II stars, and hence have a reddish hue (see stellar evolution). These stars are also in orbits that are essentially random compared to the plane of the galaxy, giving the bulge a distinct spherical form. Due to the lack of dust and gases, bulges tend to have almost no star formation. The distribution of light is described by a Sersic profile.  Classical bulges are thought to be the result of collisions of smaller structures. Convulsing gravitational forces and torques disrupt the orbital paths of stars, resulting in the randomised bulge orbits. If either progenitor galaxy was gas-rich, the tidal forces can also cause inflows to the newly merged galaxy nucleus. Following a major merger, gas clouds are more likely to convert into stars, due to shocks (see star formation). One study has suggested that about 80% of galaxies in the field lack a classical bulge, indicating that they have never experienced a major merger. The bulgeless galaxy fraction of the Universe has remained roughly constant for at least the last 8 billion years. In contrast, about two thirds of galaxies in dense galaxy clusters (such as the Virgo Cluster) do possess a classical bulge, demonstrating the disruptive effect of their crowding.

Disk-like bulges.

Many bulges have properties more similar to those of the central regions of spiral galaxies than elliptical galaxies. They are often referred to as "pseudobulges" or "disky-bulges." These bulges have stars that are not orbiting randomly, but rather orbit in an ordered fashion in the same plane as the stars in the outer disk. This contrasts greatly with elliptical galaxies.  Subsequent studies (using the Hubble Space Telescope) show that the bulges of many galaxies are not devoid of dust, but rather show a varied and complex structure. This structure often looks similar to a spiral galaxy, but is much smaller. Giant spiral galaxies are typically 2–100 times the size of those spirals that exist in bulges. Where they exist, these central spirals dominate the light of the bulge in which they reside. Typically the rate at which new stars are formed in pseudobulges is similar to the rate at which stars form in disk galaxies. Sometimes bulges contain nuclear rings that are forming stars at much higher rate (per area) than is typically found in outer disks, as shown in NGC 4314 (see photo).  Properties such as spiral structure and young stars suggest that some bulges did not form through the same process that made elliptical galaxies and classical bulges. Yet the theories for the formation of pseudobulges are less certain than those for classical bulges. Pseudobulges may be the result of extremely gas-rich mergers that happened more recently than those mergers that formed classical bulges (within the last 5 billion years). However, it is difficult for disks to survive the merging process, casting doubt on this scenario.  Many astronomers suggest that bulges that appear similar to disks form outside of the disk, and are not the product of a merging process. When left alone, disk galaxies can rearrange their stars and gas (as a response to instabilities). The products of this process (called secular evolution) are often observed in such galaxies; both spiral disks and galactic bars can result from secular evolution of galaxy disks. Secular evolution is also expected to send gas and stars to the center of a galaxy. If this happens that would increase the density at the center of the galaxy, and thus make a bulge that has properties similar to those of disk galaxies.  If secular evolution, or the slow, steady evolution of a galaxy, is responsible for the formation of a significant number of bulges, then that many galaxies have not experienced a merger since the formation of their disk. This would then mean that current theories of galaxy formation and evolution greatly over-predict the number of mergers in the past few billion years.

Central compact mass.

Most bulges and pseudo-bulges are thought to host a central relativistic compact mass, which is traditionally assumed to be a supermassive black hole. Such black holes by definition can not be observed directly (light cannot escape them), but various pieces of evidence suggest their existence, both in the bulges of spiral galaxies and in the centers of ellipticals. The masses of the black holes correlate tightly with bulge properties. The M–sigma relation relates black hole mass to the velocity dispersion of bulge stars, while other correlations involve the total stellar mass or luminosity of the bulge the central concentration of stars in the bulge, the richness of the globular cluster system orbiting in the galaxy's far outskirts, and the winding angle of the spiral arms.  Until recently it was thought that one could not have a supermassive black hole without a surrounding bulge. Galaxies hosting supermassive black holes without accompanying bulges have now been observed. The implication is that the bulge environment is not strictly essential to the initial seeding and growth of massive black holes.

The McLaren F1 is a sports car designed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Cars, and powered by the BMW S70/2 V12 engine. Originally a concept conceived by Gordon Murray, he convinced Ron Dennis to back the project and engaged Peter Stevens to design the exterior and interior of the car. On 31 March 1998, the XP5 prototype with a modified rev limiter set the Guinness World Record for the world's fastest production car, reaching, surpassing the modified Jaguar XJ220's record from 1992.