Early life and career.

Pichegru was born in a peasant family at Arbois (or, according to Charles Nodier, at Les Planches-près-Arbois, near Lons-le-Saulnier), in the then Franche-Comté (now in the Jura department of France). The friars of Arbois were entrusted with his education, and sent him to the military school of Brienne-le-Château. There, he taught mathematics, and among his pupils was the young Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1783, he entered the 1st regiment of artillery, where he rapidly rose to the rank of adjutant-second lieutenant, and briefly served in the American Revolutionary War.  When the Revolution erupted in 1789, he became leader of the Jacobin Club in Besançon, and, when a regiment of volunteers of the départment of the Gard marched through the city, he was elected lieutenant colonel.

Rhine front.

The fine condition of his regiment was noticed in the French Revolutionary Army section of the Rhine, and his organizing ability got him appointed in the headquarters, and then promoted "général de brigade".  In 1793, Lazare Carnot and Louis de Saint-Just were sent to find "roturier" (non-aristocratic) generals who could prove successful ("see: Campaigns of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars"). Carnot discovered Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, and Saint-Just discovered Louis Lazare Hoche and Pichegru. At first, Pichegru was appointed "général de division" and commander of the "Division of the Upper Rhine".  Appointed commander-in-chief of the Army of the Rhine, Pichegru attacked the Coalition army of Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser in the Battle of Haguenau in 1793. Over a period of weeks the Coalition Forces were driven back step by step in bitter fighting. The intervention of the Army of the Moselle under Hoche at the Battle of Froeschwiller in late December finally caused Wurmser to abandon Alsace. For the Second Battle of Wissembourg, Pichegru was placed under the command of Hoche, who proved to be a difficult superior. Nevertheless, the French again won the battle, compelling Wurmser to retreat to the east bank of the Rhine and the Prussian army to withdraw toward Mainz.

Northern front.

In December 1793, Hoche was arrested, probably owing to his colleague's denunciations, and Pichegru became commander-in-chief of the Army of the Rhine and Moselle. He was summoned to succeed Jourdan in the Army of the North in February 1794, subsequently fighting three major campaigns within the year. The forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and Habsburg Austria held a strong position along the Sambre to the North Sea.  After attempting to break the Austrian centre, Pichegru suddenly turned their right, and defeated the Count of Clerfayt at Cassel, Menin and Courtrai, while his subordinate, Joseph Souham, defeated Prince Josias of Coburg in the battle of Tourcoing in May 1794. After a lull, during which Pichegru feigned a siege of Ypres, he again attacked Clerfayt, and defeated him at Roeselare and Hooglede, while Jourdan, commanding the newly named Army of Sambre-et-Meuse, withstood Austrian attacks in the battle of Fleurus (27 June 1794), which eventually led to Allied evacuation of the Low Countries. Pichegru began his second campaign by crossing the Meuse on 18 October, and, after taking Nijmegen, drove the Austrians beyond the Rhine. The Anglo-Hanoverian army withdrew behind the Waal. Then, while Pichegru's troops prepared to go into winter quarters, the Convention ordered the Army of the North to mount a winter campaign. On 27 December two brigades crossed the Meuse on the ice, and stormed the Bommelerwaard. On 10 January Pichegru's army crossed the ice of the Waal between Zaltbommel and Nijmegen, then, on 13 January, entered Utrecht, which surrendered on the 16th. The Anglo-Hanoverian army retreated behind the IJssel and then withdrew to Hanover and Bremen. Pichegru, who had successfully penetrated the frozen Hollandic Water Line, arrived in Amsterdam on 20 January, after the Batavian Revolution had taken place. The French occupied the rest of the Dutch Republic in the next month.  This major victory was marked by unique episodes, such as the Capture of the Dutch fleet at Den Helder by French hussars, and exceptional discipline of the French battalions in Amsterdam, who, although faced with the opportunity of plundering the richest city in Europe, showed self-restraint.

Thermidor and Directory.

Although a former associate of Saint-Just, Pichegru offered his services to the Thermidorian Reaction, and, after having received the title of "Sauveur de la Patrie" ("Saviour of the Fatherland") from the National Convention, subdued the sans-culottes of Paris, when they rose in insurrection against the Convention on 12 Germinal (1 April).  Pichegru then took command of the armies of the North, the Sambre-and-Meuse, and the Rhine, and, crossing the Rhine in force, took Mannheim in May 1795.

Going over to the Royalists.

Although he had become a hero of the Revolution, he allowed his colleague Jourdan to be defeated, betrayed all his plans to the enemy, and took part in organizing a conspiracy for the return and crowning of Louis XVIII as King of France. The plans were suspected, and, when he offered his resignation to the Directory in October 1795, it was promptly accepted (much to his surprise). He retired in disgrace, but secured his election to the Council of Five Hundred in May 1797 as a leader of the Royalists.

Coup attempts and death.

Pichegru planned a "coup d'état" during the "Coup of 18 Fructidor", but he was arrested and with fourteen others was deported to Cayenne, French Guiana in 1797. He and seven others escaped and fled to Paramaribo. The gouverneur De Friderici allowed them to get on board a ship to the United States. Shortly thereafter, he went to London where he joined thousands of Frenchmen who had left France in a mass movement in an effort to save themselves from the violence of the French Revolution. There, he served on General Aleksandr Rimsky-Korsakov's staff in the campaign of 1799. He went to Paris in August 1803 with Georges Cadoudal to head a royalist uprising against the First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. Betrayed by a friend, Pichegru was arrested on 28 February 1804, and was later found strangled in prison on the morning of April 6. The government reported that he had committed suicide, but Napoleon has been regularly blamed for orchestrating the murder. However, there is little evidence that Napoleon was involved. His supporters often argue that Napoleon had nothing to gain from having Pichegru murdered, especially after the execution of d'Enghein, which infuriated the royalty across Europe.  Pichegru was buried in the "cimetière Sainte-Catherine", a Paris cemetery with its entrance in the former "rue de Fer", and which was closed in 1824.

Jean-Charles Pichegru (16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a distinguished French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to his loss of power and imprisonment in Cayenne, French Guiana during the Coup of 18 Fructidor in 1797. After escaping into exile in London and joining the staff of Alexander Korsakov, he returned to France and planned the Pichegru Conspiracy to remove Napoleon from power, which led to his arrest and death. Despite his defection, his surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 3.


Ancestry and family.

Herodes Atticus was a Greek of Athenian descent. His ancestry could be traced to the Athenian noblewoman Elpinice, a half-sister of the statesman Cimon and daughter of Miltiades. He claimed lineage from a series of mythic Greek kings: Theseus, Cecrops, and Aeacus, as well as the god Zeus. He had an ancestor four generations removed from him called Polycharmus, who may have been the Archon of Athens of that name from 9/8 BC–22/23. His family bore the Roman family name Claudius. There is a possibility that a paternal ancestor of his received Roman citizenship from an unknown member of the Claudian gens.  Herodes Atticus was born to a distinguished and very rich family of consular rank. His parents were a Roman Senator of Greek descent, Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes, and the wealthy heiress Vibullia Alcia Agrippina. He had a brother named Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodianus and a sister named Claudia Tisamenis. His maternal grandparents were Claudia Alcia and Lucius Vibullius Rufus, while his paternal grandfather was Hipparchus.  His parents were related as uncle and niece. His maternal grandmother and his father were sister and brother. His maternal uncle Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus was an Archon of Athens in the years 99–100 and his maternal cousin, Publius Aelius Vibullius Rufus, was an Archon of Athens between 143–144.

Life.

Herodes Atticus was born in Marathon, Greece, and spent his childhood years between Greece and Italy. According to Juvenal he received an education in rhetoric and philosophy from many of the best teachers from both Greek and Roman culture. Throughout his life, however, Herodes Atticus remained entirely Greek in his cultural outlook.  He was a student of Favorinus, and inherited Favorinus' library. Like Favorius, he was a harsh critic of Stoicism.  these disciplines of the cult of the unemotional, who want to be considered calm, brave, and steadfast because they show neither desire nor grief, neither anger nor pleasure, cut out the more active emotions of the spirit and grow old in a torpor, a sluggish, enervated life.  The Emperor Hadrian in 125 appointed him Prefect of the free cities in the Roman province of Asia. He later returned to Athens, where he became famous as a teacher. In the year 140, Herodes Atticus was elected and served as an Archon of Athens. Later in 140, the Emperor Antoninus Pius invited him to Rome from Athens to educate his two adopted sons, the future Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Sometime after, he was betrothed to Aspasia Annia Regilla, a wealthy aristocrat, who was related to the wife of Antoninus Pius, Faustina the Elder. When Regilla and Herodes Atticus married, she was 14 years old and he was 40. As Herodes Atticus was in favor with the Emperor, as a mark of his friendship Antoninus Pius appointed him Consul in 143.  Herodes Atticus and Regilla controlled a large tract around the Third Mile of the Appian Way outside Rome, which was known as the "Triopio" (from Triopas, King of Thessaly). For his remaining years he travelled between Greece and Italy.  Some time after his consulship, he returned to Greece permanently with his wife and their children.  Herodes Atticus was the teacher of three notable students: Achilles, Memnon and Polydeuces (Polydeukes). "The aged Herodes Atticus in a public paroxysm of despair at the death of his perhaps "eromenos" Polydeukes, commissioned games, inscriptions and sculptures on a lavish scale and then died, inconsolable, shortly afterwards."  Herodes Atticus had a distinguished reputation for his literary work, most of which is now lost, and was a philanthropist and patron of public works. He funded a number of building projects, including:  Throughout his life, Herodes Atticus had a stormy relationship with the citizens of Athens, but before he died he was reconciled with them. When he died, the citizens of Athens gave him an honored burial, his funeral taking place in the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, which he had commissioned.

Children.

Regilla bore Herodes Atticus six children, of whom three survived to adulthood. Their children were:  After Regilla died in 160, Herodes Atticus never married again. When he died in 177, his son Atticus Bradua and his grandchildren survived him. Sometime after his wife's death, he adopted his cousin's first grandson Lucius Vibullius Claudius Herodes as his son.

Legacy.

Herodes Atticus and Regilla, from the 2nd century until the present, have been considered great benefactors in Greece, in particular in Athens. The couple are commemorated in Herodou Attikou Street and Rigillis Street and Square, in downtown Athens. In Rome, their names are also recorded on modern streets, in the Quarto Miglio suburb close to the area of the Triopio. During his life, he built a theater called the Odeon of Herodes Atticus to honor Regilla after her death in 160 AD.

Sources.

Primary sources  Secondary material

Herodes Atticus (, "Hērōidēs ho Attikos"; 177), or Atticus Herodes, son of Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes (suffect consul 133), was a Greco-Roman politician and sophist who served as a Roman senator. Appointed consul at Rome in 143, he was the first Greek to hold the rank of "consul ordinarius", as opposed to "consul suffectus". In Latin, his full name was given as Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes (). According to Philostratus, Herodes Atticus was a notable proponent of the Second Sophistic. M.I. Finley described Herodes Atticus as "patron of the arts and letters (and himself a writer and scholar of importance), public benefactor on an imperial scale, not only in Athens but elsewhere in Greece and Asia Minor, holder of many important posts, friend and kinsman of emperors."


Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Berry

Life.

Caroline was born at Caserta Palace in Naples. She was the eldest child of Prince Ferdinand, the future King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his first wife, Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria, the tenth child and third daughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. Her parents were double first cousins.  Caroline was baptised with the names of her paternal grandparents, Maria Carolina of Austria and King Ferdinand of Naples, as well as her maternal grandmother Maria Luisa, Holy Roman Empress.  She spent her youth in Palermo and in Naples. Her mother died in 1801; her father married again in 1802 to Infanta Maria Isabella of Spain, another first cousin, and had twelve more children.  In 1816, French ambassador Pierre Louis Jean Casimir de Blacas arranged with the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily for Caroline to marry Louis XVIII of France's nephew, Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry. The marriage was held on 24 April 1816 in Naples. Caroline thus became ; known as in France.  Even though it was arranged, the marriage was happy, with Caroline and her husband living at the Élysée Palace in Paris which was given to them.  They had four children, of which the youngest two survived infancy. The elder was Louise Marie Thérèse of Artois (1819–1864). The Duke was assassinated in 1820; Caroline was then pregnant with their fourth child, Henri, Count of Chambord (1820–1883), who was dubbed the "miracle child", as his birth continued the direct Bourbon line of King Louis XIV of France (his grand-uncle the King Louis XVIII, his grandfather, the future Charles X of France, and Charles' other son Louis Antoine all had no sons). He was thus going to be the eventual heir to the throne. As his mother, Caroline became an important figure in the politics of the Bourbon Restoration.  In 1824, Louis XVIII died and was succeeded by Caroline's father-in-law as Charles X.  In the July Revolution of 1830, Charles X was overthrown. Both Charles and his elder son abdicated; but their cousin Louis Philippe of Orléans did not proclaim Henri as king. Instead Louis Philippe allowed the National Assembly to declare himself king. Caroline and Henri went into exile in with Charles and his family. She lived in Bath for a time, and then joined Charles and Louis Antoine in Edinburgh. Charles lived in Holyrood Palace, but Caroline (and also Louis Antoine) lived at 11 (now 12) Regent Terrace.  Caroline did not find conditions in Edinburgh agreeable, nor did she accept her son's exclusion from the throne by the Orléanist "King of the French". She declared her son to be the legitimate king, and herself to be regent. In 1831 she left Edinburgh, and returned to her family in Naples via the Netherlands, Prussia, and Austria. From Naples, with the help of the Vicomte de Saint Priest, she intrigued for a Legitimist rebellion to "restore" Henri to the throne. She also secretly married an Italian nobleman, Ettore Carlo Lucchesi-Palli, 8th (1805–1864) on 14 December of that year. In April 1832 she landed near Marseille. Receiving little support, she made her way to the Vendée and Brittany, where she succeeded in instigating a brief but abortive insurrection in June 1832. However, her followers were defeated. After remaining hidden for five months in a house in Nantes, she was betrayed by Simon Deutz to the government in November 1832, and imprisoned in the Chateau of Blaye.  During her incarceration, she gave birth to a daughter, and her remarriage was revealed, which lost her the sympathies of the Legitimists. She had French nationality by her marriage to the Duke of Berry, but lost it by her remarriage to an Italian; thus she was in theory ineligible to serve as regent. She was no longer an object of fear to the French government, which released her in June 1833.  She went to Sicily with her husband. The child born in prison died, but they had four additional living children. In 1844, Caroline and her husband purchased the beautiful palazzo Ca' Vendramin Calergi on the Grand Canal in Venice from the last member of the Vendramin family line.  In the turmoil of the Risorgimento, they had to sell the palazzo to her grandson, Prince Henry, Count of Bardi, and many of its fine works of art were auctioned in Paris. They retired to Brunnsee, near Graz in Austria. Her husband died there in 1864, and she died in 1870.  French novelist Alexandre Dumas wrote two stories about her and her plotting.

Patron of the arts.

Even as a member of the royal family, the Duchess of Berry was an exceptional theatre-goer. She was the patron of the Théâtre du Gymnase, which changed its name, for a time, to the "théâtre de Madame", in her honor. She attended the Odéon at least nine times during 1824 to 1828. She contributed to benefit performances, such as that of Giacomo Rossini's "La dame du lac" (1826), for victims of the fire at Antonio Franconi's Cirque Olympique; she contributed 500 francs.  The Duchess of Berry and her first husband, Charles-Ferdinand d'Artois, were enthusiastic art collectors. Her sale of 1822 was novel for its catalogue which contained lithographic reproductions of all the works. Lithography, invented by Alois Senefelder, had only been fully described in 1818 in "Vollstandiges Lehrbuch der Steindruckerei", translated into French in 1819. The lithographs, produced by Isidore Laurent Deroy sparked an interest in the technique as a means for reproducing art.  She was a collector of landscapes; her collection featured at least three by Ruisdael. She had several genre scenes by Auguste-Xavier Leprince and she owned works by Jan van der Heyden, Michel Philibert Genod, François Marius Granet, Pauline Auzou, Jean-Claude Bonnefond, Charles Marie Bouton, Martin Drolling, Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot, and Achille Etna Michallon, among many others.  The Duchess was known to patronise the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, commissioning notable works by Jean-Charles-François Leloy.

Issue.

Children with Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry:  Children with Ettore Carlo Lucchesi-Palli, 8th Duke della Grazia:

Marie-Caroline de Bourbon-Sicile, duchesse de Berry (Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Luise; 5 November 1798 – 17 April 1870) was an Italian princess of the House of Bourbon who married into the French royal family, and was the mother of Henri, Count of Chambord.


Early life.

Tautou was born in Beaumont and was raised in Montluçon. Her father Bernard Tautou is a dental surgeon, and her mother Eveline is a teacher. Tautou showed an interest in acting at an early age and started her acting lessons at the Cours Florent. There she learned English and Italian.

Acting career.

1990s.

In 1998, Tautou participated in a Star Search-like competition sponsored by Canal+ called "Jeunes Premiers" (The Young Debuts) and won Best Young Actress at the 9th Béziers Festival of Young Actors. Tonie Marshall gave her a role in the César-winning "Venus Beauty Institute" (1999, also known as "Vénus beauté (institut)"). In 2000, she won the Prix Suzanne Bianchetti as her country's most promising young film actress.

2000s.

In 2001, Tautou rose to international fame for her performance as the eccentric lead in the romantic comedy "Amélie" (original French title: "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"; ), a film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Written by Jeunet with Guillaume Laurant, the film is a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre. It tells the story of a shy waitress, who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better, while struggling with her own isolation. The film was an international co-production between companies in France and Germany.  The film met with critical acclaim and was a major box-office success. "Amélie" won Best Film at the European Film Awards; it won four César Awards (including Best Film and Best Director), two BAFTA Awards (including Best Original Screenplay), and was nominated for five Academy Awards. Grossing over $33 million in limited theatrical release, it is still the highest-grossing French-language film released in the United States.  In 2002, she acted in the British thriller film "Dirty Pretty Things" directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steven Knight, a drama about two illegal immigrants in London. It was produced by BBC Films and Celador Films. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won a British Independent Film Award for "Best Independent British Film" in 2003.  In 2004, she starred in "A Very Long Engagement", a romantic war film co-written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It is a fictional tale about a young woman's desperate search for her fiancé who might have been killed in the Battle of the Somme, during World War I. It was based on a novel of the same name, written by Sebastien Japrisot, first published in 1991. In June, she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).  In 2005, Tautou starred in her first full Hollywood production, opposite Tom Hanks, in the film version of Dan Brown's best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code", directed by Ron Howard and released in May 2006.  She starred alongside Gad Elmaleh in Pierre Salvadori's "Hors de prix" ("Priceless"), released 13 December 2006. The film has been compared to "Breakfast at Tiffany's".  Tautou starred with Guillaume Canet in Claude Berri's "Ensemble, c'est tout" in 2007, an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Anna Gavalda.

2010s–present.

Tautou played the lead role in the biopic of fashion designer Coco Chanel, titled "Coco avant Chanel", and directed by Anne Fontaine. Filming began in Paris in September 2008, and released in France on 22 April 2009. The script is partially based on Edmonde Charles-Roux's book "L'Irrégulière" ("The Non-Conformist"). Instead of releasing "Coco Before Chanel" in the United States itself, Warner Bros. let Sony Pictures Classics handle the release there. The film grossed $6 million in the United States.  "Coco Before Chanel" was nominated for four BAFTA Awards, three European Film Awards, six César Awards and the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.  In 2011, she appeared in "Delicacy", a French romantic comedy-drama directed by David and Stéphane Foenkinos and based on the novel of the same name by David Foenkinos. David was nominated for the 2012 Best Writing (Adaptation) César Award and the film was nominated as Best Film.  She appeared in the music video of "I Love Your Smile", a song by British singer-songwriter Charlie Winston.  She was the host of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.  She was a member of the jury of the 2015 Berlin Film Festival. She appeared in The Odyssey as Simone Melchior Coustea.

Public image and modelling career.

Tautou began modelling at a very young age, taking modelling courses and other activities, and has modelled for magazines such as "Vogue", "Elle", "Harpers Bazaar", "Marie Claire" in many countries, and many others.  Tautou was named in 2009 as the next spokesmodel for Chanel No. 5, replacing Nicole Kidman. She was directed in the advertisement by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with whom she worked on "Amélie" and "A Very Long Engagement". The advertisement was released in 2009 to coincide with the film's release. She has also become the face of L'Oreal and Montblanc and several other ad campaigns.  Tautou over the years has been declared a fashionista and icon by the press, appearing in many magazines, fashion, beauty, and culture. She has attended major fashion week events around the world as well as smaller events. The press sometimes refers to her as "The Chanel Muse".

Personal life.

She has studied at the Institut Catholique de Paris. A church-goer when young, she has stated that she is "not officially" Catholic.  Tautou says she considers France her base, where she plans to focus her career, rather than in the United States. She told Stevie Wong of "The Straits Times" "I am, at the end of the day, a French actress. I am not saying I will never shoot an English-language movie again, but my home, my community, my career is rooted in France. I would never move to Los Angeles."

Audrey Justine Tautou (; born 9 August 1976) is a French actress. Signed by an agent at age 17, she made her acting debut at 18 on television and her feature film debut the following year in "Venus Beauty Institute" (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Award for Most Promising Actress.


Statistical mechanics.

Statistical mechanics provides a framework for relating the microscopic properties of individual atoms and molecules to the macroscopic or bulk properties of materials that can be observed in everyday life, therefore explaining thermodynamics as a natural result of statistics, classical mechanics, and quantum mechanics at the microscopic level. Because of this history, statistical physics is often considered synonymous with statistical mechanics or statistical thermodynamics.  One of the most important equations in statistical mechanics (akin to formula_1 in Newtonian mechanics, or the Schrödinger equation in quantum mechanics) is the definition of the partition function formula_2, which is essentially a weighted sum of all possible states formula_3 available to a system.  where formula_5 is the Boltzmann constant, formula_6 is temperature and formula_7 is energy of state formula_3. Furthermore, the probability of a given state, formula_3, occurring is given by  Here we see that very-high-energy states have little probability of occurring, a result that is consistent with intuition.  A statistical approach can work well in classical systems when the number of degrees of freedom (and so the number of variables) is so large that the exact solution is not possible, or not really useful. Statistical mechanics can also describe work in non-linear dynamics, chaos theory, thermal physics, fluid dynamics (particularly at high Knudsen numbers), or plasma physics.  Although some problems in statistical physics can be solved analytically using approximations and expansions, most current research utilizes the large processing power of modern computers to simulate or approximate solutions. A common approach to statistical problems is to use a Monte Carlo simulation to yield insight into the properties of a complex system.

Quantum statistical mechanics.

Quantum statistical mechanics is statistical mechanics applied to quantum mechanical systems. In quantum mechanics a statistical ensemble (probability distribution over possible quantum states) is described by a density operator "S", which is a non-negative, self-adjoint, trace-class operator of trace 1 on the Hilbert space "H" describing the quantum system. This can be shown under various mathematical formalisms for quantum mechanics. One such formalism is provided by quantum logic.

Scientists and universities.

A significant contribution (at different times) in development of statistical physics was given by Satyendra Nath Bose, James Clerk Maxwell, Ludwig Boltzmann, J. Willard Gibbs, Marian Smoluchowski, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman, Lev Landau, Vladimir Fock, Werner Heisenberg, Nikolay Bogolyubov, Benjamin Widom, Lars Onsager, and others. Statistical physics is studied in the nuclear center at Los Alamos. Also, Pentagon has organized a large department for the study of turbulence at Princeton University. Work in this area is also being conducted by Saclay (Paris), Max Planck Institute, Netherlands Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics and other research centers.

Achievements.

Statistical physics allowed us to explain and quantitatively describe superconductivity, superfluidity, turbulence, collective phenomena in solids and plasma, and the structural features of liquid. It underlies the modern astrophysics. It is statistical physics that helped us to create such intensively developing study of liquid crystals and to construct a theory of phase transition and critical phenomena. Many experimental studies of matter are entirely based on the statistical description of a system. These include the scattering of cold neutrons, X-ray, visible light, and more. Statistical physics plays a major role in Physics of Solid State Physics, Materials Science, Nuclear Physics, Astrophysics, Chemistry, Biology and Medicine (e.g. study of the spread of infectious diseases), Information Theory and Technique but also in those areas of technology owing to their development in the evolution of Modern Physics. It still has important applications in theoretical sciences such as Sociology and Linguistics and is useful for researchers in higher education, corporate governance, and industry.  Thermal and Statistical Physics (lecture notes, Web draft 2001) by Mallett M., Blumler P. by Harald J W Müller-Kirsten (University of Kaiserslautern, Germany)

Statistical physics is a branch of physics that uses methods of probability theory and statistics, and particularly the mathematical tools for dealing with large populations and approximations, in solving physical problems. It can describe a wide variety of fields with an inherently stochastic nature. Its applications include many problems in the fields of physics, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, and even some social sciences, such as sociology and linguistics. Its main purpose is to clarify the properties of matter in aggregate, in terms of physical laws governing atomic motion.


History.

The town goes back to the 13th century. Leszno in the Polish Poznań Voivodeship was first mentioned in historical documents in 1393, when the estate was the property of Stefan z Karnina of Wieniawa Coat of Arms. The family took its name, Leszczyński from the place name of their estate as was the custom among the Polish nobility.  Around 1516, a community of Protestant Unity of the Brethren ("Unitas fratrum") refugees expelled from the Bohemian lands by King Vladislaus II, settled in Leszno invited by the Leszczyński family, who were since 1473 imperial counts and had converted to Calvinism. The arrival of the Bohemian Protestants as well as weavers from nearby Silesia helped the settlement to grow and made it possible to become a town in 1547 by a privilege according to Magdeburg Law given by King Sigismund I of Poland. Leszno was also the biggest printing center in Greater Poland thanks to the activity of the Protestant community, whose number increased because of inflow of refugees from Silesia, Bohemia and Moravia during the Thirty Years War. In 1631, Leszno was vested with further privileges by King Sigismund III Vasa, treating it as equal with the most important cities of Poland. At that time it already had a Gymnasium school led for a period by Jan Amos Komenský (known in English as Comenius), an educator and the last bishop of the Unity of the Brethren. From 1638 until his death in 1647, Johann Heermann, a German-speaking poet, lived in Leszno. Between 1636 and 1639, the town became fortified and its area increased.  The golden era of Leszno ended during the Second Northern War, when the town was burnt down on 28 April 1656. Quickly rebuilt afterwards, it was again set on fire during the Great Northern War by Russian forces in 1707 and was ravaged by plague in 1709. The Leszczyński family owned the city until 1738 when King Stanisław Leszczyński sold it to Alexander Joseph Sulkowski after he had abdicated for the second time.  During the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, Leszno was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia and after the Napoleonic Wars was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Posen as "Lissa". In 1887 it became the administrative seat of the Prussian "Kreis Lissa". The town took part in the Greater Poland Uprising of 1918–19 and was returned to the Second Polish Republic by the Treaty of Versailles with effect from 17 January 1920. The local populace had to acquire Polish citizenship. In the 1939 Invasion of Poland, the town was annexed by Nazi Germany and incorporated into "Reichsgau Wartheland". The Polish population was resettled to the "General Government". Most of the town's Jewish population (which in its history included such famous rabbis as Leo Baeck and Jacob of Lissa as well as the writer Ludwig Kalisch) and remaining Poles were murdered by the Nazi "Einsatzgruppen".  After the defeat of Nazi-Germany, the town returned to Poland in 1945. It underwent a period of fast development especially between 1975 and 1998 when it was a seat of a "voivodeship" administrative area. In 2000 the city was awarded "The Golden Star of Town Twinning" prize by the European Commission.

Climate.

Leszno has an oceanic climate (Köppen: "Cfb") although notably with warm summer continental characteristics ("Dfb"), typical of inland west and south polish.

International relations.

Twin towns – Sister cities.

Leszno is twinned with:  The Leszno motorcycle club was founded on May 8, 1938. The club was re-established May 2, 1946 after World War II. On July 28, 1949 the Leszno motorcycle club changed its name to Unia Leszno Speedway Club. When the name was changed, some rules and regulations were changed as well. The Unia Leszno has been a very successful club that has won many awards and medals throughout the years. The Unia Leszno Speedway Club has won over 78 different medals since the formation of the club.  The Leszno Aero Club is the largest airfield in the Wielkopolska area. The Aero Club belongs to the Polish Aero Club central gliding school. The Aero Club in Leszno hosted the world gliding championship in 1958, 1969, and 2003. It is the only place that has done so. The Aero Club also has a pilot school called the Central Gliding school. The school has been around for over 50 years.  The Klub Sportowy Polonia Leszno was formed in 1912 in Leszno. It is an indoor soccer field. The first President of the club was Marcin Giera. The club did not gain much popularity until after World War II when official teams started playing there. Prior to World War I most of the people that played there were locals.  The Muzeum Okregowe in Leszno was founded in 1949. It officially opened on January 1, 1950. It is known to be own of the oldest museums in the Wielkopolska area of Poland. The museum displays Leszno's history and culture from the past 50 years. It specializes in artifacts from the 17th century. Throughout the years, things from the museum were moved to different museums around Poland. In early 1963 the artifacts were officially and permanently placed in an old pastors home. The building is located on No. 17 Metzig Square.

Leszno (, between 1800 and 1918 also called "Polnisch Lissa" or "Lissa in Posen") is a town in western Poland with 64,197 inhabitants (2017) and is the seventh-largest town in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Since 1999 it has been in the southern part of the new voivodeship. Previously it was the capital of the Leszno Voivodeship (1975–1998). The town has county status.


Early life.

Born in Washington, D.C. as the son of a communist diplomat. He was member of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and after his graduation from the Faculty of Law, Charles University in Prague, in 1986 and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia. In the following years, he held various positions in the Czechoslovak – later Czech – ministry, including the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in the Czech Mission to the European Union (EU) in Brussels. From 1998 onwards, he served as Chief Negotiator for the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union.

European Union.

In February 2004 Czech government nominated Miloš Kužvart, the former Czech Environment Minister, as a candidate for the EU commissioner. Kužvart, however, was allegedly not able to communicate in any foreign language, although he does in fact speak English, and allegedly lacked insight into EU affairs. He stepped down in a dramatic way after his first candidate visit in Brussels. Under time pressure the government nominated Telička.  When the Czech Republic entered the EU on 1 May 2004 Telička became EU commissioner in the Prodi Commission. He shared the portfolio of Health and Consumer Protection with David Byrne. He held this post only until November 2004; he did not continue in the following Barroso Commission due to a Czech government crisis in summer 2004. He was succeeded as the Czech commissioner by Vladimír Špidla, the former Czech Prime Minister who resigned during a crisis.  Soon after, in December 2004, he co-founded BXL Consulting with offices in Prague and Brussels. BXL Consulting was providing consultancy in EU affairs but as of 2014 it is no longer doing so. In 2013 he supported ANO 2011 led by Andrej Babiš in the Czech parliament elections; he was its candidate for the 2014 European Parliament election. Since his election in July 2014, he was a vice-chair in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe until the 2019 European Parliament election.  He was also elected president of the Czech Rugby Union in November 2009.

Pavel Telička (born 21 August 1965) is a Czech lobbyist, politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Czech Republic. He previously served as European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection from May 2004 to November 2004. He was a member of the ANO 2011, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe until 2017 when he quit amid disagreements with leader Andrej Babiš.


T1 – Type 2 (1950–1967).

Initially derived from the Volkswagen Type 1 (Volkswagen Beetle), the Volkswagen Type 2 (T1) was the first generation of Volkswagen's Transporter family.

T2 – Type 2 (1967–1979).

The Volkswagen T2 platform was marketed from 1967 through 1979 model years, with a Volkswagen Type 4 engine optionally available from 1972 on.

T3 – Type 2 (1979–1992).

The Volkswagen (Type 2) T3 Transporter, also known as T25 in the UK or VW Vanagon in the United States, was introduced in 1979. The T3 Transporter was one of the last all-new bodied Volkswagen platforms that still used an air-cooled, rear-engine design.  Compared to its predecessor, (the T2), the T3 was sturdier and heavier, with a slightly larger, much more square and boxy body, that offered more usable interior space than the original models' rounded front side, roof, and edges. The T3, with its front now folding sharply along a horizontal middle axis, instead of the old model's curve, is sometimes called "the wedge" by enthusiasts, to differentiate it from earlier VW "Kombis".  The Volkswagen air-cooled boxer engine was supplanted by a water-cooled one – though still rear-mounted – in 1983. Both Porsche and Oettinger built six-cylinder versions of the T3 Transporter in very small numbers, with the Porsche-built version achieving a top speed around.  A four-wheel drive Syncro model was introduced, premiering in January 1985.  While production of the T3 ended in Europe with the Syncro produced in Austria until 1992, the T3 was also produced in South Africa, until 2002.

T4 – Transporter (1990–2003).

The first officially designated "T platform" vehicle, the Volkswagen Transporter (T4) dramatically updated the Volkswagen van line by using a front-mounted, front-wheel drive, water-cooled engine. The T4 was marketed in North America as the Volkswagen Eurovan.

T5 – Transporter (2003–2015).

2003–2009 (pre facelift).

The Volkswagen Transporter (T5) is a current variant of the Volkswagen T platform. In North America it is sold in Mexico but not in the United States or Canada. As with other light trucks, the T5 range would face a 25% tariff, known as the chicken tax, if imported to the US.

2009–2015 (facelift).

The Transporter T5 range received a facelift in late 2009. Updated powertrain options include common rail diesel engines, and a world-first usage in a light commercial vehicle of a dual clutch transmission – namely Volkswagen Group's 7-speed Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG).

T6 – Transporter (2016–present).

In 2016, Volkswagen released the latest iteration of the Transporter, the T6.

The Volkswagen Transporter, based on the Volkswagen Group's T platform, now in its sixth generation, refers to a series of vans produced for over 60 years and marketed worldwide.


Biography.

Born in Versailles at the beginning of the French Revolution, Stéphanie was a great-granddaughter to Claude de Beauharnais (1680–1738) and Renée Hardouineau (1696–1744) who were married in La Rochelle during 1713. Their oldest son was François de Beauharnais, Marquess de la Ferte-Beauharnais (1714–1800) who served as a governor of Martinique. Their younger son was Claude de Beauharnais, 1st Count des Roches-Baritaud (1717–1784), Stephanie's paternal grandfather.  Claude was married in 1753 to Marie Anne Françoise Mouchard (1738–1813), known in poetry as "Fanny de Beauharnais". Their oldest son was Claude de Beauharnais, 2nd Count des Roches-Baritaud (1756–1819). In 1783 the 2nd Count married Claudine Françoise de Lezay (1767–1791). The marriage resulted in the birth of first her older brother Alberic de Beauharnais (1786–1791) and then Stephanie herself. Her father was remarried in 1799 to Suzanne Fortin-Duplessis (1775–1850). The second marriage resulted in the birth of her half-sister Joséphine de Beauharnais, Marchioness de Quiqueran-Beaujeu (1803–1870).  The fates of her family however would be defined by another Joséphine. On December 13, 1779 Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais, first cousin of her father, was married to Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie. On July 23, 1794, Alexandre was guillotined. Joséphine had affairs with several influential figures of the French Directory, including Paul François Jean Nicolas Barras. The latter would introduce her to his recent favorite Napoléon Bonaparte. Napoléon soon started courting her. On March 9, 1796 they were married.  General Napoléon Bonaparte was now stepfather to Eugène de Beauharnais and Hortense de Beauharnais, second cousins of Stephanie. As his prominence and wealth continued to rise, Napoléon found himself being "de facto" patron to both the Bonaparte and the de Beauharnais families. Stephanie would soon see her patron rise to become First Consul of France.  Her "uncle" crowned himself Emperor of the French on December 2, 1804. As a prominent member of the new Imperial Family, Stephanie held residence in the Tuileries Palace. Her new status allowed her to live a rather luxurious life. She would soon however have to depart both the Palace and France.  This was a consequence of Napoleon's effort to secure an alliance with the Prince-elector of Baden. The alliance was to be secured through a marriage between the descendants of the two sovereigns, connecting the two dynasties. The Prince-Elector was to be represented by his grandson. Napoleon on the other hand lacked legitimate descendants of his own. He adopted Stephanie and named her "Princesse Française" (French Princess) with the style of Imperial Highness. The marriage took place in Paris on April 8, 1806. On July 25, 1806 her new grandfather-in-law was named Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden.  By most accounts the arranged marriage was not particularly successful. Her husband was determined to continue living as a bachelor. He set residence in Karlsruhe. She was allowed to settle separately in Mannheim. Even the official complaints by the Emperor did not resolve this situation. The Grand Duke offered Schwetzingen to be their common summer residence. But only Stephanie accepted the offer. The situation changed somewhat when it became evident that the aging Grand Duke would not live much longer. The couple apparently reconciled in an effort to produce heirs for the throne.

Children.

On June 10, 1811, Stephanie's husband, Karl succeeded his grandfather as Grand Duke of Baden. He and Grand Duchess Stephanie would have five children:  Among her descendants are the former Kings of Romania and former King of Yugoslavia, the present King of the Belgians, the present Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the present Sovereign Prince of Monaco.  The Grand Duke died on December 8, 1818. Stephanie remained a widow for the rest of her long life. She was reportedly a devoted mother to her three daughters. Her residence in Mannheim became a popular Salon for artists and intellectuals. Stephanie died in Nice, France at the age of 71, in 1860, 41 years after her husband.

Stéphanie, Grand Duchess of Baden (Stéphanie Louise Adrienne de Beauharnais; August 28, 1789 – January 29, 1860) was a French princess and the Grand Duchess consort of Baden by marriage to Karl, Grand Duke of Baden.


Biography.

Early life.

William was born in Kassel, Hesse in 1743. His father, landgrave Frederick II (who died in 1785), had in 1747 abandoned the family and reverted to Catholicism. In 1755 he formally annulled his marriage. William's grandfather, Landgrave William, granted the newly acquired principality of Hanau to his daughter-in-law and grandsons. Technically, young William became the reigning prince of Hanau, while under his mother's regency. The young prince William, together with his two younger brothers, lived with their mother, the landgravine Mary. From 1747 they were supported by Protestant relatives and moved to Denmark. There they lived with Mary's sister, Louise of Great Britain, and her family; Louise died in 1751.

Marriage.

On 1 September 1764, William married his first cousin, Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway (1747–1820), who was the second surviving daughter of Frederick V of Denmark and Norway. They married at Christiansborg Palace and resided for two decades mostly in Denmark.  In 1785 they moved to Kassel when William succeeded to the landgraviate. During the lifetime of his father, William had already received the Principality of Hanau, south of the Hessian territories near Frankfurt, as successor of its newly extinct princes. The Hanau people did not want to have a Catholic ruler.  William's younger brother Charles in 1766 married another of their Danish first cousins, Princess Louise of Denmark.

Reign.

Upon the death of his father on 31 October 1785, he became William IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. He was said to have inherited one of the largest fortunes in Europe at the time.  William looked for help in managing his estate. He hired Mayer Amschel Rothschild as "Hoffaktor" in 1769, to supervise the operation of his properties and tax-gathering. The wealth of William's estate provided a good living for Rothschild and the men had a strong relationship; he founded the Rothschild family dynasty, which became important in financing and banking in Europe. Although they had been acquainted since 1775, William IX did not formally designate Rothschild as his overseer until 1801.  The early fortunes of the Rothschild family were made through a conjunction of financial intelligence and the wealth of Prince William. During the Napoleonic Wars, William used the Frankfurt Rothschilds to hide his fortune from Napoleon. This money then saw its way through to Nathan Mayer, (N.M.) in London, where it helped fund the British movements through Portugal and Spain. The interest made from this venture was reaped by the budding banker barons, who used it to swiftly develop their fortune and prestige in Europe and Britain. It was not long before their riches outweighed those of their benefactor, William of Hesse-Kassel.  In 1803, Landgrave William was created "His Royal and Serene Highness" The Prince-Elector of Hesse. In 1806 his electorate was annexed by the Kingdom of Westphalia, ruled by Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother. William escaped to Denmark with his family and lived there in exile until the French were expelled from Germany. Following the defeat of the Napoleonic armies in the Battle of Leipzig, William was restored in 1813.  He was a member of the Tugendbund, a quasi-Masonic secret society founded after the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in June 1808 at Koningsberg.  Several other prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire had been recognized as kings at the Congress of Vienna (1815), and William attempted to join them by declaring himself King of the Chatti. However, the European powers refused to recognize this title at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818) and instead granted him the grand ducal style of "Royal Highness." Deeming the title of Prince-Elector to be superior in dignity to that of Grand Duke, William chose to remain an Elector, even though there was no longer a Holy Roman Emperor to elect. Hesse-Kassel would remain an Electorate until it was annexed by Prussia in 1866.  He ruled until his death in Kassel in 1821. He was succeeded by his son William.

Issue.

With his wife Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway he had four children:  He had several mistresses and fathered over twenty recognized illegitimate children and provided some financial means to each of them.  With his mistress Charlotte Christine Buissine:  With his mistress Rosa Dorothea Ritter (1759–1833):  With his mistress Karoline von Schlotheim (1766–1847):

William I, Elector of Hesse (; 3 June 1743 – 27 February 1821) was the eldest surviving son of Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) and Princess Mary of Great Britain, the daughter of George II.


Early life.

Vlk was born in Líšnice, a municipal part of the market town of Sepekov, in the Písek District of Southern Bohemia. He spent his childhood in Záluží near Chyšky, where he attended elementary school and experienced the hard labour of farm work.  At the age of 11, he first started thinking about the priesthood. This initial idea of a priestly vocation came to him because he felt particularly challenged by a poster hanging in his parish church that continued to attract his attention. The poster said: 'Wouldn't you like to become a priest?'. That goal seemed unattainable at the time, so he dreamed of becoming an aircraft pilot.  On 20 June 1952 he passed his final examination at Secondary School in České Budějovice, Southern Bohemia. In those years of Communist persecution theological studies were impossible, so from 1952 to 1953 he worked at the Motor Union automobile factory in České Budějovice and from 1953 to 1955 did military service in Karlovy Vary.  Despite the political situation, after being discharged he was able to study archival science at the Arts Faculty of the Charles University in Prague and received his degree in 1960. He worked in various archives in Southern Bohemia: at the Regional Archives of Třeboň in Jindřichův Hradec, and from December 1960 to 1964 at the Civic and District Archives of České Budějovice, where he served as director.  In this same period he published a series of articles in various scientific reviews. In 1964 he left this work in order to study at the Theology Faculty of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Litoměřice (1964–1968).

Priesthood.

On 23 June 1968, during the 'Prague Spring', he was ordained a priest at the age of 36 and was immediately appointed secretary to Bishop Josef Hlouch of České Budějovice (1968–1971).  The state authorities, worried about his influence and pastoral activity, forced him in 1971 to leave České Budějovice and sent him to the parishes of Lažiště and Záblatí, isolated on the mountains of the Bohemian Forest in the Prachatice district. From 1 November 1972 he was parish priest in Rožmitál pod Třemšínem and at the same time in Bohutín and Drahenice, in the Příbram district. There in 1978, the state authorities, in collaboration with the local communists, revoked his state authorization to exercise his priestly ministry.  Citizen Vlk was thus forced to live underground in Prague from October 1978 to 31 December 1988.  From 1978 to 1986 he worked as a window-cleaner in downtown Prague. In this period he secretly carried out his pastoral activity with small groups of lay people. From 1986 to 1988 he was able to work in the district archives of the Czechoslovak State Bank in Prague.  On 1 January 1989, at the start of the 'turning point', he was permitted to exercise the priestly ministry for a 'trial' year. He became parish priest at Žihobce and Bukovník in the Klatovy region of Western Bohemia. Subsequently, on 1 September 1989, he began to work as a curate on the Bavarian (German) border: at Čachrov, Javorná, Železná Ruda, Běšiny and Stráž na Šumavě.

Episcopacy and Cardinalate.

The "Velvet Revolution" changed the status of the church in Czechoslovakia and on 14 February 1990 Pope John Paul II appointed Vlk Bishop of České Budějovice and he was consecrated on 31 March 1990 from Bishop Antonín Liška.  On 27 March 1991 Pope John Paul II appointed Vlk Archbishop of Prague to succeed Cardinal František Tomášek. He was installed on 1 June 1991. He was made a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in the Consistory of 26 November 1994, becoming the Cardinal-Priest of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.  In 1992 he was elected President of the Czech Episcopal Conference; a role that he held until 2001. From 16 April 1993 until 31 May 2001 Archbishop Vlk was President of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), as the successor to Carlo Maria Martini, Archbishop of Milan, Italy. Special Secretary of the 1st Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops (1991); and has taken part in the 9th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (1994) and in the 2nd Special Assembly for Europe (1999).  Between 1992 and 1993 he received three honorary degrees: one each from Illinois Benedictine College and the University of St. Thomas in the U.S., and a doctorate in theology from the Faculty of Passau. In addition to these academic awards he has also received various honorary citizenships.  Cardinal Vlk died, after a long illness on 18 March 2017.  Vlk was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. Vlk reached age 80 on 17 May 2012 and lost the right to participate in any papal conclave and on the same day he ceased to hold his various Curial memberships. He was a member of the following dicasteries of the Roman Curia:  Pope Benedict XVI accepted Cardinal Vlk's resignation as Archbishop of Prague on 13 February 2010 and nominated Dominik Duka to succeed him.  Vlk served for 18 years as Moderator of the Bishop-Friends of the Focolare Movement. On 10 August 2012, he was succeeded in this position by Monsignor Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovitvanit, the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand.

Views.

Church properties in the Czech Republic.

Vlk has fought a decade-long battle to work out a new legal framework for the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, which would include resolution of some $6 billion in church property confiscated under the Communists and never returned. That includes almost a million acres (4,000 km2) of forest which formed the church's traditional economic base.

Political groups.

Vlk has been sharply critical of the rise of far-right and xenophobic sentiment in Central Europe, joining Jewish protests in 2007 when right-wingers planned a march through Prague's Jewish quarter on the anniversary of Kristallnacht.  On the 41st anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Cardinal Vlk called for the ban of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, which is currently the third most popular political party in the Czech Republic according to opinion polls.

Conflict with Lefebvrites.

In 2006, Vlk criticized a group of Lefebvrite tradionalists who held a conference in Prague, accusing them of sympathies for "anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism". Local organizers responded that Vlk showed "ill will to socially ostracize Catholics who point to the negative consequences of liberalization processes in the church."

Miloslav Vlk (; 17 May 1932 – 18 March 2017) was a Czech prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Prague from 1991 to 2010. He was made a cardinal in 1994. He was also the President of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (1993–2001).


History.

The oldest extant document regarding Pardubice comes from 1295.  The area had a monastery founded in 2nd half of 13th century and the city was founded. In 1491, Pardubice was bought by William II of Pernstein, who continued to expand the town and made significant impact on its prosperity. Until 1918, the town was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austria side after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867), head of the PARDUBITZ district, one of the 94 "Bezirkshauptmannschaften" in Bohemia.  In 1845, the first train arrived to Pardubice. The town was connected to other railway lines so Pardubice could thrive even more. New industrial enterprises started to emerge in the town, namely a distillery, a factory for mill machines of Josef Prokop and sons and Fanta's Factory. Since 1874, the Great Pardubice Steeplechase ("Velká Pardubická") horse race has taken place every autumn (second Sunday in October). On 13 May 1911, Ing. Jan Kašpar made history by flying the first long-haul flight towards Prague. In Pardubice, industrial expansion was on the rise, especially after the First World War. However, during the Second World War the town was damaged by air strikes of the Allies. The Fanto Werke refinery at Pardubice was repeatedly bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II, and forced labor was provided by a concentration camp. Tesla electronics manufacturer operated from 1921–1989, and the Foxconn factory was established in June 2000. After 1989 the town continued to develop and flourish; the Chateau and its surroundings of estates were reconstructed. Pardubice has established contacts with foreign municipalities.

Geography.

Pardubice is situated on the bank of the second longest river in the Czech Republic, the Labe River, where there is a mouth of another river called Chrudimka. Pardubice is located at approximately 15° east longitude and 50° north longitude. The city is located 100 km east of the capital city of Prague, 150 km north-west of Brno. Pardubice is in the area of Labe Lowlands with average elevation of 225 m and its area is 78 km. The area is of lowland character without many hills. One exception is a nearby hill, Kunětická hora.

Transport.

Pardubice is an important railway junction. From Pardubice come tracks to Prague, Ostrava, Hradec Králové and Jaroměř or Havlíčkův Brod. Railway station Pardubice main station is very busy, all trains of Czech railways, RegioJet and LEO Express stop there.  Pardubice is served by Pardubice Airport.

Industry.

Pardubice is called the city of industry. The dominant industries are chemical industry, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. The chemical industry is mainly represented by a company Paramo and Synthesia, which was founded in Pardubice-Semtín as a stock factory for explosive substances. This field of industry together with the factory went through significant development, especially in 1960s. Synthesia is now one of the leading Czech companies manufacturing cellulose, pigments and dyes, and organic compounds. Synthesia is also a major exporter mainly for the EU countries and is associated with the invention of Semtex plastic explosive. Paramo – formally known as Fanta's Factory was until 2012 one of the major companies of its kind, but during the year a major shareholder decided to significantly suppress its production and the future of Paramo is still uncertain.

Cultural monuments and sights.

Pardubice is dominated by the Green Gate with remains of the town's fortifications. The Chateau, which has been reconstructed, is located nearby. The city itself has many historical buildings, for example, Kamenná vila (Stone Villa), Crematorium, Dům U Bílého koníčka (House at the White Horse), Wernerův dům (Werner's House), Dům U Jonáše (At Jonah's), the City Hall. Churches are dedicated to the Our Lady of Sorrows, St. John the Baptist, St. Bartholomew.

Sport.

The ice hockey club Dynamo Pardubice plays in the Czech Extraliga. The team plays its home games at Tipsport Arena. The city was first represented in the top national football competition by SK Pardubice in the 1930s and 1940s. Later VCHZ Pardubice played in the top national league in the 1968–69 season. As of 2019/2020, the highest-ranked team from the city is FK Pardubice, which plays in the second-tier Czech National Football League. Women's team SK DFO Pardubice plays in the Czech First Division (women). The basketball team is BK JIP Pardubice.  The city is also home to the Golden Helmet of Pardubice (also known as the Czech Golden Helmet), a motorcycle speedway competition held at the Svítkov Stadium. The Golden Helmet has been run since 1929 is one of the most prestigious individual titles in world speedway outside of the Speedway World Championship or a riders national championship. Winners of the Golden Helmet have included World Champions Ole Olsen, Erik Gundersen, Hans Nielsen and Nicki Pedersen (Denmark), Ove Fundin, Per Jonsson and Tony Rickardsson (Sweden), and Jason Crump and 2014 winner Chris Holder (Australia). Ole Olsen holds the record for the most Golden Helmet wins with 7 (1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1980).  In 2018 Pardubice is for the first time represented in the Czech rink bandy league.

Twin towns – sister cities.

Pardubice is twinned with:

Cooperation agreements.

Pardubice cooperates with:

Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the river Elbe, 96 kilometres east of Prague. There is an old tower and a castle. Factories include the Synthesia chemical factory, an oil refinery Paramo, a heavy machinery factory and an electronic equipment plant. The city is well known for its sport events, which include the Great Pardubice Steeplechase in horse racing, the Golden Helmet of Pardubice in motorcycle racing, and the Czech Open in golf and chess.


Biography.

Born to an impoverished noble family of Ayat-sur-Sioule in the then-province of Auvergne, Desaix received his military education at the school founded by Marshal d'Effiat, and entered the French royal army. During his first six years of service, he devoted himself to duty and to military studies. When the French Revolution broke out, he threw himself into the cause of liberty. Refusing to "emigrate", he joined the staff of Charles Louis Victor de Broglie, prince de Broglie the Jacobin son of prince de Broglie. This nearly cost Desaix his life, but he escaped the guillotine, and by his conspicuous service soon came into favour with the Republican government. Like many other members of the old ruling classes who had accepted the new order, the instinct of command, joined to native ability, brought Desaix career success, and thus he had attained the command of a division in 1794.  During the campaign of 1795 he commanded Jourdan's right wing, and during Moreau's invasion of Bavaria, the following year, he held an equally important command. Following the retreat which ensued when the archduke Charles won the battles of Amberg and Würzburg Desaix commanded Moreau's rearguard, and later the fortress of Kehl, with the highest distinction, and his name became a household word, like those of Bonaparte, Jourdan, Hoche, Marceau and Kléber. Next year his initial successes were interrupted by the Preliminaries of Leoben, and he procured for himself a mission into Italy in order to meet General Bonaparte, who spared no pains to captivate the brilliant young general from the almost rival camps of Germany. Provisionally appointed commander of the "Army of England," Desaix was soon transferred by Bonaparte to the expeditionary force intended for Egypt. It was his division which bore the brunt of the Mamluk attack at the battle of the Pyramids, and he crowned his reputation by his victories over Murad Bey in Upper Egypt. Amongst the fellaheen he acquired the significant appellation of the "Just Sultan".  When command passed to Kléber, Desaix was one of the small party selected to accompany Bonaparte. However, it was months before he could join the new First Consul. The campaign of 1800 was close to its climax when Desaix at last arrived in Italy. He was immediately assigned to the command of a corps of two infantry divisions. Three days later (14 June), detached, with Boudet's division, at Rivalta, he heard the cannon of Marengo on his right. Taking the initiative he marched at once towards the sound, meeting Bonaparte's staff officer, who had come to recall him, half way on the route. He arrived with Boudet's division at the moment when the Austrians were victorious all along the line. Exclaiming, "There is yet time to win another battle!" he led his three regiments straight against the enemy's centre. At the moment of victory Desaix was killed by a musket ball. It happened to be that same day, when Jean-Baptiste Kleber, Desaix's good friend and comrade, governor-general of Egypt, was assassinated in Cairo. Upon hearing the news of Desaix's death, a grief-stricken Napoleon exclaimed, "Why am I not allowed to weep?"

Memory.

Napoleon paid tribute to Desaix by erecting monuments to him, one on the Place Dauphine and the other in the Place des Victoires in Paris. The memorial in the Place des Victoires was later destroyed. A monumental tomb with sculptures by Jean Guillaume Moitte serves as his final resting-place at the Great St Bernard Hospice, (his body originally lay in Milan, and it was moved to the Hospice in 1805). Moreover, his name is written on a face of the Arc de Triomphe, with other great military figures of the French Revolution. There is also a fort, in Fort-de-France, Martinique, that is named Fort Desaix in his honor. A street, Rue Desaix, and a parallel cul-de-sac, Square Desaix, in the fifteenth arrondissement of Paris, between two metro stations, Bir-Hakeim and Dupleix, also bear his name. Desaix Boulevard is a major street in the Bayou St. John / Fairgrounds district of New Orleans. Several ships of the French Navy have borne the name "Desaix" in his honour.

References.

Attribution:

Louis Charles Antoine Desaix () (17 August 176814 June 1800) was a French general and military leader during French Revolutionary Wars. According to the usage of the time, he took the name "Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux".


Praenomina.

"Neb-khepesh-Re" ('), "A-qenen-Re" (') and "A-user-Re" ("") are three praenomina or throne names used by this same ruler during various parts of his reign. While some Egyptologists once believed that there were two separate kings who bore the name Apepi, namely Auserre Apepi and Aqenenre Apepi, it is now recognized that Khamudi succeeded Apepi I at Avaris and that there was only one king named Apepi or Apophis. Nebkhepeshre or "Re is the Lord of Strength" was Apepi's first prenomen; towards the middle of his reign, this Hyksos ruler adopted a new prenomen, Aqenenre, which translates as "The strength of Re is great." In the final decade or so of his reign, Apepi chose Auserre as his last prenomen. While the prenomen was altered, there is no difference in the translation of both Aqenenre and Auserre. His Horus name "Shetep-tawy" is attested only twice (once together with "A-qenen-Re"). It appears on an offering table and on blocks found at Bubastis.

Reign.

Rather than building his own monuments, Apepi generally usurped the monuments of previous pharaohs by inscribing his own name over two sphinxes of Amenemhat II and two statues of Imyremeshaw. Apepi is thought to have usurped the throne of northern Egypt after the death of his predecessor, Khyan, since the latter had designated his son, Yanassi, to be his successor on the throne as a foreign ruler. He was succeeded by Khamudi, the last Hyksos ruler. Ahmose I, who drove out the Hyksos kings from Egypt, established the 18th Dynasty.  In the Ramesside era, Apepi is recorded as worshiping Seth in a monolatric way: "[He] chose for his Lord the god Seth. He didn't worship any other deity in the whole land except Seth." Jan Assmann argues that because the Ancient Egyptians could never conceive of a "lonely" god lacking personality, Seth the desert god, who was worshiped exclusively, represented a manifestation of evil.  There is some discussion in Egyptology concerning whether Apepi also ruled Upper Egypt. There are indeed several objects with the king's name most likely coming from Thebes and Upper Egypt. These include a dagger with the name of the king bought on the art market in Luxor. There is an axe of unknown provenance where the king is called "beloved of Sobek, lord of Sumenu". Sumenu is nowadays identified with Mahamid Qibli, about 24 kilometers south of Thebes and there is a fragment of a stone vessel found in a Theban tomb. For all these objects it is arguable that they were traded to Upper Egypt. More problematic is a block with the king's name found at Gebelein. The block had been taken as evidence for building activity of the king in Upper Egypt and, hence, seen as proof that the Hyksos also ruled in Upper Egypt. However, the block is not very big and many scholars argue today, that it might have reached Gebelein after the looting of the Hyksos capital and is no proof of a Hyksos reign in Upper Egypt.

Family.

Two sisters are known: Tani and Ziwat. Tani is mentioned on a door of a shrine in Avaris and on the stand of an offering table (Berlin 22487). She was the sister of the king. Ziwat is mentioned on a bowl found in Spain.  A 'Prince Apepi', named on a seal (now in Berlin) is likely to have been his son. Apepi also had a daughter, named Herit: a vase belonging to her was found in a tomb at Thebes, sometimes regarded as the one of king Amenhotep I, which might indicate that at some point his daughter was married to a Theban king. The vase, however, could have been an item which was looted from Avaris after the eventual victory over the Hyksos by Ahmose I.

Apepi (also Ipepi; Egyptian language ') or Apophis (; regnal names Neb-khepesh-Re, A-qenen-Re and A-user-Re"') was a ruler of Lower Egypt during the fifteenth dynasty and the end of the Second Intermediate Period that was dominated by this foreign dynasty of rulers called the Hyksos. According to the Turin Canon of Kings, he ruled over the northern portion of Egypt for forty years. He ruled during the early half of the 16th century BC and outlived his southern rival, Kamose, but not Ahmose I. Although his reign only entailed northern Egypt, Apepi was dominant over most of Egypt during the early portion of his reign, and traded peacefully with the native Theban Seventeenth dynasty to the south.


History.

France's first experience with an upper house was under the Directory from 1795 to 1799, when the Council of Ancients was the upper chamber. There were Senates in both the First and Second Empires (the former being known as the "Sénat conservateur", the latter as the French Senate), but these were only nominally legislative bodies – technically they were not legislative, but rather advisory bodies on the model of the Roman Senate.  With the Restoration in 1814, a new Chamber of Peers was created, on the model of the British House of Lords. At first it contained hereditary peers, but following the July Revolution of 1830, it became a body whose members were appointed for life. The Second Republic returned to a unicameral system after 1848, but soon after the establishment of the Second French Empire in 1852, a Senate was established as the upper chamber. In the Fourth Republic, the Senate was replaced by the Council of the Republic, but its function was largely the same. With the new Constitution of the Fifth Republic which came into force on 4 October 1958, the older name of Senate was restored.  In 2011, the Socialist Party won control of the Senate for the first time since the foundation of the Fifth Republic. In 2014, the centre-right Gaullists and its allies won back the control of the Senate; they retained their majority in 2017.

Powers.

Under the Constitution of France, the Senate has nearly the same powers as the National Assembly. Bills may be submitted by the administration ("projets de loi") or by either house of Parliament ("propositions de loi"). Because both houses may amend the bill, it may take several readings to reach an agreement between the National Assembly and the Senate. When the Senate and the National Assembly cannot agree on a bill, the administration can decide, after a procedure called "commission mixte paritaire", to give the final decision to the National Assembly, whose majority is normally on the government's side, but as regarding the constitutional laws the administration must have the Senate's agreement. This does not happen frequently; usually the two houses eventually agree on the bill, or the administration decides to withdraw it. This power however gives the National Assembly a prominent role in the law-making process, especially since the administration is necessarily of the same side as the Assembly, for the Assembly can dismiss the administration through a motion of censure.  The power to pass a vote of censure, or vote of no confidence, is limited. As was the case in the Fourth Republic's constitution, new cabinets do not have to receive a vote of confidence. Also, a vote of censure can occur only after 10 percent of the members sign a petition; if rejected, those members that signed cannot sign another petition until that session of Parliament has ended. If the petition gets the required support, a vote of censure must gain an absolute majority of all members, not just those voting. If the Assembly and the Senate have politically distinct majorities, the Assembly will in most cases prevail, and open conflict between the two houses is uncommon.  The Senate is also the representative of the territories and often defends the regions and mayors, see the article 24 of the Constitution.  The Senate also serves to monitor the administration's actions by publishing many reports each year on various topics.

Composition.

Until September 2004, the Senate had had 321 members, each elected to serve for a nine-year term. In that month, the term was reduced to six years, while – to reflect a growth in the country's population – the number of senators was set to increase progressively, to reach 348 by 2011. Senators had been elected in thirds every three years; this was also changed to one half of their number every three years.

President.

The President of the Senate is elected by Senators from among their members. The current incumbent is Gérard Larcher. The President of the Senate is, under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, first in the line of succession—in case of death, resignation or removal from office (only for health reasons)—to the presidency of the French Republic, becoming Acting President of the Republic until a new election can be held. This happened twice for Alain Poher—once at the resignation of Charles de Gaulle and once at the death of Georges Pompidou.  The President of the Senate also has the right to designate three of the nine members of the Constitutional Council, serving for nine years.

Election.

Senators are elected indirectly by approximately 150,000 officials, known as the "grands électeurs", including regional councillors, department councillors, mayors, municipal councillors in large communes, as well as members of the National Assembly. However, 90% of the electors are delegates appointed by councillors. This system introduces a bias in the composition of the Senate favoring rural areas. As a consequence, while the political majority changes frequently in the National Assembly, the Senate has remained politically right, with one brief exception, since the foundation of the Fifth Republic, much to the displeasure of the Socialists.  This has spurred controversy, especially after the 2008 election in which the Socialist Party, despite controlling all but two of France's regions, a majority of departments, as well as communes representing more than 50 % of the population, still failed to achieve a majority in the Senate. The Senate has also been accused of being a "refuge" for politicians that have lost their seats in the National Assembly. The left, led by the Socialist Party, gained control of the Senate for the first time since 1958 during the 2011 election, leading to the election of Jean-Pierre Bel at its presidency. This proved a short-lived win, as the right, led by the Union for a Popular Movement, regained the Senate three years later.

Criticism.

As an indirectly elected house, the Senate is often criticised by political parties such as La France Insoumise and the National Rally as not being representative enough. The Republicans and the Socialist Party tend to want to reform the Senate in order to make it more effective without questioning its existence.

The Senate (; pronunciation: ) is the upper house of the French Parliament. Indirectly elected by elected officials, it represents territorial collectivities of the Republic and French citizens living abroad. The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally receive less media coverage.


Synopsis.

"Narcissus and Goldmund" is the story of a young man, Goldmund (), who wanders aimlessly throughout Medieval Germany after leaving a Catholic monastery school in search of what could be described as "the meaning of life".  Narcissus (German: "Narziss or, before the German spelling reform of 1996, "Narziß" ), a gifted young teacher at the cloister school, quickly befriends Goldmund, as they are only a few years apart, and Goldmund is naturally bright. Goldmund looks up to Narcissus, and Narcissus has much fondness for him in return. After straying too far in the fields one day on an errand gathering herbs, Goldmund comes across a beautiful Gypsy woman, who kisses him and invites him to make love. This encounter becomes his epiphany; he now knows he was never meant to be a monk. With Narcissus' help, he leaves the monastery and embarks on a wandering existence.  Goldmund finds he is very attractive to women, and has numerous love affairs. After seeing a particularly beautiful carved Madonna in a church, he feels his own artistic talent awakening and seeks out the master carver, with whom he studies for several years. However, in the end Goldmund refuses an offer of guild membership, preferring the freedom of the road. When the Black Death devastates the region, Goldmund encounters human existence at its ugliest. Finally, after being imprisoned and set to be executed, he is reunited with and saved by his friend Narcissus, now an abbot, and the two reflect upon the different paths their lives have taken, contrasting the artist with the thinker.  The timeline and geography of the narrative is left somewhat vague, as the tale is rather abstract, and there is little attempt at historical accuracy. For example, some of Narcissus and Goldmund's discussions of philosophy and science sound too modern to have taken place during medieval times.

Themes.

In this novel the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche's theory of the Apollonian versus Dionysian spirit is evident. The polarization of Narcissus's individualist Apollonian character stands in contrast to the passionate and zealous disposition of Goldmund. Hesse, in the spirit of Nietzsche's "The Birth of Tragedy", completes the equation by creating Goldmund as a wanderer (a Dionysian endeavour) balanced out by Narcissus, the structured and stable priest-monk (an Apollonian approach), and highlighting the harmonizing relationship between the main characters.  Goldmund is presented as an evolving seeker who attempts to embody both Apollonian and Dionysian elements, thus capturing Nietzsche's conception of the ideal tragedy. Goldmund comes to embody a wide spectrum of the human experience, lusting for the gruesome ecstasy of the sensual world yet capturing and representing it through his talent as a sculptor.  Like most of Hesse's works, the main theme of this book is the wanderer's struggle to find himself, as well as the Jungian union of polar opposites ("Mysterium Coniunctionis"). Goldmund represents nature and the "feminine mind", while Narcissus represents science and logic and God and the "masculine mind". These "feminine" and "masculine" qualities are drawn from the Jungian archetypal structure, and is reminiscent of some of his earlier works, especially "Demian". Throughout the novel, Goldmund increasingly becomes aware of memories of his own mother, which ultimately results in his desire to return to the "Urmutter" (primordial mother). However, he also tries to reconcile the Apollonian and Dionysian ideals through art (giving form to the formless).

English translations.

The first translation into English, (by Geoffrey Dunlop), appeared in 1932 entitled "Death and the Lover". Penguin Modern Classics published this translation in 1971, entitled "Narziss and Goldmund", reprinting in 1971, 1972x2, 1973x2, 1974x2, 1976, 1978. In 1968, a translation by Ursule Molinaro was published as "Narcissus and Goldmund". In 1994 a new translation by Leila Vennewitz was shortlisted for the Schlegel-Tieck Prize.

Narcissus and Goldmund (; also published as Death and the Lover) is a novel written by the German–Swiss author Hermann Hesse which was first published in 1930. At its publication, "Narcissus and Goldmund" was considered Hesse's literary triumph; chronologically, it follows "Steppenwolf".


Premise.

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" takes place mainly in Prague in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It explores the artistic and intellectual life of Czech society from the Prague Spring of 1968 to the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union and three other Warsaw Pact countries and its aftermath. The main characters are: Tomáš, an adulterous surgeon; his wife Tereza, a photographer anguished by her husband's infidelities; Tomáš's lover Sabina, a free-spirited artist; Franz, a Swiss university professor and lover of Sabina; Karenin, Tomáš and Tereza's dog; and finally Šimon, Tomáš's estranged son from an earlier marriage.

Philosophical underpinnings.

Challenging Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of eternal recurrence (the idea that the universe and its events have already occurred and will recur "ad infinitum"), the story's thematic meditations posit the alternative: that each person has only one life to live and that which occurs in life occurs only once and never again – thus the "lightness" of being. Moreover, this lightness also signifies freedom; Tomáš and Sabina display this lightness, whereas Tereza's character is "weighed down". In the Constance Garnett translation of Tolstoy's "War and Peace" she gives us the phrase "strange lightness of being" during the description of Prince Andrey's death. In contrast, the concept of eternal recurrence imposes a "heaviness" on life and the decisions that are made – to borrow from Nietzsche's metaphor, it gives them "weight". Nietzsche believed this heaviness could be either a tremendous burden or great benefit depending on the individual's perspective.  The "unbearable lightness" in the title also refers to the lightness of love and sex, which are themes of the novel. Kundera portrays love as fleeting, haphazard and possibly based upon endless strings of coincidences, despite holding much significance for humans.  Quoting Kundera from the book:  “"The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant. What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?...When we want to give expression to a dramatic situation in our lives, we tend to use metaphors of heaviness. We say that something has become a great burden to us. We either bear the burden or fail and go down with it, we struggle with it, win or lose. And Sabina – what had come over her? Nothing. She had left a man because she felt like leaving him. Had he persecuted her? Had he tried to take revenge on her? No. Her drama was a drama not of heaviness but of lightness. What fell to her lot was not the burden, but the unbearable lightness of being.”  In the novel, Nietzsche's concept is attached to an interpretation of the German adage einmal ist keinmal ("one occurrence is not significant"), namely an "all-or-nothing" cognitive distortion that Tomáš must overcome in his hero's journey. He initially believes "If we only have one life to live, we might as well not have lived at all," and specifically (with respect to committing to Tereza) "There is no means of testing which decision is better, because there is no basis for comparison." The novel resolves this question decisively that such a commitment is in fact possible and desirable.

Publication.

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (1984) was not published in the original Czech until 1985 by the exile publishing house 68 Publishers (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). The second Czech edition was published in October 2006, in Brno, Czech Republic, some eighteen years after the Velvet Revolution, because Kundera did not approve it earlier. The first English translation by Michael Henry Heim was published in hardback in 1984 by Harper & Row in the US and Faber and Faber in the UK and in paperback in 1985.

Film.

In 1988, an American-made film adaptation of the novel was released starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Lena Olin and Juliette Binoche. In a note to the Czech edition of the book, Kundera remarks that the movie had very little to do with the spirit either of the novel or the characters in it. In the same note Kundera goes on to say that after this experience he no longer allows any adaptations of his work.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being () is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera, about two women, two men, a dog and their lives in the 1968 Prague Spring period of Czechoslovak history. Although written in 1982, the novel was not published until two years later, in a French translation (as "L'Insoutenable légèreté de l'être"). The original Czech text was published the following year.


Definitions.

There are two common definitions of wave vector, which differ by a factor of 2π in their magnitudes. One definition is preferred in physics and related fields, while the other definition is preferred in crystallography and related fields. For this article, they will be called the "physics definition" and the "crystallography definition", respectively.  In both definitions below, the magnitude of the wave vector is represented by formula_1; the direction of the wave vector is discussed in the following section.

Physics definition.

A perfect one-dimensional traveling wave follows the equation: where:  formula_1 is the magnitude of the wave vector. In this one-dimensional example, the direction of the wave vector is trivial: this wave travels in the +x direction with speed (more specifically, phase velocity) formula_13. In a multidimensional system, the scalar formula_14 would be replaced by the vector dot product formula_15, representing the wave vector and the position vector, respectively.

Crystallography definition.

In crystallography, the same waves are described using slightly different equations. In one and three dimensions respectively:  The differences between the above two definitions are: The direction of k is discussed in the next section.

Direction of the wave vector.

The direction in which the wave vector points must be distinguished from the "direction of wave propagation". The "direction of wave propagation" is the direction of a wave's energy flow, and the direction that a small wave packet will move, i.e. the direction of the group velocity. For light waves, this is also the direction of the Poynting vector. On the other hand, the wave vector points in the direction of phase velocity. In other words, the wave vector points in the normal direction to the surfaces of constant phase, also called wavefronts.  In a lossless isotropic medium such as air, any gas, any liquid, amorphous solids (such as glass), and cubic crystals the direction of the wavevector is exactly the same as the direction of wave propagation. If the medium is anisotropic, the wave vector in general points in directions other than that of the wave propagation. The condition for the wave vector to point in the same direction in which the wave propagates is that the wave has to be homogeneous, which isn't necessarily satisfied when the medium is anisotropic. In a homogeneous wave, the surfaces of constant phase are also surfaces of constant amplitude. In case of heterogeneous waves, these two species of surfaces differ in orientation. The wave vector is always perpendicular to surfaces of constant phase.  For example, when a wave travels through an anisotropic medium, such as light waves through an asymmetric crystal or sound waves through a sedimentary rock, the wave vector may not point exactly in the direction of wave propagation.

In solid-state physics.

In solid-state physics, the "wavevector" (also called k-vector) of an electron or hole in a crystal is the wavevector of its quantum-mechanical wavefunction. These electron waves are not ordinary sinusoidal waves, but they do have a kind of "envelope function" which is sinusoidal, and the wavevector is defined via that envelope wave, usually using the "physics definition". See Bloch wave for further details.

In special relativity.

A moving wave surface in special relativity may be regarded as a hypersurface (a 3D subspace) in spacetime, formed by all the events passed by the wave surface. A wavetrain (denoted by some variable X) can be regarded as a one-parameter family of such hypersurfaces in spacetime. This variable X is a scalar function of position in spacetime. The derivative of this scalar is a vector that characterizes the wave, the four-wavevector.  The four-wavevector is a wave four-vector that is defined, in Minkowski coordinates, as:  where the angular frequency formula_25 is the temporal component, and the wavenumber vector formula_26 is the spatial component.  Alternately, the wavenumber formula_1 can be written as the angular frequency formula_7 divided by the phase-velocity formula_29, or in terms of inverse period formula_8 and inverse wavelength formula_31.  When written out explicitly its contravariant and covariant forms are:  In general, the Lorentz scalar magnitude of the wave four-vector is:  The four-wavevector is null for massless (photonic) particles, where the rest mass formula_35  An example of a null four-wavevector would be a beam of coherent, monochromatic light, which has phase-velocity formula_36  which would have the following relation between the frequency and the magnitude of the spatial part of the four-wavevector:  The four-wavevector is related to the four-momentum as follows:  The four-wavevector is related to the four-frequency as follows:  The four-wavevector is related to the four-velocity as follows:

Lorentz transformation.

Taking the Lorentz transformation of the four-wavevector is one way to derive the relativistic Doppler effect. The Lorentz matrix is defined as  In the situation where light is being emitted by a fast moving source and one would like to know the frequency of light detected in an earth (lab) frame, we would apply the Lorentz transformation as follows. Note that the source is in a frame "S" and earth is in the observing frame, "S". Applying the Lorentz transformation to the wave vector  and choosing just to look at the formula_44 component results in So

Source moving away (redshift).

As an example, to apply this to a situation where the source is moving directly away from the observer (formula_46), this becomes:

Source moving towards (blueshift).

To apply this to a situation where the source is moving straight towards the observer (formula_48), this becomes:

Source moving tangentially (transverse Doppler effect).

To apply this to a situation where the source is moving transversely with respect to the observer (formula_50), this becomes:

In physics, a wave vector (also spelled wavevector) is a vector which helps describe a wave. Like any vector, it has a magnitude and direction, both of which are important. Its magnitude is either the wavenumber or angular wavenumber of the wave (inversely proportional to the wavelength), and its direction is ordinarily the direction of wave propagation (but not always, see below).