Encyclopaedia of Historical Metrology, Weights, and Measures

Encyclopaedia of Historical Metrology, Weights, and Measures
Author: Jan Gyllenbok
Publisher: Birkhäuser
Total Pages: 691
Release: 2018-04-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319575988

This first of three volumes starts with a short introduction to historical metrology as a scientific discipline and goes on with an anthology of acient and modern measurement systems of all kind, scientific measures, units of time, weights, currencies etc. It concludes with an exhaustive list of references. Units of measurement are of vital importance in every civilization through history. Since the early ages, man has through necessity devised various measures to assist him in everyday life. They have enabled and continue to enable us to trade in commonly and equitably understood amounts, and to investigate, understand, and control the chemical, physical, and biological processes of the natural world. The essence of the work is an alphabetically ordered, comprehensive list of measurement nomenclature, units and scales. It provides an understanding of almost all quantitative expressions observed in all imaginable situations, including spelling variants and the abbreviations and symbols for units, and various acronyms used in metrology. It will be of use not only to historians of science and technology, but also to economic and social historians and should be in every major academic and national library as standard reference work on the topic.

Nisyros Volcano

Nisyros Volcano
Author: Volker Jörg Dietrich
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2017-08-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319554603

This book presents the first compilation of scientific research on the island of Nisyros, involving various geoscientific disciplines. Presenting a wealth of illustrations and maps, including a geological map of the volcano, it also provides valuable insights into the geothermal potential of Greece. The island of Nisyros is a Quaternary volcano located at the easternmost end of the South Aegean Volcanic Arc. The island is nearly circular, with an average diameter of 8 km, and covers an area of approximately 42 km2. It lies above a base of Mesozoic limestone and a thin crust, with the mantle-crust transition located at a depth of approximately 27 km. The volcanic edifice of Nisyros comprises a succession of calc-alkaline lavas and pyroclastic rocks, as well as a summit caldera with an average diameter of 4 km. Nisyros marks the most recent volcano in the large prehistoric volcanic field between Kos-Yali-Strongyli-Pyrgousa-Pachia-Nisyros, where the largest eruption (“Kos Plateau Tuff”) in the history of the eastern Mediterranean devastated the Dodecanese islands 161,000 years ago. Although the last volcanic activity on Nisyros dates back at least 20,000 to 25,000 years, it encompasses an active hydrothermal system underneath the volcano with temperatures of roughly 100°C at the Lakki plain, the present-day caldera floor and 350°C at a depth of 1,550 m. A high level of seismic unrest, thermal waters and fumarolic gases bear testament to its continuous activity, which is due to a large volume of hot rocks and magma batches at greater depths, between 3,000 and 8,000 m. Violent hydrothermal eruptions accompanied by major earthquakes occurred in 1873 and 1888 and left behind large, “world-wide unique” explosion craters in the old caldera. Through diffuse soil degassing, the discharge of all hydrothermal craters in the Lakki plain releases 68 tons of hydrothermal-volcanic derived CO2 and 42 MW of thermal energy per day. This unique volcanic and hydrothermal environment is visited daily by hundreds of tourists.

A History of Greek-Owned Shipping

A History of Greek-Owned Shipping
Author: Gelina Harlaftis
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 840
Release: 2005-08-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134990111

Greek-owned shipping has been at the top of the world fleet for the last twenty years. Winner of the 1997 Runciman Award, this richly sourced study traces the development of the Greek tramp fleet from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Gelina Harlaftis argues that the success of Greek-owned shipping in recent years has been a result not of a number of entrepreneurs using flags of convenience in the 1940s, but of networks and organisational structures which date back to the nineteenth century. This study provides the most comprehensive history of development of modern Greek shipping ever published. It is illustrated with numerous maps and photographs, and includes extensive tables of primary data.

Great Powers and Geopolitical Change

Great Powers and Geopolitical Change
Author: Jakub J. Grygiel
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2007-02-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0801889618

Named by Foreign Affairs as a book to read on geopolitics. In an era of high technology and instant communication, the role of geography in the formation of strategy and politics in international relations can be undervalued. But the mountains of Afghanistan and the scorching sand storms of Iraq have provided stark reminders that geographical realities continue to have a profound impact on the success of military campaigns. Here, political scientist Jakub J. Grygiel brings to light the importance of incorporating geography into grand strategy. He argues that states can increase and maintain their position of power by pursuing a geostrategy that focuses on control of resources and lines of communication. Grygiel examines case studies of Venice, the Ottoman Empire, and China in the global fifteenth century—all great powers that faced a dramatic change in geopolitics when new routes and continents were discovered. The location of resources, the layout of trade networks, and the stability of state boundaries played a large role in the success or failure of these three powers. Grygiel asserts that, though many other aspects of foreign policy have changed throughout history, strategic response to geographical features remains one of the most salient factors in establishing and maintaining power in the international arena.

The Athenian Trireme

The Athenian Trireme
Author: J. S. Morrison
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2000-07-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521564564

Second edition of the technical and historical background to the reconstruction of a Greek warship.