Discovery of a direct sea route to India: open-sea travel and the Bab el-Mandeb barrier

Author(s):  
Mateusz Lisak

The issue of discovery of a sea route to India is one of the most important questions about Indo-Roman trade relations and it has yet to be resolved. Historians tend to focus on who and when made the first open-sea journey, and whether it was a sudden change or a process. Conditions essential for discovery of a new route are not considered (not clear – are not considered here, in this paper?), nor are the circumstances that would have made this journey possible. Another issue (of what?) is the case of the Arabia Eudaimon port. The 1st-century AD Periplus Maris Erythraei states that the port had been ransacked and there was no direct connection between India and Egypt, but that all ships were forced to stop there. Thus the resumption of active trade with India necessitated the lifting of the tentative blockade of Arabia Eudaimon and discovering the trans-oceanic route. The nautical guide, however, does not describe the new repute in the context of the troubles in Bab el-Mandeb, but can we be really sure that these two events were not related? What were the circumstances and conditions that had to be met for it to be possible to discover a new route?

1995 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 359 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Persson ◽  
L Hakanson

Bottom dynamic conditions (areas of accumulation, erosion or transportation) in aquatic ecosystems influence the dispersal, sedimentation and recirculation of most substances, such as metals, organic toxins and nutrients. The aim of the present work was to establish a simple and general method to predict sediment types/bottom dynamic conditions in Baltic coastal areas. As a working hypothesis, it is proposed that the morphometry and the absence or presence of an archipelago outside a given coastal area regulate what factors determine the prevailing bottom dynamic conditions. Empirical data on the proportion of accumulation bottoms (BA) were collected from 38 relatively small (1-14 km²) and enclosed coastal areas in the Baltic Sea. Morphometric data were obtained by using a digital technique to transfer information from standard bathymetric maps into a computer. Data were processed by means of multivariate statistical methods. In the first model, based on data from all 38 areas, 55% of the variation in BA among the areas was statistically explained by five morphometric parameters. The data set was then divided into two parts: areas in direct connection with the open sea, and areas inside an archipelago. In the second model, based on data from 15 areas in direct connection with the open sea, 77% of the variation in BA was statistically explained by the mean depth of the deep water (the water mass below 10 m) and the mean slope. In the third model, based on data from 23 areas inside an archipelago, 70% of the variation in BA was statistically explained by the mean slope, the topographic form factor, the proportion of islands and the mean filter factor (which is a relative measure of the impact of winds and waves from outside the area). The model parameters describe the sediment trapping capacity of the areas investigated.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 5373
Author(s):  
Marcin Lemanowicz ◽  
Esteban Wong Munoz ◽  
Anna Mielańczyk ◽  
Krzysztof Kiraga ◽  
Andrzej Gierczycki

In this paper, the experimental research concerning the impact of the hydrophilic-hydrophobic transition of a polymer exhibiting the Upper Critical Solution Temperature (UCST) onto the crystallization process of inorganic salt is presented. A hypothesis was postulated that under favorable process conditions the sudden change of macromolecules properties and the resulting appearance of insoluble particles will induce the nucleation process of the salt. Since the transition point parameters may be precisely designed, the described mechanism would eliminate the stochastic nature of the crystallization process. Although performed experiments proved that the postulated process mechanism was incorrect, the presence of macromolecules had a significant impact on the crystallization course. The stochastic nature of the process was not eliminated; nevertheless, it seems that a specific point of nucleation was created which was independent of the cloud point temperature (TCP) of the polymer. Moreover, the surface morphology of crystals was changed.


Author(s):  
V. C. Kannan ◽  
A. K. Singh ◽  
R. B. Irwin ◽  
S. Chittipeddi ◽  
F. D. Nkansah ◽  
...  

Titanium nitride (TiN) films have historically been used as diffusion barrier between silicon and aluminum, as an adhesion layer for tungsten deposition and as an interconnect material etc. Recently, the role of TiN films as contact barriers in very large scale silicon integrated circuits (VLSI) has been extensively studied. TiN films have resistivities on the order of 20μ Ω-cm which is much lower than that of titanium (nearly 66μ Ω-cm). Deposited TiN films show resistivities which vary from 20 to 100μ Ω-cm depending upon the type of deposition and process conditions. TiNx is known to have a NaCl type crystal structure for a wide range of compositions. Change in color from metallic luster to gold reflects the stabilization of the TiNx (FCC) phase over the close packed Ti(N) hexagonal phase. It was found that TiN (1:1) ideal composition with the FCC (NaCl-type) structure gives the best electrical property.


Author(s):  
J C Walmsley ◽  
A R Lang

Interest in the defects and impurities in natural diamond, which are found in even the most perfect stone, is driven by the fact that diamond growth occurs at a depth of over 120Km. They display characteristics associated with their origin and their journey through the mantle to the surface of the Earth. An optical classification scheme for diamond exists based largely on the presence and segregation of nitrogen. For example type Ia, which includes 98% of all natural diamonds, contain nitrogen aggregated into small non-paramagnetic clusters and usually contain sub-micrometre platelet defects on {100} planes. Numerous transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies of these platelets and associated features have been made e.g. . Some diamonds, however, contain imperfections and impurities that place them outside this main classification scheme. Two such types are described.First, coated-diamonds which possess gem quality cores enclosed by a rind that is rich in submicrometre sized mineral inclusions. The transition from core to coat is quite sharp indicating a sudden change in growth conditions, Figure 1. As part of a TEM study of the inclusions apatite has been identified as a major constituent of the impurity present in many inclusion cavities, Figure 2.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 431-438
Author(s):  
Jian Liu ◽  
Lihui Wang ◽  
Zhengqi Tian

The nonlinearity of the electric vehicle DC charging equipment and the complexity of the charging environment lead to the complex and changeable DC charging signal of the electric vehicle. It is urgent to study the distortion signal recognition method suitable for the electric vehicle DC charging. Focusing on the characteristics of fundamental and ripple in DC charging signal, the Kalman filter algorithm is used to establish the matrix model, and the state variable method is introduced into the filter algorithm to track the parameter state, and the amplitude and phase of the fundamental waves and each secondary ripple are identified; In view of the time-varying characteristics of the unsteady and abrupt signal in the DC charging signal, the stratification and threshold parameters of the wavelet transform are corrected, and a multi-resolution method is established to identify and separate the unsteady and abrupt signals. Identification method of DC charging distortion signal of electric vehicle based on Kalman/modified wavelet transform is used to decompose and identify the signal characteristics of the whole charging process. Experiment results demonstrate that the algorithm can accurately identify ripple, sudden change and unsteady wave during charging. It has higher signal to noise ratio and lower mean root mean square error.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. G. Konesev ◽  
P. A. Khlyupin

Introduction: the systems of thermal effects on thermo-dependent, viscous and highly viscous liquids under conditions of the Arctic and the Extreme North are considered. Low efficiency and danger of heating systems based on burned hydrocarbons, heated liquids and steam are shown. Electrothermal heating systems used to maintain thermo-dependent fluids in a fluid state are considered. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the application of the most common electrothermal system — heating cables (tapes). The most effective electrothermal system based on induction technologies has been determined. Materials and methods: considered methods of thermal exposure to maintain the fluid properties of thermo-dependent fluids at low extreme temperatures. Results: presents an induction heating system and options for its implementation in the Extreme North and the Arctic. Conclusions: induction heating system to minimize loss of product quality, improve the system performance under changing process conditions, eliminate fire product, to reduce the influence of the human factor.


TAPPI Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 467-477
Author(s):  
PASI NIEMELAINEN ◽  
MARTTI PULLIAINEN ◽  
JARMO KAHALA ◽  
SAMPO LUUKKAINEN

Black liquor high solids (about 80%) concentrators have often been found to suffer from aggressive corrosion. In particular, the first and second effect bodies are susceptible to corrosion attacks resulting in tube leaks and wall thinning, which limit the availability and lifetime of evaporator lines. Corrosion dynamics and construction materials have been studied extensively within the pulp and paper industry to understand the corrosion process. However, it has been challenging to identify root causes for corrosion, which has limited proactive measures to minimize corrosion damage. Corrosion of the first phase concentrator was studied by defining the potential regions for passive area, stress corrosion cracking, pitting corrosion, and general corrosion. This was achieved by using a technique called polarization scan that reveals ranges for the passive area in which the equipment is naturally protected against corrosion. The open circuit potential, also known as corrosion potential, and linear polarization resistance of the metal were monitored online, which allowed for definition of corrosion risks for stainless steel 304L and duplex stainless steels 2205 and SAF 2906. An online temperature measurement added insight to the analysis. A process diagnostics tool was used to identify root causes of the corrosion attacks. Many of the root causes were related to process conditions triggering corrosion. Once the metal surface was activated, it was difficult to repassivate the metal naturally unless a sufficient potential range was reached.


TAPPI Journal ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-ming Wang ◽  
Zai-sheng Cai ◽  
Jian-yong Yu

Degumming of pre-chlorite treated jute fiber was studied in this paper. The effects of sodium hydroxide concentration, treatment time, temperature, sodium silicate concentration, fiber-to-liquor ratio, penetrating agent TF-107B concentration, and degumming agent TF-125A concentration were the process conditions examined. With respect to gum decomposition, fineness and mechanical properties, sodium hydroxide concentration, sodium silicate concentration, and treatment time were found to be the most important parameters. An orthogonal L9(34) experiment designed to optimize the conditions for degumming resulted in the selection of the following procedure: sodium hydroxide of 12g/L, sodium silicate of 3g/L, TF-107B of 2g/L, TF-125A of 2g/L, treatment time of 105 min, temperature of 100°C and fiber to liquor ratio of 1:20. The effect of the above degumming process on the removal of impurities was also examined and the results showed that degumming was an effective method for removing impurities, especially hemicellulose.


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