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1 improvement
1 ( change for the better) amélioration f (in, of, to de) ; an improvement on last year's performance une amélioration par rapport aux résultats de l'an dernier ; an improvement on his previous offer Fin une offre plus intéressante que son offre précédente ; the new edition is an improvement on the old one la nouvelle édition est bien meilleure que l'ancienne ; there have been a lot of safety improvements ou improvements in safety il y a eu beaucoup d'amélioration en matière de sécurité ; a 2% improvement ou an improvement of 2% on last year's profits une amélioration de 2% par rapport aux bénéfices de l'an dernier ;2 ( progress) progrès mpl ; he has made a big improvement (in schoolwork, behaviour) il a fait de gros progrès ; Med son état s'est beaucoup amélioré ; she has made some improvement in maths elle a fait des progrès en maths ; he has come on a lot but there is still room for improvement il a fait des progrès mais il peut encore faire mieux ; there is room for improvement in the industry on pourrait encore faire mieux dans l'industrie ;3 ( alteration) aménagement m ; an improvement to the road network un aménagement du réseau routier ; to make improvements to apporter des aménagements à [house] ; home improvements aménagements mpl du domicile ; a road improvement scheme un projet d'aménagement des routes. -
2 improvement
improvement [ɪmˈpru:vmənt]* * *[ɪm'pruːvmənt]1) ( change for the better) amélioration f (in, of, to de)an improvement on last year's performance — une amélioration par rapport aux résultats de l'an dernier
the new edition is an improvement on the old one — la nouvelle édition est bien meilleure que l'ancienne
2) ( progress) progrès mpl3) ( alteration) aménagement mhome improvements — aménagements mpl du domicile
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3 improvement
[ɪm'pruːvmənt]1) (change for the better) miglioramento m. (in, of, to di)an improvement on last year's performance — un miglioramento rispetto alla prestazione dell'anno scorso
safety improvements, improvements in safety miglioramenti in materia di sicurezza; a 5% improvement, an improvement of 5% — un aumento del 5%
2) (progress)he has made a big improvement — med. le sue condizioni sono notevolmente migliorate
there is room for improvement — ci sono ancora possibilità o margini di miglioramento
3) (alteration) miglioria f., miglioramento m. (to di)to make improvements to — apportare delle migliorie a [ house]
* * *1) (the state or act of improving or being improved: There has been a great improvement in her work; The patient's condition shows some improvement.) miglioramento2) (something which improves, or adds beauty, value etc: I've made several improvements to the house.) miglioramento* * *[ɪm'pruːvmənt]1) (change for the better) miglioramento m. (in, of, to di)an improvement on last year's performance — un miglioramento rispetto alla prestazione dell'anno scorso
safety improvements, improvements in safety miglioramenti in materia di sicurezza; a 5% improvement, an improvement of 5% — un aumento del 5%
2) (progress)he has made a big improvement — med. le sue condizioni sono notevolmente migliorate
there is room for improvement — ci sono ancora possibilità o margini di miglioramento
3) (alteration) miglioria f., miglioramento m. (to di)to make improvements to — apportare delle migliorie a [ house]
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4 improvement
noun2) (addition) Verbesserung, diemake improvements to something — Verbesserungen an etwas (Dat.) vornehmen
* * *1) (the state or act of improving or being improved: There has been a great improvement in her work; The patient's condition shows some improvement.) die Verbesserung2) (something which improves, or adds beauty, value etc: I've made several improvements to the house.) die Verbesserung* * *im·prove·ment[ɪmˈpru:vmənt]nthe last year has seen a slight \improvement in the economy im letzten Jahr hat sich die Wirtschaftslage leicht verbessert\improvement in efficiency Effizienzsteigerung f\improvement in results Ergebnisverbesserung fto be an \improvement on the former design/the old house/the previous manager im Vergleich zum früheren Entwurf/zum alten Haus/zum vorigen Geschäftsführer eine Verbesserung darstellenroom for \improvement Steigerungsmöglichkeiten pl[home] \improvements Renovierungsarbeiten pl (Ausbau- und Modernisierungsarbeiten an/in Wohnung/Haus)* * *[ɪm'pruːvmənt]nVerbesserung f, Besserung f; (of area, appearance) Verschönerung f; (of sauce, food etc) Verfeinerung f; (= increase) (in production, value) Erhöhung f, Steigerung f; (of knowledge) Erweiterung f; (of salaries) Aufbesserung f; (in health) Besserung f; (in studies) Verbesserung f, Fortschritte plto make improvements — Verbesserungen machen or durchführen (to an +dat )
to carry out improvements to a house — Ausbesserungs- or (to appearance) Verschönerungsarbeiten an einem Haus vornehmen
* * *1. (Ver)Besserung f (in gen; on gegenüber, im Vergleich zu):improvement in health Besserung der Gesundheit;improvement in the weather Wetterbesserung;there has been an improvement in the weather das Wetter hat sich gebessert;today’s weather is an improvement on yesterday’s heute ist das Wetter besser als gestern2. a) AGR Melioration fb) Erschließung f und Wertsteigerung f3. Ausnutzung f4. Vered(e)lung f, Verfeinerung f:5. Vermehrung f, Erhöhung f, Steigerung f* * *noun2) (addition) Verbesserung, diemake improvements to something — Verbesserungen an etwas (Dat.) vornehmen
* * *n.Aufbesserung f.Ausbau -ten m.Besserung f.Fortschritt m.Neuerung -en f.Verbesserung f. -
5 show
show [ʃəʊ]démonstration ⇒ 1 (a) semblant ⇒ 1 (a) ostentation ⇒ 1 (a) spectacle ⇒ 1 (b) émission ⇒ 1 (b) exposition ⇒ 1 (c) foire ⇒ 1 (c) montrer ⇒ 2 (a)-(c), 2 (e), 2 (f) présenter ⇒ 2 (a) exposer ⇒ 2 (a) faire preuve de ⇒ 2 (b) marquer ⇒ 2 (d) indiquer ⇒ 2 (d), 2 (f) enregistrer ⇒ 2 (h) passer ⇒ 2 (i), 3 (b) se voir ⇒ 3 (a)1 noun(a) (demonstration, display) démonstration f, manifestation f; (pretence) semblant m, simulacre m; (ostentation) ostentation f, parade f;∎ a show of strength/unity une démonstration de force/d'unité;∎ a show of hands un vote à main levée;∎ she put on a show of indifference elle a fait semblant d'être indifférente;∎ to make a show of being angry faire semblant ou faire mine d'être fâché;∎ to make a great show of friendship faire de grandes démonstrations d'amitié;∎ show of generosity affectation f de générosité;∎ it's all a show ce n'est qu'une façade;∎ he always makes such a show of his knowledge il faut toujours qu'il fasse étalage de ses connaissances;∎ the metal strips are just for show les bandes métalliques ont une fonction purement décorative∎ to go to a show aller au spectacle;∎ we went to a restaurant after the show nous sommes allés au restaurant après le spectacle;∎ variety show émission f de variétés;∎ the show must go on le spectacle continue; figurative il faut continuer;∎ figurative let's get this show on the road! allez, c'est parti ou on y va!;∎ to make a show of oneself se donner en spectacle∎ have you been to the Picasso show? avez-vous visité l'exposition Picasso?;∎ to be on show être exposé;∎ I dislike most of the paintings on show je n'aime pas la plupart des tableaux exposés;∎ the agricultural/motor show le salon de l'agriculture/de l'auto∎ she planned and ran the whole show c'est elle qui a tout organisé et qui s'est occupée de tout□ ;∎ it's up to you, it's your show c'est à toi de décider□, c'est toi le chef(e) (performance) performance f, prestation f;∎ the team put up a good show l'équipe s'est bien défendue;∎ it's a pretty poor show when your own mother forgets your birthday c'est un peu triste que ta propre mère oublie ton anniversaire;∎ old-fashioned (jolly) good show, Henry! bravo, Henry!(a) (display, present → gen) montrer, faire voir; (→ passport, ticket) présenter; (exhibit → work of art, prize, produce) exposer;∎ to show sth to sb, to show sb sth montrer qch à qn;∎ show me your presents fais-moi voir ou montre-moi tes cadeaux;∎ you have to show your pass/your ticket on the way in il faut présenter son laissez-passer/son billet à l'entrée;∎ you're showing a lot of leg this evening! tu es habillée bien court ce soir!;∎ that dress shows everything she's got cette robe ne cache pas grand-chose;∎ a TV screen shows what's happening in the next room un écran de télévision permet de voir ce qui se passe dans la pièce d'à côté;∎ some of the drawings have never been shown in Europe before quelques-uns des dessins n'ont jamais été exposés en Europe auparavant;∎ to show one's wares étaler ses marchandises;∎ this jacket/colour really shows the dirt cette veste/couleur est vraiment salissante;∎ come out from behind there and show yourself! sortez de là-derrière et montrez-vous!;∎ if he ever shows himself or his face round here again, I'll kill him! si jamais il se montre encore par ici, je le tue!;∎ to have sth to show for one's money en avoir pour son argent;∎ I had very little to show for my efforts mes efforts n'avaient donné que peu de résultats;∎ three months' work, and what have we got to show for it? trois mois de travail, et qu'est-ce que cela nous a rapporté?(b) (reveal → talent, affection, readiness, reluctance) montrer, faire preuve de;∎ she never shows any emotion elle ne laisse jamais paraître ou ne montre jamais ses sentiments;∎ to show itself (emotion, tendency) se manifester;∎ she showed herself more than willing to join in elle s'est montrée plus que prête à participer;∎ she showed herself to be a hard worker elle s'est révélée ou avérée dure à la tâche;∎ to show a preference for sth manifester une préférence pour qch;∎ to show a taste for sth témoigner d'un goût pour qch;∎ they will be shown no mercy ils seront traités sans merci;∎ the audience began to show signs of restlessness le public a commencé à s'agiter;∎ the situation is showing signs of improvement la situation semble être en voie d'amélioration;∎ to show one's age faire son âge∎ first I shall show that Greenham's theory cannot be correct je démontrerai d'abord que la théorie de Greenham ne peut être juste;∎ it just shows the strength of public opposition to the plan cela montre à quel point le public est opposé à ce projet;∎ it just goes to show that nothing's impossible c'est la preuve que rien n'est impossible;∎ it just goes to show what you can do if you work hard cela montre ou c'est la preuve de ce que l'on peut faire en travaillant dur;∎ which only or all goes to show that… ce qui prouve que… + indicative(d) (register → of instrument, dial, clock) marquer, indiquer;∎ the thermometer shows a temperature of 20°C le thermomètre indique 20°C(e) (represent, depict) montrer, représenter;∎ this photo shows him at the age of seventeen cette photo le montre à l'âge de dix-sept ans;∎ the picture shows three figures le tableau représente trois personnes(f) (point out, demonstrate) montrer, indiquer;∎ show me how to do it montrez-moi comment faire;∎ to show (sb) the way montrer le chemin (à qn);∎ figurative to show the way donner l'exemple;∎ the government has very much shown the way with its green policies le gouvernement a bien donné l'exemple avec sa politique écologique;∎ familiar I'll show you! tu vas voir!(g) (escort, accompany)∎ let me show you to your room je vais vous montrer votre chambre;∎ will you show this gentleman to the door? veuillez reconduire Monsieur à la porte;∎ an usherette showed us to our seats une ouvreuse nous a conduits à nos places;∎ to show sb into a room introduire ou faire entrer qn dans une pièce(h) (profit, loss) enregistrer;∎ prices show a 10 percent increase on last year les prix sont en hausse ou ont augmenté de 10 pour cent par rapport à l'an dernier(i) (put on → film, TV programme) passer;∎ the film has never been shown on television le film n'est jamais passé à la télévision;∎ as shown on TV (on packaging, sign) vu à la télé∎ she doesn't like him, and it shows elle ne l'aime pas, et ça se voit;∎ a patch of sky showed through a hole in the roof on voyait un pan de ciel à travers un trou dans le toit;∎ she lets her feelings show too much elle laisse trop voir ses sentiments;∎ it shows in your face cela se voit ou se lit sur votre visage;∎ fear showed in his eyes la peur se lisait dans ses yeux;∎ their tiredness is beginning to show ils commencent à donner des signes de fatigue;∎ it doesn't show ça ne se voit pas, on ne dirait pas;∎ ah well, it just or all goes to show! eh oui, c'est la vie!(b) (be on → film, TV programme) passer∎ all those in favour please show que tous ceux qui sont pour lèvent la main∎ British he didn't show il n'est pas venu□►► show house maison f témoin;show jumper (rider) cavalier(ère) m,f (participant à des concours de saut d'obstacle); (horse) sauteur m;show jumping jumping m, concours m de saut d'obstacles;Law show trial procès m à grand spectaclefaire visiter;∎ to show sb around the town faire visiter ou faire voir la ville à qn;∎ my secretary will show you around (the factory) ma secrétaire va vous faire visiter (l'usine);∎ we were shown around the house on nous a fait visiter la maisonfaire entrer➲ show off∎ to show off one's skill/culture faire étalage de son savoir-faire/sa culture;∎ he only came to show off his new girlfriend/car il n'est venu que pour exhiber sa nouvelle petite amie/voiture;∎ she came in to show off her new baby elle est venue faire admirer son nouveau-né∎ wearing white shows off a tan porter du blanc met le bronzage en valeur;∎ the black background shows off the colours nicely le fond noir fait bien ressortir les couleurs;∎ coat that shows off the figure well manteau m qui marque ou dessine bien la taillefaire l'intéressant(e), frimer;∎ to show off in front of sb chercher à épater qn;∎ stop showing off! arrête de faire l'intéressant!;∎ you don't have to drive that fast, you're just showing off tu n'as pas besoin de conduire aussi vite, tu fais juste l'intéressantreconduire ou raccompagner (à la porte);∎ it's okay, I'll show myself out inutile de vous déranger, je saurai retrouver le chemin (tout seul)se voir à travers;∎ her knickers showed through her trousers sa culotte se voyait à travers son pantalonse voir (à travers), transparaître;∎ the old paint still shows through l'ancienne peinture se voit encore à travers;∎ her knickers showed through under her dress on voyait ses sous-vêtements au travers de sa robe➲ show up(a) (unmask → impostor) démasquer;∎ the investigation showed him up for the coward he is l'enquête a révélé sa lâcheté(b) (draw attention to → deficiency, defect) faire apparaître, faire ressortir;∎ the poor results show up the deficiencies in the training programme les mauvais résultats font apparaître les défauts du programme de formation∎ you're always showing me up in public il faut toujours que tu me fasses honte en public(d) (escort upstairs) accompagner en haut∎ only two of our guests have shown up seuls deux de nos invités sont arrivés;∎ to fail to show up ne pas se présenter□ ;∎ you're the boss, you really ought to show up tu es le patron, tu devrais vraiment y aller ou te montrer□(b) (be visible) se voir, ressortir;∎ the dirt really shows up on a white carpet la saleté ressort ou se voit vraiment sur une moquette blanche;∎ the difference is so slight it hardly shows up at all la différence est tellement minime qu'elle se remarque à peine -
6 report
донесение, сообщение; доклад; рапорт; арт. звук выстрела; доносить; докладывать; рапортовать; представлять(ся) ( начальнику), pl. представление донесений ( пункт боевого приказа)meaconing, interference, jamming, intrusion report — донесение о применении комплексных помех типа «Миджи» (помехи РИС, пассивные и активные помехи, помехи средствам радиосвязи)
— bombing report— casualty situation report— exemption report— hotline report— letter efficiency report— logistics status report— minefield lifting report— nuclear attack report— performance evaluation report— weapons status report -
7 Huygens, Christiaan
SUBJECT AREA: Horology[br]b. 14 April 1629 The Hague, the Netherlandsd. 8 June 1695 The Hague, the Netherlands[br]Dutch scientist who was responsible for two of the greatest advances in horology: the successful application of both the pendulum to the clock and the balance spring to the watch.[br]Huygens was born into a cultured and privileged class. His father, Constantijn, was a poet and statesman who had wide interests. Constantijn exerted a strong influence on his son, who was educated at home until he reached the age of 16. Christiaan studied law and mathematics at Ley den University from 1645 to 1647, and continued his studies at the Collegium Arausiacum in Breda until 1649. He then lived at The Hague, where he had the means to devote his time entirely to study. In 1666 he became a Member of the Académie des Sciences in Paris and settled there until his return to The Hague in 1681. He also had a close relationship with the Royal Society and visited London on three occasions, meeting Newton on his last visit in 1689. Huygens had a wide range of interests and made significant contributions in mathematics, astronomy, optics and mechanics. He also made technical advances in optical instruments and horology.Despite the efforts of Burgi there had been no significant improvement in the performance of ordinary clocks and watches from their inception to Huygens's time, as they were controlled by foliots or balances which had no natural period of oscillation. The pendulum appeared to offer a means of improvement as it had a natural period of oscillation that was almost independent of amplitude. Galileo Galilei had already pioneered the use of a freely suspended pendulum for timing events, but it was by no means obvious how it could be kept swinging and used to control a clock. Towards the end of his life Galileo described such a. mechanism to his son Vincenzio, who constructed a model after his father's death, although it was not completed when he himself died in 1642. This model appears to have been copied in Italy, but it had little influence on horology, partly because of the circumstances in which it was produced and possibly also because it differed radically from clocks of that period. The crucial event occurred on Christmas Day 1656 when Huygens, quite independently, succeeded in adapting an existing spring-driven table clock so that it was not only controlled by a pendulum but also kept it swinging. In the following year he was granted a privilege or patent for this clock, and several were made by the clockmaker Salomon Coster of The Hague. The use of the pendulum produced a dramatic improvement in timekeeping, reducing the daily error from minutes to seconds, but Huygens was aware that the pendulum was not truly isochronous. This error was magnified by the use of the existing verge escapement, which made the pendulum swing through a large arc. He overcame this defect very elegantly by fitting cheeks at the pendulum suspension point, progressively reducing the effective length of the pendulum as the amplitude increased. Initially the cheeks were shaped empirically, but he was later able to show that they should have a cycloidal shape. The cheeks were not adopted universally because they introduced other defects, and the problem was eventually solved more prosaically by way of new escapements which reduced the swing of the pendulum. Huygens's clocks had another innovatory feature: maintaining power, which kept the clock going while it was being wound.Pendulums could not be used for portable timepieces, which continued to use balances despite their deficiencies. Robert Hooke was probably the first to apply a spring to the balance, but his efforts were not successful. From his work on the pendulum Huygens was well aware of the conditions necessary for isochronism in a vibrating system, and in January 1675, with a flash of inspiration, he realized that this could be achieved by controlling the oscillations of the balance with a spiral spring, an arrangement that is still used in mechanical watches. The first model was made for Huygens in Paris by the clockmaker Isaac Thuret, who attempted to appropriate the invention and patent it himself. Huygens had for many years been trying unsuccessfully to adapt the pendulum clock for use at sea (in order to determine longitude), and he hoped that a balance-spring timekeeper might be better suited for this purpose. However, he was disillusioned as its timekeeping proved to be much more susceptible to changes in temperature than that of the pendulum clock.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsFRS 1663. Member of the Académie Royale des Sciences 1666.BibliographyFor his complete works, see Oeuvres complètes de Christian Huygens, 1888–1950, 22 vols, The Hague.1658, Horologium, The Hague; repub., 1970, trans. E.L.Edwardes, AntiquarianHorology 7:35–55 (describes the pendulum clock).1673, Horologium Oscillatorium, Paris; repub., 1986, The Pendulum Clock or Demonstrations Concerning the Motion ofPendula as Applied to Clocks, trans.R.J.Blackwell, Ames.The balance spring watch was first described in Journal des Sçavans 25 February 1675, and translated in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1675) 4:272–3.Further ReadingH.J.M.Bos, 1972, Dictionary of Scientific Biography, ed. C.C.Gillispie, Vol. 6, New York, pp. 597–613 (for a fuller account of his life and scientific work, but note the incorrect date of his death).R.Plomp, 1979, Spring-Driven Dutch Pendulum Clocks, 1657–1710, Schiedam (describes Huygens's application of the pendulum to the clock).S.A.Bedini, 1991, The Pulse of Time, Florence (describes Galileo's contribution of the pendulum to the clock).J.H.Leopold, 1982, "L"Invention par Christiaan Huygens du ressort spiral réglant pour les montres', Huygens et la France, Paris, pp. 154–7 (describes the application of the balance spring to the watch).A.R.Hall, 1978, "Horology and criticism", Studia Copernica 16:261–81 (discusses Hooke's contribution).DV -
8 Stephenson, George
[br]b. 9 June 1781 Wylam, Northumberland, Englandd. 12 August 1848 Tapton House, Chesterfield, England[br]English engineer, "the father of railways".[br]George Stephenson was the son of the fireman of the pumping engine at Wylam colliery, and horses drew wagons of coal along the wooden rails of the Wylam wagonway past the house in which he was born and spent his earliest childhood. While still a child he worked as a cowherd, but soon moved to working at coal pits. At 17 years of age he showed sufficient mechanical talent to be placed in charge of a new pumping engine, and had already achieved a job more responsible than that of his father. Despite his position he was still illiterate, although he subsequently learned to read and write. He was largely self-educated.In 1801 he was appointed Brakesman of the winding engine at Black Callerton pit, with responsibility for lowering the miners safely to their work. Then, about two years later, he became Brakesman of a new winding engine erected by Robert Hawthorn at Willington Quay on the Tyne. Returning collier brigs discharged ballast into wagons and the engine drew the wagons up an inclined plane to the top of "Ballast Hill" for their contents to be tipped; this was one of the earliest applications of steam power to transport, other than experimentally.In 1804 Stephenson moved to West Moor pit, Killingworth, again as Brakesman. In 1811 he demonstrated his mechanical skill by successfully modifying a new and unsatisfactory atmospheric engine, a task that had defeated the efforts of others, to enable it to pump a drowned pit clear of water. The following year he was appointed Enginewright at Killingworth, in charge of the machinery in all the collieries of the "Grand Allies", the prominent coal-owning families of Wortley, Liddell and Bowes, with authorization also to work for others. He built many stationary engines and he closely examined locomotives of John Blenkinsop's type on the Kenton \& Coxlodge wagonway, as well as those of William Hedley at Wylam.It was in 1813 that Sir Thomas Liddell requested George Stephenson to build a steam locomotive for the Killingworth wagonway: Blucher made its first trial run on 25 July 1814 and was based on Blenkinsop's locomotives, although it lacked their rack-and-pinion drive. George Stephenson is credited with building the first locomotive both to run on edge rails and be driven by adhesion, an arrangement that has been the conventional one ever since. Yet Blucher was far from perfect and over the next few years, while other engineers ignored the steam locomotive, Stephenson built a succession of them, each an improvement on the last.During this period many lives were lost in coalmines from explosions of gas ignited by miners' lamps. By observation and experiment (sometimes at great personal risk) Stephenson invented a satisfactory safety lamp, working independently of the noted scientist Sir Humphry Davy who also invented such a lamp around the same time.In 1817 George Stephenson designed his first locomotive for an outside customer, the Kilmarnock \& Troon Railway, and in 1819 he laid out the Hetton Colliery Railway in County Durham, for which his brother Robert was Resident Engineer. This was the first railway to be worked entirely without animal traction: it used inclined planes with stationary engines, self-acting inclined planes powered by gravity, and locomotives.On 19 April 1821 Stephenson was introduced to Edward Pease, one of the main promoters of the Stockton \& Darlington Railway (S \& DR), which by coincidence received its Act of Parliament the same day. George Stephenson carried out a further survey, to improve the proposed line, and in this he was assisted by his 18-year-old son, Robert Stephenson, whom he had ensured received the theoretical education which he himself lacked. It is doubtful whether either could have succeeded without the other; together they were to make the steam railway practicable.At George Stephenson's instance, much of the S \& DR was laid with wrought-iron rails recently developed by John Birkinshaw at Bedlington Ironworks, Morpeth. These were longer than cast-iron rails and were not brittle: they made a track well suited for locomotives. In June 1823 George and Robert Stephenson, with other partners, founded a firm in Newcastle upon Tyne to build locomotives and rolling stock and to do general engineering work: after its Managing Partner, the firm was called Robert Stephenson \& Co.In 1824 the promoters of the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway (L \& MR) invited George Stephenson to resurvey their proposed line in order to reduce opposition to it. William James, a wealthy land agent who had become a visionary protagonist of a national railway network and had seen Stephenson's locomotives at Killingworth, had promoted the L \& MR with some merchants of Liverpool and had carried out the first survey; however, he overreached himself in business and, shortly after the invitation to Stephenson, became bankrupt. In his own survey, however, George Stephenson lacked the assistance of his son Robert, who had left for South America, and he delegated much of the detailed work to incompetent assistants. During a devastating Parliamentary examination in the spring of 1825, much of his survey was shown to be seriously inaccurate and the L \& MR's application for an Act of Parliament was refused. The railway's promoters discharged Stephenson and had their line surveyed yet again, by C.B. Vignoles.The Stockton \& Darlington Railway was, however, triumphantly opened in the presence of vast crowds in September 1825, with Stephenson himself driving the locomotive Locomotion, which had been built at Robert Stephenson \& Co.'s Newcastle works. Once the railway was at work, horse-drawn and gravity-powered traffic shared the line with locomotives: in 1828 Stephenson invented the horse dandy, a wagon at the back of a train in which a horse could travel over the gravity-operated stretches, instead of trotting behind.Meanwhile, in May 1826, the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway had successfully obtained its Act of Parliament. Stephenson was appointed Engineer in June, and since he and Vignoles proved incompatible the latter left early in 1827. The railway was built by Stephenson and his staff, using direct labour. A considerable controversy arose c. 1828 over the motive power to be used: the traffic anticipated was too great for horses, but the performance of the reciprocal system of cable haulage developed by Benjamin Thompson appeared in many respects superior to that of contemporary locomotives. The company instituted a prize competition for a better locomotive and the Rainhill Trials were held in October 1829.Robert Stephenson had been working on improved locomotive designs since his return from America in 1827, but it was the L \& MR's Treasurer, Henry Booth, who suggested the multi-tubular boiler to George Stephenson. This was incorporated into a locomotive built by Robert Stephenson for the trials: Rocket was entered by the three men in partnership. The other principal entrants were Novelty, entered by John Braithwaite and John Ericsson, and Sans Pareil, entered by Timothy Hackworth, but only Rocket, driven by George Stephenson, met all the organizers' demands; indeed, it far surpassed them and demonstrated the practicability of the long-distance steam railway. With the opening of the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway in 1830, the age of railways began.Stephenson was active in many aspects. He advised on the construction of the Belgian State Railway, of which the Brussels-Malines section, opened in 1835, was the first all-steam railway on the European continent. In England, proposals to link the L \& MR with the Midlands had culminated in an Act of Parliament for the Grand Junction Railway in 1833: this was to run from Warrington, which was already linked to the L \& MR, to Birmingham. George Stephenson had been in charge of the surveys, and for the railway's construction he and J.U. Rastrick were initially Principal Engineers, with Stephenson's former pupil Joseph Locke under them; by 1835 both Stephenson and Rastrick had withdrawn and Locke was Engineer-in-Chief. Stephenson remained much in demand elsewhere: he was particularly associated with the construction of the North Midland Railway (Derby to Leeds) and related lines. He was active in many other places and carried out, for instance, preliminary surveys for the Chester \& Holyhead and Newcastle \& Berwick Railways, which were important links in the lines of communication between London and, respectively, Dublin and Edinburgh.He eventually retired to Tapton House, Chesterfield, overlooking the North Midland. A man who was self-made (with great success) against colossal odds, he was ever reluctant, regrettably, to give others their due credit, although in retirement, immensely wealthy and full of honour, he was still able to mingle with people of all ranks.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsPresident, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, on its formation in 1847. Order of Leopold (Belgium) 1835. Stephenson refused both a knighthood and Fellowship of the Royal Society.Bibliography1815, jointly with Ralph Dodd, British patent no. 3,887 (locomotive drive by connecting rods directly to the wheels).1817, jointly with William Losh, British patent no. 4,067 (steam springs for locomotives, and improvements to track).Further ReadingL.T.C.Rolt, 1960, George and Robert Stephenson, Longman (the best modern biography; includes a bibliography).S.Smiles, 1874, The Lives of George and Robert Stephenson, rev. edn, London (although sycophantic, this is probably the best nineteenthcentury biography).PJGR
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