commercial subjects

A a.

1 commerciale; del, di commercio: commercial invoice, fattura commerciale; (leg.) commercial causes, cause in materia di commercio; commercial agent, agente di commercio; concessionario; commercial law, diritto commerciale; commercial attaché, addetto commerciale

2 ( relativo alla vendita o al profitto) commerciale: commercial value, valore commerciale; commercial television, televisione commerciale; a commercial success, un successo commerciale; His new film is much too commercial, il suo nuovo film è troppo commerciale

3 (econ.) sfruttabile ( commercialmente)

4 ( di minerale) coltivabile

B n.

1 ( radio, TV) messaggio pubblicitario; pubblicità; stacco; spot: a car commercial, la pubblicità di un'automobile

2 (al pl.) (TV) pubblicità televisiva

3 (al pl.) ( Borsa) titoli (o azioni) di aziende commerciali

● commercial agency, agenzia d'informazioni commerciali commercial art, grafica pubblicitaria; cartellonistica □ commercial artist, grafico (o disegnatore) pubblicitario; cartellonista □ commercial assessor, perito merceologo □ commercial bank, banca commerciale (o di credito ordinario) □ ( radio, TV) commercial break, interruzione pubblicitaria; stacco pubblicitario; spot □ (leg.) commercial court, tribunale commerciale (in Inghil., è un ramo della ► «Queen's Bench Division», ► queen) □ commercial credit, credito mercantile (o di fornitura) □ (leg.) commercial custom, consuetudine di commercio □ commercial design, disegno pubblicitario □ (econ.) commercial farm, azienda agricola □ (fin.) commercial loan, prestito commerciale □ (fin.) commercial paper, titolo (o collett. titoli) di credito negoziabile □ (market., trasp.) commercial set, documenti d'uso ( per la merce) □ ( a scuola) commercial subjects, materie aziendali □ (antiq.) commercial traveller, viaggiatore di commercio; commesso viaggiatore; rappresentante; piazzista □ (trasp.) commercial vehicles, veicoli commerciali □ the commercial world, il mondo degli affari.

SUBJECT AREA: Photography, film and optics

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Dickson was born in France of English and Scottish parents. As a young man of almost 19 years, he wrote in 1879 to Thomas Edison in America, asking for a job. Edison replied that he was not taking on new staff at that time, but Dickson, with his mother and sisters, decided to emigrate anyway. In 1883 he contacted Edison again, and was given a job at the Goerk Street laboratory of the Edison Electric Works in New York. He soon assumed a position of responsibility as Superintendent, working on the development of electric light and power systems, and also carried out most of the photography Edison required. In 1888 he moved to the Edison West Orange laboratory, becoming Head of the ore-milling department. When Edison, inspired by Muybridge's sequence photographs of humans and animals in motion, decided to develop a motion picture apparatus, he gave the task to Dickson, whose considerable skills in mechanics, photography and electrical work made him the obvious choice. The first experiments, in 1888, were on a cylinder machine like the phonograph, in which the sequence pictures were to be taken in a spiral. This soon proved to be impractical, and work was delayed for a time while Dickson developed a new ore-milling machine. Little progress with the movie project was made until George Eastman's introduction in July 1889 of celluloid roll film, which was thin, tough, transparent and very flexible. Dickson returned to his experiments in the spring of 1891 and soon had working models of a film camera and viewer, the latter being demonstrated at the West Orange laboratory on 20 May 1891. By the early summer of 1892 the project had advanced sufficiently for commercial exploitation to begin. The Kinetograph camera used perforated 35 mm film (essentially the same as that still in use in the late twentieth century), and the kinetoscope, a peep-show viewer, took fifty feet of film running in an endless loop. Full-scale manufacture of the viewers started in 1893, and they were demonstrated on a number of occasions during that year. On 14 April 1894 the first kinetoscope parlour, with ten viewers, was opened to the public in New York. By the end of that year, the kinetoscope was seen by the public all over America and in Europe. Dickson had created the first commercially successful cinematograph system. Dickson left Edison's employment on 2 April 1895, and for a time worked with Woodville Latham on the development of his Panoptikon projector, a projection version of the kinetoscope. In December 1895 he joined with Herman Casier, Henry N.Marvin and Elias Koopman to form the American Mutoscope Company. Casier had designed the Mutoscope, an animated-picture viewer in which the sequences of pictures were printed on cards fixed radially to a drum and were flipped past the eye as the drum rotated. Dickson designed the Biograph wide-film camera to produce the picture sequences, and also a projector to show the films directly onto a screen. The large-format images gave pictures of high quality for the period; the Biograph went on public show in America in September 1896, and subsequently throughout the world, operating until around 1905. In May 1897 Dickson returned to England and set up as a producer of Biograph films, recording, among other subjects, Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 1897, Pope Leo XIII in 1898, and scenes of the Boer War in 1899 and 1900. Many of the Biograph subjects were printed as reels for the Mutoscope to produce the "what the butler saw" machines which were a feature of fairgrounds and seaside arcades until modern times. Dickson's contact with the Biograph Company, and with it his involvement in cinematography, ceased in 1911.

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SUBJECT AREA: Broadcasting, Electronics and information technology, Recording, Telecommunications

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From an early age he was absorbed by phenomena of physics to the exclusion of all other subjects, including mathematics. When choosing his subjects for the final three years in Borgedydskolen in Christianshavn (Copenhagen) before university, he opted for languages and history. At the University of Copenhagen he embarked on the study of medicine in 1889, but broke it off and was apprenticed to the machine firm of A/S Frichs Eftf. in Aarhus. He was employed between 1893 and 1899 as a mechanic and assistant in the laboratory of the Copenhagen Telephone Company KTAS. Eventually he advanced to be Head of the line fault department. This suited his desire for experiment and measurement perfectly. After the invention of the telegraphone in 1898, he left the laboratory and with responsible business people he created Aktieselskabet Telegrafonen, Patent Poulsen in order to develop it further, together with Peder Oluf Pedersen (1874– 1941). Pedersen brought with him the mathematical background which eventually led to his professorship in electronic engineering in 1922.

The telegraphone was the basis for multinational industrial endeavours after it was demonstrated at the 1900 World's Exhibition in Paris. It must be said that its strength was also its weakness, because the telegraphone was unique in bringing sound recording and reproduction to the telephone field, but the lack of electronic amplifiers delayed its use outside this and the dictation fields (where headphones could be used) until the 1920s. However, commercial interest was great enough to provoke a number of court cases concerning patent infringement, in which Poulsen frequently figured as a witness.

In 1903–4 Poulsen and Pedersen developed the arc generator for continuous radio waves which was used worldwide for radio transmitters in competition with Marconi's spark-generating system. The inspiration for this work came from the research by William Duddell on the musical arc. Whereas Duddell had proposed the use of the oscillations generated in his electric arc for telegraphy in his 1901 UK patent, Poulsen contributed a chamber of hydrogen and a transverse magnetic field which increased the efficiency remarkably. He filed patent applications on these constructions from 1902 and the first publication in a scientific forum took place at the International Electrical Congress in St Louis, Missouri, in 1904.

In order to use continuous waves efficiently (the high frequency constituted a carrier), Poulsen developed both a modulator for telegraphy and a detector for the carrier wave. The modulator was such that even the more primitive spark-communication receivers could be used. Later Poulsen and Pedersen developed frequency-shift keying.

The Amalgamated Radio-Telegraph Company Ltd was launched in London in 1906, combining the developments of Poulsen and those of De Forest Wireless Telegraph Syndicate. Poulsen contributed his English and American patents. When this company was liquidated in 1908, its assets were taken over by Det Kontinentale Syndikat for Poulsen Radio Telegrafi, A/S in Copenhagen (liquidated 1930–1). Some of the patents had been sold to C.Lorenz AG in Berlin, which was very active.

The arc transmitting system was in use worldwide from about 1910 to 1925, and the power increased from 12 kW to 1,000 kW. In 1921 an exceptional transmitter rated at 1,800 kW was erected on Java for communications with the Netherlands. More than one thousand installations had been in use worldwide. The competing systems were initially spark transmitters (Marconi) and later rotary converters ( Westinghouse). Similar power was available from valve transmitters only much later.

From c. 1912 Poulsen did not contribute actively to further development. He led a life as a well-respected engineer and scientist and served on several committees. He had his private laboratory and made experiments in the composition of matter and certain resonance phenomena; however, nothing was published. It has recently been suggested that Poulsen could not have been unaware of Oberlin Smith's work and publication in 1888, but his extreme honesty in technical matters indicates that his development was indeed independent. In the case of the arc generator, Poulsen was always extremely frank about the inspiration he gained from earlier developers' work.

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1) союз (обыкн. между государствами); альянс

- alliance between states

- alliance for the purpose of defence

- subjects of alliances

- treaty of alliance

- be in alliance with smb.

- contract an alliance

- conclude an alliance

- make an alliance

- form an alliance

- dissolve an alliance

- disband an alliance

- enter into an alliance

- capacity of states to enter into alliances

- move out of an alliance

- terminate an alliance

- revoke an alliance

- split an alliance

- steer clear of alliances

- undermine an alliance

- unite in alliance

2) союз, объединение, федерация (организаций, партий и т.п.)

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- military alliance

- regional military alliances

- offensive alliance

- defensive alliance

- alliance solidarity

- permanent alliance

- temporary alliance

- aggressive alliance

- political alliance

- multilateral military alliances

- commercial alliance

   There are two types of theater in Portugal: classical or "serious" theater and light theater, or the Theater of Review, largely the Revistas de Lisboa (Lisbon Reviews). Modern theater, mostly but not exclusively centered in Lisbon, experienced an unfortunate impact from official censorship during the Estado Novo (1926-74). Following laws passed in 1927, the government decreed that, as a cultural activity, any theatrical presentations that were judged "offensive in law, in morality and in decent customs" were prohibited. One consequence that derived from the risk of prohibition was that directors and playwrights began to practice self-censorship. This discouraged liberal and experimental theatrical work, weakened commercial investment in theater, and made employment in much theater a risky business, with indifferent public support.

   Despite these political obstacles and the usual risks and difficulties of producing live theater in competition first with emerging cinema and then with television (which began in any case only after 1957), some good theatrical work flourished. Two of the century's greatest repertory actresses, Amélia Rey-Colaço (1898-1990) and Maria Matos (1890-1962), put together talented acting companies and performed well-received classical theater. Two periods witnessed a brief diminution of censorship: following World War II (1945-47) and during Prime Minister Marcello Caetano's government (1968-74). Although Portuguese playwrights also produced comedies and dramas, some of the best productions reached the stage under the authorship of foreign playwrights: Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Arthur Miller, and others.

   A major new phase of Portuguese serious theater began in the 1960s, with the staging of challenging plays by playwrights José Cardoso Pires, Luis Sttau Monteiro, and Bernardo Santareno. Since the Revolution of 25 April 1974, more funds for experimental theater have become available, and government censorship ceased. As in so much of Western European theater, however, the general public tended to favor not plays with serious content but techno-hits that featured foreign imports, including musicals, or homegrown musicals on familiar themes. Nevertheless, after 1974, the theater scene was enlivened, not only in Lisbon, but also in Oporto, Coimbra, and other cities.

   The Theater of Review, or light theater, was introduced to Portugal in the 19th century and was based largely on French models. Adapted to the Portuguese scene, the Lisbon reviews featured pageantry, costume, comic skits, music (including the ever popular fado), dance, and slapstick humor and satire. Despite censorship, its heyday occurred actually during the Estado Novo, before 1968. Of all the performing arts, the Lisbon reviews enjoyed the greatest freedom from official political censorship. Certain periods featured more limited censorship, as cited earlier (1945-47 and 1968-74). The main venue of the Theater of Review was located in central Lisbon's Parque Mayer, an amusement park that featured four review theaters: Maria Vitória, Variedades, Capitólio, and ABC.

   Many actors and stage designers, as well as some musicians, served their apprenticeship in the Lisbon reviews before they moved into film and television. Noted fado singers, the fadistas, and composers plied their trade in Parque Mayer and built popular followings. The subjects of the reviews, often with provocative titles, varied greatly and followed contemporary social, economic, and even political fashion and trends, but audiences especially liked satire directed against convention and custom. If political satire was not passed by the censor in the press or on television, sometimes the Lisbon reviews, by the use of indirection and allegory, could get by with subtle critiques of some personalities in politics and society. A humorous stereotyping of customs of "the people," usually conceived of as Lisbon street people or naive "country bumpkins," was also popular. To a much greater degree than in classical, serious theater, the Lisbon review audiences steadily supported this form of public presentation. But the zenith of this form of theater had been passed by the late 1960s as audiences dwindled, production expenses rose, and film and television offered competition.

   The hopes that governance under Prime Minister Marcello Caetano would bring a new season of freedom of expression in the light theater or serious theater were dashed by 1970-71, as censorship again bore down. With revolution in the offing, change was in the air, and could be observed in a change of review show title. A Lisbon review show title on the eve of the Revolution of 25 April 1974, was altered from: 'To See, to Hear... and Be Quiet" to the suggestive, "To See, to Hear... and to Talk." The review theater experienced several difficult years after 1980, and virtually ceased to exist in Parque Mayer. In the late 1990s, nevertheless, this traditional form of entertainment underwent a gradual revival. Audiences again began to troop to renovated theater space in the amusement park to enjoy once again new lively and humorous reviews, cast for a new century and applied to Portugal today.

    See also Literature; Vicente, Gil.

SUBJECT AREA: Electricity

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With an early bias towards science, Daniell's interest in chemistry was formed when he joined a relative's sugar-refining business. He formed a lifelong friendship with W.T.Brande, Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution, and together they revived the journal of the Royal Institution, to which Daniell submitted many of his early papers on chemical subjects. He made many contributions to the science of meteorology and in 1820 invented a hydrometer, which became widely used and gave precision to the measurement of atmospheric moisture. As one of the originators of the Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge, Daniell edited several of its early publications. His work on crystallization established his reputation as a chemist and in 1831 he was appointed the first Professor of Chemistry at King's College, London, where he was largely responsible for establishing its department of applied science. He was also involved in the Chemical Society of London and served as its Vice-President. At King's College he began the research into current electricity with which his name is particularly associated. His investigations into the zinc-copper cell revealed that the rapid decline in power was due to hydrogen gas being liberated at the positive electrode. Daniell's cell, invented in 1836, employed a zinc electrode in dilute sulphuric acid and a copper electrode in a solution of copper sulphate, the electrodes being separated by a porous membrane, typically an unglazed earthenware pot. He was awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society for his invention which avoided the "polarization" of the simple cell and provided a further source of current for electrical research and for commercial applications such as electroplating. Although the high internal resistance of the Daniell cell limited the current and the potential was only 1.1 volts, the voltage was so unchanging that it was used as a reference standard until the 1870s, when J. Lattimer Clark devised an even more stable cell.

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SUBJECT AREA: Photography, film and optics

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Educated at Harrow, where he first showed an interest in science, and at Cambridge, Talbot was an outstanding scholar and a formidable mathematician. He published over fifty scientific papers and took out twelve English patents. His interests outside the field of science were also wide and included Assyriology, etymology and the classics. He was briefly a Member of Parliament, but did not pursue a parliamentary career.

Talbot's invention of photography arose out of his frustrating attempts to produce acceptable pencil sketches using popular artist's aids, the camera discura and camera lucida. From his experiments with the former he conceived the idea of placing on the screen a paper coated with silver salts so that the image would be captured chemically. During the spring of 1834 he made outline images of subjects such as leaves and flowers by placing them on sheets of sensitized paper and exposing them to sunlight. No camera was involved and the first images produced using an optical system were made with a solar microscope. It was only when he had devised a more sensitive paper that Talbot was able to make camera pictures; the earliest surviving camera negative dates from August 1835. From the beginning, Talbot noticed that the lights and shades of his images were reversed. During 1834 or 1835 he discovered that by placing this reversed image on another sheet of sensitized paper and again exposing it to sunlight, a picture was produced with lights and shades in the correct disposition. Talbot had discovered the basis of modern photography, the photographic negative, from which could be produced an unlimited number of positives. He did little further work until the announcement of Daguerre's process in 1839 prompted him to publish an account of his negative-positive process. Aware that his photogenic drawing process had many imperfections, Talbot plunged into further experiments and in September 1840, using a mixture incorporating a solution of gallic acid, discovered an invisible latent image that could be made visible by development. This improved calotype process dramatically shortened exposure times and allowed Talbot to take portraits. In 1841 he patented the process, an exercise that was later to cause controversy, and between 1844 and 1846 produced The Pencil of Nature, the world's first commercial photographically illustrated book.

Concerned that some of his photographs were prone to fading, Talbot later began experiments to combine photography with printing and engraving. Using bichromated gelatine, he devised the first practicable method of photo engraving, which was patented as Photoglyphic engraving in October 1852. He later went on to use screens of gauze, muslin and finely powdered gum to break up the image into lines and dots, thus anticipating modern photomechanical processes.

Talbot was described by contemporaries as the "Father of Photography" primarily in recognition of his discovery of the negative-positive process, but he also produced the first photomicrographs, took the first high-speed photographs with the aid of a spark from a Leyden jar, and is credited with proposing infra-red photography. He was a shy man and his misguided attempts to enforce his calotype patent made him many enemies. It was perhaps for this reason that he never received the formal recognition from the British nation that his family felt he deserved.

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