it+is+to+his+interest+to+do+so

SUBJECT AREA: Mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic engineering, Photography, film and optics

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William Taylor served an apprenticeship from 1880 to 1885 in London with Paterson and Cooper, electrical engineers and instrument makers. He studied at the Finsbury Technical College under Professors W.E.Ayrton (1847–1908) and John Perry (1850–1920). He remained with Paterson and Cooper until 1887, when he joined his elder brother, who had set up in Leicester as a manufacturer of optical instruments. The firm was then styled T.S. \& W.Taylor and a few months later, when H.W.Hobson joined them as a partner, it became Taylor, Taylor and Hobson, as it was known for many years.

William Taylor was mainly responsible for technical developments in the firm and he designed the special machine tools required for making lenses and their mountings. However, his most notable work was in originating methods of measuring and gauging screw threads. He proposed a standard screw-thread for lens mountings that was adopted by the Royal Photographic Society, and he served on screw thread committees of the British Standards Institution and the British Association. His interest in golf led him to study the flight of the golf ball, and he designed and patented the "Dimple" golf ball and a mechanical driving machine for testing golf balls.

He was an active member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, being elected Associate Member in 1894, Member in 1901 and Honorary Life Member in 1936. He served on the Council from 1918 and was President in 1932. He took a keen interest in engineering education and advocated the scientific study of materials, processes and machine tools, and of management. His death occurred suddenly while he was helping to rescue his son's car from a snowdrift.

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1) (to become fewer, smaller or weaker (at the end): His interest tailed off towards the end of the film.) aftage; dale

2) ((also tail away) (of voices etc) to become quieter or silent: His voice tailed away into silence.) blive svagere

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1) (to become fewer, smaller or weaker (at the end): His interest tailed off towards the end of the film.) aftage; dale

2) ((also tail away) (of voices etc) to become quieter or silent: His voice tailed away into silence.) blive svagere

SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace

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Wilbur and Orville designed and built bicycles in Dayton, Ohio. In the 1890s they developed an interest in flying which led them to study the experiments of gliding pioneers such as Otto Lilienthal in Germany, and their fellow American Octave Chanute. The Wrights were very methodical and tackled the many problems stage by stage. First, they developed a method of controlling a glider using movable control surfaces, instead of weight-shifting as used in the early hand-gliders. They built a wind tunnel to test their wing sections and by 1902 they had produced a controllable glider. Next they needed a petrol engine, and when they could not find one to suit their needs they designed and built one themselves.

On 17 December 1903 their Flyer was ready and Orville made the first short flight of 12 seconds; Wilbur followed with a 59-second flight covering 853 ft (260 m). An improved design, Flyer II, followed in 1904 and made about eighty flights, including circuits and simple ma-noeuvres. In 1905 Flyer III made several long flights, including one of 38 minutes covering 24½ miles (39 km). Most of the Wrights' flying was carried out in secret to protect their patents, so their achievements received little publicity. For a period of two and a half years they did not fly, but they worked to improve their Flyer and to negotiate terms for the sale of their invention to various governments and commercial syndi-cates.

In 1908 the Wright Model A appeared, and when Wilbur demonstrated it in France he astounded the European aviators by making several flights lasting more than one hour and one of 2 hours 20 minutes. Considerable numbers of the Model A were built, but the European designers rapidly caught up and overtook the Wrights. The Wright brothers became involved in several legal battles to protect their patents: one of these, with Glenn Curtiss, went on for many years. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912. Orville sold his interest in the Wright Company in 1915, but retained an interest in aeronautical research and lived on to see an aeroplane fly faster than the speed of sound.

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verbo transitivo (pass. awoke o awakened lett.; p.pass. awoken o awakened lett.)

1) (from sleep) svegliare

2) (generate) risvegliare, suscitare [ fear]; risvegliare, destare [suspicions, interest]

verbo intransitivo (pass. awoke o awakened lett.; p.pass. awoken o awakened lett.) (from sleep) svegliarsi

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1) (to awake: I was awakened by the song of the birds.) svegliare

2) (to start (a feeling of interest, guilt etc): His interest was awakened by the lecture.) risvegliato

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verbo transitivo (pass. awoke o awakened lett.; p.pass. awoken o awakened lett.)

1) (from sleep) svegliare

2) (generate) risvegliare, suscitare [ fear]; risvegliare, destare [suspicions, interest]

verbo intransitivo (pass. awoke o awakened lett.; p.pass. awoken o awakened lett.) (from sleep) svegliarsi

SUBJECT AREA: Mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic engineering

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Although known as Clement in his professional life, his baptism at Asby and his death were registered under the name of Joseph Clemmet. He worked as a slater until the age of 23, but his interest in mechanics led him to spend much of his spare time in the local blacksmith's shop. By studying books on mechanics borrowed from his cousin, a watchmaker, he taught himself and with the aid of the village blacksmith made his own lathe. By 1805 he was able to give up the slating trade and find employment as a mechanic in a small factory at Kirkby Stephen. From there he moved to Carlisle for two years, and then to Glasgow where, while working as a turner, he took lessons in drawing; he had a natural talent and soon became an expert draughtsman. From about 1809 he was employed by Leys, Mason \& Co. of Aberdeen designing and making power looms. For this work he built a screw-cutting lathe and continued his self-education. At the end of 1813, having saved about £100, he made his way to London, where he soon found employment as a mechanic and draughtsman. Within a few months he was engaged by Joseph Bramah, and after a trial period a formal agreement dated 1 April 1814 was made by which Clement was to be Chief Draughtsman and Superintendent of Bramah's Pimlico works for five years. However, Bramah died in December 1814 and after his sons took over the business it was agreed that Clement should leave before the expiry of the five-year period. He soon found employment as Chief Draughtsman with Henry Maudslay \& Co. By 1817 Clement had saved about £500, which enabled him to establish his own business at Prospect Place, Newington Butts, as a mechanical draughtsman and manufacturer of high-class machinery. For this purpose he built lathes for his own use and invented various improvements in their detailed design. In 1827 he designed and built a facing lathe which incorporated an ingenious system of infinitely variable belt gearing. He had also built his own planing machine by 1820 and another, much larger one in 1825. In 1828 Clement began making fluted taps and dies and standardized the screw threads, thus anticipating on a small scale the national standards later established by Sir Joseph Whitworth. Because of his reputation for first-class workmanship, Clement was in the 1820s engaged by Charles Babbage to carry out the construction of his first Difference Engine.

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SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping

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Francis Egerton was the younger of the two surviving sons of Scroop, 1st Duke of Bridgewater, and on the death of his brother, the 2nd Duke, he succeeded to the title in 1748. Until that time he had received little or no education as his mother considered him to be of feeble intellect. His guardians, the Duke of Bedford and Lord Trentham, decided he should be given an opportunity and sent him to Eton in 1749. He remained there for three years and then went on the "grand tour" of Europe. During this period he saw the Canal du Midi, though whether this was the spark that ignited his interest in canals is hard to say. On his return to England he indulged in the social round in London and raced at Newmarket. After two unsuccessful attempts at marriage he retired to Lancashire to further his mining interests at Worsley, where the construction of a canal to Manchester was already being considered. In fact, the Act for the Bridgewater Canal had been passed at the time he left London. John Gilbert, his land agent at Worsley, encouraged the Duke to pursue the canal project, which had received parliamentary approval in March 1759. Brindley had been recommended on account of his work at Trentham, the estate of the Duke's brother-in-law, and Brindley was consulted and subsequently appointed Engineer; the canal opened on 17 July 1761. This was immediately followed by an extension project from Longford Brook to Runcorn to improve communications between Manchester and Liverpool; this was completed on 31 December 1772, after Brindley's death. The Duke also invested heavily in the Trent \& Mersey Canal, but his interests were confined to his mines and the completed canals for the rest of his life.

It is said that he lacked a sense of humour and even refused to read books. He was untidy in his dress and habits yet he was devoted to the Worsley undertakings. When travelling to Worsley he would have his coach placed on a barge so that he could inspect the canal during the journey. He amassed a great fortune from his various activities, but when he died, instead of leaving his beloved canal to the beneficiaries under his will, he created a trust to ensure that the canal would endure; the trust did not expire until 1903. The Duke is commemorated by a large Corinthian pillar, which is now in the care of the National Trust, in the grounds of his mansion at Ashridge, Hertfordshire.

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SUBJECT AREA: Mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic engineering, Textiles

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Richard Roberts was the son of a shoemaker and tollkeeper and received only an elementary education at the village school. At the age of 10 his interest in mechanics was stimulated when he was allowed by the Curate, the Revd Griffith Howell, to use his lathe and other tools. As a young man Roberts acquired a considerable local reputation for his mechanical skills, but these were exercised only in his spare time. For many years he worked in the local limestone quarries, until at the age of 20 he obtained employment as a pattern-maker in Staffordshire. In the next few years he worked as a mechanic in Liverpool, Manchester and Salford before moving in 1814 to London, where he obtained employment with Henry Maudslay. In 1816 he set up on his own account in Manchester. He soon established a reputation there for gear-cutting and other general engineering work, especially for the textile industry, and by 1821 he was employing about twelve men. He built machine tools mainly for his own use, including, in 1817, one of the first planing machines.

One of his first inventions was a gas meter, but his first patent was obtained in 1822 for improvements in looms. His most important contribution to textile technology was his invention of the self-acting spinning mule, patented in 1825. The normal fourteen-year term of this patent was extended in 1839 by a further seven years. Between 1826 and 1828 Roberts paid several visits to Alsace, France, arranging cottonspinning machinery for a new factory at Mulhouse. By 1826 he had become a partner in the firm of Sharp Brothers, the company then becoming Sharp, Roberts \& Co. The firm continued to build textile machinery, and in the 1830s it built locomotive engines for the newly created railways and made one experimental steam-carriage for use on roads. The partnership was dissolved in 1843, the Sharps establishing a new works to continue locomotive building while Roberts retained the existing factory, known as the Globe Works, where he soon after took as partners R.G.Dobinson and Benjamin Fothergill (1802–79). This partnership was dissolved c. 1851, and Roberts continued in business on his own for a few years before moving to London as a consulting engineer.

During the 1840s and 1850s Roberts produced many new inventions in a variety of fields, including machine tools, clocks and watches, textile machinery, pumps and ships. One of these was a machine controlled by a punched-card system similar to the Jacquard loom for punching rivet holes in plates. This was used in the construction of the Conway and Menai Straits tubular bridges. Roberts was granted twenty-six patents, many of which, before the Patent Law Amendment Act of 1852, covered more than one invention; there were still other inventions he did not patent. He made his contribution to the discussion which led up to the 1852 Act by publishing, in 1830 and 1833, pamphlets suggesting reform of the Patent Law.

In the early 1820s Roberts helped to establish the Manchester Mechanics' Institute, and in 1823 he was elected a member of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. He frequently contributed to their proceedings and in 1861 he was made an Honorary Member. He was elected a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1838. From 1838 to 1843 he served as a councillor of the then-new Municipal Borough of Manchester. In his final years, without the assistance of business partners, Roberts suffered financial difficulties, and at the time of his death a fund for his aid was being raised.

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abs

1) stop growing перестать расти; let one's hair (one's beard, one's moustache, etc.) grow отпускать /отращивать/ волосы и т. д.; my finger-nails are not growing у меня не растут или плохо растут ногти

2) the crowd grew толпа росла /увеличивалась/; his influence (smb.'s pain, smb.'s surprise, smb.'s wonder, etc.) grows его влияние и т. д. усиливается /возрастает/; his fame grew его слава росла; the rumours were growing слухи все больше распространялись; my difficulties ( my troubles, my worries, etc.) grow у меня все больше трудностей и т. д.; taxes (prices, the national debts, etc.) grow растут налоги и т. д.

1) grow in some manner nails (vegetables, berries, etc.) grow quickly (slowly, etc.) ногти и т. д. быстро и т. д. растут; the little boy grew very fast маленький мальчик рос очень быстро; grow somewhere grow upwards (skywards, underground, etc.) расти вверх и т. д., grow in врастать

2) grow in some manner the crowd grew rapidly толпа быстро увеличивалась / росла/; new towns grew quickly быстро поднимались новые города; cities grow culturally растет культура городов

1) grow smth. grow a beard (a moustache, etc.) отращивать /отпускать/ бороду и т.д.; grow wheat (corn, oats, barley, etc.) сеять /выращивать/ пшеницу и т. д.; grow cucumbers (cabbage, tomatoes, vegetables, etc.) сажать или выращивать огурцы и т. д.; grow strawberries ( roses, tulips, etc.) разводить клубнику и т. д.; plants grow oats растения пускают корни; snakes can grow a new skin у змей появляется новая кожа

2) grow smb. grow quite a handsome man (a beautiful girl, a famous writer, a powerful speaker, etc.) [с возрастом] стать красивым мужчиной /превратиться в красивого мужчину/ и т. д.

1) grow along (beside, in, on, etc.) smth. grow along the river-bank (along the path, beside our house, in water, in very wet ground, in orchards, in the south, on rocks, on hills, on an oak-tree, etc.) расти вдоль берега /по берегу/ реки и т. д., rice grows in warm climate рис растет /произрастает/ в теплом климате; few trees grow in desert лишь немногие виды деревьев растут в пустыне; vine won't grow in the north на севере виноград не растет; ivy has grown all over the wall плющ увил всю стену; skin has grown over the wound рана затянулась; mould had grown all over the food while they were away пока их не было, все продукты заплесневели /покрылись плесенью/; grow in smth. grow in clusters (in bunches, in clumps, in tufts, etc.) растя гроздьями и т. д.; grow from smth. grow from seeds (from bulbs, from the stem, from nodes, etc.) вырастать из семян и т. д.

2) grow out of /from/ smth. grow out of few small towns (from a little provincial college, out of several institutions, etc.) вырасти /развиться/ из нескольких маленьких городков и т. д., the book has growп out of lectures to the students (out of travelling notes, etc.) книга родилась из лекций, прочитанных студентам и т. д., several interesting ideas grew out of the discussion дискуссия породила /вызвала к жизни/ несколько интересных идей; his troubles grew out of his bad temper причина всех его неприятностей grow скверный характер; his interest in ships grew from conversations with his father интерес к пароходам у него появился /проснулся/ из разговоров с отцом; their friendship grew from their common interests их сблизили общие интересы

3) grow by smth. grow by five inches вырасти на пять дюймов; grow out of smth. grow out of one's shoes (out of one's coat, out of one's jacket, etc.) вырасти из ботинок и т. д.; there is no sense in buying expensive clothes for children, as they soon grow out of them нет смысла покупать детям дорогие вещи, они быстро становятся им малы; grow in smth. grow in number (in size, in price, etc.) возрастать /увеличиваться/ в числе и т. д.; grow in experience (in knowledge) приобретать больше опыта, обогащаться опытом и т. д.; grow in importance ( in popularity, in beauty, etc.) становиться более значительным, приобретать большее значение и т. д., he grew in strength but not unfortunately in wisdom он стал сильнее, но, к сожалению, ума у него не прибавилось; grow with some time his sense of duty grew with age с годами у него чувство долга становилось все сильней /росло/

4) grow (in)to smb., smth. grow into a fine girl (into a tall youth, to a handsome man, into a fine musician, into a tall oak, etc.) [вырасти и] превратиться в хорошенькую девушку, стать хорошенькой девушкой и т. д.; grow into a man стать мужчиной; this firm has grown into a company of international importance эта фирма разрослась и приобрела международное значение; buds grew to blossoms почки превратились в цветы; the wind grew to a tempest ветер перешел в ураган; the boy will soon grow into these trousers мальчику эти брюки скоро будут впору; minutes grew into hours (into weeks, into months, etc.) минуты превращались в часы и т. д., из минут складывались часы и т. д., а neglected cold may grow into a serious illness запущенный насморк может перейти в серьезное заболевание; boasting with him has grown into a habit хвастовстве у него стало привычкой /перешло в привычку/; grow from smth. to smth. grow from boyhood to manhood (from girlhood to womanhood, etc.) превратиться из мальчика во взрослого мужчину и т. д.

5) grow out of smth. grow out of bad (childish, foolish, etc.) habits отвыкать от дурных и т. д. привычек; grow out of dependence on his mother перестать зависеть от матери; he is mischievous but he will grow out of it он шаловлив, но у неге это пройдет; don't worry about his shyness, he'll grow out of it in time пусть вас не волнует его застенчивость, со временем он избавится от нее; grow out of use выходить из употребления; grow out of fashion выходить из моды

6) grow on smb. this music (this place, this painting, her beauty, etc.) grows on me эта музыка и т. д. нравится мне все больше и больше; the feeling (this desire, this thought, the longing for home, etc.) grows on him его постепенно охватывает /им постепенно овладевает/ это чувство и т. д., the habit has grown on him от этой привычки ему все трудней отделаться; the book seems dull at first but it grows on you книга сначала кажется скучной, но потом она захватывает

SUBJECT AREA: Chemical technology, Weapons and armour

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His family came from Germany and he was the son of a music master. He first became interested in science at the age of 14, when visiting his mineralogist uncle in Hamburg, and studied chemistry at the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London. In 1845 he became one of the twenty-six founding students, under A.W.von Hofmann, of the Royal College of Chemistry. Such was his aptitude for the subject that within two years he became von Hermann's assistant and demonstrator. In 1851 Abel was appointed Lecturer in Chemistry, succeeding Michael Faraday, at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and it was while there that he wrote his Handbook of Chemistry, which was co-authored by his assistant, Charles Bloxam.

Abel's four years at the Royal Military Academy served to foster his interest in explosives, but it was during his thirty-four years, beginning in 1854, as Ordnance Chemist at the Royal Arsenal and at Woolwich that he consolidated and developed his reputation as one of the international leaders in his field. In 1860 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, but it was his studies during the 1870s into the chemical changes that occur during explosions, and which were the subject of numerous papers, that formed the backbone of his work. It was he who established the means of storing gun-cotton without the danger of spontaneous explosion, but he also developed devices (the Abel Open Test and Close Test) for measuring the flashpoint of petroleum. He also became interested in metal alloys, carrying out much useful work on their composition. A further avenue of research occurred in 1881 when he was appointed a member of the Royal Commission set up to investigate safety in mines after the explosion that year in the Sealham Colliery. His resultant study on dangerous dusts did much to further understanding on the use of explosives underground and to improve the safety record of the coal-mining industry. The achievement for which he is most remembered, however, came in 1889, when, in conjunction with Sir James Dewar, he invented cordite. This stable explosive, made of wood fibre, nitric acid and glycerine, had the vital advantage of being a "smokeless powder", which meant that, unlike the traditional ammunition propellant, gunpowder ("black powder"), the firer's position was not given away when the weapon was discharged. Although much of the preliminary work had been done by the Frenchman Paul Vieille, it was Abel who perfected it, with the result that cordite quickly became the British Army's standard explosive.

Abel married, and was widowed, twice. He had no children, but died heaped in both scientific honours and those from a grateful country.

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SUBJECT AREA: Electricity, Electronics and information technology, Public utilities

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After attending Owens College, Manchester, Hopkinson was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1867 to read for the Mathematical Tripos. An appointment in 1872 with the lighthouse department of the Chance Optical Works in Birmingham directed his attention to electrical engineering. His most noteworthy contribution to lighthouse engineering was an optical system to produce flashing lights that distinguished between individual beacons. His extensive researches on the dielectric properties of glass were recognized when he was elected to a Fellowship of the Royal Society at the age of 29. Moving to London in 1877 he became established as a consulting engineer at a time when electricity supply was about to begin on a commercial scale. During the remainder of his life, Hopkinson's researches resulted in fundamental contributions to electrical engineering practice, dynamo design and alternating current machine theory. In making a critical study of the Edison dynamo he developed the principle of the magnetic circuit, a concept also arrived at by Gisbert Kapp around the same time. Hopkinson's improvement of the Edison dynamo by reducing the length of the field magnets almost doubled its output. In 1890, in addition to-his consulting practice, Hopkinson accepted a post as the first Professor of Electrical Engineering and Head of the Siemens laboratory recently established at King's College, London. Although he was not involved in lecturing, the position gave him the necessary facilities and staff and student assistance to continue his researches. Hopkinson was consulted on many proposals for electric traction and electricity supply, including schemes in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. He also advised Mather and Platt when they were acting as contractors for the locomotives and generating plant for the City and South London tube railway. As early as 1882 he considered that an ideal method of charging for the supply of electricity should be based on a two-part tariff, with a charge related to maximum demand together with a charge for energy supplied. Hopkinson was one the foremost expert witnesses of his day in patent actions and was himself the patentee of over forty inventions, of which the three-wire system of distribution and the series-parallel connection of traction motors were his most successful. Jointly with his brother Edward, John Hopkinson communicated the outcome of his investigations to the Royal Society in a paper entitled "Dynamo Electric Machinery" in 1886. In this he also described the later widely used "back to back" test for determining the characteristics of two identical machines. His interest in electrical machines led him to more fundamental research on magnetic materials, including the phenomenon of recalescence and the disappearance of magnetism at a well-defined temperature. For his work on the magnetic properties of iron, in 1890 he was awarded the Royal Society Royal Medal. He was a member of the Alpine Club and a pioneer of rock climbing in Britain; he died, together with three of his children, in a climbing accident.

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SUBJECT AREA: Photography, film and optics

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Born of English parents and educated in Paris, Acres travelled to England in the 1880s. He worked for the photographic manufacturing firm Elliott \& Co. in Barnet, near London, and became the Manager. He became well known through his frequent lectures, demonstrations and articles in the photographic press. The appearance of the Edison kinetoscope in 1893 seems to have aroused his interest in the recording and reproduction of movement.

At the beginning of 1895 he took his idea for a camera to Robert Paul, an instrument maker, and they collaborated on the building of a working camera, which Acres used to record the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race on 30 March 1895. He filmed the Derby at Epsom on 29 May and the opening of the Kiel Canal in June, as well as ten other subjects for the kinetoscope, which were sold by Paul. Acres's association with Paul ended in July 1895. Acres had patented the camera design, the Kinetic Lantern, on 27 May 1895 and then went on to design a projector with which he gave the first successful presentation of projected motion pictures to take place in Britain, at the Royal Photographic Society's meeting on 14 January 1896. At the end of the month Acres formed his own business, the Northern Photographic Company, to supply film stock, process and print exposed film, and to make finished film productions.

His first shows to the public, using the renamed Kineopticon projector, started in Piccadilly Circus on 21 March 1896. He later toured the country with his show. He was honoured with a Royal Command Performance at Marlborough House on 21 July 1896 before members of the royal family. Although he made a number of films for his own use, they and his equipment were used only for his own demonstrations. His last contribution to cinematography was the design and patenting in 1898 of the first low-cost system for amateur use, the Birtac, which was first shown on 25 January 1899 and marketed in May of that year. It used half-width film, 17.5 mm wide, and the apparatus served as camera, printer and projector.

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SUBJECT AREA: Mining and extraction technology

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A former Second Lieutenant of the Austrian navy (hence his later nickname "Captain") and graduate of the Polytechnic Institute of Graz, Lucas decided to stay in Michigan when he visited his relatives in 1879. He changed his original name, Lucie, into the form his uncle had adopted and became a naturalized American citizen at the age of 30. He worked in the lumber industry for some years and then became a consulting mechanical and mining engineer in Washington, DC. He began working for a salt-mining company in Louisiana in 1893 and became interested in the geology of the Mexican Gulf region, with a view to prospecting for petroleum. In the course of this work he came to the conclusion that the hills in this elevated area, being geological structures distinct from the surrounding deposits, were natural reservoirs of petroleum. To prove his unusual theory he subsequently chose Spindle Top, near Beaumont, Texas, where in 1899 he began to bore a first oil-well. A second drill-hole, started in October 1900, was put through clay and quicksand. After many difficulties, a layer of rock containing marine shells was reached. When the "gusher" came out on 10 January 1901, it not only opened up a new era in the oil and gas business, but it also led to the future exploration of the terrestrial crust.

Lucas's boring was a breakthrough for the rotary drilling system, which was still in its early days although its principles had been established by the English engineer Robert Beart in his patent of 1884. It proved to have advantages over the pile-driving of pipes. A pipe with a simple cutter at the lower end was driven with a constantly revolving motion, grinding down on the bottom of the well, thus gouging and chipping its way downward. To deal with the quicksand he adopted the use of large and heavy casings successively telescoped one into the other. According to Fauvelle's method, water was forced through the pipe by means of a pump, so the well was kept full of circulating liquid during drilling, flushing up the mud. When the salt-rock was reached, a diamond drill was used to test the depth and the character of the deposit.

When the well blew out and flowed freely he developed a preventer in order to save the oil and, even more importantly at the time, to shut the well and to control the oil flow. This assembly, patented in 1903, consisted of a combined system of pipes, valves and casings diverting the stream into a horizontal direction.

Lucas's fame spread around the world, but as he had to relinquish the larger part of his interest to the oil company supporting the exploration, his financial reward was poor. One year after his success at Spindle Top he started oil exploration in Mexico, where he stayed until 1905, when he resumed his consulting practice in Washington, DC.

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SUBJECT AREA: Civil engineering, Land transport

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The son of poor working parents, at the age of 6 an attack of smallpox left him blind; however, this did not restrict his future activities, which included swimming and riding. He learned the violin and was much employed as the fiddle-player at country parties. He saved enough money to buy a horse on which he hunted. He took part in bowls, wrestling and boxing, being a robust six foot two inches tall. He rode to Whitby and went thence by boat to London and made other trips to York, Reading and Windsor. In 1740 Colonel Liddell offered him a seat in his coach from London to Harrogate, but he declined and got there more quickly on foot. He set up a one-horse chaise and a four-wheeler for hire in Harrogate, but the local innkeepers set up in competition in the public hire business. He went into the fish business, buying at the coast and selling in Leeds and other towns, but made little profit so he took up his violin again. During the rebellion of 1745 he recruited for Colonel Thornton and served to fight at Hexham, Newcastle and Falkirk, returning home after the Battle of Culloden. He then started travelling between Yorkshire, where be bought cotton and worsted stockings, and Aberdeen, where he sold horses. He set up a twice-weekly service of stage wagons between Knaresborough and York.

In 1765 an Act was passed for a turnpike road between Harrogate and Boroughbridge and he offered to build the Master Surveyor, a Mr Ostler, three miles (5 km) of road between Minskip and Fearnly, selling his wagons and his interest in the carrying business. The road was built satisfactorily and on time. He then quoted for a bridge at Boroughbridge and for a turnpike road between Knaresborough and Harrogate. He built many other roads, always doing the survey of the route on his own. The roads crossed bogs on a base of ling and furze. Many of his roads outside Yorkshire were in Lancashire, Cheshire and Derbyshire. In all he built some 180 miles (290 km) of road, for which he was paid some £65,000.

He worked for thirty years on road building, retiring in old age to a cotton business in Stockport where he had six spinning jennies and a carding engine; however, he found there was little profit in this so he gave the machinery to his son-in-law. The last road he built was from Haslington to Accrington, but due to the rise in labour costs brought about by the demand from the canal boom, he only made £40 profit on a £3,000 contract; the road was completed in 1792, when he retired to his farm at Spofforth at the age of 75. There he died, leaving a wife, four children, twenty grandchildren and ninety greatgrandchildren. His wife was the daughter of the landlord of the Granby Inn, Knaresborough.

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SUBJECT AREA: Telecommunications

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Following early education at Phillips Academy, Andover, at the age of 14 years Morse went to Yale College, where he developed interests in painting and electricity. Upon graduating in 1810 he became a clerk to a Washington publisher and a pupil of Washington Allston, a well-known American painter. The following year he travelled to Europe and entered the London studio of another American artist, Benjamin West, successfully exhibiting at the Royal Academy as well as winning a prize and medal for his sculpture. Returning to Boston and finding little success as a "historical-style" painter, he built up a thriving portrait business, moving in 1818 to Charleston, South Carolina, where three years later he established the (now defunct) South Carolina Academy of Fine Arts. In 1825 he was back in New York, but following the death of his wife and both of his parents that year, he embarked on an extended tour of European art galleries. In 1832, on the boat back to America, he met Charles T.Jackson, who told him of the discovery of the electromagnet and fired his interest in telegraphy to the extent that Morse immediately began to make suggestions for electrical communications and, apparently, devised a form of printing telegraph. Although he returned to his painting and in 1835 was appointed the first Professor of the Literature of Art and Design at the University of New York City, he began to spend more and more time experimenting in telegraphy. In 1836 he invented a relay as a means of extending the cable distance over which telegraph signals could be sent. At this time he became acquainted with Alfred Vail, and the following year, when the US government published the requirements for a national telegraph service, they set out to produce a workable system, with finance provided by Vail's father (who, usefully, owned an ironworks). A patent was filed on 6 October 1837 and a successful demonstration using the so-called Morse code was given on 6 January 1838; the work was, in fact, almost certainly largely that of Vail. As a result of the demonstration a Bill was put forward to Congress for $30,000 for an experimental line between Washington and Baltimore. This was eventually passed and the line was completed, and on 24 May 1844 the first message, "What hath God wrought", was sent between the two cities. In the meantime Morse also worked on the insulation of submarine cables by means of pitch tar and indiarubber.

With success achieved, Morse offered his invention to the Government for $100,000, but this was declined, so the invention remained in private hands. To exploit it, Morse founded the Magnetic Telephone Company in 1845, amalgamating the following year with the telegraph company of a Henry O'Reilly to form Western Union. Having failed to obtain patents in Europe, he now found himself in litigation with others in the USA, but eventually, in 1854, the US Supreme Court decided in his favour and he soon became very wealthy. In 1857 a proposal was made for a telegraph service across the whole of the USA; this was completed in just over four months in 1861. Four years later work began on a link to Europe via Canada, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and Russia, but it was abandoned with the completion of the transatlantic cable, a venture in which he also had some involvement. Showered with honours, Morse became a generous philanthropist in his later years. By 1883 the company he had created was worth $80 million and had a virtual monopoly in the USA.

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SUBJECT AREA: Aerospace

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A.V.Roe served an apprenticeship at a railway works, studied marine engineering at Kings College London, served at sea as an engineer, and then took a job in the motor-car industry. His hobby was flying: after studying bird-flight, he built several flying models and in 1907 one of these won a prize offered by the Daily Mail. With the prize money he built a full-size aeroplane loosely based on the Flyer of the Wright brothers, with whom he had corresponded. In September, Roe took his biplane to the motorracing circuit at Brooklands, in Surrey, but it made only a few hops and his activities were not welcomed. Roe then moved to Essex, where he assembled his new aeroplane under the arch of a railway bridge. This was a triplane design with the engine at the front (a "tractor"), and during 1909 it made several flights (this triplane is preserved by the Science Museum in London).

In 1910 Roe and his brother Humphrey founded A.V.Roe \& Co. in Manchester, they described it the "Aviator's Storehouse". During the next three years Roe designed and built aeroplanes in Manchester, then transported them to Brooklands to fly (the authorities now made him more welcome). One of the most significant of these was his Type D tractor biplane of 1911, which led to the Avro 504 two-seater trainer of 1913. This was one of the most successful trainers of all time, as around 10,000 were built. In November 1914 a flight of Avro 504s carried out the first-ever bombing raid when they attacked German airship sheds as Friedrichshafen. A.V.Roe produced the first aeroplanes with enclosed cabins during 1912: the Type F monoplane and Type G biplane. After the war, his Avian was used for several record-breaking flights. In 1928 he sold his interest in the company bearing his name and joined forces with Saunders Ltd of Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, to found Saunders-Roe Ltd. "Saro" produced a series of flying boats, from the four-seat Cutty Sark of 1929 to the large, and ill-fated, Princess of 1952.

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SUBJECT AREA: Civil engineering

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At the beginning of the seventeenth century, several wealthy men in England joined forces as "adventurers" to put their money into land ventures. One such group was responsible for the draining of the Fens. The first need was to find engineers who were versed in the processes of land drainage, particularly when that land was at, or below, sea level. It was natural, therefore, to turn to the Netherlands to find these skilled men. Joachim Liens was one of the first of the Dutch engineers to go to England, and he started work on the Great Level; however, no real progress was made until 1621, when Cornelius Vermuyden was brought to England to assist in the work.

Vermuyden had grown up in a district where he could see for himself the techniques of embanking and reclaiming land from the sea. He acquired a reputation of expertise in this field, and by 1621 his fame had spread to England. In that year the Thames had flooded and breached its banks near Havering and Dagenham in Essex. Vermuyden was commissioned to repair the breach and drain neighbouring marshland, with what he claimed as complete success. The Commissioners of Sewers for Essex disputed this claim and whthheld his fee, but King Charles I granted him a portion of the reclaimed land as compensation.

In 1626 Vermuyden carried out his first scheme for drainage works as a consultant. This was the drainage of Hatfield Chase in South Yorkshire. Charles I was, in fact, Vermuyden's employer in the drainage of the Chase, and the work was undertaken as a means of raising additional rents for the Royal Exchequer. Vermuyden was himself an "adventurer" in the undertaking, putting capital into the venture and receiving the title to a considerable proportion of the drained lands. One of the important elements of his drainage designs was the principal of "washes", which were flat areas between the protective dykes and the rivers to carry flood waters, to prevent them spreading on to nearby land. Vermuyden faced bitter opposition from those whose livelihoods depended on the marshlands and who resorted to sabotage of the embankments and violence against his imported Dutch workmen to defend their rights. The work could not be completed until arbiters had ruled out on the respective rights of the parties involved. Disagreements and criticism of his engineering practices continued and he gave up his interest in Hatfield Chase. The Hatfield Chase undertaking was not a great success, although the land is now rich farmland around the river Don in Doncaster. However, the involved financial and land-ownership arrangements were the key to the granting of a knighthood to Cornelius Vermuyden in January 1628, and in 1630 he purchased 4,000 acres of low-lying land on Sedgemoor in Somerset.

In 1629 Vermuyden embarked on his most important work, that of draining the Great Level in the fenlands of East Anglia. Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford, was given charge of the work, with Vermuyden as Engineer; in this venture they were speculators and partners and were recompensed by a grant of land. The area which contains the Cambridgeshire tributaries of the Great Ouse were subject to severe and usually annual flooding. The works to contain the rivers in their flood period were important. Whilst the rivers were contained with the enclosed flood plain, the land beyond became highly sought-after because of the quality of the soil. The fourteen "adventurers" who eventually came into partnership with the Earl of Bedford and Vermuyden were the financiers of the scheme and also received land in accordance with their input into the scheme. In 1637 the work was claimed to be complete, but this was disputed, with Vermuyden defending himself against criticism in a pamphlet entitled Discourse Touching the Great Fennes (1638; 1642, London). In fact, much remained to be done, and after an interruption due to the Civil War the scheme was finished in 1652. Whilst the process of the Great Level works had closely involved the King, Oliver Cromwell was equally concerned over the success of the scheme. By 1655 Cornelius Vermuyden had ceased to have anything to do with the Great Level. At that stage he was asked to account for large sums granted to him to expedite the work but was unable to do so; most of his assets were seized to cover the deficiency, and from then on he subsided into obscurity and poverty.

While Cornelius Vermuyden, as a Dutchman, was well versed in the drainage needs of his own country, he developed his skills as a hydraulic engineer in England and drained acres of derelict flooded land.

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KM / LRD

- liar

1) (to be in or take a more or less flat position: She went into the bedroom and lay on the bed; The book was lying in the hall.)

2) (to be situated; to be in a particular place etc: The farm lay three miles from the sea; His interest lies in farming.) echarse, tumbarse

3) (to remain in a certain state: The shop is lying empty now.) estar (situado), encontrarse

4) ((with in) (of feelings, impressions etc) to be caused by or contained in: His charm lies in his honesty.) quedarse, permanecer

•

- lie back

lie¹ n mentira

lie² vb echarse / tumbarse

El pasado de lie es lay y el participio pasado es lain; el gerundio se escribe lying

lie³ vb mentir

El gerundio de lie se escribe lying

tr[laɪ]

intransitive verb (pt & pp lied, ger lying)

1 mentir

noun

1 mentira

\

to be a pack of lies / be a tissue of lies ser pura mentira

to give the lie to desmentir

to lie through one's teeth familiar mentir uno más que habla

to tell lies mentir

lie detector detector nombre masculino de mentiras

tr[laɪ]

intransitive verb (pt lay tr[leɪ], pp lain tr[leɪn], ger lying)

1 (adopt a flat position) acostarse, tumbarse; (be in a flat position) estar acostado,-a, estar tumbado,-a

2 (decision) depender ( with, de); (responsibility) ser ( with, de), corresponder ( with, a)

■ the final decision lies only with the president la decisión final sólo depende del presidente

■ we must determine where the responsibility lies hemos de determinar de quién es la responsabilidad

3 (be situated) estar (situado,-a), encontrarse

■ the monastery lies north of the city el monasterio está al norte de la ciudad

■ the problem lies mainly in his stubbornness el problema radica principalmente en su intransigencia

■ what lies behind his offer of help? ¿qué esconde tras su oferta de ayuda?

4 (be buried) yacer

5 (remain) quedarse, permanecer

■ he lay still watching the deer permaneció inmóvil mirando el ciervo

noun

1 (position) posición nombre femenino, situación nombre femenino; (direction) orientación nombre femenino

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to lie down on the job columpiarse, dormirse

to lie low estar escondido,-a

to take something lying down aceptar algo sin chistar

the lie of the land la topografía (del terreno) 2 figurative use el estado de las cosas

lie ['laɪ] vi, lay ['leɪ] ; lain ['leɪn] ; lying ['laɪɪŋ]

1) : acostarse, echarse

I lay down: me acosté

2) : estar, estar situado, encontrarse

the book lay on the table: el libro estaba en la mesa

the city lies to the south: la ciudad se encuentra al sur

3) consist: consistir

to lie in : residir en

the power lies in the people: el poder reside en el pueblo

lie vi, lied ; lying ['laɪɪŋ] : mentir

lie n

1) untruth: mentira f

to tell lies: decir mentiras

2) position: posición f

• disposición s.f.

• embuste s.m.

• filfa s.f.

• gazapa s.f.

• infundio s.m.

• mentira s.f.

• orientación s.f.

• trola s.f.

• trufa s.f.

(§ p.,p.p.: lied) (•§ p.,p.p.: lay, lain•) = echarse v.

• estar acostado v.

• estar echado v.

• estar situado v.

• mentir v.

• trufar v.

• ubicarse v.

• yacer v.

noun ( untruth) mentira f

1) intransitive verb

2) (3rd pers sing pres lies; pres p lying; past & past p lied) ( tell untruths) mentir*

3) (3rd pers sing pres lies; pres p lying; past lay; past p lain)

a) ( lie down) echarse, acostarse*, tenderse*

b) ( be in lying position) estar* tendido, yacer* (liter)

c) ( be buried) yacer* (liter), estar* sepultado (frml)

4) (be) \<\<object\>\> estar*

5)

a) ( be located) \<\<building/city\>\> encontrarse*, estar* (situado or ubicado)

b) ( stretch) extenderse*

6) \<\<problem/difference\>\> radicar*, estribar, estar*; \<\<answer\>\> estar*

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- lie about

- lie ahead

- lie around

- lie back

- lie down

- lie in

N mentira f

- give the lie to

VI mentir

1. VI

1) [person, animal] (=act) echarse, acostarse, tenderse, tumbarse; (=state) estar echado or acostado or tendido or tumbado; (in grave) yacer, estar enterrado, reposar liter

- lie low

2) (=be situated) [object] estar; [town, house] estar situado, encontrarse, ubicarse (LAm); (=remain) quedarse; (=stretch) extenderse

N [of ball] posición f

- lie about

- lie back

- lie behind

- lie down

- lie in

- lie over

- lie to

- lie up

* * *

noun ( untruth) mentira f

1) intransitive verb

2) (3rd pers sing pres lies; pres p lying; past & past p lied) ( tell untruths) mentir*

3) (3rd pers sing pres lies; pres p lying; past lay; past p lain)

a) ( lie down) echarse, acostarse*, tenderse*

b) ( be in lying position) estar* tendido, yacer* (liter)

c) ( be buried) yacer* (liter), estar* sepultado (frml)

4) (be) \<\<object\>\> estar*

5)

a) ( be located) \<\<building/city\>\> encontrarse*, estar* (situado or ubicado)

b) ( stretch) extenderse*

6) \<\<problem/difference\>\> radicar*, estribar, estar*; \<\<answer\>\> estar*

•

- lie about

- lie ahead

- lie around

- lie back

- lie down

- lie in

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abs

1) stop the engine and let it cool off выключите двигатель /мотор/ и дайте ему остыть; let the soup cool off пусть суп остынет; let's go to the porch and cool off пойдем на веранду немного освежиться

2) his enthusiasm (his interest, etc.) has cooled off его пыл и т. д. остыл

1). to switch on (water, light); 2). to interest, excite or stimulate someone

1). включить (воду, свет); 2). интересовать, возбуждать кого-то

• turn on/upon someone

to become hostile to someone suddenly

неожиданно повести себя враждебно, напасть на кого-то