process elements

- synthesize

* * *

- synthesize

1) актуальный

2) необходимый

3) существенный ( параметр системы); главный; ключевой; определяющий (напр., механизм интенсификации теплообмена)

4) немаловажный; имеющий существенное значение; существенно влияющий на что-л.;

5) заслуживающий внимания

6) критичный

7) ценный; ценнейший

8) ответственный

9) [ химически] активный; агрессивный

10) серьезный (проблема, загрязнитель)

11) имеющий приложение к чему-л.;

- synthesize

- synthesize

- synthesize

   The ill-fated Alvor Agreement was signed in Alvor, Algarve province, in January 1975. The purpose of the agreement was to facilitate the peaceful, lawful decolonization of Portugal's former colony of Angola. The conference that worked out and signed this instrument was hosted by Portugal's provisional government, and backed by the Armed Forces Movement, which had overthrown the dictatorship on 25 April 1974, and which had called for rapid decolonization of Portugal's African colonies after a truce in the colonial war. Decolonization negotiations proceeded fairly smoothly in the other African territories, but in Angola, rather than one African nationalist movement or party, three were struggling for power. They were the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), led by Holden Roberto; the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Agostinho Neto, who had trained as a physician in Portugal; and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas Savimbi. By the Alvor Agreement, which was signed by four parties — Portugal, FNLA, MPLA, and UNITA—the decolonization process would be realized in several stages, ending in November 1975, following free elections with the three nationalist parties participating, Portugal overseeing the elections, and the new army of Angola comprised of elements of the three African parties' armies, which had fought Portuguese forces off and on since 1961. Portugal's government in Lisbon and its government and forces in Angola attempted, but failed, to put the Alvor Agreement into full effect. A civil war broke out in the spring of 1975 in Angola among the three nationalist forces, eventually with the FNLA and UNITA entering an alliance against the MPLA. No all-Angola army was ever constituted, and a power struggle among the three armed movements ensued. The MPLA won control of the Luanda region. As the Portuguese forces and commissioner withdrew, Portugal did not hand over power to any one group. On 11 November 1975, with the Alvor Agreement a dead letter and no elections having been organized, the MPLA declared the independence of Angola and the civil war continued. Angola's independent beginnings were unique in African history: the colonial power suddenly withdrew without handing over power officially to a nationalist party, but "to the people of Angola," and Angola was born as a free state embroiled in a bloody civil war that lasted until 2002.

put

A n Fin = put option.

B vtr ( p prés - tt- ; prét, pp put)

1 ( place) mettre [object] ; put them here please mettez-les ici s'il vous plaît ; to put sth on/under/around etc mettre qch sur/sous/autour de etc ; to put a stamp on a letter mettre un timbre sur une lettre ; to put a lock on the door/a button on a shirt mettre une serrure sur la porte/un bouton sur une chemise ; to put one's arm around sb mettre son bras autour de qn ; to put one's hands in one's pockets mettre les mains dans ses poches ; to put sth in a safe place mettre qch en lieu sûr ; to put sugar in one's tea mettre du sucre dans son thé ; to put more sugar in one's tea ajouter du sucre dans son thé ; to put more soap in the bathroom remettre du savon dans la salle de bains ;

2 ( cause to go or undergo) to put sth through glisser qch dans [letterbox] ; passer qch par [window] ; faire passer qch à [mincer] ; to put one's head through the window passer la tête par la fenêtre ; to put one's fist through the window casser la fenêtre d'un coup de poing ; to put sth through the books Accts faire passer qch dans les frais généraux ; to put sth through a test faire passer un test à qch ; to put sth through a process faire suivre un processus à qch ; to put sb through envoyer qn à [university, college] ; faire passer qn par [suffering, ordeal] ; faire passer [qch] à qn [test] ; faire suivre [qch] à qn [course] ; after all you've put me through après tout ce que tu m'as fait subir ; to put sb through hell faire souffrir mille morts à qn ; to put one's hand/finger to porter la main/le doigt à [mouth] ;

3 ( cause to be or do) mettre [person] ; to put sb in prison/on a diet mettre qn en prison/au régime ; to put sb on the train mettre qn dans le train ; to put sb in goal/in defence GB mettre qn dans les buts/en défense ; to put sb in a bad mood/in an awkward position mettre qn de mauvaise humeur/dans une situation délicate ; to put sb to work mettre qn au travail ; to put sb to mending/washing sth faire réparer/laver qch à qn ;

4 (devote, invest) to put money/energy into sth investir de l'argent/son énergie dans qch ; if you put some effort into your work, you will improve si tu fais des efforts, ton travail sera meilleur ; to put a lot into s'engager à fond pour [work, project] ; sacrifier beaucoup à [marriage] ; to put a lot of effort into sth faire beaucoup d'efforts pour qch ; she puts a lot of herself into her novels il y a beaucoup d'éléments autobiographiques dans ses romans ;

5 ( add) to put sth towards mettre qch pour [holiday, gift, fund] ; put it towards some new clothes dépense-le en nouveaux vêtements ; to put tax/duty on sth taxer/imposer qch ; to put a penny on income tax GB augmenter d'un pourcent l'impôt sur le revenu ;

6 ( express) how would you put that in French? comment dirait-on ça en français? ; how can I put it? comment dirai-je? ; it was-how can I put it-unusual c'était-comment dire-original ; that's one way of putting it! iron on peut le dire comme ça! ; as Sartre puts it comme le dit Sartre ; to put it simply pour le dire simplement ; to put it bluntly pour parler franchement ; let me put it another way laissez-moi m'exprimer différemment ; that was very well ou nicely put c'était très bien tourné ; to put one's feelings/one's anger into words trouver les mots pour exprimer ses sentiments/sa colère ; to put sth in writing mettre qch par écrit ;

7 ( offer for consideration) présenter [argument, point of view, proposal] ; to put sth to soumettre qch à [meeting, conference, board] ; to put sth to the vote mettre qch au vote ; I put it to you that Jur j'ai la présomption que ;

8 (rate, rank) placer ; where would you put it on a scale of one to ten? où est-ce que tu placerais cela sur une échelle allant de un à dix? ; to put sb in the top rank of artists placer qn au premier rang des artistes ; I put a sense of humour before good looks je place le sens de l'humour avant la beauté ; I put a sense of humour first pour moi le plus important c'est le sens de l'humour ; to put children/safety first faire passer les enfants/la sécurité avant tout ; to put one's family before everything faire passer sa famille avant tout ;

9 ( estimate) to put sth at évaluer qch à [sum] ; to put the value of sth at estimer la valeur de qch à [sum] ; I'd put him at about 40 je lui donnerais à peu près 40 ans ;

10 Sport lancer [shot] ;

11 Agric ( for mating) to put a heifer/mare to amener une génisse/jument à [male].

C v refl ( p prés - tt- ; prét, pp put) to put oneself in a strong position/in sb's place se mettre dans une position de force/à la place de qn.

I didn't know where to put myself je ne savais pas où me mettre ; I wouldn't put it past him! je ne pense pas que ça le gênerait! (to do de faire) ; I wouldn't put anything past her! je la crois capable de tout! ; put it there ○ ! ( invitation to shake hands) tope là! ; to put it about a bit ◑ péj coucher à droite et à gauche ◑ ; to put one over ou across GB on sb ○ faire marcher qn ○.

■ put about:

▶ put about Naut virer de bord ;

▶ put [sth] about, put about [sth]

1 ( spread) faire circuler [rumour, gossip, story] ; to put (it) about that faire courir le bruit que ; it is being put about that le bruit court que ;

2 Naut faire virer de bord [vessel].

■ put across:

▶ put across [sth], put [sth] across communiquer [idea, message, concept, case, point of view] ; mettre [qch] en valeur [personality] ; to put oneself across se mettre en valeur.

■ put aside:

▶ put aside [sth], put [sth] aside mettre [qch] de côté [money, article, differences, divisions, mistrust].

■ put away:

▶ put away [sth], put [sth] away

1 ( tidy away) ranger [toys, dishes] ;

2 ( save) mettre [qch] de côté [money] ;

3 ○ ( consume) avaler [food] ; descendre ○ [drink] ;

▶ put away [sb] ○, put [sb] away ○

1 ( in mental hospital) enfermer ; he had to be put away il a fallu l'enfermer ;

2 ( in prison) boucler ○ [person] (for pour).

■ put back:

▶ put back [sth], put [sth] back

1 (return, restore) remettre [object] ; to put sth back where it belongs remettre qch à sa place ;

2 ( postpone) remettre, repousser [meeting, departure] (to à ; until jusqu'à) ; repousser [date] ;

3 retarder [clock, watch] ; remember to put your clocks back an hour n'oubliez pas de retarder votre pendule d'une heure ;

4 ( delay) retarder [project, production, deliveries] (by de) ;

5 ○ ( knock back) descendre ○ [drink, quantity].

■ put by GB:

▶ put [sth] by, put by [sth] mettre [qch] de côté [money] ; to have a bit (of money) put by avoir un peu d'argent de côté.

■ put down:

▶ put down ( land) [aircraft] atterrir (on sur) ;

▶ put [sth] down, put down [sth]

1 (on ground, table) poser [object, plane] (on sur) ; mettre [rat poison etc] ;

2 ( suppress) réprimer [uprising, revolt, opposition] ;

3 ( write down) mettre (par écrit) [date, time, name] ; put down whatever you like mets ce que tu veux ;

4 ( ascribe) to put sth down to mettre qch sur le compte de [incompetence, human error etc] ; to put sth down to the fact that imputer qch au fait que ;

5 ( charge) to put sth down to mettre qch sur [account] ;

6 Vet ( by injection) piquer ; ( by other method) abattre ; to have a dog put down faire piquer un chien ;

7 (advance, deposit) to put down a deposit verser des arrhes ; to put £50 down on sth verser 50 livres d'arrhes sur qch ;

8 (lay down, store) mettre [qch] en cave [wine] ; affiner [cheese] ;

9 ( put on agenda) inscrire [qch] à l'ordre du jour [motion] ;

▶ put [sb] down, put down [sb]

1 ( drop off) déposer [passenger] ; to put sb down on the corner déposer qn au coin de la rue ;

2 ○ ( humiliate) rabaisser [person] ;

3 gen Sch ( into lower group) faire descendre [pupil, team] (from de ; to, into à) ;

4 (classify, count in) to put sb down as considérer qn comme [possibility, candidate, fool] ; I'd never have put you down as a Scotsman! je ne t'aurais jamais pris pour un Écossais! ; to put sb down for ( note as wanting or offering) compter [qch] pour qn [contribution] ; ( put on waiting list) inscrire qn sur la liste d'attente pour [school, club] ; put me down for a meal compte un repas pour moi ; to put sb down for £10 compter 10 livres pour qn ; to put sb down for three tickets réserver trois billets pour qn.

■ put forth littér:

▶ put forth [sth], put [sth] forth

1 présenter [shoots, leaves, buds] ;

2 fig émettre [idea, theory].

■ put forward:

▶ put forward [sth], put [sth] forward

1 ( propose) avancer [idea, theory, name] ; soumettre [plan, proposal, suggestion] ; émettre [opinion] ;

2 ( in time) avancer [meeting, date, clock] (by de ; to à) ; don't forget to put your clocks forward one hour n'oubliez pas d'avancer votre pendule d'une heure ;

▶ put [sb] forward, put forward [sb] présenter la candidature de (for pour) ;

▶ put sb forward as présenter qn comme [candidate] ; to put oneself forward présenter sa candidature, se présenter ; to put oneself forward as a candidate présenter sa candidature ; to put oneself forward for se présenter pour [post].

■ put in:

▶ put in

1 [ship] faire escale (at à ; to dans ; for pour) ;

2 ( apply) to put in for [person] postuler pour [job, promotion, rise] ; demander [transfer, overtime] ;

▶ put in [sth], put [sth] in

1 (fit, install) installer [central heating, shower, kitchen] ; to have sth put in faire installer qch ;

2 ( make) faire [request, claim, offer, bid] ; to put in an application for déposer une demande de [visa, passport] ; poser sa candidature pour [job] ; to put in a protest protester ; to put in an appearance faire une apparition ;

3 ( contribute) passer [time, hours, days] ; contribuer pour [sum, amount] ; they are each putting in £1 m chacun apporte une contribution d'un million de livres ; to put in a lot of time doing consacrer beaucoup de temps à faire ; to put in a good day's work avoir une bonne journée de travail ; to put in a lot of work se donner beaucoup de mal ; thank you for all the work you've put in merci pour tout le mal que tu t'es donné ;

4 ( insert) mettre [paragraph, word, reference] ; to put in that mettre que ; to put in how/why expliquer comment/pourquoi ;

5 ( elect) élire ; that puts the Conservatives in again les conservateurs ont donc été élus encore une fois ;

▶ put [sb] in for présenter [qn] pour [exam, scholarship] ; poser la candidature de [qn] pour [promotion, job] ; recommander [qn] pour [prize, award] ; to put oneself in for poser sa candidature pour [job, promotion].

■ put off:

▶ put off Naut partir ;

▶ put off from s'éloigner de [quay, jetty] ;

▶ put off [sth], put [sth] off

1 (delay, defer) remettre [qch] (à plus tard) [wedding, meeting] ; to put sth off until June/until after Christmas remettre qch à juin/à après Noël ; I should see a doctor, but I keep putting it off je devrais voir un médecin, mais je remets toujours ça à plus tard ; to put off visiting sb/doing one's homework remettre à plus tard une visite chez qn/ses devoirs ;

2 ( turn off) éteindre [light, radio] ; couper [radiator, heating] ;

▶ put off [sb], put [sb] off

1 (fob off, postpone seeing) décommander [guest] ; dissuader [person] ; to put sb off coming with an excuse trouver une excuse pour dissuader qn de venir ; to be easily put off se décourager facilement ;

2 ( repel) [appearance, smell, colour] dégoûter ; [manner, person] déconcerter ; to put sb off sth dégoûter qn de qch ; don't be put off by the colour-it tastes delicious! ne te laisse pas dégoûter par la couleur-c'est délicieux! ;

3 GB ( distract) distraire ; stop trying to put me off! arrête de me distraire! ; you're putting me off my work tu me distrais de mon travail ;

4 ( drop off) déposer [passenger].

■ put on:

▶ put on [sth], put [sth] on

1 mettre [garment, hat, cream, lipstick] ;

2 (switch on, operate) allumer [light, gas, radio, heating] ; mettre [record, tape, music] ; to put the kettle on mettre de l'eau à chauffer ; to put the brakes on freiner ;

3 ( gain) prendre [weight, kilo] ;

4 ( add) rajouter [extra duty, tax] ;

5 ( produce) monter [play, exhibition] ;

6 (assume, adopt) prendre [air, accent, look, expression] ; he's putting it on il fait semblant ;

7 (lay on, offer) ajouter [extra train, bus service] ; proposer [meal, dish] ;

8 ( put forward) avancer [clock] ;

9 Turf ( bet) parier [amount] ; to put a bet on faire un pari ;

▶ put [sb] on

1 Telecom ( connect) passer ; I'll put him on je vous le passe ;

2 ○ US faire marcher ○ [person] ;

3 ( recommend) to put sb on to sth indiquer qch à qn ; who put you on to me? qui vous a envoyé à moi? ;

4 ( put on track of) to put sb on to mettre qn sur la piste de [killer, criminal, runaway].

■ put out:

▶ put out

1 Naut partir (from de) ; to put out to sea mettre à la mer ;

2 ◑ US péj coucher avec n'importe qui ○ ;

▶ put out [sth], put [sth] out

1 ( extend) tendre [hand, arm, foot, leg] ; to put out one's tongue tirer la langue ;

2 ( extinguish) éteindre [fire, cigarette, candle, light] ;

3 ( take outside) sortir [bin, garbage] ; faire sortir [cat] ;

4 ( issue) diffuser [description, report, warning] ; faire [statement] ; propager [rumour] ;

5 (make available, arrange) mettre [food, dishes, towels etc] ;

6 ( sprout) déployer [shoot, bud, root] ;

7 ( cause to be wrong) fausser [figure, estimate, result] ;

8 ( dislocate) se démettre [shoulder, ankle] ;

9 ( subcontract) confier [qch] en sous-traitance [work] (to à) ;

▶ put [sb] out

1 ( inconvenience) déranger ; to put oneself out se mettre en quatre ○ (to do pour faire) ; to put oneself out for sb se donner beaucoup de mal pour qn ; don't put yourself out for us ne vous dérangez pas pour nous ;

2 ( annoy) contrarier ; he looked really put out il avait l'air vraiment contrarié ;

3 ( evict) expulser.

■ put over = put across.

■ put through:

▶ put [sth] through, put through [sth]

1 ( implement) faire passer [reform, bill, amendment, plan, measure] ;

2 Telecom ( transfer) passer [call] (to à) ; she put through a call from my husband elle m'a passé mon mari ○ ;

▶ put [sb] through Telecom passer [caller] (to à) ; I'm just putting you through je vous le/la passe ; I was put through to another department on m'a passé un autre service.

■ put together:

▶ put [sb/sth] together, put together [sb/sth]

1 ( assemble) assembler [pieces, parts] ; to put sth together again, to put sth back together reconstituer qch ; more/smarter than all the rest put together plus/plus intelligent que tous les autres réunis ;

2 ( place together) mettre ensemble [animals, objects, people] ;

3 ( form) former [coalition, partnership, group, team, consortium] ;

4 (edit, make) constituer [file, portfolio, anthology] ; rédiger [newsletter, leaflet] ; établir [list] ; faire [film, programme, video] ;

5 ( concoct) improviser [meal] ;

6 ( present) constituer [case] ; construire [argument, essay].

■ put up:

▶ put up

1 ( stay) to put up at sb's se faire héberger par qn ; to put up in a hotel descendre à l'hôtel ;

2 to put up with ( tolerate) supporter [behaviour, person] ; to have a lot to put up with avoir beaucoup de choses à supporter ;

▶ put up [sth] opposer [resistance] ; to put up a fight/struggle combattre ; to put up a good performance [team, competitor] bien se défendre ;

▶ put [sth] up, put up [sth]

1 ( raise) hisser [flag, sail] ; relever [hair] ; to put up one's hand/leg lever la main/la jambe ; put your hands up! ( in class) levez le doigt! ; put 'em up ○ ! ( to fight) bats-toi! ; ( to surrender) haut les mains! ;

2 ( post up) mettre [sign, poster, notice, plaque, decorations] ; afficher [list] ; to put sth up on the wall/on the board afficher qch sur le mur/au tableau ;

3 (build, erect) dresser [fence, barrier, tent] ; construire [building, memorial] ;

4 (increase, raise) augmenter [rent, prices, tax] ; faire monter [temperature, pressure] ;

5 ( provide) fournir [money, amount, percentage] (for pour ; to do pour faire) ;

6 ( present) soumettre [proposal, argument] ; to put sth up for discussion soumettre qch à la discussion ;

7 ( put in orbit) placer [qch] en orbite [satellite, probe] ;

▶ put [sb] up, put up [sb]

1 ( lodge) héberger ;

2 ( as candidate) présenter [candidate] ; to put sb up for proposer qn comme [leader, chairman] ; proposer qn pour [promotion, position] ; to put oneself up for se proposer comme [chairman] ; se proposer pour [post] ;

3 ( promote) faire passer [qn] au niveau supérieur [pupil] ; to be put up [pupil, team] monter (to dans) ;

4 ( incite) to put sb up to sth/to doing pousser [qn] à/à faire ; somebody must have put her up to it quelqu'un a dû l'y pousser.

■ put upon:

▶ put upon [sb] abuser de [person] ; to be put upon se faire marcher sur les pieds ; to feel put upon avoir l'impression de se faire marcher sur les pieds ; I won't be put upon any more je ne me ferai plus jamais avoir ○.

the process of putting together various elements to form a job, bearing in mind organizational and individual worker requirements, as well as considerations of health, safety, and ergonomics. The scientific management approach of Frederick Winslow Taylor viewed job design as purely mechanistic, but the later human relations movement rediscovered the importance of workers’ relationship to their work and stressed the importance of job satisfaction.

the control of all aspects of production, according to a predetermined production plan. Production planning and production control are closely linked, and sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. Nevertheless, they differ in focus: production planning focuses on the scheduling of the production process; production control focuses on the application of the plan which results from the production planning. Computerized techniques, such as material requirements planning and optimized production technology combine elements of planning and control.

SUBJECT AREA: Chemical technology

[br]

[br]

[br]

Bosch spent a year as a metalworker before studying chemistry at Leipzig University, obtaining his doctorate in 1898. The following year, he entered Badische Soda-, Anilin Fabrik (BASF), the leading German manufacturer of dyestuflfs. Between 1902 and 1907 he spent much time investigating processes for nitrogen fixation. In 1908 Fritz Haber told BASF of his laboratory-scale synthesis of ammonia from its constituent elements, and in the following year Bosch was assigned to developing it to the industrial scale. Leading a large team of chemists and engineers, Bosch designed the massive pressure converter and other features of the process and was the first to use the water gas shift reaction to produce the large quantities of hydrogen that were required. By 1913 Bosch had completed the largest chemical engineering plant at BASF's works at Oppau, and soon it was producing 36,000 tons of ammonium sulphate a year. Bosch enlarged the Oppau plant and went on to construct a larger plant at Leuna.

In 1914 Bosch was appointed a Director of BASF. At the end of the First World War he became Technical Adviser to the German delegation at the peace conference. During the 1920s BASF returned to its position of pre-eminence in high-pressure technology, thanks largely to Bosch's leadership. Although increasingly absorbed in administrative matters, Bosch was able to support the synthesis of methane and the hydrogenation of coal tar and lignite to make petrol. In 1925 BASF merged with other companies to form the giant IG Farbenindustrie AG, of which Bosch became Chairman of the Managing Board. His achievements received international recognition in 1931 when he was awarded, with F. Bergius, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for high-pressure synthesis.

[br]

SUBJECT AREA: Electricity

[br]

[br]

[br]

Crookes entered the Royal College of Chemistry at the age of 15, and from 1850 to 1854 held the appointment of Assistant at the college. In 1854 he became Superintendent of the Meteorological Department at the Radcliffe Observatory in Oxford. He moved to a post at the College of Science in Chester the following year. Soon after this he inherited a large fortune and set up his own private laboratory in London. There he studied the nature of electrical discharges in gases at low pressure and discovered the dark space (later named after him) that surrounds the negative electrode, or cathode. He also established that the rays produced in the process (subsequently shown by J.J.Thompson to be a stream of electrons) not only travelled in straight lines, but were also capable of producing heat and/or light upon impact with suitable anode materials. Using a variety of new methods to investigate these "cathode" rays, he applied them to the spectral analysis of compounds of selenium and, as a result, in 1861 he discovered the element thallium, finally establishing its atomic weight in 1873. Following his discovery of thallium, he became involved in two main lines of research: the properties of rarified gases, and the investigation of the elements of the "rare earths". It was also during these experiments that he discovered the principle of the Crookes radiometer, a device in which light is converted into rotational motion and which used to be found frequently in the shop windows of English opticians. Also among the fruits of this work were the Crookes tubes and the development of spectacle lenses with differential ranges of radiational absorption. In the 1870s he became interested in spiritualism and acquired a reputation for his studies of psychic phenomena, but at the turn of the century he returned to traditional scientific investigations. In 1892 he wrote about the possibility of wireless telegraphy. His work in the field of radioactivity led to the invention of the spinthariscope, an early type of detector of alpha particles. In 1900 he undertook investigations into uranium which led to the study of scintillation, an important tool in the study of radioactivity.

While the theoretical basis of his work has not stood the test of time, his material discoveries, observations and investigations of new facts formed a basis on which others such as J.J. Thomson were to develop subatomic theory. His later involvement in the investigation of spiritualism led to much criticism, but could be justified on the basis of a belief in the duty to investigate all phenomena.

[br]

KF / MG

SUBJECT AREA: Recording

[br]

[br]

[br]

He graduated from the Dover Academy (Delaware) in 1882 and was apprenticed in a machine-repair firm in Philadelphia and studied in evening classes at the Spring Garden Institute. In 1888 he took employment in a small Philadelphia machine shop owned by Andrew Scull, specializing in repair and bookbinding machinery. After travels in the western part of the US, in 1891 he became a partner in Scull \& Johnson, Manufacturing Machinists, and established a further company, the New Jersey Wire Stitching Machine Company. He bought out Andrew Scull's interest in October 1894 (the last instalment being paid in 1897) and became an independent general machinist. In 1896 he had perfected a spring motor for the Berliner flat-disc gramophone, and he started experimenting with a more direct method of recording in a spiral groove: that of cutting in wax. Co-operation with Berliner eventually led to the incorporation of the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901. The innumerable court cases stemming from the fact that so many patents for various elements in sound recording and reproduction were in very many hands were brought to an end in 1903 when Johnson was material in establishing cross-licencing agreements between Victor, Columbia Graphophone and Edison to create what is known as a patent pool. Early on, Johnson had a thorough experience in all matters concerning the development and manufacture of both gramophones and records. He made and patented many major contributions in all these fields, and his approach was very business-like in that the contribution to cost of each part or process was always a decisive factor in his designs. This attitude was material in his consulting work for the sister company, the Gramophone Company, in London before it set up its own factories in 1910. He had quickly learned the advantages of advertising and of providing customers with durable equipment and records. This motivation was so strong that Johnson set up a research programme for determining the cause of wear in records. It turned out to depend on groove profile, and from 1911 one particular profile was adhered to and processes for transforming the grooves of valuable earlier records were developed. Without precise measuring instruments, he used the durability as the determining factor. Johnson withdrew more and more to the role of manager, and the Victor Talking Machine Company gained such a position in the market that the US anti-trust legislation was used against it. However, a generation change in the Board of Directors and certain erroneous decisions as to product line started a decline, and in February 1926 Johnson withdrew on extended sick leave: these changes led to the eventual sale of Victor. However, Victor survived due to the advent of radio and the electrification of replay equipment and became a part of Radio Corporation of America. In retirement Johnson took up various activities in the arts and sciences and financially supported several projects; his private yacht was used in 1933 in work with the Smithsonian Institution on a deep-sea hydrographie and fauna-collecting expedition near Puerto Rico.

[br]

SUBJECT AREA: Civil engineering

[br]

[br]

[br]

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.

[br]

KM / LRD

SUBJECT AREA: Metallurgy

[br]

[br]

[br]

Wollaston qualified in medicine at Cambridge University but gave up his practice in 1800 to devote himself to chemistry and metallurgy, funded from the profits from making malleable platinum. In partnership with Smithson Tennant, a friend from his Cambridge days, he worked on the extraction of platinum by dissolving it in aqua regia. In 1802 he found that in addition to platinum the solution contained a new metal, which he named palladium. Two years later he identified another new metal, rhodium.

Wollaston developed a method of forming platinum by means of powder metallurgy and was the first to produce malleable and ductile platinum on a commercial scale. He produced platinum vessels for sulphuric acid manufacture and scientific apparatus such as crucibles. He devised an elegant method for forming fine platinum wire. He also applied his inventive talents to improving scientific apparatus, including the sextant and microscope and a reflecting goniometer for measuring crystal angles. In 1807 he was appointed Joint Secretary of the Royal Society with Sir Humphry Davy, which entailed a heavy workload and required them to referee all the papers submitted to the Society for publication.

Wollaston's output of platinum began to decline after 1822. Due to ill health he ceased business operations in 1828 and at last made public the details of his secret platinum fabrication process. It was fully described in the Bakerian Lecture he delivered to the Royal Society on 28 November 1828, shortly before his death.

[br]