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101 spin
1 noun∎ give the wheel a spin faites tourner la roue;∎ give the top a spin lancez la toupie;∎ the plane went into a spin (accidentally) l'avion a fait une chute en vrille; (in aerobatics) l'avion a effectué une descente en vrille;∎ the car went into a spin la voiture a fait un tête-à-queue(b) (in spin-dryer) essorage m;∎ long/short spin essorage m complet/court;∎ to give sth a spin essorer qch;∎ give the washing a quick spin donne un petit coup d'essorage au linge∎ to be in a (flat) spin être dans tous ses états;∎ the news sent him into a spin la nouvelle l'a complètement paniqué□ ;∎ the office was thrown into a (flat) spin by the arrival of the boss les employés se sont affolés en voyant arriver le patron□∎ to put spin on a ball donner de l'effet à une balle;∎ there was a lot of spin on that ball il y avait beaucoup d'effet dans cette balle∎ to put the right spin on a story présenter une affaire sous un angle favorable□ ;∎ the government put its own spin on the situation le gouvernement a présenté la situation sous un angle qui lui convenait□ ;∎ the government has been criticized for indulging in too much spin on a reproché au gouvernement de trop manipuler les informations fournies au public□ ;∎ this government is all spin and no substance ce gouvernement est très fort pour le bavardage mais n'a aucun programme réel□∎ to go for a spin faire une (petite) balade en voiture∎ to give sth a spin essayer ou tenter qch□ ;∎ would you like to give the car a spin? voulez-vous essayer la voiture?(a) (cause to rotate → wheel, chair) faire tourner; (→ top) lancer, faire tournoyer; Sport (→ ball) donner de l'effet à;∎ to spin a coin jouer à pile ou face∎ he spun the glass into the shape of a swan il a filé le verre en forme de cygne(c) (of spider, silkworm) tisser(d) (invent → tale) inventer, débiter;∎ she spun some yarn about the buses being on strike elle a prétexté que les bus étaient en grève;∎ he spins a good yarn il raconte bien les histoires(e) (in spin-dryer) essorer(f) familiar (present in a good light → image, information, event) présenter sous un angle favorable□ ;∎ to spin sb/sth as présenter qn/qch comme□(a) (rotate → planet, wheel) tourner (sur soi-même); (→ skater, top) tournoyer, tourner; Sport (→ ball) tournoyer;∎ it spins on its axis il tourne sur son axe ou sur lui-même;∎ the skater/ballerina spun on one foot le patineur/la ballerine virevolta sur un pied;∎ the room seemed to be spinning (around me) la pièce semblait tourner autour de moi;∎ a strange shape was spinning across the sky une forme étrange traversait le ciel en tournoyant sur elle-même;∎ the wheels were spinning in the mud les roues patinaient dans la boue;∎ my head's spinning j'ai la tête qui (me) tourne;∎ these figures make your head spin ces chiffres vous donnent le tournis ou le vertige;∎ his mind was spinning from the recent events les derniers événements lui donnaient le vertige(d) (in spin-dryer) essorer;∎ put the clothes in to spin mets le linge à essorer∎ we were spinning along at a hundred on filait à cent à l'heure∎ to spin for pike pêcher le brochet à la cuiller ou cuillère►► Sport spin bowler = lanceur qui donne de l'effet à la balle;familiar pejorative Politics spin doctor = chargé des relations publiques d'un parti politique➲ spin off∎ (product) they're going to spin off some toys from the cartoon ils vont commercialiser des jouets tirés des personnages du dessin animé;∎ products that have been spun off from popular films des produits dérivés ou tirés de films à succès∎ (product) to spin off from être dérivé de(b) (face in opposite direction) se retourner;∎ he suddenly spun round il pivota sur ses talons ou se retourna brusquement;∎ she spun round and faced me elle se retourna vivement vers moi(wheel) faire tourner; (dancer, top) faire tourner ou tournoyer -
102 Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent
SUBJECT AREA: Chemical technology[br]b. 26 August 1743 Paris, Franced. 8 May 1794 Paris, France[br]French founder of the modern science of chemistry.[br]As well as receiving a formal education in law and literature, Lavoisier studied science under some of the leading figures of the day. This proved to be an ideal formation of the man in whom "man of science" and "public servant" were so intimately combined. His early work towards the first geological map of France and on the water supply of Paris helped to win him election to the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1768 at the youthful age of 25. In the same year he used some of his private income to buy a part-share in the "tax farm", a private company which leased from the Government the right to collect certain indirect taxes.In 1772 Lavoisier began his researches into the related phenomena of combustion, respiration and the calcination or oxidation of metals. This culminated in the early 1780s in the overthrow of the prevailing theory, based on an imponderable combustion principle called "phlogiston", and the substitution of the modern explanation of these processes. At the same time, understanding of the nature of acids, bases and salts was placed on a sounder footing. More important, Lavoisier defined a chemical element in its modern sense and showed how it should be applied by drawing up the first modern list of the chemical elements. With the revolution in chemistry initiated by Lavoisier, chemists could begin to understand correctly the fundamental processes of their science. This understanding was the foundationo of the astonishing advance in scientific and industrial chemistry that has taken place since then. As an academician, Lavoisier was paid by the Government to carry out investigations into a wide variety of practical questions with a chemical bias, such as the manufacture of starch and the distillation of phosphorus. In 1775 Louis XVI ordered the setting up of the Gunpowder Commission to improve the supply and quality of gunpowder, deficiencies in which had hampered France's war efforts. Lavoisier was a member of the Commission and, as usual, took the leading part, drawing up its report and supervising its implementation. As a result, the industry became profitable, output increased so that France could even export powder, and the range of the powder increased by two-thirds. This was a material factor in France's war effort in the Revolution and the Napoleonic wars.As if his chemical researches and official duties were not enough, Lavoisier began to apply his scientific principles to agriculture when he purchased an estate at Frechines, near Blois. After ten years' work on his experimental farm there, Lavoisier was able to describe his results in the memoir "Results of some agricultural experiments and reflections on their relation to political economy" (Paris, 1788), which holds historic importance in agriculture and economics. In spite of his services to the nation and to humanity, his association with the tax farm was to have tragic consequences: during the reign of terror in 1794 the Revolutionaries consigned to the guillotine all the tax farmers, including Lavoisier.[br]Bibliography1862–93, Oeuvres de Lavoisier, Vols I–IV, ed. J.B.A.Dumas; Vols V–VI, ed. E.Grimaux, Paris (Lavoisier's collected works).Further ReadingD.I.Duveen and H.S.Klickstein, 1954, A Bibliography of the Works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 1743–1794, London: William Dawson (contains valuable biographical material).D.McKie, 1952, Antoine Lavoisier, Scientist, Economist, Social Reformer, London: Constable (the best modern, general biography).H.Guerlac, 1975, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, Chemist and Revolutionary, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (a more recent work).LRDBiographical history of technology > Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent
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103 Merritt, William Hamilton
[br]b. 3 July 1793 Bedford, Winchester County, New York, USAd. 5 July 1862 aboard a vessel on the Cornwall Canal, Canada[br]American-born Canadian merchant, entrepreneur and promoter of the First and Second Welland Canals bypassing the Niagara Falls and linking Lakes Ontario and Erie.[br]Although he was born in the USA, his family moved to Canada in 1796. Educated in St Catharines and Niagara, he received a good training in mathematics, navigation and surveying. He served with distinction in the 1812–14 war, although he was captured by the Americans in 1814. After the war he established himself in business operating a sawmill, a flour mill, a small distillery, a potashery, a cooperage and a smithy, as well as running a general store. By 1818 he was one of the leading figures in the area and realized that for real economic progress it was essential to improve communications in the Niagara peninsula; in that year he surveyed a route for a waterway that would carry boats.In c. 1820 he began discussions with neighbouring landowners and businessmen, who, on 19 January 1824 together obtained a charter for building the first Welland Canal to link Lakes Ontario and Erie. They were greatly influenced by the realization that the completion of the Erie Canal would attract trade through the United States instead of through Canada. Construction began on 30 November 1824, largely with redundant labour from the Erie Canal. Merritt foresaw the need for financial support and for publicity to sustain interest in the project. Accordingly he started a newspaper, the Farmer's Journal and Welland Canal Intelligencer, which was published until 1835. He also visited York (now Toronto), the capital of Upper Canada, and obtained some support, but the Government was reluctant to assist financially. He was more successful in raising money in New York. Then in 1828 he visited England to see Telford and persuaded both Telford and the Duke of Wellington, among others, to purchase shares. The Canal opened on 30 November 1829. In 1832 Merritt became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, and after the Union of the Canadas in 1841 he was elected to the new Assembly, later serving as Minister of Public Works and then as President of the Assembly. He advocated improvements to the St Lawrence River and also promoted railways. He pioneered a bridge across the Niagara River that was opened in 1849 and later carried a railway. He was not a canal engineer, but he did pioneer communications in developing territory.[br]Further ReadingR.M.Styran and R.R.Taylor, 1988, The Welland Canals. The Growth of Mr Merritt'sDitch, Erin, Ont.: Boston Mills Press.JHBBiographical history of technology > Merritt, William Hamilton
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104 Sauerbrun, Charles de, Baron von Drais
SUBJECT AREA: Land transport[br]b. 1785d. 1851[br]German popularizer of the first form of manumotive vehicle, the hobby-horse.[br]An engineer and agriculturalist who had to travel long distances over rough country, he evolved an improved design of velocipede. The original device appears to have been first shown in the gardens of the Palais Royal by the comte de Sivrac in 1791, a small wooden "horse" fitted with two wheels and propelled by the rider's legs thrusting alternately against the ground. It was not possible to turn the front wheel to steer the machine, a small variation from the straight being obtained by the rider leaning sideways. It is not known if de Sivrac was the inventor of the machine: it is likely that it had been in existence, probably as a child's toy, for a number of years. Its original name was the celerifière, but it was renamed the velocifère in 1793. The Baron's Draisienne was an improvement on this primitive machine; it had a triangulated wooden frame, an upholstered seat, a rear luggage seat and an armrest which took the thrust of the rider as he or she pushed against the ground. Furthermore, it was steerable. In some models there was a cordoperated brake and a prop stand, and the seat height could be adjusted. At least one machine was fitted with a milometer. Drais began limited manufacture and launched a long marketing and patenting campaign, part of which involved sending advertising letters to leading figures, including a number of kings.The Draisienne was first shown in public in April 1817: a ladies' version became available in 1819. Von Drais took out a patent in Baden on 12 January 1818 and followed with a French patent on 17 February. Three-and four-wheeled versions became available so the two men could take the ladies for a jaunt.Drais left his agricultural and forestry work and devoted his full time to the "Running Machine" business. Soon copies were being made and sold in Italy, Germany and Austria. In London, a Denis Johnson took out a patent in December 1818 for a "pedestrian curricle" which was soon nicknamed the dandy horse.[br]Further ReadingC.A.Caunter, 1955, Cycles: History and Development, London: Science Museum and HMSO.IMcNBiographical history of technology > Sauerbrun, Charles de, Baron von Drais
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