Fiber Optics Technician's new trend
Optical communication systems date back two centuries, to the "optical telegraph" that French engineer Claude Chappe invented in the 1790s. His system was a series of semaphores mounted on towers, where human operators relayed messages from one tower to the next. It beat hand-carried messages hands down, but by the mid-19th century was replaced by the electric telegraph, leaving a scattering of "Telegraph Hills" as its most visible legacy.
Alexander Graham Bell patented an optical telephone system, which he called the Photophone, in 1880, but his earlier invention, the telephone, proved far more practical. He dreamed of sending signals through the air, but the atmosphere didn't transmit light as reliably as wires carried electricity. In the decades that followed, light was used for a few special applications, such as signalling between ships, but otherwise optical communications, like the experimental Photophone Bell donated to the Smithsonian Institution, languished on the shelf.
In the intervening years, a new technology slowly took root that would ultimately solve the problem of optical transmission, although it was a long time before it was adapted for communications. It depended on the phenomenon of total internal reflection, which can confine light in a material surrounded by other materials with lower refractive index, such as glass in air. In the 1840s, Swiss physicist Daniel Collodon and French physicist Jacques Babinet showed that light could be guided along jets of water for fountain displays. British physicist John Tyndall popularized light guiding in a demonstration he first used in 1854, guiding light in a jet of water flowing from a tank. By the turn of the century, inventors realized that bent quartz rods could carry light, and patented them as dental illuminators. By the 1940s, many doctors used illuminated plexiglass tongue depressors.
Optical fibers went a step further. They are essentially transparent rods of glass or plastic stretched so they are long and flexible. During the 1920s, John Logie Baird in England and Clarence W. Hansell in the United States patented the idea of using arrays of hollow pipes or transparent rods to transmit images for television or facsimile systems. However, the first person known to have demonstrated image transmission through a bundle of optical fibers was Heinrich Lamm, than a medical student in Munich. His goal was to look inside inaccessible parts of the body, and in a 1930 paper he reported transmitting the image of a light bulb filament through a short bundle. However, the unclad fibers transmitted images poorly, and the rise of the Nazis forced Lamm, a Jew, to move to America and abandon his dreams of becoming a professor of medicine.
In 1951, Holger Møller [or Moeller, the o has a slash through it] Hansen applied for a Danish patent on fiber-optic imaging. However, the Danish patent office denied his application, citing the Baird and Hansell patents, and Møller Hansen was unable to interest companies in his invention. Nothing more was reported on fiber bundles until 1954, when Abraham van Heel of the Technical University of Delft in Holland and Harold. H. Hopkins and Narinder Kapany of Imperial College in London separately announced imaging bundles in the prestigious British journal Nature.
Neither van Heel nor Hopkins and Kapany made bundles that could carry light far, but their reports the fiber optics revolution. The crucial innovation was made by van Heel, stimulated by a conversation with the American optical physicist Brian O'Brien. All earlier fibers were "bare," with total internal reflection at a glass-air interface. van Heel covered a bare fiber or glass or plastic with a transparent cladding of lower refractive index. This protected the total-reflection surface from contamination, and greatly reduced crosstalk between fibers. The next key step was development of glass-clad fibers, by Lawrence Curtiss, then an undergraduate at the University of Michigan working part-time on a project to develop an endoscope to examine the inside of the stomach with physician Basil Hirschowitz, physicist C. Wilbur Peters. (Will Hicks, then working at the American Optical Co., made glass-clad fibers at about the same time, but his group lost a bitterly contested patent battle.) By 1960, glass-clad fibers had attenuation of about one decibel per meter, fine for medical imaging, but much too high for communications.
 Meanwhile, telecommunications engineers were seeking more transmission bandwidth. Radio and microwave frequencies were in heavy use, so they looked to higher frequencies to carry loads they expected to continue increasing with the growth of television and telephone traffic. Telephone companies thought video telephones lurked just around the corner, and would escalate bandwidth demands even further. The cutting edge of communications research were millimeter-wave systems, in which hollow pipes served as waveguides to circumvent poor atmospheric transmission at tens of gigahertz, where wavelengths were in the millimeter range.
Even higher optical frequencies seemed a logical next step in 1958 to Alec Reeves, the forward-looking engineer at Britain's Standard Telecommunications Laboratories who invented digital pulse-code modulation before World War II. Other people climbed on the optical communications bandwagon when the laser was invented in 1960. The July 22, 1960 issue of Electronics magazine introduced its report on Theodore Maiman's demonstration of the first laser by saying "Usable communications channels in the electromagnetic spectrum may be extended by development of an experimental optical-frequency amplifier."
Serious work on optical communications had to wait for the continuouswave helium-neon laser. While air is far more transparent at optical wavelengths than to millimeter waves, researchers soon found that rain, haze, clouds, and atmospheric turbulence limited the reliability of long-distance atmospheric laser links. By 1965, it was clear that major technical barriers remained for both millimeter-wave and laser telecommunications. Millimeter waveguides had low loss, although only if they were kept precisely straight; developers thought the biggest problem was the lack of adequate repeaters. Optical waveguides were proving to be a problem. Stewart Miller's group at Bell Telephone Laboratories was working on a system of gas lenses to focus laser beams along hollow waveguides for long-distance telecommunications. However, most of the telecommunications industry thought the future belonged to millimeter waveguides.
Optical fibers had attracted some attention because they were analogous in theory to plastic dielectric waveguides used in certain microwave applications. In 1961, Elias Snitzer at American Optical, working with Hicks at Mosaic Fabrications (now Galileo Electro-Optics), demonstrated the similarity by drawing fibers with cores so small they carried light in only one waveguide mode. However virtually everyone considered fibers too lossy for communications; attenuation of a decibel per meter was fine for looking inside the body, but communications operated over much longer distances, and required loss no more than 10 or 20 decibels per kilometer.
One small group did not dismiss fibers so easily -- a team at Standard Telecommunications Laboratories initially headed by Antoni E. Karbowiak, which worked under Reeves to study optical waveguides for communications. Karbowiak soon was joined by a young engineer born in Shanghai, Charles K. Kao.
Kao took a long, hard look at fiber attenuation. He collected samples from fiber makers, and carefully investigated the properties of bulk glasses. His research convinced him that the high losses of early fibers were due to impurities, not to silica glass itself. In the midst of this research, in December 1964, Karbowiak left STL to become chair of electrical engineering at the University of New South Wales in Australia, and Kao succeeded him as manager of optical communications research. With George Hockham, another young STL engineer who specialized in antenna theory, Kao worked out a proposal for long-distance communications over single-mode fibers. Convinced that fiber loss should be reducible below 20 decibels per kilometer, they presented a paper at a London meeting of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. The April 1, 1966 issue of Laser Focus noted Kao's proposal:
"At the IEE meeting in London last month, Dr. C. K. Kao observed that short-distance runs have shown that the experimental optical waveguide developed by Standard Telecommunications Laboratories has an information-carrying capacity ... of one gigacycle, or equivalent to about 200 tv channels or more than 200,000 telephone channels. He described STL's device as consisting of a glass core about three or four microns in diameter, clad with a coaxial layer of another glass having a refractive index about one percent smaller than that of the core. Total diameter of the waveguide is between 300 and 400 microns. Surface optical waves are propagated along the interface between the two types of glass."
"According to Dr. Kao, the fiber is relatively strong and can be easily supported. Also, the guidance surface is protected from external influences. ... the waveguide has a mechanical bending radius low enough to make the fiber almost completely flexible. Despite the fact that the best readily available low-loss material has a loss of about 1000 dB/km, STL believes that materials having losses of only tens of decibels per kilometer will eventually be developed."
Kao and Hockham's detailed analysis was published in the July 1966 Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. Their daring forecast that fiber loss could be reduced below 20 dB/km attracted the interest of the British Post Office, which then operated the British telephone network. F. F. Roberts, an engineering manager at the Post Office Research Laboratory (then at Dollis Hill in London), saw the possibilities, and persuaded others at the Post Office. His boss, Jack Tillman, tapped a new research fund of 12 million pounds to study ways to decrease fiber loss.
With Kao almost evangelically promoting the prospects of fiber communications, and the Post Office interested in applications, laboratories around the world began trying to reduce fiber loss. It took four years to reach Kao's goal of 20 dB/km, and the route to success proved different than many had expected. Most groups tried to purify the compound glasses used for standard optics, which are easy to melt and draw into fibers. At the Corning Glass Works (now Corning Inc.), Robert Maurer, Donald Keck and Peter Schultz started with fused silica, a material that can be made extremely pure, but has a high melting point and a low refractive index. They made cylindrical performs by depositing purified materials from the vapor phase, adding carefully controlled levels of dopants to make the refractive index of the core slightly higher than that of the cladding, without raising attenuation dramatically. In September 1970, they announced they had made single-mode fibers with attenuation at the 633-nanometer helium-neon line below 20 dB/km. The fibers were fragile, but tests at the new British Post Office Research Laboratories facility in Martlesham Heath confirmed the low loss.
The Corning breakthrough was among the most dramatic of many developments that opened the door to fiber-optic communications. In the same year, Bell Labs and a team at the Ioffe Physical Institute in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) made the first semiconductor diode lasers able to emit continuouswave at room temperature. Over the next several years, fiber losses dropped dramatically, aided both by improved fabrication methods and by the shift to longer wavelengths where fibers have inherently lower attenuation.
Early single-mode fibers had cores several micrometers in diameter, and in the early 1970s that bothered developers. They doubted it would be possible to achieve the micrometer-scale tolerances needed to couple light efficiently into the tiny cores from light sources, or in splices or connectors. Not satisfied with the low bandwidth of step-index multimode fiber, they concentrated on multi-mode fibers with a refractive-index gradient between core and cladding, and core diameters of 50 or 62.5 micrometers. The first generation of telephone field trials in 1977 used such fibers to transmit light at 850 nanometers from gallium-aluminum-arsenide laser diodes.
Those first-generation systems could transmit light several kilometers without repeaters, but were limited by loss of about 2 dB/km in the fiber. A second generation soon appeared, using new InGaAsP lasers which emitted at 1.3 micrometer, where fiber attenuation was as low as 0.5 dB/km, and pulse dispersion was somewhat lower than at 850 nm. Development of hardware for the first transatlantic fiber cable showed that single-mode systems were feasible, so when deregulation opened the long-distance phone market in the early 1980s, the carriers built national backbone systems of single-mode fiber with 1300-nm sources. That technology has spread into other telecommunication applications, and remains the standard for most fiber systems.
However, a new generation of single-mode systems is now beginning to find applications in submarine cables and systems serving large numbers of subscribers. They operate at 1.55 micrometers, where fiber loss is 0.2 to 0.3 dB/km, allowing even longer repeater spacings. More important, erbium-doped optical fibers can serve as optical amplifiers at that wavelength, avoiding the need for electro-optic regenerators. Submarine cables with optical amplifiers can operate at speeds to 5 gigabits per second, and can be upgraded from lower speeds simply to changing terminal electronics. Optical amplifiers also are attractive for fiber systems delivering the same signals to many terminals, because the fiber amplifiers can compensate for losses in dividing the signals among many terminals.
The biggest challenge remaining for fiber optics is economic. Today telephone and cable television companies can cost-justify installing fiber links to remote sites serving tens to a few hundreds of customers. However, terminal equipment remains too expensive to justify installing fibers all the way to homes, at least for present services. Instead, cable and phone companies run twisted wire pairs or coaxial cables from optical network units to individual homes. Time will see how long that lasts. Footnote:home appliance
plastic construction material
natural stone pavers
acid resistant brick
High Alumina Bricks
lightweight concrete block
fly ash brick
insulating fire brick
Plastic Corrugated Sheet
Foam PVC Sheet
led flashlight waterproof
motorcycle covers waterproof
Interior Wall Cladding
Decorative Wall Panel
expanded metal lath
stone wall cladding
construction building material
Fibre Cement Board
MDF Wall Panel
R O Membrane
wall material stone
Reverse Osmosis Membrane
exterior wall material
corrugated sheet roofing
LCD TV Waterproof
imitation slate roofing
Breat7hable Roof Membrane
cement fiber roofing
Exterior Wall Stone
Posted by homehistory AT 8/17/2008 8:05 AM
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Furniture of Glass, at the Corning Museum
One of the least known chapters in design history is the story of antique glass furniture, which seems to have become fashionable in the 18th century, during the reign of Catherine the Great of Russia.
The courts of Europe took notice in the 1780's when the empress ordered huge glass fixtures and glass-topped tables from her Imperial Glass Works for the Grand Palace at Tsarskoye Selo outside St. Petersburg.
About the same time the Scottish-born architect Charles Cameron designed a dressing room for her there with walls, ceiling, columns and doors all in glass. Pompeian motifs were picked out in blue and gold on glass walls flanked by blue glass columns. All the furniture was made with slabs of blue glass, and the glass ceiling was decorated with Adamesque motifs in blue and gold. This glamorous chamber, destroyed during World War II, was documented in a watercolor from the 1860's.
A new exhibition at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y., "Glass of the Maharajahs: European Cut Glass Furnishings for Indian Royalty" (through Nov. 30), opens with a room of glass furniture that predates glass made for the Indian market. The most striking piece is from the Imperial Glassworks in St. Petersburg: a glass table from 1808 that has a single piece of deep blue octagonal glass for its top, a conical center section in blown amber glass, a square dark amber glass base and ormolu paw feet.
Only three such tables are believed to survive. A twin can still be seen in the Pavlovsk Palace outside St. Petersburg. Galerie J. Kugel in Paris has a taller but very similar model, also from 1808, which is made with only blue glass.
"It's typically Russian, it's so daring," said Alexis Kugel. "No one else ever dared to do something so crazy technically and artistically. It's a miracle it has survived. The Soviets sold it privately before World War II when they needed cash." He is asking $2.5 million for it.
Near Corning's Russian table is a clear dressing table with a matching armchair made by L'Escalier de Cristal (The Glass Staircase), a Paris company founded in 1814. It has a glass top and apron, twin glass candelabra and two gilt bronze statues flanking an oval mirror.
"The French were creating cut glass furniture that was even more elaborate than the objects made in Russia, although their glass was entirely colorless," Jane Shadel Spillman, curator of American glass at Corning and organizer of this show, writes in the catalog. "The accession of Louis XVIII in 1814 popularized luxury wares and resulted in an increase in both the quantity and quality of French-produced glass items."
Pieces like these must have inspired F.&C. Osler, a glass company founded in 1807 in Birmingham, England, to create ever-larger glass furniture, because it was Osler that mastered the necessary technology to make it.
"Each piece of glass has to be annealed, or cooled, separately before cutting, and the annealing can take a long time," Ms. Spillman said in an interview. "A thick piece of glass will take more than 24 hours."
Osler sought to sell the world its massive glass chandeliers and furniture.
"Osler was probably the first European glass manufacturer to recognize the huge potential of the Eastern market for spectacular glass objects," David Whitehouse, executive director of the Corning Museum, writes in the catalog. "In 1840, Osler began to display chandeliers in a store in Calcutta, India; in 1843, the firm established its own sales representative there; and shortly afterward, it opened its own Calcutta showroom — all before opening a shop in London."
Osler probably didn't need a London outlet. After the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London — where Osler's 27-foot-tall cut and molded colorless glass Crystal Fountain in the Crystal Palace was the most popular meeting place — Indian rulers began scooping up glass fountains, lighting fixtures and the kinds of glass furniture displayed in this exhibition: cut-glass chairs, settees, daybeds, bookcases, tables, and even a throne.
In the early 1870's, for example, the Maharajah of Gwalior built a new palace south of Agra in anticipation of a visit by the Prince of Wales. It has two of the largest chandeliers Osler ever made (each 40 feet tall).
"According to palace records, elephants were hoisted onto the roof to make sure it could support the weight of those colossal chandeliers," Ms. Spillman writes.
To this day, the Gwalior Palace, still privately owned, boasts a durbar hall with Osler chandeliers, glass torchères, numerous tables and a magnificent staircase with glass banisters. An adjoining room retains its glass armchairs and footstools, a chaise longue, two étagères, a circular sofa and a mirror.
Beginning in 1878 the Maharana of Udaipur bought Osler tables, chairs, settees and a whimsical bed for his City Palace at Udaipur. The Maharajahs of Patiala, Boroda, Bikaner and Serampore and the Nizam of Hyderabad also bought glass furniture.
"All the big maharajahs vied with each other," said John P. Smith, the recently retired glass furniture specialist at Mallett, a London antiques gallery. "They loved things that sparkled. Indian wood furniture tended to be rather dull. Wood furniture does not take the heat well and succumbs to termites."
Glass furniture makes perfect sense for India. In a hot, dry climate, glass remains cool to the touch, and it doesn't deteriorate over time. The odd thing is that the Indians usually upholstered their glass furniture with brightly colored velvet, which is neither comfortable nor climate friendly.
Glass furniture from companies like Osler (and its British competitors, Defries & Sons and the Coalbourne Hill Glass Works) had another distinct advantage. Because the glass cutting was geometric, not figural, the decoration was acceptable to Muslim rulers.
"There were no human figures or animals in the glass, so there were no problems," Mr. Smith said.
In the 1890's Baccarat, the French glass company founded in 1764, entered the Indian market in Bombay. ("Company records indicate that Baccarat transported its glass furniture by elephant to customers in India," Ms. Spillman writes.)
While Baccarat never made glass furniture on a scale comparable to Osler — no one did — it did sell most of the large light fixtures and overscaled furniture it made to customers in India, at least until after World War I.
Today only Baccarat and Lalique, another French glass company, continue to make glass furniture, although antique pieces sometimes appear at auction.
Footnote:
auto tempered glass
bead and glass
bent tempered glass
Liquid Crystal Glass
Plastic Party Glass
Tempered Safety Glass
Acid Etched Glass
acid etching glass
antique mirror glass
bead fringe glass
fire proof glass
Powder Coated Aluminum
Hand Cut Glass
Perfume Bottles Glass
Glue For Glass
Entertainment Unit Glass
Curtain Wall Glass
Bathroom Sink Glass
Stainless Steel Glass
Silver Foil Glass
Flashing Martini Glass
Acrylic Wine Glass
Light Wine Glass
Wall Clock Glass
heat reflective glass
wine bottle glass
Fiber Board Cement
corrugated roofing sheets
edge banding tape
Synthetic Stone Siding
Building Plastic Material
artificial stone siding
iron ore sand
aluminum step ladders
aluminium scaffold tower
PVC Wall Panels
bags of cement
portland white cement
Concrete Mixer Cement
Bag Of Cement
castable refractory cement
folding extension ladders
autoclave aerated concrete
Ordinary Portland Cement
high alumina cement
cold rolled section
Outdoor Iron Furniture
building toy bricks
home appliance
Posted by homehistory AT 8/17/2008 8:01 AM
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The History of Air Conditioning and Air Conditioners
In 1902, only one year after Willis Haviland Carrier graduated from Cornell University with a Masters in Engineering, the first air (temperature and humidity) conditioning was in operation, making one Brooklyn printing plant owner very happy. Fluctuations in heat and humidity in his plant had caused the dimensions of the printing paper to keep altering slightly, enough to ensure a misalignment of the colored inks. The new air conditioning machine created a stable environment and aligned four-color printing became possible. All thanks to the new employee at the Buffalo Forge Company, who started on a salary of only $10.00 per week.
The 'Apparatus for Treating Air' (U.S. Pat# 808897) granted in 1906, was the first of several patents awarded to Willis Haviland Carrier. The recognized 'father of air conditioning' is Carrier, but the term 'air conditioning' actually originated with textile engineer, Stuart H. Cramer. Cramer used the phrase 'air conditioning' in a 1906 patent claim filed for a device that added water vapor to the air in textile plants - to condition the yarn.
In 1911, Willis Haviland Carrier disclosed his basic Rational Psychrometric Formulae to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The formula still stands today as the basis in all fundamental calculations for the air conditioning industry. Carrier said he received his 'flash of genius' while waiting for a train. It was a foggy night and he was going over in his mind the problem of temperature and humidity control. By the time the train arrived, Carrier had an understanding of the relationship between temperature, humidity and dew point.
Industries flourished with the new ability to control the temperature and humidity levels during and after production. Film, tobacco, processed meats, medical capsules, textiles and other products acquired significant improvements in quality with air conditioning. Willis and six other engineers formed the Carrier Engineering Corporation in 1915 with a starting capital of $35,000 (1995 sales topped $5 billion). The company was dedicated to improving air conditioning technology.
In 1921, Willis Haviland Carrier patented the centrifugal refrigeration machine. The 'centrifugal chiller' was the first practical method of air conditioning large spaces. Previous refrigeration machines used reciprocating-compressors (piston-driven) to pump refrigerant (often toxic and flammable ammonia) throughout the system. Carrier designed a centrifugal-compressor similar to the centrifugal turning-blades of a water pump. The result was a safer and more efficient chiller.
This is a timeline of historical facts about the development of the air-conditioning industry and facts that all led up to the modernization of the air conditioning system and all things effecting refrigeration and air conditioning.
1882 - Thanks to Thomas Edison the first electric power plant opens in New York making it possible for the first time to have an inexpensive source of energy for residential and commercial buildings.
1889 - Central station refrigeration is used in large cities to preserve foods and documents.
1902 - Willis Carrier builds the first air conditioner to combat humidity inside a printing company. Controlling the humidity in printing companies and textile mills was the start of managing the inside environments.
1906 - Willis Carrier patents his invention calling it an "Apparatus for Treating Air."
1906 - Stuart W. Cramer coins the term "Air Conditioning."
1913 - The first international exposition devoted exclusively to refrigeration is held in Chicago.
1917 - The first documented theater to use refrigeration is the New Empire Theatre in Montegomery, Alabama. In that same year, the Central Park Theater in Chicago is built to incorporate the new technology: air conditioning.
1928 - The Chamber of the House of Representatives becomes air conditioned.
1929 - The Senate becomes air conditioned.
1930 - The White House, the Executive Office Building, the Department of Commerce are air-conditioned.
1942 - Pepco becomes the nation's first summer peaking utility.
1946 - After World War II, the demand for room air-conditioners begins to increase. Thirty thousand room air-conditioners are produced that year.
1947 - Air conditioning becomes a bargaining issue when textile workers in North Carolina strike because of stressful heat and humidity in the workplace.
1950 - A major study shows that families living in air conditioned homes sleep longer in summer, enjoy their food more and have more leisure time.
1953 - Room air conditioner sales exceed one million units with demand still exceeding supply.
1953 - The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute is formed from two associations: the Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturers Association and the Air-Conditioning and Refrigerating Machinery Association.
1955 - Mass marketing of frozen dinners begins: ads promote "TV dinners."
1957 - The first rotary compressor was introduced, permitting units to be smaller, quieter, weigh less, and more efficient than the reciprocating type.
1969 - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon in space suits with life support and cooling systems.
1977 - New technology allows heat pumps to operate at lower outdoor temperatures while heating on the reversed refrigeration cycle.
1987 - The United Nations Montreal Protocol for protection of the earth's ozone layer is signed. The Protocol establishes international cooperation on the of stratospheric ozone depleting substances, including the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants used in some refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
1990 - ARI, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy, initiates the Materials Compatibility Lubricants Research (MCLR) program, which helps manufacturers to accelerate away from CFC refrigerants.
1992 - The R-22 Alternative Refrigeration Evaluation Program (AREP) begins a four-year program to investigate alternatives to R-502 and HCFC-22.
1995 - Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) production in the United States ends December 31.
1997 - North American Technician Excellence (NATE) formed to promote excellence in technicians who install and service air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment. The NATE certified logo means the best!
1998 - Research for the 21st Century, a multi-year, million dollar research program for air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment, begins. The objective is to decrease building energy usage while improving indoor air quality.
1998 - Shipments of unitary air conditioners and heat pumps set a record of more than 6.2 million units.
1998 - After receiving five annual awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for contributions to environmental protection, ARI was awarded a Best of the Best award for continued environmental concern.
Note:
Aluminum Foil Insulation
aluminium window frame
Aluminum Sandwich Panel
Aluminum Composite Material
Spice Jars Glass
Hurricane Lamps Glass
glass sink tempered
cut tempered glass
soda lime glass
sheet of glass
cooker hood glass
ice cream glass
extrusion aluminum profile
corrugated sheet steel
welded wire panel
square hollow section
wood cd tower
DVR 4 Channel
GPS 32 Channel
Micro ATX Tower
c steel channel
bar grating steel
blown film extrusion
stainless steel stairs
wrought iron railing
highway guard rail
wrought iron rail
Steel Bar Grating
stainless steel railing
led wine glass
aluminum window extrusion
Welded Wire Cloth
building construction material
corrugated iron sheet
curtain wall aluminum
Corrugated Steel Sheet
construction crane tower
molded fiberglass grating
Rectangular Hollow Section
fiberglass molded grating
extension ladders aluminum
free company profile
stainless steel channel
Stainless Steel Mosaic
Sound Proof Glass
building window glass
bathroom door glass
chopping board glass
machine washing glass
low emission glass
food containers glass
coffee pot glass
mugs drinking glass
low iron glass
oil sight glass
Non Glare Glass
Decorative Wall Glass
anti glare glass
Tempered Bent Glass
interior door glass
Screen Printing Glass
cutting tempered glass
clear tempered glass
color changing glass
Car Mirror Glass
Photo Frame Glass
glass cutting table
Shower Screen Glass
glass show case
light up glass
Flat Tempered Glass
Glue Chip Glass
Glazed Porcelain Tiles
Cup And Glass
shower enclosure glass
Laminated Safety Glass
LED Light Glass
Light Blue Glass
home appliance
Posted by homehistory AT 8/17/2008 7:59 AM
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Flush Toilet is very important in house history
There is disagreement over who was the inventor of the modern flush toilet, and flushing out the truth is not easy. Many give credit to THOMAS CRAPPER (1837-1910), an English sanitary engineer, for inventing the valve~and~siphon arangement that made our modern toilet possible. Then there are others who maintain that our hero was a nameless MINOAN (a native of ancient Crete) who lived some 4,000 years ago. And then there are those who give the credit to ALEXANDER CUMMING who patented a flushing device in 1775.
But we also have Sir JOHN HARRINGTON who published a pamphlet in the 16th Century called the "Metamorphosis of Ajax" (The title is a pun..."jakes" was a common term for privy) with the full instructions for the construction of a valve closet. Still later GEORGE JENNINGS in the 18th Century made contributions that were considered the ultimate in plumbing mechanisms.
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No matter to whom you give the credit, you can't help but appreciate the importance of their contributions to mankind when you consider the alternatives. Reading any of the various accounts of plumbing history should convince everyone that the plumbing industry does not receive near enough credit for the significant contributions it has made to make our lives more safe and comfortable.
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A gleaming tribute to human ingenuity stands silent and ready for use at a moments notice. This invention is now largely ignored, or taken for granted, but it has done as much to revolutionize the health of the world as any vaccine. This marvelous invention is the flush toilet. Thus begins,"The Flush Toilet: A Tribute to Ingenuity", written by Maureen Francis for Mastersplumbers.com PlumbViews. |
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Julie I. Horan opens her recently published look at the history of the toilet by saying, "Toilet-philes argue that civilization began not with the advent of written language but with the first toilet." The Porcelain God: A Social History of the Toilet explores the history of the toilet and the customs and manners that surround it. Starting at the third millennium B.C. Horan escorts the reader down through time to the modern day challenges of disposing of solid waste aboard a shuttle in space at a cost of 23.4 million dollars. |
Peek at the Table of Content, an Excerpt,
the Index, and the Back Cover.
Hardcover: 216 pages
Publisher: Carol Publishing Corporation (September, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN: 1559723467
Product Dimensions: 1.0 x 6.2 x 9.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds.
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 Clean & Decent
The Fascinating History of the Bathroom and the Water-Closet by Lawrence Wright
Who would have thought there was so much to learn about toilets and bathroom culture? This is a great primer for those who wonder just how people did bathe and perform 'ablutions' before the days of indoor plumbing and water-trapped toilets for all (or at least those of us in western countries). Written in 1960, it assumes a bit more familiarity than most of us have with English-style boilers and toilets, and more knowledge of history than the average high school graduate would have today.
Visit the Toiletology Shoppe for many more books
on the History of the Flush Toilet
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The following histories appeared over a period of about ten years in Plumbing and Mechanical Magazine, a trade magazine for plumbing, heating and piping contractors. The entire collection is reprinted on theplumber.com site at http://www.theplumber.com/H_index.html |
For a detailed look at the History of London and Paris Sewers written by Mary Gayman, check out the following sites: |
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Babylonia
Crete
Egypt
Greece
Jerusalem
Pompeii & Herculaneum
Roman & English Legacy
Plagues & Epidemics
The Men That Made the Water Closet
Thomas Crapper
Stand - Up Bath
White House Plumbing
Plumbing in America
Ancient Locker Rooms
History of Plumbing series since 1986 |
History of London Sewers
by Mary Gayman
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Tour of Paris Sewers
TRACKING DOWN THE ROOTS OF OUR SANITARY SEWERS
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For those readers interested in such matters, the contributions THOMAS CRAPPER made to modern civilization whether true or not are immortalized in Wallace Reyburn's book, FLUSHED WITH PRIDE, The Story of Thomas Crapper.  
Thomas Crapper's name is inevitably linked with the toilet. "T. Crapper Brass & Co., Ld." was emblazoned on toilets all over England. It was the American soldiers stationed in England during World War I who returned to the US using his name as a euphemism for the toilet. Crapper died in 1910 at the age of 73, although his company lived on until 1966 -- 105 years in business. (However, the company has been resurrected and is again alive and well (see below).
Out-of-print for a number of years, this book is available in limited supply at Amazon Books
Flushed With Success
Never have so many owed so much to one almost-forgotten inventor, by: William Ecenbarger of Purdue University. 
... Thomas Crapper has been robbed of his good name. He has become the butt of jokes. His achievement has been lost in the lore of Latrinalia. The end result is that Thomas Crapper, the man who did more than any other to clear the air of the Western world, is in danger of being forgotten. His place in posterity hangs by the barest of threads. History is in arrears on this matter of Thomas Crapper. It is time to get to the bottom of this great historic slight and make Thomas Crapper a household name as he deserves. Consider, first, the magnitude of his achievement. The flush toilet, or water closet, as it is called in Crapper’s homeland, changed the course of history by allowing society to live with itself. It is more than valves and arms and floats that hiss and gurgle; the flush toilet is the very symbol of modern civilization. It has done more for public health than all the doctors since Hippocrates. Life without the water closet is, for most of us, a horror beyond imagination, so unspeakable and unacceptable that we cannot conjure up the prospect. For the rest of the story >>
~~ An Invitation to Visit Thomas Crapper & Co. ~~
For an up-to-the-minute accounting of the Thos. Crapper & Co. by Simon Kirby, Managing Director, Thos. Crapper & Co. please read his e-mail to Toiletology 101 complete with photos explaining that after an hiatus of twenty nine years, Thomas Crapper & Co. is back in business at Stratford-upon-Avon in England. Mr. Kirby says, "We have our own private 'museum' of rare, antique sanitaryware here at our base near Stratford-upon-Avon; we are always happy to show visitors around."
History of the Flush Toilet
A more recent history on plumbing is, "Temples of Convenience and Chambers of Delight" by Lucinda Lambton. This is an informed, fascinating, and witty history of the original "watercloset"-- toilet, loo, commode, crapper, porcelain goddess--call it what you will. You'll get the lowdown from the time of the Romans through chamber pots to today's modern plumbing. It includes 150 color photos.
St. Lawrence Church, Millennium WindowHatfield, October 29th, 2000 at 11.am: After much hardwork and fundraising Hatfield Millennium Window (costing over £40 000) was unveiled at a dedication service at St. Lawrence Church, Hatfield. This Major work of art was dedicated by Bishop David Lunn (former bishop of Sheffield). Local scenes. Marshland drained and used for agriculture, R.A.F. Lindholme, Mining, Thomas Crapper's flush lavatory, Old Travis School, Abraham de la Pryme (local historian, diarist and minister).
The window contains ideas suggested by the local community of events, persons, discoveries etc. of local, national and international significance relevant to our community from the past 1000 years. Those ideas received include Conquering of Everest, Space Exploration, Signing of the Magna Carta, War(s), local man THOMAS CRAPPER (famous plumber), his W.C. also appears on the window created by York stained glass artist Sep Waugh. |
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Sir Crapper regularly appears in person at the Science Museum in London where he explains the mysteries of the flush toilet to crowds of bemused visitors. But you don't have to visit London to meet Sir Crapper or view the museum's exhibit of cut-away toilets. You can see this exhibit at a site Miles Abernathy, the webmaster, has titled "A Man, A Plan and A Commode".
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This rubbing of a sewer manhole cover manufactured by T. Crapper was sent to me some years ago by friends who lived in London at the time. Two of these manhole covers are still in use in Westminster Abbey. To find them on your next visit to London, enter the Abbey, locate the brass rubbing area, continue along the passageway past the snax bar and take a right turn to exit the building. The two manholes are located inside the building,within about 30 feet of the building exit.
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History of Manhole Covers
As of late, manhole cover design is no longer something to be treaded on lightly. Cities like Vancouver, Seattle, New York and Tokyo have decided to pursue commissioned designer covers, giving their cities more than just a curiousity. In competitions to find the best designs, these cities have their communities actively participating in waste awareness, while simultaneously promoting a brighter and livelier city.
Manhole MagicSewer Covers Double As Temporary Art In Downtown New London
By RICK KOSTER
George Clarke isn't defacing municipal property with paint, though. He utilizes colored sand — the sort found in certain Navajo or monk sand paintings — that he carefully distributes in a variety of patterns within the tiny and scalloped grid work atop the covers.
When and where
was toilet paper first invented?
*China…AD 1391 - The Bureau of Imperial Supplies began producing 720,000 sheets of toilet paper a year, each sheet measuring two feet by three feet. For use by the Emperors.
*USA…1857 - New Yorker Joseph C. Gayetty produced the first packaged bathroom tissue in the United States in 1857. The Gayetty Firm from New Jersey produced the first toilet paper named "The Therapeutic Paper". It contained an abundance of aloe, a curative addition. The company sold it in packs of 500 sheets for fifty cents, and Joseph Gayetty had his name printed on each sheet!
*USA…1890 - The Scott Paper Company was the first company to manufacture tissue on a roll, specifically for the use of toilet paper. Faced with the consumers' resistance toward the "unmentionable" product, Scott came up with the idea of customizing rolls for every merchant-customer they had. Under this private-label arrangement, Scott purchased large "jumbo" rolls of paper from various paper mills and converted them into packages of small rolls and stacked sheets.
*Great Britain…1880- British Perforated Paper Company The rest of the story >>
1935: Northern Tissue advertises its toilet paper as "splinter-free".
History of the Baby Diaper
According to Carlos Richer at the 50 years of Evolution! website, there are several documents that refer to the special clothing used for the babies of ancient times. Milkweed leaf wraps, animal skins, and other creative natural resources, a far cry from today's disposable diapers. The Egyptian, the Aztec, the Romans, and many others, who left documentation of their day to day activities, mention its use. Its need covers all segments of the population, from princesses to beggars. This is one of the very first items that distinguished man from animals, believe it or not!. Don't miss Mr. Richer's Timeline of the Disposable Diaper.
More Histories
Charmin Toilet Tissue's Famous Mr. Whipple
From 1964 to 1985, and again in 1999, Dick Wilson, a character actor, portrayed Mr. Whipple in more than 500 commercials for Charmin toilet paper. The first ad was filmed in Flushing, N.Y., a bit of trivia Wilson liked to share in interviews. The Mr. Whipple (aka “George the Grocer”) character was created to promote the “squeezable softness” of Charmin. Mr. Whipple appeared for more than 20 years in Charmin television, radio, and print advertising. Mr. Wilson died 19 November 2007 at age 91.
History of Kohler
 Kohler's history begins in 1873, with the first of many bold business moves. Despite a climate of financial panic and the start of a five-year economic depression, 29-year-old Austrian immigrant John Michael Kohler purchased the Sheboygan Union Iron and Steel Foundry. The firm got its successful start producing cast iron and steel implements for farmers, castings for the city's furniture factories, and ornamental iron pieces that included cemetery crosses, urns and settees. A key turning point came in 1883 when John Michael seized upon another bold idea to improve his customers' quality of life. By applying baked enamel coating to a Kohler horse trough/hog scalder, he had created the Kohler Co.'s first bathtub. Kohler was in the plumbing business.
History of American Standard
Before American Standard, there was the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Company. It was founded in 1875, and merged with several other small plumbing manufacturers in 1899 to form the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Company. Standard Sanitary pioneered many of the plumbing product improvements introduced in the early part of this century including the one-piece toilet, built-in tubs, combination faucets (which mix hot and cold water to deliver tempered water) and tarnish-proof, corrosion-proof chrome finishes for brass fittings. By 1929, Standard had become the world's largest producer of bathroom fixtures. That same year, the Standard Sanitary Corporation merged with American Radiator Company to form the American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corporation. The corporation adopted the name "American Standard" in 1967. For the complete story read "The History of American Standard" by Jeffrey L. Rodengen.
History of Genova Plumbing
The story of substituing plastic plumbing piping for conventional metal material is too long to tell here, but it wound up in the creation of Genova Products, Inc. Robert F.William bucked the odds, and staked the Genesee Plumbing and Heating Supply Company business he had spent the first two thirds of his life creating and pushed it to the center of the table as collateral for his life's biggest gamble... creating a brand new business and industry. Continued ...
History of Briggs Plumbing Products, Inc.
Briggs Plumbing Products, Inc. was founded in 1908 by Walter Owen Briggs and began as an innovative auto-body manufacturing company. During the 1940s, Briggs introduced a line of steel plumbing fixtures that offered an unparalleled level of quality and style. In the 1960s and '70s, Briggs pioneered many industry firsts such as the one-piece toilet, color plumbing fixtures and the world's first five-foot whirlpool bath.
TOTO USA
TOTO Ltd. was established in 1917 as Japan's first producer of vitreous china sanitary ware.
TOTO USA, Inc. began operations in California in 1989. By 2006, TOTO USA had grown dramatically and is now a leader in the mid- to high-end residential and commercial plumbing products. TOTO employs 550+ Americans; has two major manufacturing plants, located in Georgia; an extensive assembly plant in Canada; and a logistics/warehousing facility (with over a million square feet of storage space), in Fairburn, GA.
An Abridged History of On-site Wastewater
Where and how to dispose of waste and sewage has been the bane of mankind since the beginning of time. This website covers the evolution of sewage treatment. Prepared by Steve J. Steinbeck, P.G. for the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
History of Eljer Plumbingware
Eljer was founded in February of 1904 by Raymond ELmer Crane and his cousin, Oscar Jerome Backus, from whose middle names "ELJER" was coined. Eljer's original location was Oakland, California, where flush valves were manufactured. Shortly thereafter, a move was made to Newark, New Jersey, where the firm manufactured a diaphragm-type flush valve with mediocre success. Continued ...
History of Olsonite Seat Company
Olsonite Seat Company was founded in 1910 in Detroit, Michigan by Nels L. Olson, an enterprising Swedish immigrant. Initially, a plow shoe was developed and cast from steel in a newly opened foundry. The process which produced this innovative steel plow shoe influenced the original corporate name "Swedish Crucible Steel Company" Shortly before World War II, the company began manufacturing toilet seats from hard rubber. In addition, a large variety of plastic automotive related products, including steering wheels were manufactured. In 1946, research indicated that plastics provided a much greater flexibility for styling and manufacturing. Thus, production of toilet seats was converted from hard rubber to solid plastic. With this change, Swedish Crucible Steel Company became the originator of the solid plastic toilet seat. The name Olsonite was adopted for the plastic material and the new product became known as "solid Olsonite plastic toilet seats."
History of Church Toilet Seats
The Church Seat Company of Holyoke, Massachusetts, was founded in 1904 by Charles F. Church. It was the first company to bring a white toilet seat to the market, using a process of forming white pyroxalin around a solid wood core. This seat achieved immediate acceptance by the public and also by the plumbing trade, where varnished oak and mahogany were in vogue.
History of Pressalit
Pressalit was officially founded in 1954 but actually started a couple of years previously in the Danish fishing port of Esbjerg. The story goes that two carpenters were clearing up in their workshop after work when a cat brushed against a pot of glue, knocking it over. The glue dripped down the side of a hot radiator and onto sawdust lying on the floor. The result was a new material with a lot of potential - as confirmed by a chemical engineer called Nielsen who was asked for his opinion. Two years later, Pressalit was on its way. Its first product was toilet seats made from the wondrous new material.
The Evolution of the Toilet
A paper presented by Dr. Bindeswar Pathak, Ph.D., D.Litt., Founder, Sulabh Movement at International Symposium on Public Toilets held in Hong Kong on May 25-27, 1995
A Short Course in Plumbing History,
By Jim Olsztynski
Famed physician-writer, the late Dr. Lewis Thomas, former Chancellor of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, wrote in 1984: "There is no question that our health has improved spectacularly in the past century...One thing seems certain: It did not happen because of medicine, or medical science or even the presence of doctors. "Much of the credit should go to the plumbers and engineers of the Western world. The contamination of drinking water by human feces was at one time the single greatest cause of human disease and death for us; it remains so, along with starvation and malaria, for the Third World. Continued
Fox and Company of London, England
HISTORY OF THE TOILET
Considered an unacceptable discussion topic, socially and academically, the toilet habits of our early predecessors has not been extensively documented, those academics who did dare to write on the subject were considered vulgar, lowly and in some cases erotic.
toilet paper covers
Glass Bowl Sink
oak wood cabinet
spa bath tub
Portable Infrared Sauna
Steam Shower Rooms
Oak Bathroom Vanity
black bathroom cabinet
Cherry Bathroom Vanity
1 Piece Toilet
Above Counter Basin
Acrylic Shower Tray
urinal flush valve
stainless steel vanity
stainless steel basin
air hand dryer
solid surface sink
shut off shower
bathroom mirrored cabinet
Corner Wash Basin
bathroom wooden cabinet
Stainless Steel Dispenser
top mount sink
sanitary toilet seat
under mount sink
bathroom and toilet
basin bathroom sink
black granite sinks
bathroom wood cabinet
wooden bathroom accessories
solid wood cabinet
modern bathroom cabinet
furniture for bathroom
Glass Bathroom Basin
extruded heat sink
Portable Steam Sauna
Stainless Steel Toilet
Steam Shower Room
Steam And Shower
Wall Hung Basin
Steam Massage Shower
Massage Bath Tub
Stone Bathroom Sink
Steam Room Shower
MDF Kitchen Cabinet
ozone generator spa
office file cabinet
One Piece Toilet
granite top sink
stainless steel basins
Shower Door Hinge
maple bathroom cabinet
garden water basin
Stainless Steel Shower
cleaner kitchen steam
Hand Shower Set
toilet seat cover
Heated Toilet Seat
Glass Shower Panel
marble bath tub
industrial computer cabinet
shower wall panel
shower shut off
copper farmhouse sinks
Electric Toilet Seat
Cross Connection Cabinet
Steam Bath Generator
inflatable whirlpool spa
infrared sauna room
copper bath sink
Sauna Steam Room
ceramic bathroom sink
Ceramic Soap Dispenser
cast iron ware
cd wall cabinet
shower steam room
ceramic water dispensers
aluminum extruded profile
laminated decorative glass
Steel Structure Building
Aluminium Composite Material
Aluminum Curtain Wall
Aluminium Curtain Wall
aluminium faced plywood
steel building materials
exterior wall tile
Aluminium Composite Panels
Ceiling Suspension System
Drywall Metal Studs
fiberglass pultruded grating
aluminum profile extrusion
Aluminum Alloy Extrusion
generator light tower
home appliance
Reference:
Posted by homehistory AT 8/17/2008 7:57 AM
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A Brief History of Atomic Clocks at NIST
1945 -- Isidor Rabi, a physics professor at Columbia University, suggests a clock could be made from a technique he developed in the 1930's called atomic beam magnetic resonance.
1949 -- Using Rabi’s technique, NIST (then the National Bureau of Standards) announces the world’s first atomic clock using the ammonia molecule as the source of vibrations.
1952 -- NIST completes the first accurate measurement of the frequency of the cesium clock resonance. The apparatus for this measurement is named NBS-1.
1954 -- NBS-1 is moved to NIST’s new laboratories in Boulder, Colorado.
1955 --The National Physical Laboratory in England builds the first cesium-beam clock used as a calibration source.
1958 -- Commercial cesium clocks become available, costing $20,000 each.
1959 -- NBS-1 goes into regular service as NIST's primary frequency standard.
1960 -- NBS-2 is inaugurated in Boulder; it can run for long periods unattended and is used to calibrate secondary standards.
1963 -- The search for a clock with improved accuracy and stability results in NBS-3.
1967 -- The 13th General Conference on Weights and Measures defines the second on the basis of vibrations of the cesium atom; the world’s timekeeping system no longer has an astronomical basis.
1968 -- NBS-4, the world’s most stable cesium clock, is completed. This clock was used into the 1990s as part of the NIST time system.
1972 -- NBS-5, an advanced cesium beam device, is completed and serves as the primary standard.
1975 -- NBS-6 begins operation; an outgrowth of NBS-5, it is one of the world’s most accurate atomic clocks, neither gaining nor losing one second in 300,000 years.
1989 -- The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to three researchers -- Norman Ramsey of Harvard University, Hans Dehmelt of the University of Washington and Wolfgang Paul of the University of Bonn -- for their work in the development of atomic clocks. NIST’s work is cited as advancing their earlier research.
1993 -- NIST-7 comes on line; eventually, it achieves an uncertainty of 5 x 10-15, or 20 times more accurate than NBS-6.
1999 -- NIST-F1 begins operation with an uncertainty of 1.7 x 10-15, or accuracy to about one second in 20 million years, making it one of the most accurate clocks ever made (a distinction shared with similar standards in France and Germany).
 Note: home appliance Curtain Hardware Shower
mobile filing cabinet
granite bathroom sink
wmk steam shower
stainless steel drains
maple bathroom vanities
Liquid Soap Dispensers
standard kitchen cabinet
Natural Wood Cabinet
Fire Resistant Cabinet
auto soap dispenser
Two Piece Toilets
round hot tub
Stainless Steel Drain
Metal Filing Cabinet
Wooden Bathroom Cabinet
modern bath tub
baby toilet seat
infrared room sauna
ideal standard sanitaryware
jetted bath tub
jewelry display cabinet
jacuzzi whirlpool bathtubs
2 Piece Toilet
natural stone sink
bath room vanity
classic bath tub
Granite Kitchen Sinks
bamboo kitchen cabinet
Stainless Steel Drainer
bath spa whirlpool
bathroom towel cabinet
automatic toilet flusher
bathroom ceramic sinks
Automatic Toilet Seat
bathroom shower steam
Massage Shower Panel
Solid Surface Sinks
Water Tank Fittings
Bathroom Sanitary Ware
bamboo toilet seat
bathroom wash basins
brass hand shower
basin and toilet
bathroom sink basin
Bathroom Glass Basin
bathroom wash basin
bath spa jacuzzi
bathroom ceramic sink
bath and toilet
bathroom cabinet toilet
mist free mirror
brass compression fittings
bathroom shower cubicle
Beveled Bathroom Mirror
soft toilet seat
Posted by homehistory AT 8/17/2008 7:48 AM
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is lock still important in mordern house security?
The History Of Locks
While searching for pictures to post on this Site, I came across an old Locksmith Correspondence Course study binder. Most of the information contained on this page is from that book.
I tried contacting the owner's of the copyright, but they must be out of business. Even if they are not around any longer, they will still retain all rights to this information as it was originally published. When possible, I have included author's names and other copyright information. I make no claims as to the validity of the information listed here, but find it rather interesting.
I have included links at the bottom of this page to other sites that contain further information about the History of Locksmithing, so feel free to check them out.
Locksmithing is one of the oldest handicrafts known to civilized man. Long before the great Pyramids were built, Locksmiths plied their trade in Egypt, Babylon, Assyria and China. In fact, it may be said that the first key to be used by mankind was the branch of the tree, which the cavemen used to move aside the boulder that guarded the entrance to his cave. In the ruins of ancient cities, archaeologists frequently uncover locking devices that protected the wealth of men who lived before the time of written history.
Over forty centuries ago an Egyptian artist painted a fresco on an ancient temple, which showed a lock that was, then in use. A similar lock was actually found in the ruins of a once sumptuous palace in a suburb of the biblical city of Nineveh. This lock is said to be the oldest lock in existence.
It is quite reasonable to suppose that the first barring of a door was done by means of a cross beam, either dropped into sockets of sliding in staples fixed on the door; and it is equally reasonable to suppose that if it slid, a vertical pin dropping into a hole through the staple and beam together, kept the beam in place. If the beam was on the outside of the door, the locking pin must be hidden, and reached either through a hole in the beam, or else through a hole in the staple. This is the kind of primitive lock as made by the Egyptians.
They shortened the beam in a long bolt, and made it hollow for part of its length, so as to reach the pin hidden in beam and staple through the beam itself. The key, which was pushed up the hollow, had pegs on it to match the pins, which held the bolt - for the one pin was now multiplied. When the key was well home it was raised, and so its pegs lifted up the pins out of the way, leaving the bolt free. Then the bolt was drawn back by the key; the pegs are the latter filling up and engaging with the holes until then filled by the pins. It will be noticed that the shank of the key is the arm and the pegs are the fingers of the hand. The dropping pins are the true tumblers. The Egyptian lock was first described by Eton in his Survey of the Turkish Empire, 1798. Further information about it was given early in the 19th century by Denon, the Frenchman, who said that he had found the locks sculptured in one of the grand old temples of Karnac, which shows that the same kind of lock has served Egypt for 40 centuries. Locks almost identical or with very little difference and still made of wood have been seen recently in Iraq and Zanzibar. In another class of primitive locks, the pins were reached through a hole in the staple and not through the bolt. There is good reason to believe they were once remarkably widespread. They have seen comparatively recently in some parts of Scandinavia, in the Hebrides and Faroe Islands. They have been observed also upon the West Coast of Africa and in the less frequented parts of certain Balkan States. The hole in the staple by which to get at the pins is a horizontal one above the bolt. The pins are square in section, and are notched on their sides for the key to pass and get into position before being lifted. The key is usually flattish, with little side projections, which engage the pins. After they are lifted, it is necessary to pull back the bolt by hand, thus making a marked and essential difference between this and that of Egypt, in which the key itself withdraws the bolt. These locks vary in detail, some having two sets of pins, the key passing between the sets, in others the pins have holes right through them for the key, not merely side notches.
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The pattern, however, was widely imitated and even to this day, similar locks are occasionally dug up in places as far remote from ancient Assyria as Scotland, Japan, and even America. Apparently the skill and techniques of the ancient lock makers survived the fall of great empires and even time itself because the basic mechanical principle of the so-called Egyptian lock is still being used in our modern pin tumbler locking devices. The lock mentioned in the Bible as being used on the House of David is, in effect, the same type that is used today on our ultra modern apartment house doors!
But the Egyptian type lock was created only for men of great wealth. Later models were made of brass and iron. They were ornamented with inlaid pearl, gold and silver. The poor man still relied on the wooden cross bar to keep the home safe against outside attack. It is said the ancient Greeks were the first to do something about a key operated device for the lower classes. In the days of Homer they used to tie their doors shut with intricately knotted ropes. They were so cleverly tied that only the owner could find the correct method of unknotting them. Moreover, under the superstition of the times, no one would dare to tamper with the ropes, lest a curse fall upon them and their families.
But the robbers' greed overcame superstition and the Greeks were eventually forced to discard the knotted rope lock in favor of a more substantial locking device. This arrangement consisted of the usual cross bar on the inside, and a large hook-shaped key the size of a farmer's sickle, which could be inserted through a hole in the door to push the bar aside. This lock was a very effective barrier against the burglars of that period! Moreover, the huge key came to be used as an excellent weapon of defense.
The ancient Romans brought Locksmithing to new heights of achievement. They combined the Egyptian and Greek features and produced excellent mechanical door locks that were installed on the inside of the door and operated with a key from the outside through a key hole.
Although the Chinese and Near East peoples developed the padlock, the Romans are credited with having popularized it through the world of their day. They made it a practical device, even going so far as to make the key part of a finger ring for convenience in carrying. The fact that the Romans had no pockets in their togas inspired their Locksmiths to devise keys that were small and inconspicuous. The present trend of twentieth century lock makers is in the same direction.
Every schoolboy learns about the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii, which was engulfed by the volcano Vesuvius in 64 A.D. When archaeologists were unearthing the buried city they came across a house that was evidently the site of a Locksmith shop. They found many types of door locks, padlocks, and highly ornamented keys, some of which were inlaid with silver and gold. Skewers and odd-shaped prongs were also discovered. Undoubtedly, these were the picks that were used by ancient craftsman to unlock his client's doors or padlocks in an emergency.
The origin of the warded lock is obscure. In the dim past some ingenious lock maker discovered that he could place a series of obstructions in the path of a turning key and thus make the lock secure. Only the correct key which had corresponding spaces on it body could bypass the obstructions. Some historians credit the Etruscans in northern Italy with this invention. But evidence has recently come to light to prove that this mechanism was known to the Greeks and Romans too. Regardless of its beginning, this type of lock became the most widely used from later Roman times up to the time when the pin tumbler cylinder lock was invented.
After the Roman Empire and declined, the world entered into the period known as the Middle Ages. Although this was generally a period when science and education suffered severe neglect, Locksmithing seemed to flourish. Warded locks were not the only mechanical devices, but also works of great artistic creation. These were the days of the fabulous medieval castles and knights. Robber barons employed Locksmiths to create security devices, which were both secure and rich in design. It was a point of pride and prestige to have the handsomest locks guarding the treasures of the castle. At this time, also, the great monasteries developed. In them reposed all forgotten learning, the books and manuscripts of the ancient days. Locksmiths turned their skill toward creating the locks that guarded man's knowledge until the world was ready to absorb it once again.
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The traditions and customs of Locksmithing as it is known today are derived from the great medieval guilds of Locksmiths, which had their formation during the Middle Ages. The Guild was the all-powerful force. It regulated the terms of apprenticeship, the rules and conduct for journeymen, and the techniques of the masters. It regulated everything from the prices, to the number of rivets that could be placed in a lock. It was supreme master over the craft, and the penalty for defiance was expulsion and the loss of the right to earn a living as a Locksmith. Of course, in the earlier days the strictness of the Guild Masters helped maintain the integrity of the Locksmith's trade. But like all autocratic and dictatorial organizations it became overbearing, jealous of its power, and unwilling to advance. The trade became a father-to-son enterprise and followed the guild pattern right up to the nineteenth century. Consequently, lock design did not progress much beyond the creation of intricate designs to bewilder thieves. False keyholes, false wards and lots of "gingerbread" designs were heaped upon the lock. Chests that cut off fingers, fired pistol shots, or ejected murderous knives were part of the Locksmith's stock in trade. Secret panels and hidden locations for the locks foiled the would-be burglar because he couldn't find where to begin his lock-opening attempt. However, the basic structure of locks remained the same as in the days of the Romans.
While the rest of the world awakened to the wonders of science, art and engineering during the next period of history, the Renaissance, Locksmiths still amused themselves and their customers with trick locks and fancy designs. Only one notable improvement was added to locks during this period. The lever tumbler was introduced. At first, the lever was used merely to hold the lock bolt in position so that it would not move either backward or forward unless the key lifted the lever out of the way. This basically sound principle was never fully appreciated by Renaissance Locksmiths who handled it down to their more skillful heirs of the 19th century.
Up to this point, lock picking was comparatively simple. Once a thief could get past the trick devices he could easily retract the bolt with simple tools. The world sorely needed a lock that could foil the burglar even though he knew its construction thoroughly.
While it is true that combination locks (sometimes called letter or number locks) made their appearance during various stages of the world's history, it must be noted that these locks were usually confined to padlock construction and offered very little security against opening by "feel" and were never popularly accepted as secure locking devices until modern machine methods made them works of precision. In many cases, numbers were used instead of letters--sometimes, only symbols. However, most combination padlocks used letters. When turned to form the correct word, the padlock would open. The advantage of locks without keys was purely that of convenience. Security was sacrificed. As a matter of fact, combination padlocks were often looked upon as items of play rather than serious devices to protect property. It was often considered great sport to spend an evening at the fireside attempting to guess the correct combination of a new lock!
In 1778 Robert Barron of England invented a lever tumbler lock that offered the first real security against picking. Instead of using a lever merely to support the bolt against movement, he used the lever to actually imprison or block the bolt and thus prevent its movement until the correct key was used. By using several lever tumblers instead of one, he was able to construct a lock that was fundamentally sound. For the first time since the almost forgotten Egyptian lock, the locking action was applied to the right member, the lock bolt itself. Gone forever was the need of tricks and false designs. True lock construction had emerged at last.
Notable inventors followed Barron's lead, and Locksmithing began a new page in its long history. Names such as Bramah, Newell, Chubb, Andrews, Pettit, and Parons are recorded in connection with improved design and increasing security. These men were scientists who challenged the world and each other to pick their locks. Public contests were held and the masters pitted their lock picking skills against one another. The intense rivalry led to the greatest improvement in locks in over three thousand years. The most famous of these contests was held at the London Exhibition in 1851 when A. C. Hobbs, an American locksmith, picked open the best locks that the English had produced.
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In America, Locksmithing was not fettered by old guild traditions and customs. Locksmiths took full advantage of the advanced mechanical knowledge of the day and produced masterpieces of precision and security. The two outstanding names of 19th century American lock history are Yale and Sargent.
Linus Yale, Senior, was a successful bank lock maker. However, his greatest claim to fame is his invention of the pin tumbler cylinder lock in 1844 incorporating the basic principle of the early Egyptian lock. Linus Yale, Junior, the son, following in his father's footsteps, produced bank locks and improved the design of the pin tumbler lock so that it could be made by mass production methods and still provide excellent security. It was he who invented the grooved type of cylinder key that bears his name.
James Sargent is generally associated with the development of time locks. Although the idea of the time lock had been dreamed of in the days of the guilds, Mr. Sargent was the first to make a practical specimen.
As mass production methods were introduced, the Locksmithing craft broke into two distinct groups--lock makers, and lock repairmen. The manufacturing end of the business became a highly technical and complex function, leading to the creation of giant manufacturing organizations doing business that runs into millions of dollars. The term "Locksmith" now refers to the repairman rather than the manufacturer of locks.
With the advent of the automobile, lock design took a new step forward. Entirely new constructions were demanded. Locks that could withstand excessive vibration were developed. This phase of lock making began shortly after the First World War. It is continuing up to the present moment with new designs and new ideas being constantly introduced. The locksmith's function has clearly become that of repairing or replacing these locks and of fitting keys to them.
In recent times, several remarkable inventions have increased the scope and efficiency of Locksmiths. The first of these, the key-duplicating machine, was invented by Henry Gussman in 1909. This machine ended the drudgery of hand filing and made accurate reproduction of keys within a matter of minutes a practical reality.
The next great advance was the development of the code machine in 1926 by the engineers of the Independent Lock Company. This creation opened up a new field for locksmiths because it enabled them to make keys to locks according to their serial numbers. Automotive Locksmithing has since become one of the chief sources of revenue for most American Locksmiths.
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Door Electric Strike
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Posted by homehistory AT 8/17/2008 7:46 AM
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do you know different types of clock's usage?
The history of clocks is very long, and there have been many different types of clocks over the centuries. Not all historians agree on the history of the clock. The word clock was first used in the 14th century (about 700 years ago). It comes from the word for bell in Latin ("clocca").
Using the Sun
The first way that people could tell the time was by looking at the sun as it crossed the sky. When the sun was directly overhead in the sky, it was the middle of the day, or noon. When the sun was close to the horizon, it was either early morning (sunrise) or early evening (sunset). Telling the time was not very accurate.
Sundial Clocks
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