Pauline Hopkins

Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins (1859 – August 13, 1930) was a prominent African-American novelist, journalist, playwright, historian, and editor. She is considered a pioneer in her use of the romantic novel to explore social and racial themes.
Early life.
Hopkins was born to Northrop Hopkins (also reported as Benjamin Northup) and Sarah A. Hopkins (née Allen) in Portland, Maine, and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father was influential in Providence, Rhode Island, due to his political ties and her mother was a native of Exeter, New Hampshire. Though he was not her biological father, William Hopkins was regarded by Pauline as her father, hence her surname.
Hopkins' mother, Sarah Allen, was married for a short time to Benjamin Northup and it is from said union that she was born. Allegations of infidelity led to Allen filing for divorce and shortly afterwards she met and married.
The high-achieving Hopkins household encouraged Pauline academically, which led her to develop an appreciation for literature. In 1874, after completing her second year at Girls High School, she entered an essay contest held by the Congregational Publishing Society of Boston and funded by former slave, novelist, and dramatist William Wells Brown. Her submission, "Evils of Intemperance and Their Remedy", highlighted the problems with intemperance and urged parents to be in control of their children's social upbringing. She placed first in the contest, won $10 in gold, and was honored by the judges for her excellent writing skills.
Before she was noted as a legendary journalist, she rose to fame by catching the public's attention through her various roles as a dramatist, actress and singer. In March 1877, she participated in her first dramatic performance, "Pauline Western, the Belle of Saratoga". After this, she acted in several other plays, which all received great reviews. However, it was not until the beginning of the 1900s that she decided to focus more on her literary passions.
Literary career.
Her first known work, a musical play called "Slaves’ Escape; or, The Underground Railroad" (later revised as "Peculiar Sam; or, The Underground Railroad"), first performed in 1880. Her short story "Talma Gordon", published in 1900, is often named as the first African-American mystery story. She explored the difficulties faced by African-Americans amid the racist violence of post-Civil War America in her first novel, "", published in 1900. She published three serial novels between 1901 and 1903 in the African-American periodical "Colored American Magazine": "Hagar's Daughter: A Story of Southern Caste Prejudice", "Winona: A Tale of Negro Life in the South and Southwest", and "Of One Blood: Or, The Hidden Self". She sometimes used the pseudonym Sarah A. Allen. Pauline Hopkins was beginning to make a reputation for herself. As a result of this, she was offered the opportunity to become a member of the board of directors, a shareholder and a creditor of the "Colored American Magazine". Along with her writing, she helped to increase subscriptions and raise funding for the magazine. These roles alone helped her break into the literary world, with her work making up a substantial amount of the literary and historical materials promoted by the magazine.
After her involvement with the "Colored American Magazine", Hopkins published four additional stories and serialized three novels, "Hagar's Daughter: A Story of Caste Prejudice", "Winona: A Tale of Negro Life in the South and Southwest", and "Of One Blood;" or "The Hidden Self", in the "Colored American Magazine". Her work has been regarded among other notable African-American writers at the time such as Charles Chesnutt, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Sutton Griggs by Richard Yarborough. In relation to women's publications, Yarborough calls her "the single most productive black woman writer at the turn of the century."
"Of One Blood: Or, The Hidden Self" is the last of four novels written by Pauline Hopkins. She is considered by some to be the most prolific African-American woman writer and the most influential literary editor of the first decade of the 20th century, though she is lesser known than many literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance. "Of One Blood: Or, The Hidden Self" first appeared in serial form in "The Colored American Magazine" in the November and December 1902 and the January 1903 issues of the publication, during the four-year period in which Hopkins served as its editor. Elements of the work have been compared to Goethe's "Faust".
"Of One Blood: Or, The Hidden Self" tells the story of Reuel Briggs, a medical student who does not care about being black or appreciating African history but finds himself in Ethiopia on an archaeological trip. His motive is to raid the country of lost treasures, which he does find. However, he discovers much more than he expected: the painful truth about blood, race, and the half of his history that was never told. Hopkins wrote the novel intending, in her own words, to "raise the stigma of degradation from [the Black] race." The title, "Of One Blood", refers to the biological kinship of all human beings.
In 1988, Oxford University Press released The Schomburg Library of Nineteenth-Century Black Women Writers with Professor Henry Louis Gates as the general editor of the series. Hopkins' novel "Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South" (with an introduction by Richard Yarborough) was reprinted as a part of this series. Her magazine novels (with an introduction by Hazel Carby) were also reprinted as a part of this series. Carby did this as a way to reintroduce Hopkins into the sphere and see how her literature influenced writers in the past, present and now future.
Legacy.
Despite the climate of racism and other social injustices going on during this time, Hopkins made her voice, especially the black voice, known throughout history. She was fearful of the consequences of her actions, but also knew it was necessary for the world to know the struggles of being black in the United States in the 1900s. Other scholars, including Hopkins, have accredited her boldness in her writing on behalf of her parents and the example they set for her. "The Northup legacy that Pauline Hopkins would claim as her own was one of impressive public action, fearless civic ambition and strong community consciousness."
Death.
Hopkins spent the remainder of her years working as a stenographer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from burns sustained in a house fire.


Single-edged sword

A single-edged sword may be any single-edged bladed weapon with a hilt which is shorter than a polearm.


List of AR platform cartridges

The AR platform has become widely popular for makers of and sporting rifles. Although the designations "AR-10" and "AR-15" are respectively trademarks of ArmaLite and Colt, variants of both are made by many manufacturers. The AR-15 rifle usually comes chambered for either the military cartridge 5.56×45mm or the .223 Remington. Because of the pressures associated with the 5.56x45mm, it is not advisable to fire 5.56x45mm rounds in an AR-15 marked as .223 Rem, since this can result in damage to the rifle or injury to the shooter. The AR-15 can be converted to other calibers; it is then often referred to as an AR-15 style rifle.
Other AR pattern rifles.
Some companies have created AR pattern rifles that depart from the standard AR-15 and AR-10 dimensions in order to accommodate other types of ammunition that would not fit into the those standards.
Examples include (sorted by overall cartridge length):
Other AR pattern firearms.
A variety of manufacturers have introduced semiautomatic shotguns whose overall designs are heavily influenced by the AR pattern rifle.
Parent cases for reloading non-standard calibers.
Some of the calibers listed above use a proprietary case that is specific to that given cartridge. Other cartridges were derived from re-forming an existing case and possibly trimming the length in order to arrive at a case-shape that meets the standardized SAAMI-spec dimensions.
AR-15:
22 Nosler, Proprietary, uses the head and rim dimensions of the 5.56x45, and a case-body that is similar to the 6.8 SPC case. To increase powder capacity, the shoulder is located higher than the 6.8, and the case is longer. The neck is sized for .224 caliber bullets.
224 Valkyrie, Uses 6.8 SPC cases, trimmed shorter, and the shoulder re-formed at a lower location due to being designed for using relatively long "high BC" (Ballistic Coefficient) bullets. The neck is sized for .224 caliber bullets.
25-45 Sharps, Uses the standard military 5.56x45 case (also .223 cases), the neck is simply expanded to .257"
6.5mm Grendel, The Grendel uses the same head and rim from the .220 Russian and the 7.62x39 with a rim diameter of 0.441-0.449. The 6.5 Grendel bullets have a true diameter of 6.71mm / 0.264" and the 6.5 Grendel case can be formed from abundant 7.62x39 cases with a neck re-sizing die, and fire-forming a slight change to the shoulder, if the case is made from brass. Many of the popular 7.62x39 cases are made from steel, which will not work for reforming the shoulder.
277 Wolverine, Standard military 5.56x45 case (also .223), shoulder is reformed lower, length is trimmed, neck is sized to .277
6.8 SPC (.277), Proprietary. Developed as an all new cartridge in the hopes of gaining a military contract. Rim diameter is 0.421"
300 AAC Blackout, Uses military 5.56x45 (also .223). The shoulder is reformed, length is trimmed, neck is sized to .308. This caliber is very popular, and examples are available in a wide variety of styles. Bullet weights can currently be found between 100gr to 220gr
7.62x40 Wilson Tactical, Uses 5.56 NATO cases (also .223). Shoulder is re-formed, length is trimmed, neck is sized to .308. This cartridge is very similar to the 300 AAC Blackout, but the shoulder is slightly higher and the case is slightly taller, which allows for more gunpowder capacity when loading the lighter/shorter high-velocity bullets.
338 Spectre, Uses 10mm Magnum pistol cases with a 6.8 SPC bolt-face. A shoulder is formed, and the case is lightly trimmed to length, and the neck is sized to .338, down from 0.401". The 10mm rim is 0.424" (10.8mm) in diameter, and the SPC rim diameter is 0.422" (10.7mm). The .338 caliber bullets are available in weights between 200gr-250gr.
350 Legend, Proprietary. The head and rim dimensions exactly match the military 5.56x45 case, allowing the use of the standard bolt-face of an AR-15. However, the case has an added taper and is longer than 5.56x45 cases, so these cannot be reformed from any other existing case. The nominal bullet diameter is .357-inch, but SAAMI specs allow the bullet diameter variance to be .355-.357
357 Auto, Wildcat. Uses 10mm magnum pistol cases with a 6.8 SPC bolt-face. The existing 357-Sig pistol is a 9mm bullet shouldered into the larger 40 S&W pistol case. The 10mm cartridge and the 40 S&W are almost identical, but the 10mm case is longer and operates at a higher pressure. This means that you can use existing 357-Sig dies to re-form the straight-wall 10mm case into a shouldered .355" (9mm), and then the neck can be sized up to accept .358 rifle bullets. This is in response to the popularity of the 300 Blackout at subsonic velocities. If the bullet velocity is capped at 1,000-Feet Per Second / FPS in order to subdue the noise of firing, then the impact can be improved by increasing the weight of the bullet. The 357 Auto can be loaded with bullets in .358-caliber, while still fitting within the AR-15 COAL of 2.260". Bullet weights are currently available between 225gr-310gr
358 Yeti, Uses standard military 7.62x51 cases (also .308), length is trimmed, shoulder is reformed, neck is sized to .358". Bullet weights are currently available between 225gr-310gr
375 Stalker, Standard military 7.62x51 cases (also .308), length is trimmed, shoulder is reformed, neck is expanded to .375
375 SOCOM, Proprietary. The case head and rim dimensions exactly match the military 7.62x51 (also .308), however, the case body is slightly wider and has more taper.
400 AR, Wildcat. The parent is the 7.35x51mm Carcano rifle case. It has a rim diameter of 0.447" which allows the use of an AR-15 bolt-face from the existing 6.5-Grendel or 7.62x39. The shoulder is trimmed off at a case-length of 1.700", with a COAL of 2.250", resulting in a "straight-wall" cartridge. It can accept .401-.402 rifle bullets (240gr-310gr) from muzzle-loaders, and also .400-.401 bullets from a 10mm magnum pistol (135gr-230gr).
450 Bushmaster, Uses .284 Winchester cases. Cut the length to 1.700" to form a straight-wall cartridge, from 2.170". The .284 Winchester case is very similar to the .308, however, the .284 case has a body diameter of 0.500", and the .308 case has a body diameter of 0.471". Both share an identical head/rim. The 450B is limited to 35,000-psi, which is more common in pistols, and lower than similarly-sized rifle cartridges. The 450B uses .452" diameter bullets, most often seen in the abundant 45-caliber pistol styles. The 300gr version is rated at 1900fps at the muzzle, and the 250gr at 2200fps.
458 SOCOM, Proprietary. The case head and rim dimensions exactly match the military 7.62x51 (also .308), but the case body is slightly wider and has more taper.
50 Beowulf. Proprietary. The case head and rim dimensions exactly match the .44-Magnum pistol case, and all dimensions from the lower part of the case matches the 50-Action Express (50 AE), which can be described as a .44-Magnum cartridge that has had the body of the case expanded to 50-caliber while leaving the head intact. However, the 50 Beowulf case is longer than the 50AE, so the 50AE cases cannot be used as a donor.
Note about donor cases: The 7.62x51 military cartridge is known in the civilian world as the .308 cartridge. Since its dimensions are taken from the 30-06 cartridge from the 1906 US Army cartridge, the lower half of these case dimensions have been used for designing the .243 Winchester, 25-06, .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, 7mm-08, .308, .30-06, .35 Whelen, and others. Any AR-15/AR-10 cartridge cases that are derived from the 7.62x51 can also be formed from these listed calibers.
AR-10:
The AR-10 is slightly larger and heavier than the AR-15. It was originally designed to chamber the military 7.62x51 NATO cartridge (also .308), which has a COAL of 2.800" (71.12mm)
45 Raptor, uses the standard 7.62 NATO case, cut to a length of 1.800" from 2.015", resulting in a straight-wall cartridge, neck is sized to 0.452". The resulting COAL of 2.300" is only 1.02mm longer than the maximum COAL for chambering a cartridge in the smaller AR-15, however, the 45 Raptor chamber pressure is allowed to be as high as 62,000-PSI. This means that the stronger AR-10 receiver and bolt carrier group is needed for shooting this cartridge.


Ferrocerium

Ferrocerium is a synthetic pyrophoric alloy that produces hot sparks that can reach temperatures of when rapidly oxidized by the process of striking the rod, thereby fragmenting it and exposing those fragments to the oxygen in the air. This property allows it to have many commercial applications, such as the ignition source for lighters (where it is often known by the misleading name "flint"), strikers for gas welding and cutting torches, deoxidization in metallurgy, and ferrocerium rods (also called ferro rods, flint-spark-lighters and wrongly "flint-and-steel" as this is the name of a different type of lighter using a section of high carbon steel and a natural flint). Due to ferrocerium's ability to ignite in adverse conditions, rods of ferrocerium are commonly used as an emergency combustion device in survival kits.
Ferrocerium was invented in 1903 by the Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach. It takes its name from its two primary components: iron (from ), and the rare-earth element cerium. The pyrophoric effect is dependent on the brittleness of the alloy and its low autoignition temperature.
Use.
While ferrocerium-and-steels function in a similar way to natural flint-and-steel in fire starting, ferrocerium takes on the role that steel played in traditional methods: when small shavings of it are removed quickly enough the heat generated by friction is enough to ignite those shavings, converting the metal to the oxide, i.e., the sparks are tiny pieces of burning metal. The sparking is due to cerium's low ignition temperature of between . About 700 tons were produced in 2000.
Comparison with natural flint.
Ferrocerium bears no chemical relationship to the rock flint. The similarity lies in the fact that both materials have historically been used to generate sparks. In traditional flint-and-steel fire-starting systems (using natural flint), the hard flint rock strikes tiny iron particles from the steel, which ignite due to frictional heating. This is essentially the opposite of the mode of operation of a ferrocerium "flint" in a modern lighter, where the hardened steel wheel strikes particles of ferrocerium from the "flint". In a classic flint and steel system, it is the steel that burns, while in a ferrocerium system, it is the ferrocerium.
Flint spark lighter.
A flint spark lighter (sometimes just called a spark lighter, striker, or flint lighter) is a type of lighter used in many applications to safely light a gaseous fuel to start a flame. It is most commonly used for Bunsen burners and for Propane and oxyacetylene welding torches.
A flint spark lighter works by rapidly rubbing a small piece of ferrocerium upon the sharp edge of any substance that is harder than the ferrocerium rod. Carbon steel works better than most other materials in much the same way flint and steel are used. This manual rubbing action, done by squeezing the handle, creates a spark, which ignites the gaseous fuel.
As tinder-igniting campfire starter rods it is sold under such trade names as Blastmatch, Fire Steel and Metal-Match for survivalists and bushcraft hobbyists. Some manufacturers and resellers incorrectly call them "magnesium" rods. Some manufacturers combine a strip of ferrocerium along with a strip of magnesium in the same item, to be used by scraping off flakes of magnesium and then striking the ferrocerium with a knife. The sparks from the ferrocerium will ignite the magnesium, which will in turn ignite the tinder.
Composition.
It is also known in Europe as Auermetall after its inventor Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach. Three different Auermetalls were developed: the first was iron and cerium, the second also included lanthanum to produce brighter sparks, and the third added other heavy metals. In the Baron von Welsbach's first alloy, 30% iron (ferrum) was added to purified cerium, hence the name "ferro-cerium".
A modern ferrocerium firesteel product is composed of an alloy of rare-earth metals called mischmetal (containing approximately 20.8% iron, 41.8% cerium, about 4.4% each of praseodymium, neodymium, and magnesium, plus 24.2% lanthanum.) A variety of other components are added to modify the spark and processing characteristics. Most contemporary flints are hardened with iron oxide and magnesium oxide.


Smokebox

A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is exhausted to the atmosphere through the chimney (or funnel). Early locomotives had no smokebox and relied on a long chimney to provide natural draught for the fire but smokeboxes were soon included in the design for two main reasons. Firstly and most importantly, the blast of exhaust steam from the cylinders, when directed upwards through an airtight smokebox with an appropriate design of exhaust nozzle, effectively draws hot gases through the boiler tubes and flues and, consequently, fresh combustion air into the firebox. Secondly, the smokebox provides a convenient collection point for ash and cinders ("char") drawn through the boiler tubes, which can be easily cleaned out at the end of a working day. Without a smokebox, all char must pass up the chimney or will collect in the tubes and flues themselves, gradually blocking them.
The smokebox appears to be a forward extension of the boiler although it contains no water and is a separate component. Smokeboxes are usually made from riveted or welded steel plate and the floor is lined with concrete to protect the steel from hot char and acid or rainwater attack.
Blower.
To assist the passage of the smoke and hot gases, a blower is often used. This is a pipe ending in a ring containing pin-sized holes, which creates a "ring" of steam jets. The steam forces out the smoke and draws further gases through the tubes. This in turn causes air to be drawn through the grate and firehole, making the fire burn hotter.
Blastpipe.
When the locomotive is in motion, exhaust steam passes through the blastpipe, which is located within the smokebox. The steam is ejected through the chimney, again drawing the fire. The blastpipe is what produces the characteristic "chuff" sound.
The dimensions of the blastpipe and chimney are critical to the steam generating capacity of the locomotive and its fuel economy, since there is a natural trade-off between a high-velocity steam jet giving a strong draw on the fire, and back-pressure on the exhaust. Small changes to this "front end" design can have a dramatic impact. More complex exhaust designs such as Kylchap, Lempor and Giesl, can achieve better results than the simple blastpipe and chimney arrangement.
Smokebox door.
Ashes and soot which may be present in the smoke are often deposited in the smokebox. The front of the smokebox has a door which is opened to remove these deposits at the end of each locomotive's working day. The handle(s) must be tightened fully to prevent air leaks, which would reduce the draw on the fire and can also allow any unburnt char at the bottom of the smokebox to catch fire there. Some smokebox doors have a single handle in the form of a wheel; many British-built locomotives have a pair of smokebox door handles resembling the hands of a clock; other designs also exist. On many steamrollers an extension to the body of the smokebox also houses the bearing which supports the front roller. Due to limitations of space, these rollers usually have a drop-down flap instead of a circular smokebox door.
Steam pipes.
The smokebox incorporates the main steam pipes from the regulator (or superheater header), one leading to each valve chest, a part of the cylinder casting. These may pass through the smokebox wall to join with the cylinder (outside steam pipes) or may stay within the profile of the smokebox (inside steam pipes). Inside steam pipes do not require lagging as the smokebox keeps them warm, but outside steam pipes are more common for locomotives with cylinders outside the frames. Some locomotive classes used both types depending on the date the batch was constructed (e.g. LNER Class V2).
Lagging.
Because heat losses from the smokebox are of little consequence, it is not usually lagged. In most cases it appears to be the same diameter as the boiler in the finished locomotive but this only because of the boiler cladding; the boiler is narrower. Tank engines usually had their water tanks stop short of the unlagged smokebox as it could raise the temperature of the water sufficiently to cause problems with the injectors.
Self-cleaning smokebox.
British Railways standard classes use this design, where a robust mesh grille is incorporated into the smokebox, forming a filter between the front tubeplate and the exhaust. Any large pieces of char passing through the boiler tubes tend to be broken up on impact with the mesh, creating finer particles which are swept up the chimney instead of accumulating in the bottom of the smokebox. This does not negate the need to clean out the smokebox but reduces the amount of work that has to be done. In the best case, smokebox cleaning could be avoided between boiler washouts, typically at intervals of two weeks.
Locomotive layout.
The classic layout of a steam locomotive has the smokebox and chimney at the front of the locomotive, referred to as travelling "smokebox-first". Some designs reversed the layout to avoid problems (asphyxiation and poor visibility) caused by having the exhaust blowing back onto the crew; these were called cab forward locomotives.
Spark arrester.
A spark arrester is often installed within the smokebox. This may take the form of a cylindrical mesh running from the top of the blast pipe to the bottom of the chimney. The purpose of a spark arrester is to prevent excessively large fragments of hot ash from being exhausted into the environment where they may pose a fire risk. For this reason, spark arresters are generally installed on locomotives running through dry environments. They should not be confused with the external spark arrestors fitted to some locomotives. The presence of a spark arrester may have a thermodynamic effect, distorting the draw of air over the fire and thereby reducing total power output. Thus their use can be contentious.
Superheating.
Locomotives fitted with a superheater will usually have a superheater header in the smokebox. Steam enters the header as "wet" (saturated) steam, and then passes through a superheater element. This takes the form of a pipe which runs twice through an enlarged smoke tube in the boiler. The steam enters a separate chamber in the header, this time as superheated or dry steam. The advantage of superheating is that the steam has greater expansive properties when entering the cylinders, so more power can be gained from a smaller amount of water and fuel.


Blake rifle

The Blake rifle is a bolt action rifle which uses a unique 7-round rotary magazine. John H. Blake of New York constructed his rifle in response to the fact that very few domestic designs were submitted to US Army rifle trials (1890–93). The rotary magazine was unique because it was detachable, whereas other rifles at the time using similar type of feed used non-detachable rotary magazines (Savage M1892). As such the detachable magazine was often described as a packet, or en-bloc clip, due to the lack of a more proper term at the time.
History.
Blake submitted two of his rifles to the trials, both were chambered in .30 Blake cartridge - a rimless version of the .30-40 Krag cartridge. On August 19, 1892 Army Board recommended the Norwegian Krag-Jørgensen rifle to be adopted as the new service rifle. American designers were against the Army's adoption of a foreign design. In support of the designers' view Congress demanded additional trials be conducted before any funds were to be authorized for the production of the Norwegian rifle. The additional trials were not only to include only domestically made rifles, but also a new board. The new board was appointed on March 1, 1893 and the trials commenced on April 7, 1893. The two rifles were again submitted, the board decided that Blake's design was unfit for military service due to the feed system. Despite the additional trials the Krag-Jørgensen rifle was still favoured over other designs. In 1895 Blake submitted his design to US Navy rifle trials, his rifle lost to Lee's design.
Variants.
Blake after failed attempts to convince both the Army and the Navy to adopt his design, decided to try selling his rifle on the civilian market. The Blake Rifle Book of 1899 lists rifles (28 in. barrel), carbines (20 in. barrel) and a sporting rifle (30 in. barrel). Rifles and carbines were offered in .236 Navy with rifling of one turn in 6.5 in., in .30-40 Krag and .303 with rifling of one turn in 9 in. to one turn in 12 in.. The sporting rifle was offered in .400 Blake cartridge, with rifling of one turn in 12 in. to one turn in 18 in. Additionally there were also four grades of hunting rifles:

grade A - priced from 100 USD upward, compressed steel barrel, it was guaranteed to hit 4-in. circle at 200 yards with smokeless powder and 6-in. circle at 200 yards with black powder, imported walnut stock, engravings and checkered stock

grade B - priced 80 USD, nickel steel barrel, it was guaranteed to hit 5-in. circle at 200 yards with smokeless powder and an 8-in. circle at 200 yards with black powder, engravings and checkered stock

grade C - priced 60 USD, rest as grade B

grade D - priced 50 USD, rest as grade B but no engravings or checkered stock


Sacramento Army Depot

The Sacramento Army Depot (SAAD) was a facility located within current city limits, 7 miles southeast of downtown Sacramento, California in Sacramento County. SAAD was activated in 1941. It served as a repair facility for electronic equipment, such as night vision goggles, electronic circuit boards, and radium-dial instrumentation. The depot was deactivated after the findings of the 1988 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The depot officially closed on March 3, 1995. On July 22, 1987, the depot was added to the National Priorities List as a Superfund site.


Candle wick

A candle wick is usually a braided cotton that holds the flame of an oil lamp or candle. A candle wick works by capillary action, conveying ("wicking") the fuel to the flame. When the liquid fuel, typically melted candle wax, reaches the flame it then vaporizes and combusts. The candle wick influences how the candle burns. Important characteristics of the wick include diameter, stiffness, fire-resistance, and tethering.
Wick types.
Candle wicks are normally made out of braided cotton. Wicks are sometimes braided flat, so that as they burn they also curl back into the flame, thus making them self-consuming. Prior to the introduction of these wicks special scissors were used to trim the excess wick without extinguishing the flame.
Large diameter wicks typically result in a larger flame, a larger pool of melted wax, and the candle burning faster.
In tealights the wick is tethered to a piece of metal to stop it from floating to the top of the molten wax and burning before the wax does. Candles designed to float in water require not only a tether for the wick, but also a seal on the bottom of the candle to prevent the wick from wicking water and extinguishing the flame.
In some birthday candles, the wick is a stub. This limits how long the candle can burn.
Wicks can be made of material other than string or cord, such as wood, although they are rare. The cotton of tampons can be used as wicks for oil lamps in wilderness survival situations.
Stiffeners.
Fine wire (such as copper) can be included in the wick. This provides two advantages: it makes the wick more rigid, letting it stand further out of the liquid wax, and it conducts heat downward, melting the wax more readily. The latter is particularly important in candles made of harder wax.
Stiffeners were once made of lead, but these have been banned in the US for several years by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, due to the concerns about lead poisoning. Other core stiffeners, such as paper and synthetic fibers, may also be used. The CPSC was petitioned to ban candle wicks containing lead cores and candles with such wicks by Public Citizen, the National Apartment Association, and National Multi Housing Council on February 20, 2001. The ban against manufacturing, importing, or selling candles in the US with lead wicks became effective in October 2003.
Pretreatments of wicks.
Virtually all wicks are treated with various flame-resistant solutions in a process known as mordanting. Without mordanting the wick would be destroyed by the flames and the flow of melted wax to the flame would cease. Beyond that, wicks can be treated with substances to improve the color and brightness of the flame, provide better rigidity to keep the wick out of the melted wax, and improve the flow of that wax up the wick. Common treatments are borax and salt which are dissolved in water in which the wicks are soaked.


Louis Joseph Vance

Louis Joseph Vance (September 19, 1879 – December 16, 1933) was an American novelist, screenwriter and film producer. He created the popular character Michael Lanyard, a criminal-turned-detective known as The Lone Wolf.
Biography.
Louis Joseph Vance was born September 19, 1879, in Washington, D. C., the only child of Wilson J. Vance, a Medal of Honor recipient, and Lillian Beall Vance. He was educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Vance was married to Anne Elizabeth Hodges on February 19, 1898. Their son, Wilson Beall Vance, was born in 1900.
He wrote short stories and verse after 1901, then composed many popular novels. His character Michael Lanyard, known as The Lone Wolf, was featured in eight books and 24 films between 1914 and 1949 and also appeared in radio and television series.
Vance moved to Los Angeles to work with Universal Pictures on films based on his work, including "The Trey o' Hearts" (1914) and a serial and film series (1914–1916) based on his Terence O'Rourke stories. In 1915, he founded Fiction Pictures, Inc., a motion picture production company whose films were distributed by Paramount Pictures. Its first release was "The Spanish Jade" (1915), with a screenplay by Vance based on his stage adaptation of a novel by Maurice Hewlett. Vance was president and general manager of the company; other principals were Wilfred Lucas (director-general), Gilbert Warrenton (cinematographer) and Bess Meredyth (scenario editor). Fiction Pictures operated in Glendale until a new studio in Hollywood was completed in April 1915. The studio was sold to Famous Players in June, when Fiction Pictures went out of business.
Vance died alone in his New York City apartment on December 16, 1933, in a fire that resulted from his falling asleep with a lighted cigarette. His death was ruled accidental. A simple funeral took place December 20, 1933, at St. George's Protestant Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, with honorary pallbearers including Marc Connelly, Will Irwin and Samuel Merwin. Vance's widow received an estate of less than $10,000.
Filmography.
Film adaptations.
In addition to adaptations of his novels, the following films, while not straight adaptations, were based on the characters from Vance's Lone Wolf series:


Partisan (weapon)

A partisan (also partizan) is a type of polearm that was used in Europe in the 16th, 17th, and 18th century. It consisted of a spearhead mounted on a long shaft, usually wooden, with protrusions on the sides which aided in parrying sword thrusts. Like the halberd, it quickly became obsolete with the arrival of practical firearms, although it stayed in use for many years as a ceremonial weapon. In profile, the head of a partisan may look similar to that of a ranseur, spontoon, ox tongue, or spetum; however, unlike a ranseur, the lower parts of the head have a sharpened edge.


Spitak

Spitak (), is a town and urban municipal community in the northern Lori Province of Armenia. It is north of the capital, Yerevan, and west of the provincial center, Vanadzor. Spitak was entirely destroyed during the devastating 1988 earthquake, and it was rebuilt in a slightly different location. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town is 12,881. Currently, the town has an approximate population of 11,000 as per the 2016 official estimate.
Etymology.
The settlement was first known as "Hamamlu", meaning "bath"' in Turkish, as the area had many baths. In 1948, it was renamed "Spitak", meaning "white" in Armenian because of the presence of white limestone rocks in the area. The word "spitak" itself derives from Middle Persian "spēdag" (compare Parthian "ispēd").
History.
The area of modern-day Spitak was probably inhabited since the 4th millennium BC, based on ancient settlements found on the surrounding hills. Many remnants are found on the "Sardar hill" dating back to the Bronze Age. Later, the region was included within the kingdom of Urartu during the 7th century BC. Between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC, the region was part of the Orontid Armenia, followed by the Artaxiad ruled in 189 BC. The region was included within the Tashir () canton of the historic Gugark province, the 13th province of Greater Armenia.
In the 9th century, the territory of Tashir became part of the newly founded Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia in 885. With the establishment of the Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget 979 under the protectorate of the Bagratids, the region of Tashir became part of the kingdom ruled by the Kiurikians until its dissolution in 1118.
After a brief Byzantine rule over Armenia between 1045 and 1064, the invading Seljuks ruled over the entire region, including Tashir. However, with the establishment of the Zakarid Principality of Armenia in 1201 under the Georgian protectorate, the Eastern Armenian territories including Gugark had significantly grown. After the Mongols captured Ani in 1236, Tashir became part of the Ilkhanate as a Mongol protectorate, and the Zakarids became vassals to the Mongols. After the fall of the Ilkhanate in the mid-14th century, the Zakarid princes ruled over Tashir until 1360 when they fell to the invading Turkic tribes.
In 1501, most of the Eastern Armenian territories including Tashir were occupied by Safavid Iran. In mid 17th century, the small village "Hamamlu" was founded in the historic region of Tashir, within the newly formed administrative territory of Erivan Khanate under the Afsharid dynasty of Iran. The first residents of the village were Armenian migrants from the Iranian town of Khoy.
In 1828, the Erivan Khanate -including Hamamlu- was annexed by the Russian Empire. The region became officially part of the Russian Empire at the Treaty of Turkmenchay signed on 10 February 1828 between Imperial Russia and Qajar Persia. Hamamlu became part of the "Alexandropol uyezd" within the Erivan Governorate of the Russian Empire.
In November 1918, Hamamlu was included within the newly formed Republic of Armenia. Following the Sovietization of Armenia in December 1920, Hamamlu was finally incorporated into Soviet Armenia on 11 February 1921.
In 1937 the "Hamamlu raion" was established, with the village of Hamamlu as the centre of the newly formed administrative region. The dairy products factory of 1937 was the 1st industrial firm opened in Hamamlu under the Soviet rule, followed by the sugar plant in 1947. In 1949, "Hamamlu" was renamed "Spitak" along with its "raion". In 1960, Spitak received the status of a town. In 1971, it became a town of republican subordination
The 1st urban development plan of the town was introduced in 1965 by architect A. Harutyanyan, followed by the 2nd plan in 1974 composed by architects K. Ghazaryan and H. Mirzakhanyan. Many large factories were opened in Spitak, mainly for knitwear and dairy products. In 1980, a new urban plan was approved and the sports complex of the town was opened later in 1983.
During the 1988 earthquake, Spitak was entirely destroyed and 1/3 of the town's 15,000 population were killed, while the rest became homeless. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Spitak was gradually rebuilt through the efforts of the state government as well as the Armenian diaspora, with the assistance of many countries, including Uzbekistan, Switzerland, Russia, Austria, Finland, Norway, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Estonia and United Kingdom.
Geography.
Spitak covers an area of on the shores of Pambak River, at a height of 1650 meters above sea level. It is dominated by the Bazum mountains from the north and Pambak mountains from the south.
Spitak is characterized with extremely cold winter and mild summer. The annual precipitation level reaches up to .
Demographics.
Spitak has a population of ethnic Armenians who belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The regulating body of the church is the Diocese of Gougark, seated in Vanadzor. The church of Holy Resurrection opened in 2001 is the town's church.
At the beginning of the 19th century, many Armenian migrants from Khoy and Muş who were resettled in the town. In December 1988, around 4,000 people were killed in Spitak as a result of the devastating earthquake. Upon the breakout of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1988, around 500 Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan were resettled in Spitak.
Here is the population timeline of Spitak since 1831:
Culture.
Spitak has a cultural house, 3 public libraries, many cinema theatres, a municipal theater, and an ethnographic museum.
The cultural heritage of the town includes an archaeological site from the 2nd millennium BC, the ruins of an ancient settlement on the nearby Sardar hill from the 1st millennium BC, as well as a bridge on the Pambak river dating back to the 19th century.
The "Spitak day" is celebrated every year on July the 15th.
Transportation.
Spitak is an important hub for transportation in Armenia. The M-3 Motorway that connects Yerevan with Tbilisi passes through the town. The M-7 Motorway the connects Gyumri with Vanadzor starts from Spitak.
The town is also home to the Spitak railway station, almost midway between Yerevan and Tbilisi.
Economy.
Under the Soviet rule, Spitak became a major industrial hub in northern Armenia. The Spitak dairy factory was opened in 1937, while the sugar factory was opened in 1947. However, after the earthquake, the town lost its significance as an industrial centre in Lori.
The town has a flour mill and a building materials manufacturing plant.
Education.
In 2015, Spitak had 7 public education schools, one boarding school and 7 kindergartens. The town is also home to a musical academy and a school of art.
A branch of the Yerevan electro-technical intermediate college is also operating in the town.
Sport.
Football is the most popular sport in the town. FC Spitak represented the town in the domestic competitions between 1990 and 1998. However, like most Armenian football teams, the club was dissolved in 1999 due to financial difficulties.
Spitak has children's and youth's sport school, specialized in six types of sports: football, chess, sambo, judo, wrestling and boxing.
Twin towns – sister cities.
Spitak is twinned with:


Martin Fackler

Martin L. Fackler (1933–2015) was an American military officer, surgeon and wound ballistics expert. He served in the U.S Navy from 1960 to 1975 and in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1991. He was a field surgeon at the Naval Support Hospitals at Da Nang, Vietnam and at Yokosuka, Japan, and later a colonel in the US Army's Medical Corps. He was the founder and head of the Wound Ballistics Laboratory for the Letterman Army Institute of Research from 1981 to 1991. He was a member and leader of numerous distinguished organizations, among them the International Wound Ballistics Association, the French Wound Ballistics Society and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Dr. Fackler had numerous teaching appointments and was the author of over 300 publications in regards to wound ballistics, body armor, and treatment of injuries for both the military and civilian populations. He is credited with a number of contributions to the field of terminal ballistics, including:
Gallery.
Examples of Fackler's work on behalf of the U.S. military:
References.
NATO Handbook Emergency War Surgery Chapter entitled Missile Caused Wounds was authored by Fackler.


6.5mm Grendel

The 6.5mm Grendel (6.5×39mm) is an intermediate cartridge designed by Arne Brennan, Bill Alexander and Janne Pohjoispää as a low-recoil, high-accuracy cartridge specifically for the AR-15 platform at medium/long range (200–800 yard). It is an improved variation of the 6.5mm PPC. Since its introduction, it has proven to be a versatile design and is now expanding out into other firearms including bolt-action rifles and the Kalashnikov system.
The name "6.5mm Grendel" was a trademark owned by Alexander Arms until it was legally released to allow the cartridge to become SAAMI standardized.
Development and history.
The 6.5mm Grendel design goal was to create an effective 200–800 yard STANAG magazine-length cartridge for the AR-15 that surpassed the performance of the native 5.56mm NATO/.223 Remington cartridge. Constrained by the dimension of the magazines, the Grendel designers decided to use a shorter, larger diameter case for higher powder volume while allowing space for long, streamlined, high-ballistic coefficient (BC) bullets. Firing factory-loaded ammunition with bullets ranging from , its muzzle velocity varies from with 129- and bullets to with bullets (similar in velocity to a 5.56 mm round). Depending on their case material and bullet, 6.5 Grendel cartridges weigh .
The case head diameter of the Grendel is the same as that of the .220 Russian, 7.62×39mm and 6.5mm PPC cases. This diameter is larger than the 5.56×45mm NATO, thereby necessitating the use of a non-standard AR-15 bolt. The increased case diameter results in a small reduction in the capacity of standard size M16/AR-15 magazines. A Grendel magazine with the same dimensions as a 30-round STANAG magazine will hold 26 rounds of 6.5mm Grendel ammunition.
Performance.
Proponents assert that the Grendel is a middle ground between the 5.56×45mm NATO and the 7.62×51mm NATO. It retains greater terminal energy at extended ranges than either of these cartridges due to its higher ballistic coefficient.
For example, the 6.5 Grendel has more energy and better armor penetration at 1,000 meters than the larger and heavier M80 7.62 NATO round.
In order to obtain ballistics that are superior to the 7.62×51mm cartridge, a weapon with a longer barrel and firing a heavier bullet is necessary. To achieve the same results from shorter length barrels, even heavier bullets are needed.
External ballistics.
As noted above, the Grendel case is very closely related to the .220 Russian case. In general, each additional grain of bullet weight will reduce muzzle velocity by 10.8 ft/s (6.1 m/s for each gram) and each additional inch of barrel length will increase muzzle velocity by 20 ft/s (2.4 m/s for each centimeter). Specific details are available as graphs derived from Alexander Arms' public domain load table linked below.
Army and police uses.
Serbia is in process of adopting a rifle made by Zastava Arms in 6.5 mm Grendel caliber as main armament for its armed forces. The rifle, designated M17, is a derivative of the previous-issue M70 rifle. An American-manufactured rifle in 6.5mm Grendel caliber may also be adopted in armament for special forces units after it passes testing in Technical Testing Center. Three types of 6.5mm Grendel ammunition produced by Prvi Partizan Užice Serbia will be tested for use with these rifles.


Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The base's of beaches make it a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports (Wilmington and Morehead City) allows for fast deployments.
The main base is supplemented by six satellite facilities: Marine Corps Air Station New River, Camp Geiger, Stone Bay, Courthouse Bay, Camp Johnson, and the latest addition to the facility, the Greater Sandy Run Training Area. The Marine Corps port facility is in Beaufort, at the southern tip of Radio Island (between the NC State Port in Morehead City, and the marine science laboratories on Pivers Island in Beaufort). It is military property, but is only occupied during military port operations.
History.
In April 1941, construction was approved on an tract in Onslow County, North Carolina. On May 1 of that year, Lt. Col. William P. T. Hill began construction on Marine Barracks New River. The first base headquarters was in a summer cottage on Montford Point, and then moved to Hadnot Point in 1942. Later that year it was renamed in honor of the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, John A. Lejeune.
One of the satellite facilities of Camp Lejeune served for a while as a third boot camp for the Marines, in addition to Parris Island and San Diego. That facility, Montford Point, was established after Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802. Between 1942 and 1949, a brief era of segregated training for black Marines, the camp at Montford Point trained 20,000 African-Americans. After the military was ordered to fully integrate, Montford Point was renamed Camp Gilbert H. Johnson and became the home of the Marine Corps Combat Service Support Schools.
MCB Camp Lejeune can help to prepare warfighters for combat and humanitarian missions abroad. Camp Lejeune takes advantage of 156,000 acres, 11 miles of beach capable of supporting amphibious operations, 32 gun positions, 48 tactical landing zones, three state-of-the-art training facilities for Military Operations in Urban Terrain and 80 live fire ranges to include the Greater Sandy Run Training Area. Military forces from around the world come to Camp Lejeune on a regular basis for bilateral and NATO-sponsored exercises.
On May 10th, 1996 at 2a.m., two helicopters performing the largest U.S-British training exercise in history collided and crashed into a swampy wooded area, killing fourteen and injuring two.
Camp Lejeune was featured in the hit CW network drama "One Tree Hill" in late 2006.
Pollution.
From at least 1957 through 1987, Marines and their families at Lejeune drank and bathed in water contaminated with toxins at concentrations 240 to 3400 times permitted by safety standards, and at least 850 former residents filed claims for nearly $4 billion from the military. The Multi-District Litigation was dismissed on North Carolina statute of repose grounds on December 5, 2016, and the appeal to the 11th Circuit is ongoing. "Straw, et. al. v. United States", 16-17573 (11th Cir.). Straw has appealed this case to the U.S. Supreme Court twice, with one currently pending in the Supreme Court docket. Disability activist Andrew U. D. Straw is also pursuing claims based on implied contract and Fifth Amendment Takings theories at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, stating that the U.S. Marine Corps' UCMJ responsibilities imply a contract to protect U.S. Marine Corps family members. "Straw v. United States", 1:17-cv-00560 (U.S. COFC). This case was dismissed and denied on appeal also. Straw has also advocated for legislative reform to avoid the legal arguments of the Department of Justice. The main chemicals involved were trichloroethylene (TCE), a degreaser, perchloroethylene (PCE), a dry cleaning solvent, and benzene; however, more than 70 chemicals have been identified as contaminants at Lejeune.
A 1974 base order required safe disposal of solvents and warned that improper handling could cause drinking water contamination. Yet solvents were dumped or buried near base wells for years.
The base's wells were shut off in the mid-1980s, but were placed back online in violation of the law. In 1982, Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were found to be in Camp Lejeune's drinking water supply. VOC contamination of groundwater can cause birth defects and other ill health effects in pregnant and nursing mothers. This information was not made public for nearly two decades when the government attempted to identify those who may have been exposed.
An advocacy group called The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten was created to inform possible victims of the contamination at Lejeune. The group's website includes an introduction with some basic information about the contamination at Lejeune, including that many health problems various types of cancer, leukemia, miscarriages and birth defects, have been noted in people who drank the contaminated water. According to the site, numerous base housing areas were affected by the contamination, including Tarawa Terrace, Midway Park, Berkeley Manor, Paradise Point, Hadnot Point, Hospital Point, and Watkins Village.
On March 8, 2010, Paul Buckley of Hanover, Massachusetts, received a 100%, service connected disability from the Department of Veterans Affairs for cancer (Multiple Myeloma), which was linked to toxic water exposure on Camp Lejeune. This is believed to be the first time the government has admitted the link between the contamination and illnesses.
In 2007, Jerry Ensminger, a retired Marine master sergeant, found a document dated 1981 that described a radioactive dump site near a rifle range at the camp. According to the report, the waste was laced with strontium-90, an isotope known to cause cancer and leukemia. According to Camp Lejeune's installation restoration program manager, base officials learned in 2004 about the 1981 document. Ensminger served in the Marine Corps for 24 and a half years, and lived for part of that time at Camp Lejeune. In 1985 his 9-year-old daughter, Janey, died of cancer.
On July 6, 2009, Laura Jones filed suit against the US government over the contaminated water at the base. Jones previously lived at the base where her husband, a Marine, was stationed. Jones has lymphoma and now lives in Iowa.
Twenty former residents of Camp Lejeune—all men who lived there during the 1960s and the 1980s—have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
In April 2009, the United States Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry withdrew a 1997 public health assessment at Camp Lejeune that denied any connection between the toxins and illness.
As many as 500,000 people may have been exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune over a period of 30 years."
Janey Ensminger Act.
On 18 July 2012 the US Senate passed a bill, called the Janey Ensminger Act in honor of retired Marine Master Sergeant Jerry Ensminger's daughter Janey who died of cancer at age 9, authorizing medical care to military and family members who had resided at the base between 1957 and 1987 and developed conditions linked to the water contamination. The measure applies to up to 750,000 people. The House approved the bill on 31 July 2012. President Obama signed the bill into law on 6 August 2012.
The bill applies to 15 specific ailments believed to be linked to the contamination, including cancer of the esophagus, lung, breast, bladder or kidney; leukemia; multiple myeloma; myleodysplasic syndromes; renal toxicity; hepatic steatosis; female infertility; miscarriage; scleroderma; and/or neurobehavioral effects or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Department of Veterans Affairs is assigned by the bill to provide the medical care. To fund the medical care, the bill extends higher fees for VA home loan guarantees to 1 October 2017.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2014 potentially curbs groundwater contamination lawsuits by families at Camp Lejeune. Federal law, which imposes a two-year statute of limitations after the harm is discovered, would pre-empt North Carolina's 10-year "statute of repose" law. State lawmakers are trying to eliminate the state prohibition on lawsuits being filed 10 years after the last pollution occurred or from the time a polluted property was sold.
Marine Corps Brig.
The military prison at Camp Lejeune has been in operation since 1968 and currently has a maximum capacity of 280 inmates who are incarcerated between 30 and 90 days.
The Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommended in 2005 that the brig be closed and the Secretary of Defense has to implement the commission's recommendations by a date still unknown. A new brig was built at Camp Allen in Norfolk, Virginia with a small detention facility built at Camp Lejeune to hold detainees awaiting court martial.
A new brig was constructed at Camp Lejeune finishing in the early fall of 2012. The old brig was decommissioned and demolished in the late fall of 2012.


Tubes and primers for ammunition

Tubes and primers are used to ignite the propellant in projectile weapons.
In ancient times various devices were adopted to ignite the charge. Small guns were fired by priming powder poured down the touch hole (or vent) and ignited by glowing embers or a red-hot iron rod. Later the priming powder was ignited by a piece of slow match held in a linstock (a stick with a clamp at one end). About 1700, this was effected by means of a port-fire. This was a paper case about 16 inch (406 mm) long filled with slow-burning composition which burnt rather more than one inch (25 mm) per minute. Later again the charge was exploded by paper tubes (sometimes called Dutch tubes) filled with powder and placed in the vent and ignited by a port-fire. Friction primers (sometimes called "friction tubes") were used in the later black powder era, while in the latest patterns percussion or electric tubes are employed.
Vent sealing tubes.
In most breech loading guns it is essential to stop the erosion of the metal of the vent by preventing the escape of gas through it when the gun is fired. For this purpose the charges in such guns are ignited by "vent-sealing tubes." For muzzle loaded guns and small breech loading guns radially vented, especially those using black powder, the amount of erosion in the vent is not so serious. The charge is fired by ordinary friction primers, which are blown away by the escape of gas through the vent. In all guns axially vented, vent-sealing tubes, which are not blown out, must be employed to protect the gunners from injury. This 'vent sealing' name remained part of British nomenclature, rather than a clearer name of 'primer' or 'firing' tubes, as used elesewhere.
The common friction primer is a copper tube, packed with powder, having at the upper end a short branch (called a nib piece) at right angles. This branch is filled with friction composition in which a friction bar is embedded. When the friction bar is sharply pulled out, by means of a lanyard, the composition is ignited and sets fire to the powder in the long tube; the flash is conveyed through the vent and ignites the gun charge. For naval purposes, to prevent the sailors from being cut on the face or hurting their feet, tubes of quill instead of copper were used. If friction primers are employed when cordite or other smokeless powder charges are used, the erosion of the vent is very rapid unless the escape of the gas is prevented; in this case T-headed tubes are used. They are similar in action to the ordinary type, but are fixed to the vent by the head fitting a bayonet joint formed with the vent. The explosion blows a small ball upwards and blocks the coned hole at the top of the tube and so prevents any rush of gas.
To provide a higher rate of fire, the last pull-lanyard friction T tubes in British service were replaced from 1907 in the converted 15pdr with a 'push' T tube, using an impact detonating compound, in a new axial vent.
The vent-sealing tube accurately fits into a chamber formed at the end of the vent, and is held in place by the gun lock or some similar means. The force of the explosion expands the tube against the walls of its chamber, while the internal structure of the tube renders it gas-tight, preventing any escape of gas through the vent.
Electric tubes.
In the English service electric tubes (in the United States called "primers") are mostly used, but percussion or friction tubes are preferred on the continent and electric tubes are seldom or never used.
There are two types of electric tube, one with long wires for joining up with the electric circuit and the other without external wires. The first type has two insulated wires led into the interior and attached to two insulated brass cones which are connected by a wire "bridge" of platinum silver. This bridge is surrounded by a priming composition of guncotton dust and mealed powder and the remainder of the tube is filled with powder. When an electric current passes through, the bridge is heated to incandescence and ignites the priming composition.
In the wireless tube the lock of the gun makes the electric contact with an insulated disc in the head of the tube. This disc is connected by an insulated wire to a brass cone, also insulated, the bridge being formed from an edge of the cone to a brass wire which is soldered to the mouth of the tube. Priming composition surrounds the bridge and the tube
is filled with powder. The electric circuit passes from the gun lock to the disc, then through the bridge to the body of the tube, returning through the metal of the gun and mounting.
Percussion tubes.
The percussion tube has a similarly shaped body to the wireless electric tube, but the internal construction differs; it is fitted with a striker, below which is a percussion cap on a hollow brass anvil, and the tube is filled with powder.
With quick firing guns (those using metallic cartridge cases) the case itself is fitted with the igniting medium; in England these are called primers. For small guns the case contains a percussion primer, usually a copper cap filled with a chlorate mixture and resting against an anvil. The striker of the gun strikes the cap and fires the mixture. For larger guns an electric primer is used, the internal construction and action of which are precisely similar to the wireless tube already described; the exterior is screwed for the case. For percussion firing an ordinary percussion tube is placed in an adapter screwed into the case. In some foreign services a combined electric and percussion primer is used.
Cartridges.
The first cartridges for cannon were made up of gunpowder packed in a paper bag or case. For many years after the introduction of cannon the powder was introduced into the bore by means of a scoop-shaped ladle fixed to the end of a long stave. The ladle was made of the same diameter as the shot, and it had a definite length so that it was filled once for the charging of small guns but for larger guns the ladle had to be filled two or even three times. The rule was to make the powder charge the same weight as that of the shot.
Cartridges made up in paper or canvas bags were afterwards used in forts at night-time or on board ship, so that the guns could be more rapidly loaded and with less risk than by using a ladle. Before loading, a piece of the paper or canvas covering had to be cut open immediately under the vent; after the shot had been rammed home the vent was filled with powder from a priming horn, and the gun was then fired by means of a hot iron, quick match or port-fire.
The ancient breech-loading guns were not so difficult to load, as the powder chamber of the gun was removable and was charged by simply filling it up with powder and ramming a wad on top to prevent the escape of the powder.
Paper, canvas and similar materials are particularly liable to smoulder after the gun has been fired, hence the necessity of well sponging the piece. Even with this precaution accidents often occurred owing to a cartridge being ignited by the still glowing debris of the previous round. In order to prevent this, bags of non-smouldering material, such as flannel, serge or silk cloth are used; combustible material such as woven gun-cotton cloth has also been tried, but there are certain disadvantages attending this.
All smokeless powders are somewhat difficult to ignite in a gun, so that in order to prevent hang-fires every cartridge has a primer or igniter, of ordinary fine grain gunpowder, placed so as to intercept the flash from the tube; the outside of the bag containing this igniter is made of shalloon, to allow the flash to penetrate with ease. The charge for heavy guns i.e. above 6 inches (150 mm), is made up in separate cartridges containing half or quarter charges, both for convenience of handling, and to allow a reduced charge to be used.
The cartridges are made of a bundle of cordite, or other smokeless powder, tightly tied with silk, placed in a silk cloth bag with the primer or igniter stitched on the unclosed end; the exterior is taped with silk cloth tape so as to form a stiff cartridge. For some of the longer guns, the exterior of the cartridge is conveniently made in a cone shape, the coned form being produced by building up layers outside a cylindrical core. In these large cartridges a silk cord becket runs up the centre with a loop at the top for handling.
For quick-firing guns the charge is contained in a brass case to which is fitted a primer for igniting the charge. This case is inserted into the gun, and when fired slightly expands and tightly fits the chamber of the gun, thus acting as an obturator and preventing any escape of gas from the breech. This class of ammunition is especially useful for the smaller calibres of guns, such as 3-pounder (1.4 kg), 6-pounder (2.7 kg) and field guns, but Messrs. Krupp also employ metallic cartridge cases for the largest type of gun, probably on account of the known difficulty of ensuring trustworthy obturation by any other means practicable with sliding wedge guns.
The charges for these cases are made up in a very similar manner to those already described for breech loading. Where necessary, distance pieces formed of papier-mâché tubes and felt wads are used to fill up the space in the case to prevent any movement of the charge. The mouth of the case is closed either by the base end of the projectile, in which case it is called "fixed ammunition" or "simultaneous loading ammunition" or by a metallic cap, when it is called "separate loading ammunition," projectile and charge being thus loaded by separate operations.


Push dagger

A push dagger (alternately known as: punch dagger, punch knife, or push knife) is a short-bladed dagger with a "T" handle designed to be grasped in the hand so that the blade protrudes from the front of one's fist, typically between the index and middle finger.
It originates as a close-combat weapon for civilians in the early 19th century, and has also seen some use in the trench warfare of World War I.
History.
The 16th-century Indian "katar" (कटार), or punching sword, has been compared to the push dagger.
This weapon is analogous, or a remote predecessor at best, as the "katar" is gripped by two close-set vertical bars, while a push dagger uses a T-handle and a blade that protrudes between the fingers when properly gripped.
American push dagger.
The push dagger appears to originate in the 19th-century Southern US. Politicians wore them into state and federal buildings, even the United States Capitol. As a concealable weapon, the push dagger was a favorite choice of civilian owners requiring a discreet knife capable of being used for personal protection. Before the development of reliable small pistols such as the derringer, the push dagger was especially popular among riverboat gamblers and residents of the larger towns and cities of the Old Southwest, particularly gamblers and émigrés from the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
The New Orleans-style push dagger was known as the gimlet knife. The gimlet knife had a short two-inch (50 mm) blade with a "gimlet" or T-handle. It was a common weapon in the city during the 1800s and was usually slipped into a boot or concealed inside a coat sleeve or else hung on a waistcoat button by a strap attached to the knife's leather sheath. The gimlet knife was used in so many riots, fights, and murders in New Orleans that the city passed an ordinance in 1879 prohibiting anyone within city limits from selling, offering or exhibiting such a weapon for sale.
The push dagger also was a favorite weapon in 19th-century San Francisco, California. The San Francisco style of push dagger tended to have a slightly longer blade than that of the gimlet knife and was most often equipped with a T-handle made of walrus ivory.
Stoßdolch.
During the latter half of the 19th century, the push dagger also enjoyed a brief period of popularity in Britain and Central Europe, particularly in Germany, where it was called the "Stoßdolch" or "Faustmesser", meaning "push-dagger" and "fist-knife", respectively. The weapon is thought to have been introduced there in the mid-1800s by foreign sailors visiting North German ports. German cutlery makers began to manufacture domestic versions of the design, often set in nickel-silver mountings. The "Stoßdolch" was sold primarily as a self-defense weapon for travelers, salesmen, and others who required a compact, concealable weapon. Push daggers continued to be sold in Britain and Europe through the end of the 19th century, when the combination of more effective police forces and the availability of inexpensive small handguns caused a substantial decline in sales and usage of push daggers and other types of specialized fighting knives.
World War I.
The reality of static trench warfare in World War I created a need for short, handy close-combat weapons that could be used in the confines of a trench. With pistols in short supply, a variety of knives and other stabbing weapons were created or issued to troops serving in the trenches. Originally most of these weapons were fabricated in the field from readily available materials such as metal stakes, but soon factory-made examples of knuckle knives and push daggers appeared at the front, and were used by both sides in the war. In Britain the Robbins-Dudley Co. of Dudley, Worcestershire, a metalworking company, was one of the first commercial producers of specialized wartime knuckle-knives and push daggers for private sale to individual soldiers and officers. The typical Robbins-Dudley push dagger – referred to as a 'punch knife' by its maker – utilized an aluminium "knuckle"-type handle cast onto a 3.625-in. (93 mm) heat-treated steel dagger blade or alternatively, a 5-in. (127 mm ) metal spike, which was subsequently blackened to prevent reflections in moonlight.
World War II.
The push dagger re-emerged during World War II, where it was first issued as combat weapon for British commandos, SAS, SOE, and other specialized raiding or guerrilla forces requiring a compact and concealable weapon for sentry elimination or close-quarters fighting.
Contemporary designs.
During the 1980s several new versions of the push dagger concept were produced by a variety of speciality cutlery manufacturers, and were sold primarily as 'tactical' or self-defense weapons, particularly in the USA.
Legality.
The sale and possession (or possession in public) of a push dagger with blade perpendicular to the handle is prohibited in some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Canada although if the edge is parallel to the handle they are legal. The laws of many countries and several U.S. states and cities prohibit or criminalize to some degree the purchase, possession, or sale of push daggers or knuckle knives.


6 mm caliber

This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets of a caliber between and .
Measurements are in millimeters then inches, i.e. "mm (in)".


Pancho Coimbre

Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre Atiles (29 January 1909 – 4 November 1989), more commonly known as Pancho Coimbre, was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He was born in the municipality of Coamo and moved to Ponce early in his life. It was in Ponce where he would begin to actively participate in sports, both in sprinting and baseball. Coimbre played thirteen seasons in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPPR), with the "Leones de Ponce". During this period the team won five league championships. He finished his career with an average of .337, and had an average of 2.2 strikeouts per season, this included four consecutive seasons from 1939 to 1942, without any strikeouts. Coimbre also won two LBPPR batting titles and the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1943.
Coimbre traveled to New York City, after completing his first professional season in Puerto Rico, where he joined the Porto Rico Stars baseball team of the Negro leagues. He was contracted by the New York Cubans while playing with the Porto Rico Stars. He joined the NY Cubans and played several seasons for them. Coimbre's batting average remained over the .300 mark, including two seasons in which he batted over .400. While playing in the Negro leagues he was selected to play in the league's East–West All-Star games twice, where he played with several players who in the future would be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He also played with teams established in Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Following his retirement, Coimbre worked as a coach and manager of teams in both the professional and amateur leagues of Puerto Rico. Coimbre, who was eighty years old, died due to a fire at his home.
Early years.
Francisco Coimbre was born in Coamo, Puerto Rico, to Guillermo Coimbre and Zoila Atiles. Upon his birth, he was inscribed as a resident of Arroyo in his birth certificate, following a common practice at the time. In 1922, he moved to Ponce along his mother, in order to live closer to his sister, Angela Coimbre. There he began playing baseball under the training and supervision of Miguel Caratini and Antonio Gordan, two hall of famers in the local league.
His first accomplishments in sports were in track and field, where he competed in the 50-yard dash, eventually developing his skills in other aspects of the sport. He continued practicing this sport while attending high school. Later he was transferred to another educational institution in Caguas, Puerto Rico, but when he tried to participate in an athletic competition he was denied permission because he was classified in a different division on the records of Puerto Rico's Instruction Department.
This event led to a court case which marked the first time in Puerto Rico that a court hearing was scheduled for a case involving sports. He subsequently transferred to Ponce High School, where the Instruction Department tried to have him removed of the athleticism team based on allegations that he had received payment as a student-athlete. Judge Roberto Tood Jr. determined that the evidence against Coimbre was insufficient during the hearing and the case was dropped.
Baseball career.
In high school, Coimbre played at the positions of pitcher and second baseman, and he was recommended by a member of the "Leones de Ponce" to team officials. Leones de Ponce, the local team of the Puerto Rican amateur league, was about to play a series against the San Juan Athletics. Leones de Ponce needed additional players, and Coimbre was selected by team owner Pipo Maldonado. He debuted in a game at Ponce, starting as the right fielder, and recorded four hits in five at bats. Coimbre remained with the team and in 1928 participated in a championship series against Guayama, which Ponce won in six games. In the last game of the series, Coimbre pitched and won with a final score of 5–3, in a game which the team almost lost following an error.
Coimbre's first performance outside Puerto Rico was in the Dominican Republic, where he played for Sandino in Santiago de los Caballeros in 1927. He was accompanied by several Puerto Rican players during this stay. In 1929, he played in Venezuela for the "Magallanes", with appearances as a pitcher and outfielder. Four of his teammates, who now had homes in Caracas, had played with him in the Puerto Rican league. After a solid performance in the 1930 season of the amateur league, Coimbre was recruited by the Tigres del Licey team to play in the Dominican Republic; the Tigres were coached by Charles Dore. Following that season, he continued alternating between both leagues, playing with Santo Domingo in 1931.
After the Puerto Rican league season came to an end in 1932, Coimbre went to work as a security guard in a penal institution and only played with a semi-professional team. Shortly after, he was offered a contract to play in La Guaira, with the Santa Marta club. The season concluded with Buchipluma, a second team owned by Santa Marta's proprietor, winning the league's championship. Following his time with Santa Marta, he continued playing, both in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. While playing with Licey, the team developed a rivalry with El Escogido, which gave Coimbre an opportunity to establish relationships with several players, from both countries. During this period Licey continued to be coached by Dore, and included several well known Dominican players. The team won the league's championship, but Coimbre decided not to attend the award ceremony, choosing to stay in his hotel room instead. Dore took the trophy to Coimbre so that he could enjoy it for a while, but he rejected this and suggested that it be filled with money for a donation.
In 1935, Coimbre moved to Maracaibo where he played for Pastora, in Zulia's Stadium. The team reached the league's final series but lost to Magallanes. Prior to this series, the team had to travel to Caimbas, an industrial city where the games were scheduled. The usual mode of travel was by boat, but following Coimbre's advice, the team took an airplane. At season's end he moved to La Victoria, Aragua, where one of his friends resided in a hacienda. There he played in a series to determine the final roster of Concordia, a team that was going to travel to Puerto Rico. Coimbre participated in the series, but choose to play with Ponce instead of Concordia. In 1937, he returned to the Dominican Republic and his team won the league's championship; he described it as the "most powerful team in his memory".
Formation of the LBPPR and participation in Negro league baseball.
Later in 1937, when he returned to Puerto Rico, Coimbre learned that the "Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico" (LBPPR) was being organized. The LBPPR elected Teófilo Maldonado, a press writer, as their president. Coimbre joined the Ponce-Kofresí team, which represented Ponce. The team was coached by Isidro Fabré and owned by Juan Luis Boscio, and the team's roster included several players known by the local fanbase, After the season's conclusion, Coimbre traveled to New York City for the first time in his life, after being invited by a close friend. Coimbre's original intention was to visit his sister, with whom he lived while in the city. In New York, he met Santiago Bartolomei who owned the Puerto Rico Stars (also known as "Puerto Rican Stars"). Bartolomei met with Coimbre and fellow players, and he offered Coimbre a contract to play with the team. He accepted and joined the team, which included players from Puerto Rico and Cuba.
While he played for the Porto Rico Stars, Alejandro Pompéz made Coimbre an offer to play with the New York Cubans. Pompéz became interested in Coimbre after hearing several reviews of his work, but he was initially skeptical of these claims and was hesitant to offer a contract until a group of players recommended Coimbre. He debuted in a game against Buschwick in Brooklyn, New York. In his first two games, Coimbre connected for four hits, three singles and a double. Following this performance Pompéz informed him that he had made the team. After the season concluded he was instantly offered a second contract with the Cubans, now playing in the Negro National League. He also played with Ponce during the 1940–1941 season of the winter league, recording a batting average of .401 with no strikeouts. During his second season with the Cubans Coimbre had an average of .409, and was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Following this success, he returned to Puerto Rico and had a batting average of .372 for Ponce as they won their first LBPPR championship. The next season Coimbre won his first batting championship in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, finishing at .342 after connecting for base hits in 22 consecutive games. In 1943, he had his best season in the U.S. Negro leagues and was selected to the East's All-Star team for a second time. He finished with a .428 average, the highest with the Cubans. Coimbre received a tribute at Yankee Stadium, where hundreds of Puerto Ricans reunited and awarded him a scroll and a ring recognizing his performance. Coimbre also led the LBPPR in runs batted in, with 27 RBIs. He was subsequently invited to play in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (Mexican Baseball League) for the first time in his career, and joined the Puebla club. Coimbre had problems adapting to Mexico's climate at first; however, his average improved over the course of the season and Coimbre finished among the league's leaders. Coimbre experienced a similar pattern in the 1944–1945 LBPPR season, where he was unable to record a hit in the first games, but finished with his second batting championship.
Later that year, Coimbre joined the "El Torices" team, located in Barranquilla, Colombia. His participation with the team mostly consisted of managing work since he was unable to play, due to a previous injury. During his time of inactivity, he worked in the Administration of Parks and Recreation, supervising softball games organized by local businessmen. A knee injury from an accidental pitch ended Coimbre's 1946 LBPPR season; the injury required hospitalization and recovery treatment. After recovering, Coimbre traveled to New York in 1948, seeking a contract from the Baltimore Elite Giants or the New York Black Yankees. During this visit he was contacted by Chebrook in the Canadian league, to play in right field.
Coimbre was not able to play in his full capacity, due on ongoing problems from his knee injury. He ended the season with a .316 average, as Chebrook won the league's championship. Coimbre spent the 1948–1951 seasons as a designated hitter in the LBPPR. His final season in the league was in 1952, playing right field and batting fourth in the lineup. Coimbre's last game was against the "Cangrejeros de Santurce", where a wild pitch re-injured his knee, prompting his decision to retire as a player.
Retirement, death and legacy.
Following his retirement Coimbre began working as the coach of the Leones de Ponce, leading the team to two championships as well as extending his work to the Caribbean Series, a tournament where the champions of each Caribbean league participate. He received an invitation from the team owner of the Caguas-Guayama team, which was established in Panama, to work as the team manager. Coimbre also worked in the administration of the "Indios de Mayagüez", when the team traveled to play in Havana, Cuba. He subsequently decided to work as a coach in the amateur league, while continuing his participation with the professional Ponce team and began coaching a team that represented Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico.
Coimbre began promoting an idea that focused in the performance of the team, instead of the success of individual players. In his first day as an amateur coach, Coimbre summoned the players to a conference, where he noted that if all of them felt like "stars" and played for statistics their collective performance would suffer. He won a national championship with the team, but decided to leave it and work with the "Cachorros de Ponce", where he won another championship. During this time he also worked as a talent scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As a scout he was directly responsible for the hiring of Roberto Clemente, when he urged the Pirates to draft him in the first draw of the Major League Baseball Draft, even though Clemente was under a minor league contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Coimbre died on 4 November 1989, when he was trapped in a house fire. The fire originated in the house's kitchen while he was cooking, consuming the structure's wooden frame. When Coimbre tried to escape he was unable to open the front door, because he had locked it with a padlock.
The City of Ponce honored the memory of Coímbre by naming its sports museum the "Museo Pancho Coímbre". The museum, which contains a large collection of sports memorabilia, is located on the Calle (Street) Lolita Tizol. Also, in Ponce, he is honored at the Park for the Illustrious Ponce Citizens. Also the building housing the Secretaría de Recreación y Deportes on Avenida Las Américas in Ponce is named "Francisco "Pancho" Coímbre". The town of Coamo also honored Coimbre by naming a sports complex "Complejo Deportivo Francisco Pancho Coimbre Park" after him.
External links.
 and Seamheads


Rigging knife

A rigging knife is a specially designed knife used to cut heavy rope. It may have a serrated edge for sawing through line, or a heavy blade suitable for hitting with a mallet to drive the knife through. Folding tools, often in combination with a marlinspike and shackle key, are convenient and portable. Rigger Brion Toss recommends fixed blade rigging knives for easy access in time sensitive situations and when working aloft. It can be a useful rescue tool if caught in rope and wire.