Phonic builds surveys that you can answer with voice and uses deep learning to analyze tone of voice

Phonic

What Is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . A SIMPLIFIED ALPHABET here A SIMPLIFIED ALPHABET (This article, written during the autumn of 1899, was about the last writing done by Mark Twain on any impersonal subject.) I have had a kindly feeling, a friendly feeling, a cousinly feeling toward Simplified Spelling, from the beginning of the movement three years ago, but nothing more inflamed than that. It seemed to me to merely propose to substitute one inadequacy for another; a sort of patching and plugging poor old dental relics with cement and gold and porcelain paste; what was really wanted was a new set of teeth. That is to say, a new . alphabet The heart of our trouble is with our foolish alphabet. It doesn’t know how to spell, and can’t be taught. In this it is like all other alphabets except one—the phonographic. That is the only competent alphabet in the world. It can spell and correctly pronounce any word in our language. That admirable alphabet, that brilliant alphabet, that inspired alphabet, can be learned in an hour or two. In a week the student can learn to write it with some little facility, and to read it with considerable ease. I know, for I saw it tried in a public school in Nevada forty-five years ago, and was so impressed by the incident that it has remained in my memory ever since. I wish we could adopt it in place of our present written (and printed) character. I mean the alphabet; simply the consonants and the vowels—I don’t mean any or abbreviations of them, such as the shorthand writer uses in order to get compression and speed. No, I would simply reductions spell every word out. I will insert the alphabet here as I find it in Burnz’s Phonic Shorthand. (Figure 1) It is arranged on the basis of Isaac Pitman’s . Isaac Pitman was the originator and father of scientific phonography. It is used throughout the globe. It was a memorable invention. He made it public seventy-three years ago. The firm of Isaac Pitman & Sons, New York, still exists, and they continue the master’s work. Phonography What should we gain? First of all, we could spell —and correctly—any word you please, just by the of it. We can’t do that with our present alphabet. For instance, take a simple, every-day word . If we tried to spell it by the sound of it, we should make it TYSIS, and be laughed at by every educated person. definitely sound phthisis Secondly, we should gain in in writing. reduction of labor Simplified Spelling makes valuable reductions in the case of several hundred words, but the new spelling must be . You can’t spell them by the sound; you must get them out of the book. learned But even if we knew the simplified form for every word in the language, the phonographic alphabet would still beat the Simplified Speller “hands down” in the important matter of economy of labor. I will illustrate: PRESENT FORM: through, laugh, highland. SIMPLIFIED FORM: thru, laff, hyland. PHONOGRAPHIC FORM: (Figure 2) To write the word “through,” the pen has to make twenty-one strokes. To write the word “thru,” the pen has to make twelve strokes—a good saving. To write that same word with the phonographic alphabet, the pen has to make only strokes. three To write the word “laugh,” the pen has to make strokes. fourteen To write “laff,” the pen has to make the of strokes—no labor is saved to the penman. same number To write the same word with the phonographic alphabet, the pen has to make only strokes. three To write the word “highland,” the pen has to make twenty-two strokes. To write “hyland,” the pen has to make eighteen strokes. To write that word with the phonographic alphabet, the pen has to make only FIVE strokes. (Figure 3) To write the words “phonographic alphabet,” the pen has to make fifty-three strokes. To write “fonografic alfabet,” the pen has to make fifty strokes. To the penman, the saving in labor is insignificant. To write that word (with vowels) with the phonographic alphabet, the pen has to make only strokes. seventeen Without the vowels, only strokes. (Figure 4) The vowels are hardly necessary, this time. thirteen We make five pen-strokes in writing an m. Thus: (Figure 5) a stroke down; a stroke up; a second stroke down; a second stroke up; a final stroke down. Total, five. The phonographic alphabet accomplishes the m with a single stroke—a curve, like a parenthesis that has come home drunk and has fallen face down right at the front door where everybody that goes along will see him and say, Alas! When our written m is not the end of a word, but is otherwise located, it has to be connected with the next letter, and that requires another pen-stroke, making six in all, before you get rid of that m. But never mind about the connecting strokes—let them go. Without counting them, the twenty-six letters of our alphabet consumed about eighty pen-strokes for their construction—about three pen-strokes per letter. It is required by the phonographic alphabet. It requires but stroke for each letter. three times the number one My writing-gait is—well, I don’t know what it is, but I will time myself and see. Result: it is twenty-four words per minute. I don’t mean composing; I mean . There isn’t any definite composing-gait. copying Very well, my copying-gait is 1,440 words per hour—say 1,500. If I could use the phonographic character with facility I could do the 1,500 in twenty minutes. I could do nine hours’ copying in three hours; I could do three years’ copying in one year. Also, if I had a typewriting machine with the phonographic alphabet on it—oh, the miracles I could do! I am not pretending to write that character well. I have never had a lesson, and I am copying the letters from the book. But I can accomplish my desire, at any rate, which is, to make the reader get a good and clear idea of the advantage it would be to us if we could discard our present alphabet and put this better one in its place—using it in books, newspapers, with the typewriter, and with the pen. (Figure 6)— . I think it is graceful and would look comely in print. And consider—once more, I beg—what a labor-saver it is! Ten pen-strokes with the one system to convey those three words above, and thirty-three by the other! (Figure 7) I mean, in SOME ways, not in all. I suppose I might go so far as to say in most ways, and be within the facts, but never mind; let it go at . One of the ways in which it exercises this birthright is—as I think—continuing to use our laughable alphabet these seventy-three years while there was a rational one at hand, to be had for the taking. Man Dog Horse some It has taken five hundred years to simplify some of Chaucer’s rotten spelling—if I may be allowed to use so frank a term as that—and it will take five hundred more to get our exasperating new Simplified Corruptions accepted and running smoothly. And we sha’n’t be any better off then than we are now; for in that day we shall still have the privilege the Simplifiers are exercising now: can change the spelling that wants to. anybody It will always follow the SOUND. If you want to change the spelling, you have to change the sound first. But you can’t change the phonographic spelling; there isn’t any way. Mind, I myself am a Simplified Speller; I belong to that unhappy guild that is patiently and hopefully trying to reform our drunken old alphabet by reducing his whiskey. Well, it will improve him. When they get through and have reformed him all they can by their system he will be only HALF drunk. Above that condition their system can never lift him. There is no competent, and lasting, and real reform for him but to take away his whiskey entirely, and fill up his jug with Pitman’s wholesome and undiseased alphabet. One great drawback to Simplified Spelling is, that in print a simplified word looks so like the very nation! and when you bunch a whole squadron of the Simplified together the spectacle is very nearly unendurable. The da ma ov koars kum when the publik ma be expektd to get rekonsyled to the bezair asspekt of the Simplified Kombynashuns, but—if I may be allowed the expression—is it worth the wasted time? (Figure 8) To see our letters put together in ways to which we are not accustomed offends the eye, and also takes the out of the words. expression La on, Makduf, and damd be he hoo furst krys hold, enuf! It doesn’t thrill you as it used to do. The simplifications have sucked the thrill all out of it. But a written character with which we are does not offend us—Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Arabic, and the others—they have an interesting look, and we see beauty in them, too. And this is true of hieroglyphics, as well. There is something pleasant and engaging about the mathematical signs when we do not understand them. The mystery hidden in these things has a fascination for us: we can’t come across a printed page of shorthand without being impressed by it and wishing we could read it. not acquainted Very well, what I am offering for acceptance and adoption is not shorthand, but longhand, written with the . You can write three times as many words in a minute with it as you can write with our alphabet. And so, in a way, it properly a shorthand. It has a pleasant look, too; a beguiling look, an inviting look. I will write something in it, in my rude and untaught way: (Figure 9) Shorthand Alphabet Unreduced is Even when do it it comes out prettier than it does in Simplified Spelling. Yes, and in the Simplified it costs one hundred and twenty-three pen-strokes to write it, whereas in the phonographic it costs only twenty-nine. I (Figure 9) is probably (Figure 10). Let us hope so, anyway. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Mark Twain (2004). What Is Man? and Other Essays. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70/pg70-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

A SIMPLIFIED ALPHABET

Mastering the Meta-Skill of Learning

Modern biometric technology began in the 1960s, evolving into high-tech scanners that read bio-markers with an accuracy touching 100%. In 2020, biology-based science is disrupting the authentication industry — at speed. The future is now passwordless. 1960s — Exploration In 1960, scientists began identifying the physiological components of acoustic speech and phonic sounds. This was the precursor to modern voice recognition technology. In 1969, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pushed for automated fingerprint identification which led to the study of minutiae points to map unique patterns and ridges. 1970s and 1980s — FBI Funding By 1975, the first scanners to extract fingerprint points were prototyped, funded by the FBI. Digital storage costs were prohibitive, so the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) worked on compression and algorithms. The work at NIST led to the development of the M40 algorithm, the first operational matching algorithm used at the FBI. Used to narrow the human search, this algorithm produced a significantly smaller set of images that were then provided to trained and specialized human technicians for evaluation. Developments continued to improve the available fingerprint technology. — biometricupdate The NIST advanced speech, ocular, and face recognition by filing patents for iris identification and subcutaneous blood vessel patterns. Mugshots were digitized to databases. The 1990s — Biometric Science Takes Off The 1990s was a boom time for biometrics. Algebraic equations revealed that less than one hundred values could differentiate normalized face images. The National Security Agency (NSA) formed the Biometric Consortium. The Department of Defence (DoD) partnered with the Defense Advanced Research Products Agency (DARPA) to fund face recognition algorithms for commercial markets. Commercial products soon followed. Lockheed Martin contracted to build an automated fingerprint identification system for the FBI. CODIS (the FBI’s forensic DNA database) was born to digitally store, search, and retrieve DNA markers. Retrieval was bottlenecked because the data existed in silos and biomarker lab sequencing took hours. A network would soon facilitate the electronic mass exchange of stored bio-indicators. The 2000s — Rollout of Biometric Tech West Virginia University (WVU) established the first bachelor’s program in Biometric Systems and Computer Engineering. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standardized generic biometric technologies, promoting the collaborative exchange of international biometric research and development. Palm print biomarker tech made an appearance on the biometric stage. The European Biometric Forum was established to address market adoption and fragmentation barriers. Face recognition became the accepted global biometric authenticator for passports and other Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs). The United States immigration department used biometrics for visa applicants at ports of entry and exit to tighten security on offenders and facilitate travel for millions of legitimate travelers. The DoD gathered biometric data (fingerprints, face, voice samples, iris images, and DNA swabs) to track and identify national security threats. President Bush made personal identification cards mandatory for all government personnel and automated palm print databases were deployed statewide. In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security stopped a suspected terrorist at the border by cross-matching biometric data. 2010s — The Shift from State to Smartphones Biometric technology continued to power terrorist identification, but a shift happened in 2013 when Apple introduced Touch ID on the iPhone 5S. Biometrics was no longer strictly a government tool. It was now consumed by the public. Touch ID is heavily integrated into iOS devices, allowing users to unlock their device, as well as make purchases in the various Apple digital media stores (iTunes Store, the App Store, iBookstore), and to authenticate Apple Pay online or in apps. On announcing the feature, Apple made it clear that the fingerprint information is stored locally in a secure location on the Apple [chip], rather than being stored remotely on Apple servers or in iCloud, making it very difficult for external access. — Source: National Science & Technology Council 2020 — The Explosion Over the last 60 years, the barriers that made biometric authentication inaccessible for consumers, enterprises, and even code developers — the digital artisans of tech — were removed. Then, something happened in 2020: Momentum. The moving parts came together, catapulting biometric authentication into the mainstream. at the right time to facilitate the adoption of biometric authentication: Two technologies collided The science behind scanning sensors improved to almost perfect The use of smartphones went through the roof Scanning sensors integrated into smartphones The science behind biology-based scanners improved to near-zero error rates and the price of sensors went down. That made integrating scanning sensors into smartphones easy. Around 2010, Smartphone use exploded when 4G (LTE) wireless networks made streaming possible for millions of mobile consumers. Samsung and Apple built biometric fingerprint scanners into smartphones to authenticate the millions of smartphone users — and the public accepted this integration with open arms. Apple transitioned to face recognition with iPhone X. Now, 5G is poised to put the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data in back pockets, and standards bodies and groups like and W3C not only recognize biometrics but regulate it. FIDO The roadblocks that hindered biometrics have fallen away. Biology-based security as a futuristic concept has been replaced by widespread acceptance and a race to implement biometric tech — today. The Future of Biometric Authentication Technology constantly improves to combat threat actors’ efforts to find weaknesses in a system. But biometric technology is already at a secure state that supports its full-scale integration. Biometric authentication technology can charge forward because biometric traits are next to impossible to forge, algorithms continue to revolutionize, and hardware scanners are already at next-to-zero error rates. Facial recognition has already been deployed outside of phones, making itself known in airports and stadiums. Experts who study biometrics predict there will only be more options in the coming years, such as voice or heart-rate detection, signature authentication, and even devices that can tell who you are by the way you walk. The Pentagon is already working on tools for gait and heartbeat identification. — Washington Post As passwordless authentication gains support and stimulus by bodies like open standards, integrating biometric technology into browsers, smartphones, and outside world applications will only continue to grow and improve. It didn’t take us all that long to get here; sixty years brought us from science fiction prediction to real-world mass adoption. Where will we be in 2030? Predictions point to passwordless. FIDO Which biometric authentication technology will take off more than others is up in the air. In March of 2020, Google made Android devices (v7 and higher) certified. That means those users now log in without passwords. That same month, Microsoft, Dropbox, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox began integrating FIDO2 WebAuthn, an open web protocol approved by W3C. (source: ). FIDO2 The Verge Soon, risky password habits will fall into obscurity, and devices will recognize who we are automatically, open up, and let us get on with our lives. About LoginID LoginID is a comprehensive FIDO-based multifactor authentication solution that offers frictionless authentication. Created with developers and enterprises in mind, LoginID is FIDO-certified and adheres to P2D2 principles. With an implementation time of just one hour, LoginID’s multifactor authentication solution is a quick, simple to integrate, cost-effective, and regulatory compliant tool to give businesses peace of mind around data security. Also published on: https://medium.com/@LoginID/biometric-technology-a-brief-history-40f1a7d1af54

The History of Biometric Technology: From 1960 - 2020

We’re all leveraging open-source codes in one way or another. Let’s face it - tweaking and embedding ready-made solutions from Github or other public repositories rather than making them from scratch is a huge time (and money) saver. Actually, according to a made by ) in 2019., as of 2018., developers had access (on average) to more than 21,448 new open source component releases every day. In another report done by , 75 percent of the 950 IT leaders interviewed worldwide said that enterprise open source was very or extremely important. report on global open source software development Sonatype Red Hat State of Enterprise Open Source Report Needless to say, the demand for open-source components is soaring, yet you use these solutions without paying for them - meaning someone is building and maintaining components of the products you develop free of charge. This post won’t be focusing on the hard facts and stats about open-source culture, but on the 5 simple reasons why you should sponsor its contributors and creators. #1 Reward the problem solver The first one is kinda obvious, though technically - if something is available free of charge there’s no obligation on your side to pay for it. On the other hand, it’s something you should do just because it feels right, especially if you frequently use or depend on open source projects. It’s not about the amount, but about the kind act of support that often means the world to the person you’re sponsoring. There are platforms like , , or . Pick your problem solver and help them out. Github Sponsors Open Collective Snowdrift #2 Open-source developers encourage new solutions and drive improvements Most of the open-source creators make codes for free because problem-solving is something they enjoy. Sadly free isn’t sustainable. Making open source solutions in your free time as a side hustle isn’t a winning race. Some developers like launched their own sponsorships. It was a rocky road changing income streams from a stable full-time job to a donation dependent sponsorship, but now Caleb is able to further develop his solutions and work freely on problems that matter - all thanks to the support of the community and of course his sponsors. Caleb Porzio If you have a specific problem that needs attendance check out platforms like , , or and sponsor an open-source dev to do the work for you. Tidelift XS Code Issue Hunt #3 Awesome perks Sponsorship isn’t the same as a crowdfunding campaign, but that’s no reason why it should lack exciting and awesome perks. There’s a lot of ways of saying ‘thank you’, in their sponsorships, developers usually include cool perks (or sponsorship tiers) like their services, early access to their products, consulting, etc. As far as the perks go there’s no general rule of the thumb. In an ongoing , a offers branded company merch, exclusive screencasts, developer support, early access to the new features of their music sheet display repository, and even postcards from Vienna - personality signed and sent by the team. Github sponsorship Viennese music tech company #4 Sense of giving back to the community Give and you shall receive, and giving up so little means so much. However small, these generous donations enable developers to continue their work and enrich the public repositories with their solutions to coding problems. Your small donation is someone's monthly rent, food, monthly bills, or a morning cup of coffee. Considering that most of the commercial software is built with open-source components, it only seems fair to give back to the community. #5 Setting an example for support Seeing that a project is backed by many sponsors leaves tangible social proof and sheds light on its importance. By sponsoring open source projects you’re setting an example for others to follow. You’re also pumping wind in the sails of your favorite project’s further improvement. If you want to support Phonic Score’s latest project - the Open Sheet Music Player and gain access to the perks we’ve prepared - check out our sponsorship page . Any help in getting the word out is much appreciated, feel free to share the news with other music tech or open-source enthusiasts. You can try out the Music Sheet Display demo here or check out the video on Youtube on how to get started with OSMD . If you have any questions or would like to share your opinions and suggestions on the further development of our products write to us at support@opensheetmusicdisplay.org or add an issue in our repository . For general check-ins and getting in touch with me write to m.jurcic@phonicscore.com . Also published on Hashnode .

Why Sponsor Open Source Projects? Here's Five Simple Reasons

Hey Internet, I have a challenge for you. Yeah you. (If you want to see the video version of this watch here: ) https://youtu.be/h38g3ref8A8 Go on your iPhone or your Android, go to your settings, check your battery and examine your usage. When you go to do that. It’s going to be startling. I guarantee you, you’re spending way more time… caring about other peoples sh*t then you think! It’s wild how much time people spend just… looking at other peoples stuff. Just admiring what Sally is doing, or what Mike was up to. That’s an issue! If you’re spending 4,5,6 hours a week just blindly consuming content you’re missing out on what you could produce! What about yourself? What about you? That’s my point. Take 1 hour away from and app and gift it back to yourself to make something! Write a poem. Make a video. Exercise! For me thats what writing this is. I realized I was consuming way too much content. I was NEVER producing anything. I grew up making YouTube videos.. I had a big phase where I wanted to be a DJ so I made using ableton live. If you notice that you’re spending an absurd amount of time scrolling through the feed every single night or just catching that last tweet…Then take a minute and force yourself to make something. house music My Instagram usage is outrageous. Take a screenshot using #PhoneChallenge to join the party. It’s interesting to see what takes our time away from us. If you made it this far, thank you for taking time to read and I hope you take part in the #PhoneChallenge Say hi — we’ll be friends~ Instagram: Twitter: Snapchat: http://www.instagram.com/parxrex https://twitter.com/parkerrex https://www.snapchat.com/add/prex14

The #PhoneChallenge 😈📱

A Taxonomy of Inclusiveness

অন্তর্ভুক্তির একটি শ্রেণীবিন্যাস

Eine Taxonomie der Inklusivität

Una taxonomía de la inclusión

Une taxonomie de l’inclusivité

समावेशिता का एक वर्गीकरण

包括性の分類法

포괄성의 분류

Uma taxonomia de inclusão

Таксономия инклюзивности

Kapsayıcılığın Taksonomisi

Phân loại tính toàn diện

包容性分类

Scientific American Supplement, No. 392, July 7, 1883 by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . THE PRODUCTION OF FIRE. here THE PRODUCTION OF FIRE. In 1867 the Abbé Bourgeois found at Thenay, near Pont-levoy (Loir-et-Cher), in a marly bank belonging to the most ancient part of the middle Tertiary formation, fragments of silex which bore traces of the action of fire. This fire had not been lighted by accidental causes, for, says Mr. DeMortillet ( , p. 90), the causes of instantaneous conflagrations can be only volcanic fires, fermentations, and lightning. "Now, in the entire region there is no trace of volcanic action, and neither are there any traces of turfy or vegetable deposits capable of giving rise to spontaneous inflammations--phenomena that are always very rare and very exceptional, as are also conflagrations started by lightning. Well, in the Thenay marls, the pieces of silex that had undergone the action of fire were found disseminated at different levels, and this could not have been a simple accident, but was evidently something that had been done intentionally. There existed, then, during the Aquitanian epoch, a being who was acquainted with fire and knew how to produce it." Le Prehistorique Mr. De Mortillet supposes that this being was an animal intermediate between man and the monkey, which he calls the . anthropopithecus This precursor of man made use of fire for splitting silex and manufacturing from it instruments whose cutting edge he perfected by means of a series of retouchings produced by slight percussions upon one of the surfaces only. I shall not enter in this place upon a discussion as to the existence of an anthropopithecus or Tertiary man, whom every one does not as yet accept, but will confine myself to giving the facts as to the use of fire in the remotest epochs, incontestable proofs of which exist from the time at which Quaternary man made his appearance. How this was discovered is indicated, according to Aryan tradition, by the Vedic hymns. The ancestors of the Aryans, these tell us, had seen the lighting dart forth from the shock of black clouds. They had seen the spark that fired the forests issue from the friction of dry branches agitated by the storm. They took a branch of soft wood, , and passing a thong around a branch of hard wood, , they caused it to revolve rapidly in a cavity in the , and thus evoked the god , whom they nourished with libations of clarified butter, . arani pramontha arani Agni soma The , became the of the Greeks, the Titan who stole the fire, and it is from the Sanscrit that is derived the Latin , "fire," and the Greek Αγνος, "pure," and the of the Christians, who purifies all. Pramontha Prometheus Agni Ignis Agnus Dei Orientalists generally agree that the sign which is seen under the forms , , or , on a large number of objects of Aryan origin is a sort of sacred hieroglyphic, representing the or , formed of two pieces of soft wood fixed by four pins in such a way as not to revolve under the pressure of the Pramontha. arani svastika This process of producing fire is also found among a host of more or less savage peoples, and especially in India, where, during the last month of the great feast of sacrifices, the sacred fire must always be kindled three hundred and sixty times a day with nine different kinds of wood that are prescribed by the rite. Fig. 1 shows the arrangement in use among the Eskimos, and Fig. 2 that employed by the Indians of North America. In 1828 there still existed at Essen, in Hanover, an analogous apparatus designed to produce an alarm fire. This was a large, horizontal, round wooden bar whose extremities pivoted in two apertures formed in vertical posts, and which was provided with a cord that was wound around it several times. Several persons, by pulling on the ends of this cord, caused the bar to revolve alternately in one direction and the other, and the heat developed by the friction lighted some tow that had previously been inserted in one of the apertures in the post. It is certain that the alternate motion must have been produced directly by hand before being effected by cords. This simpler process is still in use in Tasmania, Australia, Polynesia, Kamtschatka, Thibet, Mexico, and among the Guanches of the Canary Isles, who are supposed to be the last representatives of the inhabitants of Atlantis, which sank under the waters at the close of the Quaternary epoch. Chamisso, who accompanied Kotzebue in his voyage, describes it as follows: "In the Caroline Islands, they rest a vertical piece of roundish wood, terminating in a point, and about a foot and a half in length and one inch in diameter, upon a second one fixed in the ground, and then give it a rotary motion by acting with the palms of the hands. This motion, which is at first slow and measured, is at length accelerated, while at the same time the pressure becomes stronger, whereupon the dust from the wood which has formed by friction and accumulated around the point of the movable piece begins to carbonize. This dust, which, after a fashion, constitutes a match, soon bursts into flame. The women of Eap are wonderfully dexterous in their use of this process." Fig. 3 shows another manner of obtaining fire by rotation which is employed by the Guachos, a half savage, pastoral people who inhabit the pampas of South America. Longitudinal friction must have preceded that obtained by rotation. It is still in use in most of the islands of Oceanica (Fig. 4), and especially in Tahiti and in the Sandwich Islands. In these latter, says again Chamisso, upon the fixed piece of wood they place another piece of the same kind, about the length of the palm, and press it obliquely at an angle of about 30 degrees. The extremity that touches the fixed piece is blunt, and the other extremity is held with the two hands, the two thumbs downward, in order to allow of a surer pressure. The piece is given an alternating motion, and in such a way that it shall always remain in the same plane inclined at an angle of 30 degrees, and form, through friction, a small groove from six to eight centimeters in length. When the dust thus produced begins to carbonize, the pressure and velocity are increased. Wood of a homogeneous texture, neither too hard nor too soft, is the best for the purpose. The Malays operate as follows: A dry bamboo rod, about a foot in length, is split longitudinally, and the pith which lines the inside is scraped off, pressed, and made into a small ball which is afterward placed in the center of the cavity of one of the halves of the tube. This latter half is then fixed to the ground in such a way that the cavity and ball face downward. The operator next fashions the other half of the tube into a straight cutting instrument like a knife-blade, which he applies transversely to the fixed half and gives an alternating motion so as to produce a sort of sawing. After a certain length of time, a groove, and finally a hole, is produced. The cutting edge of the instrument is then so hot that it sets on fire the ball with which it has come in contact. Some peoples, the Fuegians especially, procure fire by striking together two flints. In the Aleutian Islands these latter, having been previously covered with sulphur, are struck against each other over a small saucer of dry moss dusted with sulphur. The Eskimos employ for this purpose pieces of quartz and iron pyrites. In the Sandwich Islands recourse is had to a process that necessitates much skill. There is arranged in a large dry leaf, rolled into the shape of a funnel, a certain number of flints along with some easily combustible twigs. On attaching the leaf to the end of a rod, and revolving the latter rapidly, it is said that fire is produced. Processes that are based upon the clashing of two flint stones must be much more inconvenient of application than we would be led to suppose. We are, in fact, accustomed to see the flint and steel used, but here the spark is a bit of iron raised to red heat through a mechanical action that has violently detached it from the mass under the form of a small sliver. In the case of two flint stones, the light that is perceived is of an entirely different nature, for it is a phosphorescence which is produced, even by a very slight friction, not only between two pieces of silex, but also between two pieces of quartz, porcelain, or sugar; and that the heat developed is but slight is proved by the fact that the phenomenon may occur under water. Of course, fragments of stones may be raised to a red heat through percussion; but this does not often occur, so for this reason the Fuegians keep up with the greatest care the fires that they have lighted, and it is this very peculiarity that has given their country a characteristic aspect and caused it to be named Terra del Fuego (land of fire). When they change their residence they always carry with them a few lighted embers which rest in their canoes upon a bed of pebbles or ashes. The same thing occurs, moreover, among the Australians and Tasmanians, who employ, as we have just seen, the rotary process. There are women among these peoples whose special mission it is to carry day and night lighted torches or cones made of a substance that burns slowly like punk. When, through accident, the fire happens to get extinguished in a tribe, these people often prefer to undertake a long voyage in order to obtain another light from a neighboring tribe rather than have recourse to a direct production of it. We can understand from what is still taking place in these distant countries why the worship of fire should have existed among our ancestors, and why sacerdotal associations, such as the Brahmins of India, the Guebers of Persia, the Vestals of Rome, the priests of Baal in Chaldea and Phenicia should have been specially instituted for producing and preserving it. Plutarch narrates (Numa, chap. ii.) that when the sacred fire happened to go out, there was employed for relighting it a brass mirror that had the form of a cone generated by the hypothenuse of an isosceles rectangular triangle revolving around one of the sides of the right angle. In a poem upon stones attributed to Orpheus, it is said that the sacred fire was also lighted by a bit of crystal which concentrated the rays of the sun upon the material to be inflamed. This process must have been the one that was most usually employed before fire became common. In fact, a plano-convex crystal lens has been found among the ruins of Nineveh. Aristophanes, in the , puts on the stage a coarse personage named Strepsiades, who points out to Socrates how he must manage so as not to pay his debts: Clouds "Streps.--Hast thou seen among druggists that beautiful transparent stone that they employ for lighting a fire? "Socr.--Thou meanest glass. "Streps.--Yes. "Socr.--Well! what wouldst thou do with it? "Streps.--When the registrar shall have made out his summons against me, I will take the glass, and, placing myself thus in the sun, will cause his writing to melt." As well known, writing was then traced on waxen tablets. Servius (in ., xii., 200) affirms that men of ancient times, instead of lighting fire upon the altar themselves, in their sacrifices, caused it to descend from heaven. He adds, according to Pliny, Titus Livius, and several old Latin historians, that Numa, who was initiated into all the wisdom of Etruria, practiced this art with success, but that Tullius Hostilius, having desired to repeat the evocation, guided only by the books of Numa, did not accomplish all the formalities prescribed by the rite and was struck dead by lightning. Æn Is it not curious that twenty-four centuries afterward, in 1753, the physicist Reichman was killed by lightning in trying to repeat Franklin's experiment? This coincidence, however, is not the only one. Pliny (ii., 53) recounts that lightning was evoked by King Porsenna at the time when a monster named , who was ravaging the country, was directing himself toward the capital, Volsinies. Volta If we return to the Vedas, who had the habit of personifying all phenomena, we shall find that the fire Agni was the son of the carpenter who had manufactured the instrument by which it was produced, and of (magic). He took the name of Akta (anointed, [Greek: christos]) when, nourished by libations of butter, he had acquired his full development. The Persians attributed likewise to Zoroaster the power of causing fire to descend from heaven through magic. Saint Clement of Alexandria ( ., lib. iv.) and Gregory of Tours ( , i., 5) speak of this. However this may be, the marvelous art was lost at an early date, for it was at such a date that priests began to have recourse to tricks that were more or less ingenious for lighting their sacred fireplaces in an apparently supernatural manner.-- . Maya Recog Hist. de Fr. A. De Rochas, in La Nature About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2005). Scientific American Supplement, No. 392, July 7, 1883. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8742/pg8742-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

THE PRODUCTION OF FIRE

Scientific American Supplement, No. 711, August 17, 1889, by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . GIBRALTAR. here GIBRALTAR. The point or rock known as Gibraltar is a promontory two and one-half miles long and from a quarter to three-quarters of a mile wide. It rises abruptly from the sandy shore to a height at its highest point of 1,408 ft. It is composed of gray limestone, honeycombed with caves and subterranean passages, some of which contain most beautiful stalactites in the form of massive pillars. Gibraltar is emphatically a fortress, and in some respects its fortifications are unique. On the eastern side the rock needs no defense beyond its own precipitous cliffs, and in all other directions it has been rendered practically impregnable. Besides a sea wall extending at intervals round the western base of the rock, and strengthened by curtains and bastions and three formidable forts, there are batteries in all available positions from the sea wall up to the summit, 1,350 feet above the sea, and a remarkable series of galleries has been hewn out of the solid face of the rock toward the north and northwest. These galleries have an aggregate length of between two and three miles, and their breadth is sufficient to let a carriage pass. Portholes are cut at intervals of twelve yards, so contrived that the gunners are safe from the shot of any possible assailants. At the end of one of the galleries hollowed out in a prominent part of the cliff is St. George's Hall, 50 feet long by 85 feet wide, in which the governor was accustomed to give fetes. Alterations, extensions, and improvements are continually taking place in the defensive system, and new guns of the most formidable sort are gradually displacing or supplementing the old fashioned ordnance. The whole population of Gibraltar, whether civil or military, is subjected to certain stringent rules. For even a day's sojourn the alien must obtain a pass from the town major, and if he wish to remain longer, a consul or householder must become security for his good behavior. Licenses of residence are granted only for short periods—ten, fifteen, or twenty days—but they can be renewed if occasion require. Military officers may introduce a stranger for thirty days. A special permit is necessary if the visitor wishes to sketch. Though the town of Gibraltar may be said to date from the fourteenth century, it has preserved very little architectural evidence of its antiquity. Rebuilt on an enlarged and improved plan after its almost complete destruction during the great siege, it is still, on the whole, a mean-looking town, with narrow streets and lanes and an incongruous mixture of houses after the English and the Spanish types. As a proprietor may at any moment be called upon to give up his house and ground at the demand of the military authorities, he is naturally deterred from spending his money on substantial or sumptuous erections. The area of the town is about one hundred acres. Gibraltar was known to the Greek and Roman geographers as Calpe or Alybe, the two names being probably corruptions of the same local (perhaps Phenician) word. The eminence on the African coast near Ceuta, which bears the modern English name of Apes' Hill, was then designated Abyla; and Calpe and Abyla, at least according to an ancient and widely current interpretation, formed the renowned pillars of Hercules (Herculis columnæ), which for centuries were the limits of enterprise to the seafaring peoples of the Mediterranean world. The strategic importance of the rock appears to have been first discovered by the Moors, who, when they crossed over from Africa in the eighth century, selected it as the site of a fortress. From their leader, Tarik Ibn Zeyad, it was called Gebel Tarik or Tarik's Hill; and, though the name had a competitor in Gebel af Futah, or Hill of the Entrance, it gradually gained acceptance, and still remains sufficiently recognizable in the corrupted form of the present day. The first siege of the rock was in 1309, when it was taken by Alonzo Perez de Guzman for Ferdinand IV. of Spain, who, in order to attract inhabitants to the spot, offered an asylum to swindlers, thieves, and murderers, and promised to levy no taxes on the import or export of goods. The attack of Ismail Ben Ferez, in 1315 (second siege), was frustrated; but in 1333 Vasco Paez de Meira, having allowed the fortifications and garrison to decay, was obliged to capitulate to Mahomet IV. (third siege). Alphonso's attempts to recover possession (fourth siege) were futile, though pertinacious and heroic, and he was obliged to content himself with a tribute for the rock from Abdul Melek of Granada; but after his successful attack on Algeciras in 1344 he was encouraged to try his fortune again at Gibraltar. In 1349 he invested the rock, but the siege (fifth siege) was brought to an untimely close by his death from the plague in February, 1350. The next or sixth siege resulted simply in the transference of the coveted position from the hands of the King of Morocco to those of Yussef III. of Granada; and the seventh, undertaken by the Spanish Count of Niebla, Enrico de Guzman, proved fatal to the besieger and his forces. In 1462, however, success attended the efforts of Alphonso de Arcos (eighth siege), and in August the rock passed once more under Christian sway. The Duke of Medina Sidonia, a powerful grandee who had assisted in its capture, was anxious to get possession of the fortress, and though Henry IV. at first managed to maintain the claims of the crown, the duke ultimately made good his ambition by force of arms (ninth siege), and in 1469 the king was constrained to declare his son and his heirs perpetual governors of Gibraltar. In 1479 Ferdinand and Isabella made the second duke Marquis of Gibraltar, and in 1492 the third duke, Don Juan, was reluctantly allowed to retain the fortress. At length, in 1501, Garcilaso de la Vega was ordered to take possession of the place in the king's name, and it was formally incorporated with the domains of the crown. After Ferdinand and Isabella were both dead the duke, Don Juan, tried in 1506 to recover possession, and added a tenth to the list of sieges. Thirty-four years afterward the garrison had to defend itself against a much more formidable attack (eleventh siege)—the pirates of Algiers having determined to recover the rock for Mahomet and themselves. The conflict was severe, but resulted in the repulse of the besiegers. After this the Spaniards made great efforts to strengthen the place, and they succeeded so well that throughout Europe Gibraltar was regarded as impregnable. In the course of the war of the Spanish succession, however, it was taken by a combined English and Dutch fleet under Sir George Rooke, assisted by a body of troops under Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt. The captors had ostensibly fought in the interests of Charles Archduke of Austria (afterward Charles III.), but, though his sovereignty over the rock was proclaimed on July 24, 1704, Sir George Rooke on his own responsibility caused the English flag to be hoisted, and took possession in name of Queen Anne. It is hardly to the honor of England that it was both unprincipled enough to sanction and ratify the occupation and ungrateful enough to leave unrewarded the general to whose unscrupulous patriotism the acquisition was due. The Spaniards keenly felt the injustice done to them, and the inhabitants of the town of Gibraltar in great numbers abandoned their homes rather than recognize the authority of the invaders. In October, 1704, the rock was invested by sea and land; but the Spanish ships were dispersed by Sir John Leake, and the Marquis of Villadarias fared so ill with his forces that he was replaced by Marshal Tesse, who was at length compelled to raise the siege in April, 1705. During the next twenty years there were endless negotiations for the peaceful surrender of the fortress, and in 1726 the Spaniards again appealed to arms. But the Conde de la Torres, who had the chief command, succeeded no better than his predecessors, and the defense of the garrison under General Clayton and the Earl of Portmore was so effectual that the armistice of June 23 practically put a close to the siege, though two years elapsed before the general pacification ensued. The most memorable siege of Gibraltar, indeed one of the most memorable of all sieges, was that which it sustained from the combined land and sea forces of France and Spain during the years 1779-1783. The grand attack on the place was made on the 13th September, 1782, and all the resources of power and science were exhausted by the assailants in the fruitless attempt. On the side of the sea they brought to bear against the fortress forty-six sail of the line and a countless fleet of gun and mortar boats. But their chief hope lay in the floating batteries planned by D'Arcon, an eminent French engineer, and built at the cost of half a million sterling. They were so constructed as to be impenetrable by the red hot shot which it was foreseen the garrison would employ; and such hopes were entertained of their efficiency that they were styled invincible. The Count D'Artois (afterward Charles X.) hastened from Paris to witness the capture of the place. He arrived in time to see the total destruction of the floating batteries and a considerable portion of the combined fleet by the English fire. Despite this disaster, however, the siege continued till brought to a close by the general pacification, February 2, 1783. The history of the four eventful years' siege is fully detailed in the work of Drinkwater, who himself took part in the defense, and in the life of its gallant defender Sir George Augustus Eliott, afterward Lord Heathfield, whose military skill and moral courage place him among the best soldiers and noblest men whom Europe produced during the 18th century. Since 1783 the history of Gibraltar has been comparatively uneventful. In the beginning of 1801 there were rumors of a Spanish and French attack, but the Spanish ships were defeated off Algeciras in June by Admiral Saumarez. Improvements in the fortifications, maintenance of military discipline, and legislation in regard to trade and smuggling are the principal matters of recent interest. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2004). Scientific American Supplement, No. 711, August 17, 1889. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/16972/pg16972-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

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