Posts Tagged ‘Frame Images’

pcworld_portsmouth_030506_philips

A few nice philips photo frame images I found:

pcworld_portsmouth_030506_philips


Image by cpchannel

pcworld_salisbury_100506_philipa_frame


Image by cpchannel

DSC00018


Image by reyescarl

Nice Philips Digital Frame photos

Some cool philips digital frame images:

PCW (28)


Image by cpchannel

3 of 3 1942 Dredging in Morro Bay CA (circa 1942 photographer is unknown)

Some cool best digital picture frame images:

3 of 3 1942 Dredging in Morro Bay CA (circa 1942 photographer is unknown)


Image by mikebaird
This documents the mat and image size for producing a comparable 2009 shot: Mat 11"x10"; photo 9"x6.5"
3 of 3 1942 Dredging in Morro Bay CA. (circa 1942 photographer is unknown) Charlene Odekirk, Rosemary Olszewski asked me to take a photo of present-day 2009 Morro Bay dredging operations from the same perspective as the 1942 dredging photo she showed to me. It was suggested (by Rouvaishyana?) that the two images might be hung together in the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History for visitor interest. I have included a couple of candidate photos, as the current dredging setup barely shows in the image taken from the same point as the machinery is located further out at the Rock and is tiny in the image. I have posted the present-day image candidates at the set at www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/sets/72157622715084937/ (I have also included some iPhone shots of the 1942 image just for perspective – they are NOT of reproduction quality). You can download the full-resolution versions of the photos in this set (you may need to login, and select "all sizes") and print it, or click "order prints" and it can be fulfilled online. I turned my printer off over two year ago and now outsource all my limited printing needs to mpix.com or the like. I wanted to suggest that to really demonstrate the changes over time, that the new image(s) not be a print, but simply a photo, or better, a video, displayed in one of those inexpensive LCD digital picture frames that PJ used to promote my Click-Click product in 2008. Anyway, I can’t resist pushing people’s technical buttons. I have repeatedly suggested that museum displays that are visual only and not consist of palpable or 3-dimensional objects, be rendered via HD programmable LCD displays (a suggestion for the museum improvements committee?). Imagine, exhibits that never fade and can be incrementally improved at no cost! Best! Mike Baird Mike Baird mike [at} mikebaird d o t com flickr.bairdphotos.com

1 of 3 1942 Dredging in Morro Bay (circa 1942 photographer is unknown)


Image by mikebaird
1 of 3 1942 Dredging in Morro Bay CA. (circa 1942 photographer is unknown) Charlene Odekirk, Rosemary Olszewski asked me to take a photo of present-day 2009 Morro Bay dredging operations from the same perspective as the 1942 dredging photo she showed to me. It was suggested (by Rouvaishyana?) that the two images might be hung together in the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History for visitor interest. I have included a couple of candidate photos, as the current dredging setup barely shows in the image taken from the same point as the machinery is located further out at the Rock and is tiny in the image. I have posted the present-day image candidates at the set at www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/sets/72157622715084937/ (I have also included some iPhone shots of the 1942 image just for perspective – they are NOT of reproduction quality). You can download the full-resolution versions of the photos in this set (you may need to login, and select "all sizes") and print it, or click "order prints" and it can be fulfilled online. I turned my printer off over two year ago and now outsource all my limited printing needs to mpix.com or the like. I wanted to suggest that to really demonstrate the changes over time, that the new image(s) not be a print, but simply a photo, or better, a video, displayed in one of those inexpensive LCD digital picture frames that PJ used to promote my Click-Click product in 2008. Anyway, I can’t resist pushing people’s technical buttons. I have repeatedly suggested that museum displays that are visual only and not consist of palpable or 3-dimensional objects, be rendered via HD programmable LCD displays (a suggestion for the museum improvements committee?). Imagine, exhibits that never fade and can be incrementally improved at no cost! Best! Mike Baird Mike Baird mike [at} mikebaird d o t com flickr.bairdphotos.com

20 Nov 2009 Photo of Morro Bay Harbor more-or-less from the perspective of a 1942 photo


Image by mikebaird
20 Nov 2009 Photo of Morro Bay Harbor more-or-less from the perspective of a 1942 photo (ref. set www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/sets/72157622715084937/ ) showing original dredging operations before the Embarcadero was built up. Charlene Odekirk, Rosemary Olszewski asked me to take a photo of present-day 2009 Morro Bay dredging operations from the same perspective as the 1942 dredging photo she showed to me. It was suggested (by Rouvaishyana?) that the two images might be hung together in the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History for visitor interest. I have included a couple of candidate photos, as the current dredging setup barely shows in the image taken from the same point as the machinery is located further out at the Rock and is tiny in the image. www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/2303222094 is one location I recommend for the "2009" version. This one taken 3/1/09 does not have the dredging equipment visible of course but really shows the new harbor. I here posted other present-day image candidates at the set at www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/sets/72157622715084937/ (I have also included some iPhone shots of the 1942 image just for perspective – they are NOT of reproduction quality). You can download the full-resolution versions of the photos in this set (you may need to login, and select "all sizes") and print it, or click "order prints" and it can be fulfilled online. I turned my printer off over two year ago and now outsource all my limited printing needs to mpix.com or the like. I wanted to suggest that to really demonstrate the changes over time, that the new image(s) not be a print, but simply a photo, or better, a video, displayed in one of those inexpensive LCD digital picture frames that PJ used to promote my Click-Click product in 2008. Anyway, I can’t resist pushing people’s technical buttons. I have repeatedly suggested that museum displays that are visual only and not consist of palpable or 3-dimensional objects, be rendered via HD programmable LCD displays (a suggestion for the museum improvements committee?). Imagine, exhibits that never fade and can be incrementally improved at no cost! You might also ask "Morro Rock, Morro Bay, CA. What did it Look Like between the Mainland and the Rock from the Late 1800′s until Today?" My morro-bay.com/historical/ link to morro-bay.com/morro-rock/ – this page is full of maps and photos showing answers to questions of before and after. Check it out. Best! Mike Baird – Mike Baird mike [at} mikebaird d o t com flickr.bairdphotos.com

Cool Sony Digital Picture Frame images

Some cool sony digital picture frame images:

Where I flickr


Image by dalydose
My little computer home/office.

NikonD20F

Check out these digital spectrum frame images:

NikonD20F


Image by orb9220
Recent NYC Craigslist Posting. Someone had a sense of humor.

Nikon D20F Body (Release 2012) – 00

This is a Nikon D20F Camera Japan. Nikon’s Workhorse Digital Camera. ,500 New in Box. This Camera is Like Having a Portable Space Hubble Telescope in Your Hands.

This camera is not available anywhere yet, scheduled to be announced October 2012 in USA.

I have only (5) Units, one for me, 4 to sell.
I work in Japan, and got 5 units from the production line, they thought I got only one.
The price will be ,599 in 2012 when in full production.
Very Few Units Were Produced, Without Inventory Count. Aprox 50 Units.
This Camera is Way Too Advanced For Today. Features Unheard of.
* 30.4 Megapixels.
* Single, or 3 to15 Frames Per Sec. You Are The Boss, You Dial It In.
* Full FX Frame.
* (BAT) Bio-Acquire Technology, For The Colors And Luminance of Light in
The Visible Spectrum, Infra-Red & UV for Insects, Plants, People, Atmosphere, Sky, Water
and Virtually Everything. Too Advanced To Explain Now in Detail. (Space Hubble Telescope Features).
* Full Automatic & Full Manual Override.
* Nano Color Technology. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature).
* Full Infra-Red & UV Color Capabilities (400 nm – 300 nm) for
Photography in Anything from Minerals to Astronomy and UFOs. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature).
* Nano Lenses Coupling as Per Wavelengths (Visible, UV or IR). (Space Hubble Telescope Feature).
* In-Sensor Nano lenses.
* Integrated Color Spectrometer & Filters For InfraRed and UV Applications. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature).
* (AMA) Astronomy Magnetometer Activation, With Imaging to IR & UV Sensor. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature).
* Spectrophotometry Color Correction for All Filtration in Any Application With IR and UV. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature).
* Matched Contrast Correction, Enhancement & Balance for B&W and Color InfraRed. (Space Hubble Telescope Feature).
* Many More Features.
Camera Body is Sold With all Manuals and Manufacturer Box.

glass


Image by Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden
A glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline) solid material. Glasses are typically brittle, and often optically transparent. Glass is commonly used for windows, bottles, modern hard drives and eyewear; examples of glassy materials include soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass, acrylic glass, sugar glass, Muscovy-glass, and aluminium oxynitride. The term glass developed in the late Roman Empire. It was in the Roman glassmaking center at Trier, now in modern Germany, that the late-Latin term glesum originated, probably from a Germanic word for a transparent, lustrous substance.

Strictly speaking, a glass is defined as an inorganic product of fusion which has been cooled through its glass transition to the solid state without crystallising. Many glasses contain silica as their main component and glass former. The term "glass" is, however, often extended to all amorphous solids (and melts that easily form amorphous solids), including plastics, resins, or other silica-free amorphous solids. In addition, besides traditional melting techniques, any other means of preparation are considered, such as ion implantation, and the sol-gel method. Commonly, glass science and physics deal only with inorganic amorphous solids, while plastics and similar organics are covered by polymer science, biology and further scientific disciplines.

Glass plays an essential role in science and industry. The optical and physical properties of glass make it suitable for applications such as flat glass, container glass, optics and optoelectronics material, laboratory equipment, thermal insulator (glass wool), reinforcement fiber (glass-reinforced plastic, glass fiber reinforced concrete), and art.

History

The history of creating glass can be traced back to 3500 BCE in Mesopotamia.

Glass production

Glass ingredients

Pure silica (SiO2) has a "glass melting point"— at a viscosity of 10 Pa·s (100 P)— of over 2300 °C (4200 °F). While pure silica can be made into glass for special applications (see fused quartz), other substances are added to common glass to simplify processing. One is sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), which lowers the melting point to about 1500 °C (2700 °F) in soda-lime glass; "soda" refers to the original source of sodium carbonate in the soda ash obtained from certain plants. However, the soda makes the glass water soluble, which is usually undesirable, so lime (calcium oxide (CaO), generally obtained from limestone), some magnesium oxide (MgO) and aluminium oxide (Al2O3) are added to provide for a better chemical durability. The resulting glass contains about 70 to 74% silica by weight and is called a soda-lime glass.[8] Soda-lime glasses account for about 90% of manufactured glass.

As well as soda and lime, most common glass has other ingredients added to change its properties. Lead glass or flint glass, is more ‘brilliant’ because the increased refractive index causes noticeably more "sparkles", while boron may be added to change the thermal and electrical properties, as in Pyrex. Adding barium also increases the refractive index. Thorium oxide gives glass a high refractive index and low dispersion and was formerly used in producing high-quality lenses, but due to its radioactivity has been replaced by lanthanum oxide in modern eye glasses. Large amounts of iron are used in glass that absorbs infrared energy, such as heat absorbing filters for movie projectors, while cerium(IV) oxide can be used for glass that absorbs UV wavelengths.

Another common glass ingredient is "cullet" (recycled glass). The recycled glass saves on raw materials and energy. However, impurities in the cullet can lead to product and equipment failure.

Finally, fining agents such as sodium sulfate, sodium chloride, or antimony oxide are added to reduce the bubble content in the glass.[8] Glass batch calculation is the method by which the correct raw material mixture is determined to achieve the desired glass composition.

Composition and properties
There are three classes of components for oxide glasses: network formers, intermediates, and modifiers. The network formers (silicon, boron, germanium) form a highly crosslinked network of chemical bonds. The intermediates (titanium, aluminium, zirconium, beryllium, magnesium, zinc) can act as both network formers and modifiers, according to the glass composition. The modifiers (calcium, lead, lithium, sodium, potassium) alter the network structure; they are usually present as ions, compensated by nearby non-bridging oxygen atoms, bound by one covalent bond to the glass network and holding one negative charge to compensate for the positive ion nearby. Some elements can play multiple roles; e.g. lead can act both as a network former (Pb4+ replacing Si4+), or as a modifier.

The presence of non-bridging oxygens lowers the relative number of strong bonds in the material and disrupts the network, decreasing the viscosity of the melt and lowering the melting temperature.

The alkaline metal ions are small and mobile; their presence in glass allows a degree of electrical conductivity, especially in molten state or at high temperature. Their mobility however decreases the chemical resistance of the glass, allowing leaching by water and facilitating corrosion. Alkaline earth ions, with their two positive charges and requirement for two non-bridging oxygen ions to compensate for their charge, are much less mobile themselves and also hinder diffusion of other ions, especially the alkalis. The most common commercial glasses contain both alkali and alkaline earth ions (usually sodium and calcium), for easier processing and satisfying corrosion resistance.[9] Corrosion resistance of glass can be achieved by dealkalization, removal of the alkali ions from the glass surface by reaction with e.g. sulfur or fluorine compounds. Presence of alkaline metal ions has also detrimental effect to the loss tangent of the glass, and to its electrical resistance; glasses for electronics (sealing, vacuum tubes, lamps…) have to take this in account.

Addition of lead(II) oxide lowers melting point, lowers viscosity of the melt, and increases refractive index. Lead oxide also facilitates solubility of other metal oxides and therefore is used in colored glasses. The viscosity decrease of lead glass melt is very significant (roughly 100 times in comparison with soda glasses); this allows easier removal of bubbles and working at lower temperatures, hence its frequent use as an additive in vitreous enamels and glass solders. The high ionic radius of the Pb2+ ion renders it highly immobile in the matrix and hinders the movement of other ions; lead glasses therefore have high electrical resistance, about two orders of magnitude higher than soda-lime glass (108.5 vs 106.5 Ohm·cm, DC at 250 °C). For more details, see lead glass.

Addition of fluorine lowers the dielectric constant of glass. Fluorine is highly electronegative and attracts the electrons in the lattice, lowering the polarizability of the material. Such silicon dioxide-fluoride is used in manufacture of integrated circuits as an insulator. High levels of fluorine doping lead to formation of volatile SiF2O and such glass is then thermally unstable. Stable layers were achieed with dielectric constant down to about 3.5–3.7.
Contemporary glass production
Following the glass batch preparation and mixing, the raw materials are transported to the furnace. Soda-lime glass for mass production is melted in gas fired units. Smaller scale furnaces for specialty glasses include electric melters, pot furnaces, and day tanks.

After melting, homogenization and refining (removal of bubbles), the glass is formed. Flat glass for windows and similar applications is formed by the float glass process, developed between 1953 and 1957 by Sir Alastair Pilkington and Kenneth Bickerstaff of the UK’s Pilkington Brothers, who created a continuous ribbon of glass using a molten tin bath on which the molten glass flows unhindered under the influence of gravity. The top surface of the glass is subjected to nitrogen under pressure to obtain a polished finish. Container glass for common bottles and jars is formed by blowing and pressing methods. Further glass forming techniques are summarized in the table Glass forming techniques.

Once the desired form is obtained, glass is usually annealed for the removal of stresses. Surface treatments, coatings or lamination may follow to improve the chemical durability (glass container coatings, glass container internal treatment), strength (toughened glass, bulletproof glass, windshields), or optical properties (insulated glazing, anti-reflective coating).

Glassmaking in the laboratory

New chemical glass compositions or new treatment techniques can be initially investigated in small-scale laboratory experiments. The raw materials for laboratory-scale glass melts are often different from those used in mass production because the cost factor has a low priority. In the laboratory mostly pure chemicals are used. Care must be taken that the raw materials have not reacted with moisture or other chemicals in the environment (such as alkali oxides and hydroxides, alkaline earth oxides and hydroxides, or boron oxide), or that the impurities are quantified (loss on ignition). Evaporation losses during glass melting should be considered during the selection of the raw materials, e.g., sodium selenite may be preferred over easily evaporating SeO2. Also, more readily reacting raw materials may be preferred over relatively inert ones, such as Al(OH)3 over Al2O3. Usually, the melts are carried out in platinum crucibles to reduce contamination from the crucible material. Glass homogeneity is achieved by homogenizing the raw materials mixture (glass batch), by stirring the melt, and by crushing and re-melting the first melt. The obtained glass is usually annealed to prevent breakage during processing.

In order to make glass from materials with poor glass forming tendencies, novel techniques are used to increase cooling rate, or reduce crystal nucleation triggers. Examples of these techniques include aerodynamic levitation (the melt is cooled whilst floating in a gas stream), splat quenching, (the melt is pressed between two metal anvils) and roller quenching (the melt is poured through rollers).

Physics of glass

The standard definition of a glass (or vitreous solid) is a solid formed by rapid melt quenching. If the cooling is sufficiently rapid (relative to the characteristic crystallization time) then crystallization is prevented and instead the disordered atomic configuration of the supercooled liquid is frozen into the solid state at the glass transition temperature Tg. Generally, the structure of a glass exists in a metastable state with respect to its crystalline form, although in certain circumstances, for example in atactic polymers, there is no crystalline analogue of the amorphous phase. As in other amorphous solids, the atomic structure of a glass lacks any long range translational periodicity. However, due to chemical bonding characteristics glasses do possess a high degree of short-range order with respect to local atomic polyhedra.[19] It is deemed that the bonding structure of glasses, although disordered, has the same symmetry signature (Hausdorff-Besicovitch dimensionality) as for crystalline materials.
Glass versus a supercooled liquid

Glass is generally classed as an amorphous solid rather than a liquid.Glass displays all the mechanical properties of a solid. The notion that glass flows to an appreciable extent over extended periods of time is not supported by empirical research or theoretical analysis (see viscosity of amorphous materials). From a more commonsense point of view, glass should be considered a solid since it is rigid according to everyday experience.

Some people consider glass to be a liquid due to its lack of a first-order phase transition where certain thermodynamic variables such as volume, entropy and enthalpy are discontinuous through the glass transition range. However, the glass transition may be described as analogous to a second-order phase transition where the intensive thermodynamic variables such as the thermal expansivity and heat capacity are continuous. Despite this, the equilibrium theory of phase transformations in solids does not entirely hold for glass, and hence the glass transition cannot be classed as one of the classical equilibrium phase transformations in solids.

Although the atomic structure of glass shares characteristics of the structure in a supercooled liquid, glass tends to behave as a solid below its glass transition temperature. A supercooled liquid behaves as a liquid, but it is below the freezing point of the material, and will crystallize almost instantly if a crystal is added as a core. The change in heat capacity at a glass transition and a melting transition of comparable materials are typically of the same order of magnitude, indicating that the change in active degrees of freedom is comparable as well. Both in a glass and in a crystal it is mostly only the vibrational degrees of freedom that remain active, whereas rotational and translational motion is arrested. This helps to explain why both crystalline and non-crystalline solids exhibit rigidity on most experimental time scales.

Behavior of antique glass
The observation that old windows are often thicker at the bottom than at the top is often offered as supporting evidence for the view that glass flows over a matter of centuries. It is then assumed that the glass was once uniform, but has flowed to its new shape, which is a property of liquid.[25] In actuality, the reason for this is that when panes of glass were commonly made by glassblowers, the technique used was to spin molten glass so as to create a round, mostly flat and even plate (the crown glass process, described above). This plate was then cut to fit a window. The pieces were not, however, absolutely flat; the edges of the disk became thicker as the glass spun. When actually installed in a window frame, the glass would be placed thicker side down both for the sake of stability and to prevent water accumulating in the lead cames at the bottom of the window.[26] Occasionally such glass has been found thinner side down or thicker on either side of the window’s edge, as would be caused by carelessness at the time of installation.

Mass production of glass window panes in the early twentieth century caused a similar effect. In glass factories, molten glass was poured onto a large cooling table and allowed to spread. The resulting glass is thicker at the location of the pour, located at the center of the large sheet. These sheets were cut into smaller window panes with nonuniform thickness, typically with the location of the pour centred in one of the panes (known as "bull’s-eyes") for decorative effect. Modern glass intended for windows is produced as float glass and is very uniform in thickness.

Several other points exemplify the misconception of the "cathedral glass" theory:

Writing in the American Journal of Physics, physicist Edgar D. Zanotto states "…the predicted relaxation time for GeO2 at room temperature is 1032 years. Hence, the relaxation period (characteristic flow time) of cathedral glasses would be even longer." (1032 years is many times longer than the estimated age of the Universe.)
If medieval glass has flowed perceptibly, then ancient Roman and Egyptian objects should have flowed proportionately more — but this is not observed. Similarly, prehistoric obsidian blades should have lost their edge; this is not observed either (although obsidian may have a different viscosity from window glass).
If glass flows at a rate that allows changes to be seen with the naked eye after centuries, then the effect should be noticeable in antique telescopes. Any slight deformation in the antique telescopic lenses would lead to a dramatic decrease in optical performance, a phenomenon that is not observed.
There are many examples of centuries-old glass shelving which has not bent, even though it is under much higher stress from gravitational loads than vertical window glass.
Some glasses have a glass transition temperature close to or below room temperature. The behavior of a material that has a glass transition close to room temperature depends upon the timescale during which the material is manipulated. If the material is hit it may break like a solid glass, but if the material is left on a table for a week it may flow like a liquid. This simply means that for the fast timescale its transition temperature is above room temperature, but for the slow one it is below. The shift in temperature with timescale is not very large however, as indicated by the transition of polypropylene glycol of -72 °C and -71 °C over different timescales.[18] To observe window glass flowing as liquid at room temperature we would have to wait a much longer time than any human can exist. Therefore it is safe to consider a glass a solid far enough below its transition temperature: Cathedral glass does not flow because its glass transition temperature is many hundreds of degrees above room temperature. Close to this temperature there are interesting time-dependent properties. One of these is known as aging. Many polymers that we use in daily life such as polystyrene and polypropylene are in a glassy state but they are not too far below their glass transition temperature as opposed to rubber which is used above its glass transition temperature. Their mechanical properties may well change over time and this is serious concern when applying these materials in construction. In general for polymers there is a relation between the glass transition temperature and the speed of the deformation.

Physical properties

Color

Many glasses have a chemical composition which includes what are referred to as absorption centers. This may cause them to be selective in their absorption of visible lightwaves (or white light frequencies). They absorb certain portions of the visible spectrum, while reflecting others. The frequencies of the spectrum which are not absorbed are either reflected back or transmitted for our physical observation. This is what gives rise to color.

Thus, color in glass may be obtained by addition of electrically charged ions (or color centers) that are homogeneously distributed, and by precipitation of finely dispersed particles (such as in photochromic glasses). Ordinary soda-lime glass appears colorless to the naked eye when it is thin, although iron(II) oxide (FeO) impurities of up to 0.1 wt%[28] produce a green tint which can be viewed in thick pieces or with the aid of scientific instruments. Further FeO and Cr2O3 additions may be used for the production of green bottles. Sulfur, together with carbon and iron salts, is used to form iron polysulfides and produce amber glass ranging from yellowish to almost black. Manganese dioxide can be added in small amounts to remove the green tint given by iron(II) oxide.

Optical waveguides

Optically transparent materials focus on the response of a material to incoming light waves of a range of wavelengths. Frequency selective optical filters can be utilized to alter or enhance the brightness and contrast of a digital image. Guided light wave transmission via frequency selective waveguides involves the emerging field of fiber optics and the ability of certain glassy compositions as a transmission medium for a range of frequencies simultaneously (multimode optical fiber) with little or no interference between competing wavelengths or frequencies. This resonant mode of energy and data transmission via electromagnetic (light) wave propagation, though low powered, is relatively lossless.

An optical fiber is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide that transmits light along its axis by the process of total internal reflection. The fiber consists of a core surrounded by a cladding layer. To confine the optical signal in the core, the refractive index of the core must be greater than that of the cladding. The index of refraction is a way of measuring the speed of light in a material. (Note: The index of refraction is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in a given medium. (The index of refraction of a vacuum is therefore equal to 1, by definition). The larger the index of refraction, the more slowly light travels in that medium. Typical values for core and cladding of an optical fiber are 1.48 and 1.46, respectively.

When light traveling in a dense medium hits a boundary at a steep angle, the light will be completely reflected. This effect is used in optical fibers to confine light in the core. Light travels along the fiber bouncing back and forth off of the boundary. Because the light must strike the boundary with an angle greater than the critical angle, only light that enters the fiber within a certain range of angles will be propagated. This range of angles is called the acceptance cone of the fiber. The size of this acceptance cone is a function of the refractive index difference between the fiber’s core and cladding.

Optical waveguides are used as components in integrated optical circuits (e.g. light-emitting diodes, LEDs) or as the transmission medium in local and long haul optical communication systems. Also of value to materials science is the sensitivity of materials to thermal radiation in the infrared (IR) portion of the EM spectrum. This infrared homing (or "heat-seeking") capability is responsible for such diverse optical phenomena as "night vision" and IR luminescence.

Modern glass art

From the 19th century, various types of fancy glass started to become significant branches of the decorative arts. Cameo glass was revived for the first time since the Romans, initially mostly used for pieces in a neo-classical style. The Art Nouveau movement in particular made great use of glass, with René Lalique, Émile Gallé, and Daum of Nancy important names in the first French wave of the movement, producing colored vases and similar pieces, often in cameo glass, and also using lustre techniques. Louis Comfort Tiffany in America specialized in secular stained glass, mostly of plant subjects, both in panels and his famous lamps. From the 20th century, some glass artists began to class themselves as in effect sculptors working in glass, and as part of the fine arts.

Several of the most common techniques for producing glass art include: blowing, kiln-casting, fusing, slumping, pate-de-verre, flame-working, hot-sculpting and cold-working. Cold work includes traditional stained glass work as well as other methods of shaping glass at room temperature. Glass can also be cut with a diamond saw, or copper wheels embedded with abrasives, and polished to give gleaming facets; the technique used in creating Waterford crystal.[30] Art is sometimes etched into glass via the use of acid, caustic, or abrasive substances. Traditionally this was done after the glass was blown or cast. In the 1920s a new mould-etch process was invented, in which art was etched directly into the mould, so that each cast piece emerged from the mould with the image already on the surface of the glass. This reduced manufacturing costs and, combined with a wider use of colored glass, led to cheap glassware in the 1930s, which later became known as Depression glass.[31] As the types of acids used in this process are extremely hazardous, abrasive methods have gained popularity.

Objects made out of glass include not only traditional objects such as vessels (bowls, vases, bottles, and other containers), paperweights, marbles, beads, but an endless range of sculpture and installation art as well. Colored glass is often used, though sometimes the glass is painted, innumerable examples exist of the use of stained glass.

Museums
Apart from historical collections in general museums, modern works of art in glass can be seen in a variety of museums, including the Chrysler Museum, the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Toledo Museum of Art, and Corning Museum of Glass, in Corning, NY, which houses the world’s largest collection of glass art and history, with more than 45,000 objects in its collection.

The Harvard Museum of Natural History has a collection of extremely detailed models of flowers made of painted glass. These were lampworked by Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolph, who never revealed the method he used to make them. The Blaschka Glass Flowers are still an inspiration to glassblowers today.

Cool The Best Digital Photo Frame images

A few nice the best digital photo frame images I found:

Army Photography Contest – 2007 – FMWRC – Arts and Crafts – Capoeira


Image by familymwr
Army Photography Contest – 2007 – FMWRC – Arts and Crafts – Capoeira

Photo By: 1LT Stephanie Wilson

To learn more about the annual U.S. Army Photography Competition, visit us online at www.armymwr.com

U.S. Army Arts and Crafts History

After World War I the reductions to the Army left the United States with a small force. The War Department faced monumental challenges in preparing for World War II. One of those challenges was soldier morale. Recreational activities for off duty time would be important. The arts and crafts program informally evolved to augment the needs of the War Department.
On January 9, 1941, the Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, appointed Frederick H. Osborn, a prominent U.S. businessman and philanthropist, Chairman of the War Department Committee on Education, Recreation and Community Service.
In 1940 and 1941, the United States involvement in World War II was more of sympathy and anticipation than of action. However, many different types of institutions were looking for ways to help the war effort. The Museum of Modern Art in New York was one of these institutions. In April, 1941, the Museum announced a poster competition, “Posters for National Defense.” The directors stated “The Museum feels that in a time of national emergency the artists of a country are as important an asset as men skilled in other fields, and that the nation’s first-rate talent should be utilized by the government for its official design work… Discussions have been held with officials of the Army and the Treasury who have expressed remarkable enthusiasm…”
In May 1941, the Museum exhibited “Britain at War”, a show selected by Sir Kenneth Clark, director of the National Gallery in London. The “Prize-Winning Defense Posters” were exhibited in July through September concurrently with “Britain at War.” The enormous overnight growth of the military force meant mobilization type construction at every camp. Construction was fast; facilities were not fancy; rather drab and depressing.
In 1941, the Fort Custer Army Illustrators, while on strenuous war games maneuvers in Tennessee, documented the exercise The Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Feb. 1942), described their work. “Results were astonishingly good; they showed serious devotion …to the purpose of depicting the Army scene with unvarnished realism and a remarkable ability to capture this scene from the soldier’s viewpoint. Civilian amateur and professional artists had been transformed into soldier-artists. Reality and straightforward documentation had supplanted (replaced) the old romantic glorification and false dramatization of war and the slick suavity (charm) of commercial drawing.”

“In August of last year, Fort Custer Army Illustrators held an exhibition, the first of its kind in the new Army, at the Camp Service Club. Soldiers who saw the exhibition, many of whom had never been inside an art gallery, enjoyed it thoroughly. Civilian visitors, too, came and admired. The work of the group showed them a new aspect of the Army; there were many phases of Army life they had never seen or heard of before. Newspapers made much of it and, most important, the Army approved. Army officials saw that it was not only authentic material, but that here was a source of enlivenment (vitalization) to the Army and a vivid medium for conveying the Army’s purposes and processes to civilians and soldiers.”
Brigadier General Frederick H. Osborn and War Department leaders were concerned because few soldiers were using the off duty recreation areas that were available. Army commanders recognized that efficiency is directly correlated with morale, and that morale is largely determined from the manner in which an individual spends his own free time. Army morale enhancement through positive off duty recreation programs is critical in combat staging areas.
To encourage soldier use of programs, the facilities drab and uninviting environment had to be improved. A program utilizing talented artists and craftsmen to decorate day rooms, mess halls, recreation halls and other places of general assembly was established by the Facilities Section of Special Services. The purpose was to provide an environment that would reflect the military tradition, accomplishments and the high standard of army life. The fact that this work was to be done by the men themselves had the added benefit of contributing to the esprit de corps (teamwork, or group spirit) of the unit.
The plan was first tested in October of 1941, at Camp Davis, North Carolina. A studio workshop was set up and a group of soldier artists were placed on special duty to design and decorate the facilities. Additionally, evening recreation art classes were scheduled three times a week. A second test was established at Fort Belvoir, Virginia a month later. The success of these programs lead to more installations requesting the program.
After Pearl Harbor was bombed, the Museum of Modern Art appointed Mr. James Soby, to the position of Director of the Armed Service Program on January 15, 1942. The subsequent program became a combination of occupational therapy, exhibitions and morale-sustaining activities.
Through the efforts of Mr. Soby, the museum program included; a display of Fort Custer Army Illustrators work from February through April 5, 1942. The museum also included the work of soldier-photographers in this exhibit. On May 6, 1942, Mr. Soby opened an art sale of works donated by museum members. The sale was to raise funds for the Soldier Art Program of Special Services Division. The bulk of these proceeds were to be used to provide facilities and materials for soldier artists in Army camps throughout the country.
Members of the Museum had responded with paintings, sculptures, watercolors, gouaches, drawings, etchings and lithographs. Hundreds of works were received, including oils by Winslow Homer, Orozco, John Kane, Speicher, Eilshemius, de Chirico; watercolors by Burchfield and Dufy; drawings by Augustus John, Forain and Berman, and prints by Cezanne, Lautrec, Matisse and Bellows. The War Department plan using soldier-artists to decorate and improve buildings and grounds worked. Many artists who had been drafted into the Army volunteered to paint murals in waiting rooms and clubs, to decorate dayrooms, and to landscape grounds. For each artist at work there were a thousand troops who watched. These bystanders clamored to participate, and classes in drawing, painting, sculpture and photography were offered. Larger working space and more instructors were required to meet the growing demand. Civilian art instructors and local communities helped to meet this cultural need, by providing volunteer instruction and facilities.
Some proceeds from the Modern Museum of Art sale were used to print 25,000 booklets called “Interior Design and Soldier Art.” The booklet showed examples of soldier-artist murals that decorated places of general assembly. It was a guide to organizing, planning and executing the soldier-artist program. The balance of the art sale proceeds were used to purchase the initial arts and crafts furnishings for 350 Army installations in the USA.
In November, 1942, General Somervell directed that a group of artists be selected and dispatched to active theaters to paint war scenes with the stipulation that soldier artists would not paint in lieu of military duties.
Aileen Osborn Webb, sister of Brigadier General Frederick H. Osborn, launched the American Crafts Council in 1943. She was an early champion of the Army program.
While soldiers were participating in fixed facilities in the USA, many troops were being shipped overseas to Europe and the Pacific (1942-1945). They had long periods of idleness and waiting in staging areas. At that time the wounded were lying in hospitals, both on land and in ships at sea. The War Department and Red Cross responded by purchasing kits of arts and crafts tools and supplies to distribute to “these restless personnel.” A variety of small “Handicraft Kits” were distributed free of charge. Leathercraft, celluloid etching, knotting and braiding, metal tooling, drawing and clay modeling are examples of the types of kits sent.
In January, 1944, the Interior Design Soldier Artist program was more appropriately named the “Arts and Crafts Section” of Special Services. The mission was “to fulfill the natural human desire to create, provide opportunities for self-expression, serve old skills and develop new ones, and assist the entire recreation program through construction work, publicity, and decoration.”
The National Army Art Contest was planned for the late fall of 1944. In June of 1945, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., for the first time in its history opened its facilities for the exhibition of the soldier art and photography submitted to this contest. The “Infantry Journal, Inc.” printed a small paperback booklet containing 215 photographs of pictures exhibited in the National Gallery of Art.
In August of 1944, the Museum of Modern Art, Armed Forces Program, organized an art center for veterans. Abby Rockefeller, in particular, had a strong interest in this project. Soldiers were invited to sketch, paint, or model under the guidance of skilled artists and craftsmen. Victor d’Amico, who was in charge of the Museum’s Education Department, was quoted in Russell Lynes book, Good Old Modern: An Intimate Portrait of the Museum of Modern Art. “I asked one fellow why he had taken up art and he said, Well, I just came back from destroying everything. I made up my mind that if I ever got out of the Army and out of the war I was never going to destroy another thing in my life, and I decided that art was the thing that I would do.” Another man said to d’Amico, “Art is like a good night’s sleep. You come away refreshed and at peace.”
In late October, 1944, an Arts and Crafts Branch of Special Services Division, Headquarters, European Theater of Operations was established. A versatile program of handcrafts flourished among the Army occupation troops.
The increased interest in crafts, rather than fine arts, at this time lead to a new name for the program: The “Handicrafts Branch.”
In 1945, the War Department published a new manual, “Soldier Handicrafts”, to help implement this new emphasis. The manual contained instructions for setting up crafts facilities, selecting as well as improvising tools and equipment, and basic information on a variety of arts and crafts.
As the Army moved from a combat to a peacetime role, the majority of crafts shops in the United States were equipped with woodworking power machinery for construction of furnishings and objects for personal living. Based on this new trend, in 1946 the program was again renamed, this time as “Manual Arts.”
At the same time, overseas programs were now employing local artists and craftsmen to operate the crafts facilities and instruct in a variety of arts and crafts. These highly skilled, indigenous instructors helped to stimulate the soldiers’ interest in the respective native cultures and artifacts. Thousands of troops overseas were encouraged to record their experiences on film. These photographs provided an invaluable means of communication between troops and their families back home.
When the war ended, the Navy had a firm of architects and draftsmen on contract to design ships. Since there was no longer a need for more ships, they were given a new assignment: To develop a series of instructional guides for arts and crafts. These were called “Hobby Manuals.” The Army was impressed with the quality of the Navy manuals and had them reprinted and adopted for use by Army troops. By 1948, the arts and crafts practiced throughout the Army were so varied and diverse that the program was renamed “Hobby Shops.” The first “Interservice Photography Contest” was held in 1948. Each service is eligible to send two years of their winning entries forward for the bi-annual interservice contest. In 1949, the first All Army Crafts Contest was also held. Once again, it was clear that the program title, “Hobby Shops” was misleading and overlapped into other forms of recreation.
In January, 1951, the program was designated as “The Army Crafts Program.” The program was recognized as an essential Army recreation activity along with sports, libraries, service clubs, soldier shows and soldier music. In the official statement of mission, professional leadership was emphasized to insure a balanced, progressive schedule of arts and crafts would be conducted in well-equipped, attractive facilities on all Army installations.
The program was now defined in terms of a “Basic Seven Program” which included: drawing and painting; ceramics and sculpture; metal work; leathercrafts; model building; photography and woodworking. These programs were to be conducted regularly in facilities known as the “multiple-type crafts shop.” For functional reasons, these facilities were divided into three separate technical areas for woodworking, photography and the arts and crafts.
During the Korean Conflict, the Army Crafts program utilized the personnel and shops in Japan to train soldiers to instruct crafts in Korea.
The mid-1950s saw more soldiers with cars and the need to repair their vehicles was recognized at Fort Carson, Colorado, by the craft director. Soldiers familiar with crafts shops knew that they had tools and so automotive crafts were established. By 1958, the Engineers published an Official Design Guide on Crafts Shops and Auto Crafts Shops. In 1959, the first All Army Art Contest was held. Once more, the Army Crafts Program responded to the needs of soldiers.
In the 1960’s, the war in Vietnam was a new challenge for the Army Crafts Program. The program had three levels of support; fixed facilities, mobile trailers designed as portable photo labs, and once again a “Kit Program.” The kit program originated at Headquarters, Department of Army, and it proved to be very popular with soldiers.
Tom Turner, today a well-known studio potter, was a soldier at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina in the 1960s. In the December 1990 / January 1991 “American Crafts” magazine, Turner, who had been a graduate student in art school when he was drafted, said the program was “a godsend.”
The Army Artist Program was re-initiated in cooperation with the Office of Military History to document the war in Vietnam. Soldier-artists were identified and teams were formed to draw and paint the events of this combat. Exhibitions of these soldier-artist works were produced and toured throughout the USA.
In 1970, the original name of the program, “Arts and Crafts”, was restored. In 1971, the “Arts and Crafts/Skills Development Program” was established for budget presentations and construction projects.
After the Vietnam demobilization, a new emphasis was placed on service to families and children of soldiers. To meet this new challenge in an environment of funding constraints the arts and crafts program began charging fees for classes. More part-time personnel were used to teach formal classes. Additionally, a need for more technical-vocational skills training for military personnel was met by close coordination with Army Education Programs. Army arts and crafts directors worked with soldiers during “Project Transition” to develop soldier skills for new careers in the public sector.
The main challenge in the 1980s and 90s was, and is, to become “self-sustaining.” Directors have been forced to find more ways to generate increased revenue to help defray the loss of appropriated funds and to cover the non-appropriated funds expenses of the program. Programs have added and increased emphasis on services such as, picture framing, gallery sales, engraving and trophy sales, etc… New programs such as multi-media computer graphics appeal to customers of the 1990’s.
The Gulf War presented the Army with some familiar challenges such as personnel off duty time in staging areas. Department of Army volunteer civilian recreation specialists were sent to Saudi Arabia in January, 1991, to organize recreation programs. Arts and crafts supplies were sent to the theater. An Army Humor Cartoon Contest was conducted for the soldiers in the Gulf, and arts and crafts programs were set up to meet soldier interests.
The increased operations tempo of the ‘90’s Army has once again placed emphasis on meeting the “recreation needs of deployed soldiers.” Arts and crafts activities and a variety of programs are assets commanders must have to meet the deployment challenges of these very different scenarios.
The Army arts and crafts program, no matter what it has been titled, has made some unique contributions for the military and our society in general. Army arts and crafts does not fit the narrow definition of drawing and painting or making ceramics, but the much larger sense of arts and crafts. It is painting and drawing. It also encompasses:
* all forms of design. (fabric, clothes, household appliances, dishes, vases, houses, automobiles, landscapes, computers, copy machines, desks, industrial machines, weapon systems, air crafts, roads, etc…)
* applied technology (photography, graphics, woodworking, sculpture, metal smithing, weaving and textiles, sewing, advertising, enameling, stained glass, pottery, charts, graphs, visual aides and even formats for correspondence…)
* a way of making learning fun, practical and meaningful (through the process of designing and making an object the creator must decide which materials and techniques to use, thereby engaging in creative problem solving and discovery) skills taught have military applications.
* a way to acquire quality items and save money by doing-it-yourself (making furniture, gifts, repairing things …).
* a way to pursue college credit, through on post classes.
* a universal and non-verbal language (a picture is worth a thousand words).
* food for the human psyche, an element of morale that allows for individual expression (freedom).
* the celebration of human spirit and excellence (our highest form of public recognition is through a dedicated monument).
* physical and mental therapy (motor skill development, stress reduction, etc…).
* an activity that promotes self-reliance and self-esteem.
* the record of mankind, and in this case, of the Army.
What would the world be like today if this generally unknown program had not existed? To quantitatively state the overall impact of this program on the world is impossible. Millions of soldier citizens have been directly and indirectly exposed to arts and crafts because this program existed. One activity, photography can provide a clue to its impact. Soldiers encouraged to take pictures, beginning with WW II, have shared those images with family and friends. Classes in “How to Use a Camera” to “How to Develop Film and Print Pictures” were instrumental in soldiers seeing the results of using quality equipment. A good camera and lens could make a big difference in the quality of the print. They bought the top of the line equipment. When they were discharged from the Army or home on leave this new equipment was showed to the family and friends. Without this encouragement and exposure to photography many would not have recorded their personal experiences or known the difference quality equipment could make. Families and friends would not have had the opportunity to “see” the environment their soldier was living in without these photos. Germany, Italy, Korea, Japan, Panama, etc… were far away places that most had not visited.
As the twenty first century approaches, the predictions for an arts renaissance by Megatrends 2000 seem realistic based on the Army Arts and Crafts Program practical experience. In the April ‘95 issue of “American Demographics” magazine, an article titled “Generation X” fully supports that this is indeed the case today. Television and computers have greatly contributed to “Generation X” being more interested in the visual arts and crafts.

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Lunar Eclipse (2007-Aug-28)


Image by DJMcCrady
The total lunar eclipse of August 28, 2007 was visible from start to finish from my location on the west coast of the USA, and I was fortunate enough to have mostly clear skies throughout the event (some fog, however).

All these images were taken through a Takahashi Sky 90 operating at f/8.9 (with the 1.6x Extender-Q), and a Canon Digital Rebel.

This is 46 frames taken about 5 minutes apart.

Frames comprising this video are available in a mosaic. The best (my opinion) single frame is here.

Panorama – Brisbane by Night – from the Story Bridge


Image by Allshots Imaging
BEST VIEWED LARGE!

Unfortunately this image has suffered a little from JPEG compression, but I had to have a trade-off between quality and ridiculous file size!

I took the frames for this image while in Brisbane for a work trip in April this year. I was going to drive to Mount Coot-Tha lookout which is a great vantage point to see the city from, but as I was driving across the Story bridge, this view greeted me and I couldn’t resist. It was 1am when I took this series and I stayed there until about 2. I only saw 2 other people and a few cars and trucks. Apart from that it was almost dead silent!

This is a blend of 21 images, then blended into 7 frames. Those 7 frames were then stitched together to create the panorama. Each frame was created by blending up to 4 images using Tufusion and then imported into Photoshop along with the darkest frame. I then used luminosity masking to extract just the brightest details from the darkest exposure.

Shot with a Canon EOS 40D using a Tamron 17-35mm lens. Manfrotto 190D/141RC Tripod and a KingPano panoramic tripod head. A cable release was used to trigger the shutter to avoid shake from bumping the camera.

Settings:
Aperture – F/5.6
Shutter Speed – from 1 second to 15 seconds per frame.
ISO – 640.

Kitty head

Check out these lcd photo frame images:

Kitty head


Image by rarebeasts
Fitting the LCD photo frame

IMG_6305


Image by acjetter

Wi-fi picture frame

Some cool wifi digital picture frame images:

Wi-fi picture frame


Image by Jeff Henshaw

Inside the frame


Image by Geek Tonic
Notice the wifi card. The keyboard is mounted to the back of the lcd. All neatly inside the frame and secured with foam and you guessed it – duct tape. ugly, but efficient.

Cool Tao Digital Photo Frame images

Some cool tao digital photo frame images:

hang ah alley


Image by Jason Schlachet
looking out from the end of hang ah alley, chinatown, sf.

view large

i went out shooting with jin and robert. jin is learning to shoot large format so i joined her on a walk/shoot in chinatown. it had been a while since i’ve shot sheet film, so it was fun to return to a larger format. i need to get back into it, the frame of mind is so different when shooting this format (even from 8×10). after shooting a ton of 35mm lately, this seemed a little awkward.

while the three of us were finishing up, a gentleman from the sing tao daily stopped to ask us some questions about what we were doing and why we used film (instead of digital cameras).

tmax 100, schneider super-angulon f8/90. developed in rodinal 1+50 for 12 minutes.

Nice Philips 9 Digital Photo Frame photos

Check out these philips 9 digital photo frame images: