Safety matches are matches which can not be ignited by friction alone. In 1847 the Austrian chemist Schrotter discovered that red phosphorus gives off no fumes and is virtually inert; but being mixed with chlorate of potash under slight pressure explodes. In 1855 Bottger of Sweden put red phosphorus on the match box, and on the matches so that the matches could be ignited by rubbing or striking the match against the box, thus forming the forerunner of the modern safety match. Research Safety Matches
In its narrow, everyday use, vegetable is a word indicating any herb that is cultivated specially for table use in whole or part, such as the turnip (root), cabbage (leaves), broccoli (flowers), peas and beans (fruit). In its widest sense it includes all living things that are not animals - trees, shrubs, herbs, ferns, mosses, seaweeds, fungi, and the microscopic diatoms.
The unit of structure, the cell, is essentially the same in both animals and plants, but the combination of the cells into tissues and organs shows marked differences.
All animals depend for their food upon material originally elaborated by plants. The green plants alone have the power to construct this basic food material from elemental substances, and physiological processes different from those of animal assimilation are rendered necessary. The fungi approach the animals in this respect: they must feed upon material that has already done service as part of the structure of other plants or of animals.
The fine divisions of roots explore the soil in search of water in which are dissolved the salts of sodium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sulphur, etc. The hairs with which the rootlets are clothed absorb this fluid by osmosis, and it is passed upward through the long vessels of the wood bundles until it reaches the cells of the leaf. These cells contain green bodies (chloroplasts) in their protoplasm, and it is these that impart the green colour to leaves and soft shoots. In the leaf-skin (epidermis) there are innumerable pores or stomata through which surplus water from the roots is evaporated and through which atmospheric air is admitted to the spaces between the leaf-cells.
The chloroplasts in these cells have the power to utilise solar energy in decomposing the carbon dioxide of the air, and the cells retain the carbon, setting free the oxygen. Water from the roots is broken up also into its elements, hydrogen and oxygen, and with these plus carbonstarch is formed. This, converted into grape sugar, is passed from cell to cell to parts of the plant whore it is needed for the production of new cells, wood, bark, leaves, or fruit. Starch is the material from which are made all the organic substances produced by the plant.
The surplus over present requirements is stored up as reserves in seeds, enlarged roots or stems, bulbs, or tubers for renewed growth or floral display at a later season. Waste products are converted into resins, oils/wax, or alkaloids - many of these being of considerable economic value to man. Part of the water stream from the roots passes by osmosis from cell to cell, where it is necessary in order to keep the protoplasm in an active condition; any insufficiency is followed by a flagging of the tissues, the drooping of leaves and young shoots. In addition to the absorption of carbon by the protoplasts for building purposes, the leaf-cells also take up oxygen from the atmosphere and give off carbon much as animals do.
As the plant respires without lungs and assimilates without digestive organs, so also it can effect movements without a muscular system and react to external stimuli without a nervous system. It is sensitive to light and heat; many plants have distinct night and day positions for their leaves. It responds positively and negatively to the force of gravity, the root going down into the earth and the stem rising into the air. The growing tip of a stem or shoot commonly nutates, i.e. moves from side to side or in a circle or ellipse. The plant can orientate itself, i.e. take up a definite position in regard to the incidence of light or other external stimulus. These movements appear to be controlled largely by alterations in the position of the mobile chloroplasts.
The reproductive process is, in essentials, similar to that of animals, the ovules or seed-eggs in the ovary requiring to be fertilised by male sperms represented by the pollen grains produced in the anthers. The result of such fertilisation is to cause the ovule to develop into an embryo capable of further development under suitable conditions into a plant resembling the parent. Research Vegetable
Nutrition is the strategy adopted by an organism to obtain the chemicals it needs to live, grow, and reproduce. The term is also applied to the science of food, and its effect on human and animal life, health, and disease.
Nutrition involves the study of the basic nutrients required to sustain life, their bio-availability in foods and overall diet, and the effects upon them of cooking and storage. It is also concerned with dietary deficiency diseases. There are six classes of nutrients: water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Water is involved in nearly every body process. Animals and humans will succumb to water deprivation sooner than to starvation. Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The major groups are starches, sugars, and cellulose and related material (or ' roughage'). The prime function of the carbohydrates is to provide energy for the body; they also serve as efficient sources of glucose, which the body requires for brain functioning, utilisation of foods, maintenance of body temperature. Roughage includes the stiff structural materials of vegetables, fruits, and cereal products. Proteins are made up of smaller units, amino acids. The primary function of dietary protein is to provide the amino acids
required for growth and maintenance of body tissues. Both vegetable and animal foods are protein sources. Fats serve as concentrated sources of energy, and protect vital organs such as the kidneys and skeleton. Saturated fats derive primarily from animal sources; unsaturated fats from vegetable sources such as nuts and seeds. Vitamins are essential for normal growth, and are either fat-soluble or water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins include A, essential to the maintenance of mucous membranes, particularly the conjunctiva of the eyes; D, important to the absorption of calcium; E, an antioxidant; and K, which aids blood clotting. Water-soluble vitamins are the B complex, essential to metabolic reactions, and C, for maintaining connective tissue and cell functioning. Minerals are vital to normal development; calcium and iron are particularly important as they are required in relatively large amounts. Minerals required by the body in trace amounts include chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc. Research Nutrition
Sidney Gilchrist Thomas was a British metallurgist. He was born in 1850 at London and died in 1885. He early applied himself in his spare time to the study of chemistry. From this he was led to the important invention of his life, the elimination of phosphorus in the Bessemer and Siemens-Martin processes of converting pig-iron into stee1. By careful study he evolved the basic lining to the Bessemer converter, and it was recognized that the invention was epoch-making. He was awarded the Bessemer gold medal of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1883. Research Sidney Gilchrist Thomas
Bones (or osseous material) serve a number of diverse purposes in the human anatomy. In addition to providing structure, protection, and support for the organs of the body, bones also house marrow, which produces blood cells. Within the bones are also stored the calcium deposits which the body may access, via resorption, when needed. Additionally, bones detoxify the system, by removing heavy metals, such as lead and arsenic, as well as other toxins, from the bloodstream. Osseous tissue itself is made of water (about 1/4 of the bone weight), organic material (about 1/3 of the bone weight, most of which is the protein, ossein) and inorganic minerals (calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium predominate, though iron, sodium, potassium, chlorine, and fluorine are also present in small amounts). Most bones (with the exception of those of the skull) are initially pre-formed in cartilage and are then ossified as the newborn develops.
Two basic classification methods exist to categorize the bones of the body. These two classification systems are based upon anatomical location (axial or appendicular), and shape (long, short, flat, and irregular). Axial bones are the eighty bones which lie along the central, vertical axis of the body and support and protect the head and torso and include the skull and the spinal column.
Appendicular bones include the one hundred twenty-six bones which comprise the appendages, including the shoulders and hips, arms and legs, hands and feet, and fingers and toes. The shape classifications include long bones (such as the radius, humerus, and femur), the short bones (such as the carpals, tarsals, and manual and pedal phalanges), flat bones (such as the sternum, cranium bones, and scapulae), and irregular
bones (such as the vertebrae). Research Bone
Osteomalacia is a disease affecting adults and characterised by a softening of the bones, resulting from a deficiency of vitamin D and of calcium and phosphorus. Research Osteomalcia
The parathyroid glands are small glands, usually four in number, embedded within the back of the thyroid. These glands produce the hormone parathormone, which regulates the level of calcium and phosphorus in the blood and bones. Parathormone tends to increase the concentration of calcium in the blood by increasing bonebreakdown. This hormone has the opposite effect of calcitonin (thyrocalcitonin) which is secreted by the thyroidgland. Calcium plays an important role in many metabolic processes; too much calcium (hypercalcemia) or too little calcium (tetany) can disrupt the normal function of the muscles and nerves. Parathormone functions to help maintain homeostasis of bloodcalcium. The body's cells are extremely sensitive to changing amounts of bloodcalcium. Research Parathyroid Glands
The substantia spongiosa (spongy tissue or trabeculae) is the porous, inner layer of bone beneath the compact bone shell. So called because of its sponge-like structure of bony fiber, the spongy layer is actually very strong and resistant to compressive damage. The spongy bone is particularly prevalent in the ends of long bones, where they are more subject to such damage. Osteoporosis is a disease common in post-menopausal women (as well as others who do not get sufficient calcium and phosphorus in their diets) which degrades the structural integrity of the spongy tissue, causing it to become brittle and more likely to chip or fracture. Research Substantia Spongiosa
The Besozzi grenade was a simple type of hand grenade used by the French army during the early 20th century and the Great War. The Besozzi grenade consisted of a serrated cast iron body filled with schneiderite or a similar explosive by hand ramming, In the centre of the charge a detonator was placed, carried in a plug fitting in a hole at the top of the bomb. The detonator was covered with red phosphorus match composition which was struck on a striking box or band to be ignited before the bomb was thrown. The Besozzi grenade weighed about one pound, and was carried wrapped in waterproof paper. Research Besozzi Grenade
The Grenade M19A1 is an American rifle smoke and fragmentation grenade. The Grenade M19A1 comprises a steel cylinder containing a mixture of high explosive and white phosphorus which upon detonation provides a killing zone of 10 metres and generates a thick cloud of white smoke. Research Grenade M19A1
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Safety Matches
