Non fiction and reference

In the last two decades alternators have replaced generators in motor vehicles. The reasons are many: output current can be produced at lower rpm, voltage can be more accurately' controlled with solid state regulators, alternators need less maintenance, and they cost less to manufacture.

When modified, auto alternators can provide variable direct current at 0 to 120 volts for battery charging, hot charging, light arc welding, or for running AC-DC appliances and lights. Another simple modification provides AC power to run some transformer-operated appliances. If you know the secrets of its operation and the modifications possible, the small low-cost alternator can become a versatile power plant.

Surprisingly, alternators are constructed with three sets of field windings positioned evenly at 120 degree intervals inside the frame. Such construction produces three-phase AC.

Reprint of the 12th edition of this interesting British book on the manufacture of bricks and tiles. Whilst it is essentially looking at the industrial production of these items, there is enough information here for you to produce your own, if you really want to build your own house from scratch, including how to ‘thwack’ your pantiles! 273 pages heaving with illustrations. Paperback. Lindsay Publications

Dawn of the 21st Century is the culmination of a two-year global project that was launched on the Internet and invited photography enthusiasts to document the passing of the millennium. Of the many thousands of entries, 500 photos were selected to be in the book. Each one is a document of global social history and defines a different story in the 24 hours encompassing New Year's Eve 2000. Styles and subjects are varied: from the splendour of high-profile events at the Pyramids, Times Square and the Thames, to beach parties and the sombre realities of the homeless. With an index containing a chronological, photographic tour around the planet, Dawn of the 21st Century is essential for everyone, not just as an important photographic record of our times, but as a celebration of life itself.

The present book is intended, as far as possible, to give an exact insight into the theory of Relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics. The work presumes a standard of education corresponding to that of a university matriculation examination, and, despite the shortness of the book, a fair amount of patience and force of will on the part of the reader. The author has spared himself no pains in his endeavor to present the main ideas in the simplest and most intelligible form, and on the whole, in the sequence and connection in which they actually originated. In the interest of clearness, it appeared to me inevitable that I should repeat myself frequently, without paying the slightest attention to the elegance of the presentation. I adhered scrupulously to the precept of that brilliant theoretical physicist L. Boltzmann, according to whom matters of elegance ought to be left to the tailor and to the cobbler. I make no pretence of having withheld from the reader difficulties which are inherent to the subject. On the other hand, I have purposely treated the empirical physical foundations of the theory in a "step-motherly" fashion, so that readers unfamiliar with physics may not feel like the wanderer who was unable to see the forest for the trees. May the book bring some one a few happy hours of suggestive thought!

December, 1916
A. EINSTEIN

Forensic Engineering Investigation provides analyses and methods for determining how something was damaged and when the damage may have legal consequences. It covers 21 of the more common types of failures, catastrophic events, and losses that a forensic engineer may be called upon to assess. Each chapter is self-contained, highly specific, and succinct.

A great ebook for the handy man as well as the professional maintenance person.

"Leonardo," wrote an English critic as far back as 1721, "was a Man
so happy in his genius, so consummate in his Profession, so
accomplished in the Arts, so knowing in the Sciences, and withal, so
much esteemed by the Age wherein he lived, his Works so highly
applauded by the Ages which have succeeded, and his Name and Memory
still preserved with so much Veneration by the present Age—that, if
anything could equal the Merit of the Man, it must be the Success he
met with. Moreover, 'tis not in Painting alone, but in Philosophy,
too, that Leonardo surpassed all his Brethren of the 'Pencil.'"

This admirable summary of the great Florentine painter's life's work
still holds good to-day.

CONTENTS

His Birth
His Early Training
His Early Works
First Visit to Milan
In the East
Back in Milan
The Virgin of the Rocks
The Last Supper
The Court of Milan
Leonardo Leaves Milan
Mona Lisa
Battle of Anghiari
Again in Milan
In Rome
In France
His Death
His Art
His Mind
His Maxims
His Spell
His Descendants

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Plate
I. Mona Lisa
In the Louvre
II. Annunciation
In the Uffizi Gallery, Florence
III. Virgin of the Rocks
In the National Gallery, London
IV. The Last Supper
In the Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan
V. Copy of the Last Supper
In the Diploma Gallery, Burlington House
VI. Head of Christ
In the Brera Gallery, Milan
VII. Portrait (presumed) of Lucrezia Crivelli
In the Louvre
VIII. Madonna, Infant Christ, and St Anne.
In the Louvre

The following paragraphs are the introduction of the book: INTRODUCTION. When on board H.M.S. 'Beagle,' as naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent. These facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species--that mystery of mysteries, as it has been called by one of our greatest philosophers. On my return home, it occurred to me, in 1837, that something might perhaps be made out on this question by patiently accumulating and reflecting on all sorts of facts which could possibly have any bearing on it. After five years' work I allowed myself to speculate on the subject, and drew up some short notes; these I enlarged in 1844 into a sketch of the conclusions, which then seemed to me probable: from that period to the present day I have steadily pursued the same object. I hope that I may be excused for entering on these personal details, as I give them to show that I have not been hasty in coming to a decision. My work is now nearly finished; but as it will take me two or three more years to complete it, and as my health is far from strong, I have been urged to publish this Abstract. I have more especially been induced to do this, as Mr. Wallace, who is now studying the natural history of the Malay archipelago, has arrived at almost exactly the same general conclusions that I have on the origin of species. Last year he sent to me a memoir on this subject, with a request that I would forward it to Sir Charles Lyell, who sent it to the Linnean Society, and it is published in the third volume of the Journal of that Society. Sir C. Lyell and Dr. Hooker, who both knew of my work--the latter having read my sketch of 1844--honoured me by thinking it advisable to publish, with Mr. Wallace's excellent memoir, some brief extracts from my manuscripts. This Abstract, which I now publish, must necessarily be imperfect. I cannot here give references and authorities for my several statements; and I must trust to the reader reposing some confidence in my accuracy. No doubt errors will have crept in, though I hope I have always been cautious in trusting to good authorities alone. I can here give only the general conclusions at which I have arrived, with a few facts in illustration, but which, I hope, in most cases will suffice. No one can feel more sensible than I do of the necessity of hereafter publishing in detail all the facts, with references, on which my conclusions have been grounded; and I hope in a future work to do this. For I am well aware that scarcely a single point is discussed in this volume on which facts cannot be adduced, often apparently leading to conclusions directly opposite to those at which I have arrived. A fair result can be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts and arguments on both sides of each question; and this cannot possibly be here done. I much regret that want of space prevents my having the satisfaction of acknowledging the generous assistance which I have received from very many naturalists, some of them personally unknown to me. I cannot, however, let this opportunity pass without expressing my deep obligations to Dr. Hooker, who for the last fifteen years has aided me in every possible way by his large stores of knowledge and his excellent judgment. In considering the Origin of Species, it is quite conceivable that a naturalist, reflecting on the mutual affinities of organic beings, on their embryological relations, their geographical distribution, geological succession, and other such facts, might come to the conclusion that each species had not been independently created, but had descended, like varieties, from other species. Nevertheless, such a conclusion, even if well founded, would be unsatisfactory, until it could be shown how the innumerable species inhabiting this world have been modified, so as to acquire that perfection of structure and coadaptation which most justly excites our admiration. Naturalists continually refer to external conditions, such as climate, food, etc., as the only possible cause of variation. In one very limited sense, as we shall hereafter see, this may be true; but it is preposterous to attribute to mere external conditions, the structure, for instance, of the woodpecker, with its feet, tail, beak, and tongue, so admirably adapted to catch insects under the bark of trees. In the case of the misseltoe, which draws its nourishment from certain trees, which has seeds that must be transported by certain birds, and which has flowers with separate sexes absolutely requiring the agency of certain insects to bring pollen from one flower to the other, it is equally preposterous to account for the structure of this parasite, with its relations to several distinct organic beings, by the effects of external conditions, or of habit, or of the volition of the plant itself. The author of the 'Vestiges of Creation' would, I presume, say that, after a certain unknown number of generations, some bird had given birth to a woodpecker, and some plant to the misseltoe, and that these had been produced perfect as we now see them; but this assumption seems to me to be no explanation, for it leaves the case of the coadaptations of organic beings to each other and to their physical conditions of life, untouched and unexplained. It is, therefore, of the highest importance to gain a clear insight into the means of modification and coadaptation. At the commencement of my observations it seemed to me probable that a careful study of domesticated animals and of cultivated plants would offer the best chance of making out this obscure problem. Nor have I been disappointed; in this and in all other perplexing cases I have invariably found that our knowledge, imperfect though it be, of variation under domestication, afforded the best and safest clue. I may venture to express my conviction of the high value of such studies, although they have been very commonly neglected by naturalists. From these considerations, I shall devote the first chapter of this Abstract to Variation under Domestication. We shall thus see that a large amount of hereditary modification is at least possible, and, what is equally or more important, we shall see how great is the power of man in accumulating by his Selection successive slight variations. I will then pass on to the variability of species in a state of nature; but I shall, unfortunately, be compelled to treat this subject far too briefly, as it can be treated properly only by giving long catalogues of facts. We shall, however, be enabled to discuss what circumstances are most favourable to variation. In the next chapter the Struggle for Existence amongst all organic beings throughout the world, which inevitably follows from their high geometrical powers of increase, will be treated of. This is the doctrine of Malthus, applied to the whole animal and vegetable kingdoms. As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be NATURALLY SELECTED. 

A hydraulic ram is a water-powered cyclic pump. It harnesses the forces of water hammer to pump a portion of the water being used to power the pump to a point higher than where the water originally started. It is sometimes used in remote areas, where the right conditions exist, since it requires no outside source of power other than the kinetic energy of falling water.

Chapters include: suction pumps and lift pumps, making simple suction pumps, pump cup leathers, pump valves, ram or plunger pumps, making a bucket and plunger pump, construction of a plumber's force pump, wooden pumps, small pumps for special purposes, centrifugal pumps, air-lift and pulsometer pumps, and hydraulic rams.

The book has been re-published from the original and contains the whole script, diagrams and formulas. The book has been reformatted and is not just a scanned copy of the original.

During the 1960's this book was pulled from all public libraries and banned for sale by the government. The reason was the experiments and information contained were considered too dangerous for the general public, especially young children. The hard copy of The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments is extremely rare and very expensive if your lucky enough to find a copy for sale.

This educational and fun book shows you how to set up a home laboratory and how to conduct over 200 simple experiments. It is ideal for anyone who wants to learn more about this fascinating subject or for parents who want to broaden their child’s understanding of science.

This great book describes what chemistry is and covers the equipment required, the words used by chemists with meanings and allows you to conduct your own experiments and learn. Each experiment is set out in simple easy to follow steps and tells you what materials you will need and how to do it.

The popularity of Dan Brown's book, The Da Vinci Code, has revitalised interest in this fascinating historical character. Leonardo Da Vinci lived from 1452 - 1519 and is the very definition of the words, "Renaissance Man". His work in anatomy, architecture, engineering, invention, mathematics, music, painting and sculpture are still revered and relevant today. Da Vinci's ideas involved inventions not technically feasible until the twentieth century, and include tanks, helicopters, parachutes and countless others. This eBook contains his complete notes, Volumes I and II, and contains the original plans for what Brown describes as the cryptex. This version is fully searchable and comes in executable format (.exe) for use on any computer running Microsoft Windows.

By the Authour

Although this book is titled The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, it could also be called The Seven Spiritual Laws of Life, because these are the same principles that nature uses to create everything in material existence — everything we can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. In my book, Creating Affluence: Wealth Consciousness in the Field of All Possibilities, I have outlined the steps to wealth consciousness based on a true understanding of the workings of nature.

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success form the essence of this teaching. When this knowledge is incorporated in your consciousness, it will give you the ability to create unlimited wealth with effortless ease, and to experience success in every endeavour. Success in life could be defined as the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals. Success is the ability to fulfill your desires with effortless ease. And yet success, including the creation of wealth, has always been considered to be a process that requires hard work, and it is often considered to be at the expense of others. We need a more spiritual approach to success and to affluence, which is the abundant flow of all good things to you. With the knowledge and practice of spiritual law, we put ourselves in harmony with nature and create with carefulness, joy, and love.

There are many aspects to success; material wealth is only one component. Moreover, success is a journey, not a destination. Material abundance, in all its expressions, happens to be one of those things that makes the journey more enjoyable. But success also includes good health, energy and enthusiasm for life, fulfilling relationships, creative freedom, emotional and psychological stability, a sense of well-being, and peace of mind.