An interesting article on lighting(for colored stone dealers + diamond dealers + jewelers + consumers). Only a few know the differences between sunlight, daylight and skylight and its effect on human when viewing a colored object, in this case, gemstones, diamonds and jewelry.
Himanshu Burte writes:
Daylight is the most comfortable kind of light for the eyes, reduces fatigue on the job, keeps us connected to the cylce of day and season, and sustains our morale.
Daylight is among the best things in life that come free. And when correctly integrated with adjustable artificial lighting, it can actually be an important factor, particularly in the stressful modern workplace. Its links with general well-being are well documented: It is the most comfortable kind of light for the eyes, reduces fatigue on the job, keeps us connected to the cycle of the day and season, and sustains our morale. And yet, rare is the office in which the “skydome” is the predominant source of light. Why?
Some reasons have to do with the difficulties of harnessing daylight itself. Others are rooted in broader factors such as city planning, cost of real estate and building plans. The difficulty is that light always comes with heat and glare, whether it is from the sun or a lighting system. Thus, improperly managed direct sunlight in a glazed building, say, can make air conditioning very costly. Properly managed, however, daylight generates less heat for the same amount and better quality of light than most electrical lighting systems, and can actually reduce the air-conditioning load. Architectural and interior design are also implicated. For instance, where an office has closed cabins hogging the limited windows length, daylighting for the open office core is quickly sacrificed. Since few decision makers know about the positive relationship between daylight and productivity, the sacrifice is easily made.
Good daylighting design begins with simple principles. In India, almost always, light from the north sky is relatively glare-free and consistent across the day. Of course, other daylighting strategies have to be region-specific. In hot, dry parts, such as in North India, it is best to bring the sun in indirectly and sideways. Here, small openings to the exterior, especially to the west and east from where the sun enters at a low angle and penetrates deep, are appropriate. Bounce sunlight off vertical or horizontal baffles or light wells—such as tiny courtyards of desert houses—before it enters indoors, so that it has already lost some heat and glare. In the humid coastal areas where temperatures don’t reach New Delhi’s levels, however, windows may have to be larger to let in breeze to blow away sweat from the skin. Here, in fact, it may be useful to have one set of openings for breeze and local light and another higher up for general lighting. This only illustrates the most important fact: If it is to work, daylight must be integrated intelligently with many other systems that make up a building.
More info @ http://www.livemint.com/2007/07/05002443/Clear-and-present.html
Friday, July 06, 2007
Conflict Diamonds: A New Dataset
Elisabeth Gilmore, Nils Petter Gleditsch, Päivi Lujala & Jan Ketil Rød writes:
Natural resources, and diamonds especially, are commonly believed to play a significant role in the onset and duration of armed civil conflict. Although there is ample case study evidence that diamonds and similar resources have been used by rebel groups to finance fighting, there are few systematic empirical studies assessing the role of lootable resources in civil conflict. This is largely due to lack of reliable data on production and location.
In this article we discuss priorities for the collection of data on conflict-relevant resources and introduce a new dataset, DIADATA that provides a comprehensive list of diamond deposits accompanied by geographic coordinates throughout the world. The dataset includes characteristics relevant to conflict such as production status and geological form of the deposit. Particularly important is the distinction between primary and secondary diamonds, because the latter are more easily lootable. The dataset incorporates a spatial as well as a temporal dimension.
More info @ http://www.prio.no/page/Publication_details/9429/47113.html
http://www.prio.no/page/9649/47115.html
Natural resources, and diamonds especially, are commonly believed to play a significant role in the onset and duration of armed civil conflict. Although there is ample case study evidence that diamonds and similar resources have been used by rebel groups to finance fighting, there are few systematic empirical studies assessing the role of lootable resources in civil conflict. This is largely due to lack of reliable data on production and location.
In this article we discuss priorities for the collection of data on conflict-relevant resources and introduce a new dataset, DIADATA that provides a comprehensive list of diamond deposits accompanied by geographic coordinates throughout the world. The dataset includes characteristics relevant to conflict such as production status and geological form of the deposit. Particularly important is the distinction between primary and secondary diamonds, because the latter are more easily lootable. The dataset incorporates a spatial as well as a temporal dimension.
More info @ http://www.prio.no/page/Publication_details/9429/47113.html
http://www.prio.no/page/9649/47115.html
Cave Home Auctioned For £100,000
A very interesting story.
BBC News writes:
A cave home in Worcestershire complete with a front door, fireplace and pantry, has been sold for £100,000. Rock Cottage in Wolverley, which is hewn out of a sandstone cliff and has three adjoining caves, was last occupied in the late 1940s.
It was auctioned by Halls estate agency for four times its £25,000 guide price. The cave, which comes with windows, a sitting room and bedroom but has no electricity or water supply, generated more than 50 requests for viewings.
'Unbelievable interest'.
A near-neighbour bought the Sladd Lane property because she wanted it "to stay exactly how it is", auctioneer Roger Sadler said.
He added that people came from as far away as Spain to the auction on Wednesday. Mr Sadler said: "We are very pleased. You don't sell caves very often but it was a unique property that attracted an unbelievable amount of interest."
The cave, sold with five acres of mixed woodland and associated garden land, was auctioned off following the death of the current owner. Experts say it is questionable whether it would be suitable for human habitation.
More info @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hereford/worcs/6271564.stm
BBC News writes:
A cave home in Worcestershire complete with a front door, fireplace and pantry, has been sold for £100,000. Rock Cottage in Wolverley, which is hewn out of a sandstone cliff and has three adjoining caves, was last occupied in the late 1940s.
It was auctioned by Halls estate agency for four times its £25,000 guide price. The cave, which comes with windows, a sitting room and bedroom but has no electricity or water supply, generated more than 50 requests for viewings.
'Unbelievable interest'.
A near-neighbour bought the Sladd Lane property because she wanted it "to stay exactly how it is", auctioneer Roger Sadler said.
He added that people came from as far away as Spain to the auction on Wednesday. Mr Sadler said: "We are very pleased. You don't sell caves very often but it was a unique property that attracted an unbelievable amount of interest."
The cave, sold with five acres of mixed woodland and associated garden land, was auctioned off following the death of the current owner. Experts say it is questionable whether it would be suitable for human habitation.
More info @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hereford/worcs/6271564.stm
Gemmology On A Shoestring
2007: B W Anderson is one of the god fathers of gemology. His inspiring note (s) on how to identify stones with simple instruments + warning the gemologist (s) against an over dependence upon instruments + the need to use the power of observation (s) to the full + interpret what is seen in simple terms, is a friendly reminder to any enterprising gem dealer/jeweler.
Today we have new diamond simulants like synthetic cubic zirconia, synthetic moissanite and others + new synthetic corundums + new synthetic diamonds + new synthetic beryls + new, modified colored stone treatments to keep gem dealers/jewelers/gemologists/ lab gemologists busy/awake for the rest of their lives.
(via The Journal of Gemmology, Vol.10, No.3, July 1966) B W Anderson writes:
On several occasions I have given talks to post-diploma students under the title ‘Gem testing without instruments’, which I believe have been helpful in warning the student, fresh from his examinations, against an over-dependence upon instruments in his endeavors to identify gemstones. ‘Gemmology on a Shoestring’ is intended to follow much the same theme, but the title purposely suggests a little latitude in allowing for the use of quite simple pieces of apparatus, liquids, and so on, which can aid considerably in making firm decisions instead of merely forming opinions in certain cases.
First I must make it quite clear that to solve many of the problems that confront the gemologist in these days every available instrument may be valuable and necessary if a correct answer is to be ensured. My present intention is not so much to provide easy recipes for individual cases of identification as to persuade those who have gemological training to use their powers of observation to the full and interpret what is seen in the light of their special knowledge. It has often been said that the limited amount of scientific knowledge absorbed in the two year course can actually be a handicap to a young jeweler: into every yellow zircon he dreams a sphene, and in viewing a parcel of tourmalines his mind is cluttered with thoughts of kornerupine. There is enough truth in this to sting a little; but I strongly maintain that in a ‘lens only’ identification test on mixed series of gemstones, the man with a gemological training should be far more sure of his ground than a colleague of otherwise equal ability and experience. As any good artist knows, it is a fallacy to think that any two people of normal eyesight gazing at a given object are necessarily seeing the same thing. It is the interpretation of the image falling on the retina that may enable the artist to see a significant and exciting pattern of shapes, shadows and colors, where his friend may see nothing of any interest whatsoever. In like manner a jeweler who is not a gemologist, when confronted by a mounted and well-cut white zircon, may well feel that it ‘doesn’t look quite right’ for a diamond, but his gemologist friend, noting the strong double refraction in the stone, will be able to make a quite positive identification.
Sheer economic necessity may deprive the average young gemologist of the three really essential instruments for gem identification—the microscope, refractometer, and spectroscope. Ten years or so ago less than fifty pounds would have been required to but the lot: today one may have to pay at least twice as much as this. Indeed the simple liquids which will be recommended in this talk are now so costly that one must ruefully admit that even ‘shoestrings’ have become expensive. Against this one must realize that in the precious stone trade a mistake mean a loss of hundred of pounds or a damaged reputation, and the cost of any instrument which can save such mistakes, or a fee for a laboratory test, is money wisely spent.
To start with, I shall assume that the jeweler has only one ‘instrument’—a pocket lens, and proceed to consider what he can learn about gems with this as his only aid. A good lens is so vitally important that I do insist—make it a good one, magnifying eight or ten diameters. Lower powers are of comparatively little use, however suitable for the scrutiny of watches or hallmarks—while higher powers are difficult to handle and not nearly so flexible in their application.
In our first assessment of any gemstone we are all inevitably influenced in our thinking by its general appearance, which, when analyzed, depends chiefly upon its color, luster, degree of transparency, and ‘fire’. If the stone is unmounted, we may notice from our first ‘feel’ of it is cold or relatively warm to the touch, that it gives a slippery or harsh impression when handled, or that it strikes one as ‘heavy’ or ‘light’ in the hand. Then may follow close examination with a lens. The back facet edges may appear doubled, there may be characteristic inclusion, cleavage chips may appear on the girdle, and so on. All these phenomena may either be accurately measurable or more closely investigated with instruments: our task is to learn all that we can without them—even if later some form of instrument may have to be used as a final court of appeal.
Gemmology On A Shoestring (continued)
Today we have new diamond simulants like synthetic cubic zirconia, synthetic moissanite and others + new synthetic corundums + new synthetic diamonds + new synthetic beryls + new, modified colored stone treatments to keep gem dealers/jewelers/gemologists/ lab gemologists busy/awake for the rest of their lives.
(via The Journal of Gemmology, Vol.10, No.3, July 1966) B W Anderson writes:
On several occasions I have given talks to post-diploma students under the title ‘Gem testing without instruments’, which I believe have been helpful in warning the student, fresh from his examinations, against an over-dependence upon instruments in his endeavors to identify gemstones. ‘Gemmology on a Shoestring’ is intended to follow much the same theme, but the title purposely suggests a little latitude in allowing for the use of quite simple pieces of apparatus, liquids, and so on, which can aid considerably in making firm decisions instead of merely forming opinions in certain cases.
First I must make it quite clear that to solve many of the problems that confront the gemologist in these days every available instrument may be valuable and necessary if a correct answer is to be ensured. My present intention is not so much to provide easy recipes for individual cases of identification as to persuade those who have gemological training to use their powers of observation to the full and interpret what is seen in the light of their special knowledge. It has often been said that the limited amount of scientific knowledge absorbed in the two year course can actually be a handicap to a young jeweler: into every yellow zircon he dreams a sphene, and in viewing a parcel of tourmalines his mind is cluttered with thoughts of kornerupine. There is enough truth in this to sting a little; but I strongly maintain that in a ‘lens only’ identification test on mixed series of gemstones, the man with a gemological training should be far more sure of his ground than a colleague of otherwise equal ability and experience. As any good artist knows, it is a fallacy to think that any two people of normal eyesight gazing at a given object are necessarily seeing the same thing. It is the interpretation of the image falling on the retina that may enable the artist to see a significant and exciting pattern of shapes, shadows and colors, where his friend may see nothing of any interest whatsoever. In like manner a jeweler who is not a gemologist, when confronted by a mounted and well-cut white zircon, may well feel that it ‘doesn’t look quite right’ for a diamond, but his gemologist friend, noting the strong double refraction in the stone, will be able to make a quite positive identification.
Sheer economic necessity may deprive the average young gemologist of the three really essential instruments for gem identification—the microscope, refractometer, and spectroscope. Ten years or so ago less than fifty pounds would have been required to but the lot: today one may have to pay at least twice as much as this. Indeed the simple liquids which will be recommended in this talk are now so costly that one must ruefully admit that even ‘shoestrings’ have become expensive. Against this one must realize that in the precious stone trade a mistake mean a loss of hundred of pounds or a damaged reputation, and the cost of any instrument which can save such mistakes, or a fee for a laboratory test, is money wisely spent.
To start with, I shall assume that the jeweler has only one ‘instrument’—a pocket lens, and proceed to consider what he can learn about gems with this as his only aid. A good lens is so vitally important that I do insist—make it a good one, magnifying eight or ten diameters. Lower powers are of comparatively little use, however suitable for the scrutiny of watches or hallmarks—while higher powers are difficult to handle and not nearly so flexible in their application.
In our first assessment of any gemstone we are all inevitably influenced in our thinking by its general appearance, which, when analyzed, depends chiefly upon its color, luster, degree of transparency, and ‘fire’. If the stone is unmounted, we may notice from our first ‘feel’ of it is cold or relatively warm to the touch, that it gives a slippery or harsh impression when handled, or that it strikes one as ‘heavy’ or ‘light’ in the hand. Then may follow close examination with a lens. The back facet edges may appear doubled, there may be characteristic inclusion, cleavage chips may appear on the girdle, and so on. All these phenomena may either be accurately measurable or more closely investigated with instruments: our task is to learn all that we can without them—even if later some form of instrument may have to be used as a final court of appeal.
Gemmology On A Shoestring (continued)
Axinite
Chemistry: Complex calcium aluminum borosilicate
Crystal system: Triclinic; bladed, wedge-shaped crystals; lamellar masses
Color: Transparent to translucent; brown, more rarely yellow, violet, blue.
Hardness: 6.5 - 7
Cleavage: Perfect: in one direction; Fracture: brittle, conchoidal to uneven.
Specific gravity: 3.28 (3.27 – 3.29)
Refractive index: 1.675 – 1.685; Biaxial negative; 0.010 – 0.012
Luster: Greasy to vitreous
Dichroism: Strong; olive to strong green/violet blue; brown/yellow.
Occurrence: In areas of contact metamorphism; France, Mexico, USA, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.
Notes
Axinite is named after axe-like shape of crystals. The specimens may look like smoky quartz; piezo electric; no luminescence in gem quality specimens but may show in yellow as reddish glow; some show phosphorescence; spectrum: yellow—3 bands, 1 narrow in blue/green, 2 broaded in blue 512, 492, 466nm; faceted for collectors.
Crystal system: Triclinic; bladed, wedge-shaped crystals; lamellar masses
Color: Transparent to translucent; brown, more rarely yellow, violet, blue.
Hardness: 6.5 - 7
Cleavage: Perfect: in one direction; Fracture: brittle, conchoidal to uneven.
Specific gravity: 3.28 (3.27 – 3.29)
Refractive index: 1.675 – 1.685; Biaxial negative; 0.010 – 0.012
Luster: Greasy to vitreous
Dichroism: Strong; olive to strong green/violet blue; brown/yellow.
Occurrence: In areas of contact metamorphism; France, Mexico, USA, Sri Lanka, Pakistan.
Notes
Axinite is named after axe-like shape of crystals. The specimens may look like smoky quartz; piezo electric; no luminescence in gem quality specimens but may show in yellow as reddish glow; some show phosphorescence; spectrum: yellow—3 bands, 1 narrow in blue/green, 2 broaded in blue 512, 492, 466nm; faceted for collectors.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
What's New, Pussycat
Memorable quote (s) from the movie:
Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers): I am a doctor of the mind.
Victor Skakapopulis (Woody Allen): Really?
Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers): Yes!
Victor Skakapopulis (Woody Allen): I have terrible emotional problems. Could you help me?
Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers): You certainly picked a very odd time to ask me, just in the middle of a suicide.
Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers): I am a doctor of the mind.
Victor Skakapopulis (Woody Allen): Really?
Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers): Yes!
Victor Skakapopulis (Woody Allen): I have terrible emotional problems. Could you help me?
Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers): You certainly picked a very odd time to ask me, just in the middle of a suicide.
The Science Of Success
James Surowiecki writes about MediaPredict + the prediction market + the concept of tapping the collective intelligence of everyone playing the market + other viewpoints @ http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2007/07/09/070709ta_talk_surowiecki
The Silence Of The Lambs
Chaim Even-Zohar writes about the Chairman of the Antwerp Diamond Bank + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp?TextSearch=&KeyMatch=0&id=26308
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