Asio is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae. The genus Asio contains the eared owls, which are characterised by feather tufts on the head which give the appearance of "ears". This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the short-eared owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands. Its geographic range extends to all continents except Antarctica and Australia.
These are medium-sized owls, 30–46 centimetres (12–18 in) in length with 80–103 centimetres (31–41 in) wingspans. They are long winged and have the characteristic facial disc.
The two northern species are partially migratory, moving south in winter from the northern parts of their range, or wandering nomadically in poor vole years in search of better food supplies. Tropical Asio owls are largely sedentary.
Asio owls are mainly nocturnal, but short-eared owls are also crepuscular. Most species nest on the ground, but the long-eared owl, Asio otus, nests in the old stick nests of crows, ravens and magpies (family Corvidae) and various hawks.
Asio is a genus of owls.
Asio or ASIO may also refer to:
, Brazil
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains, or a single large piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument or building. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid metamorphic or igneous rock.
In architecture, the term has considerable overlap with megalith, which is normally used for prehistory, and may be used in the contexts of rock-cut architecture that remains attached to solid rock, as in monolithic church, or for exceptionally large stones such as obelisks, statues, monolithic columns or large architraves, that may have been moved a considerable distance after quarrying. It may also be used of large glacial erratics moved by natural forces.
The word derives, via the Latin monolithus, from the Ancient Greek word μονόλιθος (monolithos), from μόνος ("one" or "single") and λίθος ("stone").
Large, well-known monoliths include:
A monolithic catalyst support is an extruded substrate widely used in vehicle catalytic converters.
Monolithic catalyst supports are extruded substrates that are widely used in automotive and stationary emission control devices and other kind of reactors in the chemical industry. In automotive applications ceramic monoliths are made of synthetic cordierite, 2MgO*2Al2O3*5SiO2 which has a low thermal expansion coefficient. A monolithic catalyst support consists of many parallel channels separated by thin walls that are coated with the catalytic active substance, most commonly a metal like platinum. The channels may be round or polygonal (mainly square or hexagonal). The structure is reminiscent of a honeycomb. The cell density may be from 30 to 200/cm2 with the separating walls from 0.05 to 0.3 mm. Because of a high open frontal area (the open spaces in the cross-sectional area) of 72 to 87% pressure loss of gases flowing through the structure is low, an important feature to minimize efficiency losses in vehicles.
Monolith is a box set made by avant-garde music composer Buckethead under the name of Death Cube K (an anagram of Buckethead), released in December 2007 through TDRS Music.
This box set contains five unmarked CD-Rs in unmarked digipaks, each one including only one unbroken track. Some listeners theorize the five discs are intended to be played simultaneously like Zaireeka by The Flaming Lips. The title Monolith as well as the result of combining the tracks have been cited as evidence for the theory by fans. Producer Travis Dickerson declined to solve the mystery.
Currently, this set is exclusively available on the TDRS website.
Each song is a separate disc.