Void

Void may refer to:

In science and engineering

ØØ Void

ØØ Void (pronounced in interviews as Double-O Void) is the debut studio album by Sunn O))). The album was recorded to 24 track 2" tape at Grandmaster studios in Hollywood, a large step forward in production values from the band's demo The Grimmrobe Demos.

The third track, "Rabbits' Revenge", is an interpretation of an early version of the song "Hung Bunny" by the Melvins from the album Lysol.

The album was originally released in 2000, by Hydra Head in the USA, and by Rise Above in Europe and the United Kingdom. In 2008, ØØ Void was reissued, and released in Japan only, through Japanese record label Daymare Recordings. The reissue was a two-disc set, with the first disc containing all of the original tracks from ØØ Void and the second disc containing a collaboration between Sunn O))) and experimental/industrial group Nurse with Wound. The album was re-released in the original single-disc format in 2011 by Southern Lord Recordings, with new album artwork by Stephen Kasner.

Track listing

Aether (classical element)

According to ancient and medieval science, aether (Greek: αἰθήρ aithēr), also spelled æther or ether, also called quintessence, is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere. The concept of aether was used in several theories to explain several natural phenomena, such as the traveling of light and gravity. In the late 19th century, physicists postulated that aether permeated all throughout space, providing a medium through which light could travel in a vacuum, but evidence for the presence of such a medium was not found in the Michelson–Morley experiment.

Mythological origins

The word αἰθήρ (aithēr) in Homeric Greek means "pure, fresh air" or "clear sky". In Greek mythology, it was thought to be the pure essence that the gods breathed, filling the space where they lived, analogous to the air breathed by mortals. It is also personified as a deity, Aether, the son of Erebus and Nyx in traditional Greek mythology. Aether is related to αἴθω "to incinerate", and intransitive "to burn, to shine" (related is the name Aithiopes (Ethiopians; see Aethiopia), meaning "people with a burnt (black) visage"). See also Empyrean.

Scramble (slave auction)

A scramble was an early form of slave auction which took place at the height of the Atlantic slave trade in the British colonies of the West Indies in the eighteenth century.

History

During the height of the slave trade, demand for slaves in the British West Indies was so great that, at a slave auction, purchasers of slaves would literally "scramble" to gather as many slaves as they could. Slaves newly transported from Africa would be herded into a pen, surrounded by eager buyers, often pushing and shoving in order to position themselves to grab hold of the finest specimens. A starting gun would be fired, and the buyers would surge into the pen to try and collect the best individuals. Often, fights broke out among the buyers.

Following the scramble, buyers lined up with their "captured" slaves and paid for them. After this, slaves would be branded with the initials of their new owners.

The system had a number of advantages for the sellers of slaves. A captain arriving in port typically wished to sell his cargo as quickly as possible, in order to realize his profit and, given the ever-present possibility of revolt among his charges, to minimize his personal risk. Slaves would be "prepared" for the auction, given food and rum to make them appear strong and healthy. Slave sellers had many tricks up their sleeves in order to present their cargo in the best possible light. Grey hair might be darkened, damaged skin oiled - even dysentery might be disguised by literally plugging the anus of the unfortunate slave with a cork. Buyers would have little if any time to ascertain the true health of their purchase - only later might disease or infirmity become apparent.

Scrambling (military)

In military aviation, scrambling is the act of quickly getting military aircraft airborne to react to an immediate threat, usually to intercept hostile aircraft.

Historical use

The term was used during the Battle of Britain, when RAF fighter pilots waited on the ground for Chain Home radar observations to detect oncoming enemy aircraft, at which point a telephone call would reach each fighter airfield (part of the Dowding system) and those air crews available would be scrambled. Every minute lost before take-off would be advantageous to the enemy, as those minutes could have allowed a pilot to gain extra height above the advancing plane formations. Information passed to the scrambling fighters included location and height (Angels - hence phrases such as Angels One Five for aircraft approaching at 15,000 ft) and a rough estimate of numbers. Unidentified aircraft were known as bogeys while known enemy ones were called bandits. The scramble order was communicated to alert pilots at the base by the loud ringing of a bell.