Prism

In optics, a prism is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. At least two of the flat surfaces must have an angle between them. The exact angles between the surfaces depend on the application. The traditional geometrical shape is that of a triangular prism with a triangular base and rectangular sides, and in colloquial use "prism" usually refers to this type. Some types of optical prism are not in fact in the shape of geometric prisms. Prisms can be made from any material that is transparent to the wavelengths for which they are designed. Typical materials include glass, plastic and fluorite.

A dispersive prism can be used to break light up into its constituent spectral colors (the colors of the rainbow). Furthermore, prisms can be used to reflect light, or to split light into components with different polarizations.

How prisms work

Light changes speed as it moves from one medium to another (for example, from air into the glass of the prism). This speed change causes the light to be refracted and to enter the new medium at a different angle (Huygens principle). The degree of bending of the light's path depends on the angle that the incident beam of light makes with the surface, and on the ratio between the refractive indices of the two media (Snell's law). The refractive index of many materials (such as glass) varies with the wavelength or color of the light used, a phenomenon known as dispersion. This causes light of different colors to be refracted differently and to leave the prism at different angles, creating an effect similar to a rainbow. This can be used to separate a beam of white light into its constituent spectrum of colors. Prisms will generally disperse light over a much larger frequency bandwidth than diffraction gratings, making them useful for broad-spectrum spectroscopy. Furthermore, prisms do not suffer from complications arising from overlapping spectral orders, which all gratings have.

List of Humanx Commonwealth planets

This is a list of the fictional planets in the Humanx Commonwealth series of novels by Alan Dean Foster.

Alaspin

Alaspin has large jungles surrounded by equally large savannas and river plains; its only notable celestial feature is two moons.

Currently the planet has no sentient race; the native race died out, possibly by racial suicide, over 75,000 years ago leaving behind hundreds of ancient, abandoned cities that have proved a source of fascination to modern xeno-archaeologists.

A variety of lifeforms currently live on Alaspin, most notably the Alaspinian minidrag.

Annubis

Annubis is most notable for the fictional Hyperion forests from which the fictional drug bloodhype is manufactured. In an attempt to eradicate the highly addictive and deadly drug, the trees were burned in 545 A.A. and are thought to be completely destroyed.

The planet first appeared in the novel Bloodhype.

Blasusarr

Blasusarr is the homeworld of the AAnn race and is often called the Imperial Home World. Climate is dry and hot, largely desert, the preferred atmospheric conditions of the AAnn. Beyond this, little is known about Blasusarr other than the fact that it is very well-protected by a detection and space defense network. Its capital city, also the capital of the AAnn Empire, is Krrassin.

Yoshida Brothers

The Yoshida Brothers (吉田兄弟, Yoshida Kyōdai) are Japanese musicians who have released several albums on the Domo Records label.

The two brothers are performers of the traditional Japanese music style of Tsugaru-jamisen which originated in northern Japan. They debuted in 1999 in Japan as a duo playing the shamisen. Their first album sold over 100,000 copies and made them minor celebrities in Japan, a fact that surprised the Yoshida Brothers themselves. They have since attracted an international audience.

Their music has been a fusion of the rapid and percussive Tsugaru-jamisen style along with Western and other regional musical influences. In addition to performing songs that are only on the shamisen, they also use instruments such as drums and synthesizers.

The commercials for the Nintendo's Wii video game console that began airing in North America in November 2006 featured the Yoshida Brothers song "Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix)".

Members

Ryōichirō Yoshida (吉田 良一郎, Yoshida Ryōichirō, born 26 July 1977) and Kenichi Yoshida (吉田 健一, Yoshida Ken'ichi, born 16 December 1979) were born in Noboribetsu in Hokkaido, Japan. The two brothers have played the shamisen from a very young age. They both began to study and play the shamisen from five years of age under Koka Adachi, learning the Minyō-shamisen style; from about 1989 they studied the Tsugaru-jamisen style under Takashi Sasaki.

Sky

The sky (or celestial dome) is everything that lies above the surface of the Earth, including the atmosphere and outer space.

In the field of astronomy, the sky is also called the celestial sphere. This is viewed from Earth's surface as an imaginary dome where the sun, stars, planets, and the moon are seen to be traveling. The celestial sphere is conventionally divided into regions called constellations. Usually, the term sky is used informally as the point of view from the Earth's surface; however, the meaning and usage can vary. In some cases, such as in discussing the weather, the sky refers to only the lower, more dense portions of the atmosphere.

During daylight, the sky appears to be blue because air scatters blue sunlight more than it scatters red. At night, the sky appears to be a mostly dark surface or region scattered with stars. During the day, the Sun can be seen in the sky unless obscured by clouds. In the night sky (and to some extent during the day) the moon, planets and stars are visible in the sky. Some of the natural phenomena seen in the sky are clouds, rainbows, and aurorae. Lightning and precipitation can also be seen in the sky during storms. Birds, insects, aircraft, and kites are often considered to fly in the sky. Due to human activities, smog during the day and light pollution during the night are often seen above large cities.

Sky (building)

Sky (also known as 605 West 42nd Street) is a mixed-use building in Midtown Manhattan developed by the Moinian Group. The building was originally known as "Atelier II" due to its proximity to another Moinian rental, Atelier. The building contains residences and retail space. The building is one of two major developments by Moinian in the Special Hudson Yards District, the other being 3 Hudson Boulevard. At 656 ft., is the 59th tallest building in New York City.

History and construction

The Moinian Group purchased the site in 2005. It originally held a gas station and a parking facility. The project first broke ground in 2008, but construction was stalled due to the recession from 2009 until 2012, and the project was dubbed, like several nearby developments, a "zombie project" because Moinan retained ownership of the site but did not continue development. Activity resumed with a redesign by David Rockwell, replacing the original by Costas Kondylis. Construction began again in 2013, and was completed by the end of 2015.Tishman Realty & Construction was the firm responsible for the construction of the building.

Sky blue

Sky blue is the name of a color that resembles the color of the sky at noon. The entry for "sky-blue" in Murray's New English Dictionary (1919) reports a first sighting of the term in the article on "silver" in Ephraim Chambers's Cyclopaedia of 1728. However, many writers had used the term "sky blue" to name a color before Chambers. For example, we find "sky blue" in A Collection of Voyages and Travels (London: Awnsham and John Churchill, 1704), vol. 2, p. 322, where John Nieuhoff describes certain flowers: "they are of a lovely sky blue colour, and yellow in the middle". The sense of this color may have been first used in 1585 in a book by Nicolas De Nicolay where he stated "the tulbant of the merchant must be skie coloured".

Displayed at right is the web colour sky blue.

Variations of sky blue

Celeste

Celeste (pronounced che-les-te in Italian se-lest in English) is the colloquial name for the pale turquoise blue colour associated with Italian bicycle manufacturer Bianchi S.p.A and sometimes known as Bianchi Green. In Italian, as the name indicates (Celestial), it is an attempt to reproduce the colour of clear skies. In English, this colour may also be referred to as Italian sky blue.