The Sigma is an experimental glider developed in Britain from 1966 by a team led by Nicholas Goodhart. After disappointing performance during flight testing the Sigma was passed on to a Canadian group which carried out modifications, making the Sigma more competitive.
Designed to compete in the 1970 World Championships, the team aimed to develop a wing that would climb well through a high lift coefficient and a large wing area, but equally had the "maximum possible reduction of area for cruise at low lift coefficients". At the same time for the minimum possible drag they aimed for "extensive" laminar flow. To achieve this they employed flaps that would alter both wing area and wing camber. Based on analysis of the nature of thermals encountered in cross-country flying, they reasoned that by having a slow turning circle, their sailplane could stay close to the central (and strongest) part of the thermal and gain maximum benefit.
Its unusual feature is its ability to vary its wing area using Fowler flaps. It had been tried before by the Hannover Akaflieg in 1938 with their AFH-4, the South African Beatty-Johl BJ-2 Assegai and the SZD Zefir gliders.
Sigma in cosmology was a property of galaxies used when trying to work out the mystery of galaxies and their supermassive black holes.
In the late 1990s the NUKER experts had made observations with a spectroscope of two galaxies, one of an active galaxy with an active galactic nucleus called NGC10-68 and a dormant galaxy next door to us named Andromeda.
The observations are shown. The light from the centre in Andromeda galaxy was distorted proving the existence of super-massive black holes.
Other observations proved most galaxies had a similar centre whether it be active or dormant.
They then realised that the black holes must have something to do with a galaxy's formation, so they turned to something they thought was useless: the speed of the stars around the edge of the galaxy. This was Sigma, the speed of the stars at the edge of the galaxy supposedly unaffected by the mass of the black hole at the centre.
The NUKER team calculated the sigma of several stars in different galaxies and the mass of the black hole at the (nucleus) centre. They expected no correlation what so ever. But when plotting their results on a Scatter diagram and drawing a line of best fit they ended up with a positive correlation. It appeared that the heavier the black hole at the centre was the faster the stars within the galaxy travelled.
Sigma is an English drum and bass duo consisting of Cameron Edwards and Joe Lenzie. They met at Leeds University at drum and bass nights. Their 2010 collaboration with DJ Fresh, "Lassitude", peaked at number 98 on the UK Singles Chart. Their single "Nobody to Love" topped the UK Singles Chart, becoming their first UK number one. Follow-up single "Changing", featuring Paloma Faith, also got to number one.
Lenzie and Edwards met in 2006 at Leeds University; Cameron was working in local record store Tribe Records and with Echo Location's Obi running local night Event Horizon, while Lenzie was DJing hip-hop and warming up Event Horizon for such acts as Rahzel and Grandmaster Flash. Once they had finished in Leeds, they relocated to London and became a three-piece with Edwards' school friend Ben Mauerhoff, being signed under DJ Fresh's Breakbeat Kaos. After a while, long distances took their toll – Edwards and Mauerhoff were based in Surrey, whereas Lenzie was based in Harpenden, Hertfordshire and they couldn't get three people into the Harpenden studio – and Mauerhoff left. In December 2008 they formed their own record label, Life Recordings (so called because, according to Lenzie, the industry demanded that it be their life). Its inaugural release was a VIP mix of their early Bingo Beats single "El Presidente".
Starlight is the light emitted by stars. It typically refers to visible electromagnetic radiation from stars other than the Sun observable from Earth during the night time although a component of starlight is observable from the Earth during the daytime.
Sunlight is the term used for the Sun's starlight observed during daytime. During nighttime, albedo describes solar reflections from other Solar System objects including moonlight.
Observation and measurement of starlight through telescopes is the basis for many fields of astronomy, including photometry and stellar spectroscopy. Starlight is also a notable part of personal experience and human culture, impacting a diverse range of pursuits including poetry, astronomy, and military strategy.
The US Army spent millions of dollars in the 1950s and onward to develop a starlight scope, that could amplify starlight, moonlight filtered by clouds, and the fluorescence of rotting vegetation about 50,000 times to allow a person to see in the night. In contrast to previously developed active infrared system such as sniperscope, it was a passive device and did not require additional light emission to see.
"Thriller" is a song recorded by American singer Michael Jackson, composed by Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the seventh and final single released by Epic Records from his 1982 studio album Thriller. A 14-minute video showing Jackson in a Halloween-themed performance was first shown on December 2, 1983. The song was not released as a single until January 23, 1984.
"Thriller" has appeared on multiple greatest hits compilation albums from Jackson, including "HIStory" (1995), "Number Ones" (2003), "The Essential Michael Jackson" (2005) and "Michael Jackson's This Is It" (2009) and was remixed for the "Immortal" album in 2011. The song has a voice-over from actor Vincent Price.
In the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard, and the lyrics contain frightening themes and elements. "Thriller" received positive reviews from critics and became Jackson's seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from the album, while reaching the top of the charts in France and Belgium and the top ten in many other countries.
The My Little Pony franchise debuted in 1982, the creation of American illustrator and designer Bonnie Zacherle. Together with sculptor Charles Muenchinger and manager Steve D'Aguanno, Bonnie submitted a design patent in August 1981 for "an ornamental design for a toy animal". She was then working for Hasbro. The patent was granted in August 1983.
Flutter Ponies are ponies with tiny bodies, curly hair, longer legs than regular ponies and fairy-like wings. They were first released in 1986. The Flutter Ponies may appear delicate, but in truth, they possess a powerful ability called the Utter Flutter, which allows them to blow away everything in their path by flapping their wings in a rapid speed. They are rarely seen, preferring to live in seclusion, usually in Flutter Valley. Honeysuckle, Morning Glory and Rosedust were the only notable ones in the first My Little Pony series.
The Seaponies are brightly colored seahorse-like creatures who dwell in the rivers and lakes of Dream Valley. They love underwater polo and can perform elaborate songs and dance numbers. They were first released in 1983 and only appeared in the two original specials. The Seaponies are based on the Hippocamp, a mythological creature shared by Phoenician and Greek mythology. A sub-line of the Seaponies called Baby Seaponies debuted later in 1985 and later in My Little Pony: The Movie.