A top is a toy designed to be spun rapidly on the ground, the motion of which causes it to remain precisely balanced on its tip because of inertia. Such toys have existed since antiquity. Traditionally tops were constructed of wood, sometimes with an iron tip, and would be set in motion by aid of a string or rope coiled around its axis which, when pulled quickly, caused a rapid unwinding that would set the top in motion. Today they are often built of plastic, and modern materials and manufacturing processes allow tops to be constructed with such precise balance that they can be set in motion by a simple twist of the fingers and twirl of the wrist without need for string or rope.
The motion of a top is produced in the most simple forms by twirling the stem using the fingers. More sophisticated tops are spun by holding the axis firmly while pulling a string or twisting a stick or pushing an auger. In the kinds with an auger, an internal weight rotates, producing an overall circular motion. Some tops can be thrown, while firmly grasping a string that had been tightly wound around the stem, and the centrifugal force generated by the unwinding motion of the string will set them spinning upon touching ground.
In the context of a module M over a ring R, the top of M is the largest semisimple quotient module of M if it exists.
For finite-dimensional k-algebras (k a field), if rad(M) denotes the intersection of all proper maximal submodules of M (the radical of the module), then the top of M is M/rad(M). In the case of local rings with maximal ideal P, the top of M is M/PM. In general if R is a semilocal ring (=semi-artinian ring), that is, if R/Rad(R) is an Artinian ring, where Rad(R) is the Jacobson radical of R, then M/rad(M) is a semisimple module and is the top of M. This includes the cases of local rings and finite dimensional algebras over fields.
A top is clothing that covers at least the chest, but which usually covers most of the upper human body between the neck and the waistline. The bottom of tops can be as short as mid-torso, or as long as mid-thigh. Men's tops are generally paired with pants, and women's with pants or skirts. Common types of tops are t-shirts, blouses and shirts.
The neckline is the highest line of the top, and may be as high as a head-covering hood, or as low as the waistline or bottom hem of the top. A top may be worn loose or tight around the bust or waist, and may have sleeves or shoulder straps, spaghetti straps (noodle straps), or may be strapless. The back may be covered or bare. Tops may have straps around the waist or neck, or over the shoulders.
Story or stories may refer to:
Story County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the population was 89,542. The county seat is Nevada.
Story county comprises the Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA Combined Statistical Area.
The county is home to Iowa State University in Ames.
The land that today is known as Story County was originally prairie with the exception of some groves along the larger streams in the area. In 1846 the boundaries of Story County were established. The County has an area of 576 square miles (1,490 km2) and is square in shape.
The county was named after Joseph Story, a preeminent United States Supreme Court Justice, in 1853.
The first settlers in Story County came mainly from Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania. Later, many Norwegians, Germans and Danes came directly from overseas and inhabited the area. The first large population influx occurred during the 1850s. Story County was not mentioned in the Federal Census in 1850, but figures from the State of Iowa put the population at 214 in 1852. By 1860 the population had increased to 4,501.
Matthias Paul (pronounced [maˈtiːas ˈpaʊ̯l]), better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk (pronounced [fan ˈdʏk]; born 16 December 1971 in Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany) is a German Grammy Award-winning electronic dance music DJ, musician and record producer. One of the first true superstar DJs, Paul van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy nomination in the newly added category of Best Dance/Electronic album for his 2003 release Reflections. He was named the World's No. 1 DJ in both 2005 and 2006, something only few DJs have ever achieved. He was the first ever DJ to be named No. 1 by Mixmag in 2005. By 2008, he had sold over 3 million albums worldwide.
A trance producer starting in the early 1990s, Paul quickly achieved popularity with his remix of "Love Stimulation" by Humate on the record label MFS in 1993 and with his hit single "For an Angel" but, in recent times, he no longer likes to describe his music as trance, but rather simply as electronic music.
Paul van Dyk is currently the radio host of "Vonyc Sessions with Paul" on Dash Radio.