Quenching
In materials science, quenching, a type of heat treating, is the rapid cooling of a workpiece to obtain certain material properties. It prevents low-temperature processes, such as phase transformations, from occurring by only providing a narrow window of time in which the reaction is both thermodynamically favorable and kinetically accessible. For instance, it can reduce crystallinity and thereby increase the hardness of both alloys and plastics (produced through polymerization).
In metallurgy, it is most commonly used to harden steel by introducing martensite, in which case the steel must be rapidly cooled through its eutectoid point, the temperature at which austenite becomes unstable. In steel alloyed with metals such as nickel and manganese, the eutectoid temperature becomes much lower, but the kinetic barriers to phase transformation remain the same. This allows quenching to start at a lower temperature, making the process much easier. High speed steel also has added tungsten, which serves to raise kinetic barriers and give the illusion that the material has been cooled more rapidly than it really has. Even cooling such alloys slowly in air has most of the desired effects of quenching.
Quench (company)
Quench USA Inc is a water technology company that rents and services filtered water coolers. According to the site, over half of the Fortune 500 are customers. Zenith International lists Quench as a leading distributor in the point-of-use (POU) market along with Macke Water Systems and Nestle Waters. Quench is an independent operating company of AquaVenture Holdings™. Quench is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Quench was named an Online Marketing Success Story in Google's 2011 Economic Impact Report. In 2008, Quench was named a top 25 most successful startup by Businessweek.
Products Description
Filtered water systems are plumbed into a building's water supply and purified at the last possible point before consumption. Filter water coolers and ice dispensers typically use carbon filtration, UV water disinfection and/or reverse osmosis to purify drinking water.
Acquisitions
In March 2012, Quench purchased Aqua Perfect of Arizona LLC. In July of 2105 Quench acquired Region-X LLC a Massachuetts company that provides services related to high purity water systems
Quench (album)
Quench released in the UK on 17 October 1998 is The Beautiful South's sixth original album. Including the compilation Carry On Up The Charts it was the band's third album in a row to reach the top of the charts.
The cover depicts a boxer by Scottish painter Peter Howson. Commissioned for the album, the original painting can be seen in the Ferens Art Gallery, Hull. After the band cropped the image and used it in merchandise and promotional material, Howson took legal action against the band, receiving around £30,000 in damages. Whilst the first two singles from the album also have artwork by Howson, "How Long's a Tear Take to Dry?" and "The Table" do not.
Singles
Track listing
Vexx
Vexx is a 3D platforming video game developed by Acclaim Studios Austin and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It was also planned to be released for the Game Boy Advance but it was eventually cancelled. The objective consists of collecting magical hearts and unlocking more worlds to play, defeating enemies and jumping across platforms. Vexx is armed only with the legendary Astani war talons, which give him the power to defeat his enemies, as well as fly and swim under water.
Plot
The introduction tells briefly of a planet called Astara that was inadvertently destroyed by its own inhabitants, who "opened a door better left closed". The planet was, in fact, destroyed by the Shadowraiths, who had poured through the Landspire and the Rift system that had been created by the ambitious Astani in order to access other worlds. The Wraiths, led by their leader Dark Yabu, attacked Astara, ultimately draining all of the energy out of the Rift system. However, an official supplementary comic reveals how Treyven, the Guardian of Astara, used the legendary Astani war talons to defeat the entire first wave of the Shadowraiths at the cost of his own life.
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