Track (rail transport)

The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, British English) and ballast (or slab track), plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a dependable surface for their wheels to roll. For clarity it is often referred to as railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (predominantly in the United States). Tracks where electric trains or electric trams run are equipped with an electrification system such as an overhead electrical power line or an additional electrified rail.

The term permanent way also refers to the track in addition to lineside structures such as fences etc.

Structure

Traditional track structure

Notwithstanding modern technical developments, the overwhelmingly dominant track form worldwide consists of flat-bottom steel rails supported on timber or pre-stressed concrete sleepers, which are themselves laid on crushed stone ballast.

Fidelipac

The Fidelipac, commonly known as a "NAB cartridge" or simply "cart", is a magnetic tape sound recording format, used for radio broadcasting for playback of material over the air such as radio commercials, jingles, station identifications, and music. Fidelipac is the official name of this industry standard audio tape cartridge. It was developed in 1954 by inventor George Eash (although the invention of the Fidelipac cartridge has also been credited to Vern Nolte of the Automatic Tape Company), and commercially introduced in 1959 by Collins Radio at the 1959 NAB Convention. The cartridge was widely used at radio stations until the late 1990s, when such formats as MiniDisc and computerized broadcast automation made the Fidelipac cartridge obsolete.

History

The Fidelipac cartridge was the first audio tape cartridge available commercially, based on the endless-loop tape cartridge design developed by Bernard Cousino in 1952, while Eash shared space in Cousino's electronics shop in the early 1950s. Instead of manufacturing the Fidelipac format himself after developing it, Eash decided to license it for manufacture to Telepro Industries, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Telepro then manufactured and marketed the format under the Fidelipac brand name.

Multitrack recording

Multitrack recording (MTR)—also known as multitracking, double tracking, or tracking—is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive whole. Multitracking became possible with in the mid-1950s when the idea of simultaneously recording different audio channels to separate discrete "tracks" on the same tape was developed. A "track" was simply a different channel recorded to its own discrete area on tape whereby their relative sequence of recorded events would be preserved, and playback would be simultaneous or synchronized.

Multitrack recording was a significant technical improvement in the sound recording process, because it allowed studio engineers to record all of the instruments and vocals for a piece of music separately. This allowed the engineer to adjust the levels and tone of each individual track, and if necessary, redo certain tracks or overdub parts of the track to correct errors or get a better "take." As well, different electronic effects such as reverb could be applied to specific tracks. Multitrack recording was more than a technical innovation; it also enabled record producers to create new sounds that would be impossible to create outside the studio, such as a lead singer adding many harmony vocals with their own voice to his own lead vocal part, or an electric guitar player playing many harmony parts along with their own guitar solo.

Purified water

Purified water is water that has been mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities and make it suitable for use. Distilled water has been the most common form of purified water, but, in recent years, water is more frequently purified by other processes including capacitive deionization, reverse osmosis, carbon filtering, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, ultraviolet oxidation, or electrodeionization. Combinations of a number of these processes have come into use to produce water of such high purity that its trace contaminants are measured in parts per billion (ppb) or parts per trillion (ppt). Purified water has many uses, largely in the production of medications, in science and engineering laboratories and industries, and is produced in a range of purities. It can be produced on site for immediate use or purchased in containers. Purified water in colloquial English can also refer to water which has been treated ("rendered potable") to neutralize, but not necessarily remove contaminants considered harmful to humans or animals.

Aria (manga)

Aria (アリア) is a utopian science fantasy manga by Kozue Amano. The series was originally titled Aqua (アクア, Akua) when it was published by Enix in the magazine Monthly Stencil, being retitled when it moved to Mag Garden's magazine Comic Blade.Aqua was serialized in Stencil from 2001 to 2002 and collected in two tankōbon volumes. Aria was serialized in Comic Blade from November 2002 to April 2008 and collected in twelve volumes. The series has been adapted as an anime television series, with a first season broadcast in 2005, a second season in 2006, an OVA released September 2007, and a third season in 2008 that ended around the same time as the manga serialization.

ADV Manga released English translations of the first three volumes of Aria in 2004, before dropping the license. Tokyopop then acquired the English-language rights to Aqua as well as Aria. Tokyopop released the two volumes of Aqua on October 2007 and February 2008, and six volumes of Aria between January 2008 and December 2010. The anime is licensed in North America by The Right Stuf International, which released all three seasons a box sets under its Nozomi Entertainment imprint between 30 September 2008 and 2 March 2010.

Aqua (band)

Aqua is a Danish eurodance group, best known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 and achieved huge success around the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group released three albums: Aquarium in 1997, Aquarius in 2000 and Megalomania in 2011. The group sold an estimated 33 million albums and singles, making them the most successful Danish band ever.

In their prime, Aqua's singles managed to chart top ten in a number of countries where European pop acts would not normally succeed, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan. The group managed to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles. The group also caused controversy with the double entendres in their "Barbie Girl" single, with the Barbie doll makers Mattel filing a lawsuit against the group. The lawsuit was finally dismissed by a judge in 2002, who ruled "The parties are advised to chill."

The band's members are vocalists Lene Nystrøm and René Dif, keyboardist Søren Rasted, and guitarist Claus Norreen. During their split, Nystrøm, Dif and Rasted all achieved solo chart success, and Norreen continued in the music industry remixing other artists' material.

Aquarium (Aqua album)

Aquarium is the debut studio album by Danish-Norwegian band Aqua. The album was released in Scandinavia on 26 March 1997 and in the United States on 9 September 1997. Although the group had been together for three years under their original name Joyspeed, their only release under that name was a single called "Itzy Bitsy Spider". The album is best known for including the successful singles "Barbie Girl", "Doctor Jones" and "Turn Back Time", the first of those being a huge hit across the globe. (The album was preceded by the two singles "Roses Are Red" and "My Oh My", with the latter re-released in 1998.)

The album's third single, "Barbie Girl" brought the group to international attention after reaching number one in both Denmark and Norway, as well as across Europe and in Australia and New Zealand. It would later peak at number 7 in the US. Its success helped the album reach number one in both the group's home countries, and make the top 10 in the UK and US. While not selling as highly "Barbie Girl", the album's fourth single "Doctor Jones" was released in late 1997/early 1998 and became a number one in Denmark, Norway, Australia and the UK. "Turn Back Time" would later give the group their third consecutive number one single in the UK, despite only reaching number 16 in Denmark. The final single, "Good Morning Sunshine" failed to chart highly and was only released in select regions like the earlier "Lollipop (Candyman)", the group's only other song to chart in the US. The album has sold 14 million copies worldwide.