Recorded History

The earliest written account which can be definitely identified with the use of molybdenite as a lubricant is in Elements of the Art of Assaying Metals by John Andrew Cramer, published in 1764, and some of his references go back a further 150 years to the early seventeenth century. One passage is worth quoting verbatim, as it gives a deiightful illustration of both the developing technology and the confusion which still existed. 

The two sections I have put in italics must refer to molybdenum disulphide and not graphite. Glimmer-Stones are micas and the various micas all have specific gravities between 2.7 and 3.3, Molybdenite has a specific gravity of 4.6 to 4.75, while that of natural graphites varies between 2.05 and 2.25. Incidentally, the comparison between Molybdaena and mica is very acute, in view of their crystallographic similarity. Similarly the effect of the strongest open fire on molybdenite would be to oxidise it to the white or yellow molybdenum trioxide. 

This was also a period of great interest in lubrication associated with the needs of the machinery of the Industrial Revolution. Dowson mentions several patents for lubricant compositions of considerable complexity which were granted between 1800 and 1850. Nevertheless the next references to the use of molybdenite as a lubricant are by gold miners in the Colorado gold rush of 1858-62, who are said to have used it to lubricate the axles of their wagons. This can hardly be considered a new development, since it was probably only a repetition of use in primitive times. 

Although petroleum products had been used earlier, their use only became important from the middle of the nineteenth century. They then slowly revolutionised lubrication because of their effectiveness, stability, availability and cheapness, and because of the wide range of viscosity grades which could be easily produced. Vegetable oils and animal fats continued to be used as alternatives, especially where there was a need for high load-carrying capacity or low friction, but otherwise little effort was made to find other types of lubricant for many years. 

Molybdenum disulphide became readily available in reasonable purity after 1918, but interest in its use was still slow to develop. Johnson has suggested that technical consideration of it mainly followed the establishment of its crystal structure by Pauling and Dickinson in 1923, but if that is so then progress was still very sparse. Koehler used molybdenum disulphide in a composition, patented in 1927, which also included talc, mica and in some cases graphite, but in retrospect that 

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Although the use of simple diluents and adulterants almost certainly predates recorded history, the use of fillers to modify the properties of a composition can be traced as far back as eady Roman times, when artisans used ground marble in lime plaster, frescoes, and po22olanic mortar. The use of fillers in paper and paper coatings made its appearance in the mid-nineteenth century. Functional fillers, which introduce new properties into a composition rather than modify pre-existing properties, were commercially developed eady in the twentieth century when Goodrich added carbon black to mbber and Baekeland formulated phenol— formaldehyde plastics with wood dour. 

Milk has been a source for food for humans since the beginning of recorded history. Although the use of fresh milk has increased with economic development, the majority of consumption occurs after milk has been heated, processed, or made into butter. The milk industry became a commercial enterprise when methods for preservation of fluid milk were introduced. The successful evolution of the dairy industry from small to large units of production, ie, the farm to the dairy plant, depended on sanitation of animals, products, and equipment cooling faciUties health standards for animals and workers transportation systems constmction materials for process machinery and product containers pasteurization and sterilization methods containers for distribution and refrigeration for products in stores and homes. 

Natural resins have been collected by hand throughout recorded history and used with minimal processing. They are reported to have been used in the arts, both in paints and for polishing sculptures, as early as 350 BC. Amber, the hardest of these resins, has been used as a gemstone from early Greek history to modem times. The electrical properties of amber were first recorded about 300 BC. Following is a description of commercial natural resins that are available in the United States. 

The collection and use of lac by Indian aboriginal tribes probably predates recorded history. Ancient Greek and Roman writers were aware of lac. By the late fifteenth century, European craftsmen were attracted to the use of lac as a finish for cabinets and other furniture because of its gloss and luster. 

The addition of oxides to ceramic bodies and to glasses to produce color has been known since antiquity (2). The use of iron and copper oxides predates recorded history. Cobalt was introduced into Chinese porcelain about 700 AD. Chromium compounds have been used since 1800 AD. 

The use of cotton predates recorded history. Although the actual origin of cotton is stiU unknown, there is evidence that it existed in Egypt as early as... 

Discuss the development of the use of enclosed space for human occupancy over the period of recorded history. 

The study of hydraulics deals with the use and characteristics of liquids and gases. Since the beginning of time, man has used fluids to ease his burden. Earliest recorded history shows that devices such as pumps and water wheels were used to generate useable mechanical power. 

It has been known since the beginning of recorded history that not all liquids are completely miscible with one another. But only in recent times have we learned that gases may also, under suitable conditions, exhibit limited miscibility. The possible existence of two gaseous phases at equilibrium was predicted on theoretical grounds by van der Waals as early as 1894, and again by Onnes and Keesom in 1907 (see R8). Experimental verification, however, was not obtained until about forty years later, primarily by Krich-evsky, Tsiklis, and their co-workers in Russia (see Gl, SI), by Lindroos and Dodge at Yale (L5), and, more recently, by de Swaan Arons and Diepen at Delft (D3). 

Since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981, over 25 million people have died as a result of HIV infection. This makes AIDS one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. The epidemic remains extremely dynamic, and no country in the world remains unaffected. It is estimated that HIV currently infects approximately 40 million people worldwide. Approximately 65% of these cases are in sub-Saharan Africa, with a prevalence of approximately 7%. East Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe are also seeing rapidly rising infection rates. 

A basic scientific investigation of fire retardancy, however, remained to be initiated by Gay-Lussac in France at the request of King Louis XVIII in 1821 who was again interested in reducing the flammability of theater curtains. This researcher noted that the ammonium salts of sulfuric, hydrochloric and phosphoric acids were very effective fire retardants on hemp and linen and that the effect could be improved considerably by using mixtures of ammonium chloride, ammonium phosphate and borax. This work has withstood the test of time and remains valid to this day. Thus the basic elements of modern fire retardant chemistry had been defined early in recorded history and remained the state of the art until early in the twentieth century. The most effective treatments for cellulosic materials being concentrated in Groups III, V and VII elements. 

Emission lifetimes span the range of nano-seconds to hours. How wide a range is this compared to the time-span of recorded history on Earth On the scale of useful chemical synthesis kinetics ... 

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a coarse green-grey leaved perennial plant with spotted white tubular flowers (Kowalchick and Hylton 1987). It has a long recorded history of use, extending back to... 

Willow bark has been used throughout recorded history to treat pain, fevers, and inflammation. Its uses have been independently discovered in cultures as diverse as the ancient Greeks, Hottentots, and American... 

Tuberculosis has been a major cause of death in humans (and other animals) since the earhest recorded history and certainly before that. Tuberculosis caused the death of about two million people in 2004. It is the leading cause of death in those suffering from AIDS. 

For all of recorded history mankind has located and identified certain items by their aroma. Whether it is a dead mouse in the closet or a freshly baking loaf of bread in the oven, we often make the identification correctly without seeing or touching the item. We have considered this sense so useful that when we find our own sense of smell to have inadequate sensitivity for a certain task we often borrow the more acute sense of smell from some animal. For centuries we have used dogs for hunting and pigs for truffle harvesting. 

Since before recorded history, we have been using chemical processes to prepare food, ferment grain and grapes for beverages, and refrne ores into utensils and weapons. Our ancestors used mostly batch processes because scaleup was not an issue when one just wanted to make products for personal consumption. 

Probably the most dramatic such event in recorded history was the eruption of Mount Krakatoa, off the west coast of the island of Java, on August 26, 1883. Scientists estimate that that eruption released more than five cubic miles (more than 20 cubic kilometers) of... 

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