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Topic Review
Arms Industry
The arms industry, also known as the defense industry or the arms trade, is a global industry responsible for the manufacturing and sales of weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and servicing of military material, equipment, and facilities. Arms-producing companies, also referred to as arms dealers, defence contractors, or as the military industry, produce arms for the armed forces of states and civilians. Departments of government also operate in the arms industry, buying and selling weapons, munitions and other military items. An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Products include guns, artillery, ammunition, missiles, military aircraft, military vehicles, ships, electronic systems, night vision devices, holographic weapon sights, laser rangefinders, laser sights, hand grenades, landmines and more. The arms industry also provides other logistical and operational support. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated that 2012 military expenditures were roughly $1.8 trillion. This represents a relative decline from 1990 when military expenditures made up 4% of world GDP. Part of the money goes to the procurement of military hardware and services from the military industry. The combined arms sales of the top 100 largest arms-producing companies amounted to an estimated $395 billion in 2012 according to SIPRI. In 2004 over $30 billion were spent in the international arms trade (a figure that excludes domestic sales of arms). According to SIPRI, the volume of international transfers of major weapons in 2010–14 was 16 per cent higher than in 2005–2009. The five biggest exporters in 2010–2014 were the United States, Russia, China, Germany and France, and the five biggest importers were India, Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. Many industrialized countries have a domestic arms-industry to supply their own military forces. Some countries also have a substantial legal or illegal domestic trade in weapons for use by its citizens, primarily for self-defence, hunting or sporting purposes. Illegal trade in small arms occurs in many countries and regions affected by political instability. The Small Arms Survey estimates that 875 million small arms circulate worldwide, produced by more than 1,000 companies from nearly 100 countries. Contracts to supply a given country's military are awarded by governments, making arms contracts of substantial political importance. The link between politics and the arms trade can result in the development of what U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower described as a military-industrial complex, where the armed forces, commerce, and politics become closely linked, similarly to the European multilateral defence procurement. Various corporations, some publicly held, others private, bid for these contracts, which are often worth many billions of dollars. Sometimes, as with the contract for the international Joint Strike Fighter, a competitive tendering process takes place, with the decision made on the merits of the designs submitted by the companies involved. Other times, no bidding or competition takes place.
  • 2.4K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Army Ground Mobility Vehicle
The M1297 Army Ground Mobility Vehicle (A-GMV or AGMV), previously just GMV, and formerly called the Ultra Light Combat Vehicle (ULCV), is a U.S. Army airdroppable light off-road vehicle for light infantry brigades. The A-GMV is produced by General Dynamics. The design is closely based on the M1288 GMV 1.1, which is itself based on the Flyer 72. In March 2015, the Army changed the name of the Ultra Light Combat Vehicle to the Ground Mobility Vehicle. A-GMV is intended to be carried internally in a CH-47 Chinook or externally by a UH-60 Black Hawk. In order to be survivable but transportable, the GMV would be lightly armored and use speed, maneuverability, and off-road mobility to avoid major threats. The A-GMV is configured to carry an airborne infantry combat squad of nine paratroopers, and their gear – a payload capacity of over 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg). The vehicle has an open design, modifiable into flexible configurations, by remote and manned turrets, armor, or arctic kits. The AGMV was a limited purchase through USSOCOM's GMV 1.1 program. The Infantry Squad Vehicle will be purchased in greater numbers.
  • 530
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Around the World Sailing Record
The first around the world sailing record for circumnavigation of the world was Juan Sebastián Elcano and the remaining members of Ferdinand Magellan's crew who completed their journey in 1522. The first solo record was set by Joshua Slocum in the Spray (1898). The current record holders are IDEC 3, skippered by Francis Joyon in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds for a crewed journey, and François Gabart with Macif in 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds for a solo journey. Most races or solo attempts start from Europe. Due to the configuration of the continents, sailing around the world consists of sailing on the Southern Ocean around the Antarctica continent, passing south of Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin. Since 1918 the Panama Canal is an option but the locks must be entered and exited using engine power. Large stretches of the canal can be crossed under sail power. Sailing around the world can be done by two directions: eastward or westward. The dominant winds and currents (outside tropical areas) make the voyage eastwards on the Southern hemisphere faster, most skippers and yachts who race prefer this route. Today, the multihulls perform much better than monohulls and hold the best times. Leisure yacht skippers who prefer tropical seas more often go westward, using the trade winds (and the Panama canal). The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded to the skipper who breaks the previous Jules Verne record, starting from an imaginary line between the Créac'h lighthouse on Ouessant (Ushant) Island, France , and the Lizard Lighthouse, United Kingdom . This has not always been the OUTRIGHT record. The records are homologated by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC). According to the WSSRC, for around the world sailing records, there is a rule saying that the length must be at least 21,600 nmi calculated along the shortest possible track from the starting port and back that does not cross land and does not go below 63°S. The great-circle distance formulas are to be used, assuming that the great circle length is 21,600 nmi. It is allowed to have one single waypoint to lengthen the calculated track. The equator must be crossed. In reality, this means that the boat should pass a waypoint at or not far from the antipode of the starting port of the journey (the exact position depends on how short the shortest possible track is). For example, the Vendée Globe starts at 46°N 2°W, has a waypoint at 57°S 180°E, and barely makes the distance requirement. The participants don't have to go to the antipode at 46°S 178°E since the rounding of Africa gives extra distance.
  • 4.4K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Around View Monitor-Based Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping
Accurately estimating the pose of a vehicle is important for autonomous parking. The study of around view monitor (AVM)-based visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) has gained attention due to its affordability, commercial availability, and suitability for parking scenarios characterized by rapid rotations and back-and-forth movements of the vehicle. 
  • 216
  • 18 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Arsenic Removal Technologies
Arsenic contamination of ground and drinking water is an outcome of both natural and man-made activities including farming activities, urbanization, industrialization, mining, volcanic ash/ eruption, weathering processes, and agricultural pesticides. The majority of people are exposed to arsenic through food and drinking water. Long-term arsenic poisoning occurs because of eating food grown in arsenic-rich groundwater; this water has been revealed to be used in the cultivation of agricultural products, vegetables, and rice that are used for human consumption. Different treatment technologies are used to combat polluted water. These technologies include electrocoagulation, magnetic biochar, oxidation, ion exchange, membrane filtration, coagulation and electrocoagulation, lime softening, capacitive deionization (CDI), adsorption, stabilization/encapsulation, phytoremediation, and bioremediation
  • 402
  • 31 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Art of Material Jetting
Material jetting (MJ) technology is an additive manufacturing method that selectively cures liquid photopolymer to build functional parts.
  • 767
  • 02 Sep 2021
Biography
Arthur Kantrowitz
Arthur Robert Kantrowitz (October 20, 1913 – November 29, 2008) was an United States scientist, engineer, and educator. Kantrowitz grew up in The Bronx, and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School.[1] He earned his B.S., M.A. and, in 1947, his Ph.D. degrees in physics from Columbia University. Kantrowitz was born in New York City on October 28, 1913. His mother was a costume designer and
  • 710
  • 16 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Artificial Downwelling
A technology that uses artificial methods to make sea water flow from top to bottom. The upper oxygen-rich water can be sent to the bottom hypoxic zone to alleviate marine environmental problems.
  • 1.3K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Biocatalysis
Biocatalysis is currently a workhorse used to produce a wide array of compounds, from bulk to fine chemicals, in a green and sustainable manner. The success of biocatalysis is largely thanks to an enlargement of the feasible chemical reaction toolbox. This materialized due to major advances in enzyme screening tools and methods, together with high-throughput laboratory techniques for biocatalyst optimization through enzyme engineering. Therefore, enzyme-related knowledge has significantly increased. To handle the large number of data now available, computational approaches have been gaining relevance in biocatalysis, among them machine learning methods (MLMs). MLMs use data and algorithms to learn and improve from experience automatically. 
  • 724
  • 14 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Sustainable Communities
Machine Learning (ML), a subset of Artificial Intelligence (AI), is gaining popularity in the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector. In the interior environment, they contribute to energy management by optimizing energy usage, finding inefficiencies, and recommending modifications to minimize consumption. This contributes to reducing the environmental effect of energy generation. Similarly, AI and ML technologies aid in addressing environmental challenges. They can monitor air quality, noise levels, and waste management systems to quickly discover and minimize pollution sources. Likewise, AI and ML applications in construction processes enhance planning, scheduling, and facility management.
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  • 19 Sep 2023
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