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Perry Rhodan

Perry Rhodan is a German space opera franchise, named after its hero. It commenced in 1961 and has been ongoing for decades, written by an ever-changing team of authors. Having sold approximately two billion copies (in novella format) worldwide (including over one billion in Germany alone), it is the most successful science fiction book series ever written. The first billion of worldwide sales was celebrated in 1986. The series has spun off into comic books, audio dramas, video games and the like. A reboot, Perry Rhodan NEO, was launched in 2011 and began publication in English in April 2021.

Print publication
The series has spun off into many different forms of media, but originated as a serial novella published weekly since 8 September 1961 in the Romanheft (Meaning "Magazine novel") format. These are digest-sized booklets, usually containing 66 pages, the German equivalent of the now-defunct (and generally longer) American pulp magazine. They are published by Pabel-Moewig Verlag, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Group headquartered in Hamburg. As of February 2019, 3000 booklet novels of the original series, 850 spinoff novels of the sister series Atlan and over 400 paperbacks and 200 hardcover editions have been published, totalling over 300,000 pages.

English translation
The first 126 novels (plus five novels of the spinoff series Atlan) were translated into English and published by Ace Books between 1969 and 1978, with the same translations used for the British edition published by Futura Publications which issued only 39 novels. When Ace cancelled its translation of the series, translator Wendayne Ackerman self-published the following 19 novels (under the business name 'Master Publications') and made them available by subscription only. Financial disputes with the German publishers led to the cancellation of the American translation in 1979.

An attempt to revive the series in English was made in 1997–1998 by Vector Publications of the US which published translations of four issues (1800–1803) from the current storyline being published in Germany at the time.

The series and its spin-offs have captured a substantial fraction of the original German science fiction output and exert influence on many German writers in the field.

Structure
The series is told in an arc storyline structure. An arc—called a "cycle" —would have anywhere from 25 to 100 issues devoted to it, similar subsequent cycles are referred to as a "grand-cycle".

History
‘Perry Rhodan, der Erbe des Universums’ (Eng: ‘The Heir to the Universe’, though the American/British editions instead used the subtitle 'Peacelord of the Universe') was created by German science fiction authors K. H. Scheer and Walter Ernsting and launched in 1961 by German publishing house Arthur Moewig Verlag (now Pabel-Moewig Verlag). Originally planned as a 30 to 50 volume series, it has been published continuously every week since, celebrating the 3000th issue in 2019. Written by an ever-changing team of authors, many of whom, however, remained with the series for decades or life, Perry Rhodan is issued in weekly novella-size installments in the traditional German Heftroman (pulp booklet) format. Unlike most German Heftromane, Perry Rhodan consists not of unconnected novels but is a series with a continuous, increasingly complex plotline, with frequent back references to events. In addition to its original Heftroman form, the series now also appears in hardcovers, paperbacks, e-books, comics and audiobooks.

Over the decades there have also been comic strips, numerous collectibles, several encyclopedias, audio plays, inspired music, etc. The series has seen partial translations into several languages. It also spawned the 1967 movie Mission Stardust (aka …4 …3 …2 …1 …morte), which is widely considered so terrible that many fans of the series pretend it never existed.

Coinciding with the 50th-anniversary World Con, on 30 September 2011, a new series named Perry Rhodan Neo began publication, attracting new readers with a reboot of the story, starting in the year 2036 instead of 1971, and a related but independent story-line. On April 2, 2021, light novel and manga publisher J-Novel Club announced Perry Rhodan NEO as a launch title for its new J-Novel Pulp imprint, making this the first ongoing English release of new Perry Rhodan serials in over 20 years.

It has become the most popular science fiction book series of all time.

Premise
The story begins in 1971. During the first human Moon landing by US Space Force Major Perry Rhodan and his crew, they discover a marooned extraterrestrial space ship from the fictional planet Arkon, located in the (real) M13 cluster. Appropriating the Arkonide technology, they proceed to unify Terra and carve out a place for humanity in the galaxy and the cosmos. Two of the accomplishments that enable them to do so are positronic brains and starship drives for near-instantaneous hyperspatial translation. These were directly borrowed from Isaac Asimov's science fiction.

As the series progresses, major characters, including the title character, are granted relative immortality. They are immune to age and disease, but not to violent death. The story continues over the course of millennia and includes flashbacks thousands and even millions of years into the past. The scope widens to encompass other galaxies, even more remote regions of space, parallel universes and cosmic structures, time travel, paranormal powers, a variety of aliens ranging from threatening to endearing, and bodiless entities, some of which have godlike powers.

Universe and multiverse
The universe in which the plot regularly takes place is called the Einstein Universe (and occasionally "Meekorah"). Its laws are nearly identical to those of the real universe, in terms of late 20th century science. Newer theories about dark matter and dark energy are currently not used in the series. The laws of nature follow old theories that have been disproven, in order to protect series continuity.

This Einstein Universe is but one of many universes, each to a greater or lesser extent different from it, for example one in which time runs slower, an anti-matter universe, a shrinking universe, etc. Each universe possesses a large ensemble of parallel timelines, which are usually unreachable from each other but may be accessed by special means, thereby itself creating many more parallel timelines.

The Einstein Universe is embedded in a high-dimensional manifold, called Hyperspace. This hyperspace consists of several subspaces that different technologies use for faster-than-light travel. The exact traits of those higher dimensions are not much explained. The border of the universe is a dimension called the deep, once used for construction of the gigantic disc-shaped world Deepland.

Psionic Web and Moralic Code
The Psionic Web crosses invisibly through the whole universe, constantly emitting "vital energy" and "psionic energy", guaranteeing normal (organic among others) life and the well-being of higher entities.

The Moralic Code crosses through all universes, and is linked to the Psionic Web. It is subdivided into the Cosmogenes, which are again subdivided into the Cosmonucleotids. (These names and associations to DNA were given by the cosmocrats, and should not be misunderstood as having ethical meanings.) The Cosmonucleotids determine reality and fate themselves for their respective parts of a given universe, via messengers.

Higher beings are trying to gain control of this possibility to rule reality. The Moralic Code itself was not installed by the higher beings, the higher powers by themselves have no clue why or by whom the Code was made.

Once the cosmocrats ordered Perry Rhodan to find the answer to the third ultimate question: "Who initiated the LAW and what does it cause?". Perry Rhodan had the chance to receive the answer at the mountain of creation, but refused, as he knew that the answer would destroy his mind. The negative Superintelligence Koltoroc had received the answer to the last ultimate question, 69 million years BC at Negane Mountain, but it is not known if it made any use of the information.

Onion-shell model
An evolutionary schema, similar to the Great Chain of Being, called the "onion-shell model" is employed in relationship to all life. Here, continuous evolution is from lower to higher life-forms, culminating in bodiless entities. Later in the series, further life-forms, representing stages between the known shells, were introduced.

The main shells are:
 * 1) Life-less matter
 * 2) Bacteria
 * 3) Higher animals
 * 4) Intelligent species
 * 5) Intelligent species that have contacted other species
 * 6) Superintelligences (SI)
 * 7) Matter-fountains / Matter-sinks
 * 8) Cosmocrats / Chaotarchs (High Powers)
 * 9) Powers close to the "Horizon of the LAW", the essence of the Multiverse

The superintelligences are the next step above normal minds. They can be born, for example, when a species collectively gives up its bodies and unites their spirits. Those superintelligences claim a domain as theirs, consisting of up to several galaxies (the entity known as "ES ('IT')" has the Local Group as personal domain). The superintelligence nourishes mentally on the species in its domain, sometimes symbiotically (positive SI), sometimes parasitically (negative SI). Again, these attributes should not be treated as ethical description, although negative superintelligences are in general described as being more sinister.

The matter-fountains/matter-sinks are born, when a superintelligence fuses with all life and matter in its domain while shrinking. Little more is known, except that the process is gradual and that the resulting object lacks the gravitational pull possessed if the contraction produced a black hole.

The "high powers" were long known to be the highest known life-forms. They live in an unimaginable, distant dimension and have great powers in ruling over lower beings. However they are not omniscient and they are unable to directly interact with lower beings. To enter a regular universe, they have to assume a mortal shape, thus reducing their powers and sometimes their knowledge and memory. This is known as the transform syndrome. As a consequence, they rarely interact with lower beings and instead enlist individuals, organizations or entire species.

Conflict between the high powers
Among the high powers are two factions known as the cosmocrats and the chaotarchs. The cosmocrats wish to transform all universes into a state of absolute order (a state of utmost entropy, usual symbol S). The chaotarchs wish to do the opposite and remake all universes into absolute chaos (or negative entropy). They are engulfed in a cataclysmic neverending war, involving nearly all known universes. They manipulate and doom whole species for their actions. Open warfare is just one tool among many. In the previous cycle (2300–2499) the Milky Way galaxy was subjected to open military assault by the forces of chaos trying to establish a bastion of chaos, a negasphere, in the nearby galaxy Hangay.

Recent stories have revealed to the protagonists that life itself has become a rival to the higher powers. Spreading uncontrollably among the universe, it can be found in nearly every niche. The cosmocrats and chaotarchs both use life for their own directed goals of order and disorder, but life's unplanned and unregulated cosmological actions are a disturbance for and to both. The Pangalactic Statisticians (a neutral organization of observers) have while some cosmological manipulation is caused by the cosmocrat servants and a lesser amount by the chaos servants, the majority is caused by the uncontrollable power of life itself. To reduce the influence of life, the cosmocrats have stopped their programs that encourage the development of life and intelligence. They have increased the hyper-impedance in order to reduce the effectivity and durability of most forms of hyper-technology.

At least one power, called Thez, higher than either cosmocrats and chaotarchs has been recently identified. Thez is said to live close to the "Horizon of the LAW" so that both cosmocrats and powers have problems understanding it.

Critical reaction
In the introduction to the first English-language edition of Perry Rhodan in 1969, editor Forrest J Ackerman (who, as detailed above, had the series translated into English) said that "[i]n Germany, all serious SF buffs claim to hate Perry Rhodan, but somebody (in unprecedented numbers) is certainly reading him." Many American SF fans agreed with the first part of that statement, feeling the series was an embarrassment and too "juvenile". Tom Doherty, the new head of Ace Books in the mid-to-late '70s, concurred and ended the series in the US, even though it was profitable. This decision meant that by 1980, when the original German versions of Perry Rhodan were becoming "more sophisticated and less aimed at younger readers", the series was no longer available in English.

Critic Robert Reginald has described the series as the "ultimate soap opera of science fiction" and standard "pulp science fiction, action stories with minimal characterization, awful dialog, but relatively complex plot development. The emphasis is always on man's expanding horizons, the wonder of science and space, the great destiny of the human race."

The series' beginnings were often criticized for their description of an expansive mankind and frequent space battles; after William Voltz took over the position of storyline planner for the series in 1975 (a post he held until his death in 1984), the series developed a broader ethical scope and evolved in terms of storytelling style.

While some Anglophone critics dismiss the series, others praise it. In the US, the newer, more complex parts of the series have never been published, so critical review tends to be concentrated on the simple origins of the series. Editor John O'Neill has called Perry Rhodan "one of the richest — if not the richest — Space Operas ever written."

In English
In the 1960s, Forrest J Ackerman organized the publication in the US of an English translation of the series. His wife Wendayne handled translation. Other translators on the series included Sig Wahrmann, Stuart J. Byrne, and Dwight Decker. Number 1, containing German issues 1 and 2, was published by Ace Books starting in 1969. As Managing Editor, Ackerman soon incorporated elements reminiscent of the science fiction pulp magazines of his youth, such as unrelated short stories, serialized novels and a film review section. The series was a commercial success and was eventually being published three times per month.

Ace ended its regular run of Perry Rhodan in August 1977 with double issue #117/118. This was followed by the publication of three novellas from earlier in the series which had not been translated and left out of the series by editorial decision. These were accompanied by three novellas from the Perry Rhodan spinoff series Atlan.

Ace concluded its run of translations with two more Atlan novels and a novel-length In the Center of the Galaxy [German: Im Zentrum der Galaxis] ' by Clark Darlton, which had appeared in German as issue 11 of the "Perry Rhodan Planet Novels" (or Planetenromane) spin-off series.

When Ace cancelled its publication of the series in 1978, translator Wendayne Ackerman self-published the following 19 novels (numbered #119 – 137) under the business name Master Publications in a subscription-only edition. This was also cancelled in 1979. In the 1990s, Vector Enterprises restarted an American version. This version lasted for four printed issues and one electronic issue and translated #1800 to #1804.

In 2006, Pabel-Moewig Verlag licensed FanPro to publish an English translation of Perry Rhodan: Lemuria. (Some material present in the German version, such as a history of generation spaceships in science fiction, was dropped from the American version.) Only the first volume was released. In 2015–16, Perry Rhodan Digital published English translations of the full six volume Perry Rhodan: Lemuria story arc in ebook format, making these available via iTunes and other digital platforms.

Perry Rhodan NEO in English
In April 2021, light novel and manga publisher J-Novel Club announced Perry Rhodan NEO as one of three launch titles for its J-Novel Pulp imprint, dedicated to the best of European pulp fiction. Eight volumes, each containing two original German Hefte, or "episodes", have been announced. J-Novel Club's release uses the cover art by toi8 created for Hayakawa Publishing's 2017 release.

In line with J-Novel Club's light novel releases, new instalments are first serialized on J-Novel Club's website over a number of weeks for subscribers. The first part of each volume is free for all visitors and requires no membership or subscription to read. Following web serialization, each volume is released as an Ebook at all major digital book retailers. J-Novel Club members who purchase the books directly receive textless versions of the cover art as a bonus.

Beginning with Volume 13, the English edition features newly commissioned art by toi8.

In other countries
Translations of Perry Rhodan are currently available in Brazil (#1 to #536 and #650 to #847 as of August 2011), and also from 537 to 649; 1400 in before (at present, in December 2014), including the series Atlan, Planetary Novels and Perry Rhodan NEO (at present in the n. 28), all launched by the "Project Translation", Russia, China, Japan(#1 to #800 as of May 2011), France, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands (#1 to #2000 as of September 2009). Apart from the US version, there were also editions in Canada, Great Britain (#1 to #39), Italy and Finland. However, the latter have been discontinued.

The first language into which Perry Rhodan was translated was Hebrew. In 1965, the first four episodes appeared in Tel Aviv in a pirated translation, and which for unknown reasons ceased before publication of the fifth (it was not because it was detected by the German publishers, who only heard about it many years later). The few surviving copies of this 1965 translation are highly valued by Israeli collectors.

Cycles
The original series is divided into the following cycles and "grand cycles". Only the grandcycles the Great Cosmic Mystery and Thoregon have official names. The other grandcycles were not planned as such. They were named by the readers in retrospect.

American publication history
Letter page and film reviews began in #6. Would later include short stories—old and new—and reprints of classic serialized novels such as Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss (reprinted as Pursuit to Mars). Of special note is a lost chapter of the H.G. Wells novel The Time Machine that was published in this manner. Also serialized was William Ellern's New Lensman novel.
 * Ace Books
 * #1 to #5—Double issues. Each volume contains two episodes. The German novel between episodes 4a and 4b, #0009 Hilfe fuer die Erde/Help for Earth, was initially skipped, but later printed as a Special Edition (The Atom-Men Attack).
 * #6 to #108—Single issues. "Maga-book" format, or the style of a magazine in the format of a book. Two more skipped novels ("lost") were 0021, Der Atomkrieg findet nicht statt/The atomic war doesn't take place (between 014 Venus in Danger and 015 Thora's Flight) and 0031 Der Kaiser von New York/The Ruler of New York (between 023 Peril on Ice Planet and 024 Infinity Flight). 0021 was finally printed as a Special, Menace of Atomigeddon, and 0031 as Robot Threat: New York.
 * #109 to #118—double issues again, each one still separate.
 * Perry Rhodan Specials #1 to #5—Double issues. #1 to #3 are skipped episodes ("lost") published with an Atlan episode. #4 are two Atlan episodes and #5 (unnumbered) is a Planetenroman.
 * Master Publications
 * #119 to #136—Magazine size and format.
 * #137—Book format. To fill out remaining subscription orders, the book format also printed Stuart J. Byrne's Star Man series (expanded into novellas from Byrne's novel of the same name). #137 was published with the first five episodes of Star Man in one volume. The remaining Star Man episodes were published as a separate volume.
 * Vector Enterprises
 * #1800 to #1803—Magazine format. #1800 is published in a manner similar to the German series. 1801 to 1803 are large-sized magazine format.
 * #1804—Electronic format only.
 * FanPro Games (American operation of German company FanPro)
 * Lemuria #1 "The Star Ark."

Copies of the Ace books and the rarer magazine versions can be found in online auction sites such as eBay and fixed-price online stores like Amazon.com. Used bookstores often have some of the Ace books, but rarely the magazine versions.

In current events
Matthias Rust, the then-18 year old aviator who landed his Cessna 172 aircraft on the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge which connects the Red Square in Moscow in 1987, cited Perry Rhodan's adventures as his main inspiration for penetrating Soviet airspace.

Dutch ESA astronaut André Kuipers was inspired to become an astronaut from an early age by the Perry Rhodan albums his grandmother had bought for him, and that he eventually started buying himself from his allowance. When he finally went into space, on 18 April 2004, he brought his very first booklet along with him. It was number ten in the red series, Ruimteoorlog in de Wegasector (Space War in the Vega Sector or Raumschlacht im Wega-Sektor).

In music
Christopher Franke, former member of German electronica group Tangerine Dream and soundtrack composer for US science-fiction television series Babylon 5, released Perry Rhodan Pax Terra in 1996, composed of music inspired by the Perry Rhodan epic.

The German group The Psychedelic Avengers have said that they were inspired by Perry Rhodan on their 2004 release And the Curse of the Universe. Another group, Sensus, released a song "Perry Rhodan .. More Than A Million Lightyears From Home" in 1986 a presented it at the Worldcon in Saarbrücken.

In video games
In 1995, the Czech computer adventure video game Mise Quadam was created based on the motifs of the series. In 2008, was released the computer game The Immortals of Terra: A Perry Rhodan Adventure (Rhodan: Myth of the Illochim).

In science fiction fandom
Bubonicon, an annual science fiction convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, US, adopted as its mascot Perry Rhodent, a rat wearing only one shoe (or boot). Perry's image is reinvented each year for the convention's program and T-shirts, often by the convention's Artist Guest of Honor.

Past writers

 * Kurt Brand
 * Clark Darlton
 * Andreas Findig
 * H. G. Francis
 * Hanns Kneifel
 * Kurt Mahr
 * K. H. Scheer

Guest writers

 * Andreas Eschbach
 * Gisbert Haefs
 * Markus Heitz

title: Perry Rhodan


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BoF

BoF or BOF is an abbreviation for:

Military

 * Battle of Fredericksburg, American Civil War
 * Second Battle of Fredericksburg, American Civil War
 * Bangladesh Ordnance Factories

Movies

 * Balls of Fury, a comedy film
 * Boys Over Flowers, a Japanese manga, TV, and movie series

Organizations

 * British Orienteering Federation, the United Kingdom sports body
 * Bank of Finland, the Finnish central bank
 * Bits of Freedom, a Dutch digital rights organization
 * Bangladesh Ordnance Factories, the largest military industrial complex of the Bangladesh Army
 * Business of Fashion, a fashion publication

Technology

 * Basic oxygen steelmaking, a furnace used in steel production
 * Beginning of file, in computing - see end-of-file
 * Breath of Fire, a video game series
 * Buffer overflow, a type of exploit for certain software bugs
 * Body-on-frame, an automobile construction technique
 * Bag of features model in computer vision, an image representation method
 * Birds of a feather (computing), informal discussion groups at technology and engineering conferences

Other

 * Battalions of Fear, the debut album of Blind Guardian
 * Baptism of fire, English expression based on soldier's first experience under fire in battle
 * Beurre, œuf, fromage, old French acronym for the food trade, known as "BOF" or "Les BOF"
 * The Beauty of Fractals, book
 * Brandy Old Fashioned, a modification of the Old fashioned cocktail

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: BoF


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George Richards Elkington

George Richards Elkington (17 October 1801 – 22 September 1865) was a manufacturer from Birmingham, England. He patented the first commercial electroplating process.

Biography
Elkington was born in Birmingham, the son of a spectacle manufacturer. Apprenticed to his uncles' silver plating business in 1815, he became, on their death, sole proprietor of the business, but subsequently took his cousin, Henry Elkington, into partnership. The science of electrometallurgy was then in its infancy, but the Elkingtons were quick to recognize its possibilities. They had already taken out certain patents for the application of electricity to metals when, in 1840, John Wright, a Birmingham surgeon, discovered the valuable properties of a solution of cyanide of silver in potassium cyanide for electroplating purposes. The Elkingtons purchased and patented Wright's process (British Patent 8447 : Improvements in Coating, Covering, or Plating certain Metals), subsequently acquiring the rights of other processes and improvements. In 1843 Elkingtons acquired the rights to Werner von Siemens's first invention, an improvement to the gold and silver plating process.

The Elkingtons opened a new electroplating works in Newhall Street, in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham in 1841, and the following year Josiah Mason, a pen manufacturer, joined the firm and encouraged the Elkingtons to diversify their output, adding more affordable electroplated jewellery and cutlery to the large pieces the company had been producing. Electroplated wares became very successful in the Victorian market and by 1880 the company employed 1,000 people at the Newhall Street site and had a further six factories. The agreement between Elkington and Mason was dissolved on 31 December 1861, after which the company traded as Elkington and Co.

There is a Blue Plaque commemorating him on the old Elkington Silver Electroplating Works, Newhall Street, Birmingham.

Family
He married Mary Auster Balleney in 1825 and had seven surviving children, Frederick, George, James, Alfred, Howard, Hyla and one girl, Emma. Mary Auster died in 1858 and was buried in St. Mary's churchyard, Selly Oak, Birmingham and in 1860 he married secondly Margaret Morgan Jones.

On his death in 1865 he left £350,000 and his business to be continued by four of his sons, Frederick, James, Alfred and Howard.

Stained-glass windows were erected in St. Mary's Church, Selly Oak in memory of both wives and of him. George had made a substantial contribution towards the construction of this church.

His grandfather was the land drainage reformer Joseph Elkington.

title: George Richards Elkington


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List of mountains in Iran

The highest mountains in Iran include Damavand, Alam-Kuh, Sabalan, Takht-e Soleyman, Azad Kuh, Zard-Kuh, and Shir Kuh.

This is a list of mountains in the country of Iran.

By clicking on the symbols at the head of the table the individual columns may be sorted.

title: List of mountains in Iran


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Television in the Netherlands

Television in the Netherlands was officially introduced in 1951. In the Netherlands, the television market is divided between a number of commercial networks, such as RTL Nederland, and a system of public broadcasters sharing three channels, NPO 1, NPO 2, and NPO 3. Imported programmes (except those for children), as well as news interviews with responses in a foreign language, are almost always shown in their original language, with subtitles.

Reception
In the Netherlands, television can be watched analog or digital (the latter with the option of HDTV or UHD). Over 2018, 89.2% of Dutch viewers received television digitally. Analogue television is only available via some cable operators and some fiber to the home providers, since the Dutch government ended analogue reception via airwaves in 2006. Dutch largest cable company Ziggo began to phase out the analogue signal in 2018. Watching digital television is possible through a variety of ways, the most common being:
 * Digital television over cable (in most cases through a set-top box with a smart card or through a Conditional-access module).
 * Ziggo is the major supplier of cable television in the Netherlands. Other companies are Caiway, DELTA, Kabelnoord and a few smaller local companies.
 * Satellite television
 * Canal Digitaal is the only satellite provider.
 * Digital terrestrial television
 * KPN Digitenne is the only terrestrial provider.
 * Internet television (IPTV)
 * KPN, Tele2 and T-Mobile are the major suppliers of IPTV.
 * Fiber to the home
 * KPN is the major operator of FTTH with its subsidiaries KPN Glasvezel, Glashart and Reggefiber. Other companies are Caiway and DELTA.

Which television channels can be received is heavily dependent on the operator and in most cases also the channel package that is paid for. However, there is a small selection of channels that every operator must carry. Since 2014, these are the following channels:
 * NPO 1
 * NPO 2
 * NPO 3
 * VRT 1 (Flanders (Belgium))
 * VRT Canvas (Flanders (Belgium))
 * Ketnet (Flanders (Belgium))
 * Regional (provincial) broadcasters (when available)
 * Local broadcaster (when available)

Public channels
The Netherlands has three nationwide channels for publicly funded television (NPO). These channels can only make a fixed maximum amount of money from commercials. These commercials never interrupt broadcasts, and are only shown in between shows. The broadcasting organisations that use these channels are basically representative of the Dutch society. Every broadcasting company has members and the number of members gives them a status that is connected to the number of hours of broadcasting. Acceptance or refusal of entry is decided politically on the guidance of public opinion.

In 2005, there was a sharp political debate over government plans to cut funding to public broadcasters and to abolish statutory broadcaster NPS.

National
The three national television channels are:
 * NPO 1
 * NPO 2
 * NPO 3
 * NPO Zapp
 * NPO Zappelin

Thematic
The three digital television channels that are provided by the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep organisation, are:
 * NPO 1 Extra
 * NPO 2 Extra
 * NPO Politiek en Nieuws

International
There is also an international public channel:
 * BVN, It shows the best of Dutch public television for Dutch viewers abroad. It was also formerly shared with Belgium's publicly funded Flemish television channel VRT.

Regional
Most regions and provinces have their own television channel as well. These also receive government funding:
 * AT5 (Greater Amsterdam)
 * Omrop Fryslân (Friesland), in West Frisian and Dutch
 * RTV Noord (Groningen)
 * RTV Drenthe (Drenthe)
 * RTV Oost (Overijssel)
 * Omroep Flevoland (Flevoland)
 * TV Gelderland (Gelderland)
 * RTV Utrecht (Utrecht)
 * NH (North Holland)
 * RTV Rijnmond (Rotterdam)
 * TV West (South Holland)
 * L1 Televisie (Limburg)
 * Omroep Brabant TV (North Brabant)
 * Omroep Zeeland (Zeeland)

RTL Nederland

 * RTL 4
 * RTL 5
 * RTL 7
 * RTL 8
 * RTL Z
 * RTL Crime
 * RTL Lounge
 * RTL Telekids

Talpa Network

 * Talpa TV
 * Net5
 * SBS6
 * Veronica
 * Viaplay TV
 * TV 538

Paramount Networks EMEAA

 * Comedy Central
 * MTV
 * MTV 80s
 * MTV 90s
 * MTV 00s
 * MTV Hits
 * MTV Live
 * Nickelodeon
 * Nick Jr.
 * Nicktoons
 * NickMusic
 * Paramount Network

Warner Bros. Discovery

 * Animal Planet
 * Cartoon Network
 * Cartoonito
 * CNN International
 * Discovery Channel
 * Discovery Science
 * Eurosport 1
 * Eurosport 2
 * HGTV
 * Investigation Discovery
 * TLC

The Walt Disney Company

 * 24Kitchen
 * BabyTV (Distribution only)
 * Disney XD, formerly known as Jetix.
 * Disney Channel
 * ESPN (through Eredivisie Media & Marketing CV)
 * Star Channel (through Eredivisie Media & Marketing CV)
 * National Geographic
 * National Geographic Wild

VodafoneZiggo

 * Ziggo Sport
 * Ziggo Sport 2
 * Ziggo Sport 3
 * Ziggo Sport 4
 * Ziggo Sport 5
 * Ziggo Sport 6
 * Ziggo TV

AMC Networks International

 * AMC Networks International UK
 * Extreme Sports Channel
 * ShortsTV, joint venture of AMC and Shorts International

NBCUniversal International Networks

 * CNBC Europe
 * DreamWorks Channel
 * E!
 * Sky News

SPI International

 * DocuBox
 * FightBox
 * Film1
 * Film1 Premiere
 * Film1 Action
 * Film1 Family
 * Film1 Drama
 * FilmBox

BBC Studios

 * BBC First
 * BBC News

A&E Networks

 * Crime & Investigation
 * History

Stingray Digital

 * Stingray Classica
 * Stingray Djazz
 * Stingray iConcerts
 * Stingray Lite TV

Muziekkiosk

 * Nashville TV
 * SchlagerTV
 * TV Oranje

RadioCorp BV

 * 100% NL TV
 * Slam!TV

Other
The following (international) commercial channels broadcast localized versions of their programs:

 * 192TV
 * Curiosity Channel
 * DanceTelevision
 * Duck TV
 * Euronews
 * Family 7, conservative Christian channel
 * FashionTV
 * Horse & Country TV
 * Love Nature
 * Njam!
 * ONS, Dutch Nostalgia Channel
 * OutTV, lesbian lifestyle
 * Pebble TV, Dutch Children's Channel
 * Tommy TV
 * Xite, Dutch Music Channel
 * AFTV-African Television (English), available in The Hague and online, targeting Africans in the Netherlands
 * NOS TV (Papiamento), available on Bonaire and online; local Bonaire TV station.
 * RTV-7, (Papiamento, English); Rebroadcast of Antillian TV Channels in the Netherlands

Foreign domestic channels
While there are many localised versions of international channels meant for the Dutch market, many television providers also broadcast 'domestic television' networks as part of the basic subscription package. Other 'domestic' channels may be received as part of extended packages. Many basic subscriptions include:

Belgium

 * VRT 1 (Flanders)
 * VRT Canvas (Flanders)
 * Ketnet Junior (Flanders)
 * Ketnet (Flanders)
 * La Une (Wallonia)
 * Tipik (Wallonia)
 * La Trois (Wallonia)
 * RTBF Auvio Kids TV (Wallonia)

United Kingdom

 * BBC One
 * BBC Two
 * BBC Three
 * CBBC
 * BBC Four
 * Cbeebies

Germany

 * Das Erste
 * ZDF
 * WDR Fernsehen
 * NDR Fernsehen
 * RTL
 * Sat.1
 * 3sat
 * Arte Deutschland

France

 * France 2
 * France 3
 * France 4
 * Okoo
 * Culturebox
 * France 5
 * TV5 Monde Europe
 * Arte France
 * Mezzo

Italy

 * Mediaset Italia
 * Rai 1
 * Rai 2
 * Rai 3

Spain

 * Antena 3
 * TVE Internacional

Other

 * TRT Türk (Turkey)
 * Al Jazeera English
 * CGTN
 * Utsav Gold
 * Utsav Plus

High-definition
In the Netherlands customers can receive high-definition television channels by cable or satellite. Until 2018 there was no terrestrial HD service available. KPN started to switch its digital terrestrial television platform to the DVB-T2 HEVC standard in October 2018, this transition completed on 9 July 2019.

The first trials with high-definition television in the Netherlands began in 2006 with the broadcast of the 2006 World Cup in HD. After the trial the larger cable companies continued a HD service with a small number of channels such as National Geographic Channel HD, Discovery HD Showcase, History HD, Film1 HD and Sport1 HD. The demand for HD was low because no Dutch network had made the move to HD. Broadcasting in widescreen and the quality of the standard-definition PAL signal was good enough for most people.

Since the 2006 trials, none of the main Dutch networks made the move to HD. This changed in the summer of 2008 when from 1 June 2008 until 24 August 2008, the Netherlands Public Broadcasting (NPO) organisations made their primary channel, Nederland 1 temporary available in HD. This made it possible to broadcast Euro 2008, the 2008 Tour de France, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in HD and additionally allowed them to test their systems before the scheduled launch of their permanent HD service in early 2009. The NPO planned to launch their permanent HD service with HD versions of their three channels Nederland 1, Nederland 2, and Nederland 3. Most of the programming in the early stages consisted of upscaled material from their SD channels as in time more programs became available in HD. Technicolor Netherlands, the company responsible for the technical realisation of the broadcasts of the NPOs television and radio channels, began the summer 2008 test broadcast of Nederland 1 HD in 720p/50 as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) recommends. During the test period an additional 1080i/25 version of the channel was made available to the cable companies because of quality complaints from viewers. In 2009 the NPO decided to adopt the 1080i/25 HD standard.

The main commercial broadcasting organizations in the Netherlands the SBS Broadcasting Group (NET 5, SBS 6, Veronica) and the channels of RTL Nederland followed in HD via cable and satellite, using the same HD standard as the NPO.

Ultra-high-definition
The first television channels in 4K UHD were officially launched in the Netherlands in 2017. In April 2017, satellite provider CanalDigitaal added Insight TV 4K UHD in its channel line-up. After more than a year of testing, KPN launched ultra-high-definition television on 1 July 2017, with Xite 4K and Hispasat 4K TV. Eurosport 4K launched in the Netherlands on 5 June 2018. NPO 1 launched its first trials with ultra-high-definition television through KPN, CanalDigitaal and some minor networks on 14 June 2018, using the HLG standard. Ziggo Sport is available in UHD from March 2021.

Defunct or rebranded channels

 * 13th Street (30 May 2007 – 1 July 2016)
 * Action Now! (16 May 2006 – 31 May 2009)
 * Adventure One (1999 – 2007), replaced by National Geographic Wild (2007–present)
 * BBC Prime (1995 – 2009), replaced by BBC Entertainment (November 2009 – 31 March 2024)
 * Boomerang (5 June 2005 – 18 March 2023), replaced by Cartoonito (18 March 2023 – present)
 * The Box/The Box Comedy (1995 – 30 April 2007), replaced by Comedy Central (30 April 2007 – present)
 * CineNova (18 May 2000 – 18 May 2005)
 * CMT Europe (October 1992 – 31 March 1998)
 * Comedy Central Extra (1 November 2011 – 31 December 2022)
 * Comedy Central Family (1 October 2008 – 31 May 2018), its programmes merged with Comedy Central Extra
 * Consumenten 24 (formerly Consumenten TV)
 * DanceTrippin TV (2011 – May 2018), rebranded by DanceTelevision (May 2018 – present)
 * Discovery Civilisation (1 October 1998 - 18 April 2008), rebranded by Discovery World (18 April 2008 - 31 December 2020)
 * Discovery Travel & Living (September 1999 – 4 July 2011), replaced by Investigation Discovery and TLC (4 July 2011 – present)
 * Disney Junior (3 May 2010 – 1 April 2019), formerly known as Playhouse Disney.
 * ESPN America (5 December 2002 – 1 August 2013)
 * ESPN Classic (13 March 2006 – 1 August 2013)
 * Euro 7 (19 October 1994 – 28 March 1997)
 * Family 24
 * Film1 Sundance (1 March 2012 – 31 August 2017) / Film1 Festival (1 February 2006 – 1 March 2012)
 * Filmnet (1984 – 1997), replaced by Canal+ (1997 – 2006), followed by Film1 (1 February 2006 – present)
 * Fine Living (1 September 2015 – 31 January 2019)
 * Food Network (22 April 2010 – 31 January 2019)
 * Fox (19 August 2013 - 31 October 2023), rebranded by Star Channel (1 November 2023 - present)
 * Fox Kids (2 August 1997 – 12 February 2005), rebranded by Jetix (13 February 2005 – 31 December 2009) followed by Disney XD (1 January 2010 – present)
 * Fox Life (7 September 2009 – 31 December 2016)
 * Fox Sports Eredivisie, 3 pay-TV channels (29 August 2008 – 1 January 2021), rebranded by ESPN
 * Fox Sports International 3 pay-TV channels (17 August 2013 – 1 January 2021), rebranded by ESPN
 * Geschiedenis 24 (formerly Geschiedenis)
 * GoedTV (April 2006 – 6 December 2015)
 * Hallmark Channel (June 1995 – 20 July 2011)
 * HBO 1/2/3 (9 February 2012 – 31 December 2016)
 * Het Gesprek (2 October 2007 – 21 August 2010)
 * JimJam (10 October 2006 – 1 March 2018)
 * Kindernet (1 March 1988 – 1 September 2003, 4 April 2011 – 1 November 2013)
 * MGM Channel (2001 – 5 November 2014), replaced by AMC (5 November 2014 – 31 December 2018)
 * MisdaadNet (1 July 2008 – 1 September 2011), replaced by RTL Crime (1 September 2011 – present)
 * Motors TV (1 September 2000 – 28 February 2017), rebranded by Motorsport.tv (1 March 2017 – 30 September 2018)
 * MTV Brand New (1 August 2006 - 31 January 2021), replaced by MTV Hits (1 February 2021 - present)
 * MTV Music 24 (1 September 2011 - 25 May 2021), replaced by MTV 90s (26 May 2021 - present)
 * NBC Super Channel (30 January 1987 – 30 June 1998), replaced by National Geographic (1 July 1998 – present)
 * NostalgieNet (1 January 2006 – 13 September 2015), rebranded by ONS (13 September 2015 – present)
 * NPO 3 Extra (31 October 2006 – 25 December 2018), between 2006 and 2014 named 101 TV and between 2014 and 2018 named NPO 101.
 * NPO Doc (1 December 2004 as Holland Doc 24 – 1 July 2016)
 * NPO Humor TV (15 November 2006 as Humor TV 24 – 1 July 2016)
 * NPO Nieuws (1 December 2004 as Journaal 24 - 15 December 2021)
 * NPO Zappelin Extra (30 May 2009 as Z@ppelin / Z@pp 24, renamed by NPO Zapp Xtra between 2014 and 2018, ceased on 15 December 2021)
 * Revolt (1 November 2019 - 31 January 2021)
 * RTL-Véronique (2 October 1989 – 17 September 1990), rebranded by RTL 4 (18 September 1990 – present)
 * Spike (1 October 2015 - 24 May 2022), rebranded by Paramount Network (24 May 2022 - present)
 * Spirit 24 (formerly Geloven)
 * Sport 7 (18 August 1996 – 8 December 1996)
 * Sportnet (29 March 1984 – 1 March 1993), merged with Eurosport (5 February 1989 – present)
 * Sterren 24 (formerly Sterren.nl)
 * Stingray Brava (2007 – 1 March 2019), replaced by Stingray Classica (1 March 2019 – present)
 * SuperSport (1995 – 1997), replaced by Canal+ (1997 – 2006) followed by Sport1 (1 February 2006 – 12 November 2015), rebranded by Ziggo Sport Totaal (12 November 2015 – present)
 * Syfy (30 May 2007 – 1 July 2016)
 * Talpa (13 August 2005 – 15 December 2005), rebranded by Tien (16 December 2005 – 17 August 2007) followed by RTL 8 (18 August 2007 – present)
 * TMF (1 May 1995 – 1 September 2011)
 * TMF Dance (1 May 2005 – 31 December 2011)
 * TMF NL (1 May 2005 – 31 December 2011)
 * TMF Pure (1 May 2005 – 31 December 2011)
 * TNT Classic Movies (17 September 1993 – 15 October 1999) rebranded by TCM (15 October 1999 – 1 January 2014)
 * TNT (24 January 2013 – 1 January 2014)
 * Travel Channel (1996 – 31 January 2019)
 * TV10 (never launched due to license problems, 1989)
 * TV10 Gold (1 May 1995 – 31 January 1996), rebranded a couple of times afterwards. First by TV10 (1 February 1996 – 18 December 1998) followed by FOX (19 December 1998 - August 1999), Fox 8 (September 1999 – 30 April 2001), V8 (1 May 2001 – 19 September 2003) and finally by Veronica (20 September 2003 – present)
 * Veronica (1 September 1995 – 1 April 2001), rebranded by Yorin (2 April 2001 – 11 August 2005), and again rebranded by RTL 7 (12 August 2005 – present)
 * VH1 (June 1999 - 2 August 2021), rebranded by MTV 00s (2 August 2021 - present)
 * VH1 Classic (30 November 2004 – 5 October 2020), rebranded by MTV 80s (5 October 2020 – present)
 * Viceland (1 March 2017 – 31 October 2019), rebranded by VICEtv (1 November 2019 – 24 August 2020)
 * Vesta TV (October 1995 – July 1996)
 * Weerkanaal (15 February 2006 – December 2008), rebranded by Weer en Verkeer (December 2008 – 1 October 2013)
 * Ziggo Sport Extra (12 November 2015 - 28 February 2021), rebranded by Ziggo Sport Tennis (1 March 2021 - present)
 * Zone Club (1998 – 1 April 2010)
 * Zone Horror (30 October 2006 – 1 July 2009)
 * Zone Reality (10 October 2002 – 2 December 2012), rebranded by CBS Reality (2 December 2012 – 31 December 2023)

Television in other languages
To serve those who have another native language than Dutch, there are few television channels in the Netherlands broadcasting in one of the regional languages of The Netherlands. Those broadcasting in English usually target an international audience as well. Most of these channels broadcast through the internet only or have a very limited broadcasting area, with Omrop Fryslân as most notable exception. These channels are:
 * Omrop Fryslân (Frisian), public access regional broadcaster in the province of Friesland
 * Froeks.tv (Frisian), web-only channel for Friesland
 * Radio Netherlands Worldwide (English), produces vodcasts on their website in English
 * ThreeNL (English), reruns of Dutch public access programmes either English subtitled or dubbed
 * AFTV-African Television (English), available in The Hague and online, targeting Africans in The Netherlands
 * NOS TV (Papiamento), available on Bonaire and online; local Bonaire TV station.
 * RTV-7 (Papiamento, English), available on Ziggo, XS4ALL and KPN. Rebroadcast of Antillian TV Channels in the Netherlands

title: Television in the Netherlands


text:
Emin Pasha Relief Expedition

The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of 1887 to 1889 was one of the last major European expeditions into the interior of Africa in the nineteenth century. Led by Henry Morton Stanley, its goal was ostensibly the relief of Emin Pasha, the besieged Egyptian governor of Equatoria (part of modern-day South Sudan), who was threatened by Mahdist forces.

Stanley set out to traverse the continent with a force of nearly 700 men, navigating up the Congo River and then through the Ituri rainforest to reach East Africa. The arduous journey caused Stanley to split the expedition into two columns; the advance column eventually reached Emin Pasha in July 1888. A series of mutinies, disagreements, and miscommunications forced Stanley and Emin to withdraw from Equatoria in early 1889.

The expedition was initially celebrated for its ambition in crossing "Darkest Africa". However, soon after Stanley returned to Europe, it gained notoriety for the deaths of so many of its members and reports of brutality. It was the last large-scale private expedition undertaken as part of the Scramble for Africa.

Background
With the capture of Khartoum by the Mahdists (followers of Islamic religious leader Muhammad Ahmad) in 1885, the Ottoman-Egyptian administration of Sudan collapsed. Equatoria, the extreme southern province of the Sudan, was nearly cut off from the outside world, as it was located on the upper reaches of the Nile near Lake Albert. Emin Pasha was a German Jewish-born Ottoman doctor and naturalist who had been appointed Governor of Equatoria by Charles George Gordon, the British general who himself had attempted to relieve Khartoum. Emin, able to send and receive letters via Buganda and Zanzibar, had been informed in February 1886 that the Egyptian government would abandon Equatoria. In July, he was encouraged by missionary Alexander Mackay to invite the British government to annex Equatoria itself. The government was not interested in such a doubtful venture, but the British public came to see Emin as a second General Gordon, in mortal danger from the Mahdists.

Scottish businessman and philanthropist William Mackinnon had been involved in various colonial ventures, and by November he had approached Stanley about leading a relief expedition. Stanley declared himself ready "at a moment's notice" to go. Mackinnon then approached James Frederick Hutton, a business acquaintance also involved in colonial activities, and together they organized the "Emin Pasha Relief Committee", mostly consisting of Mackinnon's friends, among them Francis de Winton. Their first meeting took place on 19 December 1886. The Committee raised a total of about £32,000.

Stanley was officially still in the employment of Leopold II of Belgium, by whom he had been employed in carving out Leopold's 'Congo Free State'. As a compromise for letting Stanley go, it was arranged in a meeting in Brussels between Stanley and the king, that the expedition would take a longer route up the Congo River, contrary to plans for a shorter route inland from the eastern African coast. In return, Leopold would provide his Free State steamers for the transportation of the expedition up the river, from Stanley Pool (now Pool Malebo) as far as the mouth of the Aruwimi River.

By 1 January 1887, Stanley was back in London preparing the expedition to widespread public acclaim. Stanley himself was intent that the expedition be one of humanitarian assistance rather than of military conquest. He declared:

"The expedition is non-military—that is to say, its purpose is not to fight, destroy, or waste; its purpose is to save, to relieve distress, to carry comfort. Emin Pasha may be a good man, a brave officer, a gallant fellow deserving of a strong effort of relief, but I decline to believe, and I have not been able to gather from any one in England an impression, that his life, or the lives of the few hundreds under him, would overbalance the lives of thousands of natives, and the devastation of immense tracts of country which an expedition strictly military would naturally cause. The expedition is a mere powerful caravan, armed with rifles for the purpose of insuring the safe conduct of the ammunition to Emin Pasha, and for the more certain protection of his people during the retreat home. But it also has means of purchasing the friendship of tribes and chiefs, of buying food and paying its way liberally."

- Joel Headley

Purpose of expedition
In a number of publications made after the expedition, Stanley asserted that the singular purpose of the effort was to offer relief to Emin Pasha.

"The advantages of the Congo route were about five hundred miles shorter land journey, and less opportunities for deserting. It also quieted the fears of the French and Germans that, behind this professedly humanitarian quest, we might have annexation projects."

- Henry Morton Stanley

However, Stanley's other writings point to a secondary goal — territorial annexation. In his account of the expedition, he implied that his meeting with the Sultan of Zanzibar was in regards to British interests in East Africa. These interests were threatened not only by the Mahdists, but also by German imperial ambitions in the region; Germany would not recognize British suzerainty over Zanzibar (and its continental holdings) until 1890.

"I have settled several little commissions at Zanzibar satisfactorily. One was to get the Sultan to sign the concessions which Mackinnon tried to obtain a long time ago. As the Germans have magnificent territory east of Zanzibar, it was but fair that England should have some portion for the protection she has accorded to Zanzibar since 1841 ... The concession that we wished to obtain embraced a portion of East African coast, of which Mombasa and Melindi were the principal towns. For eight years, to my knowledge, the matter had been placed before His Highness, but the Sultan's signature was difficult to obtain."

- Henry Morton Stanley

The records at the National Archives at Kew, London, offer an even deeper insight and show that annexation was a purpose he had been aware of for the expedition. This is because there are a number of treaties curated there (and gathered by Stanley himself from what is present day Uganda during the Emin Pasha Expedition), ostensibly gaining British protection for a number of African chiefs. Amongst these were a number that have long been identified as possible frauds. A good example is treaty number 56, supposedly agreed upon between Stanley and the people of "Mazamboni, Katto, and Kalenge". These people had signed over to Stanley "the Sovereign Right and Right of Government over our country for ever in consideration of value received and for the protection he has accorded us and our Neighbours against KabbaRega and his Warasura".

Preparations
The expedition was planned to go to Cairo, then to Zanzibar to hire porters, then south of Africa, around the Cape to the mouth of the Congo, up the Congo by Leopold's steamers, branching off at the Aruwimi River. Stanley intended to establish a camp on the Aruwimi, then go east overland through unknown territory to reach Lake Albert and Equatoria. He then expected that Emin would send the families of Emin's Egyptian employees back along the just-pioneered route, along with a large store of ivory accumulated in Equatoria, while Stanley, Emin, and Emin's soldiers would proceed eastward to Zanzibar. Coincidentally, public doubts over the plan centered around whether it could be achieved; the possibility that Emin might not want to leave seems not to have been considered.

The expedition was the largest and best-equipped to go to Africa; a 28-foot steel boat named the Advance was designed to be divided into 12 sections for carrying over land, and Hiram Maxim presented the expedition with one of his recently invented Maxim guns, which was the first to be brought to Africa. Merely 'exhibiting' the gun was thought to be a scare, which would spare the expedition problems with hostile natives.

The Relief Committee received 400 applications by hopeful participants. From these, Stanley chose the officers who were to accompany him to Africa:
 * James Sligo Jameson, John Rose Troup, and Herbert Ward had all travelled in Africa before, Jameson as a big game hunter, artist, and traveller, and Troup and Ward as employees of the Congo Free State.
 * Robert Henry Nelson, William Bonny, William Grant Stairs, and Edmund Musgrave Barttelot were all military men. Barttelot had been doing service in India.
 * Arthur Jephson was a young 'gentleman of leisure' coming from the merchant marine who was hired on the quality of his face only, but he paid £1,000 to the Relief Committee, as did Jameson, in order to participate in the expedition.
 * The expedition's doctor Thomas Heazle Parke was hired at the last minute, while the expedition was already en route, in Alexandria, where he was doing military service.
 * William Hoffmann was Stanley's personal servant, curiously enough scarcely mentioned at all in Stanley's own account of the events.

Stanley departed London on 21 January 1887 and arrived in Cairo on 27 January. Egyptian objections to the Congo route were overridden by a telegram from Lord Salisbury, and the expedition was permitted to march under the Egyptian flag. Stanley also met with Mason Bey, Schweinfurth, and Junker, who had more up-to-date information about Equatoria.

Stanley left Cairo on 3 February, joined up with expedition members during stops in Suez and Aden, and arrived in Zanzibar on 22 February. The next three days were spent packing for the expedition, loading the Madura, and negotiating. Stanley acted as a representative of Mackinnon in convincing the Sultan of Zanzibar to grant a concession for what later became the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC), and made two agreements with Tippu Tib. The first included appointing him as Governor of Stanley Falls, an arrangement much criticized in Europe as a deal with a slave-trader, and the second agreement regarded the provisions of carriers for the expedition. In addition to transporting stores, the carriers were now also expected to bring out some 75 tons of ivory stored in Equatoria. Stanley posted letters to Emin predicting his arrival on Lake Albert around August.

Up the Congo

The expedition left Zanzibar on 25 February and, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, arrived at Banana at the mouth of the Congo on 18 March. Their arrival was somewhat unexpected, because a telegraph cable had broken and local officials had received no instructions. Chartered steamers brought the expedition to Matadi, where the carriers took over, bringing some 800 loads of stores and ammunition to Leopoldville on the Stanley Pool. Progress was slow, since the rainy season was at its height, and food was short – a problem that was to be persistent throughout the expedition (the area along the route rarely had spare food for 1,000 hardworking men, as it was a subsistence economy). On 21 April, the expedition arrived at Leopoldville. King Leopold had promised a flotilla of river steamers, but only one worked: the Stanley. Stanley requisitioned two (Peace and Henry Reed) from missionaries of the Baptist Mission and the Livingstone Inland Mission, whose protests were overridden, as well as the Florida, which was still under construction and so used as a barge. Even these were insufficient, so many of the stores were left at Leopoldville and more at Bolobo. At this point, Stanley also announced the division of the expedition: a "Rear Column" would encamp at Yambuya on the Aruwimi, while the "Advance Column" pressed on to Equatoria.

The voyage up the Congo started 1 May and was generally uneventful. At Bangala Station, Barttelot and Tippu Tib continued up to Stanley Falls in the Henry Reed, while Stanley took the Aruwimi to Yambuya. The inhabitants of Yambuya refused permission to reside in their village, so Stanley attacked and drove the villagers away, turning the deserted village into a fortified camp. Meanwhile, at Stanley Falls, Tippu Tib attempted to acquire carriers, but he believed that Stanley had broken his part of their agreement by leaving ammunition behind, and Barttelot came to Yambuya with only an indefinite promise that carriers would arrive in several weeks.

Traversing the Ituri Rainforest
Stanley, however, insisted on speed, and left for Lake Albert on 28 June, originally expecting to take two months. The Advance Column, however, was unprepared for the extreme difficulties of travel through the Ituri rainforest and did not reach the lake until December. Only 169 of the 389 who set out from Yambuya were still alive. The trees of the forest were so tall and dense that little light reached the floor, food was scarcely to be found, and the local Pygmies took the expedition for an Arab raiding party, shooting at them with poisoned arrows. The expedition stopped at two Arab settlements, Ugarrowwa's and Ipoto, in each case leaving more of their equipment behind in exchange for food.

The forest eventually gave way to grassland, and on 13 December the expedition was looking down on Lake Albert. However, Emin was not there, and the locals had not seen a European in many years. Stanley decided to return to the village of Ibwiri on the plateau above the lake, where they built Fort Bodo. Stairs went back to Ipoto to collect men and equipment, and returned 12 February. A second trip went back to Ugarrowwa's to collect more equipment. Meanwhile, on 2 April Stanley returned to Lake Albert, this time with the Advance. On 18 April they received a letter from Emin, who had heard about the expedition a year earlier, and had come down the lake in March after hearing rumors of Stanley's arrival.

Stanley meets Emin
Jephson was sent on ahead to the lake with the Advance, took the boat up to Mswa, and met Emin on 27 April 1888. Emin brought his steamer to the south end of the lake, and met Stanley there on the 29th, who was surprised to find the figure of Emin to have "not a trace on it of ill-health or anxiety", and celebrated with three bottles of champagne that had been carried all the way up the Congo. Emin provided Stanley with food and other supplies, thus rescuing the rescuers.

At this point things became difficult. Emin was primarily interested in ammunition and other supplies, and a communications route, all of which would assist him in remaining in Equatoria, while Stanley's main goal was to bring Emin out. A month of discussion produced no agreement, and on 24 May Stanley went back to Fort Bodo, arriving there 8 June and meeting Stairs, who had returned from Ugarrowwa's with just fourteen surviving men. On the way Stanley saw the Ruwenzori Mountains for the first time (although Parke and Jephson had seen them on 20 April).

Fate of the Rear Column

On 16 June, Stanley left the fort in search of the Rear Column; no word of or from them had been received in a long time. Finally, on 17 August at Banalya, 90 miles upstream from Yambuya, Stanley found Bonny, the sole European left in charge of the Column, along with a handful of starving carriers. Barttelot had been shot in a dispute, Jameson was at Bangala dying of a fever, Troup had been invalided home, and Herbert Ward had gone back down the Congo a second time to telegraph the Relief Committee in London for further instructions (the Column had not heard from Stanley in over a year). The original purpose of the Rear Column – to wait for the additional carriers from Tippu Tib – had not been accomplished, since without the ammunition supplied by the expedition, Tippu Tib had nothing with which to recruit. After several side trips, Barttelot decided to send Troup and the others on the sick list down the Congo, and 11 June 1888, after the arrival of a group of Manyema bringing Barttelot's total to 560, set off in search of Stanley.

But the march soon disintegrated into chaos, with large-scale desertion and multiple trips to try to bring up stores; then on 19 July Barttelot was shot while trying to interfere with a Manyema festival. Jameson decided to go down to Bangala to bring up extra loads and left on 9 August, shortly before Stanley's arrival. Stanley was incensed at the state of the Rear Column, blaming them for lack of motion despite his previous orders that they wait for him at Yambuya. From surviving officers Stanley also heard stories of Barttelot's brutality and of another officer, James Sligo Jameson, who was alleged to have purchased a young female slave and given her to cannibals so he could record her being killed and eaten. In his posthumously published diary, Jameson admitted that he had indeed paid for the girl and watched as she was butchered, but claimed that he considered the whole affair a joke and had not expected her to actually be killed.

"I sent my boy for six handkerchiefs, thinking it was all a joke ..., but presently a man appeared, leading a young girl of about ten years old at the hand, and I then witnessed the most horribly sickening sight I am ever likely to see in my life. He plunged a knife quickly into her breast twice, and she fell on her face, turning over on her side. Three men then ran forward, and began to cut up the body of the girl; finally her head was cut off, and not a particle remained, each man taking his piece away down to the river to wash it. The most extraordinary thing was that the girl never uttered a sound, nor struggled, until she fell. Until the last moment, I could not believe that they were in earnest... that it was anything save a ruse to get money out of me.... When I went home I tried to make some small sketches of the scene while still fresh in my memory, not that it is ever likely to fade from it. No one here seemed to be in the least astonished at it.""

According to the testimony of Jameson's colleague William Bonny, Jameson must have stayed around to watch while the girl was cooked and consumed, since the last of his six sketches (which he had shown Bonny) "represents the feast." The "six handkerchiefs" Jameson had paid were indeed valuable enough to purchase a child slave, and Jameson's diary also shows that he was well informed of cannibal customs and had even seen remainders of a cannibal meal before, making his line of defense doubtful.

After the dispatch of a number of letters down-Congo, the expedition returned to Fort Bodo, taking a different route that proved no better for food supply, and it reached the Fort on 20 December, now reduced to 412 men, of whom 124 were too ill to carry any loads. On 16 January 1889, near Lake Albert, Stanley received letters from Emin and Jephson, who had been made prisoner by Emin's officers for several months, while at the same time the Mahdists had been capturing additional stations of Equatoria. Since Stanley's arrival, numerous rumours had gone around about Emin's intentions and the likely fate of the soldiers, and in August of the previous year matters had come to a head; a number of officers rebelled, deposed Emin as governor, and kept him and Jephson under a sort of house arrest in Dufile until November. Even so, Emin was still reluctant to abandon the province.

Withdrawal to the coast
By 17 February all the surviving members of the expedition, and Emin with a group of about 65 loyal soldiers, met at Stanley's camp above Lake Albert, and during the subsequent weeks several hundred more of Emin's followers, many of them the families of the soldiers, assembled there. Emin still had not expressed a firm intention to leave Equatoria, and 5 April, after a heated argument, Stanley determined to leave shortly, and the expedition departed Kavalli's for the coast on 10 April.

The trip to the coast passed first south, along the western flank of the Ruwenzoris, and Stairs attempted to ascend to a summit, reaching 10,677 ft before having to turn around. They then passed by Lake Edward and Lake George, then across to the southernmost point of Lake Victoria, passing through the kingdoms of Ankole and Karagwe. Stanley made "treaties" with the various rulers; although it is most likely that these were not regarded as such by the locals, they were later used to establish IBEAC claims in the area.

Lake Victoria was seen on 15 August, and the expedition reached Mackay's missionary station at Usambiro on 28 August. At this point they began to learn of the complicated changing situation in East Africa, with European colonial powers scrambling to stake their claims, and a second relief expedition under Frederick John Jackson. After waiting fruitlessly for news of the Jackson expedition, Stanley left on 17 September, with a party now reduced to some 700 by a combination of death and desertion.

As the expedition approached the coast, they encountered parties of Germans and other signs of German activity in the interior, and were met by commissioner Wissmann on 4 December and escorted into Bagamoyo. That evening a banquet was held, during which an inebriated Emin fell out of a second-storey window he mistook for a balcony, and from which he did not recover until the end of January 1890. In the meantime, the rest of the expedition had dispersed; Stanley went to Zanzibar and then to Cairo, where he wrote the 900 pages of In Darkest Africa in just 50 days. The Zanzibari carriers were paid off or (in the case of prisoners) returned to their masters, the Sudanese and Egyptians were transported back to Egypt, some later returning to work for the IBEAC. Emin took service with the Germans in February, and the other Europeans returned to England.

Aftermath
Stanley returned to Europe in May 1890 to tremendous public acclaim; both he and his officers received numerous awards, honorary degrees, and speaking engagements. In June alone his newly published book sold 150,000 copies. But the adulation was to be short-lived.

By autumn, as the true cost of the expedition became known, and as the families of Barttelot and Jameson reacted to Stanley's accusations of incompetence in the Rear Column, criticism and condemnation became widespread. Samuel Baker called the story of the Rear Column "the most horrible and indecent exposure that I have ever heard of seen in print". Stanley's own use of violence during the expedition also revived old criticisms that he was a "sham explorer" as well as doubts over the supposed humanitarian value of European exploration in Africa. In the end, the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition came to be the last expedition of its type; future African expeditions would be government-run in pursuit of military or political goals, or conducted purely for science.

An Anglo-Egyptian force under Lord Kitchener managed to reconquer Sudan from the Mahdists in 1899. Equatoria was incorporated as part of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, nominally under British administration, though it remained isolated and underdeveloped well into the 20th century.

From 1898 to 1900, a devastating sleeping sickness epidemic spread into territories that are now Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Uganda and south of Sudan. Native cattle traveling with the expedition may have introduced the parasite into previously-unaffected regions. However, not all authors agree.

In popular culture
It has been suggested that stories of the expedition — in particular, the disastrous plight of the "rear column" — inspired Joseph Conrad in his 1899 novella Heart of Darkness. Critic Adam Hochschild suggests that the character of Kurtz, the isolated and insane Congo trader, was modeled on Barttelot, who "went mad, began hitting, whipping, and killing people, and was finally murdered". Harold Bloom also connected the portrayal of Kurtz with the figures of Stanley and Tippu Tib.

The fate of the Rear Column is the subject of Simon Gray's 1978 play The Rear Column, which features Barttelot, Jameson, Ward, Bonny, Troup and Stanley as characters.

title: Emin Pasha Relief Expedition


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User:NPVOpolice

Marker page (by the way, shouldn't it be NPOVpolice?)

title: User:NPVOpolice


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Looking Glass Studios

Looking Glass Studios, Inc. (formerly Blue Sky Productions and LookingGlass Technologies, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was founded by Paul Neurath with Ned Lerner as Blue Sky Productions in 1990, and merged with Lerner's Lerner Research in 1992 to become LookingGlass Technologies. Between 1997 and 1999, the company was part of Intermetrics and was renamed Looking Glass Studios. Following financial issues at Looking Glass, the studio shut down in May 2000.

Notable productions by Looking Glass include the Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief series.

Blue Sky Productions, Lerner Research, and Ultima Underworld (1990–1992)
Co-founders of Looking Glass, Paul Neurath and Ned Lerner, met at Wesleyan University where Lerner was a physics major and Neurath studied environmental science. The two worked together on the game Deep Space: Operation Copernicus (1987) before Lerner moved to the West Coast where he worked creating games for Electronic Arts. Neurath found work at Origin Systems, who had moved their business to New Hampshire in 1984. Neurath worked on a number of projects including Ogre (1986) and Omega (1989). His largest project was leading the design of Space Rogue (1989), which he collaborated with Lerner on many of the technical aspects. Space Rogue was in turn a major inspiration for Wing Commander (1990) due to its melding of storytelling and space combat elements.

Before the completion of Space Rogue, Origin Systems moved back to Texas along with the majority of the staff. Neurath, not wanting to move, decided to use the former Origin office to start his own studio, Blue Sky Productions, at 59 Stiles Road in Salem, New Hampshire in 1990. Lerner, who had his own company called Lerner Research, supplied funds to help get the operation off the ground.

With a concept to create a first-person dungeon crawler in the vein of Dungeon Master (1987), Neurath began recruiting from the local region. One of his early hires was Doug Church, programmer and graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Church working together with Chris Green of Lerner Research developed a basic three-dimensional, texture mapped demonstration of the game with animation by former Origin artist Douglas Wike. The demo was showcased at the 1990 Summer Consumer Electronics Show to attract publisher interest. Richard Garriott and Warren Spector of Origin Systems saw the demo and decided to finance their first game.

The demo, initially named Underworld, was rebranded under the Ultima series. The initial funding for the game was purportedly $30,000, allowing Neurath to hire his initial staff into Blue Sky Productions. The final cost of production was around $400,000 and would be released in March 1992 as Ultima Underworld (1992). By the end of production on Ultima Underworld, the company had moved to a new office in Lexington, Massachusetts.

LookingGlass Technologies (1992-1996)
Blue Sky Productions began work on the sequel to Ultima Underworld while Neurath and Lerner spoke about merging their two companies. Lerner Research was fresh off the completion of Car & Driver (1992) and had been granted a license to develop EA’s next Madden title for the Sega Genesis for which they needed more development support. The two decided on a name change in order to differentiate themselves from the game company Blue Sky Software. Initially they used the name "Flying Fish Designs" but eventually settled on Looking Glass. The name was chosen both as a reference to the book Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and to the idea that their game worlds transported people to new worlds. They initially considered “Looking Glass Studios” but decided that their specialty was more in technology.

LookingGlass Technologies Inc. was incorporated on June 29, 1992 with Neurath as President and Ned Lerner as Vice President and Treasurer. John Madden Football ’93 (1992) was the first game released by the new studio, with Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (1993) following. Origin became a subsidiary of Electronic Arts in September 1992; EA handled all future publishing arrangements with the studio.

The experienced development team led by Doug Church developed System Shock (1994), a pioneering combination of first-person shooter mechanics and immersive systems. The game was decently successful, but initially released on floppy disk which cut out the voiced dialog in its data entry logs, a novel narrative technique for which the game became known. The CD-ROM version utilized voice acting developed by an internal sound team, made up of members from the local band Tribe: Greg LoPiccolo, Eric Brosius, and Terri Brosius – also voice of System Shock’s villain SHODAN – who later moved into a game design role.

LookingGlass moved to a new facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts in Fall 1994. They received $3.8 million of investment from venture capital firms in November of that year. In 1995, the company started publishing their own games under their own label starting with Flight Unlimited (1995). Designed by Seamus Blackley, the game was noted for its realistic physics simulation and was very successful for Looking Glass, selling 300,000 copies by mid-1997. The series was followed up by several sequels/

Terra Nova: Strike Force Centuri (1996) was a large multimedia production by the studio. The full-motion cutscenes were shot inside of the Looking Glass offices on a greenscreen, with staff members doubling as actors and producers of the film. The game featured other technological achievements like procedural animation, but the massive production took its toll on Looking Glass, not recouping its production costs.

Looking Glass Studios (1997-2000)
Due in part to the failure of Terra Nova and British Open Championship Golf (1997), Neurath sought outside investment to keep the company afloat. Intermetrics, a Massachusetts-based software company, acquired LookingGlass in 1997. The official name of the company was changed to Intermetrics Entertainment Software, LLC, operating under the trade name of Looking Glass Studios.

The Intermetrics buyout preceded a number of departures at the studio. Co-founder Ned Lerner left to form Multitude with Looking Glass programmer Art Min. Most famously, designer Ken Levine, artist Rob Fermier, and programmer Jonathan Chey who had worked together on a Star Trek: Voyager game canceled in production formed Irrational Games. Irrational formed a studio initially based in the Looking Glass offices, where they co-developed System Shock 2 (1999) and the canceled Deep Cover before becoming fully independent.

During the production of Thief: The Dark Project (1998), Looking Glass hired Warren Spector away from Origin Systems to staff a development arm of the company in Austin, Texas first opened in 1995. Though Spector left soon afterwards to join Ion Storm, the Texas office remained open to create console games for various publishers. They created a port of Command & Conquer for the Nintendo 64, Destruction Derby 64 (1999), along with canceled projects Tamiya Racing and Mini Racers.

The lack of success for Looking Glass’ projects continued to exert pressure on the studio, in addition to their difficulties finding publishers. Eidos Interactive published Flight Unlimited II (1997) and both Thief games, Electronic Arts published System Shock 2 and Flight Unlimited III (1999). In 1999, Intermetrics divested their ownership of Looking Glass, leaving them without any financial support. The following year, several publishing deals with Eidos, Sony, and Microsoft fell apart.

On May 24, 2000, Neurath called a meeting attended by all employees. He announced that the studio was closing down and the staff left the building that day, with public announcements following. Irrational Games continued work on Deep Cover until its subsequent cancellation; many former Looking Glass staff like Terri Brosius joined them. Development on Thief III was handed to a team led by Thief II project lead Steve Pearsall until it was canceled. A Flight Unlimited spin-off, Flight Combat, which was an estimated three months from completion, was handed to Mad Doc Software to be completed as Jane’s Attack Squadron (2002) as the final game with credits by Looking Glass Studios.

Legacy
Looking Glass Studios has been called one of the most important development studios in the history of video games. Their game catalog including the Ultima Underworld, System Shock, and Thief series are seen as the foundation for the immersive sim genre of action games. Games like The Elder Scrolls: Arena, Deus Ex, and Dishonored are explicitly modeled after Looking Glass’ catalog. The latter two feature designers who were formerly members of Looking Glass.

Ultima Underworld was an influence on id Software’s move to create visually impressive first person shooters. John Romero, who had worked on Space Rogue, conversed with Paul Neurath about the texture mapping technology used in the early Underworld demo. He spoke about this to John Carmack, who implemented the technique into Catacomb 3-D (1991). This technology was crucial to the creation of Wolfenstein 3D (1992) and Doom (1993).

Many other of Looking Glass’ developers went on to work on important AAA games. Ned Lerner joined Sony Worldwide Studios as Director of Engineering where he worked on games through the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. Seamus Blackley and other Looking Glass cohorts left to join Dreamworks Interactive, working on the innovative Trespasser (1998). AI programmer on Thief: The Dark Project Tom Leonard joined Valve Corporation where he developed the AI for Source projects including Half-Life 2. Doug Church went on to work for Ion Storm, Electronic Arts, and eventually Valve. Greg LoPiccolo and Eric Brosius joined Harmonix where they played a major role in the development of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises.

Following the closure of Looking Glass, Paul Neurath founded Floodgate Entertainment in Boston, Massachusetts. They ported Ultima Underworld to mobile platforms as well as worked on titles like Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Floodgate was later acquired by Zynga and merged into the Zynga Boston studio; Neurath became the creative director. After the closure of Zynga Boston in October 2012, Neurath established Otherside Entertainment in 2013. He reassembled many Looking Glass employees to work on a spiritual successor of Ultima Underworld, Underworld Ascendant (2018), initially funded through Kickstarter.

The rights to Looking Glass’ catalog were initially split between various rights holders, which made re-releases of their catalog difficult. Eidos retained the rights to the Thief franchise. Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004) was created by Ion Storm and the reboot Thief (2014) was created by Eidos-Montréal. Stephen Kick of Nightdive Studios secured the rights to re-release the System Shock games and eventually acquired the IP rights to create a remake, System Shock (2023), and a future sequel.

title: Looking Glass Studios


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Diffraction-limited system

In optics, any optical instrument or system – a microscope, telescope, or camera – has a principal limit to its resolution due to the physics of diffraction. An optical instrument is said to be diffraction-limited if it has reached this limit of resolution performance. Other factors may affect an optical system's performance, such as lens imperfections or aberrations, but these are caused by errors in the manufacture or calculation of a lens, whereas the diffraction limit is the maximum resolution possible for a theoretically perfect, or ideal, optical system.

The diffraction-limited angular resolution, in radians, of an instrument is proportional to the wavelength of the light being observed, and inversely proportional to the diameter of its objective's entrance aperture. For telescopes with circular apertures, the size of the smallest feature in an image that is diffraction limited is the size of the Airy disk. As one decreases the size of the aperture of a telescopic lens, diffraction proportionately increases. At small apertures, such as f/22, most modern lenses are limited only by diffraction and not by aberrations or other imperfections in the construction.

For microscopic instruments, the diffraction-limited spatial resolution is proportional to the light wavelength, and to the numerical aperture of either the objective or the object illumination source, whichever is smaller.

In astronomy, a diffraction-limited observation is one that achieves the resolution of a theoretically ideal objective in the size of instrument used. However, most observations from Earth are seeing-limited due to atmospheric effects. Optical telescopes on the Earth work at a much lower resolution than the diffraction limit because of the distortion introduced by the passage of light through several kilometres of turbulent atmosphere. Advanced observatories have started using adaptive optics technology, resulting in greater image resolution for faint targets, but it is still difficult to reach the diffraction limit using adaptive optics.

Radio telescopes are frequently diffraction-limited, because the wavelengths they use (from millimeters to meters) are so long that the atmospheric distortion is negligible. Space-based telescopes (such as Hubble, or a number of non-optical telescopes) always work at their diffraction limit, if their design is free of optical aberration.

The beam from a laser with near-ideal beam propagation properties may be described as being diffraction-limited. A diffraction-limited laser beam, passed through diffraction-limited optics, will remain diffraction-limited, and will have a spatial or angular extent essentially equal to the resolution of the optics at the wavelength of the laser.

The Abbe diffraction limit for a microscope
The observation of sub-wavelength structures with microscopes is difficult because of the Abbe diffraction limit. Ernst Abbe found in 1873, and expressed as a formula in 1882, that light with wavelength $$\lambda$$, traveling in a medium with refractive index $$n$$ and converging to a spot with half-angle $$\theta$$ will have a minimum resolvable distance of
 * $$d=\frac{ \lambda}{2 n \sin \theta} = \frac{\lambda}{2\mathrm{NA}}$$

The portion of the denominator $$ n\sin \theta $$ is called the numerical aperture (NA) and can reach about 1.4–1.6 in modern optics, hence the Abbe limit is $$d=\frac{\lambda}{2.8}$$. The same formula had been proven by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1874.

Considering green light around 500 nm and a NA of 1, the Abbe limit is roughly $$d=\frac{\lambda}{2}=250 \text{ nm}$$ (0.25 μm), which is small compared to most biological cells (1 μm to 100 μm), but large compared to viruses (100 nm), proteins (10 nm) and less complex molecules (1 nm). To increase the resolution, shorter wavelengths can be used such as UV and X-ray microscopes. These techniques offer better resolution but are expensive, suffer from lack of contrast in biological samples and may damage the sample.

Digital photography
In a digital camera, diffraction effects interact with the effects of the regular pixel grid. The combined effect of the different parts of an optical system is determined by the convolution of the point spread functions (PSF). The point spread function of a diffraction limited circular-aperture lens is simply the Airy disk. The point spread function of the camera, otherwise called the instrument response function (IRF) can be approximated by a rectangle function, with a width equivalent to the pixel pitch. A more complete derivation of the modulation transfer function (derived from the PSF) of image sensors is given by Fliegel. Whatever the exact instrument response function, it is largely independent of the f-number of the lens. Thus at different f-numbers a camera may operate in three different regimes, as follows:

 * 1) In the case where the spread of the IRF is small with respect to the spread of the diffraction PSF, in which case the system may be said to be essentially diffraction limited (so long as the lens itself is diffraction limited).
 * 2) In the case where the spread of the diffraction PSF is small with respect to the IRF, in which case the system is instrument limited.
 * 3) In the case where the spread of the PSF and IRF are similar, in which case both impact the available resolution of the system.

The spread of the diffraction-limited PSF is approximated by the diameter of the first null of the Airy disk,

 * $$ d/2 = 1.22 \lambda N,\, $$

where $$\lambda$$ is the wavelength of the light and $$N$$ is the f-number of the imaging optics, i.e., $$ 2 NA \rightarrow (2.44N)^{-1} $$ in the Abbe diffraction limit formula. For instance, for an f/8 lens ($$N=8$$ and $$NA\approx2.5%$$ ) and for green light ($$\lambda_g=$$ 0.5 μm wavelength) light, the focusing spot diameter will be d = 9.76 μm or 19.5$$\lambda_g$$. This is similar to the pixel size for the majority of commercially available 'full frame' (43mm sensor diagonal) cameras and so these will operate in regime 3 for f-numbers around 8 (few lenses are close to diffraction limited at f-numbers smaller than 8). Cameras with smaller sensors will tend to have smaller pixels, but their lenses will be designed for use at smaller f-numbers and it is likely that they will also operate in regime 3 for those f-numbers for which their lenses are diffraction limited.

Obtaining higher resolution
There are techniques for producing images that appear to have higher resolution than allowed by simple use of diffraction-limited optics. Although these techniques improve some aspect of resolution, they generally come at an enormous increase in cost and complexity. Usually the technique is only appropriate for a small subset of imaging problems, with several general approaches outlined below.

Extending numerical aperture
The effective resolution of a microscope can be improved by illuminating from the side.

In conventional microscopes such as bright-field or differential interference contrast, this is achieved by using a condenser. Under spatially incoherent conditions, the image is understood as a composite of images illuminated from each point on the condenser, each of which covers a different portion of the object's spatial frequencies. This effectively improves the resolution by, at most, a factor of two.

Simultaneously illuminating from all angles (fully open condenser) drives down interferometric contrast. In conventional microscopes, the maximum resolution (fully open condenser, at N = 1) is rarely used. Further, under partially coherent conditions, the recorded image is often non-linear with object's scattering potential—especially when looking at non-self-luminous (non-fluorescent) objects. To boost contrast, and sometimes to linearize the system, unconventional microscopes (with structured illumination) synthesize the condenser illumination by acquiring a sequence of images with known illumination parameters. Typically, these images are composited to form a single image with data covering a larger portion of the object's spatial frequencies when compared to using a fully closed condenser (which is also rarely used).

Another technique, 4Pi microscopy, uses two opposing objectives to double the effective numerical aperture, effectively halving the diffraction limit, by collecting the forward and backward scattered light. When imaging a transparent sample, with a combination of incoherent or structured illumination, as well as collecting both forward, and backward scattered light it is possible to image the complete scattering sphere.

Unlike methods relying on localization, such systems are still limited by the diffraction limit of the illumination (condenser) and collection optics (objective), although in practice they can provide substantial resolution improvements compared to conventional methods.

Near-field techniques
The diffraction limit is only valid in the far field as it assumes that no evanescent fields reach the detector. Various near-field techniques that operate less than ≈1 wavelength of light away from the image plane can obtain substantially higher resolution. These techniques exploit the fact that the evanescent field contains information beyond the diffraction limit which can be used to construct very high resolution images, in principle beating the diffraction limit by a factor proportional to how well a specific imaging system can detect the near-field signal. For scattered light imaging, instruments such as near-field scanning optical microscopes and nano-FTIR, which are built atop atomic force microscope systems, can be used to achieve up to 10-50 nm resolution. The data recorded by such instruments often requires substantial processing, essentially solving an optical inverse problem for each image.

Metamaterial-based superlenses can image with a resolution better than the diffraction limit by locating the objective lens extremely close (typically hundreds of nanometers) to the object.

In fluorescence microscopy the excitation and emission are typically on different wavelengths. In total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy a thin portion of the sample located immediately on the cover glass is excited with an evanescent field, and recorded with a conventional diffraction-limited objective, improving the axial resolution.

However, because these techniques cannot image beyond 1 wavelength, they cannot be used to image into objects thicker than 1 wavelength which limits their applicability.

Far-field techniques
Far-field imaging techniques are most desirable for imaging objects that are large compared to the illumination wavelength but that contain fine structure. This includes nearly all biological applications in which cells span multiple wavelengths but contain structure down to molecular scales. In recent years several techniques have shown that sub-diffraction limited imaging is possible over macroscopic distances. These techniques usually exploit optical nonlinearity in a material's reflected light to generate resolution beyond the diffraction limit.

Among these techniques, the STED microscope has been one of the most successful. In STED, multiple laser beams are used to first excite, and then quench fluorescent dyes. The nonlinear response to illumination caused by the quenching process in which adding more light causes the image to become less bright generates sub-diffraction limited information about the location of dye molecules, allowing resolution far beyond the diffraction limit provided high illumination intensities are used.

Laser beams
The limits on focusing or collimating a laser beam are very similar to the limits on imaging with a microscope or telescope. The only difference is that laser beams are typically soft-edged beams. This non-uniformity in light distribution leads to a coefficient slightly different from the 1.22 value familiar in imaging. However, the scaling with wavelength and aperture is exactly the same.

The beam quality of a laser beam is characterized by how well its propagation matches an ideal Gaussian beam at the same wavelength. The beam quality factor M squared (M2) is found by measuring the size of the beam at its waist, and its divergence far from the waist, and taking the product of the two, known as the beam parameter product. The ratio of this measured beam parameter product to that of the ideal is defined as M2, so that M2=1 describes an ideal beam. The M2 value of a beam is conserved when it is transformed by diffraction-limited optics.

The outputs of many low and moderately powered lasers have M2 values of 1.2 or less, and are essentially diffraction-limited.

Other waves
The same equations apply to other wave-based sensors, such as radar and the human ear.

As opposed to light waves (i.e., photons), massive particles have a different relationship between their quantum mechanical wavelength and their energy. This relationship indicates that the effective "de Broglie" wavelength is inversely proportional to the momentum of the particle. For example, an electron at an energy of 10 keV has a wavelength of 0.01 nm, allowing the electron microscope (SEM or TEM) to achieve high resolution images. Other massive particles such as helium, neon, and gallium ions have been used to produce images at resolutions beyond what can be attained with visible light. Such instruments provide nanometer scale imaging, analysis and fabrication capabilities at the expense of system complexity.

title: Diffraction-limited system