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FN Minimi

The FN Minimi (short for Mini Mitrailleuse; "mini machine gun") is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun, also classified as a squad automatic weapon developed by Ernest Vervier for FN Herstal. Introduced in the late 1970s, it is in service in more than 75 countries. The weapon is manufactured at the FN facility in Herstal and their U.S. subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC.

The Minimi fires from an open bolt. It is an air-cooled, gas operated long-stroke piston weapon that is capable of fully automatic fire only. It can be belt fed or fired from a magazine. The Minimi is configured in several variants: the Standard model as a platoon or squad support weapon, the shortened Para version for paratroopers and the Vehicle model as secondary armament for fighting vehicles.

Operating mechanism
The Minimi uses a gas-actuated long-stroke piston system. The barrel is locked with a rotary bolt, equipped with two massive locking lugs, forced into battery by a helical camming guide in the bolt carrier. Upon firing, the piston is forced to the rear by expanding propellant gases bled through a port in the barrel near the muzzle end. The piston rod acts against the bolt carrier, which begins its rearward motion guided on two rails welded to the receiver walls, while the bolt itself remains locked. This sequence provides a slight delay that ensures chamber pressure has dropped to a safe level by the time a cam in the bolt carrier rotates and unlocks the bolt, increasing extraction reliability as the empty cartridge casing has had the time to cool down and contract, exerting less friction against the chamber walls.

The Minimi fires from an open bolt, which reduces the danger of a round cooking off after extended periods of continuous fire, since a cartridge is only momentarily introduced into the chamber prior to ignition, and the movement of the bolt and bolt carrier forces air through the chamber and barrel after each shot, ventilating the barrel and removing heat. Gas escaping the gas cylinder is directed upward, avoiding kicking up dust and debris that would reveal the shooter's position.

Features
The Minimi has a manually adjustable gas valve with two positions, normal and adverse. The adverse setting increases the cyclic rate of fire from 700–850 rounds per minute to 950–1,150 rounds per minute and is used only in extreme environmental conditions or when heavy fouling is present in the weapon's gas tube. The spring extractor is located inside the bolt, while the tilting lever ejector is contained inside the receiver housing. Spent casings are removed through a port located at the bottom of the right side of the receiver, protected from debris with a spring-loaded dust cover. The Minimi is striker-fired and the bolt carrier functions as the striker mechanism.

The Minimi has a push-button type manual safety installed in the trigger housing, above the pistol grip. In the "weapon safe" position, it disables the sear mechanism; pushing the button to the right side exposes a red-coloured rim on the left side of the firearm and indicates the weapon is ready to fire. The black polymer pistol grip from the FAL and FNC rifles was initially used, but the Minimi is currently fitted with a modified grip with lateral grooves, installed at a smaller angle to the receiver.

The Minimi features a welded receiver made from stamped steel. Both the standard and Para variants are equipped with a fixed, folding bipod mounted to the gas tube and stowed under the handguard. The bipod can be adjusted in height and each leg has three height settings. The bipod also offers a 15° range of rotation to either side. With the bipod fully extended, the bore axis is elevated to a height of 465 mm. The Minimi can also be fired from the Belgian FN360° tripod or the American M122 mount using an M60 pintle. The vehicle-mounted Minimi is fitted with an electrically powered trigger that enables it to be fired remotely from within an armoured fighting vehicle.

The standard light machine gun version has a 465 mm barrel and a skeletonized aluminium stock with a folding wire shoulder strap. The shortened Para model has a 349 mm barrel and a collapsible metal stock, while the vehicle-mounted model has a 465 mm barrel but does not have a stock or iron sights. All models can alternatively be fitted with a fixed synthetic stock, the same used on the M249, which contains a hydraulic buffer that contributes to stabilizing the rate of fire and reducing recoil forces.

Feeding
The weapon is fed from the left-hand side by disintegrating-link M27 ammunition belts (a miniaturized version of the 7.62mm M13 belt), from either an unsupported loose belt, enclosed in a polymer ammunition box with a 200-round capacity attached to the base of the receiver, or from detachable STANAG magazines, used in other NATO 5.56 mm assault rifles such as the M16 and FNC. Magazine feeding is used only as an auxiliary measure, when belted ammunition has been exhausted. The ammunition belt is introduced into the feed tray, magazines are seated inside the magazine port at a 45° angle, located beneath the feed tray port. When a belt is placed in the feed tray it covers the magazine port. Likewise, a magazine inserted into the magazine well will prevent the simultaneous insertion of a belt. The magazine port, when not in use, is closed with an L-shaped hinged flap equipped with a tooth, which engages a corresponding opening in the magazine and serves as a magazine release. This feature was developed by FN's Maurice V. Bourlet and allows the Minimi to be instantly changed from belt feed to magazine feed without any modification.

The pawl-type feeding mechanism is modelled on the system used in the MAG general-purpose machine gun, which was originally used in the World War II-era MG 42. The belt is moved in two stages during both the forward and rearward movement of the reciprocating bolt carrier, which provides for a smooth and continuous feeding cycle. The feeding mechanism top cover features a device that indicates the presence of a cartridge in the feed path.

Barrel
The barrels used in the Minimi have an increased heat capacity for sustained fire, feature a chrome-lined rifled bore (six right-hand grooves) and are manufactured in two versions: with a 178 mm (1:7 in) twist rate used to stabilize the heavier Belgian 5.56×45mm SS109 projectile, or a 305 mm (1:12 in) twist for use with American M193 ammunition. The barrels have a quick-change capability; a lever is provided on the left side of the weapon that unlocks the barrel allowing the shooter to push it forward removing it from its trunnion. A carrying handle is also fixed to the barrel and assists in the barrel change process. A trained soldier can perform a barrel change and ready the weapon for aimed fire in 6 to 7 seconds. Early models of the Minimi had a flash suppressor with side ports as seen on the FN FAL, FN CAL, and FN FNC rifles; new production guns have a shorter, cone-shaped slotted flash suppressor.

Sights
Both the standard and Para models come with a rear sight, adjustable for windage and elevation, that provides a peep aperture for ranges from 300 - 1000 m, in 100 m increments. The sight line radius is 490 mm. The hooded front sight is installed in a post on the gas block and is also adjustable for elevation and windage. Early models of the Minimi had the rear sight mounted forward of the feed cover and the front post secured to the barrel, closer to the muzzle end. An adapter can also be used that allows the use of standard NATO night and day sights.

Accessories
Standard equipment supplied with the Minimi consists of three ammunition boxes, a cleaning kit stored inside the forearm, lubricant bottle, sling and blank-firing barrel.

M249

The M249 version of the Minimi was adopted by the US military in 1982; since 1984, production for the US military has been carried out entirely in the US by a local subsidiary, FN Manufacturing LLC in South Carolina.

As part of the US military's M249 Product Improvement Program (PIP), the M249 was updated with: a new synthetic stock and modified buffer assembly, a single-position gas regulator, a so-called birdcage type flash hider/compensator from the M16A2, a polymer barrel heat guard, and a folding carry handle. As a result, the weapon's weight increased to 7.47 kg. Many of the PIP upgrades were later incorporated by FN for the Minimi.

A lightweight variant of the Para with a Picatinny top cover rail adapter is known as the Minimi Special Purpose Weapon (SPW). It had the magazine feed port removed to further reduce weight, and a railed MIL-STD-1913 handguard was used that enables the use of standard tactical accessories.

Another variant of the SPW requested by the US Special Operations Forces is the Mk 46 Mod 0 that incorporates a lightweight fluted barrel but lacks the magazine feed system, vehicle mounting lugs and carry handle. A railed forearm ensures modularity and mission-adaptability permitting the use of flashlights, vertical grips, and infrared laser designators. An improved variant known as the Mk 46 Mod 1 with an improved forward rail and lightweight titanium bipod has been adopted by the United States Navy.

Minimi 7.62

The Minimi prototype was originally designed in 7.62×51mm NATO, and later redesigned for the 5.56 mm cartridge. When the USSOCOM issued the requirements for the Mk 48 Mod 0 in the early 2000s, the original plans for the Minimi were retrieved and used to develop this new model. As a result of favourable reviews of the Mk 48 Mod 0 and increasing demand for a more powerful variant of the Minimi, FN Herstal introduced the Minimi 7.62. In November 2006, a FN Herstal press release said the Minimi 7.62 had recently been "launched onto the market" and was available "with a fixed or telescopic buttstock and a standard or triple rail handguard". Apart from the different caliber, the Minimi 7.62 incorporates a non-adjustable, self-regulating gas system and a hydraulic recoil buffer in the buttstock assembly. The Minimi 7.62 also has a different sight setup calibrated for the larger cartridge. The rear sight is adjustable from 300 - 1000 m, in 100 m increments. The sight can also be corrected for windage. The Minimi 7.62 TR is a variant equipped with a Picatinny rail handguard from the factory. In Australian service, the Minimi 7.62 is known as the "Maximi".

Minimi Mk3
In November 2013, FN Herstal unveiled the Mk3 version of the Minimi light machine gun the Minimi 5.56 Mk3 and the Minimi 7.62 Mk3. The Mk3 upgrades were based on operational experience and user feedback over the past 10 to 15 years. The stock is 5-position adjustable that is also adjustable for cheek rest height with a folding shoulder rest and hydraulic buffer. The feed tray has retaining pawls to hold ammunition from the belt in place while loading. The handguard has three forward picatinny rails. A new bipod is 3-position height adjustable and seamlessly integrates into the shape of the handguard when folded back regardless of accessories that may be attached. Others features include a more ergonomic cocking handle and an optional heat shield, enabled by an added on long pin, to protect from barrel heat. The Minimi 7.62 Mk3 can be converted to fire 5.56×45mm rounds. Users that already have Minimi machine guns can partially or completely upgrade their existing weapons with the Mk3 features.

Production in other countries
The Minimi is being licence-built in Canada, Australia, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Sweden, Greece and Switzerland by Colt Canada, Lithgow Arms, Beretta, Pindad, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Bofors Carl Gustaf, and Astra Arms S.A. respectively.

Copies of the Minimi have been produced for export by Norinco and made by Changfeng Machinery Co., Ltd in China without license, designated as CS/LM8 in 2011, and chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO. Another clone, known as the XY 5.56, is made by Yunnan Xiyi Industry Company Limited. This was supposed to be mistaken for the CS/LM8 when news of the weapon was made in 2008.

Taiwan also produced the Minimi without license, as the T75. In addition, Egypt also produces the Minimi under license.

Users

The Minimi has been adopted by over 45 countries. Users include:
 * 🇦🇷 Argentina: M249 variant in use.
 * 🇦🇺 Australia: Designated F89 in Australian service. It is manufactured by Lithgow Arms. Both the Standard and Para versions are used, with the Standard version usually being equipped with a 1.5x sight, and the Para variant usually equipped with a holographic sight, a removable forward grip and a detachable bipod. The 7.62 mm model is known as the Maximi. The Maximi was issued in 2011 after being trialled in Afghanistan and is in limited service.
 * 🇧🇪 Belgium: Standard infantry support weapon of the Belgian Army. Uses both the standard (called the Minimi M2) and Para (Minimi M3) models.
 * 🇧🇷 Brazil: Used by the Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE) from Military Police of Rio de Janeiro, Coordenadoria de Recursos Especiais from the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, Federal police GPI, as well by the Brazilian Army, Marine Corps (399 by 17 military organization, with 13 adopting the Minimi 5,56 Standard and 4 adopting the Minimi 5,56 Para) and Brazilian Air Force. The Army Special Forces uses 38 Minimi 5,56 Special Purpose Weapon (SPW).
 * 🇧🇮 Burundi: Burundian rebels
 * 🇨🇦 Canada: The Canadian Forces C9 LMG is a standard factory FN Minimi with a steel tubular buttstock. The C9A1 comes fitted with a Picatinny rail on the feed cover mounting a 3.4× ELCAN C79 telescopic sight and can mount a vertical grip on the underside of the stock for added stability in prone firing. The C9A2 mid-life upgrade introduced a second barrel which was shorter (both with an upgraded muzzle device), reduced IR green furniture, a C8-style collapsible stock, folding vertical foregrip and a laser aiming module (LAM) C9-specific TRIAD. Two C9s are carried by each infantry section.
 * 🇨🇱 Chile: Used by Chilean Army.
 * 🇨🇳 China: Locally-made clones are used by Chinese police
 * 🇨🇴 Colombia: Used by Colombian military (M249 and MK3)
 * 🇭🇷 Croatia:
 * 🇨🇾 Cyprus: Used by the Cypriot National Guard.
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic: 7.62×51mm NATO Minimi adopted as the standard machine-gun for the Czech Army replacing the Uk vz. 59. 317 delivered as of January 2016. The 601st Special Forces Group uses the Mk 48 Mod 0. 5.56mm M249 variant were also in use.
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark: Used by the Jægerkorps.
 * East Timor: Timor Leste Defence Force
 * 🇪🇬 Egypt: Produced locally under license.
 * 🇫🇷 France: The Para version is widely used by the French Army. Fielded alongside the FN MAG GPMG.
 * 🇬🇷 Greece: Used by the Hellenic Army.
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary: M249 SAW is used by the Hungarian Special Force.
 * 🇮🇩 Indonesia Standard light machine gun of Indonesian Armed Forces. Made under license by Pindad as Pindad SM-3.
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq
 * 🇮🇪 Ireland: Para in use with the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) special forces.
 * 🇮🇹 Italy: The Minimi is made under license by Beretta, which has a partnership with FN, and is employed by the Italian Armed Forces, replacing the MG 42/59 (a variant of the WWII MG 42, which still sees widespread mounted use) in the squad automatic weapon role. The Minimi is being widely employed by Italian forces in all the most recent and current international theaters of operation.
 * 🇯🇵 Japan: Partially replaced the NTK-62 with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces. It is manufactured under license by Sumitomo Heavy Industries. The JGSDF is making plans to replace them, but SHI has confirmed that it will not be involved in a potential LMG tender. In January 2023, the FN-made Minimi MK3 was selected and designed as MINIMI(B). Around 3,100 Mk3s are set to be imported.
 * 🇱🇻 Latvia: Standard light machine gun in Latvian inventory.
 * 🇱🇧 Lebanon
 * 🇱🇾 Libya
 * 🇱🇹 Lithuania: 7.62×51mm FN Minimi MK 3
 * 🇱🇺 Luxembourg: The Luxembourgish Army uses it as a Squad automatic Weapon, The Para variant is used by the Unité Spéciale de la Police intervention unit of the Grand Ducal Police.
 * 🇲🇾 Malaysia: The Malaysian Army replaced the HK11A1 machine gun with the Minimi. Also used by police special force units.
 * 🇲🇱 Mali: People's Movement for the Liberation of Azawad
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico: Mexican Air Force uses it on helicopters.
 * 🇳🇵 Nepal: Purchased 5,500 units in 2002.
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands: The Royal Netherlands Army has brought in the Para version of the Minimi to replace the FN MAG in some infantry roles. The Dutch Korps Commandotroepen use the Minimi 5.56 para version. The MAG is still being used as a general-purpose machine gun, support fire weapon and as a vehicle-mounted weapon.
 * 🇳🇿 New Zealand: The New Zealand Defence Force uses the Minimi under the designation C9 Minimi. This gun has been used as the Army's Light Support Weapon (LSW) since 1988. The 7.62 Minimi TR was selected in Feb 2012 to replace the C9 LSW Minimi and will be known as the 7.62 LSW Minimi in NZDF service.
 * 🇳🇴 Norway: Para version in use with HJK/FSK, and MJK since the late 1980s, since 2011 in use with armed forces of Norway (1,900 machine guns were purchased in 2011). In September 2021 FN Herstal and Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency signed a framework agreement for delivery of 4000 Minimi 7,62 Mk3.
 * 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea: Designated F89.
 * 🇵🇪 Peru: Used by the Infantería de Marina del Perú (Peruvian Naval Infantry).
 * 🇵🇭 Philippines: In use by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Purchased the FN Minimi in May 2002.
 * 🇵🇱 Poland: JW GROM
 * 🇵🇹: Portuguese Army received in 2019 Minimi MK3 machine guns in the 5.56×45mm and 7.62×51mm calibers. In 2022 Portuguese Marine Corps received an unknown amount of 5.56×45mm Minimi MK3.
 * 🇷🇸 Serbia: Used by the special forces units of the Armed Forces (72nd Brigade for Special Operations and 63rd Parachute Brigade) and Special Anti-Terrorist Unit of the Police.
 * 🇸🇳 Senegal: Used by Senegalese special forces units.
 * 🇸🇮 Slovenia: Minimi Para used by the Military of Slovenia.
 * 🇪🇸 Spain: The Spanish Navy acquired Minimi light machine guns in the 5.56×45mm Para and 7.62×51mm versions.
 * 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
 * Syria: Syrian Arab Army, formerly Desert Hawks Brigade.
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden: Known as the Ksp 90 (Kulspruta 90). Para model designated Ksp 90B; both are made by Bofors Carl Gustaf.
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland: Designated LMg 05 (Leichtes Maschinengewehr 05) or FM 05 (Fusil mitrailleur 05).
 * 🇹🇼 Taiwan: Used by the Republic of China Army; a version re-engineered for local production, designated T75, is in use by the Republic of China Marine Corps.
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Used by the Royal Thai Navy Marine Corps and by the Royal Thai Army (M249 variant).
 * 🇹🇳 Tunisia
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey: Used by General Directorate of Security and Turkish Land Forces
 * 🇺🇦 Ukraine: Received from Canada and Belgium in 2022 and used during the Russo-Ukrainian War
 * 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Used standard and Para variants, designated L108A1 and the L110A2 respectively. The Army equipped each four-man fireteam with the Para variant. The LMG was usually fitted with the 4× SUSAT standard-issue rifle sight. It was also used by the Royal Navy, Royal Marines Commandos and the RAF Regiment. Some 7.62 Minimis are in service. The L110A3 was phased out by early 2019 in favour of the earlier L7A2 general purpose machine gun, Joint Force Command users retained their stocks of the weapon.
 * : United States Armed Forces use it designated as the M249 light machine gun.
 * Vietnam: FN Minimi Mk 3 are used by the Vietnamese Marines.
 * 🇾🇪 Yemen: FN Minimi Reported by Amnesty to be used by a militia during the Hodeidah offensive in 2018

Former users

 * undefined: The Afghan National Army made use of U.S.-supplied M249s during the Taliban insurgency.

Non-state users

 * Free Aceh Movement
 * Taliban: Former Afghan government stocks. 59 ex-British Minimis were also used by the Taliban during the War in Afghanistan.

title: FN Minimi


text:
Dodge Challenger

The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles produced by the American automobile manufacturer Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge dates back to 1959 for marketing a "value version" of the full-sized Coronet Silver Challenger.

From model years 1970 to 1974, the first-generation Dodge Challenger pony car was built using the Chrysler E platform in hardtop and convertible body styles sharing significant components with the Plymouth Barracuda.

The second generation, from model years 1978 to 1983, was a badge engineered Mitsubishi Galant Lambda / Sapporo, a coupe version of an economical compact car.

The third and current generation is a full-size muscle car that was introduced in early 2008 initially as a rival to the evolved fifth generation Ford Mustang and the fifth generation Chevrolet Camaro.

In November 2021, Stellantis announced that the 2023 model year would be the final model year for both the LD Dodge Charger and LA Dodge Challenger, as the company will focus its plans on electric vehicles rather than fossil fuel-powered vehicles, due to tougher emissions standards required by the Environmental Protection Agency for the 2023 model year. Challenger production ended on December 22, 2023, and the Brampton, Ontario assembly plant will be re-tooled to assemble an electrified successor.

First generation (1970–1974)
Introduced in the autumn of 1969 for the 1970 model year, the Challenger was one of two Chrysler E-body cars, the other being the slightly smaller Plymouth Barracuda. Positioned to compete against the Mercury Cougar and Pontiac Firebird in the upper end of the pony car market segment, it was "a rather late response" to the Ford Mustang, which debuted in April 1964. Even so, Chrysler intended the new Challenger as the most potent pony car ever, and like the less expensive Barracuda, it was available in a staggering number of trim and option levels, and with virtually every engine in Chrysler's inventory.

Dodge's first usage of the Challenger name was for a trim package in 1959 called the Dodge Silver Challenger, which was a two-door coupe only.

The Challenger's longer wheelbase, larger dimensions, and more luxurious interior were prompted by the launch of the 1967 Mercury Cougar, likewise, a bigger, more luxurious, and more expensive pony car aimed at affluent young American buyers. The 110 in wheelbase was 2 in longer than the Barracuda's, and the Dodge differed substantially in its sheet metal, much as the Cougar differed from the shorter-wheelbase Mustang. Air conditioning and a rear window defogger were optional. With 1971 being the sole exception, the front ends of both cars differed from each other in that the Challenger had four headlights and the Barracuda had only two; a trend replicated by offerings from Chrysler's rivals. The exterior design was penned by Carl Cameron, who was also responsible for the exterior designs of the 1966 Dodge Charger. Cameron based the 1970 Challenger grille on an older sketch of a stillborn 1966 Charger prototype that was to have a turbine engine. The pony car segment was already declining by the time the Challenger arrived. Sales fell dramatically after 1970, and though sales rose for the 1973 model year with over 27,800 cars being sold, Challenger production ceased midway through the 1974 model year. A total of 165,437 first-generation Challengers were sold.

Second generation (1978–1983)
Beginning with the 1978 model year, Dodge marketed a rebadged variant of the early Mitsubishi Galant Lambda coupe, as the Dodge Challenger — through Dodge dealers as a captive import, initially as the "Dodge Colt Challenger". Chrysler's Plymouth brand marketed its rebadged variant as the Plymouth Sapporo, and a rebadged variant was marketed overseas as the Mitsubishi Sapporo/Scorpion and sold.

The Sapporo and Challenger were redesigned in 1981 with revised bodywork with increased footroom, headroom, trunk capacity, and soundproofing. Both cars were marketed until 1983, when they were replaced by the Conquest using the same rear-wheel-drive platform through 1989, and in 1984 by the front-wheel-drive Laser and Daytona.

The car retained the frameless hardtop styling of the old Challenger, but had smaller engines, a 1.6 L inline-four and a 2.6 L inline-four instead of the slant-6 and V8 engines of the original Challenger models. The engines were rated at power outputs of 77-105 hp. Mitsubishi pioneered the use of balance shafts to help damp engine vibrations.

Third generation (2008–2023)
In late 2005, Dodge teased spy photos of the Dodge Challenger prototype on the internet, and it was announced on November 21, 2005, showing an official sketch of the vehicle. The Dodge Challenger Concept was unveiled at the 2006 North American International Auto Show and was a preview for the third-generation Dodge Challenger that started its production in 2008. Many design cues of the Dodge Challenger Concept were adapted from the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T.

Racing
The Challenger was introduced to the SCCA Trans Am Series in 1970. Two factory-backed cars were prepared by Ray Caldwell's Autodynamics and driven by Sam Posey and Tony Adamowicz. The No.77 car was built at Autodynamics from a street Challenger T/A taken from a local dealer showroom. The No.76 chassis arrived mid-season from Dan Gurney's All-American Racers and was completed by Autodynamics.
 * Dodge's early to mid-1970s factory-supported "Kit Car" program for short-track late-model stock car racing offered a choice of Challenger, and a few (less than 12) were made. Still, in 1974, Dodge ended the Challenger line, and they went to the Dodge Dart Sports and Dodge Aspen bodies over a steel-tube chassis.
 * Blackforest Motorsports has currently entered a Challenger in the Continental Challenge.
 * The Challenger R/T has been used as the Chrysler model for starting in 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series competition.

With Dodge officially out of NASCAR at the end of the 2012 season, the remaining cars and racing parts have been bought up by "privateer" racing teams and continue to show up in Nationwide Series during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. J. J. Yeley indicated his two-car team would continue to field a Challenger in the series for as long as he can find parts to keep the cars running. The team stopped after the 2014 season after his No. 93 (later No. 28) regularly ran in the top 20 during races. However, the Mike Harmon-owned No. 74, and the Derek White-operated No. 40 qualified and ran Dodges in 2015. Mike Harmon Racing ran a Dodge the entire season and also did so in 2016, and has raced in over half of the 2017 season so far. Likewise, White's MBM Motorsports team fielded the Nos. 13 and 40 as Dodges in some races. MBM continues to field Dodges into 2018 with Timmy Hill in the 66 (was the 13).

In late 2014, two Challengers fielded by Miller Racing with the support of SRT and Mopar, driven by Cameron Lawrence and Joe Stevens, started racing in the Trans-Am Series TA2 class. Both cars used a spec Howe road racing tube chassis with fiberglass bodies. Powered by a Hemi 392 slightly modified for road racing extremes and restricted by class rules, the cars made around 500 horsepower. Except for the slightly bulged fenders and a large rear wing, the cars look much like the stock/street version despite being roughly 7/8s the size of the road car. Lawrence won four of the twelve races in the 2015 season, finishing third overall in the Trans Am TA2 championship. Joe Stevens in the No. 11 "Green Car" finished sixth overall after fourth place at the season finale at Daytona International Speedway. Joe Stevens also received the Cool Shirt Hard Charger award for his excellent rookie season performance. For the 2016 season, the Stevens-Miller Team fielded three Challengers in the TA2 series and ran in 16 events, scoring a few wins. The No. 77 car was painted in a throw-back scheme similar to the 1970 No. 77 car driven by Sam Posey. The No. 12 car occasionally fielded a blue scheme paying tribute to the Plymouth Cuda Trans-Am car driven by Swede Savage.

In March 2017, the Challenger returned to compete at Sebring after a nearly 40-year absence from Trans-Am's fastest racing class TA class in Tra. Jeff Hinkle drove it under the American V8 Road Racing team with John Debenedictis as crew chief. The car was orange and purple with stripes of many of the other challenger colors to celebrate the current stable of cars for the street. It is powered by a Penske Engines Mopar R5 / P7 carbureted engine producing 855 hp. In its debut, it qualified 16th and finished 9th out of 24.

At all Superbike World Championship races in the United States, Fiat's Alfa Romeo safety car is replaced with Chrysler's Dodge Challenger.

Discontinuation and future plans
On August 15, 2022, Stellantis formally announced that Dodge Challenger, Charger, and Chrysler 300 production would end following the 2023 model year, stating tightening U.S. EPA emissions requirements as reasons for doing so. In response, the company announced a series of "Last-Call" models with special paint and unique trims to commemorate the Challenger and Charger. The final Dodge Challenger, a Pitch-Black Demon 170, rolled off the Brampton assembly line on December 22, 2023; it was also the very last vehicle built on a derivative of the long-running Chrysler LX Platform, which was introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year. After production, the Brampton, Ontario assembly plant will be re-tooled to assemble electric vehicles and the next-generation Jeep Compass.

While it is currently unknown whether the Challenger name will return on a future vehicle, Stellantis announced that an electrified successor to both the Charger and Challenger would be introduced in 2024 for the 2025 model year in the form of a three-door liftback, utilizing the Charger name. Moreover, the company announced that the all-new electric power plants will produce 455 horsepower on the base model and over 800 horsepower using the Banshee 800-volt power plant. An internal combustion version is rumored to be offered as well, utilizing the twin-turbocharged 3.0L Hurricane inline-6 engine, shared with the Jeep Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer and 2025 Ram 1500; it is set to be paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

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

title: Dodge Challenger


text:
Ales

Ales may refer to:

Places

 * Alès, a town and commune in southern France
 * Ales, Sardinia, a small town in the province of Oristano on Sardinia in Italy

People with the surname

 * Alexander Ales (1500–1565), Scottish theologian
 * Mikoláš Aleš (1852–1913), a Czech painter
 * John Ales (born 1969), American actor

Other uses

 * Ales (name), a Belarusian given name
 * Aleš, a common Slavic given name
 * Ale, a fermented alcoholic beverage
 * Ales (automobile), a 1920s Japanese automobile
 * Ales Groupe, a French cosmetics company
 * Olympique Alès, a French association football (soccer) club based in Alès

title: Ales


text:
Talk:Transmeta

ambiguous

 * Linus Torvalds has by now left Transmeta to dedicate himself to the further development of the Linux Kernel.

the above sounds a bit ambiguous - when did Torvalds actually leave Transmeta? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kpjas (talk • contribs) 02:35, 16 May 2004

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title: Talk:Transmeta


text:
Saugatuck Dunes State Park

Saugatuck Dunes State Park is a public recreation area covering 1000 acre on the shore of Lake Michigan between Saugatuck and Holland in Allegan County, Michigan.

History
The site was once part of the estate of inventor Dorr E. Felt, whose summer home, the Felt Mansion, is an in-holding within the state park that is undergoing restoration. Built by the inventor of the comptometer in 1928, the Felt's summer home was sold to the St. Augustine Seminary in 1949 and used as housing for young students, and later on, for cloistered nuns. In the 1970s, the building was purchased by the state of Michigan and used as a state police post, with nearby buildings serving as a prison. The state completed purchasing the site for state park purposes in 1978.

Activities and amenities
The largely undeveloped state park features 14 mi of hiking trails, 200 ft sand dunes covered with trees and grass, and 2.5 mi of beachfront located two-thirds of a mile from the picnic parking area.

title: Saugatuck Dunes State Park


text:
Gulf of Honduras

The Gulf or Bay of Honduras is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. From north to south, it runs for approximately 200 km (125 miles) from Dangriga, Belize, to La Ceiba, Honduras.

The inner Gulf of Honduras is lined by the Belize Barrier Reef which forms the southern part of the 900 km (600 mile) long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second-largest coral reef system in the world. The Belize Barrier Reef includes a number of small islands, called cays, and collectively known as the Pelican Cays.

The Gulf of Honduras is marked by complex dynamics of coastal and open waters, and ocean currents, which have produced a very diverse and unique ecosystem with a wide variety of coastal marine waters, including coastline estuaries, barrier beaches, lagoons, intertidal salt marshes, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, keys and barrier reefs.

The gulf receives the runoff from the watersheds of 12 rivers with an estimated discharge of 1,232,000 litres (approx. 300,000 gallons) per second.

Tourists are often taken on boat trips to the Pelican Cays, notably Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye.

In 1961 Hurricane Hattie swept across the Gulf of Honduras, destroying buildings in Belize.

The infamous pirate Blackbeard spent the winter of 1717–1718 harassing shipping boats sailing to and from the port of Vera Cruz, Mexico and traversing the Bay of Honduras. In April 1718, at Turneffe Atoll, Blackbeard captured the logwood cutting sloop Adventure and forced its captain, David Herriot, to join him. Blackbeard then made Israel Hands captain of the Adventure and began sailing for North Carolina.

Current
The Gulf's limits have not been demarcated by the International Hydrographic Organization. Its northernmost point is variously given as Belize City, Dangriga, or Gladden Spit; its easternmost point as Punta Sal, Punta Izopo, or La Ceiba. The northern limits are in the Belize or Stann Creek districts of Belize, while the eastern ones are in the Atlántida Department of Honduras.

Historical
During the 16th through 20th centuries, the Gulf's limits were thought to run from Cape Catoche to Cape Gracias a Dios.

20th century
In 1012 December 1989, the Central American Integration System established the Commission for the Environment and Development, a body charged with coordinating environmental protection policies, projects, and programmes across the region. Upon the 12 October 1994 signing of the Alliance for the Sustainable Development of Central America, the Commission adopted its first regional environmental management plan. In 1995 and 2005, the Commission secured grant financing for its work in the Gulf.

In 1996, nine NGOs in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras established the Trinational Alliance for the Conservation of the Gulf of Honduras (aka TRIGOH). The alliance seeks to harmonise members' management policies for marine and coastal protected areas in the Gulf, and to coordinate their management and research activities.

Terrestrial
The Gulf's northern (ie Belizean) shores consist mostly of sandy beach ridges, saline tidal swamps, and shelf lagoons. It is dotted with small estuaries, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, patch and barrier reefs, and mangrove and coral cayes. The coast in the mouth of the Gulf (ie Guatemalan coastline) consists mainly of mangrove thickets, large estuaries, seagrass beds, and beaches. The southern coast (in Honduras) is marked by long beaches, vast mangroves, and mangrove and coral cays.

Marine
The Gulf's continental shelf extends some 9.32–24.85 miles (15–40 km) from shore. The northern shelf holds part of the Belize Barrier Reef, which stretches to the Sapodilla Cayes. The shelf in the mouth of the Gulf holds five parallel submarine ridges of continental origin, which jut out towards the north-northeast. It is cleaved by the Swan Island fault, which divides the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates, and forms the southern boundary of the Cayman Trough.

Climate
The Gulf's climate is tropical or sub-tropical (ie Am and Af Köppen climate classifications). Temperature varies little throughout the year, averaging 82 F, though this is slightly moderated to 73 F by cold northerlies and trade winds blowing from North America during the winter months. Rainfall and humidity are seasonal; rainfall averages 1.98 in per month during the JuneOctober wet season, and 10.83 in per month during the NovemberMay dry season. The wet season is brought by the annual northern migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Rainfall and humidity additionally vary by location, with some 118–157 inches (3,000–4,000 mm) of annual rainfall in the coastal areas, and some 394 in in the Maya Mountains. The northeasterly trade winds are the most dominant influence on the Gulf's annual wind pattern; their speeds range from 9.84 ft to 26.25 ft per second. Tropical storms and hurricanes are regular between August and October, with the Gulf's northeastern (ie Belizean) section averaging 60 storms per century, and the southwestern coast (ie Guatemalan and Honduran) averaging 20 storms per century.

Terrestrial
The Gulf's northern (ie Belizean) coast consists primarily of three geologic formations metamorphosed sediments (ie metasediments) and granite intrusions in the Maya Mountains, and coastal alluvial sediments east, southeast, and south of this range. The metasediments are the oldest rocks in Belize, formed during the Palaeozoic era some 300 mya. They form part of the Santa Rosa Group, and are composed of fine-grained phyllites, slates, and mudstones. The alluvial sediments formed during the Tertiary period some 10 mya. Primary soil types are Ossory (from metasediments), Stopper (from granite), Melinda and Puletan (from alluvial sediment), and tintal soils (ie wet, swampy type soils). The Belize Barrier Reef protects this coast from open sea waves. As such, the north-south littoral drift along this coast is primarily driven by waves formed within the reef.

The coast at the mouth of the Gulf (ie Guatemalan coast) consists primarily of alluvial material from the Quaternary era. The southern (ie Honduran) coast consists primarily of sedimentary alluvium (surficial bounders, cobbles, gravel, sand, and mud) and intrusive plutonic formations of granite, granodiorite, and diorite. These formed during the Quaternary and Cretaceous eras. The west-east littoral drift along this coast is driven mainly by open sea waves, which tend to approach the shoreline from east to west.

Marine
The Gulf is part of the Cayman Trench, one of five deepwater basins in the Caribbean Sea. It contains the open-sea lagoon formed by the Belize Barrier Reef, the Amatique Bay, the Atlantic coast of Guatemala, and the eastern part of the coast of Honduras. The western part of the Gulf sits on the continental shelf, which extends 37 mi offshore, and so is rather shallow, with mean depths of less than 98 ft. Large freshwater discharge from the Sarstoon, Dulce, and Motagua rivers limit coral development in the mouth of the Gulf to a few isolated patches, as at Hunting Caye, for instance. Towards the northeastern section of the Gulf, the continental shelf drops off abruptly, from some 98 feet at the shelf break to some 6,560 feet in the Cayman Trench.

Formation
The Gulf's northern coast, upon the Yucatan Peninsula, reached its present location during the Late Jurassic age some 150 Mya. It was joined by the Central American platform during the Eocene epoch some 40 Mya, thereby forming a gulf or bay in or about the present location of the Gulf of Honduras.

Watersheds
Eight primary, and 17 subsidiary, watersheds replenish the Gulf. These cover some 20730 mi2, with 2,240 sq. mi. in Belize, 7,070 sq. mi. in Guatemala, and 11,430 sq. mi. in Honduras. They contain 13 major, and various minor, rivers, with the former discharging some 77690 ft3 of freshwater per second, on average, and the latter, some 7,060 cubic feet per second, on average. Annually, the Gulf receives some 17.75–18.23 cubic miles (74–76 km3) of water from its watersheds. Sedimentary discharge from Belizean rivers into the Gulf was, on average, 80, 15, and 5 per cent mud, clay, and sand, respectively. Peak freshwater and sedimentary discharge occurs in the wet season, which usually exceeds dry season discharge by a factor of 59.

Currents
The Gulf's open sea experiences the Caribbean Current and a quasi-permanent cyclonic eddy generated in the southwest corner of the Cayman Tranch. The latter is centred at about 19°N 86°W, generating a sea surface height anomaly of negative 7.9 in, with peripheral current velocities of 7.9 to 15.8 inches per second (0.2–0.4 m/s).

The Caribbean Current flows from east to west in the deep waters off the continental shelf of Honduras. In doing so, every few months, it generates cyclonic, counterclockwise gyres, characterised by a central water level depression of 812 inches (2030 cm), which take 23 months to progress westwards along the Honduran coast towards the Belize Barrier Reef.

Along the Gulf's northern (ie Belizean) coast, persistent northeasterly trade winds maintain a constant southerly downwelling, with speeds of 3.9 to 7.9 inches per second (0.1–0.2 m/s). This southern drift, in turn, drives a counterclockwise eddy along the Gulf's mouth, and along its southern coast (ie the Guatemalan and Honduran coasts).

Tides
The Gulf experiences a mixed, mainly semidiurnal microtide with a mean sea surface elevation range of some 7.9 in. The semidiurnal and diurnal constituent amplitudes range within 1.182.76 inches (0.030.07 m). The dominant semidiurnal and diurnal tidal constituents propagate westwards along the coast of Honduras, and northwards along the Belize Barrier Reef. Currents induced by the tide may be appreciable in constricted channels along the Belize Barrier Reef, reaching 15.75 inches per second (0.4 m/s) here. Astronomical tides are weak, and at times completely dominated by meteorological tides. For instance, the storm surge associated with Hurricane Mitch raised the mean water level at Gladden Spit 9.2 feet (2.8 m) on 27 October 1998.

Waves
The northeasterly and easterly trade winds give rise to both wind waves and swell, especially during December–May. These are intensified by cold northerlies and north-westerlies blowing in from North America during November–April in bursts lasting one to three days. Waves are typically 3.28–9.84 feet (1–3 m) high, with periods of 3–7 seconds, though hurricanes may increase their height to 32.81 feet (10 m), and their period to 12.7 seconds. Mean wave direction is towards 255° (ie towards the west-southwest). The wet season's thunderstorms are often accompanied by intense gusts from varying directions, followed by periods of calm.

Water
Sea-surface temperatures in the Gulf range from 81 F in JanuaryFebruary to 84 F in AugustSeptember, with the former lower temperatures associated with coastal upwelling driven by intensified trade winds. The Gulf's upper mixed layer, which has uniform temperature and salinity, is about 49 ft in its northwest section, featuring temperatures of 83 F to 88 F. A thermocline develops offshore at 49 to 66 feet (15 to 20 m). Sea-surface salinity in the Gulf averages 36,200 parts per million (36.2 g per kg) offshore, but drops off closer towards the coast, and especially near estuaries like the Amatique Bay, where salinity dips to 5,000–10,000 ppm (5–10 g/kg) during the wet season. Visibility in the Gulf ranges from less than 3.28 ft near estuaries to a maximum of 108.27 ft inside the Belize Barrier Reef. Dissolved oxygen ranges from 0.9 ppm (0.9 mg/L) near coastal areas of wastewater discharge, to 5.2–9.6 ppm (5.2–9.6 mg/L) near the Belize Barrier Reef. pH ranges from 5.8 in areas without marine vegetation (eg seagrass beds), to 7.4 in lagoons and estuaries, to 8.8 near coral reefs. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations range from levels below the detection threshold (near coral reefs), to 7.0 μM and 1.0 μM respectively (near estuaries). Chlorophyll-a concentrations range from undetectable to 0.55 ppm (0.55 mg/L).

Ecosystems
The most significant ecosystems in the Gulf are mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs, these being some of the most productive ecosystems on Earth, in terms of mean net primary productivity, and some of the most vulnerable to changes in water quality.

Mangrove forests
The Gulf's mangrove forests are dominated by red mangroves, though black, white, and buttonwood mangroves are also present. Mangrove stands act as sediment traps in estuaries, thereby protecting coral reefs from sedimentation, and providing a primary source of nutrition and a nursery habitat for coastal marine life. They also act as a physical buffer from tropical storms for inland settlements. The largest forests sit on the Sarstoon–Temash, and the Port Honduras–Payne's Creek areas (on the southern coast of Belize, and the Atlantic coast of Guatemala). Smaller forests are located near Livingston, Dulce River, Puerto Barrios, Punta de Manabique, and in the Jeanette Kawas National Park. Mangrove stands cover at least 130000 ha of land in Belize, and some 708 ha of Guatemala's Atlantic coast.

Seagrass beds
The Gulf's seagrass beds are dominated by turtle grass, though shoal, manatee, and tape grasses also appear. Seagrass meadows are predominantly found in clear, sandy-bottomed, surf-free, shallow waters, as found off the coast of Belize, in the Amatique Bay, and in Graciosa Bay. They cover some 3750 ha of the Gulf, reaching a density of some 133 plants per square foot (1,433 plants per m2). They provide a source of nutrition for marine life, and help stabilise the coast. In Belize, they serve as an important habitat for queen conch, the country's second-most important commercial fish species.

Coral reefs
The most significant coral reefs in the Gulf are those of the Belize Barrier Reef, itself part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second-largest reef in the world. It is composed of lagoon patch reefs, fringing reefs, and offshore atolls. It is home to some 60 coral, 350 mollusc, and 500 fish species. Isolated coral patches dot the Guatemalan and Honduran coasts of the Gulf.

Biodiversity
The Gulf's marine life is particularly diverse. It is home to a number of threatened and endangered marine species, most notably West Indian manatees, and green, leatherback, and hawksbill turtles.

Protection
Belize was the first country in the Gulf to establish a system of protected areas. The Crown Lands Ordinance of 1924 authorised the Governor-in-Council to classify some Crown land as protected areas. The first area so classified was the Half Moon Caye Crown Reserve, a bird sanctuary established on 1 September 1928. Guatemala and Honduras established protected areas by the 1990s. Over 43, 29, and 27 per cent of the territory of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, respectively, are under some form of protection. Efforts to establish an international protected area in the Gulf have been hindered by the Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute.

Demographics
The Gulf proper encompasses the Toledo and Stann Creek districts of Belize, the Izabal department of Guatemala, and the Cortés and Atlántida departments of Honduras, though the Gulf's watersheds encompass additional districts and departments. These districts are predominantly rural, ethnically diverse, and agrarian.

Agriculture
Agriculture is the dominant economic activity in the Gulf, employing over 30 per cent of the labour force in Belize's southern districts, for instance. Agriculture is undertaken both for subsistence and for commerce, with coffee, cacao, and bananas being the lead exports. Bananas are an important export in all three countries of the Gulf, while coffee is a major product of Guatemala and Honduras. Smallholders tend to focus on maize, beans, and maicillo.

Fisheries
The Gulf sustains a number of commercially-fished species, including shrimp, spiny lobster, queen conch, and scale fish (eg swordfish, jurel, sea bass, barracuda, tuna, pejerrey, and anchovy). Some 14.3 million pounds of fish are caught in the Gulf each year, worth some $22.8 million ( million USD), with spiny lobster, queen conch, shrimp, and sardines being the major earners. The Belizean coast is particularly known for its shrimping grounds, especially off the Moho, Temash, and Sarstoon rivers, where over 150,000 pounds of shrimp are caught annually by some 200 small-scale fishermen and 10 large-scale trawlers. In the southern coast of the Gulf, some 1,415 Guatemalan and 647 Honduran small-scale fisherman are active.

Aquaculture
Four aquaculture farms operate on the Belizean coast of the Gulf. These predominantly grow whiteleg shrimp. In 1999, these farms grew prawn in 107 ponds spanning 722 acres, with an annual production of over two million pounds for local consumption and export.

Tourism
Tourism is the second-largest foreign exchange earner in the Gulf countries. In Belize, tourism has historically focussed on cayes and reefs in the northern part of the country, outside the Gulf. In 2001, for instance, only 11.1 per cent of tourists were destined towards the country's southern districts, accounting for only 6 per cent of income derived from tourist accommodation. Activities were primarily eco-cultural, with the main attractions being Mayan archaeological sites and various marine and coastal parks. Tourism infrastructure in the Guatemalan and Honduran coasts is more limited (with the exception of the Honduran Bay Islands).

Transport
The major port facilities in the Gulf are the Big Creek and Belize City ports in Belize, Puerto Barrios and Puerto Santo Tomás in Guatemala, and Puerto Cortés in Honduras, with the Honduran port being the only deepwater port in Central America, and one of the best equipped for cargo. In 2001, these ports accommodated nearly 4,000 ships and 12 million metric tonnes of cargo.

Industry
Industrial manufacturing is limited in the Gulf, particularly in the Belizean coast, where the only major factories in 2003 were two citrus and one rice processing plants. Guatemalan and Honduran manufacturing are heavily concentrated on the Gulf's watersheds.

title: Gulf of Honduras


text:
Dan Lusthaus

Dan Lusthaus is an American writer on Buddhism. He is a graduate of Temple University's Department of Religion, and is a specialist in Yogācāra. The author of several articles and books on the topic, Lusthaus has taught at UCLA, Florida State University, the University of Missouri, and in the Autumn of 2020 he was an Associate in the Department of South Asian Studies at Harvard University.

Lusthaus also collaborated with Heng-ching Shih in the translation of Kuiji's (K'uei-chi) commentary on the Heart Sutra with the Numata translation project. Lusthaus is an editor for the Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, in the area of Indian/East Asian Yogācāra/Tathāgatagarbha. He contributed the contents of his catalogue of the major Yogācāra translations of Xuanzang to the DDB, as well as a number of other terms related to the Cheng Weishi Lun and Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra.

title: Dan Lusthaus


text:
Ōme Line

The Ōme Line (青梅線) is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in western Tokyo, Japan. It links Tachikawa and the Chūō Line with the town of Okutama. Many Chūō Line trains operate via the Ōme Line to Ōme Station, providing non-stop service to Tokyo Station.

The section between Ōme and Oku-Tama is now nicknamed as the "Tokyo Adventure Line (東京アドベンチャーライン)".

Ōme Line Local
Local trains stop at all stations. However, they rarely run along the entire Ōme Line, with services splitting at Ōme Station.

Through services
The Ōme Line, at times, runs through services along the Chūō Rapid, Itsukaichi, and Hachikō lines. Supplemental trains during the peak season may also run along the Nambu Line. Trains that operate only on the Ōme Line have "Ōme-Itsukaichi Line" displayed at the front.

 * Chūō - Ōme Line through service: Some Chūō Line trains operate through service to the Ōme Line via Tachikawa. Most through services only go as far as Ōme, and stop at all stations on the Ōme Line, except the Holiday Rapid Okutama (See below). There are two other through service variations which uses the Ōme Line as an intermediate line, which are shown below.
 * Chūō - Ōme - Itsukaichi Line through service: At rush hours, few Chūō Line trains run through services between Tokyo and the Itsukaichi Line via Haijima. These services are always joined with another through service train, which couples / decouples at Haijima. During morning rush, some trains from Musashi-Itsukaichi on the Itsukaichi Line, and another train from Ōme on the Ōme Line, or from Hakonegasaki / Komagawa on the Hachiko Line, couple at Haijima, and head for Tokyo. During evening rush, the reverse occurs.
 * Chūō - Ōme - Hachiko Line through service: As mentioned above, there are through services from Tokyo on the Chūō Line to the Hachiko Line, via the Ōme Line. These trains terminate at Hakonegasaki or Komagawa.
 * Ōme - Itsukaichi Line through service: Some Itsukaichi Line operate through service to the Ōme Line via Haijima. They operate between Musashi-Itsukaichi and Tachikawa. Note that these trains do not go on the Chūō Line.

Ōme Limited Express
The Ōme Limited Express (特急おうめ) is limited express train service for commuters on the Chūō Rapid Line and Ōme Line. The train operates on weekdays only. Prior to 16 March 2019, this train operated as the Ōme Liner (青梅ライナー)

Holiday Rapid Okutama
Holiday Rapid Okutama services run on weekends from Tokyo. See their article for more information.

Station list

 * All stations are located in Tokyo.
 * Local, rapid, and special rapid trains stop at all stations.
 * On the track column, stations where trains can pass one another are marked "∥", "◇", "∨", and "∧", and those where trains cannot pass each other at stations marked "｜".

Rolling stock

 * E233-0 series
 * 209-1000 series

Services on the Ōme Line are usually formed of E233-0 series 10-car / 6+4 car EMUs. However, while 209-1000 series trains usually only run on the Chuo Line (Rapid) between Tokyo and Takao stations, on rare occasions (such as a shortage of train sets due to an accident) they may also run on the Ome Line as far as Ome station. Due to the lack of passenger-operated door controls on these sets all doors open at each station on these sets.

History
The section between Tachikawa and Ōme was opened in 1894 by the Ōme Railway as a gauge line, extended 2 km as a freight-only section to Hinatawada the following year. Passenger services were extended to Hinatawada in 1898, and the line was converted to in 1908. A further freight-only section opened to Miyanohira in 1914, and to Futamatao in 1920. Passenger services were extended to Miyanohira in 1923, the same year the entire line was electrified at 1,200 V DC. The line was further extended to Mitake in 1929, when the company changed its name to the Ōme Electric Railway Co. and the voltage raised to 1,500 V DC in 1930. Passenger services were extended to Mitake in 1935.

The company was nationalized on 1 April 1944, the same year that the Tachikawa to Nagakami section was double-tracked.

The Okutama Electric Railway was constructing a line from Mitake to Hikawa (now Okutama) when it was nationalised, and the line opened on 1 July 1944, creating the present-day Ōme Line.

The Nakagami to Haijima section was double-tracked in 1946, and direct services to Tokyo commenced in 1949. The Haijima to Higashi-Ōme section was double-tracked between 1961 and 1962, CTC signalling was commissioned in 1971, and freight services ceased in 1998.

On 20 August 2016, station numbering was introduced to the Ōme Line, with stations being assigned station numbers between JC51 (Nishi-Tachikawa) and JC74 (Oku-Tama).

From the timetable revision on 18 March 2023, operation on the Ōme Line has been almost completely divided at Ōme Station, with very few trains operating along the entire length of the line.

Former connecting lines

 * Oku-Tama Station: The Tokyo Waterworks Bureau operated a 7 km line to the Ogouchi dam during its construction between 1952 and 1957. It featured 23 tunnels and 23 bridges. In 1963 it was transferred to the Seibu Railway, which transferred it to the Okutama Limestone Quarrying Co. in 1978, and although the line is now known as the Mizune Freight Line, it has been out of service for some time.

Future developments
In February 2015, JR East announced plans to introduce Green (first class) cars on Chuo Line (Rapid) and through-running Ome Line services from fiscal 2020. This will involve adding two bilevel Green cars to 10- and 6-car E233-0 series EMU sets, forming 12- and 8-car sets. Work is now undergoing to lengthen station platforms and depot facilities to handle the longer trains.

title: Ōme Line


text:
Giffnock

Giffnock  (Giffnock; Giofnag, ) is a town and the administrative centre of East Renfrewshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

It lies 3.7 mi east of Barrhead, 5.6 mi east-southeast of Paisley and 5.3 mi northwest of East Kilbride, at the southwest of the Greater Glasgow conurbation.

Giffnock has frequently been named amongst the most affluent areas in Scotland. It had been first place but that title went to Stockbridge, Edinburgh in 2020.

Giffnock is mentioned in documents as early as the seventeenth century as a scattered agricultural settlement. In the late eighteenth century, Archibald Montgomerie, the Earl of Eglinton, was forced to partition the land into a number of smaller properties.

The urbanisation and development of Giffnock began in the mid to late nineteenth century with the construction of several sandstone quarries, and this prompted the development of the first railway link with nearby Glasgow. Large-scale quarrying continued in Giffnock for almost a century. However, the quarrying ceased by the 1920s, and other uses were found for the quarries. An additional railway service began at the start of the twentieth century, closely followed by the arrival of Glasgow Corporation Tramways. Giffnock's relative closeness to Glasgow coupled with the local industry and good transports links helped it to develop into a suburban town, as many wealthy merchants chose to construct villas in its smog-free environs and commute daily to the city. Although heavy industry died out in the area during the early twentieth century, as part of Scotland's densely populated Central Belt, Giffnock has continued to grow as a dormitory town, supported by its position within the Greater Glasgow area, from roughly 1,425 residents in the early twentieth century to 16,178 in 2001. Expansion continues due to several new housing developments; however, much of the land is now urbanised or designated parkland, leaving little room for further expansion.

History
The Scottish Gaelic name for Giffnock is Giofnag and is of partially Brythonic and Gaelic origin. 'Cefn' (i.e. 'Giff') comes from the Brythonic meaning 'ridge' and the Gaelic cnoc (i.e. 'nock') meaning "hill". In Gaelic, oc or og is a diminutive, and thus when added to cefn gives Giffnock the meaning of "Little Ridge".

The first written mention of Giffnock came in 1530, when James V presented Rockend (Ruken) Mill and the surrounding lands to Hugh Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Eglinton. The settlement of Giffnock first appeared as Gisnock, in an atlas created by Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu in 1654, the first atlas of Scotland. Giffnock was primarily a scattered farming community until the late 1780s, when Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton was forced to partition the land into a number of small properties for sale to raise finances.

Industry
In 1835, the first sandstone quarry in Giffnock opened. Before long, the town became known for this industry, and at its peak, there were four quarries in Giffnock, three surface quarries and one underground quarry, which together employed over 1,000 men. The quarries produced two types of sandstone: "liver rock" and "moor rock". "Liver rock" was particularly popular with masons thanks to its lack of stratification, which made the stone easy to work with.

In 1854 Giffnock and Orchard Quarries were taken over by the former foreman and clerk, De Hort Baird and William Stevenson. They formed the firm Baird & Stevenson, which became a major force in Scottish quarrying; they later owned Locharbriggs Quarry in Dumfriesshire, thus supplying Glasgow with both blond Giffnock and red Dumfries sandstone. By 1866 the Busby Railway was built, allowing them to transport the stone by rail. Originally, a lower level line was laid from Giffnock railway station into the Orchard Quarry to facilitate the extraction of the stone.

Sandstone from the Giffnock quarries was primarily used within the nearby city of Glasgow and can be found in older parts of the University of Glasgow and the interior of Kelvingrove Art Gallery. A small amount of trade was done with Belfast, and some of the finer "liver rock" was even transported as far as America and South Africa to build both buildings and monuments.

Quarrying in Giffnock continued until 1912 when, due to flooding and the high cost of extracting stone, work ceased. Numerous ventures tried to revitalise the quarries for other purposes, including the cultivation of mushrooms in the tunnels. As the pits began to fill with water, it became an issue that needed to be resolved. In the early 1930s, William Bearmore & Co began tipping slag from the production of steel into the Giffnock quarries. The slag tipping continued until 1969, when Derek Crouch Limited began scrap metal extraction, which lasted until the late 1970s. Today the ground is a wasteland.

Coal mining was also carried out in Giffnock, between 1850 and 1926. The coal produced was of a very poor quality and was of little value to householders. The main use of Giffnock coal was with commercial and industrial customers such as Busby Gas Works.

Urbanisation and expansion
The opening of Giffnock railway station in 1866 allowed business people to build sandstone villas and commute daily to the city. At the time, it was much more desirable to live in Giffnock than to live in the smog-polluted city. By the early 1890s, residential Giffnock began to grow around the railway station and Eastwood Toll, and by 1892 gas was introduced to the area. Gas street lamps were erected by Busby and District Gas Company in 1893; however, these were supported by a voluntary subscription that many households refused to pay, leaving many areas unlit. It was not until October 1896, when Eastwood Parish Council took over street lighting, that the area was consistently lit at night.

In 1903, two more railway stations were built on the edge of Giffnock, at Williamwood and Whitecraigs. These stations lay on the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway, originally built to provide a through route from the Lanarkshire coalfields to ports such as Ardrossan on the Ayrshire coast.

The growth of Giffnock was furthered in 1905 by the arrival of the first Glasgow Corporation Tramways tram in the town. The addition of this tram link and the nearby Whitecraigs railway station helped the popularity of Giffnock as a weekend destination and lead to the opening of Rouken Glen park in 1906 by Archibald Corbett (later Lord Rowallan), the M.P. for Tradeston. The Giffnock tramline was one of Glasgow Corporation Tramways's most profitable routes; up to 15,000 travelled to Giffnock on a Sunday to visit Rouken Glen.

During the great housing boom of the late 1930s, Giffnock began to grow rapidly. Between 1930 and 1940, as many as 3,000 dwellings were constructed, and the population rose dramatically, from 1,425 to 3,471 in 1939 and 9,144 in 1951.

On 7 May 1941, during the Greenock Blitz of World War II, the Nazi German Luftwaffe dropped a group of bombs over Giffnock, but only two houses were destroyed. On 10 May 1941, Rudolf Hess, a prominent Nazi politician and deputy to Adolf Hitler parachuted out of his Messerschmitt Bf 110D near Waterfoot. Hess had flown solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom. He was detained by the Home Guard in the battalion headquarters in the Giffnock Scout hall, where he was questioned by Major Donald, the Assistant Group Officer of the Glasgow Royal Observer Corps before being transferred to Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow the following day. The wreckage of Hess's aircraft was salvaged by 63 Maintenance Unit (MU) between 11 and 16 May 1941. Part of the aeroplane is now in London's Imperial War Museum.

Proposals were put forward in 2008 to expand the town with the building of 178 houses on the currently dangerous Braidbar Quarries site next to Huntly Park, involving the Park closing for a period of two years. However, following 2,000 objections from local people and the opposition of the Scottish Government's reporter, East Renfrewshire Council abandoned the plans in October 2011.

Governance
Giffnock is represented by several tiers of elected government. Giffnock Community Council forms the lowest tier of governance whose statutory role is to communicate local opinion to local and central government. It is one of ten community councils of the East Renfrewshire council area.

East Renfrewshire Council, the unitary local council, is based in Giffnock and is the Executive, deliberative and legislative body responsible for local governance. The Scottish Parliament is responsible for devolved matters such as education, health and justice, while reserved matters are dealt with by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Within East Renfrewshire, Giffnock and Thornliebank is one of five multi-member wards created in 2007, which elects three council members. For the purposes of the Scottish Parliament, Giffnock forms part of the Eastwood Constituency, which is represented by Jackson Carlaw MSP, of the Scottish Conservative Party. In the UK Parliament, Giffnock is within the county constituency of East Renfrewshire, electing one member of parliament (MP) to the House of Commons. Kirsten Oswald of the SNP was elected as MP for East Renfrewshire in the 2015 General Election. Before its creation in 2005, Giffnock was in the Eastwood Constituency.

Geography
At 55.8025°N, -4.29528°W (55.803°, −4.30°) Giffnock is situated in Scotland's Central Lowlands. The town lies 3.7 mi east of Barrhead, 5.3 mi northwest of East Kilbride and 4.3 mi south-southwest of Glasgow. The territory of Giffnock is contiguous with Glasgow and forms part of Greater Glasgow, the United Kingdom's fifth largest conurbation.

Giffnock is situated on the plateau that encircles Glasgow. It is at edge of the area that defines the basin that Glasgow has developed within. The underlay is composed mainly of sedimentary rocks and freestone from the Strathclyde and Clackmannan groups of early to mid Carboniferous age (354 to 316 million years). The relatively soft and easily eroded rocks have resulted in the landform in the area being mostly flat with gentle undulations. The area of Giffnock is typically around 45 m to 50 m above sea level, with the highest point in the area reaching 60 m.

Giffnock experiences a temperate maritime climate, like much of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. Regular but generally light precipitation occurs throughout the year.

Giffnock's built environment is characterised by its mixture of nineteenth and twentieth-century single and two-storey dwellings, most of which are semi-detached or terraced. Towards the south of Giffnock the properties are generally grander two-storey detached villas, commonly built with local sandstone many of which are now listed buildings. Giffnock is a postal district within the post town of Glasgow in the G postcode area. Giffnock consists of postcode district G46, which also extends beyond the town boundary to include neighbouring settlements Kennishead, Thornliebank, Deaconsbank, Carnwadric and Arden.

Demography
According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the census locality (town and sub-area) of Giffnock had a total resident population of 16,178, or 18% of the total of East Renfrewshire. The median age of males and females living in Giffnock was 39 and 43 respectively, compared to 37 and 39 years for those in the whole of Scotland. Fifty six percent were married, 3.5% were cohabiting couples, 6.9% were lone parent families and 28.7% of households were made up of individuals.

The place of birth of the towns residents was 94.4% United Kingdom (including 87.8% from Scotland), 0.6% Ireland, 0.9% from other European Union countries and 4.2% from elsewhere in the world. Compared with the average demographics of Scotland, Giffnock has higher proportions of people born outside the Europe and people over pensionable age.

Of residents 16–74, 39.6% were in full-time employment, 12.1% in part-time employment, 8.9% self-employed and 2% unemployed compared with Scotland as a whole which has 40.3%, 11.1%, 6.6% and 4% respectively. Additionally, in Giffnock 4.2% students have jobs while 5.2% do not, 16% are retired, 5.7% look after their home or family, 3.9% are permanently sick or disabled, and 2.4% are economically inactive for other reasons.

Transport
The area has a number of high-volume road links to neighbouring Glasgow. The A77 main Glasgow to Kilmarnock road passes through the centre of the town and crosses the A727 from Paisley to East Kilbride at the Eastwood Toll. The nearest motorway is the M77, of which Junction 3 Darnley is the interchange for Giffnock.

Giffnock lies within the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Passenger transport executive and is served by three railway stations, all of which are managed by ScotRail:
 * Giffnock railway station, opened on 1 January 1866, lies on the East Kilbride branch of the Glasgow South Western Line, which runs from Glasgow Central 4 mi north-northeast.
 * Whitecraigs railway station, opened on 1 May 1903, lies on the Neilston branch of the Cathcart Circle 5.2 mi south-southwest of Glasgow Central.
 * Williamwood railway station, opened on 1 May 1903, lies on the Neilston branch of the Cathcart Circle 5.2 mi south-southwest of Glasgow Central.

The closest airport is Glasgow Airport, 6.8 mi north-west of Giffnock, followed by Glasgow Prestwick Airport, 27.2 mi.

Giffnock is serviced by a number of bus routes by various operators. The main bus link to the city is the number 38 line operated by First Glasgow, which runs at least every 10 minutes throughout the day.

Education
The first evidence of education in Giffnock is of a small private school that operated in the lodge house at the Redhurst Hotel. Due to the increased population, the first public school opened in 1902 in the Tower Rooms of Giffnock United Free Church, known now as the Orchardhill Parish Church.

Giffnock has a number of high schools, including St Ninian's High School, a co-educational Roman Catholic High School which was built in 1984 and is Scotland's top-performing state school. St Ninian's was the first state-funded school in Scotland to abandon the Standard Grade examination system in favour of the Higher Still system, using Access 3, Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 for pupils in third and fourth year, while maintaining Highers in fifth year and Advanced Highers in sixth year. The school roll was 1784 as of September 2011.

Furthermore, Giffnock has a library and two primary schools: Giffnock Primary School and Braidbar Primary school, non-denominational feeder primary schools for Woodfarm High School.

Religion

Until the end of the nineteenth century, Giffnock had no church buildings, and religious meetings took place in the waiting room of Giffnock Railway Station and, later, in the clubhouse at Eastwood Golf Course. Orchardhill Parish Church, designed by HE Clifford and completed in 1899, was the first church built within Giffnock. Now a category B listed building, the Church is built in a Gothic revival style of architecture and is built mainly of locally quarried stone. Also located in Giffnock is Giffnock Synagogue, founded in 1938 and home to the largest Jewish religious congregation in Scotland.

Recreation
In 1936 the Tudor Cinema was constructed in Giffnock by Alex Frutin. It opened in December as a "superb suburban cinema". The Tudor was an Art Deco style building and is considered Glasgow's first "entertainment complex", featuring a ballroom and restaurant as well as the 2,400-seat cinema.

Giffnock has numerous parks, including Rouken Glen, Huntly Park and Eastwood Park, where the East Renfrewshire Council offices are based. There remains some ancient woodland in Giffnock, which could be as old as 8,000 years.

The lands of Rouken Glen Park originally belonged to the Scottish Crown. Ownership shifted to the Earl of Eglinton when James V presented the land to Hugh Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Eglinton on the marriage of his son in 1530. The area of the estate was farmed until the end of the 18th century and, in 1858, the estate was purchased by local merchant Walter Crum. Alexander Crum inherited the estate in 1879 and is responsible for the layout of Rouken Glen as it is today. On his sudden death in August 1893, the house passed into the hands of his brother, William Graham Crum, who later sold the estate to Archibald Cameron Corbett, MP (later Lord Rowallan) on 19 May 1905. In 1906 the estate was given to the City of Glasgow by Lord Rowallan, with the provision that it be for the "citizens of Glasgow for all time". Rouken Glen Park was officially opened on Saturday, 25 May 1906 by Lord Rowallan.

Eastwood Park Leisure Centre has a 25-metre (82 ft) swimming pool, two additional smaller pools and two gyms. Activities in the leisure centre include casual swimming, swimming lessons, pool fun sessions, fitness classes, a sauna and gym sessions. Greenbank Garden, an 18th-century house and garden owned by the National Trust for Scotland, is located between nearby Clarkston and Newton Mearns. The house has a 2.5 acre walled garden, sixteen rooms and barns and stables. This building is protected as a Category A listed building.

The Giffnock North Social Club, located on Braidbar Road, is a community non-profit making venue run by its members. The club host a wide and diverse range of live music events. Facilities at the club include a lounge and a games room with pool tables, darts and large screen TV. It also has a function hall which can be hired out for special occasions, accommodating up to 150 guests.

Sport
In 1905 the Whitecraigs Golf Club was founded. The course was originally designed by Willie Fernie, who was The Open Championship winner in 1883 and also designed the Ailsa course at Turnberry. Alterations to the course were made in the 1930s by James Braid, who won The Open Championship five times between 1901 and 1910.

Many golfing events have been hosted by the Whitecraigs Golf Club. The club was visited by the United States Ryder Cup teams of 1929 and 1933. The teams included many golfing legends such as Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Horton Smith. Whitecraigs hosted the World Senior Championship in 1976 and 1978. In 1983, Jack Nicklaus visited the club to play an exhibition match and run a clinic.

Whitecraigs Rugby Club is a rugby union team based at Newton Mearns, near Giffnock. As of the 2011–2012 season, the team competes in the Scottish Premiership Division A.

The Glasgow Hutchesons Aloysians RFC (often abbreviated to GHA) are based in Giffnock.

Public services
Giffnock forms part of the Western water and sewerage regions of Scotland. Waste management is provided by the East Renfrewshire local council. Water supplies are provided by Scottish Water, a government-owned corporation of the Scottish Government. Giffnock's distribution network operator for electricity is Scottish Power. The NHS board is NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue is the statutory fire and rescue service. The nearest fire station is in the neighbouring settlement of Clarkston

Policing in Giffnock is provided by Police Scotland. The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body in Scotland, has direct operational responsibilities, such as supporting (and in some cases running) local bus services and managing integrated ticketing in Giffnock and other areas from the former Strathclyde region. Transport Scotland manages the local rail network.

Notable people

 * Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010
 * Daniel McGillivray Brown, chemist
 * Aiden McGeady, Ireland international footballer
 * Andrew Robertson, Scotland international footballer
 * Calum Gallagher, footballer

title: Giffnock


text:
Infinitesimal transformation

In mathematics, an infinitesimal transformation is a limiting form of small transformation. For example one may talk about an infinitesimal rotation of a rigid body, in three-dimensional space. This is conventionally represented by a 3×3 skew-symmetric matrix A. It is not the matrix of an actual rotation in space; but for small real values of a parameter ε the transformation

 * $$T=I+\varepsilon A$$

is a small rotation, up to quantities of order ε2.

History
A comprehensive theory of infinitesimal transformations was first given by Sophus Lie. This was at the heart of his work, on what are now called Lie groups and their accompanying Lie algebras; and the identification of their role in geometry and especially the theory of differential equations. The properties of an abstract Lie algebra are exactly those definitive of infinitesimal transformations, just as the axioms of group theory embody symmetry. The term "Lie algebra" was introduced in 1934 by Hermann Weyl, for what had until then been known as the algebra of infinitesimal transformations of a Lie group.

Examples
For example, in the case of infinitesimal rotations, the Lie algebra structure is that provided by the cross product, once a skew-symmetric matrix has been identified with a 3-vector. This amounts to choosing an axis vector for the rotations; the defining Jacobi identity is a well-known property of cross products.

The earliest example of an infinitesimal transformation that may have been recognised as such was in Euler's theorem on homogeneous functions. Here it is stated that a function F of n variables x1, ..., xn that is homogeneous of degree r, satisfies

 * $$\Theta F=rF \, $$

with

 * $$\Theta=\sum_i x_i{\partial\over\partial x_i},$$

the Theta operator. That is, from the property

 * $$F(\lambda x_1,\dots, \lambda x_n)=\lambda^r F(x_1,\dots,x_n)\,$$

it is possible to differentiate with respect to λ and then set λ equal to 1. This then becomes a necessary condition on a smooth function F to have the homogeneity property; it is also sufficient (by using Schwartz distributions one can reduce the mathematical analysis considerations here). This setting is typical, in that there is a one-parameter group of scalings operating; and the information is coded in an infinitesimal transformation that is a first-order differential operator.

Operator version of Taylor's theorem
The operator equation

 * $$e^{tD}f(x)=f(x+t)\,$$

where

 * $$D={d\over dx}$$

is an operator version of Taylor's theorem — and is therefore only valid under caveats about f being an analytic function. Concentrating on the operator part, it shows that D is an infinitesimal transformation, generating translations of the real line via the exponential. In Lie's theory, this is generalised a long way. Any connected Lie group can be built up by means of its infinitesimal generators (a basis for the Lie algebra of the group); with explicit if not always useful information given in the Baker–Campbell–Hausdorff formula.

title: Infinitesimal transformation


text:
Cyprus Convention

The Cyprus Convention of 4 June 1878 was a secret agreement reached between Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire which granted administrative control of Cyprus to Britain (see British Cyprus), in exchange for its support of the Ottomans during the Congress of Berlin. Provisions in the Convention retained Ottoman rights over the territory of Cyprus.

This agreement was the result of secret negotiations that took place earlier in 1878. The Convention was abrogated by the British on 5 November 1914, when Britain and the Ottoman Empire found themselves at war with each other.

British administration established, 1878
The Sultan, Abdul Hamid II, ceded the administration of Cyprus to Britain, in exchange for guarantees that Britain would use the island as a base to protect the Ottoman Empire against possible Russian aggression. The British had been offered Cyprus three times (in 1833, 1841, and 1845) before accepting it in 1878.

In the mid-1870s, Britain and other European powers were faced with preventing Russian expansion into areas controlled by a weakening Ottoman Empire. Russia was trying to fill the power vacuum by expanding the Czar's empire west and south toward the warm water port of Constantinople and the Dardanelles. British administration of Cyprus was intended to forestall such an expansion. In June 1878, clandestine negotiations between Britain and the Porte culminated in the Cyprus Convention, by which "His Imperial Majesty the Sultan further consents to assign the island of Cyprus to be occupied and administered by England."

There was some opposition to the agreement in Britain, especially from Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone. When Gladstone returned to power he did not return the island. Greek Cypriot nationalism made its presence known to the new rulers, when, in a welcoming speech at Larnaca for the first British High Commissioner to Cyprus, the bishop of Kition expressed the hope that the British would expedite the unification of Cyprus and Greece as they had previously done with the Ionian Islands. Thus, the British were confronted at the very beginning of their administration with the reality that enosis was vital to many Greek Cypriots.

The island served Britain as a key military base on the sea route to British India, which was then Britain's most important overseas possession. In 1906, a new harbour at Famagusta was completed, increasing the importance of Cyprus as a strategic naval outpost protecting the approaches to the Suez Canal. Early in the First World War the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, and on 5 November 1914 Britain annexed Cyprus, bringing an end to the Convention.

Cyprus Tribute
The terms of the Convention provided that the excess of the island's revenue over the expenditures for government should be paid as an "annual fixed payment" by Britain to the Sultan. This provision enabled the Porte to assert that it had not ceded or surrendered Cyprus to the British, but had merely temporarily turned over administration. Because of these terms, the action was sometimes described as a British leasing of the island. The "Cyprus Tribute" became a major source of discontent underlying later Cypriot unrest.

Negotiations eventually determined the sum of the annual fixed payment at exactly 92,799 pounds sterling, eleven shillings, and three pence. Governor of the island Ronald Storrs later wrote that the calculation of this sum was made with "all that scrupulous exactitude characteristic of faked accounts." The Cypriots found themselves not only paying the tribute, but also covering the expenses incurred by the British colonial administration, creating a steady drain on an already poor economy.

From the start, the matter of the Cyprus Tribute was severely exacerbated by the fact that the money was never paid to Turkey. Instead it was deposited in the Bank of England to pay off Turkish Crimean War loans (guaranteed by both Britain and France) on which Turkey had defaulted. This arrangement greatly disturbed the Turks as well as the Cypriots. The small sum left over went into a contingency fund, which further irritated the Porte. Public opinion on Cyprus held that the Cypriots were being forced to pay a debt with which they were in no way connected. Agitation against the tribute was incessant, and the annual payment became a symbol of British oppression.

There was also British opposition to the tribute. Undersecretary of State for the Colonies Winston Churchill visited Cyprus in 1907 and, in a report on his visit, declared, "We have no right, except by force majeure, to take a penny of the Cyprus Tribute to relieve us from our own obligations, however unfortunately contracted." Parliament soon voted a permanent annual grant-in-aid of 50,000 pounds sterling to Cyprus and reduced the tribute accordingly.

Annexation of Cyprus by Britain, 1914, ends Convention
Following the outbreak of the First World War, the Ottoman Empire decided to join the war on the side of the Central Powers, and on 5 November 1914 the British formally annexed Cyprus as a Crown colony. At the same time, the Ottoman Khedivate of Egypt and the Sudan was declared to be the Sultanate of Egypt, a British protectorate.

title: Cyprus Convention


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Observational cosmology

Observational cosmology is the study of the structure, the evolution and the origin of the universe through observation, using instruments such as telescopes and cosmic ray detectors.

Early observations
The science of physical cosmology as it is practiced today had its subject material defined in the years following the Shapley-Curtis debate when it was determined that the universe had a larger scale than the Milky Way galaxy. This was precipitated by observations that established the size and the dynamics of the cosmos that could be explained by Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. In its infancy, cosmology was a speculative science based on a very limited number of observations and characterized by a dispute between steady state theorists and promoters of Big Bang cosmology. It was not until the 1990s and beyond that the astronomical observations would be able to eliminate competing theories and drive the science to the "Golden Age of Cosmology" which was heralded by David Schramm at a National Academy of Sciences colloquium in 1992.

Hubble's law and the cosmic distance ladder
Distance measurements in astronomy have historically been and continue to be confounded by considerable measurement uncertainty. In particular, while stellar parallax can be used to measure the distance to nearby stars, the observational limits imposed by the difficulty in measuring the minuscule parallaxes associated with objects beyond our galaxy meant that astronomers had to look for alternative ways to measure cosmic distances. To this end, a standard candle measurement for Cepheid variables was discovered by Henrietta Swan Leavitt in 1908 which would provide Edwin Hubble with the rung on the cosmic distance ladder he would need to determine the distance to spiral nebula. Hubble used the 100-inch Hooker Telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory to identify individual stars in those galaxies, and determine the distance to the galaxies by isolating individual Cepheids. This firmly established the spiral nebula as being objects well outside the Milky Way galaxy. Determining the distance to "island universes", as they were dubbed in the popular media, established the scale of the universe and settled the Shapley-Curtis debate once and for all.

In 1927, by combining various measurements, including Hubble's distance measurements and Vesto Slipher's determinations of redshifts for these objects, Georges Lemaître was the first to estimate a constant of proportionality between galaxies' distances and what was termed their "recessional velocities", finding a value of about 600 km/s/Mpc. He showed that this was theoretically expected in a universe model based on general relativity. Two years later, Hubble showed that the relation between the distances and velocities was a positive correlation and had a slope of about 500 km/s/Mpc. This correlation would come to be known as Hubble's law and would serve as the observational foundation for the expanding universe theories on which cosmology is still based. The publication of the observations by Slipher, Wirtz, Hubble and their colleagues and the acceptance by the theorists of their theoretical implications in light of Einstein's General theory of relativity is considered the beginning of the modern science of cosmology.

Nuclide abundances
Determination of the cosmic abundance of elements has a history dating back to early spectroscopic measurements of light from astronomical objects and the identification of emission and absorption lines which corresponded to particular electronic transitions in chemical elements identified on Earth. For example, the element Helium was first identified through its spectroscopic signature in the Sun before it was isolated as a gas on Earth.

Computing relative abundances was achieved through corresponding spectroscopic observations to measurements of the elemental composition of meteorites.

Detection of the cosmic microwave background
A cosmic microwave background was predicted in 1948 by George Gamow and Ralph Alpher, and by Alpher and Robert Herman as due to the hot Big Bang model. Moreover, Alpher and Herman were able to estimate the temperature, but their results were not widely discussed in the community. Their prediction was rediscovered by Robert Dicke and Yakov Zel'dovich in the early 1960s with the first published recognition of the CMB radiation as a detectable phenomenon appeared in a brief paper by Soviet astrophysicists A. G. Doroshkevich and Igor Novikov, in the spring of 1964. In 1964, David Todd Wilkinson and Peter Roll, Dicke's colleagues at Princeton University, began constructing a Dicke radiometer to measure the cosmic microwave background. In 1965, Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson at the Crawford Hill location of Bell Telephone Laboratories in nearby Holmdel Township, New Jersey had built a Dicke radiometer that they intended to use for radio astronomy and satellite communication experiments. Their instrument had an excess 3.5 K antenna temperature which they could not account for. After receiving a telephone call from Crawford Hill, Dicke famously quipped: "Boys, we've been scooped." A meeting between the Princeton and Crawford Hill groups determined that the antenna temperature was indeed due to the microwave background. Penzias and Wilson received the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery.

Modern observations
Today, observational cosmology continues to test the predictions of theoretical cosmology and has led to the refinement of cosmological models. For example, the observational evidence for dark matter has heavily influenced theoretical modeling of structure and galaxy formation. When trying to calibrate the Hubble diagram with accurate supernova standard candles, observational evidence for dark energy was obtained in the late 1990s. These observations have been incorporated into a six-parameter framework known as the Lambda-CDM model which explains the evolution of the universe in terms of its constituent material. This model has subsequently been verified by detailed observations of the cosmic microwave background, especially through the WMAP experiment.

Included here are the modern observational efforts that have directly influenced cosmology.

Redshift surveys
With the advent of automated telescopes and improvements in spectroscopes, a number of collaborations have been made to map the universe in redshift space. By combining redshift with angular position data, a redshift survey maps the 3D distribution of matter within a field of the sky. These observations are used to measure properties of the large-scale structure of the universe. The Great Wall, a vast supercluster of galaxies over 500 million light-years wide, provides a dramatic example of a large-scale structure that redshift surveys can detect.

The first redshift survey was the CfA Redshift Survey, started in 1977 with the initial data collection completed in 1982. More recently, the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey determined the large-scale structure of one section of the Universe, measuring z-values for over 220,000 galaxies; data collection was completed in 2002, and the final data set was released 30 June 2003. (In addition to mapping large-scale patterns of galaxies, 2dF established an upper limit on neutrino mass.) Another notable investigation, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), is ongoing and aims to obtain measurements on around 100 million objects. SDSS has recorded redshifts for galaxies as high as 0.4, and has been involved in the detection of quasars beyond z = 6. The DEEP2 Redshift Survey uses the Keck telescopes with the new "DEIMOS" spectrograph; a follow-up to the pilot program DEEP1, DEEP2 is designed to measure faint galaxies with redshifts 0.7 and above, and it is therefore planned to provide a complement to SDSS and 2dF.

Radio
The brightest sources of low-frequency radio emission (10 MHz and 100 GHz) are radio galaxies which can be observed out to extremely high redshifts. These are subsets of the active galaxies that have extended features known as lobes and jets which extend away from the galactic nucleus distances on the order of megaparsecs. Because radio galaxies are so bright, astronomers have used them to probe extreme distances and early times in the evolution of the universe.

Infrared
Far infrared observations including submillimeter astronomy have revealed a number of sources at cosmological distances. With the exception of a few atmospheric windows, most of infrared light is blocked by the atmosphere, so the observations generally take place from balloon or space-based instruments. Current observational experiments in the infrared include NICMOS, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Keck Interferometer, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, and the Herschel Space Observatory. The next large space telescope planned by NASA, the James Webb Space Telescope will also explore in the infrared.

An additional infrared survey, the Two-Micron All Sky Survey, has also been very useful in revealing the distribution of galaxies, similar to other optical surveys described below.

Optical rays (visible to human eyes)
Optical light is still the primary means by which astronomy occurs, and in the context of cosmology, this means observing distant galaxies and galaxy clusters in order to learn about the large scale structure of the Universe as well as galaxy evolution. Redshift surveys have been a common means by which this has been accomplished with some of the most famous including the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. These optical observations generally use either photometry or spectroscopy to measure the redshift of a galaxy and then, via Hubble's Law, determine its distance modulo redshift distortions due to peculiar velocities. Additionally, the position of the galaxies as seen on the sky in celestial coordinates can be used to gain information about the other two spatial dimensions.

Very deep observations (which is to say sensitive to dim sources) are also useful tools in cosmology. The Hubble Deep Field, Hubble Ultra Deep Field, Hubble Extreme Deep Field, and Hubble Deep Field South are all examples of this.

Ultraviolet
See Ultraviolet astronomy.

X-rays
See X-ray astronomy.

Gamma-rays
See Gamma-ray astronomy.

Cosmic ray observations
See Cosmic-ray observatory.

Cosmic neutrinos
It is a prediction of the Big Bang model that the universe is filled with a neutrino background radiation, analogous to the cosmic microwave background radiation. The microwave background is a relic from when the universe was about 380,000 years old, but the neutrino background is a relic from when the universe was about two seconds old.

If this neutrino radiation could be observed, it would be a window into very early stages of the universe. Unfortunately, these neutrinos would now be very cold, and so they are effectively impossible to observe directly.

title: Observational cosmology