Bücher von National Research Council

Producer gas is generated from solid fuels such as wood, charcoal, coal, peat, and agricultural residues. Although it has been used to power internal combustion engines since their invention, it has been largely overlooked for the past 50 years. During the early 1940s, when petroleum supplies for civilian use ran out in Europe, Asia, and Australia, producer gas was responsible for putting trucks, buses, taxis, tractors and other vehicles back on the roads, and boats back on the rivers. In 1939 Europe operated about 9,000 gas producer buses and trucks, and there were almost none on any other continent. By 1941, however, about 450,000 vehicles were in operation in all parts of the world, and by 1942 the number had grown to approximately 920,000. Gas producers were then in use not only in land vehicles, but also in boats, barges, and stationary engines. By 1946 more than a million motorized devices around the world operated on producer gas. In Europe and Asia alone, the use of producer gas in the 1940s contributed to saving millions of people from starvation. Basically, producer gas is made when a thin stream of air passes through a bed of glowing coals. The coals may come from the burning of wood, charcoal, coke, coal, peat, or from wastes such as corn cobs, peanut shells, sawdust, bagasse, and paper. (In some cases these materials must be pressed into bricks or pellets before they will produce adequate coals, and special generators may also be needed.)

2019 Reprint of 1943 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. This work attempted to fill the need for a presentation of real, modern, scientific psychology so that it could be understood by the average American enlisted man during World War II. It was intended so that every soldier who reads it should understand and use more effectively those most complicated "instrumentalities of war," that is, his own human reactions. Many of the preeminent psychologists of the era contributed chapters. Profusely illustrated.

Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification makes the case that better data collection and research on eyewitness identification, new law enforcement training protocols, standardized procedures for administering line-ups, and improvements in the handling of eyewitness identification in court can increase the chances that accurate identifications are made. This report explains the science that has emerged during the past 30 years on eyewitness identifications and identifies best practices in eyewitness procedures for the law enforcement community and in the presentation of eyewitness evidence in the courtroom. In order to continue the advancement of eyewitness identification research, the report recommends a focused research agenda.

Provides a plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community.

As the worldwide demands for basic minerals increase and some resources on land show signs of rapid decrease, it is inevitable that the search for new sources will extend to the oceans - the largely unexplored 71 percent of the planet's surface. Of great importance is the rich reserve of hard minerals in the oceans - for example the so-called manganese nodules, which vary in size and shape from small pebbles to massive pavements, containing economically attractive deposits of manganese, copper, cobalt, and nickel. It is important to assess the nature and extent of the mineral resources of the seabed and to devise ways of recovering them with a minimal impact on the environment. This report (based on an 18-month study) of a panel of the National Academy of Sciences examines the potential of the resources, evaluates the state of the art of ocean mining, identifies the legal, regulatory, and jurisdictional problems involved, considers the possible environmental questions, and determines how to meet the need for trained engineers to do the job.

CONTENTS: IntroductionCommittee on Assessment of Safety of OCS ActivitiesExploratory Drilling SystemsDeepwater Drilling and Production Platforms in Non-Arctic AreasArctic PlatformsOffshore Discharge of Drill Muds and CuttingsSubsea Production SystemsDeep Water PipelinesOffshore Storage, Tanker Loading, Floating FacilitiesSupporting Systems for Installation, Inspection, and RepairOil Spill Cleanup and ContainmentDiscussionSummaryParticipants