Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational public holding company that through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures and distributes power systems. Rolls-Royce Holdings is headquartered in City of Westminster, London. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines, and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Rolls-Royce was the world's 16th-largest defence contractor in 2011 and 2012 when measured by defence revenues. It had an announced order book of £71.6 billion as of January 2014.

Rolls-Royce is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. As of June 2013, it had a market capitalisation of £22.22 billion, the 24th-largest of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange.

1906 to 1971

Rolls-Royce Limited

Rolls-Royce Limited was founded in 1906 by Henry Royce and Charles Rolls at the Midland Hotel, Manchester, as a manufacturer of luxury cars, before diversifying into aircraft engine manufacturing. The production of road vehicles remained a major activity of the company until the car business was split off in 1973 as Rolls-Royce Motors.

Rolls-Royce produced its first aircraft engine, the Eagle, in 1914. Around half the aircraft engines used by the Allies in World War I were made by Rolls-Royce. By the late 1920s, aero engines made up most of Rolls-Royce's business. The last design in which Henry Royce was involved was the Merlin aero engine, which came out in 1935; Royce had died in 1933. This was a development subsequent to the R engine, which had powered a record-breaking Supermarine S.6B seaplane to almost 400 mph in the 1931 Schneider Trophy. The legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin is revered as a British icon. The Merlin powered many World War II aircraft: the British Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, De Havilland Mosquito (twin-engined), Avro Lancaster (4-engine); it also transformed the American P-51 Mustang into one of the best fighters of its time, its Merlin engine built by Packard under licence. The early Merlins – Rolls-Royce piston engines were named after birds of prey – were used by the British Royal Air Force in the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire that won the Battle of Britain. The Merlin engine is often considered to be one of the main factors in winning the war for the Allies. Over 160,000 Merlin engines were produced.

In the post-World War II period, Rolls-Royce made significant advances in gas turbine engine design and manufacture. The Dart andTyne turboprop engines were particularly important, enabling airlines to cut journey times within several continents, whilst jet airlinerswere introduced on longer services. 

 Andover),Friendship, Herald and Viscount aircraft, whilst the more powerful Tyne powered the Atlantic, Transall and the Vanguard. Many of these turboprops are still in service.

Rolls-Royce turbine engines had traditionally borne numeric designations during development, and then were assigned the name of a British river on delivery. The use of river names was introduced with the earliest Rolls jet engines to reflect their nature: a steady flow of power rather than the pulses of a piston engine. RB stands for "Rolls-RoyceBarnoldswick", the latter a major ex-Rover plant north of Burnley. This facility was bought by Rolls-Royce when it traded production of tank engines (the Merlin based Rolls-Royce Meteor) for production of the first Whittle turbine engines

Amber Heard

Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress and model. Heard made her film debut in acclaimed sports drama Friday Night Lights, starring Billy Bob Thornton. After small roles in North Country and Alpha Dog, Heard played her first leading role in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and appeared in The CW television show Hidden Palms.

Her breakthrough came in 2008 with roles in Never Back Down and Pineapple Express. She was awarded with Breakthrough Award at Young Hollywood Awards. She got widespread attention after her appearance in films such as The Informers, The Stepfather,Zombieland and The Joneses. She next starred in John Carpenter's The Ward, alongside Nicolas Cage in Drive Angry, and alongside Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary, for which she won a Spotlight Award at Hollywood Film Festival. Her recent films includeParanoia, Machete Kills and 3 Days to Kill.

Regarded as a sex symbol, Heard often appears in magazines' Most Beautiful and Sexiest lists. She is also involved in social activism for causes such as LGBT rights and abolishing slavery, and is a supporter of Habitat for Humanity, Girl Up United Nations Foundation, The Art of Elysium and Amnesty International.

Early life

Heard was born in Austin, Texas, the daughter of Patricia Paige (Parsons), an internet researcher, and David Clinton Heard, a contractor. She has a sister, Whitney. She dropped out of high school, eventually earning a diploma through a home-study course. When Heard was 16, her best friend died in a car crash and Heard, who was raisedCatholic, subsequently declared herself an atheist after being introduced to the works of Ayn Rand by her then-boyfriend. She has said of Rand, "I've read all of her books. Ever since then, I have been obsessed with her ideals. All I've ever needed is myself."

Personal life

Heard came out in 2010, at GLAAD's 25th anniversary event, but has stated, "I don't label myself one way or another—I have had successful relationships with men and now a woman. I love who I love; it's the person that matters." At the aforementioned GLAAD event, she stated of her decision to come out: "think when I became aware of my role in the media, I had to ask myself an important question 'Am I part of the problem?' And I think that when millions and millions of hard-working, tax paying Americans are denied their rights and denied their equality you have to ask yourself what are the factors that are an epidemic problem and that's what this is."

Heard dated photographer Tasya van Ree. She met fellow actor Johnny Depp while filming The Rum Diary, and they began dating in 2012.On February 3, 2015, Heard married Depp in a private civil ceremony at their home in Los Angeles.

Pont Alexandre III

Pont Alexandre III

The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city. It is classified as a French Monument historique.

History

The Beaux-Arts style bridge, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end, was built between 1896 and 1900. It is named after Tsar Alexander III, who had concluded the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892. His sonNicholas II laid the foundation stone in October 1896. The style of the bridge reflects that of the Grand Palais, to which it leads on the right bank.

The construction of the bridge is a marvel of 19th century engineering, consisting of a 6 metres (20 ft) high single span steel arch. The design, by the architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard andGaston Cousin, was subject to strict controls that prevented the bridge from obscuring the view of the Champs-Élysées or the Invalides.

The bridge was built by the engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d'Alby. It was inaugurated in 1900 for the Exposition Universelle (universal exhibition) World's Fair, as were the nearby Grand Palaisand Petit Palais.

Sculptures

Numerous sculptors provided the sculptures that feature prominently on the bridge.

"Fames"

Four gilt-bronze statues of Fames watch over the bridge, supported on massive 17 metres (56 ft) masonry socles, that provide stabilizing counterweight for the arch, without interfering with monumental views. The socles are crowned by Fames restrainingPegasus.

• On the Right Bank, Renommée des Sciences ("Fame of the Sciences") and the Renommée des Arts ("Fame of the Arts") both byEmmanuel Frémiet; at their bases, La France Contemporaine ("Contemporary France") by Gustave Michel and France de Charlemagne ("France of Charlemagne") by Alfred Lenoir. The lions groups are by Georges Gardet.
• On the Left Bank, the Renommée du Commerce ("Fame of Commerce") by Pierre Granet and the Renommée de l'Industrie ("Fame of Industry") by Clément Steiner; at their bases France de la Renaissance ("France of the Renaissance") by Jules Coutan and La France de Louis XIV ("France of Louis XIV") by Laurent Marqueste. The lions groups are by Jules Dalou.

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The history of the Military Tanks

The history of the tank began in World War I, when armoured all-terrain fighting vehicles were first deployed as a response to the problems of trench warfare, ushering in a new era of mechanized warfare. Though initially crude and unreliable, tanks eventually became a mainstay of ground armies. By World War II, tank design had advanced significantly, and tanks were used in quantity in all land theatres of the war. The Cold War saw the rise of modern tank doctrine and the rise of the general-purpose main battle tank. The tank still provides the backbone to land combat operations in the 21st century

Development

World War I generated new demands for armoured self-propelled weapons which could navigate any kind of terrain, leading to the development of the tank. The great weakness of the tank's predecessor, the armoured car, was that it required smooth terrain to move upon, and new developments were needed for cross-country capability.

The tank was originally designed as a special weapon to solve an unusual tactical situation: the stalemate of the trenches on the Western Front. "It was a weapon designed for one simple task: crossing the killing zone between trench lines and breaking into enemy (defences)." The armoured tank was intended to be able to survive artillerybombardments and machine-gun fire, and pass through barbed wire in a way infantry units could not hope to, thus allowing the stalemate to be broken.

Few recognised during World War I that the means for returning mobility and shock action to combat was already present in a device destined to revolutionise warfare on the ground and in the air. This was the internal combustion engine, which had made possible the development of the tank and eventually would lead to the mechanised forces that were to assume the old roles of horse cavalry and to loosen the grip of the machine-gun on the battlefield. With increased firepower and protection, these mechanised forces would, only some 20 years later, become the armour of World War II. When self-propelled artillery, the armoured personnel carrier, the wheeled cargo vehicle, and supportingaviation — all with adequate communications — were combined to constitute the modern armoured division, commanders regained the capability of manoeuvre.

Numerous concepts of armoured all-terrain vehicles had been imagined for a long time. With advent of trench warfare in World War I, the Allied French and British developments of the tank were largely parallel and coincided in time.

Good Friday

Good Friday is a Christian religious holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, or Easter Friday, though the last term properly refers to the Friday in Easter week.

Based on the details of the canonical gospels, the Crucifixion of Jesus was most likely to have been on a Friday (the day before the Jewish Sabbath)  The estimated year of the Crucifixion is AD 33, by two different groups, and originally as AD 34 byIsaac Newton via the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon.] A third method, using a completely different astronomical approach based on a lunar Crucifixion darkness and eclipse model (consistent with Apostle Peter's reference to a "moon of blood" in Acts 2:20), points to Friday, 3 April AD 33.

Good Friday is a widely-instituted legal holiday in many national governments around the world, including in most Western countries(especially among Catholic nations and majority-Catholic countries) as well as in 12 U.S. states. Some governments have laws prohibiting certain acts that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day.