Engineering

Incredible Pencil Drawing Art… By 16 year old School Girl !!!

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Can you believe this isn’t a photograph? Irish schoolgirl described as an amazing new Irish talent.Photo by: Texaco Art Competition 

 

Shania McDonagh, (16), has become an overnight sensation in Ireland, where her pencil drawing of an old man has won the Texaco Children’s Art Competition. She is a schoolgirl in Claremorris, County Mayo.

She has won first prize in her age group for many years, but her portrait of “Coleman” has the critics raving.

It is almost impossible to distinguish the drawing from a photograph, so finely is it created, and she appears to have a huge career ahead as a portrait artist. She drew it from a photograph in a book called “Vanishing Ireland.”

Judging panel chairman Prof Declan McGonagle, director of the National College of Art & Design, told the Irish Times her work has established her “as one of the most talented artists of her generation, and one whose skill could see her become one of Ireland’s foremost portrait artists of the future.”

A major international career is being predicted for the young girl.   She said it took her only a month to draw it and she will be presented with her $2,000 first-prize next month.

 

Source::::http://www.irishcentral.com/

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Image of the Day… ” The World Ahead …”

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Home is behind, the world ahead

A mesmerizing view down a long, straight stretch of road, with a wild sky above.

A beautiful self-portrait by Kurt Harvey. Visit Kurt on Google+.

Kurt Harvey shared this photo with EarthSky on Google+. He added a quotation from J.R.R. Tolkien:

Home is behind, the world ahead,
and there are many paths to tread
through shadows to the edge of night,
until the stars are all alight.

And he wrote:

I love visiting this spot each time I’m in the area. The view down this long straight stretch is mesmerizing. Hope you enjoy!

Source:::::Earth sky news

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Image of the Day… Super Harvest Moon …

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Harvest moon in Japan. Photo credit: Segu Chang Zhang

Super Harvest Moon 2014 as seen in Japan, by Segu Chang Zhang.

The super Harvest Moon of 2014 was bright and beautiful on September 8, but it isn’t just a one-night event. A bright, full-looking moon has graced Earth’s skies, rising shortly after sunset as seen from Northern Hemisphere locations, for the past couple of nights, and it’ll continue to shine on the night of September 9 and even September 10. It’s a characteristic of the Harvest Moon to rise shortly after sunset for several evenings in a row.

Source::::Earth sky news

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CEO @ the Age of 17 !!!

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Computer whiz Jefferson Prince, who has built a 70-employee gaming company from scratch, tells S Saraswathi about motivations and challenges of entrepreneurship.

He is just out of high school, but 17-year-old Jefferson Prince is already the CEO of a company that is engaged in developing multi-platform compatible games for the PC and next-gen consoles (Xbox One, PS4).

He was born in Tirunelveli. His family relocated to London when he was three. He returned to India in December 2013 to head his own company, iCazual Entertainment.

The company had its humble beginnings in a small room in East London in 2011. Today it is housed in a four-storey building in Kodambakkam, Chennai, and employs about 70 people.

In this interview with Rediff.com, Prince talks about his interest in computing, his present endeavours and his ambitious plans for the future.

How did you get interested in IT?

I was introduced to technology when I was around four years of age.

Math, physics, computer science and robotics were my favourite subjects in school. I also enjoyed sports, but my greatest passion was working with computers.

Trying to understand the nuances behind the technical aspects of programming and applying them to my own innovations gave me a lot of joy.

My father has a background in computing and engineering.

He introduced me to electronics. Later he bought me a computer. I started pushing buttons and playing around with the applications and it just pulled me in.

I was amazed with what can be achieved with a big box with a screen attached to it!

From that point I started messing around with MS Word and I started to hunger for more knowledge. I started going into the technical side of computing which was programming.

Ninety-nine per cent of the things I know today, I learnt myself.

What were your early projects?

When I was 15, I was asked to take part in two programmes which taught me a lot about business and presentation.

The first programme was for the University of Warwick, for this I created an application that would allow parents to monitor their children at school when they are out of sight.

The second programme was for St Francis Hospice where I created a small game application and raised £1000 (1 lakh INR) without touching the £250 start-up MONEY, within the final week. The team had the opportunity to work with Mr Barry Hearn on this project. This was an amazing experience at school.

What were your early inventions like?

I was amazed with C programming. With that I created my own basic IRC (Internet Relay Chat) network. I used it to chat with friends with a client called mIRC.

I created my own IRC Bots to keep people informed with my social links, information, etc by coding commands into the bot, so when people would say “!website” my bot would answer automatically with my site URL.

I also created my own social media network, something like Facebook. I used it to message my mother downstairs if I wanted anything, such as food or a drink. It was much easier than yelling down two floors.

I built a robotic arm with a small computer. I made it respond to my voice. For example, if I said “Elbow up,” the elbow would move. I later made it learn more complex commands and made it store information and repeat it.

I would also mix up a bunch of junk on to a small plastic board and later make it carry out some sort of function. It amazed me because I could give something that looked useless some sort of purpose in life.

What about video games?

The first games I played were the 1980/90s version of Prince of Persia, Age of Empires and later on World of Warcraft and RuneScape.

I used to play for hours. Then I stopped for many years and focused on learning technology and programming. My love for games was once again sparked when my friend asked me to buy an Xbox. I played Halo: Reach with my friend a lot, but I got bored because I couldn’t add many things of my own.

But more than Xbox I played RuneScape. It was a private version which I tried to alter a lot. My abilities were so limited that I couldn’t add anything 100 per cent new, so I decided to create my own game from scratch for me and three other friends.

Later on I started seeing a business opportunity here and as we progressed, this project turned into something that I wanted to build for the world to see.

What prompted the decision to get into the gaming industry? Did your parents approve of your plans?

When I got into the gaming industry, I had no idea I was doing so. I had little knowledge about the industry. But I slowly got up to speed on how big it is. It’s a $70 billion dollar industry.

My parents approved of my plans. They have been really supportive.

You are just 17 years old. How well-equipped are you to handle the challenges of running your own company?

I wasn’t equipped at all! I learn new things every day. It’s fun!

I was guided by my father and a couple of other people. I’ve learnt mostly from making a lot of mistakes. It’s the best way to learn.

When did you start your company?

This company was registered in 2011 but I’ve been building its foundations from 2009.

Did you encounter initial failures?

We first built a game trailer without any plan of the game. That was the biggest mistake I have ever made and it was a lesson.

I don’t consider it a failure; it’s more of a learning experience. I was smart enough to deal with everything else appropriately.

Game developing is not easy. With a staff of about 200, creating, developing and publishing one game could take at least 3 years and would require a huge INVESTMENT. It is like making an Avatar, just smaller.

So many different technological aspects need to come together. We need a rigging artist,

dynamic artist, lighting artist, visual-effect artist and many more.

Despite offering good salary, there are not many people here for this industry. We find people in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, but they refuse to come down to Chennai. A lack of staff is our biggest challenge; we have only about 70 employees as yet.

Do they look up to their 17-year-old CEO or do you have problems?

The fact is no one wants a kid telling them what to do. It’s a bigchallenge but I have built an excellent rapport with my team and we are a cohesive unit.

Who put up the initial INVESTMENT?

The initial INVESTMENT was put up by me as well as my father. He has given me a stepping stone and I have put it to good use.

Why did you move back to India?

I asked my parents if I could move back temporarily to India so I could finish this project as it is impossible to direct something of this scale without being physically present at the centre of it.

My parents also moved back with me until this project was complete. We’ve made a lot of sacrifices for this and it was a really hard migration. We have already made plans to move back next year.

What is the MARKET for video games in India?

India has a pretty big MARKET for games. Even though most of it is for mobile devices right now, it will soon change.

Next month, iCazual plans to host a convention, wherein we plan to bring in game developers and students from across the globe to participate and talk about the gaming industry. We hope to create an ecosystem for gaming in India.

What are your favourite games?

My favourite games are World of Warcraft, RuneScape, MineCraft, Halo and Age of Empires.

What do you think makes a particular game go viral? And what will be the USP of your product?

A viral game requires multiple addictive elements that keep pulling the user back in. It’s hard to explain as there are many different types of games.

I cannot disclose the unique selling point of my product at this time.

But what I can mention is that our title is a futuristic FPS (first person shooter) game based in the future — 150 years from now. It has a campaign (story mode) as well as multi-player (the main focus).

For the last year and a half, we have been building the elements for the game. Every game is built on an engine. And our game is built on the Unreal Engine 4 (a revolutionary toolset used for building high-quality games) that was launched earlier in March this year.

So it is only since then that we have actually been developing the game, but we are making good progress.

We are the first in the country to be developing a game for the latest next-gen consoles like Xbox One and PS4. iCazual Entertainment is the first company aspiring to not only develop but also publish a Triple A game.

We aim to launch this title in 2015, probably in the third quarter of next year. We still have not decided on the venue, perhaps in the United States or a European destination.

Who are the people who have inspired you?

Elon Musk, Sir Richard Branson, Steve Jobs.

What motivates you?

The feeling of doing something big and different every day; the satisfaction of getting one step closer to my dreams every day at this young age and the prize that waits for me at the end of this journey.

What are your future plans?

My future plans for this business is to expand it into the US (Los Angeles, California).

My academic goal is to enrol at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and this way I can strike a balance between business and education.

For my office in India, it’s too early to comment. But, yes, I am betting big on India.

After this is done I have some plans for operating in the Robotics and AI (artificial intelligence) industry in the future; this is my ultimate passion.

Image: Jefferson Prince, CEO, iCazual

Source::::S Saraswathi in Rediff.com

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” When a Baby Hears His Mother’s Voice For the 1st Time… Incredible Indeed. …”

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This is one of those rare and beautiful moments when you feel a world of emotions but are still rendered speechless.

A video posted on YouTube shows the exact moment when a seven-week-old baby heard and reacted to his mother’s voice for the first time. Captured and shared by proud father Toby Lever, the video has already gone viral with over 7.5 million views.

Baby Lachlan, now two-years-old, was initially diagnosed with having moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears.

The video shows Lachlan receiving his first hearing aid. You can see the baby going from tearful bewilderment to smiling wonder in a matter of seconds.

Mere words cannot describe the beautiful reactions that follow. “We cried from happiness,” it says in the descriptor for the video. And we’re sure watching the video will overwhelm you as well.

Like we said, some things need to be felt and this most definitely is one of them.

Source::::You Tube and NDTV.COM

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The Man We Should Thank for Hi Speed WiFi and 4 G…

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Meet Joseph Paulraj, a pioneer of MIMO wireless communications, a technology breakthrough that has revolutionised high speed wireless delivery of multimedia services for billions of people across the globe.

 “Though I initiated this concept, there are thousands of engineers and researchers all over the world who have made research advances and developed products that we all use. I was just a small spark that lit a pretty big fire,” says Joseph Paulraj on his achievement.

It has been an incredible journey for Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj, Professor (Emeritus), Stanford University, California who started his career in the Indian Navy.

Winner of the prestigious $100,000 Marconi Prize for 2014, considered the Nobel Prize of Information Technology, Joseph Paulraj has done India proud with this award.

The Marconi Society, founded 50 years ago by Gioia Marconi Braga, annually recognises one or more scientists who — like her father, radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi — pursue advances in communications and IT for the social, economic and cultural development of all humanity.

Dr Paulraj is known as the father of MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) — the idea of using multiple antennas at both the transmitting and receiving stations that is at the heart of high-speed WiFi and 4G mobile systems — and has revolutionised high speed wireless delivery of multimedia services for billions of people across the globe.

The big value of MIMO is that it multiplies radio spectrum, a precious and a limited resource.

‘Every WiFi router and 4G phone today uses the MIMO technology pioneered by him,’ Professor Sir David Payne, chairman, Marconi Society, and director, Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, said in a press statement.

‘MIMO will soon be pervasive in all wireless devices. Moreover, Paulraj’s work has provided fertile ground for thousands of researchers to explore and advance MIMO’s potential to enhance wireless spectrum efficiency.’

N R Narayana Murthy, executive chairman, Infosys, said in statement that Professor Paulraj ‘revolutionised wireless technology, bringing a lasting benefit to mankind.’

Paulraj joins the elite group of IT pioneers like Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web; Vint Cerf, considered one of the fathers of the Internet; Larry Page, co-founder, Google; and Marty Hellman, inventor of Public Key Cryptography.

“I feel truly honoured. I was fortunate to come up with the idea,” Paulraj told Rediff.com. “Though I initiated this concept, there are now ten of thousands of engineers and researchers all over the world that have made research advances and developed products that we all use. I was just a small spark that lit a pretty big fire.”

But to get the small spark required to light a big fire, he had to deal with a lot of push back and skepticism before getting his technology to the point where now there are about 14,000 research papers surrounding it of which he and students have written only about 300.

“It has been a lot of work, but it has all been worthwhile because MIMO is a very important technology,” he said. Paulraj not only invented and developed MIMO, he also gave India a world-class sonar technology.

Advanced Panoramic Sonar Hull mounted (APSOH), which his team developed, remains one of India’s truly world-class achievements in electronics. The ship-borne sonar system, which performs active ranging, passive listening, auto tracking of targets and classification, is used by the Indian Navy, where Paulraj began his career.

Paulraj said he always worked on research and development assignments during his 25-year Navy stint.

As part of the electrical engineering branch, his training focused on practical skills for maintaining weapons systems, but he wanted more and taught himself subjects like control theory, information theory and signal processing, said the Marconi Society.

Impressed, the Navy sent him to the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, for an MS programme in 1969.

Paulraj performed so well at IIT that he caught the eye of an influential professor of electrical engineering who convinced the Navy to allow Paulraj to switch to the PhD programme.

Paulraj had just two years to wrap up his research for the doctoral programme, but that opportunity changed his life.

It was there that he met Thomas Kailath, the man whose book, Linear Systems, is considered one of the most referenced books on the subject. The Pune-born Hitachi America Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, Stanford University, visited IIT-Delhi to deliver a few lectures.

Inspired by those lectures, Paulraj went on to make fundamental advances in non-linear estimation theory using tools from Ito calculus and stochastic diffusion theory. He earned his PhD for his work on non-linear estimation theory.

He returned to the Navy where he was eventually asked to lead the sonar development project that resulted in APSOH.

As a reward for his work on this, Paulraj was given a two-year sabbatical to explore new areas, and he earned a visiting scientist slot in a group working with Kailath, despite, he said, some initial scepticism from the latter.

At Stanford, Dr Paulraj worked on a multiple signals directions of arrival estimation problem that had a long history of advancements using a spectrum approach. He discovered a new method called ESPRIT (Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariance Techniques).

“This work became very well known and led to a mini-revolution in the field,” Paulraj said. “Coming to Stanford was one of the most fortunate breaks in my life, I am very grateful to Professor Kailath for the huge opportunity.”

After two years, in 1986, Dr Paulraj returned to India where the Navy assigned him to serve as founding director for three major labs — Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics; Center for Development of Advanced Computing, Bengaluru Center; and Central Research Labs of Bharat Electronics.

But by 1991, the bureaucratic difficulties of operating in government labs had begun to take their toll on Paulraj. With the Navy’s consent, he took early retirement and returned to Stanford.

Kailath told Rediff.com, “I have known Paul since his IIT-Delhi days and brought him to Stanford and after a struggle got him a Professor (Research) appointment. He is a remarkable individual — strong in theory (not unusual for academics), but also very capable in practical technology.”

‘At Stanford, while awaiting a faculty appointment, Paulraj worked on signal separation experiments for airborne reconnaissance,’ the Marconi Society said in its announcement.

‘He noticed something surprising: In the presence of scattering, co-channel wireless signals from closely spaced transmit sources were often separable by an adaptive receiver antenna array.’

‘A few days later, sitting in a barber shop, he had an idea for increasing throughput in wireless systems using multiple transmit and receive antennas (MIMO). Paul applied for a US patent titled ‘Distributed Transmit — Directional Receive DTDR’ (with his then supervisor Prof Kailath as co-inventor) in February 1992 and the patent was granted in September 1994.’

John Cioffi, a Stanford colleague and the inventor of DSL technology, called Dr Paulraj’s capability ‘almost unparalleled in the world.’

‘But what impresses me most,’ he said in a statement, ‘is how Paul endured the tremendous, pressure, turmoil and stress of people saying his ideas weren’t going to work, and persevered until he found success.’

He remembers the scepticism Paulraj faced about MIMO’s practical feasibility, and his belief in the technology.

Paulraj took leave from Stanford in 1998 to found Gigabit Wireless, now known as Iospan Wireless Inc, and built a MIMO-based commercial system. He used his savings to build the MIMO radio, which finally made venture capital firms take notice.

Within three years he had proven MIMO’s worth in typical cellular applications and in another two years Intel Corp had acquired Iospan’s technology.

With Intel, Dr Paulraj worked on the development of WiMAX mobile standards. He continued this work with the co-founding of Beceem Communications, which became a world leader in WIMAX semiconductors before being acquired by Broadcom Corp.

Dr Paulraj told Rediff.com, “The best thing that happened to me was Stanford. It was a huge opportunity for me, but it was a loss for India. I was successful within the Indian R&D system and could have contributed much more if I had persevered there.”

Paulraj, who today straddles an academic and industry role, lives on the Stanford campus with his wife, but remains a frequent visitor to India. And when he goes back he sees the burning need for the country to build its own telecommunications technology industry.

“India imports almost all of its commercial high technology from commercial jets, to laptop and cell phones to MRI equipment and we are paying a big price for doing so,” he said. “Not only is our import bill huge (approximately $200 billion) in 2014, and probably unsustainable in the long  term, such total reliance on technology imports is a national security vulnerability since telecom networks underlie many systems — transportation, power grid, and banking/ finance.”

“Moreover the country has so much talent that could be used to build a high-tech industry. India needs somebody with great vision and determination to make us a leader in high technology. China and Korea have done it. We can do it.”

He said he hoped to find more ways to contribute personally to that goal.

Dr Paulraj, who received the IEEE Alexandre Graham Bell Medal in 2011, will receive the Marconi Prize at a ceremony in Washington, DC in fall, becoming the only India-born scientist to receive the two top global IT awards.

The Marconi Prize will include a $100,000 prize that he plans to gift back to the Marconi Society.

Source::::Rediff.com

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Stunning and Rare Architectural Photography of a Mosque in Iran …

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The Stunning and Very Rare Architectural Photography of Iranian Mosque Interiors by Mohammad Rez Domiri

These incredible photos capture the intricate detail of the Middle East’s grandest temples – a kaleidoscope of colours on their ceilings. Mohammad Domiri is a young self-taught photographer from northern Iran who takes beautiful photos of traditional architectural monuments throughout the Middle East.
Due to restrictions on tripods, as well as overcrowding, it is very difficult to get permission to shoot inside these grand wonders.  Most of his subjects are grand traditional mosques, heavily decorated with mesmerizing geometric patterns and mosaics, beaming and swirling with colour just like colossal kaleidoscopes.
Even if you are the world’s least religious person, you might feel your hands coming together in prayer naturally when you see the brilliance of this light. As a result there are very few images of such temples – meaning his photography is extremely rare.
More info: gravity.ir | 500px | Facebook

SOURCE::::: http://cross-connect.cc/post

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Image of the Day…ISS Crossing The Moon….

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ISS crosses the moon’s face

A composite of 1/2-second of time when two objects in space converged. ISS is at 300 kilometers and the moon is at 384,000 kilometers away.

View larger. | The International Space Station crosses the face of the moon on September 3, 2014. Photo by Colin Legg. Visit Colin Legg Photography on Facebook.

Astrophotographer Colin Legg captured this wonderful shot of the International Space Station crossing the face of the first quarter moon on September 3, 2014. He calls the photo “Half a Second.” He wrote:

I have more than enough gear already but that didn’t stop me buying a new camera recently. The urge was just too great!! This is my first shot with it. It’s a composite of 1/2-second of time when two objects in space converged, one at 300 kilometers and the other 384,000 kilometers away. I couldn’t get this shot with my other cameras…that’s my excuse!

ISS/Moon transit, Western Australia, Sep 3 2014

Awesome,

Source:::::: Earth sky newa

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One of the Biggest Mysteries Yet to be Solved…

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The real identity of Benjamin Kyle

Who do you think you are?

Who do you think you are? Source: Supplied

In 2004, A man that would soon adopt the name Benjaman Kyle woke up outside of a Burger King in Georgia without any clothes, any ID, or any memories.

He was diagnosed with retrograde amnesia, unable to remember who he was, and with no identification, unable to find out. Now, if this was like any other story about amnesia, it would have probably resolved itself soon afterwards. But the trouble was, authorities couldn’t identify him either.

Local and state police failed to discover him in any known records despite an exhaustive search. And then in 2007, the FBI became involved, but were also unable to identify him, making him the only US citizen in history listed as missing despite his whereabouts being known.

One particularly unfortunate side effect of not having your own identity is that, without a social security number, he is unable to obtain full-time employment, and without memory of any past skills or disciplines, the problem is only amplified.

After a student documentary was created about Benjaman, news media picked up the story, which attracted the attention of local business owners.

One of the owners OFFERED him a job washing dishes, a job which he is still working today. This enabled him to move out of the woods where he was sleeping, and into an air-conditioned shed, where he now stays. But his true identity and past remain a mystery to this day.

 

Source::::: news.com.au

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Do You Know How ” Dry Cleaning ” Process Works ? …

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How Dry Cleaning Works and Who Invented It

dry-cleaningWhat happens to clothes after being dropped off at the dry cleaners is a mystery to most. We know that our clothes come back a whole lot cleaner than when we dropped them off, but how? And who first got the bright idea to clean clothing without water?

The earliest records of professional dry cleaning go all the way back to the Ancient Romans.  For instance, dry cleaning shops were discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, a Roman city buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Those cleaners, known as fullers, used a type of clay known as fuller’s earth along with lye and ammonia (derived from urine) in order to remove stains such as dirt and sweat from clothing. That process proved pretty effective for any fabric too delicate for normal washing or stains that refused to budge. (In fact, the industry was so prominent that there were taxes on collecting urine.  Fullers generally used animal urine and would also maintain urine collecting pots at public bathrooms.)

As for more modern methods, the biggest revolution in dry cleaning came around in the early 19th century.  Traditionally, Jean Baptiste Jolly of France is generally named the father of modern dry cleaning. The story goes that in 1825, a careless maid knocked over a lamp and spilled turpentine on a dirty tablecloth. Jolly noticed that once the turpentine dried, the stains that had marred the fabric were gone. He conducted an experiment where he bathed the entire tablecloth in a bathtub filled with turpentine and found that it came clean once it dried. Whether a maid and an accident really had anything to do with it or not, Jolly used this method when he opened the often claimed first modern dry cleaning shop, “Teinturerier Jolly Belin”, in Paris.

However a patent for a process called “dry scouring” was filed with the U.S. Patent Office in 1821, four years before Jolly’s discovery. A man by the name of Thomas Jennings was a clothier and a tailor in New York, and soon the first African American to be granted a patent in the United States. (Previous to this, it was ruled that slave owners were the rightful owner of any inventions made by their slaves and could then patent those inventions under their own names.  Jennings, however, was a free man.)

So while working as a clothier, he, like so many others in his profession, was familiar with the age old customer complaint that they could not clean their more delicate clothes once they’d become stained because the fabric wouldn’t hold up to traditional washing and scrubbing. Jennings, thus, began experimenting with different cleaning solutions and processes before discovering the process he named “dry scouring.” His method was a hit and not only made him extremely wealthy, but allowed him to buy his wife and children out of slavery, as well as fund numerous abolitionist efforts.

As for the exact method he used, this has been lost to history as his patent (U.S. Patent 3306x) was destroyed in an 1836 fire. What we do know is that after Jennings, other dry cleaners during the 19th century used things like turpentine, benzene, kerosene, gasoline, and petrol as solvents in the process of dry cleaning clothes. These solvents made dry cleaning a dangerous business. Turpentine caused clothes to smell even after being cleaned, and benzene could be toxic to dry cleaners or customers if left on the clothes. But all of these solvents posed the bigger problem of being highly flammable. The danger of clothes and even the building catching fire was so great that most cities refused to allow dry cleaning to occur in the business districts. In the United Kingdom, for example, dry cleaners had smaller satellite stores in the city where they took in customers’ clothes and then those clothes were transported to a “factory” outside of the city limits where the dry cleaning took place.

The major risk of clothes and buildings catching on fire because of the flammable solvents led to dry cleaners searching for a safer alternative. Chlorinated solvents gained popularity in the early 20th century, quickly leaving the flammable solvents in the dust. They removed stains just as well as petroleum-based cleaners without the risk of causing the clothes or factories to catch fire. That also meant dry cleaners could move their cleaning facilities back into cities and eliminated the need to transport clothes back and forth between two locations.

A chlorine-based solvent with the chemical name tetrachloroethylene, or sometimes called perchloroethylene, became the go-to solvent for dry cleaners in the 1930s. Originally discovered in 1821 by Michael Faraday, “perc” could not only be used in relatively compact dry cleaning machines, but also did a better job of cleaning than any of the other solvents of the day; it’s still the chemical of choice for most dry cleaners today.

While perc is considered much safer than most solvents used by dry cleaners in the past, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States is working to phase the solvent out of the industry. The EPA claims that while wearing clothes treated with perc does not appear to be dangerous, perc can be dangerous if accidentally released into the environment as it’s toxic to plants and animals. Additionally, the EPA also notes that sustained exposure to perc, such as by workers in the industry, can cause health issues with the nervous system, including potentially drastically increased chances of developing Parkinson’s Disease. There are also studies done by the EPA that indicate perc may be a carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer also classifies the chemical as a “Group 2A carcinogen,” meaning in their opinion, it’s probably carcinogenic.

So how exactly is this chemical used to dry clean clothes? The process of dry cleaning fabric can vary between dry cleaning companies; however, the general method is as so: before placing the clothing item in the machines, workers pre-treat stains by hand, as well as remove any materials that aren’t suitable for dry cleaning (for instance buttons made of materials that may dissolve in perc are removed). The machine works in a similar fashion to normal, in-home washing machines. It agitates the garments and adds in the solvents as it goes, cycling the solution through the machine and a filter as the clothing is agitated.  Temperature is also typically controlled at around 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

Next, the garments are either dried in the same machine or workers move them to a separate machine. During the drying cycle, the temperature is raised to about 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which helps the chemicals evaporate off the clothes faster, while still being low enough not to damage the clothing.  In the end, approximately 99.9% of the chemicals used are removed from the dry cleaned item and recycled for use again in cleaning.

Once the clothes are dry, workers press the clothes, potentially stitch back on any items that had to be taken off, and put the clothing into plastic bags for customer pick-up.

SOURCE:::: Today i foundout.com

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