The Sword And The Crucible

The sword was the most important of weapons, but relatively little has been written about its metallurgy. The results of the microscopic examination of over a hundred swords are used to tell the story of the making of swords from the first examples through the Middle Ages to the 16th century.

The sword was the most important of weapons, but relatively little has been written about its metallurgy. The results of the microscopic examination of over a hundred swords are used to tell the story of the making of swords from the first examples through the Middle Ages to the 16th century.

The sword was the most important of weapons, the symbol of the warrior, not to mention the badge of a officer and a gentleman. Much has been written about the artistic and historical significance of the sword, but outside specialised publications, relatively little about its metallurgy, and that often confined to a particular group. This book aims to tell the story of the making of iron and steel swords from the first Celtic examples through the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period. The results of the microscopic examination of over a hundred swords by the author and other archaeometallurgists are given and explained in terms of the materials available in Europe.

Joe Colsco boarded a flight from San Francisco to Chicago to attend a national chemistry meeting. Through a freak accident, he never sets foot on Earth again. He is unaware he has been poured into a crucible, where time and trials will transform him in ways unimagined, and that will send him and his descendants to a destiny beyond one planet.Book I: Cast Under an Alien Sun On planet Anyar, Joe was found unconscious on a beach of a large island (Caedellium) inhabited by humans where the level of technology is similar to Earth circa 1700. He awoke amidst strangers speaking an unintelligible language, and despaired losing his previous life. He used knowledge of chemistry to introduce new knowledge-but not too advanced of the planet's technology to avoid being labelled a demon. He found a place in the society and developed new friendships, male and female. But all was not idyllic. Joe was dropped into a clash between the people who cared for him, and a military power from elsewhere on the planet, a power with designs on conquest. Joe survived his first experience in deadly conflict but knows it was only a foretaste of what was coming.Book II: Pen and the SwordThe Narthani, a militant realm who believe their manifest destiny is to rule the entire planet, Anyar, plan to absorb Caedellium into their empire and crush any resistance. Yozef Kolsko (aka Joe Colsco) works to find ways to increase the chances of his, and the society which has accepted him, ability to resist the Narthani's planned conquest.Complicating his life is attraction to a brilliant daughter of an island leader, and his uncertainty of his own mind, hers, or intricacies of Caedellium customs.Despite his desire to devote himself to introducing new knowledge Yozef is drawn more and more into developing weapons and giving tactical and strategic advice-things he knows he's unqualified to give. The enemy is coming. The odds seem overwhelming, and it will take all Yozef can do, the courage of his new people, and luck, to survive.

In the sixteenth century a new type of practitioner emerges in Europe: the aristocrat who not only supports creative activities, but is personally involved in the projects he finances. The courts of noblemen and other wealthy individuals are transformed into new sites of knowledge production where medicinal waters are distilled, exotic plants cultivated, and alchemical experiments pursued. This new fascination with nature, and the wish to explore and exploit its explicit and hidden mechanisms, was an intellectual trend that spread all over Europe, reaching even the easternmost parts of the Habsburg Monarchy. The Hungarian Count Boldizsár Batthyány (c.1542–1590), a powerful aristocrat and formidable warrior, was also a passionate devotee of natural philosophy. His Western Hungarian court was the focal point of an intellectual network which comprised scholars—such as the renowned botanist Carolus Clusius—physicians, book dealers, and fellow aristocrats from Central Europe and used his connections to exchange objects and information. Batthyány’s biography, his extensive correspondence and up-to-date book collection on natural philosophy—especially alchemy, Paracelsian medicine, and botany—reveals that wealth, mobility and intellectual curiosity allowed him to share the enthusiasms of his Western European counterparts, and make the Muses speak even among arms.

Using the same D20 game system as the 3rd Edition fantasy roleplaying rules, sword & sorcery books provide fantasy gamers with a host of new core rulebooks, campaign sourcebooks, challenging adventures and game accessories. Sword & sorcery is the largest independent publisher of D20 material, with authors such as the father of fantasy himself Gary Gygax, and Monte cook, the co-creator of 3rd Edition and author of the 3rd Edition DMG. Defeat the denizens of a ruined keep and recover the sacred Crucible.

The suit of armour distinguishes the European Middle Ages & Renaissance. This book tells its story from the 14th to the 17th century, and the making of its steel. The metallurgy of 600 armours has been analysed, and their probable effectiveness in battle assessed.

The first of many important works featured in CRC Press’ Metals and Alloys Encyclopedia Collection, the Encyclopedia of Iron, Steel, and Their Alloys covers all the fundamental, theoretical, and application-related aspects of the metallurgical science, engineering, and technology of iron, steel, and their alloys. This Five-Volume Set addresses topics such as extractive metallurgy, powder metallurgy and processing, physical metallurgy, production engineering, corrosion engineering, thermal processing, metalworking, welding, iron- and steelmaking, heat treating, rolling, casting, hot and cold forming, surface finishing and coating, crystallography, metallography, computational metallurgy, metal-matrix composites, intermetallics, nano- and micro-structured metals and alloys, nano- and micro-alloying effects, special steels, and mining. A valuable reference for materials scientists and engineers, chemists, manufacturers, miners, researchers, and students, this must-have encyclopedia: Provides extensive coverage of properties and recommended practices Includes a wealth of helpful charts, nomograms, and figures Contains cross referencing for quick and easy search Each entry is written by a subject-matter expert and reviewed by an international panel of renowned researchers from academia, government, and industry. Also Available Online This Taylor & Francis encyclopedia is also available through online subscription, offering a variety of extra benefits for researchers, students, and librarians, including: Citation tracking and alerts Active reference linking Saved searches and marked lists HTML and PDF format options Contact Taylor and Francis for more information or to inquire about subscription options and print/online combination packages. US: (Tel) 1.888.318.2367; (E-mail) [email protected] International: (Tel) +44 (0) 20 7017 6062; (E-mail) [email protected]