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Electronic newsletter for the history of astronomy 43
***************************************************************************
* *
* ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY *
* *
* Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy *
* in the Astronomische Gesellschaft *
* *
* Number 43, July 7, 2000 *
* *
* Edited by: Wolfgang R. Dick *
* *
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Contents
--------
1. History of Scientific Instruments: Awarding of the Paul Bunge Prize
2. NASS 6th Annual International Conference
3. Conference Announcement: Ideas Whose Time Had Come
4. The Stewart Museum Globe Symposium
5. Past conferences 2000
6. New book on historical eclipses
7. New Books
Acknowledgements
Imprint
...........................................................................
Item 1 ENHA No. 43, July 7, 2000
...........................................................................
History of Scientific Instruments: Awarding of the Paul Bunge Prize
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Paul Bunge Prize of the Hans R. Jenemann Foundation is awarded each
year for special achievements in the history of scientific instruments.
This year, two laureates were equally honored with this prize: Dr. Alan
Q. Morton from the London Science Museum as well as Professor Dr. Richard
J. Sorrenson from Indiana University, Bloomington, U.S.A. The prize was
presented on April 12, on the occasion of the Analytica Conference 2000 in
Munich, by the president of the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft
Deutscher Chemiker), Professor Dr. Gerhard Erker.
Honored with the Paul Bunge Prize for his complete historical works on
scientific instruments, Alan Morton has particularly distinguished himself
as the author of a comprehensive and exceptionally commented catalogue of
the instrument collection of King George III on which his fellow curator
Jane Wess has also collaborated. This collection is considered to be the
largest collection of scientific instruments from the 18th Century and
contains also many astronomical instruments. Morton's exceptional
achievement is to have elaborated the great importance of the instruments
for the scientific culture of that time: they were the primary links
between the academics, the artisans, the ruling powers, and the greater
public. In the Age of Enlightenment, the instruments and public
experimental lectures opened up a new forum for the sciences and promoted
acceptance of new knowledge. By linking scientific, social and
instrumental history, Morton succeeded in making the function of the
exhibition pieces and the corresponding scientific ideas accessible to a
wide audience.
Born in 1950, Dr. Morton studied physics and history of science in London
and Oxford and, since 1979, is Senior Curator at the Science Museum in
London, where he is currently responsible for the large energy exhibition
planned for 2001 - 2003.
Richard Sorrenson is honored for his research on the significance of
astronomical and nautical instruments. His first large investigation dealt
with the designers of scientific instruments in the Royal Society of London
in the 18th Century, whereby the decisive role played by this little known
occupational group in the development of modern sciences was clarified for
the very first time. His later research showed seafaring during the great
exploration times to be an important impetus for the design of scientific
instruments and acquisition of new knowledge, not only in the areas of
navigation and optics.
Sorrenson was born in 1961 in Oxford. He first studied chemistry and
physics in Auckland, New Zealand, and then studied history and history of
science in Princeton, U.S.A., where he received his doctorate in 1993. Dr.
Sorrenson is currently Assistant Professor for Scientific History at the
Indiana University in Bloomington.
The Paul Bunge Prize is offered by the Hans R. Jenemann Foundation which
is jointly administered by the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft
Deutscher Chemiker) and the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry
(Deutschen Bunsen-Gesellschaft fuer Physikalische Chemie). The aim of the
foundation is to support science and research in the field of historical
scientific instruments as well as to sponsor talented young scientists in
this area. This award, which has been conferred since 1993, is one of the
largest monetary prizes in scientific history worldwide. Previous
laureates came from Italy, Great Britain, the USA, Australia and Germany.
[Source: Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, Wissenschaftlicher Pressedienst,
Chemie, Press Release 23a/00, http://www.gdch.de/pubrelat/wpd23a00.htm]
...........................................................................
Item 2 ENHA No. 43, July 7, 2000
...........................................................................
NASS 6th Annual International Conference
----------------------------------------
August 18-20, 2000 - San Francisco, CA, USA
The sixth annual conference of the North American Sundial Society will be
held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel (www.cathedralhillhotel.com) in downtown
San Francisco - the world's favorite destination city - from August 18
through August 20, 2000. Conference attendees must make their own hotel
reservations directly with the hotel's reservation department (at
800-622-0855). A number of single and double rooms have been set aside at
the special conference rate of $135.00 (plus tax) per night. This rate
applies only to the nights Aug. 17th through Aug. 19th. To ensure
confirmation of the conference rate, you must indicate that you are
attending the North American Sundial Society Conference and you must make
your reservation no later than July 18, 2000. Please note that no
exceptions can be made. After July 18, guests will be accommodated only on
a space and rate available basis. The hotel offers parking at an
additional charge.
We have set aside some time for any conference attendee to speak for 5-10
minutes about his / her favorite dialing project, question or story. If
you have a brief presentation you would like to do, please let us know now
so that we can schedule appropriately. If you have sundials, photos,
books, etc. that you would like to display, please let us know so that we
can arrange to have some table space available.
Please fill out and return the registration form with your check as soon as
possible so that we can get a good count of the number of attendees for
meals, bus tour, etc. Please also note that everyone who participates in
meals, activities, tours or lectures must be appropriately registered; this
policy will assure that the conference is self-supporting and that everyone
is helping fairly to cover the cost of putting it together.
For the convenience of any attendees who may not be able to stay with us
for the full conference, we have three registration plans. Select
registration and meal options for each conference attendee. Add the costs
for all selections together and send your check!
Register Early. See Reg. Reg. Reg.
Application Option A Option B Option C
Form for Option Prices.
Admin Costs, Souvenir, X X X
etc.
Continental Breakfast, X
Fri. & Sun.
Presentations, Friday & X
Sunday
Snacks X
Lunch, Friday (additional X*
cost)
Conference Dinner, Fri. X* X* X*
(additional cost)
Continental Breakfast, X X
Sat. before Tour
Lunch, Saturday X X
Bus Tour, Saturday X X
Registration will take place at the Cathedral Hill Hotel on Thursday
evening (6-8:00 pm) and Friday morning (8-8:30 am). There will be light
refreshments and a door prize at the registration site Thursday - all are
invited.
Friday lunch and dinner are not included in the basic registration fee.
See the form to determine the additional cost for your meal selection.
Prices include 28% Tax & Service Fee. Registration Options A and B include
lunch on the Saturday tour. Saturday dinner is not included.
Call For Papers
The North American Sundial Society hereby issues a call for papers to be
presented at its 6th Annual Conference to be held August 18-20, 2000 in San
Francisco California.
Papers on topics related to sundials, dialing or dialists - whether dealing
with history, art, technology, instruments, theory or current practice, are
welcome!
Presentations should be 15-25 minutes in length and may be published in The
Compendium, the society's quarterly journal.
Please submit title, time requirements, and an abstract of not more than
200 words to
Frederick W. Sawyer III
8 Sachem Drive
Glastonbury CT 06033 USA
fax: 860-403-5295
email: frederick.sawyer.es.72@aya.yale.edu
If you have items for show-and-tell or for display, please provide details
so that appropriate time and space can be allocated. For information on
the conference, address inquiries to NASS at the above address.
Registration Form
Print this form and mail it to the address below.
Registration Options
Before Jul 15 After Jul 15
Reg. A) Regular Registration $130 US $140 US
Reg. B) Partial Registration $ 85 US $ 90 US
Reg. C) Friday Dinner only $ 15 US $ 20 US
Friday Lunch Selection
Lun. 1) Stuffed Chicken
Breast $ 25 US
Lun. 2) Stuffed Filet of
Sole $ 25 US
Lun. 3) Fresh Vegetable
Strudel $ 23 US
Friday Dinner Selection
Din. 4) Prime Rib of Beef $ 38 US
Din. 5) Pan Seared Salmon $ 35 US
Din. 6) Vegetable Ravioli $ 30 US
Please list below the names of all the people you are registering (full,
partial, or dinner only) for the conference. List names as you want them
to appear on nametags. Specify registration and dinner options. Be sure
to include all three fees.
Everyone who participates in meals, activities, tours or lectures must be
registered; this policy will assure that the conference is self-supporting
and that everyone is helping to cover the conference costs. Prices include
28% Tax & Service Fee. Options A and B include lunch on the Saturday tour.
Saturday dinner is not included.
Name: Reg: Lun: Din:
Name: Reg: Lun: Din:
(Checks payable to NASS) Total Fees Enclosed: $ _________
If you have a 5-10 minute presentation you would like us to schedule on
Sunday, please give us a brief description here:
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
If you have sundials, photos, books, etc. that you would simply like to
display, please let us know so that we can arrange to have some table space
available.
------------------------------------------------------------
Please make your check payable to NASS or North American Sundial Society
and mail it with this form to: Fred Sawyer, 8 Sachem Drive, Glastonbury CT
06033 USA.
[Source: http://sundials.org/conference/ ]
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Item 3 ENHA No. 43, July 7, 2000
...........................................................................
Conference Announcement: Ideas Whose Time Had Come
--------------------------------------------------
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 50,
22. Juni 2000 2000, Item 3.)
A British Society for the History of Science/Royal Institution conference
at the Royal Institution, 21 Albemarle Street, London, W1X 4BS
Friday, 15 September 2000
The meeting will revisit a classic issue of historiography, that of
simultaneous discovery and invention. The emphasis will be on drawing out
common themes in a series of case studies in a wide range of sciences.
9.30 Registration and Coffee
10.00 J.V. Field (Birkbeck College)
"Perspective"
10.45 Albert van Helden (Rice University)
"Let's look *at* the telescope"
11.30 coffee
12.00 Eberhard Knobloch (University of Berlin)
"Newton's and Leibniz's calculus: why and how did it come
into being?"
12.45 Crosbie Smith (University of Kent)
"Energy conservation as retrospective discovery"
13.30 lunch (cafes around RI)
14.45 Janet Browne (Wellcome Institute)
"'I never saw a more striking coincidence': Darwin and
Wallace revisited"
15.30 Frank James (Royal Institution)
"Experiments whose time had come: the case of Michael Faraday"
16.15 Presentation of the BSHS Dingle Prize to Stevin Shapin
followed by tea
16.45 Robert W. Smith (University of Alberta)
"The expanding universe: power, prestige and the making of
the Hubble constant"
17.00 Whitfield Diffie (Sun Microsystems)
"Secrecy and independent discovery in cryptography"
18.15 Alex Keller (University of Leicester)
"Conclusions?"
18.30 Reception
--------------------------------------------------------------
Booking Form
The registration fee is:
19 pounds for members of BSHS or RI
16 pounds for BSHS student and retired members
22 pounds for non-members
To register, send this form with payment to:
BSHS Executive Secretary
31 High Street
Stanford in the Vale
Faringdon
OXON
SN7 8LH
I wish to register for the meeting "Ideas whose time had come"
I enclose a payment of ________________
_____by cheque (please tick)
or
_____by card (please tick)
If card, my card is Mastercard/Visa/Eurocard (delete as appropriate)
No._______________________________
Expiry Date_______________________
Signature_________________________
Name______________________________
Address___________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
...........................................................................
Item 4 ENHA No. 43, July 7, 2000
...........................................................................
The Stewart Museum Globe Symposium
----------------------------------
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 50,
22. Juni 2000 2000, Item 5.)
Stewart Museum, Ile Sainte-Helene, Montreal
19-22 October 2000
FIRST CIRCULAR (May 2000)
The Stewart Museum is organizing a symposium concentrating on early
globes, to be held 19-22 October 2000. The symposium will give
participants an
opportunity to hear presentations by various globe experts as well as to
study the 50 terrestrial and celestial globes and 70 globe-related works
in the museum's exhibition of early globes, "Yes! The World is Round."
Invited speakers will include Peter van der Krogt and Elly Dekker from
The Netherlands, Catherine Hofmann and Christian Jacob from France, Jan
Mokre from Vienna, and Robert Derome, an art historian from Montreal.
The registration fee which will include lunches and dinners during the
symposium is $285 (Canadian). The registration deadline is 8 September
2000. (If space is still available after that date, the fee will be $325.)
Participation will be limited to 75 persons.
English will be the principal language of the symposium.
In order to receive the second circular and registration form, please
contact the globe symposium secretary:
Nadia Hammadi - nhammadi@stewart-museum.org
Stewart Museum, PO Box 1200, Station A, Montreal (Qc), H3C 2Y9, Canada
Tel: (514) 861-6703, ext. 260 / Fax: (514) 284-0123
Please feel free to contact one of the three symposium organizers for
further information:
Ed Dahl - edahl@iosphere.net
Jean-Francois Gauvin - jfgauvin@stewart-museum.org
Eileen Meillon - emeillon@stewart-museum.org
[Text provided by Jean-Francois Gauvin.]
...........................................................................
Item 5 ENHA No. 43, July 7, 2000
...........................................................................
Past conferences 2000
---------------------
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 50,
22. Juni 2000 2000, Item 7.)
Further conferences in the year 2000 were reported in previous issues of
ENHA. For a complete list of all conferences announced see the following
URL:
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/hist_astr/ha_meet.html
April 10-15, 2000, Rome, Italy
Societa Astronomica Italiana, XLIV Congresso Nazionale
With a history of astronomy session
URL: http://www.mporzio.astro.it/~sait2000/
April 29-May 2, 2000, Long Beach, CA, USA
April Meeting 2000 of the American Physical Society
Session Q22: FHP: New Perspectives on the Development of Ancient Astronomy
URLs: http://www.aps.org/meet/APR00/
http://www.aps.org/meet/APR00/baps/abs/S5810.html
...........................................................................
Item 6 ENHA No. 43, July 7, 2000
...........................................................................
New book on historical eclipses
-------------------------------
Observations and Predictions of Eclipse Times by Early Astronomers
by
John M. Steele
Dept. of Physics, University of Durham, UK
(ARCHIMEDES New Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science and
Technology Volume 4)
Eclipses have long been seen as important celestial phenomena, whether as
omens affecting the future of kingdoms, or as useful astronomical events to
help in deriving essential parameters for theories of the motion of the
moon and sun. This is the first book to collect together all presently
known records of timed eclipse observations and predictions from antiquity
to the time of the invention of the telescope. In addition to cataloguing
and assessing the accuracy of the various records, which come from regions
as diverse as Ancient Mesopotamia, China, and Europe, the sources in which
they are found are described in detail. Related questions such as what
type of clocks were used to time the observations, how the eclipse
predictions were made, and how these prediction schemes were derived from
the available observations are also considered. The results of this
investigation have important consequences for how we understand the
relationship between observation and theory in early science and the role
of astronomy in early cultures, and will be of interest to historians of
science, astronomers, and ancient and medieval historians.
Contents:
Preface. I: Introductory Orientations. 1. Introduction.
II: The Western Heritage. 2. Mesopotamia. 3. The Greco-Roman World.
4. The Islamic Near East. 5. Late Medieval and Renaissance Europe.
III: The Eastern Heritage. 6. China. 7. Japan. IV: Conclusions.
8. Discussion. V: Appendices. References. Subject Index. Index of
Texts.
Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
Hardbound, ISBN 0-7923-6298-5
June 2000, 336 pp.
NLG 270.00 / USD 132.00 / GBP 84.00
Available direct from the publishers at
http://www.wkap.nl/book.htm/0-7923-6298-5
and from booksellers.
[Text provided by John M. Steele, e-mail: J.M.Steele@durham.ac.uk]
...........................................................................
Item 7 ENHA No. 43, July 7, 2000
...........................................................................
New Books
---------
(From: "Elektronische Mitteilungen zur Astronomiegeschichte" Nr. 48,
7. April 2000, Item 7. Partial translations by the editor.)
Abt, Helmut A. (Ed.): The Astrophysical Journal. American Astronomical
Society Centennial Issue. Selected fundamental papers published this
century in The Astronomical Journal and The Astrophysical Journal.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1999. ix, 1283 p., 22 x 29 cm,
ISBN 0-226-00185-7, $50.00 (hb) (The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 525,
No. 1C, Part 3)
[Reprints of 53 papers published between 1905 and 1990, each accompanied
by contemporary commentary that explains the impact it had. More
information: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/ApJ/front.html (for Table of
Contents see the Centennial Issue Order Form, given as PDF file).]
Barton, Tamsyn: Ancient astrology. London, New York: Routledge, 1994.
xxvi, 245 p., GBP 12.99 (pb)
Review: J.D.North: J. Hist. Astron. 27 (1996) 1, 81-82
Borsdorf, Ulrich; Korff, Gottfried; Steiner, Juerg; Hausmann, Walter
(Hrsg.): Sonne, Mond und Sterne. Kultur und Natur der Energie. Katalog
zur Ausstellung auf der Kokerei Zollverein in Essen, 13. Mai bis 13.
September 1999. [Sun, Moon and Stars. Culture and nature of energy.
Catalogue of the exhibition in the Kokerei Zollverein in Essen, 13 May
to 13 September 1999. - In German]
Bottrop: Verlag Peter Pomp, 1999. 352 p., numerous ill.,
25 x 21 cm, ISBN 3-89355-194-8, hardbound DM 29.80
[Describes also many astronomical exhibits, among them astronomical
experiments.]
Crowe, Michael J.; Dyke, D.R.; Kevin, J.R. (Ed.): A calendar of the
correspondence of Sir John Herschel. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1998. 828 p., 21.5 x 28 cm, ISBN 0-521-63149-1, GBP 100.00,
$ 150.00 (hb)
[Documentation for 14,815 letters written by or to John Herschel.
Includes a biographical register for about 1500 of Herschel's
correspondents, and index with 30,000 references, and bibliographies of
Herschel's publications and publications about him.]
Review: B.Warner: The Observatory 119 (1999) 1150, 157-158
Droessler, Rudolf: 2000 Jahre Weltuntergang : Himmelserscheinungen und
Weltbilder in apokalyptischer Deutung. [2000 years End of the World :
Celestial events and world views in apolalyptic interpretation. - In
German] Wuerzburg: Echter Verlag, 1999. 184 p., 24 colour plates,
ca. 100 b/w ill., 23 x 30 cm, ISBN 3-429-02097-2, hardbound DM 98.00
Review: A.Zenkert: Astron. Raumfahrt 36 (1999) 4 [53], 22
Habison, Peter; Schultz, Ruediger: Phantasie und Wirklichkeit : Eine Reise
zu den Mythen der Sternbilder. [Phantasy and reality : A journey to the
myths of the constallations. - In German] Vienna: Verband Wiener
Volksbildung, 1999. 56 p., 7 ill., 21 x 14,7 cm, ISBN 3-900799-24-5,
paperback OeS 50.00 (Edition Kuffner-Sternwarte)
Rienitz, Joachim: Historisch-physikalische Entwicklungslinien optischer
Instrumente. Von der Magie zur partiellen Kohaerenz. [Historical and
physical lines of development of optical instruments. From magic to
partial coherence. - In German] Lengerich, Berlin, Riga, Rom, Vienna,
Zagreb: Pabst Science Publishers, 1999. 305 p., ill., 15 x 21 cm,
ISBN 3-934252-13-3, paperback DM 60.00
[Also about the early history of the telescope and on astronomical items.]
Schmadel, Lutz D.: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. 3d ed. Berlin:
Springer-Verlag, 1997. XIV, 939 p., ISBN 3-540-61747-7, DM 168.00 (hb)
Review: A.Fitzsimmons: The Observatory 117 (1997) 1141, 381
Schmadel, Lutz D.: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. 4th ed. Berlin,
Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1999. XV, 1319 p., 5 figs., 2 tabs.,
ISBN 3-540-66292-8, DM 249.00 (hb), with CD-ROM.
[Contains the relevanten published up to June 1999 (Planets (1) to
(10666)). The CD-ROM allows to view through an Internet browser the
updates at a special server at Springer free of charge.]
Schmadel, Lutz D.: Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. 4th ed. CD-ROM.
Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1999. ISBN 3-540-14814-0, DM 85.00
Stautz, Burkhard: Untersuchungen von mathematisch-astronomischen
Darstellungen auf mittelalterlichen Astrolabien islamischer und
europaeischer Herkunft. [Investigations of mathematical and astronomical
depictions on medieval astrolabes of Islamic and European origin. - In
German] Bassum: Verlag fuer Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der
Technik, 1997. 287 p., numerous ill., 23.5 x 15.5 cm, ISBN 3-928186-29-9,
hardbound DM 95.00. Also: Frankfurt (Main), Univ., Diss., 1995.
Review: M.Schukowski: Astron. Raumfahrt 35 (1998) 44 (2/98), 27
Review: P.Kunitzsch: Ber. Wissenschaftsgesch. 22 (1999) 1, 62-63
Stautz, Burkhard: Die Astrolabiensammlungen des Deutschen Museums und des
Bayerischen Nationalmuseums. [The collections of astrolabes of the
Deutsches Museums and of the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. - In German]
Munich, Vienna: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 2000. X, 425 p., ISBN 3-486-26479-6,
paperback DM 100.00
(Abhandlungen und Berichte / Deutsches Museum, N.F. ; 12)
Teichmann, Juergen: Wandel des Weltbildes. Astronomie, Physik und
Messtechnik in der Kulturgeschichte. [Changes of the world view. Astronomy,
physics and measuring techniques in cultural history. - In German] 4th ed.
Stuttgart, Leipzig: B.G.Teubner Verlagsgesellschaft, 1999. 231 p.,
106 ill., 20.5 x 13.7 cm, ISBN 3-519-00286-8, paperback DM 28.00
(Einblicke in die Wissenschaft: Astronomie)
...........................................................................
Acknowledgements
----------------
For information and help we thank:
Peter de Clercq, Dana A. Freiburger, Jean-Francois Gauvin, Peter Habison,
Joachim Rienitz, Lutz D. Schmadel, Burkhard Stautz, John M. Steele,
University of Chicago Press (Susan Constantin).
...........................................................................
Imprint
-------
Electronic Newsletter for the History of Astronomy (ENHA)
Published by the Working Group for the History of Astronomy in the
Astronomische Gesellschaft
Editor: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick <wdi@potsdam.ifag.de>
All items without an author's name are editorial contributions.
Articles as well as information for the several sections are appreciated.
Subscription for ENHA is free. Readers and subscribers are asked for
occasional voluntary donations to the working group.
Copyright Statement:
The Electronic Newsletters for the History of Astronomy may be freely
re-distributed in the case that no charge is imposed. Public offer in
WWW servers, BBS etc. is allowed after the editor has been informed.
Non-commercial reproduction of single items in electronic or printed media
is possible only with the editor's permission.
Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte / Working Group for the History of
Astronomy:
URL: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/astoria.html
Chairman: Prof. Dr. Peter Brosche, Observatorium Hoher List der
Sternwarte der Universitaet Bonn, D-54550 Daun, Germany,
Tel.: +49(0)6592 2150, Fax: +49(0)6592 985140
Secretary: Dr. Wolfgang R. Dick, Bundesamt fuer Kartographie und
Geodaesie, Aussenstelle Potsdam, Postfach 60 08 08, D-14408 Potsdam,
Germany, Tel.: +49(0)331 316 618, E-mail: wdi@potsdam.ifag.de
Bank Acct. of the Working Group of the Astronomische Gesellschaft:
Acct # 333 410 41, Sparkasse Bochum (BLZ 430 500 01)
Contributions from foreign countries: acct # 162 18-203, Postgiroamt
Hamburg, BLZ 200 100 20
Please sign with: "Fuer Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte"
***************************************************************************
