World news

Rattan

From Wikipedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Rattan
Daemonorops draco
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Arecales Family: Arecaceae Tribe: Calameae
Genera
Calamus Calospatha Ceratolobus Daemonorops Eremospatha Eugeissonia Korthalsia Laccosperma Metroxylon Myrialepis Oncocalamus Pigafetta Plectocomia Plectomiopsis Raphia Zalacca Zalacella

Rattan (from the Malay rotan), is the name for the roughly six hundred species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia. Most rattans are distinct from other palms in having slender stems 2–5 cm diameter with long internodes between the leaves; their consequent growth habit also differs, not being trees but vine-like, scrambling through and over other vegetation. They are also superficially similar to bamboo, but distinct in that the stems ("malacca") are solid, rather than hollow, and also in their need for some sort of support; while bamboo can grow on its own, rattan cannot. Some genera (e.g. Metroxylon, Pigafetta, Raphia) are however more like typical palms, with stouter, erect trunks. Many rattans are also spiny, the spines acting as hooks to aid climbing over other plants, and also to deter herbivores. Rattans have been known to grow up to hundreds of metres long. Most (70%) of the world's rattan population exist in Indonesia, distributed among Borneo, Celebes, Sumbawa islands. The rest of the world's supply comes from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

In the forests where rattan grows, its economic value can help protect forest land, by providing an alternative to loggers who forgo timber logging and harvest rattan canes instead. Rattan is much easier to harvest, requiring simpler tools and also much easier to transport. Furthermore, compared to most tropical wood, rattan is much faster growing.

Uses

A rattan chair.

Generally, raw rattan is processed into several products to be used as materials in furniture making. The various species of rattan ranges from several millimetres up to 5–7 cm in diameter. From a strand of rattan, the skin is usually peeled off, to be used as rattan weaving material. The remaining "core" of the rattan can be used for various purposes in furniture making. Rattan is a very good material mainly because it is lightweight, durable, and—to a certain extent—flexible.

Rattans are extensively used for making furniture and baskets. Cut into sections, rattan can be used as wood to make furniture. Rattan accepts paints and stains like wood, so it is available in many colours; and it can be worked into many styles. Moreover, the inner core can be separated and worked into wicker. This makes it a potential tool in forest maintenance, since it provides a profitable crop that depends on rather than replaces trees. Whether it can be as profitable or useful as the alternatives, however, remains to be seen.

Due to its durability and resistance to splintering, sections of rattan can be used as staves or canes for martial arts—rattan sticks 70 cm long are used in Filipino martial arts tournaments. Rattan is also used in the construction of weapons in Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) martial combat.

Along with birch and bamboo, rattan is a common material used for the handles in percussion mallets, especially mallets for keyboard percussion (vibraphone, xylophone, marimba, etc.).

The fruit of some rattans exudes a red resin called dragon's blood. This resin was thought to have medicinal properties in antiquity and was also used as a dye for violins, among other things.^[1] The resin normally results in a wood with a light peach hue.

Caning

Rattan canes are also a common choice for inflicting pain, in disciplinary, legal punishment, such as caning people, a form of punishment still popular in many countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Brunei. It can also be used for torture or for pleasure, as in BDSM contexts. It was a rattan cane that was used for the beating of Michael P. Fay in 1994.

The Sandman, a professional wrestler famous for his time on ECW and WWE, had a Singapore cane which he used as a trademark weapon. Often matches such as Singapore cane on a Pole matches would occur if he used his frequently in a rivalry.

Crystal

In chemistry and mineralogy, a crystal is a solid in which the
constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly
ordered, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions.

The word crystal originates from the Greek word "Krystallos" meaning clear ice, as it was thought to be an especially solid form of
water. The word once referred particularly to quartz, or "rock crystal".

Most metals encountered in everyday life are polycrystals. Crystals
are often symmetrically intergrown to form crystal twins.

Crystal structure

Which crystal structure the fluid will form depends on the chemistry
of the fluid, the conditions under which it is being solidified, and also on
the ambient pressure. The process of forming a crystalline structure is often referred to as
crystallization.

While the cooling process usually results in the generation of a crystalline material, under certain
conditions, the fluid may be frozen in a noncrystalline state. In most cases, this involves cooling
the fluid so rapidly that atoms cannot travel to their lattice sites before they lose mobility. A noncrystalline material, which has no long-range order, is called an amorphous, vitreous, or glassy material. It is also often referred to as an amorphous solid, although there are distinct differences between solids and glasses: most notably, the process of forming a glass does not release the latent heat of fusion. For this thermodynamic reason, many scientists consider glassy materials to be viscous liquids rather than solids.

Crystalline structures occur in all classes of materials, with all types of chemical bonds. Almost all metal exists in a polycrystalline state; amorphous or single-crystal metals must be produced synthetically, often with great difficulty. Ionically bonded crystals can form upon solidification of salts, either from a molten fluid or when it condenses from a solution. Covalently bonded crystals are also very common, notable examples being diamond, silica, and graphite. Polymer materials generally will form crystalline regions, but the lengths of the molecules usually prevents complete crystallization. Weak Van der Waals forces can also play a role in a crystal structure, for example, this type of bonding loosely holds together the hexagonal-patterned sheets in graphite.

Most crystalline materials have a variety of crystalographic defects. The types and structures of these defects can have a profound effect on the properties of the materials.

Wikipedia extracts.

Hand made crystal necklaces

Rattan pieces handweave by disables.

Handmade costume jewelry

This piece of crystal necklace costume jewelry have stones taken from all over the world, and is exclusively handmade in one pattern, and the next design would have variations. It is said that crystals will bring joy, happiness, and luck to the one who wears them.