|
Mont Blanc Tunnel
The Mont Blanc Tunnel (, ) is a highway tunnel between France and Italy, under Mont Blanc in the Alps. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, via the French Route Nationale 205 and the Italian Traforo T1 (forming the European route E25), in particular the motorways serving Geneva ( A40 of France) and Turin ( A5 of Italy). The passageway is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on this tunnel for transporting as much as one-third of its freight to northern Europe. It reduces the route from France to Turin by and to Milan by . Northeast of Mont Blanc's summit, the tunnel is about southwest of the tripoint with Switzerland, near Mont Dolent. The agreement between France and Italy on building a tunnel was signed in 1949. Two operating companies were founded, each responsible for one half of the tunnel: the French ''Autoroutes et tunnel du Mont-Blanc'' (ATMB), founded on 30 April 1958, and the I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. The Alpine arch extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian Basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrust fault, thrusting and Fold (geology), folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains 82 peaks higher than List of Alpine four-thousanders, . The altitude and size of the range affect the climate in Europe; in the mountain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Route E25
European route E25 is a north–south European route from Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, to Palermo in Italy which includes ferry crossings from Genoa to Bastia (Corsica), from Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, Bonifacio to Porto Torres (Sardinia) and from Cagliari to Palermo (Sicily). It passes through the following cities: Hook of Holland – Rotterdam – Utrecht - Eindhoven – Maastricht – Liège – Bastogne – Arlon – Luxembourg City – Metz – Saint-Avold – Strasbourg – Mulhouse – Basel – Olten – Bern – Lausanne – Geneva – Mont Blanc Tunnel – Aosta – Ivrea – Vercelli – Alessandria – Genoa ... Bastia – Porto-Vecchio – Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, Bonifacio ... Porto Torres – Sassari – Cagliari ... Palermo. Route description The Belgian part of the E25 is also denoted as 'Route du Soleil'. The title was rejected by France because there is already a 'Route du Soleil' connecting Paris and Marseille. The Belgian 'Route du Soleil' is a branc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aggregate (composite)
Aggregate is the component of a composite material that resists compressive stress and provides bulk to the material. For efficient filling, aggregate should be much smaller than the finished item, but have a wide variety of sizes. Aggregates are generally added to lower the amount of binders needed and to increase the strength of composite materials. Sand and gravel are used as construction aggregate with cement to make concrete and increase its mechanical strength. Aggregates make up 60-80% of the volume of concrete and 70-85% of the mass of concrete. Comparison to fiber composites ''Aggregate composites'' are easier to fabricate, and more predictable in their finished properties, than '' fiber composites''. Fiber orientation and continuity can have a large effect, but can be difficult to control and assess. Aggregate materials are generally less expensive. Mineral aggregates are found in nature and can often be used with minimal processing. Not all composite materials i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vault (architecture)
In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while rings of voussoirs are constructed and the rings placed in position. Until the topmost voussoir, the Keystone (architecture), keystone, is positioned, the vault is not self-supporting. Where timber is easily obtained, this temporary support is provided by centering consisting of a framed truss with a semicircular or Circular segment, segmental head, which supports the voussoirs until the ring of the whole arch is completed. The Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaeans (ca. 18th century BC, 1800–1050s BC, 1050 BC) were known for their Tholos (architecture), tholos tombs, also called beehive tombs, which were underground structures with conical vaults. This type of vault is one of the earliest evidences of curved brick architecture without the use of ston ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watt-hour
A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a non-SI unit of energy equal to 3.6 megajoules (MJ) in SI units, which is the energy delivered by one kilowatt of power for one hour. Kilowatt-hours are a common billing unit for electrical energy supplied by electric utilities. Metric prefixes are used for multiples and submultiples of the basic unit, the watt-hour (3.6 kJ). Definition The kilowatt-hour is a composite unit of energy equal to one kilowatt (kW) multiplied by (i.e., sustained for) one hour. The International System of Units (SI) unit of energy meanwhile is the joule (symbol J). Because a watt is by definition one joule per second, and because there are 3,600 seconds in an hour, one kWh equals 3,600 kilojoules or 3.6 MJ."Half-high dots or spaces are used to express a derived unit formed from two or more other units by multiplication.", Barry N. Taylor. (2001 ed.''The International System of Units.'' (Special publication 33 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fréjus Road Tunnel
The Fréjus Road Tunnel (, ) is a tunnel that connects France and Italy. It runs under Col du Fréjus in the Cottian Alps between Modane in France and Bardonecchia in Italy. It is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes between France and Italy being used for 80% of the commercial road traffic. Construction of the long tunnel started in 1974, and it came into service on 12 July 1980, leading to the closure of the motorail shuttle service in the Fréjus rail tunnel. It cost 2 billion francs (equivalent to €700 million at 2005 prices). It is the thirteenth longest road tunnel in the world and the longest road tunnel that crosses an international border. The French section is managed by the French company SFTRF, and the Italian section by the Italian company SITAF. (The French politician Pierre Dumas was chairman of SFTRF from 1962 to 1989). The tunnel can be reached from the Italian side by the A32 Torino-Bardonecchia motorway, or by SS335 from Oulx, which join ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mont Blanc Tunnel Fire
On 24 March 1999, a transport truck caught fire while driving through the Mont Blanc Tunnel between France and Italy. When it stopped halfway through the tunnel, it violently combusted. Other vehicles traveling through the tunnel quickly became trapped and they also caught fire as firefighters were unable to reach the transport truck. 39 people were killed. In the aftermath, major changes were made to the tunnel to improve its safety. Fire On the morning of 24 March 1999, 39 people died when a Belgian transport truck carrying flour and margarine, which had entered the French-side portal, caught fire in the tunnel. The truck came through the tollbooth at 10:46 CET. The initial journey through the tunnel was routine. According to the National Geographic documentary programme ''Seconds from Disaster'', the fire and smoke appeared at around 10:49. Shortly after, the driver realized something was wrong as cars coming in the opposite direction flashed their headlights at him; a glanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gotthard Base Tunnel
The Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT; , , ) is a railway tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland. It opened in June 2016 and full service began the following December. With a route length of , it is the world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunnelThe world longest tunnel for transport of people is the Guangzhou Metro Line 3 in China (60 km). Reference: Nic Ulmi"Des trous suisses remplis d'imaginaire" nterview with André Ourednik '' Horizons'', magazine of the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, number 118, September 2018, pages 22-23. and the first flat, low-level route through the Alps. Located at the heart of the Gotthard axis, it is the third tunnel to connect the cantons of Uri and Ticino, after the Gotthard Tunnel and the Gotthard Road Tunnel. The GBT consists of a large complex with, at its core, two single-track tunnels connecting Erstfeld (Uri) with Bodio (Ticino) and passing below Sedrun (Grisons). It is part of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aiguille Du Midi
The Aiguille du Midi (, "Needle at midday") is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc. Cable car The idea for a Aerial tramway, cable car to the summit, the ''Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi'', was originally proposed around 1909, but did not come into operation until 1955 when it held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from . There are two sections: from Chamonix to ''Plan de l'Aiguille'' at and then directly, without any support pillar, to the upper station at 3,777 m (the building contains an elevator to the summit). The span of the second section is measured directly, but only measured horizontally. Thus it remains the second longest List of spans#Aerial tramways, span width, measured directly. The cabl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mont Dolent
Mont Dolent () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif and lies on the border between Italy, Switzerland and France. As a mountain, Mont Dolent is regarded as the tripoint between Italy, Switzerland and France, although the tripoint itself lies at 3,749 metres, less than 100 metres north-west of its summit. In 1954, a statue of the Virgin Mary was erected on Mont Dolent's summit by the young people of Valais. Routes The first ascent of the mountain was made on 9 July 1864 by A. Reilly and Edward Whymper with guides Michel Croz Michel Auguste Croz (22 April 1830 in Le Tour, Chamonix valley – 14 July 1865, on the Matterhorn) was a Chamoniard mountain guide of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the first ascentionist of many mountains in the western Alps during the golden ag ..., H. Charlet and M. Payot. Whymper described the ascent in ''Scrambles amongst the Alps'': ::We occupied the 9th with a scramble up Mont Dolent. This was a miniature ascent. It contained a little of everyt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tripoint
A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, lakes or seas. On dry land, the exact tripoints may be indicated by markers or pillars, and occasionally by larger monuments. Usually, the more neighbours a country has, the more international tripoints that country has. China with 16 international tripoints and Russia with 11 to 14 lead the list of states by number of international tripoints. Other countries, like Brazil, India, and Algeria, have several international tripoints. Argentina has four international tripoints. South Africa, Pakistan and Nigeria have three international tripoints, Guatemala has two: one with Mexico and Belize, and one with Honduras and El Salvador; while Bangladesh and Mexico have one. Within Europe, landlocked Au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nearly 1.4 million, while its Metropolitan City of Milan, metropolitan city has 3.2 million residents. Within Europe, Milan is the fourth-most-populous List of urban areas in the European Union, urban area of the EU with 6.17 million inhabitants. According to national sources, the population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan) is estimated between 7.5 million and 8.2 million, making it by far the List of metropolitan areas of Italy, largest metropolitan area in Italy and List of metropolitan areas in Europe, one of the largest in the EU.* * * * Milan is the economic capital of Italy, one of the economic capitals of Europe and a global centre for business, fashion and finance. Milan is reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
