From Pliny to Brexit: spatial representation of the British Isles

This essay explores the representation of the British Isles on maps and related geographical texts over the course of the Middle Ages. Emphasizing the classical basis for representation of the islands, it examines articulations of insular identity in the debate over the date of Easter as presented in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, in Gerald of Wales’ Topographia Hiberniae, and in later medieval maps of various genres, including mappaemundi, regional maps, and portolan charts. It concludes with brief reflections on the contemporary crisis of insular identity manifest in the 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union

Chemical and Electrochemical Synthesis of Platinum Black

We present electrochemical and chemical synthesis of platinum black at room temperature in aqueous and non-aqueous media. X-ray analysis established the purity and crystalline nature. The electron micrographs indicate that the nanostructures consist of platinum crystals that interconnect to form porous assemblies. Additionally, the electron micrographs of the platinum black thin layer, which was electrochemically deposited on different metallic and semiconductive substrates (aluminium, platinum, silver, gold, tin-cooper alloy, indium-tin-oxide, stainless steel, and copper), indicate that the substrate influences its porous features but not its absorbance characteristics. The platinum black exhibited a broad absorbance and low reflectance in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions. These characteristics make this material suitable for use as a high-temperature resistant absorber layer for the fabrication of microelectronics