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42 // TECHNOLOGY Glass beads for safety CAT’S EYE PRINCIPLE It seems paradox – glass beads (as perfectly round as possible) fixed to the road can increase road safety. This is because of an optical characteristic which also is believed to make the eyes of cats glow. // iNeS ScHMieDMAier Two different technologies are typically employed in pro- ducing reflecting material – the glass-bead meth- od and applying retro-reflecting micro prisms. M any might have had their adventure of a ‘special kind’ in the dark or at night: Two points a few millimetres apart mysteriously glow in the dark and disappear as quickly as they showed up. Once breathing is back to normal it is usually discovered that it only was our favourite pet. Its eyes sometimes give us spooky fantasies. The so-called ‘glowing carpet’ (Latin: Tapetum lucidum) is the culprit. It is a strongly reflective layer of cells behind the eye’s retina. It reflects back the light that has already passed the retina. This layer gives a cat better night vision and also reflects the light that hits its eyes in the dark - and makes them ‘glow’. retro-reflection as safetY factor In physics this characteristic is called retro-reflection – this is when catadioptric (mirroring and refractive) elements reverse the direction of incoming light back to its source point. The production of retro-reflective materials utilizes this characteristic. It is applied to safety clothing and surface markings to increase visibility. These materials have an important advantage: they reflect back the light in exactly that direction where the light came from. aPPlication in safetY clothing If the headlights of a car hit the reflecting material of the clothing of a construction worker the light is reflected back exactly to the approaching car. A person at the side of a road is therefore visible to the driver sooner and from a greater distance. This is of great advantage at construction sites, motorways and state roads where vehicles travel at great speeds. This increased safety factor also applies to surface markings as the use of glass beads makes them glow when hit by a beam of light. Glass beads sticking out of the surface markings far enough reliably reflect incoming light and provide good visibility of the markings even at bad visibility, in the dark, during rain or fog. glass Beads Provide 100 Percent reflection Reflective material is used with safety clothing, traffic signs, street markings, promotion and bicycle reflectors. Even though a cat’s eye on bicycle has little in common with the eye of a ‘real’ cat they yet follow the same principle of retro-reflection. //
insights PAGE 30 A survey was conducted with the 500 largest Austrian companies entitled Recruiting Trends 2009 Austria. To save costs most companies use online forms for a cost efficient personnel management. By now already ¾ of all applications are made electronically with large Austrian companies. The recruiting process is thus made more efficient and cost effective. A mutual advantage is the fact that the time between the placement of an ad and receipt of applications got shorter. PAGE 44 Trading Places The Duke brothers – two brokers in commodities futures – gamble high and trade (switch) the life of a beggar with that of their managing director. In the end the beggar and MD join forces and bankrupt the Dukes. In 1983 the film by Eddie Murphy gives an insight into the harsh reality of speculation at a stock exchange. PAGE 30 EU BALKAN ★& The EU Commission proposed recently that people from Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro may enter EU countries without a visa. At this point in time not all security requirements can be fulfilled. According to the EU Commission this problem will be solved by the beginning of 2010. PAGE 46 Andalusia Andalusia is the most southern of all 17 autonomous districts located on the mainland of Spain. This region is best known for its music, the flamenco. The language spoken is Andalusian. This dialect is phonetically very different from the official language of Spain. Andalusia is a region strongly shaped by tourism. PAGE 14 PAGE 48 sankt laurent 2006 ‚Sankt Laurent‘ is the name of the first Austrian wine ‘hatched’ in concrete eggs. According to the traditional sowing calendar of the ‘moon-gardener’ Maria Thun, the concreteegg wine has been bottled on a particularly ‘fruity day’ – under the sign of the grape. It seems to have worked out. When uncorking a bottle of Sankt Laurent 2006 the fragrance of dark berries and prunes is unmistakable. SHaDOW TOll In a ‘Shadow Toll’ model the project company is responsible for construction, for maintenance and for operation of the road infrastructure. The shadow toll provides the advantage that the user of the infrastructure does not have to pay a toll to the project company. The traffic volume is measured and the government pays the toll to the company accordingly. The shadow toll is particularly suited for infrastructures that would allow the collection of a toll but which make the toll risk lower by collecting a shadow toll.
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Page 41: SHORTCUTS CONCRETE MIXING PLANT ON
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