Galactic

Galactic is an American jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

Origins and background

Originally formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a sextet of: guitarist Jeff Raines, bassist Robert Mercurio, drummer Stanton Moore, Hammond organist Rich Vogel, Theryl DeClouet on vocals, and later adding saxophonist Ben Ellman.

The group was started when Raines and Mercurio, childhood friends from affluent Chevy Chase, Maryland, moved to New Orleans together to attend college at Tulane and Loyola Universities, became enamored of the local funk scene, populated by such legendary acts as The Meters and Dirty Dozen Brass Band and inspired by local legends such as Professor Longhair. There they teamed with noted New Orleans drummer Stanton Moore, saxophonist/harmonica (now producer) Ben Ellman, and Rich Vogel. In 2004, the band parted ways with vocalist DeClouet, and now continue as an instrumental group. They have been releasing albums consistently since 1996.

Galactic (disambiguation)

Galactic may refer to:

See also

Lead

Lead (/lɛd/) is a chemical element in the carbon group with symbol Pb (from Latin: plumbum) and atomic number 82. It is a soft, malleable and heavy post-transition metal. Freshly cut, solid lead has a bluish-white color that soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air; the liquid metal has shiny chrome-silver luster. Lead is the heaviest (has the highest atomic number) non-radioactive element (two radioactive elements, namely technetium and promethium, are lighter), although the next higher element, bismuth, has one isotope with a half-life that is so long (over one billion times the estimated age of the universe) that it can be considered stable. Lead's four stable isotopes each have 82 protons, a magic number in the nuclear shell model of atomic nuclei. The isotope lead-208 also has 126 neutrons, another magic number, and is hence double magic, a property that grants it enhanced stability: lead-208 is the heaviest known stable nuclide.

Lead is used in building construction, lead-acid batteries, bullets and shot, weights, as part of solders, pewters, fusible alloys, and as a radiation shield.

Cutoff (steam engine)

In a steam engine, cutoff is the point in the piston stroke at which the inlet valve is closed. On a steam locomotive, the cutoff is controlled by the reversing gear.

The point at which the inlet valve closes and stops the entry of steam into the cylinder from the boiler plays a crucial role in the control of a steam engine. Once the valve has closed, steam trapped in the cylinder expands adiabatically. The steam pressure drops as it expands. A late cutoff delivers full steam pressure to move the piston through its entire stroke, for maximum start-up forces. But, since there will still be unexploited pressure in the cylinder at the end of the stroke, this is achieved at the expense of engine efficiency. In this situation the steam will still have considerable pressure remaining when it is exhausted resulting in the characteristic “chuff chuff” sound of a steam engine. An early cutoff has greater thermodynamic efficiency but results in a lower Mean effective pressure so less average force on the piston and is used for running the engine at higher speeds. The steam engine is the only thermodynamic engine design that can provide its maximum torque at zero revolutions per minute.

Lead (disambiguation)

Lead has two different pronunciations and several different meanings, usually related to either the chemical element lead (a heavy metal) or the verb to lead.

When pronounced /ˈlɛd/ (rhymes with "bed")

With this pronunciation, "lead" refers to:

The past tense of the verb to lead is led, pronounced /ˈlɛd/. It is often misspelled as lead.

See also:

When pronounced /ˈliːd/ (rhymes with "need")

With this pronunciation, "lead" generally means "first", "ahead", or "guide":