Churchill's ‘Iron Curtain’ Speech in Context: The Attempt to Achieve a ‘Good Understanding on All Points’ with Stalin's Soviet Union

More than 70 years ago, on 5 March 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered his ‘iron curtain’ speech at Westminster College in Fulton. The speech immediately attracted worldwide attention and proved to be highly controversial. Most contemporaries in East and West and the vast majority of subsequent historians interpreted the speech as Churchill's call for western resistance to Stalin's expansionist policies and the continuation of the wartime ‘special relationship’ between Washington and London. This article argues, however, that Churchill's speech has been misunderstood. When set in the context of Churchill's other pronouncements on world affairs during his time as leader of the opposition between 1945 and 1951 and in view of his vigorously pursued ‘Big Three’ ‘summit diplomacy’ with Moscow and Washington after he returned as Prime Minister in 1951, the ‘iron curtain’ speech must be seen in a different light. It becomes clear that this famous speech was not Churchill's sabre-rattling call for commencing or energizing the East--West conflict with the Soviet Union. Quite to the contrary, his speech was meant to prevent the escalation of this conflict and avoid the dangerous clash between the world's greatest powers that soon became known as the Cold War.     

铁器文物保护中锈层化学稳定转化的研究

出土铁器文物在脱盐清洗后,运用化学稳定转化处理的方法将表面不稳定的铁锈转化成稳定、致密的锈层,然后进行钝化封闭,提高耐蚀性,最后进行防锈封护和表面消光处理。通过各种腐蚀性能测试,证明耐腐蚀性能有显著提高,综合处理的结果达到了文物铁器的保护要求。     

五女山城高句丽铁器金相学初步探讨

辽宁省本溪市桓仁县五女山城是高句丽第一代王朱蒙建都的纥升古城(公元前37年-公元3年)。在这一时期这一地域铁器的质地、加工工艺、手工业发展水平是冶金史学和考古学共同关注的问题,为深入了解高句丽民族铁器的应用及加工状况,本工作采集了出土于五女山城,多数集中放置在V区T504探方出土的一件铁釜内的铁器,进行金相学研究。为此采用金相显微镜、扫描电镜-X射线能谱仪作为检测和分析手段。检测结果表明,这些铁器的材质包括生铁铸造器物,局部灰口铸铁、低碳钢、熟铁,兵器和工具采用含杂质少的铸铁脱碳钢材料,铁钉采用含杂质多的炒钢材料,半成品铁块体现了生铁与熟铁相熔折叠锻打的工艺特征,与文献记载的"灌钢"方法之一的"灌"、"辟"相对应,而另一件环形铁器,内缘表面可观察到若干高碳薄层,与中心区域含碳量相差悬殊,并且观察到有石墨存在,显然也与熔融生铁的表面处理相关。这两件样品表明,至少在五世纪初,该地工匠已经在应用施加熔融生铁于熟铁的工艺。     

Dynamic One-Sided Out-Of-Plane Behavior of Unreinforced-Masonry Wall Restrained by Elasto-Plastic Tie-Rods

Past earthquakes have shown the high vulnerability of existing masonry buildings, particularly to out-of-plane local collapse mechanisms. Such mechanisms can be prevented if façades are restrained by tie rods improving the connections to perpendiculars walls. Whereas in the past only static models have been proposed, herein the nonlinear equation of motion of a monolithic wall restrained by a tie rod is presented. The façade, resting on a foundation and adjacent to transverse walls, rotates only around one base pivot and has one degree of freedom. Its thickness is explicitly accounted for and the tie rod is modeled as a linear elastic—perfectly plastic spring, with limited displacement capacity. The model is used to investigate the response to variations of wall geometry (height/thickness ratio, thickness), tie rod features (vertical position, length, prestress level), and material characteristics (elastic modulus, ultimate elongation, yield strength) typical of historical iron. The most relevant parameter is the steel strength, whereas other characteristics play minor roles allowing to recommend reduced values for pre-tensioning forces. The force-based procedure customary in Italy for tie design is reasonably safe and involves protection also against collapse, although probably not enough as desirable.     

重庆万州大坪墓群出土文物的检测分析

采用自然科学手段,对重庆万州大坪墓群出土的部分青铜器、铁器、玉器样品进行了检测分析。结果显示青铜器样品均为铅锡青铜,铸造成形;铁器样品为亚共晶白口铸铁;玉器的主要矿物成分是透闪石。这一结果对了解大坪墓群的文化内涵和东周时本地居民的金属加工、玉器制作等手工业技术水平有一定意义。     

古代钢铁制品中的浮凸组织初步研究

为研究钢铁制品中浮凸组织产生的原因,对14件取自不同地方、属于不同时期的具有浮凸组织的样品利用金相组织鉴定、扫描电镜能谱分析、化学分析和显微硬度测定等方法进行了研究。结果表明：金相组织观察发现浮凸组织与夹杂物和铁素体晶粒间界有一定的关系,并存在有不同的形貌,其显微硬度均比附近基体高;成分分析表明有浮凸组织的样品磷含量要比没有浮凸组织的样品磷含量高一个数量级。有浮凸组织样品内部磷含量的分布也不均匀。这些结果说明,浮凸组织的产生主要原因是矿石中的磷在冶炼过程中进入铁中,而在随后的脱碳退火、炒炼和冷、热加工过程中均不能有效地脱去;同时,固溶在铁中的磷与铁形成薄膜阻止晶粒间界长大、或在埋葬条件下长期时效引起的晶界移动而产生了浮凸组织。     

新郑市郑韩故城内近年发现的几座唐墓

2003年-2004年河南省文物考古研究所新郑工作站为配合基本建设在郑韩故城内抢救性发掘了一批古文化遗迹,其中清理的三座唐代墓葬出土有瓷器、三彩器、铁器、铜器等,器物造型精美,特别是出土的青瓷背壶和铁质鐎斗及支架在河南省内非常少见,为我们研究唐代文化提供了一份珍贵的资料。     

汉代大铁官管理职官的再研究

本文通过对汉代铁官铭的系统研究,总结出铁官铭及职官的规律。同时根据铁官的省称与编号的规律,推论出未曾发现铁官铭的铁官作坊的职官形式,进而从具体作坊职官形式,推论汉代整个大铁官体系。     

Metal Ties in Genoa,Italy: Manufacture,Trade, and Use from the 15th to the 18th Century

The article deals with the use of metal ties in an ancient and stratified urban context, the city of Genoa, starting from the notarial documents preserved in its State Archives. The work has different objectives: to show the results that can be obtained, on an urban scale, thanks to a research path that compares indirect sources of different types with the observation of historical buildings; to highlight the “weight” and the role that the ties, often hidden, had in buildings, and not only the monumental ones; to increase knowledge of the production process of this constructive element. The wide and diversified use of metal ties found in Genoa seems to proceed in parallel, in the 15th century, with the development of a flourishing productive and mercantile business based on the commercial monopoly of the hematite of the island of Elba by the city oligarchy and, between the 16th and 17th centuries, with the huge investments in the construction sector highlighted by the abundant documentary sources.