Iceberg: Dividers and more

pg 50

"Your dividers, are they on you?"

In the metalworking field divider calipers are used in the process of marking out suitable workpieces. The points are sharpened so that they act as scribers, one leg can then be placed in the dimple created by a center or prick punch and the other leg pivoted so that it scribes a line on the workpiece's surface, thus forming an arc or circle.

A divider caliper is also used to measure a distance between two points on a map. The two caliper's ends are brought to the two points whose distance is being measured. The caliper's opening is then either measured on a separate ruler and then converted to the actual distance, or it is measured directly on a scale drawn on the map. On a nautical chart the distance is often measured on the latitude scale appearing on the sides of the map: one minute of arc of latitude is approximately one nautical mile or 1852 metres.

Dividers are also used in the medical profession. An ECG (also EKG) caliper transfers distance on an electrocardiogram; in conjunction with the appropriate scale, the heart rate can be determined. A pocket caliper versions was invented by cardiologist Robert A. Mackin

"A piton!"

In climbing, a piton, also called a pin or pegis a metal spike (usually steel) that is driven into a crack or seam in the rock with a hammer, and which acts as an anchor to protect the climber against the consequences of a fall, or to assist progress in aid climbing. Pitons are equipped with an eye hole or a ring to which a carabiner is attached; the carabiner can then be directly or indirectly attached (through more equipment, such as a nylon sling) to a climbing rope.

Pitons were the original form of protection and are still used where there is no alternative. Repeated hammering and extraction of pitons damages the rock, and climbers who subscribe to the clean climbing ethic avoid their use as much as possible. With the popularization of clean climbing in the 1970s, pitons were largely replaced by faster and easier-to-use clean protection, such as nuts and camming devices. Pitons are still found in place (as 'fixed' pitons) on some established free climbing routes in places where nuts or cams do not work; and are used on some hard aid climbs.

"Maybe, maybe not. The only one who can tell for sure is his dentist."

Forensic dentistry or forensic odontology is the proper handling, examination and evaluation of dental evidence, which will be then presented in the interest of justice. The evidence that may be derived from teeth, is the age (in children) and identification of the person to whom the teeth belong. This is done using dental records including radiographs, ante-mortem (prior to death) and post-mortem photographs and DNA. Forensic odontology is derived from Latin, meaning forum or where legal matters are discussed.

The other type of evidence is that of bite marks, left on either the victim (by the attacker), the perpetrator (from the victim of an attack), or on an object found at the crime scene.

Forensic dentists are responsible for six main areas of practice:

Identification of found human remains
Identification in mass fatalities
Assessment of bite mark injuries
Assessment of cases of abuse (child, spousal, elder)
Civil cases involving malpractice
Age estimation