Absolute zero and Big Country: Difference between pages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Difference between pages)
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Ender8282 (talk | contribs)
191 edits
 
m All Music Guide has been rebranded using AWB
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox musical artist | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
{{otheruses2|Absolute Zero}}
| Name = Big Country
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: | Img = Big_Country_promo_shot_BW001.jpg -->
| Img_capt = (from left to right) [[Tony Butler (musician)|Tony Butler]], [[Bruce Watson (guitarist)|Bruce Watson]], [[Stuart Adamson]], and [[Mark Brzezicki]]
| Img_size = <!-- Only for images smaller than 220 pixels -->
| Landscape =
| Background = group_or_band
| Alias =
| Origin = [[Scotland]]
| Genre = [[Rock music|Rock]]<br/>[[New Wave (music)|New Wave]]
| Years_active = 1981–2000, 2007
| Label = [[Phonogram Records]]<br>Track-BCR Records
| Associated_acts =
| URL =
| Current_members = [[Bruce Watson (guitarist)|Bruce Watson]]<br/>[[Tony Butler (musician)|Tony Butler]]<br />[[Mark Brzezicki]]
| Past_members = [[Stuart Adamson]] (deceased)
}}
{{otheruses}}


'''Big Country''' are a [[Rock (music)|rock]] [[band (music)|band]] from [[Dunfermline]], [[Scotland]], popular in the early to mid-1980s but still releasing material for a [[cult]] following. The band were notable for [[music]] heavily accented with traditional Scottish folk and martial music styles, as well as for playing and engineering their [[guitar]] sound to resemble the [[bagpipes]], [[fiddle]]s and other traditional [[folk music|folk]] [[musical instrument|instruments]].
'''Absolute zero''' is the point at which molecules do not move (relative to the rest of the body) more than they are required to by a [[quantum mechanics|quantum mechanical]] effect called [[zero-point energy]]. Having a limited temperature has several thermodynamic consequences; for example, at absolute zero all molecular motion does not cease but does not have enough energy for transference to other systems, it is therefore correct to say that at 0 kelvin molecular energy is minimal


==Career==
By international agreement, absolute zero is defined as precisely 0 K on the [[Kelvin]] scale, which is a [[thermodynamic temperature|thermodynamic (absolute) temperature]] scale, and −273.15° on the [[Celsius]] (centigrade) scale.<ref name=sib2115>{{cite web | title=Unit of thermodynamic temperature (kelvin) | work=SI Brochure, 8th edition | pages=Section 2.1.1.5 | url=http://www1.bipm.org/en/si/si_brochure/chapter2/2-1/2-1-1/kelvin.html | publisher=Bureau International des Poids et Mesures | date=1967 | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref> Absolute zero is also precisely equivalent to 0 °R on the [[Rankine scale]] (also a thermodynamic temperature scale), and −459.67 degrees on the [[Fahrenheit]] scale.
Composed of [[Stuart Adamson]] (formerly of [[The Skids]], [[Singer|vocals]] / [[guitar]] / [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]]), [[Bruce Watson (guitarist)|Bruce Watson]] ([[guitar]] / [[mandolin]] / [[sitar]] / [[Backing vocalist|vocals]]), [[Tony Butler (musician)|Tony Butler]] ([[bass guitar]] / [[Backing vocalist|vocals]]) and [[Mark Brzezicki]] ([[drum kit|drums]] / [[Percussion instrument|percussion]] / [[Backing vocalist|vocals]]) though a variety of other drummers have been in the band throughout their long career, including Simon Phillips. Prior to the recruitment of Butler and Brzezicki, an early incarnation of Big Country was a five-piece band and it featured [[Pete Wishart]], later of [[Runrig]] and now an SNP MP, on keyboards. Although the band's music drew from Scottish traditional music, none of its members were born in Scotland. Adamson grew up in [[Dunfermline]] though, and as such, his trademark Scottish accent was genuine.
Though it is not theoretically possible to cool any substance to 0&nbsp;K,<ref>{{cite book | first=Jeremy Dunning | last=Davies | title=Concise Thermodynamics | publisher=Horwood Publishing | year=1996 | isbn=1898563152 | pages=43}}</ref> scientists have made great advancements in achieving temperatures close to absolute zero, where matter exhibits [[Bose–Einstein condensate|quantum effects]] such as [[superconductivity]] and [[superfluid]]ity. In 2000 the [[Helsinki University of Technology]] reported reaching temperatures of 100 [[Kelvin#SI prefixes|pK]] (0.1{{e|&minus;9}}K).


Formed initially as a five piece band in 1981, their first [[single (music)|single]] was "Harvest Home", [[sound recording and reproduction|recorded]] and released in 1982. It was a modest success, reaching #91 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. Their next single was 1983's "Fields of Fire", which reached the [[United Kingdom|UK]]'s [[Top 40|Top Ten]] and was rapidly followed by the album ''[[The Crossing (album)|The Crossing]]''. The album was a hit in the [[United States]], powered by "[[In a Big Country]]", their only [[United States|U.S.]] [[Top 40]] [[chart-topper|hit]] single. The [[song]] featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of [[bagpipes]]; Adamson and fellow guitarist, Watson, achieved this through the use of the [[MXR]] Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their early virtuoso use of the [[e-bow]], a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer. ''The Crossing'' sold over a million copies in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] and obtained [[music recording sales certification|gold record]] status (sales of over 500,000) in the U.S. The band also performed on both the Grammys and Saturday Night Live.
== History ==
One of the first to discuss the possibility of an "absolute cold" on such a scale was [[Robert Boyle]] who in his 1665 ''New Experiments and Observations touching Cold'', stated the dispute which is the ''primum frigidum'' is very well known among naturalists, some contending for the earth, others for water, others for the air, and some of the moderns for [[niter|nitre]], but all seeming to agree that:


The band released the non-LP [[extended play]] single "[[Wonderland (song)|Wonderland]]" in 1984 while undergoing a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest, <ref>[http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=big_country Trouserpress.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.furia.com/page.cgi?type=twas&id=twas0067 TWAS 67: Comsat Angels, Big Country<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> was a [[Top 40|Top Ten]] hit (#8) in the UK singles chart but despite heavy [[airplay (radio)|airplay]] and a positive critical response, was a comparative flop in the U.S., only reaching #86 on the [[Billboard Hot 100]]. It was the last single by the band to make a U.S. [[record chart|chart]] appearance.
{{cquote| There is some body or other that is of its own nature ''supremely cold'' and by participation of which all other bodies obtain that quality.}}


Their second album ''[[Steeltown]]'' (1984) was a hit as soon as it was released, entering the [[UK Albums Chart]] at [[List of number-one singles (UK)|Number one]]. The album featured three UK Top 40 hit singles, and received considerable critical acclaim on both sides of the [[Atlantic]], but like ''Wonderland'' (and, in fact, all subsequent releases) it was a commercial disappointment in the U.S, peaking at #70 on the Billboard album charts. <ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kifrxql5ldfe~T3 Allmusic.com - Steeltown]</ref>
=== Limit to the 'degree of cold' ===
The question whether there is a limit to the degree of cold possible, and, if so, where the zero must be placed, was first attacked by the French physicist [[Guillaume Amontons]] in 1702, in connection with his improvements in the air thermometer and in his instrument temperatures were indicated by the height at which a column of mercury was sustained by a certain mass of air, the volume or "spring" which of course varied with the heat to which it was exposed. Amontons therefore argued that the zero of his thermometer would be that temperature at which the spring of the air in it was reduced to nothing. On the scale he used, the boiling-point of water was marked at +73 and the melting-point of ice at 51, so that the zero of his scale was equivalent to about −240 on the Celsius scale.


Throughout 1984 and 1985, the band toured the UK, [[Europe]], and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., both as headliners themselves and in support of such artists as [[Queen (band)|Queen]] and [[Roger Daltrey]]. They also recorded prolifically, and provided the [[musical score]] to a Scottish [[independent film]], '[[Restless Natives]]' (1985), which was not released on [[Compact disc|CD]] until years later on the band's ''Restless Natives and Rarities'' (1998) collection.
This remarkably close approximation to the modern value of −273.15&nbsp;°C for the zero of the air-thermometer was further improved on by [[Johann Heinrich Lambert]], who gave the value −270&nbsp;°C and observed that this temperature might be regarded as absolute cold.<ref>{{cite book | last=Lambert | first=Johann Heinrich | title=Pyrometrie | location=Berlin | publisher= | year=1779 | oclc=165756016}}</ref>


1986's ''[[The Seer (album)|The Seer]]'', the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2, and producing three additional Top 40 UK singles. These included "Look Away" which reached Number 7 (the band's highest charting UK single). [[Kate Bush]] provided [[backing vocalist|backing vocals]] on the title cut, and, as was the norm for the band at the time, the album received good reviews from the music press. In the U.S., the album sold modestly better than ''Steeltown'', reaching #59 on the Billboard album charts. <ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:aifrxql5ldfe~T3 Allmusic.com - The Seer]</ref>
Values of this order for the absolute zero were not, however, universally accepted about this period. [[Pierre-Simon Laplace]] and [[Antoine Lavoisier]], in their 1780 treatise on heat, arrived at values ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 below the freezing-point of water, and thought that in any case it must be at least 600 below. [[John Dalton]] in his ''Chemical Philosophy'' gave ten calculations of this value, and finally adopted −3,000&nbsp;°C as the natural zero of temperature.


This album showed the band's loyalty to Scottish [[Nationalism|Nationalist]] themes, with "The Seer" being about a woman who tells a traveller about the tyranny of [[William of Orange]] upon the [[Jacobitism|Jacobites]] movement coming to an end soon; while "The Red Fox" was based on ''[[Kidnapped (novel)|Kidnapped]]'' by [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], and the so called [[Appin Murder]] of Colin Campbel, a Tory who was hated by many in Scotland around 1752.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}
=== Lord Kelvin's work ===
After [[James Prescott Joule|J.P. Joule]] had determined the mechanical equivalent of heat, [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin|Lord Kelvin]] approached the question from an entirely different point of view, and in 1848 devised a scale of absolute temperature which was independent of the properties of any particular substance and was based solely on the fundamental [[laws of thermodynamics]]. It followed from the principles on which this scale was constructed that its zero was placed at −273.15&nbsp;°C, at almost precisely the same point as the zero of the air-thermometer.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Cold | title=Cold | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica | edition=Eleventh Edition | year=1911 | |publisher=The LoveToKnow Wiki | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref>
In what some critics felt was an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling U.S. following, <ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:lifxlfwe5cqr Allmusic.com - Peace in Our Time]</ref> Big Country hooked up with producer [[Peter Wolf (producer)|Peter Wolf]] <ref>[http://wiki.killuglyradio.com/index.php/Peter_Wolf Peter Wolf]</ref> for their next album, ''[[Peace in Our Time]]'' (1988), which was recorded in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]]. The result was very different from the previous singles and albums, and, in "Broken Heart (13 Valleys)" contained the song which Stuart Adamson claimed to be his favourite of all time. Despite this it was not well received by most critics and [[fan (person)|fans]]. One reviewer noted that it was the group's "least representative and least interesting album."<ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:lifxlfwe5cqr Allmusic.com - Peace in Our Time review]</ref> It sold poorly. <ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wifrxql5ldfe~T3 Allmusic.com - Peace in Our Time chart placement]</ref>


==The 1990s==
== Additional Information ==
It can be shown from the laws of [[thermodynamics]] that absolute zero can never be achieved artificially, though it is possible to reach temperatures close to it through the use of [[cryocoolers]]. This is the same principle that ensures no [[machine]] can be 100% efficient.


''[[No Place Like Home (album)|No Place Like Home]]'' (1991) not only effectively killed off the band's commercial hopes in the US, it nearly broke up the band. Drummer Mark Brzezicki returned to the studio as a session drummer after leaving the band. The album found the band trying to reinvent themselves and shift away from their '80s image. It was not a commercial success and was not released in America, although two re-recorded tracks showed up on 1993's ''The Buffalo Skinners''.
At very low temperatures in the vicinity of absolute zero, matter exhibits many unusual properties including [[superconductor|superconductivity]], [[superfluid]]ity, and [[Bose-Einstein condensate|Bose-Einstein condensation]]. In order to study such [[phenomenon|phenomena]], [[scientist]]s have worked to obtain ever lower temperatures.


In 1991, the band was dropped by [[Phonogram]], the [[record label|label]] that had released all of their material for ten years. After that, Big Country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the UK and Europe with the release of every subsequent album. Only one of these, 1993's ''[[The Buffalo Skinners]]'', received a [[major label]] release (via [[Chrysalis Records]]); it seemed a return to form of sorts for the band, and obtained a surprisingly enthusiastic critical response. But its sales were meagre and, in retrospect, it can be seen as Big Country's last, lost chance to regain a mass audience. Regardless, the band retained an intensely devoted cult following, as evidenced by their deceptively large post-1990 [[discography]], which consists mostly of [[live concert]] recordings and singles/rarities collections.
* In 1994, researchers at [[National Institute of Standards and Technology|NIST]] achieved a then-record cold temperature of 700&nbsp;[[Kelvin#SI prefixes|nK]] (billionths of a kelvin).


Throughout the 1990s, Big Country became a popular 'opening act', supporting such bands as [[Rolling Stones]] and [[The Who]]; [[Roger Daltrey]] reportedly uttered on numerous occasions that he'd 'love to steal their rhythm section!'.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} (In fact, Big Country had backed Daltrey on his 1985 solo album ''Under the Raging Moon'', and Tony Butler played bass and backing vocals on [[Pete Townshend]]'s 1980 hit single "Let My Love Open the Door". Both Butler and Brzezicki performed on Townshend's 1985 solo album ''[[White City: A Novel]]''.
* In November 2000, nuclear spin temperatures below 100&nbsp;pK were reported for an experiment at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]'s Low Temperature Lab. However, this was the temperature of one particular degree of freedom—a quantum property called nuclear spin—not the overall average thermodynamic temperature for all possible degrees in freedom.<ref>{{cite book | last=Knuuttila | first=Tauno | url=http://www.hut.fi/Yksikot/Kirjasto/Diss/2000/isbn9512252147 | title=Nuclear Magnetism and Superconductivity in Rhodium | location=Espoo, Finland | publisher=Helsinki University of Technology | year=2000 | isbn=9512252082 | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release | title=Low Temperature World Record | url=http://ltl.hut.fi/Low-Temp-Record.html | publisher=Low Temperature Laboratory, Teknillinen Korkeakoulu | date=8 December 2000 | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref>


Of growing concern, however, was the mental and emotional health of lead singer Adamson, who reportedly had struggled with [[alcoholism]] for several years. Adamson split with his first wife, who later spoke to [[Scotland|Scottish]] and [[England|English]] [[tabloids]] about his heavy drinking. He moved to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] in the mid 1990s where he took up residence and married a [[hairdresser]]. While in Nashville, he met noted artist [[Marcus Hummon]] and released an acclaimed studio album with him under the moniker ''The Raphaels''.
* In February 2003, the [[Boomerang Nebula]], was found to be −272.15 °C; 1&nbsp;K, the coldest place known outside a laboratory. The [[nebula]] is 5,000 light-years from [[Earth]] and is in the constellation [[Centaurus]].<ref>{{cite news | author=Stephen Cauchi | title=Coolest Bow Tie in the Universe | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=21 February 2003 | url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/20/1045638427695.html | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060901031441/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/20/1045638427695.html | archivedate=2006-09-01 | accessdate=2008-02-11}}</ref>


In 1995 Big Country released another album ''[[Why the Long Face?]]''.
== Thermodynamics near absolute zero ==
At temperatures near 0&nbsp;K, nearly all molecular motion ceases and <math>\Delta</math>''S''&nbsp;=&nbsp;0 for any [[adiabatic process]]. Pure substances can (ideally) form perfect [[crystal]]s as ''T''<math>\to</math>0. [[Max Planck]]'s strong form of the [[third law of thermodynamics]] states the [[entropy]] of a perfect crystal vanishes at absolute zero. However, this cannot be true if the lowest energy state is [[degenerate energy level|degenerate]], or more than one [[microstate (statistical mechanics)|microstate]]. The original [[Walther Nernst|Nernst]] ''heat theorem'' makes the weaker and less controversial claim that the entropy ''change'' for any isothermal process approaches zero as ''T''<math>\to</math>0


1999 saw the release of Big Country's eighth and final studio album, ''[[Driving to Damascus]]'' (titled in its slightly different, augmented U.S. release ''[[John Wayne's Dream]]''). Adamson said publicly that he was disappointed that the album did not fare better on the charts, which led to depression. Later that year, he disappeared for a while before resurfacing, stating that he had just needed some time off.
:<math> \lim_{T \to 0} \Delta S = 0 </math>


==The final days==
The implication is that the entropy of a perfect crystal simply approaches a constant value.
Adamson returned for the band's 'Final Fling' farewell tour, culminating in a sold-out concert at [[Glasgow]]'s [[Barrowland Ballroom]] on [[31 May]] [[2000]]. Although that marked the end of Big Country as a touring band, they were always adamant that they would appear together again. They played what turned out to be their last gig in [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Malaysia]], in October that year.


In November 2001, Adamson disappeared again. Numerous appeals were put on the Big Country website asking for Adamson to call home and speak to anyone in the band, the management company, or his ex-wife. The website also requested that any fans who might have been 'harbouring' the singer to contact the management company and alert them to his whereabouts. Mark Brzezicki and Tony Butler had indicated they were concerned but the reason Big Country had lasted so long was they stayed out of one another's personal lives, and both later noted they were unaware of the extent of Adamson's problems. He was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] on [[December 16]], [[2001]]. The official [[autopsy]] revealed that he had hanged himself. <ref>[http://starbulletin.com/2001/12/18/news/story4.html Star Bulletin.com - Stuart Adamson suicide]</ref><ref>[http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=50&id=1700742001 News.Scotsman.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.nme.com/news/big-country/10295 Nme.com - Big Country]</ref>
''The [[Third Law of Thermodynamics|Nernst postulate]] identifies the [[isotherm]] T&nbsp;=&nbsp;0 as coincident with the [[adiabat]] S&nbsp;=&nbsp;0, although other isotherms and adiabats are distinct. As no two adiabats intersect, no other adiabat can [[Line-line intersection|intersect]] the T&nbsp;=&nbsp;0 isotherm. Consequently no adiabatic process initiated at nonzero temperature can lead to zero temperature.'' (≈&nbsp;Callen, pp. 189-190)


At the time of death he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.279% [8].
An even stronger assertion is that ''It is impossible by any procedure to reduce the temperature of a system to zero in a finite number of operations.'' (≈&nbsp;Guggenheim, p. 157)


A memorial to Adamson was held at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall in January 2002, followed by a tribute concert at the Barrowlands in May. It brought together the remaining members of both Big Country and [[The Skids]]; Adamson's teenage children, Callum and Kirsten; as well as [[Steve Harley]], [[Runrig]], [[Simon Townshend]], [[Midge Ure]] and [[Bill Nelson (musician)|Bill Nelson]].
A perfect crystal is one in which the internal [[lattice (group)|lattice]] structure extends uninterrupted in all directions. The perfect order can be represented by translational [[symmetry]] along three (not usually [[orthogonality|orthogonal]]) [[Cartesian coordinate system|axes]]. Every lattice element of the structure is in its proper place, whether it is a single atom or a molecular grouping. For [[chemical substance|substances]] which have two (or more) stable crystalline forms, such as [[diamond]] and [[graphite]] for [[carbon]], there is a kind of "chemical degeneracy". The question remains whether both can have zero entropy at ''T''&nbsp;=&nbsp;0 even though each is perfectly ordered.


==Twenty Five Live==
Perfect crystals never occur in practice; imperfections, and even entire amorphous materials, simply get "frozen in" at low temperatures, so transitions to more stable states do not occur.
In 2007, to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, founding members [[Bruce Watson (guitarist)|Bruce Watson]], [[Tony Butler (musician)|Tony Butler]] (now lead vocalist for the first time), and [[Mark Brzezicki]] reunited to embark on a tour of the UK with dates in Scotland and England and a gig in Cologne (Germany).
they also released a new album "twenty five live" on the trackrecords label


==Discography==
Using the [[Peter Debye|Debye]] model, the [[specific heat capacity|specific heat]] and entropy of a pure crystal are proportional to ''T''<sup>&nbsp;3</sup>, while the [[enthalpy]] and [[chemical potential]] are proportional to ''T''<sup>&nbsp;4</sup>. (Guggenheim, p. 111) These quantities drop toward their ''T''&nbsp;=&nbsp;0 limiting values and approach with ''zero'' slopes. For the specific heats at least, the limiting value itself is definitely zero, as borne out by experiments to below 10&nbsp;K. Even the less detailed [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]] model shows this curious drop in specific heats. In fact, all specific heats vanish at absolute zero, not just those of crystals. Likewise for the coefficient of [[thermal expansion]]. [[Maxwell relations|Maxwell's relations]] show that various other quantities also vanish. These [[phenomenon|phenomena]] were unanticipated.
''For more details about the discography, see [[Big Country discography]].''


==External links==
Since the relation between changes in the [[Gibbs free energy|Gibbs energy]], the enthalpy and the entropy is
* [http://www.bigcountry.co.uk/home.php Official Site]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=55327957 Big Country at MySpace]
* [http://www.wallack.us/bc Big Country Book of Lyrics]
* [http://www.bigcountryinfo.com Big Country Info - The Unofficial Source for Lyrics, Discography and More]
* [http://profisher0.tripod.com/BIGCOUNTRY.htm Big Country Live]
* [http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=big_country Trouser Press: Big Country entry]
* [http://www.wakingthewitch.co.uk Waking the Witch - Brand new album featuring Bruce Watson]
* [http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/big-country-concert/20052585-637.html Big Country Live from Glasgow Barrowlands on December 31, 1983]
* [http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/big-country-concert/20049618-637.html Big Country Live from Tower Theatre on August 26, 1986]


==References==
:<math> \Delta G = \Delta H - T \Delta S \,</math>
{{Reflist}}


{{Big Country}}
thus, as ''T'' decreases, Δ''G'' and Δ''H'' approach each other (so long as Δ''S'' is bounded). [[Experiment]]ally, it is found that all spontaneous processes (including [[chemical reaction]]s) result in a decrease in ''G'' as they proceed toward [[thermodynamic equilibrium|equilbrium]]. If Δ''S'' and/or ''T'' are small, the condition Δ''G''&nbsp;<&nbsp;0 may imply that Δ''H''&nbsp;<&nbsp;0, which would indicate an [[exothermic]] reaction that releases heat. However, this is not required; [[endothermic]] reactions can proceed spontaneously if the ''T''Δ''S'' term is large enough.

More than that, the ''slopes'' of the temperature derivatives of Δ''G'' and Δ''H'' converge and ''are equal to zero'' at ''T''&nbsp;=&nbsp;0, which ensures that Δ''G'' and Δ''H'' are nearly the same over a considerable range of temperatures, justifying the approximate [[empiricism|empirical]] [[Principle of Thomsen and Berthelot]], which says that ''the equilibrium state to which a system proceeds is the one which evolves the greatest amount of heat'', i.e., an actual process is the ''most exothermic one''. (Callen, pp. 186-187)

== Relation with Bose Einstein Condensates ==

A [[Bose-Einstein Condensate]] is a substance that behaves very unusually but only at extremely low temperatures, maybe a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero. It is at this point the [[laws of thermodynamics]] become very important.

== Absolute temperature scales ==
Absolute or [[thermodynamic temperature]] is conventionally measured in [[kelvin]]s ([[Celsius]]-scaled increments), and increasingly rarely in the [[Rankine scale]] ([[Fahrenheit]]-scaled increments). Absolute temperature is uniquely determined up to a multiplicative constant which specifies the size of the "degree", so the ''ratios'' of two absolute temperatures, ''T''<sub>2</sub>/''T''<sub>1</sub>, are the same in all scales. The most transparent definition comes from the classical [[Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution]] over energies, or from the quantum analogs: [[Fermi-Dirac statistics]] (particles of half-integer [[spin (physics)|spin]]) and [[Bose-Einstein statistics]] (particles of integer spin), all of which give the relative numbers of particles as (decreasing) [[exponential function]]s of energy over ''kT''. On a [[macroscopic]] level, a definition can be given in terms of the efficiencies of "reversible" [[heat engine]]s operating between hotter and colder thermal reservoirs.

== Negative temperatures ==
{{main|Negative temperature}}

Certain semi-isolated systems, such as a system of non-interacting spins in a magnetic field, can achieve negative temperatures; however, they are not actually colder than absolute zero. They can be however thought of as "hotter than T = ∞", as energy will flow from a negative temperature system to any other system with positive temperature upon contact.

== See also ==
<div style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
* [[Celsius]]
* [[Cosmic microwave background radiation]] (this [[spacetime]] currently has a background temperature of roughly 2.7 K)
* [[Delisle scale]]
* [[Fahrenheit]]
* [[Heat]]
* [[International Temperature Scale of 1990|ITS-90]]
* [[Kelvin]]
* [[Orders of magnitude (temperature)]]
* [[Planck temperature]]
* [[Rankine scale]]
* [[Thermodynamic temperature|Thermodynamic (absolute) temperature]]
* [[Triple point]]
</div>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== References ==
* {{cite book | author=Herbert B. Callen | title=Thermodynamics | chapter=Chapter 10 | location=New York | publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc | year=1960 | oclc=535083}}
*{{cite book | author=Herbert B. Callen | title=Thermodynamics and an Introduction to Thermostatistics | edition=Second Edition| location=New York | publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc | year=1985 | isbn= 0-471-86256-8}}
* {{cite book | author=E.A. Guggenheim | title=Thermodynamics: An Advanced Treatment for Chemists and Physicists | edition=Fifth Edition | location=Amsterdam | publisher=North Holland Publishing | year=1967 | oclc=324553}}
* {{cite book | author=George Stanley Rushbrooke | title=Introduction to Statistical Mechanics | location=Oxford | publisher=Clarendon Press | year=1949 | oclc=531928}}

==External links==
* [http://www.pa.msu.edu/~sciencet/ask_st/012992.html Lansing state journal]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Country}}
[[Category:Temperature]]
[[Category:Thermodynamics]]
[[Category:New Wave groups]]
[[Category:Zero]]
[[Category:Scottish musical groups]]
[[Category:Scottish rock music groups]]
[[Category:1980s music groups]]
[[Category:1990s music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1981]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists|Big Country]]


[[af:Absolute nul]]
[[de:Big Country]]
[[ar:صفر مطلق]]
[[fr:Big Country]]
[[br:Zero klok]]
[[it:Big Country]]
[[nl:Big Country]]
[[bg:Абсолютна нула]]
[[ja:ビッグ・カントリー]]
[[ca:Zero absolut]]
[[cs:Absolutní nula]]
[[fi:Big Country]]
[[da:Absolut nulpunkt]]
[[sv:Big Country]]
[[de:Absoluter Nullpunkt]]
[[et:Absoluutne nulltemperatuur]]
[[el:Απόλυτο μηδέν]]
[[es:Cero absoluto]]
[[eu:Zero absolutu]]
[[fa:صفر مطلق]]
[[fr:Zéro absolu]]
[[gl:Cero absoluto]]
[[ko:절대 영도]]
[[hi:परम ताप]]
[[is:Alkul]]
[[it:Zero assoluto]]
[[he:האפס המוחלט]]
[[lv:Absolūtā nulle]]
[[lt:Absoliutusis nulis]]
[[hu:Abszolút nulla fok]]
[[ml:കേവലപൂജ്യം]]
[[nl:Absoluut nulpunt]]
[[ja:絶対零度]]
[[no:Det absolutte nullpunkt]]
[[nn:Det absolutte nullpunktet]]
[[pl:Zero bezwzględne]]
[[pt:Zero absoluto]]
[[ro:Zero absolut]]
[[ru:Абсолютный нуль температуры]]
[[simple:Absolute zero]]
[[sk:Absolútna nula]]
[[sl:Absolutna ničla]]
[[sr:Апсолутна нула]]
[[sh:Apsolutna nula]]
[[fi:Absoluuttinen nollapiste]]
[[sv:Absoluta nollpunkten]]
[[th:ศูนย์สัมบูรณ์]]
[[vi:Nhiệt độ không tuyệt đối]]
[[tr:Mutlak sıfır]]
[[tk:Absolýut nol]]
[[uk:Абсолютний нуль]]
[[zh-yue:絕對零度]]
[[zh:绝对零度]]

Revision as of 15:13, 12 October 2008

Big Country
For other uses, see Big Country (disambiguation).

Big Country are a rock band from Dunfermline, Scotland, popular in the early to mid-1980s but still releasing material for a cult following. The band were notable for music heavily accented with traditional Scottish folk and martial music styles, as well as for playing and engineering their guitar sound to resemble the bagpipes, fiddles and other traditional folk instruments.

Career

Composed of Stuart Adamson (formerly of The Skids, vocals / guitar / keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar / mandolin / sitar / vocals), Tony Butler (bass guitar / vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums / percussion / vocals) though a variety of other drummers have been in the band throughout their long career, including Simon Phillips. Prior to the recruitment of Butler and Brzezicki, an early incarnation of Big Country was a five-piece band and it featured Pete Wishart, later of Runrig and now an SNP MP, on keyboards. Although the band's music drew from Scottish traditional music, none of its members were born in Scotland. Adamson grew up in Dunfermline though, and as such, his trademark Scottish accent was genuine.

Formed initially as a five piece band in 1981, their first single was "Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982. It was a modest success, reaching #91 on the UK Singles Chart. Their next single was 1983's "Fields of Fire", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was rapidly followed by the album The Crossing. The album was a hit in the United States, powered by "In a Big Country", their only U.S. Top 40 hit single. The song featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; Adamson and fellow guitarist, Watson, achieved this through the use of the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their early virtuoso use of the e-bow, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer. The Crossing sold over a million copies in the UK and obtained gold record status (sales of over 500,000) in the U.S. The band also performed on both the Grammys and Saturday Night Live.

The band released the non-LP extended play single "Wonderland" in 1984 while undergoing a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest, [1][2] was a Top Ten hit (#8) in the UK singles chart but despite heavy airplay and a positive critical response, was a comparative flop in the U.S., only reaching #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last single by the band to make a U.S. chart appearance.

Their second album Steeltown (1984) was a hit as soon as it was released, entering the UK Albums Chart at Number one. The album featured three UK Top 40 hit singles, and received considerable critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, but like Wonderland (and, in fact, all subsequent releases) it was a commercial disappointment in the U.S, peaking at #70 on the Billboard album charts. [3]

Throughout 1984 and 1985, the band toured the UK, Europe, and, to a lesser extent, the U.S., both as headliners themselves and in support of such artists as Queen and Roger Daltrey. They also recorded prolifically, and provided the musical score to a Scottish independent film, 'Restless Natives' (1985), which was not released on CD until years later on the band's Restless Natives and Rarities (1998) collection.

1986's The Seer, the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2, and producing three additional Top 40 UK singles. These included "Look Away" which reached Number 7 (the band's highest charting UK single). Kate Bush provided backing vocals on the title cut, and, as was the norm for the band at the time, the album received good reviews from the music press. In the U.S., the album sold modestly better than Steeltown, reaching #59 on the Billboard album charts. [4]

This album showed the band's loyalty to Scottish Nationalist themes, with "The Seer" being about a woman who tells a traveller about the tyranny of William of Orange upon the Jacobites movement coming to an end soon; while "The Red Fox" was based on Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, and the so called Appin Murder of Colin Campbel, a Tory who was hated by many in Scotland around 1752.[citation needed]

In what some critics felt was an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling U.S. following, [5] Big Country hooked up with producer Peter Wolf [6] for their next album, Peace in Our Time (1988), which was recorded in Los Angeles, California. The result was very different from the previous singles and albums, and, in "Broken Heart (13 Valleys)" contained the song which Stuart Adamson claimed to be his favourite of all time. Despite this it was not well received by most critics and fans. One reviewer noted that it was the group's "least representative and least interesting album."[7] It sold poorly. [8]

The 1990s

No Place Like Home (1991) not only effectively killed off the band's commercial hopes in the US, it nearly broke up the band. Drummer Mark Brzezicki returned to the studio as a session drummer after leaving the band. The album found the band trying to reinvent themselves and shift away from their '80s image. It was not a commercial success and was not released in America, although two re-recorded tracks showed up on 1993's The Buffalo Skinners.

In 1991, the band was dropped by Phonogram, the label that had released all of their material for ten years. After that, Big Country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the UK and Europe with the release of every subsequent album. Only one of these, 1993's The Buffalo Skinners, received a major label release (via Chrysalis Records); it seemed a return to form of sorts for the band, and obtained a surprisingly enthusiastic critical response. But its sales were meagre and, in retrospect, it can be seen as Big Country's last, lost chance to regain a mass audience. Regardless, the band retained an intensely devoted cult following, as evidenced by their deceptively large post-1990 discography, which consists mostly of live concert recordings and singles/rarities collections.

Throughout the 1990s, Big Country became a popular 'opening act', supporting such bands as Rolling Stones and The Who; Roger Daltrey reportedly uttered on numerous occasions that he'd 'love to steal their rhythm section!'.[citation needed] (In fact, Big Country had backed Daltrey on his 1985 solo album Under the Raging Moon, and Tony Butler played bass and backing vocals on Pete Townshend's 1980 hit single "Let My Love Open the Door". Both Butler and Brzezicki performed on Townshend's 1985 solo album White City: A Novel.

Of growing concern, however, was the mental and emotional health of lead singer Adamson, who reportedly had struggled with alcoholism for several years. Adamson split with his first wife, who later spoke to Scottish and English tabloids about his heavy drinking. He moved to Nashville in the mid 1990s where he took up residence and married a hairdresser. While in Nashville, he met noted artist Marcus Hummon and released an acclaimed studio album with him under the moniker The Raphaels.

In 1995 Big Country released another album Why the Long Face?.

1999 saw the release of Big Country's eighth and final studio album, Driving to Damascus (titled in its slightly different, augmented U.S. release John Wayne's Dream). Adamson said publicly that he was disappointed that the album did not fare better on the charts, which led to depression. Later that year, he disappeared for a while before resurfacing, stating that he had just needed some time off.

The final days

Adamson returned for the band's 'Final Fling' farewell tour, culminating in a sold-out concert at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom on 31 May 2000. Although that marked the end of Big Country as a touring band, they were always adamant that they would appear together again. They played what turned out to be their last gig in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October that year.

In November 2001, Adamson disappeared again. Numerous appeals were put on the Big Country website asking for Adamson to call home and speak to anyone in the band, the management company, or his ex-wife. The website also requested that any fans who might have been 'harbouring' the singer to contact the management company and alert them to his whereabouts. Mark Brzezicki and Tony Butler had indicated they were concerned but the reason Big Country had lasted so long was they stayed out of one another's personal lives, and both later noted they were unaware of the extent of Adamson's problems. He was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 16, 2001. The official autopsy revealed that he had hanged himself. [9][10][11]

At the time of death he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.279% [8].

A memorial to Adamson was held at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall in January 2002, followed by a tribute concert at the Barrowlands in May. It brought together the remaining members of both Big Country and The Skids; Adamson's teenage children, Callum and Kirsten; as well as Steve Harley, Runrig, Simon Townshend, Midge Ure and Bill Nelson.

Twenty Five Live

In 2007, to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, founding members Bruce Watson, Tony Butler (now lead vocalist for the first time), and Mark Brzezicki reunited to embark on a tour of the UK with dates in Scotland and England and a gig in Cologne (Germany). they also released a new album "twenty five live" on the trackrecords label

Discography

For more details about the discography, see Big Country discography.

External links

References

  1. ^ Trouserpress.com
  2. ^ TWAS 67: Comsat Angels, Big Country
  3. ^ Allmusic.com - Steeltown
  4. ^ Allmusic.com - The Seer
  5. ^ Allmusic.com - Peace in Our Time
  6. ^ Peter Wolf
  7. ^ Allmusic.com - Peace in Our Time review
  8. ^ Allmusic.com - Peace in Our Time chart placement
  9. ^ Star Bulletin.com - Stuart Adamson suicide
  10. ^ News.Scotsman.com
  11. ^ Nme.com - Big Country
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Absolute_zero&oldid=244785141"