Portal:Scotland
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Wikipedia portals: Culture · Geography · Health · History · Mathematics · Natural sciences · Philosophy · Religion · Society · Technology THE SCOTLAND PORTAL
Scotland (Gaelic: Alba) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a land border to the south with England. It has a population of 5,117,000 and an area of 78,800 km². Scotland shares a 60 mile (96 km) land border to the south with England, and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south-west. Scottish waters border those of Norway, the Faeroes, Iceland and Ireland. Apart from the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands, giving it a coastline of approximately 6200 miles (9,900 km). The Kingdom of Scotland was united in 843, by Kenneth MacAlpin, King of Scots, and is thus one of the oldest still-existing countries in the world. Scotland existed as an independent state until the Act of Union, 1 May 1707. The flag of Scotland - the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross - is thought to be the oldest national flag still in use. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and Saint Andrew's Day, on 30 November, is Scotland's national day. There are currently attempts to create a national holiday on this day. Scottish people have played prominent parts in many important inventions and discoveries. Selected article
The Schiehallion experiment was an eighteenth-century experiment to determine the mean density of the Earth. Funded by a grant from the Royal Society, it was conducted in the summer of 1774 around the Scottish mountain of Schiehallion, Perthshire. The experiment involved measuring the tiny deflection of a pendulum due to the gravitational attraction of a nearby mountain. Schiehallion was considered the ideal location after a search for candidate mountains, thanks to its isolation and almost symmetrical shape. The experiment had previously been considered, but rejected, by Isaac Newton as a practical demonstration of his theory of gravitation. However, a team of scientists, notably Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal, were convinced that the effect would be detectable and undertook to conduct the experiment. The deflection angle depended on the relative densities and volumes of the Earth and the mountain: if the density and volume of Schiehallion could be ascertained, then so could the density of the Earth. Once this was known, then this would in turn would yield approximate values for those of the other planets, their moons, and the Sun, previously known only in terms of their relative ratios. As an additional benefit, the experiment provided cartographers with contour lines, devised to simplify the process of surveying the mountain. Selected picture Arbroath or Aberbrothock (Scottish Gaelic: Obair Bhrothaig) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785. It lies on the North Sea coast, around 16 miles (25.7 km) ENE of Dundee and 45 miles (72.4 km) SSW of Aberdeen. As a settlement, Arbroath dates back to Pictish times and it remained a small village until the founding of Arbroath Abbey in 1178. Arbroath grew considerably during the Industrial Revolution due to the expansion of the jute industry. A new harbour was built in 1839 and by the 1900s, Arbroath had become one of the larger fishing ports in Scotland. Selected quotes
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Related portalsWikipedia in other Scottish languagesAssociated Wikimediaes:Portal:Escocia eu:Atari:Eskoziako Ataria fr:Portail:Écosse pl:Portal:Szkocja ru:Портал:Шотландия |
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