Ship
hideA ship /ʃɪp/ Audio (US) (help·info) is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public safety, and warfare.
Ships and boats have developed alongside mankind. In major wars, and in day to day life, they have become an integral part of modern commercial and military systems. Fishing boats are used by millions of fishermen throughout the world. Military forces operate highly sophisticated vessels to transport and support forces ashore. Commercial vessels, nearly 35,000 in number, carried 7.4 billion tons of cargo in 2007.
These vessels were also key in history's great explorations and scientific and technological development. Navigators such as Zheng He spread such inventions as the compass and gunpowder. Ships have been used for such purposes as colonization and the slave trade, and have served scientific, cultural, and humanitarian needs.
As Thor Heyerdahl demonstrated with his tiny boat the Kon-Tiki, it is possible to navigate long distances upon a simple log raft. From Mesolithic canoes to today's powerful nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, ships tell the history of humankind.
For more information about Ship, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with ships
Antarctic nations plan tough new shipping controls
Dec 12, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Countries that manage Antarctica plan tough new controls on ships visiting the southern oceans and the fuels they use to reduce the threat of human and environmental disasters as tourist numbers rise, ...
NOAA Locates U.S. Navy Ship Sunk in World War II Battle
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Sep 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A NOAA-led research mission has located and identified the final resting place of the YP-389, a U.S. Navy patrol boat sunk approximately 20 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, NC, by a German ...
Autonomous underwater robot reduces ship fuel consumption (w/ Video)
Aug 24, 2009 |
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As the U.S. Navy minimizes its dependence on foreign oil, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is a front runner in supporting and bringing forth innovative solutions to fuel consumption challenges.
New hull coatings for Navy ships cut fuel use, protect environment (w/Video)
Jun 04, 2009 |
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New hull coatings being developed by the Office of Naval Research are showing promise in reducing the build-up of marine crustaceans - namely barnacles - on ships' hulls, optimizing vessel performance and dramatically reducing ...
Revolutionary sensor system protects ports, bridges and distribution centres
Apr 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Özlem Durmaz Incel, researcher at the University of Twente, the Netherlands, has developed a spectacular new method that enables wireless sensor networks to function up to ten times more efficiently. Networks ...
Contamination under boats no worse than elsewhere in California bay, study says
Mar 13, 2009 |
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A yearlong federal study has determined levels of contaminated sediment found under obsolete, rotting government ships anchored in Suisun Bay, in central California, are no higher than those found elsewhere in local waters, ...
Quagga mussels are clogging Hoover Dam, colonizing lakes and rivers
Mar 02, 2009 |
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It took some of America's best engineers, thousands of laborers and two years of around-the-clock concrete pouring to build the 726-foot-high Hoover Dam back in the 1930s. It took less time than that for the tiny, brainless ...
Dirty smoke from ships found to degrade air quality in coastal cities
Aug 18, 2008 |
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Ah, nothing like breathing clean coastal air, right? Think again. Chemists at UC San Diego have measured for the first time the impact that dirty smoke from ships cruising at sea and generating electricity in port can have ...
5 ancient Roman shipwrecks found off Italy coast
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jul 25, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Archaeologists have found five well-preserved Roman shipwrecks deep under the sea off a small Mediterranean island, with their cargo of vases, pots and other objects largely intact, officials said ...
Clean fuels could reduce deaths from ship smokestacks by 40,000 annually
Jul 08, 2009 |
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Rising levels of smokestack emissions from oceangoing ships will cause an estimated 87,000 deaths worldwide each year by 2012 -- almost one-third higher than previously believed, according to the second major ...
Cells use import machinery to export their goods as well
Jun 25, 2009 |
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Research suggests a new level of regulation for cellular export process by molecules previously assumed to be dedicated to import activities.
Study warns of pollution from ships
Mar 31, 2009 |
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Thousands of merchant ships chug in and out of South Florida's bustling ports each year, bringing boatloads worth of economic benefit to the region.
Commercial ships spew half as much particulate pollution as world's cars
Feb 26, 2009 |
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Globally, commercial ships emit almost half as much particulate pollution into the air as the total amount released by cars, according to a new study. Ship pollutants affect both the Earth's climate and the health of people ...
Robotic 'vacuum' offers shipping industry a cleaner solution
Sep 17, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An automated robotic cleaning system that removes marine growth from the hull of a ship is being pioneered at Newcastle University.
