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Publication Date: February 1, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0596516177 | ISBN-13: 978-0596516178 | Edition: First Edition
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The Ruby Programming Language is the authoritative guide to Ruby and provides comprehensive coverage of versions 1.8 and 1.9 of the language. It was written (and illustrated!) by an all-star team:
David Flanagan, bestselling author of programming language "bibles" (including JavaScript: The Definitive Guide and Java in a Nutshell) and committer to the Ruby Subversion repository.
Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto, creator, designer and lead developer of Ruby and author of Ruby in a Nutshell, which has been expanded and revised to become this book.
why the lucky stiff, artist and Ruby programmer extraordinaire.
This book begins with a quick-start tutorial to the language, and then explains the language in detail from the bottom up: from lexical and syntactic structure to datatypes to expressions and statements and on through methods, blocks, lambdas, closures, classes and modules.
The book also includes a long and thorough introduction to the rich API of the Ruby platform, demonstrating -- with heavily-commented example code -- Ruby's facilities for text processing, numeric manipulation, collections, input/output, networking, and concurrency. An entire chapter is devoted to Ruby's metaprogramming capabilities.
The Ruby Programming Language documents the Ruby language definitively but without the formality of a language specification. It is written for experienced programmers who are new to Ruby, and for current Ruby programmers who want to challenge their understanding and increase their mastery of the language.
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David Flanagan is a computer programmer who spends most of his time writing about JavaScript and Java. His books with O'Reilly include JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, JavaScript Pocket Reference, Java in a Nutshell, Java Examples in a Nutshell, and Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell. David has a degree in computer science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He lives with his wife and children in the U.S. Pacific Northwest bewteen the cities of Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. David has a blog at www.davidflanagan.com.
Yukihiro Matsumoto ("Matz"), the creator of Ruby, is a professional programmer who worked for the Japanese open source company, netlab.jp. Matz is also known as one of the open source evangelists in Japan. He's released several open source products, including cmail, the emacs-based mail user agent, written entirely in emacs lisp. Ruby is his first piece of software that has become known outside of Japan.
- Originally planned as a second edition to Ruby classic, Ruby In A Nutshell, The Ruby Programming Language is a new book by David Flanagan and Yukihiro Matsumoto (a.k.a. Matz - creator of Ruby) and published by O'Reilly. The book covers both Ruby 1.8 and 1.9 and with its esteemed authors and technical approach, is sure to become a new "Bible" for Ruby developers.
As of the start of 2008 this book is REALLY fresh and up to date. Its style is very direct and matter-of-fact; well suited for existing Ruby developers and proficient developers coming from other languages. The examples are clear and logical and the explanations concise; this is a well edited and authoritative book.
The structure of the book is a delight with ten well-defined chapters (with titles such as Reflection and Metaprogramming, Statements and Control Structures, and Expressions and Operators) that each contain a tree of sections. Consider Chapter 4, Expressions and Operators. A sample dive down to section 4.5.5.2 takes us through 4.5, Assignments; 4.5.5, Parallel Assignment; and finally to 4.5.5.2, One lvalue, multiple rvalues. This is a breath of fresh air in a Ruby reference work.
The only downside, in terms of the thousands who might be browsing Amazon looking for a single Ruby book to start off with, is that this book is so well focused on documenting the core elements of the Ruby language, it doesn't work either as a tutorial / beginner's introduction to Ruby, or as an exhaustive reference work (as, on both fronts, the Pickaxe attempts to be.) This lack of dilution may be an ultimate strength, however, since anyone above the station of "beginner" will be able to learn Ruby thoroughly from this book, use it as a general reference, and then be able to use the exhaustive documentation that comes with Ruby itself to cover the standard library and built-in classes.
In conclusion, whether you're an existing developer or a newcomer to Ruby, you need just three things to be up and running with Ruby in the book / documentation department. Buy this, the Ruby Way (by Hal Fulton), and learn how to use the documentation that comes with Ruby.
This book will act as the "Bible" for Ruby, the Ruby Way will make you an expert, and learning how to use the documentation that comes with Ruby will mean you're not using information that's out of date within a couple of years. The perfect combo! It'll last you for years.Read more ›
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- This book is quite simply one of the finest software development books ever written. The style, the length, the scope, and the structure are all absolutely perfect. The balance creates a reading experience that seemingly opens a channel to your brain and feeds the information in.
Flanagan is a master author of technical books, especially languages. His JavaScript book is equally well done. Matsumoto's unique technical mastery here leaves no stone unturned. And even the artwork by "why the lucky stiff" added a fun element that just rounded out the book as the best in its class.
If I could forget the whole thing, just so I could read it again, I would. It is that good.
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- 'The Ruby Programming Language' is one of 'those' O'Reilly books that become staples in the family of GREAT texts that have come before. At 400+ pages, the following content is discussed:
Logically laid out, wonderful writing, clear and concise examples with a length that is 'just right' (this is so hard to not find bloated books) this is perfect for those that know some Ruby and/or programming in general. If you are new to software development, this book probably is NOT for you as it's not a "learning" text. There are other Ruby books that cover said topic though so make sure to pick those up as well.
Awesome job O'Reilly for this relatively new and fast growing language that is used on the web and wherever you want!!
- I bought this book after reading the other reviews here. All the people I know personally who work with Ruby learned from the Pickaxe but from the reviews I came to the conclusion that this could be actually a better book for learning the language. So, I didn't read the Pickaxe and cannot really make a comparison but from what I heard and comparing with this one I would get the Pickaxe if I should choose again.
After finishing reading this book I can say that there are a lot of topics that I really don't remember anymore and lots of doubts that I still have. The major flaw here is that there are no exercises anywhere in the book. All the best programming books I read in the past have very good exercises to evaluate what you've learned (I could give as examples Learning Perl, C++ Programming Language, Core Java, etc). I think that without exercising what you learned it's really hard to judge how much you have really learned.
Another thing which is not described in the book is how to organize a big project. I'm used to working in large projects in C and C++ and I really have no idea of how to organize a large project in Ruby, how to organize classes in files, etc. I will start studying Rails now, and will get the Rails code and read it to make sense of how to organize a large project but be aware that this is not described here.
Also some sections of the book, are really "dry", like the one who talks about functional programming which is really hard to follow (this one is the first that came to my mind but there are a lot of sections which are hard to follow or don't make a lot of sense when reading first time). These sections are clearly targeted at advanced Ruby programmers.
I'll rate this book with 4 stars because despite the flaws I mentioned, the explanation of the language in general is really good.
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Un usuario de Google - 6 de enero de 2013 - Samsung Galaxy Spica con la versión 1.0.3
Muy gracioso!! Con mi ahijado paso todo el día jugando con esto.... Excelente ...
Muy gracioso!! Con mi ahijado paso todo el día jugando con esto.... Excelente aplicación. Recomendable
Un usuario de Google - 22 de noviembre de 2012 - Versión 1.0.3
muy buena
hay mejores apps es cierto, pero mi hijo de 2 años le gusta este, está todo el dia diciendole "Hola lolo" y se entretiene y no me rompe las bolas, asi que excelente.
Un usuario de Google - 4 de mayo de 2012 - Samsung Galaxy S con la versión 1.0.3
Peter Berrios
Muy Buena aplicacion la recomiendo muy buena para niños.
No hay opiniones que coincidan con estos criterios.
Cargando
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Un usuario de Google - 6 de enero de 2013 - Samsung Galaxy Spica con la versión 1.0.3
Muy gracioso!! Con mi ahijado paso todo el día jugando con esto.... Excelente ...
Muy gracioso!! Con mi ahijado paso todo el día jugando con esto.... Excelente aplicación. Recomendable
Un usuario de Google - 22 de noviembre de 2012 - Versión 1.0.3
muy buena
hay mejores apps es cierto, pero mi hijo de 2 años le gusta este, está todo el dia diciendole "Hola lolo" y se entretiene y no me rompe las bolas, asi que excelente.
Un usuario de Google - 4 de mayo de 2012 - Samsung Galaxy S con la versión 1.0.3
Peter Berrios
Muy Buena aplicacion la recomiendo muy buena para niños.
Un usuario de Google - 25 de enero de 2011 - Versión 1.0.3
Tiene que hacerlo mejor porque hay otros mejores
Un usuario de Google - 21 de febrero de 2012 - Motorola Defy con la versión 1.0.3
No sirve
Te intenta vender el pro. No sirve
Un usuario de Google - 19 de julio de 2011 - Motorola CLIQ con la versión 1.0.3
Muy bueno para mi hija
Un usuario de Google - 6 de julio de 2011 - HTC Desire con la versión 1.0.3
If only you can stop recording!
Un usuario de Google - 19 de marzo de 2011 - Versión 1.0.3
Super gracioso lo recomiendo
Un usuario de Google - 11 de noviembre de 2011 - HTC Desire S con la versión 1.0.3
Hola me gustaría saber para que sirve está aplicación.no se ni como funciona
Un usuario de Google - 18 de enero de 2011 - Versión 1.0.3
Muy bueno
Novedades
Novedades de esta versión:
Fixed a bug so the app now works on the Samsung Galaxy S and other phones that have had problems.
Permisos
Esta aplicación dispone de acceso a los siguientes permisos:
Comunicación de red
acceso completo a red
Permite que la aplicación cree sockets de red y utilice protocolos de red personalizados. El navegador y otras aplicaciones proporcionan los medios necesarios para el envío de datos a Internet, por lo que no hace falta utilizar este permiso para eso.
Herramientas del sistema
impedir que el tablet entre en modo de suspensión; impedir que el teléfono entre en modo de suspensión
Permite que la aplicación impida que el tablet entre en modo de suspensión. Permite que la aplicación impida que el teléfono entre en modo de suspensión.
Mostrar todosOcultar
Comunicación de red
ver conexiones de red
Permite que la aplicación vea información sobre conexiones de red (por ejemplo, qué redes existen y están conectadas).
Imagine it, build it. Create worlds on the go with Minecraft - Pocket Edition
This is the Lite version of Minecraft - Pocket Edition. Minecraft - Pocket Edition allows you to build on the go. Use blocks to create masterpieces as you travel, hangout with friends, sit at the park, the possibilities are endless. Move beyond the limits of your computer and play Minecraft everywhere you go.
Limitations of the Lite version * The world is not saved between sessions * Multiplayer worlds can not be copied to your phone * Only 18 of the 36 different blocks are available
Minor version 0.2.1 (new controls!) + New optional control scheme; "split touch controls" + Added pigs to survival mode + Flying is changed; ascend/descend by sliding from the center button to the up/down button + More inventory selection slots + Bug fixes; dark tree trunk was impossible to pick up, invisible fences, resource items in the world were always bright, pixelated destruction feedback circle
- métodos abreviados de teclado:
- ← foto anterior
- → foto siguiente
- L vista de caja de luz
- F favorita
- < desplazar tira de película a la izquierda
- > desplazar tira de película a la derecha
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- ? mostrar todos los accesos directos
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- Synopsis:
- Mud is an adventure about two boys, Ellis and his friend Neckbone, who find a man named Mud hiding out on an island in the Mississippi. Mud describes fantastic scenarios-he killed a man in Texas and vengeful bounty hunters are coming to get him. He says he is planning to meet and escape with the love of his life, Juniper, who is waiting for him in town. Skeptical but intrigued, Ellis and Neckbone agree to help him. It isn't long until Mud's visions come true and their small town is besieged by a
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- beautiful girl with a line of bounty hunters in tow. (c) Roadside Attractions
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Critic Reviews
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Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
- "Mud" isn't just a movie. It's the firm confirmation of a career.
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Adam Graham, Detroit News
- "Mud" unfolds at its own pace, revealing its story in slivers. The performances are outstanding, especially from Sheridan, who plays tough, sweet, vulnerable and confused with equal conviction.
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Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
- The film is drenched in the humidity and salty air of a Delta summer, often recalling the musical, aphoristic cadences of Sam Shepard, who happens to appear in a supporting role.
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Lou Lumenick, New York Post
- A wonderful, piquant modern-day variation on "Huckleberry Finn.''
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Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
- One of the most creatively rich and emotionally rewarding movies to come along this year.
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Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
- It's a movie that holds out hope for the movies' future.
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A.O. Scott, New York Times
- Mr. Nichols's voice is a distinctive and welcome presence in American film.
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John Anderson, Newsday
- Nichols' wild narrative tributaries all eventually intersect, and at no time does he let one's attention stall.
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
- What you do need to know is that the acting is top-tier all the way. McConaughey, on a career roll, is magnificent.
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Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
- Nichols lovingly sketches his characters and their world; he takes his time doing so, but it's a pleasure to watch the small interactions and the humid reality of secret coves and Piggly Wiggly supermarkets and seedy hotels.
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- Synopsis:
- With an all-star cast led by Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, with Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams, THE BIG WEDDING is an uproarious romantic comedy about a charmingly modern family trying to survive a weekend wedding celebration that has the potential to become a full blown family fiasco. To the amusement of their adult children and friends, long divorced couple Don and Ellie Griffin (De Niro and Keaton) are once again forced to play the happy
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- couple for the sake of their adopted son's wedding after his ultra conservative biological mother unexpectedly decides to fly halfway across the world to attend. With all of the wedding guests looking on, the Griffins are hilariously forced to confront their past, present and future - and hopefully avoid killing each other in the process. Screenplay by Justin Zackham. Directed by Justin Zackham. (c) Lionsgate
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Critic Reviews
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James Berardinelli, ReelViews
- It's tired and dated with too few laughs to justify the stultifying attempts at drama and the impossible-to-swallow plot contortions.
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Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com
- Looks great, some terrific ingredients, but when you slice it up, what a disappointment.
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Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
- Sarandon, Keaton and De Niro mesh beautifully, fully convincing as a trio of old friends and carting in lots of characterization that would be otherwise lacking in Zackham's rote screenplay.
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Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
- The Big Wedding is a would-be screwball comedy that forgets to throw in the screws.
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Calum Marsh, Village Voice
- Many Hollywood films are founded on privilege, but few are as open and nasty about their racism, misogyny, and homophobia. It's a feel-good movie for people who only comfortable around people who look and act just like them.
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Linda Barnard, Toronto Star
- The Big Wedding aims low and achieves every aspiration.
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Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
- I suppose it's always nice to get an invitation but please, this "Wedding"? Send back your regrets.
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Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
- A shining example of a dull studio comedy.
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Adam Graham, Detroit News
- It never feels real, and its only saving grace is that it clocks in at a mercifully short 90 minutes, which is just about the amount of time you need to realize you never want to see these characters ever again.
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Stephanie Merry, Washington Post
- Sadly, superior talent can propel a movie only so far. Bad scripts beget bad movies, even when four Academy Award winners are involved.
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Prices of rubies are primarily determined by color. The brightest and most valuable "red" called pigeon blood-red, commands a large premium over other rubies of similar quality. After color follows clarity: similar to diamonds, a clear stone will command a premium, but a ruby without any needle-like rutile inclusions may indicate that the stone has been treated. Cut and carat (weight) are also an important factor in determining the price.
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Physical properties
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-Crystal structure of ruby
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Rubies have a hardness of 9.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Among the natural gems only moissanite and diamond are harder, with diamond having a Mohs hardness of 10.0 and moissonite falling somewhere in between corundum (ruby) and diamond in hardness. Ruby is α-alumina (the most stable form of Al2O3) in which a small fraction of the aluminium3+ ions are replaced by chromium3+ ions. Each Cr3+ is surrounded octahedrally by six O2- ions. This crystallographic arrangement strongly affects each Cr3+, resulting in light absorption in the yellow-green region of the spectrum and thus in the red color of the gem. When yellow-green light is absorbed by Cr3+, it is re-emitted as red luminescence.[2] This red emission adds to the red color perceived by the subtraction of green and violet light from white light, and adds luster to the gem's appearance. When the optical arrangement is such that the emission is stimulated by 694-nanometer photons reflecting back and forth between two mirrors, the emission grows strongly in intensity. This effect was used by Theodore Maiman in 1960 to make the first successful laser, based on ruby.
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All natural rubies have imperfections in them, including color impurities and inclusions of rutile needles known as "silk". Gemologists use these needle inclusions found in natural rubies to distinguish them from synthetics, simulants, or substitutes. Usually the rough stone is heated before cutting. Almost all rubies today are treated in some form, with heat treatment being the most common practice. However, rubies that are completely untreated but still of excellent quality command a large premium.
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Some rubies show a three-point or six-point asterism or "star". These rubies are cut into cabochons to display the effect properly. Asterisms are best visible with a single-light source, and move across the stone as the light moves or the stone is rotated. Such effects occur when light is reflected off the "silk" (the structurally oriented rutile needle inclusions) in a certain way. This is one example where inclusions increase the value of a gemstone. Furthermore, rubies can show color changes—though this occurs very rarely—as well as chatoyancy or the "cat's eye" effect.
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Color
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Generally, gemstone-quality corundum in all shades of red, including pink, are called rubies.[3][4] However, in the United States, a minimum color saturation must be met to be called a ruby, otherwise the stone will be called a pink sapphire.[3] This distinction between rubies and pink sapphires is relatively new, having arisen sometime in the 20th century. If a distinction is made, the line separating a ruby from a pink sapphire is not clear and highly debated.[5] As a result of the difficulty and subjectiveness of such distinctions, trade organizations such as the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICGA) have adopted the broader definition for ruby which encompasses its lighter shades, including pink.[6][7]
The Mogok Valley in Upper Myanmar (Burma) was for centuries the world's main source for rubies. That region has produced some of the finest rubies ever mined, but in recent years very few good rubies have been found there. The very best color in Myanmar rubies is sometimes described as "pigeon's blood." In central Myanmar, the area of Mong Hsu began producing rubies during the 1990s and rapidly became the world's main ruby mining area. The most recently found ruby deposit in Myanmar is in Namya (Namyazeik) located in the northern state of Kachin.
Republic of Macedonia is the only country in mainland Europe to have naturally occurring rubies. They can mainly be found around the city of Prilep. Macedonian ruby has a unique raspberry color.
Spinel, another red gemstone, is sometimes found along with rubies in the same gem gravel or marble. Red spinel may be mistaken for ruby by those lacking experience with gems. However, the finest red spinels can have a value approaching that of the average ruby.[10] The color of rubies varies from vermilion to red. The most desired color is "pigeon's blood", which is pure red with a hint of blue. If the color is too pink, the stone is a pink sapphire. The same is true if it is too violet – it is a violet sapphire. The best rubies and star rubies are bright red. Most rubies come from Burma and Thailand.
Diamonds are graded using criteria that have become known as the four Cs, namely color, cut, clarity and carat weight. Similarly natural rubies can be evaluated using the four Cs together with their size and geographic origin.
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Color: In the evaluation of colored gemstones, color is the single most important factor. Color divides into three components; hue, saturation and tone. Hue refers to "color" as we normally use the term. Transparent gemstones occur in the following primary hues: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. These are known as pure spectral hues.[11] In nature there are rarely pure hues so when speaking of the hue of a gemstone we speak of primary and secondary and sometimes tertiary hues. In ruby the primary hue must be red. All other hues of the gem species corundum are called sapphire. Ruby may exhibit a range of secondary hues. Orange, purple, violet and pink are possible.
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A naturally occurring ruby crystal
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Natural ruby with inclusions
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Rubies set in jewelry
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A cut ruby
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The finest ruby is best described as being a vivid medium-dark toned red. Secondary hues add an additional complication. Pink, orange, and purple are the normal secondary hues in ruby. Of the three, purple is preferred because, firstly, the purple reinforces the red making it appear richer.[11] Secondly, purple occupies a position on the color wheel halfway between red and blue. In Burma where the term pigeon blood originated, rubies are set in pure gold. Pure gold is itself a highly saturated yellow. Set a purplish-red ruby in yellow and the yellow neutralizes its complement blue leaving the stone appearing to be pure red in the setting.[citation needed]
Improving the quality of gemstones by treating them is common practice. Some treatments are used in almost all cases and are therefore considered acceptable. During the late 1990s, a large supply of low-cost materials caused a sudden surge in supply of heat-treated rubies, leading to a downward pressure on ruby prices.
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Improvements used include color alteration, improving transparency by dissolving rutile inclusions, healing of fractures (cracks) or even completely filling them.
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The most common treatment is the application of heat. Most, if not all, rubies at the lower end of the market are heat treated on the rough stones to improve color, remove purple tinge, blue patches and silk. These heat treatments typically occur around temperatures of 1800 °C (3300 °F).[12] Some rubies undergo a process of low tube heat, when the stone is heated over charcoal of a temperature of about 1300 °C (2400 °F) for 20 to 30 minutes. The silk is only partially broken as the color is improved.
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Another treatment, which has become more frequent in recent years, is lead glass filling. Filling the fractures inside the ruby with lead glass (or a similar material) dramatically improves the transparency of the stone, making previously unsuitable rubies fit for applications in jewelry.[13] The process is done in four steps:
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The rough stones are pre-polished to eradicate all surface impurities that may affect the process
The first heating process during which no fillers are added. The heating process eradicates impurities inside the fractures. Although this can be done at temperatures up to 1400 °C (2500 °F) it most likely occurs at a temperature of around 900 °C (1600 °F) since the rutile silk is still intact.
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The second heating process in an electrical oven with different chemical additives. Different solutions and mixes have shown to be successful, however mostly lead-containing glass-powder is used at present. The ruby is dipped into oils, then covered with powder, embedded on a tile and placed in the oven where it is heated at around 900 °C (1600 °F) for one hour in an oxidizing atmosphere. The orange colored powder transforms upon heating into a transparent to yellow-colored paste, which fills all fractures. After cooling the color of the paste is fully transparent and dramatically improves the overall transparency of the ruby.[14]
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If a color needs to be added, the glass powder can be "enhanced" with copper or other metal oxides as well as elements such as sodium, calcium, potassium etc.
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The second heating process can be repeated three to four times, even applying different mixtures.[15] When jewelry containing rubies is heated (for repairs) it should not be coated with boracic acid or any other substance, as this can etch the surface; it does not have to be "protected" like a diamond.
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The treatment can easily be determined using a 10x loupe and determination focuses on finding bubbles either in the cavities or in the fractures that were filled with glass.[16]
Artificial ruby under a normal light (top) and under a green laser light (bottom). Red light is emitted
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In 1837 Gaudin made the first synthetic rubies by fusing potash alum at a high temperature with a little chromium as a pigment. In 1847 Ebelmen made white sapphire by fusing alumina in boric acid. In 1877 Frenic and Freil made crystal corundum from which small stones could be cut. Frimy and Auguste Verneuil manufactured artificial ruby by fusing BaF2 and Al2O3 with a little chromium at red heat. In 1903 Verneuil announced he could produce synthetic rubies on a commercial scale using this flame fusion process.[17] By 1910, Verneuil's laboratory had expanded into a 30 furnace production facility, with annual gemstone production having reached 1,000 kilograms (2,000 lb) in 1907.
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Other processes in which synthetic rubies can be produced are through Czochralski's pulling process, flux process, and the hydrothermal process. Most synthetic rubies originate from flame fusion, due to the low costs involved. Synthetic rubies may have no imperfections visible to the naked eye but magnification may reveal curves, striae and gas bubbles. The fewer the number and the less obvious the imperfections, the more valuable the ruby is; unless there are no imperfections (i.e., a "perfect" ruby), in which case it will be suspected of being artificial. Dopants are added to some manufactured rubies so they can be identified as synthetic, but most need gemological testing to determine their origin.
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Synthetic rubies have technological uses as well as gemological ones. Rods of synthetic ruby are used to make ruby lasers and masers. The first working laser was made by Theodore H. Maiman in 1960[18] at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, beating several research teams including those of Charles H. Townes at Columbia University, Arthur Schawlow at Bell Labs,[19] and Gould at a company called TRG (Technical Research Group). Maiman used a solid-state light-pumped synthetic ruby to produce red laser light at a wavelength of 694 nanometers (nm). Ruby lasers are still in use. Rubies are also used in applications where high hardness is required such as at wear exposed locations in modern mechanical clockworks, or as scanning probe tips in a coordinate measuring machine.
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Imitation rubies are also marketed. Red spinels, red garnets, and colored glass have been falsely claimed to be rubies. Imitations go back to Roman times and already in the 17th century techniques were developed to color foil red—by burning scarlet wool in the bottom part of the furnace—which was then placed under the imitation stone.[20] Trade terms such as balas ruby for red spinel and rubellite for red tourmaline can mislead unsuspecting buyers. Such terms are therefore discouraged from use by many gemological associations such as the Laboratory Manual Harmonisation Committee (LMHC).
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. has received one of the world's largest and finest ruby gemstones. The 23.1 carats (4.6 g) Burmese ruby, set in a platinum ring with diamonds, was donated by businessman and philanthropist Peter Buck in memory of his late wife Carmen Lúcia. This gemstone displays a richly saturated red color combined with an exceptional transparency. The finely proportioned cut provides vivid red reflections. The stone was mined from the Mogok region of Burma (now Myanmar) in the 1930s.[21]
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In 2007 the London jeweler Garrard & Co featured on their website a heart-shaped 40.63-carat ruby.[22]
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On December 13/14, 2011 Elizabeth Taylor's complete jewellery collection was auctioned by Christie's. Several ruby-set pieces were included in the sale, notably a ring set with an 8.24 ct gem that broke the 'price-per-carat' record for rubies ($512,925 per carat, i.e. over $4.2 million in total),[23] and a necklace[24] that sold for over $3.7 million.
An early recorded transport and trading of rubies arises in the literature on the North Silk Road of China, wherein about 200 BC rubies were carried along this ancient trackway moving westward from China.[25]
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Rubies have always been held in high esteem in Asian countries. They were used to ornament armor, scabbards, and harnesses of noblemen in India and China. Rubies were laid beneath the foundation of buildings to secure good fortune to the structure.[26]
^ abWise, Richard W. (2006). Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur's Guide To Precious Gemstones. Brunswick House Press. pp. 18–22. ISBN0-9728223-8-0.
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^The Heat Treatment of Ruby and Sapphire. Bangkok, Thailand: Gemlab Inc.. 1992. ISBN0940965100.
^Richard W. Hughes (1997), Ruby & Sapphire, Boulder, CO, RWH Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9645097-6-4
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^Milisenda, C C (2005). "Rubine mit bleihaltigen Glasern gefullt" (in German). Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft (Deutschen Gemmologischen Gesellschaft) 54 (1): 35–41.
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