#non destructive testing method

[integratedndesolution]

Integrated NDE Solution in Pune: Precision in Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement

Ensuring the integrity and safety of materials and structures is crucial in many industries, and ultrasonic thickness measurement (UTM) is a key non-destructive testing method used for this purpose. Integrated NDE Solution in Pune specializes in providing comprehensive ultrasonic thickness measurement services, leveraging advanced technologies to deliver precise and reliable results. This article explores the importance of UTM, its benefits, and the state-of-the-art services offered by Integrated NDE Solution.

Understanding Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement

Ultrasonic thickness measurement is a non-destructive testing (NDT) method used to determine the thickness of a material from one side. This technique employs high-frequency sound waves to measure the time it takes for an ultrasonic pulse to travel through the material and reflect back to the transducer. By calculating the travel time, the thickness of the material can be accurately determined.

Importance of Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement

Material Integrity: Ensures that materials have the required thickness and are free from thinning or erosion.

Safety Compliance: Verifies that components meet industry safety standards, reducing the risk of failures and accidents.

Preventive Maintenance: Identifies areas of concern before they become critical, enabling timely maintenance and repairs.

Quality Control: Confirms that materials conform to the specified thickness, maintaining the integrity and quality of the final product.

Cost Savings: Prevents costly failures and downtime by ensuring the correct material thickness from the start.

How Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement Works

Ultrasonic thickness measurement involves several steps and the use of advanced equipment:

Preparation: The surface of the material is cleaned to ensure accurate readings.

Couplant Application: A couplant (gel or liquid) is applied to the surface to facilitate the transmission of sound waves.

Transducer Placement: The ultrasonic transducer is placed on the surface, emitting high-frequency sound waves into the material.

Sound Wave Reflection: The sound waves travel through the material and reflect back when they reach the opposite surface or an internal flaw.

Measurement: The time it takes for the sound waves to return to the transducer is measured.

Thickness Calculation: The material thickness is calculated based on the sound wave travel time and the known velocity of sound in the material.

Benefits of Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement

Non-Destructive: Does not damage or alter the material being tested.

Accurate: Provides precise and reliable thickness measurements.

Quick and Efficient: Delivers immediate results, enabling rapid decision-making.

Versatile: Applicable to a wide range of materials, including metals, plastics, and composites.

Portable: UTM equipment is often portable, allowing for on-site testing.

Integrated NDE Solution in Pune: Leaders in Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement

Integrated NDE Solution in Pune is a leader in non-destructive testing, offering a broad spectrum of NDT services, including ultrasonic thickness measurement. Their expertise, state-of-the-art equipment, and commitment to quality make them a trusted partner for industries requiring reliable thickness measurements.

Comprehensive NDT Services Offered

Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement (UTM)

Remote Visual Inspection (RVI)

Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI)

Ultrasonic Testing (UT)

Radiographic Testing (RT)

Liquid Penetrant Testing (LPT)

Eddy Current Testing (ECT)

Portable Hardness Testing

Ferrite Testing

Industries Served

Integrated NDE Solution in Pune caters to a diverse array of industries, including:

Aerospace: Ensuring the safety and reliability of aircraft components.

Automotive: Inspecting critical parts to prevent failures.

Construction: Verifying the integrity of structural components.

Oil and Gas: Ensuring the reliability of pipelines and equipment.

Power Generation: Maintaining the integrity of infrastructure components.

Manufacturing: Ensuring the quality of machined parts and assemblies.

Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement in Action

Case Study: Oil and Gas Pipeline Inspection

In the oil and gas industry, the reliability of pipelines is crucial. Integrated NDE Solution was approached by a leading oil and gas company to conduct ultrasonic thickness measurement on pipeline materials. Using advanced ultrasonic equipment, the team measured the wall thickness of the pipelines, ensuring they met the specified standards for corrosion resistance and mechanical strength. The inspection helped prevent potential failures and ensured the safety and reliability of the pipeline network.

Case Study: Aerospace Component Verification

A major aerospace manufacturer required ultrasonic thickness measurement for critical components used in aircraft engines. Integrated NDE Solution employed advanced ultrasonic equipment to measure the thickness of the components. The precise measurements confirmed that the materials met the stringent specifications required for aerospace applications, ensuring the safety and performance of the aircraft engines.

Advanced Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement Equipment

Integrated NDE Solution in Pune utilizes the latest UTM equipment to ensure the highest level of accuracy and reliability in their inspections. Some of the advanced equipment includes:

Digital Ultrasonic Thickness Gauges: Portable devices that provide rapid, on-site thickness measurements.

High-Frequency Transducers: Used for measuring the thickness of thin materials with high precision.

Dual-Element Transducers: Ideal for measuring corroded materials and rough surfaces.

Through-Coating Transducers: Capable of measuring the thickness of materials through coatings and paint.

The Role of Certified Technicians

The effectiveness of ultrasonic thickness measurement largely depends on the expertise of the technicians conducting the tests. Integrated NDE Solution in Pune employs certified technicians who undergo rigorous training and continuous professional development. Their skills and knowledge ensure that clients receive the highest quality of service.

Commitment to Quality and Safety

Integrated NDE Solution in Pune is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety. They adhere to international standards and best practices, ensuring that all inspections are performed with utmost precision and reliability. This commitment to excellence has earned them a stellar reputation in the industry.

Customer-Centric Approach

At Integrated NDE Solution in Pune, customer satisfaction is a top priority. They work closely with clients to understand their specific needs and tailor their services accordingly. Whether it’s a small-scale inspection or a large industrial project, they provide personalized solutions that meet the highest standards of quality and reliability.

Why Choose Integrated NDE Solution in Pune?

Expertise: Extensive experience and technical know-how in NDT services.

Technology: Utilization of the latest and most advanced testing equipment.

Quality: Commitment to providing accurate and reliable results.

Customer Service: Focus on building long-term relationships through excellent service.

Compliance: Adherence to all relevant industry standards and regulations.

Conclusion

In industries where precision and reliability are non-negotiable, Integrated NDE Solution in Pune stands out as a leader in non-destructive testing, particularly in ultrasonic thickness measurement. Their dedication to quality, use of advanced technology, and customer-centric approach make them the go-to choice for businesses across various sectors. By partnering with Integrated NDE Solution, companies can ensure the integrity and safety of their materials and components, safeguarding their operations and reputation.

Integrated NDE Solution in Pune continues to set the standard for excellence in non-destructive inspection. Their expertise in ultrasonic thickness measurement and other NDT services is pivotal in industries where safety and reliability are crucial. As technology advances and industries evolve, Integrated NDE Solution remains at the forefront, offering unparalleled service and support to their clients.

In conclusion, for businesses seeking the highest standards in ultrasonic thickness measurement, non-destructive testing methods, and comprehensive NDT services, Integrated NDE Solution in Pune is the trusted partner that delivers results. Their innovative approach, advanced technology, and unwavering commitment to quality ensure that every inspection meets the stringent requirements of today’s demanding industrial environments.

[techndt]

Ultrasonic tests play a pivotal role in ensuring the structural integrity of materials without causing harm. Here are a few ultrasonic terminologies. Read More!

[vincivilworld]

Magnetic Particle Test: Techniques and Principles Explained

Magnetic Particle Test (MPT) is a widely used non-destructive testing (NDT) method. It detects surface and near-surface discontinuities in ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, nickel, cobalt, and their alloys. This technique is renowned for its speed, cost-effectiveness, and relative ease of application, making it a preferred choice across various industries, including aerospace, automotive,…

[antoniosvivaldi]

Neural Filters Tutorial for Gifmakers by @antoniosvivaldi

Hi everyone! In light of my blog’s 10th birthday, I’m delighted to reveal my highly anticipated gifmaking tutorial using Neural Filters - a very powerful collection of filters that really broadened my scope in gifmaking over the past 12 months.

Before I get into this tutorial, I want to thank @laurabenanti, @maines , @cobbbvanth, and @cal-kestis for their unconditional support over the course of my journey of investigating the Neural Filters & their valuable inputs on the rendering performance!

In this tutorial, I will outline what the Photoshop Neural Filters do and how I use them in my workflow - multiple examples will be provided for better clarity. Finally, I will talk about some known performance issues with the filters & some feasible workarounds.

Tutorial Structure:

Meet the Neural Filters: What they are and what they do

Why I use Neural Filters? How I use Neural Filters in my giffing workflow

Getting started: The giffing workflow in a nutshell and installing the Neural Filters

Applying Neural Filters onto your gif: Making use of the Neural Filters settings; with multiple examples

Testing your system: recommended if you’re using Neural Filters for the first time

Rendering performance: Common Neural Filters performance issues & workarounds

For quick reference, here are the examples that I will show in this tutorial:

Example 1: Image Enhancement | improving the image quality of gifs prepared from highly compressed video files

Example 2: Facial Enhancement | enhancing an individual's facial features

Example 3: Colour Manipulation | colourising B&W gifs for a colourful gifset

Example 4: Artistic effects | transforming landscapes & adding artistic effects onto your gifs

Example 5: Putting it all together | my usual giffing workflow using Neural Filters

What you need & need to know:

Software: Photoshop 2021 or later (recommended: 2023 or later)*

Hardware: 8GB of RAM; having a supported GPU is highly recommended*

Difficulty: Advanced (requires a lot of patience); knowledge in gifmaking and using video timeline assumed

Key concepts: Smart Layer / Smart Filters

Benchmarking your system: Neural Filters test files**

Supplementary materials: Tutorial Resources / Detailed findings on rendering gifs with Neural Filters + known issues***

*I primarily gif on an M2 Max MacBook Pro that's running Photoshop 2024, but I also have experiences gifmaking on few other Mac models from 2012 ~ 2023.

**Using Neural Filters can be resource intensive, so it’s helpful to run the test files yourself. I’ll outline some known performance issues with Neural Filters and workarounds later in the tutorial.

***This supplementary page contains additional Neural Filters benchmark tests and instructions, as well as more information on the rendering performance (for Apple Silicon-based devices) when subject to heavy Neural Filters gifmaking workflows

Tutorial under the cut. Like / Reblog this post if you find this tutorial helpful. Linking this post as an inspo link will also be greatly appreciated!

1. Meet the Neural Filters!

Neural Filters are powered by Adobe's machine learning engine known as Adobe Sensei. It is a non-destructive method to help streamline workflows that would've been difficult and/or tedious to do manually.

Here are the Neural Filters available in Photoshop 2024:

Skin Smoothing: Removes blemishes on the skin

Smart Portrait: This a cloud-based filter that allows you to change the mood, facial age, hair, etc using the sliders+

Makeup Transfer: Applies the makeup (from a reference image) to the eyes & mouth area of your image

Landscape Mixer: Transforms the landscape of your image (e.g. seasons & time of the day, etc), based on the landscape features of a reference image

Style Transfer: Applies artistic styles e.g. texturings (from a reference image) onto your image

Harmonisation: Applies the colour balance of your image based on the lighting of the background image+

Colour Transfer: Applies the colour scheme (of a reference image) onto your image

Colourise: Adds colours onto a B&W image

Super Zoom: Zoom / crop an image without losing resolution+

Depth Blur: Blurs the background of the image

JPEG Artefacts Removal: Removes artefacts caused by JPEG compression

Photo Restoration: Enhances image quality & facial details

+These three filters aren't used in my giffing workflow. The cloud-based nature of Smart Portrait leads to disjointed looking frames. For Harmonisation, applying this on a gif causes Neural Filter timeout error. Finally, Super Zoom does not currently support output as a Smart Filter

If you're running Photoshop 2021 or earlier version of Photoshop 2022, you will see a smaller selection of Neural Filters:

Things to be aware of:

You can apply up to six Neural Filters at the same time

Filters where you can use your own reference images: Makeup Transfer (portraits only), Landscape Mixer, Style Transfer (not available in Photoshop 2021), and Colour Transfer

Later iterations of Photoshop 2023 & newer: The first three default presets for Landscape Mixer and Colour Transfer are currently broken.

2. Why I use Neural Filters?

Here are my four main Neural Filters use cases in my gifmaking process. In each use case I'll list out the filters that I use:

Enhancing Image Quality:

Common wisdom is to find the highest quality video to gif from for a media release & avoid YouTube whenever possible. However for smaller / niche media (e.g. new & upcoming musical artists), prepping gifs from highly compressed YouTube videos is inevitable.

So how do I get around with this? I have found Neural Filters pretty handy when it comes to both correcting issues from video compression & enhancing details in gifs prepared from these highly compressed video files.

Filters used: JPEG Artefacts Removal / Photo Restoration

Facial Enhancement:

When I prepare gifs from highly compressed videos, something I like to do is to enhance the facial features. This is again useful when I make gifsets from compressed videos & want to fill up my final panel with a close-up shot.

Filters used: Skin Smoothing / Makeup Transfer / Photo Restoration (Facial Enhancement slider)

Colour Manipulation:

Neural Filters is a powerful way to do advanced colour manipulation - whether I want to quickly transform the colour scheme of a gif or transform a B&W clip into something colourful.

Filters used: Colourise / Colour Transfer

Artistic Effects:

This is one of my favourite things to do with Neural Filters! I enjoy using the filters to create artistic effects by feeding textures that I've downloaded as reference images. I also enjoy using these filters to transform the overall the atmosphere of my composite gifs. The gifsets where I've leveraged Neural Filters for artistic effects could be found under this tag on usergif.

Filters used: Landscape Mixer / Style Transfer / Depth Blur

How I use Neural Filters over different stages of my gifmaking workflow:

I want to outline how I use different Neural Filters throughout my gifmaking process. This can be roughly divided into two stages:

Stage I: Enhancement and/or Colourising | Takes place early in my gifmaking process. I process a large amount of component gifs by applying Neural Filters for enhancement purposes and adding some base colourings.++

Stage II: Artistic Effects & more Colour Manipulation | Takes place when I'm assembling my component gifs in the big PSD / PSB composition file that will be my final gif panel.

I will walk through this in more detail later in the tutorial.

++I personally like to keep the size of the component gifs in their original resolution (a mixture of 1080p & 4K), to get best possible results from the Neural Filters and have more flexibility later on in my workflow. I resize & sharpen these gifs after they're placed into my final PSD composition files in Tumblr dimensions.

3. Getting started

The essence is to output Neural Filters as a Smart Filter on the smart object when working with the Video Timeline interface. Your workflow will contain the following steps:

Prepare your gif

In the frame animation interface, set the frame delay to 0.03s and convert your gif to the Video Timeline

In the Video Timeline interface, go to Filter > Neural Filters and output to a Smart Filter

Flatten or render your gif (either approach is fine). To flatten your gif, play the "flatten" action from the gif prep action pack. To render your gif as a .mov file, go to File > Export > Render Video & use the following settings.

Setting up:

o.) To get started, prepare your gifs the usual way - whether you screencap or clip videos. You should see your prepared gif in the frame animation interface as follows:

Note: As mentioned earlier, I keep the gifs in their original resolution right now because working with a larger dimension document allows more flexibility later on in my workflow. I have also found that I get higher quality results working with more pixels. I eventually do my final sharpening & resizing when I fit all of my component gifs to a main PSD composition file (that's of Tumblr dimension).

i.) To use Smart Filters, convert your gif to a Smart Video Layer.

As an aside, I like to work with everything in 0.03s until I finish everything (then correct the frame delay to 0.05s when I upload my panels onto Tumblr).

For convenience, I use my own action pack to first set the frame delay to 0.03s (highlighted in yellow) and then convert to timeline (highlighted in red) to access the Video Timeline interface. To play an action, press the play button highlighted in green.

Once you've converted this gif to a Smart Video Layer, you'll see the Video Timeline interface as follows:

ii.) Select your gif (now as a Smart Layer) and go to Filter > Neural Filters

Installing Neural Filters:

Install the individual Neural Filters that you want to use. If the filter isn't installed, it will show a cloud symbol (highlighted in yellow). If the filter is already installed, it will show a toggle button (highlighted in green)

When you toggle this button, the Neural Filters preview window will look like this (where the toggle button next to the filter that you use turns blue)

4. Using Neural Filters

Once you have installed the Neural Filters that you want to use in your gif, you can toggle on a filter and play around with the sliders until you're satisfied. Here I'll walkthrough multiple concrete examples of how I use Neural Filters in my giffing process.

Example 1: Image enhancement | sample gifset

This is my typical Stage I Neural Filters gifmaking workflow. When giffing older or more niche media releases, my main concern is the video compression that leads to a lot of artefacts in the screencapped / video clipped gifs.

To fix the artefacts from compression, I go to Filter > Neural Filters, and toggle JPEG Artefacts Removal filter. Then I choose the strength of the filter (boxed in green), output this as a Smart Filter (boxed in yellow), and press OK (boxed in red).

Note: The filter has to be fully processed before you could press the OK button!

After applying the Neural Filters, you'll see "Neural Filters" under the Smart Filters property of the smart layer

Flatten / render your gif

Example 2: Facial enhancement | sample gifset

This is my routine use case during my Stage I Neural Filters gifmaking workflow. For musical artists (e.g. Maisie Peters), YouTube is often the only place where I'm able to find some videos to prepare gifs from. However even the highest resolution video available on YouTube is highly compressed.

Go to Filter > Neural Filters and toggle on Photo Restoration. If Photoshop recognises faces in the image, there will be a "Facial Enhancement" slider under the filter settings.

Play around with the Photo Enhancement & Facial Enhancement sliders. You can also expand the "Adjustment" menu make additional adjustments e.g. remove noises and reducing different types of artefacts.

Once you're happy with the results, press OK and then flatten / render your gif.

Example 3: Colour Manipulation | sample gifset

Want to make a colourful gifset but the source video is in B&W? This is where Colourise from Neural Filters comes in handy! This same colourising approach is also very helpful for colouring poor-lit scenes as detailed in this tutorial.

Here's a B&W gif that we want to colourise:

Highly recommended: add some adjustment layers onto the B&W gif to improve the contrast & depth. This will give you higher quality results when you colourise your gif.

Go to Filter > Neural Filters and toggle on Colourise.

Make sure "Auto colour image" is enabled.

Play around with further adjustments e.g. colour balance, until you're satisfied then press OK.

Important: When you colourise a gif, you need to double check that the resulting skin tone is accurate to real life. I personally go to Google Images and search up photoshoots of the individual / character that I'm giffing for quick reference.

Add additional adjustment layers until you're happy with the colouring of the skin tone.

Once you're happy with the additional adjustments, flatten / render your gif. And voila!

Note: For Colour Manipulation, I use Colourise in my Stage I workflow and Colour Transfer in my Stage II workflow to do other types of colour manipulations (e.g. transforming the colour scheme of the component gifs)

Example 4: Artistic Effects | sample gifset

This is where I use Neural Filters for the bulk of my Stage II workflow: the most enjoyable stage in my editing process!

Normally I would be working with my big composition files with multiple component gifs inside it. To begin the fun, drag a component gif (in PSD file) to the main PSD composition file.

Resize this gif in the composition file until you're happy with the placement

Duplicate this gif. Sharpen the bottom layer (highlighted in yellow), and then select the top layer (highlighted in green) & go to Filter > Neural Filters

I like to use Style Transfer and Landscape Mixer to create artistic effects from Neural Filters. In this particular example, I've chosen Landscape Mixer

Select a preset or feed a custom image to the filter (here I chose a texture that I've on my computer)

Play around with the different sliders e.g. time of the day / seasons

Important: uncheck "Harmonise Subject" & "Preserve Subject" - these two settings are known to cause performance issues when you render a multiframe smart object (e.g. for a gif)

Once you're happy with the artistic effect, press OK

To ensure you preserve the actual subject you want to gif (bc Preserve Subject is unchecked), add a layer mask onto the top layer (with Neural Filters) and mask out the facial region. You might need to play around with the Layer Mask Position keyframes or Rotoscope your subject in the process.

After you're happy with the masking, flatten / render this composition file and voila!

Example 5: Putting it all together | sample gifset

Let's recap on the Neural Filters gifmaking workflow and where Stage I and Stage II fit in my gifmaking process:

i. Preparing & enhancing the component gifs

Prepare all component gifs and convert them to smart layers

Stage I: Add base colourings & apply Photo Restoration / JPEG Artefacts Removal to enhance the gif's image quality

Flatten all of these component gifs and convert them back to Smart Video Layers (this process can take a lot of time)

Some of these enhanced gifs will be Rotoscoped so this is done before adding the gifs to the big PSD composition file

ii. Setting up the big PSD composition file

Make a separate PSD composition file (Ctrl / Cmmd + N) that's of Tumblr dimension (e.g. 540px in width)

Drag all of the component gifs used into this PSD composition file

Enable Video Timeline and trim the work area

In the composition file, resize / move the component gifs until you're happy with the placement & sharpen these gifs if you haven't already done so

Duplicate the layers that you want to use Neural Filters on

iii. Working with Neural Filters in the PSD composition file

Stage II: Neural Filters to create artistic effects / more colour manipulations!

Mask the smart layers with Neural Filters to both preserve the subject and avoid colouring issues from the filters

Flatten / render the PSD composition file: the more component gifs in your composition file, the longer the exporting will take. (I prefer to render the composition file into a .mov clip to prevent overriding a file that I've spent effort putting together.)

Note: In some of my layout gifsets (where I've heavily used Neural Filters in Stage II), the rendering time for the panel took more than 20 minutes. This is one of the rare instances where I was maxing out my computer's memory.

Useful things to take note of:

Important: If you're using Neural Filters for Colour Manipulation or Artistic Effects, you need to take a lot of care ensuring that the skin tone of nonwhite characters / individuals is accurately coloured

Use the Facial Enhancement slider from Photo Restoration in moderation, if you max out the slider value you risk oversharpening your gif later on in your gifmaking workflow

You will get higher quality results from Neural Filters by working with larger image dimensions: This gives Neural Filters more pixels to work with. You also get better quality results by feeding higher resolution reference images to the Neural Filters.

Makeup Transfer is more stable when the person / character has minimal motion in your gif

You might get unexpected results from Landscape Mixer if you feed a reference image that don't feature a distinctive landscape. This is not always a bad thing: for instance, I have used this texture as a reference image for Landscape Mixer, to create the shimmery effects as seen in this gifset

5. Testing your system

If this is the first time you're applying Neural Filters directly onto a gif, it will be helpful to test out your system yourself. This will help:

Gauge the expected rendering time that you'll need to wait for your gif to export, given specific Neural Filters that you've used

Identify potential performance issues when you render the gif: this is important and will determine whether you will need to fully playback your gif before flattening / rendering the file.

Understand how your system's resources are being utilised: Inputs from Windows PC users & Mac users alike are welcome!

About the Neural Filters test files:

Contains six distinct files, each using different Neural Filters

Two sizes of test files: one copy in full HD (1080p) and another copy downsized to 540px

One folder containing the flattened / rendered test files

How to use the Neural Filters test files:

What you need:

Photoshop 2022 or newer (recommended: 2023 or later)

Install the following Neural Filters: Landscape Mixer / Style Transfer / Colour Transfer / Colourise / Photo Restoration / Depth Blur

Recommended for some Apple Silicon-based MacBook Pro models: Enable High Power Mode

How to use the test files:

For optimal performance, close all background apps

Open a test file

Flatten the test file into frames (load this action pack & play the “flatten” action)

Take note of the time it takes until you’re directed to the frame animation interface 

Compare the rendered frames to the expected results in this folder: check that all of the frames look the same. If they don't, you will need to fully playback the test file in full before flattening the file.†

Re-run the test file without the Neural Filters and take note of how long it takes before you're directed to the frame animation interface

Recommended: Take note of how your system is utilised during the rendering process (more info here for MacOS users)

†This is a performance issue known as flickering that I will discuss in the next section. If you come across this, you'll have to playback a gif where you've used Neural Filters (on the video timeline) in full, prior to flattening / rendering it.

Factors that could affect the rendering performance / time (more info):

The number of frames, dimension, and colour bit depth of your gif

If you use Neural Filters with facial recognition features, the rendering time will be affected by the number of characters / individuals in your gif

Most resource intensive filters (powered by largest machine learning models): Landscape Mixer / Photo Restoration (with Facial Enhancement) / and JPEG Artefacts Removal

Least resource intensive filters (smallest machine learning models): Colour Transfer / Colourise

The number of Neural Filters that you apply at once / The number of component gifs with Neural Filters in your PSD file

Your system: system memory, the GPU, and the architecture of the system's CPU+++

+++ Rendering a gif with Neural Filters demands a lot of system memory & GPU horsepower. Rendering will be faster & more reliable on newer computers, as these systems have CPU & GPU with more modern instruction sets that are geared towards machine learning-based tasks.

Additionally, the unified memory architecture of Apple Silicon M-series chips are found to be quite efficient at processing Neural Filters.

6. Performance issues & workarounds

Common Performance issues:

I will discuss several common issues related to rendering or exporting a multi-frame smart object (e.g. your composite gif) that uses Neural Filters below. This is commonly caused by insufficient system memory and/or the GPU.

Flickering frames: in the flattened / rendered file, Neural Filters aren't applied to some of the frames+-+

Scrambled frames: the frames in the flattened / rendered file isn't in order

Neural Filters exceeded the timeout limit error: this is normally a software related issue

Long export / rendering time: long rendering time is expected in heavy workflows

Laggy Photoshop / system interface: having to wait quite a long time to preview the next frame on the timeline

Issues with Landscape Mixer: Using the filter gives ill-defined defined results (Common in older systems)--

Workarounds:

Workarounds that could reduce unreliable rendering performance & long rendering time:

Close other apps running in the background

Work with smaller colour bit depth (i.e. 8-bit rather than 16-bit)

Downsize your gif before converting to the video timeline-+-

Try to keep the number of frames as low as possible

Avoid stacking multiple Neural Filters at once. Try applying & rendering the filters that you want one by one

Specific workarounds for specific issues:

How to resolve flickering frames: If you come across flickering, you will need to playback your gif on the video timeline in full to find the frames where the filter isn't applied. You will need to select all of the frames to allow Photoshop to reprocess these, before you render your gif.+-+

What to do if you come across Neural Filters timeout error? This is caused by several incompatible Neural Filters e.g. Harmonisation (both the filter itself and as a setting in Landscape Mixer), Scratch Reduction in Photo Restoration, and trying to stack multiple Neural Filters with facial recognition features.

If the timeout error is caused by stacking multiple filters, a feasible workaround is to apply the Neural Filters that you want to use one by one over multiple rendering sessions, rather all of them in one go.

+-+This is a very common issue for Apple Silicon-based Macs. Flickering happens when a gif with Neural Filters is rendered without being previously played back in the timeline.

This issue is likely related to the memory bandwidth & the GPU cores of the chips, because not all Apple Silicon-based Macs exhibit this behaviour (i.e. devices equipped with Max / Ultra M-series chips are mostly unaffected).

-- As mentioned in the supplementary page, Landscape Mixer requires a lot of GPU horsepower to be fully rendered. For older systems (pre-2017 builds), there are no workarounds other than to avoid using this filter.

-+- For smaller dimensions, the size of the machine learning models powering the filters play an outsized role in the rendering time (i.e. marginal reduction in rendering time when downsizing 1080p file to Tumblr dimensions). If you use filters powered by larger models e.g. Landscape Mixer and Photo Restoration, you will need to be very patient when exporting your gif.

7. More useful resources on using Neural Filters

Creating animations with Neural Filters effects | Max Novak

Using Neural Filters to colour correct by @edteachs

I hope this is helpful! If you have any questions or need any help related to the tutorial, feel free to send me an ask 💖

[bardic-tales]

This post explores a comprehensive set of behavioral headcanons exclusive to Bianca Moore in her draconic phoenix true form. It is inspired by a range of avian predators and reptilian species, including harpy eagles, iguanas, and komodo dragons.

These instincts, rituals, and social dynamics are not present in Bianca’s celestial humanoid state. Instead, they represent the raw, animalistic psyche of a form shaped by magic and survival. Each trait has been carefully mapped to real-world behaviors to deepen the lore of Bianca’s monstrous physiology.

Possible Trigger Warnings: Abandonment, aggression, bodily transformation, child endangerment (threatened but not acted upon), death imagery, emotional dysregulation, grief, mating/sexual behavior (non-explicit but instinctive), obsessive attachment, predation, psychological warfare, self-isolation, territorial violence, and trauma responses.

⚠️ Disclaimer: The following headcanons are exclusive to Bianca Moore’s true, draconic phoenix form. These behaviors are not present in her celestial humanoid form, which functions socially and cognitively on a human level. These traits are drawn exclusively from birds of prey and reptilian species, such as harpy eagles, hawks, and iguanas. I also had help from my daughter and my husband building this this. I want to say a big thank you to @prehistoric-creatures for helping me with the reptile behavior portion of this.

BEHAVIOR

Harpy Eagle: Perches silently at impossible heights, unmoving for hours, only to strike with explosive precision. Bianca’s stillness is a prelude to catastrophic action.

Bearded Vulture: She deliberately coats herself in certain kinds of mineral dust or ash, ritualistic behavior mimicking dust bathing, signifying dominance or emotional shifts.

Iguana: Tail-whipping is used to enforce territorial dominance or punish enemies. Her tendrilled tail arcs with concussive force to knock back challengers.

Red-tailed Hawk: She performs slow, spiraling flight displays over her domain to signal territorial claim. It’s not for intimidation. It’s declaration.

Harpy Eagle: When descending on prey or target, she folds her wings and drops in controlled freefall: an unnerving display of predatory focus.

Monitor Lizard: Slow, tongue-flicking behavior to “taste” magical currents in the air, testing ley lines or detecting metaphysical disruptions.

Hawk: She keeps an aerial map of her mental territory. She notices any spatial distortion, even if only an inch has changed.

Chameleon (reptile, not color): Subtle skin-texture shifts on her tendrils indicate mood. Raised barbs signal agitation while smoothness indicates calm.

Crested Caracara: She uses her talons to methodically rip apart magical barriers: tactile and almost surgical in her destruction.

Komodo Dragon: She "tests" magic or matter by briefly brushing it with a tendril, as she checks for curses, traps, or anomalies before deeper interaction.

Harpy Eagle: Perches silently at impossible heights, unmoving for hours, only to strike with explosive precision. Bianca’s stillness is a prelude to catastrophic action.

Bearded Vulture: She deliberately coats herself in certain kinds of mineral dust or ash, ritualistic behavior mimicking dust bathing, signifying dominance or emotional shifts.

Iguana: Tail-whipping is used to enforce territorial dominance or punish enemies. Her tendrilled tail arcs with concussive force to knock back challengers.

Red-tailed Hawk: She performs slow, spiraling flight displays over her domain to signal territorial claim. It’s not for intimidation. It’s declaration.

Harpy Eagle: When descending on prey or target, she folds her wings and drops in controlled freefall: an unnerving display of predatory focus.

Monitor Lizard: Slow, tongue-flicking behavior to “taste” magical currents in the air, testing ley lines or detecting metaphysical disruptions.

Hawk: She keeps an aerial map of her mental territory. She notices any spatial distortion, even if only an inch has changed.

Chameleon (reptile, not color): Subtle skin-texture shifts on her tendrils indicate mood. Raised barbs signal agitation while smoothness indicates calm.

Crested Caracara: She uses her talons to methodically rip apart magical barriers and reality, itself: tactile and almost surgical in her destruction.

Komodo Dragon: She "tests" magic or matter by briefly brushing it with a tendril, as she checks for curses, traps, or anomalies before deeper interaction.

COMBAT & TERRITORIAL BEHAVIOR

Harpy Eagle: Bianca divebombs with wings tucked in and eyes glowing like lanterns, hitting with the force of a meteor. It’s a trademark ambush style.

iguana: Her tail can lash in wide arcs with enough force to dent steel. She uses it as a crowd control weapon. Fast, savage, and meant to create breathing room.

Harpy Eagle: When challenged, she spreads her wings fully and arches her back, eyes narrowed, tendrils raised. This is the “I will end you” pose.

Chameleon: Her body shimmers with a miasmic overlay that lets her partially blend with shadows for ambush tactics, though she prefers direct dominance.

Komodo Dragon: Her bite can carry a necrotic venom from her miasma-infused saliva. One bite and it starts liquefying magical defenses.

Draco Lizard: She uses wind currents and thermals masterfully, able to hover near-still mid-air before plunging on her prey.

Harpy Eagle: If grounded, she grabs her opponent with both talons and repeatedly slams them into the terrain. Not subtle. Very final.

Anole Lizard: Her tendrils can swell and glow during rage-states. This isn’t fire, it’s a pressure signal. A silent “back off.”

Bearded Dragon: When truly cornered, Bianca will expand the muscles around her throat and chest, making herself look double her size before attacking with both claws and wings.

Harpy Eagle: Her scream during battle is a piercing shriek that echoes and rebounds through the air, disorienting the senses and sometimes cracking delicate structures.

COMMUNICATION

Budgerigar (parakeet): Clacks her beak to express happiness or low-level comfort.

Harpy Eagle: Ear-splitting, guttural screeches act as long-range vocalizations: biomagical sonar, locating her kin or warning interlopers.

Bearded Vulture: Rattles her tendrils together like dry bone to emit a low-pitched, rattling sound. This is a threat display or low warning.

Iguana: She performs exaggerated head-bobs and full-body sways during confrontation, which is visually intimidating but also ritualistic.

Raven (raptor-adjacent corvid): Mimics the magical signatures of others as a taunt. Her mimicry is eerily accurate and meant to disorient.

Bald Eagle: In close proximity to her young, uses soft grunts and throat-clicks to communicate comfort and presence.

Anole Lizard: Raises one limb slowly and pauses. This a sign of submission or “ceasefire” when addressing Sephiroth or children.

Screech Owl: Emits a bone-chilling shriek at irregular intervals to draw enemies into a false sense of distance. This is for psychological warfare.

Hawk: When guarding the sleeping forms of her children, she emits rhythmic breathing pulses that regulate their heartbeat and sleep cycles.

Iguana Tail Slap: She slaps her tendril tail against the ground or air to send vibrational messages through terrain. This is her version of seismic warning.

EMOTIONAL & SOCIAL BEHAVIORS

Harpy Eagle: Bianca will emit short, sharp cries when anxious. It is barely audible, like tension escaping a pressure valve. Only Aurora and Lucien can identify it.

Bearded Dragon: She tilts her head sideways when trying to understand something unfamiliar, especially tech or foreign magic. It’s… surprisingly cute.

Harpy Eagle: When excited, she will leap straight into the air from a crouch and spread her wings fully. It's an outburst of emotion she can’t quite control.

Iguana: During quiet reflection, her tendrils slow their movement and curl inward, forming spiral shapes that mirror her inner tension or thought process.

Budgie: She mirrors behaviors of those she loves (particularly the kids). If Lucien yawns, she might mimic it with an eerie, toothless stretch.

Komodo Dragon: When agitated or grieving, she scratches at the ground or walls with her talons, sometimes to the point of drawing sparks or blood.

Harpy Eagle: If humiliated or emotionally wounded, she retreats to the highest, most isolated perch available and perches there motionless for hours, wings tight to her sides.

Draco Lizard: She flares her wings like a cape when entering a room containing her loved ones: a visual affirmation of protection.

Monitor Lizard: When welcoming someone back (Sephiroth, the kids), she presses her body low to the ground and puffs out a warm gust of miasma. It's a version of a hug.

Harpy Eagle: When truly proud of Aurora or Lucien, she lets out a soft, upward warble. It's a note so rare that even they know it’s a mark of deep pride.

ENVIRONMENT & RESTING BEHAVIORS

Harpy Eagle: Bianca prefers roosting in high, desolate places. Nesting areas are built from bone and metal. Not comfy. Symbolic.

Iguana: She will bask in magical aether-light (magic) to recharge, stretching full wings and fanning her tail. Her tendrils writhe lazily in the glow.

Monitor Lizard: She digs shallow depressions with her forelimbs to rest, wrapping her body protectively around Aurora and Lucien in a spiral.

Budgie: When content, she softly clicks her beak and occasionally mirrors the subtle, high-pitched sounds of her children. It’s a kind of bonding echo.

Harpy Eagle: She perches on cliff edges with one talon retracted, eyes half-lidded but fully alert. Her apparent rest is always a lie. Harpy Eagle: In extreme emotion (grief, fury), she will open all the eyes on her wings and torso at once, creating a swirling hypnotic pattern of horror.

Anole Lizard: When adjusting to a new location, she cycles through minor color shifts in her feathered body to map magical leyline density. She’s a living compass.

Draco Lizard: When alone with Sephiroth, Bianca wraps her tendrils loosely around herself and tucks her head beneath her wings: half-hiding, half-relaxing. It's her rarest vulnerability.

Harpy Eagle: Her sleep is fractured. She dozes in intense micro-naps while one or more of her many eyes remain open, especially when guarding the children.

FUN, QUIRKY BEHAVIORS

Budgie: She grinds the edges of her beak to sharpen them. It's not unlike sharpening a blade on stone. Sometimes it sounds like bones crunching.

Iguana: When relaxed, her tail slowly flicks back and forth like a metronome. It’s hypnotic. Almost meditative.

Harpy Eagle: She will tap her talons rhythmically when thinking. It’s how she processes ideas like a ticking clock.

Harpy Eagle: If she’s bored, she starts rearranging things with her talons—bones and stones—into strange spirals. She tends to refresh her nest.

Budgie: She softly beak-bumps her children’s heads when they’re sad. It's her best attempt at comfort that doesn’t involve monstrous screeching.

Harpy Eagle: Bianca has a unique “laugh” in this form: a descending screech followed by a clack of her beak. If you hear it, someone is suffering, and, of course, she finds it hilarious.

INSTINCT

Harpy Eagle: When sensing a threat to her children, she divebombs instinctively from the highest point, striking before her mind catches up.

Bald Eagle: She will instinctively positions herself between danger and her children. No matter the odds, no hesitation.

Komodo Dragon: If injured, she instinctively attempts to reach a solitary height before healing. High ground equals safety.

Hawk: All of her eyes lock on the smallest movements even in chaos. She cannot “turn off” this behavior. She always analyzes the twitch.

Bearded Vulture: She avoids water instinctively prefers to clean herself in wind and ash in her true form. Water is “too still” and feels wrong.

Raptor (general): She instinctively guards her back with her tendril-fan when surrounded. No matter the angle, she knows what’s behind her.

Iguana: When startled, whips her tendrils in a frenzy. This is reflexive, not conscious. It can break bones.

Harpy Eagle: She reacts to sudden elevation drops by flaring all limbs and wings at once, spreading weight to avoid crashing.

Hawk: When separated from Sephiroth, she emits a singular, high-pitched whistle. She rarely even notices doing it.

MATING BEHAVIOR

Bearded Dragon: When feeling affection during courtship, she will bob her head once and then lower it. It's a subdued gesture but for her, it's intimate, nearly sacred.

Iguana: When highly stimulated by proximity to Sephiroth (emotionally or sexually), the color of her tendrils deepens in saturation and pulses rhythmically with her heartbeat. They do not act independently in this moment. They align toward him.

Harpy Eagle: Bianca creates elaborate sky displays, with shadow-miasma trails in precise spirals, as an invitation. She does not do this for anyone but Sephiroth.

Falcon: Bianca uses screeches that descend in pitch to signal her readiness. These vocalizations are terrifying to others, like death screaming, but to Sephiroth, they're a mating song.

Monitor Lizard: If challenged or interrupted during an emotional bonding moment, Bianca will rise to her full height, inflate her chest with air, and issue a growl-like hiss that makes the ground vibrate. She will not tolerate interference.

Bald Eagle: She brings Sephiroth a "gift" after every mating ritual, typically something symbolic from a former battlefield (charred bone, rusted metal). It's not romantic.

Harpy Eagle: After she recovers her love for flight, her mating space is always in the highest place possible whether a cliff or spiral. She views lower altitudes as unworthy for something so sacred.

Anole Lizard: Her tendrils can puff outward from her feathered crown in a fan-like display when in proximity to Sephiroth. This is involuntary: a sign of vulnerability, which she loathes and only allows with him.

Harpy Eagle + Frill-Necked Lizard: If threatened during courtship, her entire tendril crown flares and her screech becomes a multi-tonal, layered soundwave that sends weaker beings to their knees. It’s not for battle. It’s a warning: “I’m with him.”

PARENTING BEHAVIORS

Harpy Eagle: Bianca fiercely defends her young’s nesting site: the Ethereal Nexus. If Aurora or Lucien are even looked at wrong, she will drop from the sky like a silent executioner.

Komodo Dragon: Her miasma seeps into the walls of the nesting chamber, poisoning intruders while keeping her children immune. The shadows act as both guardian and cradle.

Harpy Eagle: She preens the feathers on her young with surgical precision, using the tips of her tendrils. Each movement is careful, as if they're holy relics.

Budgie: She makes clicking sounds by snapping her beak-like jaws together softly when around her children. It's a comforting rhythm. A lullaby in clicks.

Iguana: Her tail fan flares wide when her children are afraid, creating a shadow barrier around them. It whips to clear the area and reassure them, acting as both blanket and blade.

Harpy Eagle: Bianca rarely leaves her young alone for long; when she must, she leaves a spirit-bound echo of her form to watch them: one of the few signs of her sentimentality.

Monitor Lizard: She teaches through staged predation, creating illusions for the kids to destroy. She ensures they win, always. Not for ego, but to instill confidence.

Harpy Eagle: She brings them pieces of magic-charged prey to encourage channeling of their own abilities. If Sephiroth’s style is discipline, Bianca’s is immersion.

Lizard Brooding Behavior: When they’re sick or injured, Bianca curls her entire massive form around them, wings and tendrils creating a silent cocoon. Her inner miasma dims to reduce overstimulation, and she will not move until they heal.

@themaradwrites @shepardstales @megandaisy9 @watermeezer

@prehistoric-creatures @creativechaosqueen @chickensarentcheap

@inkandimpressions @arrthurpendragon @projecthypocrisy @serenofroses

[egg-emperor]

Eggman will truly do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He doesn't care what method it takes and that's not just the death and mass destruction he'll cause. That also includes the ways he'll willingly and happily take control of minds

One of the common ways is with manipulation and deceit as he's very intelligent and knows how to mess with people's heads and emotions. But literal mind and thought control are options he's open to and has tried to take too

In Colors, he makes the mind control cannon, tries to test it on Sonic but it hits Tails and he has a blast with it, and plans on using it to mind control the entire planet so that he'll literally be the only thing on their minds. He's very pleased and excited by this idea

Then you have the Forces promo video of Eggman Empire propaganda where he advertises the Robotomy Treatment, listing never having to think again as one of the perks. You'll lose all thought and become mindless, literally lobotomized and controlled

I feel this counts as game canon as it was made to promote Forces. But then of course the previous example is within a solid finalized canon game, so it is indeed something he is indeed interested in attempting in game canon either way

It doesn't matter whether you consciously surrender and submit due to his threats/manipulation/deceit etc or if he literally mentally or physically forces you by taking over your body and mind. He'll be happy if he gets what he wants

This is why Sunshine Balls brainwashing people, Metal Virus that turned everyone into mindless zombies, or the Lego skits of Eggman mind controlling a guy in non canon media suits his character, it's something he's attempted in games too

Yeah I can also see him thinking it's not so appealing if he uses that method on literally everyone because he actually likes threatening, forcing, and controlling them while conscious and aware of his power and brilliance

So I could see him having this approach at times as he does express sadistic enjoyment in his threats and force and getting to demand people to praise and obey him for the assertion of his dominance and the power trip

If they were all completely mindless in it, he wouldn't be able to dominate them further and repeatedly enjoy the power of putting them in their place and also the entertainment of them being conscious to suffer under his rule

But at the same time, he'd love for everyone to be extremely obedient and submissive, totally under his control, and always giving him what he wants above everything, not constant nuisances he has to keep beating into submission

But it's not something he's above morally or won't do for any other reasons. The games show he will and enjoys it. It also shows he doesn't care whether expressed love and admiration for him comes from a completely genuine place

Love him or hate him, if he's the center of attention and praised- "genuinely" (through manipulation and brainwashing most of the time lol), by force, or total literal direct mind control, he gets what he wants and he's happy

TailsTube didn't exactly say it was about always wanting to be 100% genuinely loved by everyone by their own beliefs and choice, just being the center of attention and in control. (The whole point of TailsTube is to inform about game canon)

Also I think he could have all the love in the world and find it'll never be enough for him, I wouldn't be surprised. And the reason would be that he's so greedy and attention whoring, he still feels he deserves more after he has the world

I can't see it being in a sad desperation. More like, with his ego and self love, he just wants everyone to praise him and see highly of him just like he already does himself and that's why he's so bold, confident, and forceful in demanding it-

Aside from genuinely loving the evil angle too! He's seen to purposefully take the evil approach, not out of implied force or last resort but just finding evil super fun with his sadistic enjoyment and gleefully labelling himself evil

He could do things the good way, he's a genius with a 300 IQ and he's great at trickery so he could at least fake it. But he doesn't always try to fool by acting like the good guy, he'll embrace and call himself evil and make serious threats too

He enjoys all the different evil and deceitful methods he can take and has the most fun with them! I love that so much because they're usually what results in all of his most thrilling and badass moments in the series 💜🥰

I find the mental mind control approach just as interesting as his deceitful/manipulative/brainwashing and threatening physically forceful approaches, I'm always down to see more. It's game canon and I love it!

[mysticstarlightduck]

Villain Crimes Tag!

I had this idea for a tag game a while ago and I think its time I finally put it to practice!!! Plus I think its really cool and you guys will probably enjoy it!

Rules: What crimes would your villains be convicted of if they faced trial in the real world? In short, list what crimes your villains have commited, in modern terms.

TW. Mention of some pretty gnarly crimes - but NOT in detail - because these are Villains after all.

Supernova Initiative

The Director/Dr. Darius Merrik

Multiple counts of First & Second Degree Murder + Manslaughter (The Director, behind the scenes, is a very brutal and vicious man - the antithesis of whom he pretends to be to the population. Darius has ordered the execution of/personally killed multiple people who were accused of stirring up "illegal insurrection and rebel efforts" against the Junction, as well as has killed any and all who discover his secret experiments without his explicit permission. His methods of experimentation are also so brutal and extreme that his subjects/victims often, really often, die as a result of it, whether that was the intent or not. Darius doesn't care at all, being at most disappointed at needing to find another test subject and starting from scratch.)

Human Experimentation/Torture/Illegal Laboratories (As mentioned before; Darius is a mad scientist who conducts highly illegal experiments on people, especially those who stand against him. He believes what he is doing will supposedly "bring even more progress" too the galaxies and change the tides of the civil war, and doesn't care how many innocent people he brutalizes in the process. Countless people have already gone through his secret labs - without the population of the Junction even knowing there was a secret lab - and most of his test subjects have died as a result of the experiments, and those who did not were changed in horrifying ways)

Blackmail/Extortion (Darius often counts in severe forms of blackmail and extortion to keep his rivals in line and to make people obey him. Part of how he became so powerful and influential in the Junction was by blackmailing and extorting powerful people and eliminating any possible chance of people looking into his schemes. Another example of this is that the Director only manages to get Jack Tithus to comply to becoming his test subject by threatening to hurt the young man's sister. To protect her, Jack accepted to be experimented on.)

Funding terrorist groups & War Factions/Accesory to Colonization (The Director holds a strong position of power in the Junction, often tampering directly with the civil war by funding extremist organizations and raiding war factions in order to "facilitate" the Junction's advance into enemy territory. Because of him, factions like the Skull-Reapers - space pirates/raiders - were able to raze whole planets - like Acaeth - and allow the installment of Junction settlements there. He also vehemently supports the Junction's official military advances onto other independent planets, and often provides the government's Sentries with new weaponry and armor.)

Ecological Destruction (The Director also funds many mining and deforestation efforts in non-Junction planets, often to get the raw materials he needs for his inventions and experiments, but also to profit from the trade of those spoils. The sheer rate of these "efforts" have already caused considerable devastation and damage to those planets' ecosystems.)

Embezzlement/Money Laundering (Darius is one of the richest men in the Junction, being also one of the most influential. But where does he get that money? From his experiments, inventions and trades? Yes, but that is only a small fraction of it. Most of his vast fortune comes from money laundering and corruption schemes, especially targeting politicians who somehow pose a threat to his plans, a self-fueling cycle that maintains his sheer fortune no matter how much money he spends)

Eldora Thalax

Multiple counts of First Degree Murder, Multiple War Crimes & Genocide (she literally is a warlord hellbent on conquering as much territory as she can both in her planet and others. Eldora is a skilled warrior and assassin, and has killed people before - many of them innocent citizens of places that refused to bow to her tyranny. She also sent hitmen after her husband when he and their son ran away from her, leading to his assassination)

High Treason (Eldora has essentially betrayed her people's high council, known as the Hearth, after her mother and the actually honorable Matriachs denounced her disgustingly ways and exiled her. She also betayed many political deals to have more advantage. Eldora wrongly believes that if she gets as many conquests as she can, that the Matriarchs will forgive her and accept her back, giving her a seat at the Hearth, when she's actually proving them right about her - kinda like Lord Shen did in Kung Fu Panda 2)

Sexual Coercion (her relationship/marriage to Damen was arranged and thus she specifically didn't... really care about his consent or not. Full 'Game of Thrones' arranged marriage to make heirs kind of situation but make it futuristic - he technically said 'yes' to the marriage but did he have a choice? No.)

Kidnapping, Torture & Human Experimentation (She is known to torture prisoners of war, especially those who once held positions of power - at times just for fun, at other times for information, for compliance or to extract information. When Deimos Soll discovered how corrupt she is and tried to desert her ranks, she captured him and had him tortured AND experimented on in an attempt to brainwash him into some kind of supersoldier)

Domestic Abuse/Psychological Torment (Eldora was very abusive to both her husband, Damen, and their son, Kye. Though most - but not all - of her outbursts of physical abuse were directed at her husband, the former prince of the region she'd conquered, Eldora was extremely emotionally abusive to Kye as well, especially because she had a tendency to threaten to hurt his father further to get their boy to obey her)

Dictatorship (Eldora has conquered multiple regions of her home planet and has long since started "brainching out" her influence to other nearby planets, almost conquering an entire solar system. She is known for being a cruel, corrupt, violent and often ruthless ruler who controls the places she conquers with an iron fist.)

Illegal Arms Trade + Slave Trade (Eldora prides herself in having the most top-of-the-line weaponry in the galaxies, being an ardent client of many infamous arms dealers and intercepts some of those goods to sell to her allies. She also is known for proffiting from enslaving portions of the civilizations she conquers, especially if they try to rebel or are accused of trying to betray her, or simoly are her prisoners of war, and selling them as slaves in the underworld market to the highest bidder, though she keeps many to strenghten her armies.)

Arachnys & Red Adder

Racketeering/Fraud/Loan Sharking (They are mobsters. The most dangerous mobsters in the galaxies. The Crime King and Queen. Protection schemes, false business/racketeering, major fraud are just another tuesday to them, and a huge part of what they do on a daily basis.)

Illegal Drug Trade (Any and all addictive substances in EITHER GALAXIES is sold and manufactured by people working under the behest of Arachnys and Red Adder, especially some high-ranking crime families. They're known for making some of the most dangerous and addictive/destructive drugs in any planetary system, and keep their control over their planets underworlds by using those chemicals to keep the population obedient/dependent on their supply)

Being Leaders of a Criminal Organization/Mob (Self-explanatory. Arcahnys and Red Adder are the heads of the most dangerous and powerful crime family/mob in the Khosmonian galaxies, and now in the Junction as well.)

Illegal Casinos/Houses of Gambling (And man do they profit off of it, because those places are popular in both galaxies!)

Human Trafficking, Slave Trade, Organ Trade (They are known for being involved in the most nefarious side of the interplanetary black market, and that includes, unfortunately, the trade of people - be it in full, by selling/buying slaves to/from warlords like Eldora Thalax, with whom they have a longstanding business relationship with, or in... parts, because they also sell organs and cybernectic parts, which they harvest from humanoids and cyborgs that fall into their hands.)

Illegal Prostitution Schemes/Forced Prostitution/Dehumanization (The MAIN "business" of the Saphir crime family is the "pleasure business". They pride themselves on having the finest brothels and strip-clubs in their planets, with most of the entertainers being either slaves they've captured/bought OR... sentient robots. Not cyborgs, but actual, sentient robots, their newest and most popular invention - sentient robots, unlike cyborgs, are fully artificial despite looking like regular humanoids, and their adaptable appearance makes them very popular in the Saphir's business. Meridian Shardd, the story's most innocent character, was one of those sentient robots - having gained conscience/broken free of their programming shortly after being manufactured, Meridian ran away from the factory thankfully before being put to work by the mob, and is terrified of being found.)

Tagging (gently): @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin,

@oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab, @winterandwords, @eccaiia,

@the-letterbox-archives, @illarian-rambling @agirlandherquill, @anoelleart,

@ray-writes-n-shit @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @topazadine

@forthesanityofstorytellers, @finickyfelix

@cauliflowermaterial @thepeculiarbird,

@clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, and OPEN TAG

Taglist for Supernova Initiative below the cut! 🌠

Supernova Initiative Taglist (-/+): @ray-writes-n-shit, @sarandipitywrites, @smol-feralgremlin, @kaylinalexanderbooks,

@diabolical-blue @oh-no-another-idea

@cakeinthevoid, @clairelsonao3,

@thepeculiarbird

@the-golden-comet, @urnumber1star, @ominous-feychild, @anyablackwood, @amaiguri,

@lyutenw @finickyfelix

@elshells, @thecomfywriter

[standwinspections]

Ensuring Weld Quality: Advanced Ultrasonic Testing Methods  

In the world of welding, ensuring the quality and integrity of welds is crucial. One of the most effective ways to inspect welds is through ultrasonic testing, which uses high-frequency sound waves to detect imperfections. This blog explores advanced ultrasonic testing methods for welding inspection, highlighting their benefits and applications in the UK.  

Introduction to Ultrasonic Testing  

Ultrasonic testing for welding involves high-frequency sound waves to detect flaws in welds. This non-destructive testing (NDT) method effectively identifies internal and surface defects without damaging the material.  

Why Ultrasonic Testing for Welding?  

Accuracy: Provides precise detection of internal flaws.  

Non-Destructive: Does not damage the material being inspected.  

Versatility: Suitable for a wide range of materials and thicknesses.  

Advanced Ultrasonic Testing Techniques 

Advanced ultrasonic testing techniques have revolutionised the NDT industry, providing unprecedented levels of accuracy and efficiency. Below are some of the most advanced testing techniques used in the industry:  

1. Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT)  

PAUT is an advanced technique that uses different ultrasonic elements and electronic time delays to create a sweeping beam. This method provides a detailed image of the weld, allowing for precise identification of defects.  

Benefits:  

High-resolution and detailed images 

Faster inspection times 

Improved defect characterisation 

2. Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD)  

TOFD is another complex ultrasonic testing method that uses the time taken by sound waves to travel and diffract around defects to detect and size flaws accurately.  

Benefits:  

High accuracy in defect sizing 

Effective for detecting both surface and subsurface defects 

Reduced operator dependency 

3. Automated Ultrasonic Testing (AUT)  

AUT involves automated systems that perform ultrasonic inspections. This method enhances the consistency and repeatability of inspections, making it ideal for large-scale projects.  

Benefits:  

Consistent and repeatable results 

Increased inspection speed 

Reduced human error 

Applications of Ultrasonic Testing in the UK  

Ultrasonic testing is widely used in the UK across different industries to provide safety and integrity to critical infrastructure. Here are some key applications of ultrasonic testing in the UK. 

1. Oil and Gas Industry  

In the UK, the oil and gas industry rely heavily on ultrasonic testing for welding to ensure the integrity of pipelines and other critical infrastructure. PAUT and TOFD are commonly used to inspect welds in pipelines, ensuring they are free from defects that could lead to failures.  

2. Aerospace Industry  

The aerospace industry requires the highest levels of safety and reliability. Ultrasonic testing methods are used extensively to inspect welds in aircraft components, ensuring they meet strict safety standards.  

3. Construction and Infrastructure  

Ultrasonic testing plays a crucial role in the construction industry, particularly for inspecting welds in bridges, buildings, and other structures.   

Advantages of Advanced Ultrasonic Testing Methods  

Check out the advantages of advanced ultrasonic testing methods over traditional approaches. 

1. Enhanced Accuracy  

Advanced ultrasonic testing methods provide higher accuracy in detecting and sizing defects than traditional methods.  

2. Increased Efficiency  

Automated and advanced techniques like PAUT and AUT significantly reduce inspection times while maintaining high levels of accuracy.   

3. Comprehensive Reporting  

These methods offer detailed and comprehensive reporting, providing clear images and data that can be used for further analysis and decision-making.  

Conclusion 

Adopting advanced ultrasonic testing for welding is essential for industries aiming to maintain high quality and safety standards.  

Investing in these advanced techniques enhances inspection reliability and ensures compliance with stringent safety regulations. By leveraging the benefits of advanced ultrasonic testing, industries can achieve greater efficiency, accuracy, and overall project success.  

[madis-marvelous-blog]

Shin sekai yori part 2

These episodes made a lot more sense, and we get some idea of what the anime was trying to convey the whole time. In regards to the reading it gives us some insight as to what may happen if we implement things to identify threats before they occur.

The article talks about AI security, which would be able to flag a suspicious person and possibly act on that suspicion. We see something similar in the anime, with the psychological tests on young people to determine if they would do harm to society. While the AI security idea is not quite the same, they both raise ethical questions. For one, how can we determine that someone is a threat? In AI security this is a question of whether someone holding a weapon is going to use it for malicious purposes, as in many states open carry is legal. In the anime, this is a question of who gets to decide that someone will become a fiend.

I believe the anime is warning us against this kind of security. Preventative security is of course the most ideal as it literally prevents bad things from happening. However, the way it is implemented in this anime, the idea of deciding that someone is going to do something wrong before they actually do it, is the wrong way to approach this.

I also think the anime is telling us, in the context of mass shootings, not to take away the weapons entirely. This might sound counter intuitive, because without guns shootings are impossible, but making guns illegal doesn't make it impossible to acquire one. That would spark a market of illegal arms trading within the country, meaning one could still get their hands on one if they really wanted to. This anime is warning us against that in the form of death feedback. For most of the population, this means that even trying to kill a human causes a severe biological reaction, and if you keep going you die. This works for the majority of cases, but then there's fiends. Fiends are people who don't have this death feedback, and are therefore able to kill ridiculous amounts of people with the flick of a wrist. The problem here is they cannot be stopped. No one else can kill them because it would induce their death feedback. The anime is saying that if we make it impossible to legally get a gun, when someone inevitably does buy one and use it to hurt others, they won't be able to defend themselves. Of course in our society there are law enforcement officers who are able to stop these people, but making guns fully illegal would take it away from officers as well, forcing them to resort to non-lethal methods. These won't be very effective against armed individuals who would be able to cause mass destruction and injury.

In conclusion, the anime is telling us that the solution to these problems aren't as easy as absolute bans or pre-determining the threat level of every individual who walks into a room. The solution lies in a sort of gray area of compromise between extremes on all sides.

[rvsqualitycertificationspvtltd]

The Power of Precision: Exploring the Benefits of PAUT in NDT

In the realm of industrial inspections, the demand for accuracy and efficiency has never been higher. Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) stands out as a revolutionary method that fulfills these requirements, offering unparalleled precision and speed. As an integral part of Non Destructive Testing, PAUT is widely used across various industries to ensure the integrity and reliability of critical components. Here, we delve into the intricacies of PAUT and its benefits.

PAUT is an advanced method of ultrasonic testing that uses multiple elements and electronic time delays to create beams of sound waves. These beams can be steered, focused, and scanned, providing detailed images of internal structures. Unlike conventional ultrasonic testing, which uses a single transducer to send and receive sound waves, PAUT employs an array of transducers. This allows for simultaneous collection of data from multiple angles, resulting in more comprehensive and accurate inspections.

As part of a broader suite of Non Destructive Testing Services, PAUT plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety and reliability of industrial components. Nondestructive testing (NDT) from RVS QUALITY CERTIFICATIONS PVT LTD encompasses various techniques used to evaluate the properties of a material, component, or system without causing damage. PAUT's advanced capabilities enhance the overall effectiveness of NDT services, providing detailed and reliable data that support maintenance and quality assurance programs.

Applications Across Industries

The versatility of PAUT makes it suitable for a wide range of applications. It is commonly used in the aerospace, automotive, and power generation industries for inspecting critical components such as welds, turbine blades, and composite materials. PAUT's ability to detect minute defects and irregularities ensures that even the smallest flaws are identified before they become critical issues. This level of precision is essential for maintaining safety and performance standards in high-stakes environments.

Efficiency and Accuracy Combined

One of the standout features of PAUT is its efficiency. The ability to steer and focus sound waves electronically means that inspections can be performed more quickly compared to traditional methods. This not only reduces downtime but also increases the number of inspections that can be completed within a given timeframe. Additionally, the detailed images produced by PAUT provide a clearer understanding of the inspected material's condition, allowing for more accurate assessments and decision-making.

Enhanced Tube Inspections

A specific area where PAUT excels is in Tube Inspection Services. Tubes, often found in heat exchangers and boilers, are prone to various types of degradation such as corrosion and cracking. PAUT's ability to inspect from multiple angles simultaneously makes it particularly effective for tube inspections. It can detect flaws that may be missed by conventional methods, ensuring that tubes are thoroughly evaluated for any signs of wear or damage. This comprehensive approach helps prevent failures and extends the lifespan of critical equipment.

Advancing with Technology

The continuous evolution of technology has significantly impacted PAUT. Advances in digital signal processing and software have improved the resolution and clarity of the images produced. Portable PAUT equipment from RVS QUALITY CERTIFICATIONS PVT LTD has made it possible to conduct inspections in challenging environments, further expanding its applicability. These technological advancements ensure that PAUT remains at the forefront of nondestructive testing techniques, providing industries with cutting-edge solutions for maintaining safety and quality.

In conclusion, PAUT is a powerful tool that combines precision and efficiency to deliver superior inspection results. Its ability to provide detailed images from multiple angles makes it invaluable for identifying defects and ensuring the integrity of critical components. As a key component of Non Destructive Testing, PAUT supports industries in maintaining high standards of safety and performance. Whether it's for welds, turbine blades, or Tube Inspection Service, PAUT continues to set the standard for advanced nondestructive testing methodologies.

[ircengg]

Inspection of Boiler Bank Tubes | Internal Rotary Inspection System (IRIS)

Are you unable to carry out the Inspection of Boiler Bank tubes?

Are you regularly carrying out Capital Investment by purchasing tubes rather than finding only the defective Bank Tubes?

Here is the solution for inspection of Boiler Bank Tubes –

In case of Boiler Bank Tubes, only the Front Column of Tubes are available for Inspection for Thickness Testing externally there is no other way to check the rest of the Tubes. Thus, we have only 5 % of the Tubes available while we miss out on an inspection of the rest of the 95% of the tubes.

RFET was done previously to ascertain the condition of the rest of the 95% of the tubes but due to the limitation of the technique it is also not a right testing method. Then we tried IRIS on these tubes and got amazing results.

HOW IT WORKS –     

Because IRIS is an ultrasonic technique, it requires a couplant. In this case, water. Tubes under test must therefore first be flooded to use this technique. IRIS relies on a transducer to generate an ultrasonic pulse parallel to the axis of the tube under test. It also relies on a rotating mirror that directs the ultrasonic wave into the tube wall.

The mirror is driven by a small turbine powered by the pressure of water pumped into the tube. Part of the ultrasonic wave is reflected by the inner diameter (ID) wall, while the rest is reflected by the outer diameter (OD) wall of the tube. Because the ultrasonic velocity of the tube’s material is known, it is possible to assess the thickness of the wall by calculating the difference in times of flight between the two diameters. As the probe is pulled, the spinning motion of the mirror results in a helical scan path.

A critical aspect of IRIS is ensuring that the mirror is at the centre of the tube. An off-centre ultrasonic pulse yields a distorted scan image because of the different ID and OD wall sound paths. That’s why our IRIS kits are equipped with centring devices helping operators keep the system centred.

About IRC Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

IRC is one of the fastest growing Testing and Inspection company in India. We at IRC provide Liquid Penetrant Testing, Non-Destructive Testing, Destructive Testing, Advanced NDT, Third Party Inspection, Condenser Testing, Electrical Testing, Residual Life Assessment of Power Plant, O&M Services, Fitness For Service, Civil Testing and Training services.

Our website - https://ircengg.com/

[techndt]

Total Focusing Method (TFM) represents an Advanced Ultrasonic Testing (UT) Technique that revolutionizes flaw detection in materials. Read More!

[kratomcapsules12]

THC vs THCA- What are the Differences and Benefits

Cannabinoids, which are the amassed substances that are found in marijuana plants, have sparked interest because of the potential benefits they could bring to clinical treatment. Two such combinations, tetrahydrocannabinolic destructive (THCA) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), are discussed occasionally. Knowing the qualifications between THCA, and THC, is fundamental, particularly when you are looking for ordinary arrangements like CBD chewy dessert tablets for stress help and a brief look at joy. This article will examine these substances' definitions, contrasts, and purposes.

The marijuana plant is a mind-boggling animal overflowing with different mixes, which adds to its properties and benefits. Among these combinations, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic destructive) are habitually discussed for their primary positions. Even though they have a comparative name and are synthetically related, their purposes and properties might be very particular. This article centres on the specific qualities of THC and THCA, their benefits and weaknesses, and an investigation of THCA Best Price which is more established.

What is Mellow Fellow Disposable Vapes?

Mellow fellow disposable vapes are pre-filled, single-use devices that contain many cannabinoids. They're made to offer an easy and discrete method of experiencing the benefits of CBD with no hassles of maintaining or refilling. They are prepared to use right out of the package and are suitable for novices and experienced users. In the ever-changing marketplace of products containing cannabinoids, Mellow Fellow has carved its niche by offering high-end, lab-tested products. Mellow Fellow disposable vapes are well-known for their ease of use, portability and efficiency in their wide range of products. If you want to try these new products, Smokegem is the top online shop for selling Mellow Fellow Disposable Vapes in the Florida, United States with best price and doorstep shipping, we'll explore the factors that make Mellow Fellow disposable vapes worth a try, their characteristics and applications, and why Smokegem will be your desirable option to purchase the products online. 

The main differences between THC and THCA

Psych activity the most striking difference is the way that THC has psychoactive properties, while THCA doesn't. This implies that THCA is the ideal choice for people who need to stay away from a high connection with THC.

Compound Development: THCA has an extra carboxyl social event in contrast with THC that keeps it from getting into the CB1 receptors in the frontal cortex, in this manner keeping away from psychoactive impacts.

Usage Procedures: THC is usually disposed of by smoking, vaping, or biting. Yet, THCA is frequently consumed through straightforward weed crushes, tones, or even cases in which individuals have been warmed.

Legitimate Status: In numerous areas, THC is totally coordinated because of its psychoactive and endless impacts. At the same time, THCA is non-psychoactive and constantly under less severe rules.

The benefits of THC

Help with uneasiness THC is famous for its properties to ease torment and is a decent decision in facilitating the enduring of a leader.

Hunger Excitation is frequently used to help patients with ailments, for example, HIV and infections, to support their craving.

Decreased nervousness is particularly advantageous for chemotherapy patients who experience the ill effects of outrageous sickness.

Mental health might help facilitate burdensome and apprehensive feelings. Still, it could also cause more unfriendly, pessimistic impacts on specific individuals.

Benefits of THCA

Quieting THCA is known for its mitigating solid properties, which are advantageous for conditions like joint agony and lupus.

Neuroprotective Expected benefits for neurodegenerative infections like Parkinson's illness and Alzheimer's.

Antiemetic decreases queasiness and produces a heaved like THC, yet without the psychoactive impacts.

Threatening to proliferate early examinations recommend THCA could support the development of specific illness cells.

Which is more grounded? THC or THCA

The strength of a substance most frequently alludes to its psychoactive capability. In this occurrence, THC is unequivocally more grounded than THCA because of its capacity to give a lift. In any case, on the likelihood that we consider the strength of THCA regarding unwinding potential, without psychoactive impacts, THCA might be viewed as more helpful to specific clients; especially the people who are hoping to unwind or have neuroprotective benefits, without an adjustment of mental state.

Legitimate and Prosperity Thoughts

The lawful Status of THCA, when contrasted with THC Online Shop, varies given the ward. THC is named as a controlled substance in various areas, while THCA might be lawful because of its essential design. In any case, it's necessary to know the way that warming or taking care of THCA can adjust it into THC and create legitimate issues.

Where to Buy THC and THCA Items

If you're keen on purchasing combinations, numerous web-based stores provide a range of items. Here are a few techniques to find reasonable choices

THCA Online Shop: Quest for organizations that are given to crude cannabis items to ensure you are purchasing THCA without decarboxylation. Our Smokegem stores ordinarily offer the most minimal costs and the best items.

THC Online Supplier: Search out reliable suppliers offering an immense determination of THC items, going from blossoms to edibles. You should rest assured that they will give outside research facility tests to check the quality and strength.

The best THC Online Store: Look at the most recent internet-based stores, explore clients' reviews, and determine and assess to chase the top THC items for your necessities.

Every one of THC and THCA enjoys unmistakable benefits, and the decision between them depends on individual inclinations and requirements for prosperity. Whether you're looking for the psychoactive impacts that come from THC or the positive benefits of THCA, the developing business market of maryjane-related items guarantees you'll track down something for everybody. Continuously talk with a certified clinical expert before starting any new treatment given cannabis, and just buy from respectable providers to guarantee security and quality.

[dmagedgoods]

for the KC ask game - 2, 17, 24 for Salvadore?

Thank you so much! 💕 Areelu is such an important topic for Salvadore. 24 Where do they come from in Golarion? Do they miss their homeland? How do they feel about their homeland, its politics and current state?

Salvadore comes from Absalom. While he developed a strong love for Drezen after a rough start with the city, Absalom will always feel like a second home to him. He especially misses the ocean, the harbor, and his estate.

While he agrees with the political fundamentals in Absalom, he always fought to gain influence in the Grand Council - before he had to flee to Mendev and became the Knight Commander - to improve the system and the lives of its people. His own family blocked his attempts wherever they could. Now he is more removed from it all but still has an eye on the developments in Absalom. 17 Which non-companion NPC do they really like?

Salvadore trusts Irabeth and Anevia enough to leave important tasks in their hands. He also started to strongly cherish Berenguer, Yaniel, Katair, Lariel, and especially Targona who always showed up to support him.

[Everything spoilery under the cut again.]

There was a special connection between Salvadore and Targona especially because he managed to clean her from the influence of the Abyss – and with this deed himself from every last doubt that he is in full control over his own powers too and truly transformed them into a force of light and goodness. He enjoyed listening to the storyteller and was highly interested in his story, knowledge, and learning from him. 2 How do they feel about Areelu Vorlesh? They are complicated or rather multifaceted. She fascinated him. Someone cherishing knowledge as highly as her, someone with her abilities, ambition and hunger for power …, as much as he despised her methods and what she did to the world, she also had a handful of traits he admired. Furthermore, she guided him, left him hints of something he was eager for: Pieces of the truth, pieces to climb higher and higher with, and he hunted them, deep down excited for what she had to give, interpreting her words, attempting to outsmart her without having the whole picture. All of it raised a question in his mind when her motives became clearer: If he was in her place, what wouldn’t he do to get back the one he loves most? Is he actually better because he hasn’t been tested in this way? Or would he stay true to his beliefs and principles even then? Stronger than her? Yes, he remembers the torture, yes eventually he got to know about her experiments with his soul. He shook it off – not the consequences; what he went through left harsh traces he still suffers from – but the obligation to admit any weakness in it. He was able to bear it and anything that happened only equipped him with new powers and – so much more importantly – put him in the position of rulership he always dreamed of and he would never have reached that easily without Areelu’s intervention. Where he stands, he stands because of her. How could he ever forget this fact? A magical being beyond comprehension, leader of the Fifth Crusade (eventually king), in a relationship with someone he loves more than his life, as much as he believes in his very own strengths and abilities, he’s not so delusional to think he would have accomplished all of this without Areelu’s plan. None of those thoughts ever kept him from viewing it as his first and most important duty to close the worldwound and stop further death and destruction. Just his emotions for Areelu, they aren’t as negative as they should be due to her terrible crimes. The moment she finally laid open all the rest, he almost was … hurt in a very abstract way, knowing now it never has been about him but her child instead when she guided him towards understanding. – The child she expected to take over and erase him. Well, it didn’t work, he stayed very much himself, as she admits too, and he feels intense relief about the fact, because it’s his worst fear to be controlled and changed in such a way. Well, in the end, he killed her, fulfilled his duty, closed the worldwound. He felt nothing but a vague sadness overshadowing the victory. (Luckily, he still got to fight Deskari and after this battle he fully realized the accomplishment.) Still, he owes Areelu a lot and that’s why he spoke for her in front of Pharasma when the time had come.

[somethingclevermahogony]

Happy WBW! What is the most deadly weapon in your world?

Thank you for the ask!

Ekatism Tech

Ekatism Tech, the creation of which catalyzed the Age of Glass and Metal, allowed for the capture and processing of lifeforce, essentially converting a soul into a workable source of energy. This technology was developed by the human researcher and sage, Tagalan Ekat. Ironically, by the time of her death, she actively campaigned against her own invention.

Ekatism Tech was originally intended for benevolent purposes. It was meant to enable physicians and caretakers to transfer some of their own strength and vitality into others, aiding in better recovery. However, it was quickly discovered that this capture and transfer of energy could be done without the consent of the person being drained. Moreover, the energy or magical power taken from an individual didn’t have to be stored in a living body but could be put into inanimate vessels for later use.

The process of collecting souls for energy was first tested on prisoners, with the energy taken from them used to light the very prisons they inhabited. Several nations legalized the use of Ekatism Tech in hospitals to “utilize” dying or otherwise unresponsive patients, including its own inventor, Tagalan Ekat. In time, Ekatism Execution became the preferred method of execution in most Pre-Calamity nations.

The Ekatism Corporation, in cooperation with the agricultural sector, began to use the technology in slaughterhouses to kill livestock, using the resultant energy to light cities and fuel an Industrial Revolution. This led to a dramatic increase in meat consumption, with the average Pre-Calamity civilian consuming 780% more meat and meat by-products than their Post-Calamity counterparts. 

Energy specifically sourced from animal life was marketed as “humane” and considerably cheaper, while energy sourced from prisoners and the dying was sold at a far cheaper rate. However, once a soul was broken down into energy, it could not be reverted, and evidence suggested that the soul might still retain some level of awareness in this state. This process resulted in the permanent destruction of souls, preventing reincarnation and causing massive ecological destruction both on Kobani and in other worlds within the Cycle of Reincarnation.

Ekatism Tech was eventually co-opted by military groups, resulting in the development of guns and bombs. The Ekatsim Rifle M4, the most popular of its kind, could shoot a miniature Ekatism apparatus instead of a bullet. Upon penetrating a living being, the apparatus would absorb their energy, killing the individual. These pellets could then be retrieved and repurposed. More advanced weapons capable of draining multiple individuals at once were also invented.

The most feared weapon was the Sage-Suit, a metal exoskeleton that allowed the user to collect and utilize energy for various purposes, similar to how a sage uses magic but without the physical degradation. Sage-Suits became emblematic of a new, Ekatism-fueled world. The need for conventional fuel in warfare became irrelevant, as the enemy themselves became a fuel source. Successful invasions or military operations had a direct influence on energy prices for consumers, as the energy produced from enemy combatants (and non-combatants) flooded the market. Several nations even legalized the use of Ekatism Tech on prisoners of war.

Ekatism Tech was responsible for the near-total annihilation of the Tree-Tender people and several other groups. Further developments allowed for the technology's use on plant life and spirits. Concurrently, technology was perfected to infuse energy into fetuses in utero, creating artificially enhanced Spiritbloods. These Spiritbloods were utilized as super-soldiers, often further enhanced by Sage-Suits and Ekatism Implants.

The destructive potential of Ekatism Tech eventually gained the attention and ire of the Gods, leading to the total destruction of all human cities and over 99% of the population in an event known as the Calamity. Despite this, some pieces of Ekatism Tech still exist, scattered in the remote and hidden places of Kobani, waiting to be discovered once more.

[safescannersblog]

Avoid Costly Delays: How Scanning Utility Locating Saves You Time and Money

In today's fast-paced construction and infrastructure development landscape, time is money. Any unforeseen delays can significantly inflate costs and disrupt project timelines. One of the most effective ways to mitigate these risks is by employing advanced scanning utility locating techniques. Safe Scanners, a leader in this field, offers state-of-the-art GPR Services, GPR Scanning, Ground Penetrating Radar, and Concrete Scanning Services. These services ensure that projects proceed smoothly, without the costly interruptions caused by unforeseen utility line strikes or structural issues.

The Importance of Utility Locating Services

Before any excavation, drilling, or construction work begins, it's crucial to know what lies beneath the surface. Utility locating services help identify the presence of underground utilities such as water pipes, gas lines, electrical cables, and telecommunications infrastructure. Unintended strikes on these utilities can cause severe delays, legal liabilities, safety hazards, and increased costs.

Safe Scanners' Utility Locating Services use advanced technology to provide accurate and reliable subsurface information. This proactive approach not only prevents damage but also enhances project planning and efficiency.

How Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Works

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a non-destructive method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. GPR Scanning involves transmitting high-frequency radio waves into the ground. When these waves encounter a buried object or a boundary between different materials, they reflect back to the surface, where they are detected by a receiver. The time it takes for the radar waves to return is used to create a detailed image of the subsurface.

GPR Services provided by Safe Scanners are invaluable in detecting utilities, voids, rebar, and other structural components. This technology is highly effective in a variety of materials, including soil, rock, concrete, and asphalt, making it versatile for different construction needs.

Benefits of GPR Scanning and Concrete Scanning Services

Accuracy and Precision: GPR Scanning delivers highly accurate results, allowing construction teams to pinpoint the exact location and depth of utilities and other subsurface features. This precision reduces the risk of damaging existing infrastructure and ensures compliance with safety regulations.

Cost Savings: By identifying and avoiding utilities and other subsurface hazards, Safe Scanners' GPR Services prevent costly repairs, project delays, and potential legal issues. The upfront investment in scanning services can save significant amounts of money in the long run.

Safety Enhancement: Excavating without proper knowledge of underground utilities can lead to dangerous situations, including gas leaks, electrical hazards, and water main breaks. Using Ground Penetrating Radar and Concrete Scanning Services minimizes these risks, protecting workers and the public.

Non-Destructive Testing: GPR is a non-invasive method that does not disturb the surveyed area. This means that the site remains intact, avoiding the mess and potential damage associated with exploratory digging.

Versatility: GPR Scanning can be used in various environments and for multiple applications, from large-scale construction projects to smaller residential renovations. Safe Scanners' expertise ensures that each project benefits from tailored solutions.

Case Studies: Real-World Applications of GPR

Case Study 1: Urban Infrastructure Development

In a major city development project, Safe Scanners was enlisted to perform GPR Scanning before the installation of new utilities. The dense urban environment posed a challenge due to the existing network of underground utilities. Using advanced Ground Penetrating Radar, Safe Scanners successfully mapped out the complex subsurface layout, allowing the construction team to proceed without incident. This avoided potential delays and saved the city significant costs in rerouting and repairs.

Case Study 2: Historic Building Renovation

A historic building undergoing renovation required Concrete Scanning Services to locate rebar and voids within its foundation. Safe Scanners deployed its GPR technology to scan the concrete structure, providing detailed imagery of the rebar patterns and any hidden voids. This information was crucial in planning the renovation work, ensuring structural integrity and preserving the building's historical value. The project was completed on time and within budget, thanks to the accurate data provided by Safe Scanners.

Future Trends in Utility Locating and GPR Technology

As technology advances, the capabilities of GPR and utility locating services continue to expand. Innovations such as 3D GPR imaging and real-time data processing are enhancing the accuracy and speed of subsurface investigations. Safe Scanners is at the forefront of adopting these new technologies, ensuring that clients benefit from the latest advancements in the field.

Moreover, the integration of GPR data with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allows for more comprehensive and accessible mapping of subsurface utilities. This integration provides a holistic view of the project site, further reducing risks and improving planning efficiency.

In the realm of construction and infrastructure development, avoiding costly delays is paramount. Safe Scanners' GPR Services, including GPR Scanning, Ground Penetrating Radar, and Concrete Scanning Services, offer a reliable and effective solution to this challenge. By accurately locating subsurface utilities and other features, these services save time, reduce costs, and enhance safety on job sites.

Investing in advanced utility locating services is a proactive step that pays off in both the short and long term. With Safe Scanners' expertise and cutting-edge technology, you can ensure your projects proceed without unexpected interruptions, keeping your timelines and budgets intact.

For more information on how Safe Scanners can assist with your next project, visit our website or contact us directly. Together, we can build a safer, more efficient future.