Quite often you can find the word "illumination" in a conversation. This term came to Russian from Latin (illuminato) and in translation means "lighting". This word is used to denote the illumination of various objects, such as streets, buildings, interior and landscape. About what is "illumination", and its types will be discussed in the article.
Dictionary word
Before we begin to study what illumination is, let us turn to the explanatory dictionary.
It says that this is a bright lighting (including decorative) of various objects. Quite often, illumination is used to decorate the landscape and interior during various celebrations.
It is also used along with special sound effects and fireworks. Currently, it is used in advertising banners and special electronic displays, while it carries any information. During various holidays, such as the New Year, the streets of the city are decorated with light garlands, illuminating them.
Also, “Illumination” is the name of the Soviet jet portable lighting system, which was used by anti-tank artillery units.
Related to the student is the word "illuminating." This is the name of one of the techniques (methods) of decorating with ornaments and various drawings of handwritten books in the Middle Ages.
History
Considering what is "illumination" in the first sense, you should turn to history. This is a long-standing phenomenon, since its development in Russia falls on the reign of Catherine I. At that time, to illuminate a large area near the palace, barrels were placed and some were set on fire during some kind of celebration.
Barrels were filled with brushwood or straw, and resin was also added. For illumination, lanterns, plates, and scales were used. Basically, for lighting in those days, wax or paraffin candles were used. For better illumination, large-volume windows were made in the houses in large quantities.
Later, gas lanterns appeared, and later began to widely use electric light sources. Currently, in addition to incandescent lamps, electric saving and LED lamps are used.
The latter are becoming increasingly popular due to their characteristics. They consume little electricity, while at the same time they give greater illumination at the output. In the photo of illumination, LED lamps show their brightness, which is significantly better than ordinary incandescent lamps.
Lighting installation
Studying what "illumination" is, it is necessary to mention a special lighting installation. In the mid-80s, in order to provide the best illumination to anti-tank artillery units during combat missions, the 9K510 installation was created.
It is a Grad launcher and a remote control with which the launch can be controlled remotely. The system is equipped with special 122 mm lighting shells. Only one fired projectile illuminates a territory with a radius of about 500 meters for 90 seconds. The installation can be controlled by a calculation of two fighters. This portable reactive system is widespread and is currently used in the Russian army. Also, the Illumination installation is exported to other countries.
Decoration technique
Studying the meaning of the word "illumination", you need to consider in more detail the second understanding of the term. We are talking about the word "illuminating." It is important not to confuse these concepts. In the second sense, this is an art technique for decorating handwritten books, which was widely distributed in the territory of modern Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
At that time, much attention was paid to each book, since the entire creation process was manual. After the main text was applied to the sheet, it was decorated with ornaments and miniature drawings. Quite often, the very first letter on the page was illuminated. Such manuscripts are often called "facial."
A colorful and bright ornament and drawing were applied along the edges of the sheet, which in meaning coincided with the text. Natural pigments were used to create illuminated books, including gold and silver powder, which made the drawing especially beautiful and shiny. This technique is one of the most difficult due to the fact that it is used on a small area, and often on a miniature scale.
As follows from the above, “illumination” is an ambiguous term, but the main association that is associated with it is lighting. However, as we see, this is only one of the meanings of this term.