Anthony Burgess, also called 

Joseph Kell, original name John Anthony Burgess

Wilson, (born February 25, 1917, Manchester, England—died November 22, 1993,
London), English novelist, critic, and man of letters whose fictional explorations of
modern dilemmas combine wit, moral earnestness, and a note of the bizarre.

Trained in English literature and phonetics, Burgess taught in the extramural

department of Birmingham University (1946–50), worked for the Ministry of Education
(1948–50), and was English master at Banbury Grammar School (1950–54). He then
served as education officer in Malaya and Borneo (1954–59), where he wrote three
novels with a Malayan setting.

asphalt, black or brown petroleum-like material that has a consistency varying from
viscous liquid to glassy solid. It is obtained either as a residue from
the distillation of petroleum or from natural deposits. Asphalt consists of compounds of
hydrogen and carbon with minor proportions of nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. Natural
asphalt (also called brea), which is believed to be formed during an early stage in the
breakdown of organic marine deposits into petroleum, characteristically contains
minerals, while residual petroleum asphalt does not.

The use of asphalt is very old, dating back to its use as a water stop between brick walls
of a reservoir at Mohenjo-Daro (about the 3rd millennium BC) in Pakistan. In the Middle
East it was extensively used for paving roads and sealing waterworks, important
applications even today. The Pitch Lake on the island of Trinidad was the first large
commercial source, but natural sources have since declined in importance as petroleum
became the major source. Gilsonite, wurzilite, and similar vein asphalts have special
uses in heat-resistant enamels; they are hard and are mined like coal. Petroleum asphalt
is produced in all consistencies from light road oils to heavy, high-viscosity industrial
types.

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 Why Are Roads Made of Asphalt?

Asphalt is cheap, quick, and easy.

Asphalt softens when heated and is elastic under certain conditions. The mechanical
properties of asphalt are of little significance except when it is used as a binder or
adhesive. The principal application of asphalt is in road surfacing, which may be done in
a variety of ways. Light oil “dust layer” treatments may be built up by repetition to form
a hard surface, or a granular aggregate may be added to an asphalt coat, or earth
materials from the road surface itself may be mixed with the asphalt.

Other important applications include canal and reservoir linings, dam facings, and other
harbour and sea works; asphalt so used may be a thin, sprayed membrane, covered with
earth for protection against weathering and mechanical damage, or thicker surfaces,
often including riprap (crushed rock). Asphalt is also used for roofs, coatings, floor
tilings, soundproofing, waterproofing, and other building-construction elements and in
a number of industrial products, such as batteries. For certain applications an
asphaltic emulsion is prepared, in which fine globules of asphalt are suspended in
water. See also bitumen.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam
Augustyn.
napalm

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napalm
chemical compound
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By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica • Last Updated: Sep 16, 2022 • Edit History

napalm
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napalm, the aluminum salt or soap of a mixture of naphthenic and aliphatic carboxylic
acids (organic acids of which the molecular structures contain rings and chains,
respectively, of carbon atoms), used to thicken gasoline for use as an incendiary in
flamethrowers and fire bombs. The thickened mixture, now also called napalm, burns
more slowly and can be propelled more accurately and to greater distances than
gasoline. It was developed by U.S. scientists during World War II.

Napalm is also employed in a pyrotechnic gel containing gasoline and less-

volatile petroleum oil, powdered magnesium, and sodium nitrate;
this composition burns at a temperature of about 1,000° C (1,800° F), compared to 675°
C (1,250° F) for thickened gasoline.