Increasing the wheat yield of Kansas

Citation: Adams, Ernest L. and Williams, Robert E. Fertilizer requirements of unproductive soils. Senior thesis, Kansas State Agricultural College, 1907.Morse Department of Special CollectionsIntroduction: The history of winter wheat in Kansas is one of the most interesting chapters in agricultural progress. Every Kansan refers with pride to the developement of the industry from the time farming was commenced a half century ago in the small river valleys of the eastern part of the state, when the state was considered to be more or less a desert, to the present time when Kansas has become one of the greatest wheat producing sections of the world. At the time when wheat was first grown in this State, very little was known about the hard winter wheat for which Kansas has since become famous. Soft wheats were the only varieties grown and when the hard wheats were first introduced it was not thought that they would prove successful. It has scarce been forty years since the introduction of hard winter wheat by the Mennonite immigrants from the Russian Crimea. These hardy newcomers with remarkable foresight settled in the central part of the state and sowed small quantities of the seed-wheat which they had brought with them. This central group of counties has since developed into the principal wheat producing section of the state, and Kansas has come to occupy the foremost rank in the production of hard winter wheat. Kansas raises more wheat than any other state in the Union, yet we must confess that this is due to the number of acres sown rather than to the large yield per acre. The average yield of wheat per acre in Kansas is nearly one-third bushels less than the average for all the states, many of which are less adapted to wheat growing than our own state. The average yield for the state for the last ten years has been 13.1 bushels per acre. Under more favorable cropping conditions, many of which..

On the waiting time distribution for continuous stochastic systems

The waiting time distribution (WTD) is a common tool for analysing discrete stochastic processes in classical and quantum systems. However, there are many physical examples where the dynamics is continuous and only approximately discrete, or where it is favourable to discuss the dynamics on a discretized and a continuous level in parallel. An example is the hindered motion of particles through potential landscapes with barriers. In the present paper we propose a consistent generalisation of the WTD from the discrete case to situations where the particles perform continuous barrier-crossing characterised by a finite duration. To this end, we introduce a recipe to calculate the WTD from the Fokker-Planck/Smoluchowski equation. In contrast to the closely related first passage time distribution (FPTD), which is frequently used to describe continuous processes, the WTD contains information about the direction of motion. As an application, we consider the paradigmatic example of an overdamped particle diffusing through a washboard potential. To verify the approach and to elucidate its numerical implications, we compare the WTD defined via the Smoluchowski equation with data from direct simulation of the underlying Langevin equation and find full consistency provided that the jumps in the Langevin approach are defined properly. Moreover, for sufficiently large energy barriers, the WTD defined via the Smoluchowski equation becomes consistent with that resulting from the analytical solution of a (two-state) master equation model for the short-time dynamics developed previous by us [PRE 86, 061135 (2012)]. Thus, our approach "interpolates" between these two types of stochastic motion. We illustrate our approach for both symmetric systems and systems under constant force.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Cooled artery extension

An artery vapor trap. A heat pipe artery is constructed with an extension protruding from the evaporator end of the heat pipe beyond the active area of the evaporator. The vapor migrates into the artery extension because of gravity or liquid displacement, and cooling the extension condenses the vapor to liquid, thus preventing vapor lock in the working portion of the artery by removing vapor from within the active artery. The condensed liquid is then transported back to the evaporator by the capillary action of the artery extension itself or by wick located within the extension

A minimal model for short-time diffusion in periodic potentials

We investigate the dynamics of a single, overdamped colloidal particle, which is driven by a constant force through a one-dimensional periodic potential. We focus on systems with large barrier heights where the lowest-order cumulants of the density field, that is, average position and the mean-squared displacement, show nontrivial (non-diffusive) short-time behavior characterized by the appearance of plateaus. We demonstrate that this "cage-like" dynamics can be well described by a discretized master equation model involving two states (related to two positions) within each potential valley. Non-trivial predictions of our approach include analytic expressions for the plateau heights and an estimate of the "de-caging time" obtained from the study of deviations from Gaussian behaviour. The simplicity of our approach means that it offers a minimal model to describe the short-time behavior of systems with hindered dynamics.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Lectores de Saavedra Fajardo en la Alemania ilustrada : Leipzig y la traducción alemana de Locuras de Europa

Se analiza la recepción de Diego de Saavedra Fajardo en la Alemania ilustrada del siglo XVIII, donde se imprimieron y tradujeron algunas obras de este autor. A través del análisis del prólogo que precede la edición alemana de Locuras de Europa, conoceremos el universo editorial que impulsó su aparición en Leipzig y la conyuntura histórico-político que lo propició.This paper studies the reception of the Spanish writer Diego de Saavedra Fajardo in 18th century Germany. Several of his works were translated and printed there at the time. Through the analysis of the prologue preceeding the German translation of Locuras de Europa we learn many details about the editorial universe of the Enlightenment in Leipsic. Also of interest in this translation are the historical and political constellation that originated the publication of this work of Saavedra Fajardo

Calculating average surface enhancement factors of randomly nanostructured electrodes by a combination of SERS and impedance spectroscopy

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Polyhedron Ag nanostructures were created on top of a polished Au electrode via step-wise electrodeposition and tested as substrates for SERS spectroscopy. Average Raman enhancement factors were derived by combining SERS measurements with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), which is able to determine the electroactive surface area of a randomly nanostructured surface. Depending on the deposition step an alternating increase and decrease of surface area was observed while the SERS intensity showed a clear maximum for the first deposition cycle. SEM pictures reveal the formation of Ag polyhedrons that are randomly dispersed on the Au surface. Furthermore the presence of a sub nanostructure on top of the polyhedron after the first deposition cycle is observed which becomes smoother after subsequent deposition cycles. Correlating the SEM pictures with SERS and EIS measurements it is concluded that the coral-like sub nanostructure is dominating the enhancement factor while the polyhedron structure itself only plays a minor role for electromagnetic field enhancement.DFG, EXC 314, Unifying Concepts in CatalysisDFG, GSC 1013, School of Analytical Sciences Adlershof (SALSA

Estrategias picarescas en tiempos de crisis

Actas del coloquio internacional "Estrategias picarescas en tiempos de crisis" (11-12 de diciembre de 2014, Universität Trier)