Comments on "Wall-plug (AC) power consumption of a very high energy e+/e- storage ring collider" by Marc Ross

The paper arXiv:1308.0735 questions some of the technical assumptions made by the TLEP Steering Group when estimating in arXiv:1305.6498 the power requirement for the very high energy e+e- storage ring collider TLEP. We show that our assumptions are based solidly on CERN experience with LEP and the LHC, as well accelerators elsewhere, and confirm our earlier baseline estimate of the TLEP power consumption.Comment: 6 page

Experimental study of the uptake of water by soybean roots

The water extraction from soil by plant roots was treated by assuming that such extraction could be represented as a continuously distributed sink (negative source) function. Preliminary results with soybeans grown in soil columns showed that a small part of the root system could extract most of the water used in transpiration. Root density as measured by root length per unit volume of soil was not directly correlated with water uptake. Both the hydraulic conductivity of the soil and root density played a major role in determining the rate of extraction of water at a given depth in the soil. Water uptake per unit root length ranged up to about 0.5 cm3/cm of root/day. This kind of data gives more insight into the conditions at the root-soil interface. The experimental work in this project was developed from a numerical analysis which was supported by an earlier OWRR project (Project No. 65-O3G), and is an example of a basic approach to the study of the interaction of the plant with its environment in which the available degree of understanding of the water flow process in soil is brought to bear upon the plant-soil interaction. The importance of evapotranspiration is well known in the hydrologic cycle. The experimental work described in this report makes a further contribution toward our understanding of this process.U.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Department of the InteriorOpe

Analysis of the uptake of water by plant root systems

U.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Department of the InteriorOpe

Four Pages Are Indeed Necessary for Planar Graphs

An embedding of a graph in a book consists of a linear order of its vertices along the spine of the book and of an assignment of its edges to the pages of the book, so that no two edges on the same page cross. The book thickness of a graph is the minimum number of pages over all its book embeddings. Accordingly, the book thickness of a class of graphs is the maximum book thickness over all its members. In this paper, we address a long-standing open problem regarding the exact book thickness of the class of planar graphs, which previously was known to be either three or four. We settle this problem by demonstrating planar graphs that require four pages in any of their book embeddings, thus establishing that the book thickness of the class of planar graphs is four

Future hadron colliders: From physics perspectives to technology R&D

High energy hadron colliders have been instrumental to discoveries in particle physics at the energy frontier and their role as discovery machines will remain unchallenged for the foreseeable future. The full exploitation of the LHC is now the highest priority of the energy frontier collider program. This includes the high luminosity LHC project which is made possible by a successful technology-readiness program for Nb[subscript 3]Sn superconductor and magnet engineering based on long-term high-field magnet R&D programs. These programs open the path towards collisions with luminosity of 5×10[superscript 34] cm[superscript −2] s[superscript −1] and represents the foundation to consider future proton colliders of higher energies. This paper discusses physics requirements, experimental conditions, technological aspects and design challenges for the development towards proton colliders of increasing energy and luminosity

Tactility as a function of grasp force: Effects of glove, orientation, pressure, load, and handle

One of the reasons for reduction in performance when gloves are donned is the lack of tactile sensitivity. It was argued that grasping force for a weight to be grasped will be a function of the weight to be lifted and the hand conditions. It was further reasoned that the differences in grasping force for various hand conditions will be a correlate of the tactile sensitivity of the corresponding hand conditions. The objective of this experiment, therefore, was to determine the effects of glove type, pressure, and weight of load on the initial grasping force and stable grasping force. It was hypothesized that when a person grasps an object, he/she grasps very firmly initially and then releases the grasp slightly after realizing what force is needed to maintain a steady grasp. This would seem to be particularly true when a person is wearing a glove and has lost some tactile sensitivity and force feedback during the grasp. Therefore, the ratio of initial force and stable force and the stable force itself would represent the amount of tactile adjustment that is made when picking up an object, and this adjustment should vary with the use of gloves. A dynamometer was fabricated to measure the grasping force; the tests were performed inside a glove box. Four female and four male subjects participated in the study, which measured the effects of four variables: load effect, gender effect, glove type, and pressure variance. The only significant effects on the peak and stable force were caused by gender and the weight of the load lifted. Neither gloves nor pressure altered these forces when compared to a bare-handed condition, as was suspected before the test. It is possible that gloves facilitate in holding due to coefficient of friction while they deter in peak grasp strength

Planning the Future of U.S. Particle Physics (Snowmass 2013): Chapter 6: Accelerator Capabilities

These reports present the results of the 2013 Community Summer Study of the APS Division of Particles and Fields ("Snowmass 2013") on the future program of particle physics in the U.S. Chapter 6, on Accelerator Capabilities, discusses the future progress of accelerator technology, including issues for high-energy hadron and lepton colliders, high-intensity beams, electron-ion colliders, and necessary R&D for future accelerator technologies.Comment: 26 page

A High Luminosity e+e- Collider to study the Higgs Boson

A strong candidate for the Standard Model Scalar boson, H(126), has been discovered by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments. In order to study this fundamental particle with unprecedented precision, and to perform precision tests of the closure of the Standard Model, we investigate the possibilities offered by An e+e- storage ring collider. We use a design inspired by the B-factories, taking into account the performance achieved at LEP2, and imposing a synchrotron radiation power limit of 100 MW. At the most relevant centre-of-mass energy of 240 GeV, near-constant luminosities of 10^34 cm^{-2}s^{-1} are possible in up to four collision points for a ring of 27km circumference. The achievable luminosity increases with the bending radius, and for 80km circumference, a luminosity of 5 10^34 cm^{-2}s^{-1} in four collision points appears feasible. Beamstrahlung becomes relevant at these high luminosities, leading to a design requirement of large momentum acceptance both in the accelerating system and in the optics. The larger machine could reach the top quark threshold, would yield luminosities per interaction point of 10^36 cm^{-2}s^{-1} at the Z pole (91 GeV) and 2 10^35 cm^{-2}s^{-1} at the W pair production threshold (80 GeV per beam). The energy spread is reduced in the larger ring with respect to what is was at LEP, giving confidence that beam polarization for energy calibration purposes should be available up to the W pair threshold. The capabilities in term of physics performance are outlined.Comment: Submitted to the European Strategy Preparatory Group 01-04-2013 new version as re-submitted to PRSTA

Hierarchical Multimodel Ensemble Estimates of Soil Water Retention with Global Coverage

A correct quantification of mass and energy exchange processes among land surface and atmosphere requires an accurate description of unsaturated soil hydraulic properties. Soil pedotransfer functions (PTFs) have been widely used to predict soil hydraulic parameters. Here, 13 PTFs were grouped according to input data requirements and evaluated against a well-documented soil database with global coverage. Weighted ensembles (calibrated by four groups and the full 13-member set of PTFs) were shown to have improved performance over individual PTFs in terms of root mean square error and other model selection criteria. Global maps of soil water retention data from the ensemble models as well as their uncertainty were provided. These maps demonstrate that five PTF ensembles tend to have different estimates, especially in middle and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Our full 13-member ensemble model provides more accurate estimates than PTFs that are currently being used in earth system models