text:
Talk:Soviet submarine K-19

бредовый перевод с английского на русский

Range
The Range given for K-19 seems odd, namely 35,700 miles at 26 knots but only 32,200 miles at 24 knots (80 percent power). Wouldn't range increase using lower power? Moriori 23:17, Nov 17, 2003 (UTC)
 * Isn't the K19 Nuclear-powered? Why the "short" range? NiceDoggie 12:02, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

It's not the fuel that limits the range, it's the amount of food - 50 days worth. 50 days at 26knots = 35,700 miles but at only 24 knots is 32,200 miles. dbdb 12:02, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Purchase of K-19
Found this today: What's the truth about it and should this be included?

Collision
I suggest to change "collided with USS Gato" to "collided with submarine USS Gato" JanSuchy 19:49, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
 * If you think that it makes it more clear, sure, be bold and do it - but what else would K-19 be colliding with, except a submarine, at 60m depth? Pawl 20:00, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Nuclear reactor explosion possibility
Article says: "Even though a nuclear reactor accident cannot produce a nuclear explosion under any circumstances," -- OK, I understand this, but is it not true that a nuclear reactor that goes out of control can explode? Maybe it's not a nuclear explosion in the sense of a hydrogen bomb, but more like a so-called "dirty bomb". Like what happened in Chernobyl. I can imagine the submarine's captain being worried that a reactor explosion could be detected and spark a nuclear war, especially in the absence of radio contact with his superiors. --Smithfarm not logged in.
 * However, the worst that would happen is a large relese of radiation into the sea, that would hardly consitute a nuclear explosion. Because of this, I doubt that the captain would even be concerend about the reactor exploding and would be more concerned about the safety of his crew. The point is, reactors, while they can become large dirty bombs, will not become nuclear bombs and would not be considered as a nuclear bomb.
 * When a nuclear reactor "explodes", such as in the case of Chernobyl, it's due to a prompt- critical power excursion (see SL-1 for more information on that). In that situation, the chain reaction passes supercritical as large portions of the fuel undergo fission at the same time. The resulting release of energy in the form of heat causes the coolant to flash from liquid to gas instantaneously, and the pressure built up causes the reactor vessel (the part containing the core) to rupture. That was what happened at Chernobyl. The coolant flashed to steam fast enough to blow the reactor's closure head clear out of the containment building housing the reactor, and the highly reactive and radioactive graphite moderator caught fire from the heat and pressure shortly thereafter. There isn't any explosion like a nuclear bomb, per se, but radioactive materials are spread from the breach. As K-19 had already suffered an inisolable fast leak from the primary system, it's unlikely there was much (if any) coolant left circulating through the core to flash to steam. The main danger was the fact that Russian reactors operate with a positive coefficient of reactivity, meaning that as the temperature of the core rises, the fission rate is going to rise proportionally. While a prompt critical event would have occurred, it wouldn't have had any other effect than raising the already lethal background radiation levels even higher. The quickest and safest way to avert that problem would have been to evacuate and scuttle the boat; seawater is a natural moderator of neutrons, and would have slowed the chain reaction to the point where it would not have been able to sustain itself any longer past a certain point. I'm guessing that the decision to save the boat had more to do with politics and how the Northern Fleet would have handled the loss of one of its new nuclear submarines more than any percieved danger of starting World War III. Tspencer227 01:08, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

it was a submarine equipped with nuclear warheads. there was the danger that the warheads could explode, not just the reactors. this easily could have provoked the us troops with possible causalities on that nato base.--78.51.176.152 (talk) 17:01, 18 April 2011 (UTC)

A nuclear warhead is not capable of detonating with any kind of nuclear yield, unless it has been properly armed because of the extreme timing requirements of an implosion reaction (the Little Boy Hiroshima bomb and other gun type bombs being the exclusion). Therefore there was no risc of a nuclear explosion.Schr75 (talk) 21:20, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Purchase of K19
This is again a misrepresentation by the press. K-19 is scrap, however it is quite possible that other submarines of the Hotel Class are intact and could be made to represent K-19.

Contradiction with National Geographic article
On the NG site linked to the article, it says eight sailors died shortly after the return to port, not seven.--Cancun771 (talk) 16:40, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

Inconsistencies in article
A couple of inconsistencies should be addressed in the article as it stands right now. Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough to do so, nor can I read the Russian source for one.

1) How many died in the aftermath of the 1961 incident? The "Nuclear accident" section (fourth paragraph) says "seven men ... within a week, and twenty more within the next few years..." The "Crew" section says "... these seven men died between one and three weeks after the accident... other crew members had ... fewer health problems." I would say that dying would be a pretty serious health problem (ahem), therefore the "Crew" section is saying that only seven of the crew died as a result of the incident.

2) When did the seven most contaminated men die? See excerpts quoted above - within a week or in one to three weeks? (A quibble, I admit.)

3) When did the nickname "Hiroshima" get attached? In the "Construction and commissioning" section, it states that "During its completion, commissioning, and preparations to get underway ... leading to the K-19's nickname Hiroshima." In the "Nuclear accident" section it states that after repairs were complete (1963?), "K-19 returned to the fleet, now having acquired the additional nickname "Hiroshima"."

It is not an article inconsistency, but the section "Crew" really isn't about the crew of the submarine as a whole, just those who lost their lives immediately after the 1961 incident. It should be expanded or retitled. (If the latter, it should be made a subhead under the "Nuclear accident" section.)

Pawl (talk) 18:17, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

 * Ok I imprroved an article a bit. In before sorry for my poor English but this has to be done I think. What about time when the boat first gained it's nick name - it's hard to find out. I never meet any mention about it in literature I have been read. But for my own opinion it is very probable that it gained it's nickname after the accident in 4 July. Anyway it brought so much deaths that this nickname could be given to it anytime, especialy because it was unofficial. Yegor (talk) 01:01, 18 February 2009 (+5 UTC)

Timeline part of this article is in bad english and needs an overhaul
I suspect it has been translated quickly from russian to english and there are lots of typos and sentences that doesn't look like proper english. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.208.212.38 (talk) 00:14, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

There is at least one discrepancy between the timeline and the rest of the article. The timeline says that K-19 was converted to the Hotel II standard in December 1961, but the replacement of the entire reactor compartment took at least two years (as the article also states later), making the conversion date (recommissioning) at least mid 1963.Schr75 (talk) 21:32, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Small arms question
Article says "Worries about a potential crew mutiny prompted Zateyev to have all small arms thrown overboard except for five pistols distributed to his most trusted officers." Could any one provide a verification link for this claim, please? Alex Row (talk) 21:03, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Requested Sources
The section for the accident is completely unsourced, so it's unclear if the information really comes from verifiable sources (or just from the movie). There are some Russian sources which may give a clue, but I can't read them. It would be great if there were some english-language sources available. Even if not, it would be good if someone could attribute the facts at the right Russian source. Averell (talk) 13:10, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

Chemical vs. radiation suits
“Since the ship carried chemical suits, instead of radiation suits, they were certain to be lethally contaminated. But the repair team was not aware of that, believing the suits they wore would protect them from contamination.”

This statement as well as the situation created in the enjoyable but inaccurate movie deserves discussion.

In the 1960’s the Soviet radiation garment (“Womble”) consisted of canvas with rubber vulcanized onto it. The purpose was not to shield the user from scintillating radiation but served two important purposes

1. Prevent physical contamination of the wearer from radioactive particles as well as shield the user from Alpha and Beta particles.

2. Limit contamination of safe areas by providing a garment that can easily and safely be taken off during decontaminating procedures.

The suits were never designed to shield the wearer from scintillating radiation. The technology was simply not present in the 1960’s.

This was no different from the radiation suits worn by the US military. When I was working on Nuclear Weapons, our radiation suits were made of close-weaved cloth. It has only been relatively recent that suits that provide protection from scintillating radiation have become practical.

The Soviet chemical protection suit in the 1960’s consisted of a butyl-rubber suit and respirator. In construction and basic design, it resembled the US M-3 chemical suit.

Properly worn, the butyl-rubber Soviet Chemical suit would provide as much if not more protection from radioactive particles than the Soviet Radiation suit. The major difference would be user comfort.

Since neither suit would provide any protection from the scintillating radiation from the reactor, it makes no practical difference whether the crew of the K-19 was issued chemical suits or radiation suits when it comes to providing protection from scintillating radiation. Throckmorton Guildersleeve (talk) 18:54, 7 April 2009 (UTC)

 * Yup, I second that. Will edit. Can't believe it took 3 years for someone else to notice.--Yannick (talk) 18:44, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Not to mention that even if you had a piece of lead the thickness of your thumb, it would be effectively useless with wavelengths as short as those produced by nuclear fission. This isn't your dentist's x-ray machine!  The biggest avoidable danger is just the alpha/beta radiation and internal contamination that can expose you to them long after you head home from work.
 * Oh, it doesn't seem to be edited yet. It's not clear from reading it that there is no such thing a protection from 'gamma' radiation.  Not to confuse people but gamma just means photons and depending on your frame of reference, they all are gamma rays even if you required that high a frequency in your definition.  ;)  75.70.89.124 (talk) 09:40, 9 June 2013 (UTC)

Contradiction Tag
A contradiction tag was put in the article with the following reasoning: "This article or section appears to contradict itself about when the sub was first nicknamed The Widowmaker. ..." I pray this was taken care of at another time in the history as the only other reference to the name "Widowmaker" in the article is a reference to a 2002 movie and NOT to when the actual submarine was nicknamed. I've removed the contradiction tag. If you still feel this article is in contradiction, please feel free to add a new tag and discuss the tag on this page. Thanks. Kjnelan (talk) 00:41, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

List of crew who died following the reactor accident
Why is it that radiation dose for one crew member, Boris Korchilov, is listed in rem, whereas for the others, dosages are listed in röntgen? Jedikaiti (talk) 06:09, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

The reason is probably due to the Wiki poster copying from the source material. One REM is equal to 1.07185 röntgen. This would make Boris Korchilov's exposure 5788 (5787.99) röntgen. If you feel it is important enough to edit the main article, Gopher it!

If anyone cares about the very small difference between a REM and röntgen, The units REM and röntgen used to be the same, but was changed so that "100 rem equal 1 sievert (Sv); the sievert is the recommended SI derived unit, and in many cases is the legally prescribed unit" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B6ntgen_equivalent_man Throckmorton Guildersleeve (talk) 16:00, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

Two additional inconsistencies
1. The last sentence in the following paragraph is extremely dubious, as Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously. It also carries no citation:

"On 1 February, 2006, former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev proposed in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee that the crew of K-19 be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for their actions on 4 July 1961.[3] In late March 2006, Nikolai Zateyev was formally nominated for the award."

2. Compare the following: A. "August 2003 The crew makes its last visit to the boat in Polyarny city after which the hull is scrapped save for the sail left for the purpose of forming a burial site for fallen crew members." B. "In 2006, the K-19 was purchased by Vladimir Romanov, who once served on the sub as a conscript, with the intention of "Turning it into a Moscow-based meeting place to build links between submarine veterans from Russia and other countries." So far, the plans remain on hold, and many of K-19's survivors have objected to them.[5]" —Preceding unsigned comment added by Emandel (talk • contribs) 18:07, 25 December 2009 (UTC)

Nobel
The article claims:
 * On 1 February 2006, former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev proposed in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee that the crew of K-19 be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for their actions on 4 July 1961.[3] In late March 2006, Nikolai Zateyev was formally nominated for the award.

 * 1) There is no such thing as "formal nominations" for the Nobel Peace Prize. A vast number of people (such as any parlamentarian of any country, any Norwegian professor etc. etc.) are allowed to submit proposals (hundreds of people are proposed each year), they are not considered "formal nominations", but only proposals. Stalin and Hitler have also been proposed as candidates in the past.
 * 2) The Nobel Committee doesn't comment on the proposals it receives, it doesn't make the list of proposals public, and it doesn't confirm or deny whether someone has been proposed.
 * 3) The Nobel Peace Prize is never awarded posthumously, so a nomination of dead people is not a serious nomination as it will not be considered.

Gorbachev is free to send a letter to the committee and propose dead people for the award (although he is certain to be aware that the committee doesn't consider such proposals), and he is free to tell the press that he sent such a letter. But there is nothing "formal" about that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.164.196.63 (talk) 23:12, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

radiation suits
are completely useless in an incident like this since gamma rays and neutrons are cutting through basically anything than multiple inches of lead.--78.51.176.152 (talk) 16:09, 18 April 2011 (UTC)

Link To The Cuban Missile Crisis - Removal?
I think the section that discussed the Cuban missile crisis should be removed from the article. It should be included in the article discussing Arkipov himself, but its inclusion in the K-19 article seems out of place. 108.77.65.78 (talk) 00:15, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

 * Good catch. Agreed this should be removed. Kendall-K1 (talk) 02:04, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

Propulsion
The infobox says it has two reactors, 70 MW each, but only 29 MW at the shafts. Where did the other 111 MW go? Kendall-K1 (talk) 12:11, 26 May 2016 (UTC)

 * Without further research, I'd guess the second reactor is a backup; so the other 41 MW is used internally. — btphelps (talk to me) (what I've done) 08:16, 28 May 2016 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 15:23, 17 March 2020 (UTC)
 * K-19.jpg

title: Talk:Soviet submarine K-19


text:
Bluetick Coonhound

The Bluetick Coonhound is a breed of coonhound originating in the United States. The Bluetick Coonhound is known for its friendly personality, cold nose, and deep bawl mouth. It is most commonly used as a raccoon hunting dog, but is also kept as a pet.

Appearance
The overall build of the Bluetick Coonhound is muscular and speedy. The head is carried up and the tail carried over the back, without signs of fear or nervousness. The Bluetick coat should be moderately coarse and glossy. The Bluetick Coonhound gets its "blue" coloring from black ticking on a white background, which gives the impression of a navy blue color. This ticking covers the body and can be interspersed with variously-shaped black spots on the back, ears and sides. Preference runs to more blue than black on the body. Black should predominate on the head and ears. Bluetick Coonhounds can come either with or without markings. With markings means they will have brown markings above the eyes, along both sides of the muzzle, on the chest, and down all of the legs. Without markings means their color consists of only black and white fur. There is generally a ticked blaze running up the face. Bluetick Coonhounds should be 21 inches to 27 inches tall at the shoulder and males weigh approximately 55 to 80 pounds (25 to 36 kg). Females are considerably smaller at an average weight of 45 to 65 pounds. Feet should be cat-like, rounded with well-arched toes. Their paws are larger than those of nearly all other breeds of dogs. Rear legs should have a moderate bend at the hocks. All legs should be straight from the dog's body to the ground when viewed from the front or rear.

Gascon blues are larger than standard Blueticks, with males a minimum of 27 inches and a maximum of 30 inches, per the American Blue Gascon Hound Association's breed standard.

Temperament
Bluetick Coonhounds are bred to be hunting dogs. They are athletic, hardy, and need a full-time job or activity such as hunting, obedience, or agility to stay happy. They can be challenging to train and they should be monitored around cats or other small animals. They are, like their hound counterparts, a very intelligent breed that has the uncanny talent for problem-solving.

Once trained, the members of the breed are very mindful of their owner. Something first time pet owners should be aware of is the daunting task of "voice-training" these dogs. Being bred to bay while hunting, they are highly vocal. If properly socialized from a young age, they can be family pets. In normal conditions, the Bluetick Coonhound gets along well with children. They are mindful and friendly dogs. However, their noses will keep them in trouble, so food and garbage should never be left out unattended. The breed is often mistaken for being aggressive as the breed will "greet" strangers with its signature howl and will sniff the subject until satisfied. Usually, this is just the way the breed gets to know its subjects. Since Blueticks are driven by their strong sense of smell, they make excellent hunting/tracking dogs. If allowed, they will tree almost any animal smaller than they. Blueticks are generally easier to handle in the field than some other coonhounds.

History
The Bluetick Coonhound, which originated in Louisiana, was developed from the Grand Bleu de Gascogne hound of southwestern France, as well as the English Foxhound, the cur dog, the American Foxhound, and the Black and Tan Virginia Foxhound. Originally, Bluetick Coonhounds were registered in the United Kennel Club under the English Foxhound and Coonhound, but were recognized by the club as a separate breed in 1946. Bluetick Coonhounds are also recognized by the Australian National Kennel Council and the New Zealand Kennel Club. In April 2009, the breed was accepted by the American Kennel Club and in December 2009 they became eligible to compete in AKC coonhound events.

The American Blue Gascon Hound is the name for a subgroup of Bluetick Coonhounds that is larger, heavier and more "houndy" looking than the standard Bluetick. American Blue Gascon Hounds are often referred to as "old-fashioned" Blueticks. This is due to their appearance and "colder" nose, or slower style of tracking, compared to other modern coonhound breeds.

Famous Bluetick Coonhounds

 * Smokey, the mascot of the University of Tennessee, is a Bluetick Coonhound
 * A Bluetick Coonhound named Tet was the companion of Stringfellow Hawke, the main character of the popular 1980s television show Airwolf.
 * Old Blue, a Bluetick Coonhound, was in the 1960 Elia Kazan film, Wild River.
 * Bando in Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco was played by a Bluetick Coonhound.
 * Old Blue was a Bluetick Coonhound belonging to the Pritchard boys in the novel Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.
 * A female Bluetick Coonhound is in the George Jones song "Ol' Red" which was later covered by Blake Shelton.
 * Huckleberry Hound is a Bluetick.
 * Savage Sam, the sequel to Old Yeller, is about a Bluetick Coonhound.
 * Lillian's dog, Gideon, is a Bluetick Coonhound in the song "Red Dirt Girl" written by Emmylou Harris.
 * A Bluetick Coonhound is referenced in the song "Long Haired Country Boy" written by Charlie Daniels.
 * A Bluetick Coonhound is referred to in the 2016 song "Church Bells," written by Zach Crowell, Brett James and Hillary Lindsey, and sung by Carrie Underwood.
 * A Bluetick Coonhound named Nash is mentioned in the song "Sun Shines on a Dreamer" by Wade Bowen.
 * A Bluetick Coonhound is referenced in the song "Rednecker" written and performed by Hardy.
 * A Bluetick Coonhound, or "bluetick hound," is referenced in the 2020 single "I Love My Country" performed by Florida Georgia Line.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Bluetick Coonhound


text:
Sclerosis

Sclerosis (also sclerosus in the Latin names of a few disorders) is a hardening of tissue and other anatomical features; it may refer to:

 * Sclerosis (medicine), a hardening of tissue
 * in zoology, a process which hardens forms sclerites, a hardened exoskeleton
 * in botany, a process which hardens plant tissue by adding fibers and sclereids, resulting in sclerenchyma
 * In economics, see: Eurosclerosis

تَصلُب Esclerosi Склероза Stwardnienie Esclerose Skleroosi Skleros 硬化

title: Sclerosis


text:
Electronic toll collection

Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing toll booths, where vehicles must stop and the driver manually pays the toll with cash or a card. In most systems, vehicles using the system are equipped with an automated radio transponder device. When the vehicle passes a roadside toll reader device, a radio signal from the reader triggers the transponder, which transmits back an identifying number which registers the vehicle's use of the road, and an electronic payment system charges the user the toll.

A major advantage is the driver does not have to stop, reducing traffic delays. Electronic tolling is cheaper than a staffed toll booth, reducing transaction costs for government or private road owners. The ease of varying the amount of the toll makes it easy to implement road congestion pricing, including for high-occupancy lanes, toll lanes that bypass congestion, and city-wide congestion charges. The payment system usually requires users to sign up in advance and load money into a declining-balance account, which is debited each time they pass a toll point.

Electronic toll lanes may operate alongside conventional toll booths so that drivers who do not have transponders can pay at the booth. Open road tolling is an increasingly popular alternative which eliminates toll booths altogether; electronic readers mounted beside or over the road read the transponders as vehicles pass at highway speeds, eliminating traffic bottlenecks created by vehicles slowing down to go through a toll booth lane. Vehicles without transponders are either excluded or pay by plate – a license plate reader takes a picture of the license plate to identify the vehicle, and a bill may be mailed to the address where the car's license plate number is registered, or drivers may have a certain amount of time to pay online or by phone.

Singapore was the first city in the world to implement an electronic road toll collection system known as the Singapore Area Licensing Scheme for purposes of congestion pricing, in 1974. Since 2005, nationwide GNSS road pricing systems have been deployed in several European countries. With satellite-based tolling solutions, it is not necessary to install electronic readers beside or above the road in order to read transponders since all vehicles are equipped with On Board Units having Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers in order to determine the distance traveled on the tolled road network - without the use of any roadside infrastructure.

US Nobel Economics Prize winner William Vickrey was the first to propose a system of electronic tolling for the Washington Metropolitan Area in 1959. In the 1960s and the 1970s, the first prototype systems were tested. Norway has been a world pioneer in the widespread implementation of this technology, beginning in 1986. Italy was the first country to deploy a full electronic toll collection system in motorways at national scale in 1989.

History
In 1959, Nobel Economics Prize winner William Vickrey was the first to propose a similar system of electronic tolling for the Washington Metropolitan Area. He proposed that each car would be equipped with a transponder: "The transponder's personalized signal would be picked up when the car passed through an intersection, and then relayed to a central computer which would calculate the charge according to the intersection and the time of day and add it to the car's bill." In the 1960s and the 1970s, free flow tolling was tested with fixed transponders at the undersides of the vehicles and readers, which were located under the surface of the highway. Plans were however scrapped and it never came into actual implementation. Modern toll transponders are typically mounted under the windshield, with readers located in overhead gantries.

After tests in 1974, in 1975, Singapore became the first country in the world to implement an electronic road toll collection system known as the Singapore Area Licensing Scheme for purposes of congestion pricing on its more urbanized roads. It was refined in 1998 as Electronic Road Pricing (ERP).

Italy deployed a full ETC in motorways at national scale in 1989. Telepass, the brand name of the ETC belonging to Autostrade S.p.A. now Autostrade per l'Italia, was designed by Dr. Eng Pierluigi Ceseri and Dr. Eng. Mario Alvisi and included a full operational real time Classification of Vehicles and Enforcement via cameras interconnected with the PRA (Public Register of Automobiles) via a network of more than 3.000 Km. optical fibers. Telepass introduced the concept of ETC Interoperability because interconnected 24 different Italian motorway operators allowing users to travel between different concession areas and paying only at the end of the journey. Dr. Eng. Mario Alvisi is considered the father of ETC in motorways because not only co-designed Telepass but was able to make it the first standardized operating ETC system in the world as European standard in 1996. He acted as a consultant for deployment of ETC in many countries including Japan, United States, Brazil. In Japan, only the ETC System was constructed in all of the controlled-access expressways in 2001. By 2019, 92% of drivers are using ETC.

ETC was first introduced in Bergen, Norway, in 1986, operating together with traditional tollbooths. In 1991, Trondheim introduced the world's first use of completely unaided full-speed electronic tolling. Norway now has 25 toll roads operating with electronic fee collection (EFC), as the Norwegian technology is called (see AutoPASS). In 1995, Portugal became the first country to apply a single, universal system to all tolls in the country, the Via Verde, which can also be used in parking lots and gas stations. The United States is another country with widespread use of ETC in several states, though many U.S. toll roads maintain the option of manual collection.

"ETC 2.0 is not only capable of sending and receiving a large amount of information in both directions between the road and the vehicle, but also of providing route information. Thus, ETC 2.0 has far more advanced functions than ETC 8 (which provides only toll collection function on toll roads). The ETC 2.0 system provides a variety of advantages to road users through information provision services, such as congestion avoidance, safe driving support, etc., and route information collected by the road side devices and greatly contribute to ITS promotion."

As of March 2018, in Japan, a total of approximately 2.61 million vehicles are equipped with devices compliant with the ETC 2.0.

Overview
In some urban settings, automated gates are in use in electronic-toll lanes, with 5 mph (8 km/h) legal limits on speed; in other settings, 20 mph (35 km/h) legal limits are not uncommon. However, in other areas such as the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, and at various locations in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Texas, cars can travel through electronic lanes at full speed. Illinois' Open Road Tolling program features 274 contiguous miles of barrier-free roadways, where I-PASS or E-ZPass users continue to travel at highway speeds through toll plazas, while cash payers pull off the main roadway to pay at tollbooths. Currently over 80% of Illinois' 1.4 million daily drivers use an I-PASS.

Enforcement is accomplished by a combination of a camera which takes a picture of the car and a radio frequency keyed computer which searches for a drivers window/bumper mounted transponder to verify and collect payment. The system sends a notice and fine to cars that pass through without having an active account or paying a toll.

Factors hindering full-speed electronic collection include:

 * significant non-participation, entailing lines in manual lanes and disorderly traffic patterns as the electronic- and manual- collection cars "sort themselves out" into their respective lanes;
 * problems with pursuing toll evaders;
 * need, in at least some current (barrier) systems, to confine vehicles in lanes, while interacting with the collection devices, and the dangers of high-speed collisions with the confinement structures;
 * vehicle hazards to toll employees present in some electronic-collection areas;
 * the fact that in some areas at some times, long lines form even to pass through the electronic-collection lanes;
 * costs and other issues raised when retrofitting existing toll collection facilities
 * unionized toll collectors can also be problematic.

Even if line lengths are the same in electronic lanes as in manual ones, electronic tolls save registered cars time: eliminating the stop at a window or toll machine, between successive cars passing the collection machine, means a fixed-length stretch of their journey past it is traveled at a higher average speed, and in a lower time. This is at least a psychological improvement, even if the length of the lines in automated lanes is sufficient to make the no-stop-to-pay savings insignificant compared to time still lost due waiting in line to pass the toll gate. Toll plazas are typically wider than the rest of the highway; reducing the need for them makes it possible to fit toll roads into tight corridors.

Despite these limitations, if delay at the toll gate is reduced, the tollbooth can serve more vehicles per hour. The greater the throughput of any toll lane, the fewer lanes required, so construction costs can be reduced. Specifically, the toll-collecting authorities have incentives to resist pressure to limit the fraction of electronic lanes in order to limit the length of manual-lane lines. In the short term, the greater the fraction of automated lanes, the lower the cost of operation (once the capital costs of automating are amortized). In the long term, the greater the relative advantage that registering and turning one's vehicle into an electronic-toll one provides, the faster cars will be converted from manual-toll use to electronic-toll use, and therefore the fewer manual-toll cars will drag down average speed and thus capacity.

In some countries, some toll agencies that use similar technology have set up (or are setting up) reciprocity arrangements, which permit one to drive a vehicle on another operator's tolled road with the tolls incurred charged to the driver's toll-payment account with their home operator. An example is the United States E-ZPass tag, which is accepted on toll roads, bridges and tunnels in fifteen states from Illinois to Maine.

In Australia, there are a number or organizations that provide tags known as e-TAG that can be used on toll roads. They include Transport for NSW's E-Toll and Transurban's Linkt. A toll is debited to the customer's account with their tag provider. Some toll road operators – including Sydney's Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Lane Cove Tunnel and Westlink M7, Melbourne's CityLink and Eastlink, and Brisbane's Gateway Motorway – encourage use of such tags, and apply an additional vehicle matching fee to vehicles without a tag.

A similar device in France, called Liber-T for light vehicles and TIS-PL for HGVs, is accepted on all toll roads in the country.

In Brazil, the Sem Parar/Via-Fácil system allows customers to pass through tolls in more than 1,000 lanes in the states of São Paulo, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. Sem Parar/Via-Fácil also allows users to enter and exit more than 100 parking lots. There are also other systems, such as via expressa, onda livre and auto expresso, that are present in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Parana and Minas Gerais.

Since 2016, National Highway Authority of Pakistan implemented electronic toll collection on its motorway network using a RFID-based tag called the "M-TAG". The tag is attached to the windscreen of vehicles and is automatically scanned at toll plazas on entry and exit, meanwhile debiting the calculated toll tax from a prepaid M-TAG account.

The European Union issued the EFC-directive, which attempts to standardize European toll collection systems. Systems deployed after January 1, 2007 must support at least one of the following technologies: satellite positioning, mobile communications using the GSM-GPRS standard or 5.8 GHz microwave technology. Furthermore, the European Commission issued the Regulation on the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) which must be implemented by all Member States from 19 October 2021. All toll roads in Ireland must support the eToll tag standard.

From 2015, the Norwegian government requires commercial trucks above 3.5 tons on its roads to have a transponder and a valid road toll subscription. Before this regulation, two-thirds of foreign trucks failed to pay road tolls.

Use in urban areas and for congestion pricing

The most revolutionary application of ETC is in the urban context of congested cities, allowing to charge tolls without vehicles having to slow down. This application made feasible to concession to the private sector the construction and operation of urban freeways, as well as the introduction or improvement of congestion pricing, as a policy to restrict auto travel in downtown areas.

Between 2004 and 2005, Santiago, Chile, implemented the world's first 100% full speed electronic tolling with transponders crossing through the city's core (CBD) in a system of several concessioned urban freeways (Autopista Central and Autopista ). The United Arab Emirates implemented in 2007 a similar road toll collection in Dubai, called Salik. Similar schemes were previously implemented but only on bypass or outer ring urban freeways in several cities around the world: Toronto in 1997 (Highway 407), several roads in Norway (AutoPASS), Melbourne in 2000 (CityLink), and Tel Aviv also in 2000 (Highway 6).

Congestion pricing or urban toll schemes were implemented to enter the downtown area using ETC technology and/or cameras and video recognition technology to get the plate numbers in several cities around the world: urban tolling in Norway's three major cities:

Singapore in 1974 introduced the world's first successful congestion pricing scheme implemented with manual control (see also Singapore's Area Licensing Scheme), and was refined in 1998 (see Singapore's Electronic Road Pricing), Bergen (1986), Oslo (1990), and Trondheim (1991) (see Trondheim Toll Scheme); Rome in 2001 as an upgrade to the manual zone control system implemented in 1998; London in 2003 and extended in 2007 (see London congestion charge); Stockholm, tested in 2006 and made the charge permanent in 2007 (see Stockholm congestion tax); and in Valletta, the capital city of Malta, since May 2007.

In January 2008, Milan began a one-year trial program called Ecopass, a pollution pricing program in which low-emission-standard vehicles pay a user fee; alternative fuel vehicles and vehicles using conventional fuels but compliant with the Euro IV emission standard are exempted. The program was extended through December 2011 and in January 2012 was replaced by a congestion pricing scheme called Area C.

New York City considered the implementation of a congestion pricing scheme. New York City Council approved such a plan in 2008, but it was not implemented because the New York State Assembly did not approve it. (see New York congestion pricing)

In 2006, San Francisco transport authorities began a comprehensive study to evaluate the feasibility of introducing congestion pricing. The charge would be combined with other traffic reduction implementations, allowing money to be raised for public transit improvements and bike and pedestrian enhancements. The various pricing scenarios considered were presented in public meetings in December 2008, with final study results expected in 2009. (see San Francisco congestion pricing)

Taiwan Highway Electronic Toll Collection System (see Electronic Toll Collection (Taiwan)) In December 2013, the old toll stations were replaced by distance-based pay-as-you-go all-electronic toll collection on all of Taiwan's major freeways. All tolls are collected electronically by overhead gantries with multi-lane free flow, not at traditional toll booths. Taiwan was the first country to switch from manual tolling to all-electronic, multi-lane free-flow tolling on all of its freeways. To simulate the previous model, where a vehicle would not pass toll collection over short-distance travel, each vehicle receives 20 kilometers per diem of free travel and is billed NT$1.2 per kilometer thereafter. Buses and trailers are subject to heavy vehicle surcharges. The highway administration may alter fares (e.g. remove the per diem) during peak travel seasons to facilitate distribution of congestion to midnight hours. The toll gates divide the highway into segments, each having a price value determined by distance to the next gate (interchange). A daily gate count is calculated at midnight, and the total charge is deducted in 48 hours. Each vehicle receives a further discount after the first 200 kilometers, and eTag subscribers with prepaid accounts get a further 10% reduction. Non-subscribers are billed by license plate recognition and mail statements, or can make a payment at chain convenient store at third day after vehicle travel, since a subscription to ETC is not mandated by law. Taiwan was the first country to transfer from flat-rate toll stations to a distance-based pay-as-you-go tolling system on all of its freeways. It has the longest ETC freeway mileage in the world.

Use for non-toll transactions

 * E-ZPass in the northeastern United States can be used to pay at some airport, train, and festival parking lots, and has been tested for use in drive-thrus at private restaurants.
 * SunPass in Florida can be used to pay for parking at the Palm Beach International Airport, Tampa International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and the Hard Rock Stadium. Despite SunPass' interoperability with Peach Pass and E-ZPass, those systems are not accepted at these facilities.
 * E-Pass can also be used to pay for parking at Orlando International Airport. However, it is not compatible with other airports that use SunPass for parking.
 * The NTTA TollTag in Texas can be used to pay for passage and parking in the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Despite TollTag's interoperability with EZ Tag, TxTag, PikePass, and K-TAG, those systems are not accepted at this facility.
 * Via Verde in Portugal can be used at many gas stations and car parks and at some McDonald's drive-thru restaurants.
 * BroBizz can be used in toll stations part of EasyGo, as well as some other places within Denmark and Scandinavia, such as for ferries, parking and car washes.
 * AutoPASS can be used in toll stations part of EasyGo, as well as some ferries within Norway and Scandinavia.
 * Sem Parar in Brazil can be used in many gas stations, car pars on airports and shopping malls and at some McDonald's drive-thru restaurants.

Technologies
Electronic toll collection systems rely on four major components: automated vehicle identification, automated vehicle classification, transaction processing, and violation enforcement.

The four components are somewhat independent, and, in fact, some toll agencies have contracted out functions separately. In some cases, this division of functions has resulted in difficulties. In one notable example, the New Jersey E-ZPass regional consortium's Violation Enforcement contractor did not have access to the Transaction Processing contractor's database of customers. This, together with installation problems in the automated vehicle identification system, led to many customers receiving erroneous violation notices, and a violation system whose net income, after expenses, was negative, as well as customer dissatisfaction.

Automated vehicle identification
Source:

Automated vehicle identification (AVI) is the process of determining the identity of a vehicle subject to tolls. The majority of toll facilities record the passage of vehicles through a limited number of toll gates. At such facilities, the task is then to identify the vehicle in the gate area.

Some early AVI systems used barcodes affixed to each vehicle, to be read optically at the toll booth. Optical systems proved to have poor reading reliability, especially when faced with inclement weather and dirty vehicles.

Most current AVI systems rely on radio-frequency identification, where an antenna at the toll gate communicates with a transponder on the vehicle via Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC). RFID tags have proved to have excellent accuracy, and can be read at highway speeds. The major disadvantage is the cost of equipping each vehicle with a transponder, which can be a major start-up expense, if paid by the toll agency, or a strong customer deterrent, if paid by the customer.

To avoid the need for transponders, some systems, notably the 407 ETR (Express Toll Route) near Toronto and the A282 (M25) Dartford Crossing in the United Kingdom, use automatic number plate recognition. Here, a system of cameras captures images of vehicles passing through tolled areas, and the image of the number plate is extracted and used to identify the vehicle. This allows customers to use the facility without any advance interaction with the toll agency. The disadvantage is that fully automatic recognition has a significant error rate, leading to billing errors and the cost of transaction processing (which requires locating and corresponding with the customer) can be significant. Systems that incorporate a manual review stage have much lower error rates, but require a continuing staffing expense.

A few toll facilities cover a very wide area, making fixed toll gates impractical. The most notable of these is a truck tolling system in (Germany). This system instead uses Global Positioning System location information to identify when a vehicle is located on a tolled Autobahn. Implementation of this system turned out to be far lengthier and more costly than expected.

As smart phone use becomes more commonplace, some toll road management companies have turned to mobile phone apps to inexpensively automate and expedite paying tolls from the lanes. One such example application is Alabama Freedom Pass mobile, used to link customer accounts at sites operated by American Roads LLC. The app communicates in real time with the facility transaction processing system to identify and debit customer accounts or bill a major credit card.

Automated vehicle classification
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Automated vehicle classification is closely related to automated vehicle identification (AVI). Most toll facilities charge different rates for different types of vehicles, making it necessary to distinguish the vehicles passing through the toll facility.

The simplest method is to store the vehicle class in the customer record, and use the AVI data to look up the vehicle class. This is low-cost, but limits user flexibility, in such cases as the automobile owner who occasionally tows a trailer.

More complex systems use a variety of sensors. Inductive sensors embedded in the road surface can determine the gaps between vehicles, to provide basic information on the presence of a vehicle. With clever software processing of the inductive data a wide range of vehicle classes can be derived by careful analysis of the inductive profile. Treadles permit counting the number of axles as a vehicle passes over them and, with offset-treadle installations, also detect dual-tire vehicles. Light-curtain laser profilers record the shape of the vehicle, which can help distinguish trucks and trailers. In modern systems simple laser light curtains are being replaced with more technically advanced Lidar systems. These safety critical systems, used in autonomous vehicles, are less sensitive to environmental conditions.

Transaction processing
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Transaction processing deals with maintaining customer accounts, posting toll transactions and customer payments to the accounts, and handling customer inquiries. The transaction processing component of some systems is referred to as a "customer service center". In many respects, the transaction processing function resembles banking, and several toll agencies have contracted out transaction processing to a bank.

Customer accounts may be postpaid, where toll transactions are periodically billed to the customer, or prepaid, where the customer funds a balance in the account which is then depleted as toll transactions occur. The prepaid system is more common, as the small amounts of most tolls makes pursuit of uncollected debts uneconomic. Most postpaid accounts deal with this issue by requiring a security deposit, effectively rendering the account a prepaid one.

Violation enforcement
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A violation enforcement system (VES) is useful in reducing unpaid tolls, as an unmanned toll gate otherwise represents a tempting target for toll evasion. Several methods can be used to deter toll violators.

Police patrols at toll gates can be highly effective. In addition, in most jurisdictions, the legal framework is already in place for punishing toll evasion as a traffic infraction. However, the expense of police patrols makes their use on a continuous basis impractical, such that the probability of being stopped is likely to be low enough as to be an insufficient deterrent.

A physical barrier, such as a gate arm, ensures that all vehicles passing through the toll booth have paid a toll. Violators are identified immediately, as the barrier will not permit the violator to proceed. However, barriers also force authorized customers, which are the vast majority of vehicles passing through, to slow to a near-stop at the toll gate, negating much of the speed and capacity benefits of electronic tolling. Furthermore, a violator can effectively block a toll collection lane for an indefinite time.

Automatic number plate recognition, while rarely used as the primary vehicle identification method, is more commonly used in violation enforcement. In the VES context, the number of images collected is much smaller than in the AVI context. This makes manual review, with its greater accuracy over fully automated methods, practical. However, many jurisdictions require legislative action to permit this type of enforcement, as the number plate identifies only the vehicle, not its operator, and many traffic enforcement regulations require identifying the operator in order to issue an infraction.

An example of this is the vToll system on the Illinois Tollway, which requires transponder users to enter their license plate information before using the system. If the transponder fails to read, the license plate number is matched to the transponder account, and the regular toll amount is deducted from the account rather than a violation being generated. If the license plate cannot be found in the database, then it is processed as a violation. Illinois' toll violation system has a 7-day grace period, allowing tollway users to pay missed tolls online with no penalty the 7 days following the missed toll.

In the United States, a growing number of states are sharing information on toll violators, where toll agencies can report out-of-state toll violators to the Department of Motor Vehicles (or similar agency) of the violator's home state. The state motor vehicle agency can then block the renewal of the vehicle's registration until the violator has paid all outstanding tolls, plus penalties and interest in some situations. Toll authorities are also resorting to using collection agencies and litigation for habitual toll violators with large unpaid debts, and some states can pursue criminal prosecution of repeat toll violators, where the violator could serve time in jail, if convicted. Many toll agencies also publicize a list of habitual toll violators through media outlets and newspapers. Some toll agencies offer amnesty periods, where toll violators can settle their outstanding debts without incurring penalties or being subject to litigation or prosecution.

Privacy
Electronic toll collection poses a concern to privacy because the systems record when specific motor vehicles pass toll stations. From this information, one can infer the likely location of the vehicle's owner or primary driver at specific times. Technically speaking, using ecash and other modern cryptography methods, one could design systems that do not know where individuals are, but can still collect and enforce tolls. From the legal standpoint, a proper privacy framework can pose strict bounds on the data retention and rights to access and utilization, especially after the tolls have been successfully paid. For example, images of ANPR cameras may be required deletion as soon as possible for successful tolls.

title: Electronic toll collection


text:
ETC

 * Etc. or et cetera, a Latin expression meaning "and the other things" or "and the rest".

ETC or etc may also refer to:

Companies and organizations

 * ETC (Chilean TV channel), a Chilean cable television channel
 * ETC (Philippine TV channel), a Philippine television network
 * Zee ETC Bollywood, an Indian television channel
 * Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, a telecommunications provider
 * ETC Group (eco-justice), an American appropriate-technology organization
 * Electric Telegraph Company, British Victorian company and ancestor of British Telecom
 * European Technical Center, of the US National Security Agency
 * European Travel Commission, a tourism agency
 * Experimental Television Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit electronic and media art organization
 * Experimental Theatre Club, at University of Oxford, England
 * Entertainment Technology Center, at Carnegie Mellon University

Science and technology

 * Electron transport chain, in molecular biology
 * Electronic throttle control, an automobile technology
 * Electronic toll collection
 * Electrothermal-chemical technology, in artillery
 * Encyclopedia of Triangle Centers, an online list of points of a triangle
 * Ericsson Texture Compression, an image compression algorithm
 * , a directory in Unix-like systems, see Unix file system
 * Extraterrestrial technological civilization

Finance

 * Ethereum Classic cryptocurrency, ticker symbol
 * Equipment trust certificate, a financial security
 * Estimate to complete, in earned value management
 * Exchange-traded commodity or currency or certificate; see Exchange-traded fund

Transport

 * ETC, the National Rail station code for Etchingham railway station, East Sussex, England
 * Eastside Transit Corridor, a proposed light rail extension project in Los Angeles County, California

Other uses

 * Etc (band), a Czech rock band
 * ETC: A Review of General Semantics, a scholarly journal
 * Cadillac ETC, an automobile
 * Etc, a special time zone area, see Tz database
 * Expressive therapies continuum, in art therapy

title: ETC


text:
Soap bubble

A soap bubble (commonly referred to as simply a bubble) is an extremely thin film of soap or detergent and water enclosing air that forms a hollow sphere with an iridescent surface. Soap bubbles usually last for only a few seconds before bursting, either on their own or on contact with another object. They are often used for children's enjoyment, but they are also used in artistic performances. Assembling many bubbles results in foam.

When light shines onto a bubble it appears to change colour. Unlike those seen in a rainbow, which arise from differential refraction, the colours seen in a soap bubble arise from light wave interference, reflecting off the front and back surfaces of the thin soap film. Depending on the thickness of the film, different colours interfere constructively and destructively.

Mathematics
Soap bubbles are physical examples of the complex mathematical problem of minimal surface. They will assume the shape of least surface area possible containing a given volume. A true minimal surface is more properly illustrated by a soap film, which has equal pressure on both sides, becoming a surface with zero mean curvature. A soap bubble is a closed soap film: due to the difference in outside and inside pressure, it is a surface of constant mean curvature.

While it has been known since 1884 that a spherical soap bubble is the least-area way of enclosing a given volume of air (a theorem of H. A. Schwarz), it was not until 2000 that it was proven that two merged soap bubbles provide the optimum way of enclosing two given volumes of air of different size with the least surface area. This has been dubbed the double bubble conjecture.

Because of these qualities, soap bubble films have been used in practical problem solving applications. Structural engineer Frei Otto used soap bubble films to determine the geometry of a sheet of least surface area that spreads between several points, and translated this geometry into revolutionary tensile roof structures. A famous example is his West German Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal.

Soap bubbles as unconventional computing
The structures that soap films make can not just be enclosed as spheres, but virtually any shape, for example in wire frames. Therefore, many different minimal surfaces can be designed. It is actually sometimes easier to physically make them than to compute them by mathematical modelling. This is why the soap films can be considered as analog computers which can outperform conventional computers, depending on the complexity of the system.

Merging
When two bubbles merge, they adopt a shape which makes the sum of their surface areas as small as possible, compatible with the volume of air each bubble encloses. If the bubbles are of equal size, their common wall is flat. If they are not the same size, their common wall bulges into the larger bubble, since the smaller one has a higher internal pressure than the larger one, as predicted by the Young–Laplace equation.

At a point where three or more bubbles meet, they sort themselves out so that only three bubble walls meet along a line. Since the surface tension is the same in each of the three surfaces, the three angles between them must be equal to 120°. Only four bubble walls can meet at a point, with the lines where triplets of bubble walls meet separated by cos−1(−1/3) ≈ 109.47°. All these rules, known as Plateau's laws, determine how a foam is built from bubbles.

Stability
The longevity of a soap bubble is limited by the ease of rupture of the very thin layer of water which constitutes its surface, namely a micrometer-thick soap film. It is thus sensitive to :
 * Drainage within the soap film: water falls down due to gravity. This can be slowed by increasing the water viscosity, for instance by adding glycerol. Still, there is an ultimate height limit, which is the capillary length, very high for soap bubbles: around 13 feet (4 meters). In principle, there is no limit in the length it can reach.
 * Evaporation: This can be slowed by blowing bubbles in a wet atmosphere, or by adding some sugar to the water.
 * Dirt and fat: When the bubble touches an object, it usually ruptures the soap film. This can be prevented by wetting these surfaces with water (preferably containing some soap).

After experiments, researchers found that a solution containing:

 * 85.9 % water
 * 10 % glycerol
 * 4 % dishwashing liquid
 * 0.1 % guar gum

gave the longest lasting results as it minimised the Marangoni Effect.

Wetting
When a soap bubble is in contact with a solid or a liquid surface wetting is observed. On a solid surface, the contact angle of the bubble depends on the surface energy of the solid., A soap bubble has a larger contact angle on a solid surface displaying ultrahydrophobicity than on a hydrophilic surface – see Wetting. On a liquid surface, the contact angle of the soap bubble depends on its size - smaller bubbles have lower contact angles.

Floatation
The gas inside a bubble is less dense than air because it is mostly water vapor. Water vapor is a gas that is formed when water molecules evaporate. When water molecules evaporate, they escape from the liquid state and enter the gas state. In the gas state, water molecules are further apart than they are in the liquid state. This is because water molecules are attracted to each other. When they evaporate, they break away from these attractions and move further apart.

The further apart water molecules are, the less dense they are. This is why water vapor is less dense than air. The gas inside a bubble is mostly water vapor, so it is also less dense than air.

The density of a gas can also be affected by its temperature. As the temperature of a gas increases, the molecules of the gas move faster. This causes them to spread out and become less dense. The opposite is also true. As the temperature of a gas decreases, the molecules of the gas move slower. This causes them to bunch together and become more dense.

The temperature of the gas inside a bubble is affected by the temperature of the water around it. The warmer the water, the warmer the gas inside the bubble. This means that the gas inside a bubble will be less dense if the water is warm than if the water is cold.

Use in play
Soap bubbles have been used as entertainment for at least 400 years, as evidenced by 17th-century Flemish paintings showing children blowing bubbles with clay pipes. The London-based firm A. & F. Pears created a famous advertising campaign for its soaps in 1886 using a painting by John Everett Millais of a child playing with bubbles. The Chicago company Chemtoy began selling bubble solution in the 1940s, and bubble solution has been popular with children ever since. According to one industry estimate, retailers sell around 200 million bottles annually. Dishwashing liquid is used as a popular alternative to a ready made bubble solution.

Colored bubbles

A bubble is made of transparent water enclosing transparent air. However, the soap film is as thin as the visible light wavelength, resulting in optical interference. This creates iridescence which, together with the bubble's spherical shape and fragility, contributes to its magical effect on children and adults alike. Each colour is the result of varying thicknesses of soap bubble film. Tom Noddy (who featured in the second episode of Marcus du Sautoy's The Code) gave the analogy of looking at a contour map of the bubbles' surface. However, it has become a challenge to produce artificially coloured bubbles.

Byron, Melody & Enoch Swetland invented a patented non-toxic bubble (Tekno Bubbles) that glow under UV lighting. These bubbles look like ordinary high quality "clear" bubbles under normal lighting, but glow when exposed to true UV light. The brighter the UV lighting, the brighter they glow. The family sold them worldwide, but has since sold their company.

Adding coloured dye to bubble mixtures fails to produce coloured bubbles, because the dye attaches to the water molecules as opposed to the surfactant. Therefore, a colourless bubble forms with the dye falling to a point at the base. Dye chemist Dr. Ram Sabnis has developed a lactone dye that sticks to the surfactants, enabling brightly coloured bubbles to be formed. Crystal violet lactone is an example. Another man named Tim Kehoe invented a coloured bubble which loses its colour when exposed to pressure or oxygen, which he is now marketing online as Zubbles, which are non-toxic and non-staining. In 2010, Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki demonstrated that it is possible to create coloured bubbles in microgravity. The reason is that the water molecules are spread evenly around the bubble in the low-gravity environment.

Freezing
If soap bubbles are blown into air that is below a temperature of -15 C, they will freeze when they touch a surface. The air inside will gradually diffuse out, causing the bubble to crumble under its own weight. At temperatures below about -25 C, bubbles will freeze in the air and may shatter when hitting the ground. When a bubble is blown with warm air, the bubble will freeze to an almost perfect sphere at first, but when the warm air cools, and a reduction in volume occurs, there will be a partial collapse of the bubble. A bubble, created successfully at this low temperature, will always be rather small; it will freeze quickly and will shatter if increased further. Freezing of small soap bubbles happens within 2 seconds after setting on snow (at air temperature around –10...–14 °C).

Art
Soap bubble performances combine entertainment with artistic achievement. They require a high degree of skill. Some performers use common commercially available bubble liquids while others compose their own solutions. Some artists create giant bubbles or tubes, often enveloping objects or even humans. Others manage to create bubbles forming cubes, tetrahedra and other shapes and forms. Bubbles are sometimes handled with bare hands. To add to the visual experience, they are sometimes filled with smoke, vapour or helium and combined with laser lights or fire. Soap bubbles can be filled with a flammable gas such as natural gas and then ignited.

Professional bubble artists include Tom Noddy, Fan Yang and The Amazing Bubble Man.

Education
Bubbles can be effectively used to teach and explore a wide variety of concepts to even young children. Flexibility, colour formation, reflective or mirrored surfaces, concave and convex surfaces, transparency, a variety of shapes (circle, square, triangle, sphere, cube, tetrahedron, hexagon), elastic properties, and comparative sizing, as well as the more esoteric properties of bubbles listed on this page. Bubbles are useful in teaching concepts starting from 2 years old and into college years. A Swiss university professor, Dr. Natalie Hartzell, has theorized that the usage of artificial bubbles for entertainment purposes of young children has shown a positive effect in the region of the child's brain that controls motor skills and is responsible for coordination with children exposed to bubbles at a young age showing measurably better motion skills than those who were not.

title: Soap bubble


text:
Clement Vallandigham

Clement Laird Vallandigham (July 29, 1820 – June 17, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the leader of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War.

He served two terms for Ohio's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. In 1863, he was convicted by an Army court martial for publicly expressing opposition to the war and exiled to the Confederate States of America. He ran for governor of Ohio in 1863 from exile in Canada, but was defeated.

Vallandigham died in 1871 in Lebanon, Ohio, after accidentally shooting himself in the abdomen with a pistol, while representing a defendant in a murder case for killing a man in a barroom brawl in Hamilton.

Early life
Clement Laird Vallandigham was born July 29, 1820, in New Lisbon, Ohio (now Lisbon, Ohio), to Clement and Rebecca Laird Vallandigham. His father, a Presbyterian minister, educated his son at home.

In 1841, Vallandigham had a dispute with the college president at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. He was honorably dismissed, but he never received a degree.

Edwin M. Stanton, the future Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln, was Vallandigham's close friend before the Civil War. Stanton lent Vallandigham $500 for a law course and to begin his own practice. Both Vallandigham and Stanton were Democrats, but they held opposing views on slavery. Stanton was an abolitionist; Vallandigham an anti-abolitionist.

Ohio legislature
Shortly after beginning to practice law in Dayton, Ohio, Vallandigham entered politics. He was elected as a Democrat to the Ohio legislature in 1845 and 1846, and served as editor of a weekly newspaper, the Dayton Empire, from 1847 to 1849.

While in the Ohio state legislature, Vallandigham voted against the repeal of the "Black Laws" (laws against the civil rights of African-Americans) though he wanted the question put to a referendum by the voters. In 1851, Vallandigham sought the Democratic nomination to be Ohio's lieutenant governor, but the party declined to nominate him.

House of Representatives
Vallandigham ran for Congress in 1856, but he was narrowly defeated. He appealed to the Committee of Elections of the House of Representatives and claimed that illegal votes had been cast. The House eventually agreed, and Vallandigham was seated on the next to last day of the term. The delay was caused by "the division which had arisen in the Democratic party upon the Lecompton [slavery in Kansas] question." He was reelected by a small margin in 1858.

In October 1859, a radical abolitionist, John Brown, raided Harper's Ferry, Virginia, seizing the United States Army Arsenal. Vallandigham happened to be passing through the town and joined a group of government officials who interrogated the captured Brown as to his aims, which Brown stated were an attempt to set off a rebellion of slaves to secure their freedom. Vallandingham commented on Brown:

"Here was folly and madness. He believed and acted upon the faith which for twenty years has been so persistently taught in every form throughout the Free States, and which is but another mode of the statement of the doctrine of the 'irrepressible conflict'—that slavery and the three hundred and seventy thousand slaveholders of the South are only tolerated, and that the millions of slaves and non-slaveholding white men are ready and willing to rise against the 'oligarchy', needing only a leader and deliverer. The conspiracy was the natural and necessary consequence or the doctrine proclaimed every day, year in and year out, by the apostles of Abolition. But Brown was sincere, earnest, practical; he proposed no mild works in his faith, reckless of murder, treason, and every other crime. This was his madness and folly. He perished justly and miserably—an insurgent and a felon; but guiltier than he, and with his blood upon their heads, are the false and cowardly prophets and teachers of Abolition."

Vallandingham was pro-slavery, described in a hostile newspaper as "perform[ing] the dirty work of the Southern slavocracy". He was always a vigorous supporter of those "states' rights". He believed the federal government had no power to regulate any legal institution, which slavery at the time was. He also believed the states had an implied right to secede and that, legally, the Confederacy could not militarily be conquered. Vallandigham was a believer in low tariffs and that slavery was a matter for each state to decide. During the ensuing war, he would become one of Lincoln's most outspoken critics.

He was re-elected to the House in 1860. During the 1860 presidential campaign, he supported Stephen A. Douglas, although he disagreed with Douglas's position on "squatter sovereignty", which was used by detractors to describe popular sovereignty.

On February 20, 1861, Vallandigham delivered a speech, titled "The Great American Revolution," to the House of Representatives. He accused the Republican Party of being "belligerent" and advocated a "choice of peaceable disunion upon the one hand, or Union through adjustment and conciliation upon the other." Vallandigham supported the Crittenden Compromise, which was a last minute effort to avert the Civil War. He blamed sectionalism and anti-slavery sentiment for the secession crisis. Vallandigham proposed a series of amendments to the Constitution. The United States would be divided into four sections: North, South, West, and Pacific. The four sections would each have the power in the Senate to veto legislation. The Electoral College would be modified, with the term of President and Vice-President increased to six years and limited to one term unless two thirds of the electors agreed. Secession by a state could be agreed to only if the legislatures of the sections approved it. Moving between the sections was a guaranteed right.

Vallandigham strongly opposed every military bill, which led his opponents to charge that he wanted the Confederacy to win the war. He became the acknowledged leader of the anti-war Copperheads, and in an address on May 8, 1862, he coined their slogan: "To maintain the Constitution as it is, and to restore the Union as it was." It was endorsed by fifteen Democratic congressmen.

Vallandigham lost his bid for a third full term in 1862 by a relatively large vote, which meant that he would be out of office early in 1863. However, his loss was at least partially caused by the redistricting of his congressional district. Despite this loss, some still considered him to be a future presidential candidate.

As a lame-duck Representative, Vallandigham delivered a speech in the House on January 14, 1863, entitled "The Constitution-Peace-Reunion." In it, he stated his opposition to abolitionism from the "beginning." He denounced Lincoln's violations of civil liberties, "which have made this country one of the worst despotisms on earth". Vallandigham openly criticized Lincoln's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, charging that "war for the Union was abandoned; war for the Negro openly begun." He also condemned financial interests that were profiting from the war: "And let not Wall Street, or any other great interest, mercantile, manufacturing, or commercial, imagine that it shall have power enough or wealth enough to stand in the way of reunion through peace." Vallandigham added, "Defeat, debt, taxation, sepulchers, these are your trophies." Vallandigham's speech included a proposal to end the military conflict. He advocated an armistice and the demobilization of the military forces of both the Union and the Confederacy.

Post-congressional activities
After General Ambrose E. Burnside issued General Order Number 38, warning that the "habit of declaring sympathies for the enemy" would not be tolerated in the Military District of Ohio, Vallandigham gave a major speech on May 1, 1863. He charged that the war was no longer being fought to save the Union, but it had become an attempt to free the slaves by sacrificing the liberty of white Americans to "King Lincoln."

The authority for Burnside's order came from a proclamation of September 24, 1862 in which President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and made discouraging enlistments, drafts, or any other "disloyal" practices subject to martial law and trial by military commissions.

Arrest and military trial
On May 5, 1863, Vallandigham was arrested as a violator of General Order Number 38. His enraged supporters burned the offices of the Dayton Journal, the Republican rival to the Empire. Vallandigham was tried by a military court on May 6 and 7. Vallandigham's speech at Mount Vernon, Ohio, was cited as the source of the arrest. He was charged by the Military Commission with "Publicly expressing, in violation of General Orders No. 38, from Head-quarters Department of the Ohio, sympathy for those in arms against the Government of the United States, and declaring disloyal sentiments and opinions, with the object and purpose of weakening the power of the Government in its efforts to suppress an unlawful rebellion."

The specifications of the charge against Vallandigham were:

"Declaring the present war 'a wicked, cruel, and unnecessary war'; 'a war not being waged for the preservation of the Union'; 'a war for the purpose of crushing out liberty and erecting a despotism'; 'a war for the freedom of the blacks and the enslavement of the whites'; stating 'that if the Administration had so wished, the war could have been honorably terminated months ago'; that 'peace might have been honorably obtained by listening to the proposed intermediation of France'; that 'propositions by which the Northern States could be won back, and the South guaranteed their rights under the Constitution, had been rejected the day before the late battle of Fredericksburg, by Lincoln and his minions', meaning thereby the President of the United States, and those under him in authority; charging 'that the Government of the United States was about to appoint military marshals in every district, to restrain the people of their liberties, to deprive them of their rights and privileges'; characterizing General Orders No. 38, from Headquarters Department of the Ohio, as 'a base usurpation of arbitrary authority', inviting his hearers to resist the same, by saying, 'the sooner the people inform the minions of usurped power that they will not submit to such restrictions upon their liberties, the better'; declaring 'that he was at all times, and upon all occasions, resolved to do what he could to defeat the attempts now being made to build up a monarchy upon the ruins of our free government'; asserting 'that he firmly believed, as he said six months ago, that the men in power are attempting to establish a despotism in this country, more cruel and more oppressive than ever existed before.'"

Vallandingham wrote that he knew his public opinions and sentiments aided the Confederate war effort, raised public skepticism against the Lincoln administration, raised sympathy for the Confederate soldiers, and encouraged Northerners to violate the wartime laws of the Union.

The peace proposal of France was true. Vallandigham had been requested by Horace Greeley to assist in the peace plan.

Captain James Madison Cutts served as the judge advocate in the military trial and was responsible for authoring the charges against Vallandigham. During the trial, testimony was given by Union army officers who had attended the speech in civilian clothes, that Vallandigham called the president "King Lincoln." He was sentenced to confinement in a military prison "during the continuance of the war" at Fort Warren, Massachusetts. Vallandingham only called one witness in his defense, Congressman Samuel S. Cox. According to University of New Mexico School of Law Professor Joshua E. Kastenberg, because Cox was another well-known anti-war Democrat, his presence at the military court likely harmed Vallandigam's attempts at arguing his innocence.

On May 11, 1863, an application for a writ of habeas corpus was filed in federal court for Vallandigham by former Ohio Senator George E. Pugh. Judge Humphrey H. Leavitt of the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio upheld Vallandigham's arrest and military trial as a valid exercise of the President's war powers. Congress had passed an act authorizing the President to suspend habeas corpus on March 3, 1863.

On May 16, 1863, there was a meeting at Albany, New York, to protest the arrest of Vallandigham. A letter from Governor Horatio Seymour of New York was read to the crowd. Seymour charged that "military despotism" had been established. Resolutions by John V. L. Pruyn were adopted. The resolutions were sent to Lincoln by Erastus Corning. In response to a public letter issued at the meeting of angry Democrats in Albany, Lincoln's "Letter to Erastus Corning et al." of June 12, 1863, explained his justification for supporting the court-martial's conviction.

In February 1864, the Supreme Court ruled that it had no power to issue a writ of habeas corpus to a military commission (Ex parte Vallandigham, 1 Wallace, 243).

Expulsion
Lincoln, who considered Vallandigham a "wily agitator," was wary of making him a martyr to the Copperhead cause, and on May 19, 1863, he ordered Vallandigham to be sent through the enemy lines to the Confederacy. When he was within Confederate lines, Vallandigham said: "I am a citizen of Ohio, and of the United States. I am here within your lines by force, and against my will. I therefore surrender myself to you as a prisoner of war."

On May 30, 1863, a meeting was held at Military Park in Newark, New Jersey, where a letter was read from New Jersey Governor Joel Parker that condemned the arrest, trial, and deportation of Vallandigham as "were arbitrary and illegal acts. The whole proceeding was wrong in principle and dangerous in its tendency." However, the meeting was sparsely attended. The New York World reported on the meeting in Albany. Burnside suppressed publication of the World. On June 1, 1863, another protest meeting was held in Philadelphia.

On June 2, 1863, Vallandigham was sent to Wilmington, North Carolina, by Confederate President Jefferson Davis and was briefly put under guard as an "alien enemy."

President Lincoln wrote the "Birchard Letter" of June 29, 1863 to several Ohio congressmen; it offered to revoke Vallandigham's deportation order if they would agree to support certain policies of the Administration.

Vallandigham travelled to Richmond, Virginia, where he met with Robert Ould, a former classmate. He advised Ould that the Confederate army should not invade Pennsylvania since it would unite the North against the Copperheads during the 1864 presidential election. However, a letter to the editor of The New York Times gave a different version that Vallandigham had encouraged the invasion.

Vallandigham then left the Confederacy on a blockade runner to Bermuda and from there went to Canada. He then declared himself a candidate for Governor of Ohio and actually won the Democratic nomination in absentia. (Outraged at his treatment by Lincoln, Ohio Democrats by a vote of 411–11 nominated Vallandigham for governor at their June 11 convention.) He managed his campaign from a hotel in Windsor, where he received a steady stream of visitors and supporters.

Vallandigham asked the question in his address or letter of July 15, 1863, "To the Democracy of Ohio:" "Shall there be free speech, a free press, peaceable assemblages of the people, and a free ballot any longer in Ohio?"

Vallandigham lost the 1863 Ohio gubernatorial election in a landslide to the pro-Union War Democrat John Brough by a vote of 288,374 to 187,492.

The Northwestern Confederacy
In Canada, sometime around March 1864, Vallandigham became a leader of the Order of the Sons of Liberty and conspired with Jacob Thompson, and other agents of the Confederate government to form a Northwestern Confederacy, consisting of the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, by overthrowing their governments. Vallandigham requested money for weapons from the Confederates and refused to handle the money himself, which was given to his associate James A. Barrett. Part of the Confederate plan was to liberate Confederate prisoners-of-war.

Vallandigham crossed back to the US "under heavy disguise" on June 14 and gave a passionate speech at an impromptu Democratic convention in Hamilton, Ohio, the next day. In that speech, he felt it necessary to lie about his involvement in a "subversive organization" that he failed to name.

Lincoln was informed of his return. On June 24, 1864, Lincoln drafted a letter to Governor Brough and General Samuel P. Heintzelman and stated to "watch Vallandigham and others closely" and to arrest them if necessary. However, he did not send the letter, and it appears that he decided to do nothing about Vallandigham's return. In late August, Vallandigham openly attended the 1864 Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a district delegate for Ohio.

The reception by the convention to Vallandigham was mixed. Vallandigham received "vehement applause." At one point, Vallandigham's name was called out by the audience and the response was "applause and hisses." There were "cheers and hisses" on another occasion that he spoke.

Vallandigham promoted the "peace plank" of the platform, which declared the war a failure and demanded an immediate end of hostilities. In his acceptance letter, George B. McClellan made peace conditional on the Confederacy being ready for peace and to rejoin the Union. McClellan's stance conflicted with the Democratic Party Platform of 1864 which stated that "immediate efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate convention of the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that, at the earliest practicable moment, peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal union of the States." Vallandigham supported his party's nomination of McClellan for the presidency but was "highly indignant" when McClellan repudiated the party platform in his letter of acceptance of the nomination. For a time, Vallandigham withdrew from campaigning for McClellan. The contradiction between the party platform and McClellan's views weakened Democratic efforts to win voters over.

In late September 1864, the conspiracy trial of Harrison H. Dodd, William A. Bowles, Andrew Humphreys, Horace Heffren, and Lambdin P. Milligan, members of the Knights of the Golden Circle, a paramilitary organization that had been founded in Cincinnati in 1854, morphed into the Order of American Knights, and become the Sons of Liberty, began in Indianapolis before a military commission. George E. Pugh testified as a government witness. Testimony confirmed Vallandigham was "Supreme Commander," and James A. Barrett was the "Chief of Staff" to Vallandigham. Witnesses testified that a mysterious Mr. Piper had communicated to them on behalf of Vallandigham. According to the testimony of Felix G. Stidger, an undercover federal agent who had infiltrated the Knights of the Golden Circle, the plan of Vallandigham was to begin a revolt sometime between November 3 and 17. The case went to the US Supreme Court, which in 1866 in Ex parte Milligan, ruled that the use of military tribunals to try civilians is unconstitutional if civil courts are still operating.

In April 1865, Vallandigham testified at the conspiracy trial of the American Knights in Cincinnati. He admitted to conversing with Jacob Thompson, the Confederate agent in Canada. The intended revolt never materialized.

Post-war
In 1867, Vallandigham continued his stance against African-American suffrage and equality. However, his views later changed with the New Departure policy.

Vallandigham returned to Ohio, lost his campaigns for the Senate against Judge Allen G. Thurman and the House of Representatives against Robert C. Schenck on an anti-Reconstruction platform. He then resumed his law practice.

In 1871, Vallandigham won the Ohio Democrats over to the "New Departure" policy, which would essentially neglect to mention the Civil War, "thus burying out of sight all that is of the dead past, namely, the right of secession, slavery, inequality before the law, and political inequality; and further, now that reconstruction is complete, and representation within the Union restored." He also affirmed "the Democratic party pledges itself to the full, faithful, and absolute execution and enforcement of the Constitution as it now is, so as to secure equal rights to all persons under it, without distinction of race, color, or condition." It also called for civil service reform and a progressive income tax (items 10 and 12). It was against the "Ku-Klux Bill" (item 17). "New Departure" was endorsed by Salmon P. Chase, a former Lincoln cabinet member and Chief Justice of the United States.

Death and burial
Vallandigham died in 1871 in Lebanon, Ohio, at the age of 50, after he accidentally shot himself in the abdomen with a pistol. He was representing a defendant, Thomas McGehean, in a murder case for killing a man in a barroom brawl in Hamilton, Ohio. Vallandigham attempted to prove the victim, Tom Myers, had in fact accidentally shot himself while he was drawing his pistol from a pocket while rising from a kneeling position. As Vallandigham conferred with fellow defense attorneys in his hotel room at the Lebanon House, later the Golden Lamb Inn, he showed them how he would demonstrate this to the jury. Selecting a pistol he believed to be unloaded, he put it in his pocket and enacted the events as they might have happened, snagging the loaded gun on his clothing and unintentionally causing it to discharge into his stomach.

Although he was fatally wounded, Vallandigham's demonstration proved his point, and the defendant, Thomas McGehean, was acquitted and released from custody (only to be shot to death four years later in his saloon). Surgeons probed for the pistol ball, thought to have lodged in the vicinity of Vallandigham's bladder, but were unable to locate it, and Vallandigham died the next day of peritonitis. His last words expressed his faith in "that good old Presbyterian doctrine of predestination". Survived by his wife, Louisa Anna (McMahon) Vallandigham, and his son Charles Vallandigham, he was buried in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.

Legacy
Vallandigham was eulogized by James W. Wall, a former senator from New Jersey, who mentioned recently meeting with him about "New Departure". Wall had been imprisoned during the Civil War by Union authorities.

John A. McMahon, Vallandigham's nephew, was also a U.S. Representative from Ohio.

In popular culture
Vallandigham's deportation to the Confederacy prompted Edward Everett Hale to write "The Man Without a Country." The short story, which appeared in The Atlantic Monthly in December 1863, was widely republished. In 1898, Hale made the assertion that Vallandigham stated "he did not want to belong to the United States."

Vallandigham is a character in some alternate history novels. In Ward Moore's Bring the Jubilee (1953) and William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine (1990), Vallandigham defeated Lincoln in the presidential election of 1864 after the South won the Civil War. In Harry Turtledove's The Guns of the South (1992), he is elected Vice-President in the same year for the same reason.

In CBBC's Horrible Histories, Vallandigham is played by Ben Willbond. In Horrible Histories he is shown as an excellent lawyer who is, however, extremely embarrassed by the idiotic way in which he died: by having killed himself by accident while he was defending his client, Thomas McGehean.

title: Clement Vallandigham