title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The average temperature in the city is . Over the course of a year, the monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. The high temperature reaches or exceeds an average of 65 days a year and an average of 12 days a year. The minimum temperature falls to or below on an average 7.7 days a year. The hottest temperature recorded in Wichita was in 1936; the coldest temperature recorded was on February 12, 1899. Readings as low as and as high as occurred as recently as February 16, 2021 and July 29–30, 2012, respectively. Wichita receives on average about of precipitation a year, most of which falls in the warmer months, and experiences 87 days of measurable precipitation. The average relative humidity is 80% in the morning and 49% in the evening. Annual snowfall averages . Measurable snowfall occurs an average of nine days per year with at least an inch of snow falling on four of those days. Snow depth of at least an inch occurs an average of 12 days per year. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 25 through April 9.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita has several recognized areas and neighborhoods. The downtown area is generally considered to be east of the Arkansas River, west of Washington Street, north of Kellogg, and south of 13th Street. It contains landmarks such as Century II, the Garvey Center, and the Epic Center. Old Town is also part of downtown; this area is home to a cluster of nightclubs, bars, restaurants, a movie theater, shops, and apartments and condominiums, many of which make use of historical warehouse-type spaces.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Two notable residential areas of Wichita are Riverside and College Hill. Riverside is northwest of downtown, across the Arkansas River, and surrounds the Riverside Park. College Hill is east of downtown and south of Wichita State University. It is one of the more historic neighborhoods, along with Delano on the west side and Midtown in the north-central city.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Four other historic neighborhoods—developed in southeast Wichita (particularly near Boeing, Cessna and Beech aircraft plants) -- are among the nation's few remaining examples of U.S. government-funded temporary World War II housing developments to support war factory personnel: Beechwood (now mostly demolished), Oaklawn, Hilltop (the city's highest-density large neighborhood), and massive Planeview (where over 30 languages are spoken) -- in all, home to about a fifth of the city's population at their peak. Though designed as temporary housing, all have remained occupied into the 21st century, most becoming low-income neighborhoods.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: In terms of population, Wichita is the largest city in Kansas and the 49th largest city in the United States, according to the 2020 census. It is racially more similar to the rest of the United States than any other major city.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: As of the census of 2010, 382,368 people, 151,818 households, and 94,862 families were residing in the city. The population density was 2,304.8 per square mile (889.9/km). The 167,310 housing units had an average density of 1,022.1 per square mile (475.9/km). The racial makeup of the city was 71.9% White, 11.5% African American, 4.8% Asian, 1.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.2% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 15.3% of the population.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Of the 151,818 households, 33.4% had children under 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were not families. About 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 3.14.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The median age in the city was 33.9 years; 26.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between 18 and 24; 26.9% were from 25 to 44; 24.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.5% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The median income for a household in the city was $44,477, and for a family was $57,088. Males had a median income of $42,783 versus $32,155 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,517. About 12.1% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita is the principal city of both the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Wichita-Winfield Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The Wichita MSA encompasses Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, and Sumner counties and, as of 2010, had a population of 623,061, making it the 84th largest MSA in the United States.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The larger Wichita-Winfield CSA also includes Cowley County and, as of 2013, had an estimated population of 673,598. Nearby Reno County is not a part of the Wichita MSA or Wichita-Winfield CSA, but, were it included, it would add an additional population of 64,511 as of 2010.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: It is the birthplace of famous restaurants such as White Castle and Pizza Hut. A survey of well-known Kansas-based brands conducted by RSM Marketing Services and the Wichita Consumer Research Center showed many of the top-25 Kansas-based brands such as Koch, Coleman, Cessna, Pizza Hut, Beechcraft, Freddy's, and more are based in Wichita.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita's principal industrial sector is manufacturing, which accounted for 21.6% of area employment in 2003. Aircraft manufacturing has long dominated the local economy, and plays such an important role that it has the ability to influence the economic health of the entire region; the state offers tax breaks and other incentives to aircraft manufacturers.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Healthcare is Wichita's second-largest industry, employing about 28,000 people in the local area. Since healthcare needs remain fairly consistent regardless of the economy, this field was not subject to the same pressures that affected other industries in the early 2000s. The Kansas Spine Hospital opened in 2004, as did a critical-care tower at Wesley Medical Center. In July 2010, Via Christi Health, which is the largest provider of healthcare services in Kansas, opened a hospital that will serve the northwest area of Wichita. Via Christi Hospital on St. Teresa is the system's fifth hospital to serve the Wichita community. In 2016, Wesley Healthcare opened Wesley Children's Hospital, the first and only children's hospital in the Wichita area.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Thanks to the early 20th-Century oil boom in neighboring Butler County, Kansas, Wichita became a major oil town, with dozens of oil-exploration companies and support enterprises. Most famous of these was Koch Industries, today a global natural-resources conglomerate. The city was also at one time the headquarters of the former Derby Oil Company, which was purchased by Coastal Corporation in 1988. Wichita is home to oil and natural gas organizations Kansas Strong and Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Koch Industries and Cargill, the two largest privately held companies in the United States, both operate headquarters facilities in Wichita. Koch Industries' primary global corporate headquarters is in a large office-tower complex in northeast Wichita. Cargill Meat Solutions Div., at one time the nation's third-largest beef producer, is headquartered downtown. Other firms with headquarters in Wichita include roller-coaster manufacturer Chance Morgan, gourmet food retailer Dean & Deluca, renewable energy company Alternative Energy Solutions, and Coleman Company, a manufacturer of camping and outdoor recreation supplies. Air Midwest, the nation's first officially certificated "commuter" airline, was founded and headquartered in Wichita and evolved into the nation's eighth-largest regional airline prior to its dissolution in 2008.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: As of 2013, 68.2% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force; 0.6% was in the armed forces, and 67.6% was in the civilian labor force with 61.2% employed and 6.4% unemployed. The occupational composition of the employed civilian labor force was 33.3% in management, business, science, and arts; 25.1% in sales and office occupations; 17.2% in service occupations; 14.0% in production, transportation, and material moving; and 10.4% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were educational services, health care, and social assistance (22.3%); manufacturing (19.2%); and retail trade (11.0%).


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The cost of living in Wichita is below average; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the city is 84.0. As of 2013, the median home value in the city was $117,500, the median selected monthly owner cost was $1,194 for housing units with a mortgage and $419 for those without, and the median gross rent was $690.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita has a national reputation in U.S. media as an affordable and pleasant place to live. In July 2006, CNN/Money and "Money" ranked Wichita ninth on their list of the 10 best U.S. big cities in which to live. In 2008, MSN Real Estate ranked Wichita 1st on its list of most affordable cities. In its 2019 "Best Places to Live" survey, "U. S. News & World Report," ranked Wichita at number 79 out of 125 U.S. cities, and noted that violent crime in Wichita had risen over the previous few years. In the 2019 "KIDS COUNT Data Book," in its annual "State Rankings on Overall Child Well-Being," Kansas was ranked number 15 out of the 50 states. However, the state has a significantly higher rate of child incarceration than the nation, generally, and a higher rate of the state taking children from their homes.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: From the early to late 20th century, aircraft pioneers such as Clyde Cessna, Emil Matthew "Matty" Laird, Lloyd Stearman, Walter Beech, Al Mooney and Bill Lear began aircraft-manufacturing enterprises that led to Wichita becoming the nation's leading city in numbers of aircraft produced. The aircraft corporations E. M. Laird Aviation Company (the nation's first successful commercial airplane manufacturer), Travel Air (started by Beech, Stearman, and Cessna), Stearman, Cessna, Beechcraft, and Mooney were all founded in Wichita between 1920 and early 1932. By 1931, Boeing (of Seattle, Washington) had absorbed Stearman, creating "Boeing-Wichita", which would eventually grow to become Kansas' largest employer.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Today, Cessna Aircraft Co. (the world's highest-volume airplane manufacturer) and Beechcraft remain based in Wichita, having merged into Textron Aviation in 2014, along with Learjet and Boeing's chief subassembly supplier, Spirit AeroSystems. Airbus maintains a workforce in Wichita, and Bombardier (parent company of Learjet) has other divisions in Wichita, as well. Over 50 other aviation businesses operate in the Wichita MSA, as well dozens of suppliers and subcontractors to the local aircraft manufacturers. In total, Wichita and its companies have manufactured an estimated 250,000 aircraft since Clyde Cessna's first Wichita-built aircraft in 1916.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: In the early 2000s, a national and international recession combined with the after-effects of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to depress the aviation subsector in and around Wichita. Orders for new aircraft plummeted, prompting Wichita's five largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing Co., Cessna Aircraft Co., Bombardier Learjet Inc., Hawker Beechcraft, and Raytheon Aircraft Co.—to slash a combined 15,000 jobs between 2001 and 2004. In response, these companies began developing small- and mid-sized airplanes to appeal to business and corporate users. In 2007, Wichita built 977 aircraft, ranging from single-engine light aircraft to the world's fastest civilian jet; one-fifth of the civilian aircraft produced in United States that year, plus numerous small military aircraft. In early 2012, Boeing announced it would be closing its Wichita plant by the end of 2013, which paved the road for Spirit Aerosystems to open its plant.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita has a complex cultural mix, dominated by Euro-American, blue-collar industrial and rural tastes, but embracing, to various degrees, classical arts and music, diverse domestic and foreign cultures (Hispanic, African-American, Native American, Asian, British and Irish cultural influences and activities are conspicuous), and avant garde cultural activity.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita is a cultural center for Kansas, home to several art museums and performing arts groups. The Wichita Art Museum is the largest art museum in the state of Kansas and contains 7,000 works in permanent collections. The Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University is a modern and contemporary art museum with over 6,300 works in its permanent collection.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Small art galleries are scattered around the city with some clustered in the districts of Old Town, Delano and south Commerce street. These galleries started the Final Friday Gallery crawl event, where visitors tour attractions free in the evening on the last Friday of each month. Larger museums began participating and staying open late on Final Fridays shortly after its beginning.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita is the music hub of central Kansas, and draws major acts from around the world, performing at various concert halls, arenas, and stadiums around the area. Most major rock'n'roll and pop-music stars, and virtually all country music stars, perform there during their career.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Music Theatre Wichita, Wichita Grand Opera (both nationally renowned), and the Wichita Symphony Orchestra perform regularly at the Century II Convention Hall downtown. Concerts are also regularly performed by the nationally noted schools of music at Wichita's two largest universities.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The Orpheum Theatre, a classic movie palace built in 1922, serves as a downtown venue for smaller shows.The Cotillion, a special events facility built in 1960, serves a similar purpose as a music venue.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The Wichita River Festival has been held in the Downtown and Old Town areas of the city since 1972. It has featured events, musical entertainment, sporting events, traveling exhibits, cultural and historical activities, plays, interactive children's events, a flea market, river events, a parade, block parties, a food court, fireworks, and souvenirs for the roughly 370,000+ patrons who attend each year. In 2011, the festival was moved from May to June because of rain during previous festivals. The Wichita River Festival has seen immense growth, with record numbers in 2016 and again in 2018. Much of that growth is attributed to attractive musical acts at the festival. The upcoming 2021 Wichita River Festival is slated to occur from June 4–12, 2021.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The annual Wichita Black Arts Festival, held in the spring, celebrates the arts, crafts, and creativity of Wichita's large African-American community. It usually takes place in Central-Northeast Wichita. A Juneteenth event and parade also are common annual events.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The International Student Association at Wichita State University presents an annual international cultural exhibition and food festival, on the campus at WSU, providing an inexpensive sampling of global culture and cuisine to the general public.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: One or more large Renaissance fairs occur annually, including the "RenFair" in conjunction with the "Kingdom of Calontir" of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). The fairs vary in length from one day to a week, typically at Sedgwick County Park or Newman University.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The Wichita Public Library's Academy Awards Shorts program is reportedly the oldest annual, complete, free public screening outside of Hollywood of the full array of short films nominated for an Academy Award ("Oscar"). In late winter, shortly before the Academy Awards ceremonies, the films—including all nominated documentary, live action, and animated shorts—are presented, free, at the Library and in local theaters and other venues around Wichita. Wichita's former Congressman, Motion Picture Association President Dan Glickman, has served as Honorary Chair of the event, and some of the filmmakers have attended and visited with the audiences.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The Tallgrass Film Festival has been held in downtown Wichita since 2003. It draws over 100 independent feature and short films from all over the world for three days each October. Notable people from the entertainment industry have attended the festival.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Aviation-related events are common in the Wichita area, including air shows, fly-ins, air races, aviation conferences, exhibitions, and trade shows. The city's two main air shows, which are generally held in alternating years, are the city-sponsored civilian Wichita Flight Festival (originally the "Kansas Flight Festival") and the military-sponsored McConnell Air Force Base Open House and Airshow. Both are large regional air shows with famous acts and multimillion-dollar aircraft displays (including many Wichita-built aircraft). In addition, numerous local, regional, and national aviation organizations host fly-ins, conferences, exhibitions, and trade shows in the Wichita area on irregular schedules.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Museums and landmarks devoted to science, culture, and area history are located throughout the city. Several lie along the Arkansas River west of downtown, including the Exploration Place science and discovery center, the Mid-America All-Indian Center, the Old Cowtown living history museum, and The Keeper of the Plains statue and its associated display highlighting the daily lives of Plains Indians. The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum in downtown Wichita occupies the original Wichita city hall, built in 1892. The museum contains artifacts that tell the story of Wichita and Sedgwick County starting from 1865 and continuing to the present day. Nearby is the 1913 Sedgwick County Memorial Hall and Soldiers and Sailors Monument. East of downtown is the Museum of World Treasures and railroad-oriented Great Plains Transportation Museum. The Coleman Factory Outlet and Museum was at 235 N St. Francis street and was the home of the Coleman Lantern until it closed in 2018. Wichita State University hosts the Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology. The Kansas Aviation Museum, housed in the Terminal and Administration building of the former Municipal Airport, is in southeast Wichita adjacent to McConnell Air Force Base. The Original Pizza Hut Museum is also located on the Wichita State University campus for pizza lovers and fans to visit.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, also along the Arkansas River, has 24 themed gardens including the Butterfly Garden and the award-winning Sally Stone Sensory Garden. The Sedgwick County Zoo in the northwest part of Wichita is the most popular outdoor tourist attraction in the state of Kansas, and is home to more than 2,500 animals representing 500 different species. The zoo is next to Sedgwick County Park and the Sedgwick County Extension Arboretum.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Intrust Bank Arena is the city's primary event venue, featuring 22 suites, 2 party suites, 40 loge boxes and over 300 premium seats with a total potential capacity of over 15,000. This arena in the middle of Wichita opened in January 2010.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Located immediately east of downtown is Old Town, the city's entertainment district. In the early 1990s, developers transformed it from an old warehouse district into a mixed-zone neighborhood with residential space, nightclubs, restaurants, hotels, and museums.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Moody's Skidrow Beanery, at 625 E. Douglas in what was to become Old Town, was one of the more famous places in Wichita in the 1960s. It was the scene of a nationally followed First Amendment struggle and was visited by Allen Ginsberg in 1966 (the name had been changed to the Magic Theatre Vortex Art Gallery) where he first read his long poem "Wichita Vortex Sutra."


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita is also home to two major indoor shopping malls: Towne East Square, managed by Simon Property Group, and Towne West Square. Towne East is home to four anchor stores and has more than 100 tenants. Towne West Square, which was put into foreclosure in 2019, is still operational as of 2021. The oldest mall, Wichita Mall, was for many years largely a dead mall, but has since been converted into office space. There are also two large outdoor shopping centers, Bradley Fair (which hosts jazz concerts and art festivals) located on the city's northeast side and New Market Square located on the city's northwest side. Each establishment consists of over 50 stores spread out on several acres.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: In 1936, the Wichita post office contained two oil-on-canvas murals, "Kansas Farming", painted by Richard Haines and "Pioneer in Kansas" by Ward Lockwood. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. The post office building became the Federal Courthouse at 401 N. Market Street and the murals are on display in the lobby.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita also has a number of parks and recreational areas such as Riverside Park, College Hill Park, and McAdams Park.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The Wichita Public Library is the city's library system, presently consisting of a central facility, the Advanced Learning Library in Delano and six branch locations in other neighborhoods around the city. The library operates several free programs for the public, including special events, technology training classes, and programs specifically for adults, children, and families. As of 2009, its holdings included more than 1.3 million books and 2.2 million items total.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita is mentioned in the songs "Wichita Lineman" in the album of the same name by Glenn Campbell, "Wichita Skyline" by Shawn Colvin, "I've Been Everywhere" by Hank Snow, and "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes. Jazz musicians, Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays released a collaborative album titled, "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls" in 1981, which includes a title track that is just under 21 minutes long. The title references both Wichita, Kansas and Wichita Falls, Texas.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The city has been a setting of various works of literature. Allen Ginsberg wrote about a visit to Wichita in his poem Wichita Vortex Sutra, for which Philip Glass subsequently wrote a solo piano piece. Ginsberg was brought to Wichita by writer Charles Plymell, one of several of the "Wichita Group" (Michael McClure, Robert Branaman, David Haselwood, and Bruce Conner) who influenced San Francisco Beat culture. The award-winning stage play "Hospitality Suite" written by Roger Rueff takes place in Wichita as does its 1999 film adaptation, "The Big Kahuna". The city is also the setting of the long-running comic strip "Dennis the Menace". The city in post-apocalyptic form is also the setting of majority of the book trilogy, "The Testing" by Joelle Charbonneau. Similarly, in Neal Shusterman's utopian novel, "Thunderhead", Wichita serves as the location of a major event that progresses the plot.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The films "Wichita" (1955) and portions of "Wyatt Earp" (1994), both of which dramatize the life and career of Wyatt Earp, are set in Wichita. The short-lived 1959–1960 television western "Wichita Town" was set during the city's early years. Other films wholly or partially set in the city include "Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff" (1979), "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987), "The Ice Harvest" (2005), and "Knight and Day" (2010). Scenes from the films "Mars Attacks!" and "Twister" were filmed in Wichita.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: AMD planned to release a new processor, code-named "Wichita", in 2012, but the project was canceled in favor of a newer design.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita is home to several professional, semi-professional, non-professional, and collegiate sports teams. Professional teams include the Wichita Thunder ice hockey team and the Wichita Force indoor football team. In 2020, the Wichita Wind Surge, a Minor League Baseball team of the Double-A Central play at Riverfront Stadium on the site of the former Lawrence–Dumont Stadium. Their 2020 debut was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the team has dropped down to the Double-A Central without having played a Triple-A game due to Major League Baseball's realignment of the minor leagues. The city hosts the Air Capital Classic, a professional golf tournament of the Korn Ferry Tour first played in 1990.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Defunct professional teams which used to play in Wichita include the Wichita Aeros and Wichita Wranglers baseball teams, the Wichita Wings indoor soccer team, the Wichita Wind (farm team to the Edmonton Oilers National Hockey League team in the early 1980s) and the Wichita Wild indoor football team. Semi-pro teams included the Kansas Cougars and Kansas Diamondbacks football teams. Non-professional teams included the Wichita Barbarians rugby union team and the Wichita World 11 cricket team.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Collegiate teams based in the city include the Wichita State University Shockers, Newman University Jets, and the Friends University Falcons. The WSU Shockers are NCAA Division I teams that compete in men's and women's basketball, baseball, volleyball, track and field, tennis, and bowling. The Newman Jets are NCAA Division II teams that compete in baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, wrestling, volleyball, and cheer/dance. The Friends Falcons compete in Region IV of the NAIA in football, volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, tennis, track and field, and golf.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Several sports venues are in and around the city. Intrust Bank Arena, downtown, is a 15,000-seat multi-purpose arena that is home to the Wichita Thunder. Lawrence–Dumont Stadium, just west of downtown, was a medium-sized baseball stadium that has been home to Wichita's various minor-league baseball teams over the years. It was also home to the minor-league National Baseball Congress and the site of the Congress's annual National Tournament.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita Ice Arena, also just west of downtown, is a public ice-skating rink used for ice-skating competitions. In addition, Century II has been used for professional wrestling tournaments, gardening shows, sporting-goods exhibitions, and other recreational activities. The WSU campus includes two major venues: Eck Stadium, a medium-sized stadium with a full-sized baseball field that is home to the WSU Shocker baseball team, and Charles Koch Arena, a medium-sized, dome-roofed circular arena with a collegiate basketball court that hosts the WSU Shocker basketball team. Koch Arena is also used extensively for citywide and regional high school athletic events, concerts, and other entertainments. Just north of the city is 81 Motor Speedway, an oval motor-vehicle racetrack used extensively for a wide range of car, truck, and motorcycle races, and other motorsports events. Neighboring Park City is home to Hartman Arena and the Sam Fulco Pavilions, a moderate-capacity low-roofed arena developed for small rodeos, horse shows, livestock competitions, and exhibitions.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita is also home to two sports museums, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Under state statute, Wichita is a city of the first class. Since 1917, it has had a council–manager form of government. The city council consists of seven members popularly elected every four years with staggered terms in office. For representative purposes, the city is divided into six districts with one council member elected from each. The mayor is the seventh council member, elected at large. The council sets policy for the city, enacts laws and ordinances, levies taxes, approves the city budget, and appoints members to citizen commission and advisory boards. It meets each Tuesday. The city manager is the city's chief executive, responsible for administering city operations and personnel, submitting the annual city budget, advising the city council, preparing the council's agenda, and oversight of non-departmental activities. As of 2020, the city council consists of Mayor Brandon Whipple, Brandon Johnson (District 1), Becky Tuttle (District 2), James Clendenin (District 3), Jeff Blubaugh (District 4), Bryan Frye (District 5), and Cindy Claycomb (District 6). The city manager is Robert Layton.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The Wichita Police Department, established in 1871, is the city's law enforcement agency. With over 800 employees, including more than 600 commissioned officers, it is the largest law enforcement agency in Kansas. The Wichita Fire Department, organized in 1886, operates 22 stations throughout the city. Organized into four battalions, it employs over 400 full-time firefighters.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: As the county seat, Wichita is the administrative center of Sedgwick County. The county courthouse is downtown, and most departments of the county government base their operations in the city.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Many departments and agencies of the U.S. Government have facilities in Wichita. The Wichita U.S. Courthouse, also downtown, is one of the three courthouses of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. The U.S. Air Force operates McConnell Air Force Base immediately southeast of the city. The campus of the Robert J. Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center is on U.S. 54 in east Wichita. Other agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Food and Drug Administration, and Internal Revenue Service among others, have offices around the city.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita lies within Kansas's 4th U.S. Congressional District, represented since 2017 by Republican Ron Estes. For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature, the city is in the 16th and 25th through 32nd districts of the Kansas Senate and the 81st, 83rd through 101st, 103rd, and 105th districts of the Kansas House of Representatives.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: With over 50,000 students, Wichita USD 259 is the largest school district in Kansas. It operates more than 90 schools in the city including 12 high schools, 16 middle schools, 61 elementary schools, and more than a dozen special schools and programs. Outlying portions of Wichita lie within suburban public unified school districts including Andover USD 385, Circle USD 375, Derby USD 260, Goddard USD 265, Haysville USD 261, Maize USD 266, and Valley Center USD 262. Some of these schools, despite being in other school districts, are within the Wichita city limits.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: There are more than 35 private and parochial schools in Wichita. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita oversees 16 Catholic schools in the city including 14 elementary schools and two high schools, Bishop Carroll Catholic High School and Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod operates two Lutheran schools in the city, Bethany Lutheran School (Grades PK-5) and Holy Cross Lutheran School (PK-8). There are also two Seventh-day Adventist schools in Wichita, Three Angels School (K-8) and Wichita Adventist Christian Academy (K-10). Other Christian schools in the city are Calvary Christian School (PK-12), Central Christian Academy (K-10), Classical School of Wichita (K-12), Sunrise Christian Academy (PK-12), Trinity Academy (K-12), Wichita Friends School (PK-6), and Word of Life Traditional School (K-12). In addition, there is an Islamic school, Annoor School (PK-8), operated by the Islamic Society of Wichita. Unaffiliated private schools in the city include Wichita Collegiate School, The Independent School, and Northfield School of the Liberal Arts, as well as three Montessori schools.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita has several colleges, universities, technical schools and branch campuses of other universities around the state. These include the following:


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Three universities have their main campuses in Wichita. The largest is Wichita State University (WSU), a public research university classified by Carnegie as "R2: Doctoral Universities – Higher Research Activity." WSU has more than 14,000 students and is the third-largest university in Kansas. WSU's main campus is in northeast Wichita with multiple satellite campuses around the metro area. Friends University, a private, non-denominational Christian university, has its main campus in west Wichita as does Newman University, a private Catholic university. Wichita Area Technical College, founded in 1995, was merged into Wichita State University's College of Applied Sciences and Technology in 2018, and is now known as WSU Tech.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Several colleges and universities based outside Wichita operate satellite locations in and around the city. The University of Kansas School of Medicine has one of its three campuses in Wichita. Baker University, Butler Community College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Southwestern College, Tabor College, Vatterott College, and Webster University have Wichita facilities as do for-profit institutions including Heritage College and University of Phoenix.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: "The Wichita Eagle", which began publication in 1872, is the city's major daily newspaper. It was founded and edited for forty years by Marshall Murdock (1837-1908), a major player in local and state Republican politics, as well as doubling as postmaster. Colloquially known as "The Eagle". In 1960, the Wichita Eagle purchased Beacon Newspaper Corp. After purchasing the paper, the Wichita Eagle begin publishing the Eagle, which was a morning and afternoon newspaper, and the Beacon which was the evening paper. The "Wichita Business Journal" is a weekly newspaper that covers local business events and developments. Several other newspapers and magazines, including local lifestyle, neighborhood, and demographically focused publications are also published in the city. These include: "The Community Voice", a weekly African American community newspaper; "El Perico", a monthly Hispanic community newspaper; "The Liberty Press", monthly LGBT news; "Splurge!", a monthly local fashion and lifestyle magazine; "The Sunflower", the Wichita State University student newspaper. The Wichita media market also includes local newspapers in several surrounding suburban communities.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The Wichita radio market includes Sedgwick County and neighboring Butler and Harvey counties. Six AM and more than a dozen FM radio stations are licensed to and/or broadcast from the city.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita is the principal city of the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas television market, which comprises the western two-thirds of the state. All of the market's network affiliates broadcast from Wichita with the ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and NBC affiliates serving the wider market through state networks of satellite and translator stations. The city also hosts a PBS member station, a Univision affiliate, and several low-power stations.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita suffered severe floods of the Arkansas river in 1877, 1904, 1916, 1923, 1944, 1951 and 1955. In 1944 the city flooded 3 times in 11 days.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: As a result of the 1944 flood, the idea for the Wichita-Valley Center Floodway (locally known as the "Big Ditch") was conceived. The project was completed in 1958. The Big Ditch diverts part of the Arkansas River's flow around west-central Wichita, running roughly parallel to the Interstate 235 bypass. A second flood control canal lies between the lanes of Interstate 135, running south through the central part of the city. Chisholm Creek is diverted into this canal for most of its length. The city's flood defenses were tested in the Great Flood of 1993. Flooding that year kept the Big Ditch full for more than a month and caused $6 million of damage to the flood control infrastructure. The damage was not fully repaired until 2007. In 2019, the Floodway was renamed the MS Mitch Mitchell Floodway in honor of the man credited for its creation.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Evergy provides electricity. Kansas Gas Service provides natural gas. The City of Wichita provide water and sewer. Multiple privately owned trash haulers, licensed by the county government, offer trash removal and recycling service. Cox Communications and Spectrum offer cable television, and AT&T U-Verse offers IPTV. All three also offer home telephone and broadband internet service. Satellite TV is offered by DIRECTV and DISH. Satellite internet is available from Viasat, Hughes, and soon Starlink.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Ascension Via Christi operates three general medical and surgical hospitals in Wichita—Via Christi Hospital St. Francis, Via Christi Hospital St. Joseph, and Via Christi Hospital St. Teresa—and other specialized medical facilities. The Hospital Corporation of America manages a fourth general hospital, Wesley Medical Center, along with satellite locations around the city. All four hospitals provide emergency services. In addition, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs runs the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, a primary and secondary care facility for U.S. military veterans.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The average commute time in Wichita was 18.2 minutes from 2013 to 2017. Several federal and state highways pass through the city. Interstate 35, as the Kansas Turnpike, enters the city from the south and turns northeast, running along the city's southeastern edge and exiting through the eastern part of the city. Interstate 135 runs generally north-south through the city, its southern terminus lying at its interchange with I-35 in south-central Wichita. Interstate 235, a bypass route, passes through north-central, west, and south-central Wichita, traveling around the central parts of the city. Both its northern and southern termini are interchanges with I-135. U.S. Route 54 and U.S. Route 400 run concurrently through Wichita as Kellogg Avenue, the city's primary east-west artery, with interchanges, from west to east, with I-235, I-135, and I-35. U.S. Route 81, a north-south route, enters Wichita from the south as Broadway, turns east as 47th Street South for approximately half a mile, and then runs concurrently north with I-135 through the rest of the city. K-96, an east-west route, enters the city from the northwest, runs concurrently with I-235 through north-central Wichita, turns south for approximately a mile, running concurrently with I-135 before splitting off to the east and traveling around northeast Wichita, ultimately terminating at an interchange with U.S. 54/U.S. 400 in the eastern part of the city. K-254 begins at I-235's interchange with I-135 in north-central Wichita and exits the city to the northeast. K-15, a north-south route, enters the city from the south and joins I-135 and U.S. 81 in south-central Wichita, running concurrently with them through the rest of the city. K-42 enters the city from the southwest and terminates at its interchange with U.S. 54/U.S. 400 in west-central Wichita.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita Transit operates 53 buses on 18 fixed bus routes within the city. The organization reports over 2 million trips per year (5,400 trips per day) on its fixed routes. Wichita Transit also operates a demand response paratransit service with 320,800 passenger trips annually. A 2005 study ranked Wichita near the bottom of the fifty largest American cities in terms of percentage of commuters using public transit. Only 0.5% used it to get to or from work.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service northeast to Topeka and south to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Bus service is provided daily north towards Salina and west towards Pueblo, Colorado by BeeLine Express (subcontractor of Greyhound Lines). The Greyhound bus station that was built in 1961 at 312 S Broadway closed in 2016, and services relocated 1 block northeast to the Wichita Transit station at 777 E Waterman.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The Wichita Airport Authority manages the city's two main public airports, Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and Colonel James Jabara Airport. Located in the western part of the city, Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport is the city's primary airport as well as the largest airport in Kansas. Seven commercial airlines (Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest & United) serve Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport with non-stop flights to several U.S. airline hubs. Jabara Airport is a general aviation facility on the city's northeast side. The city also has several privately owned airports. Cessna Aircraft Field and Beech Factory Airport, operated by manufacturers Cessna and Beechcraft, respectively, lie in east Wichita. Two smaller airports, Riverside Airport and Westport Airport, are in west Wichita.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Two Class I railroads, BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad (UP), operate freight rail lines through Wichita. UP's OKT Line runs generally north-south through the city; north of downtown, the line consists of trackage leased to BNSF. An additional UP line enters the city from the northeast and terminates downtown. BNSF's main line through the city enters from the north, passes through downtown, and exits to the southeast, paralleling highway K-15. The Wichita Terminal Association, a joint operation between BNSF and UP, provides switching service on three miles (5 km) of track downtown. In addition, two lines of the Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad enter the city, one from the northwest and the other from the southwest, both terminating at their junction in west-central Wichita.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wichita has not had passenger rail service since 1979. The nearest Amtrak station is in Newton north, offering service on the "Southwest Chief" line between Los Angeles and Chicago. Amtrak offers bus service from downtown Wichita to its station in Newton as well as to its station in Oklahoma City, the northern terminus of the "Heartland Flyer" line.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: After numerous citizen surveys showed Wichitans want better bicycle infrastructure, The Wichita Bicycle Master Plan, a set of guidelines toward the development of a 149-mile Priority Bicycle Network, was endorsed by the Wichita City Council on February 5, 2013, as a guide to future infrastructure planning and development. As a result, Wichita's bikeways covered 115 miles of the city by 2018. One-third of the bikeways were added between 2011, when the plan was still in development, and 2018.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The League of American Bicyclists added Wichita as one of 462 bicycle-friendly communities to its Fall, 2017 list of Bicycle Friendly Communities, awarding it a bronze award.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Wyatt Earp served as a lawman in several Old West frontier towns, including Wichita. Other Old West figures lived in Wichita for a while: James Earp, Cassius M. Hollister, Bat Masterson, Ed Masterson, and James Masterson. Serial killer Dennis Rader, also known as BTK, was born and raised in Wichita and also committed his crimes in the Wichita area.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Numerous politicians and government employees were born, raised, or lived in Wichita. Mike Pompeo, former U.S. Secretary of State, and Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency both under Donald Trump, began his political career in the Wichita area as 4th district Congressman. Robert Gates, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and former Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, is a Wichita native and graduate of Wichita schools. Dan Glickman, former Secretary of Agriculture, began his political career in Wichita, first on the local school board, then as 4th district Congressman.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: The Koch family, specifically Charles and David Koch (Koch Industries), prominent billionaires, political activists, philanthropists, were born and raised in Wichita. Additionally, Dan and Frank Carney (Pizza Hut), Clyde Cessna (Cessna Aircraft), Walter Beech and Olive Ann Beech (Beech Aircraft), Bill Lear (Lear Jet), Lloyd Stearman (Stearman Aircraft), William Coleman (Coleman Company), billionaire Phil Ruffin (Treasure Island Hotel and Casino) all were raised or lived in Wichita.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Athletes including Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, Basketball Hall of Famer Lynette Woodard, and UFC flyweight fighter Tim Elliott were all born or raised in Wichita. Summer Olympic medal-winning athletes Jim Ryun (track and field), Nico Hernandez (boxing), and Kelsey Stewart (softball) are all from Wichita.


title: Wichita, Kansas

text: Actress Kirstie Alley, known for her role in the TV show "Cheers", was born and raised in Wichita and lived in the city part-time. Actor Don Johnson, lead actor in the TV series "Miami Vice" and "Nash Bridges," lived in Wichita for most of his childhood. Musician Joe Walsh, founding member of the band James Gang and later member of The Eagles, is from Wichita. Jim Lehrer, who was a journalist, novelist, and news anchor for "PBS NewsHour", was born and attended grade school in Wichita. W. Eugene Smith an American photojournalist.


title: Peony

text: The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus Paeonia , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ranging from 25 to 40, although the current consensus is 33 known species. The relationships between the species need to be further clarified.


title: Peony

text: Most are herbaceous perennial plants tall, but some are woody shrubs tall. They have compound, deeply lobed leaves and large, often fragrant flowers, in colors ranging from purple and pink to red, white or yellow, in late spring and early summer. The flowers have a short blooming season, usually only 7–10 days.


title: Peony

text: Peonies are popular garden plants in temperate regions. Herbaceous peonies are also sold as cut flowers on a large scale, although generally only available in late spring and early summer.


title: Peony

text: All Paeoniaceae are herbaceous perennials or deciduous shrubs, with thick storage roots and thin roots for gathering water and minerals. Some species are caespitose (tufted), because the crown produces adventitious buds, while others have stolons. They have rather large compound leaves without glands and stipules, and with anomocytic stomata. In the woody species the new growth emerges from scaly buds on the previous flush or from the crown of the rootstock. The large bisexual flowers are mostly single at the end of the stem. In "P. emodi", "P. lactiflora", "P. veitchii" and many of the cultivars these contributed to, few additional flowers develop in the axils of the leaves. Flowers close at night or when the sky is overcast. Each flower is subtended by a number of bracts, that may form a sort of involucre, has 3-7 tough free sepals and mostly 5-8, but occasionally up to 13 free petals. These categories however are intergrading, making it difficult to assign some of them, and the number of these parts may vary. Within are numerous (50–160) free stamens, with anthers fixed at their base to the filaments, and are sagittate in shape, open with longitudal slits at the outer side and free pollen grains which have three slits or pores and consist of two cells. Within the circle of stamens is a more or less prominent, lobed disc, which is presumed not to excrete nectar. Within the disk is a varying number (1-15) of separate carpels, which have a very short style and a decurrent stigma. Each of these develops into a dry fruit (which is called a follicle), which opens with a lengthwise suture and each of which contains one or a few large fleshy seeds. The annual growth is predetermined: if the growing tip of a shoot is removed, no new buds will develop that season.


title: Peony

text: Over 262 compounds have been obtained so far from the plants of Paeoniaceae. These include monoterpenoid glucosides, flavonoids, tannins, stilbenoids, triterpenoids, steroids, paeonols, and phenols. "In vitro" biological activities include antioxidant, antitumor, antipathogenic, immunomodulative, cardiovascular-system-protective activities and central-nervous-system activities.


title: Peony

text: Paeoniaceae are dependent on C3 carbon fixation. They contain ellagic acid, myricetin, ethereal oils and flavones, as well as crystals of calcium oxalate. The wax tubules that are formed primarily consist of palmitone (the ketone of palmitic acid).


title: Peony

text: The basic chromosome number is five. About half of the species of the section "Paeonia" however is tetraploid (4n=20), particularly many of those in the Mediterranean region. Both allotetraploids and autotetraploids are known, and some diploid species are also of hybrid origin.


title: Peony

text: The family name "Paeoniaceae" was first used by Friedrich K.L. Rudolphi in 1830, following a suggestion by Friedrich Gottlieb Bartling that same year. The family had been given other names a few years earlier. The composition of the family has varied, but it has always consisted of "Paeonia" and one or more genera that are now placed in Ranunculales. It has been widely believed that "Paeonia" is closest to "Glaucidium", and this idea has been followed in some recent works. Molecular phylogenetic studies, however, have demonstrated conclusively that "Glaucidium" belongs in the family Ranunculaceae, order Ranunculales, but that "Paeonia" belongs in the unrelated order Saxifragales. The genus "Paeonia" consists of about 35 species, assigned to three sections: "Moutan", "Onaepia" and "Paeoniae". The section "Onaepia" only includes "P. brownii" and "P. californicum". The section "Moutan" is divided into "P. delavayi" and "P. ludlowii", together making up the subsection "Delavayanae", and "P. catayana", "P. decomposita", "P. jishanensis", "P. osti", "P. qiui" and "P. rockii" which constitute the subsection "Vaginatae". "P. suffruticosa" is a cultivated hybrid swarm, not a naturally occurring species.


title: Peony

text: The remainder of the species belongs to the section "Paeonia", which is characterised by a complicated reticulate evolution. Only about half of the (sub)species is diploid, the other half tetraploid, while some species both have diploid and tetraploid populations. In addition to the tetraploids, are some diploid species also likely the result of hybridisation, or nothospecies. Known diploid taxa in the "Paeonia"-section are "P. anomala", "P. lactiflora", "P. veitchii", "P. tenuifolia", "P. emodi", "P. broteri", "P. cambedessedesii", "P. clusii", "P. rhodia", "P. daurica" subsps. "coriifolia", "daurica", "macrophylla" and "mlokosewitschii". Tetraploid taxa are "P. arietina", "P. officinalis", "P. parnassica", "P. banatica", "P. russi", "P. peregrina", "P. coriacea", "P. mascula" subsps. "hellenica" and "mascula", and "P. daurica" subsps. "tomentosa" and "wittmanniana". Species that have both diploid and tetraploid populations include "P. clusii", "P. mairei" and "P. obovata". "P. anomala" was proven to be a hybrid of "P. lactiflora" and "P. veitchii", although being a diploid with 10 chromosomes. "P. emodi" and "P. sterniana" are diploid hybrids of "P. lactiflora" and "P. veitchii" too, and radically different in appearance. "P. russi" is the tetraploid hybrid of diploid "P. lactiflora" and "P. mairei", while "P. cambedessedesii" is the diploid hybrid of "P. lactiflora", likely "P. mairei", but possibly also "P. obovata". "P. peregrina" is the tetraploid hybrid of "P. anomala" and either "P. arietina", "P. humilis", "P. officinalis", "P. parnassica" or less likely "P. tenuifolia", or one of their (now extinct) common ancestors. "P. banatica" is the tetraploid hybrid of "P. mairei" and one of this same group. "P. broteri", "P. coriacea", "P. clusii", "P. rhodia", "P. daurica" subsp. "mlokosewitschi", "P. mascula" subsp. "hellenica" and ssp. "mascula", and "P. daurica" subsp. "wittmanniana" are all descendants of hybrids of "P. lactiflora" and "P. obovata".


title: Peony

text: Recent genetic analyses relate the monogeneric family Paeoniaceae to a group of families with woody species in the order Saxifragales. This results in the following relationship tree. One dissertation suggests the section "Onaepia" branches off earliest, but a later publication of the same author and others suggests the "Moutan"-section splits off first. Within that section "P. ludlowii" and "P. delavayi" are more related to each other than to any other species.


title: Peony

text: The peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. In Greek mythology, when Asclepius became jealous of his pupil, Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower.


title: Peony

text: The genus "Paeonia" naturally occurs in the temperate and cold areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The section "Moutan", which includes all woody species, is restricted in the wild to Central and Southern China, including Tibet. The section "Onaepia" consist of two herbaceous species and is present in the West of North-America, "P. brownii" between southern British Columbia and the Sierra Nevada in California and eastward to Wyoming and Utah, while "P. californica" is limited to the coastal mountains of Southern and Central California.


title: Peony

text: The section "Paeonia", which comprises all other herbaceous species, occurs in a band stretching roughly from Morocco and Spain to Japan.


title: Peony

text: One species of the section "Paeonia", "P. anomala", has by far the largest distribution, which is also north of the distribution of the other species: from the Kola peninsula in North-West Russia, to Lake Baikal in Siberia and South to the Tien Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan. The rest of the section concentrates around the Mediterranean, and in Asia.


title: Peony

text: The species around the Mediterranean include "Paeonia algeriensis" that is an endemic of the coastal mountains of Algeria, "P. coriacea" in the Rif Mountains and Andalusia, "P. cambessedesii" on Majorca, "P. russoi" on Corsica, Sardinia and Sicilly, "P. corsica" on Corsica, Sardinia, the Ionian islands and in western Greece", P. clusii" subsp. "clusii" on Crete and Karpathos, and subsp. "rhodia" on Rhodes, "P. kesrouanensis" in the Western Taurus Mountains, "P. arietina" from the Middle Taurus Mountains, "P. broteri" in Andalucia, "P. humilis" from Andalucia to the Provence, "P. officinalis" from the South of France, through Switzerland to the Middle of Italy, "P. banatica" in western Romania, northern Serbia and Slovenia and in southern Hungary, "P. peregrina" in Albania, western Bulgaria, northern Greece, western Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia, while "P. mascula" has a large distribution from Catalonia and southern France to Israel and Turkey.


title: Peony

text: Between the two concentrations, the subspecies of "Paeonia daurica" occur, with subspecies "velebitensis" in Croatia, and "daurica" in the Balkans and Crimea, while the other subspecies "coriifolia", "macrophylla", "mlokosewitschii", "tomentosa" and "wittmanniana" are known from the Caucasus, Kaçkar and Alborz Mountains.


title: Peony

text: "Paeonia emodi" occurs in the western Himalayas between Pakistan and western Nepal, "P. sterniana" is an endemic of southeastern Tibet, "P. veitchii" grows in Central China (Qinghai, Ningxia, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan and the eastern rim of Tibet), like "P. mairei" (Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan), while "P. obovata" grows in warm-temperate to cold China, including Manchuria, Korea, Japan, Far Eastern Russia (Primorsky Krai) and on Sakhalin, and "P. lactiflora" occurs in Northern China, including Manchuria, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia (Far East and Siberia).


title: Peony

text: The species of the section Paeonia have a disjunct distribution, with most of the species occurring in the Mediterranean, while many others occur in eastern Asia. Genetic analysis has shown that all Mediterranean species are either diploid or tetraploid hybrids that resulted from the crossbreeding of species currently limited to eastern Asia. The large distance between the ranges of the parent species and the nothospecies suggest that hybridisation already occurred relatively long ago. It is likely that the parent species occurred in the same region when the hybrids arose, and were later exterminated by successive Pleistocene glaciations, while the nothospecies remained in refugia to the South of Europe. During their retreat "P. lactiflora" and "P. mairei" likely became sympatric and so produced the Himalayan nothospecies "P. emodi" and "P. sterniana".


title: Peony

text: Ancient Chinese texts mention the peony was used for flavoring food. Confucius (551–479 BC) is quoted to have said: "I eat nothing without its sauce. I enjoy it very much, because of its flavor." Peonies have been used and cultivated in China since early history. Ornamental cultivars were created from plants cultivated for medicine in China as of the sixth and seventh century. Peonies became particularly popular during the Tang dynasty, when they were grown in the imperial gardens. In the tenth century the cultivation of peonies spread through China, and the seat of the Song dynasty, Luoyang, was the centre for its cultivation, a position it still holds today. A second centre for peony cultivation developed during the Qing dynasty in Cáozhōu, now known as He Ze. Both cities still host annual peony exhibitions and state-funded peony research facilities. Before the tenth century, "P. lactiflora" was introduced in Japan, and over time many varieties were developed both by self fertilisation and crossbreeding, particularly during the eighteenth to twentieth centuries (middle Edo to early Shōwa periods). During the 1940s Toichi Itoh succeeded in crossing tree peonies and herbaceous peonies and so created a new class of so-called intersectional hybrids. Although "P. officinalis" and its cultivars were grown in Europe from the fifteenth century on, originally also for medicinal purposes, intensive breeding started only in the nineteenth century when "P. lactiflora" was introduced from its native China to Europe. The tree peony was introduced in Europe and planted in Kew Gardens in 1789. The main centre of peony breeding in Europe has been in the United Kingdom, and particularly France. Here, breeders like Victor Lemoine and François Félix Crousse selected many new varieties, mainly with "P. lactiflora", such as "Avant Garde" and "Le Printemps". The Netherlands is the largest peony cut flower producing country with about 50 million stems each year, with "Sarah Bernhardt" dominating the sales with over 20 million stems. An emerging source of peonies in mid to late summer is the Alaskan market. Unique growing conditions due to long hours of sunlight create availability from Alaska when other sources have completed harvest.


title: Peony

text: Peony species come in two distinct growth habits, while hybrid cultivars in addition may occupy an intermediate habit.


title: Peony

text: Herbaceous and Itoh peonies are propagated by root division, and sometimes by seed. Tree peonies can be propagated by grafting, division, seed, and from cuttings, although root grafting is most common commercially.


title: Peony

text: Herbaceous peonies such as "Paeonia lactiflora", will die back to ground level each autumn. Their stems will reappear the following spring. However tree peonies, such as "Paeonia suffruticosa", are shrubbier. They produce permanent woody stems that will lose their leaves in winter but the stem itself remains intact above ground level.


title: Peony

text: The following hybrids and cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-


title: Peony

text: The herb known as Paeonia, in particular the root of "P. lactiflora" (Bai Shao, Radix Paeoniae Lactiflorae), has been used frequently in traditional medicines of Korea, China and Japan. In Japan, "Paeonia lactiflora" used to be called "ebisugusuri" ("foreign medicine"). Pronunciation of 牡丹 (peony) in Japan is "botan." In "kampo", the Japanese adaptation of Chinese medicine, its root was used as a treatment for convulsions. It is also cultivated as a garden plant. In Japan "Paeonia suffruticosa" is called the "King of Flowers" and "Paeonia lactiflora" is called the "Prime Minister of Flowers."


title: Peony

text: In China, the fallen petals of "Paeonia lactiflora" are parboiled and sweetened as a tea-time delicacy. Peony water, an infusion of peony petals, was used for drinking in the Middle Ages. The petals may be added to salads or to punches and lemonades.


title: Peony

text: Located in Cuigou Village, Chaoyang Town, Mengjin District, Luoyang, Henan, China. The first generation of Kao, wild peony, Ranunculaceae, and medicinal genus, was founded in 1800 meters in Baiyun Mountain, Song County, Henan. Transplanted by Cui Yueqi, the owner of the house, in May 1958, after 27 years of labor and land, the plant chapter of "Henan Geography Knowledge Expo" was filmed by China Education Television in April 2017. The height of the tree is 1.7 meters, the diameter of the canopy is more than two meters, and the number of flowers will reach 350 in the future. The peony is among the longest-used flowers in Eastern culture. Along with the plum blossom, it is a traditional floral symbol of China, where the "Paeonia suffruticosa" is called 牡丹 (mǔdān). It is also known as 富貴花 (fùguìhuā) "flower of riches and honour" or 花王 (huawang) "king of the flowers", and is used symbolically in Chinese art.


title: Peony

text: The ancient Chinese city Luoyang has a reputation as a cultivation centre for the peonies. Throughout Chinese history, peonies in Luoyang have been said to be the finest in the country. Dozens of peony exhibitions and shows are still held there annually.


title: Peony

text: In the Middle Ages, peonies were often painted with their ripe seed-capsules, since it was the seeds, not the flowers, which were medically significant. Ancient superstition dictated that great care be taken not to be seen by a woodpecker while picking the plant's fruit, or the bird might peck out one's eyes.


title: Peony

text: The red flowers of the species "Paeonia peregrina" are important in Serbian folklore. Known as Kosovo peonies (, ), they are said to represent the blood of Serbian warriors who died in the Battle of Kosovo.


title: Peony

text: In 1957, the Indiana General Assembly passed a law to make the peony the state flower of Indiana, a title which it holds to this day. It replaced the zinnia, which had been the state flower since 1931.


title: Peony

text: Mischievous nymphs were said to hide in the petals of the Peony, giving it the meaning of Shame or Bashfulness in the Language of Flowers. While the peony takes several years to re-establish itself when moved, it blooms annually for decades once it has done so.


title: Peony

text: Peonies tend to attract ants to the flower buds. This is due to the nectar that forms on the outside of the flower buds, and is not required for the plants' own pollination or other growth. The presence of ants is thought to provide some deterrence to other harmful insects though, so the production of ant-attracting nectar is plausibly a functional adaptation. Ants do not harm the plants.


title: Peony

text: Peonies are a common subject in tattoos, often used along with koi-fish. The popular use of peonies in Japanese tattoo was inspired by the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi's illustrations of "Suikoden", a classical Chinese novel. His paintings of warrior-heroes covered in pictorial tattoos included lions, tigers, dragons, koi fish, and peonies, among other symbols. The peony became a masculine motif, associated with a devil-may-care attitude and disregard for consequence.


title: Peony

text: Famous painters of peonies have included Conrad Gessner (ca. 1550) and Auguste Renoir in 1879. "Paeonia officinalis" can be found in the altar picture of "Maria im Rosenhag" by Schongauer in the former Dominican Church in Colmar. The Italian Jesuit, painter and architect Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), who worked at the court of the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing dynasty, painted peonies.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: A programmable logic controller (PLC) or programmable controller is an industrial computer that has been ruggedized and adapted for the control of manufacturing processes, such as assembly lines, machines, robotic devices, or any activity that requires high reliability, ease of programming, and process fault diagnosis. Dick Morley is considered as the father of PLC as he had invented the first PLC, the Modicon 084, for General Motors in 1968.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLCs can range from small modular devices with tens of inputs and outputs (I/O), in a housing integral with the processor, to large rack-mounted modular devices with thousands of I/O, and which are often networked to other PLC and SCADA systems.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: They can be designed for many arrangements of digital and analog I/O, extended temperature ranges, immunity to electrical noise, and resistance to vibration and impact. Programs to control machine operation are typically stored in battery-backed-up or non-volatile memory.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLCs were first developed in the automobile manufacturing industry to provide flexible, rugged and easily programmable controllers to replace hard-wired relay logic systems. Since then, they have been widely adopted as high-reliability automation controllers suitable for harsh environments.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: A PLC is an example of a hard real-time system since output results must be produced in response to input conditions within a limited time, otherwise unintended operation will result.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLC originated in the late 1960s in the automotive industry in the US and were designed to replace relay logic systems. Before, control logic for manufacturing was mainly composed of relays, cam timers, drum sequencers, and dedicated closed-loop controllers.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: The hard-wired nature made it difficult for design engineers to alter the automation process. Changes would require rewiring and careful updating of the documentation. If even one wire were out of place, or one relay failed, the whole system would become faulty. Often technicians would spend hours troubleshooting by examining the schematics and comparing them to existing wiring. When general-purpose computers became available, they were soon applied to control logic in industrial processes. These early computers were unreliable and required specialist programmers and strict control of working conditions, such as temperature, cleanliness, and power quality.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: The PLC provided several advantages over earlier automation systems. It tolerated the industrial environment better than computers and was more reliable, compact and required less maintenance than relay systems. It was easily extensible with additional I/O modules, while relay systems required complicated hardware changes in case of reconfiguration. This allowed for easier iteration over manufacturing process design. With a simple programming language focused on logic and switching operations, it was more user-friendly than computers using general-purpose programming languages. It also permitted its operation to be monitored.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Early PLCs were programmed in ladder logic, which strongly resembled a schematic diagram of relay logic.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: In 1968, GM Hydramatic (the automatic transmission division of General Motors) issued a request for proposals for an electronic replacement for hard-wired relay systems based on a white paper written by engineer Edward R. Clark. The winning proposal came from Bedford Associates from Bedford, Massachusetts. The result was the first PLC—built in 1969–designated the 084, because it was Bedford Associates' eighty-fourth project.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Bedford Associates started a company dedicated to developing, manufacturing, selling, and servicing this new product, which they named (standing for modular digital controller). One of the people who worked on that project was Dick Morley, who is considered to be the "father" of the PLC. The Modicon brand was sold in 1977 to Gould Electronics and later to Schneider Electric, the current owner. About this same time, Modicon created Modbus, a data communications protocol used with its PLCs. Modbus has since become a standard open protocol commonly used to connect many industrial electrical devices.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: One of the first 084 models built is now on display at Schneider Electric's facility in North Andover, Massachusetts. It was presented to Modicon by GM, when the unit was retired after nearly twenty years of uninterrupted service. Modicon used the 84 moniker at the end of its product range until the 984 made its appearance.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: In a parallel development Odo Josef Struger is sometimes known as the "father of the programmable logic controller" as well. He was involved in the invention of the AllenBradley programmable logic controller and is credited with inventing the PLC initialism. Allen-Bradley (now a brand owned by Rockwell Automation) became a major PLC manufacturer in the United States during his tenure. Struger played a leadership role in developing IEC 61131-3 PLC programming language standards.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Many early PLCs were not capable of graphical representation of the logic, and so it was instead represented as a series of logic expressions in some kind of Boolean format, similar to Boolean algebra. As programming terminals evolved, it became more common for ladder logic to be used, because it was a familiar format used for electro-mechanical control panels. Newer formats, such as state logic and Function Block (which is similar to the way logic is depicted when using digital integrated logic circuits) exist, but they are still not as popular as ladder logic. A primary reason for this is that PLCs solve the logic in a predictable and repeating sequence, and ladder logic allows the person writing the logic to see any issues with the timing of the logic sequence more easily than would be possible in other formats.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Up to the mid-1990s, PLCs were programmed using proprietary programming panels or special-purpose programming terminals, which often had dedicated function keys representing the various logical elements of PLC programs. Some proprietary programming terminals displayed the elements of PLC programs as graphic symbols, but plain ASCII character representations of contacts, coils, and wires were common. Programs were stored on cassette tape cartridges. Facilities for printing and documentation were minimal due to a lack of memory capacity. The oldest PLCs used non-volatile magnetic core memory.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: A PLC is an industrial microprocessor-based controller with programmable memory used to store program instructions and various functions. It consists of:


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLCs require programming device which is used to develop and later download the created program into the memory of the controller.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: There are two types of mechanical design for PLC systems. A "single box", or a "brick" is a small programmable controller that fits all units and interfaces into one compact casing, although, typically, additional expansion modules for inputs and outputs are available. Second design type – a "modular" PLC – has a chassis (also called a "rack") that provides space for modules with different functions, such as power supply, processor, selection of I/O modules and communication interfaces – which all can be customized for the particular application. Several racks can be administered by a single processor and may have thousands of inputs and outputs. Either a special high-speed serial I/O link or comparable communication method is used so that racks can be distributed away from the processor, reducing the wiring costs for large plants. Options are also available to mount I/O points directly to the machine and utilize quick disconnecting cables to sensors and valves, saving time for wiring and replacing components.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Discrete (digital) signals can only take "on" or "off" value (1 or 0, "true" or "false"). Examples of devices providing a discrete signal include limit switches, photoelectric sensors and encoders. Discrete signals are sent using either voltage or current, where specific extreme ranges are designated as o"n" and o"ff". For example, a controller might use 24 V DC input with values above 22 V DC representing o"n", values below 2 V DC representing o"ff", and intermediate values undefined.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Analog signals can use voltage or current that is proportional to the size of the monitored variable and can take any value within their scale. Pressure, temperature, flow, and weight are often represented by analog signals. These are typically interpreted as integer values with various ranges of accuracy depending on the device and the number of bits available to store the data. For example, an analog 0 to 10 V or 4-20 mA current loop input would be converted into an integer value of 0 to 32,767. The PLC will take this value and transpose it into the desired units of the process so the operator or program can read it. Proper integration will also include filter times to reduce noise as well as high and low limits to report faults. Current inputs are less sensitive to electrical noise (e.g. from welders or electric motor starts) than voltage inputs. Distance from the device and the controller is also a concern as the maximum traveling distance of a good quality 0-10 V signal is very short compared to the 4-20 mA signal. The 4-20 mA signal can also report if the wire is disconnected along the path as a <4 mA signal would indicate an error.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Some special processes need to work permanently with minimum unwanted downtime. Therefore, it is necessary to design a system that is fault-tolerant and capable of handling the process with faulty modules. In such cases to increase the system availability in the event of hardware component failure, redundant CPU or I/O modules with the same functionality can be added to hardware configuration for preventing total or partial process shutdown due to hardware failure. Other redundancy scenarios could be related to safety-critical processes, for example, large hydraulic presses could require that both PLCs turn on output before the press can come down in case one output does not turn off properly.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Programmable logic controllers are intended to be used by engineers without a programming background. For this reason, a graphical programming language called Ladder Diagram (LD, LAD) was first developed. It resembles the schematic diagram of a system built with electromechanical relays and was adopted by many manufacturers and later standardized in the IEC 61131-3 control systems programming standard. , it is still widely used, thanks to its simplicity.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: , the majority of PLC systems adhere to the IEC 61131-3 standard that defines 2 textual programming languages: Structured Text (ST; similar to Pascal) and Instruction List (IL); as well as 3 graphical languages: Ladder Diagram, Function Block Diagram (FBD) and Sequential Function Chart (SFC). Instruction List (IL) was deprecated in the third edition of the standard.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Modern PLCs can be programmed in a variety of ways, from the relay-derived ladder logic to programming languages such as specially adapted dialects of BASIC and C.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: While the fundamental concepts of PLC programming are common to all manufacturers, differences in I/O addressing, memory organization, and instruction sets mean that PLC programs are never perfectly interchangeable between different makers. Even within the same product line of a single manufacturer, different models may not be directly compatible.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLC programs are typically written in a programming device, which can take the form of a desktop console, special software on a personal computer, or a handheld programming device. Then, the program is downloaded to the PLC directly or over a network. It is stored either in non-volatile flash memory or battery-backed-up RAM. In some programmable controllers, the program is transferred from a personal computer to the PLC through a programming board that writes the program into a removable chip, such as EPROM.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Manufacturers develop programming software for their controllers. In addition to being able to program PLCs in multiple languages, they provide common features like hardware diagnostics and maintenance, software debugging, and offline simulation.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: A program written on a personal computer or uploaded from PLC using programming software can be easily copied and backed up on external storage.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLC simulation is a feature often found in PLC programming software. It allows for testing and debugging early in a project's development.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Incorrectly programmed PLC can result in lost productivity and dangerous conditions. Testing the project in simulation improves its quality, increases the level of safety associated with equipment and can save costly downtime during the installation and commissioning of automated control applications since many scenarios can be tried and tested before the system is activated.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: The main difference from most other computing devices is that PLCs are intended-for and therefore tolerant-of more severe conditions (such as dust, moisture, heat, cold), while offering extensive input/output (I/O) to connect the PLC to sensors and actuators. PLC input can include simple digital elements such as limit switches, analog variables from process sensors (such as temperature and pressure), and more complex data such as that from positioning or machine vision systems. PLC output can include elements such as indicator lamps, sirens, electric motors, pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders, magnetic relays, solenoids, or analog outputs. The input/output arrangements may be built into a simple PLC, or the PLC may have external I/O modules attached to a fieldbus or computer network that plugs into the PLC.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: The functionality of the PLC has evolved over the years to include sequential relay control, motion control, process control, distributed control systems, and networking. The data handling, storage, processing power, and communication capabilities of some modern PLCs are approximately equivalent to desktop computers. PLC-like programming combined with remote I/O hardware, allows a general-purpose desktop computer to overlap some PLCs in certain applications. Desktop computer controllers have not been generally accepted in heavy industry because desktop computers run on less stable operating systems than PLCs, and because the desktop computer hardware is typically not designed to the same levels of tolerance to temperature, humidity, vibration, and longevity as the processors used in PLCs. Operating systems such as Windows do not lend themselves to deterministic logic execution, with the result that the controller may not always respond to changes of input status with the consistency in timing expected from PLCs. Desktop logic applications find use in less critical situations, such as laboratory automation and use in small facilities where the application is less demanding and critical.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: The most basic function of a programmable controller is to emulate the functions of electromechanical relays. Discrete inputs are given a unique address, and a PLC instruction can test if the input state is on or off. Just as a series of relay contacts perform a logical AND function, not allowing current to pass unless all the contacts are closed, so a series of "examine if on" instructions will energize its output storage bit if all the input bits are on. Similarly, a parallel set of instructions will perform a logical OR. In an electromechanical relay wiring diagram, a group of contacts controlling one coil is called a "rung" of a "ladder diagram ", and this concept is also used to describe PLC logic. Some models of PLC limit the number of series and parallel instructions in one "rung" of logic. The output of each rung sets or clears a storage bit, which may be associated with a physical output address or which may be an "internal coil" with no physical connection. Such internal coils can be used, for example, as a common element in multiple separate rungs. Unlike physical relays, there is usually no limit to the number of times an input, output or internal coil can be referenced in a PLC program.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Some PLCs enforce a strict left-to-right, top-to-bottom execution order for evaluating the rung logic. This is different from electro-mechanical relay contacts, which, in a sufficiently complex circuit, may either pass current left-to-right or right-to-left, depending on the configuration of surrounding contacts. The elimination of these "sneak paths" is either a bug or a feature, depending on the programming style.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: More advanced instructions of the PLC may be implemented as functional blocks, which carry out some operation when enabled by a logical input and which produce outputs to signal, for example, completion or errors, while manipulating variables internally that may not correspond to discrete logic.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLCs use built-in ports, such as USB, Ethernet, RS-232, RS-485, or RS-422 to communicate with external devices (sensors, actuators) and systems (programming software, SCADA, HMI). Communication is carried over various industrial network protocols, like Modbus, or EtherNet/IP. Many of these protocols are vendor specific.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLCs used in larger I/O systems may have peer-to-peer (P2P) communication between processors. This allows separate parts of a complex process to have individual control while allowing the subsystems to co-ordinate over the communication link. These communication links are also often used for HMI devices such as keypads or PC-type workstations.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Formerly, some manufacturers offered dedicated communication modules as an add-on function where the processor had no network connection built-in.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLCs may need to interact with people for the purpose of configuration, alarm reporting, or everyday control. A human-machine interface (HMI) is employed for this purpose. HMIs are also referred to as man-machine interfaces (MMIs) and graphical user interfaces (GUIs). A simple system may use buttons and lights to interact with the user. Text displays are available as well as graphical touch screens. More complex systems use programming and monitoring software installed on a computer, with the PLC connected via a communication interface.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: A PLC works in a program scan cycle, where it executes its program repeatedly. The simplest scan cycle consists of 3 steps:


title: Programmable logic controller

text: The program follows the sequence of instructions. It typically takes a time span of tens of milliseconds for the processor to evaluate all the instructions and update the status of all outputs. If the system contains remote I/O—for example, an external rack with I/O modules—then that introduces additional uncertainty in the response time of the PLC system.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: As PLCs became more advanced, methods were developed to change the sequence of ladder execution, and subroutines were implemented. This enhanced programming could be used to save scan time for high-speed processes; for example, parts of the program used only for setting up the machine could be segregated from those parts required to operate at higher speed. Newer PLCs now have the option to run the logic program synchronously with the IO scanning. This means that IO is updated in the background and the logic reads and writes values as required during the logic scanning.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Special-purpose I/O modules may be used where the scan time of the PLC is too long to allow predictable performance. Precision timing modules, or counter modules for use with shaft encoders, are used where the scan time would be too long to reliably count pulses or detect the sense of rotation of an encoder. This allows even a relatively slow PLC to still interpret the counted values to control a machine, as the accumulation of pulses is done by a dedicated module that is unaffected by the speed of program execution.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: In his book from 1998, E. A. Parr pointed out that even though most programmable controllers require physical keys and passwords, the lack of strict access control and version control systems, as well as an easy-to-understand programming language make it likely that unauthorized changes to programs will happen and remain unnoticed.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Prior to the discovery of the Stuxnet computer worm in June 2010, the security of PLCs received little attention. Modern programmable controllers generally contain a real-time operating systems, which can be vulnerable to exploits in a similar way as desktop operating systems, like Microsoft Windows. PLCs can also be attacked by gaining control of a computer they communicate with. , these concerns have grown as networking is becoming more commonplace in the PLC environment connecting the previously separate plant floor networks and office networks.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: In February 2021, Rockwell Automation publicly disclosed a critical vulnerability affecting its Logix controllers family. Secret cryptographic key used to verify communication between the PLC and workstation can be extracted from Studio 5000 Logix Designer programming software and used to remotely change program code and configuration of connected controller. The vulnerability was given a severity score of 10 out of 10 on the CVSS vulnerability scale. At the time of writing, the mitigation of the vulnerability was to limit network access to affected devices.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Safety PLCs can be either a standalone model or a safety-rated hardware and functionality added to existing controller architectures (Allen-Bradley Guardlogix, Siemens F-series etc.). These differ from conventional PLC types by being suitable for safety-critical applications for which PLCs have traditionally been supplemented with hard-wired safety relays and areas of the memory dedicated to the safety instructions. The standard of safety level is the SIL.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: A safety PLC might be used to control access to a robot cell with trapped-key access, or to manage the shutdown response to an emergency stop on a conveyor production line. Such PLCs typically have a restricted regular instruction set augmented with safety-specific instructions designed to interface with emergency stops, light screens, and so forth.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: The flexibility that such systems offer has resulted in rapid growth of demand for these controllers.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLCs are well adapted to a range of automation tasks. These are typically industrial processes in manufacturing where the cost of developing and maintaining the automation system is high relative to the total cost of the automation, and where changes to the system would be expected during its operational life. PLCs contain input and output devices compatible with industrial pilot devices and controls; little electrical design is required, and the design problem centers on expressing the desired sequence of operations. PLC applications are typically highly customized systems, so the cost of a packaged PLC is low compared to the cost of a specific custom-built controller design. On the other hand, in the case of mass-produced goods, customized control systems are economical. This is due to the lower cost of the components, which can be optimally chosen instead of a "generic" solution, and where the non-recurring engineering charges are spread over thousands or millions of units.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Programmable controllers are widely used in motion, positioning, or torque control. Some manufacturers produce motion control units to be integrated with PLC so that G-code (involving a CNC machine) can be used to instruct machine movements.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: For small machines with low or medium volume. PLCs that can execute PLC languages such as Ladder, Flow-Chart/Grafcet... Similar to traditional PLCs, but their small size allows developers to design them into custom printed circuit boards like a microcontroller, without computer programming knowledge, but with a language that is easy to use, modify and maintain. It's between the classic PLC / Micro-PLC and the Microcontrollers.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: For high-volume or very simple fixed automation tasks, different techniques are used. For example, a cheap consumer dishwasher would be controlled by an electromechanical cam timer costing only a few dollars in production quantities.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: A microcontroller-based design would be appropriate where hundreds or thousands of units will be produced and so the development cost (design of power supplies, input/output hardware, and necessary testing and certification) can be spread over many sales, and where the end-user would not need to alter the control. Automotive applications are an example; millions of units are built each year, and very few end-users alter the programming of these controllers. However, some specialty vehicles such as transit buses economically use PLCs instead of custom-designed controls, because the volumes are low and the development cost would be uneconomical.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: Very complex process control, such as those used in the chemical industry, may require algorithms and performance beyond the capability of even high-performance PLCs. Very high-speed or precision controls may also require customized solutions; for example, aircraft flight controls. Single-board computers using semi-customized or fully proprietary hardware may be chosen for very demanding control applications where the high development and maintenance cost can be supported. "Soft PLCs" running on desktop-type computers can interface with industrial I/O hardware while executing programs within a version of commercial operating systems adapted for process control needs.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: The rising popularity of single board computers has also had an influence on the development of PLCs. Traditional PLCs are generally closed platforms, but some newer PLCs (e.g. groov EPIC from Opto 22, ctrlX from Bosch Rexroth, PFC200 from Wago, PLCnext from Phoenix Contact, and Revolution Pi from Kunbus) provide the features of traditional PLCs on an open platform.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: PLCs may include logic for single-variable feedback analog control loop, a PID controller. A PID loop could be used to control the temperature of a manufacturing process, for example. Historically PLCs were usually configured with only a few analog control loops; where processes required hundreds or thousands of loops, a distributed control system (DCS) would instead be used. As PLCs have become more powerful, the boundary between DCS and PLC applications has been blurred.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: In more recent years, small products called programmable logic relays (PLRs) or smart relays, have become more common and accepted. These are similar to PLCs and are used in light industries where only a few points of I/O are needed, and low cost is desired. These small devices are typically made in a common physical size and shape by several manufacturers and branded by the makers of larger PLCs to fill out their low-end product range. Most of these have 8 to 12 discrete inputs, 4 to 8 discrete outputs, and up to 2 analog inputs. Most such devices include a tiny postage-stamp-sized LCD screen for viewing simplified ladder logic (only a very small portion of the program being visible at a given time) and status of I/O points, and typically these screens are accompanied by a 4-way rocker push-button plus four more separate push-buttons, similar to the key buttons on a VCR remote control, and used to navigate and edit the logic. Most have a small plug for connecting via RS-232 or RS-485 to a personal computer so that programmers can use simple applications in general-purpose OS like MS Windows, macOS or Linux, that have user-friendly (G)UIs, for programming instead of being forced to use the tiny LCD and push-button set for this purpose. Unlike regular PLCs that are usually modular and greatly expandable, the PLRs are usually not modular or expandable, but their price can be two orders of magnitude less than a PLC, and they still offer robust design and deterministic execution of the logic.


title: Programmable logic controller

text: A variant of PLCs, used in remote locations is the remote terminal unit or RTU. An RTU is typically a low power, ruggedized PLC whose key function is to manage the communications links between the site and the central control system (typically SCADA) or in some modern systems, "The Cloud". Unlike factory automation using high-speed Ethernet, communications links to remote sites are often radio-based and are less reliable. To account for the reduced reliability, RTU will buffer messages or switch to alternate communications paths. When buffering messages, the RTU will timestamp each message so that a full history of site events can be reconstructed. RTUs, being PLCs, have a wide range of I/O and are fully programmable, typically with languages from the IEC 61131-3 standard that is common to many PLCs, RTUs and DCSs. In remote locations, it is common to use an RTU as a gateway for a PLC, where the PLC is performing all site control and the RTU is managing communications, time-stamping events and monitoring ancillary equipment. On sites with only a handful of I/O, the RTU may also be the site PLC and will perform both communications and control functions.


title: MacGyver

text: Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series "MacGyver". He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot.


title: MacGyver

text: In both portrayals MacGyver is shown to possess a genius-level intellect, proficiency in multiple languages, superb engineering skills, excellent knowledge of applied physics, military training in bomb disposal techniques, and a preference for non-lethal resolutions to conflicts. MacGyver works for the fictional "Phoenix Foundation" in Los Angeles, which in the original series was an independent think tank, and in the 2016 reboot is a clandestine government organization using the cover of a think tank. In addition to his scientific knowledge and inventive use of common items, he always carries a Swiss Army knife and refuses to carry a gun.


title: MacGyver

text: MacGyver is portrayed as a non-violent problem solver and typically eschews the use of guns. His violent actions are performed in self-defense, and he takes non-fatal action when possible.


title: MacGyver

text: MacGyver is depicted as an ally to social and environmental causes. He aids vulnerable populations throughout the series. During vineyard worker strikes, MacGyver assists Latino protesters against vineyard owners. MacGyver appears to have a strong connection with children, filling the role of "big brother" at the series' inception. MacGyver demonstrates his allegiance to children by assisting a mountain excursion for delinquent youths. MacGyver also conducts hearing research at a school for deaf children. In regard to the environment, MacGyver strives to protect endangered species such as eagles, the black rhino, and wolves. At an unspecificed date during the series, MacGyver begins practicing vegetarianism.