title: World Rapid Chess Championship

text: Starting in 2007, the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) sponsored an annual event billed as the ACP World Rapid Cup. The 1st edition of the event was a 16-player knockout tournament, jointly organized by the Pivdenny Bank of Ukraine and the ACP and held in Odessa, Ukraine at the Hotel Londonskaya from 4 January to 8 January 2007. The brainchild of Pivdenny Bank chairman and ACP president Vadim Morokhovsky, the tournament included the top finishers in each year's ACP Tour, a system in which participating players were ranked based on their performances in several chess tournaments held around the world. The remaining participants were chosen on a wild-card basis at the organizers' discretion. From 2007 to 2010, the tournament was held on an annual basis, with the 5th edition of the cup held in 2013. Despite the ACP Cup's status as a non-FIDE event, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was present at the inaugural edition of the tournament and took part in the opening ceremony. A subsequent agreement between FIDE and the ACP ensured that ACP would be able to use the title "World" when promoting and referring to the tournament.


title: World Rapid Chess Championship

text: Time controls were set at 20 minutes per player, with an increment of five seconds. Each match consisted of two rapid games, with the winner progressing to the next round. Ties were resolved by two blitz games, followed by a sudden-death Armageddon game. The final match initially consisted of four rapid games, with the same tiebreaks; in 2013, the final was shortened back to two rapid games.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (after St. Louis County). Although Independence retains its status as the original county seat, Kansas City, Missouri, serves as a second county seat and the center of county government. The county was organized December 15, 1826, and named for President Andrew Jackson (elected 1828). Jackson County is the most populated county in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Total employment in 2019 was 344,993.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Jackson County was long home to members of the indigenous Osage Native American tribe, who occupied this territory at the time of European encounter. The first known European explorers were French trappers who used the Missouri River as a highway for explorations and trading with Native American tribes. Jackson County was a part of the territory of New France, until the British victory in the French and Indian War in 1763 resulted in France's cession of this territory to Great Britain's ally, Spain. In 1800 Spain was forced by France in the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso to return its Louisiana Territory (of which modern Jackson County formed a part) to France. Abandoning its claims in North America, France sold the territory to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Operating on behalf of President Thomas Jefferson, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed through Jackson County on their famous Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804, to survey peoples, property and resources of the Louisiana Territory. Among other items, their report indicated a "high, commanding position" along the river within the current boundaries of Jackson County; in 1808 Fort Osage was constructed there. This stockade and trading post was one of the first U.S. military installations within the Louisiana purchase territory, and remained active until 1822.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: In 1821, Jackson County became part of the newly admitted state of Missouri. Jackson County was organized on December 15, 1826, and named for Andrew Jackson, U.S. Senator (and later President) from Tennessee. Its county seat was designated as Independence, which was at the time a minuscule settlement near a spring. However, the rapid increase in westward exploration and expansion ultimately resulted in Independence becoming the starting point for three of the great Westward Trails: the Santa Fe Trail, the Oregon Trail, and the California Trail. Following the American Civil War and construction of railroads through this area, nearby Kansas City, Missouri, ultimately eclipsed Independence, though both towns remain county seats.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: In 1838, the "Town Company" bought a small piece of land along the Missouri River in northern Jackson County, establishing "Westport Landing" (today this is known as the River Market district). The area outside Westport Landing was renamed in 1839 as the "Town of Kansas", after the local Kanza or Kaw tribe. The town was chartered by Jackson County in 1850 and incorporated by the State of Missouri as the "City of Kansas" in 1853. In 1889, with a population of around 60,000, the city adopted a new charter and changed its name to Kansas City. In 1897, Kansas City annexed Westport.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Jackson County figures prominently in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Although the sect was formed in upstate New York in 1830, in March 1831 Joseph Smith said that a location on the Missouri–Kansas border was to be the latter-day "New Jerusalem" with the "center place" located in Independence, the county seat. Traveling to the area in the Summer of 1831, Smith and some associates formally proclaimed Jackson County as the site, in a ceremony in August 1831.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Leadership and members of the Latter Day Saint movement began moving to Jackson County as soon as word was published of the August 1831 dedication ceremony. Open conflict with earlier settlers ensued, driven by religious and cultural differences, and the perception by pro-slavery Missourians that the "Yankee" Mormons were abolitionists. Mobs in the public and private sector used force to drive individual Saints from Jackson to nearby counties within Missouri; eventually, Latter Day Saints were given until the end of November 6, 1833, to leave the county "en masse". On November 23, 1833, the few remaining LDS residents were ordered to leave Jackson County. By mid-1839, following the Missouri Mormon War, the LDS were driven from the state altogether. They did not return to Jackson County or Missouri in significant numbers until 1867, two years after the end of the Civil War.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: During the Civil War, Jackson County was the scene of several engagements, the most notable of which was the Battle of Westport in 1864, sometimes referred to as "the Gettysburg of Missouri". The Union victory here firmly established Northern control of Missouri, and led to the failure of Confederate General Sterling Price's Missouri expedition. Other noteworthy battles were fought in Independence in 1862, Lone Jack a few days later, and again in Independence in 1864.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Jackson County was strongly affected by Union General Thomas Ewing's infamous General Order No. 11 (1863). With large numbers of Confederate sympathizers living within its boundaries, and active Confederate operations in the area a frequent occurrence, the Union command was determined to deprive Confederate bushwhackers of all local support. Ewing's decree practically emptied the rural portions of the county, and resulted in the burning of large portions of Jackson and adjacent counties. According to American artist George Caleb Bingham, who described the order as "imbecilic" and was a resident of Kansas City at the time, one could see the "dense columns of smoke arising in every direction", symbolic of what he termed "a ruthless military despotism which spared neither age, sex, character, nor condition". Because of the destruction carried out under the order, its legacy haunted Jackson County for decades after the war.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: The coming of the railroads and the building of stockyards led to the rapid expansion of Kansas City in the late 19th century. During the 1920s and '30s, the city became a noted center for Jazz and Blues music, as well as the headquarters of Hallmark Cards and the site of Walt Disney's first animation studio. The county fared better than many during the Great Depression, as local political boss Thomas Pendergast worked to implement a $50,000,000 public works project that provided thousands of jobs. One of Pendergast's political protegés was a young World War I veteran from Independence, Harry S. Truman, who had been his nephew's commanding officer in the war. Truman was elected Presiding Judge (equivalent to a County Executive) of Jackson County with Pendergast support in 1926. He later was elected as a U.S. Senator from Missouri, Vice President and, in 1945, following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, succeeded him to become the thirty-third President of the United States. Truman was also elected president in 1948 in his own right.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Following World War II, developers followed new highways and created subdivisions for new housing, which increasingly encroached on rural portions of the county. They provided housing for the nation's returning veterans and their young families. Independence, Blue Springs and Lee's Summit underwent growth during this period, which continues to the present. Kansas City, on the other hand, suffered problems of urban decay as jobs and families left the industrial city, problems common to many large American cities in the late 20th century.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Recent building projects have sought to reverse this trend, including work on the city's famous City Market, Westport district, 18th and Vine Historic District, and most recently, the Kansas City Power & Light District.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Some of the county's local history is presented at the Pleasant Hill Historical Society Museum, in Pleasant Hill on the southern edge of the county.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Jackson County was the second county to adopt a home-rule charter under the Missouri Constitution. The Jackson County Charter was adopted by the voters in 1970 and was amended in 1985 and 1986.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Executive power of the county is vested in the county executive, which is a full-time salaried position. The county executive is elected at-large by the general population of the county for a four-year term.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: The County Prosecutor is a full-time salaried position elected at-large by the general population of the county for a four-year term


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Ordinances are passed by a county legislature. The legislature is made up of nine members: six are elected from smaller, single-member districts within the county. Three are elected "at large" from larger districts, each by voters of the whole county. Member terms are 4 years, beginning on January 1 following the election.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: The County Sheriff is a full-time salaried position elected by the general population of the county for a four-year term the sheriff is Darryl Forté. The Sheriff's Office is also responsible for the county's jail.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Sheriff Mike Sharp resigned in April 2018 amidst scandal. He was the subject of a lawsuit that alleged sexual misconduct, personal use of public funds and sexual harassment. Sheriff Darryl Forté was then appointed. He had recently retired as the chief of the Kansas City Police Department. He was elected to a full term in November of that year.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: In mid-2019, Sheriff Forté directed a more-restrictive policy on high-speed pursuits the day after one of his deputies was charged with injuring a bystander during such a chase in May 2018.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Jackson County is the only county that falls under the jurisdiction of the 16th Judicial Circuit of the Missouri Circuit Courts. The Court seats 19 Circuit Judges and 10 Associate Circuit Judges. All Judges of the court are appointed by the Governor of Missouri, Circuit Judges serve a term of 6 years and Associate judges serve a term of 4 years.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Jackson County also has a municipal court with one judge. The Municipal Judge is appointed by the County Executive with approval by the County Legislature and they serve a 4-year term.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: The Missouri River comprises Jackson County's northern border (with the exception of one small portion north of the river around the intersection of Highways 210 and 291 as well as all of the 291 bridge). The county has historically been a major traveling point for American river travel.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: As of the 2010 census Jackson County had a population of 674,158. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 63.3% non-Hispanic white, 23.7% non-Hispanic black, 0.5% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander alone or in combination with one or more other races, 0.1% non-Hispanic from some other race, 3.8% reporting two or more races and 8.4% Hispanic or Latino.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: As of the census of 2000, there were 654,880 people, 266,294 households, and 166,167 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,083 people per square mile (418/km). There were 288,231 housing units at an average density of 476 per square mile (184/km). The racial makeup of the county was 70.10% White, 23.27% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 2.43% from other races, and 2.25% from two or more races. 5.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.7% were of German, 9.1% American, 8.9% Irish and 8.8% English ancestry.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: There were 266,294 households, out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.40% were married couples living together, 14.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.60% were non-families. 31.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.05.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.80% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.00 males.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: The median income for a household in the county was $39,277, and the median income for a family was $48,435. Males had a median income of $35,798 versus $27,403 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,788. About 9.00% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.40% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2010), Jackson County is sometimes regarded as being on the northern edge of the Bible Belt, with evangelical Protestantism being the most predominant religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Jackson County who adhere to a religion are Roman Catholics (19.51%), Southern Baptists (17.96%), and non-denominational evangelical Christians (11.52%).


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: Jackson County is a solidly Democratic county and has remained so even as the state of Missouri has trended rightward. The last Republican presidential candidate to carry the county was Richard Nixon in 1972, the only Republican to do so since 1932. John Ashcroft was the last Republican gubernatorial candidate in 1988 and Kit Bond for the Senate in 1998. Tom Schweich is the last Statewide Republican candidate to win the county in his landslide victory for State Auditor in 2014.


title: Jackson County, Missouri

text: The county's Democratic lean is due almost entirely to the presence of Kansas City. In 2008, for example, John McCain barely carried the areas of the county outside Kansas City, but Barack Obama carried Kansas City by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, enough for him to carry the county as a whole with 62 percent of the vote. Generally, Democratic strength is concentrated south of the Missouri River, with the wealthier areas north of the river being more friendly to Republicans.


title: Scylla serrata

text: Scylla serrata (often called mud crab or mangrove crab, although both terms are highly ambiguous, and black crab) is an ecologically important species of crab found in the estuaries and mangroves of Africa, Australasia, and Asia. In their most common forms, their shell colours vary from a deep, mottled green to very dark brown.


title: Scylla serrata

text: The natural range of "S. serrata" is in the Indo-Pacific. It is found from South Africa, around the coast of the Indian Ocean, where it is especially abundant in Sri Lanka, to the Southeast Asian Archipelago, as well as from southern Japan to south-eastern Australia, northern New Zealand, And as far east as Fiji and Samoa. The species has also been introduced to Hawaii and Florida.


title: Scylla serrata

text: In Hawaii, mud crabs are colloquially known as Samoan crabs, as they were originally imported from American Samoa. As these crabs are known for their robust size and dense meat content, they have been greatly sought after over the years. As a result of overcrabbing, local government efforts have restricted harvesting of crabs smaller than 6 inches (width across back) and to harvest females of any size is illegal.


title: Scylla serrata

text: A study on tidal flats in Deception Bay in Queensland found juvenile crabs ( carapace width) were resident in the mangrove zone, remaining there during low tide, while subadults () migrated into the intertidal zone to feed at high tide and retreated to subtidal waters at low tide. Adults ( and larger) were caught mainly below the low-tide mark, with small numbers captured in the intertidal zone at high tide.


title: Scylla serrata

text: These crabs are highly cannibalistic in nature; when crabs undergo molting, other hard-shelled ones sometimes attack the molting crabs and devour them. The females can give birth to a million offspring, which can grow up to in size and have a shell width up to wide.


title: Benji Gregory

text: Benjamin Gregory Hertzberg (born May 26, 1978), known professionally as Benji Gregory is a former American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Brian Tanner on the sitcom "ALF".


title: Benji Gregory

text: Gregory was born in Los Angeles, California. His father, uncle and sister were all actors; his grandmother was his agent.


title: Benji Gregory

text: In addition to his stint on "ALF", he appeared in several television shows which include "Fantastic Max" (1988-1990), "Pound Puppies" (1986-1987), "Murphy Brown" (1988), "Fantasy Island" (1978), "The A-Team" (1984), "T.J. Hooker" (1984), "Amazing Stories" (1985), "The Twilight Zone" (1985), and "Mr. Boogedy" (1986). He also made an appearance in the feature film "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1986).


title: Benji Gregory

text: Gregory appeared as himself in the PSAs television series "The More You Know", the children's game show series "I'm Telling!", the "Salute to the 50 States episodes" of the game show "Fun House", as well as on a kids episode of "The Dating Game."


title: Benji Gregory

text: Gregory made several appearances on the television sitcom "Punky Brewster", playing an orphan named "Dash," and supplied the voice of Edgar the Mole in the animated feature "Once Upon a Forest" (1993). He was scheduled to co-star in a "Punky Brewster" spin-off called "Fenster Hall". The pilot/television-movie of "Fenster Hall" was never picked up for regular production.


title: Benji Gregory

text: Gregory enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2003 and graduated school to become an aerographer's mate. In 2005, he received an honorable discharge from the Navy. He married in 2006, after completing his military service.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: The Glasgow razor gangs were violent gangs that existed in the East End and South Side of Glasgow, Scotland in the late 1920s and 1930s and were named after their weapon of choice. H. Kingsley Long's novel "No Mean City" (1935) contains a fictionalised account of these gangs.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: The tradition of gang formation in Glasgow stretched back at least to the 1880s, and gang rivalries appear to have derived a momentum of their own during the late 19th century, irrespective of short-term economic trends, both in Glasgow and in other British municipalities.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: Religious sectarianism had been rife in Scotland for centuries; however, the centre of it all was in Glasgow. Originally, Glasgow had been mainly Protestant, but in the 19th and 20th centuries, large numbers of Roman Catholic Irish immigrants came to the west coast of Scotland; drawn by jobs in the local industries in Scotland.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: Protestants became irritated at the increasing unemployment rate and blamed the influx of Catholics. Between November 1930 and May 1935, Glasgow's unemployment rate was between 25-33%. While it would be misleading to claim that mass unemployment was the sole cause of gang conflicts in inter-war Glasgow, the advent of mass unemployment does appear to have led to two significant new patterns in gang formation. Firstly, as unemployment peaked locally in the early 1930s and long-term unemployment posed increasing concern, it became more common for men in their twenties, and even thirties, to remain active members of street gangs, some of which appear to have provided an important focus for jobless men.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: In the 1920s, Glasgow became known for its gang violence particularly in the Gorbals area, leading to the portrayal of Glasgow as one of Britain's most violent cities. Relations between the gangs and the police were violent on both sides, as police officers and local youths contested ownership of the streets. Throughout the 1930s, the police in Glasgow maintained a network of paid informers, including bar staff employed in public houses in the poorer districts of the South Side and the East End, in order to gather information concerning the planned activities of local street gangs.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: Confrontations between gangs and police officers frequently followed police attempts to take gang members into custody. For example, in July 1939, a major disturbance erupted in the Gorbals as the Beehive Boys and the South Side Stickers reportedly joined forces to confront police officers who were taking two prisoners to the police station. 'Hundreds' of local people gathered at the main street corners, and police reinforcements were stoned as they arrived in Thistle Street in squad cars and vans. As the disturbance spread, shop windows were smashed, and police officers were forced to stand guard to prevent looting.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, most of Glasgow's street gangs were territorially based in working-class districts. This was reflected in the choice of names such as the Bridgeton Billy Boys, the Calton Entry, and the South Side Stickers. The Beehive Boys took their name from a draper's shop situated at the corner of Thistle Street and Cumberland Street in the Gorbals.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: Many gangs were active in the city; however, two of the most infamous were the former Penny Mobs, the Bridgeton Billy Boys and the Norman Conks. By the end of the 1930s, more gangs such as the Beehive Boys, the San Toi, Tongs, the Fleet, Govan Team, Den Toi, Bal Toi, Drummy, Provy, Aggro, skinheads, Tiny Torran Toi and Bingo Boys had come into existence.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: Glasgow gangs were divided between those that were solely territorial and those that combined territorial and sectarian allegiances, such as the Protestant Bridgeton (or Billy) Boys who frequently clashed with the Roman Catholic Norman Conks in the East End of the city. The Billy Boys would meet at Bridgeton Cross, their claimed territory. The Norman Conks would gather in a street which was roughly half a kilometre south. The fact that the two were so close geographically caused many fights.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: The Billy Boys were founded and led by Billy Fullerton, a former member of the British Fascists. Fullerton also later became a member of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s. The Billy Boys adopted a militaristic style of behaviour, marching on parades, forming their own bands, composing their own songs and music, and all dressed in a similar manner. The Billy Boys also formed a junior group whose members were teenagers called the Derry Boys.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: In the early 1930s, gang numbers started to decrease, mainly due to the work of the chief constable of the City of Glasgow Police, Sir Percy Sillitoe. Brought in due to his work with similar gangs in Sheffield, his tactic was to recruit big, strong men from rural areas and the Scottish Highlands. Due also to the start of World War II, the Billy boys went into decline in the late 1930s.


title: Glasgow razor gangs

text: In the late 1960s a moral panic swept Glasgow, with media and police attention focused on new youth gangs that were younger, more violent and more dangerous than the Glasgow razor gangs of the 1920s and 1930s. By the turn of the 21st century, Glasgow had the highest number of street gangs in the UK. In 2006, there were as many 'young teams' in Greater Glasgow as in London, the UK capital, which is geographically six times as large. The numbers of young people involved in gangs and the violence inflicted in statistical terms reduced significantly over the next decade, due to various factors including successful initiatives to engage with gang members by organisations such as the Violence Reduction Unit. However, organised crime groups remained a significant problem in the city.


title: S. R. Bommai

text: Somappa Rayappa Bommai (6 June 1924 – 10 October 2007) was an Indian Politician who was the 11th Chief Minister of Karnataka. He was also the Human Resource Development Minister in the United Front government from 1996 to 1998. He is widely remembered as the champion for the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India, S. R. Bommai v. Union of India.


title: S. R. Bommai

text: His son Basavaraj Bommai became the Chief Minister of Karnataka in 2021 making them only the second father and son duo after H. D. Devegowda and H. D. Kumaraswamy to become the Chief Ministers of Karnataka.


title: S. R. Bommai

text: S. R. Bommai was born on 6 June 1924 in a Sadar Lingayat family at Karadagi village of Shiggaon taluk of the then undivided Dharwad District. He took part in the Quit India movement of 1942. He also played an active role in the unification ("Ekikarana" in Kannada) of Karnataka which had been spread among Mysore kingdom, Bombay Presidency, Hyderabad, and Madras Presidency, during the British rule.


title: S. R. Bommai

text: A lawyer by profession, he was elected to the Karnataka Legislative assembly many times from the Hubballi rural constituency and was also a member of the Karnataka Legislative council from 1972 to 1978.


title: S. R. Bommai

text: He along with Ramakrishna Hegde, J. H. Patel and H. D. Deve Gowda — was instrumental in the Janata Party forming a government in the State for the first time in the State in 1983. He was given the weighty portfolio of Industries in the Ramakrishna Hegde government. After Hegde quit on moral grounds, Mr. Bommai took charge as Chief Minister of the State on 13 August 1988 and his government was dismissed by the then Governor, P. Venkatasubbaiah, on 21 April 1989. The dismissal was on the grounds that his government had lost its majority following large-scale defections engineered by several Janata Party leaders of the day. Bommai had sought some time from the Governor to prove his majority on the floor of the Legislature and he was denied this. He challenged this order in the Supreme Court.


title: S. R. Bommai

text: S. R. Bommai was the president of Karnataka state unit until the state unit got merged with Janata Dal in 1993 before 1994 Karnataka Assembly elections.


title: S. R. Bommai

text: S. R. Bommai v. Union of India was a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India, where the Court discussed at length, the provisions of Article 356 of the Constitution of India and related issues. The apex court spelt out restrictions on the centre's power to dismiss a state government under Article 356. This case had huge impact on Centre-State Relations. Instances of imposition of President's rule have reduced after this judgement.


title: S. R. Bommai

text: Bommai was National president of the Janata Dal from 1990 to 1996. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha, two times in 1992 and 1998. In 1996, he became the Union minister for Human resource development in the United Front government and served with both the prime ministers H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral. In 1999, after the Janata Dal split, he sided with the JD(U) faction and later formed the All India Progressive Janata Dal in 2002, as a platform for merger of different factions of Janata Dal. However, after large scale defections, the weakened party was finally merged with JD(U).


title: S. R. Bommai

text: He died on 10 October 2007, aged 84. His one son, M.S. Bommai is an industrialist in Bengaluru, and the other Basavaraj Bommai inherited his political legacy and went on to become the Chief Minister of Karnataka on 28 July 2021.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator best known for his collaboration and friendship with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman is renowned for his political and social caricatures, cartoons and picture books.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Steadman was born in Wallasey, Cheshire From a lower middle class background, his father was a commercial traveller and his mother was a shop assistant at T J Hughes in Liverpool. Steadman took his first job at 16 as a RADAR Operator at the De Havilland aircraft factory in the border town of Broughton near Chester but only remained for nine months, finding factory life repetitive and dull, and becoming fed up with fellow employees, citing persistent cruel practical jokes (“They were always putting stuff in your tea,”); however whilst there he became skilled in technical drawing, thus sowing the seeds of his future career. Steadman returned to England after National Service in 1954 and found work in London as a cartoonist. Wishing to accelerate his progress he enrolled in 1959 at East Ham Technical College and the London College of Printing during the 1960s, doing freelance work for "Punch", "Private Eye", the "Daily Telegraph," "The New York Times" and "Rolling Stone" during this time.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Steadman had a long partnership with the American journalist Hunter S. Thompson, drawing pictures for several of his articles and books. He accompanied Thompson to the Kentucky Derby for an article for the magazine "Scanlan's", to the Honolulu Marathon for the magazine "Running", and illustrated both "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72."


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Steadman has expressed regret at selling the original illustrations for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" at the advice of his agent to "Rolling Stone" founder Jann Wenner for the sum of $75, a fraction of their later value. As a result of that transaction Steadman has largely refused to sell any of his original artwork and has been quoted as saying "If anyone owns a Steadman original, it's stolen." While there are original pieces held outside of his archive, they are exceedingly rare. The artist has kept possession of the vast bulk of his original artwork.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Steadman appears on the second disc of The Criterion Collection "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" DVD set, in a documentary called "Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision", which was made by the BBC in 1978, of Thompson planning the tower and cannon that his ashes were later blasted out of. The cannon was atop a 153-ft. tower of Thompson's fist gripping a peyote button; Thompson demands that Steadman gives the fist two thumbs, "Right now."


title: Ralph Steadman

text: As well as writing and illustrating his own books and Thompson's, Steadman has worked with writers including Ted Hughes, Adrian Mitchell and Brian Patten, and also illustrated editions of "Alice in Wonderland", "Treasure Island", "Animal Farm", the English translation of Flann O'Brien's Gaelic-language classic "The Poor Mouth", and most recently, "Fahrenheit 451".


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Steadman has drawn album covers for numerous music artists, including the Who, Exodus, Frank Zappa and Ambrosia, and the lead banner for the gonzo journalism website GonzoToday.com.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Among the British public, Steadman is well known for his illustrations for the catalogues of the off-licence chain Oddbins.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 1985, Steadman designed a set of four British postage stamps to commemorate the appearance that year of Halley's Comet.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Steadman has contributed to the BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions programme with an image of critically endangered northern bald ibis.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 2014, Steadman created the artwork for a series of limited edition Breaking Bad steelbook DVDs. These works were the subject of an exhibition at 71a Gallery in Hackney, London in February 2015.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 2017, Steadman penned the artwork for Travis Scott and Quavo's joint project "Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho".


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 2020, Steadman created the artwork for the documentary film "" which follows journalist Hunter S. Thompson and his 1970 campaign for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Steadman has designed label art for Flying Dog beer and designed the V logo used on Flying Dog's packaging since 1995. The Logo includes an original motto by Steadman: "Good Beer No Shit". Because of this, and because of Steadman's controversial label art for the craft brewery's Road Dog ale and Doggie Style ale, a complaint of obscenity was filed against Flying Dog. The Colorado State Liquor Board then had Flying Dog beers pulled from store shelves. Flying Dog and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state of Colorado while the displayed motto was changed to “Good Beer No Censorship.” In 2001, the Colorado Supreme Court entered final judgment in favor of Flying Dog, based on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, (freedom of speech).


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 2009, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission banned Flying Dog's "Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA" beer, partly for the name and partly for Steadman's label art. In 2015, the 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals struck down the ban on first amendment grounds and recommended civil damages against the state of Michigan.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In an article since deleted from its website, Flying Dog stated that its Cardinal "Spiced" Zin' wine was banned in Ohio for Steadman's "disturbing" interpretation of a Catholic cardinal on its label.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 2018, Flying Dog received a complaint in the UK about the packaging of its "Easy IPA" reduced-alcohol beer. The complaint partially involved Steadman's label art, depicting a tipsy cartoon character. The Portman Group, a third-party organization which evaluates alcohol-related marketing in the UK, has accepted the complaint's allegation that the artwork “could be seen as encouraging drunkenness”, particularly among minors, and has issued an advisory.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 2021, Flying Dog sued the North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control Commission for violation of free speech provisions after the NC ABC rejected the label for the brewery's "Freezin' Season" beer as "inappropriate".


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 1980, Steadman wrote a 57-second song "Sweetest Love (Lament after a Broken Sashcord on a Theme by John Donne)" for an album he was illustrating, "Miniatures: A Sequence of Fifty-One Tiny Masterpieces" (edited by Morgan Fisher), on Pipe Records. Steadman sang the song to Fisher's harmonium accompaniment.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 1999, Steadman wrote the lyrics for Richard Harvey's choral album "Plague and the Moonflower", on Altus Records.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Also in 1999, Steadman released an anthology album of his "favourite music", on EMI Records, entitled "I Like It". Two pieces of his own music are included, "Weird & Twisted Nights" (listed as a collaboration with Hunter S. Thompson and someone named Mc Dean) and "Sweetest Love I Do Not Go" (the same 57-second piece he released in 1980). The album comes with a "songbook", which has text by Steadman.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Hal Willner and Johnny Depp's 2006 anthology of songs, "" contains two contributions from Steadman. He sings lead on "Little Boy Billee" and sings backing vocals for Eliza Carthy on "Rolling Sea".


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 2015, Steadman released a 7-inch vinyl single on Philthy Phonograph Records, "The Man Who Woke Up in the Dark" B/w "Striped Paint".


title: Ralph Steadman

text: In 2020, Chronicle Chroma published the definitive book on Steadman's work and career, "A Life In Ink" by Ralph Steadman.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: Awards that he has won for his work include the Francis Williams Book Illustration Award for "Alice in Wonderland", the American Society of Illustrators' Certificate of Merit, the W H Smith Illustration Award for "I Leonardo", the Dutch Silver Paintbrush Award for "Inspector Mouse", the Italian Critica in Erba Prize for "That's My Dad", the BBC Design Award for postage stamps, the Black Humour Award in France, and several Designers and Art Directors Association Awards. He was voted Illustrator of the Year by the American Institute of Graphic Arts in 1979.


title: Ralph Steadman

text: A major documentary about Steadman's career, "For No Good Reason", directed by Charlie Paul, played at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival in the "Mavericks" programme. The film, reportedly 15 years in the making, played in New York City and Los Angeles in December 2013, and was given US domestic release in spring 2014. The film was in competition for the Grierson Award for Best Documentary at the 2012 BFI London Film Festival.


title: Kasaragod

text: Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and is also known as "Saptha Bhasha Sangama Bhoomi" ('The Land of seven Languages').


title: Kasaragod

text: Situated in the rich biodiversity of Western Ghats, it is known for the Chandragiri and Bekal Fort, Chandragiri River, historic Kolathiri Rajas, natural environment of Ranipuram and Kottancheri Hills, historical and religious sites like the Madiyan Kulom temple, Madhur Temple, Ananthapuram Lake Temple and Malik Deenar Mosque. The historic hill of Ezhimala is located on the southern portion of Kavvayi Backwaters of Nileshwaram.


title: Kasaragod

text: Kasaragod is located 50 km south of the major port city and a commercial hub Mangalore and 364 km north of the major port city Kochi. Kasaragod district has the maximum number of rivers in Kerala - 12. The town is located on the estuary where the Chandragiri River, which is also the longest river in the district, empties into the Arabian Sea. Kasaragod is home to several forts, including Arikady fort, Bekal Fort, Chandragiri Fort, and Hosdurg Fort. Bekal Fort is the largest fort in Kerala. Talakaveri, which is home to Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary where the 805 km long Kaveri river originates, is located closer to Ranipuram on the Kerala-Karnataka border.


title: Kasaragod

text: Robert Caldwell describes the extent of Malayalam in the 19th century as extending from Chandragiri (fort and river) in the north to Neyyar river beyond Thiruvanantapuram in the south and from Malabar Coast in the west to Western Ghats in the east besides the inhabited islands of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.


title: Kasaragod

text: There are different views on the derivation of the name "Kasaragod". One is that it is the combination of two Sanskrit words kaasara (which means lake or pond) and kroda (which means a place where treasure is kept).


title: Kasaragod

text: Kasaragod was known as "Kanhirakode" (The land of "kāñiram" trees) in Malayalam. "Kaanjiram" is Malayalam for Kasaraka trees (Kannada name) found in abundance here.


title: Kasaragod

text: Kasaragod was under the Kumbla dynasty until the 16th century, which was vassal to the kingdom of Kolathunadu based at Kannur. Kannada kingdoms focused on the port and surroundings in the 16th century CE.


title: Kasaragod

text: The ancient Tamil works of the Sangam Age record that the area covering the district was part of Puzhinadu which consists of the coastal belt from Kozhikode to Mangalore. Politically the area was part of the Ezhimala Kingdom with its capital at Ezhimala in present-day Kannur district. The most famous king of Ezhimala was Nannan whose kingdom extended up to Gudalur and northern parts of Coimbatore. Poozhinad, along with Karkanad which included the eastern regions of Ezhimala dynasty (Wayanad-Gudalur region with some portions of Kodagu), had its capital at Ezhimala. The Mooshaka kings were considered descendants of Nannan. By the 14th century, Mooshaka Kingdom was known as Kolathirinad and the rulers as Kolathiris. The Kolathunad Kingdom at the peak of its power reportedly extended from Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the


title: Kasaragod

text: west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in Arabian Sea.


title: Kasaragod

text: Kasaragod, about 50 km south of Mangalore city, was an important centre of trade in earlier times. "Ramacharitam", probably the oldest literary work written in Old Malayalam, which dates back to the 12th century CE, is thought to have written in Kasargod district as its manuscripts were discovered from Nileshwaram and the poem mentions about Ananthapura Lake Temple in Kumbla in detail. Kasaragod was known to the Arabs by the name "Harkwillia". The Malik Dinar Mosque in Kasaragod town is one of the oldest "Masjid"s in the Indian subcontinent. According to "Qissat Shakarwati Farmad", the "Masjids" at Kodungallur, Kollam, Madayi, Barkur, Mangalore, Kasaragod, Kannur, Dharmadam, Panthalayini, and Chaliyam, were built during the era of Malik Dinar, and they are among the oldest "Masjid"s in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed that Malik Dinar died at Thalangara in Kasaragod town. Many Arab travelers visiting Kerala between the 9th and the 14th centuries visited Kasaragod, being an important trade centre then. Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese traveler who visited Kumbla, near Kasaragod Town in 1514 recorded that rice being exported for coir to Maldives. According to Barbosa, the people in the southwestern Malabar coast of India from Chandragiri in the north to Kanyakumari in the south spoke a unique language, which they called as "Maliama" (Malayalam).


title: Kasaragod

text: Until the 16th century CE, Kasargod town was known by the name "Kanhirakode" (may be by the meaning, 'the land of "Kanhira" trees') in Malayalam. The Kumbla dynasty, who swayed over the land of southern Tulu Nadu wedged between Chandragiri River and Netravati River (including present-day taluks of Manjeshwar and Kasaragod) from "Maipady Palace" at Kumbla, had also been vassals to the Kolathunadu kingdom of North Malabar, before the Carnatic conquests of Vijayanagara Empire. The Kumbla dynasty had a mixed lineage of Malayali Nairs and Tuluva Brahmins. They also claimed their origin from Cheraman Perumals of Kerala. Francis Buchanan-Hamilton states that the customs of Kumbla dynasty were similar to those of the contemporary Malayali kings.


title: Kasaragod

text: The Kolathiri Dominion emerged into ten independent principalities, i.e. Kadathanadu (Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad (Dharmadom), Kottayam (Thalassery), Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu (Panoor), Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions. Many portions of the present-day Hosdurg taluk (Kanhangad) and Vellarikundu were parts of the Nileshwaram dynasty, who were relatives to both Kolathunadu as well as Zamorin of Calicut, in the early medieval period. The areas north to the Chandragiri river (present-day Taluks of Manjeshwaram and Kasaragod) were ruled by the Kumbala dynasty.


title: Kasaragod

text: The Chandragiri Fort is built on the southern bank of the estuary of Chandragiri River, just opposite to Kasaragod town. The Bekal Fort at Bekal, Pallikkara, which is situated midway between Kasaragod and Kanhangad, and which is largest fort in Kerala, was built in 1650 by Shivappa Nayaka of Keladi.


title: Kasaragod

text: Francis Buchanan, the family doctor of Arthur Wellesley, visited Kasaragod in 1800. In his travelogue, he recorded information on places like Athiraparambu, Kavvayi, Nileshwaram, Bekal, Chandragiri and Manjeshwar.


title: Kasaragod

text: Hosdurg and Vellarikundu was part of Kolathunadu (south of Chandragiri river) and Kasaragod and Manjeshwaram was in the Tulu Nadu region (north of Chandragiri river).


title: Kasaragod

text: In 1763, Hyder Ali raided Bedanoor (Bidnur), the capital of the Ikkery Naiks. His son Tippu Sultan raided much of Malabar region in Kerala. As per the of 1792, Tippu surrendered Malabar, except Kanara to the British. The British occupied Kanara only after the death of Tippu Sultan. it is said that "Kinavoor Molom" (Sree Dharma Shashtha Temple) is belonging to "Karinthalam" (one of 64 Brahmin villages in old Kerala). Initially South Canara was placed under the Bombay presidency. Later on 16 April 1862, South Canara was transferred to Madras Presidency and Kasaragod taluk was formed by replacing the erstwhile Bekal taluk. Kasaragod was the second-most populated Taluk in South Canara only after to Mangalore taluk, and also the second-largest Taluk.


title: Kasaragod

text: Before the formation of Kerala, Kasargod was a part of South Canara district of erstwhile Madras Presidency. However, in the 19th century CE, Kasargod Taluk witnessed many struggles to separate the region from South Canara and to merge it with the Malabar District as it was the only Malayalam-majority region in South Canara. Kasargod became a part of Kannur district of Kerala following the reorganization of states and the formation of Kerala on 1 November 1956. Later Kasargod was divided into two taluks for the ease of administration - Kasargod and Hosdurg. Kasargod was declared a district in 1984. The inclusion of Kasaragod with Kerala has been a contentious issue as there is a sizeable population that speaks Tulu and Kannada. At the time of 1951 Census of India, only 72.0% of the district's population chose their mother tongue as Malayalam. 14.2% chose Tulu and 6.3% chose Kannada. But it is noted that as per the 2011 census report only 8.8% and 4.2% of the total population in the district speak Tulu and Kannada respectively as their mother tongue. In 2012, the Second Oommen Chandy ministry appointed a commission under the leadership the former Chief Secretary P. Prabhakaran to study about the backwardness and issues faced by this northernmost district of Kerala and to draw up special package for the district. In 2013, two more Taluks, namely Manjeshwaram and Vellarikundu were formed in the district.


title: Kasaragod

text: Kasaragod experiences a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification. It receives a generous of rain annually.


title: Kasaragod

text: Kasaragod has the maximum number of rivers in Kerala - 12. All of them are west-flowing rivers. The longest of them is Chandragiri River (105 km long). The Kasaragod town is located on the estuary of Chandragiri river. It empties into the Arabian Sea at Thalangara. The Chandragiri Fort is built on its bank. The river originates at Pattimala in Kodagu (Coorg). The smallest river of Kerala is also in the district.


title: Kasaragod

text: Kasargod district comes under the jurisdiction of Kannur University. Kasaragod is home to the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, originally established in 1916 as the Coconut Research Station. It is part of India's National Agricultural Research System under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. According to the institute, Kerala "lies in the heart of the major coconut growing areas of the country." It is also home to the Indian Society for Plantation Crops, which publishes the "Journal of Plantation Crops" and holds symposiums on the subject. The Central University of Kerala is also located in Kasargod(Periya hills).


title: Kasaragod

text: The National Highway 66 which connects the western coast of India from Mumbai to Kanyakumari passes through coastal area of the district connecting the major coastal towns of Manjeshwar, Uppala, Kumbla, Kasaragod, Udma, Bekal, Kanhangad, Nileshwaram, and Thrikaripur. It enters the district at Thalappady and goes out through Payyanur. There are State highways starting/ending at Kasaragod and Kanhangad. Total length of Major District Road (MDR) of Kasaragod is around 1460 km and it accounts for around 11.2 km of MDR for every 10,000 people in the district. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has stations to operate its service in the district. The railway goes through coastal area. Kasaragod railway station lies in Palakkad railway division of southern zone on Mangalore-Shoranur line. Kasaragod district is home to three of the 13 minor ports in Kerala - Manjeshwar, Kasaragod, and Nileshwaram. The nearest international airports are situated at Mangalore (65 km away) and Kannur (110 km away).


title: Kasaragod

text: As of 2011 Census, Kasaragod municipality had a population of 54,172 which constitutes 26,319 males and 27,853 females. Kasaragod municipality spreads over an area of with 10,202 families residing in it. The municipality is divided into 35 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. The female sex ratio was 1058 against state average of 1084. Population in the age group 0-6 was 7,234 (13.4%) where 3,716 are males and 3,518 are females. The literacy rate of Kasaragod town was 94.76% higher than state average of 94%. Male literacy stands at 96.5% and female literacy was 93.1%.


title: Kasaragod

text: The current Municipal Chairman of Kasaragod municipality is Adv. V. M. Muneer of IUML and the deputy chairperson is Shamseeda Feroz.


title: Kasaragod

text: The major political parties are Indian Union Muslim League, CPI(M), INC , CPI, and BJP. North Kasaragod is dominated by IUML which is followed by BJP, and the south is dominated by CPI(M). N. A. Nellikkunnu is the present Member of Legislative Assembly, from Kasaragod Assembly Constituency. It is a part of Kasaragod (Lok Sabha constituency). Indian National Congress (INC) member Rajmohan Unnithan is the present MP from Kasaragod (2019 elections).


title: Kasaragod

text: Kasaragod district is the northernmost district of Kerala, which is much away from Thiruvananthapuram, the state headquarters, which is located in the southernmost tip of state. Manjeshwaram town is located about 600 km north of the state headquarters Thiruvananthapuram, about 30 km south of Mangalore, about 350 km west of Bangalore, the headquarters of the neighbouring state Karnataka, and about 950 km south of Mumbai city. In 2012, the Second Oommen Chandy ministry appointed a commission under the leadership of the former Chief Secretary P. Prabhakaran to study about the backwardness and issues faced by this northernmost district of Kerala and to draw up a special package for the district. In 2013, two more Taluks, namely Manjeshwaram and Vellarikundu were formed in the district. Before this, the district had only two taluks. The decision to implement a gas-based power plant at Cheemeni was taken by the second Chandy government. A government medical college was allowed for Kasaragod district, as a part of the government's new policy to establish at ensure availability of at least one government medical college in all 14 districts of the state in 2013.


The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year.


title: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture

text: The formal title has varied since its inception; since 2005, the award has officially been called "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture".


title: British Gas

text: British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving around twelve million homes in the United Kingdom, British Gas is the biggest energy supplier in the country, and is considered one of the Big Six dominating the gas and electricity market in the United Kingdom.


title: British Gas

text: The Gas Light and Coke Company was the first public utility company in the world. It was founded by Frederick Albert Winsor and incorporated by Royal Charter on 30 April 1812 under the seal of King George III.


title: British Gas

text: It continued to thrive for the next 136 years, expanding into domestic services whilst absorbing many smaller companies including the Aldgate Gas Light and Coke Company (1819), the City of London Gas Light and Coke Company (1870), the Equitable Gas Light Company (1871), the Great Central Gas Consumer's Company (1870), Victoria Docks Gas Company (1871), Western Gas Light Company (1873), Imperial Gas Light and Coke Company (1876), Independent Gas Light and Coke Company (1876), the London Gas Light Company (1883), Richmond Gas Company (1925), Brentford Gas Company (1926), Pinner Gas Company (1930) and Southend-on-Sea and District Gas Company (1932).


title: British Gas

text: On 1 May 1949, the GLCC became the major part of the new North Thames Gas Board, one of Britain's twelve regional gas boards after the passing of the Gas Act 1948 by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government.


title: British Gas

text: In the beginning of the 1900s, the gas market in the United Kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms. At this time the use of a flammable gas (often known as "town gas") piped to houses as a fuel was still being marketed to consumers, by such means as the National Gas Congress and Exhibition in 1913. The gas used in the 19th and early 20th centuries was coal gas, but in the period of 1967–77, British domestic coal gas supplies were replaced by natural gas.


title: British Gas

text: In 1948, Clement Attlee's Labour government reshaped the gas industry, bringing in the Gas Act 1948. The act (on the vesting date of 1 April 1949) nationalised the gas industry in the United Kingdom and 1,062 privately owned and municipal gas companies were merged into twelve area gas boards, each a separate body with its own management structure.


title: British Gas

text: The twelve gas boards were: Eastern, East Midlands, Northern, North Eastern, North Thames, North West, Scottish, Southern, South Eastern, South West, Wales, and West Midlands. Each area board was divided into geographical groups or divisions which were often further divided into smaller districts. These boards simply became known as the "gas board", a term still sometimes used when referring to British Gas.


title: British Gas

text: In addition, the Gas Act established the Gas Council, its constitution was such that control lay effectively with the area boards. The council consisted of a chairman and deputy chairman, both appointed by the minister, and the chairmen of each of the twelve area boards. The council served as a channel of communication with the minister; undertook labour negotiations; undertook research; and acted as spokesperson for the gas industry generally.


title: British Gas

text: The Gas Act 1965 shifted the balance of power to the centre: it put the Gas Council on the same footing as the area boards, with the powers to borrow up to £900 million, to manufacture or acquire gas and to supply gas in bulk to any area board. In May 1968, the Gas Council moved to large new offices at 59 Bryanston Street, Marble Arch, London.


title: British Gas

text: In the beginning of the 1970s, the gas industry was again restructured after the Gas Act 1972 was passed. The act merged all the area boards, created the British Gas Corporation and abolished the Gas Council.


title: British Gas

text: From its inception, the corporation was responsible for development and maintenance of the supply of gas to Great Britain, in addition to satisfying reasonable demand for gas throughout the country. Its leadership, like that of the area boards, was appointed and supervised by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry until 1974, when those powers were vested in the newly created position of Secretary of State for Energy.


title: British Gas

text: The Conservative Government, led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher introduced the Gas Act 1986, which led to the privatisation of the company, and on 8 December 1986, its shares floated on the London stock market as British Gas plc. In the hope of encouraging individuals to become shareholders, the offer was advertised with the "If you see Sid... Tell him!" campaign.


title: British Gas

text: In February 1997, eleven years after it had been privatised, British Gas plc demerged to become the entirely separate BG Group and the Gas Sales and Gas Trading, Services and Retail businesses.


title: British Gas

text: The Gas Sales and Gas Trading and Services and Retail businesses, together with the gas production business of the North and South Morecambe gas fields, were transferred to Centrica, which continues to own and operate the British Gas retail brand.


title: British Gas

text: British Gas acquired Dyno-Rod in October 2004. In April 2016, it was announced that 224,000 residential customers had left the company, citing customers coming to the end of their fixed deals and then moving on to other suppliers as the main reason for this loss.


title: British Gas

text: In the same month (April 2016) British Gas also announced it would be closing a call centre and office in Oldbury (West Midlands), with a loss of approximately 680 jobs. In May 2018, Centrica announced that British Gas had lost 100,000 customers since the start of the year. However, the parent company was still likely to hit its targets of 2018, and pay dividends of 12p per share.


title: British Gas

text: British Gas is now led by chief executive, Sarwjit Sambhi, who oversees a business that provides energy and services to around ten million homes, and employs over 28,000 staff based across the United Kingdom. A further seven hundred job cuts in the United Kingdom were announced by Centrica in July 2019, amid growing marketplace challenges, which include the loss of 742,000 customers in 2018, and the government's price cap.


title: British Gas

text: In May 2007, British Gas signed a deal which saw 1,000 Volkswagen Caddy vans being supplied to the firm, which were fitted with a bespoke racking system and a speed limiter, designed by Siemens. The deal was renewed in September 2015.


title: British Gas

text: In 2020 British Gas announced they would be introducing an all electric fleet of vans, with all diesel vehicles to be replaced by 2025. The company are currently replacing diesel vehicles with the Vauxhall Vivaro-e.


title: British Gas

text: In April 2021, British Gas changed the contractual terms and conditions for thousands of its workers. Those who did not accept the changes by midday on 14 April 2021, were told to leave the firm. This resulted in a public outcry over the treatment of long-time workers, in particular over social media and with support from workers' unions and the opposition Labour Party.


title: British Gas

text: British Gas has actively been involved in sports sponsorship, including a six-year deal with the British swimming team which commenced in March 2009, and is expected to net the team £15 million, and from 2006 to 2009, it sponsored the Southern Football League of England.


title: British Gas

text: The company's extensive television advertising has featured many high-profile individuals, and in the beginning of the 1990s, one advertisement included Cheryl Tweedy as a small child, more than ten years before the beginning of her pop music career. In November 2012, the Information Commissioner's Office publicly listed British Gas as one of a number of companies that it had concerns about due to unsolicited telephone calls for marketing.


title: British Gas

text: The concerns were based on complaints. In response, British Gas said that "We uphold the highest standards when contacting people in their homes, and only use contact information if we have express permission to do so."


title: British Gas

text: In July 2014, regulator Ofgem reached an agreement with British Gas for the company to pay £1 million in compensation to hundreds of people, who had been advised to switch from other suppliers to British Gas by British Gas advisers using exaggerated claims. On 20 September 2015, British Gas launched an advert, including their new mascot, Wilbur the Penguin.


title: British Gas

text: British Gas is an energy supplier for homes across the country. The infrastructure (pipes) which delivers the gas to consumers is owned and maintained by other companies. They do not, however, manage the network of towers and cables that distributes electricity – these are maintained by distribution network operators (DNOs) which vary from region to region. If, for instance, there is a power outage it is necessary to contact the appropriate DNO rather than the energy supplier.


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: Pop 2 is the fourth mixtape by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX, released on 15 December 2017 by Asylum Records. Executive produced by A.G. Cook of PC Music, sessions for the mixtape began just several months before its release and featured a wide variety of guest contributions. The project received acclaim from music critics, and was backed by the single "Out of My Head" featuring Alma and Tove Lo.


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: In December 2014, before the release of her sophomore album "Sucker", Charli XCX revealed she was already planning her third studio album. She stated that it would be inspired by Japanese pop music and sound like "another planet up in the clouds" and "intensely weird and childlike". In July 2015, she shared in an interview that she had begun working on her third album with Scottish producer Sophie in Los Angeles and described it as "the most pop thing, and the most electronic thing" she had ever done. BloodPop and Stargate were also confirmed to be involved in the album's production. In July and August 2015, Charli XCX co-headlined a US tour with Jack Antonoff, but on August 21st she announced that, for "personal reasons", a planned second leg of the tour would not go ahead.


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: In October 2015, Charli XCX released the song "Vroom Vroom", on the Beats 1 Radio Show, then claiming it would be the first song released from her third studio album. On 26 February 2016, the "Vroom Vroom" EP was released, under Charli XCX's own imprint record label, Vroom Vroom Recordings. All songs on the EP were produced by Sophie. That July, it was announced that British producer A. G. Cook, founder of record label PC Music, had signed on as Charli's creative director, and the following month, she announced in an interview with "The Fader" that her album was finished and would be released in 2017. When describing the project, Charli stated the album would be split into two sides, half being "straight-up pop" and the other half being "club orientated". In October 2016, the album was confirmed for a May 2017 release, and the lead single "After the Afterparty" was released.


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: Several new tracks were premiered live over the following months, including "Roll With Me", "No Angel", and "Bounce", however in February 2017, it was announced that the album was delayed and expected to be released that September instead. In lieu of the delayed album, she announced a new mixtape titled "Number 1 Angel" would be released in February, recorded within two weeks with Cook without permission from her record label, Atlantic, meanwhile unreleased Charli XCX tracks began to leak on the internet. The mixtape was delayed until March due to label conflicts. In May 2017, the album was delayed again with an expected release date for spring 2018, and a second single, "Boys", was released along with a music video directed by Charli XCX herself, with additional direction from Sarah McColgan. The video, which featured cameos from a wide variety of male celebrities including Joe Jonas and Wiz Khalifa, went viral, racking up almost 3 million views within a day. During August, more leaks from the album sessions appeared online, and the project was scrapped.


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: Recording for "Pop 2" began in September 2017, just two months before the mixtape was to be completed, with Charli reaching out to producer and PC Music founder A. G. Cook to suggest they work on a new project following their previous mixtape "Number 1 Angel" (2017) appointing him as executive producer. Cook stated that "we wanted it to feel like a complete restart in terms of the image and style of it" in comparison to their previous project. The majority of recording took place in Alicia Keys' old New York studio, with other sessions occurring in London. Charli extensively utilized Auto-Tune, which Cook experimented with and manipulated on particular tracks. She stated that "the mixtape is in this very free, fast, and experimental world. But it's also still intended to be "pop". It's what I naturally gravitate towards."


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: Charli XCX explained the decision to put out "Number 1 Angel" and "Pop 2" as mixtapes instead of studio albums in a 2019 interview with "The Fader":


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: Maybe I just wasn't sure people wanted it from me, honestly. Also, I'm signed to a major label, so the second you call something an album, there's all this stress and fear and pressure and scheduling. They're like, "Oh, she's putting an album out. When's Ed Sheeran releasing his album? We got to make sure it doesn't go anywhere near that," and all that. It's like a schedule. The second you just change the language to mixtape, nobody cares. So, I was just like, "Cool, I'm doing mixtapes then." Then it was just like there was no kind of logistical stress, even though it's the same thing. I mean, it's 10 original songs, it's artwork, it's features, it's whatever, it's the same.


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: Collaborations which appear on the record include Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen, Brazilian singer and drag queen Pabllo Vittar, Estonian rapper Tommy Cash, German pop singer Kim Petras and Korean-American hip hop artist Jay Park among others. Charli stated that "this mixtape isn't necessarily about me – it's really about giving everybody their moment to own the song." The mixtape was to feature a contribution from rapper Lil Peep, which was shelved following his death in November.


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: A reworked version of "Track 10", titled "Blame It on Your Love", was later released in May 2019 as the second single from her third studio album "Charli".


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: The first single from "Pop 2", "Out of My Head" featuring Tove Lo and Alma was released on 8 December 2017 along the pre-order of the mixtape on digital platforms. The song "Unlock It" featuring Kim Petras and Jay Park was premiered on 11 December 2017 on radio program Beats 1, being named its release day's World Record. Another track called "I Got It" featuring Brooke Candy, Cupcakke and Pabllo Vittar was released on 13 December 2017 as the final promotional single before the mixtape's official release.


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: At review aggregate site Metacritic, "Pop 2" has an average score of 84 out of 100, based on eight reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Meaghan Garvey of "Pitchfork," who gave the album an 8.4/10, called it "the best full-length work of both Charli and PC Music's respective careers," opining that "though "Pop 2" sounds like the future, even more delightful is the way it hybridizes sounds from the past two decades of weirdo electronics." Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the "Financial Times" wrote that Charli XCX "stands out as a paragon of progressiveness," opening that "on the majority of the tracks Charli and her producer Cook deploy their meta-pop tactics with a skilful sense of dramatic engagement."


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: In 2019, "Pitchfork" ranked the album 40th in its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". In the album's entry, Hazel Cills considered it Charli XCX's "best full-length to date" and felt that throughout it, she "solidifies her mastery of the strange, wonderful new pop world she continues to build."


title: Pop 2 (mixtape)

text: In addition to the Pop 2 performances, Charli additionally hosted and performed at numerous afterparties during the Reputation Stadium Tour during this period, further promoting the mixtape and singles.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft will fly. NASA uses wind tunnels to test scale models of aircraft and spacecraft. Some wind tunnels are large enough to contain full-size versions of vehicles. The wind tunnel moves air around an object, making it seem as if the object is flying.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Most of the time, large powerful fans suck air through the tube. The object being tested is held securely inside the tunnel so that it remains stationary. The object can be an aerodynamic test object such as a cylinder or an airfoil, an individual component, a small model of the vehicle, or a full-sized vehicle. The air moving around the stationary object shows what would happen if the object was moving through the air. The motion of the air can be studied in different ways; smoke or dye can be placed in the air and can be seen as it moves around the object. Coloured threads can also be attached to the object to show how the air moves around it. Special instruments can often be used to measure the force of the air exerted against the object.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The earliest wind tunnels were invented towards the end of the 19th century, in the early days of aeronautic research,


title: Wind tunnel

text: when many attempted to develop successful heavier-than-air flying machines. The wind tunnel was envisioned as a means of reversing the usual paradigm: instead of the air standing still and an object moving at speed through it, the same effect would be obtained if the object stood still and the air moved at speed past it. In that way a stationary observer could study the flying object in action, and could measure the aerodynamic forces being imposed on it.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The development of wind tunnels accompanied the development of the airplane. Large wind tunnels were built during World War II. Wind tunnel testing was considered of strategic importance during the Cold War development of supersonic aircraft and missiles.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Later, wind tunnel study came into its own: the effects of wind on man-made structures or objects needed to be studied when buildings became tall enough to present large surfaces to the wind, and the resulting forces had to be resisted by the building's internal structure. Determining such forces was required before building codes could specify the required strength of such buildings and such tests continue to be used for large or unusual buildings.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Circa the 1960s, wind tunnel testing was applied to automobiles, not so much to determine aerodynamic forces "per se" but more to determine ways to reduce the power required to move the vehicle on roadways at a given speed. In these studies, the interaction between the road and the vehicle plays a significant role, and this interaction must be taken into consideration when interpreting the test results. In an actual situation the roadway is moving relative to the vehicle but the air is stationary relative to the roadway, but in the wind tunnel the air is moving relative to the roadway, while the roadway is stationary relative to the test vehicle. Some automotive-test wind tunnels have incorporated moving belts under the test vehicle in an effort to approximate the actual condition, and very similar devices are used in wind tunnel testing of aircraft take-off and landing configurations.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Wind tunnel testing of sporting equipment has also been prevalent over the years, including golf clubs, golf balls, Olympic bobsleds, Olympic cyclists, and race car helmets. Helmet aerodynamics is particularly important in open cockpit race cars (Indycar, Formula One). Excessive lift forces on the helmet can cause considerable neck strain on the driver, and flow separation on the back side of the helmet can cause turbulent buffeting and thus blurred vision for the driver at high speeds.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The advances in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling on high-speed digital computers has reduced the demand for wind tunnel testing.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Air velocity through the test section is determined by Bernoulli's principle. Measurement of the dynamic pressure, the static pressure, and (for compressible flow only) the temperature rise in the airflow.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The direction of airflow around a model can be determined by tufts of yarn attached to the aerodynamic surfaces. The direction of airflow approaching a surface can be visualized by mounting threads in the airflow ahead of and aft of the test model. Smoke or bubbles of liquid can be introduced into the airflow upstream of the test model, and their path around the model can be photographed (see particle image velocimetry).


title: Wind tunnel

text: Aerodynamic forces on the test model are usually measured with beam balances, connected to the test model with beams, strings, or cables.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The pressure distributions across the test model have historically been measured by drilling many small holes along the airflow path, and using multi-tube manometers to measure the pressure at each hole. Pressure distributions can more conveniently be measured by the use of pressure-sensitive paint, in which higher local pressure is indicated by lowered fluorescence of the paint at that point. Pressure distributions can also be conveniently measured by the use of pressure-sensitive pressure belts, a recent development in which multiple ultra-miniaturized pressure sensor modules are integrated into a flexible strip. The strip is attached to the aerodynamic surface with tape, and it sends signals depicting the pressure distribution along its surface.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Pressure distributions on a test model can also be determined by performing a wake survey, in which either a single pitot tube is used to obtain multiple readings downstream of the test model, or a multiple-tube manometer is mounted downstream and all its readings are taken.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The aerodynamic properties of an object can not all remain the same for a scaled model. However, by observing certain similarity rules, a very satisfactory correspondence between the aerodynamic properties of a scaled model and a full-size object can be achieved. The choice of similarity parameters depends on the purpose of the test, but the most important conditions to satisfy are usually:


title: Wind tunnel

text: In certain particular test cases, other similarity parameters must be satisfied, such as e.g. Froude number.


title: Wind tunnel

text: English military engineer and mathematician Benjamin Robins (1707–1751) invented a whirling arm apparatus to determine drag and did some of the first experiments in aviation theory.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Sir George Cayley (1773–1857) also used a whirling arm to measure the drag and lift of various airfoils. His whirling arm was long and attained top speeds between 10 and 20 feet per second (3 to 6 m/s).


title: Wind tunnel

text: Otto Lilienthal used a rotating arm to accurately measure wing airfoils with varying angles of attack, establishing their lift-to-drag ratio polar diagrams, but was lacking the notions of induced drag and Reynolds numbers.


title: Wind tunnel

text: However, the whirling arm does not produce a reliable flow of air impacting the test shape at a normal incidence. Centrifugal forces and the fact that the object is moving in its own wake mean that detailed examination of the airflow is difficult. Francis Herbert Wenham (1824–1908), a Council Member of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, addressed these issues by inventing, designing and operating the first enclosed wind tunnel in 1871. Once this breakthrough had been achieved, detailed technical data was rapidly extracted by the use of this tool. Wenham and his colleague John Browning are credited with many fundamental discoveries, including the measurement of l/d ratios, and the revelation of the beneficial effects of a high aspect ratio.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky built an open-section wind tunnel with a centrifugal blower in 1897, and determined the drag coefficients of flat plates, cylinders and spheres.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Danish inventor Poul la Cour applied wind tunnels in his process of developing and refining the technology of wind turbines in the early 1890s.


title: Wind tunnel

text: In a classic set of experiments, the Englishman Osborne Reynolds (1842–1912) of the University of Manchester demonstrated that the airflow pattern over a scale model would be the same for the full-scale vehicle if a certain flow parameter were the same in both cases. This factor, now known as the Reynolds number, is a basic parameter in the description of all fluid-flow situations, including the shapes of flow patterns, the ease of heat transfer, and the onset of turbulence. This comprises the central scientific justification for the use of models in wind tunnels to simulate real-life phenomena. However, there are limitations on conditions in which dynamic similarity is based upon the Reynolds number alone.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The Wright brothers' use of a simple wind tunnel in 1901 to study the effects of airflow over various shapes while developing their Wright Flyer was in some ways revolutionary. It can be seen from the above, however, that they were simply using the accepted technology of the day, though this was not yet a common technology in America.


title: Wind tunnel

text: In France, Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923) built his first open-return wind tunnel in 1909, powered by a 50 kW electric motor, at Champs-de-Mars, near the foot of the tower that bears his name.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Between 1909 and 1912 Eiffel ran about 4,000 tests in his wind tunnel, and his systematic experimentation set new standards for aeronautical research.


title: Wind tunnel

text: In 1912 Eiffel's laboratory was moved to Auteuil, a suburb of Paris, where his wind tunnel with a two-metre test section is still operational today. Eiffel significantly improved the efficiency of the open-return wind tunnel by enclosing the test section in a chamber, designing a flared inlet with a honeycomb flow straightener and adding a diffuser between the test section and the fan located at the downstream end of the diffuser; this was an arrangement followed by a number of wind tunnels later built; in fact the open-return low-speed wind tunnel is often called the Eiffel-type wind tunnel.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Subsequent use of wind tunnels proliferated as the science of aerodynamics and discipline of aeronautical engineering were established and air travel and power were developed.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The US Navy in 1916 built one of the largest wind tunnels in the world at that time at the Washington Navy Yard. The inlet was almost in diameter and the discharge part was in diameter. A 500 hp electric motor drove the paddle type fan blades.


title: Wind tunnel

text: In 1931 the NACA built a 30-foot-by-60-foot full-scale wind tunnel at Langley Research Center in Langley, Virginia. The tunnel was powered by a pair of fans driven by 4,000 hp electric motors. The layout was a double-return, closed-loop format and could accommodate many full-size real aircraft as well as scale models. The tunnel was eventually closed and, even though it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1995, demolition began in 2010.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Until World War II, the world's largest wind tunnel, built in 1932–1934, was located in a suburb of Paris, Chalais-Meudon, France. It was designed to test full-size aircraft and had six large fans driven by high powered electric motors. The Chalais-Meudon wind tunnel was used by ONERA under the name S1Ch until 1976 in the development of, e.g., the Caravelle and Concorde airplanes. Today, this wind tunnel is preserved as a national monument.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Ludwig Prandtl was Theodore von Kármán's teacher at Göttingen University and suggested the construction of a wind tunnel for tests of airships they were designing. The vortex street of turbulence downstream of a cylinder was tested in the tunnel. When he later moved to Aachen University he recalled use of this facility:


title: Wind tunnel

text: I remembered the wind tunnel in Göttingen was started as a tool for studies of Zeppelin behavior, but that it had proven to be valuable for everything else from determining the direction of smoke from a ship's stack, to whether a given airplane would fly. Progress at Aachen, I felt, would be virtually impossible without a good wind tunnel.


title: Wind tunnel

text: When von Kármán began to consult with Caltech he worked with Clark Millikan and Arthur L. Klein. He objected to their design and insisted on a return flow making the device "independent of the fluctuations of the outside atmosphere". It was completed in 1930 and used for Northrop Alpha testing.


title: Wind tunnel

text: In 1939 General Arnold asked what was required to advance the USAF, and von Kármán answered, "The first step is to build the right wind tunnel." On the other hand, after the successes of the Bell X-2 and prospect of more advanced research, he wrote, "I was in favor of constructing such a plane because I have never believed that you can get all the answers out of a wind tunnel."


title: Wind tunnel

text: In 1941 the US constructed one of the largest wind tunnels at that time at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. This wind tunnel starts at and narrows to in diameter. Two fans were driven by a 40,000 hp electric motor. Large scale aircraft models could be tested at air speeds of .


title: Wind tunnel

text: The wind tunnel used by German scientists at Peenemünde prior to and during WWII is an interesting example of the difficulties associated with extending the useful range of large wind tunnels. It used some large natural caves which were increased in size by excavation and then sealed to store large volumes of air which could then be routed through the wind tunnels. This innovative approach allowed lab research in high-speed regimes and greatly accelerated the rate of advance of Germany's aeronautical engineering efforts. By the end of the war, Germany had at least three different "supersonic" wind tunnels, with one capable of Mach 4.4 (heated) airflows.


title: Wind tunnel

text: A large wind tunnel under construction near Oetztal, Austria would have had two fans directly driven by two 50,000 horsepower hydraulic turbines. The installation was not completed by the end of the war and the dismantled equipment was shipped to Modane, France in 1946 where it was re-erected and is still operated there by the ONERA. With its 8m test section and airspeed up to Mach 1 it is the largest transonic wind tunnel facility in the world.


title: Wind tunnel

text: On 22 June 1942, Curtiss-Wright financed construction of one of the nation's largest subsonic wind tunnels in Buffalo, N.Y. The first concrete for building was poured on 22 June 1942 on a site that eventually would become Calspan, where the largest independently owned wind tunnel in the United States still operates.


title: Wind tunnel

text: By the end of World War II, the US had built eight new wind tunnels, including the largest one in the world at Moffett Field near Sunnyvale, California, which was designed to test full size aircraft at speeds of less than 250 mph and a vertical wind tunnel at Wright Field, Ohio, where the wind stream is upwards for the testing of models in spin situations and the concepts and engineering designs for the first primitive helicopters flown in the US.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Later research into airflows near or above the speed of sound used a related approach. Metal pressure chambers were used to store high-pressure air which was then accelerated through a nozzle designed to provide supersonic flow. The observation or instrumentation chamber ("test section") was then placed at the proper location in the throat or nozzle for the desired airspeed.


title: Wind tunnel

text: In the United States, concern over the lagging of American research facilities compared to those built by the Germans led to the Unitary Wind Tunnel Plan Act of 1949, which authorized expenditure to construct new wind tunnels at universities and at military sites. Some German war-time wind tunnels were dismantled for shipment to the United States as part of the plan to exploit German technology developments.


title: Wind tunnel

text: For limited applications, Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can supplement or possibly replace the use of wind tunnels. For example, the experimental rocket plane SpaceShipOne was designed without any use of wind tunnels. However, on one test, flight threads were attached to the surface of the wings, performing a wind tunnel type of test during an actual flight in order to refine the computational model. Where external turbulent flow is present, CFD is not practical due to limitations in present-day computing resources. For example, an area that is still much too complex for the use of CFD is determining the effects of flow on and around structures, bridges, terrain, etc.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The most effective way to simulative external turbulent flow is through the use of a boundary layer wind tunnel.


title: Wind tunnel

text: There are many applications for boundary layer wind tunnel modeling. For example, understanding the impact of wind on high-rise buildings, factories, bridges, etc. can help building designers construct a structure that stands up to wind effects in the most efficient manner possible. Another significant application for boundary layer wind tunnel modeling is for understanding exhaust gas dispersion patterns for hospitals, laboratories, and other emitting sources. Other examples of boundary layer wind tunnel applications are assessments of pedestrian comfort and snow drifting. Wind tunnel modeling is accepted as a method for aiding in Green building design. For instance, the use of boundary layer wind tunnel modeling can be used as a credit for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification through the U.S. Green Building Council.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Wind tunnel tests in a boundary layer wind tunnel allow for the natural drag of the Earth's surface to be simulated. For accuracy, it is important to simulate the mean wind speed profile and turbulence effects within the atmospheric boundary layer. Most codes and standards recognize that wind tunnel testing can produce reliable information for designers, especially when their projects are in complex terrain or on exposed sites.


title: Wind tunnel

text: In the United States, many wind tunnels have been decommissioned in the last 20 years, including some historic facilities. Pressure is brought to bear on remaining wind tunnels due to declining or erratic usage, high electricity costs, and in some cases the high value of the real estate upon which the facility sits. On the other hand, CFD validation still requires wind-tunnel data, and this is likely to be the case for the foreseeable future. Studies have been done and others are underway to assess future military and commercial wind tunnel needs, but the outcome remains uncertain. More recently an increasing use of jet-powered, instrumented unmanned vehicles ["research drones"] have replaced some of the traditional uses of wind tunnels. The world's fastest wind tunnel as of 2019 is the LENS-X wind tunnel, located in Buffalo, New York.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Air is blown or sucked through a duct equipped with a viewing port and instrumentation where models or geometrical shapes are mounted for study. Typically the air is moved through the tunnel using a series of fans. For very large wind tunnels several meters in diameter, a single large fan is not practical, and so instead an array of multiple fans are used in parallel to provide sufficient airflow. Due to the sheer volume and speed of air movement required, the fans may be powered by stationary turbofan engines rather than electric motors.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The airflow created by the fans that is entering the tunnel is itself highly turbulent due to the fan blade motion (when the fan is blowing air into the test section – when it is sucking air out of the test section downstream, the fan-blade turbulence is not a factor), and so is not directly useful for accurate measurements. The air moving through the tunnel needs to be relatively turbulence-free and laminar. To correct this problem, closely spaced vertical and horizontal air vanes are used to smooth out the turbulent airflow before reaching the subject of the testing.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Due to the effects of viscosity, the cross-section of a wind tunnel is typically circular rather than square, because there will be greater flow constriction in the corners of a square tunnel that can make the flow turbulent. A circular tunnel provides a smoother flow.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The inside facing of the tunnel is typically as smooth as possible, to reduce surface drag and turbulence that could impact the accuracy of the testing. Even smooth walls induce some drag into the airflow, and so the object being tested is usually kept near the center of the tunnel, with an empty buffer zone between the object and the tunnel walls. There are correction factors to relate wind tunnel test results to open-air results.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The lighting is usually embedded into the circular walls of the tunnel and shines in through windows. If the light were mounted on the inside surface of the tunnel in a conventional manner, the light bulb would generate turbulence as the air blows around it. Similarly, observation is usually done through transparent portholes into the tunnel. Rather than simply being flat discs, these lighting and observation windows may be curved to match the cross-section of the tunnel and further reduce turbulence around the window.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Various techniques are used to study the actual airflow around the geometry and compare it with theoretical results, which must also take into account the Reynolds number and Mach number for the regime of operation.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Pressure across the surfaces of the model can be measured if the model includes pressure taps. This can be useful for pressure-dominated phenomena, but this only accounts for normal forces on the body.


title: Wind tunnel

text: With the model mounted on a force balance, one can measure lift, drag, lateral forces, yaw, roll, and pitching moments over a range of angle of attack. This allows one to produce common curves such as lift coefficient versus angle of attack (shown).


title: Wind tunnel

text: Note that the force balance itself creates drag and potential turbulence that will affect the model and introduce errors into the measurements. The supporting structures are therefore typically smoothly shaped to minimize turbulence.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Because air is transparent it is difficult to directly observe the air movement itself. Instead, multiple methods of both quantitative and qualitative flow visualization methods have been developed for testing in a wind tunnel.


title: Wind tunnel

text: High-speed turbulence and vortices can be difficult to see directly, but strobe lights and film cameras or high-speed digital cameras can help to capture events that are a blur to the naked eye.


title: Wind tunnel

text: High-speed cameras are also required when the subject of the test is itself moving at high speed, such as an airplane propeller. The camera can capture stop-motion images of how the blade cuts through the particulate streams and how vortices are generated along the trailing edges of the moving blade.


title: Wind tunnel

text: There are many different kinds of wind tunnels. They are typically classified by the range of speeds that are achieved in the test section, as follows:


title: Wind tunnel

text: Wind tunnels are also classified by the orientation of air flow in the test section with respect to gravity. Typically they are oriented horizontally, as happens during level flight. A different class of wind tunnels are oriented vertically so that gravity can be balanced by drag instead of lift, and these have become a popular form of recreation for simulating sky-diving:


title: Wind tunnel

text: Wind tunnels are also classified based on their main use. For those used with land vehicles such as cars and trucks the type of floor aerodynamics is also important. These vary from stationary floors through to full moving floors, with smaller moving floors and some attempt at boundary level control also being important.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Reynolds number is one of the governing similarity parameters for the simulation of flow in a wind tunnel. For mach number less than 0.3, it is the primary parameter that governs the flow characteristics. There are three main ways to simulate high Reynolds number, since it is not practical to obtain full scale Reynolds number by use of a full scale vehicle.


title: Wind tunnel

text: V/STOL tunnels require large cross section area, but only small velocities. Since power varies with the cube of velocity, the power required for the operation is also less. An example of a V/STOL tunnel is the NASA Langley 14' x 22' tunnel.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Aircraft have a tendency to go to spin when they stall. These tunnels are used to study that phenomenon.


title: Wind tunnel

text: For external flow tunnels various systems are used to compensate for the effect of the boundary layer on the road surface, including systems of moving belts under each wheel and the body of the car (5 or 7 belt systems) or one large belt under the entire car, or other methods of boundary layer control such as scoops or perforations to suck it away.


title: Wind tunnel

text: A high enthalpy wind tunnel is intended to study flow of air around objects moving at speeds much faster than the local speed of sound (hypersonic speeds). "Enthalpy" is the total energy of a gas stream, composed of internal energy due to temperature, the product of pressure and volume, and the velocity of flow. Duplication of the conditions of hypersonic flight requires large volumes of high-pressure, heated air; large pressurized hot reservoirs, and electric arcs, are two techniques used.


title: Wind tunnel

text: The aerodynamic principles of the wind tunnel work equally on watercraft, except the water is more viscous and so sets greater forces on the object being tested. A looping flume is typically used for underwater aquadynamic testing. The interaction between two different types of fluids means that pure wind tunnel testing is only partly relevant. However, a similar sort of research is done in a towing tank.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Air is not always the best test medium for studying small-scale aerodynamic principles, due to the speed of the air flow and airfoil movement. A study of fruit fly wings designed to understand how the wings produce lift was performed using a large tank of mineral oil and wings 100 times larger than actual size, in order to slow down the wing beats and make the vortices generated by the insect wings easier to see and understand.


title: Wind tunnel

text: Wind tunnel tests are also performed to precisely measure the air movement of fans at a specific pressure. By determining the environmental circumstances during measurement, and by revising the air-tightness afterwards, the standardization of the data is ensured.


title: Wind tunnel

text: There are two possible ways of measurement: a complete fan, or an impeller on a hydraulic installation. Two measuring tubes enable measurements of lower air currents (< 30,000 m/h) as well as higher air currents (< 60,000 m/h). The determination of the Q/h curve of the fan is one of the main objectives. To determine this curve (and to define other parameters) air technical, mechanical as well as electro technical data are measured: