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Wicking Bed
A wicking bed is an agricultural irrigation system used in arid countries where water is scarce, devised by Australian inventor Colin Austin. It can be used both in (arid) fields as in containers. Besides use in fields/containers outdoors, it can also be used indoors (i.e. greenhouse). The system is designed to increase food production while using approximately 50% less water than traditional irrigation, by utilizing underground water reservoirs filled with decomposing organic matter and the process of evaporation. Despite being an irrigation system (which can even be fitted with automated refill capability via rainwater tank and float-valve), it still remains relatively low-tech Low technology (low tech; adjective forms: low-technology, low-tech, lo-tech) is simple technology, as opposed to '' high technology''. History Historical origin Primitive technologies such as bushcraft, tools that use wood, stone, whoo .... There are a number of commercially available wic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been developed by many cultures around the world. Irrigation helps to grow crops, maintain landscapes, and revegetation, revegetate disturbed soils in dry areas and during times of below-average rainfall. In addition to these uses, irrigation is also employed to protect crops from frost, suppress weed growth in grain fields, and prevent soil consolidation. It is also used to cool livestock, reduce dust, dispose of sewage, and support mining operations. Drainage, which involves the removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given location, is often studied in conjunction with irrigation. There are several methods of irrigation that differ in how water is supplied to plants. Surface irrigation, also known as gravity irri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arid
A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most arid climates straddle the Equator; these regions include parts of Africa, Asia, South America, North America, and Australia. Change over time The distribution of aridity at any time is largely the result of the general circulation of the atmosphere. The latter does change significantly over time through climate change. For example, temperature increase by 1.5–2.1 percent across the Nile Basin over the next 30–40 years could change the region from semi-arid to arid, significantly reducing the land usable for agriculture. In addition, changes in land use can increase demands on soil water and thereby increase aridity. See also * Arid Forest Research Institute * Aridity index * Desert climate * Desiccation tolerance * Drought * Hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Austin (Moldflow)
Colin Austin (born 1940) is an Australian award-winning researcher, engineer, and inventor of Autodesk product Moldflow Plastics design software. Biography Colin graduated from Sheffield University in 1963. He worked as an R & D Manager for Johns Hydraulics then worked as lecturer for RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. In 1978 Colin Austin founded company Moldflow (currently a subsidiary of Autodesk) devoted to simulation of injection molding. Colin developed Moldflow Plastics design software that transformed the international design of plastics moulds using scientific principles rather than 'gut feel'. After many years he became the most successful exporters of technical software in Australia, and more than 48 countries in the world used his software. In 1997 Colin Austin founded a company named Waterright devoted to simulation of irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Container Garden
Container gardening or pot gardening/farming is the practice of growing plants, including edible plants, exclusively in containers instead of planting them in the ground. A container in gardening is a small, enclosed and usually portable object used for displaying live flowers or plants. It may take the form of a pot, box, tub, basket, tin, barrel or hanging basket. Methods Pots, traditionally made of terracotta but now more commonly plastic, and window boxes are the most commonly seen. Small pots are called flowerpots. In some cases, this method of growing is used for ornamental purposes. This method is also useful in areas where the soil or climate is unsuitable for the plant or crop in question. Using a container is also generally necessary for houseplants. Limited growing space, or growing space that is paved over, can also make this option appealing to the gardener. Additionally, this method is popular for urban horticulture and urban gardening on balconies of apartment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenhouse
A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These structures range in size from small sheds to industrial-sized buildings. A miniature greenhouse is known as a cold frame. The interior of a greenhouse exposed to sunlight becomes significantly warmer than the external temperature, protecting its contents in cold weather. Many commercial glass greenhouses or hothouses are high tech production facilities for vegetables, flowers or fruits. The glass greenhouses are filled with equipment including screening installations, heating, cooling, and lighting, and may be controlled by a computer to optimize conditions for plant growth. Different techniques are then used to manage growing conditions, including air temperature, relative humidity and vapour-pressure deficit, in ord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Food Production
The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, family-run activities that are highly labor-intensive, to large, capital-intensive and highly mechanized industrial processes. Many food industries depend almost entirely on local agriculture, produce, or fishing. It is challenging to find an inclusive way to cover all aspects of food production and sale. The UK Food Standards Agency describes it as "the whole food industry – from farming and food production, packaging and distribution, to retail and catering." The Economic Research Service of the USDA uses the term ''food system'' to describe the same thing, stating: "The U.S. food system is a complex network of farmers and the industries that link to them. Those links include makers of farm equipment and chemicals as well as firms th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrupting a watercourse to form an embayment within it, through excavation, or building any number of retaining walls or levees. In other contexts, "reservoirs" may refer to storage spaces for various fluids; they may hold liquids or gasses, including hydrocarbons. ''Tank reservoirs'' store these in ground-level, elevated, or buried tanks. Tank reservoirs for water are also called cisterns. Most underground reservoirs are used to store liquids, principally either water or petroleum. Types Dammed valleys Dammed reservoirs are artificial lakes created and controlled by a dam constructed across a valley, and rely on the natural topography to provide most of the basin of the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. High concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when humidity affects rate of evaporation of water. When the molecules of the liquid collide, they transfer energy to each other based on how they collide. When a molecule near the surface absorbs enough energy to overcome the vapor pressure, it will escape and enter the surrounding air as a gas. When evaporation occurs, the energy removed from the vaporized liquid will reduce the temperature of the liquid, resulting in evaporative cooling. On average, only a fraction of the molecules in a liquid have enough heat energy to escape from the liquid. The evaporation will continue until an equilibrium is reached when the evaporation of the liquid is equal to its condensation. In an enclosed environment, a liquid will evaporate until the surrounding air is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flush Toilet
A flush toilet (also known as a flushing toilet, water closet (WC) – see also toilet names) is a toilet that disposes of human waste (principally urine and feces) by using the force of water to ''flush'' it through a drainpipe to another location for treatment, either nearby or at a communal facility, thus maintaining a separation between humans and their waste. Flush toilets can be designed for sitting (in which case they are also called "Western" toilets) or for squatting, in the case of squat toilets. Most modern sewage treatment systems are also designed to process specially designed ''toilet paper''. The opposite of a flush toilet is a dry toilet, which uses no water for flushing. Flush toilets are a type of plumbing fixture and usually incorporate an "S", "U", "J", or "P" shaped bend called a trap that causes water to collect in the toilet bowl to hold the waste and act as a seal against noxious sewer gases. Most flush toilets are connected to a sewerage system that c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Low-tech
Low technology (low tech; adjective forms: low-technology, low-tech, lo-tech) is simple technology, as opposed to ''high technology''. History Historical origin Primitive technologies such as bushcraft, tools that use wood, stone, whool, etc. can be seen as ''low-tech'', as the pre-industrial revolution machines such as windmills or sailboats. In the 70s The economic boom after the war resulted in a doubt on progress, technology and infinite growth at the beginning of the 70s, notably with through the report The Limits to Growth (1972). Many have sought to define what soft technologies are, leading to the ''low-tech'' movement. Such technologies have been described as "intermediaries" (E.F. Schumacher),. "liberating" ( M. Bookchin), or even democratic. Thus, a philosophy of advocating a widespread use of soft technologies was developed in the United States, and many studies were carried out in those years, in particular by researchers like Langdon Winner. 2000s a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
