The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1267169
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, July 8, 2020 B-9 Down on the Farm By Hans Schmitz, Purdue Extension Educator The color spectrum broken down Plants, like any other substance with pigmentation, absorb and reflect certain wavelengths of light. The great thing about plant leaves is that the light they absorb can be used to create sugars mo- bile enough to allow for growth. Leaves are not the only truly interesting thing that has a wavelength preference for ab- sorption or reflection. Humans see objects in the 400 -700 nanometer wavelength. Sources vary in the exact starting and ending wave- length, but all include 400 -700 nanome- ters. We see violet at the short end of the spectrum, and we sunburn at non-visible ultraviolet wavelengths of around 280 - 320 nanometers. At the opposite end of the spectrum, red light becomes the in- visible infrared around 750 nanometers, extending out to around 12,000 nano- meters before becoming the wavelength of microwaves. Remembering the mne- monic ROY G BIV, the rainbow runs from high wavelengths to low. When we see objects, their color is determined by the wavelength of visi- ble light the object reflects. White ob- jects are not technically a color, because they reflect the entire spectrum of light. Black objects exist likewise, as they ab- sorb the entire spectrum of light. This absorption and reflection also amounts to heat transfer, with dark objects ab- sorbing heat in sunlight more quickly than light objects, in a process that leads to the urban heat island effect, where temperatures in downtown Evansville might be as much as five degrees warmer than a gravel part of Copperline Road in rural areas out- side Mount Vernon. Within the color spec- trum, green objects re- flect sunlight, or artifi- cial light, in the green spectrum prefer- entially over other wavelengths of light. Therefore, leaves and the photosynthet- ic, sugar-producing, compounds in them have no use for light in the green wave- lengths. Where leaves do use light to produce sugars, they do so in the red and blue spectrum. The peak absorption wavelength for plants is blue light. Pho- tosynthetic compounds have a second- ary peak in the red spectrum, around the 680 -nanometer wavelength, firm- ly red. Therefore, scientists and horti- culturalists have created greenhous- es using LED lights that emit light on- ly in the blue and red spectrum to grow plants. Their results have been prom- ising with the decrease in expense of LED lighting. Recently, the question of blood color was brought up by an inquisitive teenager in a local household. With artery blood running red, is deoxygenated blood running blue in veins? The answer lies in the color spectrum. Blood reflection on the color spectrum runs firmly in the red when oxygenated, but deoxygenated blood is closer to the dark red we see as black in the infrared spectrum. Call it "midnight blue" for the veins we see in our skin. True blue being on the oppo- site end of the color spectrum, calling blood blue would be a misnomer. Worthy of note, there is a second- ary peak in light reflection from blood. Wherein there is light emitted that contains nothing in the red spectrum, like in the deep ocean, according to a 2005 article in Applied Spectroscopy by Meinke et al., human blood would appear green. All other visible colors would be absorbed. Perhaps the alien blood of science fiction has roots in sci- ence. For more information on these or other items, contact Hans at hschmitz@ purdue.edu or 812-838 -1331. Katiedid vs. By Katiedid Langrock Dishwashers and pineapples I was down in my basement, when something looked different. Hmm. What is it? Ah, yes, the ceiling is on the floor. Though I'm no basement expert, it im- mediately occurred to me that the ceil- ing was not supposed to be on the floor. I felt the panels, which were now crum- bling by my feet. Wet. Very wet. Perhaps a flood, I deduced, further proof of my incredible Sherlock Holme- sian skills. But one can never be too sure. A fter all, we are living in 2020. Though a typical flood is an aggravation in any year, it felt a little light-handed for the year of the COVID murder hornets. A sinkhole consuming our entire neigh- borhood would seem more apropos — especially if that sinkhole were actual- ly caused by the neighborhood's being swallowed by one of those giant exogorth space slugs in which Han Solo unwitting- ly hides the Millennium Falcon in "The Empire Strikes Back." Alas, our flood was not caused by space slug slobber. Rather, it was a boring faulty dishwasher hose. Just enough drama to drip drip drip on our plans to take a deep breath and momentarily avert our eyes from 2020. We were supposed to leave today on an RV trip that would take us anywhere. The basement ceiling's being on the basement floor has put a stop to that plan. Well, that and the fact that we can't drive over the ocean — and also that our neighboring countries won't allow us across the bor- der because of our rising COVID-19 num- bers. It is a mark of privilege to be disap- pointed by a delayed vacation. It is a mark of privilege to have a basement that can get flooded in the first place. But man, 2020 has been exhausting. As fans blasted air in- to my kitchen and base- ment at tornado-level speeds and at train-lev- el volume, a friend sug- gested I go to Party City to buy heavily discount- ed graduation paper plates and cups. That way, I could avoid add- ing to the pile of dishes in my sink that I cannot reach without tripping over a fan and being lifted up into a cy- clone like that cow in "Twister" (which I heard they are remaking because the one thing everyone on earth can relate to right now is feeling one with the heif- er spinning in circles). Party City is a weird place to visit during a pandemic. The luau decor and goofy 2020 graduation sunglasses initial- ly made me irritated, hyper-aware of the contrast I was feeling with the implicit joyousness of this store. The only party I wanted to throw was a pity party. Hmm, a pity party... Instead of the delightfully tacky plas- tic flamingos in yards this summer, why not delightfully tacky plastic murder hor- nets? Rather than brightly colored "Wel- come" flags outside our doors, we could all just buy white flags to signify our sur- rendering. I give up, 2020! You win! We can, of course, continue to buy the pine- apple-shaped luau mugs — because with- out question, this will be the year when there's a horrific salmonella outbreak in pineapples. It's coming. You know it's coming. Best of all, everyone knows the great- est pity party is a pity party for one. Social distancing, y'all. Walking the aisles of Par- ty City, I found myself throw- ing more and more items into my cart, a smile slowly grow- ing across my face. A hamburg- er blowup pool to catch water from my dripping ceiling rather than a bucket. Hats and towels to wear by the "basement pool." And string lights to hang up in the RV, because, really, we will get to our vacation eventually. This hiccup, insignificant considering the greater heartaches of the world, will get cleaned up and moved past. My dishwasher flood pity party allowed me to feel all my devastated 2020 feelings and harness them into an incident that began out of my control but will ultimate- ly end in my control, wherein the tangible actions I take will result in a mess that is fixed immediately and permanently. How utterly not 2020. How utterly welcome. For those of us fortunate enough to have not experienced personal traumas of 2020 but still suffering the mundane burden of it, throw yourself a pity par- ty for your next grievance. Allow the sad and then take solace in the solvable. But take my advice and buy those pineapple mugs soon, because once the salmonella outbreak is here, everyone will want one. And it's coming. You know it's coming. Katiedid Langrock is author of the book "Stop Farting in the Pyramids," available at www.creators.com/books/stop-farting- in-the-pyramids. Like Katiedid Langrock on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/katie- didhumor. Lic. #AU10800006 812-598-3936 Call Johny Ray for Details ABSOLUTE AUCTION AUCTION LOCATION: 114 E SR 68, Lynnville PROPERTY LOCATION: 12368 E 100 S, Oakland City Glen and Kathy Burdette Real Estate and Personal Property LARGE 2-SESSION AUCTION Personal Property Auction ursday, July 9 • 3:30pm CDT Furniture, Antiques, Collectibles, Pottery, Tools and More Personal Property and Real Estate ursday, July 23 • 3:30pm CDT 2 Bedroom, 1 Bath on 2 +/- Acres Real estate sells at 6pm CDT AUCTION COIN, JEWELRY & CURRENCY Questions? Contact Kaleb Claridge 812-789-6761 Saturday, July 11 • 10am EDT at the AUCTION BARN 2667 E. CR. 400 S., Winslow Thousands of Coins! 75+ Morgan • 20 oz. Gold Pieces 100 oz. Bar of Silver Gold & Sterling Silver Jewelry SKEETER WILLIAMS ESTATE AUCTION Saturday, July 18 10 a.m. CDT Princeton FORT BRANCH ESTATE AUCTION & OTHERS Saturday, Aug. 8 10 a.m. EDT Claridge Auction Barn Upcoming: ❚ Choice Morgan (1878-S, 1879-S, 1880-S, 1881, 1881-S) ❚ Graded 1881-S MS 64 ❚ Choice Morgan (1882-S, 1883-S, 1884-S, 1884-O, 1885-S) ❚ Choice Morgan (1887-S, 1888-S, 1890-S, 1891-S, 1892-S) ❚ Choice Morgan (1896-S, 1897-O, 1897-S, 1898-S) ❚ Choice Morgan (1901-O, 1904-S,1921-S) ❚ 1992 1/20oz Gold Panda .999 pure ❚ 1945 Pesos 1/20oz gold ❚ 200+ wheat pennies ❚ Choice Walking Liberty Half (1936, 1942 X 3, 1944, 1945) ❚ Choice Walking Liberty Half (1941 X 3, 1942 X 3) ❚ Choice Walking Liberty Half (1939, 1941-S, 1942 X 3, 1943, 1945 X 2) ❚ 8 Walking Liberty Quarters ❚ 1747 New York Dutch Coin ❚ 1869 2 cent U.S. coin ❚ 9 Barber Dimes ❚ 100+oz bar of Silver .999 pure ❚ 1916-D Walking Half ❚ 1888-S Seated Dime ❚ 1909 first year Lincoln Penny ❚ 1972 Eisenhower Dollar X the money ❚ Choice Walking Liberty (2003, 2005, 2006) ❚ Choice Morgan (1887-O, 1892-O, 1900-O, 1921-S, 1921-D, 1921) ❚ Choice Silver Kennedy Half (1964 X 20) ❚ 12 Walking Liberties (1 X 1941, 3 X 1942, 2 X 1943, 4 X 1944, 2 X 1945) one bid ❚ 6 Franklin Half Dollars (1951, 1953, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963) ❚ 7 Sacagawea Dollars ❚ miscellaneous bag of foreign currency ❚ 40 X 1935 Barber Dimes ❚ Choice Peace dollar (1922 X 2, 1922-D, 1923, 1925) ❚ Choice Peace dollar (1926, 1926-S) ❚ Choice Peace dollar (1927-D, 1927- S, 1934-D, 1935-S, 1935) ❚ 200+ wheat pennies ❚ 1942 Walking Liberty + Lot 35–1949 Franklin Half ❚ 1776 Philadelphia Pennsylvania Colonial Half Dollar ❚ 1776 Connecticut Colonial 2 shilling Halfpence ❚ Choice of 4 1oz silver bars .999 silver ❚ Choice penny (1826, 1847, 1851) ❚ 1867 3 cent Nickle ❚ 8 Walking Liberty Halves (1935, 2 X 1937, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1947) X the money ❚ 7 Franklin Halves (1952, 1954, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963) X the money ❚ Choice 1788 Massachusetts colonial penny or 1787 New Jersey Cessarea Colonial penny ❚ Choice Morgan (1879-S, 1880, 1881, 1882) ❚ Choice Morgan (1883-O, 1887-O, 1889-O, 1891-O) ❚ Choice Morgan (1896, 1896-O, 1900-O, 1921) ❚ 1927-D Peace Dollar graded XF 45 ❚ 1921 Peace Dollar ❚ Choice Walking Liberty Half (1917, 1918-S, 1927-S X 2, 1929-S) ❚ Walking Liberty Half (1933-S X 2, 1934-S X 3) X the bid ❚ Walking Liberty Half (1935-S X 2, 1935, 1936-S) ❚ 15 Indian Head Pennies (1886, 1897, 1898, 2 X 1899, 1901, 2 X 1902, 3 X 1904, 2 X 1905, 2 X 1906) ❚ 13 Silver Dimes ❚ 18 X 1936 Mercury Dimes ❚ 49 X 1940 Mercury Dimes ❚ 50 X 1945 Silver Dimes ❚ 9/11 commemorative coin ❚ 1972 Eisenhower Dollar ❚ 1922 mini Liberty Peace ❚ Wheat and Steel pennies ❚ 1964-1985 Kennedy Half Dollar Book ❚ Complete set Silver Washington Quarters (1946-1959) ❚ 2 Lincoln cent 1941 books ❚ Choice Carson City Morgan (1882, 1883) ❚ 17 Indian Head Pennies (one bid) ❚ 1696 U.S. Colonial English Sterling Silver Six Pence ❚ 1777 U.S. English Colonial Copper Half penny ❚ 1898 Barber Half Dollar 1897 Barber quarter ❚ 1776 Connecticut Colonial 2 shillings half pence ❚ Choice Franklin Half (1950, 1951, 1951-D, 1952, 2 X 1952-D) ❚ Choice Franklin Half (1952-D, 1953- D, 1954-D, 1954, 1957-D, 1960) ❚ Times the bid Franklin Half (1962, 2 X 1963-D, 2 X 1962-D) ❚ 2 X 2016 Walking Liberties times the bid ❚ Choice Peace Dollar (2 X 1922, 1923, 1924, 2 X 1926) ❚ 18 Silver dimes ❚ 11 Silver dimes ❚ 17 silver dimes ❚ 9 X 1964 Kennedy Half's times the bid ❚ 1963-D Franklin Half and 1964 uncirculated silver quarter ❚ State quarter set ❚ Penny Book and 2 other books ❚ Indian Head Pennies (1888 X 3, 1889, 2 X 1891, 1897, 1900, 1902, 2 X 1903, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1909) ❚ Choice Peace Dollar (1922-D, 1923, 1923-D, 1924, 1925, 1927-D) ❚ Choice Walking Liberty (3 X 2015) ❚ 2 bags of Roosevelt dimes ❚ 1911 Dime, 1952 Lincoln penny, North Dakota State Quarter ❚ Lot of 6 Bicentennials Kennedy halves ❚ 20 silver dimes ❚ 5 Franklin Halves (1952, 1959-D, 1960-D, 1961-D, 1963-D) buying them all ❚ Choice Morgan (4 X 1921) ❚ Complete Native American Coin set ❚ George Washington Quarter Collection ❚ 6 Bicentennial Kennedy halves ❚ 10 WW2 Dimes ❚ 2 Walking Liberty halves (1918, 1928) ❚ Thomas Jefferson Coin Collection ❚ Choice Peace Dollar (1922, 1923, 4 X 1925) ❚ 12 X 1964 Kennedy Halves (times the bid) ❚ 5 Walking Liberty Halves (1935, 1943, 1944, 1945-S, 1945) ❚ 5 Bicentennial Kennedy Halves ❚ 15 Mercury Dimes ❚ 5 Bicentennial Kennedy halves ❚ 8 X 1964 Kennedy Halves (times the bid) ❚ Choice of 3 1921 Morgan's and 1 X 1923 Peace Dollar ❚ 6 X 1964 Kennedy Halves (times the bid) ❚ Quarter book state set ❚ Roosevelt dimes book ❚ Choice of 4 Lincoln set book ❚ Jar of Buffalo nickel's ❚ Roosevelt dimes ❚ Barber dimes ❚ 13 Liberty Head V nickel's ❚ Jefferson nickel's ❚ Indian Head pennies ❚ Choice roll of wheat pennies NEWLY ADDED COINS ❚ 1897 MS62 $20 dollar double eagle ❚ 1893 10 dollar half oz. gold eagle ❚ 2014 1/10 oz. American eagle proof ❚ 1902 MS 63 morgan ❚ 2014 1/4 oz. proof ❚ 1886 MS 63 morgan ❚ 2011 1 oz. golden eagle UNC. ❚ 1894 10 dollar half oz. golden eagle LIVE ONLY! View photos on AuctionZip.com, ID# 46613 Second Annual Otwell Ruritan FARM CONSIGNMENT AUCTION This fundraiser will help with Otwell Ruritan Fairgrounds Repairs Saturday, Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. Location: 9936 E. Jefferson St., Otwell • Tractors • Combines • Tillage Equipment • Planters • Livestock Equipment • Lawn Equipment • Vehicles • Tools • No Household Items & Realty Robert E. Dimmett Owner/Auctioneer – Lic. # AU09200240 www.DimmettAuctionService.com Phone: 812-897-1747 Call to get information or go to www.DimmettAuctionService.com Rob Dimmett 812-305-2749 Jordan Ison 812-639-1055 MONDAY, AUG. 3 thru THURSDAY, AUG. 6 from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. On Aug. 7, we will not be receiving any equipment and items. Taking Consignments