document_title: Sugar Land, Texas

question_text: which airport is closer to sugar land tx

question_tokens: which airport is closer to sugar land tx

text: Sugar Land, Texas

text: History[edit]

text: Sugar Land's founding[edit]

text: Sugar Land's heritage traces its roots back to the original Mexican land grant to Stephen F. Austin. One of the first settlers of the land, Samuel M. Williams, called this land "Oakland Plantation" because there were many different varieties of oaks on the land, such as willow oak, post oak, water oak, southern red oak, and live oak. Williams' brother, Nathaniel, purchased the land in 1838.[6] They operated the plantation by growing cotton, corn, and sugarcane. During these early years, the area that is now Sugar Land was the center of social life along the Brazos River. In 1853, Benjamin Terry and William J. Kyle purchased the Oakland Plantation from the Williams family. Terry is known for organizing Terry's Texas Rangers during the Civil War and for naming the town. Upon the deaths of Terry and Kyle, Colonel E. H. Cunningham bought the 12,500-acre (5,100 ha) plantation soon after the Civil War, and developed the town around his sugar-refining plant around 1879.

text: Company town[edit]

text: In 1906, the Kempner family of Galveston, under the leadership of Isaac H. Kempner, and in partnership with William T. Eldridge, purchased the 5,300-acre (2,100 ha) Ellis Plantation, one of the few plantations in Fort Bend County to survive the Civil War. The Ellis Plantation had originally been part of the Jesse Cartwright league and in the years after the Civil War had been operated by a system of tenant farming under the management of Will Ellis. In 1908, the partnership acquired the adjoining 12,500-acre (5,100 ha) Cunningham Plantation, with its raw-sugar mill and cane-sugar refinery. The partnership changed the name to Imperial Sugar Company; Kempner associated the name "Imperial", which was also the name of a small raw-sugar mill on the Ellis Plantation, with the Imperial Hotel in New York City. Around the turn of the 20th century, most of the sugarcane crops were destroyed by a harsh winter. As part of the Kempner-Eldridge agreement, Eldridge moved to the site to serve as general manager and build the company-owned town of Sugar Land.

text: The trains running through Sugar Land are on the route of the oldest railroad in Texas. They run adjacent to the sugar refinery, west of the town, and through the center of what used to be known as the Imperial State Prison Farm, now redeveloped largely into the suburban planned community of Telfair.

text: As a company town from the 1910s until 1959, Sugar Land was virtually self-contained. Imperial Sugar Company provided housing for the workers, encouraged construction of schools, built a hospital for the workers' well-being, and provided businesses to meet the workers' needs. Many of the original homes built by the Imperial Sugar Company remain today in The Hill and Mayfield Park areas of Sugar Land, and have been passed down through generations of family members.

text: During the 1950s, Imperial Sugar wanted to expand the town by building more houses. This led to the creation of a new subdivision, Venetian Estates, which featured waterfront homesites on Oyster Creek and on man-made lakes.

text: A city emerges[edit]

text: As the company town expanded, so did the interest of establishing a municipal government. Voters chose to make Sugar Land a general law city in 1959, with T. E. Harman becoming the first mayor.

text: In the early 1970s,[7] a new subdivision development called Covington Woods was constructed. Later that year, the Imperial Cattle Ranch sold about 1,200 acres (490 ha) to a developer to create what became Sugar Creek in 1968. As a master-planned community, Sugar Creek introduced country club living, with two golf courses and country clubs, swimming pools, and security.

text: Encouraged by the success of Sugar Creek, First Colony, a new master-planned community encompassing 10,000 acres (4,000 ha), was organized. Development began in 1977 by Sugarland Properties Inc., and would continue the next 30 years. The master-planned community offered homebuyers formal landscaping, neighborhoods segmented by price range, extensive green belts, a golf course and country club, lakes and boulevards, neighborhood amenities, and shopping.

text: Around the same time as First Colony, another master-planned community development called Sugar Mill started in the northern portion of Sugar Land,[8] offering traditional, lakefront, and estate lots.

text: Sugar Land began attracting the attention of major corporations throughout the 1980s, and many chose to make the city their home. Fluor Daniel, Schlumberger, Unocal (though never headquartered in Sugar Land), and others located offices and facilities in the city. This resulted in a 40/60 ratio of residential to commercial tax base within the city.

text: In 1981, a special city election was held for the purpose of establishing a home-rule municipal government. Voters approved the adoption of a home rule charter. The charter established a mayor-council form of government, with all powers of the city invested in a council composed of a mayor and five councilmen.

text: A special city election was held Aug. 9, 1986, to submit the proposed changes to the electorate for consideration. By a majority of the voters, amendments to the charter were approved which provided for a change in the city's form of government from that of "mayor-council" (strong mayor) to that of a "council-manager" form of government which provides that the city manager be the chief administrative officer of the city. Approval of this amendment provided for the mayor to become a voting member of council, in addition to performing duties as presiding officer of the council.

text: Sugar Land annexed the master-planned Sugar Creek community in 1986, with the community being almost built-out. That same year, the city organized the largest celebration in its history—the Texas Sesquicentennial Celebration, celebrating 150 years of Texan independence from Mexican rule.

text: A decade of growth[edit]

text: An amendment on May 5, 1990, changed the composition of the city council to a mayor and two council members by at-large position.

text: Throughout much of the 1990s, Sugar Land was one of the fastest-growing communities in the nation.[citation needed] The majority of Sugar Landers are white-collar and college-educated, working in Houston's energy industry.[citation needed] An abundance of commercial growth, with numerous low-rise office buildings, banks and high-class restaurants popping up, can be seen along both Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 6.

text: Sugar Land increased its tax base with the opening of First Colony Mall in 1996. The over one-million-square-foot (100,000 m2) mall, the first in Fort Bend County, is located at the busiest intersection of the city: Interstate 69/U.S. 59 and State Highway 6. The mall was named after the 10,000-acre (4,000 ha) master-planned community of First Colony.

text: In November 1997, Sugar Land annexed the remaining municipal utility districts (MUDs) of the 10,000-acre (4,000 ha) First Colony master-planned community, bringing the city's population to almost 60,000. This was Sugar Land's largest annexation to date.

text: Sugar Land boasted the highest growth among Texas' largest cities per the U.S. Census 2000, with a population of 63,328. In 2003, Sugar Land became a "principal" city as the title changed to Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Sugar Land replaced Galveston as the second-most important city in the metropolitan area, after Houston.

text: The new millennium saw the need of higher education facility expansion located within the city. In 2002, the University of Houston System at Fort Bend moved to its new 250-acre (100 ha) campus located off the University Boulevard and Interstate 69/U.S. 59 intersection. The city helped fund the Albert and Mamie George Building, and as a result, the multi-institution teaching center was renamed the University of Houston Sugar Land.

text: In 2003, the Imperial Sugar Company refinery plant and distribution center was put out of operation, but its effect on the local economy was minimal, since Sugar Land today has much more of a reputation as an affluent Houston suburb than the blue-collar, agriculture-dependent town it was a generation ago. However, the company maintains its headquarters in Sugar Land.

text: The Texas Department of Transportation sold 2,018 acres (817 ha) of prison land in the western portion Sugar Land to Newland Communities, a developer, by bid in 2003. Thereafter, the developer announced to build a new master-planned community called Telfair in this location. In July 2004, Sugar Land annexed all of this land into the city limits to control the quality of development, extending the city limits westward. This was unusual, since Sugar Land only annexed built-out areas in the past, not prior to development.[citation needed]

text: In December 2005 Sugar Land annexed the recently built-out, master-planned community of Avalon and four sections of Brazos Landing subdivision, adding approximately 3,200 residents. The city is currently negotiating with the communities of Greatwood, New Territory, and River Park, along with the subdivisions of Tara Colony and Tara Plantation, to annex in the near future. This annexation will be the largest, surpassing the annexation of First Colony in 1992 and 1997, which would bring the city proper's population to approximately 120,000.

text: As of 2007, Sugar Land held the title of "Fittest City in Texas" for the population 50,000–100,000 range, a title it has held for four consecutive years.[9]

text: In 2006 CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Sugar Land third on its list of the "100 Best Cities to Live in the United States".

text: In 2007, CQ Press ranked Sugar Land fifth on its list of "Safest Cities in the United States" (14th annual "City Crime Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan American"),[10] and in 2010 it was ranked the twelfth Safest City in the United States, as well as the safest city in Texas.[11]

text: In 2008, Forbes selected Sugar Land along with Bunker Hill Village and Hunters Creek Village as one of the three Houston-area "Top Suburbs to Live Well", noting its affluence despite its large population.[12]

text: Geography and climate[edit]

text: Geography[edit]

text: Sugar Land is located in northeast Fort Bend County, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of downtown Houston.[13] It is bordered by Houston to the northeast, and by Stafford, Missouri City, and Meadows Place to the east. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Sugar Land has a total area of 34.0 square miles (88.1 km2), of which 32.4 square miles (83.9 km2) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.2 km2), or 4.82%, is water.[1] The elevation of most of the city is between 70 and 90 feet (21 and 27 m) above sea level. The elevation of Sugar Land Regional Airport is 82 feet (25 m).

text: Sugar Land is located at 29°35′58″N 95°36′51″W / 29.599580°N 95.614089°W / 29.599580; -95.614089 (29.599580, -95.614089).[14]

text: Sugar Land has two major waterways running through the city. The Brazos River runs through the southwestern and southern portion of the city and then into Brazoria County. Oyster Creek runs from the northwest to the eastern portion of the city limits and into Missouri City. Sugar Land has many artificial lakes connecting to Oyster Creek or the Brazos River, constructed in connection with the development of the city's master-planned communities.

text: Geology[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Underpinning the area's land surface are unconsolidated clays, clay shales, and poorly-cemented sands extending to depths of several miles. The region's geology developed from stream deposits from the erosion of the Rocky Mountains. These sediments consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic matter that, over time, were transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath these tiers is a water-deposited layer of halite, a rock salt. The porous layers were compressed over time and forced upward. As it pushed upward, the salt dragged surrounding sediments into dome shapes, often trapping oil and gas that seeped from the surrounding porous sands.

text: The region is earthquake-free. While the neighboring city of Houston contains 86 mapped and historically active surface faults with an aggregate length of 149 miles (240 km), the clay below the surface precludes the buildup of friction that produces ground shaking in earthquakes. These faults move only very gradually in what is termed "fault creep".

text: Climate[edit]

text: Sugar Land's climate is classified as being humid subtropical, featuring long, hot and humid summers, and mild to cool winters. The city is located in the gulf coastal plains biome, and the vegetation is classified as a temperate grassland. The average yearly precipitation is 48 inches. Prevailing winds are from the south and southeast during most of the year, bringing heat and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

text: In the summer time, daily high temperatures are in the 95 °F (35 °C) range throughout much of July and August. The air tends to feel still and the abundant humidity, with dewpoints typically in the low to mid 70s, creates a heat index around 100 each day. Summer thunderstorms are common with 1/3 to 1/2 of the days hearing thunder. The highest temperature recorded in the area was 109 °F in September 2000.

text: Winters in the Houston area are cool and temperate. The average winter high/low is 62 °F/45 °F (16 °C/7 °C). The coldest period is usually in January, when north winds bring winter rains. Snow is almost unheard of and typically does not accumulate when it is seen. One such rare snowstorm hit Houston on Christmas Eve 2004. A few inches accumulated, but was all gone by the next afternoon. But the earliest snowfall to occur in any winter did happen on December 4, 2009 and also meant that snow fell for 2 consecutive years for the first time since records were held.

text:
[hide]Climate data for Sugar Land, Texas

Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year

Average high °F (°C)
61.9
(16.6)
65.7
(18.7)
72.5
(22.5)
79.2
(26.2)
85.6
(29.8)
90.7
(32.6)
93.7
(34.3)
93.6
(34.2)
89.1
(31.7)
81.7
(27.6)
72
(22.2)
64.2
(17.9)
79.2
(26.2)

Average low °F (°C)
41.5
(5.3)
44.4
(6.9)
51.4
(10.8)
58.3
(14.6)
66.4
(19.1)
72.1
(22.3)
74.5
(23.6)
73.9
(23.3)
69.4
(20.8)
59.9
(15.5)
50.9
(10.5)
43.2
(6.2)
58.8
(14.9)

Average precipitation inches (mm)
4.06
(103.1)
2.98
(75.7)
3.24
(82.3)
3.48
(88.4)
4.69
(119.1)
5.51
(140)
3.30
(83.8)
4.29
(109)
5.82
(147.8)
4.03
(102.4)
4.58
(116.3)
3.36
(85.3)
49.34
(1,253.2)

Source: [15]

text: Economy[edit]

text: Sugar Land was ranked as one of the "Top Cities in Texas" for business relocation and expansion by both Outlook Magazine and Texas Business. Industries calling Sugar Land home are as diverse as its resident population.[citation needed]

text: Like the rest of the Greater Houston area, there is a large energy industry presence, specifically petroleum exploration and refining. Sugar Land holds the headquarters to Fortune 500[16] company CVR Energy, Inc.[17] (NYSE: CVI), Western Airways, and NalcoChampion's Energy Services division. CVR Energy was listed as the city's only resident 2012 Fortune 500 company[17][16] and was ranked No. 5 public company, according to the Houston Chronicle.[18] Sugar Land also has a large number of international energy, software, engineering, and product firms.

text: Sugar Land is home to the headquarters of the Imperial Sugar Company. It was once the home of the company's main (and sole) refinery and distribution center. The refinery and distribution center have been put out of operation since 2003.[citation needed]

text: Schlumberger moved its Houston-area offices from 5000 Gulf Freeway in Houston to a campus in Sugar Land in 1995.[19][20][21] This 33-acre (13 ha) campus is at the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 90A and Gillingham Lane. As of 2015 Schlumberger was the second largest employer in the city. In 2015 Schlumberger announced that it was moving its U.S. corporate headquarters to the Sugar Land facility from a Houston office building. The company plans to build new buildings with a scheduled completion time of late 2017. They include a total of 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) of Class A office space and an "amenities" building with 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of space.[22]

text: Minute Maid opened its headquarters in Sugar Land Town Square in First Colony on February 16, 2009; previously it was headquartered in 2000 St. James Place in Houston.[23][24][25]

text: In 1989 BMC Software had plans to lease 120,000 square feet (11,000 m2) in One Sugar Creek Place in Sugar Land.[26] In 1991 BMC leased about 120,000 square feet (11,000 m2) at the Sugar Creek National Bank Building and about 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) in the Fluor Daniel Building, both in Sugar Land. BMC planned to vacate both Sugar Land facilities when its current headquarters, located in Westchase, opened; BMC's headquarters were scheduled to open in 1993.[27]

text: Largest employers[edit]

text: According to the city's 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[28] the largest employers in the city are:

text:
#
Employer
# of Employees

1
Fort Bend ISD
2,929

2
Fluor
2,800

3
Schlumberger
2,200

4
Methodist Sugar Land Hospital
1,900

5
United Healthcare
800

6
Nalco
744

7
Tramontina
740

8
First Data
500

9
Memorial Hermann
497

10
Noble
477

text: Government and infrastructure[edit]

text: Local government[edit]

text: Sugar Land operates under the Council-Manager form of government. Under this system, Council appoints the city manager, who acts as the chief executive officer of the government. The city manager carries out policy and administers city programs. All department heads, including the city attorney, police chief and fire chief, are ultimately responsible to the city manager.

text: Some of the strengths of the Council-Manager form of government as opposed to a strong mayor form of government include: all councilmembers have equal rights, obligations and opportunities, the power is assigned to the council as a whole, and the city manager must be responsive in providing day-to-day services to citizens.[29]

text: Sugar Land has had three city managers since instituting the Council-Manager form of government in 1986:

text:
William H. Lewis (1986-1988)
David Neeley (1988-2001)
Allen Bogard (2001–present)

text: The average tenure for municipal and county managers is 7.4 years.[30] The City of Sugar Land’s last two city managers have an average tenure of over 13 years. The longevity of Sugar Land’s city managers indicates stability in the Council-Manager form of government.

text: Sugar Land's composition of the City Council consists of a Mayor, four councilmembers to be elected by single-member districts and two councilmembers by at-large position. All city council positions are officially nonpartisan.[citation needed]

text: The current city hall is a part of the Sugar Land Town Square development in First Colony.[31] Prior to the opening of the current city hall, city hall was located at 10405 Corporate Drive,[32] which currently houses the Sugar Land Fire Department offices.[33]

text: There have been nine mayors of Sugar Land:[34]

text:
T. E. Harman (1959–1961)
Bill Little (1962–1967)
C.E. McFadden (1968–1972)
Roy Cordes, Sr. (1972–1981)
Walter McMeans (1981–1986)
Lee Duggan (1987–1996)
Dean A. Hrbacek (1996–2002)
David G. Wallace (2002–2008)
James A. Thompson (2008–2016)
Joe R. Zimmerman (2016–Present)[35]

text: Politics[edit]

text: Politically, Sugar Land is widely seen as one of the most heavily Republican areas in Greater Houston.[36] Sugar Land's city council is officially non-partisan; all of its current elected officeholders are endorsed Republicans.[citation needed]

text: In the United States House of Representatives, Sugar Land is located in District 22 which is currently represented by Republican Pete Olson, a former chief of staff to U.S. Senator John Cornyn.[37] The district is a notable one, as it was previously held by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay from 1985 until his 2006 resignation which eventually forced Republicans to run a write-in campaign, and by current congressman (in the adjacent 14th District) and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul in 1976 and from 1979 until 1985.[38][39]

text: In the Texas Legislature, most of Sugar Land is represented in District 17 of the Texas Senate, which is represented by Republican Joan Huffman. Some western segments of the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, including the master-planned communities of New Territory, Greatwood, River Park and Telfair, are situated in District 18, represented by Republican Glenn Hegar, a candidate for Texas State Comptroller in the Republican primary election scheduled for March 4, 2014.

text: In the Texas House of Representatives, Sugar Land is located in District 26, which is represented by the conservative Republican Rick Miller, a retired United States Navy officer and Sugar Land businessman.[40]

text: State government[edit]

text: The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Jester State Prison Farm complex (Jester I, Vance, Jester III, and Jester IV) in an unincorporated area near Sugar Land.[41]

text: The TDCJ operated the Central Unit in Sugar Land.[42][43] The Central Unit was the only state prison within the city limits of Sugar Land.[44] The Sugar Land Distribution Center, a TDCJ men's correctional supply warehouse, was inside the Central Unit compound.[45] In 2011 the TDCJ announced that the prison was closing and would be vacant by the end of August of that year.[46] With the prison's closing, Sugar Land became the first Texas city to have its state prison close without a replacement facility.[47]

text: Post offices[edit]

text: The United States Postal Service operates the Sugar Land Post Office at 225 Matlage Way and the First Colony Post Office at 3130 Grants Lake Boulevard.[48][49]

text: Demographics[edit]

text:
Historical population

Census
Pop.

%±

1950
2,285

—

1960
2,802

22.6%

1970
3,318

18.4%

1980
8,826

166.0%

1990
24,529

177.9%

2000
63,328

158.2%

2010
78,817

24.5%

Est. 2018
117,869
[50]
49.5%

U.S. Decennial Census[51]

text: As of the census of 2010, there were 78,817 people, 26,709 households, and 21,882 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,432.6 people per square mile (939.4/km2). There were 27,727 housing units at an average density of 855.8 per square mile (330.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 52.0% White, 7.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 35.3% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.3% other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.6% of the population.[52]

text: There were 26,709 households out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90, and the average family size was 3.25.[52]

text: In the city, the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.2 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.[52]

text: According to the 2014 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the city was $115,069, and the median income for a family was $132,534. Male full-time workers had a median income of $98,892 versus $60,053 for females. The per capita income for the city was $48,653. About 6.4% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.[53]

text: Sugar Land has the highest concentration of Asians in Texas. Altogether, 35.3% of the city's population is Asian; 10.7% is Asian Indian, 11.5% is Chinese, 4.5% is Vietnamese and 2% is Filipino.[54]

text: As of 2013, about one-third of the Asian population was Indian American, according to Harish Jajoo, a city council member of Indian origin. The Sugar Land area has Indian grocery stores, temples, several mosques and an Ismaili Center. Jajoo stated that the quality of the jobs, schools, and parks attracts people of Indian origin to Sugar Land.[55]

text: Catholics account for over 30% of the city population with 11,998 households registered by St. Laurence, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Theresa parishes.[56]

text: Culture and Sports[edit]

text: Sugar Land has a largely white-collar, university-educated workforce employed in Houston's energy industry.[57]

text: In 2004, the city was named one of the top 100 places to live, according to HomeRoute, a national real estate marketing company which identifies top American cities each year through its Relocate-America program. Cities are selected based on educational opportunities, crime rates, employment and housing data. The magazine started with statistics on 271 U.S. cities provided by OnBoard LLC, a real estate information company. These cities had the highest median household incomes in the nation and above average population growth.[citation needed]

text: Sugar Land was awarded the title of "Fittest City in Texas" for the population range 50,000–100,000 in 2004, 2005 (in a tie with Round Rock) and 2006. The "Fittest City in Texas" program is a part of the Texas Roundup program, a statewide fitness initiative.[58][59]

text: Local sports are popular both at the recreational and competitive levels. Sugar Land formed its first community swim team, the Sugar Land Sharks, in 1967, and it is still competing as of 2016.[60][61]

text: Sugar Land is the home of the Sugar Land Skeeters minor-league baseball team, founded in 2010, and their new stadium, Constellation Field.[62]

text: Local attractions[edit]

text: Sugar Land Town Square serves as the primary entertainment district in Sugar Land and Fort Bend County. The district offers an array of restaurants, sidewalk cafes, shopping venues, a Marriott Hotel and conference center, mid-rise offices and homes, a public plaza, and Sugar Land City Hall. Festivals and important events take place in the plaza. The new city hall and public plaza, a cornerstone of Sugar Land Town Square, received the "Best Community Impact" award from the Houston Business Journal at the fifth annual Landmark Awards ceremony.

text: Next door to the district is First Colony Mall, a major regional shopping mall that recently expanded from its original indoor design to include an outdoor lifestyle component, several parking garages, and new signage that blends in with the surrounding area. The mall is anchored by two Dillard's stores, Macy's, JCPenney, and Barnes & Noble, along with over 130 stores.

text: Sugar Land also hosts the Sugar Land Ice and Sports Center (formerly Sugar Land Aerodrome), offers ice skating and hockey lessons. It is open to the public as an ice skating facility. Previously, it served as the practice facility for the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League.

text: Once a year a music festival called Teenstock is held, which showcases various bands from the area. It is sponsored by the First Colony Association.

text: In May 2016, two sculptures in the Town Square's public plaza were installed as part of a 10-piece collection donated by a Sugar Land resident to the city through the Sugar Land Legacy Foundation.[63] One of the statues, which depicts two girls taking a selfie, has received criticism[64] and acclaim[65][66] from the media and general public.

text: Districts and communities[edit]

text: Sugar Land has the most master-planned communities in Fort Bend County, which is home to the largest number of master-planned communities in the nation—including Greatwood, First Colony, Sugar Creek, River Park, Riverstone, New Territory, Telfair, and many others. Many of the communities feature golf courses, country clubs, and lakes. The first master-planned community to be developed in Sugar Land was Sugar Creek. There are now a total of thirteen master-planned communities located in Sugar Land's city limits and its extraterritorial jurisdiction combined.

text: The northern portion of Sugar Land, sometimes referred to by residents and government officials as "Old Sugar Land", comprises all the communities north of U.S. Highway 90A, but it also includes the subdivisions/areas of Venetian Estates, and Belknap/Brookside, which is just south of U.S. 90A. Most of this area was the original city limits of Sugar Land when it was incorporated in 1959. Located in this part of town is the former Imperial Sugar Company refinery and distribution center that was shut down in 2003. The headquarters are still located within the city. To the east of northern Sugar Land is the Sugar Land Business Park. Many of the electronic and energy companies are located here. Sugar Land Business Park is the largest business and industrial area in the city.

text: The largest economic and entertainment activities are in the areas of south and southeastern Sugar Land. Most of the population in the city limits are concentrated here. This area is all master-planned communities and it includes nearly all of First Colony, the largest in Sugar Land encompassing 10,000 acres (40 km2). Other master-planned communities in this area are Sugar Creek, Sugar Lakes, Commonwealth, Avalon, Telfair, and Riverstone. This area is the location of First Colony Mall, Sugar Land Town Square, new Sugar Land City Hall, and other major commercial areas. This area boasts a wide range of recreational activities including three golf courses and country clubs. Another recreational facility in the area is the Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center (formerly Sugar Land Aerodrome).

text: Most of the southwestern area of Sugar Land is outside the city limits, within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city. This area is sometimes referred to as the "other side of the river" because it is separated from the rest of Sugar Land's ETJ and the city itself by the Brazos River. All of this area is in the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District. This area has two master-planned communities, Greatwood and River Park. Other communities in this area are Canyon Gate on the Brazos, still in development, and Tara Colony, an older large subdivision which has a Richmond address but is actually in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Sugar Land and is up for future annexation.

text: The western portion of Sugar Land is partially in the city limits and partially in the extraterritorial jurisdiction. It is home to the 2,200-acre (890 ha) master-planned community of New Territory and the upcoming 2,018-acre (817 ha) development, Telfair. All of the land of what is now the upcoming Telfair community was a prison farm land owned by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. It was sold in 2003 and annexed to the city limits by Sugar Land in 2004. A new highway, State Highway 99, opened in 1994 as a major arterial in this area. North of this area and north of U.S. Highway 90A is the Sugar Land Regional Airport and the Texas Department of Correction, Central Unit.

text: Architectural landmarks[edit]

text: Lakeview Auditorium, located on the campus of Lakeview Elementary School, is the oldest public building still standing in the area. Originally one of eleven buildings that composed the campus of the old Sugar Land Independent School District, the auditorium was a focal point for a vibrant and growing community. The stately auditorium still stands today and is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, as of 2002.

text: In 1912, Imperial Sugar Company built a small building at the corner of Wood Street and Lakeview Drive (then known as Third Street) to serve as a school. The original campus consisted of 11 buildings arranged in a semicircle with the large, airy auditorium in the center. The buildings were connected by a covered walkway supported by large, white columns. There was a circular driveway for buses and automobiles. All the buildings were finished in white stucco on the outside and had large windows that allowed fresh air to circulate and cool the buildings. The auditorium was a hub of community activity.

text: Transportation[edit]

text: Sugar Land currently does not have a mass transit system. However, this could change as it has been a possible candidate for expansion of Houston's METRORail system by means of a planned commuter rail along U.S. Highway 90A. Since many of Sugar Land's residents work in Houston, thus creating routine rush hour traffic along two of the city's main thoroughfares, U.S. Highways 59 and 90A, there has been large support in the area for such a project. It should be noted, however, that the city is not a participant in the Houston area's METRO transit authority; Sugar Land's merchants do not collect the one-cent sales tax that helps support that agency. Fort Bend County Public Transportation provides commuter service from Sugar Land to Houston.[67]

text: Major thoroughfares[edit]

text: Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59, the major freeway running diagonally through the city, has undergone a major widening project in recent years to accommodate the region's daily commuters. The finished portion of the freeway from east of State Highway 6 to just west of State Highway 99 currently has eight main lanes, with two diamond lanes and six continuous frontage road lanes.

text: U.S. Highway 90 Alternate is a major highway running through Sugar Land from west to east and traverses a historic area of the city, known as "Old Sugar Land". U.S. Highway 90A is currently widened to an eight-lane highway with a 30-foot (9.1 m) median between State Highway 6 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59.

text: State Highway 6 is a major highway running from north to southeast Sugar Land and traverses through the 10,000 acres (40 km2) master-planned community of First Colony. There is a freeway section that opened in 2008 from just west of Brooks Street/First Colony Blvd all the way to 3/4 miles north of U.S. Highway 90A.

text: A segment of State Highway 99/Grand Parkway currently traverses the New Territory and River Park master-planned communities. The original highway opened in 1994, with toll lanes added in 2014. Construction will start soon south of its current terminus at Interstate 69/US 59.

text: Texas F.M. 1876, widely known as Eldridge Road, is a north-south state highway in north Sugar Land. It traverses through many established areas and acts as the western border of the Sugar Land Business Park.

text: Airport[edit]

text: Sugar Land Regional Airport (formerly Hull Field, later Sugar Land Municipal Airport) was purchased from a private interest in 1990 by the city of Sugar Land. It is the fourth largest airport within the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area. The airport handles approximately 250 aircraft operations per day. The airport has an on-field United States Customs office, making this airport attractive to energy companies based in the Houston metropolitan area as this allows flights directly to and from countries wherein overseas operations are located, allowing fliers to avoid the delays inherent in high traffic airports such as George Bush Intercontinental.

text: The airport today serves the area's general aviation (GA) aircraft serving corporate, governmental, and private clientele. A new 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) terminal and a 60-acre (24 ha) GA complex opened in 2006. Sugar Land Regional briefly handled commercial passenger service during the mid-1990s via a now-defunct Texas carrier known as Conquest Airlines. For scheduled commercial service, Sugar Landers rely on Houston's two commercial airports, George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), 40 miles (64 km) northeast, and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), 27 miles (43 km) east.

text: The city of Houston maintains a park that occupies 750 acres (300 ha) of land directly north of the Sugar Land Regional Airport, and developers have built master-planned communities (Telfair, and the future development of TX DOT Tract 3 immediately east of the airport) around the airport, both factors that block airport expansion.

text: China Airlines operated private bus shuttle services from Wel-Farm Super Market/Metro Bank on State Highway 6 in Sugar Land to George Bush Intercontinental Airport to feed the flight from Bush Intercontinental to Taipei, Taiwan.[68] The service ended when China Airlines pulled out of Houston on January 29, 2008.[69]

text: Education[edit]

text: Higher education[edit]

text: The Wharton County Junior College and branch campus of the University of Houston are both located in Sugar Land.

text: Wharton County Junior College (WCJC) is a comprehensive community college offering a wide range of postsecondary educational programs and services including associate degrees, certificates, and continuing-education courses. The college prepares students interested in transferring to baccalaureate-granting institutions.

text: Primary and secondary education[edit]

text: Public schools[edit]

text: All public school systems in Texas are administered by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) is the school district that serves almost all of the city of Sugar Land; it formed in 1959 by the consolidation of Missouri City Independent School District and the Sugar Land Independent School District.[70] The southwest portion of Sugar Land's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and some very small areas within the Sugar Land city limits are in the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (LCISD). LCISD serves the master-planned communities of Greatwood and River Park. Other communities in the ETJ served by Lamar Consolidated include Canyon Gate at the Brazos and Tara Colony.[citation needed]

text: Both John Foster Dulles High School and Clements High School are in Sugar Land and Stephen F. Austin High School is in unincorporated Fort Bend County (and serving Sugar Land). These schools of the Fort Bend ISD have been recognized by Texas Monthly magazine in its list of the top high schools in the state of Texas. Dulles offers college preparatory classes such as Organic Chemistry and Multivariable Calculus to the students who are in their Math and Science academy. Dulles has had 64 National AP Scholars in the past 2 years; with a majority from the academy that started in 2010. In addition, Dulles, Clements and Stephen F. Austin high schools ranked among the top 1000 schools in the United States by Newsweek's 2009 report.[71]

text: Prior to 1959 Sugar Land High School, which merged into Dulles that year, served the city.[72] At the time FBISD formed, white students attended an elementary school in Sugar Land, a junior high school in Sugar Land, and a high school site in Missouri City. The elementary and junior high campus now houses Lakeview Elementary School and the high school site now houses Missouri City Middle School. Dulles High School became the zoned high school for white students in FBISD. Black students in Sugar Land for grades 1-12 were served by M.R. Wood School, one of FBISD's three schools for black children. Racial desegregation occurred in 1965;[70] Dulles became the only zoned high school for students of all races in FBISD until Willowridge High School opened in 1979.[72]

text: In 2007, Texas won the national Mathcounts championship. The Texas Mathcounts team had two members from First Colony Middle School in Sugar Land, Kevin Chen (who also took the individual national championship) and Bobby Shen (ranked 13th, the highest scoring sixth grader). The coach, Jeffrey Boyd, was also from Sugar Land.[73] They repeated their victory in 2008, with Jeff Boyd as their coach again. Bobby Shen coming in 2nd at final Countdown, and won 1st in Written and Masters Rounds.[74] In 2009, Bobby Shen came 3rd place in Written and won final Countdown and was crowned with 2009 MATHCOUNTS national champion, and the Texas team with Lilly Shen and Coach Boyd, won for the third year in a row.[75]

text: Private schools[edit]

text: There are many private schools in Sugar Land and the surrounding area of all types: non-sectarian, Catholic, and Protestant. The Texas Education Agency has no authority over private school operations; private schools may or may not be accredited, and achievement tests are not required for private school graduating seniors. Many private schools will obtain accreditation and perform achievement tests as a means of demonstrating that the school is genuinely interested in educational performance.[citation needed]

text: The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston operates St. Theresa Catholic School, a K-8 private classical Catholic school, and St. Laurence School, a K-8 private Catholic school, in Sugar Land, and Pope John XXIII High School in unincorporated Harris County east of the neighboring suburb of Katy. The Fort Bend Christian Academy, formerly known as Fort Bend Baptist Academy, is also located in Sugar Land.[76] The Darul Arqam Schools Southwest Campus is located in Houston, near Sugar Land.[77]

text: Public libraries[edit]

text: Residents of Sugar Land are served by the Fort Bend County Libraries system, which has 11 libraries. There are three branches within the city: Sugar Land Branch, First Colony Branch, and University Branch in the University of Houston Campus.

text: Media[edit]

text: Movie references[edit]

text: A portion of the 1974 movie, The Sugarland Express, takes place in Sugar Land. Many of the movie's earliest scenes were filmed at the nearby Beauford H. Jester prison pre-release center. Other parts of the set were filmed in and around Sugar Land. The movie's title parses the name of the city as one word rather than two. It was among Steven Spielberg's first films before he became famous. The film was the first theatrical feature film directed by Spielberg.[78]

text: In 2010, The Legend of Action Man was filmed in Sugar Land. The film was produced by Dingoman Productions, a sketch comedy group formed by Sugar Land residents Andy Young, Derek Papa & James McEnelly that got their start attending Austin High School together. The story takes place in the Sugar Land area and makes use of many of the landmarks there. Action Man is famous for being one of the least expensive films ever made, made on a budget of $200. Director Andy Young has written about the experience for Moviemaker Magazine.

text: Music references[edit]

text: Folk musician Lead Belly's song "Midnight Special" discusses his arrest in Houston and his stay at the Sugar Land Prison (now the Beauford H. Jester pre-release Center) in 1925.

text:
"If you're ever down in Houston,
Boy, you better walk right.
And you better not squabble.
And you better not fight.
Bason and Brock will arrest you.
Payton and Boone will take you down.
You can bet your bottom dollar,
That you're Sugar Land bound."

text: Country music band Sugarland gets its name from the city. They reference it in their song "Sugarland."

text: Bruce Springsteen recorded but did not release a song called "Sugar Land," about the economic crisis facing American agriculture in the 1980s.

text: Newspapers and magazines[edit]

text: The primary newspaper serving Sugar Land residents is the Houston Chronicle, which is the only major newspaper in the Greater Houston region. On Thursdays, the Houston Chronicle offers a localized segment covering the Sugar Land area under its "Fort Bend" section. An alternative newspaper, the Houston Press, is also offered in this area.

text: Additionally, Sugar Land residents receive local area news coverage via FortBendNow, which covers local news and political happenings in the Sugar Land area. Residents also are served by three free weekly newspapers, the Fort Bend Independent, the Fort Bend-Southwest Star, and the Sugar Land Sun. The Fort Bend Herald and Texas Coaster, a daily newspaper covering primarily the Richmond-Rosenberg area west of Sugar Land, also covers news stories in Sugar Land.

text: Television[edit]

text: Over-the-air television in Sugar Land is broadcast in the Houston television market, which is the tenth-largest market in the United States according to Nielsen Media Research.

text: The city is also served by a citywide Public-access television cable TV channel 16, which covers city council meetings, planning and zoning meetings, community events, FBISD board meetings, and Fort Bend County Commissioners' Court meetings.

text: The vast majority of cable subscribers in the Sugar Land area are served by Comcast, which took over from Time Warner. Other cable options include AT&T Home Entertainment, En-Touch Systems (which covers the River Park West and Telfair areas of the city), Phonoscope Cable, TVMAX, and Ygnition (the latter two of which cover cable subscribers in multifamily housing developments).

text: Sugar Land is the setting in the new Lifetime series, The Client List starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. Hewitt's character lives in Beaumont, but commutes to Sugar Land to work at a scandalous massage parlor.

text: Notable people[edit]

text:
Katie Armiger, country singer
Matt Carpenter, third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals
Tom DeLay, former United States Representative and House Majority Leader
Shayan Farooqi, model, and Mr. Pakistan World
Sean Patrick Flanery, Actor
Derrick Frazier, NFL cornerback
Eddie Griffin, deceased NBA player; resided in Sugar Land during his lifetime and early career with the Houston Rockets.
Stuart Holden, soccer player
Robert Horry, NBA player
Derek Carr, NFL quarterback
Jerry Hughes, NFL defensive end
George Iloka, NFL player
Brittney Karbowski, voice actor
Tara Lipinski, Olympian
Diana López, Mark López, and Steven López, Taekwondo athletes
Simone Manuel, Olympic gold medalist in swimming
Maddie Marlow, member of country duo Maddie & Tae
Tracy McGrady, NBA player
Hakeem Olajuwon, NBA player
Pete Olson, United States Representative
Allison Tolman, Emmy-nominated actress
Woody Williams, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, and Houston Astros pitcher, resides in Sugar Land.
Kevin Wu (aka KevJumba), YouTube celebrity/comedian, contestant on the reality show The Amazing Race.


document_title: Politics of Texas

question_text: when was the last time a democrat won texas

root

text: Politics of Texas

text: Cultural background[edit]

text: The 19th-century culture of the state was heavily influenced by the plantation culture of the Old South, dependent on African-American slave labor, as well as the patron system once prevalent (and still somewhat present) in northern Mexico and South Texas. In these societies the government's primary role was seen as being the preservation of social order. Solving of individual problems in society was seen as a local problem with the expectation that the individual with wealth should resolve his or her own issues.[1] These influences continue to affect Texas today. In their book, Texas Politics Today 2009-2010, authors Maxwell, Crain, and Santos attribute Texas' traditionally low voter turnout among whites to these influences.[1] But beginning in the early 20th century, voter turnout was dramatically reduced by the state legislature's disenfranchisement of most blacks, and many poor whites and Latinos.[2]

tag: p

text: Democratic dominance[edit]

text: From 1848 until Richard M. Nixon's victory in 1972, Texas voted for the Democratic candidate for president in every election except 1928, when it did not support Catholic Al Smith. The state had a white majority and Democrats re-established their dominance after the Civil War. In the mid-20th century 1952 and 1956 elections, the state voters joined the landslide for Dwight D. Eisenhower. (Texas did not vote in 1864 and 1868 due to the Civil War and Reconstruction).[3]

text: In the post-Civil War era, two of the most important Republican figures in Texas were African Americans George T. Ruby and Norris Wright Cuney. Ruby was a black community organizer, director in the federal Freedmen's Bureau, and leader of the Galveston Union League. His protégé Cuney was a mulatto whose wealthy, white planter father freed him and his siblings before the Civil War and arranged for his education in Pennsylvania. Cuney returned and settled in Galveston, where he became active in the Union League and the Republican party; he rose to the leadership of the party. He became influential in Galveston and Texas politics, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential black leaders in the South during the 19th century.

text: From 1902 through 1965, Texas had virtually disenfranchised most blacks and many Latinos and poor whites through imposition of the poll tax and white primaries. Across the South, Democrats controlled congressional apportionment based on total population, although they had disenfranchised the black population. The Solid South exercised tremendous power in Congress, and Democrats gained important committee chairmanships by seniority. They gained federal funding for infrastructure projects in their states and the region, as well as support for numerous military bases, as two examples of how they brought federal investment to the state and region.

text: In the post-Reconstruction era, by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Republican Party became non-competitive in the South, due to Democratic-dominated legislatures' disenfranchisement of blacks and many poor whites and Latinos. In Texas, the legislature excluded them through passage of a poll tax and white primary. As can be seen on the graph at the following link, voter turnout in Texas declined dramatically following these disenfranchisement measures, and Southern voting turnout was far below the national average.[2]

text: Although blacks made up 20 percent of the state population at the turn of the century, they were essentially excluded from formal politics.[4] Republican support in Texas had been based almost exclusively in the free black communities, particularly in Galveston, and in the so-called "German counties" – the rural Texas Hill Country inhabited by German immigrants and their descendants, who had opposed slavery in the antebellum period. The German counties continued to run Republican candidates. Harry M. Wurzbach was elected from the 14th district from 1920 to 1926, contesting and finally winning the election of 1928, and being re-elected in 1930.

text: Some of the most important American political figures of the 20th century, such as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Vice-President John Nance Garner, Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn, and Senator Ralph Yarborough were Texas Democrats. But, the Texas Democrats were rarely united, being divided into conservative, moderate and liberal factions that vied with one another for power.

text: Increasing Republican strength: 1960 to 1990[edit]

text: Some analysts suggest that the rebirth of the Republican Party in Texas among white conservatives can be traced to 1952, when Democratic Governor Allan Shivers clashed with the Truman Administration over the federal claim on the Tidelands. He worked to help Texas native General Dwight D. Eisenhower to carry the state. Eisenhower had great respect due to his role as Commander of the Allies in World War II and was popular nationally, winning the election. Beginning in the late 1960s, Republican strength increased in Texas, particularly among residents of the expanding "country club suburbs" around Dallas and Houston. The election of Republicans such as John Tower (who had shifted from the Democratic Party) and George H. W. Bush to Congress in 1961 and 1966, respectively, reflected this trend. Nationally, Democrats supported the civil rights movement and achieved important passage of federal legislation in the mid-1960s. In the South, however, Democratic leaders had opposed changes to bring about black voting or desegregated schools and public facilities and in many places exercised resistance. Following passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, southern white conservative Democrats began to leave the party and join the Republicans, a movement accelerated after the next year, when Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, providing for federal enforcement of minorities' constitutional right to vote. Voter registration and turnout increased among blacks and Latinos in Texas and other states.

text: Unlike the rest of the South, however, Texas voters were never especially supportive of the various third-party candidacies of Southern Democrats. It was the only state in the former Confederacy to back Democrat Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 presidential election. During the 1980s, a number of conservative Democrats defected to the GOP, including Senator Phil Gramm, Congressman Kent Hance, and GOP Governor Rick Perry, who was a Democrat during his time as a state lawmaker.

text: John Tower's 1961 election to the U.S. Senate made him the first statewide GOP officeholder since Reconstruction and the disenfranchisement of black Republicans. Republican Governor Bill Clements and Senator Phil Gramm (also a former Democrat) were elected after him. Republicans became increasingly dominant in national elections in white-majority Texas. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Previously, a Democrat had to win Texas to win the White House, but in the 1992 election, Bill Clinton won the Oval Office while losing Texas electoral votes. This result significantly reduced the power of Texas Democrats at the national level, as party leaders believed the state had become unwinnable.

text: Redistricting disputes and the 1990s[edit]

text: Despite increasing Republican strength in national elections, after the 1990 census, Texas Democrats still controlled both houses of the State Legislature and most statewide offices. As a result, they directed the redistricting process after the decennial census. Although Congressional Texas Democrats received an average of 40 percent of the votes, Democrats consistently had a majority in the state delegation, as they had in every election since at least the end of Reconstruction.

text: In 1994, Democratic Governor Ann Richards lost her bid for re-election against Republican George W. Bush, ending an era in which Democrats controlled the governorship for all but eight of the past 120 years. Republicans have won the governorship ever since. In 1998, Bush won re-election in a landslide victory, with Republicans sweeping to victory in all the statewide races.

text: After the 2000 census, the Republican-controlled state Senate sought to draw a congressional district map that would guarantee a Republican majority in the state's delegation. The Democratic-controlled state House desired to retain a plan similar to the existing lines. There was an impasse. With the Legislature unable to reach a compromise, the matter was settled by a panel of federal court judges, who ruled in favor of a district map that largely retained the status quo.

text: But, Republicans dominated the Legislative Redistricting Board, which defines the state legislative districts, by a majority of four to one. The Republicans on this board used their voting strength to adopt a map for the state Senate that was more favorable to the Republicans and a map for the state House that also strongly favored them, as Democrats had before in their turn.

text: In 2002, Texas Republicans gained control of the Texas House of Representatives for the first time since Reconstruction. The newly elected Republican legislature engaged in an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting plan. Democrats said that the redistricting was a blatant partisan gerrymander, while Republicans argued that it was a much-needed correction of the partisan lines drawn after the 1990 census. But, the Republicans ignored the effects of nearly one million new citizens in the state, basing redistricting on 2000 census data. The result was a gain of six seats by the Republicans in the 2004 elections, giving them a majority of the state's delegation for the first time since Reconstruction.

text: In December 2005, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal that challenged the legality of this redistricting plan. While largely upholding the map, it ruled the El Paso-to-San Antonio 23rd District, which had been a protected majority-Latino district until the 2003 redistricting, was unconstitutionally drawn. The ruling forced nearly every district in the El Paso-San Antonio corridor to be reconfigured. Partly due to this, Democrats picked up two seats in the state in the 2006 elections. The 23rd's Republican incumbent was defeated in this election. It was the first time a Democratic House challenger unseated a Texas Republican incumbent in 10 years.

text: Current situation[edit]

text:
Texas Presidential elections results

Year
Republican
Democratic

2016
52.23% 4,681,590
43.24% 3,867,816

2012
57.19% 4,555,799
41.35% 3,294,440

2008
55.48% 4,467,748
43.72% 3,521,164

2004
61.09% 4,526,917
38.30% 2,832,704

2000
59.30% 3,799,639
38.11% 2,433,746

1996
48.80% 2,736,166
43.81% 2,459,683

1992
40.61% 2,496,071
37.11% 2,281,815

1988
56.01% 3,036,829
43.41% 2,352,748

1984
63.58% 3,433,428
36.18% 1,949,276

1980
55.30% 2,510,705
41.51% 1,881,148

1976
47.97% 1,953,300
51.14% 2,082,319

1972
66.20% 2,298,896
33.24% 1,154,291

1968
39.87% 1,227,844
41.14% 1,266,804

1964
36.49% 958,566
63.32% 1,666,185

1960
48.52% 1,121,130
50.52% 1,167,567

tag: table

text: Republicans control all statewide Texas offices, both houses of the state legislature and have a majority in the Texas congressional delegation. This makes Texas one of the most Republican states in the U.S.[citation needed]

text: Despite overall Republican dominance, Austin, the state capital, is primarily Democratic, as are El Paso, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley. However, the suburbs of these cities remain heavily Republican.[citation needed]

text: Future[edit]

text: Texas, like California, is now a minority-majority state. This means that Hispanics, African Americans and other minorities constitute the majority of the state (Hispanics can be of any race and were traditionally classified as white following the United States acquisition of Mexico's territory.) The Hispanic population had continued to increase, based on both natural increase and continued immigration from Mexico. It accounted for 38.1% of the state's population as of 2011[update] (compared to 44.8% for non-Hispanic whites).[5]

text: The state's changing demographics may result in a change in its overall political alignment, as most Hispanic and Latino voters support the Democratic Party.[6] Mark Yzaguirre questioned forecasts of Democratic dominance by highlighting Governor Rick Perry's courting of 39% of Hispanics in his victory in the 2010 Texas Gubernatorial.[7] Analysts with Gallup suggest that low turnout among Texas Hispanics is all that enables continued Republican dominance.[8]

text: Capital punishment[edit]

text: Texas has a reputation for strict "law and order" sentencing. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, of the 21 counties in the United States where more than a fifth of residents are prison inmates, 10 are in Texas. Texas leads the nation in executions, with 464 executions from 1974 to 2011.[9] The second-highest ranking state is Virginia, with 108. A 2002 Houston Chronicle poll of Texans found that when asked "Do you support the death penalty?" 69.1% responded that they did, 21.9% did not support and 9.1% were not sure or gave no answer.

text: Secessionist sentiment[edit]

text: Texas has a long history with secession. It was originally a Spanish province, which in 1821 seceded from Spain and helped form the First Mexican Empire. In 1824 Texas became a state in the new Mexican republic. In 1835 Antonio López de Santa Anna assumed dictatorial control over the state and several states openly rebelled against the changes: Coahuila y Tejas (the northern part of which would become the Republic of Texas), San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Durango, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Yucatán, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. Several of these states formed their own governments: the Republic of the Rio Grande, the Republic of Yucatan, and the Republic of Texas. Only the Texans defeated Santa Anna and retained their independence.

text: Some Texans believe that because it joined the United States as a country, the Texas state constitution includes the right to secede.[10] However, neither the ordinance of The Texas Annexation of 1845[11] nor The Annexation of Texas Joint Resolution of Congress March 1, 1845[12] included provisions giving Texas the right to secede. Texas did originally retain the right to divide into as many as five independent States,[13] and as part of the Compromise of 1850 continues to retain that right while ceding former claims westward and northward along the full length of the Rio Grande in exchange for $10 million from the federal government.[14]

text: The United States Supreme Court's primary ruling on the legality of secession involved a case brought by Texas involving a Civil War era bonds transfer.[15] In deciding the 1869 Texas v. White case, the Supreme Court first addressed the issue of whether Texas had in fact seceded when it joined the Confederacy. In a 5-3 vote the Court "held that as a matter of constitutional law, no state could leave the Union, explicitly repudiating the position of the Confederate States that the United States was a voluntary compact between sovereign states."[16] In writing the majority opinion Chief Justice Salmon Chase opined that:

text: When, therefore, Texas became one of the United States, she entered into an indissoluble relation. All the obligations of perpetual union, and all the guaranties of republican government in the Union, attached at once to the State. The act which consummated her admission into the Union was something more than a compact; it was the incorporation of a new member into the political body. And it was final. The union between Texas and the other States was as complete, as perpetual, and as indissoluble as the union between the original States. There was no place for reconsideration or revocation, except through revolution or through consent of the States.[17]

text: However, as the issue of secession per se was not the one before the court, it has been debated as to whether this reasoning is merely dicta or a binding ruling on the question.[18] It is also worth noting that Salmon Chase was nominated by Abraham Lincoln and was a staunch anti-secessionist. It is unlikely that he or his Republican appointed court would have approved of the Confederacy and Texas' choice to join it.

text: While the state's organized secessionist movement is relatively small, a notable minority of Texans hold secessionist sentiments.[19] A 2009 poll found that 31% of Texans believe that Texas has the legal right to secede and form an independent country and 18% believe it should do so.[20]

text: Budget[edit]

text: Until 2010, Texas had weathered the Great Recession fairly well, buffered by its vast oil and gas industries. It avoided the housing industry meltdown and its unemployment rate continues to be below the national level. It benefited from having a two-year budget cycle, allowing officials create budget plans with more time to focus on issues of importance. However, Texas was impacted by the economic downturn just like many other states, and by 2011 was suffering from tens of billions of dollars in budget deficits. In order to deal with this deficit, a supermajority of Republicans led to a massive cost cutting spree.[21] In order to draw new businesses to the state, Texas has developed a program of tax incentives to corporations willing to move there.[22] These efforts, along with Texas focusing on developing their natural energy resources, has led to a surplus as Texas begins its next two year budget cycle.[23][24]

text: For FY 2011, the top Texas revenue sources by category were approximately:[25] Federal Income: $42,159,665,863.56 Sales Tax: $21,523,984,733.17 Investments: $10,406,151,499.48 Other Revenue: $8,569,805,443.66 Licenses, Fees, Fines and Penalties: $7,741,880,095.57

text: As of 2008, Texas residents paid a total of $88,794 million dollars in income taxes.[26] This does not include Federal taxes paid by Texas businesses.

text: Besides sales tax, other taxes include franchise, insurance, natural gas, alcohol, cigarettee and tobacco taxes. Texas has no personal state income tax.

text: For FY 2011, the top Texas State Agency spending categories were approximately:[27] Public Assistance Payments: $26,501,123,478.54 Intergovernmental Payments: $21,014,819,852.52 Interfund Transfers/Other: $12,319,487,032.40 Salaries and Wages: $8,595,912,992.82 Employee Benefits: $5,743,905,057.61


document_title: Heat transfer

question_text: ratio of energy transferred by convection to that by conduction

question_tokens: ratio of energy transferred by convection to that by conduction

text: Heat transfer

text: Overview[edit]

text: Heat is defined in physics as the transfer of thermal energy across a well-defined boundary around a thermodynamic system. The thermodynamic free energy is the amount of work that a thermodynamic system can perform. Enthalpy is a thermodynamic potential, designated by the letter "H", that is the sum of the internal energy of the system (U) plus the product of pressure (P) and volume (V). Joule is a unit to quantify energy, work, or the amount of heat.

text: Heat transfer is a process function (or path function), as opposed to functions of state; therefore, the amount of heat transferred in a thermodynamic process that changes the state of a system depends on how that process occurs, not only the net difference between the initial and final states of the process.

text: Thermodynamic and mechanical heat transfer is calculated with the heat transfer coefficient, the proportionality between the heat flux and the thermodynamic driving force for the flow of heat. Heat flux is a quantitative, vectorial representation of heat-flow through a surface.[2]

text: In engineering contexts, the term heat is taken as synonymous to thermal energy. This usage has its origin in the historical interpretation of heat as a fluid (Caloric) that can be transferred by various causes,[3] and that is also common in the language of laymen and everyday life.

text: The transport equations for thermal energy (Fourier's law), mechanical momentum (Newton's law for fluids), and mass transfer (Fick's laws of diffusion) are similar,[4][5] and analogies among these three transport processes have been developed to facilitate prediction of conversion from any one to the others.[5]

text: Thermal engineering concerns the generation, use, conversion, and exchange of heat transfer. As such, heat transfer is involved in almost every sector of the economy.[6] Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as thermal conduction, thermal convection, thermal radiation, and transfer of energy by phase changes.

text: Mechanisms[edit]

text: The fundamental modes of heat transfer are:

text: Advection[edit]

text: By transferring matter, energy—including thermal energy—is moved by the physical transfer of a hot or cold object from one place to another.[7] This can be as simple as placing hot water in a bottle and heating a bed, or the movement of an iceberg in changing ocean currents. A practical example is thermal hydraulics.[citation needed] This can be described by the formula:

text: where

text:
Q is heat flux (W/m²),
ρ is density (kg/m³),

c

p

{\displaystyle c_{p}}

 is heat capacity at constant pressure (J/kg·K),
ΔT is the change in temperature (K),

v

{\displaystyle v}

 is velocity (m/s).

tag: ul

text: Conduction[edit]

text: On a microscopic scale, heat conduction occurs as hot, rapidly moving or vibrating atoms and molecules interact with neighboring atoms and molecules, transferring some of their energy (heat) to these neighboring particles. In other words, heat is transferred by conduction when adjacent atoms vibrate against one another, or as electrons move from one atom to another. Conduction is the most significant means of heat transfer within a solid or between solid objects in thermal contact. Fluids—especially gases—are less conductive. Thermal contact conductance is the study of heat conduction between solid bodies in contact.[8] The process of heat transfer from one place to another place without the movement of particles is called conduction. Example: Heat transfer through Metal rods.[clarification needed] Steady state conduction (see Fourier's law) is a form of conduction that happens when the temperature difference driving the conduction is constant, so that after an equilibration time, the spatial distribution of temperatures in the conducting object does not change any further.[9] In steady state conduction, the amount of heat entering a section is equal to amount of heat coming out.[8]

text: Transient conduction (see Heat equation) occurs when the temperature within an object changes as a function of time. Analysis of transient systems is more complex and often calls for the application of approximation theories or numerical analysis by computer.[8]

text: Convection[edit]

text: The flow of fluid may be forced by external processes, or sometimes (in gravitational fields) by buoyancy forces caused when thermal energy expands the fluid (for example in a fire plume), thus influencing its own transfer. The latter process is often called "natural convection". All convective processes also move heat partly by diffusion, as well. Another form of convection is forced convection. In this case the fluid is forced to flow by using a pump, fan or other mechanical means.

text: Convective heat transfer, or convection, is the transfer of heat from one place to another by the movement of fluids, a process that is essentially the transfer of heat via mass transfer. Bulk motion of fluid enhances heat transfer in many physical situations, such as (for example) between a solid surface and the fluid.[10] Convection is usually the dominant form of heat transfer in liquids and gases. Although sometimes discussed as a third method of heat transfer, convection is usually used to describe the combined effects of heat conduction within the fluid (diffusion) and heat transference by bulk fluid flow streaming.[11] The process of transport by fluid streaming is known as advection, but pure advection is a term that is generally associated only with mass transport in fluids, such as advection of pebbles in a river. In the case of heat transfer in fluids, where transport by advection in a fluid is always also accompanied by transport via heat diffusion (also known as heat conduction) the process of heat convection is understood to refer to the sum of heat transport by advection and diffusion/conduction.

text: Free, or natural, convection occurs when bulk fluid motions (streams and currents) are caused by buoyancy forces that result from density variations due to variations of temperature in the fluid. Forced convection is a term used when the streams and currents in the fluid are induced by external means—such as fans, stirrers, and pumps—creating an artificially induced convection current.[12]

text: Convection-cooling[edit]

text: Convective cooling is sometimes described as Newton's law of cooling:

text: The rate of heat loss of a body is proportional to the temperature difference between the body and its surroundings.

text: However, by definition, the validity of Newton's law of Cooling requires that the rate of heat loss from convection be a linear function of ("proportional to") the temperature difference that drives heat transfer, and in convective cooling this is sometimes not the case. In general, convection is not linearly dependent on temperature gradients, and in some cases is strongly nonlinear. In these cases, Newton's law does not apply.

text: Convection vs. conduction[edit]

text: In a body of fluid that is heated from underneath its container, conduction and convection can be considered to compete for dominance. If heat conduction is too great, fluid moving down by convection is heated by conduction so fast that its downward movement will be stopped due to its buoyancy, while fluid moving up by convection is cooled by conduction so fast that its driving buoyancy will diminish. On the other hand, if heat conduction is very low, a large temperature gradient may be formed and convection might be very strong.

text:
The Rayleigh number (

R
a

{\displaystyle Ra}

) is the product of the Grashof (

G
r

{\displaystyle Gr}

) and Prandtl (

P
r

{\displaystyle Pr}

) numbers. It is a measure which determines the relative strength of conduction and convection.[13]

text: where

text:
g is acceleration due to gravity,
ρ is the density with

Δ
ρ

{\displaystyle \Delta \rho }

 being the density difference between the lower and upper ends,
μ is the dynamic viscosity,
α is the Thermal diffusivity,
β is the volume thermal expansivity (sometimes denoted α elsewhere),
T is the temperature,
ν is the kinematic viscosity, and
L is characteristic length.

text: The Rayleigh number can be understood as the ratio between the rate of heat transfer by convection to the rate of heat transfer by conduction; or, equivalently, the ratio between the corresponding timescales (i.e. conduction timescale divided by convection timescale), up to a numerical factor. This can be seen as follows, where all calculations are up to numerical factors depending on the geometry of the system.

text:
The buoyancy force driving the convection is roughly

g
Δ
ρ

L

3

{\displaystyle g\Delta \rho L^{3}}

, so the corresponding pressure is roughly

g
Δ
ρ
L

{\displaystyle g\Delta \rho L}

. In steady state, this is canceled by the shear stress due to viscosity, and therefore roughly equals

μ
V

/

L
=
μ

/

T

c
o
n
v

{\displaystyle \mu V/L=\mu /T_{conv}}

, where V is the typical fluid velocity due to convection and

T

c
o
n
v

{\displaystyle T_{conv}}

 the order of its timescale.[citation needed] The conduction timescale, on the other hand, is of the order of

T

c
o
n
d

=

L

2

/

α

{\displaystyle T_{cond}=L^{2}/\alpha }

.

text: Convection occurs when the Rayleigh number is above 1,000–2,000.

text: Radiation[edit]

text: Thermal radiation occurs through a vacuum or any transparent medium (solid or fluid). It is the transfer of energy by means of photons in electromagnetic waves governed by the same laws.[1]

text: Thermal radiation is energy emitted by matter as electromagnetic waves, due to the pool of thermal energy in all matter with a temperature above absolute zero. Thermal radiation propagates without the presence of matter through the vacuum of space.[14]

text: Thermal radiation is a direct result of the random movements of atoms and molecules in matter. Since these atoms and molecules are composed of charged particles (protons and electrons), their movement results in the emission of electromagnetic radiation, which carries energy away from the surface.

text: The Stefan-Boltzmann equation, which describes the rate of transfer of radiant energy, is as follows for an object in a vacuum :

text: For radiative transfer between two objects, the equation is as follows:

text: where

text:
Q is the heat flux,
ε is the emissivity (unity for a black body),
σ is the Stefan–Boltzmann constant, and
T is the absolute temperature (in kelvins or degrees Rankine).

text: Radiation is typically only important for very hot objects, or for objects with a large temperature difference.

text: Radiation from the sun, or solar radiation, can be harvested for heat and power.[15] Unlike conductive and convective forms of heat transfer, thermal radiation can be concentrated in a small spot by using reflecting mirrors, which is exploited in concentrating solar power generation.[16] For example, the sunlight reflected from mirrors heats the PS10 solar power tower and during the day it can heat water to 285 °C (545 °F).[citation needed]

text: Phase transition[edit]

text:
Phase transition or phase change, takes place in a thermodynamic system from one phase or state of matter to another one by heat transfer. Phase change examples are the melting of ice or the boiling of water.
The Mason equation explains the growth of a water droplet based on the effects of heat transport on evaporation and condensation.

text: Phase transitions involve the four fundamental states of matter:

text:
Solid – Deposition, freezing and solid to solid transformation.
Gas – Boiling / evaporation, recombination / deionization, and sublimation.
Liquid – Condensation and melting / fusion.
Plasma – Ionization.

text: Boiling[edit]

text: The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid[18][19] and the liquid evaporates resulting in an abrupt change in vapor volume.

text: Saturation temperature means boiling point. The saturation temperature is the temperature for a corresponding saturation pressure at which a liquid boils into its vapor phase. The liquid can be said to be saturated with thermal energy. Any addition of thermal energy results in a phase transition.

text: At standard atmospheric pressure and low temperatures, no boiling occurs and the heat transfer rate is controlled by the usual single-phase mechanisms. As the surface temperature is increased, local boiling occurs and vapor bubbles nucleate, grow into the surrounding cooler fluid, and collapse. This is sub-cooled nucleate boiling, and is a very efficient heat transfer mechanism. At high bubble generation rates, the bubbles begin to interfere and the heat flux no longer increases rapidly with surface temperature (this is the departure from nucleate boiling, or DNB).

text: At similar standard atmospheric pressure and high temperatures, the hydrodynamically-quieter regime of film boiling is reached. Heat fluxes across the stable vapor layers are low, but rise slowly with temperature. Any contact between fluid and the surface that may be seen probably leads to the extremely rapid nucleation of a fresh vapor layer ("spontaneous nucleation"). At higher temperatures still, a maximum in the heat flux is reached (the critical heat flux, or CHF).

text: The Leidenfrost Effect demonstrates how nucleate boiling slows heat transfer due to gas bubbles on the heater's surface. As mentioned, gas-phase thermal conductivity is much lower than liquid-phase thermal conductivity, so the outcome is a kind of "gas thermal barrier".

text: Condensation[edit]

text: Condensation occurs when a vapor is cooled and changes its phase to a liquid. During condensation, the latent heat of vaporization must be released. The amount of the heat is the same as that absorbed during vaporization at the same fluid pressure.[20]

text: There are several types of condensation:

text:
Homogeneous condensation, as during a formation of fog.
Condensation in direct contact with subcooled liquid.
Condensation on direct contact with a cooling wall of a heat exchanger: This is the most common mode used in industry:
Filmwise condensation is when a liquid film is formed on the subcooled surface, and usually occurs when the liquid wets the surface.
Dropwise condensation is when liquid drops are formed on the subcooled surface, and usually occurs when the liquid does not wet the surface.

text: Melting[edit]

text: Melting is a thermal process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid. The internal energy of a substance is increased, typically with heat or pressure, resulting in a rise of its temperature to the melting point, at which the ordering of ionic or molecular entities in the solid breaks down to a less ordered state and the solid liquefies. Molten substances generally have reduced viscosity with elevated temperature; an exception to this maxim is the element sulfur, whose viscosity increases to a point due to polymerization and then decreases with higher temperatures in its molten state.[21]

text: Modeling approaches[edit]

text: Heat transfer can be modeled in the following ways.

text: Climate models[edit]

text: Climate models study the radiant heat transfer by using quantitative methods to simulate the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice.

text: Heat equation[edit]

text: The heat equation is an important partial differential equation that describes the distribution of heat (or variation in temperature) in a given region over time. In some cases, exact solutions of the equation are available;[22] in other cases the equation must be solved numerically using computational methods.

text: Lumped system analysis[edit]

text: Lumped system analysis often reduces the complexity of the equations to one first-order linear differential equation, in which case heating and cooling are described by a simple exponential solution, often referred to as Newton's law of cooling.

text: System analysis by the lumped capacitance model is a common approximation in transient conduction that may be used whenever heat conduction within an object is much faster than heat conduction across the boundary of the object. This is a method of approximation that reduces one aspect of the transient conduction system—that within the object—to an equivalent steady state system. That is, the method assumes that the temperature within the object is completely uniform, although its value may be changing in time.

text: In this method, the ratio of the conductive heat resistance within the object to the convective heat transfer resistance across the object's boundary, known as the Biot number, is calculated. For small Biot numbers, the approximation of spatially uniform temperature within the object can be used: it can be presumed that heat transferred into the object has time to uniformly distribute itself, due to the lower resistance to doing so, as compared with the resistance to heat entering the object.[23]

text: Engineering[edit]

text: Heat transfer has broad application to the functioning of numerous devices and systems. Heat-transfer principles may be used to preserve, increase, or decrease temperature in a wide variety of circumstances.[citation needed] Heat transfer methods are used in numerous disciplines, such as automotive engineering, thermal management of electronic devices and systems, climate control, insulation, materials processing, and power station engineering.

text: Insulation, radiance and resistance[edit]

text: Thermal insulators are materials specifically designed to reduce the flow of heat by limiting conduction, convection, or both. Thermal resistance is a heat property and the measurement by which an object or material resists to heat flow (heat per time unit or thermal resistance) to temperature difference.

text: Radiance or spectral radiance are measures of the quantity of radiation that passes through or is emitted. Radiant barriers are materials that reflect radiation, and therefore reduce the flow of heat from radiation sources. Good insulators are not necessarily good radiant barriers, and vice versa. Metal, for instance, is an excellent reflector and a poor insulator.

text: The effectiveness of a radiant barrier is indicated by its reflectivity, which is the fraction of radiation reflected. A material with a high reflectivity (at a given wavelength) has a low emissivity (at that same wavelength), and vice versa. At any specific wavelength, reflectivity=1 - emissivity. An ideal radiant barrier would have a reflectivity of 1, and would therefore reflect 100 percent of incoming radiation. Vacuum flasks, or Dewars, are silvered to approach this ideal. In the vacuum of space, satellites use multi-layer insulation, which consists of many layers of aluminized (shiny) Mylar to greatly reduce radiation heat transfer and control satellite temperature.[citation needed]

text: Devices[edit]

text: A heat engine is a system that performs the conversion of a flow of thermal energy (heat) to mechanical energy to perform mechanical work.[24][25]

text: A thermocouple is a temperature-measuring device and widely used type of temperature sensor for measurement and control, and can also be used to convert heat into electric power.

text: A thermoelectric cooler is a solid state electronic device that pumps (transfers) heat from one side of the device to the other when electric current is passed through it. It is based on the Peltier effect.

text: A thermal diode or thermal rectifier is a device that causes heat to flow preferentially in one direction.

text: Heat exchangers[edit]

text: A heat exchanger is used for more efficient heat transfer or to dissipate heat. Heat exchangers are widely used in refrigeration, air conditioning, space heating, power generation, and chemical processing. One common example of a heat exchanger is a car's radiator, in which the hot coolant fluid is cooled by the flow of air over the radiator's surface.[citation needed]

text: Common types of heat exchanger flows include parallel flow, counter flow, and cross flow. In parallel flow, both fluids move in the same direction while transferring heat; in counter flow, the fluids move in opposite directions; and in cross flow, the fluids move at right angles to each other. Common constructions for heat exchanger include shell and tube, double pipe, extruded finned pipe, spiral fin pipe, u-tube, and stacked plate.[further explanation needed]

text: A heat sink is a component that transfers heat generated within a solid material to a fluid medium, such as air or a liquid. Examples of heat sinks are the heat exchangers used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems or the radiator in a car. A heat pipe is another heat-transfer device that combines thermal conductivity and phase transition to efficiently transfer heat between two solid interfaces.

text: Applications[edit]

text: Architecture[edit]

text: Efficient energy use is the goal to reduce the amount of energy required in heating or cooling. In architecture, condensation and air currents can cause cosmetic or structural damage. An energy audit can help to assess the implementation of recommended corrective procedures. For instance, insulation improvements, air sealing of structural leaks or the addition of energy-efficient windows and doors.[26]

text:
Smart meter is a device that records electric energy consumption in intervals.
Thermal transmittance is the rate of transfer of heat through a structure divided by the difference in temperature across the structure. It is expressed in watts per square meter per kelvin, or W/(m²K). Well-insulated parts of a building have a low thermal transmittance, whereas poorly-insulated parts of a building have a high thermal transmittance.
Thermostat is a device to monitor and control temperature.

text: Climate engineering[edit]

text: Climate engineering consists of carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management. Since the amount of carbon dioxide determines the radiative balance of Earth atmosphere, carbon dioxide removal techniques can be applied to reduce the radiative forcing. Solar radiation management is the attempt to absorb less solar radiation to offset the effects of greenhouse gases.

text: Greenhouse effect[edit]

text: The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases.

text: Heat transfer in the human body[edit]

text: The principles of heat transfer in engineering systems can be applied to the human body in order to determine how the body transfers heat. Heat is produced in the body by the continuous metabolism of nutrients which provides energy for the systems of the body.[27] The human body must maintain a consistent internal temperature in order to maintain healthy bodily functions. Therefore, excess heat must be dissipated from the body to keep it from overheating. When a person engages in elevated levels of physical activity, the body requires additional fuel which increases the metabolic rate and the rate of heat production. The body must then use additional methods to remove the additional heat produced in order to keep the internal temperature at a healthy level.

text: Heat transfer by convection is driven by the movement of fluids over the surface of the body. This convective fluid can be either a liquid or a gas. For heat transfer from the outer surface of the body, the convection mechanism is dependent on the surface area of the body, the velocity of the air, and the temperature gradient between the surface of the skin and the ambient air.[28] The normal temperature of the body is approximately 37 °C. Heat transfer occurs more readily when the temperature of the surroundings is significantly less than the normal body temperature. This concept explains why a person feels “cold” when not enough covering is worn when exposed to a cold environment. Clothing can be considered an insulator which provides thermal resistance to heat flow over the covered portion of the body.[29] This thermal resistance causes the temperature on the surface of the clothing to be less than the temperature on the surface of the skin. This smaller temperature gradient between the surface temperature and the ambient temperature will cause a lower rate of heat transfer than if the skin were not covered.

text: In order to ensure that one portion of the body is not significantly hotter than another portion, heat must be distributed evenly through the bodily tissues. Blood flowing through blood vessels acts as a convective fluid and helps to prevent any buildup of excess heat inside the tissues of the body. This flow of blood through the vessels can be modeled as pipe flow in an engineering system. The heat carried by the blood is determined by the temperature of the surrounding tissue, the diameter of the blood vessel, the thickness of the fluid, velocity of the flow, and the heat transfer coefficient of the blood. The velocity, blood vessel diameter, and the fluid thickness can all be related with the Reynolds Number, a dimensionless number used in fluid mechanics to characterize the flow of fluids.

text: Latent heat loss, also known as evaporative heat loss, accounts for a large fraction of heat loss from the body. When the core temperature of the body increases, the body triggers sweat glands in the skin to bring additional moisture to the surface of the skin. The liquid is then transformed into vapor which removes heat from the surface of the body.[30] The rate of evaporation heat loss is directly related to the vapor pressure at the skin surface and the amount of moisture present on the skin.[28] Therefore, the maximum of heat transfer will occur when the skin is completely wet. The body continuously loses water by evaporation but the most significant amount of heat loss occurs during periods of increased physical activity.

text: Cooling techniques[edit]

text: Evaporative cooling[edit]

text: Evaporative cooling happens when water vapor is added to the surrounding air. The energy needed to evaporate the water is taken from the air in the form of sensible heat and converted into latent heat, while the air remains at a constant enthalpy. Latent heat describes the amount of heat that is needed to evaporate the liquid; this heat comes from the liquid itself and the surrounding gas and surfaces. The greater the difference between the two temperatures, the greater the evaporative cooling effect. When the temperatures are the same, no net evaporation of water in air occurs; thus, there is no cooling effect.

text: Laser cooling[edit]

text: In quantum physics, laser cooling is used to achieve temperatures of near absolute zero (−273.15 °C, −459.67 °F) of atomic and molecular samples to observe unique quantum effects that can only occur at this heat level.

text:
Doppler cooling is the most common method of laser cooling.
Sympathetic cooling is a process in which particles of one type cool particles of another type. Typically, atomic ions that can be directly laser-cooled are used to cool nearby ions or atoms. This technique allows cooling of ions and atoms that cannot be laser cooled directly.[citation needed]

text: Magnetic cooling[edit]

text: Magnetic evaporative cooling is a process for lowering the temperature of a group of atoms, after pre-cooled by methods such as laser cooling. Magnetic refrigeration cools below 0.3K, by making use of the magnetocaloric effect.

text: Radiative cooling[edit]

text: Radiative cooling is the process by which a body loses heat by radiation. Outgoing energy is an important effect in the Earth's energy budget. In the case of the Earth-atmosphere system, it refers to the process by which long-wave (infrared) radiation is emitted to balance the absorption of short-wave (visible) energy from the Sun. Convective transport of heat and evaporative transport of latent heat both remove heat from the surface and redistribute it in the atmosphere.

text: Thermal energy storage[edit]

text: Thermal energy storage includes technologies for collecting and storing energy for later use. It may be employed to balance energy demand between day and nighttime. The thermal reservoir may be maintained at a temperature above or below that of the ambient environment. Applications include space heating, domestic or process hot water systems, or generating electricity.