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Philip F. Low
Pages 108-127

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From page 109... ... He clevotecl his career to advancing our unclerstancling of the physics en cl chemistry of the absorption of water by the soiT's clay mineral fraction, which dominates almost all the physical en cl chemical properties of soils even though it is less than two microns in size. During much of his career his thinking ran counter to the general scientific consensus, however he invariably fielclecl his scientific arguments with dignity en cl fairness. Read the entire page →
From page 110... ... He had a thorough grasp of soil physics, plant physiology, en cl clay mineralogy as well as soil chemistry. His lectures clealt fairly with theories opposing his own. Read the entire page →
From page 111... ... Later, in a single clay, he broke his grancifather's wooden churn, axed his water hose into two pieces, ciroppecl en cl broke his stove grate, en cl chaser! his chickens so they wouicin't lay eggs. Read the entire page →
From page 112... ... After three days, as the money decreased and anxiety increased, a kindly immigration officer took interest in her case. With his help, she en cl her chilciren were granted U.S. Read the entire page →
From page 113... ... Lieutenant Philip F Low was transferred to Fairbanks, Alaska, for six months en cl Fort Nelson, British Columbia, for another seven months. Read the entire page →
From page 114... ... Iowa State have an outstanding soils faculty but it also had extremely good physics, chemistry, en cl biology teachers to provide the neeclecl foundation for soil science. Phil was assignee! Read the entire page →
From page 115... ... Soon afterwards, Low en c! another team of investigators working inclepenclently found that exchangeable hydrogen ions that acisorbecl on the surfaces of clay crystals release aluminum ions from these crystals. Read the entire page →
From page 116... ... In total, he wrote some 15 papers relevant to this subject. His strong training in plant physiology combined with his thorough understanding of physical chemistry gave Phil a distinct advantage in aciciressing soil-plant relationships. Read the entire page →
From page 117... ... Bear, requested Phil's help in collecting a group of Soil Science papers that wouIcl express imaginatively en cl speculatively in one issue the most acivancec! thinking of Purdue University soil en cl plant scientists. Read the entire page →
From page 118... ... Eventually the ciata en cl its analysis showocl unequivocally that inter-particle water cliffers appreciably from normal bulk water in many physical properties. These properties inclucle supercooling, viscosity, heat and entropy of compression, specific volume, specific heat capacity, specific expansibility, specific compressibility, free energy, enthalpy, and entropy. Read the entire page →
From page 119... ... Once the difference between normal bulk water en cl the water near clay surfaces hacl been establishecI, Phil resumed his stucly of clay swelling in a series of remarkable experiments in which X-ray diffraction was usecl to measure the distance between superimposed, parallel clay layers as a function of the swelling pressure. He fount! Read the entire page →
From page 120... ... Since potassium fixation is clue to the entrapment of potassium ions between colIapsecl clay layers, this observation lee! to the iclea that the recluction of octaheciral iron in clays wouIcl enhance potassium fixation. Read the entire page →
From page 121... ... exponentially on a single variable the water content. Since the equation relating the Si-O stretching frequency to the water content has the same form as the equation relating the H-O-H bencling frequency en cl clay swelling pressure to the water content, it follows that the structure of the clay, the structure of the interiayer water, en c! Read the entire page →
From page 122... ... He served as president of the Soil Science Society of America, on the Council of the Clay Minerals Society, and on the Highway Research Board. In all his activities Mayda's hospitality, charm, en c! Read the entire page →
From page 123... ... States to the Chinese scientific community en cl its senior scientific leaclers. He en cl Maycia macle four trips to China en cl hostecl a significant number of Chinese scientists, who became fast friends. Read the entire page →
From page 124... ... Activation energy for ion movement in thin water films on montmorillonite. Read the entire page →
From page 125... ... Clay soils versus clay gels: Biological activity compared. Science 161:897. Read the entire page →
From page 126... ... Lin. The non-specific interaction of water with the surfaces of clay minerals. Read the entire page →

From page 109...

... He clevotecl his career to advancing our unclerstancling of the physics en cl chemistry of the absorption of water by the soiT's clay mineral fraction, which dominates almost all the physical en cl chemical properties of soils even though it is less than two microns in size. During much of his career his thinking ran counter to the general scientific consensus, however he invariably fielclecl his scientific arguments with dignity en cl fairness.

Philip F. Low Pages 108-127

Philip F. Low
Pages 108-127