Liquid crystal display

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals (LCs). LCs do not emit light directly.

They are used in a wide range of applications, including computer monitors, television, instrument panels, aircraft cockpit displays, signage, etc. They are common in consumer devices such as video players, gaming devices(SONY PCG-5G2L battery), clocks, watches, calculators, and telephones. LCDs have replaced cathode ray tube (CRT) displays in most applications. They are available in a wider range of screen sizes than CRT and plasma displays, and since they do not use phosphors, they cannot suffer image burn-in. LCDs are, however, susceptible to image persistence. (SONY PCG-5G3L battery)

LCDs are more energy efficient and offer safer disposal than CRTs. Its low electrical power consumption enables it to be used in battery-powered electronic equipment. It is an electronically modulated optical device made up of any number of segments filled with liquid crystals and arrayed in front of a light source (backlight) or reflector to produce(SONY PCG-F305 battery) images in color or monochrome. The most flexible ones use an array of small pixels. The earliest discovery leading to the development of LCD technology, the discovery of liquid crystals, dates from 1888.[2] By 2008, worldwide sales of televisions with LCD screens had surpassed the sale of CRT units(SONY PCG-5J1L battery).

Overview

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

LCD alarm clock

Each pixel of an LCD typically consists of a layer of molecules aligned between two transparent electrodes, and two polarizing filters, the axes of transmission of which are (in most of the cases) perpendicular to each other(SONY PCG-5J2L battery). With no actual liquid crystal between the polarizing filters, light passing through the first filter would be blocked by the second (crossed) polarizer.

The surface of the electrodes that are in contact with the liquid crystal material are treated so as to align the liquid crystal molecules in a particular direction. This treatment typically consists of a thin polymer layer that is unidirectionally rubbed using, for example, a cloth(SONY PCG-5K2L battery). The direction of the liquid crystal alignment is then defined by the direction of rubbing. Electrodes are made of a transparent conductor called Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). The Liquid Crystal Display is intrinsically a “passive” device, it is a simple light valve. The managing and control of the data to be displayed is performed by one or more circuits commonly denoted as LCD drivers. (SONY PCG-5L1L battery)

Before applying an electric field, the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules is determined by the alignment at the surfaces of electrodes. In a twisted nematic device (still the most common liquid crystal device), the surface alignment directions at the two electrodes are perpendicular to each other, and so the molecules arrange themselves in a helical structure, or twist(SONY PCG-6S2L battery). This reduces the rotation of the polarization of the incident light, and the device appears grey. If the applied voltage is large enough, the liquid crystal molecules in the center of the layer are almost completely untwisted and the polarization of the incident light is not rotated as it passes through the liquid crystal layer. This light will then be mainly polarized perpendicular to the second filter, and thus be blocked and the pixel will appear black(SONY PCG-6S3L battery). By controlling the voltage applied across the liquid crystal layer in each pixel, light can be allowed to pass through in varying amounts thus constituting different levels of gray.

LCD with top polarizer removed from device and placed on top, such that the top and bottom polarizers are parallel.

The optical effect of a twisted nematic device in the voltage-on state is far less dependent on variations in the device thickness than that in the voltage-off state(SONY PCG-6V1L battery). Because of this, these devices are usually operated between crossed polarizers such that they appear bright with no voltage (the eye is much more sensitive to variations in the dark state than the bright state). These devices can also be operated between parallel polarizers, in which case the bright and dark states are reversed. The voltage-off dark state in this configuration appears blotchy(SONY PCG-6W1L battery), however, because of small variations of thickness across the device.

Both the liquid crystal material and the alignment layer material contain ionic compounds. If an electric field of one particular polarity is applied for a long period of time, this ionic material is attracted to the surfaces and degrades the device performance. This is avoided either by applying an alternating current or by reversing the polarity of the electric field as the device is addressed(SONY PCG-7111L battery) (the response of the liquid crystal layer is identical, regardless of the polarity of the applied field).

Displays for a small number of individual digits and/or fixed symbols (as in digital watches, pocket calculators etc.) can be implemented with independent electrodes for each segment(SONY PCG-71511M battery). In contrast full alphanumeric and/or variable graphics displays are usually implemented with pixels arranged as a matrix consisting of electrically connected rows on one side of the LC layer and columns on the other side, which makes it possible to address each pixel at the intersections. The general method of matrix addressing consists of sequentially addressing one side of the matrix(SONY PCG-6W3L battery), for example by selecting the rows one-by-one and applying the picture information on the other side at the columns row-by-row. For details on the various matrix addressing schemes see Passive-matrix and active-matrix addressed LCDs.

[edit]Brief history

1888: Friedrich Reinitzer (1858–1927) discovers the liquid crystalline nature of cholesterol extracted from carrots (that is(SONY PCG-7113L battery), two melting points and generation of colors) and published his findings at a meeting of the Vienna Chemical Society on May 3, 1888 (F. Reinitzer: Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Cholesterins, Monatshefte für Chemie (Wien) 9, 421-441 (1888)).[4]

1904: Otto Lehmann publishes his work "Flüssige Kristalle" (Liquid Crystals).

1911: Charles Mauguin first experiments of liquids crystals confined between plates in thin layers(SONY PCG-7133L battery).

1922: Georges Friedel describes the structure and properties of liquid crystals and classified them in 3 types (nematics, smectics and cholesterics).

1927: Vsevolod Frederiks devises the electrically switched light valve, called the Fréedericksz transition, the essential effect of all LCD technology.

1936: The Marconi Wireless Telegraph company patents the first practical application of the technology, "The Liquid Crystal Light Valve"(SONY PCG-7Z1L battery).

1962: The first major English language publication on the subject "Molecular Structure and Properties of Liquid Crystals", by Dr. George W. Gray.[5]

1962: Richard Williams of RCA found that liquid crystals had some interesting electro-optic characteristics and he realized an electro-optical effect by generating stripe-patterns in a thin layer of liquid crystal material by the application of a voltage. This effect is based on an electro-hydrodynamic instability forming what is now called "Williams domains" inside the liquid crystal. (SONY PCG-7Z2L battery)

1964: George H. Heilmeier, then working in the RCA laboratories on the effect discovered by Williams achieved the switching of colors by field-induced realignment of dichroic dyes in a homeotropically oriented liquid crystal. Practical problems with this new electro-optical effect made Heilmeier continue to work on scattering effects in liquid crystals and finally (SONY PCG-8Y1L battery)the achievement of the first operational liquid crystal display based on what he called the dynamic scattering mode (DSM). Application of a voltage to a DSM display switches the initially clear transparent liquid crystal layer into a milky turbid state. DSM displays could be operated in transmissive and in reflective mode but they required a considerable current to flow for their operation. (SONY PCG-8Y2L battery)George H. Heilmeier was inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame and credited with the invention of LCD.[10] Heilmeier's work is an IEEE Milestone.[11]

1960s: Pioneering work on liquid crystals was undertaken in the late 1960s by the UK's Royal Radar Establishment at Malvern, England. The team at RRE supported ongoing work by George Gray and his team at the University of Hull who ultimately discovered the cyanobiphenyl liquid crystals, which had correct stability and temperature properties for application in LCDs(SONY PCG-8Z2L battery).

1970: On December 4, 1970, the twisted nematic field effect in liquid crystals was filed for patent by Hoffmann-LaRoche in Switzerland, (Swiss patent No. 532 261) with Wolfgang Helfrich and Martin Schadt (then working for the Central Research Laboratories) listed as inventors.[7] Hoffmann-La Roche then licensed the invention to the Swiss manufacturer Brown(SONY PCG-8Z1L battery), Boveri & Cie who produced displays for wristwatches during the 1970s and also to Japanese electronics industry, which soon produced the first digital quartz wrist watches with TN-LCDs and numerous other products. James Fergason, while working with Sardari Arora and Alfred Saupe at Kent State University Liquid Crystal Institute(SONY PCG-7112L battery), filed an identical patent in the United States on April 22, 1971.[12] In 1971 the company of Fergason ILIXCO (now LXD Incorporated) produced the first LCDs based on the TN-effect, which soon superseded the poor-quality DSM types due to improvements of lower operating voltages and lower power consumption.

1972: The first active-matrix liquid crystal display panel was produced in the United States by Westinghouse, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (SONY PCG-6W2L battery)

1983: Researchers at Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC), Switzerland, invent the super-twisted nematic (STN) structure for passive-matrix addressed LCDs. H. Amstutz et al. were listed as inventors in the corresponding patent applications filed in Switzerland on July 7, 1983, and October 28, 1983. Patents were granted in Switzerland CH 665491, Europe EP 0131216, (SONY PCG-5K1L battery) U.S. Patent 4,634,229 and many more countries. Scientific details are published in the article referred to [15]

1990: Under different titles inventors conceived electrooptical effects as alternatives to twisted nematic field effect LCDs (TN- and STN- LCDs). One approach was to use interdigital electrodes on one glass substrate only to produce an electric field essentially parallel to the glass substrates (Abstract) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11L battery).[16] To take full advantage of the properties of this In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology further work was needed. After thorough analysis, details of advantageous embodiments are filed in Germany by Guenter Baur et al. and patented in various countries (Abstract).[17] The Fraunhofer Institute in Freiburg, where the inventors worked(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11Z battery), assigns these patents to Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, the world's leading supplier of LC substances.

1992: Shortly thereafter, engineers at Hitachi work out various practical details of the IPS technology to interconnect the thin-film transistor array as a matrix and to avoid undesirable stray fields in between pixels (Abstract).[18] Hitachi also improves the viewing angle dependence further by optimizing the shape of the electrodes (Super IPS) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ11M battery).

NEC and Hitachi become early manufacturers of active-matrix addressed LCDs based on the IPS technology. This is a milestone for implementing large-screen LCDs having acceptable visual performance for flat-panel computer monitors and television screens.

1996 Samsung develops the optical patterning technique that enables multi-domain LCD(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18M battery). Multi-domain and In Plane Switching subsequently remain the dominant LCD designs through 2010.[19]

2007: In the 4Q of 2007 for the first time LCD televisions surpass CRT units in worldwide sales.[20]

2008: LCD TVs become the majority with a 50% market share of the 200 million TVs forecast to ship globally in 2008 according to Display Bank.[21]

In October 2011, Toshiba has announced 2560x1600 pixels on an 6.1-inch LCD panel, suitable for use in a tablet computer,[22] especially for Chinese character display(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18 battery).

A detailed description of the origins and the complex history of liquid crystal displays from the perspective of an insider during the early days has been published by Joseph A. Castellano in Liquid Gold: The Story of Liquid Crystal Displays and the Creation of an Industry. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ210CE battery) [23] Another report on the origins and history of LCD from a different perspective until 1991 has been published by Hiroshi Kawamoto, available at the IEEE History Center.[24]

[edit]Illumination

As LCD panels produce no light of their own, they require an external lighting mechanism to be easily visible. On most displays, this consists of a cold cathode fluorescent lamp that is situated behind the LCD panel. For battery-operated units (e.g. laptops) this requires an inverter to convert DC to AC. Passive-matrix displays are usually not backlit(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31S battery), but active-matrix displays almost always are, with a few exceptions such as the display in the original Gameboy Advance.

Recently, two types of LED backlit displays have appeared in some televisions as an alternative to conventional backlit LCDs. In one scheme, the LEDs are used to backlight the entire LCD panel. In another scheme(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31Z battery), a set of red, green and blue LEDs is used to illuminate a small cluster of pixels, which can improve contrast and black level in some situations. For example, the LEDs in one section of the screen can be dimmed to produce a dark section of the image while the LEDs in another section are kept bright. Both schemes also allow for a slimmer panel than on conventional displays(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31E battery).

[edit]Passive-matrix and active-matrix addressed LCDs

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

A general purpose alphanumeric LCD, with two lines of 16 characters.

Monochrome passive-matrix LCDs were standard in most early laptops (although a few used plasma displays) and the original Nintendo Game Boy[25] until the mid-1990s(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31J battery), when color active-matrix became standard on all laptops. The commercially unsuccessful Macintosh Portable (released in 1989) was one of the first to use an active-matrix display (though still monochrome).

Passive-matrix LCDs are still used today for applications less demanding than laptops and TVs. In particular, portable devices with less information content to be displayed, where lowest power consumption (no backlight), low cost and/or readability in direct sunlight are needed, use this type of display(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31M battery).

Displays having a passive-matrix structure are employing super-twisted nematic STN or double-layer STN (DSTN) technology (the latter of which addresses a color-shifting problem with the former), and color-STN (CSTN) in which color is added by using an internal filter(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ31B battery).

STN LCDs have been optimized for passive-matrix addressing. They exhibit a sharper threshold of the contrast-vs-voltage characteristic than the original TN LCDs. This is important, because pixels are subjected to partial voltages even while not selected. Crosstalk between activated and non-activated pixels has to be handled properly by keeping the RMS voltage of non-activated pixels below the threshold voltage, (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21 battery) while activated pixels are subjected to voltages above threshold.[27] STN LCDs have to be continuously refreshed by alternating pulsed voltages of one polarity during one frame and pulses of opposite polarity during the next frame. Individual pixels are addressed by the corresponding row and column circuits. This type of display is called passive-matrix addressed(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21S battery), because the pixel must retain its state between refreshes without the benefit of a steady electrical charge. As the number of pixels (and, correspondingly, columns and rows) increases, this type of display becomes less feasible. Slow response times and poor contrast are typical of passive-matrix addressed LCDs with too many pixels(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21M battery).

New zero-power (bistable) LCDs do not require continuous refreshing. Rewriting is only required for picture information changes. Potentially, passive-matrix addressing can be used with these new devices, if their write/erase characteristics are suitable.

High-resolution color displays, such as modern LCD computer monitors and televisions, use an active matrix structure(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38M battery). A matrix of thin-film transistors (TFTs) is added to the electrodes in contact with the LC layer. Each pixel has its own dedicated transistor, allowing each column line to access one pixel. When a row line is selected, all of the column lines are connected to a row of pixels and voltages corresponding to the picture information are driven onto all of the column lines. The row line is then deactivated and the next row line is selected(Sony VGN-NR11S/S Battery). All of the row lines are selected in sequence during a refresh operation. Active-matrix addressed displays look "brighter" and "sharper" than passive-matrix addressed displays of the same size, and generally have quicker response times, producing much better images(Sony VGN-NR11M/S Battery).

[edit]Active matrix technologies

A Casio 1.8 in color TFT LCD, which equips the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P93A digital compact cameras

Main articles: Thin film transistor liquid crystal display and Active-matrix liquid crystal display

[edit]Twisted nematic (TN)

See also: twisted nematic field effect

Twisted nematic displays contain liquid crystals that twist and untwist at varying degrees to allow light to pass through. When no voltage is applied to a TN liquid crystal cell, polarized light passes through the 90-degrees twisted LC layer(Sony VGN-NR260E/S Battery). In proportion to the voltage applied, the liquid crystals untwist changing the polarization and blocking the light's path. By properly adjusting the level of the voltage almost any grey level or transmission can be achieved.

[edit]In-plane switching (IPS)

In-plane switching is an LCD technology that aligns the liquid crystals in a plane parallel to the glass substrates. In this method, the electrical field is applied through opposite electrodes on the same glass substrate(Sony VGN-NR260E/T Battery), so that the liquid crystals can be reoriented (switched) in the same plane. This requires two transistors for each pixel instead of the single transistor needed for a standard thin-film transistor (TFT) display. Before LG Enhanced IPS was introduced in 2009, the additional transistors resulted in blocking more transmission area(Sony VGN-NR260E/W Battery), thus requiring a brighter backlight and consuming more power, making this type of display less desirable for notebook computers. This newer, lower power technology can be found in the Apple iMac, iPad, and iPhone 4, the Hewlett-Packard EliteBook mobile workstations and the Nokia 701. Currently Panasonic is using an enhanced version eIPS for their large size LCD-TV products as well as Hewlett-Packard in its WebOS based TouchPad tablet(Sony VGN-NR11Z/S Battery).

IPS LCD vs AMOLED

LG claimed the smartphone LG Optimus Black with an IPS LCD (LCD NOVA) has the brightness up to 700 nits, while the competitor has only IPS LCD with 518 nits and double an Active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) display with 305 nits. LG also claimed the NOVA display to be 50 percent more efficient than regular LCDs and to consume only 50 percent of the power of AMOLED displays when producing white on screen(Sony VGN-NR11Z/T Battery).[28] When it comes to contrast ratio, AMOLED display still performs best due to its underlying technology, where the black levels are displayed as pitch black and not as dark grey. On August 24, 2011, Nokia announced the Nokia 701 and also made the claim of the world's brightest display at 1000 nits. The screen also had Nokia's Clearblack layer, improving the contrast ratio and bringing it closer to that of the AMOLED screens(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21E battery).

[edit]Advanced fringe field switching (AFFS)

Known as fringe field switching (FFS) until 2003,[29] advanced fringe field switching is similar to IPS or S-IPS offering superior performance and color gamut with high luminosity. AFFS was developed by Hydis Technologies Co., Ltd, Korea (formally Hyundai Electronics, LCD Task Force) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21Z battery).[30]

AFFS-applied notebook applications minimize color distortion while maintaining a wider viewing angle for a professional display. Color shift and deviation caused by light leakage is corrected by optimizing the white gamut which also enhances white/grey reproduction.

In 2004, Hydis Technologies Co.,Ltd licensed AFFS to Japan's Hitachi Displays(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ21J battery). Hitachi is using AFFS to manufacture high-end panels. In 2006, HYDIS licensed AFFS to Sanyo Epson Imaging Devices Corporation.

Shortly thereafter, Hydis introduced a high-transmittance evolution of the AFFS display, called HFFS (FFS+).

Hydis introduced AFFS+ with improved outdoor readability in 2007. AFFS panels are mostly utilized in the cockpits of latest commercial aircraft displays.

[edit]Vertical alignment (VA)

Vertical alignment displays are a form of LCDs in which the liquid crystals naturally align vertically to the glass substrates. When no voltage is applied(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11 battery), the liquid crystals remain perpendicular to the substrate creating a black display between crossed polarizers. When voltage is applied, the liquid crystals shift to a tilted position allowing light to pass through and create a gray-scale display depending on the amount of tilt generated by the electric field(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11M battery).

[edit]Blue Phase mode

Main article: Blue Phase Mode LCD

Blue phase mode LCDs have been shown as engineering samples early in 2008, but they are not in mass-production yet. The physics of blue phase mode LCDs suggest that very short switching times (~1 ms) can be achieved, so time sequential color control can possibly be realized and expensive color filters would be obsolete. For details refer to Blue Phase Mode LCD(Sony VAIO VGN-FW11S battery).

[edit]Quality control

Some LCD panels have defective transistors, causing permanently lit or unlit pixels which are commonly referred to as stuck pixels or dead pixels respectively. Unlike integrated circuits (ICs), LCD panels with a few defective transistors are usually still usable. Manufacturers' policies for the acceptable number of defective pixels vary greatly(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21E battery). At one point, Samsung held a zero-tolerance policy for LCD monitors sold in Korea.[31] As of 2005, though, Samsung adheres to the less restrictive ISO 13406-2 standard.[32] Other companies have been known to tolerate as many as 11 dead pixels in their policies.[33] Dead pixel policies are often hotly debated between manufacturers and customers(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21J battery). To regulate the acceptability of defects and to protect the end user, ISO released the ISO 13406-2 standard.[34] However, not every LCD manufacturer conforms to the ISO standard and the ISO standard is quite often interpreted in different ways.

LCD panels are more likely to have defects than most ICs due to their larger size. For example, a 300 mm SVGA LCD has 8 defects and a 150 mm wafer has only 3 defects(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21L battery). However, 134 of the 137 dies on the wafer will be acceptable, whereas rejection of the LCD panel would be a 0% yield. In recent years, quality control has been improved. An SVGA LCD panel with 4 defective pixels is usually considered defective and customers can request an exchange for a new one.[according to whom?] Some manufacturers(Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M battery), notably in South Korea where some of the largest LCD panel manufacturers, such as LG, are located, now have "zero defective pixel guarantee", which is an extra screening process which can then determine "A" and "B" grade panels.[original research?] Many manufacturers would replace a product even with one defective pixel(Sony VAIO VGN-FW41M/H battery). Even where such guarantees do not exist, the location of defective pixels is important. A display with only a few defective pixels may be unacceptable if the defective pixels are near each other.

LCD panels also have defects known as clouding (or less commonly mura), which describes the uneven patches of changes in luminance. It is most visible in dark or black areas of displayed scenes(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21M battery).[35]

[edit]Zero-power (bistable) displays

See also: Ferro Liquid Display

The zenithal bistable device (ZBD), developed by QinetiQ (formerly DERA), can retain an image without power. The crystals may exist in one of two stable orientations ("Black" and "White") and power is only required to change the image. ZBD Displays is a spin-off company from QinetiQ who manufacture both grayscale and color ZBD devices(Sony VAIO VGN-FW21Z battery).

Kent Displays has also developed a "no power" display that uses polymer stabilized cholesteric liquid crystal (ChLCD). Kent has recently[when?] demonstrated the use of a ChLCD to cover the entire surface of a mobile phone, allowing it to change colors, and keep that color even when power is cut off. (Sony VAIO VGN-FW32J battery)

In 2004 researchers at the University of Oxford demonstrated two new types of zero-power bistable LCDs based on Zenithal bistable techniques.[37]

Several bistable technologies, like the 360° BTN and the bistable cholesteric, depend mainly on the bulk properties of the liquid crystal (LC) and use standard strong anchoring(Sony VAIO VGN-FW17W battery), with alignment films and LC mixtures similar to the traditional monostable materials. Other bistable technologies, e.g., BiNem® technology, are based mainly on the surface properties and need specific weak anchoring materials.

[edit]Specifications

Important factors to consider when evaluating an LCD:

Resolution versus range: Fundamentally resolution is the granularity (or number of levels) with which a performance feature of the display is divided. Resolution is often confused with range or the total end-to-end output of the display(Sony VAIO VGN-FW31E battery). Each of the major features of a display has both a resolution and a range that are tied to each other but very different. Frequently the range is an inherent limitation of the display while the resolution is a function of the electronics that make the display work.

Spatial performance: LCDs come in only one size for a variety of applications and a variety of resolutions within each of those applications(Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E battery). LCD spatial performance is also sometimes described in terms of a "dot pitch". The size (or spatial range) of an LCD is always described in terms of the diagonal distance from one corner to its opposite. This is an historical remnant from the early days of CRT television when CRT screens were manufactured on the bottoms of glass bottles, a direct extension of cathode ray tubes used in oscilloscopes(Sony VAIO VGN-FW139E/H battery). The diameter of the bottle determined the size of the screen. Later, when televisions went to a more square format, the square screens were measured diagonally to compare with the older round screens.[38]

The spatial resolution of an LCD is expressed in terms of the number of columns and rows of pixels (e.g., 1024×768). This had been one of the few features of LCD performance that was easily understood and not subject to interpretation(Sony VAIO VGN-FW31M battery). Each pixel is usually composed of a red, green, and blue sub pixel. However there are newer schemes to share sub-pixels among pixels and to add additional colors of sub-pixels. So going forward, spatial resolution may be more subject to interpretation.

One external factor to consider in evaluating display resolution is the resolution of your own eyes. For a normal person with 20/20 vision, the resolution of your eyes is about one minute of arc(Sony VAIO VGN-FW31J battery). In practical terms that means for an older standard definition TV set the ideal viewing distance was about 8 times the height (not diagonal) of the screen away. At that distance the individual rows of pixels merge into a solid. If you were closer to the screen than that, you would be able to see the individual rows of pixels. If you are further away(Sony VAIO VGN-FW31Z battery), the image of the rows of pixels still merge, but the total image becomes smaller as you get further away. For an HDTV set with slightly more than twice the number of rows of pixels, the ideal viewing distance is about half what it is for a standard definition set. The higher the resolution, the closer you can sit to the set or the larger the set can usefully be sitting at the same distance as an older standard definition display(Sony VGN-NR11Z Battery).

For a computer monitor or some other LCD that is being viewed from a very close distance, resolution is often expressed in terms of dot pitch or pixels per inch. This is consistent with the printing industry (another form of a display). Magazines, and other premium printed media are often at 300 dots per inch(Sony VGN-NR11S Battery). As with the distance discussion above, this provides a very solid looking and detailed image. LCDs, particularly on mobile devices, are frequently much less than this as the higher the dot pitch, the more optically inefficient the display and the more power it burns. Running the LCD is frequently half, or more, of the power consumed by a mobile device(Sony VGN-NR110E Battery).

An additional consideration in spatial performance are viewing cone and aspect ratio. The Aspect ratio is the ratio of the width to the height (for example, 4:3, 5:4, 16:9 or 16:10). Older, standard definition TVs were 4:3. Newer High Definition televisions (HDTV) are 16:9, as are most new notebook computers(Sony VGN-NR110E/T Battery). Movies are often filmed in much different (wider) aspect ratios, which is why there will frequently still be black bars at the top and bottom of an HDTV screen.

The Viewing Angle of an LCD may be important depending on its use or location. The viewing angle is usually measured as the angle where the contrast of the LCD falls below 10:1. At this point, the colors usually start to change and can even invert, red becoming green and so forth(Sony VGN-NR110E/S Battery). Viewing angles for LCDs used to be very restrictive however, improved optical films have been developed that give almost 180 degree viewing angles from left to right. Top to bottom viewing angles may still be restrictive, by design, as looking at an LCD from an extreme up or down angle is not a common usage model and these photons are wasted(Sony VGN-NR110E/W Battery). Manufacturers commonly focus the light in a left to right plane to obtain a brighter image here.

Temporal/timing performance: Contrary to spatial performance, temporal performance is a feature where smaller is better. Specifically, the range is the pixel response time of an LCD, or how quickly you can change a sub-pixel's brightness from one level to another. For LCD monitors, this is measured in btb (black to black) or gtg (gray to gray) (Sony VGN-CR11Z Battery). These different types of measurements make comparison difficult.[39] Further, this number is almost never published in sales advertising.

Refresh rate or the temporal resolution of an LCD is the number of times per second in which the display draws the data it is being given. Since activated LCD pixels do not flash on/off between frames(Sony VGN-CR11S Battery), LCD monitors exhibit no refresh-induced flicker, no matter how low the refresh. rate.[40] High-end LCD televisions now feature up to 240 Hz refresh rate, which requires advanced digital processing to insert additional interpolated frames between the real images to smooth the image motion(Sony VGN-CR11M Battery). However, such high refresh rates may not be actually supported by pixel response times and the result can be visual artifacts that distort the image in unpleasant ways.

Temporal performance can be further taxed if it is a 3D display. 3D displays work by showing a different series of images to each eye, alternating from eye to eye. For a 3D display it must display twice as many images in the same period of time as a conventional display and consequently the response time of the LCD becomes more important(Sony VGN-CR11E Battery). 3D LCDs with marginal response times, will exhibit image smearing.

It is actually greater in your black and white vision (rod cells) than in color vision (cone cells). You are more able to see flicker or any sort of temporal distortion in a display image by not looking directly at it as your rods are mostly grouped at the periphery of your vision(Sony VGN-CR21E Battery).

Color performance: There are many terms to describe color performance of an LCD. They include color gamut which is the range of colors that can be displayed and color depth which is the color resolution or the resolution or fineness with which the color range is divided. Although color gamut can be expressed as three pairs of numbers(Sony VGN-CR21S Battery), the XY coordinates within color space of the reddest red, greenest green, and bluest blue, it is usually expressed as a ratio of the total area within color space that a display can show relative to some standard such as saying that a display was "120% of NTSC". NTSC is the National Television Standards Committee, the old standard definition TV specification(Sony VGN-CR21Z Battery). Color gamut is a relatively straight forward feature. However with clever optical techniques that are based on the way humans see color, termed color stretch,[41] colors can be shown that are outside of the nominal range of the display. In any case, color range is rarely discussed as a feature of the display as LCDs are designed to match the color ranges of the content that they are intended to show. Having a color range that exceeds the content is a useless feature. (Sony VGN-CR31S Battery)

Color depth or color support is sometimes expressed in bits, either as the number of bits per sub-pixel or the number of bits per pixel. This can be ambiguous as an 8-bit color LCD can be 8 total bits spread between red, green, and blue or 8 bits each for each color in a different display(Sony VGN-CR31E Battery). Further, LCDs sometimes use a technique called dithering which is time averaging colors to get intermediate colors such as alternating between two different colors to get a color in between. This doubles the number of colors that can be displayed; however this is done at the expense of the temporal performance of the display(Sony VGN-CR31Z Battery). Dithering is commonly used on computer displays where the images are mostly static and the temporal performance is unimportant.

When color depth is reported as color support, it is usually stated in terms of number of colors the LCD can show. The number of colors is the translation from the base 2-bit numbers into common base-10. For example, 8-bit, in common terms means 2 to the 8th power or 256 colors. 8-bits per color or 24-bits would be 256 x 256 x 256 or over 16 Million colors(Sony VGN-CR41Z Battery). The color resolution of the human eye depends on both the range of colors being sliced and the number of slices; but for most common displays the limit is about 28-bit color. LCD TVs commonly display more than that as the digital processing can introduce color distortions and the additional levels of color are needed to ensure true colors(Sony VGN-CR41S Battery).

There are additional aspects to LCD color and color management, such as white point and gamma correction, which describe what color white is and how the other colors are displayed relative to white. LCD televisions also frequently have facial recognition software, which recognizes that an image on the screen is a face and both adjust the color and the focus differently from the rest of the image(Sony VGN-CR41E Battery). These adjustments can have important effects on the consumer, but are not easily quantifiable; people like what they like and everyone does not like the same thing. There is no substitute for looking at the LCD one is going to buy before buying it. Portrait film, another form of display, has similar adjustments built in to it. Many years ago(Sony VGN-CR42Z Battery), Kodak had to overcome initial rejection of its portrait film in Japan because of these adjustments. In the U.S., people generally prefer a more colorful facial image than in reality (higher color saturation). In Japan, consumers generally prefer a less saturated image. The film that Kodak initially sent to Japan was biased in the wrong direction for Japanese consumers(Sony VGN-CR42S Battery). Television monitors have their built-in biases as well.

Brightness and contrast ratio: Contrast ratio is the ratio of the brightness of a full-on pixel to a full-off pixel and, as such, would be directly tied to brightness if not for the invention of the blinking backlight (or burst dimming). The LCD itself is only a light valve, it does not generate light(Sony VGN-CR42E Battery); the light comes from a backlight that is either a florescent tube or a set of LEDs. The blinking backlight was developed to improve the motion performance of LCDs by turning the backlight off while the liquid crystals were in transition from one image to another. However, a side benefit of the blinking backlight was infinite contrast(Sony Vaio VGN-CR11S/L Battery). The contrast reported on most LCDs is what the LCD is qualified at, not its actual performance. In any case, there are two large caveats to contrast ratio as a measure of LCD performance.

The first caveat is that contrast ratios are measured in a completely dark room. In actual use, the room is never completely dark, as one will always have the light from the LCD itself. Beyond that(Sony Vaio VGN-CR11S/P Battery), there may be sunlight coming in through a window or other room lights that reflect off of the surface of the LCD and degrades the contrast. As a practical matter, the contrast of an LCD, or any display, is governed by the amount of surface reflections, not by the performance of the display.

The second caveat is that the human eye can only image a contrast ratio of a maximum of about 200:1(Sony Vaio VGN-CR11S/W Battery).[citation needed] Black print on a white paper is about 15–20:1. That is why viewing angles are specified to the point where they fall below 10:1. A 10:1 image is not great, but is discernable.

Brightness is usually stated as the maximum output of the LCD. In the CRT era, Trinitron CRTs had a brightness advantage over the competition, so brightness was commonly discussed in TV advertising(Sony Vaio VGN-CR11Z/R Battery). With current LCD technology, brightness, though important, is usually the same from maker to maker and is consequently not discussed much except for notebook LCDs and other displays that will be viewed in bright sunlight. In general, brighter is better, but there is always a trade-off between brightness and battery life in a mobile device(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/B Battery).

[edit]Military use of LCD monitors

The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with USA and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (January 2012)

LCD monitors have been adopted by the United States military, instead of CRT displays, because they are smaller, lighter and more efficient, although monochrome plasma displays are also used, notably for the M1 Abrams tank(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/L Battery). For use with night vision imaging systems a U.S. military LCD monitor must be compliant with MIL-STD-3009 (formerly MIL-L-85762A). These LCD monitors go through extensive certification so that they pass the standards for the military. These include MIL-S-901D – High Shock (Sea Vessels) (Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/P Battery), MIL-STD-167B – Vibration (Sea Vessels), MIL-STD-810F – Field Environmental Conditions (Ground Vehicles and Systems), MIL-STD-461E/F – EMI/RFI (Electromagnetic Interference/Radio Frequency Interference), MIL-STD-740B – Airborne/Structureborne Noise, and TEMPEST – Telecommunications Electronics Material Protected from Emanating Spurious Transmissions(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/R Battery).[43]

[edit]Advantages and disadvantages

Further information: Comparison CRT, LCD, Plasma

In spite of LCDs being a well proven and still viable technology, as display devices LCDs are not perfect for all applications.

Advantages

Very compact and light.

Low power consumption.

No geometric distortion.

Little or no flicker depending on backlight technology.

Not affected by screen burn-in.

Can be made in almost any size or shape.

No theoretical resolution limit(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13/W Battery).

Disadvantages

Limited viewing angle, causing color, saturation, contrast and brightness to vary, even within the intended viewing angle, by variations in posture.

Bleeding and uneven backlighting in some monitors, causing brightness distortion, especially toward the edges.

Smearing and ghosting artifacts caused by slow response times (>8 ms) and "sample and hold" operation(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G Battery).

Only one native resolution. Displaying resolutions either requires a video scaler, lowering perceptual quality, or display at 1:1 pixel mapping, in which images will be physically too large or won't fill the whole screen.

Fixed bit depth, many cheaper LCDs are only able to display 262,000 colors. 8-bit S-IPS panels can display 16 million colors and have significantly better black level, but are expensive and have slower response time(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/B Battery).

Low bit depth results in images with unnatural or excessive contrast.

Input lag

Dead or stuck pixels may occur during manufacturing or through use.

In a constant-on situation, thermalization may occur, which is when only part of the screen has overheated and looks discolored compared to the rest of the screen.

Not all LCDs are designed to allow easy replacement of the backlight(Sony Vaio VGN-CR13G/L Battery).

Cannot be used with light guns/pens.

Loss of contrast in high temperature environments.

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th most extensive and the 23rd most populous of the 50 United States. Alabama ranks second in the area of its inland waterways(SONY Vaio VGN-NS38M Battery).

From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship, in part because of continued dependence on agriculture. Despite the growth of major industries and urban centers, white rural interests dominated the state legislature until the 1960s(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31S Battery), while urban interests and African Americans were under-represented.[5] Following World War II, Alabama experienced growth as the economy of the state transitioned from agriculture to diversified interests in heavy manufacturing, mineral extraction, education, and technology. In addition, the establishment or expansion of multiple military installations, primarily those of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, added to state jobs(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31M Battery).

Alabama is unofficially nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird. Alabama is also known as the "Heart of Dixie." The state tree is the Longleaf Pine, the state flower is the Camellia. The capital of Alabama is Montgomery. The largest city by population is Birmingham. The largest city by total land area is Huntsville. The oldest city is Mobile, founded by French colonists(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z Battery).

History

Main article: History of Alabama

Etymology

The Alabama people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers on the upper reaches of the Alabama River,[6] served as the etymological source of the names of the river and state. In the Alabama language, the word for an Alabama person is Albaamo (or variously Albaama or Albàamo in different dialects; the plural form "Alabama persons" is Albaamaha) (SONY Vaio VGN-NS21Z Battery).[7] The word Alabama is believed to have originated from the Choctaw language[8] and was later adopted by the Alabama tribe as their name.[9] The spelling of the word varies significantly between sources.[9] The first usage appears in three accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540 with Garcilasso de la Vega using Alibamo(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21M Battery), while the Knight of Elvas and Rodrigo Ranjel wrote Alibamu and Limamu, respectively.[9] As early as 1702, the tribe was known to the French as Alibamon with French maps identifying the river as Rivière des Alibamons.[6] Other spellings of the appellation have included Alibamu, Alabamo, Albama, Alebamon, Alibama, Alibamou, Alabamu, and Allibamou(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21S Battery).

Although the origin of Alabama could be discerned, sources disagree on its meaning. An 1842 article in the Jacksonville Republican originated the idea that the meaning was "Here We Rest."[9] This notion was popularized in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek.[9] Experts in the Muskogean languages have been unable to find any evidence to support such a translation(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12S Battery).[6][9] Scholars believe the word comes from the Choctaw alba (meaning "plants" or "weeds") and amo (meaning "to cut," "to trim," or "to gather"). The meaning may have been "clearers of the thicket"[8] or "herb gatherers" which may refer to clearing of land for cultivation[10] or to collecting medicinal plants(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12M Battery).

Indigenous peoples, early history

Mount Cheaha, Alabama's highest point

Indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years before European colonization. Trade with the Northeast via the Ohio River began during the Burial Mound Period (1000 BC–AD 700) and continued until European contact.[15] The agrarian Mississippian culture covered most of the state from AD 1000 to 1600(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11Z Battery), with one of its major centers being at the Moundville Archaeological Site in Moundville, Alabama.[16][17] Analysis of artifacts recovered from archaeological excavations at Moundville were the basis of scholars' formulating the characteristics of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC).[18] Contrary to popular belief, the SECC appears to have no direct links to Mesoamerican culture(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11M Battery), but developed independently. The Ceremonial Complex represents a major component of the religion of the Mississippian peoples; it is one of the primary means by which their religion is understood.[19]

Among the historical tribes of Native American people living in the area of present-day Alabama at the time of European contact were Iroquoian-speaking Cherokee, and the Muskogean-speaking Alabama (Alibamu), Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Koasati, and Mobile(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11L Battery).[20]

European settlement

The French founded the first European settlement in the region at Old Mobile, in 1702.[21] The area was French from 1702 to 1763; part of British West Florida from 1763 to 1780. Thomas Bassett was the first British settler in the state. He settled near what is now Tombigbee River in Washington County.[22] Alabama became part of Spanish West Florida from 1780 to 1810(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11J Battery); part of the independent Republic of West Florida for a short time (90 days); annexed by the U.S. and added to the Territory of Orleans (1810); and, finally, added to the Mississippi Territory in 1812. Throughout these later developments, however, the Spanish had kept a nominal (although largely ignored) governmental presence in the region, based out of Mobile(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11E Battery). When Andrew Jackson's forces occupied Mobile in 1814 —while preparing for the Battle of New Orleans —he demonstrated the United States' de facto authority over the region, effectively ending Spanish governance (though not its claim), while gaining an unencumbered passage to the gulf.[23]

The area making up today's northern and central Alabama, known as the Yazoo lands, had been claimed by the Province of Georgia after 1763(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10L Battery). Following the Revolutionary War, it remained a part of the state of Georgia —although heavily disputed. Conflicting claims to the area were held, first by several Native American tribes (most notably the Chickamauga-Cherokee and Yazoo), by other states (e.g. South Carolina); and by the US federal government; Britain and Spain. In 1802, the region was joined to the Mississippi Territory(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10J Battery). Individual statehood was delayed, however, by the territory's lack of a coastline.

Statehood, Civil War and Reconstruction

Old Alabama state capital ruins at Capital Park in Tuscaloosa

Alabama became the twenty-second state —admitted to the Union in 1819. Part of the frontier in the 1820s and 1830s, its constitution provided for universal suffrage for white men. Settlers rapidly arrived to take advantage of the fertile soil. Southeastern planters and traders from the Upper South brought slaves with them as the cotton plantations expanded. The economy of the central "Black Belt" (named for its dark, productive soil) (SONY Vaio VGN-NS10E Battery) was built around large cotton plantations whose owners' wealth grew largely from slave labor.[24] The area also drew many poor, disfranchised people who became subsistence farmers. The 1860 census records show that enslaved Africans comprised 45% of the state's total population of 964,201. There were only 2,690 free persons of color living in Alabama at the time(SONY Vaio VGN-NS38M/W Battery).

From 1826 to 1846, Tuscaloosa served as the capital of Alabama. On January 30, 1846, the Alabama legislature announced that it had voted to remove the capital city from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery. The first legislative session in the new capital met in December 1847. In time, a Capitol building was erected under the direction of a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania architect(SONY Vaio VGN-NS38M/P Battery). The original structure burnt down in 1849 but was rebuilt in 1851 following the original plans.[25]

On January 11, 1861, Alabama declared its secession from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. While few battles were fought in the state, Alabama contributed about 120,000 soldiers to the American Civil War. Alabama's slaves were freed by the 13th Amendment in 1865(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z/W Battery).[26] During Reconstruction, the new state legislators created a public school system for the first time, as well as establishing some welfare institutions to help its people. Alabama was officially restored to the Union in 1868.

After the Civil War, the state was still chiefly agricultural, with an economy tied to cotton. Planters resisted working with free labor during Reconstruction and sought to re-establish controls over freedmen(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z/S Battery). In the early years the Ku Klux Klan had numerous independent chapters in Alabama that attacked freedmen and other Republicans. After it was suppressed, insurgent whites organized paramilitary groups, such as the Red Shirts and White League, that acted more openly to suppress black voting. Regaining power by the late 1870s(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31Z/P Battery), in the last decade of the 19th century, white Democrats passed electoral laws disfranchise most blacks and many poor whites.[27] Having regained power in the state legislature, Democrats passed Jim Crow laws, including racial segregation in public facilities, to restore white supremacy in the society.

In 1875, the state passed the Blaine Amendment, to prohibit public money from being used to finance Catholic schools(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31S/S Battery).[28]

1900–1960

School in Alabama (Farm Security Administration, 1935)

The new 1901 Constitution of Alabama effectively disfranchised African Americans and many poor whites through voting restrictions, including literacy requirements. While the planter class had persuaded poor whites to support these legislative efforts, the new restrictions resulted in disfranchising poor whites as well, due mostly to imposition of a cumulative poll tax(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31M/W Battery).

In 1900, 14 Black Belt counties had more than 79,000 voters on the rolls.[clarification needed] By June 1, 1903, the number of[clarification needed] registered voters had dropped to 1,081. In 1900, Alabama had more than 181,000 African Americans eligible to vote. By 1903, only 2,980 had qualified to register, although at least 74,000 black voters were literate(SONY Vaio VGN-NS31M/P Battery).[29]

By 1941, a total of more whites than blacks had been disfranchised: 600,000 whites to 520,000 blacks.[29] Nearly all African Americans lost the ability to vote.

The disfranchisement was ended by African Americans' leading the Civil Rights Movement and gaining Federal legislation in the mid-1960s to protect their voting and civil rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 also protected the suffrage of poor whites(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21Z/S Battery).

The rural-dominated Alabama legislature consistently underfunded schools and services for the disfranchised African Americans in the segregated state, but did not relieve them of paying taxes.[24] Continued racial discrimination, agricultural depression, and the failure of the cotton crops due to boll weevil infestation led tens of thousands of African Americans to seek opportunities in northern cities(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21S/W Battery). They left Alabama in the early 20th century as part of the Great Migration to industrial jobs and better futures in northern industrial cities. The population growth rate in Alabama (see "Historical Populations" table below) dropped by nearly half from 1910 to 1920, reflecting the effect of emigration(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21S/S Battery).

At the same time, many rural whites and blacks migrated to the city of Birmingham for work in new industrial jobs. It experienced such rapid growth that it was nicknamed "The Magic City." By the 1920s, Birmingham was the 19th largest city in the U.S. and held more than 30% of the population of the state. Heavy industry and mining were the basis of the economy(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21M/W Battery).[30]

This structure greets drivers visiting the Alabama Welcome Center just inside the AL/GA border off of Interstate 20.

Industrial development related to the demands of World War II brought prosperity.[24] Cotton faded in importance as the state developed a manufacturing and service base. In the 1960s under Governor George Wallace, many whites in the state opposed federal integration efforts in schools and public facilities(SONY Vaio VGN-NS21M/P Battery).

1960–present

Despite massive population changes in the state from 1901 to 1961, the rural-dominated legislature refused to reapportion House and Senate seats based on population. They held on to old representation to maintain political and economic power in agricultural areas. In addition, the state legislature gerrymandered the few Birmingham legislative seats to ensure election by persons living outside Birmingham(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12S/S Battery).

One result was that Jefferson County, containing Birmingham's industrial and economic powerhouse, contributed more than one-third of all tax revenue to the state, but did not receive a proportional amount in services. Urban interests were consistently underrepresented in the legislature. A 1960 study noted that because of rural domination, "A minority of about 25 per cent of the total state population is in majority control of the Alabama legislature." (SONY Vaio VGN-NS12M/W Battery) [5]

African Americans were presumed partial to Republicans for historical reasons, but they were disfranchised. White Alabamans felt bitter towards the Republican Party in the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction. These factors created a longstanding tradition that any candidate who wanted to be viable with white voters had to run as a Democrat regardless of political beliefs(SONY Vaio VGN-NS12M/S Battery).

During the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans achieved a protection of voting and other civil rights through the passage of the national Civil Rights Act of 1964,[31] and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. De jure segregation ended in the states as Jim Crow laws were invalidated or repealed(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11Z/S Battery).[32]

Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, cases were filed in Federal courts to force Alabama to properly redistrict by population both the House and Senate of the state legislature. In 1972, for the first time since 1901, the legislature implemented the Alabama constitution's provision for periodic redistricting based on population. This benefited the urban areas that had developed(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11ZR/S Battery), as well as all in the population who had been underrepresented for more than 60 years.[5]

After 1972, the state's white voters shifted much of their support to Republican candidates in presidential elections (as also occurred in neighboring southern states). Since 1990 the majority of whites in the state have voted increasingly Republican in state elections. In 2010, Republicans won control of both houses of the legislature for the first time in 136 years(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11S/S Battery).[33]

Geography

Alabama terrain map: shows lakes, rivers, roads, with Mount Cheaha (right center) east of Birmingham.

Main article: Geography of Alabama

See also: List of Alabama counties and Geology of Alabama

Alabama is the thirtieth-largest state in the United States with 52,419 square miles (135,760 km2) of total area: 3.2% of the area is water, making Alabama twenty-third in the amount of surface water, also giving it the second-largest inland waterway system in the United States.[34] About three-fifths of the land area is a gentle plain with a general descent towards the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11SR/S Battery). The North Alabama region is mostly mountainous, with the Tennessee River cutting a large valley creating numerous creeks, streams, rivers, mountains, and lakes.[35]

View of Perdido Pass from Orange Beach

The states bordering Alabama are Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida to the south; and Mississippi to the west. Alabama has coastline at the Gulf of Mexico, in the extreme southern edge of the state.[35] Alabama ranges in elevation from sea level[36] at Mobile Bay to over 1,800 feet (550 m) in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11M/S Battery). The highest point is Mount Cheaha,[35] at a height of 2,413 ft (735 m).[37] Alabama's land consists of 22 million acres (89,000 km2) of forest or 67% of total land area.[38] Suburban Baldwin County, along the Gulf Coast, is the largest county in the state in both land area and water area.[39]

Areas in Alabama administered by the National Park Service include Horseshoe Bend National Military Park near Alexander City(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11MR/S Battery); Little River Canyon National Preserve near Fort Payne; Russell Cave National Monument in Bridgeport; Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee; and Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site near Tuskegee.[40] Additionally, Alabama has four National Forests: Conecuh, Talladega, Tuskegee, and William B. Bankhead(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11L/S Battery).[41] Alabama also contains the Natchez Trace Parkway, the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail, and the Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail. A notable natural wonder in Alabama is "Natural Bridge" rock, the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies, located just south of Haleyville.

A 5-mile (8 km)-wide meteorite impact crater is located in Elmore County, just north of Montgomery(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11J/S Battery). This is the Wetumpka crater, the site of "Alabama's greatest natural disaster." A 1,000-foot (300 m)-wide meteorite hit the area about 80 million years ago.[42] The hills just east of downtown Wetumpka showcase the eroded remains of the impact crater that was blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka crater or astrobleme ("star-wound") because of the concentric rings of fractures and zones of shattered rock that can be found beneath the surface(SONY Vaio VGN-NS11E/S Battery).[43] In 2002, Christian Koeberl with the Institute of Geochemistry University of Vienna published evidence and established the site as 157th recognized impact crater on Earth.[44]

Urban areas

Climate

Main article: Climate of Alabama

The state is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa) under the Koppen Climate Classification.[45] The average annual temperature is 64 °F (18 °C). Temperatures tend to be warmer in the southern part of the state with its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, while the northern parts of the state(SONY Vaio VGN-NS115N/S Battery), especially in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast, tend to be slightly cooler.[46] Generally, Alabama has very hot summers and mild winters with copious precipitation throughout the year. Alabama receives an average of 56 inches (1,400 mm) of rainfall annually and enjoys a lengthy growing season of up to 300 days in the southern part of the state(SONY Vaio VGN-NS110E/W Battery).[46]

Summers in Alabama are among the hottest in the United States, with high temperatures averaging over 90 °F (32 °C) throughout the summer in some parts of the state. Alabama is also prone to tropical storms and even hurricanes. Areas of the state far away from the Gulf are not immune to the effects of the storms, which often dump tremendous amounts of rain as they move inland and weaken(SONY Vaio VGN-NS110E/S Battery).

Though winters in the state are usually mild, nightly freezing occurs frequently in the North Alabama region. This is shown in this picture taken at the Old State Bank in Decatur during early January.

South Alabama reports many thunderstorms. The Gulf Coast, around Mobile Bay, averages between 70 and 80 days per year with thunder reported. This activity decreases somewhat further north in the state(SONY Vaio VGN-NS110E/L Battery), but even the far north of the state reports thunder on about 60 days per year. Occasionally, thunderstorms are severe with frequent lightning and large hail – the central and northern parts of the state are most vulnerable to this type of storm. Alabama ranks seventh in the number of deaths from lightning and ninth in the number of deaths from lightning strikes per capita(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10L/S Battery).[47]

Alabama, along with Kansas, has the most reported EF5 tornadoes of any state – according to statistics from the National Climatic Data Center for the period January 1, 1950, to October 31, 2006.[48] Several long – tracked F5 tornadoes have contributed to Alabama reporting more tornado fatalities than any other state, even surpassing Texas which has a much larger area within Tornado Alley(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10J/S Battery). The state suffered damage in the Super Outbreak of April 1974, and the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak.

The peak season for tornadoes varies from the northern to southern parts of the state. Alabama is one of the few places in the world that has a secondary tornado season in November and December, along with the spring severe weather season. The northern part of the state — along the Tennessee Valley — is one of the areas in the U.S. most vulnerable to violent tornadoes(SONY Vaio VGN-NS10E/S Battery). The area of Alabama and Mississippi most affected by tornadoes is sometimes referred to as Dixie Alley, as distinct from the Tornado Alley of the Southern Plains.

Winters are generally mild in Alabama, as they are throughout most of the southeastern United States, with average January low temperatures around 40 °F (4 °C) in Mobile and around 32 °F (0 °C) in Birmingham. Although snow is a rare event in much of Alabama, areas of the state north of Montgomery may receive a dusting of snow a few times every winter, with an occasional moderately heavy snowfall every few years(Sony VAIO VGN-SR94VS battery). Historic snowfall events include New Year's Eve 1963 snowstorm and the 1993 Storm of the Century. The annual average snowfall for the Birmingham area is 2 inches (51 mm) per year. In the southern Gulf coast, snowfall is less frequent, sometimes going several years without any snowfall(Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG battery).

Demographics

The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Alabama was 4,802,740 on July 1, 2011, a 0.48% increase since the 2010 United States Census.[1]

The United States Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2008, estimated Alabama's population at 4,661,900,[54] which represents an increase of 214,545, or 4.8%, since the last census in 2000.[55] This includes a natural increase since the last census of 121,054 people (Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG/H battery) (that is 502,457 births minus 381,403 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 104,991 people into the state.[55] Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 31,180 people, and migration within the country produced a net gain of 73,811 people.[55] The state had 108,000 foreign-born (2.4% of the state population), of which an estimated 22.2% were illegal immigrants (24,000) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR55TF/B battery).

The center of population of Alabama is located in Chilton County, outside of the town of Jemison.[56]

Race and ancestry

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Alabama had a population of 4,779,736. In terms of race and ethnicity, the state was 68.5% White (67.0% Non-Hispanic White Alone), 26.2% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 2.0% from Some Other Race, and 1.5% from Two or More Races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 3.9% of the population(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF battery).[57]

The largest reported ancestry groups in Alabama are: African American (26.2%), English (23.6%), Irish (7.7%), German (5.7%), and Scots-Irish (2.0%). Those citing "American" ancestry in Alabama are of overwhelmingly English extraction, however most English Americans identify simply as having American ancestry because their roots have been in North America for so long, in many cases since the early 1600s(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W battery). Demographers estimate that a minimum of 20-23% of people in Alabama are of predominantly English ancestry and state that the figure is probably much higher. In the 1980 census, 41% of the people in Alabama cited that they were of English ancestry, making them the largest ethnic group at the time. There are also many more people in Alabama of Scots-Irish origins than are self-reported(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B battery).[66] Many people in Alabama claim Irish ancestry because of the term Scots-Irish, but most of the time in Alabama this term is used for those with Scottish roots, rather than Irish.[67]

In 1984, under the Davis–Strong Act, Alabama established a state Indian Commission and officially recognized seven American Indian tribes, including the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama, which is a 501 (c)(3) group. It is made up of descendants of the Chickamauga Cherokee and others who managed to evade Indian Removal in the 1830s(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/S battery). Working with Auburn University, the tribe has begun a revival of the Cherokee language.

Religion

Alabama is located in the middle of the Bible Belt, a region of high Christian adherence. Alabama has been identified as one of the most religious states in the US, with about 58% of the population attending church regularly.[68] A majority of people in the state identify as Protestant. As of 2000, the three largest denominational groups in Alabama are Evangelical Protestant, Mainline Protestant, and Catholic(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/P battery). The Southern Baptist Convention has the highest number of adherents in Alabama with 1,380,121, followed by the United Methodist Church with 327,734 members, and the Catholic Church with 150,647 adherents.[69]

In a 2007 survey, nearly 70% of respondents could name all four of the Christian Gospels. Of those who indicated a religious preference, 59% said they possessed a "full understanding" of their faith and needed no further learning(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49VN/H battery).[70] In a 2007 poll, 92% of Alabamians reported having at least some confidence in churches in the state.[71][72] In the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, 80% of Alabama respondents reported their religion as Christian (other than Catholic,) 6% as Catholic, and 11% as having no religion at all(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49D battery).[73]

Health

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed that Alabama was one of the worst in the country for obesity with most counties having over 29% of adults obese, except for ten which exceeded 26%.[74] Residents were least likely of any state in the nation to exercise.[75] Alabama has one of the highest incidences of adult onset diabetes in the country, exceeding 10% of adults(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49D/Q battery).

Economy

The state has invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries, including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication.

According to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2008 total gross state product was $170 billion, or $29,411 per capita. Alabama's 2008 GDP increased 0.7% from the previous year. The single largest increase came in the area of information.[78] In 1999, per capita income for the state was $18,189(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49D/J battery).[79]

As of September 2010, the state's unemployment rate is 8.9%.[80]

Largest employers

Agriculture

Alabama's agricultural outputs include poultry and eggs, cattle, plant nursery items, peanuts, cotton, grains such as corn and sorghum, vegetables, milk, soybeans, and peaches. Although known as "The Cotton State," Alabama ranks between eighth and tenth in national cotton production, according to various reports,[82][83] with Texas, Georgia and Mississippi comprising the top three(Sony VAIO VGN-SR48J battery).

Industry

U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville

Alabama's industrial outputs include iron and steel products (including cast-iron and steel pipe); paper, lumber, and wood products; mining (mostly coal); plastic products; cars and trucks; and apparel. Also, Alabama produces aerospace and electronic products, mostly in the Huntsville area, location of NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal(Sony VAIO VGN-SR48J/J battery).

Most Alabama's economic growth is due to the state's expanding automotive manufacturing industry. Located in the state are Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, as well as their various suppliers. Since 1993, the automobile industry has generated more than 67,800 new jobs in the state(Sony VAIO VGN-SR48J/B battery). Alabama currently ranks 4th in the nation in automobile output.[84]

Steel producers Nucor, SSAB, ThyssenKrupp, and U.S. Steel have facilities in Alabama and employ over 10,000 people. In May 2007, German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp selected Alabama for a $3.7 billion steel production plant, with the promise of 2,700 permanent jobs.[85] When ThyssenKrupp's new facilities reach full production capacity(Sony VAIO VGN-SR46TD/B battery), Alabama is expected to become the third largest steel producing state in the country behind Indiana and Pennsylvania.[86]

The Hunt Refining Company, a subsidiary of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., is based in Tuscaloosa and operates a refinery there. The company also operates terminals in Mobile, Melvin, and Moundville.[87] JVC America, Inc. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR46MD/B battery), a wholly owned subsidiary of JVC Americas Corp., operates an optical disc replication and packaging plant in Tuscaloosa.[88]

Michelin North America operated a 1,000,000 square feet (9.3 ha) BFGoodrich Tire manufacturing plant in Opelika from 1963 to 2009, when it shut down.[89] GAF Materials Corporation formerly operated a plant in Mobile, but ceased production operations in 2010. The plant had previously been idled in 2007 before resuming in 2008 and may reopen in the future once demand recovers(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45T/W battery).[90]

Tourism

Alabama's beaches have a strong impact on the state's economy

An estimated 100,000 tourists annually from other countries visit the state, including from Canada, England, Germany and Japan. In 2006, 22.3 million tourists spent $8.3 billion providing an estimated 162,000 jobs in the state.[91][92][93]

Health

UAB Hospital is the only Level I trauma center in Alabama.[94][95] UAB is the largest employer in Alabama, with a workforce of about 20,000(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45T/P battery).

Banking

Alabama has the headquarters of Regions Financial Corporation, BBVA Compass and Superior Bancorp. Birmingham-based Compass Banchshares was acquired by Spanish-based BBVA in September 2007, although the headquarters of BBVA Compass remains in Birmingham. In November 2006, Regions Financial completed its merger with AmSouth Bancorporation, which was also headquartered in Birmingham(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45T/B battery). SouthTrust Corporation, another large bank headquartered in Birmingham, was acquired by Wachovia in 2004 for $14.3 billion. The city still has major operations for Wachovia and its now post-operating bank Wells Fargo, which includes a regional headquarters, an operations center campus and a $400 million dollar data center. Nearly a dozen smaller banks are also headquartered in the Birmingham, such as Superior Bancorp(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H battery), ServisFirst and New South Federal Savings Bank. Birmingham also serves as the headquarters for several large investment management companies, including Harbert Management Corporation.

Electronics

Telecommunications provider AT&T, formerly BellSouth, also has a major presence in Alabama with several large offices in Birmingham. The company has over 6,000 employees and more than 1,200 contract employees(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/P battery).

Many commercial technology companies are headquartered in Huntsville, such as the network access company ADTRAN, computer graphics company Intergraph, design and manufacturer of IT infrastructure Avocent, and telecommunications provider Deltacom. Cinram manufactures and distributes 20th Century Fox DVDs and Blu-ray Discs out of their Huntsville plant(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/N battery).

Construction

Rust International has grown to include Brasfield & Gorrie, BE&K, Hoar Construction and B.L. Harbert International, which all routinely are included in the Engineering News-Record lists of top design, international construction, and engineering firms. (Rust International was acquired in 2000 by Washington Group International, which was in turn acquired by San-Francisco based URS Corporation in 2007.) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/B battery)

Transportation

The Port of Mobile, Alabama's only saltwater port, is a busy seaport on the Gulf of Mexico with inland waterway access to the Midwest by way of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The Port of Mobile is currently the 9th-largest by tonnage in the United States.[96]

Barge transportation in and out of the Port of Tuscaloosa and other commercial navigation make the Black Warrior River useful in the state of Alabama(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/W battery).

Law and government

The State Capitol, built in 1850

State government

Main article: Government of Alabama

The foundational document for Alabama's government is the Alabama Constitution, which was ratified in 1901. At almost 800 amendments and 310,000 words, it is the world's longest constitution and is roughly forty times the length of the U.S. Constitution.[97][98] There is a significant movement to rewrite and modernize Alabama's constitution(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S battery).[99] This movement is based upon the fact that Alabama's constitution highly centralizes power in Montgomery and leaves practically no power in local hands. Any policy changes proposed around the state must be approved by the entire Alabama legislature and, frequently, by state referendum. One criticism of the current constitution claims that its complexity and length were intentional to codify segregation and racism(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P battery).

Alabama is divided into three equal branches: The legislative branch is the Alabama Legislature, a bicameral assembly composed of the Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama Senate, with 35 members. The Legislature is responsible for writing, debating, passing, or defeating state legislation(Sony VAIO VGN-SR3CW/B battery).

The executive branch is responsible for the execution and oversight of laws. It is headed by the Governor of Alabama. Other members of executive branch include the cabinet, the Attorney General of Alabama, the Alabama Secretary of State, the Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, the Alabama State Treasurer, and the State Auditor of Alabama(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39XN/S battery).

The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the Constitution and applying the law in state criminal and civil cases. The highest court is the Supreme Court of Alabama.

Taxes

Alabama levies a 2, 4, or 5 percent personal income tax, depending upon the amount earned and filing status. Taxpayers are not allowed to deduct their federal income tax from their Alabama state tax, but can deduct federal Social Security and Medicare taxes(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39VN/S battery).

The state's general sales tax rate is 4%.[100] The collection rate could be substantially higher, depending upon additional city and county sales taxes. For example, the total sales tax rate in Mobile is 10% and there is an additional restaurant tax of 1%, which means that a diner in Mobile would pay a 11% tax on a meal. Sales and excise taxes in Alabama account for 51% of all state and local revenue(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39D battery), compared with an average of about 36% nationwide. Alabama is also one of the few remaining states that levies a tax on food and medicine. Alabama's income tax on poor working families is among the nation's very highest.[101] Alabama is the only state that levies income tax on a family of four with income as low as $4,600(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39D/Q battery), which is barely one-quarter of the federal poverty line.[101] Alabama's threshold is the lowest among the 41 states and the District of Columbia with income taxes.[101]

The corporate income tax rate is currently 6.5%. The overall federal, state, and local tax burden in Alabama ranks the state as the second least tax-burdened state in the country.[102] Property taxes are the lowest in the United States. The current state constitution requires a voter referendum to raise property taxes(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39D/J battery).

Since Alabama's tax structure largely depends on consumer spending, it is subject to high variable budget structure. For example, in 2003 Alabama had an annual budget deficit as high as $670 million.

Local and county government

Alabama counties (clickable map)

Alabama has 67 counties. Each county has its own elected legislative branch, usually called the County Commission, which usually also has executive authority in the county(Sony VAIO VGN-SR38/Q battery). Because of the restraints placed in the Alabama Constitution, all but seven counties (Jefferson, Lee, Mobile, Madison, Montgomery, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa) in the state have little to no home rule. Instead, most counties in the state must lobby the Local Legislation Committee of the state legislature to get simple local policies such as waste disposal to land use zoning(Sony VAIO VGN-SR38/P battery).

Alabama is an alcoholic beverage control state; the government holds a monopoly on the sale of alcohol. However, counties can declare themselves "dry"; the state does not sell alcohol in those areas.

Politics

Further information: Political party strength in Alabama

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley

The current governor of the state is Republican Robert Bentley. The lieutenant governor is Republican Kay Ivey. The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is Democrat Sue Bell Cobb. The Republican Party currently holds a majority in both houses of the Legislature. The Legislature has the power to override a gubernatorial veto by a simple majority (most state Legislatures require a two-thirds majority to override a veto) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR38/B battery).

During Reconstruction following the American Civil War, Alabama was occupied by federal troops of the Third Military District under General John Pope. In 1874, the political coalition known as the Redeemers took control of the state government from the Republicans, in part by suppressing the African American vote(Sony VAIO VGN-SR37TN/B battery).

After 1890, a coalition of whites passed laws to segregate and disenfranchise black residents, a process completed in provisions of the 1901 constitution. Provisions which disfranchised African Americans also disfranchised poor whites, however. By 1941 more whites than blacks had been disfranchised: 600,000 to 520,000, although the impact was greater on the African-American community, as almost all of its citizens were disfranchised(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35T/S battery).

From 1901 through the 1960s, the state did not redraw election districts as population grew and shifted within the state. The result was a rural minority that dominated state politics until a series of court cases required redistricting in 1972.

Alabama state politics gained nationwide and international attention in the 1950s and 1960s during the American Civil Rights Movement, when majority whites bureaucratically, and at times, violently resisted protests for electoral and social reform(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35T/P battery). George Wallace, the state's only four-term governor, was a controversial figure. Only with the passage of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964[31] and Voting Rights Act of 1965 did African Americans regain suffrage and other civil rights.

In 2007, the Alabama Legislature passed, and Republican Governor Bob Riley signed, a resolution expressing "profound regret" over slavery and its lingering impact. In a symbolic ceremony, the bill was signed in the Alabama State Capitol, which housed Congress of the Confederate States of America(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35T/B battery).[103]

State elections

With the disfranchisement of African Americans, the state became part of the "Solid South," a system in which the Democratic Party became essentially the only political party in every Southern state. For nearly 100 years, local and state elections in Alabama were decided in the Democratic Party primary, with generally only token Republican challengers running in the General Election(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35M/B battery).

Developments in the 1986 Democratic primary election led to the election of the first Republican Governor in more than a century and started Republicans on the road to political dominance in the state. One million voters cast ballots in the 1986 Democratic primary. The then-incumbent Lieutenant Governor, Bill Baxley(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/S battery), lost the Democratic nomination for Governor by approximately 8,000 votes to then fellow Democratic Attorney General Charles Graddick. The state Democratic party's five-member election contest committee invalidated the primary election result claiming that thousands of Republicans had "illegally" voted in the Democratic primary for Graddick and as a result they removed Graddick from the ballot(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/P battery). The Democratic Party then placed Baxley's name on the ballot as the Democratic candidate instead of Graddick. The voters of the state revolted at what they perceived as disenfranchisement of their right to vote and elected the Republican challenger, Guy Hunt, as Governor.[104] Hunt had been nominated in a statewide Republican primary that had 28,000 participants compared to the 1,000,000 plus of the Democratic primary(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/B battery). That November Hunt became the first Republican Governor elected in Alabama since Reconstruction when he won 57 percent of the vote statewide against Baxley.

Since 1986, Republicans have won six of the seven gubernatorial elections and become increasingly competitive in Alabama politics at many levels. They currently control both seats in the U.S. Senate and six out of the state's seven congressional seats(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H battery).

Republicans hold all nine seats on the Alabama Supreme Court [105] and all ten seats on the state appellate courts. Until 1994, no Republicans held any of the court seats. This change also began, likely in part, due to the same perception by voters of Democratic party efforts to disenfranchise voters again in 1994. In that general election, the then-incumbent Chief Justice of Alabama, Ernest C. Hornsby(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/S battery), refused to leave office after losing the election by approximately 3,000 votes to Republican Perry O. Hooper, Sr.. Hornsby sued Alabama and defiantly remained in office for nearly a year before finally giving up the seat after losing in court. This ultimately led to a collapse of support for Democrats at the ballot box in the next three or four election cycles. The Democrats lost the last of the nineteen court seats in August 2011 with the resignation of the last Democrat on the bench(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/P battery).

Today, Republicans also hold all seven of the statewide elected executive branch offices. Republicans also hold six of the eight elected seats on the Alabama State Board of Education. In 2010, Republicans took large majorities of both chambers of the state legislature giving them control of that body for the first time in 136 years. However, Democrats hold one of the three seats on the Alabama Public Service Commission. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/B battery)

Only two Republican Lieutenant Governors have been elected since Reconstruction, Steve Windom and Kay Ivey, the current Lieutenant Governor. Windom served as Lt. Governor under Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman. Before 2011, the last time that Alabama had a governor and Lieutenant Governor of the same party was the period between 1983 (Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M/S battery)and 1987 when George Wallace was serving his fourth term as governor and Bill Baxley was serving as Lieutenant Governor; both were Democrats.

In Alabama, the members of the Legislature take office immediately after the November elections, but the statewide officials, such as the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and other constitutional offices take office in the following January. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR29XN/S battery)

Local elections

Many local offices (County Commissioners, Boards of Education, Tax Assessors, Tax Collectors, etc.) in the state are still held by Democrats. Local elections in most rural counties are generally decided in the Democratic primary and local elections in metropolitan and suburban counties are generally decided in the Republican Primary, although there are exceptions. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN/S battery)

Alabama's 67 County Sheriffs are elected in partisan races and Democrats still retain the majority of those posts. The current split is 42 Democrats, 24 Republicans, and 1 Independent (Choctaw).[112][Full citation needed] However, most of the Democratic sheriffs preside over rural and less populated counties and the majority of Republican sheriffs preside over more urban/suburban and heavily populated counties(Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/S battery).[113] Two Alabama counties (Montgomery and Calhoun) with a population of over 100,000 have Democratic sheriffs and five Alabama counties with a population of under 75,000 have Republican sheriffs (Autauga, Coffee, Dale, Coosa, and Blount).[114] The state has one female sheriff (Morgan) and 9 African-American sheriffs.[115] (Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/P battery)

Federal elections

From 1876 through 1956, Alabama supported only Democratic presidential candidates, by large margins. In 1960, the Democrats won with John F. Kennedy on the ballot, but the Democratic electors from Alabama gave 6 of their 11 electoral votes as a protest to Harry Byrd. In 1964, Republican Barry Goldwater carried the state(Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/B battery).

In the 1968 presidential election, Alabama supported native son and American Independent Party candidate George Wallace over both Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Wallace was the official Democratic candidate in Alabama, while Humphrey was the National Democratic nominee.[116] In 1976, Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter from Georgia carried the state, the region, and the nation, but Democratic control of the region slipped after that(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25T/S battery).

Since 1980, conservative Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and until 2010 comprised a longstanding majority in the Alabama Legislature; see Dixiecrat(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25T/P battery).

In 2004, George W. Bush won Alabama's nine electoral votes by a margin of 25 percentage points with 62.5% of the vote, mostly white voters. The 11 counties that voted Democratic were Black Belt counties, where African Americans are the majority racial group.

The state's two U.S. senators are Jefferson B. Sessions III and Richard C. Shelby, both Republicans(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25S/B battery).

In the U.S. House of Representatives, the state is represented by seven members, six of whom are Republicans: (Jo Bonner, Mike D. Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Morris J. Brooks, Martha Roby, and Spencer Bachus) and one Democrat: Terri Sewell).

Further information: United States presidential election in Alabama, 2004

Education

Main article: Education in Alabama

Primary and secondary education(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25M/B battery)

Public primary and secondary education in Alabama is under the overview of the Alabama State Board of Education as well as local oversight by 67 county school boards and 60 city boards of education. Together, 1,541 individual schools provide education for 743,364 elementary and secondary students. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/S battery)

Public school funding is appropriated through the Alabama Legislature through the Education Trust Fund. In FY 2006–2007, Alabama appropriated $3,775,163,578 for primary and secondary education. That represented an increase of $444,736,387 over the previous fiscal year.[117] In 2007, over 82 percent of schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward student proficiency under the National No Child Left Behind law(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/P battery), using measures determined by the State of Alabama. In 2004, 23 percent of schools met AYP.[118]

While Alabama's public education system has improved, it lags behind in achievement compared to other states. According to U.S. Census data, Alabama's high school graduation rate – 75% – is the fourth lowest in the United States (after Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi). (Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/B battery) The largest educational gains were among people with some college education but without degrees.[120]

Harrison Plaza at the University of North Alabama in Florence. The school was chartered as LaGrange College by the Alabama Legislature in 1830.

Colleges and universities

Main article: List of colleges and universities in Alabama

Alabama's programs of higher education include 14 four-year public universities, two-year community colleges, and 17 private, undergraduate and graduate universities. In the state are two medical schools (Sony VAIO VGN-SR240N/B battery) (University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of South Alabama), two veterinary colleges (Auburn University and Tuskegee University), a dental school (University of Alabama at Birmingham), an optometry college (University of Alabama at Birmingham), two pharmacy schools (Auburn University and Samford University), and five law schools (University of Alabama School of Law(Sony VAIO VGN-SR240J/B battery), Birmingham School of Law, Cumberland School of Law, Miles Law School, and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law). Public, post-secondary education in Alabama is overseen by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Colleges and universities in Alabama offer degree programs from two-year associate degrees to 16 doctoral level programs. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR23H/B battery)

The largest single campus is the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, with 31,747 enrolled for fall 2011.[123] Troy University is the largest institution in the state, enrolling 29,689 students (as of 2010) across four Alabama campuses (Troy, Dothan, Montgomery, and Phenix City), as well as sixty learning sites in seventeen other states and eleven other countries(Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/H battery). The oldest institutions are the public University of North Alabama in Florence and the Catholic Church-affiliated Spring Hill College in Mobile, both founded in 1830.[124][125]

Accreditation of academic programs is through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as well as other subject-focused national and international accreditation agencies such as the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), (Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/B battery) the Council on Occupational Education (COE),[127] and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS).[128]

According to the 2011 U.S. News and World Report, Alabama had three universities ranked in the top 100 Public Schools in America (University of Alabama at 31, Auburn University at 36, and University of Alabama at Birmingham at 73). (Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S battery)

Venues

Bryant-Denny Stadium

Alabama has four of the world's largest stadiums by seating capacity: Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn and Legion Field in Birmingham.

The Talladega Superspeedway motorsports complex hosts a series of NASCAR events. It has a seating capacity of 143,000 and is the thirteenth largest stadium in the world and sixth largest stadium in America. Bryant-Denny Stadium serves as the home of the University of Alabama football team has a seating capacity of 101,821(Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN battery). It is the fifth largest stadium in America and the eighth largest non-racing stadium in the world. Jordan-Hare Stadium is the home field of the Auburn University football team and has a seating capacity of 87,451. It is the twelfth largest college football stadium in America. Legion Field is home for the UAB Blazers football program and the Papajohns.com Bowl. It seats 71,594. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN battery)

Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile serves as the home of the NCAA Senior Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl, Alabama-Mississippi All Star Classic and home of the University of South Alabama football team. Ladd-Peebles Stadium opened in 1948 and seats 40,646. (Sony VAIO VGN-SR190F battery)

In 2009, Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium became the homes of the Alabama High School Athletic Association state football championship games, known as the Super Six. Bryant-Denny hosts the Super Six in odd-numbered years, with Jordan-Hare taking the games in even-numbered years. Previously, the Super Six was held at Legion Field in Birmingham. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38 battery)

Transportation

Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport

Air transportation

Main article: Aviation in Alabama

Major airports in Alabama include Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Huntsville International Airport (HSV), Dothan Regional Airport (DHN), Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), Muscle Shoals – Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Tuscaloosa Regional Airport (TCL), and Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU) (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ37 battery).

Rail

For rail transport, Amtrak schedules the Crescent, a daily passenger train, running from New York to New Orleans with stops at Anniston, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa.

Roads

Interstate 59 (co-signed with Interstate 20) approaching Interstate 65 in downtown Birmingham.

Alabama has five major interstate roads that cross the state: I-65 runs north–south roughly through the middle of the state; I-59/I-20 travels from the central west border to Birmingham, where I-59 continues to the north-east corner of the state and I-20 continues east towards Atlanta(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ19VN battery); I-85 originates in Montgomery and runs east-northeast to the Georgia border, providing a main thoroughfare to Atlanta; and I-10 traverses the southernmost portion of the state, running from west to east through Mobile. Another interstate road, I-22, is currently under construction. When completed around 2014 it will connect Birmingham with Memphis, Tennessee(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ19L battery). In addition, there are currently five auxiliary interstate routes in the state: I-165 in Mobile, I-359 in Tuscaloosa, I-459 around Birmingham, I-565 in Huntsville, and I-759 in Gadsden. A sixth route, I-685, will be created when I-85 is rerouted along a new southern bypass of Montgomery. A proposed northern bypass of Birmingham will designated as I-422(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ190U battery).

Several U.S. Highways also pass through the state, such as US 11, US 29, US 31, US 43, US 45,US 72, US 78, US 80, US 82, US 84, US 90, US 98, US 231, US 278, US 280, US 331, US 411, and US 431.

There are four toll roads in the state: Alabama River Parkway in Montgomery; Black Warrior Parkway in Tuscaloosa; Emerald Mountain Expressway in Montgomery; Foley Beach Express in Foley; Montgomery Expressway in Montgomery and four toll bridges: Alabama River Parkway Bridge in Montgomery(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ190N battery); Black Warrior Parkway Bridge in Tuscaloosa; Emerald Mountain Expressway Bridge in Montgomery; and Foley Beach Express Bridge in Foley.

In March 2011, Alabama ranked among the top five "Worst" states on the American State Litter Scorecard, for overall poor effectiveness and quality of its statewide public space cleanliness—primarily roadway and adjacent litter removals—from state and related efforts. (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ18T battery)