Review of Session 2007-2008

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Review of Session 2007-2008 PRIZE LECTURES Security, Insecurity, Paranoia and Quantum Mechanics .................................. 46 New Antibiotics from the Sea Bed to the Hospital Bed .................................. 64 100 Years of Radio Astronomy: Past, Present and Future ............................... 69 Fuelling the Fire: On How Obesity Fuels D isease.............................................................................................................. 74 Mind, Matter and Mathematics ..................................................................... 79 45 Review of the Session 2007-2008 James Scott Prize Lecture Security, Insecurity, Paranoia and Quantum Mechanics Stephen M. Barnett SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde 4 February 2008 The James Scott Prize Lectureship was established in 1918 in memory of James Scott, a farmer at East Pittendreich, near Brechin, by the Trustees of his Bequest. This prize is awarded quadrennially for a lecture on the fundamental concepts of Natural Philosophy. This year’s award goes to Professor Stephen Barnett FRS FRSE, who is based in the Department of Physics at the University of Strathclyde. Professor Barnett is one of the world’s most eminent scientists in the field of Quantum Optics. A previous winner of the Institute of Physics’ Maxwell Medal, he is perhaps best known for his co-discovery of the Barnett-Pegg phase operator. This established the first formally correct approach for handling both angles and phase as descriptions within quantum systems. Still within quantum physics, Professor Barnett holds a number of patents relating to techniques for writing unbreakable codes. For a subject that is potentially beyond most people’s understanding, Professor Barnett is well known for presenting the counter-commonsense implications of quantum mechanics in an accessible and entertaining way, stripping the subject of its supporting mathematics and leaving only the essence of pure ideas. 46 Prize and Bequest Lectures 1. Preamble Nearly all of you will carry an ATM card and use it to access your money via a bank autoteller machine. To get at your money you require the card and a “secret” PIN (personal identification number) which is usually four digits long. This PIN protects the machine, in that it establishes your identity. The machine, of course, only gives you money. It is sobering to realise that ATM fraud netts thieves in excess of £100 million each year in the UK alone. Some of you attending this lecture will have been victims of this. We are all familiar with the concept of computer hacking, whereby individuals use the internet to obtain unauthorised access to computers. It may be some comfort to discover that even the greatest are not immune. The following excerpts are from an article by Damian Whitforth in The Times, February 16th 2000: President Clinton had an astonishing confession to make. “Personally” he said, “I would like to see more porn on the internet”. … … Mr Clinton had given his first live online interview to CNN, which was confident that it had the technology to stop interference with its website for the duration. Instead, pranksters had a field day, posting ribald remarks that were attributed to Mr Clinton and asking impertinent questions. 2. Secure communications At the heart of information security is the communications problem. If we can live without communications then we can greatly increase security by physical isolation. On the other hand, if we can communicate securely then we can spend our (electronic) money and exchange information safely. The simplest and oldest method of secure communication is single key cryptography. The concept is to lock away our message in a strong box (too strong to break) and to send the box to our intended recipient. If they have a copy of the key used to lock the box then they can open it and retrieve the message. This is a good moment to introduce our cast of characters: the person transmitting a message is universally called “Alice” and her intended recipient is called “Bob”. The third character, whom we’ll meet shortly, is “Eve” the eavesdropper. The secrecy of single 47 Review of the Session 2007-2008 key cryptography relies crucially on the secrecy of the key, the only copies of which must be held by Alice and Bob and, of course, these two keys need to be identical. In practice there is no box but rather the message is enciphered using a secret key in the form of a piece of information. In the digital world, all messages are just a string of zeros and ones (… 00010010100100010001011 …) and so can be thought of simply as a (large) number. The key will be another number and the cipher text is produced by a mathematical operation on these two numbers. The vital question, of course: “is it secure?”. Perfect security can be achieved using the Vernam cipher, or one-time pad. For this to work we require Alice and Bob to share a secret key in the form of a random number that is the same length (has the same number of binary digits or bits) as the message they wish to share. The cryptogram, or ciphertext, is generated by bit- wise addition modulo 2, which we denote ⊕. This means that for each digit if the message and key bits are the same (both 0 or both 1) then the ciphertext is 0, but if they are different then it is 1. A simple example may clarify the point: message 011010001 … key 101001001 … ⊕ ciphertext 110011000 … All that Bob needs to do is to repeat the operation with his copy of the key: ciphertext 110011000 … key 101001001 … ⊕ message 011010001 … The method is completely secure if the key is truly secret and, crucially, is used only once. This secrecy is a consequence of the fact that the key is a random number and it necessarily follows, therefore, that the ciphertext is also a random number. There are two difficulties with the one-time pad: first we need to establish a secret key with our (distant) correspondent and second that we need to use large numbers of very long keys for even the most straightforward secure communications. Maybe there is a simpler way? Let us return to the locked-box concept and suppose 48 Prize and Bequest Lectures that the box has not one lock but two, one of which fits a key held only by Alice and the other that fits a key held only by Bob. Alice can put the message in the box, secure her lock and send the box to Bob who secures his lock and returns the box (now double-locked). Alice can undo her lock and return the box to Bob who can unlock it and retrieve the message (M). The box makes three journeys and is always closed, so surely it is secure? Let us see what happens if Alice and Bob each used their own key (KA and KB ) in an arrangement similar to the one-time pad. Alice locks the case M ⊕ KA = C1 Bob locks the case C1 ⊕ KB = M ⊕ KA ⊕ KB = C2 Alice unlocks the case C2 ⊕ KA = M ⊕ K/ A ⊕ KB ⊕ K/ A = C3 Bob unlocks the case C3 ⊕ KB = M At first sight these seems to be secure, as Eve has access only to the three random ciphertexts C1, C2 and C3. The modulo 2 sum of these three ciphertexts, however, reveals the original message without difficulty: C1 ⊕ C2 ⊕ C3 = M and so Eve, who has access to the transmitted ciphertexts, can retrieve the message. The underlying problem with this scheme is the simplicity of the operation corresponding to modulo addition. A protocol, due to Diffie and Hellman, does indeed work with multiple exchanges in the way suggested but relies, for its security, on the subtleties of modulo arithmetic. We shall not discuss it here, but note that it is closely related to the RSA public key cryptosystem, which we shall discuss shortly. The second difficulty associated with the one-time pad was the large number of very long keys needed to achieve perfect security. What we need is a method for achieving practical security; something that is good enough. A published and officially approved method is the data encryption standard or DES (or better, the advanced encryption standard – AES). This combines our message and a very much shorter key, usually 56 or 128 bits, in a sequence of mathematical operations to produce a ciphertext. Bob can easily convert the ciphertext back into the original message by Bob, using his copy of the key. The DES scheme is not perfectly secure 49 Review of the Session 2007-2008 and can be broken by a determined Eve with access to lots of computer power. The question then is “how long will this take?”. We might try to break it using an exhaustive key search; try every possible key until we find a meaningful message. If we had a 40 bit key then the number of possible keys is 240 ≈1012. If we had a machine capable of a million decryption operations a second then this would take about 6 days. Better algorithms exist, however, and security agencies have admitted to being able to crack 40 bit DES in under one hour. If we increase the length of the key then we greatly increase the number of possible keys. If we use a 128 bit key then the number of possible keys jumps to 2128 =1038. An exhaustive search on the machine described above would then take about 1024 years. But better algorithms do exist so … A radically different idea is public-key cryptography, in which no pre- arranged secret key is required. We can understand the principle by considering again the analogy of a locked box. In public key cryptography the box has only one lock but the keys required to lock and unlock it are different.
Recommended publications
  • The History of the First Presbyterian Church Charlottesville, Virginia
    The History of the First Presbyterian Church Charlottesville, Virginia “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 Robert E. Simpson Introduction Like many organizations with a time-honored history, the church documents its past in the tangibility of faces, official papers, portraits, material objects, and buildings. Expressed algebraically, history is the evidence of people added to places divided by time, a formula consciously present here. History, says the philosopher, counts Time not by the Hours but by the Ages. Time therefore is a vehicle by which each of us has traveled, history is knowing where that vehicle has been. The story of the First Presbyterian Church finds its beginnings back into the 18th century. This history will introduce you to many past and present citizens of Charlottesville and Albemarle County, and is but a speck in the story of the Church. To many we have not known, yet we have a sense of companionship. And, then there are those who we have known, and loved, and shared in Christian fellowship. For this history, I have relied heavily on primary sources: minutes of the various church courts; minutes of organizations of the church; letters; personal and written interview. In selecting items to be included, I have tried to make them representative of the life of the whole church. I realize that voices from the grave are mute, however, and items from the past which should have been included are known only to that great “cloud of witnesses” and to the Sovereign God.
    [Show full text]
  • 2004 Euro Manifesto
    Scottish Socialist Party European Election Manifesto 2004 for a different Europe europeanmanifesto part one About the SSP The Scottish Socialist Party is Scotland’s newest, fastest growing and most radical political party. Just six years old, the SSP now has six MSPs in the Scottish Parliament and a network of scores of branches in every corner of Scotland, from Stromness to Stranraer, from Selkirk to Stornoway. n the 2003 Scottish election, the All six Scottish Socialist MSPs also swing to the SSP was by far the most honoured their election pledges to live spectacular feature of a general upris- on no more than the average wage of a Iing against the four big parties, which skilled worker. Each of these MSPs lost over a million votes. donates half their salary to the party. In the first-past-the-post ballot, sup- The SSP is more than just another port for the SSP soared from under 1 per electoral party whose sole ambition is to cent to over 6 per cent. In the second get politicians elected into parliaments proportional ballot, the Scottish Socialist and councils. vote rose from just under 2 per cent to Most of our activity is conducted out- almost 7 per cent. With six MSPs, the side parliament, on the streets, in the SSP is represented across the whole of communities, in the workplaces, in the the central belt and southern Scotland, universities and colleges. from the Clyde to the Forth and from the Since 2001, the SSP has been the most Solway Firth to the North Sea.
    [Show full text]
  • Winter for the Membership of the American Crystallographic Association, P.O
    AMERICAN CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER Number 4 Winter 2004 ACA 2005 Transactions Symposium New Horizons in Structure Based Drug Discovery Table of Contents / President's Column Winter 2004 Table of Contents President's Column Presidentʼs Column ........................................................... 1-2 The fall ACA Council Guest Editoral: .................................................................2-3 meeting took place in early 2004 ACA Election Results ................................................ 4 November. At this time, News from Canada / Position Available .............................. 6 Council made a few deci- sions, based upon input ACA Committee Report / Web Watch ................................ 8 from the membership. First ACA 2004 Chicago .............................................9-29, 38-40 and foremost, many will Workshop Reports ...................................................... 9-12 be pleased to know that a Travel Award Winners / Commercial Exhibitors ...... 14-23 satisfactory venue for the McPherson Fankuchen Address ................................38-40 2006 summer meeting was News of Crystallographers ...........................................30-37 found. The meeting will be Awards: Janssen/Aminoff/Perutz ..............................30-33 held at the Sheraton Waikiki Obituaries: Blow/Alexander/McMurdie .................... 33-37 Hotel in Honolulu, July 22-27, 2005. Council is ACA Summer Schools / 2005 Etter Award ..................42-44 particularly appreciative of Database Update:
    [Show full text]
  • European Parliamentary Elections Bill [Bill 65 of 1997/98]
    The European Parliamentary Elections Bill [Bill 65 of 1997/98] Research Paper 97/120 19 November 1997 This Research Paper examines the background to the European Parliamentary Elections Bill (Bill 65 of 1997/98) and explains its provisions. The Bill provides for voters to choose between parties, rather than individual candidates, and further legislation to deal with the registration of parties is expected in this session, and this Paper does not cover that aspect. The introduction of a regional list form of election for the next European Parliament elections for 1999 will be the first time that proportional representation (PR) has been used throughout Great Britain (Northern Ireland uses the single transferable vote (STV) for European Parliamentary and local elections). Research Paper 97/26 Voting Systems - the Alternatives provides background to the various forms of PR used in other countries, and proposed for the United Kingdom. Oonagh Gay Home Affairs Section House of Commons Library Library Research Papers are compiled for the benefit of Members of Parliament and their personal staff. Authors are available to discuss the contents of these papers with Members and their staff but cannot advise members of the general public. Summary A commitment to introduce a uniform electoral system for elections to a new European assembly was part of the original Treaty of Rome but when the first direct elections were held in 1979 Great Britain used the First Past The Post system, with STV for Northern Ireland. The Commons had rejected on 13 December 1977, on a free vote, the option of a regional list system for Great Britain.
    [Show full text]
  • SSP European Election Manifesto 2004
    Scottish Socialist Party European Election Manifesto 2004 for a different Europe europeanmanifesto part one About the SSP The Scottish Socialist Party is Scotland’s newest, fastest growing and most radical political party. Just six years old, the SSP now has six MSPs in the Scottish Parliament and a network of scores of branches in every corner of Scotland, from Stromness to Stranraer, from Selkirk to Stornoway. n the 2003 Scottish election, the All six Scottish Socialist MSPs also swing to the SSP was by far the most honoured their election pledges to live spectacular feature of a general upris- on no more than the average wage of a Iing against the four big parties, which skilled worker. Each of these MSPs lost over a million votes. donates half their salary to the party. In the first-past-the-post ballot, sup- The SSP is more than just another port for the SSP soared from under 1 per electoral party whose sole ambition is to cent to over 6 per cent. In the second get politicians elected into parliaments proportional ballot, the Scottish Socialist and councils. vote rose from just under 2 per cent to Most of our activity is conducted out- almost 7 per cent. With six MSPs, the side parliament, on the streets, in the SSP is represented across the whole of communities, in the workplaces, in the the central belt and southern Scotland, universities and colleges. from the Clyde to the Forth and from the Since 2001, the SSP has been the most Solway Firth to the North Sea.
    [Show full text]
  • Practical Experiences in Invasive Alien Plant Control. Rosalia Handbooks
    ROSALIA Handbooks ROSALIA Handbooks Practical Experiences in Invasive Alien Plant Control Invasive plant species pose major agricultural, silvicultural, human health and ecological problems worldwide, and are considered the most signifi cant threat for nature conservation. Species invading natural areas in Hungary have been described by a number of books published in the Practical Experiences in Invasive Alien Plant Control last few years. A great amount of experience has been gathered about the control of these species in some areas, which we can read about in an increasing number of articles; however, no book has been published with regards to the whole country. Invasions affecting larger areas require high energy and cost input, and the effectiveness and successfulness of control can be infl uenced by a number of factors. The development of effective, widely applicable control and eradication technologies is preceded by experiments and examinations which are based on a lot of practical experience and often loaded with negative experiences. National park directorates, forest and agricultural managers and NGOs in many parts of Hungary are combatting the spread of invasive species; however, the exchange of information and conclusion of experiences among the managing bodies is indispensable. The aim of the present volume is to facilitate this by summarizing experiences and the methods applied in practice; which, we hope, will enable us to successfully stop the further spread of invasive plant species and effectively protect our natural values. Hungary-Slovakia Cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007-2013 Duna-Ipoly National Park Directorate Financial support for this manual has been provided by “Unified protection against invasive alien plants in sand and floodplain habitats” project.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Group
    Historical Group NEWSLETTER and SUMMARY OF PAPERS No. 69 Winter 2016 Registered Charity No. 207890 COMMITTEE Chairman: Dr John A Hudson ! Dr Noel G Coley (Open University) Graythwaite, Loweswater, Cockermouth, ! Dr Christopher J Cooksey (Watford, Cumbria, CA13 0SU ! Hertfordshire) [e-mail: [email protected]] ! Prof Alan T Dronsfield (Swanwick, Secretary: Prof. John W Nicholson ! Derbyshire) 52 Buckingham Road, Hampton, Middlesex, ! Prof Ernst Homburg (University of TW12 3JG [e-mail: [email protected]] ! Maastricht) Membership Prof Bill P Griffith ! Prof Frank James (Royal Institution) Secretary: Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, ! Dr Michael Jewess (Harwell, Oxon) London, SW7 2AZ [e-mail: [email protected]] ! Dr David Leaback (Biolink Technology) Treasurer: Dr Peter J T Morris ! Mr Peter N Reed (Steensbridge, 5 Helford Way, Upminster, Essex RM14 1RJ ! Herefordshire) [e-mail: [email protected]] ! Dr Viviane Quirke (Oxford Brookes Newsletter Dr Anna Simmons ! University) Editor Epsom Lodge, La Grande Route de St Jean, !Prof Henry Rzepa (Imperial College) St John, Jersey, JE3 4FL ! Dr Andrea Sella (University College) [e-mail: [email protected]] Newsletter Dr Gerry P Moss Production: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS [e-mail: [email protected]] http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/rschg/ http://www.rsc.org/membership/networking/interestgroups/historical/index.asp 1 RSC Historical Group NewsletterNo. 69 Winter 2016 Contents From the Editor 2 Message from the Chair 3 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY HISTORICAL GROUP MEETINGS 3 “The atom and the molecule”: celebrating Gilbert N. Lewis 3 RSCHG NEWS 4 MEMBERS’ PUBLICATIONS 4 PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST 5 CAN YOU HELP? - Update from the summer 2015 newsletter 6 Feedback from the summer 2015 newsletter 6 NEWS AND UPDATES 7 SOCIETY NEWS 8 SHORT ESSAYS 8 175 Years of Institutionalised Chemistry and Pharmacy – William H.
    [Show full text]
  • 1999 Election Candidates | European Parliament Information Office in the United Kin
    1999 Election Candidates | European Parliament Information Office in the United Kin ... Page 1 of 10 UK Office of the European Parliament Home > 1999 > 1999 Election Candidates Candidates The list of candidates was based on the information supplied by Regional Returning Officers at the close of nominations on 13 May 2004. Whilst every care was taken to ensure that this information is accurate, we cannot accept responsibility for any omissions or inaccuracies or for any consequences that may result. Voters in the UK's twelve EU constituencies will elect 78 MEPs. The distribution of seats is as follows: Eastern: 7 East Midlands: 6 London: 9 North East: 3 North West: 9 South East: 10 South West: 7 West Midlands: 7 Yorkshire and the Humber: 6 Scotland: 7 Wales: 4 Northern Ireland: 3 Eastern LABOUR CONSERVATIVE 1. Eryl McNally, MEP 1. Robert Sturdy, MEP 2. Richard Howitt, MEP 2. Christopher Beazley 3. Clive Needle, MEP 3. Bashir Khanbhai 4. Peter Truscott, MEP 4. Geoffrey Van Orden 5. David Thomas, MEP 5. Robert Gordon 6. Virginia Bucknor 6. Kay Twitchen 7. Beth Kelly 7. Sir Graham Bright 8. Ruth Bagnall 8. Charles Rose LIBERAL DEMOCRAT GREEN 1. Andrew Duff 1. Margaret Elizabeth Wright 2. Rosalind Scott 2. Marc Scheimann 3. Robert Browne 3. Eleanor Jessy Burgess 4. Lorna Spenceley 4. Malcolm Powell 5. Chris White 5. James Abbott 6. Charlotte Cane 6. Jennifer Berry 7. Paul Burall 7. Angela Joan Thomson 8. Rosalind Gill 8. Adrian Holmes UK INDEPENDENCE PRO EURO CONSERVATIVE PARTY 1. Jeffrey Titford 1. Paul Howell 2. Bryan Smalley 2.
    [Show full text]
  • VF19 Caterer Pack
    VF19 Caterer Pack 1 © Tiger Tea / Victorious Festivals Ltd Contents Victorious Festival Overview Page 3 Trading Areas Available Page 4 Electricity Supply & Hire Prices Page 6 Catering Traders Rules Page 7 Event Terms & Conditions Page 17 2 © Tiger Tea / Victorious Festivals Ltd Thank you for your interest in trading at Victorious Festival! Please read the following information about Victorious Festival, the Catering Trader Rules and the Event Terms & Conditions (collectively, the “Trader T&Cs”). Please note by completing and submitting the online trader application form, you will be deemed to have read and accepted the Trader T&Cs. VICTORIOUS FESTIVAL OVERVIEW Victorious Festival is set for its seventh August Bank Holiday weekend. The festival, located along Southsea’s beautiful seafront, will kick off with a partially open site on Friday 23rd August (Common Stage, World Music Village, Street Food Way & Premium Upgrade Area ONLY) to get everyone warmed up ready for the full affair on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th August 2019. The festival has multiple stages offering a wide variety of music, including two main stages playing host to the biggest performers – last year saw The Prodigy, Paul Weller, Kaiser Chiefs, Years & Years and Paloma Faith headlining. As well as many more acts across the weekend! Victorious Festival is steadily growing each year, the extensive festival site boasts a huge Kids Arena where all activities and entertainment are free, an array of market and food stalls, as well as free entry to some of the amazing Southsea Seafront attractions within the site. With all of this on offer to ticket holders, the event continues to be one of the best value music festivals in the UK! The festival also offers festival-goers the opportunity to camp offsite at Farlington Playing Fields with a free-to-campers shuttle bus service to and from the festival site.
    [Show full text]
  • Music Is GREAT Edition 4.1, November 2016
    A guide Brought to you by for international media Edition 4.1 – November 2016 Festival No 6 Portmeirion, Wales visitbritain.com/media Contents Quick facts about music in Britain ........................................................................................................ 2 Music is Great – why? ............................................................................................................................... 3 10 must-do music activities in Britain ................................................................................................... 4 Music venues in Britain – a guide .......................................................................................................... 6 Music venues by music genre................................................................................................................ 14 British music through the decades ...................................................................................................... 17 You saw them here first ......................................................................................................................... 19 Lyrical Britain: let the music be your guide ...................................................................................... 22 Step into British album covers ............................................................................................................. 26 Immersive music experiences ............................ …………………………………………………………………….…29 Musical milestones coming up in 2017……………………………………………………………………………………32
    [Show full text]
  • Your University Magazine
    Your University. The magazine for alumni and friends of the University of Sheffield • 2007/2008 Rising to the challenge In the spotlight Renaissance Sheffield A meeting of minds A dramatic return Eddie Izzard finally collects his degree We have now received our 3,400th gift from a supporter. Claire Rundström, Development Manager, Alumni Relations, and Miles Stevenson, Director of Development. Miles is in charge of the Development and Alumni Relations Office and the activities it undertakes; Claire manages the full alumni relations programme of communications and events. ‘ Contents Welcome University news 2 to the 2007 issue of Your University magazine. Reflections of the Vice-Chancellor 8 This fifth issue of Your University also marks the fifth anniversary of the Rising to the challenge’ 10 establishment of the Development and Alumni Relations Office. In 2002 only six alumni were making regular donations in support of the University. We have now Sheffield takes Venice received our 3,400th gift from a supporter, bringing the total to more than by storm 12 £500,000. This generosity has funded 100 scholarships, supported the Information Scientist on a mission 13 Commons building and funded the work of the Alumni Foundation. In addition, more than £500,000 has been received through generous legacies. I am constantly Five years on 14 delighted by the interest and enthusiasm our alumni have for the University and A dramatic return 16 its future. Renaissance Sheffield 18 I wish to take this opportunity to thank our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bob Boucher, for the constant support he has given alumni relations at the University.
    [Show full text]
  • Botanická Zahrada IRIS.Indd
    B-Ardent! Erasmus+ Project CZ PL LT D BOTANICAL GARDENS AS A PART OF EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE IRIS (KOSATEC, IRYS, VILKDALGIS, SCHWERTLILIE) Methodology 2020 Caspers Zuzana, Dymny Tomasz, Galinskaite Lina, Kurczakowski Miłosz, Kącki Zygmunt, Štukėnienė Gitana Institute of Botany CAS, Czech Republic University.of.Wrocław,.Poland Vilnius University, Lithuania Park.der.Gärten,.Germany B-Ardent! Botanical Gardens as Part of European Cultural Heritage Project number 2018-1-CZ01-KA202-048171 We.thank.the.European.Union.for.supporting.this.project. B-Ardent! Erasmus+ Project CZ PL LT D The. European. Commission. support. for. the. production. of. this. publication. does. not. con- stitute.an.endorsement.of.the.contents.which.solely.refl.ect.the.views.of.the.authors..The. European.Commission.cannot.be.held.responsible.for.any.use.which.may.be.made.of.the. information.contained.therein. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION OF THE GENUS IRIS .................................................................... 7 Botanical Description ............................................................................................... 7 Origin and Extension of the Genus Iris .................................................................... 9 Taxonomy................................................................................................................. 11 History and Traditions of Growing Irises ................................................................ 11 Morphology, Biology and Horticultural Characteristics of Irises ......................
    [Show full text]