SweetShelf

Wood Working Machinery

2006-10-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

Morgan Rogers WoodWorking Machinery supply quality affordable used Woodworking Machinery and New Woodworking Machineryall over the world. With over 40 years experience in the Wood Working Machines industry no order is to small

Dualism

2005-03-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

In philosophy, the use of two irreducible, heterogeneous principles (sometimes in conflict, sometimes complementary) to analyze the knowing process (epistemological dualism) or to explain all of reality or some broad aspect of it (metaphysical dualism). Examples of epistemological dualism are being and thought, subject and object, and sense datum and thing; examples

Nephelometry And Turbidimetry

2005-03-17T10:38:00.000-08:00

In analytical chemistry, methods for determining the amount of cloudiness, or turbidity, in a solution based upon measurement of the effect of this turbidity upon the transmission and scattering of light. Turbidity in a liquid is caused by the presence of finely divided suspended particles. If a beam of light is passed through a turbid sample, its intensity is reduced

Monatomic Gas

2005-03-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

Gas composed of particles (molecules) that consist of single atoms, such as helium or sodium vapour, and in this way different from diatomic, triatomic, or, in general, polyatomic gases. The thermodynamic behaviour of a monatomic gas in the ordinary temperature range is extremely simple because it is free from the rotational and vibrational energy components characteristic

Andrew Of Crete, Saint

2005-03-12T22:59:00.000-08:00

From his monastery in Jerusalem he was sent to Constantinople (modern Istanbul), where he became deacon of the Hagia Sophia. During the reign of the Byzantine emperor Philippicus Bardanes he was made archbishop of Gortyna and took part

Kiangsi, Relief

2005-03-11T18:11:00.000-08:00

Topographically, Kiangsi corresponds to the drainage basin of the Kan River, which runs northeastward in descending elevation from the southern tip of the province to P'o-yang Lake and the Yangtze in the north. This basin is surrounded by hills and mountains that rim the province from all sides. Among the more important ranges are the Huai-yü Mountains, to the northeast;

Coralroot

2005-03-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

Any plant of the genus Corallorhiza, family Orchidaceae, consisting of about 13 species of nearly leafless, nonphotosynthetic orchids that live primarily on dead organic matter. One species is Eurasian; the others are native to North and Central America. The name coralroot refers to the coral-like shape of the reddish rhizomes (underground

Alternation Of Generations

2005-03-04T21:30:00.000-08:00

In algae, fungi, mosses, ferns, and seed plants, alternation of generations is common; it is not always easy to observe, however, since one or the other of the generations is often

Sibylline Oracles

2005-03-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

Collection of oracular prophecies in which Jewish or Christian doctrines were allegedly confirmed by a sibyl (legendary Greek prophetess); the prophecies were actually the work of certain Jewish and Christian writers from about 150 BC to about AD 180 and are not to be confused with the Sibylline Books, a much earlier collection of sibylline prophecies (see Sibyl). In the Oracles

Biblical Literature, Other types

2005-03-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

There is an unconscious tendency to conform hermeneutical principles to the climate of opinion in and around the community concerned, and to change the hermeneutic pattern as the climate of opinion changes. It is not surprising that in the circles where Pseudo-Dionysius (early-6th-century writings attributed to Dionysius, a convert of St. Paul) was revered as a teacher,

Brunet, Jacques-charles

2005-03-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

The son of a bookseller, Brunet acquired a taste for bibliography at an early age and published a supplement to the Dictionnaire bibliographique de livres rares (1810; “Dictionary of Rare Books”), brought out a few years earlier. The first edition of Brunet's Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur de livres

Latécoère, Pierre

2005-03-01T04:24:00.000-08:00

The Compagnie Latécoère began commercial air flights between Toulouse, Fr., and Barcelona on Dec. 25, 1918, and extended its route to Morocco in 1919 and to Dakar, Senegal, in 1925. In 1927 the line was renamed Compagnie Générale Aéropostale, and, at the end of the decade,

Balaklava, Battle Of

2005-02-27T03:21:00.000-08:00

Balaklava also spelled Balaclava (Oct. 25 [Oct. 13, Old Style], 1854), indecisive military engagement of the Crimean War, best known as the inspiration of the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson's “Charge of the Light Brigade.” In this battle, the Russians failed to capture Balaklava, the Black Sea supply port of the British, French, and Turkish forces in the southern Crimea; but the British lost control of their best supply

Skate

2005-02-27T03:04:00.000-08:00

In zoology, any of numerous flat-bodied, cartilaginous fishes constituting the suborder Rajoidea of the order Batoidei (skates, rays, and others). Skates are found in most parts of the world, from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 2,700 metres (8,900 feet). Nine genera of skates are placed in three families: Rajidae, Arynchobatidae,

Probus, Marcus Aurelius

2005-02-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

The son of a Balkan military officer, Probus served with distinction in the army and apparently was eastern praetorian prefect when his troops proclaimed him emperor in opposition to Florian, who was soon killed by his own men. Probus' reign was spent in continual frontier warfare against hostile tribes on the Rhine and Danube, complicated

William I

2005-02-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

Also called William Longsword, French Guillaume Longue-épée son of Rollo and second duke of Normandy (927–942). He sought continually to expand his territories either by conquest or by exacting new lands from the French king for the price of homage. In 939 he allied himself with Hugh the Great in the revolt against King Louis IV; through the mediation of the pope, the war ended, and Louis renewed William's investiture of Normandy

Korfanty Line

2005-02-24T06:34:00.000-08:00

When the Allied powers concluded the Treaty of Versailles with defeated Germany, they provided for a plebiscite in Upper Silesia, which contained

Dahlbergh, Eric, Count (greve)

2005-02-23T15:23:00.000-08:00

After serving as an engineer (1655–57) in Sweden's Polish campaign, Dahlbergh returned to fight

Wankel, Felix

2005-02-21T06:21:00.000-08:00

German engineer and inventor of the Wankel rotary engine. The Wankel engine is distinguished by the presence of an orbiting rotor in the shape of a curved equilateral triangle that does the work done by the moving pistons in other internal-combustion engines. Advantages of the Wankel engine include light weight, few moving parts, compactness,

Manapouri, Lake

2005-02-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

Lake, southwestern South Island, New Zealand, the deepest lake in the country. It is one of the Southern Lakes, found in the highland section of Fiordland National Park, which were formed by the glacial deepening of an existing stream valley accompanied by damming of the valley with a moraine (glacial debris). Manapouri derives its name from a Maori word meaning “lake

Tactics

2005-02-20T04:45:00.000-08:00

This article discusses the tactics of land warfare. For treatment of tactics on sea, see naval

Cordierite

2005-02-18T03:10:00.000-08:00

Also called dichroite or iolite blue silicate mineral that occurs as crystals or grains in igneous rocks, only as a result of contamination of the magma by aluminous sediment. Most typical, however, are its occurrences in thermally altered clayey sediments surrounding igneous intrusions and in schists and paragneisses. Precambrian deposits of the Laramie Range, Wyo., U.S., contain more than 500,000 tons

Art

2005-02-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

The various visual arts exist within a continuum that ranges from purely aesthetic purposes at one end to purely utilitarian

Saranac Lake

2005-02-16T10:34:00.000-08:00

Saranac Lake lies 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Lake Placid. It originated in 1819 as a lumber community and became an early rendezvous for mountain guides. The name, from the

Munch, Peter Rochegune

2005-02-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

After a career as a historian of modern Europe, Munch entered the Danish Parliament in 1909 as a member of the Radical Party. In the same year he became minister

Barry, Philip

2005-02-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

Barry was educated at Yale and in 1919 entered George Pierce Baker's 47 Workshop at Harvard. His A Punch for Judy was produced by the workshop in 1920. You and I, also written while Barry was a student, played 170 performances on Broadway in 1923. Over the next 20 years

Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui

2005-02-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

Pachacuti first conquered various peoples in what is now southern Peru and then extended his power

Clam Shrimp

2005-02-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

Also called Claw Shrimp, any member of the crustacean order Conchostraca (subclass Branchiopoda), a group of about 200 species inhabiting shallow freshwater lakes, ponds, and temporary pools throughout the world. Clam shrimps are so called because their entire body is contained within a bivalve shell (carapace) that resembles the shell of a small mollusk. Inside the shell the trunk of the animal

General Mills, Inc.

2005-02-11T18:10:00.000-08:00

General Mills was incorporated in 1928 to acquire Washburn Crosby Company, a flour-milling company formed in 1866, and four other milling companies. Specializing in cereals and flour products, the

Anderson, Lindsay Gordon

2005-02-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

British stage and film director (b. April 17, 1923, Bangalore, India--d. Aug. 30, 1994, near Angoulême, France), as one of the original Angry Young Men, made his distaste for conformity and England's class consciousness the constant theme of his often anarchic works. While attending Wadham College, Oxford, Anderson cofounded and coedited the film magazine Sequence, and he later wrote for such

Beyer, Absalon Pederssøn

2005-02-09T03:03:00.000-08:00

Born on a farm, Beyer was adopted by a bishop after the death of his parents and educated at the universities of Copenhagen and Wittenberg, where he studied under the famous Protestant Reformation scholar Philipp Melanchthon. Beyer was a lecturer at the Bergen Cathedral

Handke, Peter

2005-02-07T21:27:00.000-08:00

Handke, the son of a bank clerk, studied law at Graz University from 1961 to 1965 and contributed pieces to the avant-garde literary magazine manuskripte. He came to public notice as an anticonventional playwright

July Revolution

2005-02-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

French Révolution De Juillet, also called July Days (1830), insurrection that brought Louis-Philippe to the throne of France. The revolution was precipitated by Charles X's publication (July 26) of restrictive ordinances contrary to the spirit of the Charter of 1814. Protests and demonstrations were followed by three days of fighting (July 27–29), the abdication of Charles X (August 2), and the proclamation of Louis-Philippe as “king of the

Alton

2005-02-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

Named for a son of Colonel Rufus Easton, a St. Louis lawyer who laid out the townsite in 1817, it became a busy river port by the 1830s and still has considerable river traffic. Its industrial growth was stimulated

Metabolism

2005-02-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

Living organisms are unique in that they can extract energy from their environments and use it to carry out activities such as movement, growth and development, and reproduction. But how do

Sogdian Art

2005-02-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

Rich body of pre-Muslim Central Asian visual arts that was created between roughly the 5th and 9th centuries and is represented most notably by finds at Pendzhikent and Varakhsha, town principalities in Sogdiana. Many cultural streams united there: the remains of Sasanian culture, of post-Gupta India, and of China of the Sui and T'ang periods. Wall painting and carved wood

Nabha

2005-02-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Punjab state, northwestern India. It is located some 16 miles (26 km) west and slightly north of Patiala. Nabha (founded 1755) was the capital of the princely state of Nabha, established in 1763 and composed of 12 scattered territories claimed by a member of the Sikh Phulkian family. In 1807–08 the raja gained British protection against threatened encroachments by Ranjit Singh.

Irkutsk

2005-02-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Oblast (province), east-central Russia, occupying an area of 296,500 square miles (767,900 square km) west and north of Lake Baikal. It consists mostly of the hills and broad valleys of the Central Siberian Plateau and of its eastern extension, the Patom Plateau. In the south the oblast extends to the eastern crestline of the Sayan Mountains. Dense taiga dominated by Siberian and Dahurian

Binche

2005-02-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

Town, Hainaut province, Belgium. It lies 9 miles (15 km) southeast of Mons. Situated on a hill, Binche remains encircled by fortifications built in the 12th century and flanked by 27 towers. Its town hall was constructed in the second half of the 14th century and restored in the 16th century by Jacques de Broeucq. A portion of the town's fortifications were pulled down in 1545 to build a palace

Alaska, Economic growth

2005-01-31T07:07:00.000-08:00

A dispute between the United States and Canada over the boundary between British Columbia and the Alaska panhandle was decided by an Alaska Boundary Tribunal in 1903. The U.S. view that the border should lie along the crest of the Boundary Ranges was accepted and boundary mapping was completed in 1913. Between 1898 and 1900 a narrow-gauge railroad was built across White Pass to link

Arts, Central Asian, Mongolian literature

2005-01-29T23:29:00.000-08:00

Mongolian literature begins with the Secret History of the Mongols, an Imperial chronicle dealing with the life and times of Genghis Khan and his successors, written about 1240. Üligers, orally transmitted epic stories in verse, form the bulk of native literary expression. Highly stylized, these tales relate adventures of legendary heroes and villains. In spite of their

Babbitt, Irving

2005-01-29T07:26:00.000-08:00

A vigorous teacher, lecturer, and essayist, Babbitt was the

Sundman, Per Olof

2005-01-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

Per Olof Sundman spent much of his life in the northern province of Jämtland and used that isolated area as a locale for his first book, Jägarna (1957; “The Hunters”), a collection of short stories. It is not incidents or human relationships

Probability Theory

2005-01-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

Suppose two balls are drawn sequentially without replacement from an urn containing r red and b black balls. The probability of getting a red ball on the first draw is r/(r + b). If, however, one is told that a red ball was obtained on the first draw, the conditional probability of getting a red ball on the second draw is (r - 1)/(r + b - 1), because for the second draw there are r + b - 1 balls in the urn, of which

Mordvin

2005-01-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Mordvinian, member of a people speaking a Finno-Ugric language of the Uralic language family and living mainly in Mordvinia republic and other parts of the middle Volga River region of Russia. Under the Soviet government the Mordvins were given some autonomy in 1928, and a Mordvinian autonomous republic, which lasted from 1934 to 1991, had its capital at Saransk. The Mordvin numbered about

France, History Of, The Third Republic

2005-01-24T01:22:00.000-08:00

A provisional government of national defense was set up and took as its first task the continuation of the war against the invaders. Composed of the deputies representing Paris and formally headed by General Louis-Jules Trochu, the new government's most forceful member was Léon Gambetta, hero of the radical republicans. Gambetta, a young Parisian lawyer of provincial

Wolff, Tobias

2005-01-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

Wolff's parents divorced when he was a child; from age 10 until he joined the U.S. Army, he traveled with his mother, who relocated frequently and finally settled in Seattle, Washington, where she remarried. Wolff wrote about

Visconti, Matteo I

2005-01-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

Installed as captain of the people in 1287 with the help of his great-uncle Ottone Visconti, archbishop of Milan, Matteo succeeded in extending his six-month term to five years and in being several times reelected. In 1294 the German king Adolf of Nassau

Mosheim, Johann Lorenz Von

2005-01-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

Departing from the established method of writing

Thompson, Kay

2005-01-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

Thompson early displayed a considerable talent for the piano, and at the age of 16 she appeared as a soloist with the St. Louis Symphony. The following

Jeffreys (of Wem), George Jeffreys, 1st Baron

2005-01-19T15:11:00.000-08:00

Born into the Welsh gentry, Jeffreys was admitted to the bar in 1668, and in

Bendigo

2005-01-18T17:07:00.000-08:00

Byname of William Thompson English bare-knuckle boxer who became a Methodist evangelist and who is one of the few athletes whose name is borne by a city—Bendigo in Victoria, Australia. His nickname apparently is a corruption of the Old Testament name Abednego. Thompson was one of triplets; the other two were nicknamed

Locomotion, Invertebrates

2005-01-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

As in the protozoans, aquatic locomotion in invertebrates (animals without backbones) consists of both swimming and bottom movements. In swimming, the propulsive force is derived entirely from the interaction between the organism and the water; in bottom movements, the bottom surface provides the interacting surface. Whereas some bottom movements are identical

Mcmurtry, Larry

2005-01-13T14:19:00.000-08:00

McMurtry was educated at North Texas State College (now University; B.A., 1958) and Rice University (M.A., 1960). He was an instructor at Texas Christian University (1961–62), a lecturer in English and creative writing

Yggdrasill

2005-01-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

Old Norse Mimameidr in Norse mythology, the world tree, a giant ash supporting the universe. One of its roots extended into Niflheim, the underworld; another into Jötunheim, land of the giants; and the third into Asgard, home of the gods. At its base were three wells: Urdarbrunnr (Well of Fate), from which the tree was watered by the Norns (the Fates); Hvergelmir (Roaring Kettle), in which dwelt Nidhogg

Alzira

2005-01-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alcira, city, Valencia provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Valencia, eastern Spain. It lies in the Ribera district, south of the city of Valencia. It originated as the Iberian settlement of Algezira Sucro (“Island of Sucro”), so named because of its insular position between two branches of the Sucro (Júcar) River. It became the Saetabicula of the Romans

Am

2005-01-07T00:34:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Amplitude Modulation, variation of the amplitude of a carrier wave (commonly a radio wave) in accordance with the characteristics of a signal, such as vocal or musical sound composed of audio-frequency waves. See modulation.

Prodromus, Theodore

2005-01-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

He wrote many occasional pieces for a widespread circle of patrons at the imperial court. Some of the work attributed to him is unpublished and some of it may be wrongly attributed to him. Even so, there does emerge from these writings the figure of an author in reduced circumstances,

Montfaucon, Bernard De

2005-01-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

He joined the Benedictine Congregation of Saint-Maur in 1676 and in 1687 was sent to Paris to edit the works of the Church Fathers. His major publications in this field were editions of Athanasius, 3 vol. (1698) and John Chrysostom, 13 vol. (1718–38). As a student of manuscripts

Adam Of Bremen

2005-01-02T01:24:00.000-08:00

Of Franconian origin, he was probably educated at the cathedral school in Bamberg but was introduced in 1066 or 1067 into the cathedral chapter at Bremen by Archbishop

National Association Of Congregational Christian Churches

2004-12-31T17:23:00.000-08:00

Association of churches organized in Detroit, Mich., in 1955 by ministers and laymen of Congregational Christian Churches who did not wish to take part in the merger of the Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church that formed the United Church of Christ. The National Association wished to continue the independent tradition of congregationalism.

La Habana

2004-12-28T07:05:00.000-08:00

Provincia, west-central Cuba, bounded on the north by the Straits of Florida and by Ciudad de la Habana provincia; on the south by the Gulf of Batabanó, an inlet of the Caribbean Sea; and on the east and west, respectively, by Matanzas and Pinar del Río provincias. It has an area of 2,213 square miles (5,731 square km) and is densely populated, being near the national and provincial capital

Allouez, Claude-jean

2004-12-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

Allouez entered the Society of Jesus at Toulouse, was ordained priest in 1655, and sailed for Quebec in 1658. He was stationed at settlements along the St. Lawrence River until his appointment (1663) as vicar general of the Northwest. He

Distributive Law

2004-12-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, the law relating to number operations stated symbolically, a(b + c + d) = ab + ac + ad; that is, the monomial factor a is distributed, or separately applied, to each term of the polynomial factor b + c + d, resulting in the product ab + ac + ad. Hence, the result of first adding several numbers and then multiplying the sum by some number is the same as first multiplying each separately

Biblical Literature, Greek additions to Esther

2004-12-20T22:55:00.000-08:00

The Hebrew Book of Esther had a religious and social value to the Jews during the time of Greek and Roman anti-Semitism, though the Hebrew short story did not directly mention God's intervention in history—and even God himself is not named. To bring the canonical book up-to-date in connection with contemporary anti-Semitism and to stress the religious meaning of the

Hawaii, Flag Of

2004-12-19T15:43:00.000-08:00

In 1793 Captain George Vancouver from Great Britain presented the Union Jack to the conquering king Kamehameha I, who was then uniting the islands into a single state; the Union Jack flew unofficially as the flag of Hawaii until 1816. That year Western advisers to the king recommended the addition of red, white, and blue stripes to the Union Jack, thus creating a distinctive

Laing, R(onald) D(avid)

2004-12-16T19:34:00.000-08:00

Laing was born into a working-class family and grew up in Glasgow. He studied medicine and psychiatry and earned a doctoral degree in medicine at the University of Glasgow in 1951. After serving as a conscript psychiatrist in the British army

Hawkesworth, John

2004-12-15T06:24:00.000-08:00

Hawkesworth collaborated with Johnson (whose prose style he closely imitated) in founding a periodical, The Adventurer. He wrote poems and articles for both these publications, adapted plays for the actor-manager David Garrick, and wrote

Pigeon Racing

2004-12-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

The earliest record of the domestication of pigeons is from the fifth Egyptian dynasty (about 3000 BC). The sultan of Baghdad established a pigeon post system in AD 1150, and Genghis Khan used such a system as his conquests

Sinhala Maha Sabha

2004-12-10T23:27:00.000-08:00

Political group in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) that was founded in 1937 by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. It was a communally oriented group and promoted the interests of the Sinhalese sector of the population and of Buddhism. In 1945 Bandaranaike threw the support of the Sabha behind the newly created United National Party (UNP) of D.S. Senanayake, which was to dominate politics for the first

Latin Literature, Comedy

2004-12-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

Roman comedy was based on the New Comedy fashionable in Greece, whose classic representative was Menander. But whereas this was imitation of life to the Greeks, to the Romans it was escape to fantasy and literary convention. Livius' successor, Naevius, who developed this “drama in Greek cloak” (fabula palliata), may have been the first to introduce recitative and song,

House, Edward M.

2004-12-07T00:37:00.000-08:00

Independently wealthy, House turned from business to politics and between 1892 and 1904 served as an adviser to Texas governors, one of whom gave him the honorary title of colonel. Thereafter

Camar

2004-12-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

Widespread caste in northern India whose hereditary occupation is tanning leather; the name is derived from the Sanskrit word carmakara, or “skin worker.” The more than 150 subcastes are characterized by well-organized panchayats (governing councils). Because their work obliged them to handle dead animals, the Camars have suffered from the stigma of being considered

Tea Olive

2004-12-03T16:39:00.000-08:00

Any plant of the genus Osmanthus in the family Oleaceae, often grown for its fragrant flowers and shining, evergreen foliage. There are more than 30 species, native to eastern North America, Mexico, southeastern Asia, Hawaii, and New Caledonia. Sweet olive, or sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans), a 10-metre (33-foot) tree, produces an edible fruit. Its leaves, used to perfume tea, hide

Substitution Reaction

2004-12-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

If the chlorine atom is displaced by other groups—such as the cyanide ion (-CN), the

Bracknell Forest

2004-11-28T03:18:00.000-08:00

Old Bracknell town was unimportant until the 19th century, when its cattle market replaced one at Wokingham that dated from the early 13th century. The population was about 5,000 when the new town of Bracknell

Murasaki Shikibu

2004-11-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

Her real name is unknown; it is conjectured that she acquired the sobriquet of Murasaki from the name of the heroine of her novel. The main source of knowledge about her life

Shabaka

2004-11-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

Succeeding his brother Piankhi, in Cush (in the modern Sudan), Shabaka moved north, captured Bocchoris, the second king of the 24th dynasty, and, according to tradition, burned him alive. He probably made Memphis, near Cairo, his capital and adopted the titles of the

Caxias Do Sul

2004-11-22T04:04:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, lying at 2,490 ft (760 m) above sea level on the range of hills separating the Antas and Caí river valleys. It was founded in 1875 by Italian colonists and given city status in 1910. Metallurgic industries and viticulture are the city's economic mainstays; the vineyards of the surrounding area are considered Brazil's best. The Universidade

Becquerel, Henri

2004-11-20T02:27:00.000-08:00

He was a member of a scientific family extending through several generations, the most notable being his grandfather Antoine-César Becquerel (1788–1878), his father,

Indonesian Literatures

2004-11-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

The poetry and prose writings in Javanese, Malay, Sundanese, and other languages of the peoples of Indonesia. They include works orally transmitted and then preserved in written form by the Indonesian peoples, oral literature recorded by Western anthropologists and ethnologists, and the modern literatures that began to emerge in the early 20th century as the result

Kachemak Culture

2004-11-17T02:27:00.000-08:00

The Kachemak people lived in coastal settlements

Middleton, Thomas

2004-11-14T08:31:00.000-08:00

A popular playwright,

Taeniodont

2004-11-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

Any member of an extinct order (Taeniodonta) of mammals that lived in North America throughout the Paleocene and into the middle Eocene Epoch (66.4 to 43 million years ago). The taeniodonts may have been related to early edentates (insect-eating mammals) and probably evolved from an insectivorous to an herbivorous diet. They were distinguished by high-crowned teeth extending

Gwynn, Tony

2004-11-10T15:36:00.000-08:00

Gwynn attended San Diego (California) State University on a basketball scholarship, where he set a school record for assists as the team's point guard. He also excelled at baseball and was drafted in 1981 by

Packing

2004-11-09T19:04:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, a type of problem in combinatorial geometry that involves placement of figures of a given size or shape within another given figure—with greatest economy or subject to some other restriction. The problem of placement of a given number of spheres within a given volume of space is an example of a packing problem.

Alabama, Drainage

2004-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

The Cumberland Plateau region drains to the northwest through the Tennessee River and the often deep valleys of its tributaries, with much water retained in three large, scenic lakes formed in the 1930s by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The rest of the state is drained southward through broader, lazier valleys. The Coosa and the Tallapoosa rivers join north of Montgomery

Korean War, Air warfare

2004-11-04T01:10:00.000-08:00

Air power gave the UNC its greatest hope to offset Chinese manpower and increasing firepower. The FEAF clearly won the battle for air superiority, pitting fewer than 100 F-86s against far more numerous Soviet, Chinese, and North Korean MiG-15s. Pilots from all the U.S. armed forces downed at least 500 MiGs at a loss of 78 F-86s. The Soviets rotated squadrons of their air defense force to Korea,

Carnivore

2004-11-03T07:15:00.000-08:00

For general information on the biology of the carnivores, see E.P. Walker et al., Mammals of the World, 3 vol. (1964), in which each genus is described and illustrated, along with a brief summation of its biology. The taxonomy of carnivores is discussed in G.G. Simpson, “Principles of Classification and a Classification of Mammals,” Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 85 (1945), a classic work on classification, followed by most recent mammalogists; and H.J. Stains, “Carnivores and Pinnipeds,” in S. Anderson and J.K. Jones, Jr. (eds.), Recent Mammals of the World: A Synopsis of Families (1967). F.E. Beddard, Mammalia (1902, reprinted 1958), is a definitive early work on mammalian anatomy. The paleontology of the Carnivora is summarized in two works by A.S. Romer: Vertebrate Paleontology, 3rd ed. (1966), fundamental to an understanding of fossil forms, and Notes and Comments on Vertebrate Paleontology (1968), containing additional information not found in the general text. Books devoted to particular subgroups of the carnivores include A. Denis, Cats of the World (1964), an excellent summary of the status of all members of the Felidae; C.J. Harris, Otters (1968), a fine summary of the status of the otters around the world; H.E. Hinton and A.M.S. Dunn, Mongooses: Their Natural History and Behaviour (1967), which contains much interesting information that is difficult to find elsewhere, except in scattered literature; R.J. Harrison et al. (eds.), The Behavior and Physiology of Pinnipeds (1968), an excellent summation of knowledge on these aquatic carnivores; and V.B. Scheffer, Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses: A Review of the Pinnipedia (1958), a major work on the taxonomy of the Pinnipedia.

Caucasian Languages, Laz

2004-10-31T21:08:00.000-08:00

The Laz language (self-designation: lazuri nena) is spoken along the Black Sea coast from the Chorokh River (Georgia) to south of Pazar (Atina) in Turkish territory. The language is unwritten, Georgian being used as the literary language in Georgia and Turkish in Turkey. In view of the structural closeness between Mingrelian and Laz, they are sometimes considered as dialects

Priesthood, The ancient Middle East

2004-10-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

In the Nile valley the occupant of the throne (the pharaoh) was regarded as a god incarnate, the sacred king. Because he was believed to be the epitome of all that was divine, he alone was the intermediary between mankind and the gods whom he summed up in his complex personality. Before Menes, founder of the 1st dynasty (c. 3100–2890 BC), centralized the rule of Upper and Lower Egypt, the high

Adamson, Joy; And Adamson, George

2004-10-27T01:43:00.000-07:00

Following an education in Vienna and two divorces, Austrian-born Joy Gessner, living in Kenya from 1939, married George Adamson (1944), a British game warden who had

Integrated Circuit

2004-10-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

(IC), also called microcircuit, an assembly of electronic components, fabricated as a single unit, in which active semiconductor devices (transistors and diodes) and passive devices (capacitors and resistors) and their interconnections are built up on a chip of material called substrate. The circuit thus consists of a unitary structure with no connecting wires. The individual circuit elements

Garrett

2004-10-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

County, extreme western Maryland, U.S., lying between West Virginia to the west and south and Pennsylvania to the north. Parklands and lakes occupy one-fifth of the county area. Waterways such as the Casselman, Savage, and Youghiogheny rivers as well as Deep Creek Lake, the state's largest freshwater lake, line the valleys of the Allegheny Mountains. Backbone

Race, North America

2004-10-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

Racial classifications appeared in North America, and in many other parts of the world, as a form of social division predicated on what were thought to be natural differences among human groups. Analysis of the folk beliefs, social policies, and practices of North Americans about race from the 18th to the 20th century reveals a fundamental ideology about human differences

Novgorod

2004-10-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

City and administrative centre of Novgorod oblast (province), northwestern Russia, on the Volkhov River just below its outflow from Lake Ilmen. Novgorod is one of the oldest Russian cities, first mentioned in chronicles of 859. In 882 Oleg, prince of Novgorod, captured Kiev and moved his capital there. In 989, under Vladimir, Novgorod's inhabitants were forcibly baptized. In 1019 Prince

Syrtis Major

2004-10-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

Distinctive dark marking on the surface of the planet Mars, centred near 290° W and 10° N, which extends some 1,500 km (930 miles) north from the planet's equator and spans 1,000 km (620 miles) from west to east. It was noticed as early as 1659, for it appears in a drawing of Mars of that date by Christiaan Huygens. It is an extensive regional slope elongated north to south that drops 4 km (2.5 miles) from its western

Nef'i

2004-10-15T01:41:00.000-07:00

Little is known of Nef'i's early life; he served as a minor government official in the reign of the sultan Ahmed I (1603–17). Not until the time of Sultan Murad IV (1623–40), himself a poet, did Nef'i gain court favour. He

Pappenheim, Gottfried Heinrich, Count (graf) Zu

2004-10-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Pappenheim served with the Catholic League, headed by the elector Maximilian I of Bavaria and commanded by Johann Tserclaes, Graf von Tilly. Idolized by his regiment of cuirassiers, the Pappenheimers, he proved a tempestuous cavalry officer, always

Animal Magnetism

2004-10-12T02:15:00.000-07:00

A presumed intangible or mysterious force that is said to influence human beings. The term was applied by the German physician Franz Anton Mesmer to the hypnotism that he used in the treatment of patients. He believed that it was an occult force or invisible fluid emanating from his body and that, more generally, the force permeated the universe, deriving especially