GreyBucket

Mashriq Al-adhkar

2005-03-16T05:54:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “place where the uttering of the name of God arises at dawn”), temple or house of worship in the Baha'i faith. The mashriq is characterized by a nine-sided construction, in keeping with the Baha'i belief in the mystical properties of the number nine. Free of ritual and clergy, the mashriq is open to adherents of all religions and offers a simple service consisting of readings

China, Finance

2005-03-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

China's financial institutions are owned by the state. The principal instruments of fiscal and financial control are the People's Bank of China and the Ministry of Finance, both subject to the authority of the State Council. The People's Bank, which replaced the Central Bank of China in 1950 and gradually took over private banks, fulfills many of the functions of Western

Rob Roy

2005-03-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

Rob's father, Donald MacGregor, a younger

Anticlericalism

2005-03-08T04:59:00.000-08:00

Three principal

Gir Range

2005-03-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

Low mountain range in western Gujarat state, west-central India, on the southern Kathiawar Peninsula. The range is extremely rugged with a steep slope seaward to the south and a gradual slope inland to the north. From it to the north runs a low, narrow, dissected range rising to Gorakhnath (3,665 feet [1,117 m], believed to be an extinct volcano) in the broad mass of the Girnar Hills. The Gir Range

Amazon River, Early European exploration

2005-03-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

In the early days the river was the only means of access into the forest. Francisco de Orellana descended the main course of the river from the Peruvian Andes to the Atlantic in 1541–42. Nearly a century later, Pedro Teixeira went from Belém to Quito, Ecuador, and the region increasingly became known through the explorations of the Portuguese. In 1743 the French naturalist Charles-Marie

Mahabaleshwar

2005-03-02T04:20:00.000-08:00

Resort town, southwestern Maharashtra state, western India. It lies about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Bombay and northwest of the town of Satara at an elevation of 4,718 feet (1,438 m), in the Sahyadri Hills of the Western Ghats. The town commands an excellent view over the coastal Konkan Plain from the steep scarp slope of the hills. Recognized in ancient times as the site of the source of the Krishna

Quadruple Alliance

2005-02-28T20:25:00.000-08:00

Alliance formed on April 22, 1834, between Britain, France, and the more liberal claimants to the thrones of Spain and Portugal against the conservative claimants to those thrones. The alliance successfully supported Maria Cristiana, who was acting as regent for Isabella II in Spain and had allied herself with the liberals against the pretender Don Carlos in the First

Aubagne

2005-02-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

Town, Bouches-du-Rhône département, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région, southeastern France. Aubagne lies about 10 miles (16 km) east of Marseille. It was the site of the Gallo-Roman Pagus Lucreti and derived its name from its health springs (Ad Bainea). Aubagne sits amidst an agricultural region that is centred around market gardening and fruit and vegetable production. It

Ibn Al-haytham

2005-02-25T20:23:00.000-08:00

Latinized as Alhazen, in full, Abu 'Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the principles of optics and the use of scientific experiments.

Arts, Islamic, The Umayyad and 'Abbasid dynasties: classical Islamic music

2005-02-22T01:27:00.000-08:00

Under the Umayyad caliphate (661–750) the classical style of Islamic music developed further. The capital was moved to Damascus (in modern Syria) and the courts were thronged with male and female musicians, who formed a class apart. Many prominent musicians were Arab by birth or acculturation, but the alien element continued to play a predominant role in Islamic music. The first

Calendar Of 2000

2005-02-20T06:12:00.000-08:00

Following four months of intensive negotiations, the Austrian People's Party agrees to form a coalition with the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), led by ultranationalist Jörg Haider; the FPÖ's success has clouded Austrian politics, and on January 31 the European Union had threatened to break with Austria if the right-wingers were allowed to participate in the

Osaka-kobe Metropolitan Area, Industry

2005-02-18T02:57:00.000-08:00

Osaka was once known as the Manchester of the Orient because of its great textile industry; now, however, its leading industries are the manufacture of electrical and other machinery, iron and steel, fabricated metals, and chemicals. Between Osaka and Kobe are several other industrial cities. The largest, Amagasaki, is a centre of machinery, metallurgy, chemicals, cement,

Papua

2005-02-16T20:35:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1969–2002) Irian Jaya (until 1969) Irian Barat propinsi (province), Indonesia, the western half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands—including the individual islands of Yapen, Adi, Waigeo, Batanta, Kofiau, Salawati, Misool, and Yos Sudarsa and the Schouten Islands. Papua fronts the Ceram and Banda seas to the west, the Arafura Sea to the southwest, and the Pacific Ocean to the north; it is bounded by Papua

Theatres, War Of The

2005-02-14T04:25:00.000-08:00

In English literary history, conflict involving the Elizabethan playwrights Ben Jonson, John Marston, and Thomas Dekker. It covered a period when Jonson was writing for one children's company of players and Marston for another, rival group. In 1599 Marston presented a mildly satirical portrait of Jonson in his Histrio-mastix. In 1599 Jonson replied in Every Man Out of His

Falkland Current

2005-02-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

Branch of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Southern Hemisphere, flowing northward in the South Atlantic Ocean along the east coast of Argentina to about latitude 30° to 40° S, where it is deflected eastward after meeting the southward-flowing Brazil Current. Characterized by cold temperatures varying from 41° to 66° F (5° to 19° C), the current has a relatively low salinity averaging

Sierra Nevada, Plant life

2005-02-10T01:36:00.000-08:00

Generally speaking, there are five fairly distinct vegetation zones on the western slopes. The lower foothills support mostly deciduous trees and shrubs, as well as the evergreen interior live oak (Quercus wislizenii). Black oak, Ponderosa pine, and incense cedar occur in the upper foothills. The montane forest, which constitutes the primary commercial timber zone,

Black Range

2005-02-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Mountain range extending 100 miles (160 km) north to south, through Catron and Sierra counties, southwestern New Mexico, U.S. The range follows the Continental Divide for much of its length. Most of the range lies within the Gila National Forest, near the headwaters of the Gila River. The highest point in the range is Reeds Peak (10,015 feet [3,053 metres]). State Highway 152, also called the Black Range

Andisol

2005-02-06T00:14:00.000-08:00

One of the 12 soil orders in the U.S. Soil Taxonomy. Andisols are defined by the single property of having volcanic-ash parent material. Although these soils exist in all climatic regions, they account for less than 0.75 percent of all the nonpolar continental land area on Earth. Approximately reproducing the geographic distribution of volcanoes, they are found along the

Rackham, Arthur

2005-02-05T04:46:00.000-08:00

Reared in London, Rackham enrolled in evening classes at the Lambeth School of Art in 1884 and spent seven years studying there while also working full-time in an insurance office. While a staff artist for a newspaper, the Westminster

Dulany, Daniel

2005-02-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

Daniel Dulany went to Maryland in 1703, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1709. He soon became prominent and wealthy from his legal practice. A year after Dulany moved to Annapolis, he was elected to represent the town in the Maryland Assembly. At first, Dulany became

Palladius

2005-01-29T01:54:00.000-08:00

Palladius took up the ascetical life himself, first at the Mount of Olives, the scene of Christ's Passion outside Jerusalem,

Macdonald-wright, Stanton

2005-01-27T17:35:00.000-08:00

Painter and teacher who, with Morgan Russell, founded the movement known as Synchromism about 1912. Synchromism proclaimed colour to be the basis of expression in painting, and, although the movement was short-lived, it proved to be the first abstract art movement developed by American

Wang Shih-fu

2005-01-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

Of 14 plays attributed to Wang, only three survive, of which Hsi hsiang chi (Romance of the Western Chamber, 1935) is widely regarded as the best northern play of the period and is still popular. The work is an amplified tsa-chü, a then-popular theatrical form, most of the conventions

Crabbe, Buster

2005-01-23T03:14:00.000-08:00

Crabbe, who grew up in Hawaii and swam for the University of Southern California, competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, winning a bronze medal in the 1,500-metre freestyle and finishing in fourth place in the 400-metre freestyle. At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, Crabbe

Crocker, Lucretia

2005-01-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Crocker graduated from the State Normal School in West Newton, Massachusetts, in 1850 and remained there for four more years as an instructor

Amphibole

2005-01-18T07:35:00.000-08:00

W.A. Deer, R.A. Howie, and J. Zussman, Rock-forming Minerals, 5 vol. (1962–63), with a 2nd ed. in progress (1978– ); Manual of Mineralogy (after James D. Dana), 20th ed. by Cornelis Klein and Cornelius S. Hurlbut, Jr. (1985); J.J. Papike and M. Cameron, “Crystal Chemistry of Silicate Minerals of Geophysical Interest,” Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics, 14(1):37–80 (1976); B.E. Leake (comp.), “Nomenclature of Amphiboles,” American Mineralogist, 63(11–12):1023–52 (1978); David R. Veblen (ed.), Amphiboles and Other Hydrous Pyriboles: Mineralogy (1981); David R. Veblen and Paul H. Ribbe (eds.), Amphiboles: Petrology and Experimental Phase Relations (1982).

Van

2005-01-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

City, eastern Turkey. It lies on the eastern shore of Lake Van at an altitude of about 5,750 feet (1,750 m). The city lies in an oasis at the foot of a hill crowned by an ancient ruined citadel. A ruined stone building near the foot of the rocky spur bears cuneiform inscriptions dating from the 8th and 7th centuries BC, when Van was the chief centre of the Urartu Kingdom. After the fall of Nineveh

Francis Ferdinand, Archduke Of Austria-este

2005-01-11T23:13:00.000-08:00

Francis Ferdinand was the eldest son of the archduke Charles Louis, who was the brother of the emperor Francis Joseph. The death of the heir apparent, the archduke Rudolf, in 1889, made Francis Ferdinand next in succession to the Austro-Hungarian

Die-casting

2005-01-09T04:36:00.000-08:00

Forming metal objects by injecting molten metal under pressure into dies, or molds. An early and important use of the technique was in the Mergenthaler Linotype machine (1884) to give line-long combinations of letters, but the appearance of the mass-production automobile assembly line gave die-casting its real impetus. Great precision is possible, and products range

Valdemar Iv Atterdag

2005-01-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

A son of King Christopher II, Valdemar lived after 1328 at the court of Louis IV the Bavarian, Holy

Fuseli, Henry

2005-01-05T01:56:00.000-08:00

Fuseli was reared in an intellectual and artistic milieu and initially studied theology. Obliged to flee Zürich because of political entanglements, he went first to Berlin, and then settled in London in 1764. He was encouraged

Shabunder

2005-01-04T16:04:00.000-08:00

To handle the greatly increased commerce in the 15th-century Malacca sultanate, four shabunders were appointed

Infection, Rabies

2005-01-01T05:28:00.000-08:00

Rabies virus is associated with dogs, foxes, jackals, and wolves, among other smaller animals, and has an odd association with vampire bats. In the plains of South America, these bats feed on the blood of cattle, and the death of cattle from paralytic rabies is a serious economic problem there. The bats themselves become rabid and bite other bats, but the spread of rabies

Powder-post Beetle

2004-12-31T22:59:00.000-08:00

Any member of the approximately 90 species of the small, widely distributed insect family Lyctidae (order Coleoptera). These beetles range in colour from reddish brown to black and in size from 1 to 7 mm (up to 0.3 inch). The larvae bore through seasoned wood, reducing it to a dry powder; they do not, however, enter varnished or painted wood. Powder-post beetle holes are often erroneously

Seibert, Florence

2004-12-28T11:58:00.000-08:00

Seibert contracted polio at age three, but became an outstanding student, graduating at the top of her high-school class and winning a scholarship to Goucher College, Towson, Maryland, from which she

Benda, Frantiek

2004-12-27T02:15:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Jan Jirí Benda and his wife Dorota Brixi, both talented musicians, Benda studied under Johann Gottlieb Graun and joined the orchestra of Frederick II the Great (then crown prince). On Frederick's accession (1740) to the Prussian

Kadoma

2004-12-25T00:10:00.000-08:00

City, Osaka fu (urban prefecture), Honshu, Japan, bordering Osaka city. The city is located on the left bank of the Yodo River and is known for its cultivation of lotus flowers. After the establishment of a railway connection to Osaka in 1909, industrialization was rapid. The Matsushita Electric Industrial Company moved to Kadoma in 1933 to establish factories producing electrical

Hank

2004-12-23T23:35:00.000-08:00

In textile manufacture, unit of measure applied to a length of yarn or to a loose assemblage of fibres forming a single strand, and varying according to the fibre origin. A hank of cotton or of the spun silk made from short lengths of waste silk is 840 yards (770 m) long. A hank of linen is 300 yards (270 m). In worsted yarn, made from combed fibre, there are 560 yards (510 m) to a hank.

Cyril Of Jerusalem, Saint

2004-12-20T03:50:00.000-08:00

A senior presbyter when he succeeded Maximus as bishop (c. 350), Cyril was exiled about 357 and at two later times from his see by the Arians. Many years later at the Council of Constantinople (381) there was evidence

Estancia

2004-12-19T06:46:00.000-08:00

From the late 18th century estancieros (owners of estancias) began to acquire tracts of land in the pampas (grasslands) of Argentina, which by the late 19th century had been almost entirely fenced in to form these

Tedder (of Glenguin), Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron

2004-12-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

Marshal of the Royal Air Force and deputy commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force under General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who contributed significantly to the success of the Allied invasion of Normandy (June 6, 1944) and the German defeat on the Western Front during World War II through his policy of bombing

Lahij

2004-12-11T02:38:00.000-08:00

Under the former Aden Protectorate, a British-ruled area, it was capital of the 'Abdali Sultanate, abolished when Yemen (Aden) became independent in 1967. The sultan's palace is

Sublimation

2004-12-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

In physics, conversion of a substance from the solid to the vapour state without its becoming liquid. An example is the vaporization of frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) at ordinary atmospheric pressure and temperature. The phenomenon is the result of vapour pressure and temperature relationships. Freeze-drying of food to preserve it involves sublimation of water

Osler-rendu-weber Disease

2004-12-06T04:49:00.000-08:00

Also called Rendu-osler-weber Disease, or Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia, a hereditary disorder causing bleeding from local capillary lesions. The disorder is classed as a type of purpura. In the disease, capillaries (minute blood vessels) in the fingertips and around the oral and nasal cavities are enlarged and have unusually thin walls; they fill with bright red (well-oxygenated) blood and are easily broken by accidental bumping or jarring,

Computers, Commodore and Tandy enter the field

2004-12-04T02:07:00.000-08:00

The next year, another established company entered the

Arabia, History Of, The 1991 Persian Gulf War

2004-12-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

Following the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, President Saddam Hussein of Iraq faced massive economic problems, including debts owed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The Iraqi president also viewed himself as the leader of Pan-Arab nationalism and socialism, two ideologies firmly opposed by the conservative monarchies that controlled most of the Arabian Peninsula outside

Schaepman, Hermanus Johannes Aloysius Maria

2004-12-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

Ordained a priest in 1867, Schaepman received a doctorate in church history (1869) and taught at a seminary for many years.

France, History Of, Charles V

2004-11-28T08:28:00.000-08:00

Under the former dauphin, now Charles V (1364–80), the fortunes of war were dramatically reversed. Charles had a high conception of royalty and a good political sense. While he shared the Valois taste for luxury and festivity, he reverted to the Capetian tradition of prudent diplomacy. He observed the Treaty of Calais, which helps to explain why Edward III did not press to conclude

Soissons, Charles De Bourbon, Count (comte) De

2004-11-27T09:32:00.000-08:00

Louis I de Bourbon, the first prince de Condé, had acquired the countship of Soissons in 1557, and upon his death in 1569 it passed to his youngest son, Charles. This count fought for Henry of Bourbon (the future Henry IV) against Henry III of France at

Dahlonega

2004-11-25T23:24:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1833) of Lumpkin county, northern Georgia, U.S. Gold was discovered in the locality in 1828, and the site was settled and incorporated in 1833 after one of the nation's first gold rushes; its name derives from the Cherokee taulonica (“yellow metal”). A U.S. mint operated there from 1838 until 1861, when Georgia seceded from the Union; Dahlonega-minted gold coins are now highly prized by

Floral Decoration

2004-11-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

Since the earliest days of civilization, humans have used floral decorations, composed of living or dried cut-plant materials or artificial facsimiles, to embellish their environment and persons. Flowers have played

Marseille

2004-11-21T06:26:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Marseilles, ancient Massilia, or Massalia, city, capital of Bouches-du-Rhône département, France, and also the administrative and commercial capital of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, one of France's fastest growing régions. Located west of the French Riviera, Marseille is one of the major ports of the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated on the Mediterranean's Gulf of Lion within a semicircle of limestone hills and

Earth, Metamorphism

2004-11-18T21:47:00.000-08:00

Metamorphism requires heat and/or pressure to transform a sedimentary or an igneous rock into a metamorphic rock. Such a change involves an increase in grain size, formation of new minerals, gain or loss of water, and/or an increase in the degree of bonding of the mineral grains. Metamorphism can be either of two types: regional or contact. Regional metamorphism involves

Burdett, Sir Francis, 5th Baronet

2004-11-17T23:18:00.000-08:00

His marriage to a wealthy woman enabled Burdett to buy a seat in the House of Commons in 1796. Influenced by French Revolutionary

Arnow, Harriette

2004-11-15T06:21:00.000-08:00

Haeja K. Chung (ed.), Harriette Simpson Arnow: Critical Essays on Her Work (1995); and Wilton Eckley, Harriette Arnow (1974).

Burns, George; And Allen, Gracie

2004-11-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

Both came from theatrical backgrounds. Burns began his career at age seven as a singer in the PeeWee Quartet and later performed

Adams, John

2004-11-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

(For additional writings by Adams, see The Meaning of the American Revolution; On the Importance of Property for the Suffrage; and Party Divisions in America.)

La Paz

2004-11-08T17:33:00.000-08:00

City, capital of the estado (“state”) of Baja California Sur, northwestern Mexico. Only 33 feet (10 m) above sea level on the La Paz Bay of the Gulf of California, the city has a hot, dry climate. The bay was discovered by the Spanish in 1596, and early in the 18th century it was temporarily the site of a Jesuit mission. The town was established in the early 1800s and was the capital of Baja California

Acarnania

2004-11-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

District of ancient Greece bounded by the Ionian Sea, the Ambracian Gulf, Mount Thyamus, and the Achelous River. Corinth founded several colonies on the coast of Acarnania in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. Originally a tribal unit, Acarnania developed into a federal state with generals and other magistrates, a council, and an assembly by the late 5th century; its capital was

Spain, Literature

2004-11-04T05:25:00.000-08:00

In the 9th century there flourished such court poets as 'Abbas ibn Nasih, 'Abbas ibn Firnas, Yahya al-Ghazal, and the knight Sa'id ibn Judi. Towering above all these, however, was Muhammad ibn Hani', nicknamed the “Mutanabbi of the West” (Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi was a 10th-century poet of Iraq), who by virtue of his religious ideas was obliged to forsake his native land and enter into the service of the

Kaduqli

2004-11-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central Sudan. It is situated 149 miles (240 km) south of al-Ubayyid, at the northern edge of the White Nile plain. Kaduqli came under Egyptian rule in the early 19th century and was probably a centre for recruiting slaves for the Egyptian army. It is now a trading centre for gum arabic and livestock. Industries include textiles, soap factories, and the production of leather

Siliguri

2004-11-01T04:08:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Shiliguri, city, northern West Bengal state, northeastern India. It lies just west of the Mahananda River. The terminus of the roads from Kalimpang (Kalimpong) and Sikkim and of road and rail connections with Darjiling (Darjeeling) and Jalpaiguri, Siliguri is the hub for trade among Darjiling, Sikkim, and Tibet. Sawmilling and jute milling are important industries; there are also tea

Indochina

2004-10-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

After gradually establishing suzerainty over Indochina between 1858 and 1893, the French created the first Indochinese Union

Valencia

2004-10-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Valencia (Valentia) was a prosperous area during the Roman Empire and was taken by the Visigoths in the early 5th century AD. In the early 8th century it was captured by the

Earth Sciences, Concepts of landform evolution

2004-10-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

The scientific exploration of the American West following the end of the Civil War yielded much new information on the sculpture of the landscape by streams. John Wesley Powell in his reports on the Colorado River and Uinta Mountains (1875, 1876) explained how streams may come to flow across mountain ranges rather than detour around them. The Green River does not follow some

Radar, Antennas

2004-10-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

A widely used form of radar antenna is the parabolic reflector, the principle of which is shown in cross section in Figure 4 (A). A horn antenna or other small antenna is placed at the focus of the parabola to illuminate the parabolic surface of the reflector. After being reflected by this surface, the electromagnetic energy is radiated as a narrow beam. A paraboloid, which

Academy

2004-10-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

At the close of the Middle Ages, academies

Marsh Cress

2004-10-20T02:47:00.000-07:00

Also called Yellow Cress, any of the 70 plant species of the genus Rorippa of the mustard family (Brassicaceae). Most members of the genus are found in the Northern Hemisphere. The genus has at times been included with the genera Nasturtium and Radicula. Iceland watercress, or marsh yellow cress (R. islandica, sometimes Nasturtium palustre), grows, like others of the genus, in marshy ground. It bears

Gate Theatre

2004-10-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Dublin dramatic company, founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir, whose repertoire included works from many periods and countries, unlike that of the established Abbey Theatre. From 1928 to 1930 the Gate Theatre made its home at the Peacock, then moved to its own building. The Abbey and the Irish National Theatre Society had provided a stage for national playwrights

France, History Of, Girondins and Montagnards

2004-10-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Convention, however, was bitterly divided almost to the point of paralysis. From the opening day, two outspoken groups of deputies vied for the support of their less factional colleagues. The roots of this rivalry lay in a conflict between Robespierre and Brissot for leadership of the Jacobin Club in the spring and summer of 1792. At that time Robespierre had argued

Korean War, Air warfare

2004-10-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

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,

Italy, Tourism

2004-10-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Italy's tourist industry has flourished under both national and international patronage. The most popular locations, apart from the great cultural centres of Rome, Florence, Venice, and Naples, are the coastal resorts and islands or the Alpine hills and lakes of the north; the Ligurian and Amalfi rivieras; the northern Adriatic coast; the small islands in the Tyrrhenian

Appliqué

2004-10-13T23:29:00.000-07:00

Sewing technique in which fabric patches are layered on a foundation fabric, then stitched in place by hand or machine with the raw edges turned under or covered with decorative stitching. From the French appliquer, “to put on,” appliqué is sometimes used to embellish clothing or household linens. Like patchwork (piecing), it is a method of constructing or embellishing

Amorphous Solid, Other preparation techniques

2004-10-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Numerous other methods exist for preparing amorphous solids, and new methods are continually invented. In melt spinning, a jet of molten metal is propelled against the moving surface of a cold, rotating copper cylinder. A solid film of metallic glass is spun off as a continuous ribbon at a speed that can exceed a kilometre per minute. In laser glazing, a brief intense

Pitchstone

2004-10-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

Most pitchstone occurs as dikes or marginal phases of dikes and therefore may grade into porphyry. Pitchstone porphyry (vitrophyre)

Cymophane

2004-10-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

Variety of the gemstone chrysoberyl (q.v.).

Kadesh, Battle Of

2004-10-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

(1275 BC), major battle between the Egyptians under Ramses II and the Hittites under Muwatallis, in Syria, southwest of Hims, on the Orontes River. Seeking to recapture the Hittite-held city of Kadesh in Syria, Ramses II invaded Syria with four divisions and an auxiliary force. Muwatallis gathered a large alliance among his vassal states and, hiding his army behind the city mound,

Rom

2004-10-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Plural Roma , also called Gypsy , also spelled Gipsy any member of the traditionally itinerant people who originated in northern India but live in modern times worldwide, principally in Europe. Most Roma speak some form of Romany, a language closely related to the modern Indo-European languages of northern India, as well as the major language of the country in which they live. It is generally agreed that Roma groups

Animal Magnetism

2004-10-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

Sibu

2004-10-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

Town, East Malaysia (northwest Borneo), at the confluence of the Rajang and Igan rivers, about 50 miles (80 km) from the South China Sea coast. As a river port, it serves small oceangoing vessels and exports timber, rubber, and pepper. Sibu has an airport and a technical nautical school. Pop. (1980) 85,231.

Abraham

2004-10-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hebrew Avraham , originally called Abram or, in Hebrew, Avram first of the Hebrew patriarchs and a figure revered by the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to the biblical book of Genesis, Abraham left Ur, in Mesopotamia, because God called him to found a new nation in an undesignated land that he later learned was Canaan. He obeyed unquestioningly the commands

Alembert, Jean Le Rond D'

2004-10-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

In 1739 he read his first paper to the Academy of Sciences, of which he became a member in 1741. In 1743, at the age of 26, he published his important Traité de dynamique, a fundamental treatise on dynamics containing the famous “d'Alembert's principle,” which states that Newton's third law of motion (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction) is true for bodies that are free to

Industrial Bank Of Japan

2004-10-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

Japanese Nippon Kogyo Ginko former Japanese commercial bank that operated a general-banking and foreign-exchange business with branches in Japan and overseas. Established in 1902, the bank had specialized in medium- and long-term financing of industrial development, and both its main office and its foreign branches were active in the foreign-exchange markets. In September 2000, Industrial Bank of

Gateleg Table

2004-10-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Type of table first used in England in the 16th century. The top had a fixed section and one or two hinged sections, which, when not in use, folded back onto the fixed section or were allowed to hang vertically. The hinged section, or flap, was supported on pivoted legs joined at the top and bottom by stretchers and so constituting a gate. Large flaps had two supports,

Defamation

2004-09-30T04:35:00.000-07:00

Although defamation is a creation of English law, similar doctrines existed several thousand years ago. In Roman law abusive chants were

Hywel Ab Owain Gwynedd

2004-09-29T04:55:00.000-07:00

Welsh warrior-prince and lyric poet whose eight extant compositions include the only love poems found in the works of the early Welsh court poets. Also included among the eight are poems expressing love of country, perhaps the first such works in Welsh literature. The son of Owain Gwynedd, Hywel played a major part in the occupation of Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) by

Canada Company

2004-09-29T01:32:00.000-07:00

Organization instrumental in colonizing much of the western part of Upper Canada (now Ontario). Many residents of Upper Canada had incurred losses during the War of 1812 and subsequently claimed an indemnity from the British government. The latter agreed to pay a portion of the claims if the government of Upper Canada provided the remainder. At the suggestion of John

American Literature, Poetry

2004-09-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

The post-World War II years produced an abundance of strong poetry but no individual poet as dominant and accomplished as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost, or William Carlos Williams, whose long careers were coming to an end. The major poetry from 1945 to 1960 was modernist in its ironic texture yet formal in its insistence on regular rhyme and metre. Beginning

Dafydd Ap Gwilym

2004-09-27T03:36:00.000-07:00

Little is known of his life, except that he was a member of an aristocratic family from South Wales,

Roosevelt, Franklin D., Supreme Court fight

2004-09-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

Declaring in his Second Inaugural Address (see original text) that “I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished,” Roosevelt was determined to push forward with further New Deal reforms. With large Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, there remained only one obstacle to his objectives: the Supreme Court. During Roosevelt's first term, the court, which consisted entirely of pre-Roosevelt appointees, had invalidated several key New Deal measures, and cases challenging the Social Security Act and the Wagner Act were pending. To make the court more supportive of reform legislation, Roosevelt proposed a reorganization plan that would have allowed him to appoint one new justice for every sitting justice aged 70 years or older. Widely viewed as a court-packing scheme (even by Roosevelt's supporters), the reorganization bill provoked heated debate in Congress and eventually was voted down, which handed Roosevelt his first major legislative defeat. Meanwhile, the fight over court packing seemed to alter the Supreme Court's attitude toward the New Deal, and both the Social Security Act and the Wagner Act were upheld.

Aschelminth, Distribution and abundance

2004-09-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Nematodes are the most abundant of all multicellular animals and are found wherever life can be supported. They reach their greatest numbers in estuarine mud flats, up to 20,000,000 per square metre, decreasing in density in marine muds and sands but often reaching one to several million per square metre. Typical densities for terrestrial soils, including forests, grasslands,

Sea People

2004-09-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

Any of the groups of aggressive seafarers who invaded eastern Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, and Egypt toward the end of the Bronze Age, especially in the 13th century BC. They are held responsible for the destruction of old powers such as the Hittite Empire. Because of the abrupt break in ancient Near Eastern records as a result of the invasions, the precise extent and

Amphibian, Metamorphosis

2004-09-22T00:16:00.000-07:00

Metamorphosis entails an abrupt and thorough change in an animal's physiology and biochemistry, with concomitant structural and behavioral modifications. These changes mark the transformation from hatchling to adult, the most obvious of which are the development of completely new structures and functions. Other changes include modification of larval structures

Massachusetts Bay

2004-09-21T05:14:00.000-07:00

Inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean, extending southward for about 60 miles (100 km) from Cape Ann to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S. It includes Nahant, Boston, Plymouth, and Cape Cod bays and Gloucester and Salem harbours. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway enters the bay through the Cape Cod Canal and reaches its northernmost point at Boston. Late in 1620, the Pilgrims explored Cape

Aethra

2004-09-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

Later she guarded Helen after she had been stolen from Sparta by Theseus; in retribution

Rabato

2004-09-19T01:26:00.000-07:00

The turned-back rabato was sometimes used as the support or base for a ruff,

Brazil, Minerals

2004-09-19T01:13:00.000-07:00

Brazil contains extremely rich mineral reserves that are only partly exploited, including iron ore, tin, copper, pyrochlore (from which ferroniobium is derived), and bauxite. There are also significant amounts of granite, manganese, asbestos, gold, gemstones, quartz, tantalum, and kaolin (china clay). Most industrial minerals are concentrated in Minas Gerais and

Aids

2004-09-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

Byname of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome transmissible disease of the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV slowly attacks and destroys the immune system, the body's defense against infection, leaving an individual vulnerable to a variety of other infections and certain malignancies that eventually cause death. AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection, during which time

Gahn, Johan Gottlieb

2004-09-16T23:10:00.000-07:00

Swedish mineralogist and crystallographer who discovered manganese in 1774. His failure to win fame may be related to the fact that he published little. He saved the notes, papers, and letters of his friend Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who discovered chlorine, but not his own. His essays on the balance and use of the blowpipe in analysis