Dielectric
Insulating material or a very poor conductor of electric current. When dielectrics are placed in an electric field, practically no current flows in them because, unlike metals, they have no loosely bound, or free, electrons that may drift through the material. Instead, electric polarization occurs. The positive charges within the dielectric are displaced minutely
Hungarian Language
The language has been written in a modified
Dorris, Michael Anthony
American writer whose best-known book, the 1989 National Book Award-winning The Broken Cord, chronicled the struggle his adopted son faced as a result of fetal alcohol syndrome; suffering from chronic depression, separated from his wife, writer Louise Erdrich, and facing legal difficulties, Dorris took his own life (b. Jan 30, 1945--found dead April 11, 1997).
Spice Trade
Cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, and turmeric were known to Eastern peoples thousands of years ago, and they became important items of commerce early in the evolution of trade. Cinnamon and cassia found their way to the Middle East at least 2,000 years
Zalau
Town, capital of Salaj judet (county), northwestern Romania. It is located in an isolated part of the country on the northwestern slopes of the Mezes Mountains. It is the terminal of a branch line railway and a local market centre for the district's agricultural produce. A furniture factory in Zalau uses timber from the surrounding hills. The town has an archaeological museum
Literature
The year 2001 was one of losses and gains for Russian literature. Several leading figures died, among them Viktor Krivulin, a major poet, critic, and organizational force in Russia's 1970s �underground�; Vadim Kozhonov - critic, literary scholar, and an intellectual leader of the �populist� wing of Russian literature; and
Saalfeld
City, Thuringia Land (state), east-central Germany, on the Saale River, at the northeast edge of the Th�ringer Wald (forest), south of Weimar. First mentioned in 899 as a royal palace, it was the site of a Benedictine monastery founded in 1071. The present town dates from 1200. It was sold by the counts of Schwarzburg in 1389 to the House of Wettin and was the seat of the Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld from
Tacoma
City, seat (1880) of Pierce county, western Washington, U.S., on Commencement Bay of Puget Sound, 30 miles (48 km) south of Seattle. The bay was the starting point (1841) of a U.S. surveying party led by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, who named it Commencement Bay. Settled in 1864, the site was laid out (1868) as Commencement City by General Morton M. McCarver; it was soon renamed Tacoma (an Indian name for Mount
Tacoma
City, seat (1880) of Pierce county, western Washington, U.S., on Commencement Bay of Puget Sound, 30 miles (48 km) south of Seattle. The bay was the starting point (1841) of a U.S. surveying party led by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, who named it Commencement Bay. Settled in 1864, the site was laid out (1868) as Commencement City by General Morton M. McCarver; it was soon renamed Tacoma (an Indian name for Mount
Tracer
Detectable substance added to a chemical, biological, or physical system to follow its process or to study distribution of the substance in the system. Tracer dyes have long been used to follow the flow of underground streams. Incendiary rounds included at intervals in a belt of machine-gun bullets make the paths of the bullets visible. In scientific work, the use
Maudslay, Henry
The son of a workman at the Woolwich Arsenal, Maudslay was apprenticed to Joseph Bramah, who manufactured locks. Maudslay soon became Bramah's foreman, but, when refused an increase in pay, he left to go into business for himself. His first job was construction of machinery
Pa
Pinyin �Ba� ancient tribe and later an ancient Chinese feudal state that came into being in the 11th century BC, under the Western Chou. It was situated in the Chia-ling valley of what is now central Szechwan. Pa established relations with the mid-Yangtze kingdom of Ch'u in the 5th century BC. Shortly before 316 BC, the state was conquered by the Ch'in and incorporated into the Ch'in empire. In the middle
Protestantism, The rise of Pietism
Dutch Pietism - influenced by Englishman William Ames (1576 - 1633), whose Medulla Sacrae Theologiae (1623; The Marrow of
Venetian Glass
Variety of glasswares made in Venice from the 13th century, at the latest, to the present. Although a glassblowers' guild existed in Venice from 1224, the earliest extant specimens that can be dated with certainty are from the mid-15th century. The early history of Venetian glass is therefore largely conjectural. It is known that in 1291 the glasshouses moved across the lagoon to
Francis, Sam
Francis studied medicine at the University of California at Berkeley in 1941 - 43 and began painting while in a hospital after being wounded in World War II. He painted his first abstract compositions in 1947. From 1950 to 1957 he lived and worked in Paris,
Cracticidae
Songbird family, of the order Passeriformes, that includes species of the bell-magpie, butcherbird, and currawong (qq.v.) groups of Australia. They are sometimes collectively called songshrikes, from their vocal powers and their shrikelike behaviour.
Smith, Ian (douglas)
Smith attended local schools and entered Rhodes University in Grahamstown, S.Af. He interrupted his
New England Conservatory Of Music
Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Considered one of the leading music schools in the United States, it is also the oldest independent music conservatory in the nation. It offers bachelor's degrees with majors in percussion, five woodwind, five brass, six string, and three keyboard instruments, plus studies such as
And Fjord
Norwegian �Andfjorden� fjord, in the Norwegian Sea, indenting northwestern Norway, located between the islands of And (west) and Senja (east). The fjord, which is divided between Nordland and Troms fylker (counties), penetrates into the offshore island of Hinn in the south, where it is called Gulles Fjord. Its total length is about 55 miles (90 km) from its broad opening into the Norwegian Sea at the Andenes
Romance Stanza
Also called �romance-six� a six-line verse stanza common in metrical romances in which the first, second, fourth, and fifth lines have four accents each and the third and sixth lines have three accents each and in which the rhyme scheme is aabaab. It is a type of tail rhyme.
La Follette, Robert M
Resigning as governor in 1906, he was elected to the Senate at a time when that institution was widely believed to be a refuge for millionaires. La Follette acquired instant fame as a new type of senator, one who was not controlled by �the interests,� and in his first three years there La Follette achieved the passage of laws aimed against the freight rates, labour policies,
Jackson, William
Jackson was organist and choirmaster at Exeter cathedral from 1777. His best-known other compositions are Twelve Songs (1755) and Twelve Canzonets for Two Voices (c. 1770). His name is also associated with an Anglican service of dubious authenticity,
Acton, Sir John Francis Edward, 6th Baronet
Finding the French Navy unappreciative of his skills, Acton, the son of an expatriate Englishman, joined the forces of Peter Leopold (later Holy Roman emperor Leopold
Peter I
Married by his cousin King Philip II Augustus of France to Alix, heiress to Brittany, Peter did homage for the province in 1213 and assumed the title of duke, though he was considered merely a count
Frederick Ii
Byname �Frederick the Great�, German �Friedrich der Grosse� king of Prussia (1740 - 86), a brilliant military campaigner who, in a series of diplomatic stratagems and wars against Austria and other powers, greatly enlarged Prussia's territories and made Prussia the foremost military power in Europe. An enlightened absolute monarch, he favoured French language and art and built a French Rococo palace,
Coipasa, Salar De
Salt flat, in the bleak Altiplano of Bolivia, about 100 air mi (160 air km) southwest of the city of Oruro, near the Chilean border. At an altitude of 12,073 ft (3,680 m), the flat, Bolivia's second largest (after Salar de Uyuni), occupies 856 sq mi (2,218 sq km). Lago (lake) de Coipasa directly to the north receives the intermittently flowing R�o Lauca from the northwest and is connected to Lago de Poop� to the east
La Spezia
Formerly �Spezia, � capital of La Spezia province, Liguria region, northern Italy. The city, a major naval base, is located at the head of the Golfo della Spezia, southeast of Genoa. The site was inhabited in Roman times, but little is known of its history before 1276, when it was sold to Genoa by the Fieschi family. It became a maritime prefecture in the French Empire and then part of the Duchy of Genoa
La Spezia
Formerly �Spezia, � capital of La Spezia province, Liguria region, northern Italy. The city, a major naval base, is located at the head of the Golfo della Spezia, southeast of Genoa. The site was inhabited in Roman times, but little is known of its history before 1276, when it was sold to Genoa by the Fieschi family. It became a maritime prefecture in the French Empire and then part of the Duchy of Genoa
Russell, Bertrand
In full �Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell of Kingston Russell, Viscount Amberley of Amberley and of Ardsalla� English logician and philosopher, best known for his work in mathematical logic and for his social and political campaigns, including his advocacy of both pacifism and nuclear disarmament. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950.
