Aerospace Industry, Wind-tunnel testing

Computer simulation has reduced the amount of wind-tunnel testing necessary, but the latter remains an important part of the development process in the aerospace industry. During development of the Boeing 777, for example, some 2,000 hours in the wind tunnel were clocked. The wind tunnel, which predates powered flight by 32 years, is a test apparatus in which air is blown over

Kuala Terengganu

Formerly �Kuala Trengganu, � town, northeastern West Malaysia (Malaya), at the mouth of the Sungai (River) Terengganu, on the South China Sea. A sprawling town with wooden houses set on stilts amid trees, it is a collecting centre for the agricultural products of the river's delta. It is also a port engaged in coastwise trade, with extensive road facilities and an airport at Seberang; and it is the residence

China, Consolidation

Under the third emperor, Chen-tsung (reigned 997/998 - 1022/23), the Sung achieved consolidation. A threatening Khitan offensive was directly met by the Emperor himself. A few battles assured neither side of victory. The two empires pledged peaceful coexistence in 1004 through an exchange of sworn documents that foreshadowed modern international treaties. The Khitan gave up its claim

Dyal

Also spelled �Dayal, or Dhyal, � popular species of magpie-robin (q.v.).

Malolos

Town, south-central Luzon, Philippines. It lies at the head of the Pampanga River delta, near the northern shore of Manila Bay. During a revolt against U.S. administration, the insurgent congress met there in the Barasoain Church, where they framed the �Malolos Constitution� and proclaimed a republic on January 23, 1899. The insurgent leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, established his

Arabia, History Of, The rise of Islam

After Muhammad's entry into Mecca the tribes linked with Quraysh came to negotiate with him and to accept Islam; this meant little more than giving up their local deities and worshiping Allah alone. They had to pay the tax, but this was not novel because the tribal chiefs had already been taxed to protect the Meccan haram. Many tribesmen probably waited to join the winner.

Chelif River

Also spelled �Ch�liff, or Sheliff, � the longest and most important river of Algeria. Its farthest tributary, the Sebgag River, rises in the Amour ranges of the Saharan Atlas Mountains near Aflou. Crossing the Hauts Plateaux for most of the year as a chain of marshes and muddy pools, the river loses most of its water but is replenished by a stream near Chabounia, the Nahr Ouassel River. The Chelif then turns

Puerto Padre

City, northeastern Las Tunas provincia, eastern Cuba. Lying on sheltered Puerto Padre Bay, off the Atlantic Ocean, the city is a commercial and manufacturing centre for a fertile irrigated hinterland. Sugarcane, tobacco, fruit, and livestock produced in the area are processed in the city, which also contains brickyards and sawmills. Saltworks, asphalt deposits, and

Pridoli Series

Pridoli also spelled �Pr�dol�, �also called �Pridolian, � the uppermost of four main divisions of the Silurian System, representing rocks deposited worldwide during the Pridoli Epoch (414 to 408 million years ago). The series' name is derived from the Pr�dol� area of the Daleje Valley on the outskirts of Prague in the Czech Republic, where about 20 - 50 m (65 - 165 feet) of platy limestone strata rich in cephalopods and bivalves are well

John

A Roman archdeacon well liked by the populace, John was elected by them on January 25 against the nobility's candidate, Sergius II. John withdrew to the Lateran Palace, his stronghold for a brief period. Concurrently, Sergius was consecrated pope at St. Peter's without imperial sanction. John was saved from being murdered by the

Overture

Musical composition, usually the orchestral introduction to a musical work (often dramatic), but also an independent instrumental work. Early operas opened with a sung prologue or a short instrumental flourish, such as the trumpet �Toccata� that opens Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607). Subsequent 17th-century operas were sometimes preceded by a short instrumental piece

Arts, East Asian, Sculpture

Sculpture did not enjoy a great infusion of creativity during the Edo period. More obviously mannered and stylized interpretations of Buddhist deities and worthies were regularly produced. There were, of course, some sculptors of exceptional talent. Shoun Genkei (1648 - 1710) is renowned for his production (1688 - 95) of a set of 500 arhats (disciples of the Buddha) at Gohyaku Rakan Temple in

Jars, Plain Of

French �Plain des Jarres�, Laotian �Th�ng Haihin� dissected inner region of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in north-central Laos. Drained principally by the Ngum River, a southward-flowing tributary of the Mekong River, the plain is characterized by narrow river valleys and limestone and sandstone hills ranging from 3,000 to 3,600 feet (900 to 1,100 m) in elevation. The plain's name is derived from several hundred huge and ancient carved stone

M�l�

Also spelled �mellay� ancient and medieval game, a predecessor of modern football (soccer), in which a round or oval object, usually the inflated bladder of an animal, was kicked, punched, carried, or driven toward a goal. Its origins are not known, but, according to one British tradition, the first ball used was the head of an enemy Dane. The games were played by large numbers of people with few rules

Andean Peoples

Even these two technological developments, however, are not enough to characterize and explain the emergence of Andean civilizations. From the intimate knowledge of their environmental conditions, the people developed a set of values that may have started from a desire to minimize risks but that soon was elaborated into an economic and political ideal. Every

Biblical Literature, The role of Samuel

The first section (chapters 1 - 15) begins with the story of Samuel's birth, after his mother Hannah (one of the two wives of the Ephraimite Elkanah) had prayed at the shrine at Shiloh, the centre of the tribal confederacy, for a son. She vowed that, if she bore a son, he would be dedicated to Yahweh for lifetime service as a Nazirite, as indicated by the words �and no razor shall touch

Epistemology, Perception and knowledge

To a great extent the epistemological interests of analytic philosophers in the 20th century have been concentrated upon the relationship between knowledge and perception. The major figures in this development have been Bertrand Russell, G.E. Moore, H.H. Price, C.D. Broad, A.J. Ayer, and H.P. Grice. Although their views differed considerably - Russell, Broad, and Ayer were phenomenalists,

Greek Civil War

The first stage of the civil war began only months before Nazi Germany's occupation of Greece ended in October 1944. The German occupation had been resisted by two principal Greek guerrilla forces, the communist-controlled EAM-ELAS (Ethnik�

Chacao

City, northwestern Miranda state, northern Venezuela. The city, in a valley in the central highlands, was formerly a commercial centre in an agricultural area producing coffee, corn (maize), sugarcane, and fruit. With the growth of the national capital, it has become a residential and commercial part of the Caracas metropolitan area. Highways and expressways connect

Industrial Glass, Tableware

Tableware tumblers are made by blowing glass at the end of a blowing pipe into a split paste-mold. The paste-mold is made of cast iron and is lined with a wetted cork-type or pasted-sawdust material. The resulting steam cushion gives a smooth finish to the glass, which is rotated in the mold during the blowing step. The formed ware is then gently knocked off the pipe by a light

Vysotsky, Vladimir

Vysotsky's parents were divorced soon after his

Malay Peninsula

Also called �the Kra Peninsula, � in Southeast Asia, a long, narrow appendix of the mainland extending south for a distance of about 700 miles (1,127 km) through the Isthmus of Kra to Cape Balai, southernmost point of the Asian continent; its maximum width is 200 miles (322 km). It lies between the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca (west), the Singapore Strait (south), and the Gulf of Thailand and the South

Annabergite

Hydrated nickel arsenate mineral that is very similar to erythrite (q.v.).

Annabergite

Nationwide association of labour unions in Canada, comprising both wholly Canadian �national� unions and �international� unions that are Canadian branches of unions based in the United States. The CLC was formed in 1956 through the merger of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour. At the onset of the 21st century, a majority of the four

Ulanova, Galina

The daughter of dancers Sergey Ulanov and Marie Romanova of the Mariinsky Ballet (called the Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet during the Soviet period), Ulanova was trained in the

Vald�s Leal, Juan De Nisa

His father was Portuguese, and Vald�s Leal was educated in C�rdoba under the guidance of Antonio del Castillo and worked there until 1653. For the next few years he

Audiovisual Education

Audiovisual education has developed rapidly since the 1920s by drawing on new technologies of communication, most recently the computer. History has shown that pictures, specimens, demonstrations,

Welch

City, seat of McDowell county, southern West Virginia, U.S., at the confluence of Elkhorn Creek and Tug Fork. Settled in 1885, it was named for I.A. Welch, an early settler. The county seat was moved there from Perryville in 1891. There were no bridges or wagons in this extremely mountainous area until the 1880s, and the principal products at that time were furs and ginseng. The arrival of the

Swamp Pheasant

Also called �Pheasant Coucal, � bird species of the cuckoo family (Cuculidae). See coucal.

Annelid, External features

The body of an annelid is often described as a tube within a tube. The inner tube, or digestive tract, is separated from the outer tube, or body wall, by the coelom. The head region (prostomium) is followed by a series of segments similar to each other in appearance. The body in many species, especially in the sedentary polychaetes, is separated into two or three regions. The