ACCORDION

Wind instrument in bellows form, with a piano keyboard on the right side and free-beating reeds in the headboards. The free-reed principle was derived from the Chinese mouth organ (sheng), and was applied to the accordion when it was first built in 1822. The range of concert accordions is three octaves, with all the semitones. On the left side there are up to 140 bass buttons. While used mainly to play folk music, the accordion is also a jazz instrument.

ACCELEROMETER

Device to measure acceleration of physical bodies in motion. Its most important application is in the inertial-guidance system used on rockets, missiles, and long-range bombers. It is also used in studying the stresses that airplane structures and automobile parts undergo during motion. In its simplest form, an accelerometer consist of a weight attached to a spring. The amount of displacement of the mass due to the acceleration of the body to which the instrument is attached is a measure of the acceleration of that body. There are two types of accelerometers: the linear, which measure straight-line acceleration; and the angular, which measure angular acceleration.

ACAPULCO DE JUÁREZ

Largest city of Mexico’s southwestern state of Guerrero. Acapulco is situated on a narrow strip of land lying between shoreline and the hills, which almost surround its bay. It is Mexico’s main Pacific Ocean port and one of the world’s finest natural harbors. The city is the trade for produce of Guerrero. Exports include copra, maize, sesame, sugar cane, cotton, fruits, hides and woods. Among its industries are food and fish processing, cotton ginning and metal working. Its main industry is tourism. Acapulco is a world-famous resort with scores of ultramodern hotels. Most are built on the surrounding hills with magnificent views of the bay, coves, bathing beaches and rocky cliffs. The climate is agreeable with average winter temperatures of 78° F. and in summer 82° F. Fishing for swordfish, marlin, and sailfish is an important tourist attraction. Settled about 1530, Acapulco from 1565 until 1815 was Spain’s main gateway to the riches of the Philippines and the Orient. It was also the New World terminal for the treasure-laden Manila galleons. Pop., 49,149.

ACANTHUS

Genus of perennial shrubs native to the Old World, especially the warmer Mediterranean areas. The plants, which grow to a height of 3 or 4 ft., bear tightly clustered white, rose, or purplish flowers, atop a long spike. The large leaves of some species of Acanthus are separated into many lobes, whose irregular edges bear stiff spines. Certain species, however, have lobed leaves with nonspiny, serrated edges. Of particular interest is A. spinosus, one of the spiny species, whose leaves, slightly curled under at their ends, are said to have inspired the Greeks with the design for the capital of the Corinthian column. Later, the Romans elaborated on this idea and used designs from the leaves of A. mollis, a nonspiny species.

ACADEMY OF MUSIC (Philadelphia)

Opera house at Broad and Locust streets - probably the oldest auditorium in the United States still used in its original purposes. Construction began in 1855, with Napoleon LeBrun and Gustavus Runge, both of Philadelphia, as the architects. It was opened with a performance of Il Trovatore on Feb. 25, 1857. An extensive program of restoration and refurbishing began a century later. Long noted for its superior acoustic qualities, it houses the city's major musical events, including the concerts of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera's Philadelphia series

ACACIA

Genus of shrubs and trees in the pea family, Leguminosae, with over 500 species, mostly native to Australia, New South Wales, and South Africa. About 70 species are native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. Acacias range in size from shrubs 3 or 4 ft. high to trees that may be 70 ft. or more. They will not stand frost lower than 20 F. and flower best in temperatures of 45 to 55 F. Many of the acacias are fragrant and the smaller species are often grown as pot plants in cool greenhouses. They need plenty of water and sunlight.

ABYSSAL ANIMALS

animals that inhabit the zone of the sea that extends beyond the continental shelf and below the limit of light penetration. This abyssal zone is characterized by unusual living conditions, namely, the water is always cold, there is little movement, and there is not enough light to support green plants. An even harsher aspect of the abyssal environment is the tremendous pressure created by the weight of water, about one ton per square inch for every mile of depth. Abyssal animals feed on the remains of plants and animals settling from upper levels of the ocean or they devour each other. The sea floor is a soft, deep ooze made up of the remains of minute animals and plants. Living on this ooze are various invertebrates, such as starfishes, sea urchins, and tube-dwelling worms, which have been collected at depths up to 24,000 ft.

ABYDOS

Ancient Greek city on the Asiatic side of the Hellespont opposite Sestos, colonized from Miletus. There Xerxes spanned the narrowest part of the strait with a bridge of boats for the passage of his army into Europe. From Abydos, too, Leander swam the Hellespont nightly to visit his beloved Hero, priestess of Aphrodite in Sestos.

ABUTILON

Flowering maple, genus of herbs and shrubs of the mallow family (Malvaceae). There are about 80 pieces, all native to warm regions of both hemispheres. The plants, which may reach a height of 30 ft. in certain South American species, have long-stalked leaves, often attractively marked with yellow. The flowers, bell or trumpet-shaped, and usually drooping, are up to 3.5 in. across. They display a wide range of colors.

ABU SIMBEL

Also called Ipsambul, site on the bank of the Nile River near the southern border of Egypt, some 33 mi. northeast of Wadi Halfa, Sudan. It is the location of two famous temples, hewn from a sandstone cliff by order of Rameses II (c. 1250 B.C). The entrance to the larger, known as the "Great Temple" and dedicated to Re-Harakhti and other Egyptian deities, is flanked by four colossal statues of Rameses, about 65 ft. high. Historically significant inscriptions and reliefs, including one representing the Battle of Kadesh, are found inside the temple. Construction of the Aswan High Dam has caused the site to flood, and a vast international effort was crowned in 1996 when the two temples were cut into blocks and trucked to a nearby location above water level. The temples are the largest of the many Nubian monuments saved.

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM

A style of abstract painting that originated in New York City after World War II and gained and international vogue. Although it has such close antecedents in European art that it is hardly an American creation, the term was first applied to the New York school, whose work is characterized by great verve and certain distinguishing stylistic traits. The latter include the use of large canvases, many of which are wall-size, and a deliberate lack of refinement in the application of the paint, which may be allowed to drip or run. Strong color, heavy impasto, uneven brush strokes, and rough textures are other typical characteristic. Abstract Expressionist painters of the New York school include Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline, Clyfford Still, James Brooks, Theodoros Stamos, Sam Francis, Grace Hartigan, Arshile Gorky, Richard Dibenkorn, Adolph Gottlieb, Philip Guston, Willem de Kooning, and Hans Hofmann. Some of these painters introduce refernces to nature into their canvases, though subordinating them to nonrepresentational shapes, color, and paint quality. Notable collections of this art are in the Museum of Modern Art and the Whiteny Museum.

ABSTRACT ART

Style and movement in painting and sculpture that originated about 1910 in Europe. The abstract artist eliminates from his work recognizable subject matter and concentrates upon relationships of form, color, line, movement, and texture for aesthetic impact and emotional suggestion. The Russian-born Vassili Kandinsky is generally credited with having created the first complete abstract painting. Other pioneers in abstract and near-abstract painting are the Spaniard Pablo Picasso and the Frenchman Georges Braque, in their cubist period; the Dutch Piet Mondrian; and the Russian Kazimir Malevich. The Rumanian Constantin Brancusi has probably been the most influential abstract sculptor. Abstraction became the major style in world art after World War II, with two main currents discernible in painting. One is geometric abstraction, which utilizes geometric and near-geometric shapes and is related to the tradition of cubism (q.v) and to the work of Mondrian. In America this type of painting is associated with the German-born Josef Albers and others. The other is abstract expressionism, related to the more emotional stlyle of Kandinsky.

ABSORPTION

In general, the taking up of one substance by another substance. In chemistry, it could be the absorption of a gas by a liquid or a solid. The coefficient of absorption of a gas is the amount of the gas absorbed by a unit volume of liquid. In physics, absoprtion can be the loss of energy of sound waves or electromagnetic radiation to the medium in which they travel. The degree of reflection, and hence absorption of light by a substance, for example, determines its color. Total absorption of light produces black; total reflection, white. In physiology, absorption usually denotes a series of processes in which an organism takes in and distirbutes various constituents. Fats, for example, are absorbed through the intestine walls into the blood stream. When radiation passes through certain gases or fields, spectrum analysis reveals discontinous, dark bands. These bands indicate what is known as selective absorption; the bands themselves are called absorption bands. They are produced by the selective absorption of particular wave lengths by the medium. An unknown chemical compound, for example, can be identified by its characteristic absoprtion bands. Sound waves are absorbed to some extend by all building materials. Acoustical materials are those surfaces especially manufactured to have high coefficients of sound absorption.

ABSOLUTISM

Denotes, in its political meaning, a mode of government in which all governmental power is vested in one individual or group. At least theoretically, neither law nor morality nor any group can limit an absolute government. Some theorists have argued that the ruler knows best what is good for the state, perhaps because he has been ordained ruler by God, and so should rule without hindrance by the less informed. Other theorists has espoused theoris of political absolutism on the grounds that man is too selfish to govern himdelf or to live peaceably with others. In spite of the theorists, no government has been completely unaffected by popular opinion or public reactions, by other states, by moral convention, or by groups within the state.

ABSOLUTE

Term used by philosophers to denote the universe itself as a single all-embracing system whose parts necessite each other. For idealists such as Hegel, the Absolute is a completely rational mind or spirit; for mystics such as Plotinus, it is a seamless whole above the level of rational understanding.

ABSINTHE

Liqueur infused principally with Artemesia absinthium, commonly known as wormwood, and angelica, anise, balm mint, fennel, and hyssop, among other aromatics. Absinthe has a sharp, pungent flavor and a high alcoholic content, usually 136 proof, or 68% alcohol. Its pale yellow-green color becomes opalescent when it is diluted with water, as the drink is served. Henri-Louis Pernod first produced absinthe in 1797 in France from a recipe originated by a Frenchman named Ordinaire in Couvet, Switzerland. The liqueur is banned in France, the United States, and Canada, among other countries, because wormwood is harmful in the quantities required by the original recipe. Many substitutes have been developed that are sweeter and contain less alcohol than the original, but are quite similar in flavor.

ABSCESS

An accumulation of pus in the tissues. An abscess represents the battleground on which the body defends itself against invasion by foreign elements, such as bacteria and irritating chemicals. When these substances enter the tissues, the blood vessels in the area expand, bringing large white blood cells to the site; these cells are able to engulf foreign particles. The bacteria lie at the center of the abscess, surrounded by the defending white blood cells. The outcome of the battle is pus, consisting of dead white blood cells with their engulfed bacteria, dead tissues from the site of the abscess, and bacterial poisons. If the white blood cells succeed in destroying the invaders, the pus is absorbed and the abscess vanishes. If they fail, the bacteria escape into the surrounding tissue to produce new abscesses or into the blood stream to set up infections in distant organs.

ABSALOM

Third son of David, noted for his handsomeness and reckless ambition. By procuring the murder of his elder half brother Amnon, he both avenged a wrong done to his sister, Tamar, and made himself heir to the throne. Fearing David's wrath, he fled to the court of his grandfather, Talmai, King of Geshur (II Sam. 13:2039). After three years he was allowed to return to Jerusalem, but was excluded from David's presence for two more years. A reconciliation followed; but Absalom took advantage of it to plot to obtain the throne. After four years of this, Absalom raised the standard of revolt, and David was forced to flee. Ahithopel, a former counselor of David, advised Absalom to pursue the old King and strike him down before he could regroup his forces. But Hushai, secretly loyal to David, successfully counseled delay. When the rival forces met east of the Jordan, the rebel army was defeated. Absalom, fleeing, caught his hair in the branches of a tree and was patched by Joab.

ABRUZZI E MOLISE

Region of central Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. Abruzzi is composed of four provinces named for their chief cities: L'Aquila, Chieti, Pescara, and Teramo. Molise consist of the single southern province of Campobasso. L'Aquila is the departmental capital. Abruzzi divides into a western section of Apennine peaks culminating in Mount Corno (9,560 ft.) and an eastern foothills section declining to the Adriatic. Sheep grazing is the chief occupation in the mountains, olive and grape cultivation in the lowlands. Except for hydroelectric plants in the interior, industry is undeveloped. Originally inhabited by the Marsi and Peligni tribes, Abruzzi was ruled by the Romans as the region of Valeria. Called Aprutium during the Middle Ages, it was governed by the Kingdom of Naples until it became part of Italy in 1861. Area, 5,880 sq. mi.

ABRUZZI, LUIGI AMEDEO MARIA FERDINANDO FRANCESCO, DUKE OF THE

Also Prince of Savoy-Aosta, (1873-1933), Italian vice-admiral, mountaineer, and explorer. Born in Madrid, he was the son of Italian-born King Amadeus of Spain. His arctic expedition in 1899 is credited with reaching 86º3’ N. lat.-the farthest north attained by explorers at the time. He was the first to climb (1897) Mt. St. Elias, Alaska. Other notable mountain-climbing exploits by Abruzzi included the ascent of Mt. Ruwenzori (16,800 ft.) and Bride Peak (24,600 ft.) in the Himalayas in 1909. He resigned his command (1917) of Italian naval forces in the Adriatic during World War I following a disagreement with his chief of staff. Later he played a role in colonizing Italian Somaliland.