Britannica Concise 2005

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

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by Bahrain from the mid-18th to the mid- 19th century and then was nominally part of the Ottoman Empire until World War I (1914-18). In 1916 it became a British protectorate. Oil was discovered in 1939, and Qatar rapidly modernized. It declared independence in 1971, when the British protectorate ended. In 1991 Qatar served as a base for air strikes against Iraq in the First Persian Gulf War.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1572 I Qayrawan ► Qiu Chuji

Qayrawan, Al- See Kairouan

QazvTn or KazvTn \kaz-'ven\ City (pop., 1996: 291,117), northwest¬ ern Iran. Founded as Shad Shahpur in ad 250, it flourished under Mus¬ lim rule in the 7th century. Genghis Khan laid waste to the city, but it later revived and was made the capital of Persia (1548-98) under the Safavid dynasty. In the late 18th century it became a base for foreign trade with areas of the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Anatolia. A coup was launched from Qazvln in 1921 that led to Iran’s consolidation under Reza Shah Pahlavi. It is a regional communications centre, with some manufacturing.

qedesha \'ka-de-sha\ One of a class of sacred prostitutes found through¬ out the ancient Middle East and associated especially with the worship of the fertility goddess Astarte. Prostitutes, who often played an impor¬ tant part in official temple worship, could be either male or female. The early Israelites adopted Canaanite rites of sacred prostitution, and despite the denunciations of Israelite prophets, the practice continued until the reforms of Josiah in the 7 th century bc.

Qi or Ch'i One of the largest and most powerful of the many states into which early China was divided (7717-221 bc). During the Eastern Zhou dynasty, Qi was the first state to fully institute a uniform tax system, a central army, and a centralized bureaucracy based on talent rather than hereditary rank. It formed a league of states in 651 bc to stave off inva¬ sions from the north and south, but its hegemony was short-lived. In 221 bc it was absorbed into the Qin dynasty.

q> or ch'i Vche\ In Chinese philosophy, the ethereal substance of which everything is composed. Early Daoist philosophers and alchemists regarded it as a vital force associated with breath and bodily fluids and sought to control its movement within the body in order to achieve lon¬ gevity and spiritual power. Manipulation of qi is central to Chinese medi¬ tation, medicine, and martial arts. In the 10th—13th centuries Neo- Confucianism regarded qi as emanating from the Great Ultimate by way of li, the ordering principle of the universe, transformed into the elements through yin and yang (see yin-yang).

Qianlong emperor or Ch'ien-lung \che-'en-'lur)\ emperor orig. Hongli (b. Sept. 25, 1711, China—d. Feb. 7, 1799, Beijing) Fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty in China. His reign (1735-96) was one of the longest in Chinese history. China’s boundaries reached their greatest extent, encompassing Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Taiwan, and portions of Central Asia. Qianlong sponsored a compilation of the Confucian Clas¬ sics (see Five Classics); the compilation’s descriptive catalog is still used today. At the same time, he ordered that all books containing anti-Manchu sentiments be expurgated or destroyed; some 2,600 titles were lost. He enjoyed excellent personal relationships with Jesuit missionaries in Beijing, though Roman Catholic preaching remained officially forbidden. In the first half of his reign, agriculture made great strides and was supe¬ rior to that in much of Europe. Taxes were light and education was wide¬ spread, even among the peasantry. Subsequently, military expeditions and increasing governmental corruption permanently harmed the dynasty, sowing the seeds for its decline in the 19th century. See also Heshen; Kangxi emperor; Manchu.

qilin or ch'i-lin \che-'lin\ In Chinese mythology, a kind of unicorn whose rare appearance often coincides with the imminent birth or death of a sage or illustrious ruler. Appearances could also indicate the benevo¬ lence of living emperors. A qilin has a single hom on its forehead, a yel¬ low belly, a multicoloured back, a horse’s hooves, a deer’s body, and an ox’s tail. Legend has it that a qilin appeared to the pregnant mother of Confucius.

Qin dynasty or Ch'in \'chin\ dynasty (221-207 bc) Dynasty that established the first great Chinese empire. The Qin (from which the name China is derived) established the approximate boundaries and basic administrative system that all subsequent dynasties were to follow. Qin accomplishments include standardizing the Chinese writing system and building the Great Wall; the dynasty is also notorious for the “Qin bib- liocaust,” in which all nonutilitarian books were ordered burned. Due to its harshness, the dynasty outlasted its first emperor, Shihuangdi, by only three years; it was beset by rebellion and succeeded by the Han dynasty.

Qin Hui or Ch'in Kuei Vchin-kii-'iA (b. 1090, Jiangning, Jiangsu prov¬ ince, China—d. 1155, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province) Chief counselor to the Southern Song emperor Gaozong. He maintained external security by signing a peace treaty with the Juchen in the north and internal security by undermining the power of leading generals, notably Yue Fei, who had

argued for war with the Juchen and whom Qin Hui executed. For relin¬ quishing northern China to the Juchen, Qin Hui is remembered as a traitor.

Qin Jiushao (b. c. 1202, Puzhou, China—d. c. 1261, Meizhou) Chi¬ nese mathematician who developed a method of solving simultaneous linear congruences. In 1219 he joined the army as captain of a territorial volunteer unit and helped quash a local rebellion. In 1233 he began his official government service. In his only mathematical book, now known as Shushu jiuzhang (1247; “Mathematical Writings in Nine Sections”), he introduced a method of solving systems of linear equations that was redis¬ covered in Europe about 1802, where it became known as the Ruffini- Homer method. He later became provincial governor of Qiongzhou, but charges of corruption and bribery brought his dismissal in 1258.

Qin tomb or Ch'in Vchin\ tomb Major Chinese archaeological site near the ancient capital city of Chang’an (now Xi’an), a 20-sq-mi (50- sq-km) funerary compound built by the first sovereign emperor, Qin Shi¬ huangdi. In 1974 workers drilling a well discovered a subterranean chamber that contained an army of some 6,000 life-size terra-cotta sol¬ diers with individually detailed faces, as well as horses, weapons, and other objects. Three nearby chambers containing more than 1,400 figures have also been unearthed; the tomb itself has not yet been excavated. Archaeologists anticipate that it will take many years to unearth the rest of the complex. The mausoleum is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Qing dynasty or Ch'ing \'chiq\ dynasty or Manchu dynasty

(1644-1911/12) Last of the imperial dynasties in China. The name Qing was first applied to the dynasty established by the Manchu in 1636 in Manchuria and then applied by extension to their rule in China. During the Qing dynasty, China’s territory and population expanded tremen¬ dously. Cultural attitudes were strongly conservative and Neo- Confucianism was the dominant philosophy. The arts flourished: literati painting was popular, novels in the vernacular developed substantially, and jingxi (Peking opera) developed. Qing porcelain, textiles, tea, paper, sugar, and steel were exported to all parts of the world. Military cam¬ paigns in the latter part of the 18th century depleted government finances, and corruption grew. These conditions, combined with population pres¬ sures and natural disasters, led to the Opium Wars and the Taiping and Nian rebellions, which in turn so weakened the dynasty that it was unable to rebuff the demands of foreign powers. The dynasty ended with the repub¬ lican revolution of 1911 and the abdication of the last emperor in 1912.

Qinghai DrCh'ing-hai conventional Tsinghal Province (pop., 2000 est.: 5,180,000), west-central China. It is bordered by Gansu and Sichuan provinces and the Tibet and Xinjiang autonomous regions.With an area of 278,400 sq mi (721,000 sq km), it is the largest Chinese province. The capi¬ tal is Xining. Located in a remote region west of the historic provinces of China proper, it forms the northeastern part of the Plateau of Tibet, mostly above 10,000 ft (3,048 m) in elevation. The source of the Huang He (Yellow River) is in one of its mountain ranges. Parts of Qinghai came under Chi¬ nese control in the 3rd century bc. For centuries it was sparsely occupied by nomadic herdsmen, chiefly Tibetans and Mongols, and a few Chinese farmers. The Chinese population increased over the years. Qinghai was made a Chinese province in 1928. Economic activities today include farm¬ ing, herding, mining, lumbering, and manufacturing. It possesses some of China’s best pasturelands and is noted for its horse breeding.

Qinghai Hu See Koko Nor

Qishon River or Kishon Vkl-,shan\ River River, northern Israel. It rises near Mount Gilboa and flows northwest for about 25 mi (40 km) through the Plain of Esdraelon to the Mediterranean Sea just north of Haifa. It was the scene of biblical events, including the Israelite victory of Deborah over the Canaanite general Sisera and of Elijah’s slaying of the prophets of Baal. In modem times, the river’s mouth has been developed as part of Haifa’s port complex. It is the main base of Israel’s fishing fleet.

Qiu Chuji or Ch'iu Ch'u-chi Vjyu-'ju-'jeX orig. Changchun Vchaq-'chimX (b. 1148, Qixia, Dengzhou, China—d. 1227, Beijing) Dao¬ ist monk and alchemist. His disciple Li Zhichang chronicled Qiu’s jour¬ ney to meet Genghis Khan (who wished to learn from Qiu) in The Travels of an Alchemist, which describes the land and people between the Great Wall and Kabul and between the Yellow and Aral seas. Qiu Chuji was a member of a sect known for its extreme asceticism and for the doctrine of xingming, which held that humanity’s lost natural state could be recov¬ ered through prescribed practices.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Qizilqum ► Quantrill I 1573

Qizilqum See Kyzylkum

Qo'qon \k9-'kon\ or Quqon or Kokand \ko-'kant\ Region, eastern Uzbekistan. A powerful khanate by the 18th century, it was conquered by Russia in 1876 and was made a province of Turkistan under its ancient name, Fergana. It became part of the new Uzbek S.S.R. in 1924 and of independent Uzbekistan in 1991. Its chief city, also called Qo'qon (pop., 1999 est.: 192,500), was founded in 1732, though its settlement dates to the 10th century.

Qu Yuan or Ch'u Yuan Vchui-'ywenX (b. c. 339, Quyi, China—d. 278 bc, Hunan) Chinese poet. Bom into the ruling house of Chu, in youth Qu Yuan was a favourite of the region’s ruler. Later he was banished and wandered in despair, writing and observing folk customs, which would influence his works. He eventually drowned himself. His most famous poem is the melancholy Lisao (“On Encountering Sorrow”). One of the greatest poets of ancient China, he exerted enormous influence on later poets with his highly original verse.

quack grass See couch grass

quadrangle Rectangular open space completely or partially enclosed by buildings of an academic or civic character. The grounds of a quad¬ rangle are often grassy or landscaped. Such an area, intended as an envi¬ ronment for contemplation, study, or relaxation, was a feature of monastic establishments and the colleges that evolved from them. The quadrangu¬ lar layout at New College in Oxford University (completed 1386), with its partially connected buildings, was enormously influential in subse¬ quent collegiate building.

quadratic equation Algebraic equation of particular importance in optimization. A more descriptive name is second-degree polynomial equa¬ tion. Its standard form is ax 2 + bx + c = 0, and its solution is given by the quadratic formula

_ -b ± \/b 2 -4ac

X ~ (2a)

which guarantees two real-number solutions, one real-number solution, or two complex-number solutions, depending on whether the discriminate, b 2 - 4 ac, is greater than, equal to, or less than 0.

quadrille \kwa-'dril\ Dance for four couples in square formation, fash¬ ionable from the late 18th through the 19th century. Imported to England from Parisian ballrooms in 1815, it consisted of four or five contredanses (see country dance), each danced with prescribed combinations of inter¬ twining figures rather than depending on intricate individual steps. It was often danced to opera melodies. See also American square dance.

Quadros, Janio da Silva (b. Jan. 25, 1917, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso, Braz.—d. Feb. 16, 1992, Sao Paulo) President of Brazil (1961). A colourful and eccentric populist, he campaigned with a broom to dra¬ matize his pledge to “sweep out corruption.” In his seven months as president, he banned bikini swimsuits and cockfights, reestablished rela¬ tions with the Soviet Union, decorated Che Guevara, and refused to sup¬ port the U.S. in the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. He attributed his sudden resignation to “terrible forces” conspiring against him. Stripped of politi¬ cal rights and exiled in 1968, he was granted amnesty in 1980 and returned to serve two terms as mayor of Sao Paulo.

Quadruple Alliance (1718) Alliance between Austria, Britain, the Dutch Republic, and France, formed to prevent Spain from altering the terms of the Peace of Utrecht (1713). When Philip V of Spain seized Sar¬ dinia and Sicily, the British fleet brought Austrian troops to Sicily and the French occupied northern Spain, and Philip was forced to renounce his claims in Italy.

Quadruple Alliance (1815) Alliance between Britain, Russia, Aus¬ tria, and Prussia first formed in 1813 to oppose France in the final phase of the Napoleonic Wars. It was officially renewed in 1815 to enforce the peace settlement concluded at the Congress of Vienna. The allies agreed to meet occasionally to keep European political development within terms of the 1815 settlement. This program was partially carried out by the Congresses of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818), Troppau (1820), Laibach (1821), and Verona (1822).

quaestor Vkwe-stor, 'kwe-stor\ Latin "investigator" In ancient Rome, the lowest ranking regular magistrate, whose traditional responsi¬ bility was the treasury. Quaestors functioned as deputies to consuls. Like

consuls, praetors, and prefects they were of the magistrate class, high-level government administrators. Quaestors were the lowest level of this class and were elected by the people. Initially they were appointed by the con¬ suls, but later they were elected. After 421 bc there were four quaestors, two public treasurers and two who assisted the consuls, serving as quar¬ termasters. From the time of Augustus, the number of quaestors increased to 20, many of whom acted as financial officers and assistants to provin¬ cial governors.

quahog Vko-.hog, l kw6- l hog\ Thick-shelled edible clam of the U.S. The northern quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria ), also known as the cherrystone, littleneck, or hard-shell clam, is 3-5 in. (8-13 cm) long. The dingy white shell is thick and rounded and has prominent concentric lines. It is found in the intertidal zone from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the most important food clam of the Atlantic coast. The southern qua¬ hog (M. campechiensis), found in the intertidal zone from Chesapeake Bay to the West Indies, is about 3-6 in. (8-15 cm) long and has a heavy, white, plump shell.

quail Any of several species of short-tailed game birds (family Phasi- anidae), some with a head plume that is straight or curled forward. Species range from 5 to 13 in. (13-33 cm) long. Some of the 95 Old World spe¬ cies have leg spurs, but the 36 New World species never do. Quails pre¬ fer open country and brushy borders.

The male may help incubate the 12 eggs. Quails mainly eat seeds and berries but also leaves, roots, and insects. The common quail ( Coturnix coturnix) of Eurasia and Africa is the only migratory bird in the order Gal- liformes. Quails are generally smaller than partridges. See also bob- white.

Quaker Oats Co. International manufacturer of grocery products. It was formed in 1901 by the merging of three milling companies from Ohio and Iowa, including the coun¬ try’s largest cereal mill. The com¬ pany initially produced oat and wheat cereals, cornmeal, and baby food. By the late 20th century, hun¬ dreds of food products had been added. In the 1960s and ’70s, the com¬ pany diversified into chemical products, restaurants, and toys. Quaker purchased Gatorade in 1983 and sold most of its nonfood assets in the 1990s. The company merged with PepsiCo, Inc., in 2001.

Quakers See Society of Friends

quality In philosophy, a property that applies to things taken singly, in contrast to a relation, which applies to things taken in pairs, triples, etc. The distinction drawn by Galileo and John Locke between primary and secondary qualities is motivated by the fact that modern science seems to reveal that unaided sensory perception gives false or incomplete infor¬ mation about the intrinsic qualities of physical objects. In this view, pri¬ mary qualities, such as shape, quantity, and motion, are genuine properties of things that are describable by mathematics, whereas secondary quali¬ ties, such as odour, taste, sound, and colour, exist only in human con¬ sciousness.

Quant, Mary (b. Feb. 11, 1934, London, Eng.) English fashion designer. Specializing in youth-oriented fashions, she was responsible in the 1960s for the “Chelsea look” of England and the widespread popu¬ larity of the miniskirt and “hot pants.” After opening a successful bou¬ tique called Bazaar in 1957, she went on to mass-produce her designs on a multimillion-dollar annual scale.

Quantrill Vkwan-trol\, William C(larke) (b. July 31, 1837, Canal Dover, Ohio, U.S.—d. June 6, 1865, Louisville, Ky.) U.S. outlaw and Confederate guerrilla. After working as an itinerant schoolteacher, he moved to Kansas, where he failed at farming. By 1860 he was a horse thief and murderer. In the American Civil War he joined the Confederate army and later gathered a gang of guerrillas to raid and rob Union towns

California quail (Callipepla californica).

© WILLIAM H. MULLINS, THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1574 I quantum ► quartz

and farms. Quantrill’s Raiders were made an official troop by the Con¬ federates in 1862. In 1863 Quantrill and his group of about 450 men sacked the free-state town of Lawrence, Kan., killing 150 people. They later defeated a Union detachment, killing 90 soldiers. Quantrill was mor¬ tally wounded in a raid into Kentucky.

quantum In physics, a discrete natural unit, or packet, of energy, charge, angular momentum, or other physical property. Light, for example, which appears in some respects as a continuous electromagnetic wave, on the submicroscopic level is emitted and absorbed in discrete amounts, or quanta; for light of a given wavelength, the magnitude of all the quanta emitted or absorbed is the same in both energy and momentum. These particlelike packets of light are called photons, a term also applicable to quanta of other forms of electromagnetic energy such as X rays and gamma rays. Submicroscopic mechanical vibrations in the layers of atoms com¬ prising crystals also give up or take on energy and momentum in quanta called phonons. See also quantum mechanics.

quantum chromodynamics (QCD) Theory that describes the action of the strong force. The strong force acts only on certain particles, principally quarks that are bound together in the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleus, as well as in less stable, more exotic forms of matter. Quantum chromodynamics has been built on the concept that quarks inter¬ act via the strong force because they carry a form of “strong charge,” which has been given the name “colour.” The three types of charge are called red, green, and blue, in analogy to the primary colours of light, though there is no connection with the usual sense of colour.

quantum computing Experimental method of computing that makes use of quantum-mechanical phenomena. It incorporates quantum theory and the uncertainty principle. Quantum computers would allow a bit to store a value of 0 and 1 simultaneously. They could pursue multiple lines of inquiry simultaneously, with the final output dependent on the interfer¬ ence pattern generated by the various calculations. See also DNA com¬ puting, QUANTUM MECHANICS.

quantum electrodynamics (QED) Quantum theory of the interac¬ tions of charged particles with the electromagnetic field. It describes the interactions of light with matter as well as those of charged particles with each other. Its foundations were laid by P. A. M. Dirac when he discov¬ ered an equation describing the motion and spin of electrons that incor¬ porated both quantum mechanics and the theory of special relativity. The theory, as refined and developed in the late 1940s, rests on the idea that charged particles interact by emitting and absorbing photons. It has become a model for other quantum field theories.

quantum field theory Theory that brings quantum mechanics and special relativity together to account for subatomic phenomena. In particu¬ lar, the interactions of subatomic particles are described in terms of their interactions with fields, such as the electromagnetic field. However, the fields are quantized and represented by particles, such as photons for the electromagnetic field. Quantum electrodynamics is the quantum field theory that describes the interaction of electrically charged particles via electro¬ magnetic fields. Quantum chromodynamics describes the action of the strong force. The ELECTROWEAK theory, a unified theory of electromagnetic and weak forces, has considerable experimental support, and can likely be extended to include the strong force. Theories that include the gravita¬ tional force (see gravitation) are more speculative. See also grand unified THEORY, UNIFIED FIELD THEORY.

quantum mechanics Branch of mathematical physics that deals with atomic and subatomic systems. It is concerned with phenomena that are so small-scale that they cannot be described in classical terms, and it is formulated entirely in terms of statistical probabilities. Considered one of the great ideas of the 20th century, quantum mechanics was developed mainly by Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrodinger, Werner Heisenberg, and Max Born and led to a drastic reappraisal of the concept of objective reality. It explained the structure of atoms, atomic nuclei (see nucleus), and mol¬ ecules; the behaviour of subatomic particles; the nature of chemical bonds (see bonding); the properties of crystalline solids (see crystal); nuclear energy; and the forces that stabilize collapsed stars. It also led directly to the development of the laser, the electron microscope, and the transistor.

Qu'Appelle \kwa-‘pel\ River River, southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 270 mi (435 km) long and flows east through several lakes and Indian reservations and across the Manitoba border into the Assiniboine River. Its French name, meaning “who calls,” derived from its Cree Indian

name Kah-tep-was (“River That Calls”), referring to the cries of a leg¬ endary spirit supposedly haunting its waters. Once a fur-trapping region, its basin is now farmed for wheat.

quarantine Detention of humans or animals suspected to have com¬ municable disease until they are proved free of infection. The term is often used interchangeably with isolation (separation of a known infected indi¬ vidual from healthy ones until the danger of transmission passes). It derives from the 40-day ( quarantina ) isolation period instituted in an attempt to prevent spread of plague in the Middle Ages. Though appro¬ priate in some cases (e.g., diphtheria), it is ineffective for diseases that are spread by other means (e.g., plague) or are contagious before symptoms appear. In some cases, contacts (e.g., the family of a hepatitis patient) are notified, educated on precautions, and monitored for development of ill¬ ness. Quarantine is more often applied to animals (e.g., for rabies).

quark Any of a group of subatomic particles thought to be among the fundamental constituents of matter—more specifically, of protons and neutrons. The concept of the quark was first proposed by Murray Gell- Mann and George Zweig (b. 1937); its name was taken from James Joyce’s novel Finnegans Wake. Quarks include all particles that interact by means of the strong force. They have mass and spin, and they obey the Pauli exclu¬ sion principle. They have never been resolved into smaller components, and they never occur alone. Their behaviour is explained by the theory of quantum chromodynamics, which provides a means of calculating their basic properties. There are six types of quarks, called up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top. Only the up and down quarks are needed to make protons and neutrons; the others occur in heavier, unstable particles.

Quarles, Francis (baptized May 8, 1592, Romford, Essex, Eng.—d. Sept. 8, 1644, London) English religious poet. Quarles is remembered for his Emblemes (1635), the most notable of English-language emblem books (collections of symbolic pictures, usually with verse and prose). Its success led him to produce another, Hieroglyphikes of the Life of Man (1638). Printed together in 1639, they formed perhaps the most popular volume of verse of the 17th century. He also wrote Enchiridion (1640), a highly popular book of aphorisms.

quarter horse Breed of light horse developed in the U.S. from Thor¬ oughbred, Morgan, American saddlebred, and other stock as a quarter-mile racer. Though overshadowed by the Thoroughbred, it found a place in the western and southwestern U.S. as a stock horse (see cutting horse). Mod¬ em quarter horses are short and stocky, with a muscular build and a deep, broad chest. They are noted for fast starting, turning, and stopping abil¬ ity, short-distance speed, and intelligence. They stand 14.3-16 hands (57-64 in., 145-163 cm) high, weigh 950-1,200 lbs (431-544 kg), and have a calm, cooperative temperament.

quarter-horse racing Racing of quarter horses. It originated among British settlers in Virginia shortly after Jamestown was established in 1607. The course was traditionally a quarter-mile (400 m); today there are 11 officially sanctioned races, ranging from 220 to 870 yd (201 to 796 m). Timing is to the nearest .01 second.

quartermaster Officer who oversees arrangements for the quartering and movement of troops. The office dates at least to the 15th century in Europe. The French minister of war under Louis XIV created a quarter¬ master general’s department that dotted the countryside with strategically located stockpiles of food, forage, ammunition, and equipment. By the 18th century his duties in some European countries included coordinat¬ ing marches and deployments and drafting operational orders; in the U.S. he remained a specialized administrative and logistical functionary until 1962, when the Quartermaster Corps was absorbed by other agencies.

quartz Second most abundant mineral (after feldspar) in the Earth’s crust, present in many rocks. Quartz, which consists of silica, or silicon dioxide (Si0 2 ), has great economic importance. Many varieties are gem¬ stones, including amethyst, citrine, smoky quartz, and rose quartz. Sand¬ stone, composed mainly of quartz, is an important building stone. Large amounts of quartz sand (or silica sand) are used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics and for molds in metal casting. Crushed quartz is used as an abrasive in sandpaper; silica sand is employed in sandblasting; and sandstone is used whole to make whetstones, millstones, and grindstones. Silica glass (or fused quartz) is used in optics to transmit ultraviolet light. Tubing and various vessels of fused quartz have important laboratory applications, and quartz fibres are employed in extremely sensitive weigh¬ ing devices.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

quartzite ► Queen Anne's lace I 1575

quartzite Sandstone that has been converted into a solid quartz rock. Quartzites are usually white; they fracture smoothly and break up into rubble under frost action. Sandstone may be converted to quartzite by precipitation of silica from waters below the Earth’s surface; such rocks are called orthoquartzites, whereas those produced by recrystallization (metamorphism) are metaquartzites. Because they weather slowly, they tend to project as hills or mountain masses. Many prominent ridges in the Appalachian Mountains are composed of quartzite. Pure quartzites are a source of silica for metallurgical purposes and for the manufacture of silica brick. Quartzite is also quarried for paving and roofing materials.

quasar Vkwa-,zar\ in full quasi-stellar radio source Any of a

class of enigmatic cosmic objects of high luminosity and strong radio emission observed at extremely great distances; also, a closely related object that has the same optical appearance but does not emit radio waves, i.e., a so-called quasi-stellar object (QSO). Most quasars exhibit very large redshifts, suggesting that they are moving away from Earth at tremendous speeds (approaching the speed of light); they thus are some of the most distant known objects in the universe. Quasars are no more than a light- year or two across but as much as 1,000 times more luminous than a giant galaxy having a diameter of 100,000 light-years; their extreme brightness allows them to be observed at distances of more than 10 billion light- years. Many investigators attribute such energy generation to matter spi¬ raling at high velocity into a supermassive black hole (millions or billions of times as much mass as the Sun) at the centre of a distant galaxy. See also ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS.

Quasimodo V.kwa-ze-'mo-doV, Salvatore (b. Aug. 20, 1901, Mod- ica, Italy—d. June 14, 1968, Naples) Italian poet, critic, and translator. He spent 10 years as an engineer for the Italian government while writing poetry in his spare time. He gradually became a leader of Hermeticism after the publication of his first poetry collection, Waters and Land (1930). After World War II his social convictions shaped his work, beginning with Day After Day (1947). He published an astonishing range of translations, edited anthologies, and wrote essays, including those in The Poet and the Politician (1960). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1959.

Quaternary Vkwa-tor-.ner-e, kwo-'tor-no-reV Period Interval of geo¬ logic time, 1.8 million years ago to the present. The Quaternary follows the Tertiary Period and is the more recent of the two periods of the Cenozoic Era. The Quaternary is subdivided into the Pleistocene Epoch and the Holocene Epoch and is characterized by major cyclical changes of climate on a global scale. These led to repeated invasions of vast areas by ice sheets. Its major biologic feature is the evolution and dispersion of humans. The dramatic changes of climate and environment in the Quaternary led to high rates of evolution and extinction, particularly among the mammals. The extinction of many large mammals toward the end of the last ice age may also be related to the rapid territorial expansion of humans.

Quayle, (James) Dan(forth) (b. Feb. 4, 1947, Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.) U.S. politician. After earning a law degree, he served as associate publisher of his family’s Huntington Herald-Press (1974-76). He served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1977-81) and two in the Senate (1981-89). Chosen as the Republican Party candidate for vice president in 1988, he was elected with George H.W. Bush. During his term, Quayle traveled abroad on goodwill missions but was criticized for various verbal gaffes. He and Bush ran for reelection in 1992 but were defeated. He briefly campaigned for the Republican nomination for presi¬ dent in 2000.

Quds, Al- See Jerusalem

Quebec Province (pop., 2001: 7,410,500), eastern Canada. It is bounded on the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, on the east by Labrador, on the southeast by the Gulf of St. Lawrence and New Brunswick, on the south by the U.S. (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York), and on the west by Ontario and by Hudson Bay. Its capital is Quebec city. The original inhabitants were Inuit (see Eskimo) and members of Algonquin, Cree, and other Indian tribes. Settled by the French in the early 17th cen¬ tury, the area was lost to the British in the French and Indian War, but the struggle for authority between the French and British groups led to a rebellion by French Canadians in 1837. The rebellion was quelled and in 1867 Quebec (formerly Canada East) united with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to form the Dominion of Canada. Most of the population of Quebec is of French descent. Various movements calling for Quebec’s independence from the rest of Canada continued throughout the 20th cen¬ tury; the Parti Quebecois won provincial elections in 1976, but its inde¬

pendence referendum was defeated in 1980. A second independence referendum was defeated in 1995 by a close margin. Principal industries include mining, hydroelectric power, and forestry.

Quebec or Quebec City City (pop., 2001: metro, area, 682,757), port and capital of Quebec province, Canada. It lies at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers, about 150 mi (240 km) northeast of Montreal, on a rocky promontory above the rivers. Canada’s oldest city, it was settled by the French in 1608 as a trading post. It was the capital of New France from 1663 to 1763, when it was lost to the British. It was the capital of Lower Canada 1791-1841 and Canada East 1841-67. It became the provincial capital in 1867. Most of the population is French speaking and Roman Catholic. It is the site of Iaval University and other colleges and cultural institutions. Manufactures include newsprint, milled grain, cigarettes, and clothing. Shipbuilding and tourism are important industries.

Quebec, Battle of (Sept. 13, 1759) Decisive battle of the French and Indian War. In June 1759, James Wolfe led a British force of 250 ships with 8,500 soldiers to take up positions in the St. Lawrence River around Quebec. French forces under the marquis de Montcalm withstood a two- month siege of the city. In September the British secretly landed 4,000 men near the city and forced a confrontation with French troops on the Plains of Abraham. The defending French were routed in the battle, in which both Wolfe and Montcalm were mortally wounded.

Quebec Act (1774) British statute establishing Quebec’s government and extending its borders. It provided for a governor and appointed coun¬ cil, religious freedom for Roman Catholics, and use of the French civil code. The act attempted to resolve the problem of making the colony a province of British North America and tried to build French-Canadian loyalty to the British. It also extended the borders of Quebec to include the land between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, a region claimed by American colonists. It was considered one of the Intolerable Acts, which led to the American Revolution.

Quebecois, Parti See Parti Quebecois

Quechua Vke-cho-woX South American Indian population of the Andes Mountains from Ecuador to Bolivia. In the early 15th century the Que¬ chua were conquered by the Chanca, who in turn were subdued by the Inca. Much of the traditional Quechua way of life endured under the Inca, but it was drastically altered by the 16th-century Spanish conquest. Tra¬ ditional Quechua now lead isolated lives as marginal farmers in the high Andes. Their religion combines Roman Catholicism with folk beliefs. See also Quechuan languages.

Quechuan Vke-cho-wonV languages Family of closely related South American Indian languages still spoken by some 12 million people in southern Colombia and Ecuador, Bolivia, and northern Argentina. South¬ ern Peruvian Quechua, one language of the family, was a koine and admin¬ istrative language within the Inca empire and was spread by Inca colonization.

Queen, Ellery pseudonym of Frederic Dannay orig. Daniel Nathan and Manfred Bennington Lee orig. Manford Lepof-

sky (respectively b. Oct. 20, 1905, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. Sept. 3, 1982, White Plains, N.Y.; b. Jan. 11, 1905, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. April 3,1971, near Waterbury, Conn.) U.S. writers. The two cousins collaborated on more than 35 best-selling detective novels featuring the detective Ellery Queen. They took turns writing stories about Queen after winning a detective-story contest with The Roman Hat Mystery (1929). The pair used the pseudonym Barnaby Ross to write about a second detective, Drury Lane. They also cofounded Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (1941), edited numerous anthologies, and cofounded Mystery Writers of America.

Queen Anne style Style of English decorative arts that reached its apex during the reign (1702-14) of Queen Anne. The most distinctive feature of Queen Anne furniture is the cabriole leg, shaped in a double curve (the upper part convex, the lower concave) and ending in either a claw-and-ball or paw foot. The Queen Anne chair is identifiable by a splat back curved to fit the hollow of the spine. The wood used was almost exclusively walnut, often embellished with marquetry, inlay, veneering, and lacquerwork. Ornamentation motifs include scallop shells, scrolls, Asian figures, and animals.

Queen Anne's lace or wild carrot Bristly biennial ( Daucus carota ) of the parsley family, native to Eurasia but now found almost worldwide.

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1576 I Queen Anne's War ► Quetelet

An ancestor of the cultivated carrot, it grows 5 ft (1.5 m) tall and has divided, long, feathery leaves. Flat-topped clusters (umbels) of white or pink flowers have a single dark-purple flower in the center and resemble lace. The enlarged root is edible but very bitter, and the ribbed fruits have sharp spines.

Queen Anne's War (1702-13) Second in a series of wars between Britain and France for control of North America. It was the American phase of the War of the Spanish Succession. American colonial settlements along the New York and New England borders with Canada were raided by French forces and their Indian allies. The British capture of Port Royal (1710) resulted in French-held Acadia’s becoming the British province of Nova Scotia. Under the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Britain also acquired Newfoundland and the Hudson Bay region from France.

Queen Charlotte Islands Group of about 150 islands (pop., 2001: 4,935) off western British Columbia, Canada. They have an area of 3,705 sq mi (9,596 sq km). The two largest islands, Graham and Moresby, are irregular in shape and rise to nearly 4,000 ft (1,200 m). The inhabitants, including Haida Indians, engage in fishing and ranching.

Queen Charlotte Sound Broad, deep inlet of the Pacific Ocean indenting western British Columbia, Canada. Bounded on the north by the Queen Charlotte Islands and on the south by Vancouver Island, the sound feeds into a series of straits that once were the paths followed by the continental glaciers as they pushed out to sea. Its eastern border is a complex of islands, inlets, and fjords.

Queen Elizabeth Islands Island group, northern Canada. Part of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, it comprises all the islands north of latitude 74°30' N, including the Parry and Sverdrup island groups. The islands, the largest of which are Ellesmere, Melville, Devon, and Axel Heiberg, have a total land area of over 150,000 sq mi (390,000 sq km). Probably first visited by the Vikings c. ad 1000, they were partially explored (1615-16) by English navigators William Baffin and Robert Bylot. The islands, which are administratively split between the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, were named in 1953 to honour Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth National Park or Ruwenzori National Park National park, southwestern Uganda. Established in 1952, it has an area of 764 sq mi (1,978 sq km) and lies east of Lake Edward. One of the largest parks in Uganda, it has areas of rainforest and savanna grass¬ land. It is within the western branch of the Great Rift Valley and is dotted with Pleistocene volcanic craters. Wildlife includes chimpanzees, leopards, lions, and elephants.

Queens Borough (pop., 2000: 2,229,379) of New York City, coextensive with Queens county, southeastern New York, U.S. The largest of the five boroughs, it lies on western Long Island and extends across the width of the island from the junction of the East River and Long Island Sound to the Atlantic Ocean. The first settlements, made by the Dutch 1636-56, came under English control in 1664. It became a county in 1683 and a borough in 1898. Queens was primarily rural during the 19th century, but some of its shore communities began attracting summer vacationers. Development was spurred by the construction of the Queensboro Bridge and the Long Island Railroad tunnel. It is mostly residential, though it has extensive manufacturing around Long Island City and storage and shipping facili¬ ties lining the East River. It is the site of New York City’s major airports, Kennedy and La Guardia.

Queen's University at Kingston Privately endowed university in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1841 and modeled after the University of Edinburgh. It is a comprehensive research institution, offer¬ ing undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in most major fields. Research facilities include centres for the study of international relations, industrial relations, and natural resources.

Queensberry rules Code of boxing rules. It was written by John Gra¬ ham Chambers (1843-1883) and published in 1867 under the sponsor¬ ship of John Sholto Douglas, marquess of Queensberry (1844-1900), who was known also for precipitating the downfall of Oscar Wilde. Besides calling for the wearing of gloves, the rules forbade wrestling holds, required a fallen man to be given a free count of 10 to recover, estab¬ lished the three-minute round with a one-minute rest period, and disal¬ lowed seconds from entering the ring during the round.

Queensland State (pop., 2001: 3,635,121), northeastern Australia. Bounded on the north by the Pacific Ocean and the Great Barrier Reef, it

has an area of 668,210 sq mi (1,730,650 sq km); the capital is Brisbane. Its coastal region, the most tropical part of Australia, attracts many tour¬ ists. Inland from the Great Dividing Range, which runs the entire length of the state, mining and cattle ranching are important. Capt. James Cook charted the coast in 1770. In the 19th century the state housed several penal colonies and drew settlers to mine its gold. It became a constituent state in 1901 when the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed.

quenching Rapid cooling, as by immersion in oil or water, of a metal object from the high temperature at which it is shaped. Quenching is usu¬ ally done to maintain mechanical properties that would be lost with slow cooling. It is commonly applied to steel objects, to which it gives hard¬ ness. The quenching media and the type of agitation during quenching are selected to obtain specified physical properties with minimum internal stresses and distortions. Oil is the mildest medium, and salt brine has the strongest quenching effect. In special cases, steel is cooled and held for some time in a molten salt bath, which is kept at a temperature either just above or just below the temperature where martensite begins to form. These two heat treatments, called martempering and austempering, both result in even less distortion of the metal. Copper objects hardened by hammering or other deformation at ordinary temperatures can be restored to malleability by heating and quenching. See also tempering.

Queneau Mra-'noN, Raymond (b. Feb. 21, 1903, Le Havre, France—d. Oct. 25, 1976, Paris) French author. After working as a reporter, he became a reader for the prestigious Encyclopedic de la Pleiade, a scholarly edition of past and present classical authors; by 1955 he was its director. Verbal play, black humour, pessimism, and a derisive posture toward authority appear often in his more than 30 works of prose and poetry, which include the novels Zazie dans le metro (1959; film, 1960), perhaps his best-known work, and The Blue Flowers (1965).

Quercia, Jacopo della See Jacopo della Quercia

Quercy \ker-'se\ Historical and cultural region, southwestern France. The district was organized in Gallo-Roman times and was occupied by the Franks in the 6th century. It was contested by England and France throughout the Middle Ages. United with the French crown in 1472, it suffered severely during the Wars of Religion of the 16th century. It is well forested with oaks of the genus Quercus that give the region its name. There are vineyards around Cahors that produce rich red wines.

Queretaro City (pop., 2000: 536,463), capital of Queretaro state, Mexico. Situated on the Mexican Plateau about 6,100 ft (1,860 m) above sea level, it is an excellent example of a Spanish colonial city. Founded by the Otomi Indians, it was incorporated into the Aztec empire in 1446. Brought under Spanish control in 1531, it became an important supply centre for the rich mining districts of Guanajuato and Zacatecas. Emperor Maximilian was executed there in 1867 after his defeat by the forces of Benito Juarez. The Mexican Constitution of 1917 was written in Queretaro. It is the site of one of Mexico’s oldest and largest cotton factories; tex¬ tiles and pottery are also produced there.

Queretaro \ka-'ra-ta-,ro\ State (pop., 2000: 1,404,306), central Mexico. It has an area of 4,420 sq mi (11,449 sq km), and its capital is Queretaro city. Situated on the central plateau, it is almost evenly divided between mountainous areas in the north and plains and valleys in the south that form part of Mexico’s Bajfo region. In 1531 the area was conquered by Spain, which began colonization in the 1550s. It was administered with Guanajuato before it became a state in 1824. Chief mineral products are opals and mercury. Medicinal plants, sweet potatoes, fruits, and grains are among the many crops cultivated.

Quesada, Gonzalo Jimenez de See Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada

Quesnay \ka-'na\, Francois (b. June 4, 1694, near Paris, France—d. Dec. 16, 1774, Versailles) French physician and economist. He served as consulting physician to Louis XV at Versailles, where he developed an interest in economics. In his Tableau economique (1758), he described the relationship between the different economic classes of society and the flow of payments among them, and he developed the concept of economic equilibrium used by many later economic analysts. An advocate of laissez- faire economic policy, he became the intellectual leader of the physiocrat, the first systematic school of political economy.

Quetelet \ket-'le\, (Lambert) Adolphe (Jacques) (b. Feb. 22, 1796, Ghent, Belg.—d. Feb. 17, 1874, Brussels) Belgian statistician, soci¬ ologist, and astronomer. He is known for his application of statistics and

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

quetzal ► Quine I 1577

the theory of probability to social phenomena. He collected and analyzed government statistics on crime, mortality, and other subjects and devised improvements in census taking. In Sur I’homme (1835) and L’Anthropometrie (1871) he developed the notion of the homme moyen, the statistically “average man.” A founder of quantitative social science, he was nonetheless widely criticized for the crudeness of his methodology.

quetzal \ket-'sal\ Any of several tropical arboreal, short-billed, fruit¬ eating birds (genus Pharomachrus) in the trogon family (Trogonidae), whose weak feet have, uniquely, the second toe directed backward. It was the sacred bird of the ancient Mayas and Aztecs. Today the quetzal, found in remote parts of cloud forests from southern Mexico to Bolivia, is the national emblem of Guatemala (whose monetary unit is the quetzal). The resplendent, or Guatemalan, quetzal is about 50 in. (125 cm) long. Long blue-green plumes cover the tail; the breast and head, with a rounded hairlike crest, are gold-green; the blue back has a curly gold-tinged mantle; and the belly is red. The quetzal is now listed as endangered.

Quetzalcoatl V.kat-sal-'ko-a-tol, .kat-sal-ko-'a-toL Feathered Serpent, a major deity of ancient Mexico.

Quetzalcoatl began as a god of veg¬ etation in the Teotihuacan civiliza¬ tion. For the Toltecs he was the god of the morning and evening star. The Aztecs revered him as the patron of priests, the inventor of the calendar and of books, and the protector of goldsmiths and other craftsmen. He was also identified with the planet Venus and was a symbol of death and resurrection. One myth held that he was a white priest-king who sailed away on a raft made of snakes. The belief that he would someday return from the east led Montezuma II to regard Hernan Cortes as the fulfill¬ ment of the prophecy.

queuing \'kyu-iq\ theory Study of the behaviour of queues (waiting lines) and their elements. Queuing theory is a tool for studying several performance parameters of computer systems and is particularly useful in locating the reasons for “bottle¬ necks,” compromised computer per¬ formance caused by too much data waiting to be acted on at a particular phase. Queue size and waiting time can be looked at, or items within queues can be studied and manipulated according to factors such as priority, size, or time of arrival.

Quezon \'ka-son\ (y Molina), Manuel (Luis) (b. Aug. 19, 1878, Baler, Phil.—d. Aug. 1, 1944, Saranac Lake, N.Y., U.S.) Filipino states¬ man. Quezon fought in the Philippine-American War but became convinced after the Philippines’ defeat that the only way to independence was through cooperation with the U.S. He served in the Philippine Assembly (1907-09). As the Philippines’ representative in the U.S. House of Rep¬ resentatives (1909-16), he played a major role in obtaining Congress’s pledge of independence for the Philippines (1916) and fought for passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act (1934), which laid out a timetable for inde¬ pendence. He became president of the Commonwealth (a precursor to the independent republic) in 1935 and was reelected in 1941; when Japan occupied the Philippines in 1942, he formed a government-in-exile in the U.S. He did not live to see full independence for the Philippines. Quezon City is named in his honour.

Quezon Vka-,son\ City City (pop., 2000: 2,173,831), Luzon Island, Philippines, northeast of Manila. Named for Pres. Manuel Quezon, who selected the site in 1939, it replaced Manila as the capital in 1948. Con¬ sidered part of metropolitan Manila, it began to grow after World War II with the construction of many government buildings. The seat of gov¬ ernment moved back to Manila in 1976. The city is home to two major universities.

Quiche or K'iche or Kiche \ke-'cha\ Indian group of the Guatemalan highlands, largest of all ethnic groups speaking a Maya language. The Quiche Maya had an advanced civilization in pre-Columbian times.

Records of their history and mythology are preserved in the Popol Vuh. Traditional Quiche are agricultural. Their homes are thatched huts, and they practice weaving and pottery. Nominally Roman Catholic, they con¬ duct traditional rituals as well. Many were killed or displaced during the Guatemalan military’s counterinsurgency campaign of the early 1980s.

quicklime See lime

quicksand State in which water-saturated sand loses its supporting capacity and acquires the characteristics of a liquid. Quicksand is usually found in a hollow at the mouth of a large river or along a flat stretch of stream or beach where pools of water become partly filled with sand and an underlying layer of stiff clay or other dense material prevents drain¬ age. Mixtures of sand, mud, and vegetation in bogs often act like true quicksands. Any sand may become “quick” if its effective weight is being carried by water between the grains. In that case, even a footstep may collapse the loose structure. The sand-water suspension is denser than an animal or human body, so the body cannot sink below the surface, but struggling may lead to loss of balance and drowning.

quicksilver See mercury

Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur (Thomas) (b. Nov. 21, 1863, Bodmin, Cornwall, Eng.—d. May 12, 1944, Fowey, Cornwall) English poet, nov¬ elist, and anthologist. Educated at Oxford, he worked as a journalist and editor in London before settling in his native Cornwall. He taught at Cambridge from 1912. He is noted for compiling The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900 (1900; revised 1939) and The Oxford Book of Ballads (1910). His works, written in a clear and apparently effortless style, include many novels and short stories, verse, and criticism, includ¬ ing On the Art of Writing (1916) and On the Art of Reading (1920).

quilombo \ke-Tom-bo\ ormocambo In colonial Brazil, a community organized by fugitive slaves. Quilombos were located in inaccessible areas and usually consisted of fewer than 100 people who survived by farming and raiding. The largest and most famous was Palmares, which grew into an autonomous republic and by the 1690s had 20,000 inhabitants. It owed its prosperity to abundant irrigated land and the abduction of slaves from Portuguese plantations. The abducted slaves were kept in bondage by the runaways. Several Portuguese and Dutch slave-hunting expeditions ( ban- deira ) attempted to destroy Palmares; one of these finally succeeded in

quilting Process of stitching together two layers of fabric, usually with a soft, thick substance placed between them. The layer of wool, cotton, or other stuffing provides insulation; the stitching keeps the stuffing evenly distributed and also provides opportunity for artistic expression. Quilting has long been used for clothing in many parts of the world, especially in the Far and Middle East and the Muslim regions of Africa. It reached its fullest development in the U.S., where it was at first popularly used for petticoats and comforters. By the end of the 18th century the U.S. quilt had distinctive features, such as coloured fabric sewn on the outer layers (applique) and stitching that echoed the applique pattern. Patchwork pat¬ terns proliferated in the 19th and 20th centuries.

quince Any of the fruit shrubs and small trees that make up the genus Cydonia, in the ROSE family. Com¬ mon quince (C. oblonga) is native to Iran, Turkey, and perhaps Greece and the Crimea. The raw golden-yellow fruit has a strong fragrant aroma and astringent taste; it takes on a pink colour when cooked and makes an excellent preserve. The Japanese quince ( Chaenomeles species) is an ornamental shrub widely used for its flowers, which appeal' on the tightly branched stems before the leaves open fully in late winter and early spring.

Quincey, Thomas De See Tho¬ mas De Quincey

Quine, W(illard) V(an) O(rman) (b. June 25, 1908, Akron, Ohio, U.S.—d. Dec. 25, 2000, Boston, Mass.) U.S. logician and philosopher. He completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1932 and joined the fac¬ ulty there in 1936. From 1942 to 1945 he served as a naval intelligence

■■■* i

Quetzalcoatl, limestone figure of the Huastec culture, Mexico, ad 900-1250; in The Brooklyn Museum, New York.

COURTESY OF THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM, NEW VORK, HENRY L BATTERMAN AND FRANK S. BENSON FUNDS

Quince (Cydonia oblonga ).

WALTER CHANDOHA

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1578 I quinine ► quoits

officer in Washington, D.C. Promoted to full professor at Harvard in 1948, he remained there until 1978, when he retired. He produced highly origi¬ nal and important work in several areas of philosophy, including episte¬ mology, logic, ontology, and the philosophy of language. He was known for rejecting epistemological foundationalism in favour of what he called “naturalized epistemology,” whose modest task is merely to give a psy¬ chological account of how scientific knowledge is obtained. Though influ¬ enced by the logical positivism of Rudolf Carnap and other members of the Vienna Circle, he famously rejected one of their cardinal doctrines, the analytic-synthetic distinction. In ontology he rejected the existence of prop¬ erties, propositions, and meanings as ill-defined or scientifically useless. He was also known for his behaviourist account of language learning and for his thesis of the “indeterminacy of translation,” according to which there can be no “fact of the matter” about which of indefinitely many pos¬ sible translations of one language into another is correct. His many books include Word and Object (1960), The Roots of Reference (1974), and an autobiography. The Time of My Life (1985).

quinine VkwI-.nlnV Alkaloid found in the bark of cinchona trees and shrubs. The chemical structure of this heterocyclic compound is large and complex, with several rings. For the 300 years preceding the 1940s, when newer antimalarials were developed, quinine was the only drug known to Western medicine for the prevention and treatment of malaria. The first chemical compound ever used successfully against an infectious disease, it has benefited more people than any other such drug in history and is still used to treat malaria, often in combination with other drugs. Quinine is also a flavouring agent in some carbonated beverages, including tonic water.

Quinn, Anthony (Rudolph Oaxaca) (b. April 21, 1915, Chihua¬ hua, Mex.—d. June 3, 2001, Boston, Mass., U.S.) Mexican-born U.S. film actor. He began appearing in movies in 1936, initially playing bit parts as American Indians or ethnic characters. After appearing on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire, he returned to Hollywood, where he won Academy Awards for his supporting roles in Viva Zapata! (1952) and Lust for Life (1956). He was noted for his earthy masculinity and acted in over 100 other films, notably Federico Fellini’s La strada (1954), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), and Zorba the Greek (1964). Quinn was also a successful artist and sculptor.

quinone \kwi-'non\ Any member of a class of cyclic organic com¬ pounds comprising a six-membered unsaturated ring (see saturation) to which two oxygen atoms are bonded as carbonyl groups (—C=0; see functional group). This structure plays an important role in theories of chemical structure and colour, since quinones occur as pigments in bacte¬ ria, fungi, and certain higher plants; animals containing quinones obtain them from plants they eat. The K vitamins (see vitamin K) are naphtho¬ quinones. The term quinone often specifically denotes para-benzoquinone (C 6 H 4 0 2 ), a bright yellow solid with a sharp odour used in manufactur¬ ing dyes and fungicides and in photography.

Quintana Roo \ke-'ta-na-'ro\ State (pop., 2000: 874,963), eastern Yucatan Peninsula, southeastern Mexico. It has an area of 19,397 sq mi (50,212 sq km), and its capital is Chetumal. The region was used as a place of exile for political prisoners for many years. Originally created as a ter¬ ritory from parts of YucatAn and Campeche states, it became a state in 1974. It is the site of many Maya ruins. Its main products are chicle (for chew¬ ing gum) and a small amount of copra (for producing coconut oil); the latter is produced on the coast near the island of Cozumel (where Hernan Cortes landed in 1519), which is now a popular tourist destination.

Quinte Vkwin-te\, Bay of Arm of Lake Ontario, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It extends for 75 mi (121 km) from its entrance near Amherst Island to Murray Canal at the western end. A resort area, it is a scenic, naiTOw bay with many small inlets. Among the major settlements around the bay are Trenton, Belleville, Deseronto, and Picton. The bay’s name was derived from Kente, an Indian village on the bay’s western shore.

Quintero \ken-'ter-6\, Jose (Benjamin) (b. Oct. 15, 1924, Panama City, Pan.—d. Feb. 26,1999, New York, N. Y., U.S.) Panamanian-born U.S. theatrical director. After studying theatre at theUniversity of Southern Cali¬ fornia, he directed his first play in 1949. He was a founder of the Off- Broadway theatre Circle in the Square, where he directed regularly from 1950, establishing the house as a major centre for serious theatre. His direc¬ tion of Tennessee Williams’s Summer and Smoke (1952) confirmed his repu¬ tation and made a star of Geraldine Page. He was best known for his productions of 20th-century plays, especially those of Williams and Eugene

O'Neill, including The Iceman Cometh (1956), Long Day’s Journey into Night (1956), and A Moon for the Misbegotten (1973, Tony Award).

Quintilian Latin Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (b. ad 35, Calagur- ris Nassica, Hispania Tarraconensis—d. after 96, Rome) Latin teacher and writer. Quintilian was probably educated and trained in oratory in Rome. From about 68 to 88 he taught rhetoric, becoming Rome’s leading teacher, and was an eminent advocate in the law courts. His Institutio oratoria is a practical survey of rhetoric in 12 books and a major contribution to edu¬ cational theory and literary criticism. His dual emphasis on intellectual and moral training appealed to humanists of the 15th—16th centuries and through them influenced the modern view of education as all-around char¬ acter training to equip a student for life.

Quirino \ke-'re-no\, Elpidio (b. Nov. 16, 1890, Vigan, Phil.—d. Feb. 28, 1956, Novaliches) Second president of the independent Republic of the Philippines. Quirino served in numerous elected and appointed posts in the Philippines prior to independence. In 1934 he accompanied Man¬ uel Quezon to the U.S. to secure passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which set a date for Philippine independence. He became vice president to Manuel Roxas after independence, succeeding to the presidency on Roxas’s death in 1948. Quirino’s presidency (1948-53) was one of notable postwar reconstruction and economic gains, but social problems remained unsolved (leading to the Hukbalahap Rebellion), and government corruption was widespread.

Quirinus \kw3-'ri-n9s\ Major Roman deity ranking close to Jupiter and Mars. Th t famines (see flamen) of these three gods were the three major priests of Rome. Despite his importance, little is known about Quirinus, who was originally a god of the Sabines. He may have been another form of Mars. By the late republic he was identified with Romulus. His festi¬ val, the Quirinalia, was celebrated on February 17, and his temple was one of the oldest in Rome.

Quisling, Vidkun (Abraham Lauritz Jonsson) (b. July 18, 1887, Fyresdal, Nor.—d. Oct. 24, 1945, Akershus Fortress, Oslo) Nor¬ wegian politician and collaborator with the Germans in World War II. After serving as military attache in Petrograd and Helsinki, he became Norway’s minister of defense in 1931. He resigned in 1933 to form the fascist National Union party. He actively collaborated in the German con¬ quest of Norway (1940) and served in the occupation government. His attempts to convert Norwegians to National Socialism aroused strong opposition. After Norway’s liberation, he was found guilty of treason and executed. His name became a synonym for “traitor.”

Quito \'ke-to\ City (pop., 2001: 1,399,378), capital of Ecuador. The city lies at an elevation of 9,350 ft (2,850 m) on the lower slopes of Pichincha, an active volcano, in a narrow valley of the Andes Mountains. A pre- Columbian town, it was captured by the Inca in 1487 and taken by the Spanish in 1534. It is the oldest of all South American capitals, and its old town preserves much of its colonial atmosphere. In 1552 the Franciscans established an art school there, the first of its kind in South America. One of Ecuador’s two major industrial centres, it produces textiles and light consumer goods. It is the site of several institutions of higher learning. The old town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978.

quiz show See game show

Qumran \kum-'ran\ Site on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Excavations less than a mile from the sea have revealed the ruins of buildings believed by some scholars to have been occupied by Essenes, the probable authors of the scrolls. The buildings include a scriptorium, a potter’s workshop, and a flour mill; water was supplied through an aqueduct. The Essenes are thought to have founded a monastic community at Qumran in the mid- 2nd century bc. They temporarily abandoned the settlement after an earth¬ quake and fire in 31 bc but later returned and lived there until Roman legions destroyed the community in ad 68.

quoin Vkoin, 'kw6in\ In architecture, both the external corner of a build¬ ing and, more often, one of the stones used to form that comer. These stones are both structural and decorative in that they often differ in joint¬ ing, colour, texture, or size from the masonry of the adjoining walls. Usu¬ ally quoins are toothed (i.e., set in short courses in a regular pattern of alternating lengths). Such construction dates back to ancient Rome.

quoits \'koits, 'kwoits\ Game in which flattened rings of iron or circles of rope (both called quoits) are thrown at an upright pin (hob) in an

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

quota ► Qyzylqum I 1579

attempt to ring it or come as near to it as possible. Quoits may have been played in Roman-occupied Britain (1st—5th century ad), and it may have given rise to horseshoe pitching.

quota In international trade, a government-imposed limit on the quan¬ tity of goods and services that may be exported or imported over a speci¬ fied period of time. Quotas are more effective than tariffs in restricting trade, since they limit the availability of goods rather than simply increas¬ ing their price. By limiting foreign goods, a quota aims to allow domes¬ tic goods to compete more successfully, though the price of the goods may also rise. Quotas restricting trade were first imposed on a large scale dur¬ ing World War I. In the 1920s, quotas were progressively abolished and replaced by tariffs, but their use was revived in the wave of protectionism set off by the Great Depression. After World War II, the western European countries began a gradual dismantling of quantitative import restrictions, but the U.S. was slower to discard them. See also free trade; GATT.

quotient rule Rule for finding the derivative of a quotient of two func¬ tions. If both/and g are differentiable, then so is the quotient f(x)/g(x). In abbreviated notation, it says (fig)' = (gf -fg')/g 2 .

Quqon See Qo'qon

Qur’an \ku-'ran\ or Koran \ko-'ran, ko'ranX Sacred scripture of Islam, regarded by Muslims as the infallible word of God, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The book, first compiled in its authoritative form in the 7th century, consists of 114 chapters (sGrahs) of varying length, written in Arabic. The earliest surahs call for moral and religious obedience in light of the coming Day of Judgment; the ones written later provide directives for the creation of a social structure that will support the moral life called for by God. The Qur’an also provides detailed accounts of the joys of paradise and the terrors of hell. Muslims believe that the God who spoke to Muhammad is the God worshiped by Jews and Christians but that the revelations received by those religions are incomplete. Emphasis on the stem justice of God is tempered by frequent references to his mercy and compassion. The Qur’an demands absolute submission ( islam ) to God and his word, and it serves as the primary source of Islamic law. It is regarded as immutable in both form and content; traditionally translation was for¬ bidden. The translations available today are regarded as paraphrases to facilitate understanding of the actual scripture.

qurra \ku-'ra\ Professional class of reciters of the Qur’an. Muhammad’s early disciples often memorized his divine revelations, and even after the Qur’an was assembled in written form, it was common for pious Muslims to memorize it in its entirety. Such reciters were often called on by schol¬ ars to elucidate points of pronunciation and meaning, and by the 9th cen¬ tury they formed an established class. Religious men employed in mosques still memorize the Qur’an to aid them in interpreting its revela¬ tions to the faithful. In some Arab countries the professional duties of reciting the Qur’an are usually reserved for blind men.

Qutb Vku-tub\, Sayyid in full Ibrahim Husayn ShadhilT Sayyid Qutb (b. Oct. 9, 1906, near Asyut, Egypt—d. Aug. 29, 1966, Cairo) Egyptian writer who was one of the foremost figures in modern Sunnite Islamic revivalism. He was from a family of impoverished rural notables. For most of his early life he was a schoolteacher. Originally an ardent secularist, he came, over time, to adopt many Islamist views. Fol¬ lowing a brief period studying in the U.S. (1948-50), he became con¬ vinced of the corruption of Western secularism and on his return to Egypt joined the Muslim Brotherhood. He was at first on good terms with the revolutionary regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser but was imprisoned (1954- 64) along with other Brotherhood leaders on charges of sedition. His prison years were his most productive. The brutal treatment he received convinced him that Egypt, like the West, was corrupt, and, drawing (often freely) on the work of early Muslim scholars such as I bn Taymiyyah, he argued that much of modern Muslim society had fallen in apostasy and was, therefore, a legitimate target of jihad. He penned these ideas in sev¬ eral books, including Signposts in the Road (1964), which became a tem¬ plate for modern Sunnite militancy. Released from prison in 1964, he was soon rearrested, tried for treason, and executed.

Qwaqwa Vkwa-,kwa\ Former black enclave, South Africa. It bordered Lesotho and the province of Natal. With an area of 253 sq mi (655 sq km), it was the smallest of South Africa’s black states. Established in 1974, it had industries that included brickworks, gravel quarries, and fur¬ niture making. In 1994 it was incorporated into Orange Free State prov¬ ince, which was called Free State province after 1995.

Qyzylqum See Kyzylkum

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1580 I Ra ► raccoon

Ra See Re

Rabanus Maurus or Hrabanus Maurus Xra-'ba-nus-'mau-rusN (b. c. 780, Mainz, Franconia—d. Feb. 4, 856, Winkel) Frankish abbot, arch¬ bishop, and theologian whose encyclopaedic knowledge and numerous writings brought him the title Praeceptor Germaniae (“Teacher of Ger¬ many”). A Benedictine monk, he became director of the school at the Fulda monastery near Frankfurt am Main in 803, and he built Fulda into a leading European centre of learning. He was elected abbot in 822 and used the monastery as a base for Christian missions throughout Europe. He was named archbishop of Mainz in 847. His many writings include On the Nature of Things (842-847), an encyclopaedia synthesizing intel¬ lectual history until the 9th century. He also wrote treatises on education and grammar and commen¬ taries on the Bible. As abbot and archbishop, he was involved in the disciplinary and theological contro¬ versies associated with Gottschalk of Orbais.

Rabat \r9-'bat\ Arabic Ribat \ri-'bat\ City (pop., 1994: city, 623,457; Rabat-Sale metro, area, 1,385,872), capi¬ tal of Morocco. It is situated on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River, opposite Sale. One of Morocco’s four imperial cities, it was founded in the 12th century by a ruler of the Almohad dynasty, 'Abd al-Mu’min, as a ribat (camp) quartering troops for his holy war against Spain. After 1609 the unified community of Rabat-Sale became the home of large numbers of Andalusian Moors who had been driven from Spain and, later, of the Sallee Corsairs, the most dreaded of Barbary Coast pirates. Under the French, it was made the administrative capital of a French protec¬ torate after 1912. Now a centre of the textile industry, it is noted for its carpets, blankets, and leather handicrafts.

Rabban Gamaliel See Gamaliel I

rabbi Vra-,bl\ or rebbe Vre-ba\ In Judaism, a person qualified by study of the Hebrew scriptures and the Talmud to serve as spiritual leader of a Jewish community or congregation. Ordination can be conferred by any rabbi, but it usually depends on a written statement issued by the candi¬ date’s teacher. Though rabbis are considered teachers rather than priests, they conduct religious services, assist at Bar Mitzvahs, perform marriages, and are present at funerals. In questions of divorce, a rabbi’s role depends on an appointment to a special court of Jewish law. The rabbi also coun¬ sels and consoles members of his congregation and oversees the religious education of the young.

rabbinic Judaism \r9-'bi-nik\ Principal form of Judaism that devel¬ oped after the fall of the Second Temple of Jerusalem (ad 70). It originated in the teachings of the Pharisees, who emphasized the need for critical W interpretation of the Torah. Rabbinic Judaism is centered on study of the

Talmud and debate about the legal and theological issues it raises. Its mode of worship and life discipline continue to be practiced by Jews worldwide.

rabbit Any small, bounding, gnawing mammal of the family Leporidae. tm Rabbits have long ears, a short tail,

long hind legs, and continuously growing incisors. Most species are gray or brown and range in size from 10 to 18 in. (25 to 45 cm) long and 1 to 4 lb (0.5 to 2 kg). They feed pri¬ marily on grasses. Their reproduc¬ tive rate is very high; unlike hares, rabbits are born blind, hairless, and helpless. Most species are nocturnal and live alone in burrows. However, the European, or Old World, rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus ; of Europe and Asia) lives in warrens consisting of many burrows; this species is the ancestor to all domestic breeds. The 13 North American species called cottontails (genus Sylvilagus) have white on the underside of the tail.

Rabearivelo \ra-ba-a-re-'va-l6\, Jean-Joseph (b. March 4, 1901, Tananarive, Madag.—d. June 22, 1937, Tananarive) Malagasy writer. Largely self-educated, he earned his living as a proofreader for a pub¬ lishing concern. He wrote seven volumes of poetry in French, of which

Near-Dreams (1934) and Translation of the Night (1935) are considered the most important. The mythical and surrealistic world created in his poems is intensely personal and dominated by visions of death, catastro¬ phe, and alienation. Harassed by French authorities and addicted to drugs, he committed suicide. He is regarded as the father of modem literature in his native land.

Rabelais \ra-'ble,\ English Vra-bo-JaV Francois (b. c. 1494, Poitou, France—d. probably April 9, 1553, Paris) French writer and priest. After apparently studying law, he took holy orders as a Franciscan but later, because of a dispute, removed to a Benedictine house. In 1530 he left the Benedictines to study medicine, a profession he would follow the rest of his life. He became a significant humanist scholar, publishing translations of Hippocrates and Galen. His fame rests on the five comic novels (one of doubtful authenticity) known collectively as Gargantua and Pantagruel, including the masterpieces Pantagruel (1532) and Gargantua (1534) as well as Le Tiers Livre (1546; “The Third Book”), his most profound work. These works display a delight in words, a mastery of storytelling, and deep humanist learning in a mosaic of scholarly, literary, and scientific parody that is unlike any previous work in French. The books were banned by civil and church authorities for their satirical content and earthy humour, but they were neverthe¬ less read throughout Europe. Throughout his career, Rabe¬ lais owed his freedom to the protection of powerful patrons.

Rabi Yra-be\, l(sidor) l(saac) (b. July 29, 1898, Rymanow, Austria-Hungary—d. Jan. 11, 1988, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Polish-born U.S. physicist. He earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University, where he later taught physics (from 1929). In 1940-45 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he led a group of scientists who helped develop radar, and he succeeded J. Robert Oppenheimer as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission’s General Advisory Committee (1952-56). He was the first to propose the joint European laboratory CERN, and he helped found New York’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. His method for measuring the magnetic properties of atoms, atomic nuclei, and molecules (1937) led to the atomic clock, the maser, the laser, magnetic resonance imaging, and the central technique for molecular and atomic beam experimentation; it also won him a 1944 Nobel Prize.

rabies \'ra-,bez\ Acute, usually fatal infectious disease of warm-blooded animals that attacks the central nervous system. It is spread by contact with an infected animal’s saliva, usually from a bite. The rhabdovirus that causes it spreads along nerve tissue from the wound to the brain. Symp¬ toms usually appear four to six weeks later, often beginning with irrita¬ bility and aggressiveness. Wild animals lose their fear of humans and are easily provoked to bite, as are pets. Depression and paralysis soon follow. Death usually comes three to five days after symptoms begin. In humans, death can result from a seizure in the early phase even before symptoms of central nervous system depression develop. One name for rabies, hydrophobia (“fear of water”), comes from painful throat contraction on trying to swallow. If not treated in time (within a day or two) with a serum containing antibodies and then a series of vaccinations, rabies in humans is almost always fatal. Immediate cleansing of animal bites with soap and water can remove much of the virus.

Rabin \r3-'ben\, Yitzhak (b. March 1, 1922, Jerusalem—d. Nov. 4, 1995, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel) First native-born prime minister of Israel. He fought in the first Arab-Israeli War and became chief of staff in 1964. His strategies helped win the Six-Day War in 1967. After retiring from the army (1968), he served as ambassador to the U.S. (1968-73). As head of the Israel Labour Party, he twice served as prime minister (1974-77, 1992— 95). During his first tenure, he secured a cease-fire with Syria in the Golan Heights and ordered the raid at Entebbe, Ugan. (see Entebbe raid). As defense minister (1984-90) he responded forcefully to the Palestinian first intifadah. In 1993 secret negotiations with the Palestinians yielded a politi¬ cal settlement that called for limited Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, for which he shared the 1994 Nobel Prize for Peace with Shimon Peres and Yasir ‘Arafat. He was assassinated by a right-wing Jewish extremist.

raccoon or ringtail Any of seven species of omnivorous, nocturnal carnivores (genus Procyon, family Procyonidae) characterized by a bushy,

Eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus flor idan us).

STEVE AND DAVE MASLOWSKI

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

race ► Rackham I 1581

ringed tail and a black mask on the face. The North American raccoon (P. lotor ) has a stout body, short legs, pointed muzzle, and small erect ears.

It is 30-36 in. (75-90 cm) long, including the 10-in. (25-cm) tail, and weighs over 22 lb (10 kg). The shaggy, coarse fur is iron-gray to blackish. The feet resemble slender human hands. Raccoons eat arthro¬ pods, rodents, frogs, berries, fruit, and plants; in towns and cities they thrive on garbage. They prefer woods near water and usually live in hollow trees. The crab-eating raccoon (P cancrivorus ) of South America is similar but has coarser fur.

race Term once commonly used in physical anthropology to denote a division of humankind possessing traits that are transmissible by descent and sufficient to characterize it as a distinct human type (e.g., Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid). Today the term has little scientific standing, as older methods of differentiation, including hair form and body measurement, have given way to the comparative analysis of DNA and gene frequen¬ cies relating to such factors as blood typing, the excretion of amino acids, and inherited enzyme deficiencies. Because all human populations today are extremely similar genetically, most researchers have abandoned the concept of race for the concept of the cline, a graded series of differences occurring along a line of environmental or geographical transition. This reflects the recognition that human populations have always been in a state of flux, with genes constantly flowing from one gene pool to another, impeded only by physical or ecological boundaries. While relative isola¬ tion does preserve genetic differences and allow populations to maximally adapt to climatic and disease factors over long periods of time, all groups currently existing are thoroughly “mixed” genetically, and such differ¬ ences as still exist do not lend themselves to simple typologizing. “Race” is today primarily a sociological designation, identifying a class sharing some outward physical characteristics and some commonalities of culture and history. See also climatic adaptation, ethnic group, racism.

racemate \ra-'se-,mat\ Mixture of equal quantities of two enantiomers, substances whose molecular structures are mirror images of one another (see isomer). The two enantiomers rotate polarized light through opposite angles, canceling each other out so that the racemic mixture has no opti¬ cal activity. Racemization is the conversion of an optically active form of a compound into a racemic mixture; reversing this process is called reso¬ lution.

racer Any of several slender, swift snakes (subspecies of Coluber con¬ strictor, family Colubridae) of North and Central America and Asia. Rac¬ ers have a long tail, big eyes, and smooth scales. Colour and pattern vary among subspecies, some of which grow to 6 ft (1.8 m) long.

Among the fastest of snakes, racers can move at 3.5 mph (5.6 km/hr).

They hold down their prey, usually a small warm-blooded animal, by the weight of their coils and then swal¬ low it. If cornered, they vibrate the tail and strike repeatedly with a sideways motion that tears a victim’s skin. See also black snake.

Rachel In the book of Genesis, one of Jacob’s two wives. Jacob was forced to serve her father, Laban, for seven years to win her, but at the end of that time he was tricked into marrying her sister, Leah. He was then allowed to marry Rachel as well, in return for seven more years of labour. At first childless, Rachel eventually gave birth to Joseph, and she died giving birth to Benjamin.

Rachmaninoff yrak-'ma-no-.noA, Sergey (Vassilyevich) (b. April 1, 1873, Oneg, near Semyonovo, Russia—d. March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. composer and pianist. He studied at the St. Petersburg and Moscow conservatories. After playing his first

concerto for his graduation as a piano student (1891), he stayed on to earn a composition degree, writing his first opera, Aleko (1892). His first sym¬ phony (1897) was such a disaster that he could not compose for three years. Known for his titanic virtuosity as a pianist, he toured widely while returning to composing prolifically. He moved to the U.S. after the 1917 revolution. His works, most of them in a lush late-Romantic style, include three symphonies, four piano concertos, the tone poem From the Isle of the Dead (1909), and Symphonic Dances (1940).

Racine \ra-'sen\, Jean (-Baptiste) (baptized Dec. 22, 1639, La Ferte- Milon, France—d. April 21, 1699, Paris) French playwright. Orphaned at an early age, he was educated in a Jansenist convent, and he chose drama in defiance of his upbringing. His first play was produced by Moliere in 1664. Their friendship ended when Racine took his next play, Alexander the Great (1665), to a competing theatre and seduced Moliere’s mistress and leading actress, Therese du Parc. She starred in Racine’s successful Andromaque (1667), which explored his theme of the tragic folly of pas¬ sionate love. His only comedy, The Litigants (1668), was followed by his great tragedies Britannicus (1669), Berenice (1670), and Bajazet (1672). After writing his masterpiece, Phedre (1677), a tragedy drawn from Greek mythology, he retired to become official historian to Louis XIV. His final plays, Esther (1689) and Athalie (1691), were commissioned by the king’s wife, Mme. de Maintenon.

racism Any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview—the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclu¬ sive biological entities called “races,” that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some “races” are innately supe¬ rior to others. Racism was at the heart of North American slavery and the overseas colonization and empire-building activities of some western Europeans, especially in the 18th century. The idea of RACE was invented to magnify the differences between people of European origin in the U.S. and those of African descent whose ancestors had been brought against their will to function as slaves in the American South. By viewing Afri¬ cans and their descendants as lesser human beings, the proponents of sla¬ very attempted to justify and maintain this system of exploitation while at the same time portraying the U.S. as a bastion and champion of human freedom, with human rights, democratic institutions, unlimited opportu¬ nities, and equality. The contradiction between slavery and the ideology of human equality, accompanying a philosophy of human freedom and dignity, seemed to demand the dehumanization of those enslaved. By the 19th century racism had matured and the idea spread around the world. Racism differs from ethnocentrism in that it is linked to physical and therefore immutable differences among people. Ethnic identity is acquired, and ethnic features are learned forms of behaviour. Race, on the other hand, is a form of identity that is perceived as innate and unalter¬ able. In the last half of the 20th century several conflicts around the world were interpreted in racial terms even though their origins were in the eth¬ nic hostilities that have long characterized many human societies (e.g., Arabs and Jews, English and Irish). Racism reflects an acceptance of the deepest forms and degrees of divisiveness and carries the implication that differences among groups are so great that they cannot be transcended. See also ethnic group; sociocultural evolution.

rack and pinion Mechanical device consisting of a bar of rectangu¬ lar cross section (the rack), having teeth on one side that mesh with teeth on a small gear (the pinion). If the pinion rotates about a fixed axis, the rack will move in a straight path. Some automobile steering mechanisms have rack-and-pinion drives that use this principle. If the rack is fixed and the pinion is carried in bearings on a table guided on tracks parallel to the rack, rotation of the pinion shaft will move the table parallel to the rack. On machine tools, this principle is used to obtain rapid movements of worktables.

racketeering See organized crime

rackets Game for two or four players with ball and racket on a four- walled court. Rackets is played with a hard ball in a relatively large court (approximately 9x18 m), unlike the related games of squash and rac- quetball. As in these other games, the object of rackets is to bounce, or rebound, the ball off the front and other walls in such a way as to defeat an opponent’s attempt to reach and return it. It appears to have developed in England in the early 19th century.

Rackham, Arthur (b. Sept. 19, 1867, London, Eng.—d. Sept. 6, 1939, Limpsfield, Surrey) British artist and illustrator. While a staff artist for a

North American raccoon (Procyon lotor).

LEONARD LEE RUE III

Racer [Coluber constrictor)

© 1971 Z. LESZCZYNSKI—ANIMALS ANIMALS

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1582 I racquetball ► radical

London newspaper, he also began illustrating books. He became skillful using the new halftone process, and his highly detailed drawings revealed a unique imagination. He achieved renown with a 1900 edition of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and his illustrations for Rip Van Winkle (1905) brought him recognition in America as well. Altogether he illustrated more than 60 books, including classics of children’s literature as well as works by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, John Milton, Richard Wagner, and Edgar Allan Poe.

racquetball Game similar to handball but played with racquets. The game is played on a four-walled court with a short-handled racket and a ball larger than that used in handball. It was invented in 1950 by Joseph G. Sobek (1918-98), who was unhappy with the indoor racquet sports then available. By the late 1990s there were 8.5 million racquetball play¬ ers in 91 countries.

radar System that uses electromagnetic echoes to detect and locate objects. It can also measure precisely the distance (range) to an object and the speed at which the object is moving toward or away from the observ¬ ing unit. Radar (the name is derived from radio detecting and ranging) originated in the experimental work of Heinrich Hertz in the late 1880s. During World War II British and U.S. researchers developed a high- powered microwave radar system for military use. Radar is used today in identification and monitoring of artificial satellites in Earth orbit, as a navigational aid for airplanes and marine vessels, for air traffic control around major airports, for monitoring local weather systems, and for spot¬ ting “speeders.”

radar astronomy See radio and radar astronomy

Radcliffe, Ann orig. Ann Ward (b. July 9, 1764, London, Eng.—d. Feb. 7, 1823, London) English gothic novelist. Brought up in a well-to-do family, in 1787 she married a journalist who encouraged her literary pur¬ suits. Her first two novels were published anonymously. She achieved fame with her third novel. The Romance of the Forest (1791). With her fourth, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), she became the most popular novelist in England. The Italian (1797), which displays rare psychologi¬ cal insight, reveals her full powers. In her tales, scenes of terror and sus¬ pense are infused with an aura of romantic sensibility. See also gothic novel.

Radcliffe-Brown, A(lfred) R(eginald) (b. Jan. 17, 1881, Birming¬ ham, Warwick, Eng.—d. Oct. 24, 1955, London) British social anthro¬ pologist. He taught at the universities of Cape Town, Sydney, Chicago, and Oxford. In his version of functionalism, he viewed the component parts of society (e.g., the kinship system, the legal system) as having an indis¬ pensable function for one another, the continued existence of one com¬ ponent being dependent on that of the other, and he developed a systematic framework of concepts relating to the social structures of small-scale societies. He had a profound impact on British and American

W social anthropology. Among his major works are The Andaman Islanders

(1922) and Structure and Function in Primitive Society (1952).

M Radek Vra-dyik\, Karl (Bernhardovich) orig. Karl Sobelsohn

(b. 1885, Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary—d. 1939?) Russian com-

wm munist politician. He took part in the Russian Revolution of 1905, then

wrote for leftist newspapers in Poland and Germany (1906-14). After meeting Vladimir Lenin in 1915, he helped reorganize the German Com¬ munist Party in 1918. He returned to Russia in 1919 and rose to leader¬ ship in the Comintern but was ousted in 1924 for his support of Leon Trotsky. After recanting in 1929, he became a fervent Stalinist and edito¬ rial board member of Izvestiya (1931-36). Despite his conversion, he was arrested and tried in the purge trials and sentenced to 10 years in prison, where he died.

Radetzky \ra-'det-ske\, Joseph, Count (b. Nov. 2, 1766, Trebnice, Bohemia—d. Jan. 5, 1858, Milan) Austrian army officer. He fought with distinction against the French in the Napoleonic Wars. As army chief of staff, he attempted to modernize the Austrian army. As commander in chief of the Austrian army in northern Italy (1831-57), he suppressed the revolt in the Austrian-ruled provinces of Lombardy and Venetia in 1848. He served as governor-general of these provinces (1849-57). His status among conservatives as a national hero inspired Johann Strauss the Elder to compose the Radetzky March.

Radha \'ra-da\ In Hindu mythology, mistress of the god Krishna when he lived among the cowherds of Vrndavana. Though Radha was the wife of another cowherd, she was the most beloved of Krishna’s consorts and

his constant companion. In the bhakti movement of Vaishnavism, Radha symbolizes the human soul and Krishna the divine. The allegorical love of Radha and Krishna has been celebrated in the poetry of many Indian languages, and Radha is often worshiped along with Krishna, especially in northern and eastern India.

radial engine Type of internal-combustion engine used mainly in small airplanes, in which the cylinders (ranging from five to as many as 28, depending on engine size) are mounted in a circle around the crankshaft, sometimes in banks of two or more. Once the dominant piston-engine type, radials are now in only limited production; most new requirements are met by remanufacturing existing stock.

radiant heating Heating system in which heat is transmitted by radia¬ tion from a heated surface. Radiant heating systems usually employ either electric-resistance wiring or hot-water heating pipes, which may embed¬ ded in the floor, ceiling, or walls. Panel heating is a form of radiant heat¬ ing characterized by very large surfaces (typically an entire ceiling or floor) containing electrical conductors, hot-water pipes, or hot-air ducts. With many such systems there is no visible heating equipment in the room.

radiation Process by which energy is emitted from a source and propa¬ gated through the surrounding medium, or the energy involved in this process. Radiation consists of a flow of atomic or subatomic particles or of waves. Familial' examples are light (a form of electromagnetic radia¬ tion) and sound (a form of acoustic radiation). Both electromagnetic and acoustic radiation can be described as waves with a range of frequencies and intensities. Electromagnetic radiation is also often treated as discrete packets of energy, called photons. All matter is constantly bombarded by radiation from cosmic and terrestrial sources, and radioactive elements emit several types of radiation (see radioactivity). See also Cherenkov radi¬ ation, Hawking radiation, infrared radiation, synchrotron radiation, thermal

RADIATION, ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION.

radiation injury Tissue damage caused by exposure to ionizing radia¬ tion. Structures with rapid cell turnover (e.g., skin, stomach or intestinal lining, and bone marrow) are most susceptible. High-dose irradiation of the last two causes radiation sickness. Nausea and vomiting subside in a few hours. They are followed in intestinal cases by abdominal pain, fever, and diarrhea leading to dehydration and a fatal shocklike state, and in bone-marrow cases (two to three weeks later) by fever, weakness, hair loss, infection, and hemorrhage. In severe cases, death occurs from infec¬ tion and uncontrollable bleeding. Lower radiation doses can cause can¬ cer (notably leukemia and breast cancer), sometimes years later. Radiation exposure in early pregnancy can produce abnormalities in the embryo, whose cells are multiplying rapidly.

radiation pressure Pressure on a surface resulting from electromag¬ netic radiation that impinges on it. The pressure is a result of the momen¬ tum carried by the radiation. When radiation is reflected rather than absorbed, the radiation pressure is doubled. Radiation pressure can some¬ times be great enough to produce a force that is useful.

radiation therapy or radiotherapy or therapeutic radiol¬ ogy Use of radiation sources to treat or relieve diseases, usually cancer (including leukemia). The ionizing radiation primarily used to destroy dis¬ eased cells works best on fast-growing cancers. However, radiation can also cause cancer (see radiation injury) and is no longer used for benign conditions. Other complications include nausea, hair loss, weight loss, and weakness. Radioactive substances may be implanted in tumours (see nuclear medicine). External radiation involves 10-20 sessions over several months, either after surgical removal of the growth or when surgery is impossible; it can deliver higher doses to deep tumours than implantation. Infrared radiation and ultraviolet radiation is applied with lamps to relieve INFLAMMATION.

radical Term used in chemistry with one predominant and two subsid¬ iary, looser meanings. It most often refers to a free radical. It can also mean an ion or a functional group.

radical In politics, one who desires extreme change of part or all of the social order. The term (which derives from the Latin word for “root,” and thus implies change beginning at a system’s roots) was given this sense by Charles James Fox in 1797 when he demanded “radical reform” con¬ sisting of universal manhood suffrage. In France before 1848, republicans and advocates of universal male suffrage were called radicals. The term was later applied to Marxists (see Marxism) who called for fundamental

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Radical Republican ► radish I 1583

social change to eradicate divisions among social classes. In popular usage, it is applied to political extremism, not necessarily violent, of both the left and the right.

Radical Republican Member of the Republican Party in the 1860s committed to the emancipation of slaves and the equal treatment and enfranchisment of blacks. Zealous antislavery advocates in the Congress pressed Pres. Abraham Lincoln to include emancipation as a war aim. They later opposed his policy of lenient Reconstruction of the South under presidential control and passed harsher measures in the Wade-Davis Bill. After Lincoln’s death the Radicals supported Pres. Andrew Johnson but soon demanded congressional control of Reconstruction. Johnson’s attempt to break the Radicals’ power led them to pass the Tenure of Office Act; his challenge of the act led to his impeachment. Radical Republican leaders included Henry Winter Davis (1817-65), Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, and Benjamin Butler. Their influence waned as white control over Southern governments gradually returned in the 1870s.

Radical-Socialist Party French political party. The oldest of France’s political parties, it was founded in 1901 but originated in the 1870s in the reformist wing of the French Republican Party, known as the Radicals, led by Georges Clemenceau. Traditionally a centrist party, it was most prominent in the Third Republic and Fourth Republic. In the 1920s and ’30s it joined coalition governments with the French Socialist Party. After 1945 it led other centrist groups to form politically important coalitions. By the late 20th century, however, it was only a minor party. In 1998 it renamed itself the Radical Party of the Left.

radio Electromagnetic radiation of lower frequency (hence longer wave¬ length) than visible light or infrared radiation, and consisting of the range of frequencies used for navigation signals, AM and FM broadcasting, tele¬ vision transmissions, cell-phone communications, and various forms of radar. For radio transmission, information is imparted to a carrier wave by varying (modulating) its amplitude, frequency, or duration. The tech¬ nology of radio arose from the work of Michael Faraday, James Clerk Max¬ well, Heinrich Hertz, Gugueimo Marconi, and others, and improvement followed the development of the vacuum tube, the electronic-tube oscilla¬ tor, the tuned circuit, and other components. Later innovations have included the replacement of tubes by transistors and of wires by printed circuits. See also radio and radar astronomy.

radio and radar astronomy Study of celestial bodies by measur¬ ing the energy they emit or reflect at radio wavelengths. It began in 1931 with Karl Jansky’s discovery of radio waves from an extraterrestrial source. After 1945, huge dish antennas, improved receivers and data- processing methods, and radio interferometers let astronomers study fainter sources and obtain greater detail. Radio waves penetrate much of the gas and dust in space, giving a much clearer picture of the centre and structure of the Milky Way Galaxy than optical observation can. This has allowed detailed studies of the interstellar medium in the Galaxy and the discovery of previously unknown cosmic objects (e.g., pulsars, quasars). In radar astronomy, radio signals are sent to near-Earth bodies or phe¬ nomena (e.g., meteor trails, the Moon, asteroids, nearby planets) and the reflections detected, providing precise measurement of the objects’ dis¬ tances and surface structure. Because radar waves can penetrate even dense clouds, they have provided astronomers’ only maps of the surface of Venus. Radio and radar studies of the Moon revealed its sandlike sur¬ face before landings were made. Radio observations have also contrib¬ uted greatly to knowledge about the Sun. See also radio telescope.

radio broadcasting See broadcasting

radio telescope Combination of radio receiver and antenna, used for observation in radio and radar astronomy. Radio telescopes vary widely, but all have two basic components: a large radio antenna or an antenna array and a radiometer or radio receiver. Because some astronomical radio sources are extremely weak, radio telescopes are usually very large, and only the most sensitive radio receivers are used. The first large fully steer¬ able radio telescope was completed in 1957 at Jodrell Bank, Eng. The world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope is the 360 x 330-ft (110 x 100-m) off-axis antenna operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, W.Va. The largest single radio telescope is the 1,000-ft (305-m) fixed spherical reflector at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The world’s most powerful radio telescope is the Very Large Array in New Mexico, made up of 27 separate mobile parabolic antennas that together provide the angular resolution of a single antenna 22 mi (35 km) in diameter. See photograph above.

Lovell Telescope, a fully steerable radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, Macclesfield, Cheshire, Eng.

JODRELL BANK SCIENCE CENTRE

radio wave Wave from the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum at lower frequencies than microwaves. The wavelengths of radio waves range from thousands of metres to around 30 cm. These correspond to frequen¬ cies as low as 3 Hz and as high as 1 gigahertz (10 9 Hz). Radio-wave com¬ munications signals travel through the air in a straight line, reflect off of clouds or layers of the ionosphere, or are relayed by satellites in space. They are used in standard broadcast radio and television, short-wave radio, navigation and air-traffic control, cellular telephony, and even remote-controlled toys. See illustration on following page.

radioactive series Any of four sets of unstable heavy atomic nuclei that undergo a series of alpha decay and beta decay until a stable nucleus is achieved. The natural series are the thorium series, the uranium series, and the actinium series. These are headed by naturally occurring species of unstable nuclei that have half-lives comparable to the age of the earth. The fourth set, the neptunium series, is headed by neptunium-237, which has a half-life of 2 million years. Its members do not occur naturally but are artificially produced by nuclear reactions and have short half-lives.

radioactivity Property exhibited by certain types of matter of emitting radiation spontaneously. The phenomenon was first reported in 1896 by Henri Becquerel for a uranium salt, and it was soon found that all uranium compounds are radioactive due to the uranium’s radioactivity. In 1898 Marie Curie and her husband discovered two other naturally occurring, strongly radioactive elements, radium and polonium. The radiation is emit¬ ted by unstable atomic nuclei (see nucleus) as they attempt to become more stable. The main processes of radioactivity are alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay. In 1934 it was discovered that radioactivity could be induced in ordinary matter by artificial transmutation.

radiocarbon dating See carbon- 14 dating

radiology Branch of medicine that uses radiation for diagnosis (diagnos¬ tic imaging) and treatment (radiation therapy) of disease. Originally, it involved X rays for diagnosis and X rays, gamma rays, and other ionizing radiation for treatment. Diagnostic methods now include isotope scanning (see nuclear medicine), use of nonion- izing radiation, as in ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, and radioimmunoassay (in which radio¬ active isotopes in antibodies against hormones detect minute amounts of hormones for diagnosis of endocrine disorders). Radiotherapy now includes, in cancer treatment, radio¬ active hormones and chemothera¬ peutic drugs.

radiotherapy See radiation

THERAPY

radish Annual or biennial plant Radish (Raphanus sativus variety radic-

(Raphanus sativus ) of the mustard u/ a )

family, probably of Oriental origin, ingmar hoimasen

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1584 I Radishchev ► Raglan

radar

microwave

satellites

cell phones TV

FM radio TV

CB radio

100 GHz

10 GHz

-1 GHz

100 MHz

10 MHz

AM radio 1 MHz

100 kHz

grown for its large, succulent root. Low in calories and high in bulk, radishes have a sharp taste and are usually eaten raw. The shape of the edible portion of the root varies greatly, as does the color (from white through pink to red, purple, and black). Radishes may weigh only a few ounces (U.S. and Euro¬ pean varieties) or, in the case of the Japanese daikon, more than 2 lbs (1 kg).

Radishchev \r3-'dyesh-chif\, Aleksandr (Nikolayevich) (b.

Aug. 31, 1749, Moscow, Russia—<1. Sept. 24, 1802, St. Petersburg) Rus¬ sian political writer. Although from the nobility, he pursued a career as a civil servant, in which he met people from all social classes. Influenced by such writers as Jean-Jacques Rous¬ seau, he wrote A Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow (1790), in which he described examples of social injustice, hoping that his criti¬ cism of serfdom, autocracy, and cen¬ sorship would enlighten Catherine II. Instead, he was arrested and exiled to Siberia. He was pardoned by Alex¬ ander I in 1801 but committed sui¬ cide a year later. He inspired later revolutionaries, including those who instigated the Decembrist revolt.

radium Chemical element, heaviest alkaline earth metal, chemical symbol Ra, atomic number 88. It was dis¬ covered by Marie Curie and her hus¬ band, Pierre Curie, in 1898 and isolated by 1910. All its isotopes are radioactive (see radioactivity). Radium does not occur free in nature but occurs in natural ores such as pitchblende as a disintegration prod¬ uct of radioactive decay of heavier elements, including uranium. Chemi¬ cally it is highly reactive and has valence 2 in all of its compounds. Its use in medicine (see radiation therapy; radiology; nuclear medicine) has declined because of its cost, and its use in consumer goods (to illumi¬ nate watch and clock hands and numbers, as well as instrument dials) was halted because it can cause radiation injury. It is still used for some radiography and as a source of NEUTRONS.

radon \'ra-,dan\ Chemical element, chemical symbol Rn, atomic number 86. The heaviest noble gas, it is colourless, odourless, tasteless, radioactive (see radioactivity), and almost completely unreactive (form¬ ing compounds only with fluorine). It is rare in nature because all its iso¬ topes are short-lived and because radium, its source, is scarce. Radon seeps from certain soils and rocks (such as granite) into the atmosphere and can accumulate in poorly venti¬ lated spaces near ground level, including house basements; in some regions of the world the use of such spaces is believed to increase the risk

10 kHz

Radio waves lie at the low-frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are primarily used in various types of communications signals. Also of importance is the detection of natural radio sources in radio and radar astronomy. A few applications are shown at their approximate positions in the spectrum (on a logarithmic scale). Microwaves are a subset of the radio spectrum, ranging from about 1 to 1000 mm in wavelength, or a fre¬ quency between about 1 and 100 GHz. The microwave region is used especially in various forms of radar, in communications with spacecraft and satellites (as in the Global Positioning System), and in microwave ovens. Amateur communications, such as CB (citizens' band) and short-wave radio, occur around 10 MHz. Marine naviga¬ tion and communications systems oper¬ ate especially below 1 MHz. Other devices or systems using radio waves include metal detectors, loran, and magnetic resonance imaging.

© MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.

of lung cancer more than any other common factor except smoking. Radon is used in radiotherapy, radiography, and research.

Raeburn, Sir Henry (b. March 4, 1756, Stockbridge, Scot.—d. July 8, 1823, Edinburgh) Scottish portrait painter. Though apprenticed early to a goldsmith, he lacked formal training as a painter. He worked principally as a miniaturist and evolved a distinctive style of oil portraiture, painting directly on the canvas without preliminary drawings. His portraits are characterized by a vigorous handling of paint and vivid and experimen¬ tal lighting effects, usually from behind the sitters’ heads. He was elected president of the Edinburgh Society of Artists (1812) and Royal Academi¬ cian (1815), knighted in 1822, and appointed His Majesty’s Limner for Scotland (1822).

Raeder Vra-dor\, Erich (b. April 24, 1876, Wandsbek, Ger.—d. Nov. 6, 1960, Kiel, W.Ger.) German naval officer. After serving as chief of staff to an admiral in World War I, he himself rose to the rank of admiral. As naval commander in chief from 1928, he urged the construction of sub¬ marines (forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles) and fast cruisers. Appointed grand admiral in 1939, he supervised the invasion of Denmark and Nor¬ way in 1940. Differences with Adolf Hitler led to his dismissal from supreme command in 1943. He was sentenced to life in prison at the Nurnberg trials, but he was released because of ill health in 1955.

Raetia or Rhaetia Vre-she-o\ Ancient Roman province south of the Danube River. It comprised parts of present-day Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. Its native inhabitants were probably of mixed Illyrian and Celtic descent. Conquered by Rome in 15 bc, it became an important part of the empire for its position on the highways between Italy and the Danube and between Gaul and the Balkans. Because it was a frontier province, its boundaries shifted when German tribes encroached; in the 1st century ad, the northern boundary extended to the Neckar River, but in the 3rd cen¬ tury the western and northern boundaries were pulled back. By 450, Rome controlled only the alpine regions.

RAF See Royal Air Force

Raffles, Sir (Thomas) Stamford (b. July 6, 1781, at sea off Port Morant, Jam.—d. July 5, 1826, London, Eng.) Administrator in the Brit¬ ish East India Company and founder of Singapore. He joined the British East India Company at age 14, and his hard work won him an appoint¬ ment as assistant secretary to the government of Penang (in present-day Malaysia). There he undertook an intensive study of the Malayan peoples, and his knowledge allowed him to play a key role in 1811, when the Brit¬ ish defeated Dutch-French forces in Java. He subsequently became lieu¬ tenant governor there and inaugurated a mass of reforms aimed at transforming the Dutch colonial system and improving the condition of the native population. He was recalled by the company, which deemed his reforms too costly; though he was popular in London (he was knighted in 1816), his authority when he resumed his service in Southeast Asia was severely restricted. Undeterred, he founded the port city of Singapore in 1819 in order to to ensure British access to the China seas; in 1824 the Dutch relinquished all claims to Singapore. Raffles is credited with cre¬ ating Britain’s Far Eastern empire.

raga In the classical music of India and Pakistan, a melodic framework for improvisation based on a given set of notes (usually five to seven) and characteristic rhythmic patterns. A raga can be regarded as a vocabulary of melodic figures that tend, as a group, to emphasize certain tones of a scale, giving the raga a specific emotional character and implying the kind of music to be improvised. The emphasis on certain pitches effectively divides the scale into primary and secondary tones; the secondary tones serve to ornament the primary tones, thus reinforcing the emphasis. Each scale can have several different ragas, depending on which tones of the scale are made primary. Two additional factors contribute to the artistic potential of the raga: the division of tones between primary and second¬ ary is not always hard and fast; moreover, a tertiary level (ornaments of the ornaments) is often made available to the performer. The concept of raga, introduced sometime before the 9th century, became influential throughout South and East Asia. See also South Asian arts.

Ragae See Rhagae

Raglan (of Raglan), FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, T st Baron (b. Sept. 30, 1788, Badminton, Gloucestershire, Eng.—d. June 28, 1855, near Sevastopol, Crimea, Russia) English army officer. He served as aide and, later, military secretary to the duke of Wellington. Appointed commander in chief of British forces in the Crimean War

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Ragnarok ► Rainer I 1585

(1854), he gave an ambiguous order in the Battle of Balaklava that led to the disastrous charge of the Light Cavalry Brigade under the earl of Car¬ digan. Raglan became the scapegoat for the campaign’s lack of progress and the inadequate supplies to the troops in the winter of 1854-55. His name was applied to the raglan sleeve, probably designed to adapt his coat to the arm he had amputated after the Battle of Waterloo.

Ragnarok \'rag-n9-,roek, 'rag-no-.rakN In Scandinavian mythology, the end of the divine and human worlds. As described in the 10th-century Icelandic poem Voluspa and other sources, Ragnarok will be preceded by cruel winters and moral chaos. Giants and demons will attack the gods, who will face death like heroes. The sun will be darkened, the stars will vanish, and the earth will sink into the sea. Afterward the earth will rise again, the innocent Balder will return from the dead, and the hosts of the just will live in a hall roofed with gold. The title of Richard Wagner’s opera Gotterdammerung (The Twilight of the Gods ) is a German equiva¬ lent of Ragnarok.

ragtime U.S. popular music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries distinguished by its heavily syncopated rhythm. Ragtime found its char¬ acteristic expression in formally structured piano compositions, the accented left-hand beat opposed in the right hand by a fast, bouncing melody that gave the music its powerful forward impetus. (The term probably derives from “ragged time,” a description of syncopation.) Rag¬ time compositions typically featured three or four discrete 16-bar strains performed at a moderate tempo. The most celebrated ragtime composer was Scott Joplin. The rhythm and structure of ragtime were important influences on the development of jazz.

ragweed Any of about 15 species of weedy plants (see weed) that make up the genus Ambrosia in the composite family, most of which are native to North America. They have rough hairy stems, mostly lobed or divided leaves, and inconspicuous greenish flowers borne in small heads. Com¬ mon ragweed (A. artemisiifolia ) is found across North America. Pollen shed by ragweeds in great abundance in late summer is the principal cause of hay fever in eastern and middle North America. Since ragweeds are annuals, mowing before pollination season eradicates them.

rail Any of about 100 species (family Rallidae) of slender marsh birds found almost worldwide. Rails have short rounded wings, a short tail, large feet, and long toes. Their loud call, especially at night, reveals their presence in dense vegetation. They are mostly dull grays and browns, often with barred patterns. Species vary from 4 to 18 in. (11-45 cm) long. Short-billed species are often called crakes. The king ( Rallus ele- gans), clapper (R. longirostris ), and Virginia ( R. limicola) rails and the sora, or Carolina rail ( Porzana Caro¬ lina ), have been hunted in the U.S.; several of the rails are now endan¬ gered, and some species have been exterminated.

railroad Mode of land transportation in which flange-wheeled vehicles move over two parallel steel rails or tracks, drawn by a locomotive or pro¬ pelled by self-contained motors. The earliest railroads were built in Euro¬ pean mines in the 16th century, using cars pulled on tracks by men or horses. With the advent of the steam locomotive and construction of the first railway in 1825, the modem railroad developed quickly. The first U.S. railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio, began operation in 1827. Specialized rail¬ road cars were built to transport freight and passengers, including the sleep¬ ing cars developed by George Pullman in 1859. In the 19th century the railroad had an important influence on every country’s economic and social development. In the U.S. the transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869, began an era of railroad expansion and consolidation that involved such financial empire builders as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Edward H. Har- riman, James J. Hill, and Leland Stanford. The railroad’s importance in the U.S. began to diminish from the early 20th century, but in Europe, Asia, and Africa it continues to provide vital transportation links within and between countries. See also Orient Express, Trans-Siberian Railroad.

Railway Express Agency U.S. company that once operated the nation’s largest ground and air express services. It was founded by the

U.S. government as the American Railway Express Co. in 1918, when the nation’s major express carriers—Adams & Co., American Express Co., Wells, Fargo & Co., and Southern Express Co.—were merged into a pub¬ lic corporation. An association of railroads bought out the business in 1929 and began to operate it as the Railway Express Agency. Its name was changed to REA Express in 1970. Poor management, strikes, and competition led to heavy losses, and REA filed for bankruptcy in 1975.

Raimondi \ri-'man-de, ri-'mon-deN, Marcantonio (b. c. 1480, near Bologna—d. c. 1534, Bologna) Italian engraver. He trained in Bologna under Francesco Francia, but his energetic lines and use of cross-hatching in modeling were influenced by Albrecht Durer. After he moved to Rome c. 1510, he specialized in reproducing works by other artists, particularly Raphael. He retained Raphael’s idealized figures but provided his own background and landscapes. His engravings sold in large numbers and did much to spread High Renaissance style throughout Europe during his lifetime.

rain Precipitation of liquid water drops with diameters greater than 0.02 in. (0.5 mm). When the drops are smaller, the precipitation is usually called drizzle. Raindrops may form by the coalescence of colliding small water droplets or from the melting of snowflakes and other ice particles as they fall into warm air near the ground. Hawaii’s Mount Waialeale, with a 20-year annual average of 460 in. (11,700 mm), is the Earth’s wet¬ test known point; the driest areas are in parts of deserts where no appre¬ ciable rain has ever been observed. Less than 10 in. (250 mm) and more than 60 in. (1,500 mm) per year represent approximate extremes of rain¬ fall for all the continents.

rain dance Ceremonial dance performed to bring rain needed to water crops. Rain dances have been customary in many cultures, from the ancient Egyptians to the civilization of the Mayas and the people of the 20th-century Balkans. Rain dances often include dancing in a circle, the participation of young girls, decoration with green vegetation, nudity, the pouring of water, and whirling, meant to act as a wind charm. They may also include phallic and fertility rites.

rainbow Series of concentric, coloured arcs that may be seen when light from a distant source—usually the Sun—falls on a collection of water drops such as in rain, spray, or fog. The coloured rays of the rainbow are caused by the refraction and internal reflection of light rays that enter the drop, each colour being bent through a slightly different angle. Hence, the combined colours are separated upon emerging from the drop. The most brilliant and most common rainbow is the so-called primary bow, which results from light that emerges from the drop after one internal reflection. The colours of the arc (from outside to inside) are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Occasionally a less-intense secondary bow may be observed; it has its colour sequence reversed.

Rainbow Bridge National Monument Natural area, southern Utah, U.S. Located on the Navajo Indian Reservation near the Utah- Arizona border, the monument was established in 1910 and occupies 160 acres (65 hectares). It centres on a rainbow-shaped bridge of pink sand¬ stone 290 ft (88 m) above a creek that winds toward the Colorado River. The bridge is 275 ft (84 m) long and is one of the world’s largest natural bridges. Embedded among canyons, the area is accessible only on foot, by horseback, or by boat on Lake Powell.

rainbow trout Species ( Oncorhynchus my kiss) of fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae) noted for spectacular leaps and hard fighting when hooked. It has been introduced from western North America to many other countries. A brightly coloured fish of lakes and swift streams, it is cov¬ ered with small black spots and has a reddish band along either side. The steelhead, a large, bluish, oceangoing form, is also a prized game fish. Rainbow trout may weigh 6 lb (2.8 kg); steelheads (and rainbows in large lakes) may weigh 10-20 lb (4.5-9 kg) or more. Another form of rainbow, the Kamloops, or Kootenay, trout of Idaho, may exceed 30 lb (14 kg).

Rainer Vri-noiA, Luise (b. Jan. 12, 1910, Vienna, Austria) Austrian film actress. She grew up in Munich, in Switzerland, and in Vienna and was a distinguished stage actress with Max Reinhardt’s company (from 1927) before making films in Europe. Moving to Hollywood, she starred in The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1936), winning Academy Awards for both pictures. After a brief career and a stormy marriage to Clifford Odets, she retired to Europe, returning to the screen many years later in Dancer (1988) and The Gambler (1997).

Virginia rail (Rallus limicola)

JOHN H. GERARD FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1586 I Rainey ► Raleigh

Rainey, Ma orig. Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett (b. April 26, 1886, Columbus, Ga., U.S.—d. Dec. 22, 1939, Rome, Ga.) U.S. singer. Rainey began touring Southern tent shows, levee camps, and cabarets at age 17 in a song-and-dance team with her husband, the minstrel comic Wil¬ liam (“Pa”) Rainey. She performed through the 1920s, leading her own troupes, including at times Bessie Smith and Thomas A. Dorsey. An earthy stage presence, known for her flamboyant dress and her deep, powerful contralto voice, Rainey recorded more than 90 songs (including “See See Rider” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) from 1923 to 1928 with country blues musicians and black jazz players. She retired in 1933. The first great professional blues vocalist, she earned the sobriquet “mother of the blues.”

rainforest Lush forest, generally composed of tall, broad-leaved trees and usually found in wet tropical regions around the Equator. Despite increased awareness of the rainforests’ importance during the late 20th century, they continue to be cleared. Rainforests grow mainly in South and Central America, West and Central Africa, Indonesia, parts of South¬ east Asia, and tropical Australia, where the climate is relatively humid with no marked seasonal variation. Depending on the amount of annual rainfall, the trees may be evergreen or mainly deciduous. The former require more water. Temperatures are high, usually about 86 °F (30 °C) during the day and 68 °F (20 °C) at night. Soil conditions vary with loca¬ tion and climate, though most rainforest soils tend to be permanently moist and not very fertile, because the hot, humid weather causes organic matter to decompose rapidly and to be absorbed quickly by tree roots and fungi. Rainforests have several layers. The highest continuous layer, called the canopy, extends across the treetops at a height of 100-165 ft (30-50 m). Most animals live among the leaves and branches. Below the canopy is a thick understory filled with small trees, lianas, and epiphytes. The space directly above the ground can be occupied by tree branches, twigs, and foliage, but, contrary to popular belief, the rainforest floor is not impassable. Rather, it is bare except for a thin layer of humus and fallen leaves. Animals inhabiting this layer (e.g., gorillas, elephants, jaguars, and bears) are adapted to walking or climbing for only short distances. Bur¬ rowing animals, such as armadillos and caecilians, are found in the soil, as are microorganisms that help decompose and recycle the organic litter accumulated by other plants and animals from all layers. The climate of the ground layer is unusually stable because the upper stories of tree canopies and the lower branches filter out sunlight, retain heat, and reduce wind speeds, keeping the temperature fairly even.

Rainier \ren-'ya,\ English \ra-'nir\ III orig. Rainier-Louis-Henri- Maxence-Bertrand de Grimaldi (b. May 31, 1923, Monaco—d. April 6, 2005, Monaco) Prince of Monaco (1949-2005), 31st in a line of hereditary rulers. He intensified, expanded, and diversified Monaco’s enterprises, including its industry. Through land reclamation from the sea, he expanded the principality’s territory by one-fifth. His most significant political reform was the promulgation of a new constitution, based on modem principles without repudiating tradition. His wedding to Grace Kelly in 1956 attracted worldwide attention.

Rainier \r3-'nir\, Mount Mountain, west-central Washington state, U.S. At 14,410 ft (4,392 m), Mount Rainier is the highest point in the Cascade Range and in the state. The mountain is actually a dormant vol¬ cano that last erupted some 150-175 years ago; it covers 100 sq mi (260 sq km) and is surrounded by the largest single-mountain glacier system in the continental U.S., with 41 glaciers radiating from the broad summit. It forms the centre of Mount Rainier National Park, which was established in 1899 and comprises 368 sq mi (953 sq km). It is a popular tourist and recreation area.

Rainy Lake Narrow lake astride the Canadian-U.S. border, between Minnesota and southwestern Ontario. Rainy Lake is about 50 mi (80 km) long and has an area of 360 sq mi (932 sq km). Its shores are irregular and deeply indented, and it contains more than 500 islands. The region is the site of several Indian reservations and is popular for hunting, fishing, and canoeing.

Rajang \'ra-jaq\ River or Rejang Vra-jaq\ River Chief river, cen¬ tral Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It flows southwest and west into the South China Sea and is about 350 mi (565 km) long. It is navigable for about 80 mi (130 km) to Sibu by oceangoing vessels and has a wide, swampy delta. Several market towns are along its banks.

Rajasthan Vra-jo-.stanX State (pop., 2001 prelim.: 56,473,122), north¬ western India. Bordered by Pakistan and the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it covers an area of 132,139

sq mi (342,239 sq km); its capital is Jaipur. Archaeological evidence shows continuous human habitation for about 100,000 years. In the 7th—11th centuries ad, several Rajput dynasties arose, reaching their height in the 16th century. The emperor Akbar brought the Rajput states into the Mughal Empire. In the 19th century, the British came into control of the region. After Indian independence (1947), the area was organized as the Union of Rajasthan, then reorganized in 1956. It is dominated by the Aravalli Range and the Thar Desert. Predominantly an agricultural and pastoral state, it is the largest producer of wool in India.

Rajneesh Vroj-.nesh, raj-'nesh\, Bhagwan Shree orig. Chandra Mohan Jain (b. Dec. 11, 1931, central India—d. Jan. 19, 1990, Pune) Indian spiritual leader. A teacher of philosophy, he lectured throughout India and established an ashram in Pune (Poona). He preached an eclec¬ tic doctrine of Eastern mysticism, individual devotion, and sexual free¬ dom while amassing vast personal wealth. By the early 1970s he had attracted 200,000 devotees, many from Europe and the U.S. He lived with a community of followers in Oregon from 1981 to 1985, when he was deported from the U.S. for immigration fraud. He spent his last years in Pune, where he reestablished his ashram.

Rajput \'raj-,put\ Any member of a caste of landowners located mainly in central and northern India. The Rajputs are organized in patrilineal clans and number about 12 million. They regard themselves as descen¬ dants or members of the Kshattriya (warrior ruling) class, though in fact they vary greatly in status. After the fall of the Gupta dynasty, invaders and indigenous peoples in northwestern India were probably integrated, the leaders in both groups becoming Kshattriyas. The Rajputs became important politically in the 9th-10th centuries, and for centuries they pre¬ vented complete Muslim domination of Hindu India. They eventually accepted Mughal overlordship and, in 1818, British suzerainty.

Rajputana V.raj-po-'ta-noN Region of northwestern India that now com¬ prises Rajasthan state and small sections of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The Aravalli Range crosses the southern part of the region from north¬ east to southwest. The northwestern part is largely the Thar desert, but to the southeast the country is very fertile. The Rajput states came under British protection by treaties in 1818; most of the area was formed into Rajasthan state in 1948.

Rakaia River \ro-'kI-3\ River, eastern central South Island, New Zealand. Rising in the glaciers of the Southern Alps, it flows east and southeast for 90 mi (145 km) before entering Canterbury Bight of the Pacific Ocean through a delta west of Banks Peninsula.

Rakoczi family Yra-kot-se\ Noble Magyar family prominent in 17th- century Hungary. Its members included Gyorgy I (1593-1648), who as prince of Transylvania (1630—48) allied himself with Sweden against the Habsburgs and won religious freedom for Protestants in Hungary. His son Gyorgy II (1621-1660), prince of Transylvania (1648-60), joined Swe¬ den in attacking Poland (1656) but was forced to retreat; he was killed in battle by the invading Turks, who restored Turkish control over Transyl¬ vania. Gyorgy’s son Ferenc I (1645-1676) became a Catholic and joined Croatia in an unsuccessful revolt against Habsburg rule in Hungary. His son Ferenc II (1676-1735), prince of Transylvania (1704-11), led a Hun¬ garian uprising for independence from the Habsburg empire (1703) that was initially successful, but his forces were defeated by the Austrians in

Raleigh Vro-le, 'ra-le\ City (pop., 2000: 276,093), capital of North Caro¬ lina, U.S. It was selected as the state capital in 1788 and was laid out in 1792. It is a major retail shipping point for eastern North Carolina and a wholesale distributing point for food stores. Manufactures include tex¬ tiles, electronic equipment and computers, and processed foods. Along with Durham and Chapel Hill, Raleigh is part of North Carolina’s Research Triangle—an area of cultural, scientific, and educational insti¬ tutions that includes Duke University and the University of North Carolina.

Raleigh, Sir Walter (b. 1554?, Hayes Barton, near Budleigh Salter- ton, Devon, Eng.—d. Oct. 29, 1618, London) English adventurer and favourite of Elizabeth I. He joined his half brother Humphrey Gilbert on a piratical expedition against the Spanish (1578) then fought against the Irish rebels in Munster (1580). His outspoken views on English policy in Ireland caught the attention of Elizabeth I, who made him her favourite at court. In 1584 he sent an expedition to explore the coast north of Florida, which he named Virginia, and to establish an unsuccessful colony at Roanoke Island. He was knighted by Elizabeth in 1585. Out of favour

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rally ► Ramatirtha I 1587

at court from c. 1592, he led an unsuccessful expedition up the Orinoco River in search of gold, which he described in The Discoverie of Guiana (1596). When Elizabeth died (1603), he was accused of plotting to depose James I and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Released in 1616, he led another unsuccessful expedition to search for gold in Guyana. When his men burned a Spanish settlement, he was rearrested by James and executed, at the demand of the Spanish ambassador, under Raleigh’s original sentence for treason.

rally or rallye Automobile competition using public roads and ordi¬ nary traffic rules. The object is to maintain a specified average speed between checkpoints; the route is unknown to the driver and navigator until the start of the event. Such competition began in 1907 with a Beijing- to-Paris event (12,000 km [7,500 mi]). The Monte-Carlo rally began in 1911. The Paris-Dakar (Senegal) Rally (15,000 km (9,300 mi]) is con¬ sidered one of the most grueling rally events.

Rally for the Republic (RPR) or Gaullists Former French politi¬ cal party. It was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 as the successor to the various Gaullist coalitions that dominated the political life of the Fifth Republic under Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. The party had its antecedents in the group Rally of the French People, organized by de Gaulle in 1947. It evolved into the Union for the New Republic (1958— 62) and then the Union of Democrats for the New Republic (1968-76) before assuming the name Rally for the Republic. In 2002 the party merged with the Liberal Democratic party and much of the Union for the French Democracy to form the Union for a Popular Movement.

ram Projection fixed to the front end of a fighting vessel and designed to damage enemy ships struck by it. It may have been developed by the Egyptians as early as 1200 bc, but it was most commonly used on Phoe¬ nician, Greek, and Roman galleys. It was briefly revived in the mid-19th century, notably in the American Civil War, when rams mounted on armored, steam-driven warships were used effectively against wooden sailing ships. Improvements in naval weaponry and the spread of metal¬ hulled ships soon made it obsolete again. See also battering ram.

RAM Vram\ in full random-access memory Computer main memory in which specific contents can be accessed (read or written) directly by the CPU in a very short time regardless of the sequence (and hence location) in which they were recorded. Two types of memory are possible with random-access circuits, static RAM (SRAM) and dynamic RAM (DRAM). A single memory chip is made up of several million memory cells. In a SRAM chip, each memory cell stores a binary digit (1 or 0) for as long as power is supplied. In a DRAM chip, the charge on individual memory cells must be refreshed periodically in order to retain data. Because it has fewer components, DRAM requires less chip area than SRAM; hence a DRAM chip can hold more memory, though its access time is slower.

Rama Major Hindu deity. The name became associated with Ramacan- dra, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, whose story is told in the Rama- yana. Conceived as a model of reason, virtue, and right action, Rama was one of the chief objects of the bhakti cults. He is often depicted as a stand¬ ing figure, holding an arrow in his right hand and a bow in his left. In temples his image is attended by the figures of his wife, SlTA, his half brother, Laksmana, and the monkey general, Hanuman.

Rama IV See Mongkut Rama V See Chulalongkorn Rama VI See Vajiravudh Rama IX See Bhumibol Adulyadej

Ramadan \ra-ma-'dan\ In Islam, a holy month of fasting, the ninth month of the Muslim year, commemorating the revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad. As an act of atonement, Muslims are required to fast and abstain from sexual activity during the daylight hours of Ramadan. Deter¬ mined according to the lunar calendar, Ramadan can fall in any season of the year. The Ramadan fast is considered one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and the end of the fast is celebrated as one of the important reli¬ gious holidays of Islam.

Ramakrishna (Paramahamsa) orig. Gadadhar Chatto- padhyaya (b. Feb. 18, 1836, Hooghly, Bengal state, India—d. Aug. 16, 1886, Calcutta) Indian mystic. Born into a poor Brahman family, he worked as a priest in a temple of Kali in Calcutta (now Kolkata), where

he had a vision and commenced spiritual practices in a number of differ¬ ent religious traditions. He denounced sexual desire and money as the twin evils that put spiritual enlightenment beyond reach, rejected the caste sys¬ tem, and held that all religions are in essence the same and that all are true. His teachings were spread by his disciples, notably Vivekananda. A religious order bearing his name, with headquarters in Kolkata, sends missionaries throughout the world.

Raman Vra-msnV Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata (b. Nov. 7, 1888, Trichinopoly, India—d. Nov. 21, 1970, Bangalore) Indian physicist influential in the growth of science in India. He received a Nobel Prize in 1930 for discovering that when light passes through a transparent mate¬ rial, some of the light that emerges at a right angle to the original beam is of other frequencies (Raman frequencies) characteristic of the material. He contributed to the building up of nearly every Indian research insti¬ tution in his time, founded a scholarly physics journal and an academy of sciences, and trained hundreds of students.

Ramana Maharshi Vro-ma-no-ms-'hor-sheN orig. Venkatara- man Aiyer (b. Dec. 30, 1879, Madurai, Madras state, India—d. April 14, 1950, Tiruvannamalai) Hindu spiritual leader. Born into a Brahman family, he left his village at age 17 to become a hermit on Mount Arunachala, where Shiva was said to have entered the world at creation. One of India’s youngest gurus, he held that evil and death were an illu¬ sion, which could be dissipated through his technique of vicara (self- pondering inquiry), and that to achieve liberation from rebirth it was necessary to practice bhakti (devotional surrender) either to Shiva or to Ramana Maharshi himself.

Ramananda V.ra-mo-'non-dsV (b. c. 1400—d. c. 1470) Indian spiritual leader. He lived as an ascetic before settling in Varanasi (Benares) to study Vedic texts and the philosophy of Ramanuja. He was fifth in succession in the lineage of Ramanuja, but his determination to ignore caste distinc¬ tions led to a break with the philosopher’s other followers. With 12 dis¬ ciples he founded his own sect, the Ramanandis, who practiced devotion to Rama. His teachings were similar to Ramanuja’s, but he dropped the ban on intercaste dining and the strict rule that all teaching and all texts must be in Sanskrit, himself teaching in the vernacular Hindi in order to reach the masses who did not know Sanskrit.

Ramanuja \ra-'ma-nu-j3\ (b. c. 1017, Shriperumbudur, India—d. 1137, Shrirangam) Indian theologian and philosopher, the most influential thinker of devotional Hinduism. After a long pilgrimage through India, he founded centres to spread devotion to Vishnu and Lakshmi. He provided an intellectual basis for the practice of bhakti in major commentaries on the Vedas, the Brahma-sutras, and the Bhagavadgita. He was a major figure in the school of Visistadvaita, which emphasized the need for the soul to be united with a personal god.

His chief philosophical contributions follow from his conviction that the phenomenal world is real and pro¬ vides real knowledge and that the exigencies of daily life are not con¬ trary to the life of the spirit.

Ramanujan \ra-'man-u-j3 n \,

Srinivasa (Aaiyangar) (b. Dec.

22, 1887, Erode, India—d. April 26,

1920, Kumbakonam) Indian mathematician. Extremely poor, he was largely self-taught from age 15. In 1913 he began a correspondence with Godfrey H. Hardy (1877-1947) that took him to England, where he made advances, especially in the theory of numbers, the partition of numbers, and the theory of continued fractions. He published papers in English and European journals, and in 1918 he became the first Indian elected to the Royal Society of London. He died of tuberculosis at age 32, generally unknown but recognized by mathematicians as a phenomenal genius.

Ramatirtha V.ra-mo-'tir-toV orig. Tirath Rama (b. 1873, Miraliwala, Punjab province, India—d. Oct. 17, 1906, Tehri, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh) Hindu religious leader. He was a professor of mathematics before a meeting with Vivekananda strengthened his desire to pursue a

Ramanuja, bronze sculpture, 12th cen¬ tury; from a Visnu temple in Tanjore district, India

COURTESY OF THE INSTITUT FRANCAIS D'INDOLOGIE, PONDICHERRY

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1588 I Ramayana ► ranch

religious life. In 1901 he left his wife and children and went into seclu¬ sion in the Himalayas, and he later traveled to Japan and the U.S. He became known for his poetic manner of interpreting Vedanta and for his joyful approach to religious learning as a means to the liberation of the individual. He died by drowning in the Ganges.

Ramayana Vra-'ma-yo-noV Indian epic poem, composed in Sanskrit c. 300 bce. With the Mahabharata, it is one of the two great epic poems of India. Consisting of 24,000 couplets in seven books, it describes the royal birth of Rama and the loss of his throne. Banished to the forest with his wife, SlTA, and his half brother, Laksmana, he spends 14 years in exile. When a demon king carries off Sita, Rama enters into an alliance with Sugriva, king of the monkeys, and Hanuman, the monkey general, who help him rescue her. Rama regains his kingdom, but Sita is banished when her chastity is questioned, and she is swallowed by the earth after proving her innocence.

Rambert \ram-'ber\, Dame Marie orig. Cyvia Rambam (b. Feb. 20, 1888, Warsaw, Pol., Russian Empire—d. June 12, 1982, London, Eng.) Polish-born English ballet producer and director. She studied with the musician Emile Jaques-Dalcroze and taught his technique, eurythmics, to the Paris-based Ballets Russes, influencing Vaslav Nijinsky’s avant-garde choreography. At the outbreak of World War I, she moved to London, where she studied ballet with Enrico Cecchetti (1850-1928); in 1920 she founded a ballet school that used his methods. In 1930 she helped found the Camargo Society and established the Ballet Club (later Ballet Ram¬ bert). As director of Ballet Rambert, she favoured experimentation, encouraging young choreographers such as Frederick Ashton and support¬ ing new dancers and stage designers. Her troupe, renamed the Rambert Dance Company in 1987, has continued to perform.

Rameau \ra-'mo\, Jean-Philippe (baptized Sept. 25, 1683, Dijon, France—d. Sept. 12,1764, Paris) French composer and music theorist. Son of an organist, he held organist posts until he was 49. His Treatise on Har¬ mony (1722) established him as a major music theorist. In it he asserted that harmony is the basis of music, and that chords, which had been understood principally as collections of intervals above a bass, should instead be seen as representing inversions of more fundamental harmonic entities. From 1733 he wrote a series of highly successful operas, including Hippolyte et Aricie (1733) and The Gallant Indies (1735), assuring his place as the most important French opera composer since Jean-Baptiste Lully. In the querelles des bouffons (“war of the buffoons,” 1752-53), a famous artistic contro¬ versy about the relative merits of French and Italian opera, Rameau’s music exemplified the French style. He also won renown for his many keyboard pieces, mostly composed for harpsichord.

ramjet Air-breathing jet engine that operates with no major moving parts. It relies on the craft’s forward motion to draw in air and on a specially shaped intake passage to compress the air for combustion. After fuel sprayed into the engine has been ignited, combustion is self-sustaining. As in other jet engines, forward thrust is obtained as a reaction to the rearward rush of hot exhaust gases. Ramjets work best at speeds of Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) and higher. See also turbojet.

Ramkhamhaeng X.ram-kam-'haqX (b. 1239? —d. 1298) Third king of Sukhothai (in modern north-central Thailand) who created the first major Tai state in Southeast Asia. He united a region that shared a common reli¬ gion (Theravada Buddhism). Under him, the arts developed distinctively Tai expressions, and accomplished bronze sculptures were created. He is also credited with inventing the Thai alphabet, a modification of Khmer script. He was remembered only in legend until 1834 when King Mong- kut of Siam (then a Buddhist monk) rediscovered an inscription Ramkhamhaeng had made in 1292. As a result, he came to be regarded as a national hero, a just and liberal ruler who imparted a sense of cul¬ tural unity to the region.

rammed earth or pise de terre Vpe-.za-do-'terX Building material made by compacting and drying a stiff mixture of clay, sand or other aggregate, and water. It has been used by many civilizations. The most durable of the earth-building forms, it is formed into building blocks (see adobe) or rammed within removable wooden forms in layers or lifts to construct walls. China’s Erligang (c. 1600 bc) is an example of a rammed- earth fortification; it covers an area of 1.2 sq mi (3.2 sq km) and may have taken 10,000 people more than 12 years to build.

Rampal \ram-'pal\, Jean-Pierre (-Louis) (b. Jan. 7, 1922, Marseille, France—d. May 20, 2000, Paris) French flutist. From 1947 he appeared widely in chamber music and solo recitals. In the 1950s he founded his

own chamber groups, while also playing in the pit at the Paris Opera (1956-62). Works were written for him by Francis Poulenc and others. His sweetness of tone and virtuosity in a largely Baroque repertoire, as evidenced on many admired recordings, made him the first flutist to attain international stardom.

Ramses \Tam-,sez\ II known as Ramses the Great (fl. 13th century bc) King of ancient Egypt, 1279-13 bc. His family came to power some decades after the reign of Akhenaton.

Ramses set about restoring Egypt’s power by quelling rebellions in southern Syria and fighting the Hit- tites inconclusively at the Battle of Kadesh. He captured towns in Gali¬ lee and Amor, but, unable to defeat the Hittites, he assented to a peace treaty in 1258 bc. He married one and perhaps two of the Hittite king’s daughters, and the later part of his reign was free from war. Its prosper¬ ity may be measured by the amount of construction he undertook. Early on he built himself a residence city in the Nile delta as a base for mili¬ tary campaigns and resumed con¬ struction of the temple of Osiris, begun by his father. He added to the temple at Karnak and completed a funerary temple for his father at Luxor. In Nubia he built six temples, most famously those at Abu Simbel.

Ramses III (d. 1156 bc) King of ancient Egypt, 1187-56 bc. Son of Set- nakht, the founder of Egypt’s 20th dynasty, he fought off Libyan invad¬ ers in the fifth year of his reign and the Sea Peoples (a conglomeration of migrating peoples from Anatolia and the Mediterranean Sea region) two years later. After another conflict with the Libyans, he achieved a last¬ ing peace. He then reorganized soci¬ ety into classes grouped by occupation and resumed temple building. He encouraged trade and industry, and the country prospered.

A delay in sending monthly rations to temple builders in Thebes c. 1158 bc resulted in the world’s first recorded labour dispute.

Ramu River \'ra-mu\ River, Papua New Guinea. One of the country’s longest rivers, it is about 400 mi (645 km) long. It rises in the southeast and flows northwest through the great Central Depression, where it receives numerous streams draining the mountainous region. During World War II its valley was taken from the Japanese by Allied forces (1943). It was the scene of an earthquake in 1993.

Rana era (1846-1951) In Nepal, the period during which control of the government lay in the hands of the Rana family. Jung Bahadur (1817-77) seized power in 1846 and made himself permanent prime minister. He was given the hereditary title of Rana. Under the Ranas, Nepal maintained rela¬ tions with the British, who provided it with support. When the British with¬ drew from India in 1947, the Rana family was exposed to new dangers. They faced a revolution in 1950, and in 1951, under pressure from India, Nepal’s King Tribhuvan took the throne with restored sovereignty.

ranch Large farm for breeding and raising cattle, sheep, or horses. Ranching originated in South America and Mexico in early colonial times, when Spanish settlers introduced cattle and horses and tended them on the pampas. It was an itinerant form of livestock farming: herds were tended on open range, and biannual roundups were held for branding calves and driving mature animals to market. Itinerant ranching reached

Ramses II, upper portion of a granite figure from Thebes, 1250 bc; in the British Museum.

REPRODUCED BY COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Ramses III, detail of the lid of a granite sarcophagus, about 11 87-56 bc; in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

COURTESY OF THE FITZWILUAM MUSEUM, CAMBRIDGE

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Rand ► Ranke I 1589

its peak in the 1880s. By the early 20th century, overstocking, quarantine laws, railroad competition, and barbed-wire fences had put an end to cattle drives and open-range farming. Ranching today is nearly all sedentary, but huge ranches still exist.

Rand, Ayn orig. Alice Rosenbaum or Alissa Rosenbaum (b.

Feb. 2, 1905, St. Petersburg, Russia—d. March 6, 1982, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. writer. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1926 after graduating from the University of Petrograd and worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. She won a cult following with two best-selling novels pre¬ senting her belief that all real achievement comes from individual ability and effort, that laissez-faire capitalism is most congenial to the exercise of talent, and that selfishness is a virtue, altruism a vice. In The Foun¬ tainhead (1943), a superior individual transcends traditionalism and con¬ formism. The allegorical Atlas Shrugged (1957) combines science fiction with her political message. She expounded her philosophy, which she called objectivism, in nonfiction works and as editor of two journals and became an icon of radical libertarianism.

RAND Corp. Nonpartisan think tank whose original focus was national security. It grew out of a research-and-development project (its name is a contraction of “research and development”) by Douglas Aircraft Co. for the Army Air Force in 1945. In 1948 it became a private nonprofit cor¬ poration. In the 1960s it expanded its focus to address domestic public- policy issues. Its mission today is to improve policy and decision making through research and analysis. It employs several hundred scholars in many disciplines. Its funding comes from government contracts, chari¬ table foundations, private corporations, and earnings on its endowment. Its headquarters are in Santa Monica, Cal., and it has offices in Washing¬ ton, D.C., New York, and overseas.

Randolph, A(sa) Philip (b. April 15, 1889, Crescent City, Fla., U.S.—d. May 16, 1979, New York, N.Y.) U.S. civil-rights leader. He was the son of a Methodist minister. In 1911 he moved to New York, where he cofounded the journal The Messenger (later Black Worker), in which he called for more positions for African Americans in the war industry and the armed forces. In 1925 he founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first successful African American trade union, and he served as its president until 1968. In 1941 he lobbied Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt to ban racial discrimination in defense industries and federal bureaus. In 1948 he influenced Pres. Harry Truman to bar racial segrega¬ tion in the armed forces. In 1955 he was made a vice president of the newly combined AFL-CIO. In order to combat discrimination in that union, he formed the Negro American Labor Council in 1960.

Randolph, Edmund Jennings (b. Aug. 10, 1753, Willliamsburg, Va.—d. Sept. 12, 1813, Clark county, Va., U.S.) U.S. politician. He helped draft Virginia’s constitution (1776) and served in the Continental Con¬ gress (1779-82). He was a delegate to the Annapolis Convention and the Constitutional Convention, where he presented the Virginia (or large-state) Plan, which influenced the final draft of the Constitution of the United States. As governor of Virginia (1786-88), he effected the state’s ratifi¬ cation of the Constitution. He served as U.S. attorney general (1789-94) and secretary of state (1794-95) but resigned after he was falsely accused of accepting a bribe from the French to influence the U.S. government against Britain. He returned to his law practice and served as chief coun¬ sel for Aaron Burr in his 1807 trial.