Britannica Concise 2005 - читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги автора Encyclopedia Britannica (ч. 41)

Erbium

167.26

Seaborgium

s g

106

(263)

Europium

151.96

Selenium

78.96

Fermium

100

(257)

Silicon

28.0855

Fluorine

18.9984

Silver

107.868

Francium

(223)

Sodium

22.98977

Gadolinium

157.25

Strontium

87.62

Gallium

69.72

Sulfur

32.07

Germanium

72.61

Tantalum

180.9479

Gold

196.9665

Technetium

(98)

Hafnium

178.49

Tellurium

127.60

Hassium

108

(265)

Terbium

158.9254

Helium

4.00260

Thallium

204.383

Holmium

164.930

Thorium

232.0381

Hydrogen

1.0079

Thulium

168.9342

Indium

114.82

Tin

118.71

Iodine

126.9045

Titanium

47.867

Iridium

192.22

Tungsten (wolfram)

183.85

Iron

55.845

Ununbium"

Uub

112

Krypton

83.80

Ununhexium”

Uuh

116

Lanthanum

138.9055

Ununpentium”

Uup

115

Lawrencium

103

(262)

Ununquadium”

Uuq

114

Lead

207.2

Ununtrium”

Uut

113

Lithium

6.941

Uranium

238.029

Lutetium

174.967

Vanadium

50.9415

Magnesium

24.305

Xenon

131.29

Manganese

54.9380

Ytterbium

173.04

Meitnerium

109

(268)

Yttrium

88.9059

Mendelevium

101

(258)

Zinc

65.39

Mercury

h 9

200.59

Zirconium

91.224

’Parentheses indicate the mass number of the most stable isotope of a radioactive element. ’’Discovery is claimed but not yet ratified; name and symbol are temporary.

tion of an automatic safety device by Elisha Otis (1811-1861) in 1853 made the passenger elevator possible. By opening the way to higher build¬ ings, the elevator played a decisive role in creating the characteristic urban geography of modem cities.

Elgar, Sir Edward (William) (b. June 2, 1857, Broadheath, Worces¬ tershire, Eng.—d. Feb. 23, 1934, Worcester, Worcestershire) British com¬ poser. Son of a piano tuner, he became proficient on violin and organ. His Enigma Variations (1896) brought him fame; he followed it with the ora¬ torio The Dream of Gerontius (1900), which many consider his master¬ piece. He composed in the orchestral idiom of late 19th-century Romanticism—characterized by bold tunes, striking colour effects, and

mastery of large forms—stimulating a renaissance of English music. His principal works include the five Pomp and Circumstance Marches (1901— 07), two symphonies (1908, 1911), concertos for violin (1910) and cello (1919), and the tone poems Cockaigne (1901) and Falstaff { 1913).

Elgin Vel-ganX, James Bruce, 8th earl of (b. July 20, 1811, Lon¬ don, Eng.—d. Nov. 20,1863, Dharmshala, India) British governor-general of Canada. He was appointed governor of Jamaica in 1842. As governor of British North America (1847-54), he implemented the policy of respon¬ sible, or cabinet, government recommended by Lord Durham. Elgin sup¬ ported the Rebellion Losses Act (1849), which compensated Canadians for losses during the 1837 rebellion in Lower Canada, a stand criticized

Elgin Marbles ► Eliot I 613

by Tory opponents in England and French-Canadian rioters in Montreal. He negotiated the Reciprocity Treaty (1854) between the Canadian colo¬ nies and the U.S. In 1857 he left Canada to serve in diplomatic posts in China, Japan, and India.

Elgin Marbles Vel-gon\ Collection of ancient Greek marble sculptures and architectural fragments in the British Museum. They were removed from the Parthenon in Athens and other buildings by Thomas Bruce,

Lord Elgin (1766-1841), ambassa¬ dor to the Ottoman Empire, and shipped to England between 1802 and 1811. Elgin claimed he was sav¬ ing the works from destruction by the Turks, who then controlled Greece. He secured permission from the Turks to remove “any pieces of stone” bearing figures or inscrip¬ tions. They remained in his private possession, amid mounting criticism, until 1816, when the crown bought them. The controversy still contin¬ ues; the Greek government fre¬ quently demands their return.

Elgon Vel-,gan\, Mount Extinct volcano on the Kenya-Uganda border. Located northeast of Lake Victo¬ ria, its crater, about 5 mi (8 km) in diameter, contains several peaks, of which Wagagai, at 14,178 ft (4,321 m), is the highest. The Bantu-speaking Gishu (Gisu) occupy the mountain’s western slopes.

Eliade \,el-e-'a-da\, Mircea (b. March 9, 1907, Bucharest, Rom.—d. April 22, 1986, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) Romanian-born U.S. historian of reli¬ gion. He studied Sanskrit and Indian philosophy at the University of Cal¬ cutta, then returned to complete his Ph.D. at the University of Bucharest, where he taught until 1939. In 1945 he moved to Paris to teach at the Sorbonne, and from 1956 he taught at the University of Chicago. Eliade considered religious experiences to be credible phenomena, manifesta¬ tions of the sacred in the world, and his work traced the forms they have taken throughout the world and through time. He founded the journal History of Religions in 1961. His books include The Myth of the Eternal Return (1949) and A History of Religious Ideas (3 vol., 1978-85); he edited the 16-volume Encyclopedia of Religion (1987).

Elijah \i-'lI-jo\ or Elias Hebrew Eliyyahu (fl. 9th century bc) Hebrew prophet. The Bible related that he denounced foreign cults and defeated 450 prophets of Baal in a contest on Mount Carmel. In doing so, he earned the enmity of King Ahab and his consort, Jezebel, who forced him to flee into the wilderness. Later he was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind, leaving behind his successor, Elisha. His insistence that only the God of Israel is entitled to the name of divinity expresses a fully conscious mono¬ theism. He is also recognized as a prophet in Islam.

Elijah ben Solomon (b. April 23, 1720, Sielec, Lith., Russian Empire—d. Oct. 9, 1797, Vilna) Lithuanian scholar and Jewish leader. Born into a long line of scholars, he traveled in Poland and Germany before settling in Vilna, the cultural centre of eastern European Jewry. He refused rabbinic office and lived as a recluse while devoting himself to study and prayer, but he nevertheless became famous and revered in the Jewish community. His scholarly interests included biblical exegesis, Tal¬ mudic studies, folk medicine, grammar, and philosophy. A vehement opponent of Hasidism, he denounced its claims to miracles, visions, and spiritual ecstasy, calling instead for the intellectual love of God.

Elion \'e-le-3n\, Gertrude (Belle) (b. Jan. 23, 1918, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Feb. 21, 1999, Chapel Hill, N.C.) U.S. pharmacologist. She graduated from Hunter College. Unable to find a research position because of her sex, she initially taught high school chemistry. In 1944 she became George Herbert Hitchings’s assistant at Burroughs Wellcome. They devel¬ oped drugs for leukemia, autoimmune disorders, urinary-tract infections, gout, malaria, and viral herpes using innovative research methods. They examined the biochemistry of normal human cells and of disease-causing agents and used the results to formulate drugs that could kill or inhibit reproduction of a particular pathogen but leave normal host cells unharmed. In 1988 they shared a Nobel Prize with James Black.

Eliot, Charles William (b. March 20, 1834, Boston, Mass., U.S.—d. Aug. 22, 1926, Northeast Harbor, Maine) U.S. educator and influential university president. He studied at Harvard University and taught math¬ ematics and chemistry there (1858-63) and at MIT (1865-69). Eliot was named president of Harvard in 1869 after studying European educational systems, and he soon set about a program of fundamental reforms. He demanded a place for the sciences in liberal education, and he replaced the program of required courses for undergraduates with the elective sys¬ tem. Under Eliot, the graduate school of arts and sciences was created (1890), Radcliffe College was established (1894), the quality of the pro¬ fessional schools was raised, and the university became an institution of world renown. His reforms had widespread influence in American higher education. After resigning in 1909, he edited the 50-volume Harvard Classics (1909-10), wrote several books, and devoted himself to public service.

Eliot, George orig. Mary Ann Evans later Marian Evans (b.

Nov. 22, 1819, Chilvers Coton, War¬ wickshire, Eng.—d. Dec. 22, 1880,

London) British novelist. Eliot was raised with a strong evangelical piety but broke with religious orthodoxy in her 20s. She worked as a transla¬ tor, a critic, and a subeditor of the Westminster Review (1851—54).

Later she turned to fiction. Adopting a masculine pseudonym to evade prejudice against women novelists, she first brought out Scenes of Cleri¬ cal Life (1858). This was followed by such classic works as Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860),

Silas Marne r (1861), Romo la (1862- 63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), and Daniel Deronda (1876). Her masterpiece, Middlemarch (1871—

72), provides a thorough study of every class of provincial society. The method of psychological analysis she developed would become char¬ acteristic of modern fiction. With the journalist, philosopher, and critic George Henry Lewes (1817-78), a mar¬ ried man, she enjoyed a long and happy, though scandalous, liaison; their Sunday-aftemoon salons were a brilliant feature of Victorian life.

Eliot, John (b. 1604, Widford, Hertfordshire, Eng.—d. May 21, 1690, Roxbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony) English Puritan missionary to the Indians of Massachusetts Bay Colony. He emigrated to Boston in 1631 and became pastor of a church in nearby Roxbury. Supported by his con¬ gregation and fellow ministers, he began a mission to the American Indi¬ ans that inspired the creation in 1649 of the first genuine missionary society (financed chiefly from England). His methods set the pattern of subsequent Native American missions for almost two centuries. His trans¬ lation of the Bible into the Algonquian language was the first Bible printed in North America.

Eliot, T(homas) S(tearns) (b. Sept. 26, 1888, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.—d. Jan. 4, 1965, London, Eng.) U.S.-British poet, playwright, and critic. Eliot studied at Harvard University before moving to England in 1914, where he would work as an editor from the early 1920s until his death. His first important poem, and the first modernist masterpiece in English, was the radically experimental “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915). The Waste Land (1922), which expresses with startling power the disillusionment of the postwar years, made his international reputation. His first critical volume, The Sacred Wood (1920), introduced concepts much discussed in later critical theory. He married in 1915; his wife was mentally unstable, and they separated in 1933. (He married again, hap¬ pily, in 1957.) His conversion to Anglicanism in 1927 shaped all his sub¬ sequent works. His last great work was Four Quartets (1936-42), four poems on spiritual renewal and the connections of the personal and his¬ torical past and present. Influential later essays include “The Idea of a Christian Society” (1939) and “Notes Towards the Definition of Culture” (1948). His play Murder in the Cathedral (1935) is a verse treatment of St. Thomas Becket’s martyrdom; his other plays, including The Cocktail Party (1950), are lesser works. From the 1920s on he was the most influ-

Lapith fighting a Centaur; detail of a metope from the Parthenon at Athens; one of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum

HIRMER FOTOARCHIV, MUNCHEN

George Eliot, chalk drawing by F.W. Burton, 1865; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

614 i Elis ► Elizabeth of Hungary

ential English-language modernist poet. He won the Nobel Prize for Lit¬ erature in 1948; from then until his death he achieved public admiration unequaled by any other 20th-century poet.

Elis Ve-lis\ modem Ilia \el-'ya\ Ancient Greek region and city-state, northwestern Peloponnese, Greece. Bounded by Achaea, Arcadia, Messe- nia, and the Ionian Sea, the region was known for its horse breeding and was the site of the Olympic Games. As an ally of Athens in the Pelopon¬ nesian War, Elis lost much of its territory. Later, by emphasizing the sanc¬ tity of the Olympic Games, it regained some land and even some independence after the Roman occupation of Greece (146 bc), only to disintegrate with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The modern locality contains the archaeological site of Olympia, scene of the games.

Elisabethville See Lubumbashi

Elisha \i-'li-sh3\ (fl. 9th century bc) Hebrew prophet. As the successor of Elijah, he was strongly devoted to the Mosaic tradition of Israel and a potent enemy of all foreign gods and cults. He instigated a revolt against the ruling house of Israel, the dynasty of Omri, that resulted in the death of the king and his family. Elisha’s story is told in the Hebrew scriptures in the books 1 and 2 Kings.

Elisha ben Abuyah (fl. ad 100) Jewish scholar and apostate. Born before the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem (ad 70), he became a respected rabbi but then won notoriety for breaking Jewish laws and abandoning Judaism. He was well versed in Greek thought, and the motives for his apostasy may have been devotion to philosophy, mem¬ bership in a Gnostic sect, or conversion to Christianity. He was denounced in the Talmud and was known as Aher (“the Other”) because his apostasy made his name repugnant.

Elista \e-'lye-sto,\ English \e-'lis-t9\ formerly (1944-57) Stepnoy \styip-'noi\ City (pop., 1999 est.: 101,700), capital of Kalmykia republic, southwestern Russia. It was founded in 1865 and became a city in 1930. In 1944, when the Kalmyks were exiled by Joseph Stalin for their alleged collaboration with the Germans, the republic was dissolved and the city became known as Stepnoy. The name Elista was restored in 1957. Agri¬ culture is important, and Elista also is a trade centre for the area.

Elizabeth (b. Dec. 24, 1837, Munich, Bavaria—d. Sept. 10, 1898, Geneva, Switz.) Empress consort of Austria (1854-98) and queen of Hun¬ gary (1867-98). Regarded as the most beautiful princess in Europe, she married her cousin, Emperor Francis Joseph, in 1854. She was popular with her subjects but offended Viennese high society with her impatience with rigid court etiquette. The Hungarians admired her, especially for her efforts in bringing about the Compromise of 1867. During a visit to Swit¬ zerland she was assassinated by an Italian anarchist.

Elizabeth or Elizabeth Stuart (b. Aug. 19, 1596, Falkland Palace, Fifeshire, Scot.—d. Feb. 13, 1662, Westminster, London, Eng.) Titular queen of Bohemia from 1619. Daughter of the Scottish king James VI (later James I of England), she came to English royal court in 1606. Noted for her beauty and charm, she became a favorite subject of the poets. In 1613 she was married to Frederick V, the elector palatine, who became king of Bohemia (as Frederick I) in 1619. After his defeat by the Catho¬ lic League in 1620, the couple went into exile, where Elizabeth spent the next 40 years. In 1661 her nephew Charles II grudgingly allowed her to return to England. Her most famous son was Prince Rupert.

Elizabeth Russian Yelizaveta Petrovna (b. Dec. 18, 1709, Kolo- menskoye, near' Moscow, Russia—d. Dec. 25, 1761, St. Petersburg) Empress of Russia (1741-61). Daughter of Peter I and Catherine I, she was proclaimed empress after staging a coup d’etat and arresting Ivan VI, his mother, and their chief advisers. She encouraged the development of edu¬ cation and art and left control of most state affairs to her advisers and favorites. Her reign was characterized by court intrigues, a deteriorating financial situation, and the gentry’s acquisition of privileges at the expense of the peasantry. However, Russia’s prestige as a major European power grew. Russia adhered to a pro-Austrian, anti-Prussian foreign policy, annexed a portion of southern Finland after fighting a war with Sweden, improved its relations with Britain, and fought Prussia in the Seven Years' War. Elizabeth was succeeded by her nephew Peter III.

Elizabeth I (b. Sept. 7, 1533, Greenwich, near London, Eng.—d. March 24, 1603, Richmond, Surrey) Queen of England (1558-1603). Daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, she displayed precocious seriousness as a child and received the rigorous education normally

reserved for male heirs. Her situation was precarious during the reigns of her half brother Edward VI and her half sister Mary I. After Sir Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion in 1554, she was imprisoned but later released. Her accession to the throne on Mary’s death was greeted with public jubila¬ tion. She assembled a core of experienced advisers, including William Cecil and Francis Walsingham, but she zealously retained her power to make final decisions. Important events of her reign included the restoration of England to Protestantism; the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots; and England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada. She lived under constant threat of conspiracies by British Catholics. Over time she became known as the Virgin Queen, wedded to her kingdom. Many important suitors came for¬ ward, and she showed signs of romantic attachment to the earl of Leices¬ ter, but she remained single, perhaps because she was unwilling to compromise her power. She had another suitor, the 2nd earl of Essex, executed in 1601 for treason. Though her later years saw an economic decline and disastrous military efforts to subdue the Irish, her reign had already seen England’s emergence as a world power and her presence had helped unify the nation against foreign enemies. Highly intelligent and strong-willed, Elizabeth inspired ardent expressions of loyalty, and her reign saw a brilliant flourishing in the arts, especially literature and music. After her death, she was succeeded by James I.

Elizabeth II in full Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (b. April 21,1926,

London, Eng.) Queen of the United Kingdom from 1952. She became heir presumptive when her uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated and her father became king as George VI. In 1947 she married her distant cousin Philip, duke of Edinburgh, with whom she had four children, including Charles, prince of Wales. She became queen on her father’s death in 1952. Increasingly aware of the modem role of the monarchy, she favoured simplicity in court life and took an informed interest in government business. In the 1990s the monarchy was troubled by the highly publi¬ cized marital difficulties of two of the queen’s sons and the death of Diana, princess of Wales. In 2002 the queen’s mother and sister died within two months of each other.

Elizabeth II, 1985.

KARSH-CAMERA PRESS/GLOBE PHOTOS

Elizabeth City (pop., 2000: 120,568), northeastern New Jersey, U.S. Located on Newark Bay adjacent to Newark, it is connected by bridge to Staten Island. Settlement began in 1664 with the purchase of land from the Delaware Indians. The first colonial assembly met there (1668-82). It was the scene of four military engagements during the American Revolu¬ tion. It grew throughout the 19th century and is now highly industrial¬ ized, with important shipping operations. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr attended an academy in Elizabeth, and Princeton University originated there (1746) as the college of New Jersey.

Elizabeth Islands Chain of small islands, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. Extending southwest for 16 mi (26 km) from the southwestern tip of Cape Cod, the group lies between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. The islands were visited in 1602 by the English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold, who established a short-lived (three-week) colony on the west¬ ernmost island of Cuttyhunk 18 years before the arrival of the Mayflower at Plymouth. Naushon, the largest island, was a British naval base during the War of 1812. The islands, covering an area of about 14 sq mi (36 sq km), are mostly privately owned. Cuttyhunk is a popular base for sport¬ fishing.

Elizabeth of Hungary, Saint (b. 1207, probably Pressburg, Hung.—d. Nov. 17, 1231, Marburg, Thuringia; canonized 1235; feast day November 17) Princess of Hungary canonized for her devotion to the poor. She married Louis IV of Thuringia, who died of plague in 1227 en route to the Sixth Crusade. She then joined the Third Order of St. Francis and devoted her life to the poor and sick, for whom she built a hospice. As a young girl, Elizabeth is said to have stolen bread, which she gave to the poor, and later distributed grain during famines. In the best-known legend, which is often depicted in art, Elizabeth met her husband unexpectedly on one of her charitable errands; the loaves of bread she was carrying were

Elizabethan literature ► elm I 615

miraculously changed into roses. This transformation convinced him of the worthiness of her kind endeavours, about which he had been chiding her.

Elizabethan Vi-.li-zo-'be-thonV literature Body of works written dur¬ ing the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Probably the most illustrious age in the history of English literature, the Elizabethan era saw a flowering of poetry, produced a golden age of drama, and inspired a wide variety of splendid prose. The period encompasses the work of Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, and others. Though some patterns and themes persisted, the tone of most forms of literary expression, especially drama, darkened rather suddenly around the start of the 17th century. See also Jacobean literature.

elk Any of several species of large deer in the genus Cervus, notably the red deer of Europe, the Kashmir stag, and the Himalayan shou, as well as the North American deer more correctly called wapiti. The creature called elk in Europe is a member of the species ( Alces alces) known in North America as moose. The name is also applied to the extinct Irish elk.

Elkin, Stanley (Lawrence) (b. May 11, 1930, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 31, 1995, St. Louis, Mo.) U.S. writer. He grew up in Chi¬ cago; from 1960 he taught writing at Washington University. His works explore contemporary life with tragicomic wit and imaginative insight. Criers and Kibitzers, Kibitzers and Criers (1966) was an acclaimed col¬ lection of short stories on Jewish themes. The novel The Franchiser (1976) tells of Ben Flesh, who, like Elkin, suffered from multiple scle¬ rosis, which is for Flesh both an enlightenment and a burden. The Living End (1979) consists of three interwoven novellas.

Ellesmere, Lake Coastal lake, eastern South Isiand, New Zealand. Located on the southern side of Banks Peninsula, the tidal lake, which is shallow and brackish, is 14 mi (23 km) long by 8 mi (13 km) wide and is no deeper than 7 ft (2 m). The lake sustains great flocks of waterfowl.

Ellesmere \'elz-,mer\ Island Island, Nunavut, Canada. The largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands and lying off the northwestern coast of Green¬ land, it is believed to have been visited by Vikings in the 10th century ad. It is roughly 300 mi (500 km) wide by 500 mi (800 km) long, the most rugged in the Arctic Archipelago, with towering mountains and vast ice fields. Cape Columbia is the most northerly point of Canada. Ellesmere Island National Park Reserve (established 1986) became Quttinirpaaq National Park in 2001.

Ellice Islands See Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Tuvalu

ellipse Closed curve, one of the conic sections of analytic geometry, con¬ sisting of all points whose distances from each of two fixed points (foci) add up to the same value. The midpoint between the foci is the center.

One property of an ellipse is that the reflection off its boundary of a line from one focus will pass through the other. In an elliptical room, a per¬ son whispering at one focus is easily heard by someone at the other. An oval may or may not fit the definition of an ellipse.

elliptic geometry Non-Euclidean geometry that rejects Euclid’s fifth postulate (the parallel postulate) and modifies his second postulate. It is also known as Riemannian geometry, after Bernhard Riemann. It asserts that no line passing through a point not on a given line is parallel to that line. It also states that while any straight line of finite length can be extended indefinitely, all straight lines are the same length. Though many of elliptic geometry’s theorems are identical to those of Euclidean geom¬ etry, others differ (e.g., the angles in a triangle add up to more than 180°). It can most easily be pictured as geometry done on the surface of a sphere where all lines are great circles.

Ellis Island Island, Upper New York Bay, southeastern New York, U.S. It lies southwest of Manhattan island and has an area of about 27 acres (11 hectares). In 1808 the state of New York sold the island to the fed¬ eral government. It served as the nation’s major immigration station from 1892 until 1924, when immigrant processing was moved to New York City proper. It became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965; its restored main hall is the site of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum.

Ellison, Ralph (Waldo) (b. March 1, 1914, Oklahoma City, Okla., U.S.—d. April 16, 1994, New York, N.Y.) U.S. writer. Ellison studied music at Tuskegee Institute before joining the Federal Writers’ Project. He won eminence for his novel Invisible Man (1952); narrated by a name¬ less young black man, it reflects bitterly on American race relations. It is regarded as among the most distinguished works of American fiction since World War II. He later published two essay collections. Shadow and Act (1964) and Going to the Territory (1986) and lectured and taught widely. In 1999 an edition of his unfinished second novel was published by his literary executor, John Callahan, with the title Juneteenth.

Ellsworth, Oliver (b. April 29, 1745, Windsor, Conn.—d. Nov. 26, 1807, Windsor) U.S. politician, diplomat, and jurist. He served in the Continental Congress (1777-83) and coauthored the Connecticut Com¬ promise (1787), which resolved the issue of representation in Congress. In 1789 he became one of Connecticut’s first U.S. senators. He was the chief author of the Judiciary Act (1789), which established the federal court system. He was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1796; ill health forced his resignation in 1800.

elm Any of about 18 species of for¬ est and ornamental shade trees that make up the genus Ulmus (family

Ulmaceae), native mostly to northern Leaves and f ruit 0 f an American elm temperate areas. Many are grown for f ree their height and attractive foliage, kitty kahout/root resources The leaves are doubly toothed and

Ellis, (Henry) Havelock (b. Feb. 2, 1859, Croydon, Surrey, Eng.—d. July 8, 1939, Washbrook, Suffolk)

British sexuality researcher. A medi¬ cal doctor, he gave up his practice to devote himself to scientific and liter¬ ary work. His major work, the seven- volume Studies in the Psychology of Sex (1897-1928), was a comprehen¬ sive, groundbreaking encyclopaedia of human sexual biology, behaviour, and attitudes whose topics included homosexuality, masturbation, and the physiology of sexual behaviour.

Sale of the first volume led to a trial when the salesman was arrested on obscenity charges; the later volumes had to be published in the U.S. and were legally available only to the Havelock Ellis medical profession until 1935. Ellis the mansell collection viewed sexual activity as a natural

expression of love and sought to dispel the widespread fear and ignorance surrounding it. He was also known as a champion of women’s rights.

Ellington, Duke orig. Edward Kennedy Ellington (b. April 29, 1899, Washington, D.C., U.S.—d.

May 24, 1974, New York, N.Y.) U.S. pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. He formed his band in 1924 in Washington, D.C.; by 1927 it was performing regularly at the Cotton Club in Harlem. Until the end of his life his band would enjoy the highest professional and artistic reputation in jazz. First known for his distinctive “jungle” sound—a description derived from the use of growling muted brass and sinister harmonies—Ellington increasingly integrated blues elements into his music. He composed with the idio¬ syncratic sounds of his instrumental¬ ists in mind. Many of his players spent most of their careers with the band; they included saxophonists Johnny Hodges and Harry Carney, bassist Jimmy Blanton, trombonists Tricky Sam Nanton and Lawrence Brown, and trumpeters Bubber Miley and Cootie Williams. Pianist Billy Strayhorn was Ellington’s frequent col¬ laborator. Ellington composed a massive body of work, including music for dancing, popular songs, large-scale concert works, musical theatre, and film scores. His best-known compositions include “Mood Indigo,” “Satin Doll,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” and “Sophisticated Lady.”

Duke Ellington.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF DOWN BEATMAGAZINE

616 i Elman ► embargo

often lopsided at the base. The flowers, which lack petals, appear before the leaves and are borne in clusters. Seeds are borne in a samara (dry, winged fruit). The American elm ( U. . americana ) has dark gray, ridged bark and elliptical leaves. Many species are susceptible to Dutch elm dis¬ ease. Elm wood is important for boats and farm buildings because it is durable in water; it is also used for furniture. See also slippery elm.

Elman, Mischa (b. Jan. 20, 1891, Talnoye, Ukraine, Russian Empire —d. April 5, 1967, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Ukrainian-born U.S. violinist. He studied with Leopold Auer (1845-1930) in St. Petersburg from age 10 and made his professional debut in Berlin at 13. Tours of Germany and England followed, and he first played in the U.S. in 1908. With Jascha Heifetz and Efrem Zimbalist (1889-1985), he established the “Russian school” of violin playing. Admired for his full tone and passionate style, he had many pieces written for him by eminent composers.

Elsevier family See Elzevir family

Elsheimer Vels-.hl-msrV, Adam (baptized March 18, 1578, Frankfurt am Main—d. December 1610, Rome, Papal States) German painter and printmaker. After studying in Frankfurt, he went to Rome in 1600 and began producing images of Italian Classical subjects, nocturnal scenes, and landscapes. He painted on small copper plates and executed drawings and etchings. He frequently depicted illumination by firelight, candlelight, and moonlight. His Flight into Egypt{ 1609) was the first painting to depict the constellations accurately. An important figure in the development of 17th-century landscape painting, he greatly influenced Dutch, Italian, and French artists. He died at age 32.

Elssler, Fanny (b. June 23, 1810, Vienna, Austria—d. Nov. 27, 1884, Vienna) Austrian ballerina. She studied in Vienna and toured in Europe before making her Paris Opera debut in 1834. Her warm, spirited style, contrasting with the cool, academic style of the then-reigning Marie Tagli- oni, made her an immediate success. She introduced theatricalized folk dance (character dance) into ballet. During 1840-42 Elssler toured the U.S., earning wild adulation. She returned to Europe and toured until her retirement to Vienna in 1851.

Eluard Na-lm-'arV, Paul orig. Eugene Grindel (b. Dec. 14, 1895, Saint-Denis, Paris, France—d. Nov. 18, 1952, Charenton-le-Pont) French poet. In 1919 he met Andre Breton, Philippe Soupault, and Louis Aragon, with whom he founded the movement they would call Surrealism. His subsequent poetry— Capitate de la douleur (1926), Les Dessous d’une vie ou la pyramide humaine (1926), La Rose publique (1934), and Les Yeux fertiles (1936)—is considered the best to have come out of the movement. After the Spanish Civil War he abandoned Surrealist experimentation. During World War II he wrote poems dealing with suffering and broth¬ erhood that were circulated secretly and strengthened the morale of the Resistance. His postwar poetry, including Le Phenix (1951), was more lyrical.

eluviation Removal of dissolved or suspended material from a layer or layers of the soil by the movement of water when rainfall exceeds evapo¬ ration. Such loss of material in solution is often referred to as leaching. The process of eluviation influences soil composition.

Elway, John (Albert) (b. June 28, 1960, Port Angeles, Wash., U.S.) U.S. football player. He had an outstanding athletic career at Stanford University, then played professional baseball briefly before joining the Denver Broncos in 1983. He is one of only three quarterbacks to have passed for more than 45,000 yd; he holds the record for victories by a starting quarterback (148); and he ranks among the top three for pass attempts (7,250), pass completions (4,123), passing yardage (51,475), and passing touchdowns (300). Famous for last-minute heroics, he led a total of 47 fourth-quarter game-winning or game-tying touchdown drives. He announced his retirement in 1999 after leading the Broncos to a second consecutive Super Bowl victory.

Ely Ve-le\, Richard T(heodore) (b. April 13, 1854, Ripley, N.Y., U.S.—d. Oct. 4, 1943, Old Lyme, Conn.) U.S. economist. He studied at Columbia University and the University of Heidelberg. His career interests focused on labour unrest, agricultural economics, and the problems of rural poverty. He taught at Johns Hopkins University (1881-92) but resigned in the face of harsh opposition to his ideas on academic freedom and the labour movement. He was a founder of the American Economic Associa¬ tion (1885). At the University of Wisconsin (1892-1925), he helped create Wisconsin’s progressive program of social reform legislation.

Elysium \i-'li-zhe-9m, i-'li-ze-3m\ or Elysian Fields Ancient Greek paradise reserved for heroes to whom the gods had granted immortality. Homer described it as a land of perfect happiness at the end of the earth, on the banks of the Oceanus River. From the time of Pindar (c. 500 bc) on, Elysium was imagined as a dwelling place for those who had lived a righteous life.

Elytis \e-'le-,tes\, Odysseus or Odysseas Elytes, orig. Odys¬ seus Alepoudhelis (b. Nov. 2, 1911, Iraklion, Crete—d. March 18, 1996, Athens, Greece) Greek poet. The scion of a prosperous Cretan fam¬ ily, he began publishing verse influenced by French Surrealism in the 1930s. His first two collections reveal his love of the Greek landscape and the Aegean Sea. During World War II he joined the antifascist resis¬ tance and became something of a bard among young Greeks. One of his best-known poems is TheAxion Esti (1959); later works include The Sov¬ ereign Sun (1971) and The Little Mariner (1986). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1979.

Elzevir \'el-za-,vir\ family or Elsevier family Family of Dutch booksellers, publishers, and printers, 15 members of which were in busi¬ ness between 1587 and 1681. Members of the family operated at The Hague, Utrecht, and Amsterdam. They were best known for their books or editions of the Greek New Testament and the classics. Though their work enjoyed an almost legendary reputation for excellence of typogra¬ phy and design, it is now regarded as merely typical of the high quality that prevailed in their day in Holland.

Emain Mac ha Ve-voffi-'va-koX Political center of Ulster during pre- Christian and early Christian times. Now called Navan Fort, it is located near the town of Armagh in Northen Ireland. It was the seat of the semi- historical king Conchobar, a subject of the medieval Irish tales of the Ulster cycle along with Cu Chulainn and other great warriors. St. Patrick established his base near Emain Macha, and it is still the primatial see of both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in Ireland.

Emancipation, Edict of (March 3, 1861) Manifesto issued by Alex¬ ander II that freed the serfs of the Russian Empire. Defeat in the Crimean War, change in public opinion, and the increasing number and violence of peasant revolts had convinced Alexander of the need for reform. The final edict was a compromise and fully satisfied no one, particularly the peasants. It immediately granted personal liberties to the serfs, but the process by which they were to acquire land was slow, complex, and expensive. Though it failed to create an economically viable class of peasant proprietors, its psychological impact was immense.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863) Edict issued by U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln that freed the slaves of the Confederacy. On taking office, Lincoln was concerned with preserving the Union and wanted only to prevent slavery from expanding into the Western territories; but, after the South seceded, there was no political reason to tolerate slavery. In Sep¬ tember 1862 he called on the seceded states to return to the Union or have their slaves declared free. When no state returned, he issued the procla¬ mation on Jan. 1, 1863. The edict had no power in the Confederacy, but it provided moral inspiration for the North and discouraged European countries from supporting the South. It also had the practical effect of permitting recruitment of African Americans for the Union army; by 1865 nearly 180,000 African American soldiers had enlisted. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865, officially abolished sla¬ very in the entire country.

embargo Legal action by a government or group of governments restricting the departure of vessels or movement of goods from some or all locations to one or more countries. A trade embargo is a prohibition on exports to one or more countries. A strategic embargo restricts only the sale of goods that make a direct and specific contribution to a country’s military power; similarly, an oil embargo prohibits only the export of oil. Broad embargoes often allow the export of certain goods (e.g., medicines or foodstuffs) to continue for humanitarian purposes, and most multilat¬ eral embargoes include escape clauses that specify a limited set of con¬ ditions under which exporters may be exempt from their prohibitions. An embargo is a tool of economic warfare that may be employed for a vari¬ ety of political purposes, including demonstrating resolve, sending a political signal, retaliating for another country’s actions, compelling a country to change its behaviour, deterring it from engaging in undesired activities, and weakening its military capability.

Embargo Act ► Emerson I 617

Embargo Act Legislation by the U.S. Congress in December 1807 that closed U.S. ports to all exports and restricted imports from Britain. The act was Pres. Thomas Jefferson’s response to British and French interfer¬ ence with neutral U.S. merchant ships during the Napoleonic Wars. The embargo had little effect in Europe, but it imposed an unpopular restric¬ tion on New England merchants and exporters (see Hartford Convention). Legislation passed in 1809 lifted the embargo, but continued British inter¬ ference with U.S. shipping led to the War of 1812.

Embden Vem-danV, Gustav Georg (b. Nov. 10, 1874, Hamburg, Ger.—d. July 25, 1933, Nassau) German physiological chemist. He taught at the University of Frankfurt am Main from its founding in 1914. He conducted studies on the chemistry of carbohydrate metabolism and muscle contraction and was the first to discover and link all the steps in the conversion of glycogen to lactic acid. His studies focused mainly on chemical processes in living organisms, especially intermediate metabolic processes in liver tissue. By developing a technique to prevent tissue damage, Embden discovered the liver’s important role in metabolism and did preliminary studies that led to the investigation of normal sugar metabolism and of diabetes.

Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway See glycolysis

embezzlement Crime of fraudulently appropriating property entrusted to one’s care and converting it to one’s own use. It occurs when a person gains possession of goods lawfully and then misappropriates them. It thus stands in contrast to larceny, the taking of goods from another without the latter’s consent. The most widely adopted embezzlement statutes cover custodians of public funds. Many laws subject public servants to severe penalties, even if funds are lost through improper administration rather than a clear attempt to steal. See also fraud, theft.

embolism Vem-bs-.li-zsnA Obstruction of blood flow by an embolus— a substance (e.g., a blood clot, a fat globule from a crush injury, or a gas bubble) not normally present in the bloodstream. Obstruction of an artery to the brain may cause stroke. Pulmonary embolism (in the pul¬ monary artery or a branch) causes difficulty breathing, chest pain, and death of a section of lung tissue, with fever and rapid heartbeat. Embo¬ lism in a coronary artery can cause heart attack. See also thrombosis.

embroidery Art of decorating textiles with needle and thread. Among the basic techniques are cross-stitch, crewel work, and quilting. The Per¬ sians and Greeks wore quilted gar¬ ments as armor. The earliest surviving examples of embroidery are Scythian (c. 5th-3rd century bc).

The most notable extant Chinese examples are the imperial silk robes of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911/12).

Islamic embroideries (16th-17 th century) show stylized geometric patterns based on animal and plant shapes. Northern European embroi¬ dery was mostly ecclesiastical until the Renaissance. European skills and conventions prevailed in North America in the 17th—18th century.

The Native Americans embroidered skins and bark with dyed porcupine quills; later the beads they acquired in trade took the place of quills. The indigenous peoples of Central America produced a kind of embroidery with feathers. The Bayeux Tapestry is the most famous surviving piece of needlework.

embryo \'em-bre-,o\ Early stage of development of an organism in the egg or the uterus, during which its essential form and its organs and tis¬ sues develop. In humans, the organism is called an embryo for the first seven or eight weeks after conception, after which it is called a fetus. In mammals, the fertilized egg or zygote undergoes cleavage (cell division without cell growth) to form a hollow ball or blastocyst. During the sec¬ ond week following fertilization, gastrulation (cell differentiation and migration) results in the formation of three tissue types. These three types of tissue develop into different organ systems: the ectoderm develops into the skin and nervous system; the mesoderm develops into connective tis¬ sues, the circulatory system, muscles, and bones; and the endoderm devel¬

ops into the lining of the digestive system, lungs, and urinary system. In humans, by about the fourth week, the head and trunk can be distinguished and the brain, spinal cord, and internal organs begin to develop. By the fifth week, limbs begin to appear and the embryo is about .33 in. (.8 cm) long. By the end of eight weeks, the embryo has grown to about 1 in. (2.5 cm) long and all subsequent change is limited primarily to growth and specialization of existing structures. Any congenital disorders begin in this stage. See also pregnancy.

embryology Study of the formation and development of an embryo and fetus. Before widespread use of the microscope and the advent of cellular biology in the 19th century, embryology was based on descrip¬ tive and comparative studies. From the time of Aristotle it was debated whether the embryo was a preformed, miniature individual or an undif¬ ferentiated form that gradually became specialized. The latter theory was proved in 1827 when Karl Ernst Baer discovered the mammalian ovum (egg). The German anatomist Wilhelm Roux (1850-1924), noted for his pioneering studies on frog eggs (from 1885), became the founder of experimental embryology.

'Emeq Yizre'el See Plain of Esdraelon

emerald Grass-green variety of beryl that is highly valued as a gem¬ stone. Its physical properties are those of beryl. Its refractive and disper¬ sive powers (i.e., its capacity to deflect light and to break white light into its component colours) are not high, so cut stones display little brilliancy or fire (flashes of colour). The colour that gives this gem its value is due to the presence of small amounts of chromium. The most important pro¬ duction of fine quality gem material is from Colombia; emeralds are also mined in Russia, Australia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Synthetic emer¬ alds are identical to natural crystals and may rival them in colour and beauty.

emergence In the theory of evolution, the rise of a system that cannot be predicted or explained from antecedent conditions. The British philosopher of science G.H. Lewes (1817-78) distinguished between resultants and emergents—phenomena that are predictable from their constituent parts (e.g., a physical mixture of sand and talcum powder) and those that are not (e.g., a chemical compound such as salt, which looks nothing like sodium or chlorine). The evolutionary account of life is a continuous history marked by stages at which fundamentally new forms have appeared. Each new mode of life, though grounded in the conditions of the previous stage, is intelligible only in terms of its own ordering principle. These are thus cases of emergence. In the philosophy of mind, the primary candidates for the status of emergent properties are mental states and events.

Emerson, P(eter) H(enry) (b. May 13, 1856, Cuba—d. May 12, 1936, Falmouth, Eng.) English photographer. Trained as a physician, he began using photography in an anthropological study of East Anglia; the images were published in several books. A proponent of photography as a medium of artistic expression, he published a handbook, Naturalistic Photography (1889), in which he outlined his aesthetic system (“natural¬ ism”), emphasizing that photographs should look like photographs rather than paintings. The book was so popular that he became known as one of the world’s leading photographers, and his views influenced much of 20th-century photography.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo (b.

May 25, 1803, Boston, Mass.,

U.S.—d. April 27, 1882, Concord)

U.S. poet, essayist, and lecturer.

Emerson graduated from Harvard University and was ordained a Unitarian minister in 1829. His questioning of traditional doctrine led him to resign the ministry three years later. He formulated his phi¬ losophy in Nature (1836); the book helped initiate New England Tran¬ scendentalism, a movement of which he soon became the leading exponent. In 1834 he moved to Concord, Mass., the home of his friend Henry David Thoreau. His lectures on the proper role of the scholar and the waning of the Christian tradition caused consid-

Detail of an embroidered waistcoat, French, 1800-25; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK CITY, GIFT OF UNITED PIECE DYE WORKS, 1936

Ralph Waldo Emerson, lithograph by Leopold Grozelier, 1859

COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

618 I emery ► emperor

erable controversy. In 1840, with Margaret Fuller, he helped launch The Dial, a journal that provided an outlet for Transcendentalist ideas. He became internationally famous with his Essays (1841, 1844), including “Self-Reliance.” Representative Men (1850) consists of biographies of historical figures. The Conduct of Life (1860), his most mature work, reveals a developed humanism and a full awareness of human limitations. His Poems (1847) and May-Day (1867) established his reputation as a major poet.

emery Granular rock consisting of a mixture of the mineral corundum (aluminum oxide, A1 2 0 3 ) and iron oxides such as magnetite (Fe 3 0 4 ) or hematite (Fe 2 0 3 ). It is a dark, dense substance that looks much like iron ore. Turkey is the world’s major producer. Long used as an abrasive or polishing material, particularly in sandpapers, it has largely been replaced by synthetic materials such as alumina. Its largest application now is as a nonskid material in floors, stair treads, and pavements.

emigre nobility \,a-me-'gra,\ English \'e-mi-,gra\ Members of the French nobility who fled France during the French Revolution. In exile, mainly in England, many emigres plotted against the Revolutionary gov¬ ernment, seeking foreign help to restore the old regime. In response, Revolutionary leaders in France decreed that those emigres who did not return by January 1792 were liable to death as traitors, and their property was confiscated. Napoleon granted the great majority of emigres amnesty in 1802. During the Bourbon Restoration they were an important force in French politics.

Emilia-Romagna Va-'mel-ya-ro-'man-yaX Autonomous region (pop., 2001 prelim.: 3,960,549), northern Italy. It covers an area of 8,542 sq mi (22,123 sq km); its chief city and capital is Bologna. Located on the Adri¬ atic Sea, Emilia-Romagna includes the Po River to the north and the Apen¬ nines to the west and south. It takes its name from the Roman Aemilian Way, built c. 187 bc. The region formerly comprised the duchies of Parma and Modena and papal Romagna. Emilia-Romagna became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861; the present political region was created in 1948. The fertile Emilian Plain in the north makes Emilia-Romagna one of the leading agricultural regions of Italy. It has a large food-processing indus¬ try, and livestock and dairy farming are extensive.

Emin Pasha \e-'men-pa-'sha\, Mehmed orig. Eduard Schnitzer

(b. March 28, 1840, Oppeln, Silesia—d. Oct. 23, 1892, Kanema, Congo Free State) German physician, explorer, and administrator in Egyptian Sudan. Schnitzer adopted a Turkish name while serving as a medical officer and administrator in the Ottoman government. In 1876 he joined with British forces led by Gen. Charles George Gordon at Khartoum. In 1878 he was appointed governor of Equatoria province. During the Mah- dist movement uprising, the Egyptian government abandoned the Sudan (1884), and the isolated Emin was rescued by Henry Morton Stanley in 1888. On an expedition to equatorial Africa, he was killed by Arab slave- traders. Through his scholarly papers and specimen collections, he con¬ tributed vastly to the knowledge of African geography, natural history, ethnology, and languages.

eminent domain Government power to take private property for pub¬ lic use without the owner’s consent. Constitutional provisions in most countries, including the U.S. (in the 5th Amendment to the Constitution), require the payment of just compensation to the owner. As a power pecu¬ liar to sovereign authority and coupled with a duty to pay compensation, the concept was developed by such 17th-century natural-law jurists as Hugo Grotius and Samuel Pufendorf. See also confiscation.

emir \i-'mir\ In the Muslim Middle East, a military commander, gover¬ nor of a province, or high military official. The first leader to call himself emir was the second caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab. The title was used by all his successors until the abolition of the caliphate in 1924. In the 10th cen¬ tury the commander of the caliph’s armies at Baghdad held the title. It was later adopted by the rulers of independent states in central Asia, nota¬ bly Bukhara and Afghanistan. The United Arab Emirates, despite their name, are all ruled by sheikhs.

Emmett, Daniel Decatur (b. Oct. 29, 1815, Mount Vernon, Ohio, U.S.—d. June 28, 1904, Mount Vernon) U.S. showman and songwriter. The son of an Ohio blacksmith, he joined the army at age 17 as a lifer. In 1843 in New York he helped organize the Virginia Minstrels, one of the earliest minstrel-show troupes. He is credited with writing “Dixie” (1859), a minstrel “walk-around” (concluding number) that became the Confed¬

eracy’s unofficial national anthem. His other songs include “Old Dan Tucker” and “Blue-Tail Fly.” He also wrote banjo tunes and music instruc¬ tion manuals.

Emmy award Annual presentation for outstanding achievement in U.S. television. Its name is taken from the nickname “immy” for the image orthicon, a television camera tube. The Emmys are presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, founded in 1946, whose members vote on outstanding programs, actors, directors, and writ¬ ers in such categories as drama, comedy, and variety.

Emory Universify Private university in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. It was chartered as a college in 1836 under Methodist auspices; in 1915 it merged with a school of medicine to become a university. It consists of two undergraduate colleges (one four-year and one two-year), a graduate school of arts and sciences, a division of allied health professions, and schools of law, business, theology, public health, nursing, and medicine. Research facilities include the Carter Presidential Center, the Yerkes Pri¬ mate Center, and a cancer centre.

emotion Affective aspect of consciousness. The emotions are generally understood as representing a synthesis of subjective experience, expres¬ sive behaviour, and neurochemical activity. Most researchers hold that they are part of the human evolutionary legacy and serve adaptive ends by adding to general awareness and the facilitation of social communi¬ cation. Some nonhuman animals are also considered to possess emotions, as first described by Charles Darwin in 1872. An influential early theory of emotion was that proposed independently by William James and Carl Georg Lange (1834-1900), who held that emotion was a perception of internal physiological reactions to external stimuli. Walter B. Cannon questioned this view and directed attention to the thalamus as a possible source of emotional content. Later researchers have focused on the brain¬ stem structure known as the reticular formation, which serves to integrate brain activity and may infuse perceptions or actions with emotional valence. Cognitive psychologists have emphasized the role of comparison, matching, appraisal, memory, and attribution in the forming of emotions. All modern theorists agree that emotions influence what people perceive, learn, and remember, and that they play an important part in personality development. Cross-cultural studies have shown that, whereas many emo¬ tions are universal, their specific content and manner of expression vary considerably.

emotivism In metaethics (see ethics), the view that moral judgments do not function as statements of fact but rather as expressions of the speaker’s or writer’s feelings. According to the emotivist, when we say “You acted wrongly in stealing that money,” we are not expressing any fact beyond that stated by “You stole that money.” It is, however, as if we had stated this fact with a special tone of abhorrence, for in saying that something is wrong, we are expressing our feelings of disapproval toward it. Emotivism was expounded by A. J. Ayer in Language, Truth and Logic (1936) and devel¬ oped by Charles Stevenson in Ethics and Language (1945).

empathy Ability to imagine oneself in another’s place and understand the other’s feelings, desires, ideas, and actions. The empathic actor or singer is one who genuinely feels the part he or she is performing. The spectator of a work of art or the reader of a piece of literature may simi¬ larly become involved in what he or she observes or contemplates. The use of empathy was an important part of the psychological counseling technique developed by Carl R. Rogers.

Empedocles Vem-'ped-o-.klezX (b. c. 490, Acragas, Sicily—d. 430 bc, the Peloponnese) Greek philosopher, statesman, poet, and physiologist. All that remains of his writings are 500 lines from two poems. He held that all matter was composed of four basic ingredients: fire, air, water, and earth. Like Heracleitus, he held that two forces, love and strife, interact to bring together and separate the four substances. Believing in the transmigration of souls, he declared that salvation requires abstention from the flesh of animals, whose souls may once have inhabited human bodies.

emperor Title of the sovereigns of the ancient Roman empire and, by derivation, various later European rulers, also applied to certain non- European monarchs. Caesar Augustus was the first Roman emperor. Byz¬ antine emperors ruled at Constantinople until 1453. Charlemagne became the first of the Western emperors (later Holy Roman emperors) in 800. After Otto I became emperor in 962, only German kings held the title. In other parts of Europe, monarchs who ruled multiple kingdoms (e.g., Alfonso VI, who ruled Leon and Castile) sometimes took the title emperor. Napoleon’s

emphysema ► enclosure movement I 619

assumption of the title, as a putative successor of Charlemagne, was a direct threat to the Habsburg dynasty. Queen Victoria of Britain took the title empress of India. Non-European peoples whose rulers have been called emperor include the Chinese, Japanese, Mughals, Incas, and Aztecs.

emphysema X.em-fo-'ze-mo, .em-fo-'se-moN or pulmonary emphysema Abnormal distension of the lungs with air, usually asso¬ ciated with cigarette smoking and chronic bronchitis. Elastic tissue degen¬ erates, severely interfering with exhalation. Capillary walls disappear, leaving lung tissue dry and pale. The walls of the pulmonary alveoli (see pulmonary alveolus) break down, so the lung fills with pools of air. Symp¬ toms include severe breathlessness, weight loss, bluish skin, chest tight¬ ness, and wheezing. In bullous emphysema, the alveoli form large air cysts that may rupture, causing lung collapse (see atelectasis), or require sur¬ gery. Emphysema is irreversible; it normally continues to progress even after the cessation of smoking and may lead to death. See also pulmonary HEART DISEASE.

Empire State Building Steel-framed 102-story building designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates and completed in New York City in 1931. At a height of 1,250 ft (381 m), it surpassed the Chrysler Building to become the highest structure in the world (until 1954). It is notable for its use of the setback.

Empire Vam-.pir, 'em-.pIiA style Style of furniture and interior decora¬ tion that flourished in France during the First Empire (1804-14). It cor¬ responds to the Regency style in England. Responding to the desire of Napoleon for a style inspired by imperial Rome, the architects Charles Percier (1764-1838) and Pierre Fontaine (1762-1853) decorated his state rooms with Classical styles of furniture and ornamental motifs, supple¬ mented by sphinxes and palm leaves to commemorate his Egyptian cam¬ paigns. The style influenced the arts (Jacques- Louis David in painting, Antonio Canova in sculpture, the Arc de Triomphe in architecture) and fashion and spread quickly throughout Europe.

empiricism Either of two closely related philosophical doctrines, one pertaining to concepts and the other to knowledge. The first doctrine is that most, if not all, concepts are ultimately derived from experience; the second is that most, if not all, knowledge derives from experience, in the sense that appeals to experience are necessarily involved in its justifica¬ tion. Neither doctrine implies the other. Several empiricists have allowed that some knowledge is A priori, or independent of experience, but have denied that any concepts are. On the other hand, few if any empiricists have denied the existence of a priori knowledge while maintaining the existence of a priori concepts. John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume are classical representatives of empiricism. See also Francis Bacon.

employee training or job training or occupational training

Vocational instruction for employed persons, first used commonly in the developed world during World War II. Work-related training is necessary as new techniques, new methods, new tools, new synthetic materials, new sources of power, and increased uses of automation continue to bring extensive changes. The UN and its agencies contribute to training pro¬ grams in developing countries. See also technical education.

Empson, Sir William (b. Sept. 27, 1906, Hawdon, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. April 15, 1984, London) British poet and critic. He studied at Cambridge and later taught in Japan and China. His precocious Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930), which suggests that uncertainty or overlap of meanings in the use of a word can be an enrichment of poetry rather than a fault, had an immense influence on 20th-century criticism; its close examination of poetic texts helped lay the foundation for New Criticism. Later works include Some Versions of Pastoral (1935) and The Structure of Complex Words (1951).

Ems River River, northwestern Germany. It rises on the southern slope of the Teutoburg Forest and flows generally northwest and north through the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony for 230 mi (371 km) to the North Sea. Its mouth is a wide estuary (the Dollart) bordering The Netherlands. Between 1892 and 1899 the river was canalized, con¬ necting it with the Dortmund-Ems Canal and the Ruhr River in order to provide a German water link for the Ruhr industrial district.

Ems Telegram (July 13, 1870) Telegram sent from Ems, Ger., to Otto von Bismarck and subsequently published by him in an edited version designed to offend the French government. The telegram reported an encounter between King William I of Prussia and the French ambassador, in which William politely refused to promise that no member of his fam¬

ily would seek the Spanish throne, which would constitute a threat to France. The version published by Bismarck, which made it seem that the two men had insulted each other, precipitated the Franco-Prussian War.

emu Ve-.myiiX Ratite of Australia. After the ostrich, the emu is the second- largest living bird. They stand more than 5 ft (1.5 m) tall and often weigh more than 100 lbs (45 kg). The com¬ mon emu ( Dromaius novaeholland- iae, family Dromaiidae), the only survivor of several forms extermi¬ nated by settlers, has a stout body and long legs. Both sexes are brown¬ ish, with a dark-gray head and neck.

Emus can run up to 30 mph (50 kph); if cornered, they kick with their large feet. They mate for life and forage in small flocks for fruits and insects but sometimes damage crops. See also CASSOWARY.

emulsion Mixture of two or more liquids in which one is dispersed in the other as microscopic or ultrami- croscopic droplets (see colloid). Emulsions are stabilized by agents (emul¬ sifiers) that (e.g., in the case of soap or detergent molecules) form films at the droplets’ surface or (e.g., in the case of colloidal carbon, bentonite clay, proteins, or carbohydrate polymers) impart mechanical stability. Less- stable emulsions eventually separate spontaneously into two liquid lay¬ ers; more-stable ones can be destroyed by inactivating the emulsifier, by freezing, or by heating. Polymerization reactions are often carried out in emulsions. Many familiar and industrial products are oil-in-water (o/w) or water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions: milk (o/w), butter (w/o), latex paints (o/w), floor and glass waxes (o/w), and many cosmetic and personal-care preparations and medications (either type).

Enabling Act Law passed by the German Reichstag in 1933 that enabled Adolf Hitler to assume dictatorial powers. Deputies from the Nazi Party, the German National People's Party, and the Center Party voted in favor of the act, which “enabled” Hitler’s government to issue decrees independently of the Reichstag and the presidency. It gave Hitler a base from which to carry out the first steps of his National Socialist revolution.

enamelwork Metal objects decorated with an opaque glaze fused to the surface by intense heat. The resulting surface is hard and durable and can be brilliantly colourful. Objects most suitable for enamelwork are delicate, small (e.g., jewelry, snuffboxes, scent bottles, watches), and made of copper, brass, bronze, or gold. The best-known processes are cloisonne and champleve. Enamelwork was produced as early as the 13th century bc, reached its peak in the Byzantine Empire, and flourished throughout medieval and Renaissance Europe. In the early 20th century Carl Faberge produced highly prized objects made of gold, enamel, and jewels. See also Limoges painted enamel.

encephalitis Vin-.se-fs-'lI-tosX Inflammation of the brain, most often due to infection, usually with a virus. One class of encephalitis (including multiple sclerosis) attacks the myelin sheath that insulates nerve fibres rather than the neurons themselves. In most cases, symptoms include fever, headache, lethargy, and coma. Convulsions are most common in infants. Characteristic neurological signs include uncoordinated, involuntary movements and localized weakness. The symptoms and a lumbar punc¬ ture (to obtain cerebrospinal fluid for analysis) may establish the presence but not the cause. Treatment usually aims to relieve the symptoms and ensure quiet rest. Various symptoms may remain after recovery.

Encke's Comet Veq-kozV Faint comet having the shortest orbital period (about 3.3 years) of any known, first observed in 1786. It was the second comet (after Halley's Comet) to have its period determined (1819), by Johann Franz Encke (1791-1865). Encke also found that the comet’s period decreases by about 2Vi hours in each revolution and showed that this effect could not be explained by the planets’ gravitational influence. Its period continues to decrease, though more slowly, and appears to be related to the effects of outgassing.

enclosure movement Division or consolidation of communal lands in Western Europe into the carefully delineated and individually owned farm plots of modern times. Before enclosure, farmland was under the control of individual cultivators only during the growing season; after

Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)

V. SERVENTY-BRUCE COLEMAN INC./EB INC.

620 I encomienda ► endorphin

harvest and before the next growing season, the land was used by the community for the grazing of livestock and other purposes. In England the movement for enclosure began in the 12th century and proceeded rap¬ idly from 1450 to 1640; the process was virtually complete by the end of the 19th century. In the rest of Europe, enclosure made little progress until the 19th century. Common rights over arable land have now been largely eliminated.

encomienda Ven-.ko-me-'en-doX In colonial Spanish America, a sys¬ tem by which the Spanish crown defined the status of the Indian popu¬ lation in its colonies. An encomienda consisted of a grant by the crown of a specified number of Indians living in a particular area. The receiver {encomenderos) could exact tribute from the Indians and was required to protect them and instruct them in the Christian faith. The encomienda did not include a grant of land, but in practice the encomenderos gained con¬ trol of Indian lands. Though the original intent was to reduce the abuses of forced labour, in practice it became a form of enslavement.

encryption, data See data encryption

encyclopaedia Reference work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or that treats a particular branch of knowledge comprehensively. It is self-contained and explains subjects in greater detail than a dictionary. It differs from an almanac in that its information is not dated and not from pedagogical texts in its attempt to be easy to con¬ sult and to be readily understood by the layperson. Though generally writ¬ ten in the form of many separate articles, encyclopaedias vary greatly in format and content. The prototype of modern encyclopaedias is usually acknowledged to be Ephraim Chambers’s Cyclopaedia (1728), and the first modem encyclopaedia was the French Encyclopedie (1751-65). The largest general encyclopaedia in English is the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopaedia Britannica Oldest and largest English-language gen¬ eral encyclopaedia. Its three-volume first edition was published in 1768-71 in Edinburgh, Scot. In subsequent editions it grew in size and reputation. The most famous editions include the ninth (1875-89), known as “the scholar’s encyclopaedia,” and the 11th (1910-11), which, with contributions from more than 1,500 experts of world reputation, was also the first to divide the traditionally lengthy treatises into more particular¬ ized articles. The current edition, the 15th (1974, with a major revision in 1985), embodied a new structure, dividing the major articles from the shorter ones. Encyclopaedia Britannica now also appeal's in CD-ROM and on-line versions. A series of ownership changes led to its purchase by American publishers in 1901; since the 1940s it has been published in Chicago.

Encyclopedie \a n -,se-kl6-pa-'de\ French encyclopedia created in the 18th century by the philosophies; one of the principal works of the Enlight¬ enment. Under the full title Encyclopedie, ou dictionnaire raisonne des sciences, des arts et des metiers (“Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of Sciences, Arts, and Trades”), it was inspired by the success of E. Chambers’s British Cyclopaedia; or An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1728). Under the direction of Denis Diderot and initially aided by Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, 17 volumes were published between 1751 and 1765; other volumes were added later for a total of 35. Though opposed by conservative ecclesiastics and government officials and subjected to censorship, the Encyclopedie attracted articles from many important thinkers of the time, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and Denis Diderot, who were called “Encyclopedists.” In its skepticism, its empha¬ sis on scientific determinism, and its criticism of the abuses perpetrated by contemporary legal, judicial, and clerical institutions, the work had widespread influence as an expression of progressive thought prior to the French Revolution.

endangered species Any species of plant or animal threatened with extinction. International and national agencies work to maintain lists of endangered species, to protect and preserve natural habitats, and to pro¬ mote programs for recovery and reestablishment of these species. The Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conserva¬ tion of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) publishes information online about endangered species worldwide as the Red List of Threatened Species. Separate books for animal and plant species are also published. In the United States, the Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the conservation and management of fish and wildlife, including endangered species, and their habitats. Its list now consists of about 1,200 domestic species of endangered or threatened animals and plants, and some 200 recovery programs are in effect.

endive Yen-.dlv, ,an-'dev\ Edible annual leafy plant ( Cichorium endi- via) of the composite family. It is variously believed to have originated in Egypt and Indonesia, and it has been cultivated in Europe since the 16th century. The many kinds of endive form two groups: the curly or narrow¬ leaved endive (C. endivia, variety crispa ) and the Batavian, or broad¬ leaved, endive (C. endivia , variety latifolia ), which is also called escarole. The former is used mostly for salads, the latter for cooking.

endocarditis N.en-do-kar-'dI-tosN Inflammation of the heart lining (endocardium), in association with a noninfectious disease (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus) or caused by infection, usually at the heart valves. Severe bacterial infection causes an acute form with fever, sweating, chills, joint pain and swelling, and embolisms. Subacute endocarditis usu¬ ally comes from bacteria that do not ordinarily cause disease. Bacterial endocarditis is usually treated with long-term antibiotics. In nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis, blood clots form along heart valve edges.

endocrine Ven-do-kronN system Group of ductless glands that secrete hormones necessary for normal growth and development, reproduction, and homeostasis. The major endocrine glands are the hypothalamus, pitu¬ itary, PINEAL, THYROID, PARATHYROIDS, ADRENALS, islets of LANGERHANS in the PAN¬ CREAS, ovaries, and testes. Secretion is regulated either by regulators in a gland that detect high or low levels of a chemical and inhibit or stimu¬ late secretion or by a complex mechanism involving the hypothalamus and the pituitary. Tumours that produce hormones can throw off this bal¬ ance. Diseases of the endocrine system result from over- or underproduc¬ tion of a hormone or an abnormal response to a hormone. See illustration opposite on following page.

endocrinology Yen-do-kri-'nal-o-jeX Medical discipline dealing with regulation of body functions by hormones and other biochemicals and treatment of endocrine system imbalances. In 1841 Friedrich Gustav Henle first recognized “ductless glands,” which secrete products directly into the bloodstream. The field was essentially established in the early 20th cen¬ tury, when Ernest H. Starling, who introduced the term hormone , proposed that chemical and nervous regulation of physiological processes were linked. Endocrine therapy is based on replacing deficient hormones with purified extracts. Nuclear technology has led to new treatments; use of radioactive iodine for hyperthyroidism greatly reduced the need for thy¬ roid gland surgery. The detection of minute amounts of hormone with radioimmunoassays (see radiology) permits early diagnosis and treatment of endocrine disorders.

endogamy See exogamy and endogamy

endometriosis V.en-do-.me-tre-'o-sosV Disorder of the female repro¬ ductive system in which endometrium (uterine lining) grows in an abnor¬ mal location because some endometrial fragments traverse the fallopian tubes into the abdominal cavity and become embedded on structures there, usually the ovaries, rather than exiting the uterus via the vagina (during menstruation). Symptoms include pain on menstruation, sexual inter¬ course, defecation, and/or urination; heavy menstrual flow; blood in the urine; and infertility. Diagnosis is best made by laparoscopy. Treatment includes surgery and hormones to suppress ovulation for six to nine months.

endoplasmic reticulum Yen-do-'plaz-mik-ro-'tik-yo-bmX (ER) Membrane system within the cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell (see eukary¬ ote), important in the synthesis of proteins and lipids. The ER usually makes up more than half the membrane of the cell and is continuous with the outer membrane of the nuclear envelope (see nucleus). There are two distinct regions of ER: the rough ER, or RER (so called because of the protein-synthesizing ribosomes attached to it), and the smooth ER (SER), which is not associated with ribosomes and is involved in the synthesis of lipids and the detoxification of some toxic chemicals.

endorphin \en-'dor-f3n\ Any of a group of proteins occurring in the brain and having pain-relieving properties typical of opium and related opiates. Discovered in the 1970s, they include enkephalin, beta- endorphin, and dynorphin. Each is distributed in characteristic patterns throughout the nervous system. Endorphins are released in response to pain or sustained exertion (causing, e.g., the “runner’s high”). They are also believed to have a role in appetite control, release of pituitary sex hor¬ mones, and shock. There is strong evidence that they are connected with “pleasure centres” in the brain, and they seem to be activated by acupunc¬ ture. Knowledge of their behaviour has implications for treating addic¬ tions and chronic pain.

endoscopy ► Engels I 621

hypothalamus - pineal gland pituitary gland

-thyroid gland

parathyroid glands (behind thyroid)

adrenal glands

-islets of

Langerhans (in pancreas)

ovary (in female)

testis (in male)

Major glands of the human endocrine system. The hypothalamus stimulates the pitu¬ itary gland and influences food intake, weight regulation, fluid intake and balance, thirst, body heat, and the sleep cycle. Pituitary hormones stimulate growth, egg and sperm development, milk secretion, and release of hormones by other glands. The pineal gland may play a significant role in sexual maturation and the circadian rhythm. Thyroid hormones regulate the metabolic rate of tissues, stimulate the con¬ traction of heart muscle, and are necessary for normal growth and brain develop¬ ment before birth and during infancy. Parathyroid hormone regulates calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium levels. The adrenal glands regulate salt and water retention, some reactions of the immune system, and blood pressure. The islets of Langerhans regulate blood sugar levels. The ovaries and testes produce hormones that regulate the reproductive system and that produce male and female secondary sex characteristics.

endoscopy \en-'das-ko-pe\ Examination of the body’s interior through an instrument inserted into a natural opening or an incision, usually as an outpatient procedure. Endoscopes include the upper gastrointestinal endo¬ scope (for the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum), the colonoscope (for the colon), and the bronchoscope (for the bronchial tubes). With fibre optics, much more maneuverable instruments can reach formerly inaccessible sites, while causing much less discomfort. Attachments can take tissue samples, excise polyps and small tumours, and remove foreign objects.

endotherm So-called warm-blooded animals; that is, those that main¬ tain a constant body temperature independent of the environment. The endotherms include the birds and mammals. If heat loss exceeds heat gen¬ eration, metabolism increases to make up the loss or the animal shivers to raise its body temperature. If heat generation exceeds the heat loss, mechanisms such as panting or perspiring increase heat loss. Unlike ecto- therms, endotherms can be active and survive at quite low external tem¬ peratures, but because they must produce heat continuously, they require high quantities of “fuel” (i.e., food).

Energia also called RKK Energia formerly OKB-1 Russian aero¬ space company that is a major producer of spacecraft, rockets, and mis¬ siles. Energia originated in 1946 as a department within a Soviet institute

conducting work on long-range missiles. Ten years later, under Sergey Korolyov, it became the independent design bureau OKB-1. In the 1950s it developed the R-7 (SS-6), the world’s first inter-continental ballistic missile; a modified R-7 placed the first artificial satellite into orbit (see Sputnik). OKB-1 was responsible for the U.S.S.R.’s commanding early lead in the “space race,” although it failed in its secret project to beat the U.S. to a manned Moon landing. In 1974 the conglomerate NPO Energia was created with OKB-1 at its center. A main focus for the company was the development and operation of space stations (see Salyut, Mir). In the early 1990s Energia became the main contractor for the Russian portion of the International Space Station (it provided the station’s Zvezda habi¬ tat and control module), but its role was later reduced. In 1994 it was renamed RKK Energia and partially privatized. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Energia partnered with multinational satellite launching services, to which it provided its Block DM upper stage for boosting payloads to geostationary orbit.

energy Capacity for doing work. Energy exists in various forms— including kinetic, potential, thermal, chemical, electrical (see electricity), and nuclear —and can be converted from one form to another. For example, fuel-burning heat engines convert chemical energy to thermal energy; batteries convert chemical energy to electrical energy. Though energy may be converted from one form to another, it may not be created or destroyed; that is, total energy in a closed system remains constant. All forms of energy are associated with motion. A rolling ball has kinetic energy, for instance, whereas a ball lifted above the ground has potential energy, as it has the potential to move if released. Heat and work involve the trans¬ fer of energy; heat transferred may become thermal energy. See also acti¬ vation ENERGY, BINDING ENERGY, IONIZATION ENERGY, MECHANICAL ENERGY, SOLAR ENERGY, ZERO-POINT ENERGY.

energy, conservation of Principle of physics according to which the energy of interacting bodies or particles in a closed system remains constant, though it may take different forms (e.g., kinetic energy, potential energy, thermal energy, energy in an electric current, or energy stored in an electric field, in a magnetic field, or in chemical bonds [see bonding]). With the advent of relativity physics in 1905, mass was recognized as equiva¬ lent to energy. When accounting for a system of high-speed particles whose mass increases as a consequence of their speed, the laws of con¬ servation of energy and conservation of mass become one conservation law. See also Hermann von Helmholtz.

energy, equipartition of Law of statistical mechanics stating that, in a system in thermal equilibrium, on average, an equal amount of energy is associated with each independent energy state. It states specifically that a system of particles in equilibrium at absolute temperature T will have an average energy of VikT, where k is the Boltzmann constant, associated with each degree of freedom. For example, an atom of a gas has three degrees of freedom (its three position coordinates); therefore, it will have an average total energy of VikT.

Engelbart, Douglas (b. Jan. 30, 1925, near Portland, Ore., U.S.) U.S. computer scientist. He received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. In the 1960s he set up the Augmen¬ tation Research Center at the Stanford Research Institute in Utah. He invented hypertext, the multiwindow display, the mouse, and groupware. His demonstration of these capabilities in San Francisco in 1968 started the process of development that led to the Microsoft Windows operating system. Engelbart’s group at SRI was one of the original four members of the ARPANET, precursor of the Internet. After his retirement, he led the Bootstrap Institute, researching ways to support cooperative work by computers. In 1997 he received the Turing Award.

Engels Yeq-alsX, Friedrich (b. Nov. 28, 1820, Barmen, Rhine Prov¬ ince, Prussia—d. Aug. 5, 1895, London, Eng.) German socialist philoso¬ pher. Son of a factory owner, he eventually became a successful businessman himself, never allowing his criticism of capitalism to inter¬ fere with the profitable operations of his firm. As a young man, he devel¬ oped an interest in the philosophy of G.W.F. Hegel as expounded by the Young Hegelians, and he became persuaded that the logical consequence of Hegelianism and dialectic was communism. In 1844 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England. With Karl Marx, whom he met in Cologne, he formed a permanent partnership to promote the social¬ ist movement. After persuading the second Communist Congress to adopt their views, the two men were authorized to draft the Communist Mani¬ festo (1848). After Marx’s death (1883), Engels served as the foremost

622 i engine ► English language

authority on Marx and Marxism. Aside from his own books, he completed volumes 2 and 3 of Das Kapital on the basis of Marx’s uncompleted manuscripts and rough notes.

engine Machine that can convert any of various forms of energy into mechanical power or motion. The steam engines developed during the Indus¬ trial Revolution to power stationary machinery were modified in the 19th century to propel locomotives and ships, and were joined later by steam turbines. Internal-combustion engines were developed by Nikoiaus Otto and Rudolf Diesel in the late 19th century. Gas turbines and rocket engines came into use in the later 20th century. See also diesel engine, gasoline ENGINE, JET ENGINE, ROCKET, and ROTARY ENGINE.

engineering Professional art of applying science to the optimum con¬ version of the resources of nature to the uses of humankind. Engineering is based principally on physics, chemistry, and mathematics and their extensions into materials science, solid and fluid mechanics, thermodynam¬ ics, transfer and rate processes, and systems analysis. A great body of spe¬ cial knowledge is associated with engineering; preparation for professional practice involves extensive training in the application of that knowledge. Engineers employ two types of natural resources, materials and energy. Materials acquire uses that reflect their properties: their strength, ease of fabrication, lightness, or durability; their ability to insu¬ late or conduct; and their chemical, electrical, or acoustical properties. Important sources of energy include fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, gas), wind, sunlight, falling water, and nuclear fission. See also aerospace engi¬ neering, CIVIL ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING. GENETIC ENGINEERING, MECHANI¬ CAL ENGINEERING, MILITARY ENGINEERING.

engineering geology or geological engineering Scientific discipline concerned with the application of geologic knowledge to engi¬ neering problems such as reservoir design and location, determination of slope stability for construction purposes, and determination of earthquake, flood, or subsidence danger in areas considered for roads, pipelines, bridges, dams, or other engineering works.

England Southern part of the island of Great Britain, excluding Wales. Area: 50,351 sq mi (130,410 sq km). Population (2001): 49,138,831. It is the largest constituent unit of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England is often erroneously considered synonymous with the island of Great Britain and even with the entire kingdom. Despite the political, economic, and cultural legacy that has perpetuated its name, however, England no longer officially exists as a country and enjoys no separate political status within the United Kingdom. It is a land of low hills and plateaus, with a 2,000-mi (3,200-km) coastline. A substantial upland, the Pennines, divides northern England; the Cheviot Hills define the Scottish border. In the southwest lie the Cotswold Hills and the pla¬ teau regions of Exmoor and Dartmoor; in the southeast lie the Downs and in the south the Salisbury Plain. English weather is diverse, with a gen¬ erally mild but erratic maritime climate. England is divided into eight geographic regions, often referred to as the standard regions of England; they do not serve any administrative function. The South East, centred on London, is an economically dominant area. It contains an extensive range of manufacturing and science-based industries and commercial endeav¬ ours. The West Midlands, in west-central England, is a diversified manu¬ facturing region that centres on Birmingham. The region also includes the Shakespeare country, centred on Stratford-upon-Avon. The East Mid¬ lands, in east-central England, is also a manufacturing region and con¬ tains some of England’s best farmland. East Anglia is the easternmost part of England. It is mainly an agricultural region, but high-technology indus¬ tries have developed there. Manchester and Liverpool are the chief indus¬ trial cities of the North West; the region has long been known for textile production, but that has rapidly given way to diversified manufacturing. The Humberside region lies to the east and is noted for textiles and steel¬ making, though its economy has become more diversified and there is extensive farmland. The North region extends north to the Scottish bor¬ der. It includes the celebrated Lake District and is a centre of engineering and pharmaceutical manufacture. The South West region, which includes Cornwall, has a growing tourist industry, and some areas are becoming industrialized. England is especially noted for its long and rich literary tradition, as well as for its architecture, painting, theatres, museums, and universities (see University of Oxford; University of Cambridge). It also played an integral role in rock music (see British Invasion).

England, Church of English national church and the mother church of the Anglican Communion. Christianity was brought to England in the

2nd century, and though nearly destroyed by the Anglo-Saxon invasions, it was reestablished after the mission of St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. Medieval conflicts between church and state culminated in Henry VIII ’s break with Roman Catholicism in the Reformation. When the pope refused to annul Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the king issued the Act of Supremacy (1534), which declared the English monarch to be head of the Church of England. Under Henry’s successor, Edward VI, more Protestant reforms were instituted. After a five-year Catholic reaction under Mary I, Elizabeth I ascended the throne (1558), and the Church of England was reestablished. The Book of Common Prayer (1549) and the Thirty-nine Articles (1571) became the standards for liturgy and doctrine. The rise of Puritanism in the 17th century led to the English Civil Wars; during the Commonwealth the Church of England was suppressed, but it was reestablished in 1660. The evangelical movement in the 18th century emphasized the church’s Protestant heritage, while the Oxford movement in the 19th century emphasized its Roman Catholic heritage. The Church of England has maintained an episcopal form of government, and its leader is the archbishop of Canterbury. In 1992 the church voted to ordain women as priests. In the U.S., the Protestant Episcopal Church is descended from and remains associated with the Church of England.

Engle, Robert F. (b. November 1942, Syracuse, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. economist. After graduating from Cornell University (M.S., 1966; Ph.D., 1969), Engle taught at such universities as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at San Diego and held asso¬ ciate editorships on several academic journals. In the 1970s and ’80s he developed improved mathematical techniques for the evaluation and more-accurate forecasting of risk, which enabled researchers to test if and how volatility in one period was related to volatility in another period. His work had particular relevance in financial market analysis and enabled economists to make more-accurate forecasts. In 2003 he shared the Nobel Prize for Economics with Clive WJ. Granger.

English Channel or the Channel French La Manche \la-'maush\ ("The Sleeve") Strait between southern England and northern France. It connects the Atlantic Ocean with the North Sea through the Strait of Dover. The French name, La Manche (“The Sleeve”), is a reference to its shape, which gradually narrows from about 112 mi (180 km) in the west to only 21 mi (34 km) in the east, between Dover, Eng., and Calais, France. Historically both a route for and a barrier to invaders of Britain, it devel¬ oped into one of the world’s busiest sea routes for oil tankers and ore carriers. The Channel Tunnel, completed in 1994, provides a land route between Paris and London.

English Civil Wars (1642-51) Armed conflict in the British Isles between Parliamentarians and supporters of the monarchy (Royalists). Tension between Charles I and the House of Commons had been building for some time, and after his unsuccessful attempt to arrest five members of Parliament, both sides prepared for war. The first phase of the wars (1642-46) was initially characterized by inconclusive encounters, but vic¬ tories by Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell at the Battles of Marston Moor and Naseby turned the tide. In 1646 the Royalist forces were disbanded. In 1647 Charles I negotiated with a Scottish group for assistance, starting the second phase of the wars, a series of Royalist rebellions, and a Scottish invasion. All were defeated, and Charles I was executed in 1649. The fighting continued, and Royalist forces under Charles II invaded England in 1651. Parliamentary forces defeated the Royalists at Worcester in 1651 and Charles II fled abroad, effectively end¬ ing the civil wars. The wars’ political consequence was the establishment of the Commonwealth and Protectorate. See also New Model Army, Sol¬ emn League and Covenant.

English East India Co. See East India Co.

English horn Orchestral woodwind instrument, a large oboe pitched a 5th below the ordinary oboe. It has a bent metal crook, to hold the double reed, and a bulbous bell. It is a transposing instrument (its music written in a different tone than it actually sounds) in F. It is neither English nor a horn; in its original name, cor anglais, cor (“horn”) referred to its origi¬ nal hornlike curved shape, but the source of anglais (“English”) is a mys¬ tery. It has remained a basically orchestral instrument since its first appearance c. 1750.

English language Language belonging to the Germanic languages branch of the Indo-European language family, widely spoken on six conti¬ nents. The primary language of the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, Ire¬ land, New Zealand, and various Caribbean and Pacific island nations, it is

English school ► enstatite I 623

also an official language of India, the Philippines, and many sub-Saharan African countries. It is the second most widely spoken native language in the world, the mother tongue of more than 350 million people, the most widely taught foreign language, and the international language of science and business. English relies mainly on word order (usually subject-verb- object) to indicate relationships between words (see syntax). Written in the Latin alphabet, it is most closely related to Frisian, German, and Dutch. Its history began with the migration of the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons from Germany and Denmark to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought many French words into English. Greek and Latin words began to enter it in the 15th century, and Modern English is usually dated from 1500. English easily borrows words from other lan¬ guages and has coined many new words to reflect advances in technology.

English school Dominant school in painting in England from the 18th century to c. 1850. From 1730 to 1750 two distinctive British forms of painting were perfected by William Hogarth: genre scenes depicting the “modem moral subject,” and the small-scale group portrait, or “conver¬ sation piece.” Full-scale portraiture was popularized by Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough; the landscape tradition was founded by Rich¬ ard Wilson; and historical painting was practiced by two American-born painters, Benjamin West and John Singleton Copley. The flowering of English Romantic art was embodied in the landscapes of J.M.W. Turner and John Constable. The art of the period rivaled continental art in qual¬ ity and had great influence on European painting.

The Countess's Morning Levee, oil painting, part of the Marriage a la Mode series by William Hogarth, 1743-45; in the National Gallery, London.

TRUSTEES OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

English sparrow See house sparrow

engraving Any of various processes of cutting a design into a plate or block of metal or wood. The cutting is done by a graver, or burin, on a cop¬ per, zinc, aluminum, or magnesium plate, and the design is printed with a roller press from ink rubbed into the incised grooves. Wood engraving derives from the woodcut, but the use of the hard, smooth boxwood, cut with the burin commonly used by the copper-plate engraver, produces a finer, more detailed image. By contrast with engraving from metal plates, the printing of wood engravings is done from the surface of the plate or block; the parts that are not to be printed are cut away. See also etching.

ENIAC Ve-ne-.ak, 'en-e-,ak\ in full Electronic Numerical Integra¬ tor and Computer Early electronic digital computer built in the U.S. in 1945 by J. Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly. The massive ENIAC, which weighed 30 tons and filled an entire room, used some 18,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, and 10,000 capacitors. In December 1945 it solved its first problem, calculations for the hydrogen bomb. After its official unveiling in 1946, it was used to prepare artillery-shell trajectory tables and perform other military and scientific calculations.

Enigma Device used by the German military to encode strategic mes¬ sages before and during World War II. The Enigma code was first broken

by the Poles in the early 1930s, so that German messages were eventu¬ ally intercepted and deciphered by Allied code-breakers during the war. (See also Ultra.)

Enkidu \'en-ke-,du\ Friend and companion of the Mesopotamian hero Gilgamesh. In the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu is a wild man cre¬ ated by the god Anu. After Gilgamesh defeats him, the two become friends (in some versions Enkidu becomes Gilgamesh’s servant). He aids Gil¬ gamesh in killing the divine bull sent by the goddess Ishtar to destroy them. The gods then kill Enkidu in revenge, prompting Gilgamesh to search for immortality.

Enlightenment European intellectual movement of the 17th—18th cen¬ tury in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and man were blended into a worldview that inspired revolutionary developments in art, philoso¬ phy, and politics. Central to Enlightenment thought were the use and cel¬ ebration of reason. For Enlightenment thinkers, received authority, whether in science or religion, was to be subject to the investigation of unfettered minds. In the sciences and mathematics, the logics of induc¬ tion and deduction made possible the creation of a sweeping new cos¬ mology. The search for a rational religion led to Deism; the more radical products of the application of reason to religion were skepticism, atheism, and materialism. The Enlightenment produced modern secularized theo¬ ries of psychology and ethics by men such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, and it also gave rise to radical political theories. Locke, Jeremy Bentham, J.-J. Rousseau, Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Thomas Jefferson all contributed to an evolving critique of the authoritarian state and to sketch¬ ing the outline of a higher form of social organization based on natural rights. One of the Enlightenment’s enduring legacies is the belief that human history is a record of general progress.

Ennin Ven-,nen\ (b. 794, Tsuga district, Shimotsuke province, Japan—d. Feb. 24, 864, Japan) Japanese Buddhist who founded the Sammon branch of the Tendai (Tiantai) sect. Educated in the Enryaku-ji monastery near Kyoto, he was a disciple of Saicho. He spent nine years studying Buddhism in China, returning home in ad 847 with 559 volumes of Chinese Bud¬ dhist texts and a system of musical notation for religious chants that is still used in Japan. He introduced to Japanese Buddhism the practice of chanting the name of Amida ( Amitabha) as a route to rebirth in Amida’s paradise. He also established Tendai esotericism. He became chief priest of his order in 854, and his teachings were influential in Japanese Bud¬ dhism for centuries.

Enniskillen X.e-ni-'ski-bnX or Inniskilling Town (pop., 1995 est.: 11,000), seat of Fermanagh district, southwestern Northern Ireland. Situ¬ ated on an island in the River Erne, it was a strategic crossing point of Lough Erne. Incorporated by English King James I, Enniskillen defeated a force sent by James II in 1689 and gained a reputation as a Protestant stronghold. Long a garrison town, it gave its name to the Royal Inniskil¬ ling Fusiliers and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, both famous regiments of the British army. The town is an agricultural market.

Ennius Ve-ne-ssX, Quintus (b. 239, Rudiae, southern Italy—d. 169 bc) Roman poet, dramatist, and satirist. The most influential of the early Latin poets, he is considered the founder of Roman literature. His epic Annales , a narrative poem telling the story of Rome from the wanderings of Aeneas to the poet’s own day, was the national epic until it was eclipsed by Vir¬ gil’s Aeneid. He excelled in tragedy, adapting 19 plays from the Greek, of which only about 420 lines survive.

ensilage See silage

Ensor Ven-s6r\, Janies (Sidney), Baron (b. April 13, 1860, Ostend, Belg.—d. Nov. 19, 1949, Ostend) Belgian painter and printmaker. Trained in Brussels, he spent most of his life in his native Ostend. In 1883 he joined a group known as Les Vingt (“The Twenty”) and began depicting skeletons, phantoms, masks, and other images of grotesque fantasy as social commentary. His work from this period has often been described as Symbolist. His Entry of Christ into Brussels (1888), painted in smeared, garish colours, provoked outrage. Continuing negative criticism plunged him ever deeper into cynicism until he finally became a recluse. The exhi¬ bition of Entry of Christ in 1929 led to his being ennobled by King Albert of Belgium. He was one of the formative influences on Expressionism.

enstatite Venz-t9-,tlt\ Common silicate mineral in the pyroxene family. It is the stable form of magnesium silicate (MgSi0 3 , often with up to 10%

624 I entablature ► enzyme

iron) in magnesium- and iron-rich igneous rock types. Enstatite crystal¬ lizes in the orthorhombic system (three unequal axes at right angles to each other).

entablature Assemblage of horizontal moldings and bands supported by the columns of Classical buildings. The entablature is usually divided into three main sections: the lowest band, or architrave, which originally took the form of a beam running from support to support; the central band, or frieze, consisting of an unmolded strip with or without ornament; and the top band, or cornice, constructed from a series of moldings that project from the edge of the frieze. Most entablatures correspond to or are derived from the Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian order.

entamoeba V.en-to-'me-boX Any protozoan of the genus Entamoeba. Most are parasites in the intestines of vertebrates, including humans. E. histolytica causes human amebic dysentery. Infection of the large intes¬ tine with E. histolytica often causes no symptoms; however, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever may result from invasion and ulceration of intestinal walls. In the worst cases, the liver, lungs, brain, and spleen may be affected. Cysts of E. histolytica are transmitted through food and water, often by fly and cockroach droppings. E. gingivalis, found especially in unhealthy mouths, has not been shown to cause disease.

entasis \'en-td-S9s\ Convex curve given to a column, spire, or similar upright member to avoid the optical illusion of hollowness or weakness that would arise from normal tapering. Exaggerated in Greek work of the Doric order, it grew more and more subtle in the 5th-4th century bc. Entasis is also occasionally found in Gothic spires and in smaller Romanesque columns.

Entebbe \en-'te-be\ raid (July 3—4, 1976) Israeli rescue of 103 hos¬ tages from a French airliner hijacked by members of the Palestine Libera¬ tion Organization. The plane, en route from Israel to France, was hijacked on June 27 and flown to Entebbe, Ugan. There the hijackers released 258 non-Israeli passengers and held the rest, demanding that Israel release 53 imprisoned PLO members. In response, Israel airlifted to Uganda 100- 200 soldiers in cargo planes escorted by fighter planes; in a brilliantly executed raid, seven hijackers, one soldier, and three hostages were killed.

Entente, Little See Little Entente

Entente Cordiale \a n -'ta n t-k6rd-'yal\ French "Cordial Under¬ standing" (April 8, 1904) Anglo-French agreement that settled numer¬ ous colonial disputes and ended antagonisms between Britain and France. It granted freedom of action to Britain in Egypt and to France in Morocco and resolved several other imperial disputes. The agreement reduced the virtual isolation of each country and was consequently upsetting to Ger¬ many, which had benefited from their antagonism. The Entente paved the way for Anglo-French diplomatic cooperation against Germany before World War I and for later military alliances.

enthalpy Ven-thol-peV Sum of the internal energy E and the product of the pressure P and volume V of a thermodynamic system (see thermody¬ namics). So, enthalpy H = E + PV. Its value is determined by the tem¬ perature, pressure, and composition of the system at any given time. According to the law of conservation of energy (see conservation law), the change in internal energy is equal to the heat transferred to the sys¬ tem minus the work done by the system. If the only work done is a change of volume at constant pressure, the enthalpy change is exactly equal to the heat transferred to the system.

entomology Branch of zoology dealing with the scientific study of INSECTS, including their taxonomy, morphology, physiology, and ecology. Applied aspects of entomology, such as the harmful and beneficial impact of insects on humans, are also studied.

entropy \'en-tro-pe\ Measure of a system’s energy that is unavailable for work, or of the degree of a system’s disorder. When heat is added to a system held at constant temperature, the change in entropy is related to the change in energy, the pressure, the temperature, and the change in vol¬ ume. Its magnitude varies from zero to the total amount of energy in a system. The concept, first proposed in 1850 by the German physicist Rudolf Clausius (1822-1888), is sometimes presented as the second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy increases during irreversible processes such as spontaneous mixing of hot and cold gases, uncontrolled expansion of a gas into a vacuum, and combustion of fuel. In popular, nontechnical use, entropy is regarded as a measure of the chaos or ran¬ domness of a system.

enuresis \,en-yu-'re-s3s\ Repeated urination into bedding or clothing, usually at night, in a normal child old enough to have completed toilet training. Enuresis may be voluntary or involuntary. It may run in fami¬ lies. Stressful life events, poor toilet training, and chronic social disad¬ vantage increase its likelihood. It usually resolves with time. Treatment includes family education, reassurance, and behaviour therapy. An alarm to wake the child when urination begins has proved highly effective but takes time to achieve complete success. Drug treatment, though not the treatment of choice, is sometimes effective.

Enver Pasha \en-'ver-pa-'sha\ (b. Nov. 22, 1881, Constantinople, Otto¬ man Empire—d. Aug. 4, 1922, Baldzhuan, Turkistan) Soldier and poli¬ tician in the Ottoman Empire. He was one of the Young Turks who deposed the Ottoman sultan Abdulhamid II in 1908. He later served as governor of BanghazI, Libya (1912), chief of staff of the Ottoman army in the Sec¬ ond Balkan War (1913), and minister of war during World War I (1914— 18). A rival of Mustafa Kemal AtatOrk in the postwar period, he unsuccessfully sought Soviet help to overthrow him (1920). The Soviets permitted him to help organize the Turkic and Muslim Central Asian republics, but he joined Basmachi rebels against the Soviet Union and was killed fighting the Red Army.

environmental geology Scientific field concerned with applying the findings of geologic research to the problems of land use and civil engi¬ neering. It is closely allied with urban geology and deals with the impact of human activities on the physical environment. Other important con¬ cerns of environmental geology include reclaiming mined lands; identi¬ fying geologically stable sites for constructing buildings, nuclear power plants, and other facilities; and locating sources of building materials, such as sand and gravel.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) U.S. government agency that sets and enforces national pollution-control standards. It was established by Pres. Richard Nixon (1970) to supersede a welter of con¬ fusing and ineffective state environmental laws. Its early accomplishments include banning the use of DDT (1972), setting deadlines for the removal of lead from gasoline (1973), establishing health standards for drinking water (1974), and monitoring fuel efficiency in automobiles (1975). The EPA’s enforcement was in large part responsible for a decline of one- third to one-half in most air-pollution emissions in the U.S. from 1970 to 1990, and during the 1980s the pollution standards index improved by half in major cities; water quality and waste disposal also improved sig¬ nificantly. The EPA also oversees the cleanup of abandoned waste sites through Superfund. Its existence has resulted in heightened awareness and concern for the environment worldwide.

environmental sculpture Art form, developed in the 20th century, that involves or encompasses the spectator. The environmental sculptor can use any medium, from mud and stone to light and sound. Indoor envi¬ ronmental works often incorporate sculptural figures in detailed settings in gallery or museum spaces. Outdoor works in natural or urban settings include “earthworks” (large-scale alterations of the Earth’s surface effected by earth-moving equipment) such as Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1970), a rock-and-dirt spiral 1,500 feet long in the Great Salt Lake. The wrapped buildings of Christo are notable urban environmental works.

environmentalism Advocacy of the preservation or improvement of the natural environment, especially the social and political movement to control environmental pollution. Other specific goals of environmental¬ ism include control of human population growth, conservation of natural resources, restriction of the negative effects of modem technology, and the adoption of environmentally benign forms of political and economic organization. Environmental advocacy at the international level by non¬ governmental organizations and some states has resulted in treaties, con¬ ventions, and other instruments of environmental law addressing problems such as global warming, the depletion of the ozone layer, and the danger of transboundary pollution from nuclear accidents. Influential U.S. and British environmentalists have included Thomas Robert Malthus, John Muir, Rachel Carson, Barry Commoner, Paul R. Ehrlich, and Edward O. Wilson. In the social sciences, the term refers to any theory that empha¬ sizes the importance of environmental factors in the development of cul¬ ture and society.

enzyme Substance that acts as a catalyst in living organisms, regulat¬ ing the rate at which life’s chemical reactions proceed without being altered in the process. Enzymes reduce the activation energy needed to start these reactions; without them, most such reactions would not take place at a

Eocene ► Epicureanism I 625

useful rate. Because enzymes are not consumed, only tiny amounts of them are needed. Enzymes catalyze all aspects of cell metabolism, includ¬ ing the digestion of food, in which large nutrient molecules (including proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) are broken down into smaller molecules; the conservation and transformation of chemical energy; and the con¬ struction of cellular materials and components. Almost all enzymes are proteins; many depend on a nonprotein cofactor, either a loosely associ¬ ated organic compound (e.g., a vitamin; see coenzyme) or a tightly bound metal ion (e.g., iron, zinc) or organic (often metal-containing) group. The enzyme-cofactor combination provides an active configuration, usually including an active site into which the substance (substrate) involved in the reaction can fit. Many enzymes are specific to one substrate. If a com¬ peting molecule blocks the active site or changes its shape, the enzyme’s activity is inhibited. If the enzyme’s configuration is destroyed (see dena- turation), its activity is lost. Enzymes are classified by the type of reac¬ tion they catalyze: (1) oxidation-reduction, (2) transfer of a chemical group, (3) hydrolysis, (4) removal or addition of a chemical group, (5) isomerization (see isomer; isomerism), and (6) binding together of substrate units (polymerization). Most enzyme names end in -ase. Enzymes are chiral catalysts, producing mostly or only one of the possible stereoisomeric products (see optical activity). The fermentation of wine, leavening of bread, curdling of milk into cheese, and brewing of beer are all enzymatic reactions. The uses of enzymes in medicine include killing disease- causing microorganisms, promoting wound healing, and diagnosing cer¬ tain diseases.

Eocene \'e-9-,sen\ Epoch Major division of the Tertiary Period, from 54.8 to 33.7 million years ago. It follows the Paleocene Epoch and pre¬ cedes the Oligocene Epoch. The name, derived from the Greek eos (“dawn”), refers to the dawn of recent life; during the Eocene, all the major divisions, or orders, of modem mammals appeared, as well as many essentially modern bird orders. Climates were warm and humid. Temper¬ ate and subtropical forests were widespread, but grasslands were limited.

Eochaid Ollathair See Dagda

Eohippus \,e-6-'hi-p3s\ Former name of a genus of ancestral horses, commonly called dawn horses, that flourished in North America during the Early Eocene Epoch (54.8^19 million years ago). It is now classified with European species in the genus Hyracotherium. Eohippus stood 1-2 ft (30-60 cm) high at the shoulders and was adapted to running, with hind legs longer than the forelegs. The body was lightly constructed, with slender legs and elongated feet that were functionally three-toed (though the front feet had four toes). The skull varied from shortened (primitive) to relatively long (more horselike).

Eolie \a-'6-le-,a\ Islands or Lipari \'li-pa-re\ Islands Volcanic island group, Tyrrhenian Sea, in the west-central Mediterranean Sea. Located off the northern coast of Sicily, the seven major islands and several islets have a total land area of 34 sq mi (88 sq km). The major islands are Ali- cudi, Eilcudi, Lipari, Panarea, Salina, Stromboli, and Vulcano. Vulcano and Stromboli are active volcanoes. The Greeks believed the islands to be the home of the god Aeolus, king of the winds. They have been inhab¬ ited since the Neolithic Period and were held successively by the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Saracens, Normans, Angevins, and Aragonese.

eon Long span of geologic time. In formal usage, eons are the longest portions of geologic time (eras are the second-longest). Three eons are recognized: the Phanerozoic Eon (dating from the present back to the beginning of the Cambrian Period), the Proterozoic Eon, and the Archean Eon. Less formally, eon often refers to a span of one billion years.

eon (Gnosticism) See aeon

EPA See Environmental Protection Agency

Epaminondas U-.pam-s-'nan-dosV (b. c. 410, Thebes—d. 362 bc, Man- tineia) Theban statesman, tactician, and leader. He defeated the Spartans at Leuctra in 371, using a new strategy that attacked the opponent’s stron¬ gest point first with overwhelming power, and made Thebes the most powerful state in Greece. He led four more successful expeditions into the Peloponnese. In 370-369 he freed the Messenian helots from Spartan enslavement. In 362, at the head of a large allied force, he defeated Sparta, Athens, and their allies at Mantineia, but he was mortally wounded.

ephemeris Vi-'fe-ms-rosX Table of the positions of celestial bodies at regular intervals, often with supplementary information. Constructed as early as the 4th century bc, ephemerides are still essential to astronomers

and navigators. Modern ephemerides are calculated, with heavy comput¬ ing and careful checking, after a mathematical description of a heavenly body’s observed motion has been evolved. Various national ephemerides are published regularly; the U.S. ephemeris, first published in 1852, became the best and is now published jointly with the U.K. as The Astro¬ nomical Almanac.

Ephesus Ve-f3-s3s\ Ancient Ionian Greek city; its ruins lie near the modern village of Selguk in western Turkey. It was situated south of the Cayster River and was the site of the Temple of Artemis. Traditionally founded by the Carians, it was one of the 12 Ionian Cities and was involved in the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. It was taken by Alexander the Great c. 334 bc and prospered throughout the Hellenistic period. It passed to Rome in 133 bc and under the emperor Augustus became the capital of the Roman province of Asia. It was an early seat of Christian¬ ity, which was visited by St. Paul; the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians was directed to the residents of the city. The Goths destroyed the city and temple in ad 262; neither ever recovered. There are extensively excavated ruins at the modern site.

ephor Ve-far, 'e-,f6r\ (Greek ephoros ) Title of the five highest Spartan magistrates. With the two kings of Sparta they formed the state’s execu¬ tive wing. The list of ephors dates back to 754 bc. Every male citizen was eligible for election to the ephorate, which conducted meetings of the GER- ousia and apella and executed their decrees. The ephors’ extensive police powers allowed them to declare war on the helots annually, with legal license to attack and kill them if necessary. In an emergency they could even arrest and try a king.

epic Long, narrative poem in an elevated style that celebrates heroic achievement and treats themes of historical, national, religious, or leg¬ endary significance. Primary (or traditional) epics are shaped from the legends and traditions of a heroic age and are part of oral tradition; sec¬ ondary (or literary) epics are written down from the beginning, and their poets adapt aspects of traditional epics. The poems of Homer are usually regarded as the first important epics and the main source of epic conven¬ tions in western Europe. These conventions include the centrality of a hero, sometimes semidivine; an extensive, perhaps cosmic, setting; heroic battle; extended journeying; and the involvement of supernatural beings.

epic theatre Dramatic form developed in Germany after World War I by Bertolt Brecht and others, intended to provoke rational thought rather than to create illusion. It presents loosely connected scenes often inter¬ rupted by direct addresses to the audience providing analysis, argument, or documentation. Brecht’s goal was to use alienating or distancing effects to block the emotional responses of the audience members and force them to think objectively about the play. Actors were instructed to keep a dis¬ tance between themselves and the characters they portrayed and to empha¬ size external actions rather than emotions.

epicentre Point on the surface of the Earth that is directly above the source (or focus) of an earthquake. There the effects of the earthquake usually are most severe. See also seismology.

Epictetus \,ep-ik-'tet-3s\ (b. c. ad 55—d. c. 135) Greek philosopher associated with Stoicism. His original name is not known; epiktetos means “acquired.” He is not known to have written anything, but his teachings were transmitted by his pupil Arrian (d. c. ad 180) in two works, the Dis¬ courses and the Encheiridion. True education, Epictetus believed, con¬ sists in recognizing that the only thing that belongs to an individual fully is his will. Humans are not responsible for the ideas that present them¬ selves to their consciousness, though they are wholly responsible for how they react to them.

Epicureanism V.e-pi-kyu-'re-o-.ni-zom, .e-pi-'kyur-e-o-.ni-zomX Meta¬ physical and ethical doctrines taught by Epicurus. In metaphysics, the basic concepts of Epicureanism were atomism; mechanical causality limited by the spontaneous “swerve” of atoms, which accounted for the freedom of motion in man and animals; the infinity of the universe; and the existence of gods as beatified and immortal natures completely extraneous to hap¬ penings in the world. In ethics, the basic concepts were the identification of the good with pleasure and of the supreme good with the absence of bodily and mental pain; the limitation of all desire and the practice of virtue; withdrawal from public life; and the cultivation of friendship. Because of its dogmatic character and its practical end. Epicureanism did not lend itself easily to development.

626 i Epicurus ► episome

Epicurus \,e-pi-'kyu-r9s\ (b. 341, Samos, Greece—d. 270 bc, Athens) Greek philosopher. He was author of an ethical philosophy of simple pleasure, friendship, and retirement (see Epicureanism) and a metaphysics based on atomism. His school in Athens, the Gar¬ den, competed with the Academy of Plato and the Lyceum of Aristotle. Unlike both of these schools, it admitted women, and even one of Epicurus’s slaves. It taught the avoidance of political activity and of public life. Notwithstanding the usual con¬ notations of the term epicurean today, life at the school was simple. He was a widely appealing figure in Rome during the 1st century bc; the poet- philosopher Lucretius based his work on Epicurus’s thought. His atomism was revived in the 17th cen¬ tury by Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655).

Epidaurus \,e-pi-'d6r-3s\ Town, ancient Greece.

An important commercial centre in the northeast¬ ern Peloponnese, it was famed for its 4th- century-BC temple of Asclepius. Excavations of the sacred precinct have uncovered that temple and other buildings, including a theatre, stadium, and hospital. Offerings of small clay body parts have been found, and inscriptions record divine medical cures. Originally Ionic, Epidaurus became Doric under the influence of Argos, to which it owed religious allegiance; politically it remained independent until Roman times.

epidemiology \ l e-p3-,de-me- , a-b-je\ Study of disease distribution in populations. It focuses on groups rather than individuals and often takes a historical perspective. Descriptive epidemiology surveys a population to see what segments (e.g., age, sex, ethnic group, occupation) are affected by a disorder, follows changes or variations in its incidence or mortality over time and in different locations, and helps identify syndromes or sug¬ gest associations with risk factors. Analytic epidemiology conducts stud¬ ies to test the conclusions of descriptive surveys or laboratory observations. Epidemiologic data on diseases is used to find those at high risk, identify causes and take preventive measures, and plan new health services.

epidote \'e-p3-,dot\ Any of a group of colourless to green or yellow- green silicate minerals with the general chemical formula A 2 Z?3(Si0 4 )(Si 2 0 7 )0(0H), in which A is usually calcium (Ca) and B is generally aluminum (Al), although other elements are sometimes substi¬ tuted. The epidote minerals occur as reaction products of other (earlier) minerals in low-grade (formed under relatively low-temperature, low- pressure conditions), regionally metamorphosed rocks, where their occur¬ rence is used as an indicator of metamorphic grade.

epidote-amphibolite facies Ve-po-.dot-am-'fi-bo-.lIt-'fa-shezN One of the major divisions of the mineral facies classification of metamorphic rocks, encompassing rocks that formed under moderate temperature (500- 750°F, or 250-400°C) and pressure conditions. This facies grades into the greenschist facies under less intense metamorphic conditions and into the amphibolite facies with greater temperature and pressure. Typical minerals include biotite, almandine garnet, plagioclase, epidote, and amphibole. Chlorite, muscovite, staurolite, and chloritoid may also occur.

epigram Short poem treating concisely, pointedly, and often satirically a single thought or event and often ending with a witticism or ingenious turn of thought. By extension, the term applies to a terse, sage, or witty (often paradoxical) saying, usually in the form of a generalization. Writ¬ ers of Latin epigrams included Catullus and Martial. The form was revived in the Renaissance. Later masters of the epigram have included Ben Jon- son; Francois VI, duke de La Rochefoucauld; Voltaire; Alexander Pope; Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Oscar Wilde; and George Bernard Shaw.

epilepsy Neurological disorder caused by paroxysmal malfunction of neurons in the brain (seizures). It is characterized by strange movements or sensations in parts of the body, odd behaviours, emotional disturbances, and sometimes convulsions and momentary lapses of consciousness. Sei¬ zures may result from abnormal electrical activity in most or all of the brain (generalized), or they may originate in a specific brain area (par¬ tial). Causes include brain tumours, infections, genetic or developmental abnormalities, stroke, and head trauma, although no cause can be found

in most cases. Treatment is usually with anticonvulsant medications; brain surgery may be beneficial if drugs cannot control seizures.

epinephrine X.e-po-'ne-fronX or adrenaline \9-'dre-n 3 l-3n\ One of two hormones (the other being norepinephrine) secreted by the adrenal glands, as well as at some nerve endings (see neuron), where they serve as neurotransmitters. They are similar chemically and have similar actions on the body. They increase the rate and force of heart contractions, increasing blood output and raising blood pressure. Epinephrine also stimu¬ lates breakdown of glycogen to glucose in the liver, raising blood glucose levels, and both hormones increase the level of circulating free fatty acids. All these actions ready the body for action in times of stress or danger, times requiring increased alertness or exertion. Epinephrine is used in medical situations including cardiac arrest, asthma, and acute allergic reac¬ tion (see allergy). See also dopamine.

Epiphany Christian festival celebrated on January 6. One of the oldest Christian holy days (along with Christmas and Easter), the festival origi¬ nated in the Eastern church and was adopted in the Western church by the 4th century. It commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus to the Gen¬ tiles, as represented by the Magi. The eve of Epiphany, called Twelfth Night, is thought to mark the arrival of the Wise Men in Bethlehem. Epiphany also celebrates the (much later) baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and Jesus’ first miracle, performed at Cana.

epiphyte Any plant that grows upon or is attached to another plant or object merely for physical support. Epiphytes are found mostly in the tropics and are also known as air plants because they have no attachment to the ground or other obvious nutrient source. They obtain water and minerals from rain and from debris on the supporting plants. Orchids, ferns, and members of the pineapple family are common tropical epiphytes. Lichens, mosses, liverworts, and algae are epiphytes of temperate regions.

Epirus \i-'pl-r3s\ Ancient country, northwestern Greece. It was bounded by Illyria, Macedonia, Thessaly, Aetolia, Acarnania, and the Ionian Sea. In the Neolithic Period Epirus was populated by peoples from the southwest¬ ern Balkans, who brought with them the Greek language and who may have been among the founders of Mycenae. Epirus was the launching area of the Dorian invasions (1100-1000 bc) into Greece. A princess from Epi¬ rus was married to Philip II of Macedon; their son was Alexander the Great. The area became a Roman province in the 2nd century bc, and later it was part of the Byzantine Empire. An independent state in 1204 ad, Epirus was taken in 1430 by the Ottoman Turks. Greece gained the southern part of the region by 1919; the northern part is now in southern Albania.

episcopacy Xi-'pis-ko-po-seV System of church government by bishops. It existed as early as the 2nd century ad, when bishops were chosen to oversee preaching and worship within a specific region, now called a dio¬ cese. Today local congregations are shepherded by priests and deacons, but only bishops can ordain priests, perform the rite of confirmation, and consecrate other bishops. Their special duties are closely tied to the idea of Apostolic succession. Some Protestant churches abandoned episcopacy during the Reformation, but it was retained by the Roman Catholic, East¬ ern Orthodox, Anglican, and Swedish Lutheran churches, among others.

Episcopal Church, USA also called Episcopal Church in the United States of America or Protestant Episcopal Church

Descendant of the Church of England in the U.S. Part of the Anglican Communion, it was formally organized in 1789 as the successor of the Church of England in the former British colonies. The church accepts both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, as well as a modified version of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. The highest author¬ ity in the church is the General Convention, which is headed by the pre¬ siding bishop (elected by the House of Bishops). The Reformed Episcopal Church broke away from the main body in 1873. The church accepted the ordination of women in 1976. In 1988 the church elected its first woman bishop, and in 2003 an openly gay man was consecrated bishop of New Hampshire. These steps generated controversy within the church as well as among other churches of the Anglican Communion.

episome Ve-po-.somN Any of a group of genetic elements consisting of DNA and capable of giving selective advantage to the bacteria in which they occur. Episomes may be attached to the bacterial cell membrane or become part of the chromosome. Cells with episomes act like males dur¬ ing conjugation, a mating process in certain bacteria. During conjugation, cells lacking the episome may receive either the episome or the episome plus the genes to which it is attached. Experiments involving gene trans-

Epicurus, bronze bust from a Greek original, c. 280-270 bc; in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

COURTESY OF THE SOPRINTENDENZA ALLE ANTICHITA DELIA CAMPANIA, NAPLES

epistatic gene ► Equal Rights Amendment I 627

fers from cells in which episomes have been incorporated in the chromo¬ somes have been used to determine the locations of genes on the chromosome.

epistatic gene \,e-p3-'sta-tik\ Gene that determines whether or not a trait determined by another gene will be expressed. For example, when the gene responsible for albinism occurs, the genes that determine skin color are present but not expressed; the gene for albinism is therefore called an epistatic gene.

epistemology Study of the origin, nature, and limits of human knowl¬ edge. Nearly every great philosopher has contributed to the epistemologi¬ cal literature. Some historically important issues in epistemology are: (1) whether knowledge of any kind is possible, and if so what kind; (2) whether some human knowledge is innate (i.e., present, in some sense, at birth) or whether instead all significant knowledge is acquired through experience (see empiricism; rationalism); (3) whether knowledge is inher¬ ently a mental state (see behaviourism); (4) whether certainty is a form of knowledge; and (5) whether the primary task of epistemology is to pro¬ vide justifications for broad categories of knowledge claim or merely to describe what kinds of things are known and how that knowledge is acquired. Issues related to (1) arise in the consideration of skepticism, radi¬ cal versions of which challenge the possibility of knowledge of matters of fact, knowledge of an external world, and knowledge of the existence and natures of other minds.

epistolary Vi-'pis-to-.ler-e, 1 e-pi- , stol-9-re\ novel Novel in the form of a series of letters written by one or more characters. It allows the author to present the characters’ thoughts without interference, convey events with dramatic immediacy, and present events from several points of view. It was one of the first novelistic forms to be developed. It was foreshad¬ owed by Aphra Behn’s poem cycle Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister (1683). The outstanding early example is Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740); distinguished later works include Tobias Smollett’s Humphry Clinker (1771) and Pierre Laclos’s Les Liaisons dangereuses (1782). The genre remained popular up to the 19th century. Its reliance on subjective points of view makes it the forerunner of the modern psy¬ chological novel.

epitaph Ve-po-.tafX Inscription in verse or prose on a tomb, or, by exten¬ sion, anything written as if to be inscribed on a tomb. Probably the ear¬ liest surviving epitaphs are those written on ancient Egyptian sarcophagi and coffins. Ancient Greek examples are often of literary interest. In Eliza¬ bethan times epitaphs began to assume a more literary character. Many of the best known are literary memorials (often deliberately witty) not intended for a tomb.

epitaxy Process of growing a crystal of a particular orientation on top of another crystal. If both crystals are of the same material, the process is known as homoepitaxy; if the materials are different, it is known as heteroepitaxy. Common types of epitaxy include vapour phase, liquid phase, and solid phase, according to the source of the atoms being arranged on the substrate. Epitaxy is most frequently employed in the production of semiconductor wafers for use in the creation of integrated circuits.

epithalamium N.e-po-tho-'la-me-onA or epithalamion X.e-po-tho- Ta-me-3n\ Nuptial song or poem in honour or praise of a bride and bride¬ groom. In ancient Greece such songs were a traditional way of invoking good fortune on a marriage and often of indulging in ribaldry. The ear¬ liest evidence for literary epithalamiums are fragments by Sappho; the oldest surviving Latin examples are three by Catullus. In the Renaissance, epithalamiums based on classical models were written in Italy, France, and England; that of Edmund Spenser (1595) is considered the finest in English.

epoch Unit of geologic time during which a rock series is deposited. It is a subdivision of a geologic period. Additional distinctions can be made by adding relative time terms, such as early, middle, and late. The use of the term is usually restricted to divisions of the Tertiary and Quaternary PERIODS.

Epona Ve-po-noX Horse goddess of the ancient Celtic religion. Associ¬ ated with kingship and fertility, she was known as Epona in Gaul, Rhi- annon in Wales, and Macha in Ireland. Her cult was found throughout the Western Roman empire and was spread by members of the Roman army, especially cavalry units.

epoxy \i-'pak-se\ Any of a class of thermosetting polymers, polyethers built up from monomers with an ether group that takes the form of a three- membered epoxide ring. The familiar two-part epoxy adhesives consist of a resin with epoxide rings at the ends of its molecules and a curing agent containing amines or anhydrides. When mixed, these react to yield, after curing, a complex network with ether groups linking the monomers. Stable, tough, and resistant to corrosive chemicals, epoxies are excellent adhesives and useful surface coatings.

EPROM \ l e-,pram\ in full erasable programmable read-only memory Form of computer memory that does not lose its content when the power supply is cut off and that can be erased and reused. EPROMs are generally employed for programs designed for repeated use (such as the BIOS) but that can be upgraded with a later version of the program.

Epstein Vep-.stlnV Sir Jacob (b. Nov. 10, 1880, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Aug. 21, 1959, London, Eng.) U.S.-born British sculptor. He studied in Paris and settled in England in 1905. His 18 nude figures known as the Strand Statues (1907-08) provoked charges of indecency; his nude angel on the tomb of Oscar Wilde (1912) in Paris was also attacked. In 1913 he became affiliated with Vorticism and developed a style character¬ ized by simple forms and calm surfaces carved from stone; his works often partly retained the shape of the original block, or sometimes they were modeled in plaster. He is best known for religious and allegorical figures carved in colossal blocks of stone and for bronze portrait busts of celeb¬ rities. Occasionally he produced monumental bronze groups, such as St. Michael and the Devil (1958) for Coventry Cathedral.

Epstein-Barr X.ep-.stln-'barX virus (EBV) Virus of the Herpesviridae family that is the major cause of acute infectious mononucleosis. The virus, named for two of its discoverers, infects only salivary gland cells and one type of white blood cell. Saliva is the only bodily fluid that has been proved to contain infectious EBV particles. In less-developed nations, infection with EBV occurs in almost all children before the age of 5 and is not associated with recognizable symptoms. When EBV infection is delayed until the teen or early adult years, the body commonly responds differently, resulting in mononucleosis. Other, rarer disorders have also been linked with EBV, including certain cancers. There are no specific treatments for any form of EBV infection, and no vaccines have been developed.

equal-field system Chinese land-distribution system, ad 485-8th century. Borrowed by Japan in 646, it lasted about a century there. Under the system, all adults were assigned a fixed amount of land; a portion of its produce was paid as taxes. On a person’s death, most of the land was returned to the government. Increases in population and a tendency for the land to come to be held permanently led to the system’s collapse in China; tax-free status and additional allotments for nobles and monaster¬ ies resulted in its demise in Japan.

equal protection In U.S. law, the constitutional guarantee that no per¬ son or group will be denied such protection under the law as is enjoyed by similar persons or groups—i.e., persons similarly situated must be treated similarly. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits states from denying any person “the equal protection of the laws.” Until the mid-20th century the requirement was applied minimally—except in some cases of racial discrimination, such as the use of literacy tests and grandfather clauses to restrict the voting rights of blacks. In Plessyv. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court of the United States upheld “separate but equal” facilities for the races, thus sanctioning racial segregation. Beginning in the 1960s, the court under Chief Justice Earl Warren dramatically expanded the concept, applying it to cases involv¬ ing welfare benefits, exclusionary zoning, municipal services, and school financing. During the tenure of Chief Justices Warren E. Burger and Wil¬ liam H. Rehnquist, the court continued to add to the types of cases that might be adjudicated under equal protection, including cases involving sexual discrimination, the status and rights of aliens, abortion rights, and access to the courts.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Proposed but unratified amend¬ ment to the U.S. Constitution designed mainly to invalidate many state and federal laws that discriminated against women. Its central tenet was that sex should not be a determining factor in establishing the legal rights of individuals. It was first introduced in Congress in 1923, shortly after women obtained the right to vote. It was finally approved by the U.S. Senate 49 years later (1972) but was subsequently ratified by only 30 of the 50 state legislatures. Critics claimed it would cause women to lose

628 i equality ► equine

privileges and protections, such as exemption from compulsory military service and economic support by their husbands. Supporters, led by the National Organization for Women, argued that discriminatory state and federal laws left many women in a state of economic dependency.

equality Generally, an ideal of uniformity in treatment or status by those in a position to affect either. Acknowledgment of the right to equality often must be coerced from the advantaged by the disadvantaged. Equality of opportunity was the founding creed of U.S. society, but equality among all peoples and between the sexes has proved easier to legislate than to achieve in practice. Social or religious inequality is deeply ingrained in some cultures and thus difficult to overcome (see caste). Government efforts to achieve economic equality include enhancing opportunities through tax policy, subsidized training and education, redistributing wealth or resources, and preferential treatment of those historically treated unequally (see affirmative action). See also civil rights movement; feminism;

GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT; HUMAN RIGHTS; UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

equation Statement of equality between two expressions consisting of variables and/or numbers. In essence, equations are questions, and the development of mathematics has been driven by attempts to find answers to those questions in a systematic way. Equations vary in complexity from simple algebraic equations (involving only addition or multiplication) to differential equations, exponential equations (involving exponential expressions), and integral equations. They are used to express many of the laws of physics. See also system of equations.

equation, algebraic See algebraic equation equation, difference See difference equation equation, quadratic See quadratic equation equation of motion See equation of motion equation of state See equation of state equations, system of See system of equations

Equator Great circle around the Earth that is everywhere equidistant from the geographic poles and lies in a plane perpendicular to the Earth’s axis. This geographic, or terrestrial, Equator divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and forms the imaginary reference line on the Earth’s surface from which latitude is reckoned (i.e., 0° lati¬ tude). In astronomy, the celestial equator is the great circle in which the plane of the terrestrial Equator intersects the celestial sphere; it is thus equidistant from the celestial poles. When the Sun lies in its plane, day and night are everywhere of equal length; this happens at the EQUlNOXes.

Equatorial Africa See French Equatorial Africa equatorial coordinates See celestial coordinates

Equatorial Guinea officially Republic of Equatorial Guinea formerly Spanish Guinea Country, on the western coast of equatorial Africa and including Bioko Island. Area: 10,831 sq mi (28,051 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 504,000. Capital: Malabo. The majority of the mainland population are Bantu-speaking Fang people, with a minority of other Bantu-speaking ethnic groups (see Bantu languages). The majority on Bioko are Bubi, descendants of Bantu migrants from the mainland. Languages: Spanish, French (both official), Pidgin English (commonly spoken). Religions: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic, also other Christians, Protestant); also Islam, traditional beliefs. Currency: CFA franc. Bordered by Cameroon and Gabon, Equatorial Guinea’s main¬ land region is separated by the Bight of Biafra from the island of Bioko to the northwest. The mainland has a coastal plain some 12 mi (20 km) wide, with a long stretch of beach, low cliffs to the south, and hills and plateaus to the east. The Benito River divides the region. Bioko consists of three extinct volcanic cones and has several crater lakes and rich lava soils. Dense tropical rainforest prevails throughout the mainland and includes valuable hardwoods. Animal life has been decimated by over¬ hunting. Cacao, timber, and coffee are exported from the country, but since the 1990s petroleum is the major export. Equatorial Guinea is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. The first inhabitants of the mainland appear to have been Bantu-speaking people. The now-prominent Fang and Bubi reached the mainland in the Bantu migrations of the late 19th and the early 20th century. Equatorial Guinea was ceded by the Portuguese to the Spanish in the late 18th century; it was frequented by slave trad¬ ers, as well as by British and other merchants. Bioko was administered

declared in 1968, followed by a reign of terror and economic chaos under the dictatorial president Macias Nguema, who was overthrown by a military coup in 1979 and later executed. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo became leader of the country in 1979. A new constitution was adopted in 1982, but political unrest persisted into the 21st century despite the country’s oil wealth.

eques \'e-,kwes, 'e-,kwez\ (Latin: “horseman”) In ancient Rome, a knight. In early Rome, the equites (in full, equites equo publico, “horse¬ men with mounts provided at public expense”) were of the senatorial class. They were the most influential members of the Comitia Centuriata. By the early 4th century bc, non-senators could be equites, providing their own horses. Augustus reorganized them as a military class, removing them from politics; qualifications were free birth, good health and character, and wealth. In the 1st century ad, equites were permitted civil careers, and they became particularly involved in financial administration.

equilibrium Condition in which the net force acting on a particle is zero. A body in equilibrium experiences no acceleration and, unless dis¬ turbed by an outside force, will remain in equilibrium indefinitely. A stable equilibrium is one in which small, externally induced displacements from that state produce forces that tend to oppose the displacement and return the body to equilibrium. An unstable equilibrium is one in which the least departures produce forces tending to increase the displacement. A brick lying on the floor is in stable equilibrium, while a ball bearing balanced on a knife-edge is in unstable equilibrium.

equilibrium, chemical Condition in the course of a reversible chemi¬ cal reaction in which no net change in the amounts of reactants and prod¬ ucts occurs: Products are reverting to reactants at the same rate as reactants are forming products. For practical purposes, the reaction under those conditions is completed. Expressed in terms of the law of mass action, the reaction rate to form products is equal to the reaction rate to re-form reactants. The ratio of the reaction rate constants (i.e., of the amounts of reactants and products, each raised to the proper power), defines the equilibrium constant. Changing the conditions of temperature or pressure changes the reaction’s equilibrium; a high temperature or pres¬ sure may be used to “push” a reaction that at ordinary conditions makes little product. See also H.-L. Le Chatelier.

equine Ve-.kwln, 'e-.kwInN Any member of the ungulate family Equidae, which includes the modern horses, zebras, and Asses, all in the genus Equus, as well as more than 60 species known only from fossils. Equines

equinox ► Erdos I 629

descended from the dawn horse (see Eohippus). Wild horses, which once inhabited much of northern Eurasia, were smaller and had shorter legs than their domesticated descendants. See also Przewalski's horse.

equinox Ve-kwo-.naks, 'e-kw3-,naks\ Either of two moments in the year when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length all over Earth; also, either of two points in the sky where the eclip¬ tic and the celestial equator (see celestial sphere) intersect. The vernal equi¬ nox, when spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs about March 21, when the Sun moves north across the celestial equator. The autumnal equinox falls about September 23, as the Sun crosses the celestial equa¬ tor going south. See also solstice.

equinoxes, precession of the Motion of the points where the Sun crosses the celestial equator, caused by precession of Earth’s axis. Hippar¬ chus noticed that the stars’ positions were shifted consistently from ear¬ lier measures, indicating that Earth, not the stars, was moving. This precession, a wobbling in the orientation of Earth’s axis with a cycle of almost 26,000 years, is caused by the gravity of the Sun and the Moon acting on Earth’s equatorial bulge. The planets also have a small influ¬ ence on precession. Projecting Earth’s axis onto the celestial sphere locates the northern and southern celestial poles. Precession makes these points trace out circles on the sky and also makes the celestial equator wobble, changing its points of intersection (EQUiNOXes) with the ecliptic.

equipartition of energy See equipartition of energy equistetum See horsetail

equity Finance and accounting concept. Equity represents any of three separate but related values: the money value of a property or of an inter¬ est in a property in excess of claims or liens against it; a risk interest or ownership right in property; and the common stock of a corporation. In corporate finance, a basic equation holds that a company’s total assets minus total liabilities equals total owners’ equity.

equity Justice according to fairness, especially as distinguished from mechanical application of rules under common law. Courts of equity (also called chancery courts) arose in England in the 14th century in response to the increasingly strict rules of proof and other requirements of the courts of law. Equity provided remedies not available under the old writ system. Often these remedies involved something other than damages, such as specific performance of contractual obligations, enforcement of a trust, restitution of goods wrongfully acquired, imposition of an injunc¬ tion, or the correction and cancellation of false or misleading documents. The equity courts eventually established their own precedents, rules, and doctrines and began to rival the law courts in power. The two systems were united in 1873. Courts of equity also developed early in U.S. his¬ tory, but by the early 20th century most jurisdictions had combined them with courts of law into a single system. Modern courts apply both legal and equitable principles and offer both legal and equitable relief.

equivalence principle Fundamental principle of physics that in its weak form states that gravitational (see gravitation) and inertial (see iner¬ tia) masses are the same. Albert Einstein’s stronger version states that gravi¬ tation and acceleration are indistinguishable. It implies that the effect of gravity is removed in a suitably accelerated reference frame, such as an elevator with its cable cut, in which a person would experience free fall.

equivalence relation In mathematics, a generalization of the idea of equality between elements of a SET. All equivalence relations (e.g., that symbolized by the equals sign) obey three conditions: reflexivity (every element is in the relation to itself), symmetry (element A has the same relation to element B that B has to A), and transitivity (see transitive law). Congruence of triangles is an equivalence relation in geometry. Members of a set are said to be in the same equivalence class if they have an equivalence relation.

equivalent weight or combining weight Quantity of an element that exactly reacts with (equals the combining value of) 1 g of hydrogen, 8 g of oxygen, or a corresponding amount of any other element. An element’s equivalent weight is its atomic weight divided by its valence. In general, for oxidation-reduction, including electrolysis, the equivalent weight is the weight associated with the loss or gain of 6.02 x 10 23 elec¬ trons (Avogadro's number) or 96,500 coulombs of electric charge; this is also the molecular weight divided by the number of electrons lost or gained. The equivalent weight of a substance with several valences differs depend¬ ing on the number of electrons transferred in the given reaction. The

number of equivalent weights of any substance dissolved in one litre of solution is called the solution’s normality (N). See also stoichiometry.

Er, Lake Chinese Er Hai \'er-'hl\ or Erh Hai Lake, western Yunnan province, China. It lies in a deep basin at the foot of Mount Diancang between the upper Yangtze (Chang; there called the Jinsha) and Mekong rivers; it is about 30 mi (50 km) long and 6-10 mi (10-16 km) wide. The south of the basin has connections to eastern Yunnan and to Sichuan prov¬ ince and is on the main route southwest to Myanmar (Burma). The sur¬ rounding area was brought under Chinese control during the Yuan dynasty (late 13th century).

era Very long span of geologic time; in formal usage, a portion of geo¬ logic time of the second-greatest magnitude (eons are longer). Three eras are recognized: Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. Because of the diffi¬ culties involved in establishing accurate chronologies, the Precambrian, or earliest, eras are classified independently. An era is composed of one or more geologic periods.

ERA See Equal Rights Amendment

Era of Good Feelings See Era of Good Feelings

erasable programmable read-only memory See EPROM

Erasmus \i-'raz-m3s\, Desiderius (b. Oct. 27, 1469, Rotterdam, Holland—d. July 12,1536, Basel, Switz.) Dutch priest and humanist, con¬ sidered the greatest European scholar of the 16th century. The illegitimate son of a priest and a physician’s daughter, he entered a monastery and was ordained a priest in 1492. He studied at the University of Paris and trav¬ eled throughout Europe, coming under the influence of St. Thomas More and John Colet. The book that first made him famous was the Adagia (1500, 1508), an annotated collection of Greek and Latin proverbs. He became noted for his editions of Classical authors, Church Fathers, and the New Testament as well as for his own works, including Handbook of a Christian Knight (1503) and Praise of Folly (1509). Using the philological methods pioneered by Italian humanists, he helped lay the groundwork for the historical-critical study of the past. By criticizing ecclesiastical abuses, he encouraged the growing urge for reform, which found expression both in the Protestant Reformation and in the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Though he saw much to admire in Martin Luther, he came under pressure to attack him; he took an independent stance, rejecting both Luther’s doc¬ trine of predestination and the powers claimed for the papacy.

Eratosthenes \ l er-9- , tas-th9-,nez\ of Cyrene (b. c. 276 bc, Cyrene, Libya—d. c. 194, Alexandria, Egypt) Greek scientific writer, astronomer, and poet. He settled in Alexandria c. 255 bc and became director of its great library. He is the first person known to have calculated the Earth’s circum¬ ference, though the exact length of the units (stadia) he used is uncertain. He also measured the tilt of Earth’s axis with great accuracy, compiled a star catalog, worked out a calendar that included leap years, and tried to fix the dates of literary and political events since the siege of Troy.

Erbakan \,er-ba-'kan\, Necmettin (b. c. 1926, Sinop, Tur.) First leader of an Islamic political party to win a general election in Turkey (1995). Son of an Ottoman-era religious court judge, he studied mechani¬ cal engineering before being elected to the National Assembly in 1969. Despite Turkey’s strong secular tradition and its laws prohibiting the for¬ mation of parties based on religious ideology, Erbakan formed an Islamic party in 1970 and another in 1972, serving twice as deputy prime min¬ ister. His third attempt to form a party created the Refah ("Welfare") Party, which won the most seats in the 1995 elections. As prime minister, he formed a coalition government in 1996, but his party was outlawed in 1997; he was then banned from politics.

Ercker, Lazarus (b. c. 1530, Annaberg, Saxony—d. c. 1594, Prague, Bohemia) German writer on early metallurgy. In 1554 Ercker was appointed assayer at Dresden, the first of his many positions in the Sax¬ ony bureaucracy, and later became a control tester of coins. His system¬ atic review of the techniques then in use for testing alloys and minerals of silver, gold, copper, antimony, mercury, bismuth, and lead, of obtain¬ ing and refining such metals, and of extracting acids, salts, and other compounds may be regarded as the first manual of analytical and metal¬ lurgical chemistry.

Erdos Ver-dosh\, Paul (b. March 26, 1913, Budapest, Hung.—d. Sept. 20, 1996, Warsaw, Pol.) Hungarian mathematician. He proved a classic theorem of number theory (1933), founded the study of probabilistic num¬ ber theory with Aurel Wintner and Mark Kac, proved important results

630 i Erech > Erie

in approximation theory with Paul Turan, and with Atle Selberg gave an astounding elementary proof of the prime number theorem (1949). Famously eccentric, he traveled almost constantly for his last 40 years, collaborating with hundreds of mathematicians on numerous problems.

Erech Ve-,rek\ or Uruk Vti-.rukA Ancient city, Mesopotamia. Located northwest of Ur on the Euphrates River, it was one of the greatest cities of Sumer and was enclosed by brickwork walls that, according to legend, were built by the mythical hero Gilgamesh. Excavations have traced suc¬ cessive cities that date from the prehistoric Ubaid period (c. 5000 bc) to Parthian times (126 bc-ad 224), when in c. 70 bc an ancient school of learned scribes was still using cuneiform script. Urban life in what is known as the Erech-Jamdat Nasr period (c. 3500-2900 bc) is more fully illustrated at Erech than at any other Mesopotamian city.

Erechtheus \i-'rek-,thus, i-'rek-the-os\ Legendary god-king of Athens. According to Homer’s Iliad , he was born from the earth and raised by Athena, who established him in her temple at Athens. Later tradition associates him with a huge snake that was thought to live in the temple. In a lost play by Euripides, Erechtheus sacrificed his daughter Chthonia to ensure a victory in war, and as punishment was destroyed by either Posei¬ don or Zeus.

eremite See hermit

Ereshkigal \a-'resh-,ke-g3l\ In Mesopotamian religion, the goddess of the underworld. Her chief enemy was her sister Ishtar, a fertility goddess and guardian of life. Namtar, the death-bringing demon, was her offspring and servant. Her cult extended to Egypt, Arabia, and Asia Minor.

Eretria \e-'re-tre-o\ Ancient Greek town on the island of Euboea. Jointly with its neighbour Chalkis, it founded Cumae in Italy (c. 750 bc), the first of the Greek colonies in the west. Subsequent rivalry with Chalkis cul¬ minated in war, and by the Classical period Chalkis was the leading city of Euboea. In 499-498 bc Eretrian triremes sailed to support the Ionian revolt against Persia, for which act Darius I destroyed the city (490 bc) and deported the population. It was rebuilt, but under Macedonian and Roman rule it became insignificant. There are extensive ruins at the site.

Erfurt \'er-,furt\ City (pop., 2002 est.: 200,126), central Germany. Bon¬ iface founded a bishopric in Erfurt in ad 742, and by 805 it was an impor¬ tant centre on the Frankish empire’s eastern border. Erfurt was granted municipal rights c. 1250 and joined the Hanseatic League in the 15th cen¬ tury. The city passed to Prussia in 1802, forming part of Prussian Saxony until 1945. Erfurt was the site of the first meeting of the leaders of East and West Germany in 1970. It is dominated by its 12th-century cathedral; other buildings include the monastery where Martin Luther was a monk (1505-08). Erfurt is an important road and railway junction and a com¬ mercial centre.

ergativify Tendency of a language to pair the subject, or agent, of an intransitive verb with the object, or patient, of a transitive verb. This con¬ trasts with the situation in nominative-accusative languages such as Latin or English, in which the subjects of both transitive and intransitive verbs are paired grammatically and distinguished from the object of a transitive verb. Languages or language families that display ergativity to varying degrees include Sumerian, Caucasian languages, Eskimo-Aleut, Maya, Aus¬ tralian Aboriginal languages, and many American Indian languages.

ergonomics or human engineering or human factors engi¬ neering Profession of designing machines, tools, and work environ¬ ments to best accommodate human performance and behaviour. It aims to improve the practicality, efficiency, and safety of a person working with a single machine or device (e.g., using a telephone, driving a car, or oper¬ ating a computer terminal). Taking the user into consideration has prob¬ ably always been a part of tool design; for example, the scythe, one of the oldest and most efficient human implements, shows a remarkable degree of ergonomic engineering. Examples of common devices that are poorly designed ergonomically include the snow shovel and the computer or typewriter keyboard.

ergot Ver-got, 'er-,gat\ Disease of cereal GRASses, especially rye, caused by the fungus Claviceps purpurea. An ear of rye infected with ergot exudes a sweet, yellowish mucus. Ergot is the source of drugs used to control post¬ partum hemorrhage and to treat migraine headaches. Lysergic acid, from which the powerful hallucinogen LSD is synthesized, comes from ergot. Taking an overdose of ergot-derived medications or eating flour milled from ergot-infected rye can cause ergotism (also called St. Anthony’s Fire)

in humans and livestock; symptoms may include convulsions, miscarriages in females, and dry gangrene, and may result in death.

Ergun River See Argun River

Erhard \'er- 1 hart\ / Ludwig (b. Feb. 4, 1897, Fiirth, Ger.—d. May 5, 1977, Bonn, W.Ger.) German economist and politician. As economics minister (1949-63), he was the chief architect of West Germany’s post¬ war economic recovery. He achieved what has been called an economic miracle through his “social market system,” which was based on free- market capitalism but included special provisions for housing, farming, and social programs. In 1957 he was appointed federal vice-chancellor, and in 1963 he succeeded Konrad Adenauer as chancellor. His govern¬ ment was troubled by an economic downturn and a budget deficit, as well as Erhard’s relative weakness as a leader, and he was forced to resign in

Eric the Red See Erik the Red

erica Ver-i-ko\ Any of the approximately 500 species of low evergreen shrubs that make up the genus Erica, in the heath family, most native to South Africa. Some also occur in the Mediterranean and in northern Europe, and species have been introduced to North America. They have small, narrow leaves arranged in whorls set closely together on the shoots. Some African species are large bushes or trees. The white, or tree, heath ( E. arborea) is also known as brier. Some southern African species are cultivated in cool greenhouses and outdoors in southwestern North America.

Erickson, Arthur (Charles) (b. June 16, 1924, Vancouver, B.C., Can.) Canadian architect. He first earned wide recognition with his plan for Simon Fraser University (1963-65), designed with Geoffrey Massey, which included an enormous skylit indoor plaza that served as a sensi¬ tive response to a cool, rainy climate. Robson Square, Vancouver (1978— 79), a large civic centre, incorporates waterfalls, a roof garden, plazas, and stairs with integrated ramps. His other works include the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology (1976), with its succes¬ sion of concrete piers and broad expanses of glass, and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. (1989), a blend of contemporary and Neo¬ classical elements that echo its surroundings.

Ericsson, John (b. July 31, 1803, Langbanshyttan, Swed.—d. March 8, 1889, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Swedish-U.S. naval engineer and inven¬ tor. He moved to England in 1826, where he constructed a steam loco¬ motive (1829) and later devised a caloric engine and patented a screw propeller. He immigrated to the U.S in 1839. During the Civil War he proposed, designed, and built a novel warship, the Monitor. Its battle with the Confederacy’s Merrimack led the government to place an order for many more such vessels. Wholly steam-powered and with a screw pro¬ peller and an armoured revolving turret, it set a new pattern for U.S. war¬ ships that continued until the 20th century. He later developed a torpedo and investigated solar-powered motors.

Eridu Ver-i-.dii, e-'re-du\ Ancient Sumerian city on the Persian Gulf. Although it was the chief seaport of Sumer and Babylonia and was located on the Euphrates River near the city of Ur, siltation has since moved the coastline southward and the city’s remains are now some 120 mi (200 km) inland, in modern Iraq. It was revered as the oldest city in Sumer, and its patron god was Enki (Ea). Founded on sand dunes c. 5th millen¬ nium bc, its ruins show the sequence of the preliterate Ubaid civilization, with a long succession of superimposed temples portraying the develop¬ ment of an elaborate mud-brick architecture. It was occupied until c. 600

BC.

Eridu Genesis \e-'re-dii\ Sumerian creation epic. It recounted the ori¬ gins of the world and humanity, the founding of cities, and the great flood sent by the gods to destroy humanity. Forewarned by the god Ea, a man named Ziusudra, known for his humility and obedience, built a huge boat in which to ride out the flood. As a reward for his good life, the gods later granted him immortality.

Erie City (pop., 2000: 103,717), northwestern Pennsylvania, U.S. Named for the Erie Indians, it was the site of a French fort (1753) on Lake Erie. The site was acquired by the U.S. in 1795, when the town was laid out. Nearby naval shipyards built most of the fleet that defeated the British at the Battle of Lake Erie (1813) in the War of 1812. Economic develop¬ ment began with the opening ( 1844) of the Erie and Pittsburgh Canal and with railway construction in the 1850s. Pennsylvania’s only port on the

Erie ► Erlitou culture I 631

St. Lawrence Seaway, it is a shipping point for many products, including lumber, coal, and petroleum. While early industries were largely agricul¬ tural, manufactures, including electrical equipment and construction machinery, are now well diversified.

Erie, Lake Lake, in U.S. and Canada. The fourth largest of the five Great Lakes, it lies between lakes Huron and Ontario and forms the boundary between Canada (Ontario) and the U.S. (Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York). It is 240 mi (388 km) long and has a maximum width of 57 mi (92 km), with a surface area of 9,910 sq mi (22,666 sq km). The Detroit River carries inflow from Lake Huron to the west, and the lake discharges at its eastern end through the Niagara River. It is an important link in the St. Lawrence Seaway; its ports handle steel, iron ore, coal, and grain. The area was once inhabited by Erie Indians; when the French arrived in the 17th century they found the Iroquois living there. The Brit¬ ish were in the region in the 18th century, and the U.S. shores were settled after 1796. It was the site of the Battle of Lake Erie, an important engage¬ ment of the War of 1812.

Erie Canal Historic waterway, northern U.S. It stretches from Buffalo, N.Y., on Lake Erie to Albany, N.Y., on the Hudson River. Commissioned by Gov. DeWitt Clinton of New York, it opened in 1825. It connected the Great Lakes with New York City and contributed greatly to the settlement of the Midwest, allowing for the transport of people and supplies. Enlarged several times, the canal is 340 mi (547 km) long, 150 ft (46 m) wide, and 12 ft (4 m) deep. Now used mainly for pleasure boating, it is part of the New York State Canal System.

Erie Railroad Co. Former railroad running between New York City, Buffalo, and Chicago. Incorporated in 1832 and completed in 1851, the Erie became known as “the scarlet woman of Wall Street” in the mid-19th century, when it was the object of financial struggles between Daniel Drew, Jay Gould, James Fisk, and Cornelius Vanderbilt. Manipulations of its stock by Gould and Fisk became notorious. It went bankrupt four times, and in 1976 it was taken over by Conrail.

Erigena \3-'re-ge-n3\, John Scotus Latin Johannes Scotus Eri- ugena (b. 810, Ireland—d. c. 877) Irish-born theologian, translator, and commentator. In his philosophical system, which came to be known as Scotism, he attempted to integrate Greek and Neoplatonist philosophy with Christian belief in such works as On Predestination (851), which was condemned by church authorities. On the Division of Nature (862- 66) tries to reconcile Neoplatonism with the Christian doctrine of creation; for its pantheistic implications, it too was condemned. His Latin transla¬ tions of major works of Greek patristic literature made them accessible to Western thinkers. Remembered for the nonconformity of his thought, he is said to have been stabbed to death by his students with their pens for attempting to make them think.

Erik the Red orig. Erik Thorvaldson (fl. 10th century, Norway) Founder of the first European settlement on Greenland (c. 986) and father of Leif Eriksson. A native of Norway, Erik grew up in Iceland; exiled for manslaughter c. 980, he set sail and landed on Greenland. With 350 colo¬ nists he founded a colony that numbered about 1,000 settlers by ad 1000. In 1002 the colony was ravaged by sickness, and it gradually died out, though other Norse settlements in Greenland continued. Erik’s story is told in the Icelandic Eiriks saga.

Erikson, Erik H(omburger) (b. June 15, 1902, Frankfurt am Main, Ger.—d. May 12, 1994, Harwich, Mass., U.S.) German-U.S. psychoana¬ lyst. Trained in Vienna by Anna Freud, in 1933 he immigrated to the U.S., where he practiced child psychoanalysis in Boston and joined the Har¬ vard Medical School faculty. In 1936 he moved to Yale University, and in 1938 he began his first studies of cultural influences on psychological development, working with Sioux Indian children and later with the Yurok Indians. He later taught at the University of California at Berkeley but left in 1950, in the era of McCarthy ism, after refusing to sign a loyalty oath vowing support of the Constitution of the U.S. Personality develop¬ ment, in Erikson’s view, takes place through a series of identity crises that must be overcome and internalized in preparation for the next devel¬ opmental stage; he posited eight such stages. His other concerns included social psychology and the interactions of psychology with history, poli¬ tics, and culture. His works include Childhood and Society (1950), Young Man Luther (1958), Gandhi’s Truth (1969), and Life History and the His¬ torical Moment (1975).

Eriksson, Leif See Leif Eriksson the Lucky

Eris Ver-is\ Ancient Greek personification of strife. Her Roman counter¬ part was Discordia. The daughter of Nyx and the sister of Ares, she was best known for her role in starting the Trojan War. When she alone was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, she threw down among the guests a golden apple inscribed “for the most beautiful.” Hera, Athe¬ na, and Aphrodite each claimed it, and Zeus assigned the task of judging to the Trojan Paris. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite, who in turn helped him carry off the beautiful Helen, an act that triggered war.

Eritrea \,er-3-'tre-9, ,er-3-'tra-3,\ officially State of Eritrea Tigrinya Ertra Country, eastern Africa. It extends about 600 mi (1,000 km) along the Red Sea coast and includes the Dahlak Archipelago. Area: 46,770 sq

guage. The varied population is about half Tigrinya-speaking (see Tigray) Christians, with a large minority of Mus¬ lims and diverse other peoples. Arabic, English, and Italian are also spo¬ ken. Currency: nakfa. The land varies from temperate central highlands to coastal desert plain, with savanna and open woodlands in the western lowlands. The economy is based on livestock herding and subsistence agriculture. Industry, based in Asmara, includes food products, textiles, and leather goods; exports include salt, hides, cement, and gum arabic. Eritrea’s form of government is a transitional regime with one interim legislative body; the head of state and government is the president. As the site of the main ports of the Aksumite empire, it was linked to the begin¬ nings of the Ethiopian kingdom, but it retained much of its independence until it came under Ottoman rule in the 16th century. In the 17th-19th centuries, control of the territory was disputed among Ethiopia, the Otto¬ mans, the kingdom of Tigray, Egypt, and Italy; it became an Italian colony in 1890. Eritrea was used as the main base for the Italian invasions of Ethiopia (1896, 1935-36) and in 1936 became part of Italian East Africa. It was captured by the British in 1941, federated to Ethiopia in 1952, and made a province of Ethiopia in 1962. Three decades of guerrilla warfare by Eritrean secessionist groups ensued. A provisional Eritrean government was established in 1991 after the overthrow of the Ethiopian government, and independence came in 1993. A new constitution was ratified in 1997. A border war with Ethiopia that began in 1998 ended in an Ethiopian vic¬ tory in 2000.

Erivan See Yerevan

Erlitou \'er-le-'t6\ culture Neolithic culture (1900-1350 bc) of the cen¬ tral plains of northern China. It was the first state-level society in China, and its remains are taken to be correlates of the Xia dynasty. Remains of

632 i ermine ► Ervin

palatial buildings, royal tombs, and paved roads have been uncovered, leading to hypotheses that the site represents a Xia capital. The society employed advanced bronze technology. The relationship between Erlitou bronzes and those produced earlier at Qijia in Gansu remains unclear. See Hongshan culture; Neolithic Period.

ermine \'ar-man\ or stoat Species of the weasel family ( Mustela erminea). Its white winter coat has historically adorned royal robes and is still used in the fur trade. Ermines are found in North America and northern Eurasia. They are most abundant in thickets, woodland, and semitimbered areas. In summer they v • ^ are brown, with whitish throat, chest,

and belly. Species are 5—12 in. Ermine (Mustela erminea)

(13-29 cm) long (excluding the 2-5- in., or 5-12-cm, tail) and weigh less than 11 oz (0.3 kg). Voracious carnivores, ermines feed on small mam¬ mals, birds, eggs, frogs, and, occasionally, invertebrates.

Erne VornV Lough Lake, Fermanagh district, Northern Ireland. An aver¬ age of 5 mi (8 km) wide, the lake consists of the shallow Upper Lough Erne, 12 mi (19 km) long, and Lower Lough Erne, 18 mi (29 km) long, linked by a 10-mi (16-km) strait that is part of the River Erne. Numerous islands dot the lakes and provide recreation facilities. The River Erne, which flows north across the border of Northern Ireland and empties into Donegal Bay, is 72 mi (116 km) long.

Ernst Vernst, 'ornsA, Max (b. April 2, 1891, Briihl, Ger.—d. April 1, 1976, Paris, Fr.) German-born French painter and sculptor. He gave up studying philosophy and psychol¬ ogy at Bonn University for painting.

After serving in World War I, he became the leader of the Dada move¬ ment in Cologne (1919), working in collage and photomontage. A char¬ acteristic work is Here Everything Is Still Floating (1920), a startlingly illogical composition made from cut¬ out photographs of insects, fish, and anatomical drawings. In 1922 he settled in Paris and was among the founders of Surrealism. His work was imaginative and experimental; he pioneered the technique of frottage and experimented with automatism.

After 1934 the irrational and whimsical imagery seen in his paintings appeared also in his sculpture. In 1941 he moved to New York City, where he joined his third wife, Peggy Guggenheim, and began collaborating with Marcel Duchamp. He returned to France in 1953 and continued to produce lyrical and abstract works.

Max Ernst, photograph by Yousuf Karsh, 1965.

Eros Ver-.as, 'ir-,as\ Greek god of love. Though Hesiod declared him one of the primeval gods born of Chaos, he was later said to be the son of Aph¬ rodite. His Roman counterpart was Cupid. Eros was depicted as a beautiful winged youth carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. In later literature and art he became increasingly younger, ending as an infant. His cult centre was at Thespiae, but he also shared a sanctuary with Aphrodite at Athens.

Eros First asteroid found to travel mainly inside the orbit of Mars and the first to be landed on by a spacecraft. Discovered in 1898 and named for the Greek god of love, Eros is an elongated body about 20.5 mi (33 km) in its greatest dimension. It can approach to within 14 million mi (22 mil¬ lion km) of Earth. In 2000 the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR Shoemaker) spacecraft orbited Eros, collecting a full year of data, and in 2001 it set down gently on Eros’s surface.

erosion Removal of surface material from the Earth’s crust and trans¬ portation of the eroded materials by natural agencies from the point of removal. Erosion is caused by wind action, river and stream processes, marine processes (sea waves), and glacial processes. The complementary actions of erosion and deposition or sedimentation operate through wind, moving water, and ice to alter existing landforms and create new land- forms. Erosion will often occur after rock has been disintegrated or altered through weathering. Moving water is the most important natural agent of

erosion. Sea wave erosion results primarily from the impact of waves striking the shore and the abrasive action of sand and pebbles agitated by wave action. Erosion by rivers is caused by the scouring action of the sediment-containing flowing water. Glacial erosion occurs by surface abrasion as the ice, embedded with debris, moves slowly over the ground accompanied by the plucking of rock from the surface. Wind plays a key role in arid regions as blowing sand breaks down rock and dislodges sur¬ face sand from unprotected sand dunes. Human intervention, as by the removal of natural vegetation for farming or grazing purposes, can lead to or accelerate erosion by wind and water. See also sheet erosion.

error In applied mathematics, the difference between a value and an estimate of that value. In statistics, a common example is the difference between the mean age of a given group of people (see mean, median, and mode) and that of a sample drawn from the group. In numerical analysis, an example of round-off error is the difference between the true value of Pl and commonly substituted expressions like 22 /i and shorter versions like 3.14159. Truncation error results from using only the first few terms of an infinite series. Relative error is the ratio of the size of an error to the size of the quantity measured, and percentage error is relative error expressed as a percent.

Erskine Vor-skonV (of Restormel), Thomas Erskine, 1 st Baron

(b. Jan. 10, 1750, Edinburgh, Scot.— -d. Nov. 17, 1823, Almondell, Lin¬ lithgowshire) Scottish lawyer. He was the youngest son of Henry David Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan. After service in the British navy and army, he entered the law, and in 1778 he was called to the bar. His practice flourished after he won a seminal libel case, and he went on to make important contributions to the protection of personal liberties. His defense of politicians and reformers on charges of treason and related offenses, including an unsuccessful defense of Thomas Paine (1792), checked repres¬ sive measures taken by the British government in the aftermath of the French Revolution. He contributed to the law of criminal responsibility by defending, on the novel ground of insanity, a would-be assassin of George III. He served in Parliament (1783-84, 1790-1806) until elevated to the peerage (1806), and he was lord chancellor (1806-07) in William Grenville’s “ministry of all talents.” In 1820 he defended Queen Caro¬ line, whom George IV had brought to trial before the House of Lords for adultery in order to deprive her of her rights and title. Erskine’s court¬ room speeches are characterized by vigour, cogency, and lucidity and often by great literary merit.

Erte Ver-'ta\ orig. Romain de Tirtoff (b. Nov. 23,1892, St. Petersburg, Russia—d. April 21, 1990, Paris,

France) Russian-born French fashion illustrator and designer. In 1912 he arrived in Paris, where he worked briefly with the couturier Paul Poiret.

From 1916 to 1937 he published elegant, highly stylized illustrations depicting models in mannered poses against Art Deco interiors in Harp¬ er's Bazaar. He also designed theat¬ rical scenery and costumes for the Folies-Bergere in Paris (1919-30), and in the 1920s he costumed per¬ formers in U.S. musicals, most nota¬ bly the Ziegfeld Follies. His designs continue to be widely reproduced.

Ervin, Sam orig. Samuel James Ervin, Jr. (b. Sept. 27,

1896, Morganton, N.C., U.S.—d.

April 23, 1985, Winston-Salem,

N.C.) U.S. senator (1954-74). He served on the Supreme Court of North Carolina (1948-54) before being appointed to a vacant U.S.

Senate seat. An eloquent expert on the Constitution, he sat on the Sen¬ ate committee that censured Sen.

Joseph McCarthy, and he helped investigate labour racketeering. In the 1960s he led Southern filibusters

Afternoon dress of black and white satin designed by Erte for Harper's Bazaar 1924

against civil-rights legislation while simultaneously acting as a champion of civil liberties. As chairman of the special committee investigating the

Erving ► Escher I 633

Watergate scandal, he became something of a folk hero for his unceas¬ ing pursuit of evidence in the face of White House claims of executive privilege. His earthy humour, distinctive accent, and unfailing charm con¬ tributed to his popularity.

Erving, Julius (Winfield) (b. Feb. 22, 1950, Roosevelt, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. basketball star. He played two years at the University of Massachu¬ setts before joining the professional American Basketball Association (ABA). At 6 ft 7 in. (2 m), “Doctor J” played forward for the Virginia Squires (1971-73) and the New York Nets (1973-76), whom he led to two ABA titles (1974, 1976). After the merger of the ABA and NBA, Erv¬ ing was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers (1977-87) and won a league title in 1983. He was known for swarming defense, imaginative drives to the basket, and climactic slam dunks.

erythema \,er-3- , the-m3\ Abnormal skin redness from increased blood flow, caused by dilation and irritation of surface capillaries. It has a variety of manifestations. In erythema multiforme, a symptom complex seen in several diseases, spots appear suddenly, often with a bull’s-eye pattern. It may become life-threatening in severe cases; in mild cases symptoms may recur. Hormone treatment may be effective. In erythema nodosum, a hypersensitivity reaction usually associated with strep infection (see strep¬ tococcus), drugs, or the disease sarcoidosis, painful red nodules appear in the deeper skin layer of the lower legs. They usually disappear over sev¬ eral weeks and do not recur. Another form of erythema is pellagra.

Erythrae \'er-9-,thre\ Ancient city of Lydia. Located on the Aegean coast opposite the island of Chios, it was one of the 12 Ionian Cities. The origi¬ nal site of the settlement is uncertain, but from the 4th century bc it was located at modern Ildir, where traces of the wall circuit, theatre, and cita¬ del are visible. It took various sides in 5th century bc Greek politics, came under Persian control, and was freed by Alexander the Great in 334 bc. A free city in the Roman province of Asia, it was noted for its wine and goats, as well as its prophetic Sibyls, Herophile and Athenais.

erythroblastosis fetalis Vi-.rith-ro-.blas-'to-sos-fi-'ta-losV or hemo¬ lytic disease of the newborn Anemia in an infant, caused when a pregnant woman produces antibodies to an antigen in her fetus’s red blood cells. An Rh-negative woman (see Rh blood-group system) with an Rh-positive fetus whose ABO blood group (see ABO blood-group system) matches hers is likely to have an immune reaction after the first such pregnancy, which sensitizes her when fetal red blood cells enter her blood¬ stream, usually during labour. If blood typing shows incompatibility, an anti-Rh antibody injection given to the mother after the birth can destroy the fetal red cells, thus preventing trouble in a future pregnancy. If amnio¬ centesis detects products of blood destruction, Rh-negative blood transfu¬ sions to the fetus before birth or exchange transfusion after it may save the baby’s life. ABO incompatibilities are more common but usually less severe.

erythrocyte \i-'rith-r9- 1 slt\ or red blood cell or red blood cor¬ puscle Blood cell that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues. Hemoglobin gives the cell—and whole blood—its colour. Red cells are small, round, flexible, and concave on both sides and lack a nucleus. They develop continuously in bone marrow in several stages and are stored in the spleen. The mature form lives 100-120 days. Adult human blood has about 5.2 million red cells per cu mm. Some conditions change their shape (e.g., pernicious anemia, sickle-cell anemia) or number (e.g., anemia, poly¬ cythemia).

Erzberger \ , erts- 1 ber-gor\ / Matthias (b. Sept. 20,1875, Buttenhausen, Wtirttemberg, Ger.—d. Aug. 26, 1921, Black Forest, Baden) German poli¬ tician. Elected to the Reichstag in 1903, he became the leader of the left wing of the Centre Party. During World War I he was involved in the Reichstag resolution proposing a negotiated peace with no territorial gains. He headed the German delegation that signed the Armistice, and he advocated acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles. In 1919-20 he served as vice-chancellor and finance minister. As a supporter of the republican- democratic system, he became the victim of a slander campaign from the extreme right. He resigned his ministry and was later assassinated by nationalist partisans.

Esagila Va-sa-'ge-laV Temple complex in ancient Babylon dedicated to Marduk. The huge edifice was 660 ft (202 m) long, with three vast court¬ yards surrounded by many chambers. It took centuries to construct; most of the work being done in the 6th century bc during the reign of Neb¬

uchadnezzar II. Its wealth was famous in antiquity, but by the time Baby¬ lon was excavated in 1899-1917 it had been thoroughly plundered.

Esaki, Leo orig. Esaki Reiona (b. March 12, 1925, Osaka, Japan) Japanese physicist. In 1956 he became chief physicist of the Sony Corp., and in 1960 he was awarded an IBM fellowship for further research in the U.S., subsequently joining IBM’s research laboratories in Yorktown, N.Y. He worked intensively on tunneling in semiconductors and con¬ structed the tunnel diode, which found broad applications in computers and other devices. He shared a 1973 Nobel Prize with Ivar Giaever (b. 1929) and Brian Josephson.

escalator Moving staircase used as transportation between floors or levels in stores, airports, subways, and other mass pedestrian areas. The name was first applied to a moving stairway shown at the Paris Exposi¬ tion of 1900. Modern escalators are electrically powered, driven by chain and sprocket, and held in place by two tracks. As the treads approach a landing, they pass through a comb device; a switch cuts off power if an object becomes jammed between comb and treads.

escape velocity Speed sufficient for a body to escape from a gravi¬ tational centre of attraction without accelerating further. It decreases with altitude and equals the square root of 2 (about 1.414) times the speed needed to maintain a circular orbit at the same altitude. At the surface of Earth, disregarding atmospheric resistance, escape velocity is about 6.96 mi/second (11.2 km/second). Escape velocity from the surface of the Moon is about one-third of this.

eschatology \,es-k3-'ta-b-je\ Theological doctrine of the “last things,” or the end of the world. Mythological eschatologies depict an eternal struggle between order and chaos and celebrate the eternity of order and the repeatability of the origin of the world. The most notable expression of mythological eschatology is in Hinduism, which maintains belief in great cycles of the destruction and creation of the universe. Historical escha¬ tologies are grounded in datable events that are perceived as fundamen¬ tal to the progress of history. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have historical eschatologies. Eschatology in the Hebrew Scriptures sees the catastrophes that beset the people of Israel as due to their disobedience to the laws and will of God and holds that conformity to God’s plan will result in renewal and the fulfillment of God’s purpose. In Christianity, the end times are thought to have begun with the life and ministry of Jesus, the Messiah who will return to establish the Kingdom of God. Millennialism focuses especially on Christ’s second coming and the reign of the righ¬ teous on earth. In ShCite Islam it is believed that the mahdi, or restorer of the faith, will come to inaugurate the last judgment, in which the good will enter heaven and the evil will fall into hell. In Buddhism, eschatolog¬ ical traditions are associated with the Buddha Maitreya and with Pure Land Buddhism, as well as with individual efforts to achieve nirvana.

Escher Ve-shorV, M(aurits) C(ornelis) (b. June 17, 1898, Leeuwar- den, Neth.—d. March 27, 1972, Laren) Dutch graphic artist. He became

Encounter, lithograph printed in black by M.C. Escher, 1944; in the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.

COLLECTION, THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW VORK CITY; GIF OF THE INTERNATIONAL GRAPHIC ARTS SOCIETY

634 i Escoffier ► espalier

well-known for prints in which he used realistic detail to achieve bizarre optical illusions, such as staircases that appear to lead both up and down from the same level. His work assumed a Surrealist flavour as he began depicting unexpected metamorphoses of mundane objects. His works were of interest to mathematicians, cognitive psychologists, and the gen¬ eral public and were widely reproduced throughout the 20th century.

Escoffier \es-kof-'ya\, (Georges-) Auguste (b. Oct. 28, 1846, Villeneuve-Loubet, Fr.—d. Feb. 12, 1935, Monte Carlo, Monaco) French chef known for his innovations in haute cuisine. He earned a worldwide reputation as director of the kitchens at the Grand Hotel at Monte Carlo and at Cesar Ritz’s Savoy (1890-99) and Carlton (1899-1922) hotels in London. He helped reform grande cuisine by simplifying and refining it and making its preparation more efficient. He wrote Guide culinaire (1903), Ma Cuisine (1934), and other classic works. He is often called the greatest chef of all time.

Escorial, El See El Escorial

escrow \'es-,kr6\ Instrument, such as a deed, money, or property, that constitutes evidence of obligations between two or more parties and is held by a third party. It is delivered by the third party only upon fulfill¬ ment of some condition. In commercial usage, this condition is most often the performance of an act (e.g., payment) by the party who is to receive the instrument. Escrow is also used in family transactions (e.g., when a death in the family results in an instrument being delivered to another family member).

Esdraelon \,ez-dr3-'e-bn\, Plain of Hebrew Emeq Yizre'el

Ve-mek-.yez-ra-'eH Plain, northern Israel. About 25 mi (40 km) long, it divides the hilly areas of Galilee in the north and Samaria in the south. Part of the ancient passage between Egypt and the Fertile Crescent, it was an avenue of commerce and a scene of conflict from earliest antiquity. To the northwest is the site of ancient Megiddo. Owing to poor natural drainage, it was swampy and sparsely inhabited for many centuries, but since 1920 the land has been reclaimed, and dozens of settlements, combining inten¬ sive agriculture with light industry, have been set up. c Afula is the prin¬ cipal urban centre.

Esenin, Sergey See Sergey Yesenin

Esfahan \,es-fa-'han\ or Isfahan \,is-fa-'han\ City (pop., 1996: 1,266,072), west-central Iran. An ancient Median town, it was known as Aspadana. It was a major city in the 11th—12th centuries under the SeuGq Turks and during the Safavid dynasty of Iran (16th—18th centuries). Its golden age began in 1598 when Shah 'Abbas I made it his capital and rebuilt it into one of the 17th century’s greatest cities. At its centre he created the immense Maydan-e Shah, or “Royal Square” (now Maydan-e Emam; “Imam’s Square”), a great rectangular garden enclosing the Masjid-e Shah (“Royal Mosque”; now Masjid-e Emam). In 1722 Afghans took the city, and it went into decline. Recovery began in the 20th cen¬ tury, and it is now a major textile centre, whose other industries include steelmaking and petroleum refining. The square was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.