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interval

(Encyclopedia)interval, in music, the difference in pitch between two tones. Intervals may be measured acoustically in terms of their vibration numbers. They are more generally named according to the number of step...

Joinville, Jean, sire de

(Encyclopedia)Joinville, Jean, sire de zhäN sēr də zhwăNvēlˈ [key], 1224?–1317?, French chronicler, biographer of Louis IX of France (St. Louis). As seneschal (governor) of Champagne, Joinville was a close ...

Dennett, Tyler

(Encyclopedia)Dennett, Tyler dĕnˈĭt [key], 1883–1949, American historian and educator, b. Spencer, Wis. Dennett was lecturer in American history at Johns Hopkins (1923–24) and at Columbia (1927–28), chief ...

Coanda effect

(Encyclopedia)Coanda effect or wall-attachment effect, the tendency of a moving fluid, either liquid or gas, to attach itself to a surface and flow along it. As a fluid moves across a surface a certain amount of fr...

snapper

(Encyclopedia)snapper, name for members of the Lutjanidae, a family of spiny-finned food and game fishes found chiefly in tropical coastal waters. Snappers are carnivorous, active, and voracious, with large mouths ...

Roberts, Richard John

(Encyclopedia)Roberts, Richard John, 1943–, British biochemist, Ph.D., Univ. of Sheffield, 1968. Roberts joined James D. Watson's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York in 1972, becoming assistant director for...

Van Rompuy, Herman Achille

(Encyclopedia)Van Rompuy, Herman Achille, 1947–, Belgian statesman, b. Etterbeek. A Flemish Christian Democrat, he was president of the party from 1988 to 1993 and was a member of Belgium's parliament, serving in...

wind shear

(Encyclopedia)wind shear, a sudden, drastic change in wind direction or speed over a comparatively short distance. Most winds travel horizontally, as does most wind shear, but under certain conditions, including th...

swordfish

(Encyclopedia)swordfish, large food and game fish, Xiphias gladius, of the warmer Atlantic and Pacific waters. It is named for its sharp, broad, elongated upper jaw, which it uses to flail and injure its prey of sm...

teasel

(Encyclopedia)teasel, common name for some members of the Dipsacaceae, a family of chiefly Old World herbs found mostly in the Mediterranean and Balkan areas but ranging to India and to S Africa. Species of Dipsacu...