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Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre pyĕr püvēˈ də shävänˈ [key], 1824–98, French mural painter, b. Lyons. In 1844 he went to Paris, where he studied under Delacroix and Couture. His painting War (Ami...

Pyramus and Thisbe

(Encyclopedia)Pyramus and Thisbe pĭrˈəməs, thĭzˈbē [key], in classical mythology, youth and maiden of Babylon, whose parents opposed their marriage. Their homes adjoined, and they conversed through a crevice...

quipus

(Encyclopedia)quipus or khipus kēˈpo͞oz [key], groups of strings, knotted for tally, which were used by the Inca for keeping records and sending messages. The quipu, which is believed to have predated the rise o...

optical activity

(Encyclopedia)optical activity, the ability of asymmetric compounds to rotate the orientation of planar polarized light. Such compounds and their mirror images are know as enantiomers, or optical isomers. Although ...

Ostwald, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Ostwald, Wilhelm vĭlˈhĕlm ôstˈvält [key], 1853–1932, German physical chemist and natural philosopher, b. Riga, Latvia. He was professor of chemistry and director of the chemical laboratory (18...

Overbeck, Johann Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Overbeck, Johann Friedrich yōˈhän frēˈdrĭkh oˈvərbĕk [key], 1789–1869, German religious painter. Expelled from the Vienna Academy because of his opposition to its classicism, he went to Rom...

palmtop

(Encyclopedia)palmtop or hand-held personal computer, lightweight, small, battery-powered, general-purpose programmable computer. It typically had a miniaturized full-function, typewriterlike keyboard for input and...

fuller's earth

(Encyclopedia)fuller's earth, mineral substance characterized by the property of absorbing basic colors and removing them from oils. It is composed mainly of alumina, silica, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, and water,...

Hiroshige

(Encyclopedia)Hiroshige (Ando Hiroshige) änˈdō hērōˈshēgāˌ [key], 1797–1858, Japanese painter and color-print artist of the ukiyo-e school. His prolific work includes a series of landscapes (1833) entitl...

Irish setter

(Encyclopedia)Irish setter, breed of large sporting dog developed in Ireland in the 18th cent. It stands about 26 in. (66.0 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs between 50 and 70 lb (22.7–31.8 kg). Its moderately ...