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Binnig, Gerd

(Encyclopedia)Binnig, Gerd gĕrt bĭnˈĭkh [key], 1947–, German physicist, Ph.D. Univ. of Frankfurt, 1978. At the IBM Research Laboratory in Zürich, Binnig and fellow researcher Heinrich Rohrer built the first ...

Abbey Theatre

(Encyclopedia)Abbey Theatre, Irish theatrical company devoted primarily to indigenous drama. W. B. Yeats was a leader in founding (1902) the Irish National Theatre Society with Lady Gregory, J. M. Synge, and A. E. ...

microscope

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Compound microscope microscope, optical instrument used to increase the apparent size of an object. The electron microscope, which is not limited by the powers of optical lenses and light,...

astrolabe

(Encyclopedia)astrolabe ăsˈtrəlāb [key], instrument probably used originally for measuring the altitudes of heavenly bodies and for determining their positions and movements. Although its origin is ancient and ...

tone

(Encyclopedia)tone. In music, a tone is distinguished from noise by its definite pitch, caused by the regularity of the vibrations which produce it. Any tone possesses the attributes of pitch, intensity, and qualit...

clavichord

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Clavichord clavichord klăvˈĭkôrd [key], keyboard musical instrument invented in the Middle Ages. It consists of a small rectangular wooden box, placed upon a table or on legs, containing a...

ultimatum

(Encyclopedia)ultimatum ŭlˌtĭmāˈtəm [key], in international law, final, definitive terms submitted by one disputant nation to the other for immediate acceptance or rejection. Since refusal to accept the terms...

Frederick William I

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William I, 1688–1740, king of Prussia (1713–40), son and successor of Frederick I. He continued the administrative reforms and the process of centralization begun by Frederick William, t...

Hogwood, Christopher Jarvis Haley

(Encyclopedia)Hogwood, Christopher Jarvis Haley, 1941–2014, British conductor, musicologist, and harpsichordist, b. Nottingham, grad. Cambridge (1964). He was an leader of the early-music movement, which sought t...

spectroscope

(Encyclopedia)spectroscope, optical instrument for producing spectral lines and measuring their wavelengths and intensities, used in spectral analysis (see spectrum). When a material is heated to incandescence it e...