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sonic boom

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Sonic boom wave pattern from a supersonic aircraft and variation in pressure sonic boom, shock wave produced by an object moving through the air at supersonic speed, i.e., faster than the spee...

Eton

(Encyclopedia)Eton ēˈtən [key], town, Windsor and Maidenhead, central England, on the Thames River. It i...

mask

(Encyclopedia)mask, cover or partial cover for the face or head used as a disguise or protection. Masks have been worn from time immemorial throughout the world. They are used by primitive peoples chiefly to impers...

Lem, Stanisław

(Encyclopedia)Lem, Stanisław stänˈĭswäfˌ lĕm [key], 1921–2006, Polish science-fiction writer. A doctor by training, Lem began his writing career as a poet before turning to the novel. In his many science-f...

Te Kanawa, Dame Kiri

(Encyclopedia)Te Kanawa, Dame Kiri tā käˈnəwə [key], 1944–, New Zealand opera and concert singer. From the early 1970s until her last public performance (2016), she was one of the most acclaimed and popular ...

Hamer, Fannie Lou

(Encyclopedia)Hamer, Fannie Lou, 1917–1977, U.S. voting rights activist and civil rights leader, b. Montgomery County, Miss. Fannie Lou Hamer was the first woman fr...

Bori, Lucrezia

(Encyclopedia)Bori, Lucrezia bôˈrē [key], 1887–1960, Spanish soprano, whose real name was Borja (Ital. Borgia). She made her debut (1908) in Rome as Micaela in Carmen, later sang Manon Lescaut opposite Caruso ...

Ponselle, Rosa

(Encyclopedia)Ponselle, Rosa pŏnzĕlˈ [key], 1897–1981, American operatic soprano, b. Meriden, Conn. First appearing in vaudeville, she made her debut (1918) at the Metropolitan Opera in Verdi's La forza del de...

countertenor

(Encyclopedia)countertenor, a male singing voice in the alto range. Singing in this range requires either a special vocal technique called falsetto, or a high extension of the tenor range. Countertenors were requir...

harmonica

(Encyclopedia)harmonica. 1 The simplest of the musical instruments employing free reeds, known also as the mouth organ or French harp. It was probably invented in 1829 by Friedrich Buschmann of Berlin, who called h...