Mstislav Rostropovich was a Russian conductor and pianist and one of the best-known cellists of the 20th century. Trained by his parents (a cellist and a pianist) and at the Moscow Conservatory (1943–48), Rostropovich became professor of cello at the conservatory in 1956. He began touring abroad in

Gaius Duilius: The English term rostrum derives from this Roman custom. In 258 Duilius was censor (magistrate responsible for the census and for public morality), and in 231 he was empowered (as a magistrate with emergency powers, or a dictator) by the Senate to hold elections.

sawfish: …dangerous, but their saws (or rostrums), constituting as much as one-third their total length, can be formidable. The saws are used in feeding, in digging out bottom animals, and, when lashed about, in killing or maiming schooling fishes. These structures also contain electroreceptors called ampullae of Lorenzini, which can detect…

motion-picture technology: Figural basis of animation: …the use of a so-called rostrum camera, which photographs downward onto the background with its series of superimposed cel layers pegged into place to secure accurate registration.

Hrosvitha was regarded as the first German woman poet. Of noble birth, Hrosvitha spent most of her life as a nun in the Benedictine convent at Gandersheim. In an effort to counteract the pagan morality expressed in classical works, Hrosvitha wrote (c. 960) six comedies in Latin, based on Terence,

X: …in the supernatural television series Roswell (1999–2002). Alvin earned a Grammy Award for his traditional folk album Public Domain: Songs from the Wild Land (2000). The original X lineup reunited for a pair of concerts in 2004 (later collected in the album Live in Los Angeles [2005]), and the Knitters…

Roswell, city, seat (1889) of Chaves county, southeastern New Mexico, U.S. It lies along the Hondo River near the Pecos River. Founded as a trading post in 1871 by Van C. Smith, it was named for his father, Roswell, and developed as a ranching and agricultural centre supported by irrigation. The

Roswell incident, events surrounding the crash and recovery of a U.S. Army Air Forces high-altitude balloon in 1947 near Roswell, New Mexico, which became the centre of a conspiracy theory involving UFOs and extraterrestrials. The U.S. military fostered the intrigue by initially claiming that the

Roswell incident, events surrounding the crash and recovery of a U.S. Army Air Forces high-altitude balloon in 1947 near Roswell, New Mexico, which became the centre of a conspiracy theory involving UFOs and extraterrestrials. The U.S. military fostered the intrigue by initially claiming that the

Bollandist: The idea was conceived by Heribert Rosweyde, a Jesuit who intended to publish, from early manuscripts, 18 volumes of lives of the saints with notes attached. After Rosweyde’s death in 1629, Jean Bolland organized a group that continued to gather material and, especially on the advice of Henschenius (Godefroid Henskens),…

Hrosvitha was regarded as the first German woman poet. Of noble birth, Hrosvitha spent most of her life as a nun in the Benedictine convent at Gandersheim. In an effort to counteract the pagan morality expressed in classical works, Hrosvitha wrote (c. 960) six comedies in Latin, based on Terence,

homopteran: Importance: …caused to apples by the rosy apple aphid. Females of the third seasonal generation remain on the apple leaves until after small apples have formed. Many aphids crawl onto these tiny apples and puncture them causing dimpling of the fruit and normal incision of tiny apples. The cluster of apples,…

barb: Rosy barb (B. conchonius), to 5–6 cm (2–2.5 inches) in aquariums, larger in nature; colour silvery rose with dark spot near tail; breeding male deep rose with black-edged dorsal fin.

snake: Early development and growth: A brood of California rosy boas (Charina trivirgata) doubled their length in a nine-month period, growing to only a few inches shorter than their mother, an adult close to maximum length for the species. It has been suggested that all snakes grow rapidly until they reach sexual maturity, after…

lovebird: The largest species is the rosy-faced lovebird, A. roseicollis, of Angola to South Africa.

dace: …daces include: the redside and rosyside daces (Clinostomus), which are black-banded fishes about 12 cm (4 34 inches) long found in the eastern and central United States; and several species of the genus Rhinichthys, among them the black-nosed dace (R. atratulus), a fine-scaled, black-banded, 7.5-centimetre-long fish found from New England…

Rosyth, town and naval base in Fife council area and historic county, Scotland, on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. The naval base played a vital role in both World Wars as a ship-repair and dry-dock complex. During World War II the dockyard was greatly expanded, and more than 3,000 warships

rot, any of several plant diseases, caused by any of hundreds of species of soil-borne bacteria, fungi, and funguslike organisms (Oomycota). Rot diseases are characterized by plant decomposition and putrefaction. The decay may be hard, dry, spongy, watery, mushy, or slimy and may affect any plant

Moonshine is a term typically used to refer to illicitly distilled liquor. The word is derived from the notion of the liquor being made and distributed at night, under cover of darkness. Makers of moonshine are called moonshiners. Moonshine most commonly denotes clear, unaged whiskey that was made

diplomatics: The papal chancery: …in a round symbol, the rota. By the early 13th century, papal documents had evolved into two distinctive groups: solemn privileges and letters. Solemn privileges can be distinguished by their enlarged letters (elongata) of the first line, by the phrase in perpetuum (“in perpetuity”) at the end of the address,…

Rota, island, one of the Mariana Islands and part of the Northern Mariana Islands commonwealth of the United States, in the western Pacific Ocean. Rota is situated about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Guam. Of volcanic formation, the island rises to 1,627 feet (496 metres). Under Japanese

combinatorics: The Möbius inversion theorem: One consequence of Rota’s theorem is the following:

Nino Rota was an Italian composer of film scores. Rota had composed an oratorio and an opera by age 13. After studies at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute he began writing film scores. From 1950 to 1978 he served as director of the Liceo Musicale, a conservatory in Bari. In 1950 he also began his

Rotary International, civilian service club founded as the Rotary Club of Chicago in 1905 by American attorney Paul P. Harris. For having created the organization, Harris is credited with initiating the idea of a civilian service club, an organization of men or women from varied business and

vacuum technology: Mechanical booster: Capacities are available from 100 to 70,000 cu ft per minute, operating usually in the pressure range of 10 to 10-3 torr. The peak speed of the pump is developed in the pressure range of 1 to 10-2 torr, the speed at the…

steel: Variations: …special continuous process is the rotary casting of rounds, mainly for seamless tubes. A rotary caster is similar to a straight-mold vertical caster, except that the round mold, the strand, and the withdrawal system revolve at about 75 rotations per minute. This creates a centrifugal force within the strand and…

steel: Variations: …special continuous process is the rotary casting of rounds, mainly for seamless tubes. A rotary caster is similar to a straight-mold vertical caster, except that the round mold, the strand, and the withdrawal system revolve at about 75 rotations per minute. This creates a centrifugal force within the strand and…

Rotary International, civilian service club founded as the Rotary Club of Chicago in 1905 by American attorney Paul P. Harris. For having created the organization, Harris is credited with initiating the idea of a civilian service club, an organization of men or women from varied business and

Rotary International, civilian service club founded as the Rotary Club of Chicago in 1905 by American attorney Paul P. Harris. For having created the organization, Harris is credited with initiating the idea of a civilian service club, an organization of men or women from varied business and

telephone: Rotary dialing: The first automatic switching systems, based on the Strowger switch described in the section Electromechanical switching, were activated by a push button on the calling party’s telephone. More accurate call dialing was permitted by the advent of the rotary dial in 1896. A…

drilling machinery: The simplest rotary drill is the earth auger, which is hand-operated and resembles the wood auger used in carpentry. The earth auger, used principally for drilling holes in relatively soft earth, is armed with either a spiral drill or a pod-type drill and is attached to a…

coal mining: Core drilling and rotary drilling: A second factor associated with a drilling program is the choice between core drilling and rotary drilling. In core drilling, a hollow drill bit is attached to a core barrel so that cylindrical samples of the strata can be obtained. (Since the drill…

rotary engine, internal-combustion engine in which the combustion chambers and cylinders rotate with the driven shaft around a fixed control shaft to which pistons are affixed; the gas pressures of combustion are used to rotate the shaft. Some of these engines have pistons that slide in toroidal

tunnels and underground excavations: Soft-ground moles: …their first success in 1954, moles (mining machines) have been rapidly adopted worldwide. Close copies of the Oahe moles were used for similar large-diameter tunnels in clay shale at Gardiner Dam in Canada and at Mangla Dam in Pakistan during the mid-1960s, and subsequent moles have succeeded at many other…

cultivator: Rotary hoes, used for early cultivation of corn, cotton, soybeans, potatoes, and small grain, have as many as 12 sections, each mounting several hoe wheels, with the whole machine up to 12 metres (40 feet) wide. When the rotary hoe is drawn backward, it gives…

Rotary International, civilian service club founded as the Rotary Club of Chicago in 1905 by American attorney Paul P. Harris. For having created the organization, Harris is credited with initiating the idea of a civilian service club, an organization of men or women from varied business and

pivot joint, in vertebrate anatomy, a freely moveable joint (diarthrosis) that allows only rotary movement around a single axis. The moving bone rotates within a ring that is formed from a second bone and adjoining ligament. The pivot joint is exemplified by the joint between the atlas and the axis

cement: Burning: …means of burning is the rotary kiln. These kilns—up to 200 metres (660 feet) long and six metres in diameter in wet process plants but shorter for the dry process—consist of a steel, cylindrical shell lined with refractory materials. They rotate slowly on an axis that is inclined a few…

baking: Rotary molding: Cookies produced on rotary molders include sandwich-base cakes and pieces made with embossed designs. A steel cylinder, the surface covered with shallow engraved cavities, rotates past the opening in a hopper filled with cookie dough. The pockets are filled with the dough, which is sheared off from the…

history of technology: Mechanical contrivances: …transformation: the widespread introduction of rotary motion. This was exemplified in the use of the treadmill for powering cranes and other heavy lifting operations, the introduction of rotary water-raising devices for irrigation works (a scoop wheel powered by a treadmill), and the development of the waterwheel as a prime mover.…

rotogravure printing, system of printing based on the transfer of fluid ink from depressions in a printing plate to the paper. It is an intaglio process, so-called because the design to be printed is etched or engraved below the surface of the printing plate. At the start of the gravure printing

agricultural technology: Primary tillage equipment: The rotary plow’s essential feature is a set of knives or tines rotated on a shaft by a power source. The knives chop the soil up and throw it against a hood that covers the knife set. These machines can create good seedbeds, but their high…

optical activity, the ability of a substance to rotate the plane of polarization of a beam of light that is passed through it. (In plane-polarized light, the vibrations of the electric field are confined to a single plane.) The intensity of optical activity is expressed in terms of a quantity,

rotary press, printing press that prints on paper passing between a supporting cylinder and a cylinder containing the printing plates. It may be contrasted to the flatbed press, which has a flat printing surface. It is primarily used in high-speed, web-fed operations, in which the press takes paper

agricultural technology: Primary tillage equipment: The rotary plow’s essential feature is a set of knives or tines rotated on a shaft by a power source. The knives chop the soil up and throw it against a hood that covers the knife set. These machines can create good seedbeds, but their high…

filtration: Filter types: The rotary-drum vacuum filter is used extensively in industry for the continuous filtration of large quantities of slurries containing a high content of suspended solids. The filter consists of a cylindrical drum with internal divisions, ports and valves for application of the vacuum and removal of…

helicopter: …more power-driven horizontal propellers or rotors that enable it to take off and land vertically, to move in any direction, or to remain stationary in the air. Other vertical-flight craft include autogiros, convertiplanes, and V/STOL aircraft of a number of configurations.

sator square, early Latin word puzzle or cryptogram. It is the most well-known example of a lettered magic square, with 25 letters that make up a five-by-five grid of acrostic Latin palindromes. The words found in a sator square are SATOR (“sower” or “planter”), AREPO (an unknown word, possibly a

artillery: Mortars: …Hotchkiss-Brandt type, a prerifled copper driving band, wrapped around the bomb, expanded under gas pressure and engaged the grooves in the barrel.

wastewater treatment: Rotating biological contacter: In this treatment system a series of large plastic disks mounted on a horizontal shaft are partially submerged in primary effluent. As the shaft rotates, the disks are exposed alternately to air and wastewater, allowing a layer of bacteria to grow on…

Roy Kerr: …black holes are also called Kerr black holes. In later work (written jointly with A. Schild), he introduced a new class of solutions, known as Kerr–Schild solutions, which have had a profound influence on finding exact solutions to Einstein’s equations.

pneumatic device: Major types of pneumatic devices: A rotating type of compressor, operating in reverse, serves as one type of motor. Compressed air enters the housing, pushes on the vanes, and rotates a central shaft or spindle. A drill, grinding wheel, or other device is fastened to the spindle. A reciprocating-piston compressor, operating…

electric generator: Rotor: An elementary synchronous generator is shown in cross section in Figure 2. The central shaft of the rotor is coupled to the mechanical prime mover. The magnetic field is produced by conductors, or coils, wound into slots cut in the surface of the cylindrical…

electric motor: Induction motors: …position, is to produce a rotating magnetic field with a constant magnitude and a mechanical angular velocity that depends on the frequency of the electric supply.

neutron star: …also seen as objects called rotating radio transients (RRATs) and as magnetars. The RRATs are sources that emit single radio bursts but at irregular intervals ranging from four minutes to three hours. The cause of the RRAT phenomenon is unknown. Magnetars are highly magnetized neutron stars that have a magnetic…

ceilometer: The rotating-transmitter ceilometer has its separate receiver fixed to direct reflections only from directly overhead while the transmitter sweeps the sky. When the modulated beam intersects a cloud base directly over the receiver, light is reflected downward and detected.

motion-picture technology: Introduction of sound: …recording was modulated by a rotating mirror and the slit was parallel to the edge of the film; reproduction employed the perpendicular slit of the variable density sound track. Minor problems of incompatibility between recording and reproduction were solved in late 1928 when the track was narrowed down to stay…

asteroid: Rotation and shape: The rotation periods and shapes of asteroids are determined primarily by monitoring their changing brightness on timescales of minutes to days. Short-period fluctuations in brightness caused by the rotation of an irregularly shaped asteroid or a spherical spotted asteroid (i.e., one with…

linear algebra: Linear transformations and matrices: Another example is a rotation, which leaves all lengths the same but alters the directions of the vectors. Linear refers to the fact that the transformation preserves vector addition and scalar multiplication. This means that if T is a linear transformation sending a vector v to T(v), then for…

billiards: Pocket billiards, or pool: …pool is rotation, or “Chicago,” in which the object is to pocket the balls in numerical order, starting with the lowest number. The numbers of the balls are added up to determine the winner of the game. In so-called straight pool (also called 14.1 continuous pool, or rack pool),…

joint: Joint movements: …denoted by the anatomical term rotation. An important example of spin is provided by the radius (outer bone of the forearm); this bone can spin upon the lower end of the humerus (upper arm) in all positions of the elbow. When an individual presses the back of the hand against…

mineral: Symmetry elements: A rotation axis is an imaginary line through a crystal around which it may be rotated and repeat itself in appearance one, two, three, four, or six times during a complete rotation. (For example, a sixfold rotation occurs when the crystal repeats itself each 60°—that is,…

mechanics: Rotation about a fixed axis: Take the axis of rotation to be the z-axis. A vector in the x-y plane from the axis to a bit of mass fixed in the body makes an angle θ with respect to the x-axis. If the body is rotating, θ changes with time, and the…

optical activity, the ability of a substance to rotate the plane of polarization of a beam of light that is passed through it. (In plane-polarized light, the vibrations of the electric field are confined to a single plane.) The intensity of optical activity is expressed in terms of a quantity,

mechanics: Rotation about a fixed axis: Take the axis of rotation to be the z-axis. A vector in the x-y plane from the axis to a bit of mass fixed in the body makes an angle θ with respect to the x-axis. If the body is rotating, θ changes with time, and the…

kinetic energy: Accordingly, rotational kinetic energy is equal to one-half the product of the moment of inertia and the square of the angular velocity, or 12Iω2.

spectroscopy: Rotational energy states: …diatomic molecule shows that the rotational energy is quantized and is given by EJ = J(J + 1)(h2/8π2I), where h is Planck’s constant and J = 0, 1, 2,… is the rotational quantum number. Molecular rotational spectra originate when a molecule undergoes a transition from one rotational level to another,

chemical analysis: Microwave absorptiometry: …radiation can cause changes in rotational energy levels within molecules, making it useful for other purposes. The rotational energy levels within a molecule correspond to the different possible ways in which a portion of a molecule can revolve around the chemical bond that binds it to the remainder of the…

desertification: Solutions to desertification: Rotational grazing, which is the process of limiting the grazing pressure of livestock in a given area. Livestock are frequently moved to new grazing areas before they cause permanent damage to the plants and soil of any one area. Terracing, which involves the creation of…

angular momentum: rotary inertia of an object or system of objects in motion about an axis that may or may not pass through the object or system. The Earth has orbital angular momentum by reason of its annual revolution about the Sun and spin angular momentum because…

kinetic energy: Accordingly, rotational kinetic energy is equal to one-half the product of the moment of inertia and the square of the angular velocity, or 12Iω2.

plastic: Rotational molding: In order to make a hollow article, a split mold can be partially filled with a plastisol or a finely divided polymer powder. Rotation of the mold while heating converts the liquid or fuses the powder into a continuous film on the interior…

hydraulic power: A rotational motor, sometimes called a rotary hydraulic motor, produces a rotary motion. In such a motor the pressurized fluid supplied by a hydraulic pump acts on the surfaces of the motor’s gear teeth, vanes, or pistons and creates a force that produces a torque on…

spectroscopy: Rotational energy states: …0, 1, 2,… is the rotational quantum number. Molecular rotational spectra originate when a molecule undergoes a transition from one rotational level to another, subject to quantum mechanical selection rules. Selection rules are stated in terms of the allowed changes in the quantum numbers that characterize the energy states. For…

landslide: Types of landslides: …slide), or it can be rotational along a concave-upward set of shear surfaces (a slump). A translational slide typically takes place along structural features, such as a bedding plane or the interface between resistant bedrock and weaker overlying material. If the overlying material moves as a single, little-deformed mass, it…

spectroscopy: Types of microwave spectrometer: For observation of its rotational spectrum, a molecule must possess a permanent electric dipole moment and have a vapour pressure such that it can be introduced into a sample cell at extremely low pressures (5–50 millitorr; one millitorr equals 1 × 10−3 millimetre of mercury or 1.93 × 10−5…

rotational stress, physiological changes that occur in the body when it is subjected to intense gyrational or centrifugal forces, as in tumbling and spinning. Tumbling and spinning are a hazard to pilots who have been ejected from a moving aircraft. Tolerance levels to rotational stress depend

symmetry: …such element of symmetry is rotation; other elements are translation, reflection, and inversion. The elements of symmetry present in a particular crystalline solid determine its shape and affect its physical properties.

time: Rotational time: The Earth’s rotation causes the stars and the Sun to appear to rise each day in the east and set in the west. The apparent solar day is measured by the interval of time between two successive passages of the Sun across the…

Milky Way Galaxy: The stellar luminosity function: …distribution of proper motions and tangential velocities (the speeds at which stellar objects move at right angles to the line of sight) of stars near the Sun.

energy conversion: Watt’s engine: …more difficult to build, Watt’s rotative engine opened up an entirely new field of application: it enabled the steam engine to be used to operate rotary machines in factories and cotton mills. The rotative engine was widely adopted; it is estimated that by 1800 Watt and Boulton had built 500…

rotavirus, any of a group of viruses in the family Reoviridae that are known as the leading cause of severe diarrhea in children worldwide. Rotaviruses grow in the cells lining the intestines, where they give rise to acute gastroenteritis, particularly conditions known as infantile diarrhea and

rotavirus: Vaccination against rotavirus is the most effective form of prevention. Rotavirus vaccine can be given orally and is safe and highly effective.

Joseph Rotblat was a Polish-born British physicist who became a leading critic of nuclear weaponry. He was a founding member (1957), secretary-general (1957–73), and president (1988–97) of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, a London-based worldwide organization of scholars that

Joseph Rotblat was a Polish-born British physicist who became a leading critic of nuclear weaponry. He was a founding member (1957), secretary-general (1957–73), and president (1988–97) of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, a London-based worldwide organization of scholars that

Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), elective military education program hosted by colleges and universities that prepares students to be commissioned as officers in the U.S. armed forces. ROTC programs are offered by the United States Army, Air Force, and Navy (including the Marine Corps).

rotta, medieval European stringed musical instrument. The name is frequently applied to the boxlike lyres with straight or waisted sides frequently pictured in medieval illustrations of musical instruments. Some surviving writings, however, indicate that contemporary writers may have applied the

Red Army Faction (RAF), West German radical leftist group formed in 1968 and popularly named after two of its early leaders, Andreas Baader (1943–77) and Ulrike Meinhof (1934–76). The group had its origins among the radical elements of the German university protest movement of the 1960s, which

Joseph von Görres: …and published a republican journal, Das rote Blatt (“The Red Page”; renamed Rübezahl), in 1799. After an unsuccessful visit to Paris in 1799 as a political negotiator for the Rhenish provinces, he became disillusioned and withdrew from active politics. He taught natural science in Koblenz and then lectured at Heidelberg…

Manfred, baron von Richthofen was Germany’s top aviator and leading ace in World War I. (Read Orville Wright’s 1929 biography of his brother, Wilbur.) Members of a prosperous family, Richthofen and his younger brother Lothar followed their father into military careers. In 1912 Richthofen became a

Manfred, baron von Richthofen was Germany’s top aviator and leading ace in World War I. (Read Orville Wright’s 1929 biography of his brother, Wilbur.) Members of a prosperous family, Richthofen and his younger brother Lothar followed their father into military careers. In 1912 Richthofen became a

Manfred, baron von Richthofen was Germany’s top aviator and leading ace in World War I. (Read Orville Wright’s 1929 biography of his brother, Wilbur.) Members of a prosperous family, Richthofen and his younger brother Lothar followed their father into military careers. In 1912 Richthofen became a

learning theory: Association: …Ebbinghaus (1850–1909) began to study rote learning of lists of nonsense verbal items (e.g., XOQ, ZUN, ZIB). He maintained that the association of each word with every succeeding word was the primary mechanism in learning these lists. Pavlov in Russia offered temporary associative connections in the nervous system as a…

theatre: The influence of Piscator: In the Rote Rummel Revue (“Red Riot Review”; 1924), produced for the German Communist Party, Piscator began the action with a fight in the auditorium. The protagonists came out of the audience to argue their points of view and commented on the action of the various scenes.…

Kurt Tucholsky: He contributed to Rote Signale (1931; “Red Signals”), a collection of communist poetry, and to Schaubühne, later Die Weltbühne, a journal published by the pacifist Carl von Ossietzky. In 1933 Tucholsky’s works were denounced by the Nazi government and banned, and he was stripped of his German citizenship.…

Sedang language, North Bahnaric language of the Mon-Khmer family, which is itself a part of the Austroasiatic stock. Sedang is spoken by some 110,000 people living in south-central Vietnam. The Tadrah language, spoken south of Sedang in the same region, may be a dialect but is usually considered a

Sedang language, North Bahnaric language of the Mon-Khmer family, which is itself a part of the Austroasiatic stock. Sedang is spoken by some 110,000 people living in south-central Vietnam. The Tadrah language, spoken south of Sedang in the same region, may be a dialect but is usually considered a

rubella, contagious viral disease that runs a mild and benign course in most people. Although rubella is not usually a serious illness in children or adults, it can cause birth defects or the loss of a fetus if a woman in the early stages of pregnancy becomes infected. German physician Daniel

Asian carp: …a piscicide (fish poison) called rotenone. This effort was designed to assess the current range of the carp and to prevent further encroachment; one specimen of Asian carp was found in the treated area. Weeks later, amid protestations from shipping interests, the state of Michigan filed a lawsuit against Illinois…

lighthouse: Construction: …to the building of the Roter Sand Lighthouse in the estuary of the Weser River in Germany and then to the Fourteen Foot Bank light in the Delaware Bay, U.S. With this method, a steel caisson or open-ended cylinder, perhaps 12 metres (40 feet) in diameter, was positioned on the…