bacteria: Autotrophic metabolism: …the reductive pentose phosphate (Calvin) cycle, the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle, and the acetyl-CoA pathway. The Calvin cycle, elucidated by American biochemist Melvin Calvin, is the most widely distributed of these pathways, operating in plants, algae, photosynthetic bacteria, and most aerobic lithoautotrophic bacteria. The key step in the Calvin

Rally for the Republic, former French political party formed by Jacques Chirac in 1976 that presumed to be heir to the traditions of Charles de Gaulle. It was the direct successor to the Gaullist coalitions, operating under various names over the years, that had dominated the political life of the

syphilis test: Nontreponemal tests include the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test and the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, both of which are based on the detection in the blood of syphilis reagin (a type of serum antibody). Treponemal tests include the Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay (TPHA; or T. pallidum particle

Togo: Togo under Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma: …by President Eyadéma and the Rally of the Togolese People (Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais; RPT). Legislative elections were held again in 1985.

unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), military aircraft that is guided autonomously, by remote control, or both and that carries sensors, target designators, offensive ordnance, or electronic transmitters designed to interfere with or destroy enemy targets. Unencumbered by crew, life-support systems, and

military aircraft: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): …with more-advanced sensors, by the RQ-11 Raven, a scaled-down version of the Puma, and by the Wasp, a tiny vehicle weighing about 1 pound (less than half a kilogram) with a wingspan of 2 feet 4.5 inches (72 cm); the last is being issued to air force ground combat control…

military aircraft: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): Honeywell RQ-16 T-Hawk, a ducted-fan vehicle weighing 18.5 pounds (8 kg), fielded in 2007 and used to locate improvised explosive devices, and the Russian Kamov Ka-137, a 280-kg (620-pound) helicopter powered by coaxial contrarotating blades and carrying a television camera for border patrol. The much larger…

military aircraft: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): -built RQ-2 Pioneer, a slightly larger vehicle with secure up- and downlink. The Pioneer, fielded in 1986, was used by the Marine Corps and Navy in the Persian Gulf War of 1990–91. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army promoted the development of a similar but still larger UAV,…

military aircraft: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): …first of a series of RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs. The Global Hawk is capable of carrying a wide array of optical, infrared, and radar sensors and takes off from and lands on a runway. Its service ceiling of 65,000 feet (20,000 metres), its relatively small size, and the reach of…

military aircraft: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs): …still larger UAV, the Israeli-designed RQ-5 Hunter, which had a gross weight of 1,600 pounds (720 kg) and was propelled by both pusher and tractor propellers. Although not procured in quantity, Hunters served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

RR Lyrae star, any of a group of old giant stars of the class called pulsating variables (see variable star) that pulsate with periods of about 0.2–1 day. They belong to the broad Population II class of stars (see Populations I and II) and are found mainly in the thick disk and halo of the Milky

RR Lyrae star, any of a group of old giant stars of the class called pulsating variables (see variable star) that pulsate with periods of about 0.2–1 day. They belong to the broad Population II class of stars (see Populations I and II) and are found mainly in the thick disk and halo of the Milky

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…

multiple sclerosis: Prevalence and types of multiple sclerosis: …four major types of MS: relapsing-remitting (RRMS), secondary-progressive (SPMS), primary-progressive (PPMS), and progressive-relapsing (PRMS). About 80–85 percent of patients are diagnosed initially with RRMS. In this form of the disease, onset is usually gradual, and there are alternating intervals of symptom exacerbation and complete symptom remission. In many patients with…

ribosomal RNA (rRNA), molecule in cells that forms part of the protein-synthesizing organelle known as a ribosome and that is exported to the cytoplasm to help translate the information in messenger RNA (mRNA) into protein. The three major types of RNA that occur in cells are rRNA, mRNA, and

Rembrandt Research Project (RRP), an interdisciplinary collaboration by a group of Dutch art historians to produce a comprehensive catalog of Rembrandt van Rijn’s paintings. Its initial aim was to free Rembrandt’s oeuvre of the attributions that were thought to have harmed the image of Rembrandt as

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina: … and the Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic), were largely autonomous, each having its own assembly.

RSA encryption, type of public-key cryptography widely used for data encryption of e-mail and other digital transactions over the Internet. RSA is named for its inventors, Ronald L. Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard M. Adleman, who created it while on the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of

Rishabhanatha, the first of the 24 Tirthankaras (“Ford-Makers,” i.e., saviours) of Jainism, a religion of India. His name comes from the series of 14 auspicious dreams that his mother had, in which a bull (rishabha) appeared, before his birth. He is also known as Adinatha (“Lord of the Beginning”)

Society of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ), Roman Catholic religious congregation of women devoted to the education of girls. The Society of the Sacred Heart was founded in France in 1800 by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat. In the late 1700s Joseph Varin, a leader in the religious renewal in France following

rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), a feeling of severe emotional pain in response to rejection, criticism, or failure, whether real or perceived. RSD is closely associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), though it can affect persons who are not diagnosed with ADHD. It is not

Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party, Marxist revolutionary party ancestral to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Founded in 1898 in Minsk, the Social-Democratic Party held that Russia could achieve socialism only after developing a bourgeois society with an urban proletariat. It rejected

Reporters Without Borders, international organization founded in France in 1985 to advocate for press freedom worldwide. Named in reference to the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders, Reporters Without Borders (commonly referred to by its French acronym, RSF) has received numerous

SS: …most important division was the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA; Reich Security Central Office), which oversaw the Sicherheitspolizei (Sipo; Security Police), which, in turn, was divided into the Kriminalpolizei (Kripo; Criminal Police) and the dreaded Gestapo under Heinrich Müller. The RSHA also included the Sicherheitsdienst (SD; Security Service), a security department in charge…

Armenia: The Mamikonians and Bagratids: …general Procopius and the nakharar Theodor Rshtuni. Unable to prevent the pillage of Dvin in 642, Theodor in 643 gained a victory over another Arab army and was named commander in chief of the Armenian army by the Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus. In 653, after the truce with Muʿāwiyah,…

repetitive strain injury (RSI), any of a broad range of conditions affecting muscles, tendons, tendon sheaths, nerves, or joints that result particularly from excessive and forceful use. Strain, rapid movement, or constrained or constricted posture may be other causes. Examples of repetitive strain

Paryuṣaṇa: …last day of the festival, Bhadra-śukla-pañcamī (“Fifth Day of the Bright Fortnight of Bhādra”), is also an ancient Indian festival day known to Hindus as Ṛṣi-pañcamī (“The Fifth of the Seers”), the day on which Hindus pay homage to the seven seers, who are identified with the seven stars of…

RSS, format used to provide subscribers with new content from frequently updated websites. An RSS feed is a set of instructions residing on the computer server of a website, which is given upon request to a subscriber’s RSS reader, or aggregator. The feed tells the reader when new material—such as

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), organization founded in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889–1940), a physician living in the Maharashtra region of India, as part of the movement against British rule and as a response to rioting between Hindus and Muslims. Hedgewar was heavily influenced by the

respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), infectious agent of the respiratory system that typically produces a mild coldlike illness but in susceptible individuals, particularly infants under six months of age, is a major cause of severe and potentially fatal lower respiratory disease. Severe

biblical literature: The Revised Standard Version: The American Standard Version was an expression of sensitivity to the needs of the American public. At about the same time that it was produced, several individual and unofficial translations into modern speech made from 1885 on gained popularity, their appeal reinforced…

antiviral drug: Anti-RSV drugs: …a potentially fatal lower respiratory disease in children. The only pharmacological therapy available for treatment of the infection is the nucleoside analogue ribavirin, which can be administered orally, parenterally, or by inhalation. Ribavirin must also be activated by phosphorylation in order to be effective. An injectable humanized monoclonal antibody is…

Alex Salmond: … The Alex Salmond Show on RT (formerly Russia Today) television, the Russian-operated cable news channel that some observers in the West characterized as not only a propaganda outlet for Kremlin policy but also a tool for Russian intelligence operations. Criticism of Salmond’s presence on RT even came from SNP members,…

protease inhibitor: …inhibitor in combination with a reverse transcriptase inhibitor, which blocks the conversion of retroviral RNA into DNA, suppresses HIV replication better than either drug alone. The most effective combination therapy used to suppress the emergence of resistant virus is highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which combines three or more reverse…

reverse transcriptase: …a laboratory technology known as reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a powerful tool used in research and in the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer.

Chicago: Transportation: …Illinois General Assembly created the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and gave it the power to levy a sales tax to support the CTA as well as a failing commuter rail system (which was unified and named Metra). Privately owned and municipal bus routes in the suburbs were similarly united under…

rita, in Indian religion and philosophy, the cosmic order mentioned in the Vedas, the ancient sacred scriptures of India. As Hinduism developed from the ancient Vedic religion, the concept of rita led to the doctrines of dharma (duty) and karma (accumulated effects of good and bad actions). Rita is

Zoroastrianism: God: …Veda knows it too, as rita-druh, though the contrast is not as sharply defined as in the Avesta. Between these two principles, the Twin Spirits made an ominous choice, the Bounteous One becoming in thoughts, words, and deeds a partisan of Asha, ashavan, while the other became dregvant, partisan of…

Buddhism: Local gods and demons: …god of wealth; and especially Hayagriva, a fierce horse-faced god who is powerful in driving off unconverted demonic forces. The Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions have also identified local deities as manifestations of various buddhas and bodhisattvas. This process is particularly prominent in Japan, where the identification of buddhas and bodhisattvas…

Belgium: Media and publishing: Belgian Radio-Television of the French Community (RTBF), which broadcasts in French, and the Flemish Radio and Television Network (VRT; formerly Belgian Radio and Television [BRTN]), in Flemish, were created as public services. Both are autonomous and are managed by an administrative council. Radio Vlaanderen International…

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir: …served as director of the Reykjavík Theatre Company (Leikfélag Reykjavíkur) and participated in an experimental theatre group. During that period, she presented French lessons and cultural programming on Iceland State Television, a task that enhanced her national reputation and popularity. During the summer tourist season, she also served as a…

Scientology: Organization of the church: The Religious Technology Center (RTC) has ultimate ecclesiastical authority for the teachings of Scientology, owns all the movement’s trademarks, and grants the churches and organizations their licenses. The RTC is also charged with ensuring that the church’s procedures are followed fully and that its “spiritual technology”…

Ireland: Music and dance: …in Dublin and maintained by Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; the state-owned broadcasting company), the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra are the country’s principal orchestral groups. Ireland’s leading contemporary music ensemble, Concorde, commissions and performs the work of contemporary composers. New music is supported by the Contemporary…

protease inhibitor: …inhibitor in combination with a reverse transcriptase inhibitor, which blocks the conversion of retroviral RNA into DNA, suppresses HIV replication better than either drug alone. The most effective combination therapy used to suppress the emergence of resistant virus is highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which combines three or more reverse…

Thomas Middelhoff: …controlling interest in the Luxembourg-based RTL Group, Europe’s largest producer of radio, television, and movie content and operator of numerous radio and TV stations across the continent.

Morocco: Media and publishing: …government-owned radio and television network, Radiodiffusion Télévision Marocaine (RTM), broadcasts throughout the country. Radio broadcasts are in Arabic, French, Tamazight, Spanish, and English, while television is broadcast in Arabic, Tamazight, and French. In addition, a private television network is headquartered in Casablanca and a private radio network in Tangier.

materials science: Polymer-matrix composites: Resin transfer molding, or RTM, is a composites processing method that offers a high potential for tailorability but is currently limited to low-viscosity (easily flowing) thermosetting polymers. In RTM, a textile preform—made by braiding, weaving, or knitting fibres together in a specified design—is placed into…

regression to the mean (RTM), a widespread statistical phenomenon that occurs when a nonrandom sample is selected from a population and the two variables of interest measured are imperfectly correlated. The smaller the correlation between these two variables, the more extreme the obtained value is

Malaysia: Media and publishing: …in East Malaysia, the government-operated Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) broadcasts in Malay, English, and assorted Chinese languages, as well as in various indigenous languages, such as Iban in Sarawak. RTM also broadcasts internationally in Arabic, English, Chinese, and the national languages of several of Malaysia’s Southeast Asian neighbours.

virtual sit-in: In 2003 RTMark sponsored an effort to collect a list of product barcodes that could be replaced with others that code for less-expensive items, giving consumers the ability to set their own prices on various products.

machine-tractor station: …the stations were transformed into Repair and Technical Service Stations (Remontno-tekhnicheskie stantsii; RTS), which repaired the machinery, supplied spare parts, and continued to rent machines for special purposes—e.g., road building. In 1961 the RTS were replaced by the All-Union Farm Machinery Association (Soyuzselkhoztekhnika).

electronic strategy game: Real-time games: As personal computers became more powerful, real-time games became viable, with the first commercial success being Dune II (1992), based on American director David Lynch’s 1984 film version of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel Dune (1965). Dune II allowed players to select and…

malaria: Vaccines and other forms of prevention: …approved was RTS,S (brand name Mosquirix), which was developed by GlaxoSmithKline and which gained approval in 2015 in Europe, enabling WHO to formulate recommendations for its use in Africa. RTS,S was approved specifically for use in infants and young children aged 6 weeks to 17 months. In a study involving…

Tibet: Plant and animal life: …tree used for basketry), and rtsi-shings (the seeds of which are used for making varnish). Fruit-bearing trees and certain roots are used for food, as are the leaves of the lca-wa, khumag, and sre-ral, all of which grow in the low, wet regions. Both wild and domestic flowers flourish in…

major industrial polymers: Polysiloxanes (silicones): …forms: (1) as low-molecular-weight liquid room-temperature-vulcanizing (RTV) polymers that are interlinked at room temperature after being cast or molded into a desired shape or (2) as heat-curable, high-temperature-vulcanizing (HTV) elastomers of higher viscosity that are mixed and processed like other elastomers. RTV elastomers are usually interlinked using reactive vinyl end-groups,…

Spain: Television and radio: …of the government-owned and -controlled Radio-Televisión Española (RTVE). They still broadcast today, solely in Castilian, and have been split into separate organizations: Radio Nacional de España (RNE) and Televisión Española (TVE). Radio Exterior de España (REE) provides overseas services, broadcasting in 10 languages.

ruthenium (Ru), chemical element, one of the platinum metals of Groups 8–10 (VIIIb), Periods 5 and 6, of the periodic table, used as an alloying agent to harden platinum and palladium. Silver-gray ruthenium metal looks like platinum but is rarer, harder, and more brittle. The Russian chemist Karl

Ru kiln, kiln known for creating highly prized Chinese stoneware. The Ru kiln produced ware for a short period during the years when Northern Song emperors Zhezong (1085–1110) and Huizong (1110–1125) ruled. No more than 60 intact pieces from the kiln were known before the discovery in 1986 of the

Luan River, river in Hebei province, northern China. The Luan rises in northern Hebei and flows northward into the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region through steep gorges; in its headstream it is called the Shandian River. It passes north of the ancient Mongol capital of Shangdu (Kaiping), for which

Ru kiln, kiln known for creating highly prized Chinese stoneware. The Ru kiln produced ware for a short period during the years when Northern Song emperors Zhezong (1085–1110) and Huizong (1110–1125) ruled. No more than 60 intact pieces from the kiln were known before the discovery in 1986 of the

RU-486, first trade name for mifepristone, a synthetic steroid drug prescribed for inducing abortion during the early weeks of pregnancy. The name is derived from an abbreviation for the pharmaceutical company Roussel-Uclaf plus a serial number. RU-486 was approved for use in France in 1988, and

Ruacana, site of an important hydroelectric-power station and a diversion dam directly above the Ruacana Falls, on the Kunene River at the border between Angola and Namibia. The Ruacana Dam and power station, together with the Calueque Dam (completed in 1976) 25 miles (40 km) farther upriver in

death: Judaism: The word ruach had at all times meant “wind” but later came to refer to the whole range of a person’s emotional, intellectual, and volitional life. It even designated ghosts. Both terms were widely used and conveyed a wide variety of meanings at different times, and both…

Ruaha National Park, national park, west of Iringa town in south-central Tanzania. The park is located at an elevation of 2,500 to 5,200 feet (750 to 1,900 m) and covers an area of 5,000 square miles (12,950 square km) and was originally part of the Rungwa Game Reserve. Lying in the Eastern (Great)

Mary Macleod was a Scottish Gaelic poet who is a major representative of the emergent 17th-century poetical school, which gradually supplanted the classical Gaelic bards. Macleod’s poetry is written in simple, natural rhythms and incorporates much of the imagery of the bardic poets. It mainly deals

Roderic O’Connor was the king of Connaught and the last high king of Ireland; he failed to turn back the Anglo-Norman invasion that led to the conquest of Ireland by England. Roderic succeeded his father, Turloch O’Connor, as king of Connaught in 1156. Since Turloch’s title of high king was claimed

East Timor: History: In 2018 Taur Matan Ruak became prime minister.

pipa: This instrument eventually became the ruan, or ruanxian (named for the musician Ruan Xian, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove). The ruan differed from the qinhanzi in having a longer neck and 13 frets. In performance the ruan, which is still in use today, is held vertically…

Ruan Ji was an eccentric Chinese poet and the most renowned member of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of 3rd-century poets and philosophers who sought refuge from worldly pressures in a life of drinking and verse making. Born into a prominent family, Ruan Ji was faced with the choice

Ruan Ji was an eccentric Chinese poet and the most renowned member of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of 3rd-century poets and philosophers who sought refuge from worldly pressures in a life of drinking and verse making. Born into a prominent family, Ruan Ji was faced with the choice

Ruan Ji was an eccentric Chinese poet and the most renowned member of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of 3rd-century poets and philosophers who sought refuge from worldly pressures in a life of drinking and verse making. Born into a prominent family, Ruan Ji was faced with the choice

Ruan Yuan was a bibliophile, scholar, and official of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty who between 1817 and 1826 served as governor-general of the southern province of Guangdong, through which all British trade was required to pass. Thus, Ruan was the top Chinese official in charge of relations with the

Rwanda, the peoples of the Republic of Rwanda who speak an Interlacustrine Bantu language known as Rwanda (also known as Kinyarwanda). The Rwanda are divided into two main groups: the Hutu, traditionally farmers; and the Tutsi, traditionally cattle-owning pastoralists. A small third group, the

Rwanda, landlocked country lying south of the Equator in east-central Africa. Known for its breathtaking scenery, Rwanda is often referred to as le pays des mille collines (French: “land of a thousand hills”). The capital is Kigali, located in the center of the country on the Ruganwa River. Like

Rwanda language, a Bantu language spoken by some 12 million people primarily in Rwanda and to a lesser extent in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Tanzania. The Bantu languages form a subgroup of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Rwanda is closely

Ruanda-Urundi, twin territory in central East Africa that was administered by Belgium from 1922 to 1962 and which thereafter became the independent states of Rwanda and Burundi (qq.v.). After World War I, in 1922, with an adjustment of frontiers, a slice of what had been formerly German East Africa

Mount Ruang, active stratovolcano located on Ruang Island, which lies in the Sangihe arc on the eastern edge of the Celebes Sea north of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The volcano’s summit stands 2,378 feet (725 meters) above sea level. It has a caldera approximately 2 miles (3,219 meters) wide, which since

pipa: This instrument eventually became the ruan, or ruanxian (named for the musician Ruan Xian, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove). The ruan differed from the qinhanzi in having a longer neck and 13 frets. In performance the ruan, which is still in use today, is held vertically…

Mount Ruapehu, active volcano and highest peak (9,176 feet [2,797 metres]) on North Island, New Zealand, in Tongariro National Park. Mount Ruapehu is situated on the Taupo Plateau, which rises 2,000 to 3,000 feet (about 600 to 900 metres) above sea level, Ruapehu erupted in 1945–46 and again in

Martin Amis: …War Against Cliché (2001), and The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump. Essays and Reportage, 1994-2016 (2017). Experience (2000), an autobiography that often focuses on his father, was acclaimed for an emotional depth and profundity that some reviewers had found lacking in his novels.

Pinocchio: Cast: Assorted

robāʿī, in Persian literature, genre of poetry consisting of a quatrain with the rhyme scheme aaba. Together with the mas̄navī (rhymed couplet), it is a purely Persian poetic genre and not a borrowing from the Arabic, as were the formal ode (qaṣīdah) and the love lyric (ghazal). It was adopted and

Islamic arts: Robāʿiyyāt: Omar Khayyam: The work done in mathematics by early Arabic scholars and by al-Bīrūnī was continued by Omar Khayyam (died 1131), to whom the Seljuq empire in fact owes the reform of its calendar. But Omar has become famous in the West through the…

Zalman Shazar was an Israeli journalist, scholar, and politician who was the third president of Israel (1963–73). Shazar early became involved in the Zionist movement while a youth in Belarus. In 1905 he joined Po’alei Zion, a Zionist workers’ party, and was briefly imprisoned by tsarist

rubato, (from Italian rubare, “to rob”), in music, subtle rhythmic manipulation and nuance in performance. For greater musical expression, the performer may stretch certain beats, measures, or phrases and compact others. The technique is seldom indicated on a musical score but may be utilized

robāʿī, in Persian literature, genre of poetry consisting of a quatrain with the rhyme scheme aaba. Together with the mas̄navī (rhymed couplet), it is a purely Persian poetic genre and not a borrowing from the Arabic, as were the formal ode (qaṣīdah) and the love lyric (ghazal). It was adopted and

robāʿī, in Persian literature, genre of poetry consisting of a quatrain with the rhyme scheme aaba. Together with the mas̄navī (rhymed couplet), it is a purely Persian poetic genre and not a borrowing from the Arabic, as were the formal ode (qaṣīdah) and the love lyric (ghazal). It was adopted and

Islamic arts: Robāʿiyyāt: Omar Khayyam: The work done in mathematics by early Arabic scholars and by al-Bīrūnī was continued by Omar Khayyam (died 1131), to whom the Seljuq empire in fact owes the reform of its calendar. But Omar has become famous in the West through the…

rubber, elastic substance obtained from the exudations of certain tropical plants (natural rubber) or derived from petroleum and natural gas (synthetic rubber). Because of its elasticity, resilience, and toughness, rubber is the basic constituent of the tires used in automotive vehicles, aircraft,

boa: The brown, 45-cm (18-inch) rubber boa (Charina bottae) of western North America is the most northerly boa and is a burrower that looks and feels rubbery. The 90-cm (35-inch) rosy boa (Charina trivirgata), ranging from southern California and Arizona into Mexico, usually is brown- or pink-striped.

bridge: Duplicate and tournament bridge: Rubber bridge is the simplest form for four players and is frequently played in casual games among friends. Chicago, or four-deal bridge, is most often used for small card parties in which several tables are used. Because a game of Chicago bridge involves only four…

India rubber plant, (Ficus elastica), large tree of the family Moraceae, once an important source of an inferior natural rubber. It was largely replaced as a source of rubber by the unrelated rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) in the early 20th century. The India rubber plant is native to Southeast

rubber tree, (Hevea brasiliensis), South American tropical tree of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Cultivated on plantations in the tropics and subtropics, especially in Southeast Asia and western Africa, it replaced the rubber plant in the early 20th century as the chief source of natural

duckpins: …variation of the game is rubber-band duckpins. In this version, the pins are the same height as in duckpins, but there is a hard rubber band about the belly of each pin, giving it greater rebounding action when hit by a ball. The ball is also the same size as…

Carlo Rubbia is an Italian physicist who in 1984 shared with Simon van der Meer the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of the massive, short-lived subatomic W particle and Z particle. These particles are the carriers of the so-called weak force involved in the radioactive decay of atomic

rubbing, one of the most universal and perhaps the oldest of the techniques used in printmaking. Rubbings are made by carefully pressing paper onto a carved or incised surface so that the paper conforms to the features to be copied. The paper is then blacked and the projecting areas of the surface

isopropyl alcohol, one of the most common members of the alcohol family of organic compounds. Isopropyl alcohol was the first commercial synthetic alcohol; chemists at the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (later Exxon Mobil) first produced it in 1920 while studying petroleum by-products. It is

tribological ceramics: Essential properties: …of tribological wear—impingement wear and rubbing wear. In impingement wear, particles impact and erode the surface. This is the major wear mechanism encountered in mineral handling, for example. Rubbing wear, on the other hand, occurs when two materials under load slide against each other. This wear occurs in such devices…

solid-waste management: Composition and properties: Refuse includes garbage and rubbish. Garbage is mostly decomposable food waste; rubbish is mostly dry material such as glass, paper, cloth, or wood. Garbage is highly putrescible or decomposable, whereas rubbish is not. Trash is rubbish that includes bulky items such as old refrigerators, couches, or large tree stumps.…

refuse disposal system, technique for the collection, treatment, and disposal of the solid wastes of a community. The development and operation of these systems is often called solid-waste