ostariophysan: Annotated classification: Family Siluridae (wels and glass catfishes) Body compressed; adipose fin lacking, anal fin very long; short dorsal fin (often lacking) without spine. Food; aquarium fishes. Size to 4 metres (about 13 feet), 300 kg (660 pounds). Asia, Europe, Africa. At least 11 genera, 97 species. Family…

catfish, any of the fishes of the order Siluriformes. Catfishes are related to the characins, carp, and minnows (order Cypriniformes) and may be placed with them in the superorder Ostariophysi. Some authorities, however, have regarded these groups as suborders, rather than a single order, and have

wels, large, voracious catfish of the family Siluridae, native to large rivers and lakes from central Europe to western Asia. One of the largest catfishes, as well as one of the largest of European freshwater fishes, the wels attains a length of about 4.5 m (15 feet) and a weight of 300 kg (660

Andrés Bello: The second of the two, Silva a la agricultura de la zona tórrida, is a poetic description of the products of tropical America, extolling the virtues of country life in a manner reminiscent of Virgil. It is one of the best known poems in 19th-century Spanish-American letters. In 1829 he…

Christ the Redeemer: …designer, and the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa was chosen on the basis of his sketches of a figure of Christ holding a cross in his right hand and the world in his left. In collaboration with Brazilian artist Carlos Oswald, Silva Costa later amended the plan; Oswald has…

Bernardo Guimarães was a poet, dramatist, and regional novelist whose works marked a major transition toward greater realism in Brazilian literature and who was popular in his time as a minor Romantic novelist. After a youthful bohemian life in São Paulo, Guimarães retired to his native Minas

Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves: Through his foreign minister, José Maria da Silva Paranhos, border disputes were settled peacefully with Bolivia, Uruguay, British Guiana, and Suriname (Dutch Guiana). In 1918 Rodrigues Alves was reelected president of Brazil but died before he could take office.

Kuito, town (founded 1890), central Angola. It is the chief trade and market centre of the fertile Bié Plateau and processes rice and other grains, coffee, meat, and beeswax. The town suffered much damage in the civil war following Angola’s independence in 1975 and was almost totally destroyed in

Kuito: The Portuguese explorer António Francisco Ferreira da Silva Porto, for whom the original settlement was named, had homesteaded and built a stockade nearby and in 1890 died there. The town is served by an airport. Pop. (2014) 355,423.

Diego Velázquez was the most important Spanish painter of the 17th century, a giant of Western art. Velázquez is universally acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest artists. The naturalistic style in which he was trained provided a language for the expression of his remarkable power of

Joaquim José da Silva Xavier was a Brazilian patriot and revolutionary who organized and led the first major outbreak against Portuguese rule in Brazil. Unsuccessful, he was tried and executed. The nobleness of Silva Xavier’s defense has made him a Brazilian national hero, and he is viewed as one

Adhemar Ferreira da Silva was a Brazilian athlete, winner of two Olympic gold medals and five world records in the triple jump. He was the first Brazilian to hold a world record in any event and was among the greatest South American athletes in history. Though his speed and long-jumping ability

Adhemar Ferreira da Silva was a Brazilian athlete, winner of two Olympic gold medals and five world records in the triple jump. He was the first Brazilian to hold a world record in any event and was among the greatest South American athletes in history. Though his speed and long-jumping ability

mixed martial arts: Notable champions: Another Brazilian fighter, middleweight Anderson Silva, was considered by many to be one of the most skilled MMA fighters in the history of the sport. His background included training in tae kwon do, Brazilian jujitsu, Muay Thai, and boxing. In 2006 he won his UFC debut in a bout…

Antônio José da Silva was a Portuguese writer whose comedies, farces, and operettas briefly revitalized the Portuguese theatre in a period of dramatic decadence. Silva was born in Brazil, the son of Jews. Though his parents professed Christianity, his mother was accused by the Inquisition of

Goiás: …River by the explorer Bartolomeu Bueno da Silva in 1682. The settlement he founded there, called Santa Anna, became the colonial town of Goiás, the former state capital. In 1744 the large inland area, much of it still unexplored by Europeans, was made a captaincy general, and in 1822 it…

José Asunción Silva was a Colombian poet whose metrical experimentation and romantic reminiscences introduced a melancholy lyricism new to Spanish-American poetry. His highly personal poetry was widely imitated and greatly influenced Modernist poetry in Spanish America. Silva’s life was a tormented

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is a Brazilian politician who served as president of Brazil (2003–11; 2023– ). Born in Pernambuco state to sharecropping parents, Luiz Inácio da Silva (“Lula” was a nickname that he later added to his legal name) worked as a shoe-shine boy, street vendor, and factory

Maria Elena Vieira da Silva was a Portuguese-born French painter of intricate, semiabstract compositions. Vieira da Silva moved to Paris in 1928, where she studied sculpture first with Antoine Bourdelle and later with Charles Despiau. She studied painting with Fernand Léger and engraving with

Brazil: The Petrobras scandal, impeachment of Rousseff, and Temer interregnum: …Brazilian Socialist Party, green activist Marina Silva, in the first round of voting in the presidential election in early October.

Statius: …poems, collected under the title Silvae (“Forests”), apart from their literary merit, are valuable for their description of the life style of a wealthy and fashionable class—the liberti—during the reign of the emperor Domitian.

flat grain beetle, any member of the insect family Silvanidae (order Coleoptera), closely related to and sometimes included in the flat bark beetle (q.v.) family Cucujidae. These beetles are usually less than 3 millimetres (0.1 inch) in length. Many species live under the bark of trees. Others

Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus: Postumus and another general, Silvanus, stayed behind in Colonia (Cologne) with Gallienus’ son Saloninus after the emperor had left the Rhine River for the Danube about 258. When Silvanus demanded that all booty be handed back to the treasury and its original owners, the reluctant troops proclaimed Postumus emperor,…

Silvanus, in Roman religion, the god of the countryside, similar in character to Faunus, the god of animals, with whom he is often identified; he is usually depicted in the guise of a countryman. Initially the spirit of the unreclaimed woodland fringing the settlement, he had some of the menace of

St. Silas ; Western feast day July 13, Eastern feast day July 30) was an early Christian prophet and missionary, companion of St. Paul the Apostle. It is generally believed that the Silas in Acts and the Silvanus in 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and 1 Peter are the same. Acts 15:22 first

Switzerland: Rural communities: Gotthard Pass (Uri canton), Silvaplana, where the Julier Pass meets the Inn valley (the upper Engadin), and Gordola, at the junction of the Verzasca valley (Val Verzasca) and the Ticino River plain (near Locarno). In the Mittelland, with its abundant lakes, villages sited on deltas are especially closely related…

Andrés Bello: …literature is secured by his Silvas americanas, two poems, written during his residence in England, which convey the majestic impression of the South American landscape. These were published in London (1826–27) and were originally projected as part of a long, never-finished epic poem, América. The second of the two, Silva…

Silvassa, town, administrative headquarters of Dadra and Nagar Haveli district, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu union territory, western India. The town is located about 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Daman on the Daman Ganga River, some 15 miles (25 km) inland from the Arabian Sea. It is

Silvassa, town, administrative headquarters of Dadra and Nagar Haveli district, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu union territory, western India. The town is located about 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Daman on the Daman Ganga River, some 15 miles (25 km) inland from the Arabian Sea. It is

Spain: Opposition movements, 1898–1923: …politicians themselves, the conservative leaders Francisco Silvela and Antonio Maura and the democratic liberal José Canalejas sought to regenerate the system by widening the degree of political participation through “sincere” elections. Opposed by the professional party members, Maura only succeeded in confusing the party structure by splitting the Conservative Party.…

silver (Ag), chemical element, a white lustrous metal valued for its decorative beauty and electrical conductivity. Silver is located in Group 11 (Ib) and Period 5 of the periodic table, between copper (Period 4) and gold (Period 6), and its physical and chemical properties are intermediate between

Silver Age, in Latin literature, the period from approximately ad 18 to 133, which was a time of marked literary achievement second only to the previous Golden Age (70 bc–ad 18). By the 1st century ad political patronage of the arts begun in the Augustan Age (43 bc–ad 18) and a stifling reverence

Scholasticism: Enduring features: The so-called Silver Age of Scholastic thought, which occurred in the 16th century, is represented by two Spaniards: Francisco de Vitoria, of the first half of the century, and Francisco Suárez, of the second half, were both deeply engaged in what is now called the “Counter-Reformation.” Although…

Doctor Strange: Origin and development in the Silver Age: Magicians had long been a staple of comics. Lee Falk’s Mandrake the Magician comic strip debuted in 1934, and Fred Guardineer’s Zatara followed in Action Comics no. 1 in June 1938. Doctor Strange broke with the stage conjurer imagery of these prior comic…

chemical industry: Nitric acid: …compositions as lead azide [Pb(N3)2], silver azide (AgN3), and mercury fulminate [Hg(ONC)2]. These are not nitrates or nitro compounds, although some other detonators are, but they all contain nitrogen, and nitric acid is involved in their manufacture.

ball cactus: …cultivated as potted plants, including silver ball cactus (Parodia scopa) and golden ball cactus (P. leninghausii), which are especially valued for their woolly appearance.

Berlin International Film Festival: …film and short film and Silver Bear (Silberner Bär) awards for best director, actor, and actress. In 1978 the festival was moved from June to February. By the early 21st century, it was attended by about 300,000 film professionals and cinephiles. In addition to screening movies, the festival features various…

bluestem: Silver beardgrass, or silver bluestem (Bothriochloa saccharoides, formerly A. saccharoides), reaches 0.6 to 1.3 metres (about 2 to 4 feet) in height and has silvery white flower clusters 7–15 cm (about 3–6 inches) long; it is a forage grass in the southwestern United States.

southern beech, (genus Nothofagus), genus of 35–40 species of trees and shrubs in the family Nothofagaceae, native to cooler regions of the Southern Hemisphere. Several species are grown as ornamentals or for their useful wood. The southern beeches were formerly placed in the beech and oak family

southern beech: Major species: …silver, or southland, beech (N. menziesii), a 30-meter New Zealand tree with doubly and bluntly toothed leaves bearing small hairy pits beneath.

The Fab Four. John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The Beatles were four young musicians from the working-class seaport city of Liverpool, England, who accomplished nothing less than changing the course of rock and roll and transforming youth culture. From 1962, the year that Ringo Starr joined up with

silver bells, (Halesia carolina), deciduous plant, of the storax family (Styracaceae), native to southeastern and southern United States and cultivated as an ornamental. The tree grows from 12 to 24 metres (40 to 80 feet) tall and has alternate, stalked, toothed, bright-green leaves 5–10 cm (2–4

Bob Hope: Movies: …“Buttons and Bows,” and “Silver Bells.”

Mexico: Resources and power: …colonial period was the so-called Silver Belt, a region that extended from Guanajuato and Zacatecas in the Mesa Central to Chihuahua in the Mesa del Norte, with outposts such as San Luis Potosí farther east.

Fagales: Betulaceae: pendula (silver birches) and B. nana (dwarf birches) are circumboreal (i.e., extending to the northern limit of the tree line); the two species very nearly coincide in their ranges, with the dwarf birches extending farther into the Arctic. They now occupy most areas that were glaciated…

yellow birch, (Betula alleghaniensis), ornamental and timber tree of the family Betulaceae, native to northeastern North America. See also birch. Among the largest of birches, yellow birch grows to 30 metres (100 feet) on cool moist bottomlands and on drier soils to elevations of 1,950 metres

paper birch, (Betula papyrifera), ornamental, shade, and timber tree of the family Betulaceae, native to northern and central North America. See also birch. The paper birch is usually about 18 metres (60 feet) tall but occasionally reaches 40 metres (131 feet); it can also be small and sometimes

bluestem: Silver beardgrass, or silver bluestem (Bothriochloa saccharoides, formerly A. saccharoides), reaches 0.6 to 1.3 metres (about 2 to 4 feet) in height and has silvery white flower clusters 7–15 cm (about 3–6 inches) long; it is a forage grass in the southwestern United States.

bromine: Production and use: Silver bromide (AgBr), an important component of photographic film, is, like silver chloride and iodide, light sensitive. Traces of potassium bromate (KBrO3) are added to wheat flour to improve baking. Other bromine compounds of significance include hydrogen bromide (HBr), a colorless gas used as a…

The Emperor Jones, drama in eight scenes by Eugene O’Neill, produced in 1920 and published in 1921. The Emperor Jones was the playwright’s first foray into Expressionist writing. Based loosely on an event in Haitian history, the play shows the decline of a former Pullman porter, Brutus Jones, who

Asian carp: black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), following their accidental introduction into waterways in the United States, are collectively referred to as Asian carp.

Thomas B. Costain: …as Kublai Khan’s China, and The Silver Chalice (1952), about the early Christians in Rome.

Silver Charm, (foaled 1994), American racehorse (Thoroughbred) who in 1997 won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but lost at the Belmont Stakes, ending his bid for the coveted Triple Crown of American horse racing. Silver Charm was foaled in Florida and purchased by trainer Bob Baffert

magnesium processing: Electrochemical applications: …anode and a cathode of silver chloride or cuprous chloride. When activated by water, they rapidly build up voltages of 1.3 to 1.8 volts and operate at a constant potential between −55 and 95 °C (−67 and 200 °F).

John Sayles: …Casa de Los Babys (2003); Silver City (2004); and Honeydripper (2007).

Silver City, town, seat (1874) of Grant county, southwestern New Mexico, U.S. It lies just east of the Continental Divide, at an altitude of 5,931 feet (1,808 meters) in the foothills of the Pinos Altos Range, on the edge of Gila National Forest (of which it is headquarters). It was established in

Silver City, ghost town, Owyhee county, southwestern Idaho, U.S., 37 miles (60 km) southwest of Boise. Founded March 10, 1863, it quickly displaced Ruby City as the centre of the Owyhee mines and was county seat from 1866 to 1935. Rich silver lodes in the nearby War Eagle and Florida mountains were

Celosia: Lagos spinach, or silver cockscomb (C. argentea), is an important food crop in West Africa, where it is grown for its nutritious leafy greens.

Sidney Howard: …The Most Happy Fella (1957); The Silver Cord (1926), a devastating portrait of a mother and the effects of her possessiveness on her sons’ lives; and Yellow Jack (1934, in collaboration with Paul de Kruif), a dramatized documentary of the conquest of yellow fever. Other works include Lute Song (1930,…

dik-dik: saltiana), and the silver dik-dik (M. piacentinii). Kirk’s dik-dik (M. kirkii), the best-known dik-dik, is a common resident of acacia savannas in Kenya and Tanzania. Guenther’s and Kirk’s dik-diks overlap in Kenya. An isolated population of Kirk’s dik-dik, different enough genetically to be considered a different species, inhabits…

Silver Disc machine, image of an aircraft engraved on a medallion by Sir George Cayley in 1799 with his initials to commemorate his conception of a powered aircraft. The Science Museum of London preserves a small silver disc, engraved by Cayley, representing the first modern conception of an

Branson: Silver Dollar City, a popular theme park with dozens of craftsmen demonstrating 1880s Ozark-style skills, is 9 miles (14 km) west. A commercial airport, the first in the country to have been financed entirely with private funds, opened in 2009. College of the Ozarks (1906),…

honesty: Two of the species, annual honesty (Lunaria annua) and perennial honesty (L. rediviva), are widely grown for their fragrant flowers and papery seedpod partitions, which are used in dried-flower arrangements.

construction: Postwar developments in long-span construction: …large sports stadiums as the Silverdome (1975) in Pontiac, Michigan, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982) in Minneapolis. Air-supported structures are perhaps the most cost-effective type of structure for very long spans.

Neil Gaiman: 1602, Anansi Boys, and InterWorld: Two sequels, The Silver Dream (2013) and Eternity’s Wheel (2015), were conceptualized by Gaiman and Reaves and written by Reaves and his daughter Mallory.

migration: Catadromous fish: …15 years before changing into silver eels, with enlarged eyes; they swim downstream to the sea, return to the spawning grounds (Sargasso Sea), and die.

Emmitsburg, town, Frederick county, northern Maryland, U.S., situated near the Pennsylvania border 23 miles (37 km) north-northeast of Frederick. Settled in the 1780s as Poplar Fields or Silver Fancy, it was renamed about 1786 for a local landowner named Emmit (sources disagree on his given name).

silver fir, (Abies alba), tree growing to a height of 150 feet; abundant in the mountainous regions of central and southern

silver fox, (Vulpes fulva), red fox of North America in that colour phase when the fur is black with interspersed silver-tipped hairs. See

David Pearson was an American stock-car racer who was one of the most successful drivers in National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) history. Pearson could well have been the greatest NASCAR driver of all time had he competed in as many races as his rivals. He never raced a complete

Duke Snider was an American professional baseball player who was best known for playing centre field on the famed “Boys of Summer” Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the 1950s. Snider was raised in Compton, California, where he came to the attention of the Dodgers while playing for Compton Junior College.

silver gilt, gilded silver produced either by the fire-gilding method or by electrolysis. In the former, earlier method, the object is covered with an amalgam of gold and mercury. The mercury evaporates when the piece is fired, leaving a gold deposit. In the latter method, the silver object is

silvergrass, (genus Miscanthus), genus of about 10 species of tall perennial grasses in the family Poaceae, native primarily to southeastern Asia. Eulalia, or Chinese silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis), and several other species sometimes are grown as lawn or border ornamentals for their silvery or

hake: 5 feet) long; the silver hake (M. bilinearis) of the American Atlantic; and the stockfish (M. capensis) of South Africa.

crystal: Covalent bonds: …formed from the copper and silver halides. Three (AgF, AgCl, AgBr) have the sodium chloride structure with six neighbours. The other five (AgI, CuF, CuCl, CuBr, CuI) have the zinc blende structure with four neighbours. The bonding in this group of solids is on the borderline between covalent and ionic,…

hatchetfish: …hatchetfish (Carnegiella strigata), and the silver hatchetfish (Gasteropelecus sternicula), which is olive above and silver below.

cloud seeding: …carbon dioxide (dry ice) and silver iodide have been the most effective; when used in supercooled clouds (composed of water droplets at temperatures below freezing), they form nuclei around which the water droplets evaporate. The resulting water vapour deposits into ice crystals, which build quickly as water droplets attach themselves.…

Pavement: …with David Berman, recording as Silver Jews. Malkmus also recorded the solo albums Groove Denied (2019) and Traditional Techniques (2020). Kannberg’s post-Pavement band, Preston School of Industry, proved less interesting than either of Malkmus’s groups.

tarpon: The Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus; alternate name Tarpon atlanticus) is found inshore in warm parts of the Atlantic, on the Pacific side of Central America, and sometimes in rivers. Also called silver king, grand écaille, and sabalo real, it habitually breaks water and gulps air. It…

Joan Tower: …the Uncommon Woman (1987), and Silver Ladders (1987). For the latter work, Tower became the first woman to receive the Grawemeyer Award. She also wrote concertos for clarinet (1988), oboe (1989), flute (1989), piano (1985 and 1996), violin (1991), percussion (2001), and bassoon (2013). The acclaimed Made in America was…

Bradley Cooper: …in a mental institution in Silver Linings Playbook (2012). The dramedy was directed by David O. Russell and costarred Jennifer Lawrence, both of whom became frequent collaborators. Cooper’s second Oscar nomination was for best supporting actor for his performance as a wacky FBI agent in Russell’s American Hustle (2013), which…

Venice Film Festival: Among these is the Leone d’Argento (Silver Lion), which has been awarded for achievements such as best direction and best short film, as well as for runners-up among films competing for the Leone d’Oro. Notable Leone d’Oro winners include Rashomon (1950), Last Year at Marienbad (1961), and Brokeback Mountain…

silver maple, (Acer saccharinum), large, spreading tree, of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae), popular as a rapid-growing shade tree. Native to eastern North America, it is widely cultivated elsewhere. It grows to 18 metres (60 feet)—higher under favourable conditions—with a short, stout trunk and

Olympic Games: The medal ceremonies: …medal, for second place a silver medal, and for third place a bronze medal. Solid gold medals were last given in 1912. The obverse side of the medal awarded in 2004 at Athens was altered for the first time since 1928 to better reflect the Greek origins of both the…

silver nitrate, caustic chemical compound, important as an antiseptic, in the industrial preparation of other silver salts, and as a reagent in analytical chemistry. Its chemical formula is AgNO3. Applied to the skin and mucous membranes, silver nitrate is used either in stick form as lunar caustic

silver processing: Chemical compounds: Silver oxides (both Ag2O and AgO) serve as the cathodic materials in silver-zinc primary and secondary (i.e., rechargeable) batteries. The high energy density of the primary batteries (as measured by available electrical energy per unit weight) is responsible for their employment as miniature power cells…

battery: Zinc–silver oxide battery: Another alkaline system, this battery features a silver oxide cathode and a powdered zinc anode. Because it will tolerate relatively heavy current load pulses and has a high, nearly constant 1.5-volt operating voltage, the zinc–silver oxide battery is commonly used in the…

Nevada: Mining and cattle-ranching decades: …in the 1890s, and the Silver Party grew out of the Free Silver Movement, taking members from both the Democratic and Republican parties, though mostly the latter. In the 1890s, candidates of the Nevada Silver Party won election to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and to the state…

Ashikaga Yoshimasa: …retirement he built the famous Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji) in the Higashiyama, or Eastern Hills, area of Kyōto. There he practiced the Japanese tea ceremony, which he developed into a fine art, and sponsored many noted artists, potters, and nō (classical dance-drama) performers. Today the Higashiyama period, as this cultural era…

North Sea: Physiography: …1,500 feet (450 metres), and Silver Pit, nearly 320 feet (95 metres) deep, off the bay of The Wash in England. These trenches may have been formed at the time of the last glaciation, when parts of the North Sea were free of ice, and rivers coming off the mainland…

electroplating: Principal applications.: Silver plating is used on tableware and electrical contacts; it has also been used on engine bearings. The most extensive use of gold plating is on jewelry and watch cases. Zinc coatings prevent the corrosion of steel articles, while nickel and chromium plate are used…

poplar: Common species: The white poplar (P. alba)—also known as silver poplar for its leaves, which have white felted undersides, and as maple leaf poplar for the leaves’ lobed margins—is widely spreading or columnar in form, reaching 30 metres (100 feet) in height. The gray poplar (P. ×canescens), a…

silver processing, preparation of the ore for use in various products. Silver has long been valued for its white metallic lustre, its ability to be readily worked, and its resistance to the corrosive effects of moisture and oxygen. The lustre of the pure metal is due to its electron configuration,

Lloyd Bacon: Warner Brothers: …Wings for the Eagle, and Silver Queen (all 1942) followed. Action in the North Atlantic (1943) was an exercise in patriotism, with Bogart and Raymond Massey defending their ship from a German submarine attack. It was probably Bacon’s best action picture at Warner Brothers, though it proved to be his…

coho, (Oncorhynchus kisutch), species of salmon, family Salmonidae, prized for food and sport. The coho may weigh up to 16 kg (35 pounds) and is recognized by the small spots on the back and upper tail-fin lobe. Young coho stay in fresh water for about one year before entering North Pacific waters;

ancient Greek civilization: Social and commercial exchanges: …known as “Silver Shields,” or argyraspides, had taken their name from the conquered Persian treasure of precious metal.

antisemitism: Nazi antisemitism and the Holocaust: …the German-American Bund and the Silver Shirts.

Forsyte family: …of The White Monkey (1924), The Silver Spoon (1926), and Swan Song (1928).

Silver Spring, unincorporated community, Montgomery county, central Maryland, U.S., a northern residential suburb of Washington, D.C. It was once the site of the estate of journalist and politician Francis Preston Blair (1791–1876), whose son, Montgomery, served as postmaster general in Abraham

Silver Springs, series of artesian springs, in Marion county, north-central Florida, U.S., about 5 miles (8 km) east of Ocala. The springs, which discharge an average of more than 73,500,000 cubic feet (2,080,000 cubic metres) per day, have the world’s largest flow. The water maintains a constant