Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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electronic instrument ... Elgin, Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th earl of

electronic instrument: any musical instrument that produces or modifies sounds by electric, and usually electronic, means. The electronic element in such music is determined by the composer, and the sounds themselves are made or changed electronically. Instruments such as the electric guitar ...
electronic music: any music involving electronic processing, e.g., recording and editing on tape, and whose reproduction involves the use of loudspeakers.
electronic organ: keyboard musical instrument in which tone is generated by electronic circuits and radiated by loudspeaker. This instrument, which emerged in the early 20th century, was designed as an economical and compact substitute for the much larger and more complex pipe ...
electronic substrate and package ceramics: advanced industrial materials that, owing to their insulating qualities, are useful in the production of electronic components.
electronic work function: energy (or work) required to withdraw an electron completely from a metal surface. This energy is a measure of how tightly a particular metal holds its electrons-that is, of how much lower the electron's energy is when present within the ...
electronics: branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour, and effects of electrons and with electronic devices.
electrophile: in chemistry, an atom or a molecule that in chemical reaction seeks an atom or molecule containing an electron pair available for bonding. Electrophilic substances are Lewis acids (compounds that accept electron pairs), and many of them are Bronsted acids ...
electrophone: any of a class of musical instruments in which the initial sound either is produced by electronic means or is conventionally produced (as by a vibrating string) and electronically amplified. Electronically amplified conventional instruments include guitars, pianos, and others.
electrophoresis: the movement of electrically charged particles in a fluid under the influence of an electric field. If the liquid rather than the particles is set in motion-e.g., through a fixed diaphragm-the phenomenon is called electroosmosis.
electrophotography: any of several image-forming processes, principally xerography and the dielectric process, that rely on photoconductive substances whose electrical resistance decreases when light falls on them; it is the basis of the most widely used document-copying machines.
electroplating: process of coating with metal by means of an electric current. Plating metal may be transferred to conductive surfaces (metals) or to nonconductive surfaces (plastics, wood, leather) after the latter have been rendered conductive by such processes as coating with ...
electropolishing: electrochemical process of smoothing a metallic surface. The metallic object is made the anode in an electrolytic reaction so controlled that its high spots dissolve, until only a smooth surface remains. Electropolishing is the reverse of the process of electroplating.
electroscope: instrument for detecting the presence of an electric charge or of ionizing radiation, usually consisting of a pair of thin gold leaves suspended from an electrical conductor that leads to the outside of an insulating container. An electric charge brought ...
electrostatic induction: modification in the distribution of electric charge on one material under the influence of a nearby second object that has an electric charge. Thus, because of the electric force between charged particles that constitute materials, a negatively charged object brought ...
electrostatic precipitation: method of removing certain impurities (either solid particles or liquid droplets) from air or other gas. It is widely used for removing particles from industrial-waste gases.
electrostriction: property of all electrical nonconductors, or dielectrics, that manifests itself as a relatively slight change of shape, or mechanical deformation, under the application of an electric field. Reversal of the electric field does not reverse the direction of the deformation.
electrotyping: electroforming process for making duplicate plates for relief, or letterpress, printing. The process was first announced in 1838 by M.H. von Jacobi, a German working in St. Petersburg, Russia. Thomas Spencer and C.J. Jordan of England and Joseph A. Adams ...
electroweak theory: in physics, the theory that describes both the electromagnetic force and the weak force. Superficially, these forces appear quite different. The weak force acts only across distances smaller than the atomic nucleus, while the electromagnetic force can extend for great ...
electrum: natural or artificial alloy of gold with at least 20 percent silver, which was used to make the first known coins in the Western world. Most natural electrum contains copper, iron, palladium, bismuth, and perhaps other metals. The colour varies ...
elegiac stanza: in poetry, a quatrain in iambic pentameter with alternate lines rhyming. Though the older and more general term for this is heroic stanza, the form became associated specifically with elegiac poetry when Thomas Gray used it to perfection in "An ...
elegy: meditative lyric poem lamenting the death of a public personage or of a friend or loved one; by extension, any reflective lyric on the broader theme of human mortality. In classical literature an elegy was simply any poem written in ...
Elek, Ilona: Hungarian fencer who was the only woman to win two Olympic gold medals in the individual foil competition. In addition to her success in the Olympics, Elek was world champion in women's foil in 1934, 1935, and 1951. She won ...
Elektrostal: city, Moscow oblast (province), western Russia. It lies 36 miles (58 km) east of Moscow city. The name, meaning "electric steel," derives from the high-quality-steel industry established there soon after the October Revolution in 1917. During World War II, parts ...
elementary education: the first stage traditionally found in formal education, beginning at about age 5 to 7 and ending at about age 11 to 13. In the United Kingdom and some other countries, the term primary is used instead of elementary. In ...
elephant: largest living land animal, characterized by its long trunk (elongated upper lip and nose), columnar legs, and huge head with temporal glands and wide, flat ears. Elephants are grayish to brown in colour, and their body hair is sparse and ...
Elephant Man: disfigured man who, after a brief career as a professional "freak," became a patient of London Hospital from 1886 until his death.
elephant seal: either of the two largest pinnipeds (aquatic mammals of the suborder Pinnipedia): the northern elephant seal (species Mirounga angustirostris), now found mainly on coastal islands off California and Baja California; or the southern elephant seal (M. leonina), found throughout sub-Antarctic ...
elephant shrew: any of 15 species of rat-sized African mammals named for their long, tapered, and flexible snout (proboscis). All have slim bodies, slender limbs, and very long hind legs and feet. Although they resemble shrews, they are not insectivores but constitute ...
elephant's-foot: an odd-looking twining plant of the yam family (Dioscoreaceae), characterized by a large, woody, and partially exposed tuber. It is native to semiarid areas in southern Africa. The tubercle-covered tuber, resembling an elephant's foot or a tortoise shell, once served ...
Elephanta Island: island located in Bombay Harbour of the Arabian Sea, about 6 miles (10 km) east of Bombay (Mumbai) city and 2 miles (3 km) west of the mainland coast of Maharashtra state, western India. Elephanta Island has an area of ...
elephantiasis: condition associated with the infectious diseases known collectively as filariasis (q.v.).
Elephantine: island in the Nile opposite Aswan city in Aswan muhafazah (governorate), Upper Egypt. Elephantine is the Greek name for pharaonic Abu. There the 18th- and 19th-dynasty pharaohs built a large temple to Khnum, the ram god of the cataract region, ...
elephantsnout fish: any of certain mormyrid (q.v.) species.
Eleusinia: ancient Greek festival in honour of Demeter (the goddess of agriculture), unconnected with the Eleusinian Mysteries despite the similarity of names. The Eleusinia, which included games and contests, was held every two years, probably in the month of Metageitnion (August-September). ...
Eleusinian Mysteries: most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece. According to the myth told in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the earth goddess Demeter (q.v.) went to Eleusis in search of her daughter Kore (Persephone), who had been abducted ...
Eleusis: ancient Greek city famous as the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Situated in the fertile plain of Thria about 14 miles (23 km) west of Athens, opposite the island of Salamis, Eleusis was independent until the 7th century BC, when ...
Eleutherius, Saint: pope from about 175 to 189. During his pontificate the church was involved in a controversy over Montanism, a movement that arose in Asia Minor among Christians who believed that new spiritual revelations could be achieved through the ecstatic trances ...
elevated transit line: railroad line, usually electric, raised above the ground or street level, usually on a trestle, for local transit in urban areas. By the mid-19th century it was evident that surface vehicles were inadequate for carrying the traffic of large cities. ...
elevator: car that moves in a vertical shaft to carry passengers or freight between the levels of a multistory building. Most modern elevators are propelled by electric motors, with the aid of a counterweight, through a system of cables and sheaves ...
eleven-plus: in England, competitive examination given between primary and secondary school at about age 11. It evolved after 1944 as a means of determining in which of the three types of secondary school-grammar, technical, or modern-a child should continue his education. ...
elf: in Germanic folklore, originally, a spirit of any kind, later specialized into a diminutive creature, usually in tiny human form. In the Prose, or Younger, Edda, elves were classified as light elves (who were fair) and dark elves (who were ...
Elf Aquitaine: (French: "Elf Aquitaine National Society"), French corporate group formed on Sept. 1, 1976, in the reorganization and consolidation of petrochemical, mining, and several other industries. Until 1994, a French-government company, the Enterprise de Recherches et d'Activites Petrolieres (ERAP; "Enterprise for ...
elf owl: (Micrathene whitneyi), tiny bird of prey of the family Strigidae (order Strigiformes) of Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is the smallest owl and is about the size of a sparrow. In the cactus deserts, elf owls are among ...
elfin woodland: stunted forest at high elevations in warm, moist areas. Its low, gnarled trees are heavily draped with air plants, and its floor is cushioned by mosses and other primitive plants. Elfinwood, or Krummholz, is a similar stunted forest characteristic of ...
Elgar, Sir Edward: English composer whose works in the orchestral idiom of late 19th-century Romanticism-characterized by bold tunes, striking colour effects, and mastery of large forms-stimulated a renaissance of English music.
Elgin: city, Kane and Cook counties, northeastern Illinois, U.S. It lies on the Fox River, about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of downtown Chicago. Potawatomi Indians were early inhabitants of the region. Elgin was founded in 1835 by James Talcott Gifford, ...
Elgin: royal burgh (town) and city, in Moray council area and historic county, northeastern Scotland, situated on the River Lossie in the fertile plain of Moray, of which it is the market town.
Elgin Marbles: collection of ancient Greek sculptures and architectural details in the British Museum, London. The objects were removed from the Parthenon at Athens and from other ancient buildings and shipped to England by arrangement of Thomas Bruce, 7th Lord Elgin, who ...
Elgin, James Bruce, 8th earl of, 12th Earl Of Kincardine: British statesman and governor general of British North America in 1847-54 who effected responsible, or cabinet, government in Canada and whose conduct in office defined the role for his successors.
Elgin, Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of, 11th Earl Of Kincardine: British diplomatist and art collector, famous for his acquisition of the Greek sculptures now known as the "Elgin Marbles" (q.v.).
Elgin, Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th earl of: British viceroy of India from 1894 to 1899.