northern tributary of the Orange River, South Africa. Rising at Sterkfontein Beacon near Breyten, in Mpumalanga province, it flows 750 miles (1,210 km) southwest to its confluence with the Orange near Douglas; the Vaal's middle section forms most of the ...
town, capital of Vaasa laani (province), western Finland, on the Gulf of Bothnia. Founded in 1606 by the Swedish king Charles IX, it was chartered in 1611 and named for the reigning house of Vasa. Finland's second Court of Appeal ...
in crystallography, absence of an atom or molecule from a point that it would normally occupy in a crystal. Such an imperfection (crystal defect) in the regular spacing of atoms changes the electrical and optical properties of the crystal. The ...
suspension of weakened, killed, or fragmented microorganisms or toxins or of antibodies or lymphocytes that is administered primarily to prevent disease.
genus of about 150 species of shrubs, in the heath family (Ericaceae), found widely throughout the Northern Hemisphere and extending south along tropical mountain ranges. The shrubs are erect or creeping, with alternate, deciduous or evergreen leaves. The small flowers ...
town (township) on the island of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean. It lies in the western highlands region of the country, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Port Louis, the national capital. Vacoas and Phoenix were separate villages ...
in biology, a space within a cell that is empty of cytoplasm, lined with a membrane, and filled with fluid. Especially in protozoa, vacuoles are cytoplasmic organs (organelles), performing functions such as storage, ingestion, digestion, excretion, and expulsion of excess ...
vessel with double walls, the space between which is evacuated. It was invented by the British chemist and physicist Sir James Dewar in the 1890s. Thermos is a proprietary name applied to a form protected by a metal casing.
all processes and physical measurements carried out under conditions of below-normal atmospheric pressure. A process or physical measurement is generally performed in a vacuum for one of the following reasons: (1) to remove the constituents of the atmosphere that could ...
one of two Hindu subsects of the Srivaisnava, the other being the Tenkalai. Though the two groups use both Sanskrit and Tamil scriptures, the Vadakalai relies more on Sanskrit texts, such as the Vedas (earliest sacred scriptures of India), the ...
city, administrative headquarters of Vadodara district, east central Gujarat state, west central India, on the Visvamitra River, southeast of Ahmadabad. The earliest record of the city is in a grant or charter of AD 812 that mentions it as Vadapadraka, ...
region of aeration above the water table. This zone also includes the capillary fringe above the water table, the height of which will vary according to the grain size of the sediments. In coarse-grained mediums the fringe may be flat ...
town and seat of Finnmark fylke (county), northern Norway. Located on the northern shore of Varangerfjorden, the original settlement was on the adjacent island of Vassoya, but in the early 1700s the port was reestablished on the mainland. Vadso received ...
gold coin-like ornament with runic inscriptions and rich designs, discovered in Ostergotland, Swed., probably dating from the 5th century. A 24-character futhark (runic alphabet), arranged in three groups of eight symbols, is engraved on it, followed by eight characters, tuwa ...
capital of Liechtenstein, central Europe, in the Rhine Valley. The seat of one of the two former lordships (Schellenberg and Vaduz) that united to form the principality in 1719, Vaduz is a flourishing tourist centre and the residence of the ...
Greek insurgent, founding member of the Greek Communist Party, and commander of the communist-led Democratic Army in the civil war against the Greek government (1946-49).
Russian ballerina and teacher who developed a technique and system of instruction based on the classical style of the Imperial Russian Ballet but which also incorporated aspects of the more vigorous Soviet ballet developed after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
canal in female mammals that receives the male reproductive cells, or sperm, and is part of the birth canal during the birth process. In humans, it also functions as an excretory canal for the products of menstruation.
muscle spasm that closes the opening to the vagina in the female reproductive tract. The vagina serves as a birth canal for the delivery of babies and as the copulatory organ during sexual intercourse. The spasm may be so intense ...
inflammation of the vagina, usually owing to infection. The chief symptom is leukorrhea, i.e., the abnormal flow of a whitish or yellowish discharge from the vagina. The treatment of vaginitis depends on the cause of the inflammation. Several different microorganisms ...
state or action of one who has no established home and drifts from place to place without visible or lawful means of support. Traditionally a vagrant was thought to be one who was able to work for his maintenance but ...
longest and most complex of the cranial nerves. The vagus nerve runs from the brain through the face and thorax to the abdomen. It is a mixed nerve that contains parasympathetic fibres. The vagus nerve has two sensory ganglia (masses ...
tributary of the Danube River in Slovakia. Rising in the Tatra Mountains as the Biely Vah (in the High Tatras) and Cierny Vah (in the Low Tatras), the river describes a long arc to the west and south. It joins ...
(Sanskrit: "mount," or "vehicle"), in Hindu mythology, the creature that serves as the vehicle and as the sign of a particular deity. The vahana accompanies, pulls the chariot of, or serves as the seat or mount of his god. The ...
people inhabiting northwestern Liberia and contiguous parts of Sierra Leone. Early Portuguese writers called them Gallinas ("chickens"), reputedly after a local wildfowl. Speaking a language of the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo family, the Vai have close cultural ties to ...
politician who served three times as prime minister of Romania (1919-20, 1932, 1933) and was a leading spokesman for the union of Transylvania with the lands of the Old Kingdom (Moldavia and Walachia).
river in Tamil Nadu state, southern India, flowing 150 miles (240 km) generally southeast. Rising in the Varushanad Hills of western Tamil Nadu, it initially flows northeast through the Kambam and Varushanad valleys. In its central reaches the Vaigai flows ...
German philosopher who, influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer and F.A. Lange, developed Kantianism in the direction of pragmatism by espousing a theory of "fictions" as the basis of what he called his "as if" philosophy. (See as if, philosophy of.)
town and ski resort, Eagle county, west-central Colorado, U.S. It is located 100 miles (160 km) west of Denver. The town extends about 7 miles (11 km) through the Gore Creek valley in the Gore and Sawatch mountain ranges. Vail ...
American telegraph pioneer and an associate and financial backer of Samuel F.B. Morse in the experimentation that made the telegraph a commercial reality.
American executive who twice headed the Bell Telephone Company at critical times and played a major role in establishing telephone services in the United States.
French revolutionary publicist and politician who was exiled for his role in the Paris Commune of 1871. After his return he became an important member of the Socialist Party.
concrete arch dam across the Vaiont River in Italy with a height of 859 feet (262 m) and crest length of 623 feet (190 m). Completed in 1961, it was severely damaged by a massive landslide into the reservoir in ...
in Hinduism, a religious ascetic who worships principally one or another form of the god Vishnu. Vairagins generally wear white robes, in contrast to the ochre-coloured robes worn by Saiva ascetics, and are also differentiated by their tilak (sect mark ...
city of ancient India, north of Patna, northwestern Bihar state, on the Gandak River. In antiquity Vaisali was the capital of the Licchavi republic and was closely associated with the early histories of both Buddhism and Jainism. Roads connected it ...
("Particular"), one of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy, significant for its naturalism, a feature that is not characteristic of most Indian thought. The Sanskrit philosopher Kanada Kasyapa (2nd-3rd century AD?) expounded its theories and is credited with ...
worship of the god Vishnu and of his incarnations, principally as Rama and as Krishna. It is one of the major forms of modern Hinduism-with Saivism and Shaktism (Saktism).
alternate name for Kubera, the popular god of wealth in Hindu, Jaina, and Buddhist mythology. Among the four guardians of the world (lokapala), he is ruler of the North.
member of an esoteric Hindu cult centred in Bengal that sought religious experience through the world of the senses, specifically human sexual love. Sahaja (Sanskrit: "easy" or "natural") as a system of worship was prevalent in the Tantric traditions common ...
third highest in ritual status of the four varnas, or social classes, of Hindu India, traditionally described as commoners. Legend states that the varnas (or colours) sprang from Prajapati, a creator god-in order of status, the Brahman (white) from his ...
city, western Liberia, West Africa. Located in the Bomi Hills former iron-mining district, it is associated with the Liberian Mining Company (LMC; a subsidiary of Republic Steel Corporation), which closed down mining operations in the late 1970s. The firm, first ...
prince-patriarch of Buddhism in Siam, who institutionalized Thai Buddhism, spread the faith in the countryside, and was his generation's leading intellectual.
