- Pluton (Greek mythology)
Hades, in ancient Greek religion, god of the underworld. Hades was a son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and brother of the deities Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. After Cronus was overthrown by his sons, his kingdom was divided among them, and the underworld fell by lot to Hades. There
- pluton (igneous rock)
pluton, body of intrusive igneous rock the size, composition, shape, or exact type of which is in doubt; when such characteristics are known, more limiting terms can be used. Thus, plutons include dikes, laccoliths, batholiths, sills, and other forms of intrusions. Most plutons are thought to be
- pluton (astronomy)
dwarf planet, body, other than a natural satellite (moon), that orbits the Sun and that is, for practical purposes, smaller than the planet Mercury yet large enough for its own gravity to have rounded its shape substantially. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted this category of solar
- plutonia (chemical compound)
uranium processing: Conversion to plutonium: …plutonium nitrate is converted to plutonium dioxide (PuO2) either for conversion to plutonium metal (weapons-grade plutonium) or for recycling into nuclear reactor fuel. Like uranium, metallic plutonium is usually obtained by high-temperature reduction of a halide salt (plutonium tetrafluoride or plutonium trifluoride) with calcium metal. Much use is also made…
- plutonic rock (geology)
intrusive rock, igneous rock formed from magma forced into older rocks at depths within the Earth’s crust, which then slowly solidifies below the Earth’s surface, though it may later be exposed by erosion. Igneous intrusions form a variety of rock types. See also extrusive
- Plutonism (history of science)
Earth sciences: Earth history according to Werner and James Hutton: …James Hutton, leader of the Plutonists, viewed Earth as a dynamic body that functions as a heat machine. Streams wear down the continents and deposit their waste in the sea. Subterranean heat causes the outer part of Earth to expand in places, uplifting the compacted marine sediments to form new…
- plutonium (chemical element)
plutonium (Pu), radioactive chemical element of the actinoid series of the periodic table, atomic number 94. It is the most important transuranium element because of its use as fuel in certain types of nuclear reactors and as an ingredient in nuclear weapons. Plutonium is a silvery metal that takes
- plutonium dioxide (chemical compound)
uranium processing: Conversion to plutonium: …plutonium nitrate is converted to plutonium dioxide (PuO2) either for conversion to plutonium metal (weapons-grade plutonium) or for recycling into nuclear reactor fuel. Like uranium, metallic plutonium is usually obtained by high-temperature reduction of a halide salt (plutonium tetrafluoride or plutonium trifluoride) with calcium metal. Much use is also made…
- Plutonium Project (United States history)
Robert Sanderson Mulliken: …II Mulliken worked on the Plutonium Project, part of the development of the atomic bomb, at the University of Chicago. In 1955 he served as scientific attaché at the U.S. embassy in London.
- plutonium-238 (chemical isotope)
plutonium: …detected (1941) as the isotope plutonium-238 by American chemists Glenn T. Seaborg, Joseph W. Kennedy, and Arthur C. Wahl, who produced it by deuteron bombardment of uranium-238 in the 152-cm (60-inch) cyclotron at Berkeley, California. The element was named after the then planet Pluto. Traces of plutonium have subsequently been…
- plutonium-239 (chemical isotope)
atomic bomb: The properties and effects of atomic bombs: of the isotopes uranium-235 or plutonium-239, it causes that nucleus to split into two fragments, each of which is a nucleus with about half the protons and neutrons of the original nucleus. In the process of splitting, a great amount of thermal energy, as well as gamma rays and two…
- plutonium-240 (chemical isotope)
nuclear reactor: Fissile and fertile materials: …directly through neutron capture in plutonium-240, following the formula 240Pu + 1n = 241Pu.
- plutonium-uranium extraction process (chemistry)
nuclear weapon: India: The plant used the PUREX (plutonium-uranium-extraction) chemical method developed by the United States—a process that had been made known to the world through the Atoms for Peace program. Hundreds of Indian scientists and engineers were trained in all aspects of nuclear technologies at laboratories and universities in the United…
- Plütschau, Heinrich (German missionary)
Christianity: Early Protestant missions: … trained Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (1683–1719) and Heinrich Plütschau (1678–1747). From 1706 they served the Danish mission of King Frederick IV at Tranquebar, in South India. Also trained at Halle, Nikolaus Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf (1700–60), received Moravian refugees at his Herrnhut estate and in 1732 molded them into a missionary church.…
- Plutus (play by Aristophanes)
Aristophanes: Wealth: The last of Aristophanes’ plays to be performed in his lifetime, Wealth (388 bce; Greek Ploutos; also called “the second Wealth” to distinguish it from an earlier play, now lost, of the same title) is a somewhat moralizing work. It may have inaugurated the…
- Plutus (Greek mythology)
Plutus, in Greek religion, god of abundance or wealth, a personification of ploutos (Greek: “riches”). According to Hesiod, Plutus was born in Crete, the son of the goddess of fruitfulness, Demeter, and the Cretan Iasion. In art he appears chiefly as a child with a cornucopia, in company with
- pluvial (meteorology)
Africa: Pleistocene and Holocene developments: …the cold humid periods called pluvials, which correspond to the glacial phases of the Northern Hemisphere, the glaciers that covered the high mountains of East Africa were 3,000 to 5,000 feet thicker than those remaining in the summit zones today. Elsewhere the desert zones of the Sahara and the Kalahari…
- pluvial lake (geology)
Holocene Epoch: Holocene climatic trends and chronology: …by a vast proliferation of pluvial lakes in the Great Basin of western North America, notably Lake Bonneville and Lake Lahontan (enormous ancestors of present-day Great Salt Lake and Pyramid Lake). Two peaks of lake levels were reached at about 12,000 ± 500 bp (the beginning of the Allerød Warm…
- pluvial regime (meteorology)
Africa: Pleistocene and Holocene developments: …the cold humid periods called pluvials, which correspond to the glacial phases of the Northern Hemisphere, the glaciers that covered the high mountains of East Africa were 3,000 to 5,000 feet thicker than those remaining in the summit zones today. Elsewhere the desert zones of the Sahara and the Kalahari…
- Pluvialis apricaria (bird)
plover: Some plovers, like the golden (Pluvialis species) and black-bellied (Squatarola squatarola), are finely patterned dark and light above and black below in breeding dress. These two genera are sometimes included in Charadrius.
- Pluvialis dominica (bird)
plover: …apricaria; see photograph) and the American golden plover (P. dominica), which breed in the Arctic and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The American golden plovers of the eastern range fly over the Atlantic and South America as far south as Patagonia, and most return via the Mississippi Valley; those in…
- Pluvianus aegyptius (bird)
crocodile bird, (Pluvianus aegyptius), shorebird belonging to the family Glareolidae (order Charadriiformes). The crocodile bird is a courser that derives its name from its frequent association with the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus). The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that crocodiles
- pluviometric equator (meteorology)
Congo River: Climate: From the pluviometric equator (an imaginary east-west line indicating the region of heaviest rainfall), which is situated slightly to the north of the geographic equator, the amount of rainfall decreases regularly in proportion to latitude. The northernmost points of the basin, situated in the Central African Republic,…
- ply yarn (textile)
textile: Ply yarns: Ply, plied, or folded, yarns are composed of two or more single yarns twisted together. Two-ply yarn, for example, is composed of two single strands; three-ply yarn is composed of three single strands. In making ply yarns from spun strands, the individual strands…
- Plyler v. Doe (U.S. law case)
California Proposition 187: Supreme Court’s decision in Plyler v. Doe (1982). In that landmark case, the Court, citing the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, ruled that states cannot exclude students from public schools on the basis of their immigration status. In late 1994 a U.S. district court judge issued an…
- Plymouth (county, Massachusetts, United States)
Plymouth, county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S., bordered by Massachusetts Bay (northeast), Cape Cod Bay (east), and Buzzards Bay (south). It consists mainly of an upland region with pockets of bogs, especially in the coastal lowlands of the southeast. The primary watercourses are the Taunton,
- Plymouth (Montserrat, West Indies)
Montserrat: Plymouth, on the southwestern coast, was the capital and only port of entry until 1997, when volcanic eruptions destroyed much of the town and the island’s most-spectacular vegetation. Government activities were subsequently relocated to Brades Estate (usually called Brades) and neighbouring areas, in the northwestern…
- Plymouth (New Hampshire, United States)
Plymouth, town (township), Grafton county, central New Hampshire, U.S. It lies on the Pemigewasset River north-northwest of Laconia, west of Squam Lake, and overlooked (southwest) by Plymouth Mountain (2,187 feet [667 metres]). The town includes the communities of Plymouth and West Plymouth.
- Plymouth (automobile)
automotive industry: Rise of the Big Three: …the low-priced-car market with the Plymouth.
- Plymouth (Massachusetts, United States)
Plymouth, town (township), Plymouth county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on Plymouth Bay, 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Boston. It was the site of the first permanent settlement by Europeans in New England, Plymouth colony, known formally as the colony of New Plymouth. The town was
- Plymouth (Vermont, United States)
Plymouth, town (township), Windsor county, south-central Vermont, U.S. The town includes the villages of Plymouth, Plymouth Union, and Tyson. It was chartered in 1761 as Saltash and renamed in 1797. Calvin Coolidge, 30th president of the United States, was born (July 4, 1872) in Plymouth in a small
- Plymouth (Indiana, United States)
Plymouth, city, seat (1836) of Marshall county, northern Indiana, U.S., 23 miles (37 km) south of South Bend. Platted in 1834 and apparently named for Plymouth, Massachusetts, it is near the site of the area’s last Potawatomi village, from where in 1838 more than 850 Native Americans were
- Plymouth (city and unitary authority, England, United Kingdom)
Plymouth, city, seaport, and unitary authority, geographic and historic county of Devon, southwestern England. It lies between the Rivers Plym and Tamar, which flow into Plymouth Sound, providing an extensive anchorage used principally by the Royal Navy. Named Sudtone in Domesday Book (1086),
- Plymouth Bay Colony (United States history)
King Philip’s War: …from the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies, have referred to the conflict as King Philip’s War. Philip (Metacom), sachem (chief) of a Wampanoag band, was a son of Massasoit, who had greeted the first colonists of New England at Plymouth in 1621. However, because of the central role in the
- Plymouth Brethren (religious community)
Plymouth Brethren, community of Christians whose first congregation was established in Plymouth, Devon, England, in 1831. The movement originated in Ireland and England a few years earlier with groups of Christians who met for prayer and fellowship. Biblical prophecy and the Second Coming of Christ
- Plymouth Company (British company)
Plymouth Company, commercial trading company chartered by the English crown in 1606 to colonize the eastern coast of North America in present-day New England. Its shareholders were merchants of Plymouth, Bristol, and Exeter. Its twin company was the more successful Virginia Company. The Plymouth
- Plymouth porcelain (pottery)
Plymouth porcelain, first hard-paste, or true, porcelain made in England, produced at a factory in Plymouth, Devon, from 1768 to 1770. Formulated by a chemist, William Cookworthy, it is distinguishable from the Bristol porcelain that he produced later by its imperfections. Cookworthy found deposits
- Plymouth Rock (United States history)
Plymouth Rock, granite slab upon which, according to tradition, the Pilgrim Fathers stepped first after disembarking from the Mayflower on December 26, 1620, at what became the colony of New Plymouth, the first permanent European settlement in New England. The rock, now much reduced from its
- Plymouth Rock (breed of chicken)
poultry farming: Chickens: Common American breeds include the Plymouth Rock, the Wyandotte, the Rhode Island Red, and the New Hampshire, all of which are dual-purpose breeds that are good for both eggs and meat. The Asiatic Brahma, thought to have originated in the United States from birds imported from China, is popular for…
- Plymouth State University (university, Plymouth, New Hampshire, United States)
New Hampshire: Education: …state university system also includes Plymouth State University and Keene State College. There are several state vocational colleges and a technical institute; a public television system at the state university has been in operation since 1959.
- Plynlimon (ridge, Wales, United Kingdom)
Plynlimon, ridge on the gritstone plateau of central Wales, reaching an elevation of 2,468 feet (752 metres) at Plynlimon Fawr. The ridge marks the watershed between drainage westward to Cardigan Bay and eastward to the Rivers Severn and Wye, flowing toward England and ultimately the Bristol
- plywood (composite wood)
plywood, structural material manufactured by gluing together thin sheets of wood, called veneers or plies, with the grain of the layers typically arranged at wide or perpendicular angles for strength. Plywood is a panel product, like particleboard and fibreboard, meaning it is produced in flat
- Plzeň (Czech Republic)
Plzeň, city, western Czech Republic. It lies in the fertile Plzeň basin, where several tributaries gather to form the Berounka River. On a busy trade route between Prague and Bavaria, Plzeň was first recorded in the 10th century, chartered in 1292, and fortified in 1295 by King Wenceslas II. It was
- PM (telecommunications)
modulation: Phase modulation: The phase of a carrier wave is varied in response to the vibrations of the sound source in phase modulation (PM). This form of modulation is often considered a variation of FM. The two processes are closely related, because phase cannot be changed…
- Pm (chemical element)
promethium (Pm), chemical element, the only rare-earth metal of the lanthanide series of the periodic table not found in nature on Earth. Conclusive chemical proof of the existence of promethium, the last of the rare-earth elements to be discovered, was obtained in 1945 (but not announced until
- PM (atmospheric science)
Particulate matter is a type of air pollution that consists of airborne suspensions of extremely small solid or liquid particles, such as soot, dust, smokes, fumes, and mists. Particulate matter—especially those particulates less than 10 micrometers (μm; millionths of a meter) in diameter—are
- PM (time)
12-hour clock: …referred to using pm, meaning post meridiem, or “after midday.” This nomenclature is based on the position of the Sun in relation to the meridian. In writing, periods can be added or omitted and lowercase letters can be replaced by their uppercase counterparts, resulting in “a.m.,” “am,” or “AM” and…
- PM (logic)
formal logic: Axiomatization of PC: …Bertrand Russell, is often called PM:
- PM Magazine (American television program)
Matt Lauer: …and hosted the nationally syndicated PM Magazine, a news and entertainment program, from 1980 to 1986. In 1989 he relocated to New York, where he briefly hosted several television shows and later became the cohost of the talk show 9 Broadway Plaza.
- PMAC (political organization, Ethiopia)
Ethiopia: Economy of Ethiopia: The communist Derg regime, which ruled from 1974 to 1991, nationalized all means of production, including land, housing, farms, and industry. Faced with uncertainties on their land rights, the smallholding subsistence farmers who form the backbone of Ethiopian agriculture became reluctant to risk producing surplus foods for…
- PMC
private military company (PMC), independent corporation that offers military services to national governments, international organizations, and substate actors. Private military companies (PMCs) constitute an important and deeply controversial element of the privatized military industry. PMCs
- PMC Colleges (university, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States)
Widener University, private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. It comprises schools of arts and sciences; law; education, innovation, and continuing studies; hospitality management; human service professions; engineering; nursing; and business
- PMC material
aerospace industry: Working of materials: Polymer-matrix composites are valued in the aerospace industry for their stiffness, lightness, and heat resistance (see materials science: Polymer-matrix composites). They are fabricated materials in which carbon or hydrocarbon fibres (and sometimes metallic strands, filaments, or particles) are bonded together by polymer resins in either…
- PMDB (political party, Brazil)
Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement, centrist Brazilian Christian Democratic political party. The Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB) was founded in 1980 by members of the Brazilian Democratic Movement, which had been created in the mid-1960s as the official opposition to the
- PMDD (pathology)
premenstrual syndrome: …syndrome may be diagnosed with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). While premenstrual dysphoric disorder is closely related to major depressive disorder, the symptoms of severe depression are cyclical in nature, fluctuating with cycles of ovulation and menstruation. A distinguishing factor in the diagnosis of premenstrual dysphoric disorder is that depression eventually…
- PMDI (chemical compound)
major industrial polymers: Polyurethanes: …and a polymeric isocyanate (PMDI). These isocyanates have the following structures:
- PMF
private military company (PMC), independent corporation that offers military services to national governments, international organizations, and substate actors. Private military companies (PMCs) constitute an important and deeply controversial element of the privatized military industry. PMCs
- PML-J (political party, Pakistan)
Pakistan: Zia ul-Haq: …Pakistan Muslim League—often designated as Muslim League (J) to distinguish it from other factions attempting to access the party’s legacy. Soon afterward Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and head of the PPP, returned from a two-year exile abroad and was greeted by a tumultuous gathering of supporters…
- PML-N (political party, Pakistan)
Pakistan: The second administration of Nawaz Sharif: The PML-N of Nawaz Sharif was the big winner, taking all the provinces either outright or through coalitions with provincial parties. Although only one-third of the eligible electorate had voted, no party in the history of Pakistan had done better in an election (taking two-thirds of…
- PML-Q (political party, Pakistan)
Pakistan: Electoral losses and resignation: …Musharraf and his rule; his PML-Q party finished a distant third behind the PPP (now led by Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto’s widower), which captured about one-third of the parliamentary seats up for election, and Sharif’s party, the PML-N, with about one-fourth of the seats. In March the PPP and PML-N…
- PMMA (chemical compound)
polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), a synthetic resin produced from the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. A transparent and rigid plastic, PMMA is often used as a substitute for glass in products such as shatterproof windows, skylights, illuminated signs, and aircraft canopies. It is sold under
- PMP (bioengineered drug)
pharming: Plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) differ from naturally occurring therapeutic plant compounds because pharmed plants are genetically engineered to express a gene that produces a therapeutic substance. This factor also distinguishes pharmed plants from plants genetically modified for agricultural purposes. PMPs can be extracted and purified from…
- PMRC (American committee)
Frank Zappa: …testified against censorship at the Parents’ Music Resource Center hearings in 1985 in Washington, D.C. In the wake of Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution (1989), Zappa was invited to Prague, where he met with the country’s new president, Václav Havel. A longtime admirer of Zappa’s commitment to individual freedom, Havel named him…
- PMS (medicine)
premenstrual syndrome (PMS), a medical condition in which a group of characteristic physical and emotional symptoms are felt by women before the onset of menstruation. The symptoms of PMS are cyclic in nature, generally beginning from 7 to 14 days before menstruation and ending within 24 hours
- PN (political party, Philippines)
Sergio Osmeña: …Filipino statesman, founder of the Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista) and president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946.
- PN (political party, Malta)
Malta: Modern history: …Malta was governed by the Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista; PN), which pursued a policy of firm alignment with the West. In 1971, however, the Malta Labour Party (Partit Laburista; MLP) came to power, embracing a policy of nonalignment and aggressively asserting Malta’s sovereignty. The MLP formed a special friendship with…
- PNA (political party, Pakistan)
Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: …nine opposition parties formed the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) and agreed to run as a single bloc. Fearing the possible strength of the PNA, Bhutto and his colleagues plotted an electoral strategy that included unleashing the FSF to terrorize the opposition. However, PNA members refused to be intimidated and centred…
- PNA mode (atmospheric science)
climate: The ocean surface and climate anomalies: …circulation type known as the Pacific–North American (PNA) mode. Such patterns are intrinsic modes of the atmosphere, which may be forced by thermal anomalies in the tropical atmosphere and which in their turn are forced by tropical ocean surface temperature anomalies. As noted earlier, enhanced tropical sea surface temperatures increase…
- PNC (political party, Guyana)
Guyana: Political process: The People’s National Congress (PNC), which initially identified with the urban Afro-Guyanese populace, essentially established a one-party state under the direction of its first leader, Forbes Burnham, who served as prime minister during 1964–80 and president during 1980–85. The PNC won power in an election marked…
- PNC (Palestinian organization)
Jordan: From 1973 to the intifada: …Hussein, in 1984, allowed the Palestine National Council (a virtual parliament of the Palestinians) to meet in Amman. In February 1985 he signed an agreement with Arafat pledging cooperation with the PLO and coordination of a joint peace initiative. Hussein believed that Arafat would accept a confederation of the West…
- PNC (El Salvadoran police)
El Salvador: The postconflict era: …new civilian police force (Policía Nacional Civil; PNC), and the establishment of a commission to investigate human rights abuses of the Salvadoran Armed Forces and the FMLN during the war. The FMLN subsequently became a political party. Also in 1992, a century-old territorial dispute between El Salvador and Honduras…
- PNC curve (acoustics)
noise pollution: Noise regulation and mitigation: …the noise criteria (NC) and preferred noise criteria (PNC) curves, which provide limits on the level of noise introduced into the environment. The NC curves, developed in 1957, aim to provide a comfortable working or living environment by specifying the maximum allowable level of noise in octave bands over the…
- PNC Park (baseball stadium, Pittsburgh, United States)
Pittsburgh: The contemporary city: …Allegheny opposite the Golden Triangle: PNC Park is home of the Pirates, the city’s professional baseball team, and Acrisure Stadium houses the Steelers, its professional football team. The Penguins, Pittsburgh’s professional ice hockey team, plays at PPG Paints Arena. Popular summertime attractions include riverboat excursions
- PNDC (Ghanaian government)
Ghana: Series of coups: …second military coup established a Provisional National Defense Council as the supreme national government; at local levels, people’s defense committees were to take the campaign for national renewal down to the grass roots.
- PNDS (political party, Niger)
Niger: Military coup and return to civilian rule: The Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism–Tarayya (Parti Nigérien pour la Démocratie et le Socialisme–Tarayya; PNDS), an established opposition party, won the greatest representation in the National Assembly by a single party with 39 seats; they were followed by the MNSD with 26 seats. No one…
- pneuma (music)
sequence: …text, or both) to the jubilus, the florid ending of the last syllable of the Alleluia. The melodic tropes were normally broken into phrases that were repeated in performance (as aa, bb, cc,…) by alternating choirs. Texts set to these and to Alleluia melodies were originally prose and thus were…
- pneuma (medicine)
pneumatism: …a subtle vapour called the pneuma; it was, in essence, an attempt to explain respiration.
- pneumatic (Gnosticism)
Christianity: Messianic secrets and the mysteries of salvation: …third group of beings called pneumatics. The God of Genesis then sought to prevent gnostics from discovering their past origins, present powers, and future destinies. Gnostics (the pneumatics) contain within themselves divine sparks expelled from the pleroma. Christ was sent from the pleroma to teach gnostics the saving knowledge (gnosis)…
- pneumatic action (music)
keyboard instrument: Stop and key mechanisms: Organs may, however, have pneumatic, direct electric, or electropneumatic action, although these actions result in a loss of sensitivity and responsiveness. In very large organs with tracker action, considerable strength may be necessary to depress the keys. Also, where the layout of the building is inconvenient and the departments…
- pneumatic caisson (construction)
air lock: …air is compressed, such as pneumatic caissons and underwater tunnels. The air lock also has been used as a design feature of space vehicles; on March 18, 1965, the Soviet cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov passed through an air lock to become the first man to walk in space.
- pneumatic capsule pipeline (technology)
pipeline: Capsule pipelines: …gas, the technology is called pneumatic capsule pipeline (PCP), and, when water or another liquid is used, it is termed hydraulic capsule pipeline (HCP). Owing to the low density of air, capsules in PCP cannot be suspended by air at ordinary speeds. Instead, the capsules are wheeled vehicles rolling through…
- pneumatic chemistry (science)
Antoine Lavoisier: Pneumatic chemistry: The chemistry Lavoisier studied as a student was not a subject particularly noted for conceptual clarity or theoretical rigour. Although chemical writings contained considerable information about the substances chemists studied, little agreement existed upon the precise composition of chemical elements or between explanations…
- pneumatic conveyor (mechanical device)
pipeline: Pneumatic pipelines: Pneumatic pipelines, also called pneumo transport, transport solid particles using air as the carrier medium. Because air is free and exists everywhere, and because it does not wet or react chemically with most solids, pneumo transport is preferred to hydro transport for most…
- pneumatic device (instrument)
pneumatic device, any of various tools and instruments that generate and utilize compressed air. Examples include rock drills, pavement breakers, riveters, forging presses, paint sprayers, blast cleaners, and atomizers. Compressed-air power is flexible, economic, and safe. An air device creates no
- pneumatic pipeline (mechanical device)
pipeline: Pneumatic pipelines: Pneumatic pipelines, also called pneumo transport, transport solid particles using air as the carrier medium. Because air is free and exists everywhere, and because it does not wet or react chemically with most solids, pneumo transport is preferred to hydro transport for most…
- pneumatic process (metallurgy)
William Kelly: …American ironmaster who invented the pneumatic process of steelmaking, in which air is blown through molten pig iron to oxidize and remove unwanted impurities. Also patented by Sir Henry Bessemer of Great Britain, this process produced the first inexpensive steel, which became the major construction material in the burgeoning industrial…
- pneumatic structure (building construction)
pneumatic structure, Membrane structure that is stabilized by the pressure of compressed air. Air-supported structures are supported by internal air pressure. A network of cables stiffens the fabric, and the assembly is supported by a rigid ring at the edge. The air pressure within this bubble is
- pneumatic tire (transportation)
tire: Pneumatic tires: The pneumatic tire is designed to provide a flexible cover with an impermeable lining to contain and restrain the compressed air. This cover is provided with a rubber tread portion that is designed to withstand the cutting and abrasive wear of road contact…
- pneumatic transducer (instrument)
ultrasonics: Transducers: Mechanical devices include gas-driven, or pneumatic, transducers such as whistles as well as liquid-driven transducers such as hydrodynamic oscillators and vibrating blades. These devices, limited to low ultrasonic frequencies, have a number of industrial applications, including drying, ultrasonic cleaning, and injection of fuel oil into burners. Electromechanical transducers…
- Pneumatica (book by Heron of Alexandria)
Heron of Alexandria: …that remain in Greek are Pneumatica, Automatopoietica, Belopoeica, and Cheirobalistra. The Pneumatica, in two books, describes a menagerie of mechanical devices, or “toys”: singing birds, puppets, coin-operated machines, a fire engine, a water organ, and his most famous invention, the aeolipile, the first steam-powered engine. This last device consists of…
- pneumatique
special delivery: …of mailing when sent by pneumatique, a pneumatic-tube conveyance system.
- pneumatism (medical theory)
pneumatism, in medicine, Alexandrian medical school, or sect, based on the theory that life is associated with a subtle vapour called the pneuma; it was, in essence, an attempt to explain respiration. Pneumatism was expounded by the Greek anatomist and physiologist Erasistratus about 300 bc, though
- pneumatocyst (biology)
Sargassum: …with hollow berrylike floats (pneumatocysts). The numerous fronds are generally small and leaflike with toothed edges. Most species reproduce sexually, but the pelagic species reproduce by fragmentation. The largest members can reach several metres in length.
- Pneumatomachian (Christianity)
Pneumatomachian, (“Opponents of the Spirit”), any of the Christian heretics of the 4th century ad who denied the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father in the divine Trinity. See
- Pneumatomachian heresy (religious history)
Macedonianism, a 4th-century Christian heresy that denied the full personhood and divinity of the Holy Spirit. According to this heresy, the Holy Spirit was created by the Son and was thus subordinate to the Father and the Son. (In orthodox Trinitarian theology, God is one in essence but three in
- Pneumatomachist (Christianity)
Pneumatomachian, (“Opponents of the Spirit”), any of the Christian heretics of the 4th century ad who denied the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father in the divine Trinity. See
- Pneumatomachoi (Christianity)
Pneumatomachian, (“Opponents of the Spirit”), any of the Christian heretics of the 4th century ad who denied the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father in the divine Trinity. See
- Pneumatomachos (Christianity)
Pneumatomachian, (“Opponents of the Spirit”), any of the Christian heretics of the 4th century ad who denied the consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father in the divine Trinity. See
- pneumatophore (cnidarian zooid)
cnidarian: Reproduction and life cycles: These include gas-filled floats called pneumatophores, pulsating, locomotory structures called nectophores, and flattened, protective individuals called bracts or phyllozooids.
- pneumatophore (root system)
mangrove: Respiratory or knee roots (pneumatophores) are characteristic of many species; they project above the mud and have small openings (lenticels) through which air enters, passing through the soft spongy tissue to the roots beneath the mud.