• flight path (physics)

    rocket and missile system: Design principles: The flight path of a ballistic missile has three successive phases. In the first, called the boost phase, the rocket engine (or engines, if the missile contains two or three stages) provides the precise amount of propulsion required to place the missile on a specific ballistic…

  • flight plan (aviation)

    traffic control: Conventional control techniques: Flight plans are checked and possible exit corridors from the flight path, in case of emergency, are determined. Flight plans are relayed to control towers and approach control centres. As the aircraft taxis out, under instructions from the ground controller, the pilot waits to be…

  • flight recorder (recording instrument)

    flight recorder, instrument that records the performance and condition of an aircraft in flight. Governmental regulatory agencies require these devices on commercial aircraft to make possible the analysis of crashes or other unusual occurrences. Flight recorders actually consist of two functional

  • flight shooting (archery)

    flight shooting, in archery, a form of competition in which shooting for maximum distance is the object, with little or no regard for accuracy. Bows used may be heavy-draw, conventional handbows or even heavier foot bows, which are strapped to the feet and drawn with both hands while the archer

  • flight simulator (training instrument)

    flight simulator, any electronic or mechanical system for training airplane and spacecraft pilots and crew members by simulating flight conditions. The purpose of simulation is not to completely substitute for actual flight training but to thoroughly familiarize students with the vehicle concerned

  • flight testing (aerospace)

    aerospace engineering: Aerospace engineering functions: The final phase concerns flight-testing the prototype. Engineers and test pilots work together to assure that the vehicle is safe and performs as expected. If the prototype is a commercial transport aircraft, the vehicle must meet the requirements specified by government organizations such as the Federal Aviation Administration in…

  • Flight to Arras (work by Saint-Exupéry)

    Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Pilote de guerre (1942; Flight to Arras) is a personal reminiscence of a reconnaissance sortie in May 1940 accomplished in a spirit of sacrifice against desperate odds. While in America he wrote Lettre à un otage (1943; Letter to a Hostage), a call to unity among Frenchmen, and Le…

  • Flight to Canada (novel by Reed)

    Ishmael Reed: Flight to Canada (1976) depicts the anachronistic adventures of an enslaved man from the American Civil War era who escapes to freedom via bus and airplane.

  • Flight to Lucifer, The (novel by Bloom)

    Harold Bloom: …Divine (2005), and the novel The Flight to Lucifer (1979)—to deal with religious subjects.

  • flight training device (instrument)

    aerospace industry: Tertiary systems: …full flight simulators (FFSs) and flight training devices (FTDs). FFSs are complex machines that consist of a cockpit, motion system, and visual system controlled by high-speed computers. Some models provide such realism that pilots can make the transition to a new model of aircraft solely by simulator training, a process…

  • flight, history of (aviation)

    In the history of flight, the most important landmarks and events include an understanding of the dynamic reaction of lifting surfaces (or wings), building absolutely reliable engines that produce sufficient power to propel an airframe, and solving the problem of flight control in three dimensions.

  • flighting (sport)

    hunting: Hunting methods: Sitting up, usually in blinds, is the most popular method of hunting waterfowl, with or without calling. It is called flighting in Great Britain. Hunting by calling involves waiting in hiding and making imitative noises by voice or with a call mechanism to attract the…

  • flightless anomalure (rodent)

    anomalure: The flightless anomalure (Z. insignis) is about 20 cm long and has a tail slightly shorter than its body.

  • flightless bird (animal)

    flightless bird, any of several birds that have, through evolution, lost the ability to fly as they adapted to new environments. Most living forms belong to the order Struthioniformes (a group that includes the ostrich, the rhea, the cassowary, the kiwi, and the emu); however, they are more

  • flightlessness (animal)

    flightless bird, any of several birds that have, through evolution, lost the ability to fly as they adapted to new environments. Most living forms belong to the order Struthioniformes (a group that includes the ostrich, the rhea, the cassowary, the kiwi, and the emu); however, they are more

  • Flights (novel by Tokarczuk)

    Olga Tokarczuk: …International Prize in 2018 for Flights (2017)—the English translation of her sixth novel, Bieguni (2007).

  • Flights of Victory (poetry by Cardenal)

    Ernesto Cardenal: Later works, honors, and reinstated as priest: … (1978), Vuelos de victoria (1985; Flights of Victory), Cántico cósmico (1989; Cosmic Canticles), Pluriverse: New and Selected Poems (2009), and El Origen de las Especies, y Otros Poemas (2011; Origin of the Species, and Other Poems).

  • Flim-Flam Man, The (film by Kershner [1967])

    Irvin Kershner: From B-24s to Laura Mars: In 1967 Kershner directed The Flim-Flam Man, a profile of a Southern con man played by George C. Scott.

  • flimmer filament (biology)

    protozoan: Flagellar propulsion: …have slender, simpler hairs called flimmer filaments. Either structure improves the effectiveness of the flagellar stroke, altering the movement of water produced by undulations of the flagellum by reversing its flow toward the flagellar base. Swimming speeds achieved by flagella are relatively low.

  • Flin Flon (Manitoba, Canada)

    Flin Flon, city, western Manitoba, Canada, north of Athapapuskow Lake. A portion of Flin Flon lies in Saskatchewan and is jointly administered by both provinces. The name was derived (1915) from a fictional prospector, Professor Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin, in the dime novel The Sunless City by

  • Flinck, Govert (Dutch painter)

    Govert Flinck was a Baroque painter of portraits, genre, and narrative subjects, and one of Rembrandt’s most-accomplished followers. Flinck first studied in Leeuwarden and later entered Rembrandt’s studio. As a painter of biblical and allegorical subjects, he at first modeled his style closely on

  • Flinders bar (navigation)

    navigation: The liquid magnetic compass: …soft iron bar called the Flinders bar, which originated in recommendations made by the English navigator Matthew Flinders.

  • Flinders Island (island, Tasmania, Australia)

    Flinders Island, northernmost and largest island of the Furneaux Group, northern Tasmania, southeastern Australia. It lies in eastern Bass Strait, between Tasmania and the Australian mainland, and is named for Matthew Flinders, the English navigator who surveyed its coasts in 1798. The island, with

  • Flinders Park (sports arena, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

    Australian Open: …the National Tennis Centre at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.

  • Flinders Ranges (mountains, South Australia, Australia)

    Flinders Ranges, mountain region in South Australia, extending some 500 miles (800 km) northward from near Crystal Brook to a point between Marree and Lake Callabonna (dry), where it falls away to flat grazing land. Southward beyond Crystal Brook, the highland region continues as the Mount Lofty

  • Flinders River (river, Australia)

    Flinders River, longest river in Queensland, Australia, rising on the southwestern slopes of the Gregory Range (Eastern Highlands) in the northern section of the state, 100 mi (160 km) west of Charters Towers, and flowing west past Hughenden and Richmond; it then curves northwest and north to enter

  • Flinders University (university, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia)

    Adelaide: …city is also home to Flinders University (1966) and the University of South Australia (1991). The biennial Adelaide Festival of Arts (1960) was the first international celebration of its kind to be held in Australia. Pop. (2006) local government area, 16,659; urban agglom., 1,105,840.

  • Flinders, Matthew (British navigator)

    Matthew Flinders was an English navigator who charted much of the Australian coast. Flinders entered the Royal Navy in 1789 and became a navigator. In 1795 he sailed to Australia, where he explored and charted its southeast coast and circumnavigated the island of Tasmania. As commander of the

  • Flint (Michigan, United States)

    Flint, city, seat (1836) of Genesee county, eastern Michigan, U.S. It lies along the Flint River, 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Detroit. It originated in 1819 as a trading post opened by Jacob Smith. Laid out beginning in 1830 and named for the river (which the Native Americans called Pawanunking,

  • Flint (county, Wales, United Kingdom)

    Flintshire, county in the northeastern corner of Wales, bounded on the east by the River Dee and England and bounded on the west by Denbighshire. The present county of Flintshire encompasses an area along the lower Dee and the Dee estuary and extends inland to the Clwydian Range. The historic

  • flint (mineral)

    chert and flint: flint, very fine-grained quartz (q.v.), a silica mineral with minor impurities. Several varieties are included under the general term chert: jasper, chalcedony, agate (qq.v.), flint, porcelanite, and novaculite.

  • flint corn (cereal)

    corn: Types of corn: Flint corn, containing little soft starch, has no depression; it is used for decoration and is eaten as hominy in the Americas. Flour corn, composed largely of soft starch, has soft, mealy, easily ground kernels and is an important source of corn flour.

  • flint glass (glass)

    flint glass, heavy and durable glass characterized by its brilliance, clarity, and highly refractive quality. Developed by George Ravenscroft (q.v.) in 1675, it ushered in a new style in glassmaking and eventually made England the leading glass producer of the world. Ravenscroft’s experimentation

  • Flint Institute of Arts (museum, Flint, Michigan, United States)

    Flint: The Flint Institute of Arts, the Robert T. Longway Planetarium, and the Alfred P. Sloan Museum (which displays carriages and antique autos) form part of the Flint Cultural Center, a cultural complex founded in 1957. Inc. city, 1855. Pop. (2010) 102,434; Flint Metro Area, 425,790; (2020)…

  • Flint Island (island, Kiribati)

    Flint Island, southernmost coral island in the Southern Line Islands, part of Kiribati, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 400 miles (640 km) northwest of Tahiti. With a land area of 1 square mile (3 square km) in an elongated diamond shape about 2.5 miles by 0.5 mile (4 km by 0.8 km), the

  • Flint Ridge Cave System (geological region, Kentucky, United States)

    Flint Ridge Cave System, complex of caves and underground rivers in west-central Kentucky, U.S. The surveyed areas of the system are entirely within Mammoth Cave National Park. The caverns are interconnected to a great extent, and some of them have been explored. Flint Ridge is a plateau capped by

  • Flint water crisis (public health crisis, Flint, Michigan, United States)

    Flint water crisis, human-made public health crisis (April 2014–June 2016) involving the municipal water supply system of Flint, Michigan. Tens of thousands of Flint residents were exposed to dangerous levels of lead, and outbreaks of Legionnaire disease killed at least 12 people and sickened

  • Flint, Austin (American physician)

    Austin Flint was one of the most eminent of 19th-century physicians, and a pioneer of heart research in the United States. He discovered a disorder—now known as the Austin Flint murmur—characterized by regurgitation of blood from the aorta into the heart before contraction of the ventricles. As

  • Flint, F.S. (British poet)

    F.S. Flint was an English poet and translator, prominent in the Imagist movement (expression of precise images in free verse), whose best poems reflect the disciplined economy of that school. The son of a commercial traveler, Flint left school at the age of 13 and worked at a variety of jobs. At

  • Flint, Frank Stuart (British poet)

    F.S. Flint was an English poet and translator, prominent in the Imagist movement (expression of precise images in free verse), whose best poems reflect the disciplined economy of that school. The son of a commercial traveler, Flint left school at the age of 13 and worked at a variety of jobs. At

  • Flint, Rachael Heyhoe (English cricketer)

    32 Notable Women Cricketers: Rachael Heyhoe Flint: Rachael Heyhoe Flint was a pioneer of women’s cricket and helped popularize and promote the sport both during and after her career. She played a key role in organizing the first Women’s ODI World Cup in 1973, two years before the first…

  • flintlock (firearms)

    flintlock, ignition system for firearms, developed in the early 16th century. It superseded the matchlock and wheel lock and was itself outmoded by the percussion lock in the first half of the 19th century. The best-developed form, the true flintlock, was invented in France in the early 17th

  • Flintshire (county, Wales, United Kingdom)

    Flintshire, county in the northeastern corner of Wales, bounded on the east by the River Dee and England and bounded on the west by Denbighshire. The present county of Flintshire encompasses an area along the lower Dee and the Dee estuary and extends inland to the Clwydian Range. The historic

  • Flintstones, The (American animated television series)

    The Flintstones, American animated television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 30, 1960, to September 2, 1966. The show is notable for being the first original animated series to air in prime time and for its appeal to adults as well as children. The original series aired a total of 166

  • Flintstones, The (film by Levant [1994])

    John Goodman: Film career: …baseball legend Babe Ruth, and The Flintstones (1994), a remake of the classic cartoon. He reteamed with the Coen brothers for Barton Fink (1991); The Big Lebowski (1998), in which he costarred with Jeff Bridges and Steve Buscemi, portraying a Vietnam War veteran still reliving the past; and O Brother,…

  • Flintwinch, Jeremiah (fictional character)

    Jeremiah Flintwinch, fictional character in the novel Little Dorrit (1855–57) by Charles Dickens. Originally the Clennam family butler, Flintwinch becomes the business partner of Mrs. Clennam after he comes into possession of confidential information about the family and its financial dealings. His

  • Flip (book by Dennis)

    Wesley Dennis: …literature by writing and illustrating Flip (1941), a book about a playful Kentucky colt; he published two sequels, Flip and the Cows (1942) and Flip and the Morning (1951). Henry discovered Dennis’s work when she was searching for an illustrator for her story Justin Morgan Had a Horse (1945). That…

  • FLIP

    Floating Instrument Platform (FLIP), oceanographic study platform developed in the United States. It combines the advantages of extreme stability while floating on site and ease of movement to new areas. In the horizontal position, FLIP, 109 m (357 feet) long, can be towed behind a ship. When

  • Flip Wilson Show, The (American television program)

    Flip Wilson: The Flip Wilson Show: …fame with his own program, The Flip Wilson Show. Wilson’s show was unique in that he used a theater-in-the-round studio and minimal sets, which emphasized the talents of the performers. During its run, the show featured guest spots by a dazzling array of celebrities from all genres of entertainment, including…

  • Flip Your Wig (album by Hüsker Dü)

    Hüsker Dü: …including New Day Rising (1985), Flip Your Wig (1985), and Warehouse: Songs and Stories (1987). Mould later had success with solo projects and as a member of the band Sugar.

  • Flip-Flap Railway (ride, New York City, New York, United States)

    roller coaster: Coney Island amusement park: …when Lina Beecher installed the Flip-Flap Railway at Paul Boyton’s Sea Lion Park in Coney Island. Though uncomfortable and still dangerous, the 25-foot (7.5-metre) circular loop became popular despite operating for only a few years.

  • flip-flop (computer science)

    computer memory: Semiconductor memory: Static RAM (SRAM) consists of flip-flops, a bistable circuit composed of four to six transistors. Once a flip-flop stores a bit, it keeps that value until the opposite value is stored in it. SRAM gives fast access to data, but it is physically relatively large. It is used primarily for…

  • Flipflap, The (play by Idrīs)

    Arabic literature: Modern Arabic drama: …whose celebrated play Al-Farāfīr (1964; The Farfoors, or The Flipflap) combined elements of traditional comic forms of dramatic presentation with such Brechtian effects as the presence of an “author” as a stage character and the use of theatre-in-the-round staging. Alfred Faraj took a somewhat different course, invoking tales and incidents…

  • Flipped (film by Reiner [2010])

    Rob Reiner: Later films: Flipped (2010), a teenage romance, failed to find an audience, and The Magic of Belle Isle (2012), while remarked for the skill of Freeman’s performance as an alcoholic writer, did not reach a large viewership. Reiner’s next effort, And So It Goes (2014), a romantic…

  • Flipper (American television series)

    Television in the United States: A potpourri of genres: …animal shows (Lassie [CBS, 1954–71]; Flipper [NBC, 1964–68]), and a collection of sitcoms and dramas featuring lawyers, cops, doctors, and detectives all made the Nielsen top-30 lists during this decade.

  • flipper (zoology)

    cetacean: Locomotor adaptations: …but are reduced to finlike flippers having shortened arm bones and no individual fingers. The hind limbs are lost entirely; only vestigial elements sometimes remain internally. Pelvic remnants occur in all cetacea but the dwarf and pygmy sperm whales. Flippers help to steer, while the back muscles, which are very…

  • flipping, ring (chemistry)

    hydrocarbon: Cycloalkanes: …process of chair-chair interconversion (called ring-flipping) interconverts the six axial and six equatorial hydrogen atoms in cyclohexane. Chair-chair interconversion is a complicated process brought about by successive conformational changes within the molecule. It is different from simple whole-molecule motions, such as spinning and tumbling, and because it is a conformational…

  • FLIR (technology)

    police: Mobility: …passive infrared unit sometimes called forward-looking infrared (FLIR), provides night vision. FLIR units can measure the heat energy emitted by objects and living things, enabling ground units to be directed to a particular location. The police also employ fixed-wing aircraft for operations such as border patrols and drug surveillance, police-personnel…

  • Flirting in St. Moritz (ice show)

    figure skating: Ice shows: The show, called Flirting in St. Moritz, created a sensation in New York City, ran for 300 days, and inspired The Frozen Warning (1916), the first motion picture centered on skating. Another pioneer ice show, Ice Follies, was first produced in 1936 by Oscar Johnson, Edward Shipstad, and…

  • Flirting with Disaster (film by Russell [1996])

    Alan Alda: … (1978), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Flirting with Disaster (1996), What Women Want (2000), Tower Heist (2011), Wanderlust (2012), The Longest Ride (2015), Bridge of Spies (2015), and Marriage Story (2019). He received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for

  • Flis (work by Klonowic)

    Sebastian Klonowic: In the Polish poem Flis (1595; The Boatman), he vividly described the valley of the Vistula River and the life and customs of its raftsmen. Worek Judaszów (1600; “Judas’s Sack”), also in Polish, is a satiric and didactic work on the low life of Lublin. In the satirical and…

  • flivver (automobile)

    Model T, automobile built by the Ford Motor Company from 1908 until 1927. Conceived by Henry Ford as practical, affordable transportation for the common man, it quickly became prized for its low cost, durability, versatility, and ease of maintenance. More than 15 million Model Ts were built in

  • Flivver Ten Million (work by Converse)

    Frederick Shepherd Converse: …idiom in the symphonic fantasy Flivver Ten Million (1927), written to celebrate the production of the 10,000,000th Ford automobile. He also wrote six symphonies, chamber music, and many songs.

  • Fljótid helga (work by Gudmundsson)

    Tómas Gudmundsson: During this period Fljótid helga (1950; “The Holy River”) was published. It addressed many of the social issues that were brought to light by World War II and revealed Gudmundsson as a mature philosopher of loss and resignation, though his light touch and rich humour remained. An edition…

  • FLN (political party, Algeria)

    National Liberation Front, the only constitutionally legal party in Algeria from 1962 to 1989. The party was a continuation of the revolutionary body that directed the Algerian war of independence against France (1954–62). The FLN was created by the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action

  • FLN (linguistics)

    Noam Chomsky: Philosophy of mind and human nature: The faculty of language in the “narrow” sense (FLN) amounts to the recursive computational system alone, whereas the faculty in the broad sense (FLB) includes perceptual-articulatory systems (for sound and sign) and conceptual-intentional systems (for meaning). These are the systems with which the computational system interacts…

  • FLNC (political organization, Corsica)

    Corsican National Liberation Front, largest and most violent of a number of Corsican nationalist movements. It was formed in 1976 from two smaller groups that sought autonomy for Corsica through armed struggle. The main method of the FLNC was bomb attacks, and the main targets were the property of

  • FLNC (political party, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

    Democratic Republic of the Congo: Mobutu’s regime: …country’s main opposition movement, the Congolese National Liberation Front (Front de la Libération Nationale Congolaise; FLNC), operating from Angola, launched two major invasions into Shaba (which Katanga was called from 1972 to 1997). On both occasions external intervention by friendly governments—primarily Morocco in 1977 and France in 1978—saved the day,…

  • FLNKS (political party, New Caledonia)

    New Caledonia: History of New Caledonia: …and reconstituted itself as the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (Front de Libération Nationale Kanake et Socialiste; FLNKS). The FLNKS boycotted the elections in that year and, in an uprising, temporarily captured most of the territory outside Nouméa.

  • FLO (trade association)

    fair trade: History: …the establishment of the worldwide Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) association in 1997. Labeling of fair trade products was instrumental in raising consumer awareness. It also allowed such products to be sold alongside non-fair trade counterparts in large supermarket chains, expanding their availability from fair trade shops to mass consumer…

  • float (fishing tackle)

    fishing: Methods: …cork or plastic, called a float in Britain and a bobber in the United States. The angler attempts to suspend the bait at a depth where foraging fish will notice it and in locations near the natural hiding places of fish—such as sunken weed beds, logs, and underwater rock formations.

  • float (oceanography)

    undersea exploration: Measurements of ocean currents: …can be measured by drifting floats, either at the surface or at a given depth. Tracking the location of the floats is critical. Surface floats can be followed by satellite, but subsurface drifters must be tracked acoustically. A drifter of this sort acts as an acoustical source and transmits signals…

  • Float On (recording by Modest Mouse)

    Modest Mouse: …the backhandedly optimistic hit “Float On.” The band’s follow-up We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007) debuted at the top of Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart. After a prolonged hiatus, Modest Mouse released Strangers to Ourselves in 2015. The Golden Casket, their seventh album, appeared in 2021.

  • float process (glassmaking)

    construction: Glass as a building material: …Brothers in England developed the float glass process, in which a continuous 3.4-meter- (11-foot-) wide ribbon of glass floated over molten tin and both sides were fire finished, avoiding all polishing and grinding; this became the standard method of production. Pilkington also pioneered the development of structural glass mullions in…

  • float seaplane (airplane)

    seaplane: …separate pontoons or floats as floatplanes. The first practical seaplanes were built and flown in the United States by Glenn H. Curtiss, in 1911 and 1912. Curtiss’ inventions led to the British F-boats of World War I, which originated such naval air missions as over-ocean patrol, antisubmarine warfare, mine laying,…

  • float stitch (knitting)

    textile: Weft knitting: A float stitch is produced by missing interlooping over a series of needles so that the thread floats over a few loops in each course.

  • float zoning (crystallography)

    zone melting: Techniques of zone refining.: …found for zone refining, namely, float zoning, invented by a U.S. scientist to produce ultrapure silicon. This semiconducting element is even more useful than germanium for most transistor applications. In float zoning, a vertical silicon rod is held by end clamps, and a short molten zone is produced by induction…

  • float-glass method (glassmaking)

    construction: Glass as a building material: …Brothers in England developed the float glass process, in which a continuous 3.4-meter- (11-foot-) wide ribbon of glass floated over molten tin and both sides were fire finished, avoiding all polishing and grinding; this became the standard method of production. Pilkington also pioneered the development of structural glass mullions in…

  • float-out lighthouse

    lighthouse: Construction: …was possible to build a “float out” lighthouse, consisting of a cylindrical tower on a large concrete base that could be 15 meters (50 feet) in diameter. The tower was constructed in a shore berth, towed out to position, and then sunk to the seabed, where the base was finally…

  • floater (pathology)

    eye disease: Floaters, blind spots, and flashes: One of the most common visual symptoms is the sensation of small black objects floating in front of the eye, known as “floaters.” These move with the eye but lag slightly at the beginning of an eye movement and overshoot…

  • floater (surfing maneuver)

    surfing: Equipment and techniques: …face of the wave), “floaters” (“floating” the board along the top of a breaking wave), “reverses” (rapid changes of direction), 360s (turning the board through 360 degrees on the face of the wave), and “airs” (flying above the face of the wave).

  • floater policy (insurance)

    insurance: Inland marine insurance: …greatly extended by means of “floater” policies. These are used to insure certain types of movable property whether or not the property is actually in transit. Business floater policies are purchased by jewelers, launderers, dry cleaners, tailors, upholsterers, and other persons who hold the property of others while performing services.…

  • floating antlerfern (plant)

    water fern: cornuta); floating antlerfern, or water horn fern (C. pteridoides); triangle water fern (C. richardii); and water sprite (C. thalictroides). The plants are widespread in tropical and warm temperate regions around the world, and several are cultivated as aquarium plants. Although water ferns sometimes root in mud,…

  • Floating Bear (American journal)

    Diane di Prima: …began a monthly poetry journal, Floating Bear, that featured their own poetry and that of other notable Beat writers such as Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. Di Prima and Jones were charged with (but not indicted for) sending obscene material through the mail. Jones left Floating Bear after two years,…

  • floating breakwater (marine engineering)

    harbours and sea works: Floating breakwaters: Because of the large quantities of material required and the consequent high cost of breakwaters of normal construction, the possibility of floating breakwaters has received considerable study. The lee of calm water to be found behind a large ship at anchor in the…

  • floating bridge

    pontoon bridge, floating bridge, used primarily but not invariably for military purposes. See also military bridge. An early pontoon bridge was constructed in 480 bce by Persian engineers to transport Xerxes’ invading army across the Hellespont (Dardanelles). According to Herodotus, the bridge was

  • Floating Circus Palace (American showboat)

    showboat: …this early period was the Floating Circus Palace of Spaulding and Rodgers (built 1851) that featured large-scale equestrian spectacles. By the mid-19th century, showboats were seating up to 3,400 and regularly featured wax museums as well as equestrian shows, but because of the American Civil War they disappeared entirely.

  • floating cone technique

    mining: Ore reserves: …the most common is the floating cone technique. In two dimensions the removal of a given ore block would require the removal of a set of overlying blocks as well. All of these would be included in an inverted triangle with its sides corresponding to the slope angle, its base…

  • floating crane

    crane: …more powerful derrick is the floating crane, which is built on a barge for such purposes as constructing bridges or salvaging sunken objects. The Musashi, a large crane of this type built in Japan in 1974, can lift a 3,000-ton load.

  • floating debt

    international payment and exchange: Short-term flows: A very important distinction must be drawn between the short-term capital that flows in the normal course of industrial and commercial development and that which flows because of exchange-rate movements. The first class of short-term capital may be thought of as going in…

  • floating dry dock

    dry dock: The principal such facility, the floating dry dock, is a trough-shaped cellular structure, used to lift ships out of the water for inspection and repairs. The ship is brought into the channel of the partly submerged dock, which is then floated by removing ballast from its hollow floor and walls…

  • floating exchange rate (economics)

    money: Central banking: If a country has a floating exchange rate, it must choose a policy to go with the floating rate. At times in the past, many countries expected their central bank to pursue several different objectives. Eventually, countries recognized that this was an error because it focused the central bank on…

  • floating foundation (construction)

    soil mechanics: A floating foundation consists of boxlike rigid structures set at such a depth below ground that the weight of the soil removed to place it equals the weight of the building; thus, once the building is completed, the soil under it will bear the same weight…

  • floating garden (agriculture)

    chinampa, small, stationary, artificial island built on a freshwater lake for agricultural purposes. Chinampan was the ancient name for the southwestern region of the Valley of Mexico, the region of Xochimilco, and it was there that the technique was—and is still—most widely used. It consists in

  • Floating Gardens of Xochimilco (park, Mexico City, Mexico)

    Xochimilco: …famous for its chinampas (floating gardens). The local agriculturalists constructed branch and reed rafts on the lake, covered them with mud from the bottom of the lake, and cultivated fruits, vegetables, and flowers, which they shipped to Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) via canal. In time the rafts took root…

  • floating gate (electronics)

    flash memory: …that has two transistors, the floating gate and the control gate, at each intersection, separated by an oxide layer that insulates the floating gate. When the floating gate is linked to the control gate, the two-transistor cell has a value of 1. To change the value of the cell to…

  • floating heart (plant)

    Menyanthaceae: …water lily, water snowflake, and floating heart, comprises submerged plants with buried rootstalks and floating leaves. Most species bear yellow or white flowers, and many are popular aquarium plants. The genera Liparophyllum and Nephrophyllidium both contain a single species, while Villarsia is larger but not well known.

  • Floating Instrument Platform

    Floating Instrument Platform (FLIP), oceanographic study platform developed in the United States. It combines the advantages of extreme stability while floating on site and ease of movement to new areas. In the horizontal position, FLIP, 109 m (357 feet) long, can be towed behind a ship. When

  • Floating Islands, The (work by Barba)

    theatre: The influence of Grotowski and the Polish Laboratory Theatre: His book The Floating Islands (1979) examines a theatre existing independently that creates from whatever material resources are at hand. Barba has sought to return to theatre as a way of life, seeing this pattern in the origins of the commedia dell’arte, the wandering players, and in…

  • floating moss (fern)

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