refrigeration: …a compressor; a condenser; an expansion device, which can be a valve, a capillary tube, an engine, or a turbine; and an evaporator. The gas coolant is first compressed, usually by a piston, and then pushed through a tube into the condenser. In the condenser, the winding tube containing the…

boomerang: The nonreturning boomerang is longer, straighter, and heavier than the returning variety. With it animals were maimed and killed, while in warfare it caused serious injuries and death. One type has a picklike hook at one end. Boomerang-shaped, nonreturning weapons were used by the ancient Egyptians,…

textile: Multiple plain weave: Nonreversible cloth with two or more sets of warp and sometimes of weft can also be produced. These cloths have an intricately patterned face, and all warps and wefts that do not appear on the face are carried along and bound into the web on…

blimp, nonrigid or semirigid airship dependent on internal gas pressure to maintain its form. The origin of the name blimp is uncertain, but the most common explanation is that it derives from “British Class B airship” plus “limp”—i.e., nonrigid. Blimps were used by navies during World War I in

market failure: Public goods: …another from using it (nonrivalry). The final attribute is that no person can reject using the good (nonrejectability). When a good has these attributes, no single individuals will pay for the good unless they gain so much utility from it that they can pay for the entire cost of…

meat processing: Fat: …animals with simple stomachs, called nonruminants (e.g., pigs), diet can significantly alter the fatty acid composition of meat. If nonruminants are fed diets high in unsaturated fats, the fat they deposit in their muscles will have elevated levels of unsaturated fatty acids. In animals with multichambered stomachs, called ruminants (e.g.,…

history of Latin America: Types of Western Hemisphere societies: …established is that of the nonsedentary peoples, who had little or no agriculture and moved annually in small bands over a large territory, hunting and gathering. They were located primarily in areas that under the then-existing technologies were not propitious for agriculture, especially plains and dense tropical forests.

suprasegmental, in phonetics, a speech feature such as stress, tone, or word juncture that accompanies or is added over consonants and vowels; these features are not limited to single sounds but often extend over syllables, words, or phrases. In Spanish the stress accent is often used to

testicular cancer: Types of testicular cancer: …broadly classified as seminomas or nonseminomas on the basis of their appearance and other characteristics. About 40 to 60 percent of testicular germ cell tumours are seminomas. These cancers tend to be slow-growing and respond well to treatment. Seminomas are derived from immature germ cells in the tissues of the…

heredity: Mechanisms of mutation: …base substitution, called a “nonsense” mutation, results in a stop codon in a position where there was not one before, which causes the premature termination of protein synthesis and, more than likely, a complete loss of function in the finished protein.

Stephen Leacock: …of Literary Lapses (1910) and Nonsense Novels (1911). Leacock’s humour is typically based on a comic perception of social foibles and the incongruity between appearance and reality in human conduct, and his work is characterized by the invention of lively comic situations. Most renowned are his Sunshine Sketches of a…

nonsense verse, humorous or whimsical verse that differs from other comic verse in its resistance to any rational or allegorical interpretation. Though it often makes use of coined, meaningless words, it is unlike the ritualistic gibberish of children’s counting-out rhymes in that it makes these

algae: Reproduction and life histories: …female gametes (sex cells), by asexual reproduction, or by both ways.

brown adipose tissue: …heat through a process called nonshivering thermogenesis.

cement: Expanding and nonshrinking cements: Expanding and nonshrinking cements expand slightly on hydration, thus offsetting the small contraction that occurs when fresh concrete dries for the first time. Expanding cements were first produced in France about 1945. The American type is a mixture of portland cement and an…

invertible matrix, a square matrix such that the product of the matrix and its inverse generates the identity matrix. That is, a matrix M, a general n × n matrix, is invertible if, and only if, M ∙ M−1 = In, where M−1 is the inverse of M and In is the n × n identity matrix. Often, an invertible

connective tissue disease: Necrotizing vasculitides: Takayasu arteritis, with variants called pulseless disease, branchial arteritis, and giant-cell arteritis of the aorta, involves principally the thoracic aorta (chest portion) and the adjacent segments of its large branches. Symptoms, including diminished or absent pulses in the arms, are related to narrowing and obstruction of these vessels. Takayasu arteritis…

placebo effect, psychological or psychophysiological improvement attributed to therapy with an inert substance or a simulated (sham) procedure. There is no clear explanation for why some persons experience measurable improvement when given an inert substance for treatment. Research has indicated

immune system: Nonspecific, innate immunity: Most microorganisms encountered in daily life are repelled before they cause detectable signs and symptoms of disease. These potential pathogens, which include viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and worms, are quite diverse, and therefore a nonspecific defense system that

immune system: Nonspecific, innate immunity: Most microorganisms encountered in daily life are repelled before they cause detectable signs and symptoms of disease. These potential pathogens, which include viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and worms, are quite diverse, and therefore a nonspecific defense system that

dog: Non-Sporting dogs: The Non-Sporting group is a catchall category for those breeds that do not strictly fit into any other group. (Arguments could be made for assigning some of these breeds to other groups. The Dalmatian, for instance, could be a Working dog, as it…

metalogic: Elementary logic: …what is known as “nonstandard analysis” that yields an unambiguous interpretation of the classical concept of infinitesimals—the division into units as small as one pleases. They have also been applied by two mathematicians, James Ax and Simon B. Kochen, to problems in the field of algebra (on p-adic fields).

Canada: Indigenous peoples: …of European ancestry are called nonstatus Indians. (Beginning in 1985, Canadian law has allowed those who lost their status through intermarriage to reclaim it, and marriage no longer triggers an automatic loss of status.) Through treaties with the Canadian government, more than 600 status Indian bands occupy more than 2,250…

NSAID, drug that reduces inflammation and is effective against pain (see analgesic) and fever. Most NSAIDs are available without prescription and are usually used for short periods for mild pain. NSAIDs work by inhibiting the synthesis of molecules known as prostaglandins, which are important

polytetrafluoroethylene: DuPont released its trademarked Teflon-coated nonstick cookware in 1960.

nonstoichiometric compound, any solid chemical compound in which the numbers of atoms of the elements present cannot be expressed as a ratio of small whole numbers; sometimes called berthollide compounds in distinction from daltonides (in which the atomic ratios are those of small integers),

marketing: Nonstore retailers: Some retailers do not operate stores, and these nonstore businesses have grown much faster than store retailers. The major types of nonstore retailing are direct selling, direct marketing, and automatic vending.

motion-picture technology: Film: In what is called the nonsubstantive subsequent process, the dye couplers are introduced in a second development. Each color layer is treated separately. Uniform red light is applied (from the bottom up) to expose the undeveloped silver halide in the red layer. It has no effect on the other layers…

Spanish Armada: Background to the invasion: The Treaty of Nonsuch (1585) by which England undertook to support the Dutch rebels against Spanish rule, along with damaging raids by Sir Francis Drake against Spanish commerce in the Caribbean in 1585–86, finally convinced Philip that a direct invasion of England was necessary. He decided…

therapeutics: Radiation and other nonsurgical therapies: Ionizing radiation is the transmission of energy by electromagnetic waves (e.g., X-rays) or by particles such as electrons, neutrons, or protons. Interaction with

formal logic: Classification of dyadic relations: …asymmetrical is said to be nonsymmetrical. Thus, ϕ is nonsymmetrical if (∃x)(∃y)(ϕxy · ϕyx) · (∃x)(∃y)(ϕxy · ∼ϕyx) (example: “loves”).

metabolomics: Targeted and nontargeted approaches: Targeted metabolomics are focused, such that the analyst queries defined panels of similar biochemicals. Targeted assays can be highly sensitive and specific and reproducibly quantitative, especially when heavy isotopes are used to label substances and instrumental methods are narrowly focused.

philosophy of mind: The need for nontendentious evidence: One might be tempted to dismiss at least a blanket eliminativist view that denies the reality of any mental phenomenon by asking how any such theory could explain one’s own present conscious thoughts and experiences. But here it is crucial to keep in…

Nonthaburi, city, south-central Thailand, just north of Bangkok. The city, a northern, fast-growing suburb of Bangkok, lies on the east (left) bank of the Chao Phraya River and is linked to the metropolis by riverboats and major roads. Nonthaburi has a lively market near the river and is the site

documentary film, motion picture that shapes and interprets factual material for purposes of education or entertainment. Documentaries have been made in one form or another in nearly every country and have contributed significantly to the development of realism in films. John Grierson, a Scottish

synchrotron radiation, electromagnetic energy emitted by charged particles (e.g., electrons and ions) that are moving at speeds close to that of light when their paths are altered, as by a magnetic field. It is so called because particles moving at such speeds in a variety of particle accelerator

chemical weapon: Banning chemical weapons: …cover fourth-generation chemical weapons, so-called nontraditional agents (NTAs), such as some of the binary nerve agents known as “novichoks.” There is evidence that Russia inherited NTAs from the former Soviet arsenals. In March 2018 Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer who had acted as a double agent for Britain,…

formal logic: Classification of dyadic relations: …intransitive is said to be nontransitive. Thus, ϕ is nontransitive if (∃x)(∃y)(∃z)(ϕxy · ϕyz · ϕxz) · (∃x)(∃y)(∃z)(ϕxy · ϕyz · ∼ϕxz) (example: “is a first cousin of”).

celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune digestive disorder in which affected individuals cannot tolerate gluten, a protein constituent of wheat, barley, malt, and rye flours. General symptoms of the disease include the passage of foul pale-coloured stools (steatorrhea), progressive malnutrition,

tuberculosis: Other mycobacterial infections: …nontuberculosis mycobacteria, atypical mycobacteria, and mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT). This group includes such Mycobacterium species as M. avium (or M. avium-intracellulare), M. kansasii, M. marinum, and M. ulcerans. These bacilli have long been known to infect animals and

multiple birth: Other multiple births: The first recorded set of nonuplets was born June 13, 1971, when an Australian woman gave birth to five boys and four girls (two boys were stillborn). The remaining seven infants died within a week.

primitive culture, in the lexicon of early anthropologists, any of numerous societies characterized by features that may include lack of a written language, relative isolation, small population, relatively simple social institutions and technology, and a generally slow rate of sociocultural change.

primitive culture, in the lexicon of early anthropologists, any of numerous societies characterized by features that may include lack of a written language, relative isolation, small population, relatively simple social institutions and technology, and a generally slow rate of sociocultural change.

syphilis: …of infections, collectively known as treponematosis or nonvenereal syphilis, is not spread by sexual contact and is localized in warm parts of the world where crowded conditions and poor health care favour its development.

nonverbal communication, transfer of information from one person to another without the use of words or spoken language. Nonverbal communication can occur in a variety of ways, including through facial expressions, gestures, and body posture or position. Studies on nonverbal communication became

nonverbal learning disorder (NVLD), a neurological condition characterized by cognitive, and occasionally social, difficulties that affect areas other than verbal communication and that are encountered by individuals of average or above-average intelligence. The condition typically materializes

nonverbal learning disorder (NVLD), a neurological condition characterized by cognitive, and occasionally social, difficulties that affect areas other than verbal communication and that are encountered by individuals of average or above-average intelligence. The condition typically materializes

major industrial polymers: Heterochain polymers: A wide variety of heterochain polymers—that is, polymers in which the backbone contains elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, or silicon in addition to carbon—are in commercial use. Many of these compounds are complex in structure. In this section the major heterochain polymer…

Mahatma Gandhi: …esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest (satyagraha) to achieve political and social progress.

computer memory: Semiconductor memory: Nonvolatile semiconductor memories, unlike SRAM and DRAM, do not lose their contents when power is turned off. Some nonvolatile memories, such as read-only memory (ROM), are not rewritable once manufactured or written. Each memory cell of a ROM chip has either a transistor for a…

oil, any greasy substance that is liquid at room temperature and insoluble in water. There are many types, such as essential oil; orris oil; mineral oil (see petroleum); whale oil; pine oil; linseed oil; perilla oil; fish oil; tall oil; citronella oil. There is also cooking oil, such as olive,

fringe benefit, any nonwage payment or benefit (e.g., pension plans, profit-sharing programs, vacation pay, and company-paid life, health, and unemployment insurance programs) granted to employees by employers. It may be required by law, granted unilaterally by employers, or obtained through

nutritional yeast, inactive dried yeast used as a condiment and food product. It is most often made from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain, and it is commonly sold packaged as flakes or powder. The golden yellow flakes are often used in vegan and dairy-free cooking. Nutritional yeast was

noodle, a cooked egg-and-flour paste prominent in European and Asian cuisine, generally distinguished from pasta by its elongated ribbonlike form. Noodles are commonly used to add body and flavour to broth soups. They are commonly boiled or sautéed and served with sauces and meats or baked in

Pale Horse, Pale Rider: The collection consists of “Noon Wine,” “Old Mortality,” and the title story. For their stylistic grace and sense of life’s ambiguity, these stories are considered some of the best Porter wrote.

Amelia Earhart: Final flight and disappearance: …fly around the world, with Fred Noonan as her navigator, in a twin-engine Lockheed Electra. On June 1 the duo began their 29,000-mile (47,000-km) journey, departing from Miami and heading east. Over the following weeks they made various refueling stops before reaching Lae, New Guinea, on June 29. At that…

Jimmie Noone was an American jazz clarinetist noted for his lyricism and refinement of technique. He is one of the three principal clarinetists of early jazz, the other two being Johnny Dodds and Sidney Bechet. Noone studied with Bechet and began his career with New Orleans bands, including

Devil’s Lair: …to the ancestors of the Noongar people, who are the traditional custodians of the region.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal was an Australian Aboriginal writer and political activist, considered the first of the modern-day Aboriginal protest writers. Her first volume of poetry, We Are Going (1964), is the first book by an Aboriginal woman to be published. Raised on Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), off

Queen Noor is an American-born architect who was the consort (1978–99) of King Hussein of Jordan. (Read Queen Noor’s Britannica essay on land mines.) Born into a prominent Arab American family, Halaby was raised in an atmosphere of affluence. She attended the elite National Cathedral School in

Noor Inayat Khan was a British resistance agent in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, serving in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). For several months in summer and fall of 1943, she was the only British intelligence agent operating in the Paris area, sending crucial wireless

Queen Noor is an American-born architect who was the consort (1978–99) of King Hussein of Jordan. (Read Queen Noor’s Britannica essay on land mines.) Born into a prominent Arab American family, Halaby was raised in an atmosphere of affluence. She attended the elite National Cathedral School in

Noord-Brabant, provincie (province), southern Netherlands. It is the second largest of the country’s provinces, extending northward from the Belgium border, between the provinces of Zeeland (west) and Limburg (east), to the Maas (Meuse) and Merwede rivers. It is drained by the Mark (Merk) and

Noord-Holland, coastal provincie (province), northwestern Netherlands. It comprises a peninsula surrounded by the North Sea (west), the Waddenzee (north), and the IJsselmeer (Lake IJssel; east). It includes the west Frisian island of Texel off its northern tip. The island of Marken in the

pain: Theories of pain: Dutch neurosurgeon Willem Noordenbos extended the theory of pain as an integration of multiple inputs into the nervous system in his short but classic book, Pain (1959). Noordenbos’s ideas appealed to Canadian psychologist Ronald Melzack and British neuroscientist Patrick David Wall. Melzack and Wall combined the ideas…

IJsselmeer Polders: …miles [193 square km]), the Northeast (Noordoost) Polder (181 square miles [469 square km]), and the East (Oostelijk) Flevoland Polder (204 square miles [528 square km]) were completed in 1930, 1942, and 1957, respectively. The South (Zuidelijk) Flevoland Polder (166 square miles [430 square km]) was completed in 1968. A…

North Sea Canal, waterway in the Netherlands that extends in an east-west direction between Amsterdam and IJmuiden on the North Sea coast. Its construction was first proposed in 1852; work started in 1865; and the canal opened in 1876. It has been enlarged several times. Navigable by 90,000-ton

Jacob Jordaens: …Paul Rubens, under the painter Adam van Noort, and he married his master’s daughter in 1616, the year after his admission to the guild of painters. Early in his career Jordaens executed designs for tapestries, and such paintings as Allegory of Fertility (c. 1625) reveal his training as a decorator.…

nous, in philosophy, the faculty of intellectual apprehension and of intuitive thought. Used in a narrower sense, it is distinguished from discursive thought and applies to the apprehension of eternal intelligible substances and first principles. It is sometimes identified with the highest or

lasso: …in length with a slip noose at one end, used in the Spanish and Portuguese parts of the Americas and in the western United States and Canada for catching wild horses and cattle. It is now less employed in South America than in the vast grazing country west of the…

ghatam, large, narrow-mouthed earthenware water pot used as a percussion instrument in India. Unlike other Indian percussion instruments, such as the tabla and mridangam, the ghatam does not have a membrane over its mouth. Ghatam produce a distinctive metallic sound and are made in several sizes,

Henri van der Noot was a lawyer and political activist of the southern Netherlands who, along with Jean-François Vonck, led the Brabant Revolution of 1789 against the regime of the Austrian Habsburg Holy Roman emperor Joseph II. He failed to maintain national support, however, and yielded to an

Jan Baptista van der Noot was the first Dutch poet to fully realize the new French Renaissance poetic style in Holland. He also influenced the English and German poets of his time. Van der Noot went into political exile in 1567, and his first work was published in England—Het bosken (1570 or 1571;

Cees Nooteboom is a Dutch writer known for his novels and travel writing. Nooteboom was educated at an Augustinian monastery school at Eindhoven, Netherlands. He wrote his first novel, Philip en de anderen (Philip and the Others), in 1955. Then, working as a travel columnist for the Dutch

Cees Nooteboom is a Dutch writer known for his novels and travel writing. Nooteboom was educated at an Augustinian monastery school at Eindhoven, Netherlands. He wrote his first novel, Philip en de anderen (Philip and the Others), in 1955. Then, working as a travel columnist for the Dutch

Governors Island, island in Upper New York Bay, New York, New York, U.S., situated off the southern tip of Manhattan Island. Its area is 172 acres (70 hectares). Known as Pagganck to the Manahatas Indians, the island was acquired (1637) by the Dutch, who called it Nooten (Nutten) for the walnut and

Nuu-chah-nulth, North American Indians who live on what are now the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, Can., and on Cape Flattery, the northwest tip of the state of Washington, U.S. The groups on the southeast end of the island were the Nitinat, those on Cape Flattery the Makah. The

false cypress: The Nootka cypress, yellow cypress, or Alaska cedar (C. nootkatensis), also called yellow cedar, canoe cedar, Sitka cypress, and Alaska cypress, is a valuable timber tree of northwestern North America. Its pale yellow hard wood is used for boats, furniture, and paneling. Some varieties are cultivated…

Nootka Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, on the western coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, some 168 miles (270 km) northwest of Victoria. The sound, which forms a good harbour, is 6 miles (10 km) wide and has three arms, one of which separates Nootka Island from Vancouver

Nootka Sound controversy, (1790), dispute over the seizure of vessels at Nootka Sound, an inlet on the western coast of Vancouver Island, that nearly caused a war between Great Britain and Spain. Its settlement ended the Spanish claim to a monopoly of trade and settlement on the western coast of

Nootka Sound controversy: …the British demands in the Nootka Sound Convention, signed on Oct. 28, 1790. The convention acknowledged that each nation was free to navigate and fish in the Pacific and to trade and establish settlements on unoccupied land.

smart drug, any of a group of pharmaceutical agents used to improve the intellectual capacity of persons suffering from neurological diseases and psychological disorders. The use of such drugs by healthy individuals in order to improve concentration, to study longer, and to better manage stress is

Indra Nooyi is an Indian-born American businesswoman who was instrumental in the restructuring and diversification of soft-drink manufacturer PepsiCo, Inc. and its associated brands. Nooyi served as the company’s CEO (2006–18) and chair of the board of directors (2007–19). Nooyi earned a bachelor’s

organic food: Policy: …regulates organic production through its National Organic Program (NOP), which serves to facilitate national and international marketing and sales of organically produced food and to assure consumers that USDA certified organic products meet uniform standards. To this end, NOP established three specific labels for consumers on organic food products: “100%…

prickly pear, any of several species of flat-stemmed spiny cacti of the genus Opuntia (family Cactaceae) and their edible fruits. Prickly pear cacti are native to the Western Hemisphere. Several are cultivated, especially the Indian fig (O. ficus-indica), which is an important food for many peoples

Black horror: Notable Black horror films: • Nope (2022), written and directed by Peele, tells the story of a brother (played by Kaluuya) and sister (played by Keke Palmer) who train horses for use in Hollywood productions. They discover that an unknown force is killing local residents and livestock alike.

Edinburgh: Expansion from the Old Town: …the lake and encircling marsh—the North Loch, or Nor’ Loch—that choked the valley along the foot of the moraine and the Castle Rock. King James II (reigned 1437–60) originally had the lake created from swampland as a defense against attack. Even when it was drained and the land was firmed,…

nor’easter, extratropical cyclone in the western Atlantic Ocean that forms along the eastern coast of North America. The storm is named for the winds primarily blowing from the northeast that buffet the east coast of the United States from the Mid-Atlantic states and New England to Canada’s

Armenia: Settlement patterns: (now Yerevan), Alexandropol (Gyumri), Kamo, and Goris—accounted for about one-tenth of the total population. Two-thirds of the population are now urbanized.

totemism: Nor-Papua: Among the Nor-Papua of New Guinea, patrilineal, exogamous groups (consanguineous sibs) are spread over several villages and are associated with animals, especially fish. They believe that they are born from totems, and they make them taboo. Children are given an opportunity to decide during…

Nora, ancient site about 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Cagliari (Caralis) on the island of Sardinia. Although tradition ascribes its foundation to Iberians from Tartessus, the site, which lies on a triangular promontory ending in a steep cliff, is characteristically Phoenician. Apart from remains

Vincent Sherman: Women’s pictures: …ventured into film noir with Nora Prentiss (1947). It starred Kent Smith as an unhappily married physician who fakes his death in order to start over with a nightclub singer (Ann Sheridan). Sheridan was also notable in The Unfaithful (1947), playing a woman who kills an intruder, allegedly in self-defense;…

NORAD, binational military organization involving the United States and Canada. Established in 1957, with a formal agreement signed in 1958, NORAD is tasked with providing aerospace warning and control—and, since 2006, maritime warning—for the defense of North America. It is headquartered at

norepinephrine, substance that is released predominantly from the ends of sympathetic nerve fibres and that acts to increase the force of skeletal muscle contraction and the rate and force of contraction of the heart. The actions of norepinephrine are vital to the fight-or-flight response, whereby

Rouyn-Noranda, city, Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, western Quebec province, Canada. It is located on the western shore of Lake Osisko, 315 miles (507 km) northwest of Montreal city. Rouyn and its twin city, Noranda, originated in the 1920s when gold and copper ores were first exploited in the area.

metallurgy: Matte smelting: These are the Noranda, TBRC (top-blown rotary converter), and Mitsubishi processes. The Noranda reactor is a horizontal cylindrical furnace with a depression in the centre where the metal collects and a raised hearth at one end where the slag is run off. Pelletized unroasted sulfide concentrate is poured…

metallurgy: Matte smelting: These are the Noranda, TBRC (top-blown rotary converter), and Mitsubishi processes. The Noranda reactor is a horizontal cylindrical furnace with a depression in the centre where the metal collects and a raised hearth at one end where the slag is run off. Pelletized unroasted sulfide concentrate is poured…

Cáceres, city, capital of Cáceres provincia (province), in Extremadura comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), western Spain. It is built on a low east-west ridge south of the Tagus River and about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Badajoz. Cáceres originated as the Roman town of Norba Caesarina,

Saint Norbert of Xanten ; canonized 1582; feast day June 6, among Premonstratensians July 11) was the archbishop of Magdeburg and founder of the Premonstratensians (Norbertines, or White Canons), a congregation of priests. Norbert was ordained in 1115. Failing to reform his peers at the collegiate

Premonstratensian, a Roman Catholic religious order founded in 1120 by St. Norbert of Xanten, who, with 13 companions, established a monastery at Prémontré, Fr. The order combines the contemplative with the active religious life and in the 12th century provided a link between the strictly