Luigi Pirandello: …vecchi e i giovani (1913; The Old and The Young) and Uno, nessuno e centomila (1925–26; One, None, and a Hundred Thousand). Both are more typical than Il fu Mattia Pascal. The first, a historical novel reflecting the Sicily of the end of the 19th century and the general bitterness…

Orazio Vecchi was an Italian composer best known for his madrigal-comedy L’Amfiparnaso and other entertainment music. Vecchi served as maestro di cappella at the cathedrals of Salò and Modena and as canon at Correggio cathedral before his appointment as maestro at the Modena ducal court (1598).

Juventus, Italian professional football (soccer) team based in Turin. Juventus is one of Italy’s oldest and most successful clubs, with more Italian league championships than any other team. Juventus was founded in 1897 by a group of grammar school students. The team, which did not play an official

Grazia Deledda: With Il vecchio della montagna (1900; “The Old Man of the Mountain”) she began to write about the tragic effects of temptation and sin among primitive human beings.

Palazzo Vecchio, most important historic government building in Florence, having been the seat of the Signoria of the Florentine Republic in the 14th century and then the government centre of the Medici grand dukes of Tuscany. From 1865 to 1871 it housed the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of

Jacopo Palma was a Venetian painter of the High Renaissance, noted for the craftsmanship of his religious and mythological works. He may have studied under Giovanni Bellini, the originator of the Venetian High Renaissance style. Palma specialized in the type of contemplative religious picture known

Ponte Vecchio, the first segmental arch bridge built in the West, which crosses over the Arno River at Florence and is an outstanding engineering achievement of Europe’s Middle Ages. Its builder, Taddeo Gaddi, completed the bridge in 1345. Requiring fewer piers in the stream than the Roman

Titian was the greatest Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. He was recognized early in his own lifetime as a supremely talented painter, and his reputation has in the intervening centuries never suffered a decline. In 1590, the art theorist Giovanni Lomazzo declared him “the sun

Titian was the greatest Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. He was recognized early in his own lifetime as a supremely talented painter, and his reputation has in the intervening centuries never suffered a decline. In 1590, the art theorist Giovanni Lomazzo declared him “the sun

veche, popular assembly that was a characteristic institution in Russia from the 10th to the 15th century. The veche probably originated as a deliberative body among early Slavic tribes. As the tribes settled in permanent trading centres, which later became cities, the veche remained as an element

Cheka, early Soviet secret police agency and a forerunner of the KGB

Nikolay Gogol: Youth and early fame: …na khutore bliz Dikanki (Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka). Written in a lively and at times colloquial prose, these works contributed something fresh and new to Russian literature. In addition to the author’s whimsical inflection, they abounded in genuine folk flavor, including numerous Ukrainian words and phrases, all…

Carl Van Vechten was a U.S. novelist and music and drama critic, an influential figure in New York literary circles in the 1920s; he was an early enthusiast for the culture of U.S. blacks. Van Vechten was graduated from the University of Chicago in 1903 and worked as assistant music critic for The

octroi, tax levied by a local political unit, normally the commune or municipal authority, on certain categories of goods as they enter the area. The tax was first instituted in Italy in Roman times, when it bore the title of vectigal, or portorium. Octrois were still in existence in France, Italy,

vector, in physics, a quantity that has both magnitude and direction. It is typically represented by an arrow whose direction is the same as that of the quantity and whose length is proportional to the quantity’s magnitude. Although a vector has magnitude and direction, it does not have position.

typhoid fever: …contaminated, however, by a human carrier of the disease who is employed in handling and processing them; by flies; or by the use of polluted water for cleaning purposes. Shellfish, particularly oysters, grown in polluted water and fresh vegetables grown on soil fertilized or contaminated by untreated sewage are other…

recombinant DNA: DNA cloning: …molecule is called a DNA vector (carrier). The most commonly used vectors are plasmids (circular DNA molecules that originated from bacteria), viruses, and yeast cells. Plasmids are not a part of the main cellular genome, but they can carry genes that provide the host cell with useful properties, such as…

vector, in mathematics, a quantity that has both magnitude and direction but not position. Examples of such quantities are velocity and acceleration. In their modern form, vectors appeared late in the 19th century when Josiah Willard Gibbs and Oliver Heaviside (of the United States and Britain,

vector analysis, a branch of mathematics that deals with quantities that have both magnitude and direction. Some physical and geometric quantities, called scalars, can be fully defined by specifying their magnitude in suitable units of measure. Thus, mass can be expressed in grams, temperature in

Christopher A. Sims: …on a statistical tool called vector autoregression to distinguish shocks that come about as a result of other shocks (e.g., a change in the prime rate resulting from a rise in inflation) and those that occur independently. Independent shocks, called fundamental shocks, can then be interpreted using a technique called…

undersea exploration: Measurements of ocean currents: The accuracy of the Vector Averaging Current Meter (VACM), for example, has been improved appreciably by the use of integrated circuits, as has its data-handling capability. Because of the latter, the VACM can sample the direction and speed of currents roughly eight times during each revolution of the rotor.…

mathematics: Mathematical physics and the theory of groups: …is called the theory of vector bundles. Other kinds of space may be attached, thus entering the more general theory of fibre bundles. The subtle and vital point is that it is possible to create quite different bundles which nonetheless look similar in small patches. The cylinder and the Möbius…

Chien-Shiung Wu: …Gell-Mann proposed the conservation of vector current in nuclear beta decay. This theory was experimentally confirmed in 1963 by Wu in collaboration with two other Columbia University research physicists. She later investigated the structure of hemoglobin.

principles of physical science: Fields: A vector field, varying from point to point, is not always easily represented by a diagram, and it is often helpful for this purpose, as well as in mathematical analysis, to introduce the potential ϕ, from which E may be deduced. To appreciate its significance, the…

boson, subatomic particle with integral spin (i.e., angular momentum in quantum-mechanical units of 0, 1, etc.) that is governed by the Bose-Einstein statistics (q.v.). Bosons include mesons (e.g., pions and kaons), nuclei of even mass number (e.g., helium-4), and the particles required to embody

vector graphics, mathematically based computer image format. Vector graphics, composed of lines defined by mathematical formulas, were first used in computer displays in the 1960s and ’70s. The displays were essentially modified oscilloscopes, and vector graphics were used because the memory that

Bennett S. LeBow: was renamed Vector Group Ltd. in 2000. In 2001 the company launched Vector Tobacco Inc., a subsidiary charged with the development of low- and no-nicotine products, of which LeBow was president and chief executive officer (2001–07). He was also chairman of the board (1988–2005) and chief executive…

subatomic particle: Early theories: …is known as V−A, or vector minus axial vector, theory. This theory proved highly successful experimentally, at least at the relatively low energies accessible to particle physicists in the 1960s. It was clear that the theory had the correct kind of mathematical structure to account for parity violation and related…

vector operations, Extension of the laws of elementary algebra to vectors. They include addition, subtraction, and three types of multiplication. The sum of two vectors is a third vector, represented as the diagonal of the parallelogram constructed with the two original vectors as sides. When a

cross product, a method of multiplying two vectors that produces a vector perpendicular to both vectors involved in the multiplication; that is, a × b = c, where c is perpendicular to both a and b. The magnitude of c is given by the product of the magnitudes of a and b and the sine of the angle θ

vector space, a set of multidimensional quantities, known as vectors, together with a set of one-dimensional quantities, known as scalars, such that vectors can be added together and vectors can be multiplied by scalars while preserving the ordinary arithmetic properties (associativity,

helicopter: Powered lift: …the most technically complex, the vectored jet, best exemplified by the Harrier, developed initially by Hawker Aircraft and brought to maturity by British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas. In the vectored jet, nozzles are designed to rotate so that the thrust can be applied vertically for takeoff and then moved to…

dispersion: …dispersal of organisms are either vectorial (directed motion), that is, caused by wind, water, or some other environmental motion, or stochastic (random), as in the case of the change in seasons, which gives no indication of where the dispersing organisms may ultimately settle. Dispersion may also be affected by the…

L. L. Thurstone: His principal work, The Vectors of Mind (1935), presented Thurstone’s method of factor analysis to explain correlations between results in psychological tests. Thurstone rejected the idea that any one factor had more general application than others and evaluated all factors influencing performance on a given test at one…

Ved-ava, among the Mordvins, the water mother, a spirit believed to rule the waters and their bounty; she is known as Vete-ema among the Estonians and Veen emo among the Finns. The water spirit belongs to a class of nature spirits common to the Finno-Ugric peoples dependent on fishing for much of

Veda, a collection of poems or hymns composed in archaic Sanskrit by Indo-European-speaking peoples who lived in northwest India during the 2nd millennium bce. No definite date can be ascribed to the composition of the Vedas, but the period of about 1500–1200 bce is acceptable to most scholars. The

Havana: City layout: …the uptown area known as Vedado, has become the rival of Old Havana for commercial activity and nightlife. This part of the city, built largely in the 20th century, contains attractive homes, tall apartments, and offices along wide, tree-lined boulevards and avenues. It is also the location of many hotels…

Buxar, historic city, western Bihar state, northeastern India. It is situated just south of the Ganges (Ganga) River. The Battle of Baksar (Buxar; 1764) resulted in the final acquisition of lower Bengal by the British. A place of great sanctity, it is believed to have been originally called

biological control: …an Australian ladybird beetle, or vedalia beetle (Rodolia cardinalis), on the cottony cushion scale in California; the limiting of the proliferation of the European rabbit in Australia by introduction of myxoma virus (which causes the disease myxomatosis); the control of Japanese beetles by Bacillus popilliae, which causes milky disease; and…

aṅgā: The 12-fold Sanskrit system adds these categories:

vedanā, (Sanskrit and Pāli), in the Buddhist chain of dependent origination, the sensation that leads to thirst. See

Hinduism: The Vedangas: Toward the end of the Vedic period, and more or less simultaneously with the production of the principal Upanishads, concise, technical, and usually aphoristic texts were composed about various subjects relating to the proper and timely performance of the Vedic sacrificial rituals. These were…

Vedanta, one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. The term Vedanta means in Sanskrit the “conclusion” (anta) of the Vedas, the earliest sacred literature of India. It applies to the Upanishads, which were elaborations of the Vedas, and to the school that arose out of the study

Upanishad, one of four genres of texts that together constitute each of the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of most Hindu traditions. Each of the four Vedas—the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda—consists of a Samhita (a “collection” of hymns or sacred formulas); a liturgical prose

Ram Mohan Roy: Social and political activism: … and four years later the Vedanta College in order to teach his Hindu monotheistic doctrines. When the Bengal government proposed a more traditional Sanskrit college, in 1823, Roy protested that classical Indian literature would not prepare the youth of Bengal for the demands of modern life. He proposed instead a…

new religious movement: The influence of the East: …Chicago and then founded the Vedanta Society in New York City. Based on the monistic teachings of one of Hinduism’s philosophical schools and on its interpretation of the teachings and mystical experiences of Vivekananda’s teacher, Ramakrishna (1836–86), the Vedanta Society attracted the attention of many prominent members of the artistic…

Vedanta, one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. The term Vedanta means in Sanskrit the “conclusion” (anta) of the Vedas, the earliest sacred literature of India. It applies to the Upanishads, which were elaborations of the Vedas, and to the school that arose out of the study

Indian philosophy: Nimbarka: …the Vedanta-sutras is known as Vedanta-parijata-saurabha and is commented on by Shrinivasa in his Vedanta-kaustubha. Of the three realities admitted—God, souls, and matter—God is the independent reality, self-conscious, controller of the other two, free from all defects, abode of all good qualities, and both the material and efficient cause of…

Indian philosophy: The Vedanta-sutras: Along with Badari and Jaimini, Badarayana, a contemporary of Jaimini, was the other major interpreter of Vedic thought. Just as the Mimamsa-sutra traditions of Badari’s tradition were revived by Prabhakara, a 7th–8th-century scholar, and Jaimini’s were defended by Shabara and…

Vedantadeshika was a leading theologian of the Vishishtadvaita (Qualified Nondualist) school of philosophy and founder of the Vadakalai subsect of the Shrivaishnavas, a religious movement of South India. Vedantadeshika was born into a distinguished Shrivaishnava family that followed the teachings

Vyasa was a legendary Indian sage who is traditionally credited with composing or compiling the Mahabharata, a collection of legendary and didactic poetry worked around a central heroic narrative. In India his birthday is celebrated as Guru Purnima, on Shukla Purnima day in the month of Ashadha

Vedda, people of Sri Lanka who were that island’s aboriginal inhabitants prior to the 6th century bce. They adopted Sinhala and now no longer speak their own language. Ethnically, they are allied to the indigenous jungle peoples of southern India and to early populations in Southeast Asia. They

Vedda, people of Sri Lanka who were that island’s aboriginal inhabitants prior to the 6th century bce. They adopted Sinhala and now no longer speak their own language. Ethnically, they are allied to the indigenous jungle peoples of southern India and to early populations in Southeast Asia. They

the Doors: Legacy and honors: Ian McCulloch, and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. The Doors’ releases continued to sell in the millions, and The Doors, a 1991 movie directed by Oliver Stone and starring Val Kilmer as Morrison, was a critical and popular success. The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…

Elihu Vedder was an American-born Romantic painter and illustrator whose reputation is based primarily on paintings derived from dreams and fantasies. After studying in Paris (1856–61), Vedder returned to the United States at the outbreak of the Civil War. He supported himself by illustrating comic

Anders Sørensen Vedel was a Danish historian and ballad collector who translated the Gesta Danorum of the medieval historian Saxo Grammaticus from Latin into Danish (1575). Vedel was a clergyman at the royal court. In 1591 he published his Et hundrede udvalde danske viser, a collection of 100

South Asian arts: Medieval temple architecture: North Indian style: …foundation block, or socle (vedībandha), decorated with a distinct series of moldings; above the vedībandha rise the walls proper (jaṅghā), which are capped by a cornice or a series of cornice moldings (varaṇḍikā), above which rises the śikhara. One, three, and sometimes more projections extend all the way from…

Vedic chant, religious chant of India, the expression of hymns from the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of Hinduism. The practice dates back at least 3,000 years and is probably the world’s oldest continuous vocal tradition. The earliest collection, or Saṃhitā, of Vedic texts is the Rigveda,

Veda, a collection of poems or hymns composed in archaic Sanskrit by Indo-European-speaking peoples who lived in northwest India during the 2nd millennium bce. No definite date can be ascribed to the composition of the Vedas, but the period of about 1500–1200 bce is acceptable to most scholars. The

boarding school: History of boarding schools across the world: …present in India during the Vedic period (1500 to 800 bce). Students stayed with their guru (teacher) at a gurukul (literally, “house of the teacher”) and studied primarily religious teachings and traditional scriptures, as well as politics and science. Education was imparted by word of mouth, though manuscripts made of…

Vedic religion, the religion of the ancient Indo-European-speaking peoples who entered India about 1500 bce from the region of present-day Iran. It takes its name from the collections of sacred texts known as the Vedas. Vedism is the oldest stratum of religious activity in India for which there

Sanskrit language: …composed in what is called Vedic Sanskrit. Although Vedic documents represent the dialects then found in the northern midlands of the Indian subcontinent and areas immediately east thereof, the very earliest texts—including the Rigveda (“The Veda Composed in Verses”), which scholars generally ascribe to approximately 1500 bce—stem from the northwestern…

Vejovis, in Roman religion, a god of uncertain attributes, worshiped at Rome between the two summits of the Capitoline Hill (the Arx and the Capitol) and on Tiber Island (both temples date from just after 200 bc) and at Bovillae, 12 miles southeast of Rome. His name may be connected with that of

Vedic religion, the religion of the ancient Indo-European-speaking peoples who entered India about 1500 bce from the region of present-day Iran. It takes its name from the collections of sacred texts known as the Vedas. Vedism is the oldest stratum of religious activity in India for which there

Vejovis, in Roman religion, a god of uncertain attributes, worshiped at Rome between the two summits of the Capitoline Hill (the Arx and the Capitol) and on Tiber Island (both temples date from just after 200 bc) and at Bovillae, 12 miles southeast of Rome. His name may be connected with that of

Western theatre: Great Britain: challenged by Harley Granville-Barker and John E. Vedrenne at London’s Royal Court Theatre; between 1904 and 1907 they staged numerous new plays by British and Continental writers. The major dramatist at the Royal Court—indeed the most important British dramatist of the century—was the Irish-born George Bernard Shaw. With plays such…

cultural globalization: Challenges to national sovereignty and identity: …of Globalization”), French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine denounced the United States as a “hyperpower” that promotes “uniformity” and “unilateralism.” Speaking for the French intelligentsia, he argued that France should take the lead in building a “multipolar world.” Ordinary French citizens also were concerned about losing their national identity, particularly as…

veduta, (Italian: “view”), detailed, largely factual painting, drawing, or etching depicting a city, town, or other place. The first vedute probably were painted by northern European artists who worked in Italy, such as Paul Brill (1554–1626), a landscape painter from Flanders who produced a number

veduta: …interiors, however, are examples of vedute ideate, which are realistically drawn though completely imaginary scenes. Guardi and Canaletto produced another form of veduta, the capriccio, in which architectural elements, though correct, are combined in a rather strange fashion—e.g., Canaletto’s drawing in which St. Peter’s in Rome is shown rising above…

veduta, (Italian: “view”), detailed, largely factual painting, drawing, or etching depicting a city, town, or other place. The first vedute probably were painted by northern European artists who worked in Italy, such as Paul Brill (1554–1626), a landscape painter from Flanders who produced a number

veduta: …the series of vedute, “Le Vedute di Roma.” Allowing for variations of scale and minor additions, these scenes of monumental Roman ruins are essentially factual. His etchings of prison interiors, however, are examples of vedute ideate, which are realistically drawn though completely imaginary scenes. Guardi and Canaletto produced another form…

veduta: …interiors, however, are examples of vedute ideate, which are realistically drawn though completely imaginary scenes. Guardi and Canaletto produced another form of veduta, the capriccio, in which architectural elements, though correct, are combined in a rather strange fashion—e.g., Canaletto’s drawing in which St. Peter’s in Rome is shown rising above…

veduta, (Italian: “view”), detailed, largely factual painting, drawing, or etching depicting a city, town, or other place. The first vedute probably were painted by northern European artists who worked in Italy, such as Paul Brill (1554–1626), a landscape painter from Flanders who produced a number

formation flying: …the leader is called a vic, or a vee. An aircraft flying directly under and behind the leader is “in trail,” or in the slot position. The diamond formation, with one airplane in the slot and one on each side of the leader, is a particularly popular display formation. Finger…

encephalitis: Epidemics of encephalitis: Strains of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE), Western equine encephalitis (WEE), and Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus can also cause disease in humans. In the late 1960s some 200,000 people in central Colombia were infected with the Venezuelan strain, which had also spread north through

Record store owners Vivian Carter (“Vee”) and James Bracken (“Jay”), later husband and wife, formed Vee Jay Records in 1953. (At various times the company’s labels also read VJ or Vee-Jay.) With Carter’s brother Calvin as producer and Ewart Abner in charge of promotion, Vee Jay became the most

Vee Jay Records: Record store owners Vivian Carter (“Vee”) and James Bracken (“Jay”), later husband and wife, formed Vee Jay Records in 1953. (At various times the company’s labels also read VJ or Vee-Jay.) With Carter’s brother Calvin as producer and Ewart Abner in charge of promotion, Vee…

Bob Dylan: Beginnings in Minnesota as Robert Zimmerman: …piano for rising pop star Bobby Vee. While attending college, he discovered the bohemian section of Minneapolis known as Dinkytown. Fascinated by Beat poetry and folksinger Woody Guthrie, he began performing folk music in coffeehouses, adopting the last name Dylan (after the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas). Restless and determined to…

Bill Veeck was an American professional baseball club executive and owner, who introduced many innovations in promotion. Veeck grew up with baseball management. His father, a Chicago sportswriter, became president of the National League Chicago Cubs (1919–33), and young Veeck himself sold peanuts

Disco Demolition Night: Steve Dahl and Mike Veeck: …Disco Demolition Night, along with Mike Veeck, the White Sox’s promotions director and the son of the team’s owner, Bill Veeck. Mike Veeck was inspired by a “Salute to Disco” event previously hosted at Comiskey Park. “We ought to have a night for people who hate disco,” Veeck recalls in…

Bill Veeck was an American professional baseball club executive and owner, who introduced many innovations in promotion. Veeck grew up with baseball management. His father, a Chicago sportswriter, became president of the National League Chicago Cubs (1919–33), and young Veeck himself sold peanuts

Amsterdam, city, Montgomery county, eastern New York, U.S. It lies along the Mohawk River, 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Schenectady. Settled by Albert Veeder in 1783, it was known as Veedersburg until it was renamed for Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1804. Its location on the Mohawk Trail, the

MTV: Early 1980s: Origin and early history: …format of Top 40 radio, video disc jockeys (or “veejays”) introduced videos and bantered about music news between clips. After an initial splash, the network struggled in its early years. The music video reservoir was then somewhat shallow, resulting in frequent repetition of clips, and cable television remained a luxury…

Ved-ava, among the Mordvins, the water mother, a spirit believed to rule the waters and their bounty; she is known as Vete-ema among the Estonians and Veen emo among the Finns. The water spirit belongs to a class of nature spirits common to the Finno-Ugric peoples dependent on fishing for much of

Delta Works: Devised by the Dutch engineer Johan van Veen, the plan acquired great urgency after a catastrophic North Sea flood on February 1, 1953, which killed 1,836 people and devastated 2,070 square km (800 square miles) of land in the southwestern Netherlands. Construction of the Delta Works began shortly thereafter and…

emblem book: … (1608) of Octavius Vaenius (Otto van Veen), an important early Dutch emblem book.

veena, any of several stringed musical instruments of India, including arched harps (before 1000 ce), stick zithers, and lutes. The North Indian version, the bin, is used in classical Hindustani music. Classified as a stick zither, it is about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length, having a large

Emmen: …of the peat colonies (veenkolonien) established in the 19th century to convert the surrounding peat fields to agricultural use. As peat digging declined after 1920, Emmen suffered considerable unemployment. It has grown rapidly into the foremost urban and industrial centre of Drenthe since textile (silk, rayon, synthetics), metallurgical, chemical,…

Hugh Laurie: …role (2015–19) on the comedy Veep and a starring turn on Chance (2016–17), in which he played a forensic neuropsychiatrist. In Avenue 5 (2020– ), he played the captain of an intergalactic cruise ship. He also provided the voice for characters in numerous television and movie cartoons. Laurie later played…

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a Hindu and Indian nationalist and leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha (“Great Society of Hindus”), a Hindu nationalist organization and political party. His definition of Hindutva launched the modern Hindu nationalist movement. While a student of law in London

Yash Chopra: Career: …“The Heart Is Crazy”), and Veer-Zaara (2004), a cross-border romance between an Indian air force officer and a Pakistani heiress. Although he continued to be active as a producer, after 1991 Chopra directed only five more films. He died of dengue fever shortly after he announced his retirement and just…

dam: Early dams of East Asia: …in the 16-km- (10-mile-) long Veeranam Dam in Tamil Nadu, built from 1011 to 1037 ce.

Sivaji Ganesan: Acting career: …India Company, in the film Veerapandiya Kattabomman. He starred alongside Gemini Ganesan in the historical drama Kappalottiya Tamizhan (1961; “The Tamil Helmsman”), portraying V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, founder of the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company (1906), which was established to challenge a British monopoly.

Veerappan was an Indian bandit, poacher, and smuggler who carried out his activities in the forests of the southern Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Wanted for the murders of more than 120 people, the poaching of more than 2,000 elephants, and the smuggling of millions of dollars

Veerappan was an Indian bandit, poacher, and smuggler who carried out his activities in the forests of the southern Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Wanted for the murders of more than 120 people, the poaching of more than 2,000 elephants, and the smuggling of millions of dollars

tornado: Prediction and detection of tornadoes: …important of these is a veering wind profile (that is, a progressive shifting of the wind, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, with increasing height) at low and middle levels, along with strong winds at high levels. Both of these wind actions are necessary to provide…

Halldór Laxness: His first major novel, Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír (1927; “The Great Weaver from Kashmir”), concerns a young man who is torn between his religious faith and the pleasures of the world. Rebellious in its attitude and experimental in style, this modernistic novel marked the beginning of his dissociation from…

John Knudsen Northrop: …he designed and built the Vega, a high-wing monoplane noted for its plywood fuselage of monocoque, or stressed-skin, construction, in which the plywood sheath, rather than heavy internal trusses, provided the structural support.

Halley’s Comet: …Suisei), two Soviet spacecraft (Vega 1 and Vega 2), and a European Space Agency spacecraft (Giotto) that passed only 596 km [370 miles] from the comet’s nucleus. Close-up images of the nucleus obtained by Giotto showed a dark potato-shaped object with dimensions of about 15 × 8 km (9…

Vega, brightest star in the northern constellation Lyra and fifth brightest in the night sky, with a visual magnitude of 0.03. It is also one of the Sun’s closer neighbours, at a distance of about 25 light-years. Vega’s spectral type is A (white) and its luminosity class V (main sequence). It will