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absolute temperature scale ... Abu Mansur ibn Yusuf
absolute temperature scale
any thermometric scale on which a reading of zero coincides with the theoretical absolute zero of temperature-i.e., the thermodynamic equilibrium state of minimum energy. The standard measure of temperature in ... [3 Related Articles]
absolute truth
(from the article "Troeltsch, Ernst") Troeltsch had a considerable influence on younger theologians of his time, especially through his insistence that the church must drastically rethink its attitude toward "absolutist" claims made for the truth ...
absolute zero
temperature at which a thermodynamic system has the lowest energy. It corresponds to −273.15 °C on the Celsius temperature scale and to −459.67 °F on the Fahrenheit temperature scale. [3 Related Articles]
Absolutely Fabulous
British television situation comedy that was broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in five seasons (1992, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2003), along with several specials, and that built up a ...
absolution
in the Christian religion, a pronouncement of remission (forgiveness) of sins to the penitent. In Roman Catholicism, penance is a sacrament and the power to absolve lies with the priest, ... [4 Related Articles]
absolutism
the political doctrine and practice of unlimited, centralized authority and absolute sovereignty, as vested especially in a monarch or dictator. The essence of an absolutist system is that the ruling ... [30 Related Articles]
absorber layer
(from the article "solar cell") The three energy-conversion layers below the antireflection layer are the top junction layer, the absorber layer, which constitutes the core of the device, and the back junction layer. Two additional ...
absorbing process
(from the article "probability theory") At another extreme are absorbing processes. An example is the Markov process describing Peter's fortune during the game of gambler's ruin. The process is absorbed whenever either Peter or Paul ...
absorptiometry
(from the article "analysis") In the most often used spectral method, the electromagnetic radiation that is provided by the instrument is absorbed by the analyte, and the amount of the absorption is measured. Absorption ...
absorption
(from the article "adsorption") Adsorption refers to the collecting of molecules by the external surface or internal surface (walls of capillaries or crevices) of solids or by the surface of liquids. Absorption, with which ...
absorption
in wave motion, the transfer of the energy of a wave to matter as the wave passes through it. The energy of an acoustic, electromagnetic, or other wave is proportional ... [20 Related Articles]
absorption
(from the article "therapeutics") ...localization in tissues, biotransformation, and excretion of drugs. The study of the actions of the drugs and their effects is called pharmacodynamics. Before a drug can be effective, it must ...
absorption coefficient
(from the article "Absorption coefficients of common materials at several frequencies") ...a fractional amount that is proportional to the thickness of the layer. The change in energy as the wave passes through a layer is a constant of the material for ...
absorption costing
(from the article "accounting") The methods of cost finding described in the preceding paragraphs are known as full, or absorption, costing methods, in that the overhead rates are intended to include provisions for all ...
absorption dynamometer
(from the article "dynamometer") Absorption dynamometers, on the other hand, produce the torque that they measure by creating a constant restraint to the turning of a shaft by either mechanical friction, fluid friction, or ...
absorption edge
(from the article "spectroscopy") ...just required to remove an electron from a specific inner shell to form an ion. The sudden increase of the absorption coefficient as the wavelength is reduced past the shell ...
absorption line
(from the article "star") ...well above the ground level in energy. Only at high temperatures are sufficient numbers of atoms maintained in this state by collisions, radiations, and so forth to permit an appreciable ...
absorption spectroscopy
(from the article "spectroscopy") Absorption spectroscopy measures the loss of electromagnetic energy after it illuminates the sample under study. For example, if a light source with a broad band of wavelengths is directed at ...
absorption spectrum
(from the article "chemical element") ...an emission, or bright-line, spectrum. When light passes through a gas or cloud at a lower temperature than the light source, the gas absorbs at its identifying wavelengths, and a ...
Abstbessingen faience
tin-glazed earthenware produced in a factory in the village of Abstbessingen, in Thuringia, which flourished probably from the first half of the 18th century to about 1816. A hayfork factory ...
abstinence
(from the article "capital and interest") ...is, whether there was any identifiable contribution to the general product of society that would not be forthcoming if this form of income were not paid. He identified such a ...
abstinence
(from the article "asceticism") Abstinence and fasting are by far the most common of all ascetic practices. Among the primitive peoples, it originated, in part, because of a belief that taking food is dangerous, ...
abstract
(from the article "information processing") ...The purpose of secondary literature is to "filter" the primary information sources, usually by subject area, and provide the indicators to this literature in the form of reviews, abstracts, and ...
abstract animation
(from the article "motion-picture technology") Although abstract animation can be realized through orthodox animation techniques (as in parts of Fantasia, 1940), it may also be inked or painted directly onto the film. This form of ...
abstract art
painting, sculpture, or graphic art in which the portrayal of things from the visible world plays no part. All art consists largely of elements that can be called abstract-elements of ... [11 Related Articles]
abstract data type
(from the article "computer programming language") Abstract data types (ADTs) are important for large-scale programming. They package data structures and operations on them, hiding internal details. For example, an ADT table provides insertion and lookup operations ...
Abstract Expressionism
broad movement in American painting that began in the late 1940s and became a dominant trend in Western painting during the 1950s. The most prominent American Abstract Expressionist painters were ... [15 Related Articles]
abstract garden
(from the article "garden and landscape design") Two characteristic Japanese styles are the abstract garden and the tea garden. The most famous example of the former is the garden of the Ryoan-ji in Kyoto, where an area ...
abstract poem
a term coined by Edith Sitwell to describe a poem in which the words are chosen for their aural quality rather than specifically for their sense or meaning. An example ...
abstract space
(from the article "Frechet, Maurice") French mathematician known chiefly for his contributions to real analysis. He is credited with being the founder of the theory of abstract spaces.topology
abstraction
(from the article "realism") In the second half of the 20th century the term nominalism took on a somewhat broader sense than the one it had in the medieval dispute about universals. It is ...
abstraction, principle of
(from the article "set theory") ...of appropriate, specific objects, the result is a declarative sentence that is true or false. Given any formula S(x) that contains the letter x (and possibly others), Cantor's principle of ...
Abstraction-Creation
association of international painters and sculptors that from 1931 to 1936 promoted the principles of pure abstraction in art. [3 Related Articles]
Absurd, Theatre of the
dramatic works of certain European and American dramatists of the 1950s and early '60s who agreed with the Existentialist philosopher Albert Camus's assessment, in his essay "The Myth of Sisyphus" ... [12 Related Articles]
absurdity
(from the article "Arabic literature") ...the other area in which his ongoing experiments were most noteworthy, if not always successful, was that of dramatic language. Ironically, one of his most successful plays (and productions) was ...
Abts, Tomma
(from the article "Art and Art Exhibitions") ...potential to make a lasting impact on the history of American art." The Turner Prize for a living British artist under age 50 short-listed four artists for the 2006 honour: ...
Abu
city, southwestern Rajasthan state, northwestern India. It is situated on the slopes of Mount Abu, an isolated feature of the Aravali Range. The city is a noted hill resort, and ...
Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad az-Zaghall
(from the article "Muhammad XI") ...and with the aid of the Abencerrajes family seized the Alhambra in 1482 and was recognized as sultan. Abu al-Hasan succeeded in recapturing the capital but was deposed by his ...
Abu 'Ali
(from the article "Simjurid Dynasty") ...son Abu ol-Hasan Simjuri created a virtually independent principality centred in Qohestan in southern Khorasan. Abu ol-Hasan's son Abu 'Ali added Herat to the domains.
Abu 'Ali Mustafa
Palestinian nationalist who was a cofounder (1967) and secretary-general (2000-01) of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a radical faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). [1 Related Articles]
Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala'
(from the article "Asma'i, al-") A gifted student of Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala', the founder of the Basra school, al-Asma'i joined the court of the 'Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid in Baghdad. Renowned for his piety ...
Abu 'Inan
(from the article "North Africa") ...when the Arab tribes of Tunisia joined in the battle against them, the Marinids were overwhelmed, and Abu al-Hasan himself had to flee by sea from Tunis. His son and ...
Abu 'l-Fadl 'Allami
historian, military commander, secretary, and theologian to the Mughal emperor Akbar. [2 Related Articles]
Abu 'Ubayd al-Bakri
(from the article "Spain") ...and Ibn Wafid, Ibn Bassal, and Ibn al-'Awwam (11th and 12th centuries) quote Varro, Virgil, and others. The most notable geographers in Muslim Spain were Abu 'Ubayd al-Bakri (died 1094), ...
Abu 'Ubaydah
(from the article "A'sha, al-") pre-Islamic poet whose qasidah ("ode") is included by the critic Abu 'Ubaydah (d. 825) in the celebrated Mu'allaqat, a collection of seven pre-Islamic qasidahs, each of which was considered by ...
Abu adh-Dhawwud Muhammad
(from the article "'Uqaylid Dynasty") ...established themselves in Jazirat ibn 'Umar, Nisibin (modern Nusaybin, Tur.), and Balad (northern Iraq) at the end of the 10th century. Abu adh-Dhawwud Muhammad (reigned c. 990-996), the first 'Uqaylid, ...
Abu al-'Abbas
(from the article "North Africa") ...between 1348 and 1370, one being ruled from Tunis and the other from Bejaia, with the ruler of each part supported by a different Arab tribal group. After it was ...
Abu al-'Abbas as-Saffah
Islamic caliph (reigned 749-754), first of the 'Abbasid dynasty, which was to rule over eastern Islam for approximately the next 500 years. The 'Abbasids were descended from an uncle of ... [6 Related Articles]
Abu al-'Atahiyah
first Arab poet of note to break with the conventions established by the pre-Islamic poets of the desert and to adopt a simpler and freer language of the village. [2 Related Articles]
Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi
(from the article "Judaism") The last outstanding Jewish philosopher of the Islamic East, Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi (who died as a very old man sometime after 1164), also belongs to this period. An inhabitant of ...
Abu al-Faraj al-Isbahani
literary scholar who composed an encyclopaedic and fundamental work on Arabic song, composers, poets, and musicians. [3 Related Articles]
Abu al-Fath al-Iskandari
(from the article "Hamadhani, al-") ...maqamahs are written in a combination of prose, rhymed prose (saj'), and poetry and recount typically the encounters of the narrator 'Isa ibn Hisham with Abu al-Fath al-Iskandari, a witty ...
Abu al-Fawaris
(from the article "Abu Kalijar al-Marzuban ibn Sultan ad-Dawlah") ...ad-Dawlah, died in December 1023/January 1024, Abu Kalijar's succession to the sultan's Iranian possessions of Fars and Khuzistan was challenged by his uncle Abu al-Fawaris, the ruler of Kerman, to ...
Abu al-Fida'
Ayyubid dynasty historian and geographer who became a local sultan under the Mamluk empire.
Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur
khan (ruler) of Khiva and one of the most prominent historians in Chagatai Turkish literature.
Abu al-Hasan
one of the leading Mughal painters of the emperor Jahangir's atelier, honoured by the emperor with the title Nadir-uz-Zaman ("Wonder of the Age"). [1 Related Articles]
Abu al-Hasan 'Ali
Marinid sultan of Morocco (reigned 1331-51) who increased the territories of his dynasty and, for a brief time, created a united North African empire. [2 Related Articles]
Abu al-Hasan 'Ali
(from the article "Nasrid dynasty") ...I (1333-54) at Salado River (1340) by Alfonso XI. In 1469 Christian Spain united under the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. Then, when the ...
Abu al-Hayja' 'Abd Allah
(from the article "Hamdanid Dynasty") ...taking part in uprisings against the 'Abbasid caliph late in the 9th century. His sons, however, became 'Abbasid officials, al-Husayn serving as a military commander and Abu al-Hayja' 'Abd Allah ...
Abu al-Hazm Jahwar ibn Jahwar
(from the article "Jahwarid dynasty") ...Years of civil war following the breakdown of central caliphal authority in 1008 prompted the Cordoban council of notables, led by a prominent aristocrat, Abu al-Hazm Jahwar ibn Jahwar, to ...
Abu al-Hudhayl al-'Allaf
(from the article "Mu'tazilah") Among the most important Mu'tazili theologians were Abu al-Hudhayl al-'Allaf (d. c. 841) and an-Nazzam (d. 846) in Basra and Bishr ibn al-Mu'tamir (d. 825) in Baghdad. It was al-Ash'ari ...
Abu al-Jaysh Ishaq
(from the article "Ziyadid Dynasty") ...in return for tribute. More territory, including Zabid itself, was lost to the sectarian Qarmatians after Ibrahim's death, and records of his successor have been obscured. Abu al-Jaysh Ishaq, however, ...
Abu al-Muzaffar ibn Yunus
(from the article "Ibn al-Jawzi") ...zeal antagonized many liberal theologians. His power within the Baghdad establishment owed a great deal to his excellent relations with successive caliphs and their advisers. The arrest in 1194 of ...
Abu al-Qasim
Islam's greatest medieval surgeon, whose comprehensive medical text, combining Middle Eastern and Greco-Roman classical teachings, shaped European surgical procedures until the Renaissance. [2 Related Articles]
Abu al-Qasim ibn Wasul
(from the article "North Africa") ...after the 740s, when Miknasah Berbers (a group affiliated with the Sufriyyah) migrated from northern Morocco to the oasis of Tafilalt in the south. The principality was named after Abu ...
Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn 'Abbad
(from the article "'Abbadid dynasty") In 1023 the qadi (religious judge) Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn 'Abbad declared Sevilla independent of Cordoba. His son Abu 'Amr 'Abbad, known as al-Mu'tadid (1042-69), greatly enlarged his territory by ...
Abu al-Walid Muhammad al-Rashid
(from the article "Jahwarid dynasty") ...a republic. Jahwar was elected head and, as virtually an absolute sovereign ostensibly assisted by a council, restored peace and economic prosperity in his 12-year-reign (1031-43). His son Abu al-Walid ...
Abu Bahr
(from the article "Arabian Desert") ...region once was the delta of Wadi Al-Rimah-Al-Batin, and Al-Budu' Plain was the delta of Wadi Al-Sahba'. The gravel plains of Rayda' and Abu Bahr, and adjacent areas covered by ...
Abu Bakar
sultan of the Malay state of Johore (now part of Malaysia) from 1885 to 1895. He maintained independence from Britain and stimulated economic development in Johore at a time when ...
Abu Bakr
Muhammad's closest companion and adviser, who succeeded to the Prophet's political and administrative functions, thereby initiating the office of the caliphate. [14 Related Articles]
Abu Bakr al-Khwarizmi
(from the article "Hamadhani, al-") Al-Hamadhani, often known as Badi' az-Zaman ("Wonder of the Age"), achieved an early success through a public debate with Abu Bakr al-Khwarizmi, a leading savant, in Nishapur. He subsequently traveled ...
Abu Bakr al-Lamtuni
(from the article "Yusuf ibn Tashufin") In 1061 Abu Bakr, who was then the leader of the Almoravids, went south into the desert to put down a tribal rebellion. He gave the command of his troops ...
Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd ibn Zangi
(from the article "Iran") ...the arts, as parvenu, competitive courts are wont to do. The poet Sa'di (died 1292) was a contemporary in Shiraz of the Salghurid atabeg Abu Bakr ibn ...
Abu Da'ud
(from the article "'ilm al-hadith") ...collections, known as al-kutub as-sittah ("the six books"), arranged by matn-those of al-Bukhari (d. 870), Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 875), Abu Da'ud (d. 888), at-Tirmidhi (d. 892), Ibn Majah (d. ...
Abu Dahdah
(from the article "Law, Crime, and Law Enforcement") ...on September 26 in Madrid to 27 years in prison for conspiracy to commit terrorist murders in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. The ...
Abu Dhabi
city and capital of Abu Zaby emirate, one of the United Arab Emirates (formerly Trucial States, or Trucial Oman), and the national capital of that federation. The city occupies most ... [7 Related Articles]
Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations
(from the article "United Arab Emirates") ...A Japanese consortium operates an offshore rig at Al-Mubarraz, and other offshore concessions are held by American companies. Onshore oil concessions are held by another ADNOC company, the Abu Dhabi ...
Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company
(from the article "United Arab Emirates") ...Oil Company (ADNOC). Petroleum production contributes about one-third GDP but employs only a tiny fraction of the workforce. The largest petroleum concessions are held by an ADNOC subsidiary, Abu Dhabi ...
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
(from the article "United Arab Emirates") Oil was discovered in Abu Zaby in 1958, and the government of that emirate owns a controlling interest in all oil-producing companies in the federation through the Abu Dhabi National ...
Abu Dhahab
(from the article "Egypt") ...of the city"), which signified that he was recognized by the other beys as their chief. The Mamluks' rise to power was climaxed by the careers of two emirs-'Ali Bey ...
Abu Ghazala, 'Abd al-Halim
Egyptian military leader used his position as Egypt's field marshal to help preserve the fragile 1979 peace treaty between his country and Israel after the assassination in 1981 of Egyptian ...
Abu Ghraib prison
(from the article "Outsourcing War-The Surge in Private Military Firms") ...corporate members. PMFs have also attracted unwanted attention, however, including allegations that contractors working in 2003 as military interrogators and translators at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were ...
Abu Ghufayl
(from the article "Barghawatah") ...and presented himself as a prophet, teaching a mixture of Islamic, pagan, and astrological beliefs. His successors propagated this doctrine throughout the confederation. In the reign of Abu Ghufayl (885-913) ...
Abu Hafs
(from the article "Hafsid dynasty") ...caliph and raised the prestige of the kingdom to its highest point. A period of internal dissension followed al-Mustansir's rule, Hafsid unity being temporarily restored by Abu Hafs (1284-95), then ...
Abu Hafs 'Umar
(from the article "North Africa") ...appointed his son as heir apparent in 1154, thus making his family, which did not belong to the Masmudah tribe, the ruling dynasty. Through this act 'Abd al-Mu'min bypassed Abu ...
Abu Hamza
(from the article "Britain: The Radical Stronghold of European Muslims") ...the Middle East, many of whom in the 1980s had acquired a following among young people attracted by their revolutionary message; some of the youths went to Afghanistan and Kashmir ...
Abu Hanifah
Muslim jurist and theologian whose systematization of Islamic legal doctrine was acknowledged as one of the four canonical schools of Islamic law. The school of Abu Hanifah acquired such prestige ... [3 Related Articles]
Abu Hashim
(from the article "Hashimiyah") ...that succession to 'Ali's position of imam, or leader, of the Muslim community had devolved on Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyah (d. c. 700), one of his sons, and Abu Hashim, a ...
Abu Hureyra
(from the article "agriculture, origins of") The Abu Hureyra site in Syria is the largest known site from the era when plants and animals were initially being domesticated. Two periods of occupation bracketing the transition to ...
Abu Ibrahim Ahmad
(from the article "Aghlabid dynasty") ...km] south of Kairouan); Ziyadat Allah I (817-838), who broke the rebellion of the Arab soldiery and sent it to conquer Sicily (which remained in Arab hands for two centuries); ...
Abu Ishaq
(from the article "Chishtiyah") Muslim Sufi order in India and Pakistan, named for Chisht, the village in which the founder of the order, Abu Ishaq of Syria, settled.
Abu Ishaq as-Sahili
(from the article "Timbuktu") ...Musa built the Great Mosque (Djinguereber) and a royal residence, the Madugu (the former has since been rebuilt many times, and of the latter no trace remains). The Granada architect ...
Abu Ja
(from the article "Suleja") ...137 miles [220 km] north-northeast) about 1804, Muhamman Makau, sarkin ("king of") Zazzau, led many of the Hausa nobility to the Koro town of Zuba (6 miles [10 km] south). ...
Abu Ja'far ibn Hud
(from the article "Murcia") ...brought the quarreling states of Muslim Spain under his control, took possession of Murcia in 1092, incorporating it into his empire. General discontent under the Almoravids led to a rising ...
Abu Ja'far Muhammad al-Qulini
(from the article "Hadith") ...might play. The major Shi'i compilations date from the 4th and 5th centuries and allow only traditions emanating from the house of 'Ali. The first of them is that of ...
Abu Jahl
(from the article "Muhammad") As Muhammad's message spread, opposition to him grew and was led by 'Amr ibn Hisham, dubbed Abu Jahl ("Father of Ignorance") by the early Muslims. Abu Jahl even had some ...
Abu Jirab
ancient Egyptian site, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Abu Sir, between Saqqarah and Al-Jizah; it is known as the location of two 5th-dynasty (c. 2465-c. 2325 BCE) sun ...
Abu Kalijar al-Marzuban ibn Sultan ad-Dawlah
ruler of the Buyid dynasty from 1024, who for a brief spell reunited the Buyid territories in Iraq and Iran.
Abu Lahab
(from the article "Muhammad") ...families rejected his call, especially those prominent in trade. Even within his family there were skeptics. Although Muhammad gained the support of many of the Banu Hashim, his uncle Abu ...
Abu Madi, Iliya
Arab poet and journalist whose poetry achieved popularity through his expressive use of language, his mastery of the traditional patterns of Arabic poetry, and the relevance of his ideas to ...
Abu Mansur ibn Yusuf
(from the article "Ibn 'Aqil") ...those theologians who had been passed over, coupled with his espousal of innovative and controversial doctrines, led to Ibn 'Aqil's persecution. After the death of his influential patron, Abu Mansur ...