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shock absorber

(Encyclopedia)shock absorber, device for reducing the effect of a sudden shock by the dissipation of the shock's energy. On an automobile, springs and shock absorbers are mounted between the wheels and the frame. W...

vibration

(Encyclopedia)vibration, in physics, commonly an oscillatory motion—a movement first in one direction and then back again in the opposite direction. It is exhibited, for example, by a swinging pendulum, by the pr...

Frith, William Powell

(Encyclopedia)Frith, William Powell, 1819–1909, English anecdotal and genre painter. His early paintings were illustrations, such as his Scene from a Sentimental Journey (Victoria and Albert Mus.). Later he paint...

videodisc

(Encyclopedia)videodisc or videodisk, disk used with a special player and television to reproduce both pictures and sound. A videodisc player cannot record television programs off the air for later playback, unlike...

directing

(Encyclopedia)directing, the art of leading dramatic performances on the stage or in films. The modern theatrical director is in complete charge of all the artistic aspects of a dramatic presentation. It is the dir...

force

(Encyclopedia)force, commonly, a “push” or “pull,” more properly defined in physics as a quantity that changes the motion, size, or shape of a body. Force is a vector quantity, having both magnitude and dir...

Eden, Emily

(Encyclopedia)Eden, Emily, 1797–1869, English novelist. She went with her brother George, Lord Auckland, to India when he was governor-general (1836–42). Her two novels, The Semi-detached House (1859) and The S...

Opie, John

(Encyclopedia)Opie, John, 1761–1807, English portrait and historical painter. Opie showed a remarkable talent as a young man. He became the protégé of the poet John Wolcot, and enjoyed a brief popularity as a f...

Pogodin, Mikhail Petrovich

(Encyclopedia)Pogodin, Mikhail Petrovich mēkhəyēlˈ pētrôˈvĭch pəgôˈdyĭn [key], 1800–1875, Russian historian and publisher. His conservative journal The Muscovite (1841–56) defended the policies of N...

birling

(Encyclopedia)birling bûrˈlĭng [key], sport in which two competitors try to maintain balance on a floating log, each seeking to rotate the log and spill the other into the water. With origins in the spring log d...