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telephone

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Hand telephone telephone, device for communicating sound, especially speech, usually by means of wires in an electric circuit. The telephones now in general use evolved from the device invente...

cryosurgery

(Encyclopedia)cryosurgery krīˈōsrˌjərē [key], bloodless surgical technique using a supercooled probe to destroy diseased or superfluous tissue. Liquid nitrogen circulating through the instrument cools it to t...

contrabassoon

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Contrabassoon contrabassoon, large, deep-toned instrument of the oboe family, also called double bassoon. Its tube, over 16 ft (5 m) long, is doubled upon itself four times. It was first made ...

Hawkins, Coleman

(Encyclopedia)Hawkins, Coleman, 1904–69, American jazz musician, b. St. Joseph, Mo. He began playing saxophone at the age of 9. He was part of Fletcher Henderson's band from 1924 until 1934. Hawkins established t...

Nunes, Pedro

(Encyclopedia)Nunes, Pedro pĕˈdro͝o no͞oˈnəsh [key], Lat. Petrus Nonius, 1502–1578, Portuguese mathematician, geographer, and writer on navigation and geometry. He was the first (1534) to demonstrate an ins...

sarrusophone

(Encyclopedia)sarrusophone sərŭsˈəfōn [key], brass keyed wind instrument, played with a double reed, thus a member of the oboe family. Invented in 1856 by Sarrus, a French bandmaster, it is made in several siz...

Quantz, Johann Joachim

(Encyclopedia)Quantz, Johann Joachim yōˈhän yōˈäkhĭm kvänts [key], 1697–1773, German flutist and composer for the flute. In 1741 he became chamber musician and teacher of the flute to Frederick the Great,...

vielle

(Encyclopedia)vielle vyĕl [key], bowed string instrument used throughout Europe from the 13th cent. through the 15th cent. The vielle resembles the violin, of which it is a direct precursor, but it has a longer bo...

divining rod

(Encyclopedia)divining rod or dowser, stick used in searching for underground water or minerals. This form of divination is still in common use in many parts of the world. The instrument is typically a forked twig....

gong

(Encyclopedia)gong, percussion instrument consisting of a disk, usually with upturned edges, 3 ft (91 cm) or more in diameter in the modern orchestra, often made of bronze, and struck with a felt- or leather-covere...