Prussic Acid
Prussic Acid, Also Called Hydrocyanic Acid And Hydrogen Cyanide, Is A Compound Of Hydrogen, Carbon And Nitrogen (hcn), Best Known On Account Of Its Exceedingly Poisonous Nature. It Is A Very Volatile Colourless Liquid Boiling At 25.7° C And Freezing At —13° C. As The Parent Substance Of The Cyanides ...
Prytaneum And Prytanis 1
Prytaneum And Prytanis. 1. In Ancient Greece, Each State, City Or Village Possessed Its Own Central Hearth And Sacred Fire; The Fire (cf. At Rome The Fire In The Temple Of Vesta) Was Kept Alight Continuously, Tended By The King Or Members Of His Family. The Building In Which This ...
Psalms
Psalms, The First In Order And Importance (cf. Luke Xxiv. 44) Of The Third Division Of The Hebrew Old Testament, Known As The "writings." The Hebrew Name Of The Psalms Is Tehillim, Or "praise-songs," Which Expresses A Predominant, Though By No Means The Entire, Character Of The Collection. This Anthology ...
Psammetichus
Psammetichus (egypt. Psammetk), The Name Of Three Kings Of The Saite, Xxvith Dynasty, Called By Herodotus Respec Tively Psammetichus, Psammis And Psammenitus. The First Of These Is Generally Considered To Be The Founder Of The Dynasty; Manetho, However, Carries It Back Through Three Or Four Prede Cessors Who Ruled At ...
Pskov
Pskov, In German, Pleskau, A Town Of Russia In The Pskov District Of The Leningrad Area, In 57° 48' N., 28° 22' E., Situated On Both Banks Of The Velikaya River, 9 M. S.e. From Lake Pskov. Pop. (1933) 52,600. The Chief Part Of The Town, With Its Kremlin On ...
Psyche
Psyche, In Greek Mythology, The Personification Of The Human Soul. The Importance, In Platonic Philosophy, Of Love (in The Highest Sense) As An Agent Of The Soul's Progress Leads, In Art From The 4th Century B.c., To Representations, Allegorical Or Play Ful, Of Psyche (generally Represented As A Winged Girl, ...
Psychiatry
Psychiatry, A Special Branch Of Medical Science Dealing With The Causes, Symptoms, Course And Treatment Of Disorders And Diseases Of The Mind. The Ultimate Aim Of This Branch Of Medicine Should Be To Ascertain The Best Means To Promote Normal Thought And Action Individually And Collectively, And To Apply The ...
Psychical Research
Psychical Research Is The Study Of The Supernormal Faculties (real Or Supposed) Of Human Personality. The Word "supernormal" Is Merely A Short Equivalent For "not Recognized By General Scientific Opinion," And Is Free Of All Implications Of The "supernatural." The Function Of Psychical Research Is To Col Lect And Weigh ...
Psychoanalysis Freudian School
Psychoanalysis: Freudian School. In The Years 1880-82 A Viennese Physician, Dr. Josef Breuer (1842 1925), Discovered A New Procedure By Means Of Which He Relieved A Girl, Who Was Suffering From Severe Hysteria, Of Her Various Symptoms. The Idea Occurred To Him That The Symptoms Were Connected With Impressions Which ...
Psychogalvanic Reflex
Psychogalvanic Reflex. The Term Psychogal Vanic Reflex (p.g.r.) Was First Used By Veraguth To Describe The Change In Electrical Properties Of The Human Body (or Any Living Animal Body) In Response To Nocuous (emotional) Stimuli. The Terms Galvanic Skin Reflex, Skin Constrictor Reflex And Sweat Secretion Reflex Have Been Used ...
Psychology
Psychology Is The Study Of The Mind, Or Of "mental Phe Nomena," Or Of The Higher Functions Of Beings "endowed With Mind." The Last Definition Emphasizes The Fact That Ordinarily The Term Is Restricted To The Study Of Mental Functions Connected With Living Organisms. Though Psychological Studies May Be Said ...
Psychophysics
Psychophysics, The Science That Deals With The Deter Mination Of The Relation Between The Mental And Physical Worlds, Or, More Specifically, Of The Relation Between Sensation And Its Stimulus. The Word Is Generally Used With Reference To The Quan Titative Determination Of The Latter Relationship. History.—psychophysics Was Established By Gustav ...
Psychosis
Psychosis. Strictly Speaking, The Term Psychosis Means A State Of Mind, A Concrete Psychical Process Or A Mental Act; But Is Now Generally Used To Signify An Abnormal State Of Mind. This Definition Needs Qualification, However, Since The Technical Use Of The Term In Psychiatry Is Confined To Certain Forms ...
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy, The Treatment Of Disease By Psycho Logical Means. Throughout The Ages The Attempted Cure Of Ills Through Mental Influences Has Been In Vogue, But It Is Only Of Late That Psychotherapy Has Been Placed On A Scientific Basis And Be Come A Recognized Branch Of Medicine. It Is In ...
Pteria
Pteria (mod. Boghaz Keui), The Ancient Capital Of The "white Syrians" Of Cappadocia, Which Croesus Of Lydia Is Stated By Herodotus To Have Taken, Enslaved And Ruined, After He Had Declared War On The Rising Power Of Persia And Crossed The Halys (after The Middle Of The 6th Century B.c.). ...
Pteridophyta
Pteridophyta, One Of The Groups Comprising The Ferns And Their Allies, Of The Second Great Division Of Plants, The Arche Goniatae, The Other Being The Bryophyta (q.v.). The Pteridophyta Thus Share With The Bryophyta A Middle Position Between The Essentially Aquatic Thallophytes And The Essentially Terrestrial Spermatophytes. Much Of Their ...
Pterobranchia
Pterobranchia. The Most Strikingly Novel Discovery Of The "challenger" Expedition Was A Mysterious Animal, Dredged From 245 Fathoms In The Straits Of Magellan. It Was Described As Cephalodiscus Dodecalophus, In 1882, And Was At First Placed In The Polyzoa. In 1903 It Was Announced That Cephalodiscushad Been Found By The ...
Pterodactyl
Pterodactyl, A Term Familiarly Used For Any Member Of The Order Pterosauria, Or Winged Reptiles. The Pterodactyls Are Extinct Flying Reptiles Found In Rocks Of All Ages From The Lower Lias Or Perhaps The Rhaetic To The Upper Cretaceous. They Fall Into Two Great Groups Distinguished From One Another By ...
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemaeus
Ptolemy (claudius Ptolemaeus), Of Alexandria, The Celebrated Mathematician, Astronomer And Geographer, Was, Ac Cording To The Byzantine Theodorus Meliteniota (c. 1361), Born At Ptolemais Hermii, A Grecian City Of The Thebaid. All That Is Known For Certain About Him Is That He Observed At Alexandria During The Reigns Of Hadrian ...
Ptolemy I
Ptolemy I. (iiroxe,ucaos), The Founder, Son Of Lagus, A Mace Donian Nobleman Of Eordaea, Was One Of Alexander The Great's Most Trusted Generals, And Among The Seven "body-guards" At Tacked To His Person. He Plays A Principal Part In The Later Cam Paigns Of Alexander In Afghanistan And India. At ...
Ptolemy Ii Philadelphus 309 246
Ptolemy Ii. Philadelphus (309-246) Was Of A Delicate Con Stitution, No Macedonian Warrior-chief Of The Old Style. His Brother Ptolemy Ceraunus Found Compensation By Becoming King In Macedonia In 281, And Perished In The Gallic Invasion Of 280-79. (see Brennus.) Ptolemy Ii. Maintained A Splendid Court In Alexandria. Not That ...
Ptolemy Vi Philometor 181 145
Ptolemy Vi. Philometor (181-145), The Elder Of His Two Sons, Succeeded As An Infant Under The Regency Of His Mother Cleopatra. Her Death Was Followed By A Rupture Between The Ptolemaic And Seleucid Courts, On The Old Question Of Palestine. Antiochus Iv. Epiphanes Invaded Egypt (17o) And Captured Philometor. The ...
Ptolemy X Alexander
Ptolemy X. Alexander Il—on His Death Berenice As Sumed The Government, But The Son Of Alexander I., Ptolemy X., Entering Alexandria Under Roman Patronage, Married, And Within 20 Days Assassinated, His Elderly Cousin And Stepmother. He Was At Once Killed By The Enraged People And With Him The Ptolemaic Family ...
Public Authorities Protection Act
Public Authorities Protection Act. This British Statute Was Enacted In 1893 And Represents, To Some Extent, A Consolidation Of Previous Statutes Limiting The Time Within Which Actions May Be Brought Against "public Authorities," Including Thereunder Local Government Authorities, Justices Of The Peace And, It Has Recently Been Held, Crown Servants ...
Public Service Corporation Of
Public Service Corporation Of New Jer Sey, A Holding Company Carrying On Its Activities Through Sub Sidiaries, Was Incorporated In 1903, And Thereupon Acquired The Ownership Of The Principal Electric, Gas And Street Railway Com Panies Of New Jersey. It Was One Of The First Great Aggregations Of Public Utility ...
Public Utilities
Public Utilities,' A Designation For A Special Grouping Of Industries. These Industries Should Be Distinguished From State Services Or Public Works, Which Are Administered As Public Func Tions And Hence Supported By Taxation, And From That Variety Of Industrial, Commercial And Agricultural Undertakings Which Are Usually Comprehended Under The Term ...
Publicani
Publicani, The Name Given In Ancient Rome To A Body Of Men Who Either Hired State Property Or Monopolies To Farm For Their Own Profit Or Bought For A Fixed Sum The Right To Farm The Taxes Due To The Treasury From The Public Land In Italy, Or The Land ...
Publishing
Publishing. The Modern Publisher, As We Understand The Term, Is One Who Produces Printed Books And Puts Them On The Market. Of Recent Years, And Especially Since The World War, There Have Been Some Instances Of English And United States Pub Lishers Conjoining The Business Of The Printer, And In ...
Puddings
Puddings. The Word Pudding Denotes A Sweet Dish; It Is Also Used In Connection With Meat, But Then Its Use Is Restricted To Meat Boiled Or Steamed Inside A Case Of Suet Pastry (see Cookery And Pastry : Home-made). The Following Recipes Are For Typical British Puddings : Milk Puddings: ...
Puebla
Puebla (full Title La Puebla De Los Angeles, And More Recently, Puebla De Zaragoza), A City Of Mexico And Capital Of The State Of The Same Name, On The Banks Of The Atoyac River, 13o M. S.e. Of The City Of Mexico. Pop. (1930) 114,793, Including A Large Percentage Of ...
Pueblo
Pueblo. The Agricultural, Town-dwelling Indians Of The Semi-desert South-western United States. They Are Of Four Dis Tinct Linguistic Groups: (i) Shoshonean, Comprising The Seven Hopi (q.v.) Villages In Arizona; (2) Zuni (q.v.), One Town In Western New Mexico; (3) Keres, Comprising Acoma (q.v.), La Guna, Sia, Cochiti, Santa Ana, Santo ...
Pueblo_2
Pueblo, A City Of Colorado, U.s.a., On The Arkansas River At The Mouth Of Fountain Creek, 120 M. S. By E. Of Denver; The County-seat Of Pueblo County And The Second City Of The State In Size. It Is On Federal Highways So And 85; Has Airmail Service; And Is ...
Puerperal Fever
Puerperal Fever. A Medical Term Implying A General Blood-poisoning Of The Same Nature As That Arising From An In Fected Wound (see Sepsis), Its Specific Name Indicating Merely Its Origin From Childbirth Or Miscarriage. The Area Becoming The Seat Of Infection Is Usually The Raw Surface Inside The Womb Left ...
Puerto Principe
Puerto Principe (officially, A City And The Capital Of The Province Of Camagiley In East-central Cuba, About 528m. E.s.e. Of Havana. Pop. (1899), 25,102; (1931), 130,352. Puerto Principe Lies On A Broad Plain About Equally Dis Tant From The North And South Coasts Of The Island, And Between Two Small ...
Pugilism
Pugilism, The Practice Or Sport Of Fighting With The Fists (from Lat. Pugil, Boxer, Gr. 7r6e, With Clenched Fist). The First Mention Of Such Fighting In Literature Is Found In The 23rd Book Of The Iliad; Another Full Description Is In Virgil, Aeneid. Although Fist-fighting Was Supposed By The Greeks ...
Pulley
Pulley, A Wheel, Either Fixed To A Turning Axle Or Carried Freely On A Stationary One, The Periphery Of Which Is Adapted To Receive Some Form Of Wrapping Connector. A Pulley Carried On A Rotating Shaft And Connected To Another Pulley On A Second Shaft By An Endless Band Consisting ...
Pulverized Fuel
Pulverized Fuel. The Use Of Coal In The Form Of Dust For Raising Steam Has Been Known From Isolated Experiments For About The Last Forty Years, But The Fact That It Was One Of The Most Difficult Methods Of Burning Coal Long Delayed The Develop Ment Of The Practice. The ...
Pumice
Pumice, A Very Porous, Froth-like, Volcanic Glass. It Is An Igneous Rock Which Was Almost Completely Liquid At The Moment Of Effusion And Was So Rapidly Cooled That There Was No Time For It To Crystallize. When It Solidified The Vapours Dissolved In It Were Suddenly Released And The Whole ...
Pump
Pump, A Machine To Raise Or Move Fluids. The Method To Be Adopted In Raising The Elevation Or The Pressure Of A Fluid De Pends Largely On The Volume To Be Handled And The Magnitude Of The Lift. For Large Volumes The Centrifugal Pump Is Almost Uni Versally Used. In ...
Punch
Punch, The Abbreviated Form Of Punchinello (ital. Polici Nella, Pulcinella), The Most Popular Of The Puppets Or Marionettes (q.v.), And The Chief Figure In The "punch And Judy" Show. It Is Of Italian Origin, Though Its History Is By No Means Free From Obscurity. The Earlier Etymologists Sought To Trace ...
Punching And Shearing Machines
Punching And Shearing Machines. The Quickest Method Of Making Holes In, Or Severing, Materials Is By Punching Or Shearing, And There Are Few Forms Of Manufacture That Do Not Utilize Machines For These Operations. Paper, Card, Leather, Cotton, Cloth, Slate, Tin, Brass, Iron And Steel All Undergo Such Treatment. Circular ...
Punctuation
Punctuation, The Art Of "pointing" A Literary Composi Tion So As To Divide It Into Sentences And Portions Of Sentences, Which The "points" Mark At Their Close, Thus Indicating What Would In Speech Be Pauses Or Changes Of Expression (lat. Punctum, A Point). The Uses Of The Chief "points" Are ...
Punic Wars
Punic Wars, A Name Specially Appropriated To The Wars Between Rome And Carthage In The 3rd And 2nd Centuries B.c. The Origin Of These Conflicts Is To Be Sought In The Position Which Rome Acquired About 275 B.c. As Suzerain And Protector Of All Italy. Her New Obligation To Safeguard ...
Punjab
Punjab, Province, British India, Named From The "five Rivers" By Which It Is Watered : The Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas And Sutlej, All Tributaries Of The Indus. It Is Primarily The Triangu Lar Country Of Which The Indus And The Sutlej To Their Confluence Form The Two Sides, The Base ...
Purgatory
Purgatory, According To Roman Catholic Faith, A State Of Suffering After Death In Which The Souls Of Those Who Die In Venial Sin, And Of Those Who Still Owe Some Debt Of Temporal Punishment For Mortal Sin, Are Rendered Fit To Enter Heaven. It Is Believed That Such Souls Continue ...
Puri Or Jagannath
Puri Or Jagannath, A Town And District Of British India, In The Orissa Division Of Bihar And Orissa. The Town Is On The Seacoast, And Has A Railway Station. Pop. (1931) 37,568. As Containing The World-famous Shrine Of Jagannath (see Jugger Naut), Puri Is Perhaps The Most Frequented Of All ...