Computers, Von Neumann's “Preliminary Discussion”

But the design of the modern, or classical, computer did not fully crystallize until the publication of a 1946 paper by Arthur Burks, Herman Goldstine, and John von Neumann titled “Preliminary Discussion of the Logical Design of an Electronic Computing Instrument.” Although many researchers contributed ideas directly or indirectly to the paper, von Neumann was the principal

Lie, Trygve (halvdan)

Educated at the University of Kristiania (Oslo), Lie practiced law and became a leading member of the Norwegian Labour Party

Kermes

Either the scale insect (Kermes ilicis) or the bright-red dye obtained from the dried bodies of these insects. The dye was often part of the tribute paid to conquering Roman armies, and, in the Middle Ages, landlords accepted it as payment for rent. The oldest known red dyestuff, resembling but inferior to cochineal, it was used by the early Egyptians.

Chibchan Languages

A group of South American Indian languages that were spoken before AD 1500 in the area now comprising Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, western Colombia, and Ecuador. A now extinct Chibchan language sometimes known as Muisca was the language of a powerful Indian empire with its centre near Bogotá. Important present-day Chibchan languages include Guaymí and Move in Panama,

Scylitzes, John

Scylitzes was a high officeholder at the Byzantine court. He may have written a legal work for Alexius I in 1092. In his history he drew on the work of others for the early part and then largely relied on sources no longer extant and on contemporary oral tradition. In some manuscripts

Multinational And Regional Organizations

Severely challenged by the social and political unrest produced by the Asian economic crisis, foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, whose members included Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar [Burma], the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) held their annual meeting in Manila on July 24, 1998. ASEAN's reluctance to "interfere"

Infection, Mumps vaccine

Mumps is generally a self-limited disease in children but occasionally is moderately debilitating. A live attenuated mumps vaccine is available alone or in combination with measles and German measles vaccines. No serious adverse reactions have been reported following mumps immunization.

Earth, Magnetic reconnection

The observed dependence of geomagnetic activity on the orientation of the IMF is explained by most researchers as a consequence of magnetic reconnection. In reconnection, two oppositely directed magnetic fields are brought together by flowing plasmas at an x-type neutral line. Far from the neutral line the magnetic field is frozen in the plasma; however, near

Amyntas Iii (or Ii)

Amyntas came to the throne during the disorders that plagued Macedonia after the death of the powerful king Archelaus (ruled c. 413–399). Amyntas soon had to fight off attacks by the Illyrians

Norske Folkeeventyr

(1841–44; Eng. trans. Norwegian Folktales), collections of folktales and legends, by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, that had survived and developed from Old Norse pagan mythology in the mountain and fjord dialects of Norway. The authors, stimulated by a revival of interest in Norway's past, gathered the tales of ghosts, fairies, gods, and mountain trolls