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dipolar hypothesis (geophysics)
theory that the Earth’s magnetic field is produced or is best represented by a magnetic dipole, a body having poles of opposite sign, that is, positive and negative. In the first quantitative study made of the Earth’s magnetic field, ...
dipole (physics)
...crystal contains optically active molecules, and a subtle consequence of the optical activity and the tilt of the molecules is the appearance of a permanent charge separation, or ferroelectric dipole, analogous to the ferromagnetic dipole of a magnet. The direction of this dipole is perpendicular to the tilt direction of the molecules and in the plane of the layers. Thus, there is a......
dipole antenna (electronics)
The half-wave dipole, whose dimension is one-half of the radar wavelength, is the classic type of electromagnetic antenna. A single dipole is not of much use for radar, since it produces a beamwidth too wide for most applications. Radar requires a narrow beam (a beamwidth of only a few degrees) in order to concentrate its energy on the target and to determine the target location with accuracy.......
dipole, electric (chemistry and physics)
pair of equal and opposite electric charges the centres of which are not coincident. An atom in which the centre of the negative cloud of electrons has been shifted slightly away from the nucleus by an external electric field constitutes an induced electric dipole. When the external field is removed, the atom loses its dipolarity. A water m...
dipole field (geodesy)
...of Jupiter’s interior. The magnetic moment is 19,000 times greater than Earth’s, leading to a field strength at the equator of 4.3 gauss, compared with 0.3 gauss at Earth’s surface. The axis of the magnetic dipole is offset by a tenth of Jupiter’s equatorial radius of 71,500 km (44,400 miles) from the planet’s rotational axis, to which it is indeed inclined by...
dipole, magnetic (physics)
generally a tiny magnet of microscopic to subatomic dimensions, equivalent to a flow of electric charge around a loop. Electrons circulating around atomic nuclei, electrons spinning on their axes, and rotating positively charged atomic nuclei all are magnetic dipoles. The sum of these ef...
dipole moment (physics)
...there is an excess of positive charge on one end of the molecule and an excess of negative charge on the other, the molecule has a dipole moment (i.e., a measurable tendency to rotate in an electric or magnetic field) and is therefore called polar. The dipole moment (μみゅー) is defined as the product of the magnitude of the charge, e, and the distance separating the posit...
dipole-dipole interaction (chemistry)
The first of the four bonding interactions discussed here is the dipole–dipole interaction between polar molecules. It will be recalled that a polar molecule has an electric dipole moment by virtue of the existence of partial charges on its atoms. Opposite partial charges attract one another, and, if two polar molecules are orientated so that the opposite partial charges on the molecules......
dipole-induced-dipole interaction (chemistry)
The second type of attractive interaction, the dipole–induced-dipole interaction, also depends on the presence of a polar molecule. The second participating molecule need not be polar; but, if it is polar, then this interaction augments the dipole–dipole interaction described above. In the dipole–induced-dipole interaction, the presence of the partial charges of the polar......
Dipolog (Philippines)
city, western Mindanao, Philippines. Dipolog is a fishing and interisland shipping port. There is also a commercial airport. Its city status dates from 1969; it had been a municipality since 1913 and, before that, had been considered an outer adjunct of the port of Dapitan on Dapitan Bay, some 10 miles (16 km) to the northeast. Dipolog long since outstripped the other town in si...
Diponegoro, Prince (Javanese leader)
Javanese leader in the 19th-century conflict known to the West as the Java War and to Indonesians as Dipo Negoro’s War (1825–30). During those five years Dipo Negoro’s military accomplishments severely crippled the Dutch and earned for him a prominent place in the Indonesian nationalist pantheon of heroe...
dipper (bird)
any of five species of songbirds of the Cinclidae family (order Passeriformes) noted for insect hunting by walking underwater in rushing streams and named for their frequent body bobbing....
dipper dredge (engineering)
A dipper dredge is essentially a power shovel mounted on a barge for marine use. Distinctive features are the bucket and its arm, the boom that supports and guides the arm and is mounted to work around a wide arc, and the mechanism that gives excavating movement to the bucket. A grab, or clamshell, dredge lowers, closes, and raises a single bucket by means of flexible cables. In operation the......
dipper shovel (engineering)
There are five principal types of front attachments, which may be interchangeable in small and medium-sized machines of the cable type. The dipper shovel, the oldest and most important excavating machine (rail-mounted, steam-powered units were in use in 1835), is for hard digging and truck loading. It consists of a heavy, relatively short boom and a dipper stick (a beam that pivots on the boom)......
dipping (technology)
Not every forming process requires high pressures. If the material to be molded is already a stable liquid, simply pouring (casting) the liquid into a mold may suffice. Since the mold need not be massive, even the cyclical heating and cooling for a thermoplastic is efficiently done....
dipping duck (bird)
any of about 38 species of Anas and about 5 species in other genera, constituting the tribe Anatini, subfamily Anatinae, family Anatidae (order Anseriformes). They feed mainly on water plants, which they obtain by tipping-up in shallows—uncommonly by diving (with opened wings); they often forage near the shore for seeds and insects. The bill is flat and broad, the ...
Diprionidae (insect)
Conifer sawflies (Diprionidae) are medium-sized insects. The family includes several serious pests of coniferous trees. Diprionids are common throughout most of North America except in the Middle West....
Diprotodon (fossil marsupial genus)
extinct genus of giant marsupials found as fossils in Pleistocene deposits in Australia (the Pleistocene Epoch began about 2,600,000 years ago and ended 11,700 years ago). Diprotodon, the largest marsupial known, reached a length of about 3 12 m (11 feet) and was nearly as massive as a large rhinoceros. The limbs and skeleton were massiv...
Diprotodon optatum (fossil marsupial species)
extinct genus of giant marsupials found as fossils in Pleistocene deposits in Australia (the Pleistocene Epoch began about 2,600,000 years ago and ended 11,700 years ago). Diprotodon, the largest marsupial known, reached a length of about 3 12 m (11 feet) and was nearly as massive as a large rhinoceros. The limbs and skeleton were massiv...
Diprotodontia (marsupial order)
...America.Superorder AustralidelphiaNearly 200 Australasian species and 1 South American species in 5 orders.Order Diprotodontia116 or more species in 10 families. Primarily herbivorous. Family Macropodidae (kangaroos, wallabies,....
Dipsacaceae (plant family)
Dipsacaceae, or the teasel family, includes 11 genera and 290 species, most of them Eurasian or African (many are from the Mediterranean region). They are herbs with bilaterally symmetric flowers clustered in heads or involucres, a well-developed epicalyx, and fruits that are dry and single-seeded, with awns or bristles. Dipsacus sativus (teasel) is noted for its compact head of flowers......
Dipsacales (plant order)
teasel or honeysuckle order of flowering plants, containing 45 genera and about 1,100 species, which are distributed worldwide but centred mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. The order is best known for its ornamental plants, such as Lonicera (honeysuckle), Viburnum (arrowwoo...
Dipsacus (plant genus)
any of about 15 species constituting the genus Dipsacus of the family Dipsacaceae, native to Europe, the Mediterranean area, and tropical Africa. Many teasels are prickly, coarse biennials with opposite leaves that join at the base to form a rainwater-holding trough around the stem. The tall-domed heads of numerous, four-lobed flowers sit on a crownlike circle of spiny, narrow bracts (leaf...
Dipsacus fullonum (plant)
...fruiting heads have been used since Roman times to raise the nap of woolen fabrics in a process known as fulling. The plant is raised commercially in both Europe and North America for this purpose. Common teasel (D. fullonum, sometimes D. sylvestris) is similar but has upright rather than hooked bracts that are not useful for fulling. Common teasel is treated as a weed in.....
Dipsacus inermis (plant)
...sometimes D. sylvestris) is similar but has upright rather than hooked bracts that are not useful for fulling. Common teasel is treated as a weed in both Europe and North America. D. inermis from the Himalayas produces white flowers and leaves that are divided into many segments. Shepherd’s rod (D. pilosus), native to Europe, has a globe-shaped flower head......
Dipsacus pilosus (plant)
...for fulling. Common teasel is treated as a weed in both Europe and North America. D. inermis from the Himalayas produces white flowers and leaves that are divided into many segments. Shepherd’s rod (D. pilosus), native to Europe, has a globe-shaped flower head and white blooms with violet anthers....
Dipsacus sativus (plant)
Fuller’s teasel (D. sativus), nearly 1 m (3 feet) tall, bears pale lilac heads of flowers with hooked bracts. The spiny, dry fruiting heads have been used since Roman times to raise the nap of woolen fabrics in a process known as fulling. The plant is raised commercially in both Europe and North America for this purpose. Common teasel (D. fullonum, sometimes D.......
Dipsacus sylvestris (plant)
...fruiting heads have been used since Roman times to raise the nap of woolen fabrics in a process known as fulling. The plant is raised commercially in both Europe and North America for this purpose. Common teasel (D. fullonum, sometimes D. sylvestris) is similar but has upright rather than hooked bracts that are not useful for fulling. Common teasel is treated as a weed in.....
Dipsadoboa (snake genus)
In addition to B. blandingii and B. pulverulenta, African cat snakes also include members of the genus Dipsadoboa. This genus is made up of 11 or more species that are primarily restricted to rainforests and open woodlands south of the Sahara; they are uniformly green to brown in colour, with yellow or orange......
dipsas (literature)
a serpent with a bite said to produce intense thirst. The snake was the subject of a story told by several Greek authors, including Sophocles. According to the legend, Zeus was grateful to those who revealed to him the identity of the god who had stolen fire. He rewarded the informants by giving them the antidote to ...
Dipsosaurus dorsalis (lizard)
a serpent with a bite said to produce intense thirst. The snake was the subject of a story told by several Greek authors, including Sophocles. According to the legend, Zeus was grateful to those who revealed to him the identity of the god who had stolen fire. He rewarded the informants by giving them the antidote to ...
Dipsychus (work by Clough)
...hexameters. Amours de Voyage (1858) goes beyond this to the full-scale verse novel, using multiple internal narrators and vivid contemporary detail. Dipsychus (published posthumously in 1865 but not available in an unexpurgated version until 1951) is a remarkable closet drama that debates issues of belief and morality with a frankness, and...
Diptera (insect)
any member of an order of insects containing the two-winged or so-called true flies. Although many winged insects are commonly called flies, the name is strictly applicable only to members of Diptera. One of the largest insect orders, it numbers more than 120,000 species that are relatively small, with soft bodies. Although ...
dipteran (insect)
any member of an order of insects containing the two-winged or so-called true flies. Although many winged insects are commonly called flies, the name is strictly applicable only to members of Diptera. One of the largest insect orders, it numbers more than 120,000 species that are relatively small, with soft bodies. Although ...
Dipteridaceae (plant family)
the umbrella fern family, in the division Pteridophyta (the lower vascular plants). The family has a long fossil history dating back to the Triassic Period (251 million to 199.6 million years ago), but it presently contains only two extant genera, Dipteris (11 species) and Cheiropleuria (1 ...
Dipteris (fern genus)
...fronds forming a dense network; sori scattered on or covering the leaf undersurface, each associated with two or more veins, thick, stalked, the annulus vertical or slightly oblique; 2 genera, Dipteris, with about 11 species distributed mostly in the Paleotropics, and Cheiropleuria, with 1 species (Cheiropleuria bicuspis) in the......
Dipterocarpaceae (plant family)
family of largely South Asian and African timber trees, in the hibiscus, or mallow, order (Malvales), comprising 17 genera and 680 species. Few species grow east of Wallace’s Line, the boundary between the Oriental and Australian faunal regions ...
Dipterus (paleontology)
genus of very primitive lungfish, among the earliest known, found as fossils in European and North American Devonian rocks (the Devonian Period lasted from 416 million to 359 million years ago). Lungfishes, along with coelacanths, tetrapods, and their relatives, are part of a lobe-finned group of jawed ver...
Dipteryx odorata (tree)
...cedars (Cedrela odorata), Brazilian rosewoods (Dalbergia nigra), and many other species. Some types, however, are threatened by intensive exploitation. Other trees, such as the coumarou, or tonka bean (Dipteryx odorata), yield perfumes, flavourings, and pharmaceutical ingredients. However, the rubber and Brazil nut trees produce more-valuable commodities. The rubber....
Dipteryx panamensis (tree)
tree of the Central American tropical forest canopy whose trunk forks repeatedly, resulting in a graceful, rounded crown. Bunches of flowers are produced at the end of the tree’s branches after the onset of the rainy season, so that, within a month or two, the forest canopy is speckled with the purple crowns of flowering almendro. The v...
diptych (religious art)
Diptychs, or two-panel ivories, seem to have been very popular both for use as book covers and for ceremonial purposes. The most impressive of them were imperial. In these each leaf was made up of five panels; on the central one was a portrait of the emperor; at the sides were standing figures of the consuls; below were scenes, usually of tribute bearers; and above were angels upholding a bust......
Diputació del General de Catalunya (Spanish government committee)
...John II’s son Ferdinand with Isabella of Castile (1469) had brought about the unification of Spain, Catalonia became of secondary importance in Spanish affairs. Though it retained its autonomy and Generalitat (assembly), by the 17th century its conflict of interest with Castile, along with the decline of the Spanish monarchy’s prestige, led to the first of a series of Catalan sepa...
Diputados, Congreso de los (Spanish government)
The legislature, known as the Cortes Generales, is composed of two chambers (cámaras): a lower chamber, the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados), and an upper chamber, the Senate (Senado). As with most legislatures in parliamentary systems, more power is vested in the lower chamber. The Congress of Deputies has 350 members, who are......
Dipylon Master (Greek artist)
...into this otherwise severely geometric scheme, but it was not until about 760 bc that a renewed interest in figures became paramount. The major achievement in this development was that of the Dipylon Master, who specialized in monumental vases used as markers over the graves of rich Athenians. These vases incorporated scenes with animal and human figures: funerals, battles, and......
dipyridamole (drug)
Dipyridamole, a coronary artery vasodilator, decreases platelet adhesiveness to damaged endothelium. The drug prevents platelet aggregation and release by increasing the concentration of platelet cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in two ways: by inhibiting an enzyme (phosphodiesterase) that degrades cAMP and by increasing the stimulating effect of prostacyclin on an enzyme (adenylate......
diquat (chemical compound)
Paraquat and diquat, the bipyridylium compounds, are deadly if ingested. Skin contact or inhalation of a concentrate of paraquat can cause fatal lung damage. Because no specific antidote is known, treatment consists of minimizing the body’s absorption of the poison....
Dique Canal (canal, Colombia)
...Papas, the Magdalena flows northward in the structural depression between the Cordilleras Central and Oriental for almost 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to empty into the Caribbean near Barranquilla. The Dique Canal, begun during the colonial period, links its lower course with the coastal city of Cartagena. The Cauca River, which contributes a substantial part of its total flow, rises in the......
Dīr (Pakistan)
town, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town lies just north of the Dīr River, an affluent of the Panjkora, and is connected by road with Malākand, 70 mi (110 km) south. Mullā Ilyās, a 17th-century holy man, is said to have been the founder. Cottage industry includes the making of clothing and footwear. There is also a wood-processing plant....
Dir (Somali clan family)
...chiefly inhabiting the area on both sides of the middle Shabeelle and south-central Somalia; and the Isaaq, who live in the central and western parts of northern Somalia. In addition, there are the Dir, living in the northwestern corner of the country but also dispersed throughout southern Somalia, and the Tunni, occupying the stretch of coast between Marca and Kismaayo. Toward the Kenyan......
Dirac equation (physics)
The Dirac wave equation also describes the behaviour of both protons and neutrons and thus predicts the existence of their antiparticles. Antiprotons can be produced by bombarding protons with protons. If enough energy is available—that is, if the incident proton has a kinetic energy of at least 5.6 gigaelectron volts (GeV; 109 eV)—extra particles of proton mass will......
Dirac h (physics)
in physics, the amount of angular momentum associated with a subatomic particle or nucleus and measured in multiples of a unit called the Dirac h, or h-bar (ℏ), equal to the Planck constant divided by 2πぱい. For electrons, neutrons, and protons, the multiple is 0.5; pions have zero spin. The total angular momentum of nuclei more complex than the proton is the vector sum of...
Dirac, P. A. M. (English physicist)
English theoretical physicist who was one of the founders of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. Dirac is most famous for his 1928 relativistic quantum theory of the electron and his prediction of the existence of antiparticles. In 1933 he shared the Nobel Pri...
Dirac, Paul Adrien Maurice (English physicist)
English theoretical physicist who was one of the founders of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. Dirac is most famous for his 1928 relativistic quantum theory of the electron and his prediction of the existence of antiparticles. In 1933 he shared the Nobel Pri...
Dirac theory (physics)
...is not to be found in ordinary stable matter. However, it was discovered in 1932 among particles produced in the interactions of cosmic rays in matter and thus provided experimental confirmation of Dirac’s theory....
Dirac wave equation (physics)
The Dirac wave equation also describes the behaviour of both protons and neutrons and thus predicts the existence of their antiparticles. Antiprotons can be produced by bombarding protons with protons. If enough energy is available—that is, if the incident proton has a kinetic energy of at least 5.6 gigaelectron volts (GeV; 109 eV)—extra particles of proton mass will......
Dirachmaceae (plant family)
...is a small opposite-leaved tree with male and female flowers on separate individuals. The flowers are wind-pollinated and lack petals. The single-seeded fruit is a nut. The two species of Dirachmaceae (Dirachma socotrana, D. somalensis) are shrubs that possess small strongly-toothed leaves. The flowers are relatively large with both sepals and petals. The fruit is a......
Dirac’s theory (physics)
...is not to be found in ordinary stable matter. However, it was discovered in 1932 among particles produced in the interactions of cosmic rays in matter and thus provided experimental confirmation of Dirac’s theory....
dirah (tribal territory, Saudi Arabia)
...the pilgrimage to Mecca), long-distance commerce, and the exchange of poetry and other cultural activities. Hereditary tribal Bedouin groups claimed certain lands as their dirah (tribal territory), where their flocks could graze and water. As international boundaries were drawn in the desert, governments increasingly limited tribal mobility. Saudi......
Dirce (Greek mythology)
...from Sicyon, or after escaping from prison, Antiope bore Amphion and Zethus, who were brought up by herdsmen. Later she joined them; they recognized her, and they deposed Lycus and killed his wife, Dirce. According to one story, because of Dirce’s murder, Dionysus, to whose worship she had been devoted, caused Antiope to go mad. She wandered restlessly over all of Greece until she was cu...
Dirceu (Portuguese poet)
poet whose popularity in Portugal up to the 20th century was second only to that of Luís de Camões....
Dire Dawa (Ethiopia)
city, east-central Ethiopia, located on the eastern edge of the East African Rift Valley, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Harer. It lies at the intersection of roads from Addis Ababa, Harer, and Djibouti and has an airport. Dire Dawa, for long a caravan centre, developed as the chief outlet for Harer trade after 1904, when i...
Dire Straits (British rock group)
British rock band whose supple, slightly blues-tinged guitar rock was popular in the late 1970s and ’80s. The original members were Mark Knopfler (b. Aug. 12, 1949Glasgow, Scot.), David Knopfler ...
dire wolf (extinct mammal)
wolf that existed during the Pleistocene Epoch (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago). It is probably the most common mammalian species to be found preserved in the La Brea Tar Pits in southern California. The dire wolf differed from the modern wolf in several ways: it was larger and it had a more massive skull, a smaller brain, and relatively light limbs. The spec...
Dirección General de Inteligencia (Cuban secret service)
the secret intelligence agency of Cuba. The agency was established with the help of the Soviet KGB in 1961, following Fidel Castro’s rise to power. The DGI provided Castro with advanced warning of the Bay of Pigs invasion backed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agenc...
Direct Action (French extremist group)
French clandestine extremist group that emerged in 1979 and is believed to have been an amalgam of earlier groups. Sometimes compared with older radical and militant groups such as the Italian Red Brigades and the German Red Army Faction, Direct Action was said to subscribe to an ideology described variously as communist, anarchist, or Maoist, with strong symp...
direct broadcast satellite television (telecommunications)
Communications satellites located in geostationary orbit about the Earth are used to send television signals directly to the homes of viewers—a form of transmission called direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television. Transmission occurs in the Ku band, located around 12 gigahertz (12 billion cycles per second) in the radio frequency spectrum. At these high frequencies, the receiving......
direct carving (sculpture)
traditionalist sculptor of simple, figurative subjects who was a leading figure in the early 20th-century revival of direct carving, whereby the sculptor seeks an image directly from the material to be carved, relying on neither the inspiration of models nor the aid of mechanical devices. Zorach’s mature work is monumental in form and makes skillful use of the natural colour, veining, and.....
direct costing (accounting)
...as full, or absorption, costing methods, in that the overhead rates are intended to include provisions for all manufacturing costs. Both process and job-order costing methods can also be adapted to variable costing in which only variable manufacturing costs are included in product cost. Variable costs rise or fall in proportion to the quantity of output. Total fixed costs, in contrast, are the....
direct coupling (electronics)
...more than one type of transistor gives the circuit designer additional freedom not available for vacuum tube circuits and allows many clever circuits to be constructed. This becomes apparent in the direct coupling of successive amplifier stages. There are many ways to couple a signal from one circuit to another. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Consideration must be given to the......
direct current (electronics)
flow of electric charge that does not change direction. Direct current is produced by batteries, fuel cells, rectifiers, and generators with commutators. Direct current was supplanted by alternating c...
direct data (statistics)
Because census information is obtained by using a fixed questionnaire for interviewing, there are two broad types of resulting data: direct data, the answers to specific questions on the schedule; and derived data, the facts discovered by classifying and interrelating the answers to various questions. Direct information, in turn, is of two sorts: items such as name, address, and the like, used......
direct democracy (political philosophy)
...Thus, for thousands of years the kind of association in which democracy was practiced, the tribe or the city-state, was small enough to be suitable for some form of democracy by assembly, or “direct democracy.” Much later, beginning in the 18th century, as the typical association became the nation-state or country, direct democracy gave way to representative democracy—a......
direct development (biology)
...and a juvenile form is termed indirect development. Echinoderm development in which large eggs with abundant yolk transform into juvenile echinoderms without passing through a larval stage is termed direct development....
direct discharge station (waste management)
...(100 cubic yards) of uncompacted waste to a regional processing or disposal location. Closed compactor-type trailers are also available, but they must be equipped with ejector mechanisms. In a direct discharge type of station, several collection trucks empty directly into the transport vehicle. In a storage discharge type of station, refuse is first emptied into a storage pit or onto a......
direct dye
any of a class of coloured, water-soluble compounds that have an affinity for fibre and are taken up directly, such as the benzidine derivatives. Direct dyes are usually cheap and easily applied, and they can yield bright colours. Washfastness is poor but may be improved by aftertreatment. Most packaged dyes sold for home use are direct dyes....
direct electric action (mechanics)
As early as 1860, electric action was used experimentally, and it came into wide use at the end of the 19th century. Direct electric action, in which an electromagnet pulls the pallet open, is sometimes used, but a combination of electric and pneumatic mechanism is more general. In this system the depression of a key completes an electrical circuit, which energizes an electromagnet, allowing......
direct energy conversion (technology)
Most of these energy converters, sometimes called static energy-conversion devices, use electrons as their “working fluid” in place of the vapour or gas employed by such dynamic heat engines as the external-combustion and internal-combustion engines mentioned above. In recent years, direct energy-conversion devices have received much attention because of the necessity to develop......
direct fitness (biology)
...the role relatives play when evaluating the genetic fitness of a given individual. It is based on the concept of inclusive fitness, which is made up of individual survival and reproduction (direct fitness) and any impact that an individual has on the survival and reproduction of relatives (indirect fitness). Kin selection occurs when an animal engages in self-sacrificial behaviour that......
direct heating (process and system)
...of providing interior heating was an open fire. Such a source, along with related methods such as fireplaces, cast-iron stoves, and modern space heaters fueled by gas or electricity, is known as direct heating because the conversion of energy into heat takes place at the site to be heated. A more common form of heating in modern times is known as central, or indirect, heating. It consists of......
direct imaging (astronomy)
...sensitive to massive planets orbiting hundreds of millions of kilometres from their star and has also been used to discover a population of free-floating giant planets that do not orbit any star. Direct imaging can be done by using starlight reflected off the planet or thermal infrared radiation emitted by the planet. Imaging works best for planets orbiting those stars that are nearest to the.....
direct initiative (politics)
Through the initiative a specified number of voters may petition to invoke a popular vote on a proposed law or an amendment to a constitution. An initiative may be direct (a proposal supported by the required number of voters is submitted directly to a popular vote for decision) or indirect (the proposal is submitted to the legislature). If an indirect initiative is rejected, the proposition is......
direct investment (economics)
Long-term capital movement divides into direct investments (in plant and equipment) and portfolio investments (in securities). In the 19th century direct investment in plant and equipment was preponderant. The United Kingdom was by far the most important contributor to direct investment overseas. In the early part of the century it even contributed to the industrial development of the United......
direct liquefaction (mining process)
Hydrogenation of coal can be done directly, either from gaseous hydrogen or by a liquid hydrogen-donor solvent, or it can be done indirectly, through an intermediate series of compounds. In direct liquefaction, the macromolecular structure of the coal is broken down in such a manner that the yield of the correct size of molecules is maximized and the production of the very small molecules that......
direct loss (insurance)
Coverage on the BPP form can be written on a scheduled basis, whereby specific items of property are listed and insured, or on a blanket basis, whereby property at several locations can be insured for a single sum....
direct mail (advertising)
Coverage on the BPP form can be written on a scheduled basis, whereby specific items of property are listed and insured, or on a blanket basis, whereby property at several locations can be insured for a single sum.......
direct marketing (business)
Direct marketing is direct contact between a seller (manufacturer or retailer) and a consumer. Generally speaking, a seller can measure response to an offer because of its direct addressability. Although direct marketing gained wide popularity as a marketing strategy only in the late 20th century, it has been successfully utilized for more than one hundred years. Sears, Roebuck and Company and......
direct match test (medicine)
...the recipient’s serum for the antigens carried by the donor’s cells, the blood is not suitable for transfusion because an unfavourable reaction might occur. The test for compatibility is called the direct match test. It involves testing the recipient’s serum with the donor’s cells and by the indirect Coombs test. These are adequate screening tests for most naturally ...
direct method (chemistry)
Eigen divided the methods used to disturb systems into indirect, or competition, methods and direct, or perturbation, methods. In the indirect approach, the relaxing system is continuously disturbed. The competition between the disturbance and the relaxation process results in the establishment of a stationary state, from which information about the relaxation process must be inferred.......
direct method (education)
Teachers using the direct method use only the target language, even at the outset of instruction. They make no overt reference to grammar, which they assume will be absorbed inductively; they proceed from conversation to reading in the target language; and they give no attention to translation....
direct numerical control (technology)
...over telecommunications lines from a central computer to individual machine tools in the factory, thus eliminating the use of the punched tape altogether. This form of numerical control is called direct numerical control, or DNC....
direct obligation (economics)
...to maturity, as short-term (maturing in less than five years, often in a matter of weeks) or long-term (maturing in more than five years, up to an indefinite period), (2) by type of issuer, as direct obligations (issued and backed by the government), contingent obligations (issued typically by a governmental corporation or other quasi-governmental body but guaranteed by the government), or......
direct oxidation-reduction process (chemistry)
...metallic plutonium is usually obtained by high-temperature reduction of a halide salt (plutonium tetrafluoride or plutonium trifluoride) with calcium metal. Much use is also made of the so-called direct oxidation-reduction process, whereby PuO2 is reduced with calcium metal to plutonium metal and a calcium oxide slag:...
direct plunger lift (stage machinery)
Architecturally integrated lifts must be designed in accordance with local building-safety codes. One type of lift, the direct-plunger lift, is hydraulically driven, using a piston attached to a portion of the stage floor. The piston operates under hydraulic pressure and is expanded and collapsed to elevate the associated platform. The other type, the screw-actuated lift, is either electrically......
direct primary (politics)
...party members to vote, or open (nonpartisan), enabling all voters to choose which party’s primary they wish to vote in without declaring any party affiliation. Primaries may be direct or indirect. A direct primary, which is now used in some form in all U.S. states, functions as a preliminary election whereby voters decide their party’s candidates. In an indirect primary, voters el...
direct printing (textile industry)
method of applying a coloured pattern to cloth, invented by Thomas Bell of Scotland in 1783. A separate dye paste for each colour is applied to the fabric from a metal roller that is intaglio engraved according to the design. The technique can be used with almost any textile fabric. See also discharge printing; resist printing....
direct realism (philosophy)
...conception of human nature with the intuitive understanding that human beings have of themselves and of their fellow human beings. In that understanding, an attitude that is known to philosophers as direct, or “naive,” realism is well established. Philosophers regard it as naive because it claims that humans perceive things in the world directly and without the mediation of any......
direct recording electronic voting machine (technology)
...electronic voting is currently held in designated precincts using special-purpose machines. This type of voting mechanism is referred to as e-voting. There are two major types of e-voting equipment: direct recording electronic (DRE) machines and optical scanning machines....
direct reduction (metallurgy)
This is any process in which iron is extracted from ore at a temperature below the melting points of the materials involved. Gangue remains in the spongelike product, known as direct-reduced iron, or DRI, and must be removed in a subsequent steelmaking process. Only high-grade ores and pellets made from superconcentrates (66 percent iron) are therefore really suitable for DR iron making....
direct reuse (wastewater treatment)
There are two types of wastewater reuse: direct and indirect. In direct reuse, treated wastewater is piped into some type of water system without first being diluted in a natural stream or lake or in groundwater. One example is the irrigation of a golf course with effluent from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Indirect reuse involves the mixing of reclaimed wastewater with another body......
Direct Road to Music, The (work by Bourgeois)
...Hundredth.” He was himself responsible for about 85 melodies in the Psalter, which was completed by his successors in 1562. Bourgeois also wrote Le Droict Chemin de musique (1550; The Direct Road to Music) in which he proposed an adaptation of traditional solmization....