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 Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630


carnivore
Organism that eats other animals. In zoology, a mammal of the order Carnivora. Carnivores have the greatest range of body size of any mammalian order, from the 100 g/3.5 oz weasel to the 800 kg/1,764 lb polar bear. The characteristics of the Carnivora are sharp teeth, small incisors, a well-developed brain, a simple stomach, reduced or ...

capillary
(biology) Click images to enlargeIn biology, narrowest blood vessel in vertebrates measuring 0.008–0.02 mm in diameter, barely wider than a red blood cell. Capillaries are distributed as beds, complex networks connecting arteries and veins. The ...

Cartesian coordinates
In coordinate geometry, components used to define the position of a point by its perpendicular distance from a set of two or more axes, or reference lines. For a two-dimensional area defined by two axes at right angles (a horizontal x-axis and a vertical y-axis), the coordinates of a point are given...

cardioid
Heart-shaped curve traced out by a point on the circumference of a circle, resulting from the circle rolling around the edge of another circle of the same diameter. The polar equation of the cardioid is of the form: r = a(1 + cos θ) where the...

category
In philosophy, a fundamental concept applied to being that cannot be reduced to anything more elementary. Aristotle listed ten categories: substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, position, state, action, and passion

calculus
(mathematics) Branch of mathematics which uses the concept of a derivative to analyse the way in which the values of a function vary. Calculus is probably the most widely used part of mathematics. Many real-life problems are analysed by expressing one quantity as a function of another ...

cauterization
In medicine, the use of special instruments to burn or fuse small areas of body tissue to destroy dead cells, prevent the spread of infection, or seal tiny blood vessels to minimize blood loss during surgery

CAT scan
Sophisticated method of X-ray imaging. Quick and noninvasive, CAT scanning is used in medicine as an aid to diagnosis, helping to pinpoint problem areas without the need for exploratory surgery. It is also used in archaeology to investigate mummies. The CAT scanner passes a narrow fan of X-rays through successive `slices` of the s...

carrier
In medicine, anyone who harbours an infectious organism without ill effects but can pass the infection to others. The term is also applied to those who carry a recessive gene for a disease or defect without manifesting the condition

calcite
Colourless, white, or light-coloured common rock-forming mineral, calcium carbonate, CaCO3. It is the main constituent of limestone and marble and forms many types of invertebrate shell. Calcite often forms stalactites and stalagmites in caves and is also found deposite...

Canaries current
Cold ocean current in the North Atlantic Ocean flowing southwest from Spain along the northwest coast of Africa. It meets the northern equatorial current at a latitude of 20° N

Carboniferous period
Period of geological time roughly 362.5 to 290 million years ago, the fifth period of the Palaeozoic Era. In the USA it is divided into two periods: the Mississippian (lower) and the Pennsylvanian (upper). Typical of the lower-Carboniferous rocks are shallow-water limestones, while upper-Carboniferous rocks have delta deposits with ...

Cambrian period
Period of geological time roughly 570–510 million years ago; the first period of the Palaeozoic Era. All invertebrate animal life appeared, and marine algae were widespread. The Cambrian Explosion 530–520 million years ago saw the first appearance in the fossil record of modern animal phyla; the earliest fossils with hard shells, ...

California current
Cold ocean current in the eastern Pacific Ocean flowing southwards down the west coast of North America. It is part of the North Pacific gyre (a vast, circular movement of ocean water)

caldera
In geology, a very large basin-shaped crater. Calderas are found at the tops of volcanoes, where the original peak has collapsed into an empty chamber beneath. The basin, many times larger than the original volcanic vent, may be flooded, producing a crater lake, or the flat floor may contain a nu...

Cash, Johnny
US country singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early hits, recorded for Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, included the million-selling `I Walk the Line` (1956). Many of his songs have become classics. Cash's gruff delivery and storytelling ability distinguished his work. He was widely respected beyond the country-music fie...

Cartier-Bresson, Henri
French photographer. He is considered one of the greatest photographic artists and photojournalists. His documentary work was shot in black and white, using a small-format Leica camera. His work is remarkable for its tightly structured composition and his ability to capture the decisive moment. He was a founder member of Magnum Photos Inc, a co...

Cameron, Julia Margaret
British photographer. She made lively and dramatic portraits of the Victorian intelligentsia, often posed as historical or literary figures. Her sitters included her friends the English astronomer Sir John Herschel, the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, whose Idylls of the King she illustrated in 1872, and Charles Darwin. She used a lar...

Castilian language
Member of the Romance branch of the Indo-European language family, originating in northwestern Spain, in the provinces of Old and New Castile. It is the basis of present-day standard Spanish (see Spanish language) and is often seen as the same language, the terms castellano and español being used i...

Catalan language
Member of the Romance branch of the Indo-European language family, an Iberian language closely related to Provençal in France. It is spoken in Cataluña in northeastern Spain, the Balearic Islands, Andorra, and a corner of southwestern France. Since the end of the Franco regime in Spain 1975, Catalan nationalists have vigorously promot...

CAM
Use of computers to control production processes; in particular, the control of machine tools and robots in factories. In some factories, the whole design and production system is automated by linking CAD (computer-aided design) to CAM. Linking flexible CAD/CAM manufacturing to computer-based sales and distribution methods, creating...

CAD
Use of computers in creating and editing design drawings. CAD also allows such things as automatic testing of designs and multiple or animated three-dimensional views of designs. CAD systems are widely used in architecture, electronics, and engineering, for example in the motor-vehicle industry, where cars designed with the assistance of co...

Cayman Islands
British island group in the West Indies; area 260 sq km/100 sq mi; population (2001 est) 35,500 (mostly on Grand Cayman). The Caymans lie 160 km/100 mi south of Cuba and comprise three low-lying coral islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. The capital is George...

cathode
(chemistry) In an electrolytic cell, the negative electrode, towards which positive particles (cations), usually in solution, are attracted. See electrolysis. The cathode is given its negative charge by connecting it to the negative side of an external electrical supply. In a thermionic valve,...

Castor and Pollux/Polydeuces
In Greek mythology, the inseparable twins or sons of Leda; brothers of Helen and Clytemnestra; protectors of sailors. Their brotherly love was symbolized in the constellation Gemini. Many versions of their birth exist; in one tradition, the boys were fathered by Zeus in the form of a swan, and born from an egg. In another variation, Pol...

Carrel, Alexis
French-born US surgeon who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for his work on the techniques for connecting severed blood vessels and for transplanting organs. Working at the Rockefeller Institute, New York City, he devised a way of joining blood vessels end to end (anastomosing). This was a key move in the development...

Carolina
Area divided into two separate states of the USA; see North Carolina and South Carolina

Carné, Marcel
French director. A romantic fatalism characterizes his films, such as Le Quai des brumes/Port of Shadows (1938) and Le Jour se lève/Daybreak (1939). His masterpiece, Les Enfants du paradis/The Children of Paradise (1943–45), was made with his longtime collaborator, the p...

Carnac
Site of prehistoric megaliths in Brittany, France, where remains of tombs and stone alignments of the period 2000 to 1500 BC (Neolithic and early Bronze Age) are found. Stones removed for local building have left some gaps in the alignments. There are various groups of menhirs round the village of Carnac in the département o...

Carmichael, Hoagy
US composer, pianist, singer, and actor. Strongly influenced by ragtime and jazz music, his songs include `Stardust` (1927), `Rockin' Chair` (1930), `Lazy River` (1931), and `In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening` (1951; Academy Award)

CARICOM
Acronym for Caribbean Community and Common Market

Carlist
Supporter of the claims of the Spanish pretender Don Carlos de Bourbon (1788–1855), and his descendants, to the Spanish crown. The Carlist revolt continued, primarily in the Basque provinces, until 1839. In 1977 the Carlist political party was legalized and Carlos Hugo de Bourbon Parma (1930– ) renounced his claim as pretender and be...

caricature
In the arts or literature, an exaggerated portrayal of an individual or type, aiming to ridicule or otherwise expose the subject; in art, features are often made comical or grotesque. Classical and medieval examples of pictorial caricatures survive. Artists of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries have often used caricature as a way of satirizing ...

cargo cult
One of a number of religious movements, chiefly in Melanesia, that first appeared in the late 19th century but were particularly prevalent during and after World War II with the apparently miraculous dropping of supplies from aeroplanes. Adherents believe in the imminent arrival of European material goods, or `cargo`, by supernatural agen...

Cardin, Pierre
French pioneering fashion designer. He was the first to launch menswear (1960) and designer ready-to-wear collections (1963) and has given his name to a perfume. Cardin has franchised his name for labelling many different accessories and household products. He moved to Paris in 1944 and worked in the fashion houses of Madame Paquin, Elsa Sc...

Carchemish
Historical centre of the Hittite New Empire (c. 1400–1200 BC) on the River Euphrates, 80 km/50 mi northeast of Aleppo, and taken by Sargon II of Assyria in 717 BC. Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon defeated the Egyptians here in 605 BC

Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da
Italian early baroque painter. He was active in Rome between 1592 and 1606, then in Naples, and finally in Malta. He created a forceful style, using contrasts of light and shade, dramatic foreshortening, and a meticulous attention to detail. His life was as dramatic as his art: he had to leave Rome after killing a man in a brawl. The son of a m...

carat
Unit for measuring the mass of precious stones; it is equal to 0.2 g/0.00705 oz, and is part of the troy system of weights. Originally, one carat was the weight of a carob seed

Caracalla
Roman emperor from 211, son and successor of Septimius Severus. He accompanied his father to Britain (208–211) and when Severus died in 211 Caracalla became joint emperor with his younger brother Geta. With the support of the army he murdered Geta in 212 and became sole ruler of the empire. During his reign in 212, Roman citizenship was extend...

Capote, Truman
US novelist, journalist, and playwright. After achieving early success as a writer of sparkling prose in the stories of Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948) and the novel Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958), Capote's career flagged until the sensational `non-fiction novel` In Cold Blood<...

capital punishment
Punishment by death. Capital punishment is retained in 87 countries and territories (2001), including the USA (38 states), China, and Islamic countries. Methods of execution include electrocution, lethal gas, hanging, shooting, lethal injection, garrotting, and decapitation. It was abolished in the UK in 1965 for all crimes except treason and pirac...

capitalism
Economic system in which the principal means of production, distribution, and exchange are in private (individual or corporate) hands and competitively operated for profit. A mixed economy combines the private enterprise of capitalism and a degree of state monopoly, as in nationalized industries and welfare services. Most capitalist economies are a...

Cape Town
Port and oldest city (founded in 1652) in South Africa, situated at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, on Table Bay; population (2001) 2,893,300. Industries include oil-refining, shipbuilding, diamond-cutting, food processing, and the manufacture of plastics and clothing. The port is...

Capet, Hugh
King of France from 987, when he claimed the throne on the death of Louis V. He founded the Capetian dynasty, of which various branches continued to reign until the French Revolution, for example, Valois and Bourbon

Cape Province
Former province of the Republic of South Africa to 1994, now divided into Western, Eastern, and Northern Cape Provinces. It was named after the Cape of Good Hope. Dutch traders (the Dutch East India Company) established the first European settlement on the Cape in 1652, but it was taken by the British in 1795, after the French Revolutionary armies ...

Capek, Karel
Czech writer. His works often deal with social injustice in an imaginative, satirical way. R.U.R. (1921) is a play in which robots (a term he coined) rebel against their controllers; the novel War with the Newts (1936) is a science fiction classic

Cao Chan
Chinese novelist. His tragicomic love story Hung Lou Meng/The Dream of the Red Chamber, published in 1792, involves the downfall of a Manchu family and is semi-autobiographical

Canute
King of England from 1016, Denmark from 1018, and Norway from 1028. Having invaded England in 1013 with his father, Sweyn, king of Denmark, he was acclaimed king on Sweyn's death in 1014 by his Viking army. Canute defeated Edmund (II) Ironside at Assandun, Essex, in 1016, and became king of all England on Edmund's death. He succeeded his br...

Canterbury, archbishop of
Archbishop of the Church of England (Anglican), the primate (archbishop) of all England, and first peer of the realm, ranking next to royalty. He crowns the sovereign, has a seat in the House of Lords, and is a member of the Privy Council. He is appointed by the prime minister

Canton
(China) Alternative spelling of Guangzhou or Kwangchow, capital of Guangdong province in China

Canterbury
Historic cathedral city in Kent, southeast England, on the River Stour, 100 km/62 mi southeast of London; population (2001) 135,300. The city is the centre of the Anglican community and seat of the archbishop of Canterbury. It is a popular tourist destination. Paper, paper products, and electrical goods are manufactured here. The public sec...

cantata
In music, a work in three or more movements, using one or more vocal soloists, and sometimes a chorus. It is usually accompanied by an ensemble or small orchestra, and can be sacred or secular. The word comes from the Italian, meaning `sung`, as opposed to sonata (`sounded`, `played`) for instruments. The first printed...

Cantabrian Mountains
Mountain range running along the north coast of Spain, continuing the line of the Pyrenees westwards for about 480 km/300 mi, parallel to the coast of the Bay of Biscay. They rise to 2,648 m/8,688 ft in the Picos de Europa massif. The mountains contain coal and iron deposits, but they are of poor quality; little is mined today

Cantabria
(autonomous community) Autonomous community and province of northern Spain; area 5,289 sq km/2,042 sq mi; population (2001 est) 537,600. From the coastline on the Bay of Biscay it rises to the Cantabrian Mountains. There is some mining (iron, zinc, and some lead) here, as well as e...

Canova, Antonio, Marquese d'Ischia
Italian neoclassical sculptor. He was based in Rome from 1781. He received commissions from popes, kings, and emperors for his highly finished marble portrait busts and groups of figures. He made several portraits of Napoleon

canon law
Rules and regulations of the Christian church, especially the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Anglican churches. Its origin is sought in the declarations of Jesus and the apostles. In 1983 Pope John Paul II issued a new canon law code reducing offences carrying automatic excommunication, extending the grounds for annulment of marriage, removing...

canonization
In the Catholic Church, the admission of one of its member s to the Calendar of Saints. The evidence of the candidate's exceptional piety is contested before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints by the Promotor Fidei, popularly known as the Devil's advocate. Papal ratification of a favourable verdict results in beatification, and full s...

canonical hours
In the Catholic Church, seven set periods of devotion: matins and lauds, prime, terce, sext, nones, evensong or vespers, and compline

Canning, George
British Tory politician, foreign secretary 1807–10 and 1822–27, and prime minister in 1827 in coalition with the Whigs. He was largely responsible, during the Napoleonic Wars, for the seizure of the Danish fleet and British intervention in the Spanish peninsula

Cannes
Resort in Alpes-Maritimes département of southern France, on the Mediterranean coast and 21 km/13 mi southwest of Nice; population (1999) 67,400. Formerly a small fishing village and seaport, in 1834 Cannes attracted the patronage of the English Lord Brougham and other distinguished visitors and soon grew into a ...

cannabis
Dried leaves and female flowers (marijuana) and resin (hashish) of certain varieties of hemp, which are smoked or swallowed to produce a range of effects, including feelings of happiness and altered perception. (Cannabis sativa, family Cannabaceae.) Cannabis is a soft drug in that any dependence is psychological rather than physi...

Canetti, Elias
Bulgarian-born writer. He was exiled from Austria in 1937 and settled in England in 1939. His books, written in German, include Die Blendung/Auto da Fé (1935). He was concerned with crowd behaviour and the psychology of power, and wrote the anthropological study Masse und Macht/Crowds and Power...

cancer
Group of diseases characterized by abnormal proliferation of cells. Cancer (malignant) cells are usually degenerate, capable only of reproducing themselves (tumour formation). Malignant cells tend to spread from their site of origin by travelling through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Cancer ki...

cancan
High-kicking stage dance in fast duple time (2/4) for women (solo or line of dancers), originating in Paris, France, about 1830. The music usually associated with the cancan is the galop from Jacques Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers/Orpheus in the Underworld (1858)

Canary Islands
Click images to enlargeGroup of volcanic islands and autonomous Spanish community 100 km/60 mi off the northwest coast of Africa, comprising the provinces of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife; area 7,273 sq km/2,808 sq mi; population (1996 est) 1,606,500. Farming and fishing are important economic acti...

Camus, Albert
Algerian-born French writer. His works, such as the novels L'Etranger/The Outsider (1942) and La Peste/The Plague (1948), owe much to existentialism in their emphasis on the absurdity and arbitrariness of life. Other works include Le Mythe de Sisyphe/The Myth of Sisyphus (...

Camp David Agreements
Two framework accords agreed in 1978 and officially signed in March 1979 by Israeli prime minister Begin and Egyptian president Sadat at Camp David, Maryland, USA, under the guidance of US president Carter. They cover an Egypt–Israel peace treaty and phased withdrawal of Israel from Sinai, which was completed in 1982, and an overall Middle Eas...

Campania
Region of southern Italy, comprising the provinces of Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Naples, and Salerno; area 13,595 sq km/5,249 sq mi; population (1998 est) 5,792,600. The administrative capital is Naples; industrial centres include Benevento, Caserta, and Salerno. Agriculture is imp...

Camorra
Italian secret society formed about 1820 by criminals in the dungeons of Naples and continued once they were freed. It dominated politics from 1848, was suppressed in 1911, but many members eventually surfaced in the US Mafia. The Camorra still operates in the Naples area

Camoëns, Luis Vaz de
Portuguese poet and soldier. He went on various military expeditions, and was shipwrecked in 1558. His poem Os Lusiades/The Lusiads (1572) tells the story of the explorer Vasco da Gama and incorporates much Portuguese history; it was immediately acclaimed and has become the country's national epic. His posthumously pu...

camera
Click images to enlargeApparatus used in photography, consisting of a lens system set in a light-proof box inside of which a sensitized film or plate can be placed. The lens collects rays of light reflected from the subject and brings them together as a sharp image on the film. The opening or hole at the front of the ...

Camden Town Group
School of British painters (1911–13), based in Camden, London, led by Walter Sickert. The work of Spencer Gore (1878–1914) and Harold Gilman (1876–1919) is typical of the group, rendering everyday town scenes in post-Impressionist style. In 1913 they merged with another group to form the London Group

Cambridgeshire
County of eastern England, which has contained the unitary authority Peterborough since April 1998. Area 3,410 sq km/1,316 sq mi Towns and cities Cambridge (administrative headquarters), Ely, Huntingdon, March, Wisbech, St Neots, Whittlesey Physical county is flat with fens, whose soil is very fe...

Cambridge
(USA) City in northeastern Massachusetts, USA, on the north bank of the Charles River, just above the river's entry into Boston Harbour; seat (with Lowell) of Middlesex County; population (2000 est) 101,360. Its seaward side is industrial and includes a part of the Boston port area...

Cambrai, Battles of
Two battles in World War I at Cambrai in northeastern France as British forces attempted to retake the town from the occupying Germans, eventually succeeding on 5 October 1918. First Battle 20–27 November 1917: the city was almost captured by the British in a major offensive but heavy losses and the lack of reserve troops left the British ...

Calvinism
Christian doctrine as interpreted by John Calvin and adopted in Scotland, parts of Switzerland, and the Netherlands; by the Puritans in England and New England, USA; and by the subsequent Congregational and Presbyterian churches in the USA. Its central doctrine is predestination, under which certain souls (the elect) are predestined by God ...

calorie
C.g.s. unit of heat, now replaced by the joule (one calorie is approximately 4.2 joules). It is the heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by 1°C. In dietetics, the Calorie or kilocalorie is equal to 1,000 calories. The kilocalorie measures the energy value of food in terms of its heat output: 28 g/1 oz of protein ...

Caligula
Roman emperor (AD 37–41), son of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, and successor to Tiberius. Caligula was a cruel tyrant and was assassinated by an officer of his guard. He appears to have been mentally unstable. As a child he spent much time among the legions which his father commanded on the Rhine and was given the nickname, Caligula (...

calendar
Division of the year into months, weeks, and days and the method of ordering the years. From year one, an assumed date of the birth of Jesus, dates are calculated backwards (BC `before Christ` or BCE `before common era`) and forwards (AD, Latin anno Domini `in the year of the Lord`, or CE `commo...

Calais
Port in Pas-de-Calais département, in northern France, 238 km/148 mi north of Paris; population (1999) 77,300, conurbation 104,800. Situated on the Strait of Dover, Calais lies on the shortest crossing of the English Channel, being just 34 km/21 mi southeast of Dover, and is a major ferry port. Its strate...

Calabria
Mountainous region occupying the `toe` of Italy, comprising the provinces of Catanzaro, Cosenza, Crotone, Reggio di Calabria, and Vibo Valenzia; area 15,080 sq km/5,822 sq mi; population (2001 est) 1,993,300. A peninsula lying between the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas, Calabria is separated from Sicily by the Strait of Messina, a...

Caine, Michael
English screen actor. He is a prolific and versatile performer with an enduring Cockney streak. His first major success was in Alfie (1966). He has played historical roles in Zulu (1964) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975), hardboiled psychopaths in Get Carter (1971) and &...

Cage, John
US composer. His interest in Indian classical music led him to the view that the purpose of new music was to change the way people listen. From 1948 he experimented with instruments, graphics, and methods of random selection in an effort to generate a music of pure incident. For example, he used a number of radios, tuned to random stations, in <...

caesium
Soft, silvery-white, ductile metallic element, atomic number 55, relative atomic mass 132.905. It is one of the alkali metals that form Group 1 of the periodic table of the elements. The alkali metals increase in reactivity down the group, and caesium, with only the short-lived radioactive francium below it, is the most reactive of them all...

Caesarea
Ancient city in Palestine (now Qisarya). It was built by Herod the Great 22–12 BC, and named in honour of the Roman emperor Augustus. The constructions included an artificial harbour (portus Augusti). Caesarea was the administrative capital of the Roman province of Judaea

Caesar
Family name of Julius Caesar and later an imperial title. Julius Caesar's grand-nephew and adopted son Octavius became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (the future emperor Augustus). From his day onwards, `Caesar` became the family name of the reigning emperor and his heirs. When the emperor Nero, the last of the Julio-Claudian ...

Caedmon
Earliest known English Christian poet. According to the Northumbrian historian Bede, when Caedmon was a cowherd at the monastery of Whitby, he was commanded to sing by a stranger in a dream, and on waking produced a hymn on the Creation. The poem is preserved in some manuscripts. Caedmon became a monk and may have composed other religious poems

cadmium
Soft, silver-white, ductile, and malleable metallic element, atomic number 48, relative atomic mass 112.40. Cadmium occurs in nature as a sulphide or carbonate in zinc ores. It is a toxic metal that, because of industrial dumping, has become an environmental pollutant. It is used in batteries, electroplating, and as a constituent of alloys used...

Cabot, Sebastian
Italian navigator and cartographer, the second son of Giovanni Caboto. He explored the Brazilian coast and the Rio de la Plata for the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V 1526–30. Cabot was also employed by Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Ferdinand of Spain. He planned a voyage to China by way of the Northe...

Caboto, Giovanni
Italian navigator. Commissioned, with his three sons, by Henry VII of England to discover unknown lands, he arrived at Cape Breton Island on 24 June 1497, thus becoming the first European to reach the North American mainland (he thought he was in northeast Asia). In 1498 he sailed again, touching Greenland, and probably died on the voyage

cabinet
In politics, the group of ministers holding a country's highest executive positions who decide government policy. In Britain the cabinet system originated under the Stuarts in the 17th century. Under William III it became customary for the king to select his ministers from the party with a parliamentary majority (having the most members of Parl...

Cabinda
Coastal exclave, a province of Angola, bounded on the east and south by the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the north by the Republic of the Congo, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean; area 7,770 sq km/3,000 sq mi; population (2007 est) 68,400. The capital is Cabinda. There are oil reserves. Products include timber and phosphates. At...

Cabbala
Alternative spelling of Kabbalah

Cartwright, Edmund
English inventor. He patented the power loom (1785), built a weaving mill (1787), and patented a wool-combing machine (1789)

Cavendish, Henry
English physicist and chemist. He discovered hydrogen (which he called `inflammable air`) in 1766, and determined the compositions of water and of nitric acid. The Cavendish experiment (1798) enabled him to discover the mass and density of the Earth. Cavendish demonstrated in 1784 that water is produced when hydrogen burns in air, thus pr...

Caroline of Anspach
Queen of George II of Great Britain and Ireland. The daughter of the Margrave of Brandenburg-Anspach, she married George, Electoral Prince of Hannover, in 1705, and followed him to England in 1714 when his father became King George I

carol
Song that in medieval times was associated with a round dance; today carols are associated with festivals such as Christmas and Easter. Christmas carols were common as early as the 15th century. The custom of singing carols from house to house, collecting gifts, was called `wassailing`. Many carols, such as `God Rest You Merry Ge...

Carol II
King of Romania (1930–40). Son of King Ferdinand, he married Princess Helen of Greece and they had a son, Michael. In 1925 he renounced the succession because of his affair with Elena Lupescu and went into exile in Paris. Michael succeeded to the throne in 1927, but in 1930 Carol returned to Romania and was proclaimed king. In 1938 he introduc...

Carol I
First king of Romania (1881–1914). A prince of the house of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, he was invited to become prince of Romania, then part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1866. In 1877, in alliance with Russia, he declared war on Turkey, and the Congress of Berlin in 1878 recognized Romanian independence. He promoted economic development and in...

Caro, Anthony
(Alfred) English sculptor. His most typical work is large, brightly coloured abstract sculpture, horizontal in aspect, and made from prefabricated metal parts, such as I-beams, angles, and mesh visibly bolted together. An example is Early One Morning (1962; Tate Gall...