R

RABSHAKEH

R, eighteenth letter and fourteenth consonant of the English alphabet; is a lingual and a liquid or semivowel, being pronounced both before and after most other consonants; found in all languages except the Chinese and the tongues of some of the N. American Indians. See ABBREVIATIONS.

Ra, Egyptian "sun god," "father of gods and men," in whom in particular the solar worship of the Egyptians was centered. Heliopolis contained his principal sanctuary and was the center of his cult, which was very ancient. He was regarded as the offspring of the celestial ocean, and was believed to have appeared first at Heracleopolis, where he gained a victory over the "children of the rebels" and assumed divine rule over the world. So long as he was young his kingdom was strong, but with advancing age his subjects became rebellious. With the aid of Hathor he revenged himself on mankind and almost utterly destroyed them. Such are the main features of the myth of Ra. The "Adoration of Ra was

one of the chief and best known poems of the

Book of the Dead.

Raba'nus, or Hrabanus, Mau'rus, abt. 776856; German theologian; b. Mentz; founded at Fulda the first convent school in Germany, 804; wished to free the German Church from the influence of Rome, and succeeded in introducing the rule that the clergy should only preach in the native tongue; became archbishop of Mentz, 847; wrote Glossaria Latinotheodisca" (now an important monument of the earliest phase of the German language), De Universo," "De Arte Grammatica Prisciani," and several theological treatises.

Rab'bi, title of honor anciently employed by the Jews to designate those learned in the law, in which sense it is frequently found in the gospels; also used by disciples of other teachers; was applied to John the Baptist (John iii, 26) and to Jesus Himself (e.g., Matt. xxvi, 25; 49; Mark x, 31; John i, 38). Luke employs the term didaskale-i.e., teacher-but this is only the Greek translation of rabbi. The term rab is applied by Oriental Jews in a manner similar to the use of the English esquire."

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Rab'bit, English name for many species of the family Leporida, but more especially applicable to Lepus cuniculus; found throughout Europe (except in its more N. portions), as well as the contiguous portions of Asia and N. Africa; also naturalized in Australia, where it is a serious pest, and elsewhere. It lives in communities, burrows in the ground, and brings forth its young blind and naked. It is very prolific, beginning to breed at the age of about six months, and having several litters in the course of a year, and in each litter some four to eight young ones. In the U. S. the name is given to all species, the best known of which is the common small rabbit of the

cuniculus excepted), agrees with the hare in making, forms instead of burrowing, and its young is provided with hair and is able to see. See HARE.

Rabelais (rä-bla'), François, abt. 1490-1553; French author; b. Chinon, Touraine; ordained, 1511. His Franciscan fellow monks being fiercely hostile to his favorite study of Greek, Clement VII permitted him, 1524, to join the Benedictines; but, 1530, he went to Montpellier to study medicine, and subsequently became physician to Cardinal du Bellay, ambassador to Rome, who, 1536, obtained for him from Paul III a remission of the penalties for deserting his order. He was next a member of the abbey of St. Maur des Fossés, at Paris, till 1542, when he became curate of Meudon. His fame rests on his " Gargantua and Pantagruel" (Les faits et dicts du géant Gargantua et de son fils Pantagruel), in which he assailed all established authorities. Gargantua is supposed to stand for Francis I, Pantagruel for Henry II, Grandejument de Gargantua for Diana of Poitiers, Panurge for Cardinal de Lorraine, and other characters for various celebrated persons.

Lord Bacon called Rabelais "the great jester of France"; others have called him a "comic Homer." His work abounds with good sense and folly, delicate thoughts and gross obscenities; but was entirely in accordance with the prevailing taste, and had a prodigious success.

Rabies (ra'bi-ez). See HYDROPHOBIA.

Rabshak'eh, high officer in the Assyrian army, next in rank to the tartan, or field marshal. At times he seems also to have been employed as interpreter and ambassador. It is he who carries on the negotiations with the officers of King Hezekiah of Judah (702 B.C.) before the walls of Jerusalem, during the campaign of Sennacherib. A similar officer is sent by Tiglath-Pileser II on a mission to Tyre, 734 B.C.

RACCOON

Raccoon', or (often) Coon, common name for a small carnivorous mammal (Procyon lotor), the best-known member of the family Procyonida, a group nearly related to the bears; is about 2 ft. long, without the tail;

RACCOON.

body stout, tail rather short and bushy; feet furnished with slender toes; fore feet fitted for grasping; animal climbs well. It is readily tamed; is an amusing but mischievous pet; has the peculiar habit of washing its food; is found throughout the greater part of the U. S. Race. See ETHNOLOGY.

Ra'chel, native of N. Mesopotamia; younger daughter of Laban; favorite wife of Jacob; and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Her tomb, about 4 m. from Jerusalem on the road to Bethlehem, though of modern construction, undoubtedly marks the site of her burial, described in Genesis xxxv, 19, 20.

Rachel (rä-shel'), ELISABETH RACHEL FELIX, 1820-58; French actress; b. Mumpf, Switzerland; accompanied her father, a Jewish peddler, as a strolling singer and guitar player, and attracted attention while singing in a Paris café. Choron instructed her in music, and Saint-Aulaire in elocution. Her private performance of Hermione procured her admission, 1836, to the Conservatory; and, 1837, she appeared at the Gymnase Theater in a vaudeville, but without much success. In the meantime she studied under Samson, and on September 7, 1838, produced a great sensation as Camille in Corneille's "Les Horaces" at the Théâtre Français, and subsequently as Phèdre and in other personations of lofty classical heroines. The magnetism of her gestures and voice produced wonderful effects, and she combined the power of expressing the fiercest emotions with the utmost repose, grace, and dignity of manner. She also excelled as Joan of Arc, Mary Stuart, and Adrienne Lecouvreur; and during the excitement of 1848 produced a great effect by her thrilling rendition of the Marseillaise." From 1849 she performed for six months annually in the French provinces, England, Russia, etc. In 1855 she visited the U. S. with her brother Raphael and her sisters Sarah, Lia, and Dinah.

Racine (ra-sen'), capital of Racine Co., Wis.; on Lake Michigan, at mouth of Root

RACKETS

River; 25 m. S. by E. of Milwaukee; has one of the best harbors on the lake; is connected with the principal lake ports by steamboat and propeller lines; and has considerable shipping of its own. The educational institutions include Racine College (Protestant Episcopal), St. Catharine's Academy (Roman Catholic), the McMurphy Home School (Protestant Episcopal), and Racine Academy (nonsectarian), and the benevolent institutions, St. Luke's Hospital and the Taylor Orphan Asylum. There are four libraries. The principal industries are the manufacture of agricultural implements, carriages and wagons, leather trunks and valises, and malt liquors. Pop. (1905) 32,987.

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Racine (rä-sen'), Jean Baptiste, 1639-99; French dramatist; b. La Ferté-Milon; gained fame, 1667, by his tragedy Andromaque," and in rapid succession appeared "Les plaideurs," a comedy, and the tragedies "Britannicus," "Bérénice," "Bajazet," Mithridate," "Iphigénie en Aulide," and Phedre," which made him the rival of Corneille. Owing to the intrigues of his enemies against the success of the last-named play, he devoted himself exclusively to his duties as historiographer of the reign of Louis XIV. At the suggestion of Mme. de Maintenon he wrote, 1689, Esther," a biblical drama, for the Seminary of St. Cyr, and, 1691, "Athalie," one of his masterpieces. Louis XIV took umbrage at his memoir on the unhappy condition of France, which, 1697, Mme. de Maintenon had induced him to write. This produced a painful if not fatal impression on his health.

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Rack, engine of judicial torture, formerly much employed in Europe to compel accused persons to plead guilty and to obtain satisfactory testimony from recusant witnesses; introduced into England, 1447, by the Duke of Exeter, constable of the Tower of London; 1628 was pronounced illegal by the courts. The victim was stretched on a platform of wood; cords were attached to his limbs, and then strained by pulleys until the sufferer yielded or had his joints dislocated.

Rack. See ARRACK.

Rack'ets, or Racquets, game originally similar to tennis, now played with a ball and racket bat in a closed court, about 60 ft. long and 30 ft. wide. The front wall has two lines

RACKET.

marked on it, the first (play line) 2 ft. from the floor and the second (service line) 8 ft. front wall is marked off into two courts by a The half of the floor space farthest from the line midway between the side walls. One player stands in each court. The first serves the ball so that it may rebound from the front

RADCLIFFE COLLEGE

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wall above the service line and strike in the opposite court, the second returns it above the play line, and so on. The server is allowed one fault"-i.e., if on his first attempt the ball strikes between the two lines, or rebounds to a part of the floor not his opponent's court, and the second player declines to return it, he may serve again. If the second player fails to return the ball properly, the first scores one; if the server fails, his hand is out" and his opponent serves. The one who first scores fif

teen wins.

Rad'cliffe Col❜lege. See HARVARD UNIVER

SITY.

Radetzky (rä-děts'kē), Johann Joseph Wenzel Anton Franz Karl (Count), Austrian marshal; b. Trzebnitz, Bohemia; entered the army, 1784; fought with distinction at Aspern and Wagram, 1809; at Kulm and Leipzig, 1815; commander in chief of Austrian troops in Italy, 1831; field marshal, 1836; put down the revolution in Milan and Venice, 1848, though then over eighty years old; won the victories at Custozza and Novara over the Piedmontese, and governed the Austrian possessions in Italy to February 28, 1857.

Radia'ta, one of the four great groups or branches into which Cuvier divided the animal kingdom, and which included those forms in which the parts radiated from a central axis, like the spokes from the hub of a wheel. It included as limited by him, the Cœlenterates, Ctenophores, Gephyrea, Polyzoa, Protozoa, and Parasitic Worms of later zoölogists. It was soon found that some of these forms had other

affinities, and the ill-assorted group disappeared from European works about the middle of the nineteenth century, but lingered in the U. S. for twenty years more.

Radia'tion, a general name for the process of emission of various forms of energy from material bodies, or for the energy itself as it travels from one body to another: so called because the energy moves generally in straight lines or rays. According to modern ideas,

when the energy is in the form of a wave in the ether, the ray is merely an imaginary line perpendicular to the wave front. In cases in which the energy is emitted as the kinetic energy of actually moving particles, the "ray may be the path of these particles.

The most usual and most important radiation is that in the form of ether waves. These differ in wave length and in the effects that they produce. These effects were formerly thought to be the separate products of entirely

different waves; hence the names

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The

heat rays,' "light rays," "chemical rays," "electro-magnetic radiation," etc. Ether waves vary in length from a fraction of a micron (a millionth of a meter, written as μ) up to infinity. shortest hitherto measured (though there are doubtless others shorter) is 0.1 μ. From this up to 0.39 μ they are called "ultra-violet rays," and are invisible, being known only by their chemical and physiological effects. From 0.39 μ to 0.77 μ they constitute the visible spectrum (light rays) and have the power of stimulating the retina. Beyond 0.77 (infra-red

RADIOLARIA

rays) they are again invisible, though they may be detected for some distance by heat effects.

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The chemical effects of rays extend into the upper part of the visible spectrum, and not only do the so-called heat rays include also the light rays " of the lower, or red, end of the visible spectrum, but heat effects exist to some extent throughout. Between the heat rays and the shortest "electric," or 66 "Hertzian," rays yet measured there is an unexplored region. Electric waves as short as 0.3 centimeter (3,000 μ) have now been produced, and they may be made as long as desired. All these waves consist of motions in the ether, transverse to the direction of propagation of the wave, and all travel with the same velocitythat of light.

Radiation is studied by means of its effects. That which affects the eye (light) is observed and measured by means of various optical instruments. The thermal, or heat, rays, including nearly all of the luminous rays as well as the infra-red, are studied by means of the thermopile, the bolometer, and other instruments for detecting and measuring heat. The ultraviolet rays are studied by their photographic effect, and the very long, or electro-magnetic, tection, like that employed in the receiver of a waves require special apparatus for their dewireless-telegraph installation.

Until recently it was supposed that all radiation was a wave phenomenon, but this name in the last few years has been given to rays otherwise produced, such as the "X-rays" and the "Becquerel rays." The former are now bestead of ordinary waves, and the latter to be lieved to consist of impulses in the ether, indue to particles actually emitted by the radioactive body.

Rad'icals, in chemistry, term applied to a group of elements that can pass unchanged through a series of compounds by chemical reactions. Thus in the salts formed by ammonia with acids the presence of the hypothetical radical ammonium, NH,, is assumed. So, too, in all cyanogen compounds the group CN is assumed. Among the compounds of carbon such groups are very common, so much so that Liebig proposed the name chemistry of the compound radicals for organic chemistry. Thus alcohol is a compound of the group or radical ethyl, C2H,, with the group or radical hydroxyl, OH. Or alcohol is the hydrate of this radical; ether is the oxide (C2H,) 20. Some of these organic radicals are called residues or rests. Thus ethyl, C,H,, is the residue or rest of ethane, C2H.. It is that which is left after one atom of hydrogen has been removed.

Ra'diograph. See X-RAYS.

Radiola'ria, subclass of Rhizopodus Protozoa which occur in the sea, at times extremely abundant; body divided into two portions, inner and outer, by a perforated membrane; inner portion is the nucleus, while the outer contains no nuclei, but gives rise to numerous radiating filaments of protoplasm. There is in addition, frequently, a skeleton, either horny or flinty, and often of extreme beauty.

RADIOMETER

The central protoplasm alone is concerned in reproduction, and in it are found spores which in turn develop into embryos.

Radiom'eter, in physics, any instrument for the detection and measurement of radiant heat. An early form was the differential thermometer of Leslie, which consisted of two glass bulbs, the necks of which were joined. The air contained within these bulbs is separated by means of a column of liquid. (See Fig. 1.) One of these bulbs being subjected to the radiant heat while the other was protected, the expansion of the atmosphere in the heated bulb served to drive the liquid column along the tube, bringing it to rest in a new position.

Many other forms of radiometer have been described, including the thermogalvanometer of D'Arsonval, the tasimeter of Edison, and

the selenium cell. The thermogalvanometer, which, under the name of the radiomicrometer, consists of a small light thermocouple of bismuth and antimony, closes upon itself so as to form a complete circuit. The same is suspended in a strong magnetic field by means of a quartz fiber. When one of the bismuth-antimony junctions is exposed to radiation differences of potential arise, and, since the circuit is of low resistance, a considerable current flows. In consequence of this current the suspended thermoelement tends to turn in the field, and the movement is noted by means of a very small light mirror and a telescope and scale. The tasimeter depends for its action upon the change of contact resistance of carbon with change of pressure. A vulcanite strip is so placed that one end of it rests upon a microphone button. Vulcanite possesses a large coefficient of expansion. When subjected to radiation its elongation is sufficient materially to compress the carbon button, reducing the resistance of the same, and thereby increasing the flow of the current through a galvanometer in circuit with the latter.

The instrument with which the name radiometer is most generally connected is Crookes's radiometer (Fig. 2). It consists of a set of four mica veins mounted at the ends of arms and revolving upon a needle point. The ar

VARIETIES OF RADISH. 1. Chinese winter. 2. Oliveshaped. 3. Long. 4. Turnip-shaped.

is stimulant, diuretic, and antiscorbutic. The seeds of some varieties yield an oil almost identical with rape and colza oil.

Ra'dium, an element, probably the rarest and at present the most costly in existence, characterized by very great radio-activity. This property, first discovered in certain other substances by Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, consists in ability to give off normally the radiation at first generally known, from his name, as "Becquerel rays." These have many properties in common with the Roentgen or X-rays, and are now believed to consist in part of such rays, or very similar radiation, together with very small particles in several forms. The supposed existence of such particles, smaller than atoms, has given rise to a new theory of matter, and in general the theories advanced to account for the unusual phenomena exhibited by radium and its congeners are regarded by many as having revolutionized the conceptions of modern physics.

Radium was discovered by Prof. and Mme. Curie, of Paris, as the result of a successful attempt to extract the radio-active principle of uranium, then the most radio-active substance known. It is now obtained chiefly from pitchblende, a uranium ore found mostly in

the Hartz Mountains. It has not been isolated, but is sold in the form of some one of its salts; generally the chlorid. Of this only a few ounces are believed to be in existence. At first the continued emission of energy by the radio-active substances was thought to contravene the law of the Conservation of Energy, but it is now recognized that this emission is the result of a slow change taking