reverse transcriptase: …a laboratory technology known as reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a powerful tool used in research and in the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer.

rita, in Indian religion and philosophy, the cosmic order mentioned in the Vedas, the ancient sacred scriptures of India. As Hinduism developed from the ancient Vedic religion, the concept of rita led to the doctrines of dharma (duty) and karma (accumulated effects of good and bad actions). Rita is

Chicago: Transportation: …Illinois General Assembly created the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and gave it the power to levy a sales tax to support the CTA as well as a failing commuter rail system (which was unified and named Metra). Privately owned and municipal bus routes in the suburbs were similarly united under…

Zoroastrianism: God: …Veda knows it too, as rita-druh, though the contrast is not as sharply defined as in the Avesta. Between these two principles, the Twin Spirits made an ominous choice, the Bounteous One becoming in thoughts, words, and deeds a partisan of Asha, ashavan, while the other became dregvant, partisan of…

Buddhism: Local gods and demons: …god of wealth; and especially Hayagriva, a fierce horse-faced god who is powerful in driving off unconverted demonic forces. The Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions have also identified local deities as manifestations of various buddhas and bodhisattvas. This process is particularly prominent in Japan, where the identification of buddhas and bodhisattvas…

Belgium: Media and publishing: Belgian Radio-Television of the French Community (RTBF), which broadcasts in French, and the Flemish Radio and Television Network (VRT; formerly Belgian Radio and Television [BRTN]), in Flemish, were created as public services. Both are autonomous and are managed by an administrative council. Radio Vlaanderen International…

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir: …served as director of the Reykjavík Theatre Company (Leikfélag Reykjavíkur) and participated in an experimental theatre group. During that period, she presented French lessons and cultural programming on Iceland State Television, a task that enhanced her national reputation and popularity. During the summer tourist season, she also served as a…

Scientology: Organization of the church: The Religious Technology Center (RTC) has ultimate ecclesiastical authority for the teachings of Scientology, owns all the movement’s trademarks, and grants the churches and organizations their licenses. The RTC is also charged with ensuring that the church’s procedures are followed fully and that its “spiritual technology”…

Ireland: Music and dance: …in Dublin and maintained by Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; the state-owned broadcasting company), the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra are the country’s principal orchestral groups. Ireland’s leading contemporary music ensemble, Concorde, commissions and performs the work of contemporary composers. New music is supported by the Contemporary…

protease inhibitor: …inhibitor in combination with a reverse transcriptase inhibitor, which blocks the conversion of retroviral RNA into DNA, suppresses HIV replication better than either drug alone. The most effective combination therapy used to suppress the emergence of resistant virus is highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which combines three or more reverse…

Thomas Middelhoff: …controlling interest in the Luxembourg-based RTL Group, Europe’s largest producer of radio, television, and movie content and operator of numerous radio and TV stations across the continent.

Morocco: Media and publishing: …government-owned radio and television network, Radiodiffusion Télévision Marocaine (RTM), broadcasts throughout the country. Radio broadcasts are in Arabic, French, Tamazight, Spanish, and English, while television is broadcast in Arabic, Tamazight, and French. In addition, a private television network is headquartered in Casablanca and a private radio network in Tangier.

Malaysia: Media and publishing: …in East Malaysia, the government-operated Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) broadcasts in Malay, English, and assorted Chinese languages, as well as in various indigenous languages, such as Iban in Sarawak. RTM also broadcasts internationally in Arabic, English, Chinese, and the national languages of several of Malaysia’s Southeast Asian neighbours.

materials science: Polymer-matrix composites: Resin transfer molding, or RTM, is a composites processing method that offers a high potential for tailorability but is currently limited to low-viscosity (easily flowing) thermosetting polymers. In RTM, a textile preform—made by braiding, weaving, or knitting fibres together in a specified design—is placed into…

regression to the mean (RTM), a widespread statistical phenomenon that occurs when a nonrandom sample is selected from a population and the two variables of interest measured are imperfectly correlated. The smaller the correlation between these two variables, the more extreme the obtained value is

virtual sit-in: In 2003 RTMark sponsored an effort to collect a list of product barcodes that could be replaced with others that code for less-expensive items, giving consumers the ability to set their own prices on various products.

machine-tractor station: …the stations were transformed into Repair and Technical Service Stations (Remontno-tekhnicheskie stantsii; RTS), which repaired the machinery, supplied spare parts, and continued to rent machines for special purposes—e.g., road building. In 1961 the RTS were replaced by the All-Union Farm Machinery Association (Soyuzselkhoztekhnika).

electronic strategy game: Real-time games: As personal computers became more powerful, real-time games became viable, with the first commercial success being Dune II (1992), based on American director David Lynch’s 1984 film version of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel Dune (1965). Dune II allowed players to select and…

malaria: Vaccines and other forms of prevention: …approved was RTS,S (brand name Mosquirix), which was developed by GlaxoSmithKline and which gained approval in 2015 in Europe, enabling WHO to formulate recommendations for its use in Africa. RTS,S was approved specifically for use in infants and young children aged 6 weeks to 17 months. In a study involving…

Tibet: Plant and animal life: …tree used for basketry), and rtsi-shings (the seeds of which are used for making varnish). Fruit-bearing trees and certain roots are used for food, as are the leaves of the lca-wa, khumag, and sre-ral, all of which grow in the low, wet regions. Both wild and domestic flowers flourish in…

major industrial polymers: Polysiloxanes (silicones): …forms: (1) as low-molecular-weight liquid room-temperature-vulcanizing (RTV) polymers that are interlinked at room temperature after being cast or molded into a desired shape or (2) as heat-curable, high-temperature-vulcanizing (HTV) elastomers of higher viscosity that are mixed and processed like other elastomers. RTV elastomers are usually interlinked using reactive vinyl end-groups,…

Spain: Television and radio: …of the government-owned and -controlled Radio-Televisión Española (RTVE). They still broadcast today, solely in Castilian, and have been split into separate organizations: Radio Nacional de España (RNE) and Televisión Española (TVE). Radio Exterior de España (REE) provides overseas services, broadcasting in 10 languages.

ruthenium (Ru), chemical element, one of the platinum metals of Groups 8–10 (VIIIb), Periods 5 and 6, of the periodic table, used as an alloying agent to harden platinum and palladium. Silver-gray ruthenium metal looks like platinum but is rarer, harder, and more brittle. The Russian chemist Karl

Ru kiln, kiln known for creating highly prized Chinese stoneware. The Ru kiln produced ware for a short period during the years when Northern Song emperors Zhezong (1085–1110) and Huizong (1110–1125) ruled. No more than 60 intact pieces from the kiln were known before the discovery in 1986 of the

Luan River, river in Hebei province, northern China. The Luan rises in northern Hebei and flows northward into the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region through steep gorges; in its headstream it is called the Shandian River. It passes north of the ancient Mongol capital of Shangdu (Kaiping), for which

Ru kiln, kiln known for creating highly prized Chinese stoneware. The Ru kiln produced ware for a short period during the years when Northern Song emperors Zhezong (1085–1110) and Huizong (1110–1125) ruled. No more than 60 intact pieces from the kiln were known before the discovery in 1986 of the

RU-486, first trade name for mifepristone, a synthetic steroid drug prescribed for inducing abortion during the early weeks of pregnancy. The name is derived from an abbreviation for the pharmaceutical company Roussel-Uclaf plus a serial number. RU-486 was approved for use in France in 1988, and

Ruacana, site of an important hydroelectric-power station and a diversion dam directly above the Ruacana Falls, on the Kunene River at the border between Angola and Namibia. The Ruacana Dam and power station, together with the Calueque Dam (completed in 1976) 25 miles (40 km) farther upriver in

death: Judaism: The word ruach had at all times meant “wind” but later came to refer to the whole range of a person’s emotional, intellectual, and volitional life. It even designated ghosts. Both terms were widely used and conveyed a wide variety of meanings at different times, and both…

Ruaha National Park, national park, west of Iringa town in south-central Tanzania. The park is located at an elevation of 2,500 to 5,200 feet (750 to 1,900 m) and covers an area of 5,000 square miles (12,950 square km) and was originally part of the Rungwa Game Reserve. Lying in the Eastern (Great)

Mary Macleod was a Scottish Gaelic poet who is a major representative of the emergent 17th-century poetical school, which gradually supplanted the classical Gaelic bards. Macleod’s poetry is written in simple, natural rhythms and incorporates much of the imagery of the bardic poets. It mainly deals

Roderic O’Connor was the king of Connaught and the last high king of Ireland; he failed to turn back the Anglo-Norman invasion that led to the conquest of Ireland by England. Roderic succeeded his father, Turloch O’Connor, as king of Connaught in 1156. Since Turloch’s title of high king was claimed

East Timor: History: In 2018 Taur Matan Ruak became prime minister.

pipa: This instrument eventually became the ruan, or ruanxian (named for the musician Ruan Xian, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove). The ruan differed from the qinhanzi in having a longer neck and 13 frets. In performance the ruan, which is still in use today, is held vertically…

Ruan Ji was an eccentric Chinese poet and the most renowned member of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of 3rd-century poets and philosophers who sought refuge from worldly pressures in a life of drinking and verse making. Born into a prominent family, Ruan Ji was faced with the choice

Ruan Ji was an eccentric Chinese poet and the most renowned member of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of 3rd-century poets and philosophers who sought refuge from worldly pressures in a life of drinking and verse making. Born into a prominent family, Ruan Ji was faced with the choice

Ruan Ji was an eccentric Chinese poet and the most renowned member of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of 3rd-century poets and philosophers who sought refuge from worldly pressures in a life of drinking and verse making. Born into a prominent family, Ruan Ji was faced with the choice

Ruan Yuan was a bibliophile, scholar, and official of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty who between 1817 and 1826 served as governor-general of the southern province of Guangdong, through which all British trade was required to pass. Thus, Ruan was the top Chinese official in charge of relations with the

Rwanda, landlocked country lying south of the Equator in east-central Africa. Known for its breathtaking scenery, Rwanda is often referred to as le pays des mille collines (French: “land of a thousand hills”). The capital is Kigali, located in the center of the country on the Ruganwa River. Like

Rwanda, the peoples of the Republic of Rwanda who speak an Interlacustrine Bantu language known as Rwanda (also known as Kinyarwanda). The Rwanda are divided into two main groups: the Hutu, traditionally farmers; and the Tutsi, traditionally cattle-owning pastoralists. A small third group, the

Rwanda language, a Bantu language spoken by some 12 million people primarily in Rwanda and to a lesser extent in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Tanzania. The Bantu languages form a subgroup of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Rwanda is closely

Ruanda-Urundi, twin territory in central East Africa that was administered by Belgium from 1922 to 1962 and which thereafter became the independent states of Rwanda and Burundi (qq.v.). After World War I, in 1922, with an adjustment of frontiers, a slice of what had been formerly German East Africa

pipa: This instrument eventually became the ruan, or ruanxian (named for the musician Ruan Xian, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove). The ruan differed from the qinhanzi in having a longer neck and 13 frets. In performance the ruan, which is still in use today, is held vertically…

Mount Ruapehu, active volcano and highest peak (9,176 feet [2,797 metres]) on North Island, New Zealand, in Tongariro National Park. Mount Ruapehu is situated on the Taupo Plateau, which rises 2,000 to 3,000 feet (about 600 to 900 metres) above sea level, Ruapehu erupted in 1945–46 and again in

Martin Amis: …War Against Cliché (2001), and The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump. Essays and Reportage, 1994-2016 (2017). Experience (2000), an autobiography that often focuses on his father, was acclaimed for an emotional depth and profundity that some reviewers had found lacking in his novels.

Pinocchio: Cast: Assorted

robāʿī, in Persian literature, genre of poetry consisting of a quatrain with the rhyme scheme aaba. Together with the mas̄navī (rhymed couplet), it is a purely Persian poetic genre and not a borrowing from the Arabic, as were the formal ode (qaṣīdah) and the love lyric (ghazal). It was adopted and

Islamic arts: Robāʿiyyāt: Omar Khayyam: The work done in mathematics by early Arabic scholars and by al-Bīrūnī was continued by Omar Khayyam (died 1131), to whom the Seljuq empire in fact owes the reform of its calendar. But Omar has become famous in the West through the…

Zalman Shazar was an Israeli journalist, scholar, and politician who was the third president of Israel (1963–73). Shazar early became involved in the Zionist movement while a youth in Belarus. In 1905 he joined Po’alei Zion, a Zionist workers’ party, and was briefly imprisoned by tsarist

rubato, (from Italian rubare, “to rob”), in music, subtle rhythmic manipulation and nuance in performance. For greater musical expression, the performer may stretch certain beats, measures, or phrases and compact others. The technique is seldom indicated on a musical score but may be utilized

robāʿī, in Persian literature, genre of poetry consisting of a quatrain with the rhyme scheme aaba. Together with the mas̄navī (rhymed couplet), it is a purely Persian poetic genre and not a borrowing from the Arabic, as were the formal ode (qaṣīdah) and the love lyric (ghazal). It was adopted and

robāʿī, in Persian literature, genre of poetry consisting of a quatrain with the rhyme scheme aaba. Together with the mas̄navī (rhymed couplet), it is a purely Persian poetic genre and not a borrowing from the Arabic, as were the formal ode (qaṣīdah) and the love lyric (ghazal). It was adopted and

Islamic arts: Robāʿiyyāt: Omar Khayyam: The work done in mathematics by early Arabic scholars and by al-Bīrūnī was continued by Omar Khayyam (died 1131), to whom the Seljuq empire in fact owes the reform of its calendar. But Omar has become famous in the West through the…

rubber, elastic substance obtained from the exudations of certain tropical plants (natural rubber) or derived from petroleum and natural gas (synthetic rubber). Because of its elasticity, resilience, and toughness, rubber is the basic constituent of the tires used in automotive vehicles, aircraft,

boa: The brown, 45-cm (18-inch) rubber boa (Charina bottae) of western North America is the most northerly boa and is a burrower that looks and feels rubbery. The 90-cm (35-inch) rosy boa (Charina trivirgata), ranging from southern California and Arizona into Mexico, usually is brown- or pink-striped.

bridge: Duplicate and tournament bridge: Rubber bridge is the simplest form for four players and is frequently played in casual games among friends. Chicago, or four-deal bridge, is most often used for small card parties in which several tables are used. Because a game of Chicago bridge involves only four…

India rubber plant, (Ficus elastica), large tree of the family Moraceae, once an important source of an inferior natural rubber. It was largely replaced as a source of rubber by the unrelated rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) in the early 20th century. The India rubber plant is native to Southeast

rubber tree, (Hevea brasiliensis), South American tropical tree of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Cultivated on plantations in the tropics and subtropics, especially in Southeast Asia and western Africa, it replaced the rubber plant in the early 20th century as the chief source of natural

duckpins: …variation of the game is rubber-band duckpins. In this version, the pins are the same height as in duckpins, but there is a hard rubber band about the belly of each pin, giving it greater rebounding action when hit by a ball. The ball is also the same size as…

Carlo Rubbia is an Italian physicist who in 1984 shared with Simon van der Meer the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of the massive, short-lived subatomic W particle and Z particle. These particles are the carriers of the so-called weak force involved in the radioactive decay of atomic

rubbing, one of the most universal and perhaps the oldest of the techniques used in printmaking. Rubbings are made by carefully pressing paper onto a carved or incised surface so that the paper conforms to the features to be copied. The paper is then blacked and the projecting areas of the surface

isopropyl alcohol, one of the most common members of the alcohol family of organic compounds. Isopropyl alcohol was the first commercial synthetic alcohol; chemists at the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (later Exxon Mobil) first produced it in 1920 while studying petroleum by-products. It is

tribological ceramics: Essential properties: …of tribological wear—impingement wear and rubbing wear. In impingement wear, particles impact and erode the surface. This is the major wear mechanism encountered in mineral handling, for example. Rubbing wear, on the other hand, occurs when two materials under load slide against each other. This wear occurs in such devices…

solid-waste management: Composition and properties: Refuse includes garbage and rubbish. Garbage is mostly decomposable food waste; rubbish is mostly dry material such as glass, paper, cloth, or wood. Garbage is highly putrescible or decomposable, whereas rubbish is not. Trash is rubbish that includes bulky items such as old refrigerators, couches, or large tree stumps.…

refuse disposal system, technique for the collection, treatment, and disposal of the solid wastes of a community. The development and operation of these systems is often called solid-waste

rubble masonry, the use of undressed, rough stone, generally in the construction of walls. Dry-stone random rubble walls, for which rough stones are piled up without mortar, are the most basic form. An intermediate method is coursed rubble walling, for which stones are roughly dressed and laid in

sedimentary rock: Conglomerates and breccias: Breccias are consolidated rubble; their clasts are angular or subangular. Conglomerates are consolidated gravel whose clasts are subrounded to rounded. Sometimes the term rudite (or rudaceous) is used to collectively refer to both breccias and conglomerates.

rubble masonry, the use of undressed, rough stone, generally in the construction of walls. Dry-stone random rubble walls, for which rough stones are piled up without mortar, are the most basic form. An intermediate method is coursed rubble walling, for which stones are roughly dressed and laid in

iron processing: Lumps and fines: As-mined iron ore contains lumps of varying size, the biggest being more than 1 metre (40 inches) across and the smallest about 1 millimetre (0.04 inch). The blast furnace, however, requires lumps between 7 and 25 millimetres, so the ore must…

permafrost: Soil flow: These are called rock streams or rubble sheets.

rubble masonry, the use of undressed, rough stone, generally in the construction of walls. Dry-stone random rubble walls, for which rough stones are piled up without mortar, are the most basic form. An intermediate method is coursed rubble walling, for which stones are roughly dressed and laid in

Rubtsovsk, city, Altay kray (territory), west-central Russia, on the Aley River and the Turk-Sib Railway. It is the centre of an important region of mining nonferrous ores. The city manufactures agricultural machinery, chiefly diesel tractors and electrical equipment for tractors, as well as flour

rebec, bowed, stringed musical instrument of European medieval and early Renaissance music. It was originally called a rubebe, developed about the 11th century from the similar Arab rabāb, and was carried to Spain with Muslim culture. Like the rabāb, the rebec had a shallow, pear-shaped body, but

Belarus: Belarus in the 21st century: …a devaluation of the Belarusian rubel, which shed more than 60 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar during 2011. The plummeting rubel triggered a wave of inflation, which peaked at almost 110 percent in January 2012. The Belarusian central bank responded by raising interest rates to 45 percent,…

offset printing: The offset plate is usually of zinc or aluminum or a combination of metals, with the surface treated to render it porous and then coated with a photosensitive material. Exposure to an image hardens the coating on printing areas; the coating on nonprinting areas is…

rubella, contagious viral disease that runs a mild and benign course in most people. Although rubella is not usually a serious illness in children or adults, it can cause birth defects or the loss of a fetus if a woman in the early stages of pregnancy becomes infected. German physician Daniel

virus: Annotated classification: …2 recognized genera: Alphavirus and Rubivirus. Alphavirus consists of viruses transmitted by arthropods (exclusively mosquitoes); prototypes include Sindbis virus and eastern and western equine encephalitis viruses. Rubivirus contains non-arthropod-borne viruses, including the causative agent of German measles. Family Flaviviridae

Little Armenia: …of Anatolia, by the Armenian Rubenid dynasty in the 12th century. The Rubenids ruled first as barons and then, from 1199 to 1226, as kings of Cilicia. Thereafter the family of Oshin, another Armenian noble, ruled as the Hethumid dynasty until 1342. After initial trouble with the Byzantine Empire, Little…

Rubenist, any of the artists and critics who championed the sovereignty of colour over design and drawing in the “quarrel” of colour versus drawing that broke out in the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris in 1671 (see also Poussinist). The dispute raged for many years before

Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish painter who was the greatest exponent of Baroque painting’s dynamism, vitality, and sensuous exuberance. Though his masterpieces include portraits and landscapes, Rubens is perhaps best known for his religious and mythological compositions. As the impresario of vast

Jack Ruby was an American nightclub owner who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspected assassin of Pres. John F. Kennedy, on November 24, 1963, as Oswald was being transferred to a county jail. Despite Ruby’s claims to the contrary—and a lack of evidence—some have posited that he was part of a

figure skating: Pioneers of the sport: Canadian Louis Rubenstein, a former student of Jackson Haines, was also instrumental in the development of figure skating. He led the effort to formalize competitions and tests by establishing governing bodies for skating in the United States and Canada. He helped organize the Amateur Skating Association…

measles, contagious viral disease marked by fever, cough, conjunctivitis, and a characteristic rash. Measles is most common in children but may appear in older persons who escaped it earlier in life. Infants are immune up to four or five months of age if the mother has had the disease. Immunity to

William W. Rubey was a U.S. geologist known for his theory, proposed in 1951, of the origin of the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and crust by fractional melting of the upper mantle, the Earth’s intermediate layer. Rubey was a member of the U.S. Geological Survey from 1924 until 1960, after which he

Joseph von Görres: …and published a republican journal, Das rote Blatt (“The Red Page”; renamed Rübezahl), in 1799. After an unsuccessful visit to Paris in 1799 as a political negotiator for the Rhenish provinces, he became disillusioned and withdrew from active politics. He taught natural science in Koblenz and then lectured at Heidelberg…

Rubizhne, city, eastern Ukraine, on the Donets River. The settlement dates from the 18th century and was incorporated in 1934. Rubizhne has an engineering industry and, with Lysychansk and Syeverodonetsk, is one of the most important chemical centres in Ukraine. The city’s chemical industry dates

Rubizhne, city, eastern Ukraine, on the Donets River. The settlement dates from the 18th century and was incorporated in 1934. Rubizhne has an engineering industry and, with Lysychansk and Syeverodonetsk, is one of the most important chemical centres in Ukraine. The city’s chemical industry dates

Ruvo di Puglia, town, Puglia (Apulia) regione, southeastern Italy. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Murge plateau, west of Bari city. Ancient Rubi was the centre of the Peucettii, an ancient Apulian tribe. It then became a flourishing Greek town that was famous in the 5th–3rd century bc for its

madder, (genus Rubia), genus of about 80 species of perennial plants in the madder family (Rubiaceae), several of which were once commonly used as a source of dye. Madder species are distributed throughout the Mediterranean region, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The plants are generally

madder: …common madder (Rubia tinctorum), the Indian madder (R. cordifolia), and the wild madder (R. peregrina) were formerly cultivated for a red dye known as alizarin, which was obtained from the ground-up roots. That dye was used for cloth and could be prepared and applied in such a way as to…

madder: cordifolia), and the wild madder (R. peregrina) were formerly cultivated for a red dye known as alizarin, which was obtained from the ground-up roots. That dye was used for cloth and could be prepared and applied in such a way as to yield pink and purple shades as…

madder: The common madder (Rubia tinctorum), the Indian madder (R. cordifolia), and the wild madder (R. peregrina) were formerly cultivated for a red dye known as alizarin, which was obtained from the ground-up roots. That dye was used for cloth and could be prepared and applied in…

Rubiaceae, the madder family (order Gentianales) of flowering plants, consisting of 611 genera with more than 13,150 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees, distributed primarily in tropical areas of the world. Several species are of economic importance as sources of useful chemicals, and a number are

Rubicon, small stream that separated Cisalpine Gaul from Italy in the era of the Roman Republic. The movement of Julius Caesar’s forces over the Rubicon into Italy in 49 bce violated the law (the Lex Cornelia Majestatis) that forbade a general to lead an army out of the province to which he was

Rubicon, small stream that separated Cisalpine Gaul from Italy in the era of the Roman Republic. The movement of Julius Caesar’s forces over the Rubicon into Italy in 49 bce violated the law (the Lex Cornelia Majestatis) that forbade a general to lead an army out of the province to which he was

bezique: …together, such as four (rubicon bezique), six (Chinese bezique), and even eight decks. Bezique all but died out in the 20th century under the pressure of rummy games, which are quicker and simpler.

piquet: …English club game known as rubicon piquet.

Édouard Bourdet: Bourdet’s first plays, Le Rubicon (1910) and L’Homme enchaîné (1923; “The Man Enchained”), were not successful. His reputation was secured, however, by La Prisonnière (1926; The Captive), a psychological study of the sufferings of a troubled woman. With Vient de paraître (1928; “Just Appeared”), a satire on the…

rubidium (Rb), chemical element of Group 1 (Ia) in the periodic table, the alkali metal group. Rubidium is the second most reactive metal and is very soft, with a silvery-white luster. Rubidium was discovered (1861) spectroscopically by German scientists Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff and named

rubidium-strontium dating, method of estimating the age of rocks, minerals, and meteorites from measurements of the amount of the stable isotope strontium-87 formed by the decay of the unstable isotope rubidium-87 that was present in the rock at the time of its formation. Rubidium-87 comprises