Acer
a genus of arborescent or shrubby plants, order acerineæ, which are extremely valuable for the sake either of their timber, or of their ornamental appearance. The acer rubrum, or red maple, is a tree 50 feet in height, very common in low woods throughout the Atlantic States. The wood, particularly that of the variety called curled maple, is much used in cabinet work. The acer saccharinum, or sugar tree, is a tree 70 feet in height, 3 feet in diameter, found throughout the United States, and constituting the greater part of some of the forests of New England. The wood is hard and has a satin luster, but it is readily attacked by insects, and is not ready of much value, except when its grain is accidentally waved, and then it is in request for the cabinet-makers. The saccharine matter contained in its ascending sap, obtained by tapping the trunk in the spring, is perhaps the most delicious of all sweets; an ordinary tree yields from 5 to 10 pounds in a season.
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Acerbas
A priest of Hercules at Tyre, who married Dido , the sister of Pygmalion . When Acerbas was murdered by Pygmalion for his riches, Dido fled from Phoenicia to Africa and founded the city of Carthage. Vergil calls the husband of Dido, Sichalus, which Servius, in his Commentary on Vergil, says is a modified form of Sicharbes. 2026 Editor's Note: The name Acerbas is likely a Latinized form of the Phoenician name Zikarbaal, a name also associated with a king of Byblos in the Egyptian Tale of Wenamon. While Virgil's Aeneid popularized the name Sychaeus for this figure, the commentator Servius noted that Virgil often altered foreign names for poetic convenience. The wealth Acerbas concealed from his brother-in-law Pygmalion ultimately funded the expedition that established Carthage in modern-day Tunisia. (Ed: BR 2026-06-02)
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Acetanilid
more commonly known as anti-febrin. Formula CoHS NHCOCH3. Its melting point is 237° F. It boils at 563° F. It dissolves in alcohol, ether, and hot water, less readily in cold water. Its principal use in medicine is as a sedative and febrifuge, but it should be used with great caution unless prescribed by a physician.
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Acetones
or KETONES, are the aldehydes of secondary alcohols (see ALCOHOL). Thus secondary propyl alcohol, when oxidized, loses two atoms of hydrogen, and gives dimethyl ketone, ordinarily known as acetone. Acetone. Secondary Propyl Alcohol. CH-CHOH-CH-H2=CH3-CO-CH2. A series of such acetones is known, of which acetone is typical. It may be preby distilling acetate of calcium. It pared by is a limpid liquid, having a taste like that of peppermint, and is readily soluble in alcohol, ether, and water. Its sp. gr. is about.79, its boiling point being 130° F. (56° C.). It has recently been used in America for the manufacture of chloroform, which is obtained from it by distillation with bleaching-powder. It is a solvent for gums and resins, as well as for gun-cotton.
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Acetylene Gas
an illuminating gas formed by the action of water on CALCIUM CARBIDE (q. v.). This gas has 3-Vol. I-Cyc come into general favor with cyclists for its brilliancy, safety, and the persistence of its flame in all circumstances. Recent experiments made to produce cheaper calcium carbide, by a new process, resulted in demonstrating that it can be produced at a cost of from half a cent to three cents a pound, or one-fifth its original cost. This will bring acetylene gas within the reach of every one, and it will probably eventually supersede many other forms of lighting. One kilogram of calcium carbide produces about 300 litres of acetylene gas. Acetylene takes fire at 480° Cent.; at 700° it decomposes into carbonic acid and hydrogen.
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Acetylene Lamp
a lamp designed for utilizing acetylene as an illuminant. Acetylene lamps have come into general cartridges filled with calcium carbide are used, and the dropping of the water into the cartridge is regulated by an adjustable valve. The acetylene flame is very brilliant. Greek province. See
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Achaemenides
A branch of the Persian tribe of of Pasargada, named from Achaemenes, the founder of the line, and from whom the Persian kings, according to Herodotus , were descended.
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Achaia
a small Greek district lying along the N. coast of the Peloponnesus. Achaia forms, along with Elis, a depart ment in the modern kingdom, and its chief town is Patras. As the Achaians (Achæans) were the ruling people of the Peloponnesus in heroic times, Homer speaks of the Greeks generally as Achaioi. Their 12 little towns formed a confederacy, renewed in 281 B. c., and subsequently extended, under the name of the Achæan League, throughout Greece, until 146 b. C., when Greece fell under the power of Rome. Pop. 225,000.
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Achard
LOUIS AMÉDÉE (ä-shär'), a French novelist and publicist, born in 1814. Originally a merchant, he became a contributor to several papers in Paris in 1838. After the revolution of 1848 he was for a time active as a political writer in support of the royalist cause. He depicts pre-eminently conflicts in family life and society. He died in 1875.
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Acheans
a gene by Homer to designate the whole Hellenic host before Troy, from their mythological ancestor, Achæus, grandson of Helen.
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Achei
the descendants of Achæus, the son of Zuthus, and grandson of Helen. Achæus, having committed manslaughter, was compelled to take refuge in Laconia, where he died, and where posterity remained under the name of Achæi, until they were expelled by the Heraclidæ. Upon this, they passed into the northern parts of Peloponnesus, and, under the command of Tisamenus, the son of Orestes, took possession of the country of the Ionians, and called it Achaia. The successors of Tisamenus ruled until the time of Gyges' tyranny, when Achaia was parceled into 12 small republics. Three of these- Patræ, Dyme, and Phare-became famous as a confederacy, 284 B. c., under the name of the Achæan League. At last, however, they were attacked by the Romans, and, after one year's hostilities, the Achæan League was totally destroyed. B. c. 147.
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Acheson
EDWARD GOODRICH, an American inventor, born in Washington, Pa., in 1856. He received an academic education and for a short time acted as assistant of Thomas A. Edison. He invented carborundum, silicon, and several methods of making graphite. He has received medals from many American and foreign scientific societies, and has been president of the American Chemical Society and an officer and member of many other chemical societies.
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