Atlantosaurus
a gigantic fossil reptile, order dinosauria, obtained in the upper Jurassic strata of the Rocky Mountains, attaining a length of 80 feet or more.
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Single-source entries: A (109)
These 12 listings are so strange that each appears in only one of the 7 encyclopedias we compared. They include such classics as Atlantosaurus, Atlas, Atlas.
Atlas
in Greek mythology, the name of a Titan, whom Zeus condemned to bear the vault of heaven. The same name is given to a collection of maps and ATLAS charts, and was first used by Gerard Mercator in the 16th century, the figure of Atlas bearing the globe being given on the title-pages of such works.
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Atlas
an extensive mountain system in north Africa, starting near Cape Nun, on the Atlantic Ocean, traversing Morocco, Algiers and Tunis, and terminating on the coast of the Mediterranean; divided generally into two parallel ranges, running W. to E., the Greater Atlas lying toward the Sahara, and the Lesser Atlas toward the Mediterranean. The principal chain is about 1,500 miles long, and the principal peaks rise above or approach the line of perpetual congelation. The highest elevations are almost 15,000 feet, many other peaks averaging 11,000 feet. Silver, antimony, lead, copper, iron, etc., are among the minerals. The vegetation is chiefly European in character, except on the low grounds and next the desert.
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Atlas
in anatomy, is the name of the first vertebra of the neck, which supports the head. It is connected with the occipital bone in such a way as to permit of the nodding movement of the head, and rests on the second vertebra, or axis, their union allowing the head to turn from side to side.
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Atlas Mons
Was the general name of the great mountain range which covers the surface of north Africa between the Mediterranean and the Great Desert (Sahara) on the north and south, and the Atlantic and the Lesser Syrtis on the west and east.
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Atmadhyana
In the Rajah Yoga philosophy of S'rimat Sankaracharya, Atmadhyana is one of the stages necessary to acquire the knowledge of the unity of the soul with Brahman. It is the fourteenth stage and is the condition of highest joy arising from the belief, "I am Brahman."
Only in An Encyclopaedia of Occultism
Atman
translated "Soul," but better rendered Self," and meaning in the Hindu religion the union of the soul Aura with God. It is believed that the soul is neither body nor mind, nor even thought, but that these are merely conditions by which the soul is clouded so that it loses its sense of oneness with God. In the Upanishads it is said Self, smaller than small, greater than great, is hidden in the heart of the creature;" and "In the beginning there was Selt." "The
Only in An Encyclopaedia of Occultism
Atmospheric Pressure
the pressure exerted by the atmosphere, not merely downward, but in every direction. It amounts to 14.7 pounds of weight on each square inch, which is often called in round numbers 15. On a square foot it is 2,160 pounds, or nearly a ton. It would act upon our bodies with crushing effect were it not that the pressure, operating in all directions, produces an equilibrium. If any gas or liquid press upon a surface with a force of 15 pounds on a square inch, it is generally described as having a atmosphere; if 60 pressure of one pounds, of four atmospheres; if 120 pounds, of eight atmospheres, and so on.
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Atoll
the name applied by geologists and others to any one of the lagoon islands, or annular coral reefs found in the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, the Red Sea, and some other parts of the tropics. An atoll is a ring of coral rock, oval rather than circular in form. On the top of the coral rock, which rises but slightly above the sea-level, is vegetation of some luxuriance. On the convex circumference of the ring is a beach of white sand, exterior to which is a line of breakers. The ring of land, which is less than half a mile across, encircles a lagoon. In the larger atolls there are generally two or three breaks in the ring, affording ship channels into the lagoon; these mark the spots where fresh water, discharged from the old subsiding land into the sea, prevented the coral animals, which are marine, from locating themselves or building.
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Atom
in mental philosophy, a particle of matter so infinitely small that it cannot again be subdivided. In natural philosophy, one of the exceedingly minute ultimate particles of matter, aggregates of an immense number of which, held in their place by molecular forces, constitute all material bodies. In chemistry, the smallest particle into which an element can be divided. An atom cannot exist in a separate state, but unites with one or more atoms to form a molecule. The atoms of different elements have definite relative weights fixed and invariable for each, the weight of an atom of hydrogen being regarded as unity.
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Atomic Philosophy
in mental and natural philosophy, the doctrine of atoms, broached by Leucippus, developed by Democritus and modified by Epicurus. It represented atoms as possessed of gravity and motion, and attributed to their union the formation of all things.
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Atomic Weights
the proportions by weight in which the various elementary substances unite together. It is necessary that one element be selected as the starting-point of the series and an arbitrary sum affixed to it, so that thereby all the other elements can have their sums awarded to them, according to the proportional amounts in which they combine with each other. The second law mentioned under the atomic theory explains the manner in which this can be done, and how far the numbers are arbitrary. In all systems of atomic weights in modern use, the atomic weight of hydrogen is taken as unity, and the atomic weight of the other elements are then fixed, so as to give on the whole the simplest and most consistent formula for their compounds. There are two systems of atomic weights at present in use: (1) The old system, which, after much discussion, was adopted about 1845; and (2) the new system, which is, in many respects, a revival of the system of Berzelius, and which may be said to have come into general use by scientific chemists about 1860. ficial offering made by Christ in expiation of the sins, according to the Calvinists, of the elect only; according to the Arminians, of the whole human race. The Day of Atonement, or the Great Day of Atonement, was on the of the seventh month. It is still observed as a day of humiliation and supplication by Hebrews all over the world.
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