Pelton Wheel
a type of water turbine invented by L. A. Pelton of California, and much used in the West and in European countries where there is a high head of water without great quantity. The stream of water is directed through a nozzle against cups or buckets on the wheel's circumference so shaped that there is no waste of energy due to shock or splashing or eddying in the cups. The water strikes against the slanting inner sides and follows the rounded contour of the cups, while side thrust is prevented by having the cups arranged in pairs with a wedge between them which divides the stream of water equally. The efficiency of the Pelton wheel is very high, namely, from 80 to 87 per cent. In the Big Creek Power Plant, California, a number of wheels about eight feet in diameter, driven by 6inch jets of water, moving moving at a velocity of 300 feet per second, develop over 20,000 horsepower apiece. At Lake Fully, Switzerland, Pelton wheels are operated by jets from a 5,000-foot head of water.
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Peltry
. See Fur
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Pelvis
the lower portion of the great abdominal cavity, bounded by the abdomen above, the perineum below, the peritoneum, muscles, and fascia in front, below, and at the side; and the sacral plexus of nerves and the sacrum behind. It contains the bladder, prostate gland, vesiculæ seminales, and rectum. It is composed of the two ossa innominata, the sacrum and the coccyx. There are marked differences in the male and female pelvis; that of the male is the stronger, with a deeper and much narrower cavity; that of the female is much shallower and more widely expanded.
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Pemba
a coral island off the E. coast of Africa, in British East Africa, Zanzibar Protectorate, 50 miles N. E. of Zanzibar Island; area, 372 square miles. There are numerous bays on the E. coast; on one of them stands the chief port, Chaka. Pop. (1917) 9,000. The trade is in cattle, rice, cloves, and ebony. It was transferred by the Sultan of Zanzibar to the British East African Company in 1891. Capital, Weti. Pop. (1917) 83,130.
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Pemberton
MAX, an English novelist. He was born in 1863 in Birmingham, was educated at Cambridge, and in 1885 began writing for "Vanity Fair" and other journ journals. His first romance, "The Iron Pirate," appeared in 1893. Since then he has written: "Queen of the Jesters"; "The Garden of Swords"; "Féo"; "House Under the Sea"; "Beatrice of Venice"; "My Sword for Lafayette"; "The Show Girl"; "Captain Black"; "The Lady Evelyn"; and "Garrick" (a play).
a town in the county of Lancashire, England, two miles S. W. of Wigan. an. It has important manufactures, including cotton, chemicals and iron products. There are extensive coal mines and stone quarries in the vicinity. Pop. about 25,000.
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Pembroke
the county-town of Pembrokeshire, Wales; on a navigable creek of Milford Haven, 114 miles W. by N. of Cardiff. On the extremity of the ridge on which the town is built stands Pembroke Castle, founded in 1904 by Arnulf de Montgomery, a very imposing ruin. The birthplace of Henry VII., this castle in 1648 was taken by Cromwell after a six weeks' siege. Monktown Priory, with its roofless decorated choir, is another interesting structure. Pembroke for more than four centuries has given the title of earl to the House of Herbert. At Pembroke Dock, or Pater, 2½ mile N. W., is the naval dockyard and arsenal, established in 1814. Pop about 90,000.
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Pembrokeshire
county of Wales, on W. coast, and Bristol Channel. Is mountainous, and traversed by River Leife; and Milford Haven is important harbor for commerce and war. Coal mines are numerous, and iron ore and lead are leading minerals. In the valleys the products are barley, wheat, and green crops. Pembroke, capital; St. Davids, seat of ancient episcopal see. Pop. 89,600.
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Pemphigus
or POMPHOLYX, a skin disease which is characterized by an eruption of large vesicles, filled with serous fluid, and known as bullæ. The disease occurs both in acute and in the chronic form. In a mild case of acute pemphigus, bullæ, or blisters, from the size of a pea to that of a chestnut, appear in succession (chiefly on the extremities), and having continued three or four days break, form a thin scab, and soon heal, unaccompanied with febrile or inflammatory symptoms. In severe cases there is considerable constitutional disturbance, the bullæ are larger, and the scabs heal with difficulty. The chronic form differs mainly from the acute by its prolonged continuance. The acute variety chiefly affects children, and has been ascribed to dentition, errors of diet, etc.; while the chronic form chiefly attacks aged persons, and is probably due to debility and impaired nutrition.
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Pen Name
. See Pseudonym
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Penal Laws
laws which prohibit an act, and impose a penalty for the commission of it.
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Penal Servitude
a form of punishment in English criminal law, substituted, in 1853, for the punishment of transportation. It consists in imprisonment with hard labor for a term of years, from two up to the duration of life, in one of the penal establishments in Great Britain, or in any of the British domin- Each family had its own penates, and ions beyond the seas.
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Penance
in Roman theology and ritual: 1. The virtue which inclines the soul to detest sin for its own sake-that is, because it is an offense against God. 2. The outward acts by which sorrow for sin is evinced. 3. The satisfaction which a priest imposes on the penitent before giving absolution, often called sacramental penance. 4. A sacrament of the New Law, whereby sins, whether mortal or venial, committed after baptism, are forgiven. The Council of Trent defines that the form of the sacrament consists in the words, "Ego te absolvo," etc., the "quasi materia" in the acts of the penitent-contrition, confession and satisfaction. The minister of the sacrament is a priest with ordinary or delegated power to absolve, and the subjects those who have received baptism. It is not of obligation to confess venial sins, but mortal sins committed after baptism must be confessed.
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