Millikan, Robert (Andrews) (b. March 22, 1868, Morrison, HI., U.S.—d. Dec. 19, 1953, San Marino, Calif.) U.S. physicist. He received his doctorate from Columbia University and taught physics at the Uni¬ versity of Chicago (1896-1921) and the California Institute of Technol¬ ogy (from 1921). To measure electric charge, he devised the Millikan oil- drop experiment. He verified Albert Einstein’s photoelectric equation and obtained a precise value for the Planck constant. He was awarded a 1923 Nobel Prize.
Millikan oil-drop experiment Vmil-s-konX First method for direct measurement of the electric charge of a single electron, originally per¬ formed in 1909 by Robert Millikan. He used a microscope to measure the rate of descent of tiny oil droplets directed through the top of a box. By halting the descent of droplets carrying their own electric charge by means of precisely adjusting the voltage between the box’s metal top and bot¬
tom, he discovered that the electric charges on the drops were all whole- number multiples of a lowest value, the elementary electric charge itself, and thus that electric charge exists in basic natural units.
milling See fulling
milling machine Machine tool that rotates a circular tool with numer¬ ous cutting edges arranged symmetrically about its axis, called a milling cutter. The metal workpiece is usually held in a vise clamped to a table that can move in three perpendicular directions. Cutters of many shapes and sizes are available for a wide variety of milling operations. Milling machines cut flat surfaces, grooves, shoulders, inclined surfaces, dove¬ tails, and T-slots. Various form-tooth cutters are used for cutting concave forms and convex grooves, for rounding comers, and for cutting gear teeth.
millipede Any of about 10,000 species of the arthropod class Diplopoda, found worldwide. Most species live in and eat decaying plant matter. Some injure living plants, and a few are predators and scavengers. Millipedes are 1—11 in. (2.5-28 cm) long and have from 11 to more than 100 diplosomites, double segments formed from the fusion of two seg¬ ments. The head is legless; the next three segments have one pair of legs each; and the remaining segments have two pairs each. In defense, mil¬ lipedes do not bite; most species tuck headfirst into a tight coil, and many secrete a pungent, toxic liquid or gas.
Mills, Billy in full William Mervin Mills (b. June 30, 1938, Pine Ridge, S.D., U.S.) U.S. athlete. Part Oglala Sioux, he spent his early years on a reservation in Pine Ridge and was orphaned at age 12. At the Uni¬ versity of Kansas he excelled in track. He became the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000-m race (1964), in an electri¬ fying upset victory over Australian Ron Clarke. In 1965 he set an outdoor world record in the 6-mi run and U.S. records in the 10,000-m and indoor 3-mi races.
Mills, C(harles) Wright (b. Aug. 28, 1916, Waco, Texas, U.S.—d. March 20, 1962, Nyack, N.Y.) U.S. sociologist. After studying at the Uni¬ versity of Texas (B.A., M.A., 1939) and the University of Wisconsin (Ph.D., 1941), Mills joined the faculty of Columbia University; there he became associated with the theories of Max Weber and with issues regard¬ ing the role of intellectuals in modern life, and he contributed to the development of a critical sociology in the U.S. and abroad. Mills believed social scientists should shun “abstracted empiricism” and become activ¬ ists on behalf of social change. His radical analysis of U.S. business and society appeared in White Collar (1951) and The Power Elite (1956); other works include The Causes of World War Three (1958) and The Sociological Imagination (1959). A colourful public figure, he wore black leather and rode a motorcycle. His death at 45 resulted from heart dis¬ ease.
Mill's methods Five methods of experimental reasoning distinguished by John Stuart Mill in his System of Logic (1843). Suppose one is inter¬ ested in determining what factors play a role in causing a specific effect, E, under a specific set of circumstances. The method of agreement tells us to look for factors present on all occasions when E occurs. The method of difference tells us to look for some factor present on some occasion when E occurs and absent on an otherwise similar occasion when it does not. The joint method of agreement and difference combines the two pre¬ vious methods. The method of residues applies when part of E is expli¬ cable by reference to known factors, and tells us to attribute the “residue” to the remaining circumstances under which E occurs. The method of concomitant variation is used when E can be present in various degrees; if we identify a factor F, such as temperature, whose variations are posi¬ tively or negatively correlated with variations in E, for instance, size, then we can infer that F is causally connected with E.
millstone Either of two flat, round stones used for grinding grain to make flour. The stationary bottom stone is carved with shallow grooved channels that radiate from the centre. The upper stone rotates horizon¬ tally, and has a central hole through which grain is poured. The channels of the bottom stone lead the grain onto the flat grinding section, called the land, and to the edge, where it emerges as flour. The best millstones are made from French buhrstone, quarried near Paris. In the U.S., quartz conglomerate, quartzite, sandstone, or granite is used. Stone-ground flour accounts for only a small proportion of milled flour today.
Milne Vmiln\, A(lan) A(lexander) (b. Jan. 18, 1882, London, Eng.—d. Jan. 31, 1956, Hartfield, Sussex) English writer. He joined the
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staff of Punch in 1906 and produced successful light comedies and a memorable detective novel. The Red House Mystery (1922), before verses written for his son Christopher Robin grew into the collections When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927), which became beloved classics. Stories about the adventures of Christopher Robin and the toy animals Pooh, Pig¬ let, Kanga, Roo, Tigger, Rabbit,
Owl, and Eeyore are told in the immensely popular Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Cor¬ ner (1928).
Milne Bay Inlet of the South Pacific Ocean, Papua New Guinea.
Located at the southeastern end of the island of New Guinea, the bay is 30 mi (50 km) long and 6-8 mi (10-13 km) wide. A Spanish explorer charted the bay in 1606; it was named by the British for Adm. Alexander Milne in 1873. European interest in it increased during the 1889-99 gold rush. Samarai, an island in the China Strait, became a boomtown from which prospectors spread through the islands of Milne Bay and to the mainland. As a Japanese base of operations in World War II, Milne Bay was the scene of Japan’s first major setback in 1942, and it served as an Allied base for the remainder of the war.
Milner, Alfred later Viscount Milner (of St. James's and Cape Town) (b. March 23, 1854, Giessen, Hesse-Darmstadt—d. May 13, 1925, Sturry Court, near Canterbury, Kent, Eng.) British high com¬ missioner in South Africa (1897-1905). At the crucial Bloemfontein Con¬ ference with Pres. Paul Kruger (1899), Milner advocated granting full citizenship to the Uitlanders (British residents in the Transvaal) after five years’ residence. Kruger opposed the policy but was prepared to make concessions. Milner was not, claiming that “war has got to come”; Boer forces invaded Natal four months later, marking the beginning of the South African War. Milner later served as secretary for war (1916-19) and colonial secretary (1919-21).