Papen
CAMERA PRESS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Papuan languages ► Paraguana Peninsula I 1445
'140°
'150°
0°
Equator
NINIGO
GROUP
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS ^
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PA CI FI C OCEAN
Mt. Wilhelm 14,762 ft.±
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NATIONAL PARK
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Gulf of Papua
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SEA
5 2002 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
took over the northeastern sector. In 1906 the British part (renamed Papua) passed to Australia, which also governed the Ger¬ man sector after World War I. After World War II, Australia governed both sectors as the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. Dutch New Guinea was annexed to Indonesia in 1969. Papua New Guinea achieved independence in 1975 and joined the British Commonwealth. By the mid-1990s the government of Papua New Guinea was seeking to resolve a long-standing conflict with Bougainville independence fighters, and in 2001 the two sides agreed on a peace treaty; Bougainville became an autonomous region in 2005.
Papuan Vpa-pyo-wonV languages Group of about 750 languages spoken by indigenous peoples of New Guinea and parts of some neigh¬ bouring islands, including Alor, Bougainville, Halmahera, New Britain, New Ireland, and Timor. Spoken by perhaps five million people, Papuan languages belong to about 60 families, the higher genetic relationships of which are still uncertain. This diversity, conjoined with the numerous Austronesian languages spoken on smaller parts of New Guinea and on adjacent islands, makes the region the most linguistically heterogeneous area of the world. The vast majority of Papuan languages have fewer than 100,000 speakers; among those with more are Chimbu and Enga, spoken in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.
papyrus \p3-'pl-r9s\ Writing material of ancient times and the plant from which it comes, Cyperus papyrus (sedge family), also called paper plant. This grasslike aquatic plant has woody, bluntly triangular stems and grows to about 15 ft (4.6 m) high in quietly flowing water up to 3 ft (90 cm) deep. The ancient Egyptians used the stem of the plant to make sails, cloth, mats, cords, and principally paper. Paper made from papyrus was the chief writing material in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. In the 8th-9th century ad, other plant fibres replaced papyrus in the manufac¬ ture of paper. The plant is now often used as a pool ornamental in warm areas or in conservatories.
Para \pa-'ra\ River Channel of the Amazon River. It passes to the south and east of Marajo Island, in northeastern Para state, northern Brazil, and is about 200 mi (320 km) long and 40 mi (64 km) wide at its mouth. It carries a small part of the discharge of the Amazon east and north to the Atlantic Ocean, and its entire length is navigable.
parabola Npo-'ra-bo-loV Open curve, one of the conic sections. It results when a right circular cone intersects a plane that is parallel to an edge of the cone. It is also the path of a point moving so that its distance from a fixed line (directrix) is always equal to its distance from a fixed point (focus). In analytic geometry its equation is y = ax 2 + bx + c (a second- degree, or quadratic, polynomial function). Such a curve has the useful
property that any line parallel to its axis of symmetry reflects through its focus, and vice versa. Rotating a parabola about its axis produces a sur¬ face (paraboloid) with the same reflection property, making it an ideal shape for satellite dishes and reflectors in headlights. Parabolas occur naturally as the paths of projectiles. The shape is also seen in the design of bridges and arches.
Paracel \,par-9-'sel\ Islands Chinese Xisha Qundao or Hsi-sha Ch'un-tao Vshe-.sha-'chim-'daiA Vietnamese Quan Dao Hoang Sa Vkwan-'dau-'hwaq-'saV Group of about 130 small coral islands and reefs. South China Sea, east of central Vietnam and southeast of Hainan Island, China. The low, barren islands, none of which exceeds 1 sq mi (2.5 sq km) in area, lack fresh water, and there are no permanent human resi¬ dents. In 1932 the islands were claimed by French Indochina, and Japan occupied some of them during World War II. China, Taiwan, and Vietnam all claim them. In 1974 China assumed control, and they have remained a matter of contention.
Paracelsus \,par-3-'sel-s3s\ orig. Philippus Aureolus Theo¬ phrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (b. Nov. 11 or Dec. 17, 1493, Einsiedeln, Switz.—d. Sept. 24, 1541, Salzburg, Archbishopric of Salzburg) German-born Swiss physician and alchemist. He claimed to have received his doctoral degree at the University of Ferrara. He adopted the name “para-Celsus”—meaning “beyond Celsus” (the Roman author¬ ity on medicine)—and wandered throughout Europe and the Middle East, studying with alchemists. He valued the common sense of common people more than the dry teachings of Aristotle, Galen, and Avicenna and stressed nature’s healing power. All were welcome at his lectures (which he gave in German, not Latin) at the University of Basel, but such broadminded¬ ness scandalized the authorities, and eventually he was forced to flee the city. His written works include Great Surgery Book (1536). He anticipated by centuries the treatment of syphilis by mercury compounds, the real¬ ization that inhaled dust causes miners’ silicosis, and homeopathy, and he was the first to connect goitre with minerals in drinking water.
parachute Umbrella-like device for slowing the descent of a body fall¬ ing through the atmosphere. Separate panels sewn together form a canopy attached by suspension lines to a harness worn by the user. Originally designed to provide a safe escape from a disabled aircraft, parachutes are also used for dropping supplies and for slowing returning space capsules. The parachute was conceived by the 14th century, but practical demon¬ strations began only in the 1780s in France, leading in 1797 to a 3,200-ft (1,000-m) exhibition jump from a balloon by Andre-Jacques Garnerin (1769-1823); in 1802 he made a jump of 8,000 ft (2,400 m). Early para¬ chute material was canvas, which was later replaced by silk and then nylon. See also skydiving.