railroad Mode of land transportation in which flange-wheeled vehicles move over two parallel steel rails or tracks, drawn by a locomotive or pro¬ pelled by self-contained motors. The earliest railroads were built in Euro¬ pean mines in the 16th century, using cars pulled on tracks by men or horses. With the advent of the steam locomotive and construction of the first railway in 1825, the modem railroad developed quickly. The first U.S. railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio, began operation in 1827. Specialized rail¬ road cars were built to transport freight and passengers, including the sleep¬ ing cars developed by George Pullman in 1859. In the 19th century the railroad had an important influence on every country’s economic and social development. In the U.S. the transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869, began an era of railroad expansion and consolidation that involved such financial empire builders as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Edward H. Har- riman, James J. Hill, and Leland Stanford. The railroad’s importance in the U.S. began to diminish from the early 20th century, but in Europe, Asia, and Africa it continues to provide vital transportation links within and between countries. See also Orient Express, Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Railway Express Agency U.S. company that once operated the nation’s largest ground and air express services. It was founded by the
U.S. government as the American Railway Express Co. in 1918, when the nation’s major express carriers—Adams & Co., American Express Co., Wells, Fargo & Co., and Southern Express Co.—were merged into a pub¬ lic corporation. An association of railroads bought out the business in 1929 and began to operate it as the Railway Express Agency. Its name was changed to REA Express in 1970. Poor management, strikes, and competition led to heavy losses, and REA filed for bankruptcy in 1975.
Raimondi \ri-'man-de, ri-'mon-deN, Marcantonio (b. c. 1480, near Bologna—d. c. 1534, Bologna) Italian engraver. He trained in Bologna under Francesco Francia, but his energetic lines and use of cross-hatching in modeling were influenced by Albrecht Durer. After he moved to Rome c. 1510, he specialized in reproducing works by other artists, particularly Raphael. He retained Raphael’s idealized figures but provided his own background and landscapes. His engravings sold in large numbers and did much to spread High Renaissance style throughout Europe during his lifetime.
rain Precipitation of liquid water drops with diameters greater than 0.02 in. (0.5 mm). When the drops are smaller, the precipitation is usually called drizzle. Raindrops may form by the coalescence of colliding small water droplets or from the melting of snowflakes and other ice particles as they fall into warm air near the ground. Hawaii’s Mount Waialeale, with a 20-year annual average of 460 in. (11,700 mm), is the Earth’s wet¬ test known point; the driest areas are in parts of deserts where no appre¬ ciable rain has ever been observed. Less than 10 in. (250 mm) and more than 60 in. (1,500 mm) per year represent approximate extremes of rain¬ fall for all the continents.
rain dance Ceremonial dance performed to bring rain needed to water crops. Rain dances have been customary in many cultures, from the ancient Egyptians to the civilization of the Mayas and the people of the 20th-century Balkans. Rain dances often include dancing in a circle, the participation of young girls, decoration with green vegetation, nudity, the pouring of water, and whirling, meant to act as a wind charm. They may also include phallic and fertility rites.
rainbow Series of concentric, coloured arcs that may be seen when light from a distant source—usually the Sun—falls on a collection of water drops such as in rain, spray, or fog. The coloured rays of the rainbow are caused by the refraction and internal reflection of light rays that enter the drop, each colour being bent through a slightly different angle. Hence, the combined colours are separated upon emerging from the drop. The most brilliant and most common rainbow is the so-called primary bow, which results from light that emerges from the drop after one internal reflection. The colours of the arc (from outside to inside) are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Occasionally a less-intense secondary bow may be observed; it has its colour sequence reversed.
Rainbow Bridge National Monument Natural area, southern Utah, U.S. Located on the Navajo Indian Reservation near the Utah- Arizona border, the monument was established in 1910 and occupies 160 acres (65 hectares). It centres on a rainbow-shaped bridge of pink sand¬ stone 290 ft (88 m) above a creek that winds toward the Colorado River. The bridge is 275 ft (84 m) long and is one of the world’s largest natural bridges. Embedded among canyons, the area is accessible only on foot, by horseback, or by boat on Lake Powell.
rainbow trout Species ( Oncorhynchus my kiss) of fish in the salmon family (Salmonidae) noted for spectacular leaps and hard fighting when hooked. It has been introduced from western North America to many other countries. A brightly coloured fish of lakes and swift streams, it is cov¬ ered with small black spots and has a reddish band along either side. The steelhead, a large, bluish, oceangoing form, is also a prized game fish. Rainbow trout may weigh 6 lb (2.8 kg); steelheads (and rainbows in large lakes) may weigh 10-20 lb (4.5-9 kg) or more. Another form of rainbow, the Kamloops, or Kootenay, trout of Idaho, may exceed 30 lb (14 kg).
Rainer Vri-noiA, Luise (b. Jan. 12, 1910, Vienna, Austria) Austrian film actress. She grew up in Munich, in Switzerland, and in Vienna and was a distinguished stage actress with Max Reinhardt’s company (from 1927) before making films in Europe. Moving to Hollywood, she starred in The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1936), winning Academy Awards for both pictures. After a brief career and a stormy marriage to Clifford Odets, she retired to Europe, returning to the screen many years later in Dancer (1988) and The Gambler (1997).
Virginia rail (Rallus limicola)
JOHN H. GERARD FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1586 I Rainey ► Raleigh
Rainey, Ma orig. Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett (b. April 26, 1886, Columbus, Ga., U.S.—d. Dec. 22, 1939, Rome, Ga.) U.S. singer. Rainey began touring Southern tent shows, levee camps, and cabarets at age 17 in a song-and-dance team with her husband, the minstrel comic Wil¬ liam (“Pa”) Rainey. She performed through the 1920s, leading her own troupes, including at times Bessie Smith and Thomas A. Dorsey. An earthy stage presence, known for her flamboyant dress and her deep, powerful contralto voice, Rainey recorded more than 90 songs (including “See See Rider” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) from 1923 to 1928 with country blues musicians and black jazz players. She retired in 1933. The first great professional blues vocalist, she earned the sobriquet “mother of the blues.”
rainforest Lush forest, generally composed of tall, broad-leaved trees and usually found in wet tropical regions around the Equator. Despite increased awareness of the rainforests’ importance during the late 20th century, they continue to be cleared. Rainforests grow mainly in South and Central America, West and Central Africa, Indonesia, parts of South¬ east Asia, and tropical Australia, where the climate is relatively humid with no marked seasonal variation. Depending on the amount of annual rainfall, the trees may be evergreen or mainly deciduous. The former require more water. Temperatures are high, usually about 86 °F (30 °C) during the day and 68 °F (20 °C) at night. Soil conditions vary with loca¬ tion and climate, though most rainforest soils tend to be permanently moist and not very fertile, because the hot, humid weather causes organic matter to decompose rapidly and to be absorbed quickly by tree roots and fungi. Rainforests have several layers. The highest continuous layer, called the canopy, extends across the treetops at a height of 100-165 ft (30-50 m). Most animals live among the leaves and branches. Below the canopy is a thick understory filled with small trees, lianas, and epiphytes. The space directly above the ground can be occupied by tree branches, twigs, and foliage, but, contrary to popular belief, the rainforest floor is not impassable. Rather, it is bare except for a thin layer of humus and fallen leaves. Animals inhabiting this layer (e.g., gorillas, elephants, jaguars, and bears) are adapted to walking or climbing for only short distances. Bur¬ rowing animals, such as armadillos and caecilians, are found in the soil, as are microorganisms that help decompose and recycle the organic litter accumulated by other plants and animals from all layers. The climate of the ground layer is unusually stable because the upper stories of tree canopies and the lower branches filter out sunlight, retain heat, and reduce wind speeds, keeping the temperature fairly even.