wax Any of a class of pliable substances, organic compounds of animal, plant, mineral, or synthetic origin, less greasy, harder, and more brittle than fats. Waxes contain mostly compounds of high molecular weight (fatty acids, alcohols, and saturated hydrocarbons). Many melt at moderate tem¬ peratures and form hard films that can take a high polish. Animal and plant waxes are esters of fatty acids and either a sterol (see steroid) or a straight-chain higher alcohol (e.g., cetyl alcohol). Animal waxes include beeswax; wool wax (lanolin), used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics; and sperm oil and spermaceti (from sperm whales), used as lubricants. Plant waxes include carnauba wax, candelilla wax, and sugarcane wax, used in polishes. About 90% of the waxes in commerce are recovered by de¬ waxing petroleum. There are three main types: paraffin (used in candles, crayons, paper coating, and industrial polishes and as a protective seal¬ ant, lubricant, insulating agent, and antifrothing agent), microcrystalline wax (used in paper coating), and petrolatum (used in ointments and cos¬ metics). Synthetic waxes (carbowaxes), derived from ethylene glycol, are commonly blended with petroleum waxes.
wax sculpture Figures modeled or molded in beeswax, either as fin¬ ished pieces or for use as forms for casting metal (see lost-wax casting) or creating preliminary models. At ordinary temperatures, beeswax can be cut and molded easily, it melts at a low temperature, it mixes with any
Waugh Vw6\, Evelyn (Arthur St. John) (b. Oct. 28, 1903, Lon
don, Eng.—d. April 10, 1966, Combe Florey, near Taunton, Som¬ erset) English novelist. After an Oxford education, he devoted him¬ self to solitary, observant travel and the writing of novels, soon earning a wide reputation for sardonic wit and technical brilliance. His finest satiri¬ cal novels are Decline and Fall (1928), Vile Bodies (1930), Black Mischief (1932), A Handful of Dust (1934), Scoop (1938), and The Loved One (1948). He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1930, and his Catholicism is insistently reflected in his novels from then on. After ser¬ vice in World War II he led a retired life, growing increasingly conserva¬ tive and misanthropic. His later works, more serious and ambitious but written with less elan, include Brideshead Revisited (1945) and the Sword of Honour trilogy —Men at Arms (1952), Officers and Gentlemen der (1961).
Evelyn Waugh, photograph by Mark Gerson, 1964.
CAMERA PRESS
(1955), and Unconditional Surren-
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
2038 I waxwing ► weathering
colouring matter and takes surface tints well, and its texture can be modi¬ fied by a variety of additives. The ancient Egyptians used wax figures of deities in their funeral rites, and the Romans used wax images as presents in the Saturnalia. Michelangelo used wax models in making preliminary sketches for his statues. Wax medallion portraits, popular in the 16th cen¬ tury, enjoyed renewed popularity in the 18th century. John Flaxman made many wax portraits and relief figures which Josiah Wedgwood translated into pottery. Exhibitions of wax figures are still popular, the most famous being those of Madame Tussaud’s museums in London and other interna¬ tional cities.
waxwing Any of three species (family Bombycillidae) of elegant¬ looking songbirds named for shiny red beads on the tips of the second¬ ary wing feathers. All species are gray-brown and have a tapering crest. The common, or Bohemian, waxwing {Bombycilla garrulus ) is 8 in. (20 cm) long and has yellow, white, and red wing markings. It breeds in northern forests of Eurasia and America. The cedar waxwing {B. cedrorum ), smaller and less colourful, breeds in Canada and the northern U.S. Flocks of wax wings may invade city parks and gardens in winter, searching for berries. The Japanese waxwing ( B. japonica ) is restricted to northeastern Asia.
Wayne, Anthony (b. Jan. 1, 1745, near Paoli, Pa.—d. Dec. 15, 1796, Presque Isle, Pa., U.S.) American Revolutionary officer. He owned a tan¬ nery before he was commissioned a colonel in the Continental Army (1776). He aided the American retreat from Canada and was given com¬ mand of Fort Ticonderoga (1776). Promoted to brigadier general (1777), he led troops in the battles of the Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown. He led the successful storming of the British fort at Stony Point, N.Y. (1779), earning the nickname “Mad Anthony” for his boldness. He served in the Siege of Yorktown and later defeated the Indians allied with the British in Georgia. In 1792 Pres. George Washington sent Wayne to fight the Indians in the Ohio Territory, and he decisively ended Indian resis¬ tance at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794).
Wayne, John orig. Marion Michael Morrison (b. May 26, 1907, Winterset, Iowa, U.S.—d. June 11, 1979, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film actor. While a member of the University of Southern California football team, he worked summers at the Fox Film Corporation as a propman and developed a friendship with director John Ford, who cast him in small parts from 1928. After his leading role in The Big Trail (1930), he played in more than 80 low-budget movies before winning acclaim for his star¬ ring role as the Ringo Kid in Ford’s Stagecoach (1939). Noted for his image as the strong, silent man, Wayne, nicknamed “Duke,” became one of the top box-office attractions in movie history. He starred in other westerns (many directed by Ford) such as Red River (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Searchers (1956), Rio Bravo (1959), and True Grit (1969, Academy Award), as well as in The Quiet Man (1952), The Alamo (1960), which he also directed, Hatari! (1962), and The Green Berets (1968), which he codirected.
wazir See vizier
WCTU See Woman's Christian Temperance Union
weak force or weak nuclear force Fundamental interaction that underlies some forms of radioactivity and certain interactions between sub¬ atomic particles. It acts on all elementary particles that have a spin of Vi. The particles interact weakly by exchanging particles that have integer spins. These particles have masses about 100 times that of a proton, and it is this relative massiveness that makes the weak force appear weak at low energies. For example, in radioactive decay, the weak force has a strength about 1/100,000 that of the electromagnetic force. However, it is now known that the weak force has intrinsically the same strength as the electromagnetic force, and the two are believed to be only different mani¬ festations of a single electro weak force (see electroweak theory).
weakfish or sea trout Any of several species (genus Cynoscion ) in the drum family (Sciaenidae), carnivorous bottom-dwelling fishes along warm and tropical seashores. The name weakfish refers to their delicate mouth, which is easily tom by fishhooks. About six species inhabit North American coasts. The weakfish, or sea trout ( Cynoscion regalis), is a sport fish but is usually less than 2 ft (60 cm) long. Weakfish are caught com¬ mercially along the Middle Atlantic coastal states and are considered the most economically important species in the family. The spotted sea trout (C. nebulosus) is found along Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Sea trouts resemble but are not related to true trouts.
weapon of mass destruction (WMD) Weapon with the capacity to inflict death and destruction indiscriminately and on a massive scale. The term has been in currency since at least 1937, when it was used to describe massed formations of bomber aircraft. Today WMDs are nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons—frequently referred to collectively as NBC weapons. Efforts to control the spread of WMDs are enshrined in international agreements such as the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty of 1968, the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972, and the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993. See nuclear weapon; chemical warfare; bio¬ logical WARFARE.
weapons system Any integrated system for the control and opera¬ tion of a specific type of weaponry. Weapons are usually divided into two categories, strategic and tactical. Strategic weapons strike at the seat of an enemy’s military, economic, and political power, targeting cities, fac¬ tories, military bases, transportation and communications networks, and seats of government. Most nuclear weapons are part of strategic weapons systems. Tactical weapons are designed instead for offensive or defensive use at relatively short range—for example, guided missiles intended as anti¬ aircraft and antitank weapons, or other weapons used in aerial and naval combat.