Weidman VwId-monX, Charles orig. Charles Edward Weidman, Jr, (b. July 22, 1901, Lincoln, Neb., U.S.—d. July 15, 1975, New York, N.Y.) U.S. modern dancer, teacher, and choreographer. He studied at the Denishawn school and was a member of its company in the 1920s. In 1928 he cofounded with Doris Humphrey the Humphrey- Weidman school and dance company, for which he choreographed many works. His dances, often comic and satiric, employed an abstract, rhyth¬ mic pantomime. In 1945 he established his own school, and in 1948 he founded the Theatre Dance Company, for which he choreographed his major work, Fables for Our Time. He continued to teach, choreograph, and dance into the 1970s.
Weierstrass Wl-or-.shtrasV Karl (Theodor Wilhelm) (b. Oct. 31, 1815, Ostenfelde, Bavaria—d. Feb. 19, 1897, Berlin) German mathema¬ tician. He taught principally at the University of Berlin (from 1856). After many years of working in isolation, an article in 1854 initiated a string of important contributions, which he disseminated mainly through lec¬ tures. He is known for his work on the theory of functions, and he is called the father of modem analysis. His greatest influence was felt through his students, many of whom went on to make important contributions to mathematics.
weight Gravitational force of attraction on an object, caused by the presence of a massive second object, such as the Earth or Moon. It is a consequence of Isaac Newton’s universal law of gravitation, which states that the force of attraction between two objects is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. For this reason, objects of greater mass weigh more on the surface of the Earth. On the other hand, an object’s weight on the Moon is about one-sixth of its weight on Earth, even though its mass remains the same, because the Moon has less mass and a smaller radius than the Earth and therefore exerts less gravitational force. Weight W is the product of an object’s mass m and the acceleration of gravity g at the location of the object, or W = mg. Since weight is a measure of force rather than mass, the units of weight in the International System of Units are newtons (N). In common usage, weight is measured by the gram in the metric system and by the ounce and pound in the U.S. and British systems.
weight lifting Sport in which barbells are lifted competitively or as an exercise. The two main events are (1) the snatch, in which the barbell is lifted from the floor to arm’s length overhead in a single, continuous motion; and (2) the clean and jerk, in which it is lifted first to the shoulders and then, after a pause, to arm’s length overhead. Contestants are divided into 10 body-weight categories ranging from flyweight to superheavy¬ weight. Lifts may range to over 1,000 lbs (455 kg) in the heavyweight divi¬ sions. The origins of modern competition are to be found in 18th- and 19th- century strongman contests. The first three Olympic Games (1896, 1900, 1904) included weight lifting, as have all games after 1920.
weight training System of conditioning involving lifting weights, especially for strength and endurance. It may include the use of barbells and dumbbells, a Nautilus or similar machines, or a combination of these. Athletes use it to improve their performance, nonathletes use it for gen¬ eral conditioning or bodybuilding, and those recovering from an injury may use it as part of an overall rehabilitation program.
weights and measures Standard quantities by which comparisons are made between an object to be measured and a known quantity of the same kind (see measurement). Weights and measures are fundamental to the sciences, to engineering, building, and other technical matters, and to much everyday activity. See also foot; gram; International System of Units; metre; metric system; pound. See table on following page.
Weil \'vey\/ Simone (b. Feb. 3, 1909, Paris, France—d. Aug. 24, 1943, Ashford, Kent, Eng.) French mystic and social philosopher. After gradu¬ ating from the Ecole Normale Superieure, she taught philosophy in sev¬ eral girls’ schools from 1931 to 1938. To learn the psychological effects of heavy industrial labour, she took a job in 1934-35 in an auto factory, where she observed the spiritually deadening effect of machines on her fellow workers. She assisted the anti-Franco forces in the Spanish Civil War and aided the French Resistance from London from 1942. Born Jewish, she converted to Roman Catholicism in the 1940s. She died at age 34 of tuberculosis complicated by self-imposed starvation undertaken out of sympathy for those suffering in occupied France. Her posthumously pub¬ lished works, including Gravity and Grace (1947), The Need for Roots (1949), Waiting for God (1950), and Notebooks (3 vol., 1951-56) explore her own religious life and analyze the individual’s relation to the state and to God, the spiritual shortcomings of modem industrial society, and the horrors of totalitarianism.
Weill \'v!l\, Kurt (Julian) (b. March 2, 1900, Dessau, Ger.—d. April 3, 1950, New York, N.Y., U.S.) German-born U.S. composer. Son of a cantor, by age 15 he was working as a theatre accompanist. He studied composition briefly with Engelbert Humperdinck, and a conductor’s post gave him wide experience. For a master class with Ferruccio Busoni (1920), he wrote his first symphony. He gained attention with his one-act opera Der Protagonist (1925); its sparse and spiky style prefigured that of his greatest works. In 1927 he teamed with Bertolt Brecht to write The Threepenny Opera (1928) in a new “cabaret” style; the musical had enor¬ mous success in Berlin and elsewhere. In 1930 the two produced The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. When the Nazis took power in 1933, he fled to Paris with his wife, Lotte Lenya, where he wrote The Seven Deadly Sins (1933). In 1935 the couple immigrated to the U.S.; there he collaborated on musicals such as Knickerbocker Holiday (1938) and Lost in the Stars (1949). Two of his songs, the “Moritat” (“Mack the Knife”) from Threepenny Opera and “September Song” from Knickerbocker Holi¬ day, have remained especially popular.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
2042
Weights and Measurements 1 (British Imperial System/U.S. Customary Systei
m)
UNIT
ABBREVIATION
EQUIVALENTS IN OTHER UNITS
METRIC EQUIVALENT
OR SYMBOL
OF SAME SYSTEM
WEIGHT
Avoirdupois 2
ton
short ton
20 short hundredweight, 2000 pounds
0.907 metric ton
long ton
20 long hundredweight, 2240 pounds
1.016 metric ton
hundredweight
cwt
short hundredweight
100 pounds, 0.05 short tons
45.359 kilograms
long hundredweight
112 pounds, 0.05 long ton
50.802 kilograms
pound
lb or lb avdp also #
16 ounces, 7000 grains
0.454 kilogram
ounce
oz or oz avdp
16 drams, 437.5 grains, 0.0625 pound
28.350 grams
dram
dr or dr avdp
27.344 grains, 0.0625 ounce
1.772 grams
grain
9 r
0.037 dram, 0.002286 ounce
0.0648 gram
Troy
pound
ibt
12 ounces, 240 pennyweight, 5760 grains
0.373 kilogram
ounce
oz t
20 pennyweight, 480 grains, 0.083 pound
31.103 grams
pennyweight
dwt also pwt
24 grains, 0.05 ounce
1.555 grams
grain
9 r
0.042 pennyweight, 0.002083 ounce
0.0648 gram
Apothecaries'
pound
lb ap
12 ounces, 5760 grains
0.373 kilogram
ounce
oz ap
8 drams, 480 grains, 0.083 pound
31.103 grams
dram
dr ap
3 scruples, 60 grains
3.888 grams
scruple
s ap
20 grains, 0.333 dram