conclave In the Roman Catholic church, the assembly of cardinals gath¬ ered to elect a new pope and the system of strict seclusion to which they submit. From 1059 the election became the responsibility of the cardi¬ nals. When, after the death of Clement IV (1268), the cardinals dithered for more than two years, the local magistrate locked them in the episco¬ pal palace and fed them only bread and water until they elected Gregory X. The system of meeting in closed conclave was codified in 1904 by Pius X. Voting is by secret ballot; one ballot is held on the first afternoon of the conclave and four on each subsequent day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, until a new pope is chosen. In 1996 John Paul II declared that, after 30 ballots, the traditional requirement of a two-thirds majority plus one for the election of a pope could be superseded, at the discretion of the cardinals, by election by a simple majority. Ballots are burned in a stove after each vote, and the smoke produced by their burn¬ ing, which issues from a special pipe through a window, indicates to the crowd assembled in St. Peter’s Square whether a new pope has been elected: if there is a new pope, the smoke will be white; if no majority has yet been reached, the smoke will be black. In addition, bells will be rung to confirm the signal. Additives are mixed with the ballots to ensure the proper colour of the smoke.
Concord Vkan-kord, 'kan-,k6rd\ City (pop., 2000: 121,780), western California, U.S. Located near San Francisco, it was laid out in 1868 as Todos Santos and renamed in 1869 for Concord, Mass. Developed as an orchard and poultry centre after the railroad reached it in 1912, it is now mainly residential.
Concord Town (pop., 2000: 16,993), eastern Massachusetts, U.S. Founded in 1635, it was the first inland Puritan settlement. In 1775 the British were marching to seize its storehouse of military supplies when they were checked by minutemen (see Battles of Lexington and Concord). In the 19th century it was a noted cultural centre and the home of writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott (all buried there). Several historic houses are now muse¬ ums; Walden Pond, where Thoreau lived and wrote, is nearby.
Concord City (pop., 2000: 40,687), capital of New Hampshire, U.S. It lies along the Merrimack River above Manchester. Settled in 1727, the community was incorporated in 1733 by Massachusetts as Rumford but, following bitter litigation, was determined in 1762 to be within the juris¬ diction of New Hampshire. Renamed Concord in 1765, it was made the capital in 1808. Printing, carriage making, and granite quarrying were important in its early development; Concord granite is still quarried.
Concord, Battles of Lexington and See Battles of Lexington and Concord
Concordat of 1801 Agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII that defined the status of the Roman Catholic Church in France and ended the breach caused by the church reforms of the French Revolution (see Civil Constitution of the Clergy). The Roman Catholic faith was acknowl¬ edged as the religion of the majority of the French people but was not proclaimed as the established religion of the state. Napoleon gained the right to nominate bishops, but their offices were conferred by the pope. The government agreed to pay the clergy, but confiscated church prop¬ erty was not restored. The Concordat remained in effect until 1905.
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Concorde First supersonic, passenger-carrying, commercial airplane. Built jointly by British and French manufacturers, it entered regular ser¬ vice in 1976. Its maximum cruising speed is 1,354 mph (2,179 kph), more than twice the speed of sound; the London-New York flight takes less than four hours and can cost close to $10,000.
concrete Artificial stone made of a mixture of cement, aggregate (hard material), and water. In addition to its potential for immense compressive strength and its ability, when poured, to adapt to virtually any form, con¬ crete is fire-resistant and has become one of the most common building materials in the world. The binder usually used today is Portland cement. The aggregate is usually sand and gravel. Additives called admixtures may be used to accelerate the curing (hardening) process in low temperature conditions. Other admixtures trap air in the concrete or slow shrinkage and increase strength. See also precast concrete, prestressed concrete, rein¬ forced CONCRETE.
concubinage Nkon-'kyii-bo-nijX Cohabitation of a man and a woman without the full sanctions of legal marriage. In the Judeo-Christian tradi¬ tion, the term concubine has been generally applied exclusively to women; Western studies of non-Western societies use it to refer to partners who are sanctioned by law but lack the status of full wives. See also common- law marriage; harem; polygamy.
concurrent programming Computer programming designed for execution on multiple processors, where more than one processor is used to execute a program or complex of programs running simultaneously. It is also used for programming designed for a multitasking environment, where two or more programs share the same memory while running con¬ currently.
concussion Period of nervous-function impairment that results from relatively mild brain injury, often with no bleeding in the cerebral cortex. It causes brief unconsciousness, followed by mental confusion and physi¬ cal difficulties. These effects usually clear up within hours, but in some cases disturbance of consciousness continues, and there may be residual symptoms. Some level of amnesia often accompanies concussion. Recov¬ ery from concussion is almost always complete unless more serious injury, such as skull fracture, accompanies it.
Conde \ko n -'da\, Louis II de Bourbon, 4th prince de known as the Great Conde (b. Sept. 8, 1621, Paris, France—d. Dec. 11, 1686, Fontainebleau) French military leader. He distinguished himself in battles with Spain in the Thirty Years’ War, and in 1649 he helped suppress the Fronde uprising. After being arrested by Mazarin in 1650, he rebelled and led the second Fronde, fighting from Spain until he was defeated at the Battle of the Dunes in 1658. Pardoned the next year, he again became one of Louis XIV’s greatest generals, winning numerous battles in Spain, Germany, and Flanders. He was a man of great courage, unconventional habits, and sound independence of mind; broadly cultivated, he counted Mouere and Jean Racine among his friends. See also Conde family.
Conde \k6n-'da\ family Important French branch of the house of Bour¬ bon, whose members played a significant role in French dynastic politics. The line began with Louis I de Bourbon (1530-69), 1st prince de Conde, a military leader of the Huguenots in France’s Wars of Religion. The fami¬ ly’s most prominent member was the 4th prince de Cond£, one of Louis XIV’ s greatest generals. The princely line died out when Louis-Antoine- Henri de Bourbon-Conde (1772-1804), duke d’Enghien and sole heir of the last prince de Conde, was falsely arrested and, on Napoleon’s orders, shot for treason.
condensation Formation of a liquid or solid from its vapour. Conden¬ sation usually occurs on a surface that is cooler than the adjacent gas. A substance condenses when the pressure exerted by its vapour exceeds the vapour pressure of its liquid or solid phase at the temperature of the sur¬ face where the condensation is to occur. The process causes the release of thermal energy. Condensation occurs on a glass of cold water on a warm, humid day when water vapour in the air condenses to form liquid water on the glass’s colder surface. Condensation also accounts for the forma¬ tion of dew, fog, rain, snow, and clouds.