Bradshaw Sound, Fiordland, west coast of South Island, New Zealand
COURTESY OF THE NEW ZEALAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY; PHOTOGRAPH, T. ULYATT
flagellum Ulo-'jel-onY Hairlike structure that acts mainly as an organelle of movement in the cells of many liv¬ ing organisms. Characteristic of the protozoan group Mastigophora, fla¬ gella also occur on the sex cells of algae, fungi (see fungus), mosses, and slime molds. Flagellar motion causes water currents necessary for respira¬ tion and circulation in sponges and cnidarians. Most motile bacteria move by means of flagella. The structures and patterns of movement of flagella in prokaryotes differ from those in eukaryotes. See also ciuum.
Flagler, Henry M(orrison) (b.
Jan. 2, 1830, Hopewell, N.Y.,
U.S.—d. May 20, 1913, West Palm Beach, Fla.) U.S. financier. He ini¬ tially worked as a grain merchant.
His friendship with John D. Rock¬ efeller led to their establishing a firm that in 1870 became the Standard Oil Co. Flagler served as a director of Standard Oil of New Jersey until
He was hugely influential in the development of Florida as a vaca¬ tion centre, involving himself in such enterprises as extending the Florida East Coast Railway, dredging Miami’s harbour, and the construction of a chain of luxury hotels.
The bacterium Proteus vulgaris (greatly magnified) showing flagella
l> LEE D. SIMON-PHOTO RESEARCHERS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
680 I Flagstad ► flatfish
Flagstad Vflag-sta,\ English Vflag-.stadV Kirsten (Marie) (b. July 12, 1895, Hamar, Nor.—d. Dec. 7, 1962, Oslo) Norwegian soprano. Bom to musician parents, she made her operatic debut in 1913. In 1934 she sang Sieglinde in Die Walkiire and Gutrune in Gotterdammerung at Bayreuth. Recognized as the greatest Wagnerian soprano of her genera¬ tion, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1935. With New York as her base, she toured widely until 1941, returning to Norway to be with her husband, a member of Vidkun Quisling’s government. Though cleared of charges of collaboration with the Germans, her later U.S. appearances were controversial. She was the first director of the Royal Norwegian Opera (1958-60).
Flaherty Vfla-sr-te, 'fla-3r-te\, Robert (Joseph) (b. Feb. 16, 1884, Iron Mountain, Mich., U.S.—d. July 23, 1951, Dummerston, Vt.) U.S. filmmaker, considered the father of the documentary. He grew up in remote northern Canada and later led explorations of the area (1910-16). He lived with the Eskimos for 16 months and filmed their way of life. His result¬ ing film, Nanook of the North (1922), was an international success and established the model for the documentary film. His later documentaries include Moana (1926), Tabu (1931), Man of Aran (1934), The Land (1942), and Louisiana Story (1948).
flake tool Stone Age devices, usually flint (see chert and flint), shaped by flaking off small particles or by breaking off a large flake to use as a tool. Prehistoric humans preferred flint and similar siliceous stones because of the ease with which they could be chipped and for their sharp cutting edges. They also used sandstones, quartzites, quartz, obsidian, and volcanic rocks. Stone tools were chipped by striking a block of flint with a hammer of stone, wood, or bone or by striking the block itself on the edge of a fixed stone. Pressure flaking consists of applying pressure by means of a pointed stick or bone near the edge of a flake or blade, to detach small flakes, and was used mostly to put the finishing touches on tools. See also stone-tool industry.
Flamboyant style Phase of late Gothic architecture in 15th-century France and Spain. It evolved out of the Rayonnant style's increasing emphasis on decoration. Its most conspicuous feature is the dominance in stone window tracery of a flamelike S-shaped curve. Wall surface was reduced to the minimum to allow an almost continuous window expanse. Structural logic was obscured by covering buildings with elaborate trac¬ ery. Attractive French examples include Notre-Dame d’Epine near Chalons-sur-Mame, Saint-Maclou in Rouen (c. 1500-14), and the north¬ ern spire of Chartres Cathedral. Spanish Flamboyant architects developed their own intricate forms of vaulting with curvilinear patterns; the Capilla del Condestable in Burgos Cathedral (1482-94) and Segovia Cathedral (begun 1525) provide examples. Flamboyant Gothic, which became increasingly ornate, gave way in France to Renaissance forms in the 16th century.
f la men Vfla-monV One of 15 priests in ancient Rome, each of whom was devoted to the service of a specific god. The most important were those who served Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. Chosen from the patrician class and supervised by the pontifex maximus (chief priest), they offered daily sacrifices and led strictly regulated lives. Their wives assisted them and were also bound by ritual regulations. In imperial times a group of famines were devoted to the worship of deified emperors.
flamenco UJo-'meq-koV Form of song, dance, and instrumental (mostly guitar) music commonly associated with the Andalusian RoMa (Gypsies) of southern Spain. (There, the Roma people and their language are known as Calo, or Gitano.) The roots of flamenco, though somewhat mysterious, seem to lie in the Roma migration from Rajasthan (in northwest India) to Spain between the 9th and 14th centuries. Its essence is cante, or song, often accompanied by guitar music and improvised dance. The cante jondo (“profound song” or “deep song”), thought to be the oldest form, is characterized by profound emotion and deals with themes of death, anguish, despair, or religious doubt. After the mid-19th century, flamenco song was usually accompanied by guitar music and a palo seco (Span¬ ish: “dry stick,” a stick that was beat on the floor to keep time) and a dancer performing a series of choreographed dance steps and improvised styles. Baile, or dance, has been the dominant element of flamenco since that time, though it is never performed without accompaniment. Essen¬ tial to traditional flamenco is the duende, an intensely focused, trancelike state of transcendent emotion. It is usually enhanced by rhythmic hand clapping and encouraging interjections (jaleo ) from fellow performers.
flamethrower Military assault weapon that projects a stream of blaz¬ ing oil or gasoline against enemy positions. It consists of one or more fuel tanks, a cylinder of compressed gas to supply the propelling force, and a flexible hose with a trigger-nozzle that ignites and sprays the fuel. Por¬ table flamethrowers are carried on the backs of ground troops; larger units may be installed on tank turrets. Modern flamethrowers, first used in combat in World War I, were used by all major powers in World War II and later wars. They are often used in areas of dense underbrush and against fortified positions at close range.
flamingo Any of five species of tall wading birds constituting the fam¬ ily Phoenicopteridae. The plumage is mainly pink, and the face is bare. Flamingos have webbed feet, a slender body, a long thin neck, large wings, and a short tail. They are about 3-5 ft (90-150 cm) tall. Flamingos flock by the hundreds (sometimes by the millions) in flight formations and wading groups. They walk the shallows, stirring up organic matter, espe¬ cially tiny mollusks and crustaceans, which they strain from the muddy water with their sievelike bills. The various species are found along Atlan¬ tic and Gulf coasts of tropical and subtropical North America and in South America, Africa, southern Europe, Asia, Madagascar, and India.
Flamininus N.flam-s-'nl-e-nosV Titus Quinctius (b. c. 227 bc —d. 174) Roman general and consul (198 bc). As consul he tried to formulate a peace treaty with Philip V of Macedonia, but negotiations broke down and fighting broke out. He defeated Philip at Cynoscephalae (197) and granted freedom to the Greeks (196), for which he was hailed as a sav¬ iour. He kept Roman troops in Greece until 194. After the defeat of Anti- ochus III and Aetolia at Thermopylae (191), he helped reestablish peace in Greece.