high place Hebrew bama. In ancient Israel or Canaan, a shrine built on an elevated site. For Canaanites the shrines were devoted to fertility deities, to the Baals, or to the Semitic goddesses called the Asherot. The shrines often included an altar and a sacred object such as a stone pillar or wooden pole. One of the oldest known high places, dating from c. 2500 bc, is at Megiddo. The Israelites also associated elevated places with the divine presence, and after conquering Canaan they used Canaanite high places to worship Yahweh (God). Later the Temple of Jerusalem on Mount Zion became the only accepted high place.
high-rise building Multistory building taller than the maximum height people are willing to walk up, thus requiring vertical mechanical transportation. The introduction of safe passenger elevators made practi¬ cal the erection of buildings more than four or five stories tall. The first high-rise buildings were constructed in the U.S. in the 1880s. Further developments were made possible by the use of steel structural frames and glass curtain-wall systems. High-rises are used for residential apart¬ ments, hotels, offices, and sometimes retail, light manufacturing, and edu¬ cational facilities. See also skyscraper.
high school In the U.S., any three- to six-year secondary school serv¬ ing students about 14-18 years of age. Four-year schools are by far the most common; their grade levels are designated freshman (9th grade), sophomore (10th), junior (11th), and senior (12th). Comprehensive high schools offer both general academic courses and specialized commercial, trade, and technical subjects. Most U.S. high schools are tuition-free, sup¬ ported by state funds. Private high schools are usually classed as either PAROCHIAL or PREPARATORY schools.
high seas In maritime law, the waters lying outside the territorial waters of any and all states. In the Middle Ages, a number of maritime states asserted sovereignty over large portions of the high seas. The doctrine that the high seas in time of peace are open to all nations was first pro¬ posed by Hugo Grotius (1609), but it did not become an accepted prin¬ ciple of international law until the 19th century. Activities permitted on the high seas include navigation, fishing, the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and overflight of aircraft.
high-speed steel Alloy of steel introduced in 1900. It doubled or trebled the capacities of machine shops by permitting the operation of machine tools at twice or three times the speeds possible with carbon steel (which loses its cutting edge when the temperature produced by the fric¬ tion of the cutting action is above about 400°F, or 210°C). A common type of high-speed steel contains 18% tungsten, 4% chromium, 1% vana¬ dium, and only 0.5-0.8% carbon. See also heat treating, stainless steel.
higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. They also include teacher-training schools, community colleges, and institutes of technology. At the end of a pre¬ scribed course of study, a degree, diploma, or certificate is awarded.
See also continuing education.
Highland Games Athletic games originating in the Scottish Highlands and now held there and in various parts of the world, usually under the auspices of a local Cale¬ donian society. Events include flat and hurdle races, long and high jumps, hammer and weight throws, and the caber toss, the hurling end- over-end of a tapered fir pole about 17 ft (5 m) long and 90 lbs (40 kg) in weight. Competitions in bagpipe playing and Highland dancing also form an important part of the meet¬ ings.
1
Tossing the caber at a Braemar gather¬ ing
ABERDEEN JOURNALS LTD.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
hijacking ► Hillel I 875
hijacking Crime of seizing possession or control of a vehicle from another by force or threat of force. Although by the late 20th century hijacking most frequently involved the seizure of an airplane and its forc¬ ible diversion to destinations chosen by the air pirates, when the term was coined in the 1920s hijacking generally referred to in-transit thefts of truckloads of illegally manufactured liquor or to the similar seizure of rumrunners at sea. Airplane hijacking also is known as skyjacking. The first reported case of such hijacking occurred in Peru in 1931. Between 1968 and 1970 alone there were nearly 200 hijackings. The participants often were politically motivated Palestinians or other Arabs who com¬ mandeered airplanes while in flight and threatened harm to the passen¬ gers and crew unless certain of their comrades were released from jail in Israel or some other location. Air hijackings continued in the 1980s and ’90s, though new airport security measures and international agreements on terrorism probably deterred many more. The deadliest act of air piracy to date occurred on Sept. 11, 2001 (see September 11 attacks), when sui¬ cide terrorists simultaneously hijacked four airliners in the U.S. and flew two of them into the World Trade Center complex in New York City and one into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.; the fourth crashed outside Pittsburgh, Pa. The crashes killed all 245 passengers (and 19 hijackers) aboard the airplanes and some 3,000 people in the buildings and on the ground. See also piracy; terrorism.
Hijaz, Al- See Hejaz
Hijrah Vhi-'jl-ro, 'he-jo-roV English Hegira Arabic "Migration" Journey of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 to escape persecu¬ tion and found a community of believers. The date represents the begin¬ ning of Islam. The second caliph, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, began the practice of using the event as the starting point for the Muslim calendar; years are now denoted by the initials ah (Latin Anno Hegirae, “in the year of the Hegira”). The disciples who traveled with Muhammad to Medina were called the Companions of the Prophet.
hiking Walking, often among hills or mountains, as recreational sport. It represents an activity in its own right and also figures in backpacking, camping, hunting, mountaineering, and orienteering. Hiking programs are offered by youth groups and other organizations, such as the U.S. Wil¬ derness Society. Trails are preserved in most U.S. federal and state park- lands. Most European cities have hiking trails outside them. One of the longest U.S. hiking trails is the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
Hilbert, David (b. Jan. 23, 1862, Konigsberg, Prussia—d. Feb. 14, 1943, Gottingen, Ger.) German mathematician whose work aimed at establishing the formalistic foundations of mathematics. He finished his Ph.D. at the University of Konigsberg (1884) and moved to the Univer¬ sity of Gottingen in 1895. In 1900 at the International Mathematical Con¬ gress in Paris, he laid out 23 research problems as a challenge to the 20th century. Many have since been solved, in each case to great fanfare. Hil¬ bert’s name is prominently attached to an infinite-dimensional space called a Hilbert space (see inner product space), a concept useful in math¬ ematical analysis and quantum mechanics.
Hildebrand, Joel Henry (b. Nov. 16, 1881, Camden, N.J., U.S.—d. April 30, 1983, Kensington, Calif.) U.S. educator and chemist. He taught principally at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Califor¬ nia at Berkeley. His 1924 monograph on the solubility of nonelectrolytes, Solubility, was the classic reference for almost half a century. His many scientific papers and chemistry texts include An Introduction to Molecu¬ lar Kinetic Theory (1963) and Viscosity and Diffusivity (1977). He received the Distinguished Service Medal in 1918 and the King’s Medal (British) in 1948.
Hildegard von Bingen \ , hil-d3- I gart-fon- , biq-9n\ (b. 1098, Bockel- heim, West Franconia—d. Sept. 17, 1179, Rupertsberg, near Bingen) Ger¬ man abbess and visionary mystic. She became prioress at the Benedictine cloister of Disibodenberg in 1136. Having experienced visions since child¬ hood, she was eventually permitted to write Scivias (1141-52), in which she recorded 26 prophetic, symbolic, and apocalyptic visions; it was fol¬ lowed by two more such collections. She founded a convent at Rupertsberg c. 1147, where she continued to prophesy; she became known as the “Sibyl of the Rhine,” and her advice was sought by the most powerful and eminent figures of Europe. Her other works include a morality play, a book of saints’ lives, treatises on medicine and natural history, and extensive correspon¬ dence. Her Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum consists of 77 lyri¬ cal poems, all with monophonic melodies; she is apparently the first