Fantom

Same as PHANTOM, q. v. Fan'tom-corn, n. Corn of a light description. Fan-tracery Vaulting. ( Arch.) A beautiful form of vaulting, peculiar to the late Gothic style, in which the ribs or veins spring from one point, the cap of the shaft, and radiate with the same curvature Fig . 991. ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL (N. aisle), WINDSOR. toward the centre, cutting into each other, and very frequently finishing with a large pendant, which forms a kind of keystone. The under surfaces are, therefore, curved in many ways, and are not plane in any section like the ordinary vaulting; they in some degree resemble pendentives, and meet together in the centre like portions of domes. One of the finest specimens is at St. George's Chapel, Windsor (Fig. 991). Fan'-wheel, n. See FANNER. Faquir', n. Same as FAKIR, q. v. "With oxen far unfit to draw the plough.' - Dryden. -To a certain point, degree, or distance; as, he is a liberal man as far as money goes. By far , in a great degree; extensively; very much. "A nobler man he is by far , Than many richer persons are." -Davies. Far from, at a great distance. "Far from his country in the western world." -Add is on. Very different; not equal to, or on a par with; as, she is far from being his equal. Fur off . At or to a great distance; as, to be far off making money. - Alienated; divided by difference of time, distance, or condition; as, a far off settlement, to go to a place far off . - From far , from a remote distance. "To our own land there came, from far, The gloomy tidings of disastrous war." -Davies. Far, n. [A. S. fearh .] See FARROW. Faraday, MICHAEL, F.R.S., a distinguished English chemist and natural philosopher, в. 1791. He received little or no education, and was apprenticed to the trade of a bookbinder. During his term of apprenticeship, a few scientific works fell into his hands, which he read with avidity, and forthwith devoted himself to the study of, and experiments in, electricity. Having attended the lectures given in 1812 by Sir Humphry Davy, and taken notes thereon, he sent them to that great philoso- pher, and besought some scientific occupation. The re- ply was prompt and favorable. In 1813, P. was appointed Chemical A istant, under Sir Humphry, at the Royal Institution. After a Continental tour in company with his patron, F. , still pursuing ms scientific investigations, discovered, in 1820, the chlorides of carbon, and, in the following year, the mutual rotation of a magnetic pole and an electric current. These were strong encourage- ments to proceed on the path of discovery, and led to the condensation of gases in 1823. In 1829 he labored hard, and, as he thought at the time, fruitle ly, on the pro- duction of optical gla ; but though unsucce ful in his immediate object, his experiments produced the heavy gla which afterwards proved of great a istance to him in his magnetical investigations. In 1831 the series of Experimental Researches in Electricity , published in the "Philosophical Transactions," began with the develop- ment of the induction of electric currents, and the evo- lution of electricity from magnetism. Three years later F. established the principle of definite electrolytic action, and, in 1846, re- ceived at the same time the Royal and the Rumford med- als for his discov eries of dia-magnet- ism, and of the in- fluence of magnet- ism upon light re- spectively. In 1847 he discovered the magnetic character of oxygen, and, also, the magnetic relations of flame and gases. His papers, including other contribu- tions to the store of modern science, are too numerous to mention in detail. It should be observed that the "Researches," though termed "Experimental," contain many hypothetical ideas, and many inquiries into theories generally adopted up to their time. Among these may be specified the considerations respecting static induction, atmospheric electricity, and those relating to lines of force, both physical and representative, on which having sufficiently stated his views, he was content to leave them for solution to time and future experience. It may be added that his last hypothetical view relates to the Conservation of Force, and that one of his latest papers treats of the division of gold and other metals. In 1833, F. was appointed Profe or of Chemistry in the Royal Institution, London, which chair he continued to hold until his death. In 1835 he received from govt. a the French Academy, in 1825 he was chosen a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1832 made a D.C.L. of Oxford University. He was, besides, a knight of several of the European orders, and a member of the chief learned and scientific societies in Europe and the U. S. In private life his character was irreproachable, and characterized by great humanity and modesty. D. 1867. Far'afeh, an oasis of the Libyan Desert in Africa, containing several ruins of Greek and Roman origin. The inhabitants fabricate some coarse woollen cloths and earthenware. Lat. 27° N., Lon. 28° 23′ E.