Pink-and-white
lady’s slipper
136 Minnesota BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Minoan
Civilization
..see Aegean Civilization.
Minsk
Population
(2005 estimate)
1,765,800
Minsk is the capital of Belarus, a country
in eastern Europe. It is the largest
city in Belarus. It is also a center of culture,
education, and scientific research.
Industry is very important to the
economy of Minsk. Some factories in
the city make trucks, tractors, refrigerators,
and other machines. Other factories
make electronics, clothing, and food
products. Construction also brings
money to the city.
Many times in its history Minsk suffered
from wars. Lithuania ruled the city in
the 1300s. Poland ruled it in a later
period. The Russian Empire took control
of Minsk in 1793.
In the early 1900s Minsk and the rest of
Belarus became part of the Soviet
Union. Minsk became the capital of its
region. German forces captured the city
in the 1940s, duringWorldWar II.
Fighting nearly destroyed Minsk, but it
was later rebuilt.
In 1991 Belarus became an independent
country. Minsk became its capital.
..More to explore
Belarus
Minuteman
The minutemen were groups of eager
young militiamen in Great Britain’s
American Colonies. A militia is an organized
group of citizens who defend a
community. The militias of the American
Colonies were almost as old as the
colonies themselves.
In 1774, as American colonists prepared
for war, Worcester County, Massachusetts,
reorganized its militia. Some of the
militia members were told to be ready to
fight “at a minute’s notice.” They were
An Eastern Orthodox priest blesses people
during the Christian holiday of Palm Sunday
at a church in Minsk, Belarus.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Minuteman 137
the first militiamen to be called minutemen.
Counties all over Massachusetts
soon formed minutemen units.
Paul Revere rode through the Massachusetts
countryside on April 18, 1775, to
warn the minutemen that British troops
were coming. The next morning, when
the British attacked, the minutemen of
Lexington were ready. They forced the
British to flee.
The American Revolution had begun.
As the war continued, minutemen units
were established in other colonies,
including Maryland, New Hampshire,
and Connecticut.
#More to explore
American Revolution • Revere, Paul
Mirage
A mirage is an image that looks real but
is not really there. It is caused by layers
of air being at different temperatures
and thicknesses. The differences in the
layers of air can bend light. This bending,
known as refraction, creates false
images that people often believe truly
exist.
Many mirages are seen around water or
hot, flat surfaces. For example, ships
may seem to be sailing upside down
above the horizon. One of the most
common examples of a mirage happens
on highways during the summer. A shallow
pool of water often seems to be filling
the road ahead. The reason for this
false image is that a thin layer of heated
air forms above the hot black pavement.
This hot air meets the cooler air above,
and light is bent, or refracted, where
they meet. Light refracted from the blue
sky looks like water on the ground. The
“water” disappears as the observer
approaches. A mirage similar to this one
can lead people to think they are seeing
a pool of water in the middle of a desert.
#More to explore
Desert • Light
A mirage in the desert of Namibia leads
people to see a pool of water that is not
really there.
A statue in Lexington, Massachusetts,
honors the minutemen who
fought against the British in 1775.
138 Mirage BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Mirror
A mirror is a smooth surface that shows
images of the objects near it. Most mirrors
are a sheet of glass with a shiny
metallic coating on the back.
Reflection
The appearance of an image in a mirror
is called a reflection. Reflection happens
when light hits a surface. If the light
cannot pass through the surface, it
bounces off, or reflects. Most surfaces
absorb some light and reflect some light.
Mirrors, however, reflect almost all the
light that hits them. The metallic coating
on the back causes the reflection.
When you stand in front of a mirror,
your body reflects patterns of light to
the mirror. Those patterns of light
bounce off the mirror and go back to
your eyes. Your brain then interprets, or
reads, the patterns of light as an image
of yourself in the mirror.
Types of Mirrors
Most mirrors are flat. They are called
plane mirrors. Images in a plane mirror
are reversed. For example, if you raise
your right hand while looking in a mirror,
you will appear to raise your left
hand. People use plane mirrors to check
their appearance.
Other mirrors are curved. Convex mirrors
curve outward, like a dome. They
make objects appear reversed and
smaller than their actual size. Concave
mirrors curve inward, like a bowl. At a
distance, they make objects appear
upside down. Nearby, however, objects
appear right side up and larger than
their actual size.
How Mirrors Are Made
Mirrors are made in factories with special
machinery. First, a sheet of glass is
polished smooth and cleaned. Next, the
back of the glass is covered with a thin
layer of silver, aluminum, or another
