Det´mold, a town, Germany, capital of Lippe-Detmold, on the left bank of the Werra, 50 miles south-west of Hanover, with a new and an old palace (or castle), good public library, and museum. In the vicinity a colossal statue has been erected to the Hermann or Arminius who overthrew the Roman general Varus and his legions in a battle which was fought near this place. The Senner race of horses is bred near Detmold. Pop. 14,295.
Det´onating Powders, certain chemical compounds which, on being exposed to heat or suddenly struck, explode with a loud report, owing to one or more of the constituent parts suddenly assuming the gaseous state. The chloride and iodide of nitrogen are very powerful detonating substances. Mercuric fulminate or fulminating mercury (C2HgN2O2) explodes violently when forcibly struck or when heated to 180°F. It is used for making percussion caps, and in detonators for exploding guncotton and nitroglycerin preparations. Silver fulminate (C2Ag2N2O2) explodes even more violently.
Detonating Tube, a species of eudiometer, being a stout glass tube used in chemical analysis for detonating gaseous bodies. It is generally graduated into centesimal parts, and perforated by two opposed wires for the purpose of passing an electric spark through the gases which are introduced into it, and which are confined within it over mercury and water.
Detroit (de-troit´; Fr. détroit, a strait or channel), a flourishing port and city of the United States, the largest town in Michigan, situated on the Detroit River, connecting Lakes Erie and St. Clair. The site rises gradually from the river, and the city is generally well built. Among the chief edifices are the city hall, the house of correction, post office, and opera-house. Detroit has increased very rapidly, a fact which is due to its admirable position for trade, and to its connections with a region into which a constant tide of emigration is flowing. Among the industrial establishments are saw-mills, flour-mills, building-yards for ships and boats, foundries, tanneries, blast-furnaces, pork-packing establishments, tobacco and cigar manufactories, and locomotive works. The harbour is one of the finest in the United States, and has a depth of water sufficient for the largest vessels. Detroit owes its origin to the French, who visited the site in 1648 and erected the Fort Pontchartrain in 1701. Pop. 688,028 (1919).
Detroit River, or Strait of St. Clair, a river or strait of North America which runs from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie. It is 28 miles long, and of sufficient depth for the navigation of large vessels. It is about ¾ mile wide opposite Detroit and enlarges as it descends.
Dettingen (det´ing-en), the name of several places in Germany, amongst which is a village of Bavaria, on the right bank of the Main, famous for the victory gained by the English and Austrians under George II of England over the French in 1743.
Deuca´lion, in Greek mythology, the son of Prometheus and father of Hellen, ancestor of the Hellenes. According to tradition he saved himself and his wife, Pyrrha, from a deluge which Zeus had sent upon the earth, by building a ship which rested upon Mount Parnassus. To repair the loss of mankind they were directed by an oracle to throw stones behind them; the stones thrown by Deucalion became men, those thrown by Pyrrha women.
Deus ex Machinâ (mak´i-na; Lat., 'a god out of the machine'), a phrase used to designate the resorting to supernatural causes to explain phenomena that one is not able to account for by natural means. The phrase is taken from the practice on the classical stage of introducing a god from above by means of some mechanical contrivance in order to effect a speedy dénouement of the plot.
Deuteronomy (Gr. deuteronomion, the second law), the name of the fifth book of the Pentateuch (q.v.). Until the seventeenth century it was believed to have been written by Moses, but now it is generally held to be a compilation, the bulk of it having been written in the reign of Manasseh, or according to other scholars in the reign of Josiah. At any rate the book was discovered or rediscovered while Josiah was king (2 Kings, xxii). It represents the latest phase in the development of the teaching of Moses. Its chief aim is to combat idolatry, and to concentrate the religious life of the country at Jerusalem. It has a lofty moral tone. Of one passage (vi, 4 and 5) Christ said: "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. xxii, 40), and all His answers to the Tempter in the Wilderness are taken from the book of Deuteronomy.