Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Colored synthetic diamonds produced via the HPHT process

Synthetic diamond is diamond produced in a technological process. Claims of diamond synthesis were documented between 1879 and 1928 but none have been confirmed. In the 1940s, research began in the United States, Sweden and the Soviet Union to grow diamond using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) processes. The first reproducible synthesis was in 1953. CVD and HPHT still dominate the production of synthetic diamonds, whose properties vary depending on the process used. The hardness, thermal conductivity and electron mobility of some manufactured diamonds are superior to those of natural diamonds. Synthetic diamond is used in cutting and polishing tools, abrasives and heat sinks. Electronic applications of synthetic diamond are being developed, including high-power switches at power stations, high-frequency field-effect transistors and light-emitting diodes. Both CVD and HPHT diamonds can be cut into gems and produced in various colors (pictured). (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Eichler's advertisement

... that Lillian Eichler Watson created "Again She Orders – 'A Chicken Salad, Please'" (pictured) to advertise her 1921 Book of Etiquette?
... that sponsors were asked to buy planks for the restoration of Shotley Pier in Suffolk, England, at £100 each?
... that John C. Young served as president of Centre College for nearly 27 years, longer than any other president in the school's history?
... that Comtal Corporation's products were used by NASA to process digital images of the surface of Mars and flybys of Jupiter in the 1970s?
... that David Gee Cheng was appointed as a member of the Indonesian cabinet just three years after he became an Indonesian citizen?
... that Alaska marmots take turns acting as sentries to protect their colonies?
... that Dutch arachnologist Father Chrysanthus was the only person to make the International Society of Arachnology's first congress "international"?
... that at the Guild Theatre, the higher an actor ascended, the farther they were from stardom?

In the news

1915 Çanakkale Bridge

The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge (pictured), the first bridge over the Dardanelles and the world's longest suspension bridge, opens in Turkey.
The Power of the Dog wins Best Film and Best Director at the British Academy Film Awards.
Cyclone Gombe kills at least 53 people in Mozambique.
Yoon Suk-yeol is elected president of South Korea.
The wreck of the Endurance, sunk in 1915 during Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, is discovered.

On this day

March 20

Douglas MacArthur

235 – Maximinus Thrax acceded to the throne of the Roman Empire as a so-called barracks emperor, who gained power by virtue of his command of the army.
1815 – After escaping from exile in Elba, Napoleon entered Paris, beginning the period known as the Hundred Days.
1922 – The United States Navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier, USS Langley.
1942 – World War II: After being forced to flee the Philippines for Australia, U.S. Army general Douglas MacArthur (pictured) announced: "I came through and I shall return."
2014 – Taliban militants carried out a mass shooting at the Kabul Serena Hotel in Afghanistan, killing nine civilians.

Benjamin Truman (d. 1780)
Maud Menten (b. 1879)
S. Arasaratnam (b. 1930)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Newroz is the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz, the arrival of spring and the new year in Kurdish culture, observed in many parts of Eurasia that are historically influenced by Persian culture and Zoroastrianism. At Newroz, Kurds celebrate the victory of the legendary Kaveh the Blacksmith over the tyrant Zahhak; in the modern era, the holiday has become associated with resistance to Turkish rule. These Kurds were photographed at a celebration of Newroz in Bisaran, Iran, in 2017.

Photograph credit: Salar Arkan

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – The central hub for editors, with resources, links, tasks, and announcements.
Village pump – Forum for discussions about Wikipedia itself, including policies and technical issues.
Site news – Sources of news about Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement.
Teahouse – Ask basic questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
Help desk – Ask questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
Reference desk – Ask research questions about encyclopedic topics.

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is written by volunteer editors and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteer projects: