(Encyclopedia) spring, in mechanics, any of several elastic devices used variously to store and to furnish energy, to absorb shock, to sustain the pressure between contacting surfaces, and to resist…
(Encyclopedia) combinatoricscombinatoricskŏmˌbənətôrˈĭks [key] or combinatorial analysiscombinatoricskŏmˌbĭnətôrˈēəl [key], sometimes called the science of counting, the branch of mathematics…
(Encyclopedia) Clarke, Arthur C. (Sir Arthur Charles Clarke), 1917–2008, British science fiction writer. During World War II he served as a radar instructor and aviator in the Royal Air Force. After…
(Encyclopedia) Chamberlain, Sir Austen (Joseph Austen Chamberlain)Chamberlain, Sir Austenchāmˈbərlĭn [key], 1863–1937, British statesman; son of Joseph Chamberlain and half-brother of Neville…
(Encyclopedia) Fonda, Jane, 1937–, American actress, b. New York City; daughter of Henry Fonda and sister of Peter Fonda. First cast in pert and sexy roles, she later distinguished herself in…
(Encyclopedia) mendeleviummendeleviummĕndəlāvˈēəm [key], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Md; at. no. 101; mass no. of most stable isotope 258; m.p. 827℃; b.p. and sp. gr.…
(Encyclopedia) Merwin, W. S. (William Stanley Merwin), 1927–2019, American poet and translator, b. New York City. After graduating from Princeton in 1948, he traveled in Europe, working as a tutor…
(Encyclopedia) Arnold, Thomas, 1795–1842, English educator, b. Isle of Wight, educated at Winchester school and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, from 1815…
(Encyclopedia) hydrofoil, flat or curved finlike device, attached by struts to the hull of a watercraft, that lifts the moving watercraft above the water's surface. The term is often extended to…
