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Fowler, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Fowler, Sir John, 1817–98, English engineer. With Benjamin Baker, he designed and built the Forth Bridge (1882–90) in Scotland, the first major structure made of steel. He also designed much of th...

Paine, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Paine, Thomas, 1737–1809, Anglo-American political theorist and writer, b. Thetford, Norfolk, England. The son of a working-class Quaker, he became an excise officer and was dismissed from the servi...

Albemarle, Arnold Joost van Keppel, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Albemarle, Arnold Joost van Keppel, 1st earl of ălˈbəmärl [key], 1669–1718, Dutch adherent and constant companion of William III of England. He accompanied the future king to England (1688) and ...

Poynting, John Henry

(Encyclopedia)Poynting, John Henry, 1852–1914, British physicist. He was educated at Liverpool and Cambridge and was professor of physics at the Univ. of Birmingham for most of his life. He is best known for the ...

Aram

(Encyclopedia)Aram āˈrăm [key], ancient country and people centered in Damascus in S Syria between the 11th and 8th cent. b.c. The Bible records constant contacts between the Hebrews and Aram. The Aramaeans spok...

Langley, Samuel Pierpont

(Encyclopedia)Langley, Samuel Pierpont, 1834–1906, American scientist, b. Roxbury, Mass., received only a high school education but continued his studies in science in Boston libraries. He became, in 1866, profes...

dissociation

(Encyclopedia)dissociation, in chemistry, separation of a substance into atoms or ions. Thermal dissociation occurs at high temperatures. For example, hydrogen molecules (H2) dissociate into atoms (H) at very high ...

centripetal force and centrifugal force

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Centripetal and centrifugal forces: When a ball is swung in a circle at the end of a string, centripetal and centrifugal forces act as shown above. centripetal force and centrifugal force, act...

Bela

(Encyclopedia)Bela bēˈlə [key], in the Bible. 1 First king of Edom. 2 Benjamin's first son. An alternative spelling is Belah. 3 City later called Zoar. ...

King, Charles Bird

(Encyclopedia)King, Charles Bird, 1785–1862, American portrait painter, b. Newport, R.I. He studied under Edward Savage and with Benjamin West in London. His work, executed in Washington, D.C., included Native Am...