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momentum

(Encyclopedia)momentum mōmĕnˈtəm [key], in mechanics, the quantity of motion of a body, specifically the product of the mass of the body and its velocity. Momentum is a vector quantity; i.e., it has both a magn...

orangutan

(Encyclopedia)orangutan ōrăngˈo͝otăn [key], an ape of the genus Pongo, found in rain forests of Borneo and Sumatra. Highly specialized for arboreal life, orangutans usually travel by grasping branches with han...

mantid

(Encyclopedia)mantid or mantis, name applied to the large, slender, slow-moving, winged insects of the family Mantidae in the order Mantodea. Predatory insects, mantids have strong, elongate, spiny front legs, used...

acceleration

(Encyclopedia)acceleration, change in the velocity of a body with respect to time. Since velocity is a vector quantity, involving both magnitude and direction, acceleration is also a vector. In order to produce an ...

Levelers

(Encyclopedia)Levelers or Levellers, English Puritan sect active at the time of the English civil war. The name was apparently applied to them in 1647, in derision of their beliefs in equality. The leader of the mo...

liposome

(Encyclopedia)liposome līˈpəsōmˌ, lĭpˈə– [key], microscopic, fluid-filled pouch whose walls are made of layers of phospholipids identical to the phospholipids that make up cell membranes. Liposomes are us...

key, in music

(Encyclopedia)key. 1 In music, term used to indicate the scale from which the tonal material of a given composition is derived. To say, for example, that a composition is in the key of C major means that it uses as...

Poison Affair

(Encyclopedia)Poison Affair, in French history, scandal implicating a number of prominent persons at the court of King Louis XIV. It began with the trial of Marie Madeleine d'Aubray, marquise de Brinvilliers (c.163...

will, in law

(Encyclopedia)will, in law, document expressing the wishes of a person (known as a testator) concerning the disposition of her property after her death. If a person dies intestate, i.e., without a valid will, statu...

waters, territorial

(Encyclopedia)waters, territorial, all waters within the jurisdiction, recognized in international law, of a country. Certain waters by their situation are controlled by one nation; these include wholly enclosed in...