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Tucson

(Encyclopedia)Tucson to͞oˈsŏnˌ [key], city (1990 pop. 405,390), seat of Pima co., SE Ariz.; inc. 1877. Situated in a desert plain surrounded by mountains, Tucson is an important and growing transportation and t...

Hounsfield, Sir Godfrey Newbold

(Encyclopedia)Hounsfield, Sir Godfrey Newbold, 1919–2004, British electrical engineer. A radar expert for the Royal Air Force during World War II, in the 1950s Hounsfield began developing computer and X-ray techn...

Buridan, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Buridan, Jean byo͝orˈĭdən, Fr. zhäN bürēdäNˈ [key], d. c.1358, French scholastic philosopher. Rector of the Univ. of Paris, he was a follower of William of Occam and a nominalist. Buridan pro...

Balchen, Bernt

(Encyclopedia)Balchen, Bernt bârnt bälˈkən [key], 1899–1973, Norwegian-American aviator. He headed one of the search expeditions for Amundsen and Ellsworth in 1925 and was a member of their 1926 expedition to...

equilibrium

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Equilibrium equilibrium, state of balance. When a body or a system is in equilibrium, there is no net tendency to change. In mechanics, equilibrium has to do with the forces acting on a body. ...

linoleum

(Encyclopedia)linoleum lĭnōˈlēəm [key], resilient floor or wall covering made of burlap, canvas, or felt, surfaced with a composition of wood flour, oxidized linseed oil, gums or other ingredients, and colorin...

Santos-Dumont, Alberto

(Encyclopedia)Santos-Dumont, Alberto älbĕrˈto͝o sänˈto͝ozh-dümôNˈ [key], 1873–1932, Brazilian aeronaut. The son of a wealthy coffee grower, he was a flamboyant bon vivant and lived in France from 1891 t...

Virginia Beach

(Encyclopedia)Virginia Beach, resort city (1990 pop. 393,069), independent and in no county, SE Va., on the Atlantic coast; inc. 1906. In 1963, Princess Anne co. and the former small town of Virginia Beach were mer...

Kerrville

(Encyclopedia)Kerrville kûrˈvĭl [key], city (1990 pop. 17,384), seat of Kerr co., S central Tex., on the Guadalupe River; settled 1846, inc. 1942. Kerrville has an active livestock industry (cattle, sheep, goats...

Brainerd, David

(Encyclopedia)Brainerd, David brāˈnərd [key], 1718–47, missionary to the Native Americans, b. Haddam, Conn. Licensed to preach in 1742, he spent his brief years among the Native Americans, first in New York an...