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air mass

(Encyclopedia)air mass, large body of air within the earth's atmosphere in which temperature and humidity, although varying at different heights, remain similar throughout the body at any one height. Air masses for...

X Prize Foundation

(Encyclopedia)X Prize Foundation, private, nonprofit prize institute est. 1995 by commercial space entrepreneur Peter Diamandis. Based in Santa Monica, Calif., and funded by foundations and private individuals and ...

Birmingham, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Birmingham bûrˈmĭnghămˌ [key] 1 City (2020 pop. 200,733), seat of Jefferson co., N centr...

Samara, city, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Samara səmäˈrə [key], formerly Kuybyshev, city (1989 pop. 1,254,000), capital of its region, E central European Russia, on the left bank of the Volga and at the mouth of the Samara River. It is a ...

Dodd, William Edward

(Encyclopedia)Dodd, William Edward, 1869–1940, American historian and diplomat, b. Clayton, N.C. He was professor of history at Randolph-Macon College (1900–1908) and at the Univ. of Chicago (1908–33). From J...

Mitchell, William

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, William (Billy Mitchell), 1879–1936, American army officer and pilot, b. Nice, France. He enlisted (1898) in the U.S. army in the Spanish-American War and received a commission in the regu...

Cabell, Branch

(Encyclopedia)Cabell, Branch (James Branch Cabell) kăˈbəl [key], 1879–1958, American novelist, b. Richmond, Va., grad. William and Mary, 1898. After various experiences as a journalist and a coal miner he bega...

Snyder, Gary

(Encyclopedia)Snyder, Gary, 1930–, American poet, b. San Francisco. Associated with the beat generation of the 1950s, he lived (1956–68) in Japan, where he trained as a Zen monk. His poetry, influenced by Zen B...

Schechter, Solomon

(Encyclopedia)Schechter, Solomon shĕkhˈtər [key], 1847–1915, Jewish scholar. Born in Romania, he was educated in Vienna and at the Univ. of Berlin. He went to England in 1882 and in 1890 he was made lecturer i...

anticyclone

(Encyclopedia)anticyclone, region of high atmospheric pressure; anticyclones are commonly referred to as “highs.” The pressure gradient, or change between the core of the anticyclone and its surroundings, combi...