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ethanol

(Encyclopedia)ethanol ĕthˈənōlˌ [key] or ethyl alcohol, CH3CH2OH, a colorless liquid with characteristic odor and taste; commonly called grain alcohol or simply alcohol. Ethanol is used extensively as a solv...

skin

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Cross section of skin skin, the flexible tissue (integument) enclosing the body of vertebrate animals. In humans and other mammals, the skin operates a complex organ of numerous structures (so...

Columbia, river, Canada and the United States

(Encyclopedia)Columbia, river, c.1,210 mi (1,950 km) long, rising in Columbia Lake, SE British Columbia, Canada. It flows first NW in the Rocky Mt. Trench, then hooks sharply about the Selkirk Mts. to flow S throug...

Ostrogoths

(Encyclopedia)Ostrogoths (East Goths), division of the Goths, one of the most important groups of the Germans. According to their own unproved tradition, the ancestors of the Goths were the Gotar of S Sweden. By th...

chlorine

(Encyclopedia)chlorine klōrˈēn, klôrˈ– [key] [Gr.,=green], gaseous chemical element; symbol Cl; at. no. 17; interval in which at. wt. ranges 35.446–35.457; m.p. −100.98℃; b.p. −34.6℃; density 3.2 g...

King, Martin Luther, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929–68, American clergyman and civil-rights leader, b. Atlanta, Ga., grad. Morehouse College (B.A., 1948), Crozer Theological Seminary (B.D., 1951), Boston Univ. (Ph.D., 1...

phosphorus

(Encyclopedia)phosphorus fŏsˈfərəs [key] [Gr.,=light-bearing], nonmetallic chemical element; symbol P; at. no. 15; at. wt. 30.97376; m.p. 44.1℃; b.p. about 280℃; sp. gr. 1.82 at 20℃; valence −3, +3, or ...

calcium

(Encyclopedia)calcium kălˈsēəm [key] [Lat.,=lime], metallic chemical element; symbol Ca; at. no. 20; at. wt. 40.078; m.p. about 839℃; b.p. 1,484℃; sp. gr. 1.55 at 20℃; valence +2. Calcium is a malleable, ...

chemical equation

(Encyclopedia)chemical equation, group of symbols representing a chemical reaction. There are a number of other symbols used in chemical equations. A symbol written above or below the reaction arrow indicates spe...

ammonia

(Encyclopedia)ammonia, chemical compound, NH3, colorless gas that is about one half as dense as air at ordinary temperatures and pressures. It has a characteristic pungent, penetrating odor. Ammonia forms a minute ...