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Braid, James

(Encyclopedia)Braid, James, 1795?–1860, English surgeon and writer on hypnotism and magic. The first to use the term hypnotism instead of mesmerism or animal magnetism, he also demonstrated that it was achieved b...

Flanagan, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Flanagan, Richard, 1961–, Australian novelist, b. Longford, Tasmania, studied Univ. of Tasmania (grad. 1982), Oxford (Rhodes scholar). Flanagan, whose novels explore the past and present of his nati...

Melloni, Macedonio

(Encyclopedia)Melloni, Macedonio mächādôˈnyō māl-lōˈnē [key], 1798–1854, Italian physicist. Known especially for his investigations of heat, he pointed out the similarity of heat to light, showing that i...

Bermuda Triangle

(Encyclopedia)Bermuda Triangle, area in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida where a number of ships and aircraft have vanished. Also known as the Devil's Triangle, it is bounded at its points by Melbourne, Fla.; Bermuda...

Odebrecht corruption scandal

(Encyclopedia)Odebrecht corruption scandal, series of graft scandals involving the Odebrecht (now Novonor), a Brazilian construction and petrochemicals conglomerate, as well as Petrobras, the Brazilian multinationa...

La Voisin

(Encyclopedia)La Voisin: see Poison Affair.

Voisin, La

(Encyclopedia)Voisin, La: see Poison Affair.

Consumer Affairs, Office of

(Encyclopedia)Consumer Affairs, Office of, agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established 1971. The office advises and represents the president on matters of consumer interest, and analyzes and coordinates ...

Black, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Black, Joseph, 1728–99, Scottish chemist and physician, b. France. He was professor of chemistry at Glasgow (1756–66) and from 1766 at Edinburgh. He is best known for his theories of latent heat a...

Tait, Peter Guthrie

(Encyclopedia)Tait, Peter Guthrie, 1831–1901, Scottish physicist and mathematician. He was professor of natural philosophy at Edinburgh from 1860 and conducted important investigations in thermodynamics and the k...