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tangent

(Encyclopedia)tangent, in mathematics. 1 In geometry, the tangent to a circle or sphere is a straight line that intersects the circle or sphere in one and only one point. For other curves and surfaces the tangent l...

Channel Islands, California

(Encyclopedia)Channel Islands or Santa Barbara Islands sănˈtə bärˈbrə, –bərə [key], chain of eight rugged islands and many islets, extending c.150 mi (240 km) along the S Calif. coast from Point Conceptio...

Groton

(Encyclopedia)Groton grŏtˈən [key]. <1> Town (2020 pop. 38,411), New London co., SE Conn., includi...

Patton, George Smith, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Patton, George Smith, Jr., 1885–1945, American general, b. San Gabriel, Calif. A graduate of West Point (1909), he served in World War I and was wounded while commanding a tank brigade in France. Su...

Navigation Acts

(Encyclopedia)Navigation Acts, in English history, name given to certain parliamentary legislation, more properly called the British Acts of Trade. The acts were an outgrowth of mercantilism, and followed principle...

moment

(Encyclopedia)moment, in physics and engineering, term designating the product of a quantity and a distance (or some power of the distance) to some point associated with that quantity. The most theoretically useful...

deliquescence

(Encyclopedia)deliquescence dĕlˌəkwĕsˈəns [key], conversion of a solid substance into a liquid as a result of absorption of water vapor from the air. Since impurities in a solid lower its melting point, the a...

projective geometry

(Encyclopedia)projective geometry, branch of geometry concerned with those properties of geometric figures that remain invariant under projection. The basic elements are points, lines, and planes, and the following...

Aldrin, Buzz

(Encyclopedia)Aldrin, Buzz ôlˈdrĭn [key] (Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.), 1930–, American astronaut, b. Montclair, N.J. After graduating from West Point (1951), Aldrin joined the U.S. air force and flew 66 combat m...

Cumberland, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Cumberland. 1 City (2020 pop. 19,076), seat of Allegany co., NW Md., on the North Branch of the Potomac; settled 1750, inc. 1815. It is an important ...