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Midwest

(Encyclopedia)Midwest or Middle West, region of the United States centered on the western Great Lakes and the upper-middle Mississippi valley. It is a somewhat imprecise term that has been applied to the northern s...

doldrums

(Encyclopedia)doldrums dŏlˈdrəmz [key] or equatorial belt of calms, area around the earth centered slightly north of the equator between the two belts of trade winds. The large amount of solar radiation that arr...

torsion balance

(Encyclopedia)torsion balance, instrument used to measure small forces. It is based on the principle that a wire or thread resists twisting with a force that is proportional to the stress. The torsion balance consi...

Firestone, Harvey Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Firestone, Harvey Samuel, 1868–1938, American industrialist, manufacturer of rubber products, b. Columbiana co., Ohio. The son of a prosperous farmer, Harvey Firestone began to manufacture rubber ti...

biceps

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Biceps of arm biceps bīˈsĕps [key], any muscle having two heads, or fixed ends of attachment, notably the biceps brachii at the front of the upper arm and the biceps femoris in the thigh. O...

Juruá

(Encyclopedia)Juruá zho͞orwäˈ [key], river, c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) long, rising in the Cerros de Canchyuaya, E Peru. It flows in a winding course generally NE through Acre and Amazonas states, W Brazil, to the A...

weight

(Encyclopedia)weight, measure of the force of gravity on a body (see gravitation). Since the weights of different bodies at the same location are proportional to their masses, weight is often used as a measure of m...

Loyalty Islands

(Encyclopedia)Loyalty Islands, coral group (1989 pop. 17,900), S Pacific, a part of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia. The group comprises three islands (Lifou, Maré, and Ouvéa) and many islets and h...

Palestine, region, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Palestine pălˈəstīn [key], historic region on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, at various times comprising parts of modern Israel, the West Bank and Gaza (recognized internationally by ...

Grahamstown

(Encyclopedia)Grahamstown, city, now part and seat of Makana local municipality, Eastern Cape prov., SE South Africa. It manufactures pottery and is the commercial center for a rich agricultural region. Founded in ...