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space station

(Encyclopedia)space station or space platform, artificial earth satellite, usually manned, that is placed in a fixed orbit and can serve as a base for astronomical observations; zero-gravity materials processing; s...

Springfield

(Encyclopedia)Springfield. 1 City (1990 pop. 105,227), state capital and seat of Sangamon co., central Ill., on the Sangamon River; settled 1818, inc. as a city 1840. In a rich agricultural region (sorghum, corn, c...

infertility

(Encyclopedia)infertility, inability to conceive or carry a child to delivery. The term is usually limited to situations where the couple has had intercourse regularly for one year without using birth control. The ...

plastic

(Encyclopedia)plastic, any organic material with the ability to flow into a desired shape when heat and pressure are applied to it and to retain the shape when they are withdrawn. The first important plastic, cel...

Wordsworth, William

(Encyclopedia)Wordsworth, William, 1770–1850, English poet, b. Cockermouth, Cumberland. One of the great English poets, he was a leader of the romantic movement in England. Wordsworth's personality and poetry ...

reproductive system

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Reproductive system reproductive system, in animals, the anatomical organs concerned with production of offspring. In humans and other mammals the female reproductive system produces the femal...

observatory

(Encyclopedia)observatory, scientific facility especially equipped to detect and record naturally occurring scientific phenomena. Although geological and meteorological observatories exist, the term is generally ap...

telephone

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Hand telephone telephone, device for communicating sound, especially speech, usually by means of wires in an electric circuit. The telephones now in general use evolved from the device invente...

biblical archaeology

(Encyclopedia)biblical archaeology, term applied to the archaeology of the biblical lands, especially those of the ancient Middle East. While the thousands of written texts found in the languages of the ancient Mid...

acting

(Encyclopedia)acting, the representation of a usually fictional character on stage or in films. At its highest levels of accomplishment acting involves the employment of technique and/or an imaginative ...