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mechanism

(Encyclopedia)mechanism, philosophical theory about the nature of organic systems, holding that organisms are machines in the sense that they are material systems. Mechanism seeks to explain biological processes, i...

lead acetate

(Encyclopedia)lead acetate, chemical compound, a white crystalline substance with a sweetish taste. Like other lead compounds, it is very poisonous. Lead acetate is soluble in water and glycerin. With water it form...

Lipscomb, William Nunn, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Lipscomb, William Nunn, Jr. lĭpˈskəm [key], 1919–2011, American physical chemist, b. Cleveland, Ph.D. California Institute of Technology, 1946. A professor of chemistry at the Univ. of Minnesota ...

Kanawha

(Encyclopedia)Kanawha kənôˈwə [key], principal river of W.Va., 97 mi (156 km) long, formed by the confluence of the New and Gauley rivers, S central W.Va., and flowing NW to the Ohio River at Point Pleasant; Ch...

Polanyi, John Charles

(Encyclopedia)Polanyi, John Charles, 1929–, Canadian chemist. Raised and educated in England, he worked as a researcher in Canada before taking a teaching position at the Univ. of Toronto in 1956. He used spectro...

Brus, Louis

(Encyclopedia)Louis Brus, 1943– , b. Cleveland, Ohio, American chemist, studied at Rice University (B.S., 1965) and Columbia University (Ph.D., 1969). He is Samuel ...

tear gas

(Encyclopedia)tear gas, gas that causes temporary blindness through the excessive flow of tears resulting from irritation of the eyes. The gas is used in chemical warfare and as a means for dispersing mobs. Compoun...

Whitehaven

(Encyclopedia)Whitehaven hwītˈhāvən [key], town (1991 pop. 27,512), Cumbria, NW England, at the mouth of Solway Firth. Whitehaven is a seaport and industrial town. There are chemical works, iron foundries, and ...

Rustavi

(Encyclopedia)Rustavi ro͝ostäˈvē [key], city (1989 pop. 153,661), E Georgia, on the Kura River. It was an industrial center, with ironworks and steelworks and chemical plants, but the local economy collapsed in...

Tuzla

(Encyclopedia)Tuzla to͞ozˈlä [key], city (2013 pop. 80,570), in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Various fruits are grown in the vicinity, lignite and salt are mined, and some oil is extracted; there is a chemical plant....