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Alder, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Alder, Kurt älˈdər [key], 1902–58, German chemist, educated at Berlin and at Kiel. He was on the research staff of the Bayer Dye Works (1936–40) before becoming (1940) professor of chemistry an...

Sète

(Encyclopedia)Sète, formerly Cette both: sĕt [key], town (1990 pop. 41,916), Hérault dept., S France, in Languedoc, on the Mediterranean. It is one of the most important commercial and fishing ports of S France,...

Porter, Rodney Robert

(Encyclopedia)Porter, Rodney Robert, 1917–85, British biochemist, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1948. He was a researcher at the National Institute of Medical Research, England (1949–1960), and a professor at St. Mary's Hos...

potassium nitrate

(Encyclopedia)potassium nitrate, chemical compound, KNO3, occurring as colorless, prismatic crystals or as a white powder; it is found pure in nature as the mineral saltpeter, or niter. (The name saltpeter is also ...

Saint-Dié

(Encyclopedia)Saint-Dié săN-dyā [key], city (1990 pop. 23,670), Vosges dept., E France, in Lorraine, on the Meurthe River. It is an industrial center where foundry products, chemical products, and machinery are ...

Todd, Sir Alexander Robertus

(Encyclopedia)Todd, Sir Alexander Robertus, 1907–97, Scottish biochemist, Ph.D., Univ. of Frankfurt am Main, 1931; Oxford, 1933. Todd held posts at Edinburgh Univ. (1934–36), the Lister Institute of Preventive ...

obsidian

(Encyclopedia)obsidian ŏbsĭdˈēən [key], a volcanic glass, homogeneous in texture and having a low water content, with a vitreous luster and a conchoidal fracture. The color is commonly black, but may be some s...

night blindness

(Encyclopedia)night blindness, inability to see normally in subdued light. It is usually a result of vitamin A deficiency. The rod cells, one of two light-sensitive areas of the retina of the eye, are impaired in t...

Palencia

(Encyclopedia)Palencia pälānˈthēä [key], city (1990 pop. 77,464), capital of Palencia prov., N central Spain, in Castile and León. An industrial center with iron foundries, textile mills, and chemical plants,...

Nivernais

(Encyclopedia)Nivernais nēvĕrnāˈ [key], region and former province, central France. It roughly coincides with Nièvre dept. Drained by the Loire and the Yonne, it is a hilly plateau, rising to the Morvan Mts. i...