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cat's-eye

(Encyclopedia)cat's-eye, gemstone that displays a thin band of reflected light on its surface when cut as a cabochon. Its name is derived from its supposed resemblance to the eye of a cat. The optical effect, known...

Vakhtangov, Yevgeni

(Encyclopedia)Vakhtangov, Yevgeni yĭvgāˈnyē väkhtänˈgôf [key], 1883–1922, Russian actor, producer, and founder of the Moscow theater that bears his name. A pupil and friend of Stanislavsky, Vakhtangov joi...

Raman, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata

(Encyclopedia)Raman, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata chŭnˈdrəsĕkärə vĕngˈkətə räˈmən [key], 1888–1970, Indian physicist. He was professor of physics at Calcutta Univ. from 1917 to 1933. In Bangalore (now ...

shape memory

(Encyclopedia)shape memory, property possessed by certain alloys that allows them to return, when heated, to their original shape after having been deformed. This effect results because, as the alloy is deformed, i...

Sloan, Alfred Pritchard, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Sloan, Alfred Pritchard, Jr., 1875–1966, American businessman and philanthropist, b. New Haven, Conn., grad. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1895. He began his career as a draftsman for the H...

apartment house

(Encyclopedia)apartment house, building having three or more dwelling units. Numerous early examples of this form of dwelling have been found in remains of Roman and medieval cities and in the 17th-cent. Pueblo vil...

trade association

(Encyclopedia)trade association, group of business people in the same trade or industry organized for the advancement of common interests. The trade association differs from the chamber of commerce in that membersh...

gull

(Encyclopedia)gull, common name for an aquatic bird of the family Laridae, which also includes the tern and the jaeger. It is found near all oceans and many inland waters. Gulls are larger and bulkier than terns, a...

vetch

(Encyclopedia)vetch, common name for many weak-stemmed, leguminous herbs of the genus Vicia of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). The vetches are chiefly annuals, distributed over temperate regions of the North...

sunflower

(Encyclopedia)sunflower, any plant of the genus Helianthus of the family Asteraceae (aster family), annual or perennial herbs native to the New World and common throughout the United States. In cultivation, the flo...