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Schwartz, Melvin

(Encyclopedia)Schwartz, Melvin, 1932–2006 American physicist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Columbia, 1958. He was on the faculty at Columbia (1958–66, 1991–2000, emeritus 2000–2006) and Stanford (1966–83). Sch...

conduction

(Encyclopedia)conduction, transfer of heat or electricity through a substance, resulting from a difference in temperature between different parts of the substance, in the case of heat, or from a difference in elect...

logic circuit

(Encyclopedia)logic circuit, electric circuit whose output depends upon the input in a way that can be expressed as a function in symbolic logic; it has one or more binary inputs (capable of assuming either of two ...

halo, in meteorology

(Encyclopedia)halo, in meteorology, short-lived circles or arcs, and less commonly spikes and crosses, of colored or whitish light surrounding the moon or sun or in clouds as seen from above. A halo occurs when the...

inert gas

(Encyclopedia)inert gas or noble gas, any of the elements in Group 18 of the periodic table. In order of increasing atomic number they are: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. They are colorless, odorle...

synchrotron radiation

(Encyclopedia)synchrotron radiation, in physics, electromagnetic radiation emitted by high-speed electrons spiraling along the lines of force of a magnetic field (see magnetism). Depending on the electron's energy ...

quantum electrodynamics

(Encyclopedia)quantum electrodynamics (QED), quantum field theory that describes the properties of electromagnetic radiation and its interaction with electrically charged matter in the framework of quantum theory. ...

ligand

(Encyclopedia)ligand lĭgˈənd [key], charged or uncharged molecule with one or more unshared pairs of electrons that can attach to a central metallic atom or ion to form an aggregate known as a complex ion (see c...

histology

(Encyclopedia)histology hĭstŏlˈəjē [key], study of the groups of specialized cells called tissues that are found in most multicellular plants and animals. Histologists study the organization of tissues at all ...

electrodynamics

(Encyclopedia)electrodynamics, study of phenomena associated with charged bodies in motion and varying electric and magnetic fields (see charge; electricity); since a moving charge produces a magnetic field, electr...