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beryllium

(Encyclopedia)beryllium bərĭlˈēəm [key] [from beryl ], metallic chemical element; symbol Be; at. no. 4; at. wt. 9.01218; m.p. about 1,278℃; b.p. 2,970℃ (estimated); sp. gr. 1.85 at 20℃; valence +2. Ber...

Delbrück, Max Ludwig Henning

(Encyclopedia)Delbrück, Max Ludwig Henning dĕlˈbrük [key], 1906–1981, American biophysicist, b. Berlin, Germany. Ph.D, Univ. of Göttingen, 1930. He spent most of his career as a professor at the California I...

absolute zero

(Encyclopedia)absolute zero, the zero point of the ideal gas temperature scale, denoted by 0 degrees on the Kelvin and Rankine temperature scales, which is equivalent to −273.15℃ and −459.67℉. For most gase...

Karle, Jerome

(Encyclopedia)Karle, Jerome kärl [key], 1918–2013, American physicist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Univ. of Michigan, 1943. He worked on the Manhattan Project before beginning a career (1946–2009) at the U.S. Nava...

buckminsterfullerene

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Buckminsterfullerene buckminsterfullerene bŭkˌmĭnstərfo͝olˈərēnˌ, –fo͝olˌərēnˈ [key] or buckyball, C60, hollow cage carbon molecule named for R. Buckminster Fuller because of t...

biophysics

(Encyclopedia)biophysics, application of various methods and principles of physical science to the study of biological problems. In physiological biophysics physical mechanisms have been used to explain such biolog...

sociobiology

(Encyclopedia)sociobiology, controversial field that studies how natural selection, previously used only to explain the evolution of physical characteristics, shapes behavior in animals and humans. The theory has c...

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