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octane number

(Encyclopedia)octane number, figure of merit representing the resistance of gasoline to premature detonation when exposed to heat and pressure in the combustion chamber of an internal-combustion engine. Such detona...

lightning

(Encyclopedia)lightning, electrical discharge accompanied by thunder, commonly occurring during a thunderstorm. The discharge may take place between one part of a cloud and another part (intracloud), between one cl...

mineral

(Encyclopedia)mineral, inorganic substance occurring in nature, having a characteristic and homogeneous chemical composition, definite physical properties, and, usually, a definite crystalline form. A few of the mi...

kitchen

(Encyclopedia)kitchen, separate room or other space set aside for the cooking or preparation of meals. When cooking first moved indoors, it was performed, with other domestic labors, in the common room, where the f...

Burchfield, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Burchfield, Charles (Charles Ephraim Burchfield), 1893–1967, American painter, b. Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio, studied Cleveland School of Art. Living at first in Ohio, then moving (1921) to upstate New ...

vanadium

(Encyclopedia)vanadium vənāˈdēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol V; at. no. 23; at. wt. 50.9415; m.p. about 1,890℃; b.p. 3,380℃; sp. gr. about 6 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, +4, or +5. Vanadium is a ...

spinal cord

(Encyclopedia)spinal cord, the part of the nervous system occupying the hollow interior (vertebral canal) of the series of vertebrae that form the spinal column, technically known as the vertebral column. Extending...

Poitier, Sir Sidney

(Encyclopedia)Poitier, Sir Sidney, 1927–2022, Bahamian-American actor, b. Miami, raised in the Bahamas, returned to the United States at 14. Poitier served in the 1...

printer

(Encyclopedia)printer, device that reproduces text, images, or other data from a computer, digital camera, smartphone, or the like on paper or another medium. Impact printers, which mostly have been superseded by i...

pen

(Encyclopedia)pen, pointed implement used in writing or drawing to apply ink or a similar colored fluid to any surface, such as paper. Various kinds of pens have been used since ancient times. Reeds that were slit ...