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gooseflesh

(Encyclopedia)gooseflesh, temporary rumpling of the skin into tiny bumps, also called goose bumps and goose pimples, and technically known as cutis ansirina. In response to cold or certain emotional states, such as...

japanning

(Encyclopedia)japanning jəpănˈing [key], method of varnishing a surface, such as wood, metal, or glass, to obtain a durable, lustrous finish. The term is derived from a process popular in England, France, the Ne...

nylon

(Encyclopedia)nylon, synthetic thermoplastic material characterized by strength, elasticity, resistance to abrasion and chemicals, low moisture absorbency, and capacity to be permanently set by heat. After 10 years...

Nott, Eliphalet

(Encyclopedia)Nott, Eliphalet ĭlĭfˈəlĭt [key], 1773–1866, American educator, inventor, and clergyman, b. Ashford, Conn. In 1804, Nott became president of Union College, a post he held for 62 years; he initia...

Brown-Séquard, Charles Édouard

(Encyclopedia)Brown-Séquard, Charles Édouard broun-sākärˈ, –sākwärˈ [key], 1817–94, physiologist, b. Mauritius, of French and American parents. He taught at Harvard (1864–68), practiced medicine in Ne...

machine tool

(Encyclopedia)machine tool, power-operated tool used for finishing or shaping metal parts, especially parts of other machines. An establishment that is equipped with such tools and specializes in such work is known...

solid

(Encyclopedia)solid, one of the three commonly recognized states in which matter occurs, i.e., that state, as distinguished from liquid and gas, in which a substance has both a definite shape and a definite volume....

polonium

(Encyclopedia)polonium pəlōˈnēəm [key], radioactive chemical element; symbol Po; at. no. 84; mass no. of most stable isotope 209; m.p. 254℃; b.p. 962℃; sp. gr. about 9.4; valence +2 or +4. Polonium is an e...

Hill, Archibald Vivian

(Encyclopedia)Hill, Archibald Vivian, 1886–1977, British physiologist, B.A. Cambridge, 1909. Hill was a professor at Manchester Univ. (1920–23) and University College, London (1923–25) before becoming a resea...

gilding

(Encyclopedia)gilding, process of applying a thin layer of real or imitation gold to a surface. The process is employed on wood, metal, ivory, leather, paper, glass, porcelain, and fabrics and is used to embellish ...