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aniline

(Encyclopedia)aniline ănˈəlĭn [key], C6H5NH2, colorless, oily, basic liquid organic compound; chemically, a primary aromatic amine whose molecule is formed by replacing one hydrogen atom of a benzene molecule w...

Ginzburg, Vitaly Lazarevich

(Encyclopedia)Ginzburg, Vitaly Lazarevich, 1916–2009, Russian physicist, Ph.D. Moscow State Univ., 1938. He was a researcher at Lebedev Physics Institute of the USSR (later Russian) Academy of Sciences after 1940...

decay of organic matter

(Encyclopedia)decay of organic matter or putrefaction, process whereby heterotrophic organisms, including some bacteria, fungi, saprophytic plants, and lower animals, utilize the remains of once-living tissue as a ...

ethylene

(Encyclopedia)ethylene ĕthˈēn [key], H2C=CH2, a gaseous unsaturated hydrocarbon. It is the simplest alkene. Ethylene is colorless, has a faint odor, and has a slightly sweet taste; it melts at −169.4℃ and bo...

fallout

(Encyclopedia)fallout, minute particles of radioactive material produced by nuclear explosions (see atomic bomb; hydrogen bomb; Chernobyl) or by discharge from nuclear-power or atomic installations and scattered th...

antiseptic

(Encyclopedia)antiseptic, agent that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms on the external surfaces of the body. Antiseptics should generally be distinguished from drugs such as antibiotics that destroy mi...

ether, in chemistry

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ethers ether, any of a number of organic compounds whose molecules contain two hydrocarbon groups joined by single bonds to an oxygen atom. The most common of these compounds is ethyl ether, C...

phosphoric acid

(Encyclopedia)phosphoric acid, any one of three chemical compounds made up of phosphorus, oxygen, and hydrogen (see acids and bases). The most common, orthophosphoric acid, H3PO4, is usually simply called phosphori...

Von Neumann, John

(Encyclopedia)Von Neumann, John noiˈmän [key], 1903–57, American mathematician, b. Hungary, Ph.D. Univ. of Budapest, 1926. He came to the United States in 1930 and was naturalized in 1937. He taught (1930–33)...

white lead

(Encyclopedia)white lead, heavy, white substance, poisonous, insoluble in water, extensively used as a white pigment and base in paints. It is one of the oldest paint pigments used by humans. Chemically, it is basi...