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Surgut

(Encyclopedia)Surgut so͞orˈgo͞ot [key], city (1989 pop. 248,000), in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region, Siberian Russia, on the Ob river. An oil and gas center as well as a port, it is connected by rail and pip...

Kingsville

(Encyclopedia)Kingsville, city (1990 pop. 25,276), seat of Kleberg co., S Tex.; inc. 1911. It is headquarters of the gigantic King Ranch. The city is a processing center for cotton, livestock, vegetables, and dairy...

methane

(Encyclopedia)methane mĕthˈān [key], CH4, colorless, odorless, gaseous saturated hydrocarbon; the simplest alkane. It is less dense than air, melts at −184℃, and boils at −161.4℃. It is combustible and c...

condensation

(Encyclopedia)condensation, in physics, change of a substance from the gaseous (vapor) to the liquid state (see states of matter). Condensation is the reverse of vaporization, or change from liquid to gas. It can b...

safety lamp

(Encyclopedia)safety lamp, oil lamp designed for safe use in mines and other places where flammable gases such as firedamp (see damp) may be present. Its invention (c.1816) is usually attributed to Sir Humphry Davy...

phosgene

(Encyclopedia)phosgene fŏsˈjēn [key], colorless poison gas, first used during World War I by the Germans (1915). When dispersed in air, the gas has the odor of new-mowed hay. The gas is highly toxic; when inhale...

bellows

(Encyclopedia)bellows, expansible, gas-tight chamber used to pump or store a gas. One of the simplest and most familiar types of bellows is the manual one used for providing a forced draft to a fire. The expansible...

colic

(Encyclopedia)colic, intense pain caused by spasmodic contractions of one of the hollow organs, e.g., the stomach, intestine, gall bladder, ureter, or oviduct. The cause of colic is irritation and/or obstruction, a...

Milford Haven

(Encyclopedia)Milford Haven, Welsh Aberdaugleddau, town (1981 pop. 13,883), Pembrokeshire, SW Wales. It is a seaport on the northern side of the estuary called Milford Haven. The bay forms a natural harbor that can...

Geiger counter

(Encyclopedia)Geiger counter or Geiger-Müller (G-M) counter gīˈgər-mŭlˈər, –myo͞oˈlər [key], instrument for the detection and quantitative determination of ionizing radiation such as the alpha and beta ...