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Pandora, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Pandora păndôrˈə [key], in Greek mythology, first woman on earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create her as vengeance upon man and his benefactor, Prometheus. The gods endowed her with every charm,...

Nepos, Cornelius

(Encyclopedia)Nepos, Cornelius nēˈpŏs [key], c.100 b.c.–c.25 b.c., Roman historian. He was an intimate friend of Pomponius Atticus, Cicero, and Catullus. His only extant work is a collection of biographies, mo...

derecho

(Encyclopedia)derecho dərāˈchō [key], a long-lived windstorm over a wide expanse that is associated with a line of rapidly moving thunderstorms or showers. The winds in a derecho generally exceed 57 mph (92 kph...

center of mass

(Encyclopedia)center of mass, the point at which all the mass of a body may be considered to be concentrated in analyzing its motion. The center of mass of a sphere of uniform density coincides with the center of t...

thermodynamics

(Encyclopedia)thermodynamics, branch of science concerned with the nature of heat and its conversion to mechanical, electric, and chemical energy. Historically, it grew out of efforts to construct more efficient he...

Lysippos

(Encyclopedia)Lysippos līsĭpˈəs [key], fl. late 4th cent. b.c., Greek sculptor, head of the Sicyon school. Hellenistic sculpture was based largely on the style he introduced. In treating the human figure, he mo...

Golden Section

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Rectangle ABCD is a golden rectangle. Removing the square AEFD leaves the rectangle EBCF Golden Section, in mathematics, division of a line segment into two segments such that the ratio of the...

Americanization

(Encyclopedia)Americanization, term used to describe the movement during the first quarter of the 20th cent. whereby the immigrant in the United States was induced to assimilate American speech, ideals, traditions,...

hydrogen cyanide

(Encyclopedia)hydrogen cyanide, HCN, colorless, volatile, and extremely poisonous chemical compound whose vapors have a bitter almond odor. It melts at −14℃ and boils at 26℃. It is miscible in all proportions...

Jones, Inigo

(Encyclopedia)Jones, Inigo ĭnˈĭgōˌ [key], 1573–1652, one of England's first great architects. Son of a London clothmaker, he was enabled to travel in Europe before 1603 to study paintings, perhaps at the exp...