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adolescence

(Encyclopedia)adolescence, time of life from onset of puberty to full adulthood. The exact period of adolescence, which varies from person to person, falls approximately between the ages 12 and 20 and encompasses b...

bull, papal letter

(Encyclopedia)bull [Lat. bulla=leaden seal], papal letter. As the diplomatic organization of the papal chancery progressed in the Middle Ages, the papal bull came to be more solemn than the papal brief or encyclica...

Cánovas del Castillo, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Cánovas del Castillo, Antonio äntôˈnyō käˈnōväs dĕl kästēˈlyō [key], 1828–97, Spanish conservative politician, historian, and man of letters. During Spain's recurrent political crises ...

Cantabria

(Encyclopedia)Cantabria käntäˈbrēä [key], autonomous community and coextensive prov., 2,057 sq mi (5,328 sq ...

Carinthia

(Encyclopedia)Carinthia kərĭnˈthēə [key], Ger. Kärnten, province, c.3,680 sq mi (9,531 sq km), S Aust...

synthetic elements

(Encyclopedia)synthetic elements, in chemistry, radioactive elements that were not discovered occurring in nature but as artificially produced isotopes. They are technetium (at. no. 43), which was the first element...

Kane, Elisha Kent

(Encyclopedia)Kane, Elisha Kent, 1820–57, American physician and arctic explorer, b. Philadelphia. Seeking adventure after medical school, Kane entered naval service and before he was 30 had seen many parts of th...

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

(Encyclopedia)National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), federal observatory for radio astronomy, founded in 1956 and operated under contract with the National Science Foundation by Associated Universities, Inc.,...

Motlanthe, Kgalema Petrus

(Encyclopedia)Motlanthe, Kgalema Petrus kälāˈmä, mōtlänˈtā [key], 1949–, South African politician, b. Johannesburg. A fierce opponent of apartheid, he was influenced by Steve Biko and organized student pr...