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Sumner, James Batcheller

(Encyclopedia)Sumner, James Batcheller, 1887–1955, American biochemist, b. Canton, Mass., Ph.D. Harvard Medical School, 1914. He was a professor at Cornell from 1914 until his death in 1955. In 1946 Sumner was a ...

microelectronics

(Encyclopedia)microelectronics, branch of electronic technology devoted to the design and development of extremely small electronic devices that consume very little electric power. Although the term is sometimes us...

quartz

(Encyclopedia)quartz, one of the commonest of all rock-forming minerals and one of the most important constituents of the earth's crust. Chemically, it is silicon dioxide, SiO2. It occurs in crystals of the hexagon...

sarin

(Encyclopedia)sarin zärēnˈ [key], volatile liquid used as a nerve gas. It boils at 147℃ but evaporates quickly at room temperature; its vapor is colorless and odorless. Chemically, sarin is fluoroisopropoxymet...

e-cigarette

(Encyclopedia)e-cigarette or electronic cigarette, a device that produces an aerosol from a liquid containing nicotine or another active ingredient, allowing it to be inhaled in a manner similar to smoking a cigare...

bromine

(Encyclopedia)bromine brōˈmēn, –mĭn [key] [Gr.,=stench], volatile, liquid chemical element; symbol Br; at. no. 35; at. wt. 79.904; m.p. –7.2℃; b.p. 58.78℃; sp. gr. of liquid 3.12 at 20℃; density of va...

Kristallnacht

(Encyclopedia)Kristallnacht krĭsˌtäl-näkht [key] [Ger.,=night of crystal], in German history, the night of Nov. 9, 1938, a night of violence against Jews and of destruction of the businesses and other property ...

calcium carbonate

(Encyclopedia)calcium carbonate, CaCO3, white chemical compound that is the most common nonsiliceous mineral. It occurs in two crystal forms: calcite, which is hexagonal, and aragonite, which is rhombohedral. Calci...

sunstone

(Encyclopedia)sunstone. 1 Crystal mineral thought by some to have been used by the Vikings as an aid to navigation, especially in conditions of low visibility due to clouds or fog when the position of the sun was u...

blister

(Encyclopedia)blister, puffy swelling of the outer skin (epidermis) caused by burn, friction, or irritants like poison ivy. A response of the body to protect deeper tissue, blisters generally contain serum, the liq...