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determinant

(Encyclopedia)determinant, a polynomial expression that is inherent in the entries of a square matrix. The size n of the square matrix, as determined from the number of entries in any row or column, is called the o...

pragmatism

(Encyclopedia)pragmatism prăgˈmətĭzəm [key], method of philosophy in which the truth of a proposition is measured by its correspondence with experimental results and by its practical outcome. Thought is consid...

Hobbes, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Hobbes, Thomas hŏbz [key], 1588–1679, English philosopher, grad. Magdalen College, Oxford, 1608. For many years a tutor in the Cavendish family, Hobbes took great interest in mathematics, physics, ...

aorta

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Aorta aorta āôrˈtə [key], primary artery of the circulatory system in mammals, delivering oxygenated blood to all other arteries except those of the lungs. The human aorta, c.1 in. (2.54 c...

limit

(Encyclopedia)limit, in mathematics, value approached by a sequence or a function as the index or independent variable approaches some value, possibly infinity. For example, the terms of the sequence 1⁄2, 1⁄4, ...

Minuf

(Encyclopedia)Minuf mĭno͞ofˈ [key], town (1986 pop. 69,673), N Egypt, between the Rashid (Rosetta) and Dumyat (Damietta) branches of the Nile River. It is the trade center for an irrigated agricultural region th...

vegetative propagation

(Encyclopedia)vegetative propagation, the ability of plants to reproduce without sexual reproduction, by producing new plants from existing vegetative structures. Some plants, such as the Canada thistle and most ba...

divination

(Encyclopedia)divination, practice of foreseeing future events or obtaining secret knowledge through communication with divine sources and through omens, oracles, signs, and portents. It is based on the belief in r...

Maeander

(Encyclopedia)Maeander mēănˈdər [key], ancient name of the Büyük Menderes River, c.250 mi (400 km) long, W Turkey. It rises in three branches W of Afyonkarahisar and flows generally W into the Aegean Sea. Its...

Storfjord

(Encyclopedia)Storfjord stôrˈfyôrˌ [key], deep inlet of the Norwegian Sea, c.70 mi (110 km) long, Møre og Romsdal co., SW Norway. A scenic area with sheer cliffs and high waterfalls, Storfjord branches into se...