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perturbation

(Encyclopedia)perturbation pŭrˌtərbāˈshən [key], in astronomy and physics, small force or other influence that modifies the otherwise simple motion of some object. The term is also used for the effect produce...

family, in sociology

(Encyclopedia)family, a basic unit of social structure, the exact definition of which can vary greatly from time to time and from culture to culture. How a society defines family as a primary group, and the functio...

elementary particles

(Encyclopedia)CE5 elementary particles, the most basic physical constituents of the universe. The first subatomic particle to be discovered was the electron, identified in 1897 by J. J. Thomson. After the...

Rankine temperature scale

(Encyclopedia)Rankine temperature scale, temperature scale having an absolute zero, below which temperatures do not exist, and using a degree of the same size as that used by the Fahrenheit temperature scale. Absol...

Mayagüez

(Encyclopedia)Mayagüez mīägwāsˈ, mīäwāsˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 100,371), W Puerto Rico, on Mona Passage. It is a port of entry as well as a shipping and manufacturing center in an area where sugarcane, co...

Nägeli, Karl Wilhelm von

(Encyclopedia)Nägeli or Naegeli, Karl Wilhelm von both: kärl vĭlˈhĕlm fən nāˈgəlē [key], 1817–91, Swiss botanist. He was professor at the Univ. of Munich from 1858 and was noted especially for his work ...

Creusot, Le

(Encyclopedia)Creusot, Le lə krözōˈ [key], city, Saône-et-Loire dept., E central France, in Burgundy. ...

Iowa State University of Science and Technology

(Encyclopedia)Iowa State University of Science and Technology, at Ames, commonly known as Iowa State University; land-grant with state and federal support; coeducational; chartered 1858, opened 1868 as an agricultu...

Akasaki, Isamu

(Encyclopedia)Akasaki, Isamu, 1929–2021, Japanese physicist, b. Chiran, Japan, Kyoto Univ. (BA, 1942), Nagoya Univ. (Ph.D., 1964). Aftger graduating from college, Akasaki worked as an engineer before ...

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