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Three Mile Island

(Encyclopedia)Three Mile Island, site of a nuclear power plant 10 mi (16 km) south of Harrisburg, Pa. On Mar. 28, 1979, failure of the cooling system of the No. 2 nuclear reactor led to overheating and partial melt...

Togo, Heihachiro

(Encyclopedia)Togo, Heihachiro hāˈhächĭrōˈ tōˈgō [key], 1846–1934, Japanese admiral, Japan's greatest naval hero. He studied naval science in England (1871–78), gained international recognition for his...

Sorel, Georges

(Encyclopedia)Sorel, Georges sôrĕlˈ [key], 1847–1922, French social philosopher. An engineer before he devoted himself to writing, Sorel found in the political and social life of bourgeois democracy the trium...

resistor

(Encyclopedia)resistor, two-terminal electric circuit component that offers opposition to an electric current. Resistors are normally designed and operated so that, with varying levels of current, variations of the...

chain

(Encyclopedia)chain, flexible series of connected links used in various ways, especially for the transmission of motive power, for hoisting (see pulley), and for securing or fastening. Commonly, mechanical energy f...

windmill

(Encyclopedia)windmill, apparatus that harnesses wind power for a variety of uses, e.g., pumping water, grinding corn, driving small sawmills, and driving electrical generators. Windmills were probably not known in...

Pufendorf, Samuel, Baron von

(Encyclopedia)Pufendorf, Samuel, Baron von zäˈmo͞oĕl bärônˈ fən po͞oˈfəndôrf [key], 1632–94, German jurist and historian. He is especially noted as an early theorist of international law. Educated in ...

Central Intelligence Agency

(Encyclopedia)Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), independent executive bureau of the U.S. government established by the National Security Act of 1947, replacing the wartime Office of Strategic Services (1942–45),...

National Socialism

(Encyclopedia)National Socialism or Nazism, doctrines and policies of the National Socialist German Workers' party, which ruled Germany under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1945. In German the party name was Nationalsoz...

hydraulic machine

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Hydraulic pressure: In any hydraulic device the pressure exerted by one piston is transmitted throughout the fluid. Since pressure equals force divided by area, a small force (F1) exerted on a ...