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vulcanization

(Encyclopedia)vulcanization vŭlˌkənəzāˈshən [key], treatment of rubber to give it certain qualities, e.g., strength, elasticity, and resistance to solvents, and to render it impervious to moderate heat and c...

Theodore of Mopsuestia

(Encyclopedia)Theodore of Mopsuestia mŏpˌsyo͞oĕsˈchə [key], c.350–428, Syrian Christian theologian, bishop of Mopsuestia (from 392). Together with his lifelong friend, St. John Chrysostom, he studied at the...

ultrasonics

(Encyclopedia)ultrasonics, study and application of the energy of sound waves vibrating at frequencies greater than 20,000 cycles per second, i.e., beyond the range of human hearing. The application of sound energy...

Sinclair, Upton

(Encyclopedia)Sinclair, Upton (Upton Beall Sinclair), 1878–1968, American novelist and socialist activist, b. Baltimore, grad. College of the City of New York, 1897. He was one of the muckrakers, and a dedication...

spinal cord

(Encyclopedia)spinal cord, the part of the nervous system occupying the hollow interior (vertebral canal) of the series of vertebrae that form the spinal column, technically known as the vertebral column. Extending...

reservoir

(Encyclopedia)reservoir rĕzˈəvôr, –vwär [key], storage tank or wholly or partly artificial lake for storing water. Building an embankment or dam to preserve a supply of water for irrigation is an ancient pra...

pile

(Encyclopedia)pile, post of timber, steel, or concrete used to support a structure. Vertical piles, or bearing piles, the most common form, are generally needed for the foundations of bridges, docks, piers, and bui...

Bakelite

(Encyclopedia)Bakelite bāˈkəlīt [key] [for its inventor, L. H. Baekeland], synthetic thermosetting resin. It has been widely used both alone, to form whole objects, and in combination with other materials, as a...

ear

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ear ear, organ of hearing and equilibrium. The human ear consists of outer, middle, and inner parts. The outer ear is the visible portion; it includes the skin-covered flap of cartilage known ...

atomic weight

(Encyclopedia)atomic weight, mean (weighted average) of the masses of all the naturally occurring isotopes of a chemical element, as contrasted with atomic mass, which is the mass of any individual isotope. Althoug...