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diffraction

(Encyclopedia)diffraction, bending of waves around the edge of an obstacle. When light strikes an opaque body, for instance, a shadow forms on the side of the body that is shielded from the light source. Ordinarily...

nuclear reactor

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Power reactor system nuclear reactor, device for producing controlled release of nuclear energy. Reactors can be used for research or for power production. A research reactor is designed to pr...

von Klitzing, Klaus

(Encyclopedia)von Klitzing, Klaus, 1943–, German physicist, Ph.D. Univ. of Würzburg, 1972. He was a professor at the Technical Univ. of Munich (1980–85) and then director of the Max Planck Institute for Solid ...

condensation

(Encyclopedia)condensation, in physics, change of a substance from the gaseous (vapor) to the liquid state (see states of matter). Condensation is the reverse of vaporization, or change from liquid to gas. It can b...

monism

(Encyclopedia)monism mōˈnĭzəm [key] [Gr.,=belief in one], in metaphysics, term introduced in the 18th cent. by Christian von Wolff for any theory that explains all phenomena by one unifying principle or as mani...

philosophy of science

(Encyclopedia)philosophy of science, branch of philosophy that emerged as an autonomous discipline in the 19th cent., especially through the work of Auguste Comte, J. S. Mill, and William Whewell. Several of the is...

theology

(Encyclopedia)theology thēŏlˈəjē [key], in Christianity, the systematic study of the nature of God and God's relationship with humanity and with the world. Although other religions may be said to have theologi...

formula, in mathematics and physics

(Encyclopedia)formula, in mathematics and physics, equation expressing a definite fixed relationship between certain quantities. The quantities are usually expressed by letters, and their relationship is indicated ...

Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan

(Encyclopedia)Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan so͝obˌrəmänˈyən chŭnˌdrəsāˈkər [key], 1910–95, American astrophysicist, b. Lahore, India (now Pakistan). He became a professor at the Univ. of Chicago in 1938...

hot spring

(Encyclopedia)hot spring, natural discharge of groundwater having an elevated temperature. Most hot springs result from the emergence of groundwater that has passed through or near recently formed, hot, igneous roc...