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photon

(Encyclopedia)photon fōˈtŏn [key], the particle composing light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, sometimes called light quantum. The photon has no charge and no mass. About the beginning of the 20th...

Stiglitz, Joseph Eugene

(Encyclopedia)Stiglitz, Joseph Eugene, 1943–, American economist, b. Gary, Ind., Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1967. He has taught at a number of educational institutions, including Stanford (1974�...

Richter scale

(Encyclopedia)Richter scale rĭkˈtər [key], measure of the magnitude of seismic waves from an earthquake. Devised in 1935 by the American seismologist Charles F. Richter (1900–1985) and technically known as the...

stem cells

(Encyclopedia)stem cells, unspecialized human or animal cells that can produce mature specialized body cells and at the same time replicate themselves. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a blastocyst (the blastu...

Mississippi State University for Women

(Encyclopedia)Mississippi State University for Women, at Columbus; the first state-supported women's college; chartered 1884, opened 1885 as Mississippi Industrial Institute and College, renamed Mississippi State C...

Rimouski

(Encyclopedia)Rimouski rĭmo͞oˈskē [key], town (1991 pop. 30,873), S Que., Canada, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, NE of Quebec. A major center for oceanographic research, the town is a health and ...

lead poisoning

(Encyclopedia)lead poisoning or plumbism plŭmˈbĭzˌəm [key], intoxication of the system by organic compounds containing lead. These enter the body by respiration (of dust, fumes, or sprays) or by ingestion of f...

El Niño–Southern Oscillation

(Encyclopedia)El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) ĕl nēnˈyō [key], large-scale climatic fluctuation of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the overlying atmosphere. The El Niño [Span.,=the child] is the South Am...

Hong Kong, University of

(Encyclopedia)Hong Kong, University of, at Hong Kong, China; founded 1912. There are undergraduate faculties of architecture, liberal arts, business and economics, dentistry, education, engineering, law, medicine, ...

Gagra

(Encyclopedia)Gagra gäˈgrē [key], city, Abkhazia, W Georgia, on the Black Sea and at the foot of the Gre...