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caoutchouc

(Encyclopedia)caoutchouc kouˈcho͝ok [key], natural rubber obtained as a latex from various tropical plants, e.g., the Pará rubber tree. It is much more elastic than balata or gutta-percha. It is the most familia...

wheel

(Encyclopedia)wheel. Through the many millennia of the Paleolithic period and the Neolithic period no use of the wheel was known to humans. Its use was not known to the Native Americans until the Europeans introduc...

tympanum

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Tympanum (west pediment, temple of Aphaia at Aegina) tympanum tĭmˈpənəm [key]. In architecture, the triangular space of a pediment, or low-pitched gable, above a portico, door, or window. ...

Bedlington terrier

(Encyclopedia)Bedlington terrier, breed of long-legged, lithe terrier developed in the eastern Border districts of England in the 19th cent. It stands about 16 in. (40.6 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 22 ...

schipperke

(Encyclopedia)schipperke skĭpˈərkē [key], a breed of small nonsporting dog developed in Belgium several hundred years ago. It stands about 13 in. (33 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 14 to 18 lb (6.4–...

rectifier

(Encyclopedia)rectifier, component of an electric circuit used to change alternating current to direct current. Rectifiers are made in various forms, all operating on the principle that current passes through them ...

fatigue, in physiology

(Encyclopedia)fatigue, in physiology, inability to perform reasonable and necessary physical or mental activity. Muscle fatigue, for example, results when the contractile properties of muscle are reduced, and conti...

hemoglobin

(Encyclopedia)hemoglobin hēˈməglōˌbĭn [key], respiratory protein found in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of all vertebrates and some invertebrates. A hemoglobin molecule is composed of a protein group, kn...

Brunswick, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Brunswick. 1 City (2020 pop. 15,210), seat of Glynn co., SE Ga., on St. Simon's Sound near the Atlantic coast; laid out 1771–72, inc. 1856. ...

Wallace, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Wallace, Sir William, 1272?–1305, Scottish soldier and national hero. The first historical record of Wallace's activities concerns the burning of Lanark by Wallace and 30 men in May, 1297, and the s...