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Malus, Étienne Louis

(Encyclopedia)Malus, Étienne Louis ātyĕnˈ lwē mälüsˈ [key], 1775–1812, French artillery officer and physicist. In 1810 he stated his discovery of the polarization of light by reflection and published a me...

Cleomedes

(Encyclopedia)Cleomedes klēˌōmēˈdēz, klēˌə– [key], fl. 2d cent., Greek astronomer. In a treatise on the circular theory of heavenly bodies, he recorded several hypotheses, e.g., the earth's spherical for...

Smith, Henry John Stephen

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Henry John Stephen, 1826–83, British mathematician. He was a lecturer in mathematics (1850–73) and, from 1860 to 1883, Savilian professor of geometry at Oxford. He is especially noted for h...

Transantarctic Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Transantarctic Mountains, mountain chain stretching across Antarctica from Victoria Land to Coats Land; separating the E Antarctic and W Antarctic subcontinents. Mt. Markham (14,275 ft/4,351 m high), ...

de Vries, Hugo

(Encyclopedia)de Vries, Hugo hüˈgō də vrēs [key], 1848–1935, Dutch botanist. He opened a new approach to the study of evolution by using the experimental method to investigate the processes of evolution. His...

Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie

(Encyclopedia)Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie pyĕr mōrēsˈ märēˈ düĕmˈ [key], 1861–1916, French physicist and philosopher and historian of science. After studying at the École Normale Supérieure he taught ...

Compton effect

(Encyclopedia)Compton effect [for A. H. Compton], increase in the wavelengths of X rays and gamma rays when they collide with and are scattered from loosely bound electrons in matter. This effect provides strong ve...

emotion

(Encyclopedia)emotion, term commonly and loosely used to denote individual, subjective feelings which dictate moods. In psychology, emotion is considered a response to stimuli that involves characteristic physiolog...

Penrose, Sir Roger

(Encyclopedia)Penrose, Sir Roger, 1931–, British mathematical physicist, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1958. He taught and conducted research at a number of British and American colleges and universities before becoming a pro...

Adams, Brooks

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Brooks, 1848–1927, American historian, b. Quincy, Mass.; son of Charles Francis Adams (1807–86). His theory that civilization rose and fell according to the growth and decline of commerce w...