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micrometer

(Encyclopedia)micrometer mīkrŏmˈətər, mīˈkrōmēˌtər [key]. 1 Instrument used for measuring extremely small distances. Typical examples are devices used in astronomical telescopes to measure the apparent d...

binomial

(Encyclopedia)binomial bīˌnōˈmēəl [key], polynomial expression (see polynomial) containing two terms, for example, x+y. The binomial theorem, or binomial formula, gives the expansion of the nth power of a bin...

aviation

(Encyclopedia)aviation, operation of heavier-than-air aircraft and related activities. Aviation can be conveniently divided into military aviation, air transport, and general aviation. Military aviation includes al...

viscosity

(Encyclopedia)viscosity, resistance of a fluid to flow. This resistance acts against the motion of any solid object through the fluid and also against motion of the fluid itself past stationary obstacles. Viscosity...

John, three epistles of the New Testament

(Encyclopedia)John, three letters of the New Testament. Traditionally, they are ascribed to John son of Zebedee, the disciple of Jesus. All three letters probably date to the end of the 1st cent. a.d., and may have...

fin

(Encyclopedia)fin, organ of locomotion characteristic of fish and consisting of thin tissue supported by cartilaginous or bony rays. In some fish, e.g., the eel, a single fin extends from the back, around the tail,...

MacPhail, Larry

(Encyclopedia)MacPhail, Larry (Leland Stanford MacPhail, Sr.), 1890–1975, American baseball and business executive, b. Cass City, Mich., grad. George Washington Univ. (LL.B., 1910). After serving in World War I, ...

Miller, Glenn

(Encyclopedia)Miller, Glenn (Alton Glenn Miller), 1904–44, American jazz trombonist, bandleader, and composer, b. Clarinda, Iowa. Playing in Ben Pollack's band by 1927, he was a freelance musician in New York Cit...

Lang Lang

(Encyclopedia)Lang Lang, 1982–, Chinese virtuoso pianist. A child prodigy, he studied at the Central Music Conservatory, Beijing, and the Curtis Institute, Philadelphia. Noted for the romantic, emotive nature of ...

Mach number

(Encyclopedia)Mach number mäk [key] [for E. Mach], ratio between the speed of an object and the speed of sound in the medium in which the object is traveling. An airplane that has the velocity of Mach 3.0 is trave...