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blood clotting

(Encyclopedia)blood clotting, process by which the blood coagulates to form solid masses, or clots. In minor injuries, small oval bodies called platelets, or thrombocytes, tend to collect and form plugs in blood ve...

window

(Encyclopedia)window, in architecture, the casement or sash, fitted with glass, which closes an opening in the wall of a structure without excluding light and air. It may have a square, round, or pointed head; may ...

camera

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Image formed by a camera camera, lightproof box or container, usually fitted with a lens, which gathers incoming light and concentrates it so that it can be directed toward the film (in an opt...

superphosphate

(Encyclopedia)superphosphate or superphosphate of lime, Ca(H2PO4)2, is a compound produced by treating rock phosphate with sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid, or a mixture of the two. It is the principal carrier of p...

dumb show

(Encyclopedia)dumb show, a theatrical pantomime included as part of a drama, especially in Elizabethan works, from the middle of the 16th cent. well into the 17th cent. Whether presented as a spectacle, with music,...

absolute value

(Encyclopedia)absolute value, magnitude of a number or other mathematical expression disregarding its sign; thus, the absolute value is positive, whether the original expression is positive or negative. In symbols,...

bitumen

(Encyclopedia)bitumen bĭtyo͞oˈmən [key] a generic term referring to flammable, brown or black mixtures of tarlike hydrocarbons, derived naturally or by distillation from petroleum. It can be in the form of a vi...

syzygy

(Encyclopedia)syzygy sĭzˈəjē [key], in astronomy, alignment of three bodies of the solar system along a straight or nearly straight line. A planet is in syzygy with the earth and sun when it is in opposition or...

Song of Solomon

(Encyclopedia)Song of Solomon, Song of Songs, or Canticles, book of the Bible, 22d in the order of the Authorized Version. Although traditionally ascribed to King Solomon, many scholars date it as late as the 3d c...

crepe

(Encyclopedia)crepe krāp [key], thin fabric of crinkled texture, woven originally in silk but now available in all major fibers. There are two kinds of crepe. The hard-finished, typically dyed black and used for m...