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magnesia, chemical compound

(Encyclopedia)magnesia, common name for the chemical compound magnesium oxide, MgO. It occurs as colorless, cubic crystals. It is refractory, melting at about 2,800℃. It is very slightly soluble in pure water but...

marcasite

(Encyclopedia)marcasite märˈkəsīt [key] or white iron pyrites, a mineral closely resembling and having the same chemical composition (FeS2) as pyrite. It differs from pyrite in that it is paler in color, become...

Robin Hood

(Encyclopedia)Robin Hood, legendary hero of 12th-century England who robbed the rich to help the poor. Chivalrous, manly, fair, and always ready for a joke, Robin Hood reflected many of the ideals of the English ye...

Robinson, Lennox

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Lennox, 1886–1958, Irish dramatist. From 1910 to 1923 he was manager of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, and he served as director there from 1923 until his death. The comedy The White Headed ...

Bilbo, Theodore Gilmore

(Encyclopedia)Bilbo, Theodore Gilmore, 1877–1947, U.S. senator (1935–47), b. near Poplarville, Pearl River co., Miss. After study at the Univ. of Nashville (1897–1900) and Vanderbilt Univ. law school (1905–...

blazing star

(Encyclopedia)blazing star or button snakeroot, any plant of the genus Liatris, showy North American perennials of the family Asteraceae (aster family). The blossoms, rosy purple or white, are in somewhat feathery ...

Berkshire swine

(Encyclopedia)Berkshire swine bûrkˈshər, bärkˈ–, –shĭr [key], one of the oldest of the improved breeds of swine, originating in the county of Berkshire in S central England. The breed was imported to the ...

skylark

(Encyclopedia)skylark, common name for a passerine songbird (Alauda arvensis) famous for the soaring, melodious flight of the courting male. Found in Europe (except in the Mediterranean area), it is 71⁄4 in. (18....

Tampere

(Encyclopedia)Tampere tämˈpĕrā [key], Swed. Tammerfors, city (1998 pop. 191,254), Western Finland prov., SW Finland, on the banks of the rapids between lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. It is the third largest...

varying hare

(Encyclopedia)varying hare, any of several medium-sized hares, sometimes known as snowshoe rabbits, having white fur in winter and turning brownish in summer. They are 18 to 19 in. (45–48 cm) long and have very l...