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Arias, Arnulfo

(Encyclopedia)Arias, Arnulfo ärno͞olˈfō ärˈyäs [key], 1901–88, president of Panama (1940–41, 1949–51, Oct., 1968). A Harvard-trained physician, he led the coup that deposed President Florencio Harmodio...

Yonai, Mitsumasa

(Encyclopedia)Yonai, Mitsumasa, 1880–1948, Japanese naval officer and political leader, b. Morioka. He attended the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy (grad. 1901) and the Naval War College, served in the Russo-Japa...

tourmaline

(Encyclopedia)tourmaline to͝orˈməlĭn, –lēn [key], complex borosilicate mineral with varying amounts of aluminum, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, potassium, and sometimes other elements, used as a gem. It o...

root, in botany

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Longitudinal cross section of a root root, in botany, the descending axis of a plant, as contrasted with the stem, the ascending axis. In most plants the root is underground, but in epiphytes ...

ecliptic

(Encyclopedia)ecliptic ēklĭpˈtĭk, ĭ– [key], the great circle on the celestial sphere that lies in the plane of the earth's orbit (called the plane of the ecliptic). Because of the earth's yearly revolution a...

Husseini, Amin al-

(Encyclopedia)Husseini, Amin al- ämēnˈ äl ho͝osāˈnē [key], 1896?–1974, Arab political and religious leader. He was inveterately opposed to the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, and, suspected of co...

Nicholas of Cusa

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas of Cusa (Nicolaus Cusanus), 1401?–1464, German humanist, scientist, statesman, and philosopher, from 1448 cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. The son of a fisherman, Nicholas was educate...

astigmatism

(Encyclopedia)astigmatism əstĭgˈmətĭzˌəm [key], type of faulty vision caused by a nonuniform curvature in the refractive surfaces—usually the cornea, less frequently the lens—of the eye. As a result, lig...

earth, in geology and astronomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Cross section of the earth, showing its shells B. Detailed cross section of the crust and upper mantle: The lithosphere consists of the hard rock in the crust and upper mantle, lying above t...

vector

(Encyclopedia)vector, quantity having both magnitude and direction; it may be represented by a directed line segment. Many physical quantities are vectors, e.g., force, velocity, and momentum. Thus, in specifying a...