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Santa Maria, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Santa Maria, city (1990 pop. 61,284), Santa Barbara co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; founded 1874 as Central City, renamed 1882, inc. 1905. A growing city, it has an economy based largely on a...

air transportation

(Encyclopedia)air transportation: see aviation. ...

lock, air

(Encyclopedia)lock, air: see air lock.

liquid air

(Encyclopedia)liquid air, ordinary air that has been liquefied by compression and cooling to extremely low temperatures (see liquefaction). Its commercial preparation involves purification by washing to remove solu...

plein-air

(Encyclopedia)plein-air plān-ârˈ, Fr. plĕn-ĕrˈ [key] [Fr.,=open-air], term used for paintings or drawings made directly from nature and infused with a feeling of the open air. Painting outdoors is a relativel...

air embolism

(Encyclopedia)air embolism: see embolus.

air lock

(Encyclopedia)air lock, compartment connecting two different environments, usually at different pressures, that enables personnel to transfer from one environment to the other. Space capsules have air locks to enab...

air mass

(Encyclopedia)air mass, large body of air within the earth's atmosphere in which temperature and humidity, although varying at different heights, remain similar throughout the body at any one height. Air masses for...

Aïr Massif

(Encyclopedia)Aïr Massif or Aïr Mountains, Africa: see Sahara. ...

air navigation

(Encyclopedia)air navigation, science and technology of determining the position of an aircraft with respect to the surface of the earth and accurately maintaining a desired course (see navigation). Basic to air ...