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temperature, body

(Encyclopedia)temperature, body: see body temperature; fever. ...

temperature inversion

(Encyclopedia)temperature inversion, condition in which the temperature of the atmosphere increases with altitude in contrast to the normal decrease with altitude. When temperature inversion occurs, cold air underl...

body temperature

(Encyclopedia)body temperature, internal temperature of a living organism. Mammals and birds are termed warm-blooded, or homeothermic, i.e., they are able to maintain a relatively constant inner body temperature, w...

British thermal unit

(Encyclopedia)British thermal unit, abbr. Btu, unit for measuring heat quantity in the customary system of English units of measurement, equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of...

zero

(Encyclopedia)zero, that number which, when added to any number, leaves the latter unchanged; its symbol is 0. The introduction of zero into the decimal system was the most significant achievement in the developmen...

chromatic scale

(Encyclopedia)chromatic scale, in music: see scale. ...

Fujita scale

(Encyclopedia)Fujita scale fo͞ojēˈtə, fo͞oˈjētə [key] or F-Scale, scale for rating the severity of tornadoes as a measure of the damage they cause, devised in 1951 by the Japanese-American meteorologist Tet...

Mercalli scale

(Encyclopedia)Mercalli scale: see Richter scale. ...

Beaufort scale

(Encyclopedia)Beaufort scale, a scale of wind velocity devised (c.1805) by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort of the British navy. An adaptation of Beaufort's scale is used by the U.S. National Weather Service; it employ...

scale insect

(Encyclopedia)scale insect, common name for members of a highly modified group of insects belonging to several families of the superfamily Coccoidea. Scales possess antennae and are characterized by reduced legs. O...