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natural law

(Encyclopedia)natural law, theory that some laws are basic and fundamental to human nature and are discoverable by human reason without reference to specific legislative enactments or judicial decisions. Natural la...

museums of science

(Encyclopedia)museums of science, institutions or buildings where collections relevant to science and technology are preserved and displayed to promote education and research. While the preponderance of these museu...

history

(Encyclopedia)history, in its broadest sense, is the story of humanity's past. It also refers to the recording of that past. The diverse sources of history include books, newspapers, printed documents, personal pap...

art history

(Encyclopedia)art history, the study of works of art and architecture. In the mid-19th cent., art history was raised to the status of an academic discipline by the Swiss Jacob Burckhardt, who related art to its cul...

oral history

(Encyclopedia)oral history, compilation of historical data through interviews, usually tape-recorded and sometimes videotaped, with participants in, or observers of, significant events or times. Primitive societies...

natural gas

(Encyclopedia)natural gas, natural mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons found issuing from the ground or obtained from specially driven wells. The composition of natural gas varies in different localities. Its chief com...

field, in physics

(Encyclopedia)field, in physics, region throughout which a force may be exerted; examples are the gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields that surround, respectively, masses, electric charges, and magnets. The...

Natural Bridge

(Encyclopedia)Natural Bridge, small village, Rockbridge co., W Va., in the Shenandoah valley; founded 1774. Nearby is the famous Natural Bridge over the gorge of Cedar Creek. It is a limestone arch 215 ft (66 m) hi...

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