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rammed earth

(Encyclopedia)rammed earth, material consisting chiefly of soil of sufficiently stiff consistency that has been placed in forms and pounded down. It has been used for buildings and walls since ancient times and was...

shooting star, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)shooting star, in astronomy: see meteor. ...

Geikie, Sir Archibald

(Encyclopedia)Geikie, Sir Archibald gēˈkē [key], 1835–1924, British geologist, educated at the Univ. of Edinburgh. He joined the Geological Survey of Scotland, becoming its director in 1867. He was professor o...

Chamberlin, Thomas Chrowder

(Encyclopedia)Chamberlin, Thomas Chrowder, 1843–1928, American geologist, b. Mattoon, Ill., grad. Beloit College, 1866. He was professor of geology at Beloit (1873–82), president of the Univ. of Wisconsin (1887...

astronomy

(Encyclopedia)astronomy, branch of science that studies the motions and natures of celestial bodies, such as planets, stars, and galaxies; more generally, the study of matter and energy in the universe at large. ...

uniformitarianism

(Encyclopedia)uniformitarianism, in geology, doctrine holding that changes in the earth's surface that occurred in past geologic time are referable to the same causes as changes now being produced upon the earth's ...

Hopkins, William

(Encyclopedia)Hopkins, William, 1793–1866, English geologist. Hopkins studied mathematics at Cambridge, and then supported himself as a private mathematics tutor. Many of England's best mathematicians and mathema...

radar astronomy

(Encyclopedia)radar astronomy, application of radar to the determination of distances and planetary features within the solar system, such as rotation rates. A short burst of radio waves is transmitted in the direc...

geophysics

(Encyclopedia)geophysics, study of the structure, composition, and dynamic changes of the earth, its atmosphere, hydrosphere and magnetosphere, based on the principles of physics. The term was probably first used i...

Burnet, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Burnet, Thomas, c.1635–1715, English cleric and scientist, b. Croft, in Yorkshire, England. He was educated at Northallerton and Cambridge. Following travels in Europe, Burnet published in 1681 the ...