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air conditioning

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Cross section of air conditioning unit. air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air i...

cline

(Encyclopedia)cline, in biology, any gradual change in a particular characteristic of a population of organisms from one end of the geographical range of the population to the other. Gradients of characteristics us...

evaporation

(Encyclopedia)evaporation, change of a liquid into vapor at any temperature below its boiling point. For example, water, when placed in a shallow open container exposed to air, gradually disappears, evaporating at ...

ventilation

(Encyclopedia)ventilation, process of supplying fresh air to an enclosed space and removing from it air contaminated by odors, gases, or smoke. Proper ventilation requires also that there be a movement or circulati...

doldrums

(Encyclopedia)doldrums dŏlˈdrəmz [key] or equatorial belt of calms, area around the earth centered slightly north of the equator between the two belts of trade winds. The large amount of solar radiation that arr...

Lambert, Johann Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Lambert, Johann Heinrich yōˈhän hīnˈrĭkh lämˈbĕrt [key], 1728–77, German-French philosopher and scientist, b. Alsace. He developed many basic concepts in mathematics, including that of the ...

greenhouse

(Encyclopedia)greenhouse, enclosed glass house used for growing plants in regulated temperatures, humidity, and ventilation. A greenhouse can range from a small room carrying a few plants over the winter, to an imm...

dry rot

(Encyclopedia)dry rot, fungus disease that attacks both softwood and hardwood timber. Destruction of the cellulose causes discoloration and eventual crumbling of the wood. This frequently results in the collapse of...

fish curing

(Encyclopedia)fish curing. Methods of curing fish by drying, salting, smoking, and pickling, or by combinations of these processes have been employed since ancient times. On sailing vessels fish were usually salted...

Onychophora

(Encyclopedia)Onychophora ŏnˌəkŏfˈərə [key], small phylum with about 70 species of animals that are often called “missing links” between annelids (phylum Annelida) and arthropods (phylum Arthropoda). The...

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