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real number

(Encyclopedia)real number: see number.

Reynolds number

(Encyclopedia)Reynolds number [for Osborne Reynolds], dimensionless quantity associated with the smoothness of flow of a fluid. It is an important quantity used in aerodynamics and hydraulics. At low velocities flu...

domino theory

(Encyclopedia)domino theory, the notion that if one country becomes Communist, other nations in the region will probably follow, like dominoes falling in a line. The analogy, first applied (1954) to Southeast Asia ...

communication theory

(Encyclopedia)communication theory: see information theory. ...

chaos theory

(Encyclopedia)chaos theory, in mathematics, physics, and other fields, a set of ideas that attempts to reveal structure in aperiodic, unpredictable dynamic systems such as cloud formation or the fluctuation of biol...

encounter theory

(Encyclopedia)encounter theory, in astronomy, see solar system. ...

planetesimal theory

(Encyclopedia)planetesimal theory plănˌĭtĕsˈəməl [key]: see solar system. ...

phlogiston theory

(Encyclopedia)phlogiston theory flōjĭsˈtŏn [key], hypothesis regarding combustion. The theory, advanced by J. J. Becher late in the 17th cent. and extended and popularized by G. E. Stahl, postulates that in all...

string theory

(Encyclopedia)string theory, description of elementary particles based on one-dimensional curves, or “strings,” instead of point particles. Superstring theory, which is string theory that contains a kind of sym...

BCS theory

(Encyclopedia)BCS theory: see superconductivity. ...