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Watt, James

(Encyclopedia)Watt, James, 1736–1819, Scottish inventor. While working at the Univ. of Glasgow as an instrument maker, Watt was asked to repair a model of Thomas Newcomen's steam engine. He devised improvements t...

measurement

(Encyclopedia)measurement, determination of the magnitude of a quantity by comparison with a standard for that quantity. Quantities frequently measured include time, length, area, volume, pressure, mass, force, and...

infrared astronomy

(Encyclopedia)infrared astronomy, study of celestial objects by means of the infrared radiation they emit, in the wavelength range from about 1 micrometer to about 1 millimeter. All objects, from trees and building...

Magnus, Heinrich Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Magnus, Heinrich Gustav hīnˈrĭkh go͝osˈtäf mägˈno͝os [key], 1802–70, German chemist, physicist, and educator. In 1831 he became lecturer and in 1834 professor of physics and technology at t...

Koopmans, Tjalling Charles

(Encyclopedia)Koopmans, Tjalling Charles tyälˈĭng, ko͞opˈmäns, –mənz [key], 1910–85, American economist, b. Graveland, the Netherlands. Raised and educated in the Netherlands, he came to the United State...

National Institute of Standards and Technology

(Encyclopedia)National Institute of Standards and Technology, governmental agency within the U.S. Dept. of Commerce with the mission of “working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and st...

Haworth, Sir Walter Norman

(Encyclopedia)Haworth, Sir Walter Norman, 1883–1950, British chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Göttingen, 1911. Haworth held academic posts at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London (1911–12), the Univ. of...

Fontenelle, Bernard le Bovier de

(Encyclopedia)Fontenelle, Bernard le Bovier de bĕrnärˈ lə bōvyāˈ də fôNtənĕl [key], 1657–1757, French writer; nephew of Corneille. His forte was the interpretation of science. His works include Dialogu...

Fukui, Kenichi

(Encyclopedia)Fukui, Kenichi kĕnˈēchē fo͝oko͞oˈē, fo͝okˈo͞o-ē [key], 1918–98, Japanese chemist, b. Nara, Japan, Ph.D. Kyoto Univ., 1948. As a professor at Kyoto Univ., Fukui developed the theory that ...

demography

(Encyclopedia)demography dĭmŏgˈrəfē [key], science of human population. Demography represents a fundamental approach to the understanding of human society. Its primary tasks are to ascertain the number of peop...