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ring, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)ring, in astronomy, relatively thin band of rocks and dust and ice particles that orbit around a planet in the planet's equatorial plane. All four of the giant planets in the solar system—Jupiter, S...

Nagel, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Nagel, Ernest, 1901–85, American philosopher, b. Nové Město (now in the Czech Republic), grad. College of the City of New York, 1923, and Columbia (Ph.D., 1930). His family emigrated to the United...

Toronto, University of

(Encyclopedia)Toronto, University of, at Toronto, Ont., Canada; nondenominational; provincially supported; coeducational; founded 1827 as King's College. It achieved university status in 1849 and is governed under ...

Calgary, University of

(Encyclopedia)Calgary, University of, at Calgary, Alta., Canada; coeducational; provincially supported; founded 1945 as a branch of the Univ. of Alberta. It gained full autonomy in 1966. It has faculties of educati...

Buckland, William

(Encyclopedia)Buckland, William, 1784–1856, English geologist. He was dean of Westminster from 1845. First to note in England the action of glacial ice on rocks, he did much to bring physical and natural science ...

Boston University

(Encyclopedia)Boston University, at Boston, Mass.; coeducational; founded 1839, chartered 1869, first baccalaureate granted 1871. It is composed of 16 schools and colleges. Among its notable research facilities are...

Syracuse University

(Encyclopedia)Syracuse University, main campus at Syracuse, N.Y.; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1871. Syracuse is noted for its research programs in government and industry; facilities include the Center fo...

British Columbia, University of

(Encyclopedia)British Columbia, University of, at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; provincially supported; coeducational; chartered 1908, opened 1915. It has faculties of arts, science, graduate studies, applie...

cryptography

(Encyclopedia)cryptography krĭptŏgˈrəfē [key] [Gr.,=hidden writing], science of secret writing. There are many devices by which a message can be concealed from the casual reader, e.g., invisible writing, but t...

altitude

(Encyclopedia)altitude, vertical distance of an object above some datum plane, such as mean sea level or a reference point on the earth's surface. It is usually measured by the reduction in atmospheric pressure wit...