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soil

(Encyclopedia)soil, surface layer of the earth, composed of fine rock material disintegrated by geological processes; and humus, the organic remains of decomposed vegetation. In agriculture, soil is the medium that...

Larvik

(Encyclopedia)Larvik lärˈvēk [key], city (1995 pop. 39,011), Vestfold co., SE Norway, at the head of the Larviksfjord (an arm of the Skagerrak); chartered 1671. It is a shipping and whaling center. Tanum Church,...

tuber

(Encyclopedia)tuber, enlarged tip of a rhizome (underground stem) that stores food. Although much modified in structure, the tuber contains all the usual stem parts—bark, wood, pith, nodes, and internodes. The ey...

Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie

(Encyclopedia)Duhem, Pierre Maurice Marie pyĕr mōrēsˈ märēˈ düĕmˈ [key], 1861–1916, French physicist and philosopher and historian of science. After studying at the École Normale Supérieure he taught ...

Hassel, Odd

(Encyclopedia)Hassel, Odd ôd häsˈəl [key], 1897–1981, Norwegian chemist, b. Christiania (now Oslo), grad. Oslo Univ. (1920), Ph.D. Univ. of Berlin (1924). After pursuing X-ray crystallographic studies in Germ...

gutta-percha

(Encyclopedia)gutta-percha gŭtˈə-pûrˈchə [key], natural latex obtained from Palaquium gutta and several other evergreen trees of East Asia. The latex, collected by felling or girdling the tree, is allowed to ...

Ramón y Cajal, Santiago

(Encyclopedia)Ramón y Cajal, Santiago säntyäˈgō rämōnˈ ē kähälˈ [key], 1852–1934, Spanish histologist, widely considered the father of neuroscience. He was a university professor at Valencia (1881–8...

Fowler, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Fowler, Sir John, 1817–98, English engineer. With Benjamin Baker, he designed and built the Forth Bridge (1882–90) in Scotland, the first major structure made of steel. He also designed much of th...

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

(Encyclopedia)Thomas Jefferson Memorial, monument, 18 acres (7 hectares), in East Potomac Park, on the Tidal Basin, Washington, D.C.; authorized by Congress 1934, built 1938–43, dedicated 1943. The white marble b...

Christo

(Encyclopedia)Christo krĭsˈtō [key], 1935–2020, Bulgarian-American artist, b. Gabrovo as Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, studied Sofia, Vienna, and Paris. His early experiments in assemblage led to his trademark...