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quantum theory

(Encyclopedia)quantum theory, modern physical theory concerned with the emission and absorption of energy by matter and with the motion of material particles; the quantum theory and the theory of relativity togethe...

Riemann, Bernhard

(Encyclopedia)Riemann, Bernhard (Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann) gāˈôrk frēˈdrĭkh bĕrnˈhärt rēˈmän [key], 1826–66, German mathematician. He studied at the universities of Göttingen and Berlin and w...

Bentley, Arthur Fisher

(Encyclopedia)Bentley, Arthur Fisher, 1870–1957, American political scientist and philosopher, b. Freeport, Ill., studied Johns Hopkins (B.A., 1892; Ph.D., 1895) and Univ. of Berlin. After a year teaching at the ...

Cartan, Élie Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Cartan, Élie Joseph äNrēˈ [key], 1904–2008, was also a mathematician, and was one of the founding members of the Bourbaki group (see Bourbaki, Nicolas), which sought to establish a rigorous foun...

Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon

(Encyclopedia)Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon hĕnˈdrək änˈtōn lōˈrĕnts [key], 1853–1928, Dutch physicist, a pioneer in formulating the relations between electricity, magnetism, and light. He was one of the first...

dimension, in mathematics

(Encyclopedia)dimension, in mathematics, number of parameters or coordinates required locally to describe points in a mathematical object (usually geometric in character). For example, the space we inhabit is three...

Michelson, Albert Abraham

(Encyclopedia)Michelson, Albert Abraham mīˈkəlsən [key], 1852–1931, American physicist, b. Strelno, Prussia, grad. Annapolis, 1873, and studied at Berlin, Heidelberg, and Paris. He was professor of physics at...

Sirius

(Encyclopedia)Sirius sĭrˈēəs [key], or Dog Star, brightest star in the sky. It is located in the constellation Canis Major (1992 position R.A. 6h44.8m, Dec. −16°42′); its Bayer designation is Alpha Canis M...

electrodynamics

(Encyclopedia)electrodynamics, study of phenomena associated with charged bodies in motion and varying electric and magnetic fields (see charge; electricity); since a moving charge produces a magnetic field, electr...

Dirac, Paul Adrien Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Dirac, Paul Adrien Maurice dĭrăkˈ [key], 1902–84, English physicist. He was educated at the Univ. of Bristol and St. John's College, Cambridge, and became professor of mathematics at Cambridge in...

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