(Encyclopedia) meteor shower, increase in the number of meteors observed in a particular part of the sky. The trails of the meteors of a meteor shower all appear to be traceable back to a single…
(Encyclopedia) Mount Wilson Observatory, astronomical observatory located in California on Mt. Wilson, near Pasadena. Mt. Wilson Observatory was founded in 1904 by George E. Hale. Its equipment…
(Encyclopedia) hardening, in metallurgy, treatment of metals to increase their resistance to penetration. A metal is harder when it has small grains, which result when the metal is cooled rapidly.…
(Encyclopedia) social contract, agreement or covenant by which men are said to have abandoned the “state of nature” to form the society in which they now live. The theory of such a contract, first…
(Encyclopedia) parity or space parity, in physics, quantity that refers to the relationship between an object or process and the image that it can produce in a mirror. For example, any right-handed…
(Encyclopedia) supply and demand, in classical economics, factors that are said to determine price, by correlating the amount of a given commodity producers hope to sell at a certain price (supply),…
(Encyclopedia) urinalysisurinalysisy&oobreve;rˌənălˈĭsĭs [key], clinical examination of urine for the purpose of medical diagnosis. Urine is initially examined for such characteristics as color,…
(Encyclopedia) Montholon, Charles Tristan, marquis deMontholon, Charles Tristan, marquis deshärl trēstäNˈ märkēˈ də môNtōlôNˈ [key], 1783–1853, French general in the Napoleonic Wars. He accompanied…
(Encyclopedia) Hayashi, FumikoHayashi, Fumikof&oomacr;ˈmēˈkō häˈyäˈshē [key], 1903–51, Japanese novelist and short-story writer. The daughter of an itinerant peddlar, Hayashi was raised in abject…
(Encyclopedia) creosotecreosotekrēˈəsōt [key], volatile, heavy, oily liquid obtained by the distillation of coal tar or wood tar. Creosote derived from beechwood tar has been used medicinally as an…
