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astronomical unit

(Encyclopedia)astronomical unit (AU), mean distance between the earth and sun; one AU is c.92,960,000 mi (149,604,970 km). The astronomical unit is the principal unit of measurement within the solar system, e.g., M...

gold standard

(Encyclopedia)gold standard: see bimetallism; international monetary system; money. ...

Oswego, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Oswego, river, 23 mi (37 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Oneida and the Seneca rivers, central N.Y., NW of Syracuse and flowing NW to Lake Ontario at Oswego. It has been canalized and incorp...

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...

Iowa, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Iowa, river, 329 mi (529 km) long, rising in the lakes of N Iowa and flowing SE to the Mississippi River, SE Iowa; Cedar River (300 mi/483 km long) is its chief tributary. A power dam crosses the gorg...

hectare

(Encyclopedia)hectare hĕkˈtâr, –tär [key], abbr. ha, unit of area in the metric system, equal to 10,000 sq m, or about 2.47 acres. ...

kelvin

(Encyclopedia)kelvin, abbr. K, official name in the International System of Units (SI) for the degree of temperature as measured on the Kelvin temperature scale. ...

Sivan

(Encyclopedia)Sivan sēvänˈ [key], in the Jewish calendar, the third month (or ninth month, depending upon the system of reckoning). Esther 8.9; Baruch 1.8. ...

center

(Encyclopedia)center, in politics, a party following a middle course. The term was first used in France in 1789, when the moderates of the National Assembly sat in the center of the hall. It can refer to a separate...

Neptune, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Neptune, in astronomy, 8th planet from the sun at a mean distance of about 2.8 billion mi (4.5 billion km) with an orbit lying between those of Uranus and the dwarf planet Pluto; its period of revolut...