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servomechanism

(Encyclopedia)servomechanism, automatic device for the control of a large power output by means of a small power input or for maintaining correct operating conditions in a mechanism. It is a type of feedback contro...

Abreu, José Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Abreu, José Antonio, 1939–2018, Venezuelan music educator, economist, and politician. With degrees in petroleum economics and in organ and composition, Abreu was an economics professor at various V...

kilogram

(Encyclopedia)kilogram, abbr. kg, fundamental unit of mass in the metric system, defined as the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram, a platinum-iridium cylinder kept at Sèvres, France, near Paris. Copies ...

Camp, Walter Chauncey

(Encyclopedia)Camp, Walter Chauncey, 1859–1925, American athlete, football coach, administrator, b. New Britain, Conn. In his three years as captain at Yale Univ. in the 1880s, Camp shaped the rules that transfor...

dimension, in physics

(Encyclopedia)dimension, in physics, an expression of the character of a derived quantity in relation to fundamental quantities, without regard for its numerical value. In any system of measurement, such as the met...

Jenkins of Hillhead, Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Jenkins of Hillhead, Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron, 1920–2003, British politician, b. Abersychan, Wales; grad. Oxford. He entered the House of Commons in 1948 as a Labour member and soon became one of t...

tariff

(Encyclopedia)tariff, tax on imported and, more rarely, exported goods. It is also called a customs duty. Tariffs may be distinguished from other taxes in that their predominant purpose is not financial but economi...

international language

(Encyclopedia)international language, sometimes called universal language, a language intended to be used by people of different linguistic backgrounds to facilitate communication among them and to reduce the misun...

commercial law

(Encyclopedia)commercial law, the laws that govern business transactions, except those relating to the maritime transportation of goods (see maritime law). Commercial law developed as a distinct body of jurispruden...

Le Châtelier's principle

(Encyclopedia)Le Châtelier's principle, chemical principle that states that if a system in equilibrium is disturbed by changes in determining factors, such as temperature, pressure, and concentration of components...