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mica

(Encyclopedia)mica mīˈkə [key], general term for a large group of minerals, hydrous silicates of aluminum and potassium, often containing magnesium, ferrous iron, ferric iron, sodium, and lithium and more rarely...

niobium

(Encyclopedia)niobium nīōˈbēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Nb; at. no. 41; at. wt. 92.90638; m.p. about 2,468℃; b.p. 4,742℃; sp. gr. 8.57 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, +4, or +5. Niobium is a rare...

Martí, José

(Encyclopedia)Martí, José hōsāˈ märtēˈ [key], 1853–95, Cuban essayist, poet, and patriot, leader of the Cuban struggle for independence. One of the greatest prose writers of Spanish America, he is noted f...

parody

(Encyclopedia)parody, mocking imitation in verse or prose of a literary work. The following poem by Robert Southey was parodied by Lewis Carroll: “You are old, Father William,” the young man cried; “The few l...

bustard

(Encyclopedia)bustard bŭsˈtərd [key], a heavy-bodied, ground-running bird of the family Otididae. Various species are found throughout the arid regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, and S Europe. Bustards range in...

buffalo, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)buffalo, name commonly applied to the American bison but correctly restricted to certain related African and Asian mammals of the cattle family. The water buffalo, or Indian buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, ...

smog

(Encyclopedia)smog smŏg [key] [smoke+fog], dense, visible air pollution. Smog is commonly of two types. The gray smog of older industrial cities like London and New York derives from the massive combustion of coal...

swift

(Encyclopedia)swift, common name for small, swallowlike birds related to the hummingbird and found all over the world, chiefly in the tropics. They range in size from 6 to 12 in. (15–30 cm) in length. Swifts have...

tantalum

(Encyclopedia)tantalum tănˈtələm [key] [from Tantalus], metallic chemical element; symbol Ta; at. no. 73; at. wt. 180.94788; m.p. 2,996℃; b.p. 5,400±100℃; sp. gr. 16.65 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, +4, or +5....

Schwarzenegger, Arnold Alois

(Encyclopedia)Schwarzenegger, Arnold Alois, 1947–, Austrian-American actor, bodybuilder, and politician, b. Thal, Austria. He began competing in bodybuilding contests in his teens, and won his first of five Mr. U...