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parachute

(Encyclopedia)parachute, umbrellalike device designed to retard the descent of a falling body by creating drag as it passes through the air. The development of modern aircraft has led to many experiments in the aer...

flame

(Encyclopedia)flame, phenomenon associated with the chemical reaction of a gas that has been heated above its kindling temperature with some other gas, usually atmospheric oxygen (see combustion). The heat and ligh...

hotel

(Encyclopedia)hotel [Fr., from O.Fr. (origin of Eng. hostel), from Latin (origin of Eng. hospital),=guest place], name applied since the late 17th cent. to an establishment supplying both food and lodging to the pu...

adrenal gland

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Adrenal glands: The cross-sectioned area shows the adrenal cortex and medulla. adrenal gland so͞oprərēnˈəl [key], endocrine gland (see endocrine system) about 2 in. (5.1 cm) long situated...

debt, public

(Encyclopedia)debt, public, indebtedness of a central government expressed in money terms, often referred to as national debt. The debt is computed differently by nearly every nation. Some authorities exclude all g...

international monetary system

(Encyclopedia)international monetary system, rules and procedures by which different national currencies are exchanged for each other in world trade. Such a system is necessary to define a common standard of value ...

Liberal Democrats, British political party

(Encyclopedia)Liberal Democrats, British political party created in 1988 by the merger of the Liberal party with the Social Democratic party; the party was initially called the Social and Liberal Democratic party. ...

Mugabe, Robert Gabriel

(Encyclopedia)Mugabe, Robert Gabriel mo͞ogäˈbē, –bā [key], 1924–2019, president of Zimbabwe (1987–2017). A founder of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) in 1963 and a guerrilla leader, he was imp...

multiple birth

(Encyclopedia)multiple birth, bringing forth of more than one offspring at birth. Although many smaller mammals bear several young at a time, multiple births are relatively uncommon in humans and other primates. Tw...

Chinese exclusion

(Encyclopedia)Chinese exclusion, policy of prohibiting immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States; initiated in 1882. From the time of the U.S. acquisition of California (1848) there had been a large infl...