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sleep

(Encyclopedia)sleep, resting state in which an individual becomes relatively quiescent and relatively unaware of the environment. During sleep, which is in part a period of rest and relaxation, most physiological f...

Moscow Basin

(Encyclopedia)Moscow Basin, lignite basin, c.200 mi (320 km) long and 50 mi (80 km) wide, central European Russia, S of Moscow. Tula is the chief city of the region. Low-grade bituminous and lignite coals, suitable...

Watchung Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Watchung Mountains, two long low ridges of volcanic origin, from 400 to 500 ft (122–152 m) high, N central N.J. They curve c.40 mi (60 km) between Paterson and Somerville. Basalt is quarried there. ...

Gobelins, Manufacture nationale des

(Encyclopedia)Gobelins, Manufacture nationale des mänüfäktürˈ näsēônälˈ dā gôblăNˈ [key], state-controlled tapestry manufactory in Paris. It was founded as a dye works in the mid-15th cent. by Jean Go...

firebrick

(Encyclopedia)firebrick, brick that can withstand high temperatures, used to line flues, stacks, furnaces, and fireplaces. In general, such bricks have high melting points that range from about 2,800℉ (1.540℃) ...

Richardson, Robert Coleman

(Encyclopedia)Richardson, Robert Coleman, 1937–2013, American physicist, b. Washington, D.C. Ph.D. Duke Univ., 1966. Richardson was a professor at Cornell from 1968 until his death; he was the university's first ...

accent

(Encyclopedia)accent, in speech, emphasis given a particular sound, called prosodic systems in linguistics. There are three basic accentual methods: stress, tone, and length. In English each word has at least one p...

earthenware

(Encyclopedia)earthenware, form of pottery fired at relatively low temperatures, so that the clay does not vitrify (become glassy), as do stoneware and porcelain clays. Occasionally, earthenware is used as a genera...

arteriosclerosis

(Encyclopedia)arteriosclerosis ärtĭrˌēōsklərōˈsis [key], general term for a condition characterized by thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of the blood vessels. These changes are freq...

rent

(Encyclopedia)rent, in law, periodic payment by a tenant for the use of another's property. In economics, its meaning is more complex, but since the word rent means any income or yield from an object capable of pro...