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termite

(Encyclopedia)termite or white ant, common name for a soft-bodied social insect of the infraorder Isoptera. Originally classified in as a separate order, termites are genetically related to cockroaches and are now ...

supernova

(Encyclopedia)supernova, a massive star in the latter stages of stellar evolution that suddenly contracts and then explodes, increasing its energy output as much as a billionfold. Supernovas are the principal distr...

stellar evolution

(Encyclopedia)CE5 The above Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram shows the track of stellar evolution for a typical star. After spending much of its life evolving toward or along the main sequence, the star becomes...

Israel, country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Israel ĭzˈrēəl [key], officially State of Israel, republic (2015 est. pop. 8,065,000, including Israelis in occupied Arab territories), 7,992 sq mi (20,700 sq km), SW Asia, on the Mediterra...

Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Alfred, 849–99, king of Wessex (871–99), sometimes called Alfred the Great, b. Wantage, Berkshire. All these pursuits were interrupted, but not ended, by new Danish invasions between 892 and 896...

coffee

(Encyclopedia)coffee, a tree, its seeds, and the beverage made from them. The coffee tree, a small evergreen of the genus Coffea, has smooth, ovate leaves and clusters of fragrant white flowers that mature into dee...

German language

(Encyclopedia)German language, member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Germanic languages). It is the official language of Germany and Austria and i...

rain

(Encyclopedia)rain, precipitation in liquid form. It consists of drops of water falling from clouds; if the drops are very small, they are collectively termed drizzle. Rain plays a key role in the hydrologic, or wa...

golf

(Encyclopedia)golf, game of hitting a small hard ball with specially made clubs over an outdoor course sometimes (particularly if it is near the coast) called a links. The object is to deposit the ball in a specifi...

Sparta

(Encyclopedia)Sparta spärˈtə [key], city of ancient Greece, capital of Laconia, on the Eurotas (Evrótas) River in the Peloponnesus. By the 6th cent. b.c., Sparta was the strongest Greek city. In the Persian ...