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Venus, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Venus, in astronomy, 2d planet from the sun; it is often called the evening star or morning star and is brighter than any object in the sky except the sun and the moon. Because its orbit lies between ...

interstellar matter

(Encyclopedia)interstellar matter, matter in a galaxy between the stars, known also as the interstellar medium. The interstellar gas, which constitutes about 99% of the interstellar matter, consists mostly of hyd...

Gnosticism

(Encyclopedia)Gnosticism nŏsˈtĭsĭzəm [key], dualistic religious and philosophical movement of the late Hellenistic and early Christian eras. The term designates a wide assortment of sects, numerous by the 2d c...

nickel

(Encyclopedia)nickel, metallic chemical element; symbol Ni; at. no. 28; at. wt. 58.6934; m.p. about 1,453℃; b.p. about 2,732℃; sp. gr. 8.902 at 25℃; valence 0, +1, +2, +3, or +4. Nickel is a hard, malleable, ...

Mendel, Gregor Johann

(Encyclopedia)Mendel, Gregor Johann grāˈgôr yōˈhän mĕnˈdəl [key], 1822–84, Austrian monk noted for his experimental work on heredity. He entered the Augustinian monastery in Brno in 1843, taught at a loc...

radar

(Encyclopedia)radar, system or technique for detecting the position, movement, and nature of a remote object by means of radio waves reflected from its surface. Although most radar units use microwave frequencies, ...

bridge, structure

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bridges bridge, structure built over water or any obstacle or depression to allow the passage of pedestrians or vehicles. See also viaduct. In wartime, where the means of crossing a stream o...

Kievan Rus

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Kievan Rus (c.1000) Kievan Rus kēˈĕfən [key], medieval state of the Eastern Slavs. It was the earliest predecessor of modern Ukraine and Russia. Flourishing from the 10th to the 13th cent....

Russian language

(Encyclopedia)Russian language, also called Great Russian, member of the East Slavic group of the Slavic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Slavic languages). The principal language of administ...

Zen Buddhism

(Encyclopedia)Zen Buddhism, Buddhist sect of China and Japan. The name of the sect (Chin. Ch'an, Jap. Zen) derives from the Sanskrit dhyana [meditation]. In China the school early became known for making its centra...