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Tikhonov, Viktor Vasilyevich

(Encyclopedia)Tikhonov, Viktor Vasilyevich, 1930–2014, Soviet and Russian ice hockey player and coach, b. Moscow. As a defenseman (1949–63), he won four national championships (1951–54) with the Soviet air fo...

Ferber, Edna

(Encyclopedia)Ferber, Edna, 1887–1968, American author, b. Kalamazoo, Mich. Her novels portray the lives of a wide variety of Americans in a vigorous, colorful, and panoramic fashion. Among her best-known novels ...

Drygalski, Erich von

(Encyclopedia)Drygalski, Erich von āˈrĭkh fən drēgälˈskē [key], 1865–1949, German polar explorer. A professor of geography at the Univ. of Munich, he led an expedition that wintered (1892–93) in W Green...

sleet

(Encyclopedia)sleet, precipitation of small, partially melted grains of ice. As raindrops fall from clouds, they pass through layers of air at different temperatures. If they pass through a layer with a temperature...

ring, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)ring, in astronomy, relatively thin band of rocks and dust and ice particles that orbit around a planet in the planet's equatorial plane. All four of the giant planets in the solar system—Jupiter, S...

Orr, Bobby

(Encyclopedia)Orr, Bobby (Robert Orr), 1948–, Canadian hockey player. He began skating at the age of 4 and was discovered by the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League at age 12. He began playing with the Br...

Lowe, Thaddeus Sobieski Coulincourt

(Encyclopedia)Lowe, Thaddeus Sobieski Coulincourt thădˈēəs sōˌbē-ĕsˈkē kōˈlĭnkôrtˌ lō [key], 1832–1913, American aeronaut and inventor, b. Coos co., N.H. He flew (1861) a distance of 900 mi (1,448...

calcium chloride

(Encyclopedia)calcium chloride, CaCl2, chemical compound that is crystalline, lumpy, or flaky, is usually white, and is very soluble in water. The anhydrous compound is hygroscopic; it rapidly absorbs water and is ...

Weddell Sea

(Encyclopedia)Weddell Sea wĕdˈəl [key], arm of the Atlantic Ocean, W Antarctica, SE of South America, bordered by the Antarctic Peninsula and Coats Land. The vast Ronne and Filchner ice shelves are at the head o...

lightning

(Encyclopedia)lightning, electrical discharge accompanied by thunder, commonly occurring during a thunderstorm. The discharge may take place between one part of a cloud and another part (intracloud), between one cl...