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Saffir-Simpson scale

(Encyclopedia)Saffir-Simpson scale săfˈər– [key], standard scale for rating the severity of hurricanes as a measure of the damage they cause; it is based on observations of numerous North Atlantic Basin hurric...

Thaksin Shinawatra

(Encyclopedia)Thaksin Shinawatra täkˈsĭn shĭˈnäwät [key], 1949–, Thai business executive and political leader, b. Chiang Mai. Born into a wealthy merchant family, he went into the Thai police service in 19...

activation energy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Energy profile of an exothermic reaction: Although the total energy of the products is less than that of the reactants, the activation energy must be added to weaken or break existing bonds bef...

Oxford and Asquith, Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st earl of

(Encyclopedia)Oxford and Asquith, Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st earl of, 1852–1928, British statesman. Of a middle-class family, he attended Oxford, became a barrister in London in 1876, and was elected to Parliamen...

spice

(Encyclopedia)spice, aromatic vegetable product used as a flavoring or condiment. The term was formerly applied also to pungent or aromatic foods (e.g., gingerbread and currants), to ingredients of incense or perfu...

lobster

(Encyclopedia)lobster, marine crustacean with five pairs of jointed legs, the first bearing large pincerlike claws of unequal size adapted to crushing the shells of its prey. The segmented body of the lobster consi...

hieroglyphic

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Examples of hieroglyphics hieroglyphic hīˌrəglĭfˈĭk, hīˌərə– [key] [Gr.,=priestly carving], type of writing used in ancient Egypt. Similar pictographic styles of Crete, Asia Minor,...

Hamer, Fannie Lou

(Encyclopedia)Hamer, Fannie Lou, 1917–1977, U.S. voting rights activist and civil rights leader, b. Montgomery County, Miss. Fannie Lou Hamer was the first woman fr...

friction

(Encyclopedia)friction, resistance offered to the movement of one body past another body with which it is in contact. In certain situations friction is desired. Without friction the wheels of a locomotive could not...

diesel engine

(Encyclopedia)diesel engine, type of internal-combustion engine invented by the German engineer Rudolf Diesel and patented by him in 1892. Although his engine was designed to use coal dust as fuel, the diesel engin...