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barometer

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Aneroid barometer barometer bərŏmˈətər [key], instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure. It was invented in 1643 by the Italian scientist Evangelista Torricelli, who used a column...

Cuban Missile Crisis

(Encyclopedia)Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962, major cold war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. In response to the Bay of Pigs Invasion and other American actions against Cuba as well as to P...

Gell-Mann, Murray

(Encyclopedia)Gell-Mann, Murray gĕlˈ-män [key], 1929–2019, American theoretical physicist, b. New York City, grad. Yale 1948, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1951. He was associated with the Univ....

Umbria

(Encyclopedia)Umbria o͞omˈbrēä [key], region (1991 pop. 811,831), 3,265 sq mi (8,456 sq km), central Italy. Perugia is the capital of the landlocked region, which is divided into the provinces of Perugia and Te...

Powhatan Confederacy

(Encyclopedia)Powhatan Confederacy, group of Native North Americans belonging to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their area embraced most of tidewa...

heresy

(Encyclopedia)heresy, in religion, especially in Christianity, beliefs or views held by a member of a church that contradict its orthodoxy, or core doctrines. It is distinguished from apostasy, which is a complete ...

star cluster

(Encyclopedia)star cluster, a group of stars near each other in space and resembling each other in certain characteristics that suggest a common origin for the group. Stars in the same cluster move at the same rate...

slang

(Encyclopedia)slang, vernacular vocabulary not generally acceptable in formal usage. It is notable for its liveliness, humor, emphasis, brevity, novelty, and exaggeration. Most slang is faddish and ephemeral, but s...

philanthropy

(Encyclopedia)philanthropy, the spirit of active goodwill toward others as demonstrated in efforts to promote their welfare. The term is often used interchangeably with charity. Every year vast sums of money are co...

Canary Islands

(Encyclopedia)Canary Islands, Span. Islas Canarias, group of seven islands (2020 est. pop. 2,161,000), 2,875 sq mi (7,445 sq km), autonomous community of Spain, ...