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calculator

(Encyclopedia)calculator or calculating machine, device for performing numerical computations; it may be mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic. The electronic computer is also a calculator but performs other...

wheat

(Encyclopedia)wheat, cereal plant of the genus Triticum of the family Poaceae (grass family), a major food and an important commodity on the world grain market. Wheat is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, ...

Zionism

(Encyclopedia)Zionism, modern political movement for reconstituting a Jewish national state in Palestine. After World War II the Zionist movement intensified its activities. The sufferings of the European Jews at...

Crete

(Encyclopedia)Crete krēt [key], Gr. Kríti, island, c.3,235 sq mi (8,380 sq km), SE Greece, in the E Medit...

color

(Encyclopedia)color, effect produced on the eye and its associated nerves by light waves of different wavelength or frequency. Light transmitted from an object to the eye stimulates the different color cones of the...

psychopharmacology

(Encyclopedia)psychopharmacology sīˌkōfärˌməkŏlˈəjē [key], in its broadest sense, the study of all pharmacological agents that affect mental and emotional functions. The term is usually applied more speci...

stained glass

(Encyclopedia)stained glass, in general, windows made of colored glass. To a large extent, the name is a misnomer, for staining is only one of the methods of coloring employed, and the best medieval glass made litt...

Sumatra

(Encyclopedia)Sumatra so͝omäˈtrə [key], island (1990 pop. 36,471,731), c.183,000 sq mi (473,970 sq km), Indonesia, in the Indian Ocean along the equator, S and W of the Malay Peninsula (from which it is separat...

book collecting

(Encyclopedia)book collecting, or bibliophily, the acquiring of books that are, or are expected to become, rare and that possess permanent interest in addition to their texts. Collecting has traditionally concentra...

atom

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bohr-Rutherford atom CE5 Probability distribution of the electron in the hydrogen atom: A. Ground state B. Highly excited state atom [Gr.,=uncuttable (indivisible)], basic unit of matte...