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tarweed

(Encyclopedia)tarweed, any of several related resinous herbs (chiefly species of Hemizonia and Madia) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), having strongly scented and sticky herbage. Most North American species...

Belgian sheepdog

(Encyclopedia)Belgian sheepdog, sometimes called Groenendael, breed of sturdy working dog developed from a wide assortment of sheepherding dogs in Belgium in the early 20th cent. It stands from 22 to 26 in. (55.9�...

CERN

(Encyclopedia)CERN or European Organization for Nuclear Research, nuclear and particle physics research center straddling the French-Swiss border W of Geneva, Switzerland. Established in 1952 as the provisional Eur...

Neptune, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Neptune, in astronomy, 8th planet from the sun at a mean distance of about 2.8 billion mi (4.5 billion km) with an orbit lying between those of Uranus and the dwarf planet Pluto; its period of revolut...

motor, electric

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Motor: In the AC motor, current fed to the conducting loop of wire causes it to rotate in the magnetic field, thus turning the shaft on which the loop is mounted. In the DC motor, the direction...

Niles

(Encyclopedia)Niles. 1 Village (1990 pop. 28,284), Cook co., NE Ill., a residential suburb adjacent to Chicago, on the Chicago River; settled 1832, inc. 1899. The village has a replica (half size) of the Leaning To...

lasso

(Encyclopedia)lasso lăsˈō, lăso͞oˈ [key], light, strong rope, usually with a smooth, hard finish, made of a fine quality of hemp or nylon. It is used primarily for catching large animals such as cattle and ho...

Korngold, Erich Wolfgang

(Encyclopedia)Korngold, Erich Wolfgang, 1897–1957, American composer of film and concert music and opera, b. Brünn, Austria-Hungary (now Brno, Czech Republic). He began composing ballet music and operas in his t...

Richter, Burton

(Encyclopedia)Richter, Burton rĭkˈtər [key], 1931–2018, American physicist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1956. A professor at Stanford, Richter designed and built a particle a...

scarlet fever

(Encyclopedia)scarlet fever or scarlatina, an acute, communicable infection, caused by group A hemolytic streptococcal bacteria (see streptococcus) that produce an erythrogenic toxin. The disease is now uncommon, p...