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Hahn, Otto

(Encyclopedia)Hahn, Otto ôˈtō hän [key], 1879–1968, German chemist and physicist. His important contributions in the field of radioactivity include the discovery of several radioactive substances, the develop...

Stark, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Stark, Johannes, 1874–1957, German physicist, Ph.D. Univ. of Munich, 1897. From 1900 until he retired in 1922, Stark served short stints on the faculties of several academic institutions, including ...

Brockhouse, Bertram

(Encyclopedia)Brockhouse, Bertram, 1918–2003, Canadian physicist, b. Lethbridge, Alta. Educated at the Univ. of British Columbia and Univ. of Toronto (Ph.D., 1950), he was a research officer (1950–59) and head ...

Wurtz, Charles Adolphe

(Encyclopedia)Wurtz, Charles Adolphe shärl ädôlfˈ vürts [key], 1817–84, French chemist. He was professor at the Sorbonne (1852–75), at the Faculty of Medicine, Paris (1853–75), and at the Faculty of Scie...

White Sands

(Encyclopedia)White Sands, uninhabited desert area, S central N.Mex. It is a center for U.S. military-weapons research and testing. On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was exploded at Holloman Air Force Base (f...

Berzelius, Jöns Jakob, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Berzelius, Jöns Jakob, Baron bərzēˈlēəs; Swed. yöns yäˈkôp bĕrsāˈlĭəs [key], 1779–1848, Swedish chemist, M.D. Univ. of Uppsala, 1802. He was noted for his work as teacher at the medic...

paraffin

(Encyclopedia)paraffin, white, more-or-less translucent, odorless, tasteless, waxy solid. It melts between 47℃ and 65℃ and is insoluble in water but soluble in ether, benzene, and certain esters. Paraffin is un...

isomer

(Encyclopedia)isomer īˈsəmər [key], in chemistry, one of two or more compounds having the same molecular formula but different structures (arrangements of atoms in the molecule). Isomerism is the occurrence of ...

beryllium

(Encyclopedia)beryllium bərĭlˈēəm [key] [from beryl ], metallic chemical element; symbol Be; at. no. 4; at. wt. 9.01218; m.p. about 1,278℃; b.p. 2,970℃ (estimated); sp. gr. 1.85 at 20℃; valence +2. Ber...

foot, in anatomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Foot foot, in anatomy, terminal part of the land vertebrate leg. The term is also applied to any invertebrate appendage used either for locomotion or attachment, e.g., the legs of insects and ...