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electrolyte

(Encyclopedia)electrolyte ĭlĕkˈtrəlītˌ [key], electrical conductor in which current is carried by ions rather than by free electrons (as in a metal). Electrolytes include water solutions of acids, bases, or s...

Crookes tube

(Encyclopedia)Crookes tube, device invented by Sir William Crookes (c.1875) consisting essentially of a sealed glass tube from which nearly all the air has been removed and through the walls of which are passed two...

Evans, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Evans, Oliver, 1755–1819, American inventor, b. near Newport, Del. He joined his brothers in a flour-milling business in Wilmington, and after studying similar earlier devices, he developed, install...

sense

(Encyclopedia)sense, faculty by which external or internal stimuli are conveyed to the brain centers, where they are registered as sensations. Sensory reception occurs in higher animals through a process known as t...

plywood

(Encyclopedia)plywood, manufactured board composed of an odd number of thin sheets of wood glued together under pressure with grains of the successive layers at right angles. Laminated wood differs from plywood in ...

Avogadro, Amedeo, conte di Quaregna

(Encyclopedia)Avogadro, Amedeo, conte di Quaregna ämādāˈō kônˈtā dē kwärāˈnyä ävōgäˈdrō [key], 1776–1856, Italian physicist, b. Turin. He became professor of physics at the Univ. of Turin in 182...

Nernst, Walther Hermann

(Encyclopedia)Nernst, Walther Hermann välˈtər hĕrˈmän nĕrnst [key], 1864–1941, German physicist and chemist, a founder of modern physical chemistry. After doing outstanding research on osmotic pressure and...

Vienne, Council of

(Encyclopedia)Vienne, Council of, 1311–12, 15th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held at Vienne, France. It was convened by Pope Clement V at the behest of Philip IV of France as a further move in...

vomiting

(Encyclopedia)vomiting, ejection of food and other matter from the stomach through the mouth, often preceded by nausea. The process is initiated by stimulation of the vomiting center of the brain by nerve impulses ...

butane

(Encyclopedia)butane byo͞oˈtān [key], C4H10, gaseous alkane, a hydrocarbon that is obtained from natural gas or by refining petroleum. It can be liquefied at room temperature by compression. There are two struct...