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jatropha

(Encyclopedia)jatropha jăˈtrəfə [key], any plant of a widely distributed genus (Japtropha) of perennial herbs, shrubs, and trees in the family Euphorbiaceae (spurge family), native to tropical areas of the West...

Kivu, lake, Congo and Rwanda

(Encyclopedia)Kivu, lake, 1,042 sq mi (2,699 sq km), 55 mi (89 km) long, on the Congo-Rwanda border, E central Africa; highest lake in Africa (4,788 ft/1,459 m). It is drained by the Ruzizi River, which flows S int...

fire fighting

(Encyclopedia)fire fighting, the use of strategy, personnel, and apparatus to extinguish, to confine, or to escape from fire. Ancient Rome is known to have had a fire department consisting by the 1st cent. of app...

glycolysis

(Encyclopedia)glycolysis glīkŏlˈĭsĭs [key], term given to the metabolic pathway utilized by most microorganisms (yeast and bacteria) and by all “higher” animals (including humans) for the degradation of gl...

asphyxia

(Encyclopedia)asphyxia ăsfĭkˈsēə [key], deficiency of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide in the blood and body tissues. Asphyxia, often referred to as suffocation, usually results from an interruption of brea...

Manabe, Syukuro

(Encyclopedia)Manabe, Syukuro, 1931– , Japanese climatologist and meteorologist, D.Sc. University of Tokyo, 1958. Manabe has been instrumental in the development of...

calcium carbonate

(Encyclopedia)calcium carbonate, CaCO3, white chemical compound that is the most common nonsiliceous mineral. It occurs in two crystal forms: calcite, which is hexagonal, and aragonite, which is rhombohedral. Calci...

titanium

(Encyclopedia)titanium tītāˈnēəm, tĭ– [key] [from Titan], metallic chemical element; symbol Ti; at. no. 22; at. wt. 47.867; m.p. 1,675℃; b.p. 3,260℃; sp. gr. 4.54 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, or +4. Titani...

fuel

(Encyclopedia)fuel, material that can be burned or otherwise consumed to produce heat. The common fuels used in industry, transportation, and the home are burned in air. The carbon and hydrogen in fuel rapidly comb...

diffusion

(Encyclopedia)diffusion, in chemistry, the spontaneous migration of substances from regions where their concentration is high to regions where their concentration is low. Diffusion is important in many life process...

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