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zero

(Encyclopedia)zero, that number which, when added to any number, leaves the latter unchanged; its symbol is 0. The introduction of zero into the decimal system was the most significant achievement in the developmen...

school vouchers

(Encyclopedia)school vouchers, government grants aimed at improving education for the children of low-income families by providing school tuition that can be used at public or private schools. The idea behind schoo...

Gabelsberger, Franz Xaver

(Encyclopedia)Gabelsberger, Franz Xaver fränts ksävĕrˈ gäˈbəlsbĕrˌgər [key], 1780–1849, German stenographer. He invented a popular German shorthand system. ...

neuron

(Encyclopedia)neuron, specialized cell in animals that, as a unit of the nervous system, carries information by receiving and transmitting electrical impulses. ...

Reed College

(Encyclopedia)Reed College, at Portland, Oreg.; coeducational; inc. 1908, opened 1911 through a bequest from Mr. and Mrs. Simeon G. Reed. Reed is noted for its program of natural sciences and for its system of tuto...

brake, in technology

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Shoe brake CE5 Disk brake brake, in technology, device to slow or stop the motion of a mechanism or vehicle. The vacuum brake system, or vacuum brake, depends upon the use of a vacuum to ...

civil law

(Encyclopedia)civil law, as used in this article, a modern legal system based upon Roman law, as distinguished from common law. Civil law is based on written legal codes, a hallmark of the Roman legal system, in wh...

Lippe, river, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Lippe, river, c.150 mi (240 km) long, rising in the Teutoburg Forest, W Germany and flowing westward into the Rhine River. It is canalized to permit barge navigation. Water from the Lippe is used in t...

Delsarte, François

(Encyclopedia)Delsarte, François fräNswäˈ dĕlsärtˈ [key], 1811–71, French teacher of acting and singing. He studied singing (1825–29) at the Paris Conservatoire and appeared as a tenor at the Opéra-Comi...

endoderm

(Encyclopedia)endoderm ĕnˈdədûrmˌ [key], in biology, inner layer of tissue formed in the gastrula stage of the developing embryo. At the end of the blastula stage, cells of the embryo are arranged in the form ...