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Aepinus, Franz Ulrich Theodosius

(Encyclopedia)Aepinus, Franz Ulrich Theodosius fränts o͝olˈrĭkh tāˌōdōˈzēo͝os âpēˈno͝os [key], 1724–1802, German physicist. He studied at Jena and Rostock and taught mathematics at Rostock from 174...

essential oils

(Encyclopedia)essential oils, volatile oils that occur in plants and in general give to the plants their characteristic odors, flavors, or other such properties. Essential oils are found in various parts of the pla...

colloid

(Encyclopedia)colloid kŏlˈoid [key] [Gr.,=gluelike], a mixture in which one substance is divided into minute particles (called colloidal particles) and dispersed throughout a second substance. The mixture is also...

Landau, Lev Davidovich

(Encyclopedia)Landau, Lev Davidovich lyĕf dəvēˈdəvĭch ləndouˈ [key], 1908–68, Soviet physicist, b. Baku, Azerbaijan. A child prodigy in mathematics, he entered Baku Univ. at 14; at 21 he received a doctor...

Kohn, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Kohn, Walter, 1923–2016, American physicist, b. Vienna, Austria, Ph.D. Harvard, 1948. The son of Austrian Jews, he was transported to England in a rescue convoy after Nazi Germany absorbed (1938) Au...

Shull, Clifford

(Encyclopedia)Shull, Clifford, 1915–2001, American physicist, b. Pittsburgh, Pa. Educated at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) and New York Univ. (Ph.D., 1941), Shull was on the st...

Davy, Sir Humphry

(Encyclopedia)Davy, Sir Humphry, 1778–1829, English chemist and physicist. The son of a woodcarver, he received his early education at Truro and was apprenticed (1795) to a surgeon-apothecary at Penzance. While d...

endorphins

(Encyclopedia)endorphins ĕndôrˈfĭnz [key], neurotransmitters found in the brain that have pain-relieving properties similar to morphine. There are three major types of endorphins: beta endorpins, found primaril...

Purcell, Edward Mills

(Encyclopedia)Purcell, Edward Mills, 1912–97, American physicist, b. Taylorville, Ill., Ph.D. Harvard, 1938. During World War II, Purcell was a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radiation La...

Paston Letters

(Encyclopedia)Paston Letters, collection of personal and business correspondence, mostly among members of the Paston family of Norfolk, England. The letters cover the years from 1422 to 1529, together with deeds an...