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Wheeling

(Encyclopedia)Wheeling. 1 Village (1990 pop. 29,911), Cook co., NE Ill., a suburb of Chicago; founded c.1830, inc. 1894. Machinery, computer supplies, metal and paper products, security devices, insulation, and che...

Billings, John Shaw

(Encyclopedia)Billings, John Shaw, 1838–1913, American surgeon and librarian, b. Indiana. In the Civil War he was medical inspector of the Army of the Potomac. After the war he was given charge of the Surgeon Gen...

blood test

(Encyclopedia)blood test, examination of blood routinely or as an aid in diagnosing a suspected disease. Tests may be performed on whole blood or on the plasma portion only. Blood typing identifies the proteins at ...

Boolean algebra

(Encyclopedia)Boolean algebra bo͞oˈlēən [key], an abstract mathematical system primarily used in computer science and in expressing the relationships between sets (groups of objects or concepts). The notational...

communication

(Encyclopedia)communication, transfer of information, such as thoughts and messages, as contrasted with transportation, the transfer of goods and persons (see information theory). The basic forms of communication a...

electric circuit

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Series circuit: Current is the same through each resistance; voltage divides in direct proportion to each resistance. B. Parallel circuit: Voltage drop is the same over each resistance; curr...

observatory

(Encyclopedia)observatory, scientific facility especially equipped to detect and record naturally occurring scientific phenomena. Although geological and meteorological observatories exist, the term is generally ap...

Newcastle upon Tyne

(Encyclopedia)Newcastle upon Tyne, city and metropolitan borough (1991 pop. 199,064), NE England, on the Tyne River. The city is an important shipping and trade center. The famous coal-shipping industry began in th...

samarium

(Encyclopedia)samarium səmârˈēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Sm; at. no. 62; at. wt. 150.36; m.p. 1,072℃; b.p. 1,791℃; sp. gr. 7.54 at 20℃; valence +2 or +3. Samarium is a lustrous silver-wh...

combinatorics

(Encyclopedia)combinatorics kŏmˌbĭnətôrˈēəl [key], sometimes called the science of counting, the branch of mathematics concerned with the selection, arrangement, and operation of elements within sets. Combi...