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fungicide

(Encyclopedia)fungicide fŭnˈjəsīdˌ, fŭngˈgə– [key], any substance used to destroy fungi. Some fungi are extremely damaging to crops (see diseases of plants), and others cause diseases in humans and other ...

Hindemith, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Hindemith, Paul hĭnˈdəmĭth [key], 1895–1963, German-American composer and violist, b. Hanau, Germany. Hindemith combined experimental and traditional techniques into a distinctively modern style...

harmonica

(Encyclopedia)harmonica. 1 The simplest of the musical instruments employing free reeds, known also as the mouth organ or French harp. It was probably invented in 1829 by Friedrich Buschmann of Berlin, who called h...

Siqueiros, David Alfaro

(Encyclopedia)Siqueiros, David Alfaro dävēᵺˈ älfäˈrō sēkāˈrōs [key], 1896–1974, Mexican painter, b. Chihuahua. Siqueiros was among Mexico's most original and eminent painters. His career as an artist...

whooping cough

(Encyclopedia)whooping cough or pertussis, highly communicable infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. The early or catarrhal stage of whooping cough is manifested by the usual symptoms of ...

capillarity

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Capillarity: Water wets the walls of a capillary tube and thus rises, causing the upper surface, or meniscus, of the liquid to be concave; mercury does not wet the walls of a capillary tube and...

Caroline Islands

(Encyclopedia)Caroline Islands, archipelago, c.830 sq mi (2,150 sq km), W Pacific, just north of the equator. The largest islands are Palau (Belau), Yap, Chuuk (Truk), Pohnpei (Ponape), and Kosrae. The islands are ...

platinum

(Encyclopedia)platinum plătˈənəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Pt; at. no. 78; at. wt. 195.084; m.p. 1,772℃; b.p. 3,827±100℃; sp. gr. 21.45 at 20℃; valence +2 or +4. Pure platinum is a malleab...

autism

(Encyclopedia)autism ôˈtĭzəm [key], developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communica...

Natchez, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Natchez năchˈĭz [key], indigenous North American people who lived along St. Catherine's Creek east of the present-day city of Natchez in Mississippi. At the time of contact with the French in 1682,...