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molybdenum

(Encyclopedia)molybdenum məlĭbˈdənəm [key] [Gr.,=leadlike], metallic chemical element; symbol Mo; at. no. 42; at. wt. 95.96; m.p. about 2,617℃; b.p. about 4,612℃; sp. gr. 10.22 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, +4...

nationalization

(Encyclopedia)nationalization, acquisition and operation by a country of business enterprises formerly owned and operated by private individuals or corporations. State or local authorities have traditionally taken ...

Sardinia

(Encyclopedia)Sardinia särdĭnˈēə [key], Ital. Sardegna, region (1991 pop. 1,648,248), 9,302 sq mi (24,092 sq km), W Italy, mostly on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, which is separated in the north from C...

Sichuan

(Encyclopedia)Sichuan or Szechwan sŭˈchwänˈ [key] [four rivers], province (2010 pop. 80,418,200), c.220,000 sq mi (569,800 sq km), SW China. The capital is Chengdu. A naturally isolated region surrounded by mou...

horseshoe crab

(Encyclopedia)horseshoe crab, large, primitive marine arthropod of the family Limulidae, related to the spider and scorpion and sometimes called a king crab (a name also used for the largest of the edible true crab...

antimony

(Encyclopedia)antimony ănˈtĭmōˌnē [key] [Lat. antimoneum], semimetallic chemical element; symbol Sb [Lat. stibium,=a mark]; at. no. 51; at. wt. 121.760; m.p. 630.74℃; b.p. 1,750℃; sp. gr. (metallic form) ...

Karelia

(Encyclopedia)Karelia kərēˈlēə [key], constituent republic (1990 pop. 800,000), 66,409 sq mi (172,300 sq km), NW European Russia, extending from the Finnish border in the west to the White Sea in the east and ...

Katanga

(Encyclopedia)Katanga kätăngˈgə, kə– [key], former province, c.200,000 sq mi (518,000 sq km), SE Congo (Kinshasa); called Shaba from 1971 to 1997. Katanga bordered Angola on the southwest, Zambia on the sout...

sulfate

(Encyclopedia)sulfate, chemical compound containing the sulfate (SO4) radical. Sulfates are salts or esters of sulfuric acid, H2SO4, formed by replacing one or both of the hydrogens with a metal (e.g., sodium) or a...

superconductivity

(Encyclopedia)superconductivity, abnormally high electrical conductivity of certain substances. The phenomenon was discovered in 1911 by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, who found that the resistance of mercury dropped sudd...