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Crookes, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Crookes, Sir William, 1832–1919, English chemist and physicist. After serving at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, and teaching chemistry at Chester Training College, he retired to work in his own ...

chemical analysis

(Encyclopedia)chemical analysis, the study of the chemical composition and structure of substances. More broadly, it may be considered the corpus of all techniques whereby any exact chemical information is obtained...

Gosford, Archibald Acheson, 2d earl of

(Encyclopedia)Gosford, Archibald Acheson, 2d earl of gŏzˈfərd [key], 1776–1849, governor in chief of British North America (1835–37). He served in the British House of Commons and, after succeeding (1807) to...

extortion

(Encyclopedia)extortion, in law, unlawful demanding or receiving by an officer, in his official capacity, of any property or money not legally due to him. Examples include requesting and accepting fees in excess of...

U , letter of the alphabet

(Encyclopedia)U, 21st letter of the alphabet, corresponding to the Greek upsilon [Gr.,=u without the aspirate]. Until the late Middle Ages the capital was V, the minuscule u, no distinction being made between the c...

flame test

(Encyclopedia)flame test, test used in the identification of certain metals. It is based on the observation that light emitted by any element gives a unique spectrum when passed through a spectroscope. When a salt ...

tin

(Encyclopedia)tin, metallic chemical element; symbol Sn [Lat. stannum]; at. no. 50; at. wt. 118.710; m.p. 231.9681℃; b.p. 2,270℃; sp. gr. 5.75 (gray), 7.3 (white); valence +2 or +4. Tin exhibits allotropy; abov...

curium

(Encyclopedia)curium kyo͝orˈēəm [key], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Cm; at. no. 96; mass no. of most stable isotope 247; m.p. about 1,340℃; b.p. 3,110℃; sp. gr. 13.5 (calculate...

rococo, in music

(Encyclopedia)rococo, in music, 18th-century reaction against the baroque style. Less formal and grandiose in structure, it was a graceful rather than a profound style, more hedonistic than venturesome. Extreme man...

Viñoly, Rafael

(Encyclopedia)Viñoly, Rafael, 1944–, Uruguayan-American architect, b. Montevideo. Even before receiving his architectural degrees (1968, 1969) from the Univ. of Buenos Aires, he and six associates founded Argent...