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erg

(Encyclopedia)erg ûrg [key], unit of work or energy in the cgs system of units, which is based on the metric system; it is the work done or energy expended by a force of 1 dyne acting through a distance of 1 centi...

dyne

(Encyclopedia)dyne dīn [key], unit of force in the cgs system of units, which is based on the metric system; an acceleration of 1 centimeter per second per second is produced when a force of 1 dyne is exerted on a...

local government

(Encyclopedia)local government, political administration of the smallest subdivisions of a country's territory and population. The British system of local government, which has been the model for most of that cou...

tuning systems

(Encyclopedia)tuning systems, methods for assigning pitches to the twelve Western pitch names that constitute the octave. The term usually refers to this procedure in the tuning of keyboard instruments. The need fo...

zemstvo

(Encyclopedia)zemstvo zĕmstˈvō [key] [Rus., from zemlya=land], local assembly that functioned as a body of provincial self-government in Russia from 1864 to 1917. The introduction of the zemstvo system was one o...

cellular telephone

(Encyclopedia)cellular telephone or cellular radio, telecommunications system in which a portable or mobile radio transmitter and receiver, or “cellphone,” is linked via microwave radio frequencies to base tran...

binary star

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Eclipsing binary: Primary component passing behind secondary (dimmer) component B. Light curve for eclipsing binary binary star or binary system, pair of stars that are held together by the...

penguin

(Encyclopedia)penguin, originally the common name for the now extinct great auk of the N Atlantic and now used (since the 19th cent.) for the unrelated, generally antarctic diving birds of the Southern Hemisphere. ...

streetcar

(Encyclopedia)streetcar, small, self-propelled railroad car, similar to the type used in rapid-transit systems, that operates on tracks running through city streets and is used to carry passengers. Most often cars ...

yard

(Encyclopedia)yard, abbr. yd, basic unit of length in the customary system of English units of measurement; all other units in the English system, such as the inch, foot, rod, and mile, are derived from it. Since 1...