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Beer's law

(Encyclopedia)Beer's law [for August Beer], physical law stating that the quantity of light absorbed by a substance dissolved in a nonabsorbing solvent is directly proportional to the concentration of the substance...

cleavage

(Encyclopedia)cleavage, tendency of many minerals to split along definite smooth planar surfaces determined by their crystal structure. The directions of these surfaces are related to weaknesses in the atomic struc...

Young's modulus

(Encyclopedia)Young's modulus [for Thomas Young], number representing (in pounds per square inch or dynes per square centimeter) the ratio of stress to strain for a wire or bar of a given substance. According to Ho...

prospecting

(Encyclopedia)prospecting, search for mineral deposits suitable for mining. Modern prospecting has replaced earlier methods based on chance or superstition (e.g., use of the divining rod) with others based on a sci...

aerosol dispenser

(Encyclopedia)aerosol dispenser, device designed to produce a fine spray of liquid or solid particles that can be suspended in a gas such as the atmosphere. The dispenser commonly consists of a container that holds...

low-temperature physics

(Encyclopedia)low-temperature physics, science concerned with the production and maintenance of temperatures much below normal, down to almost absolute zero, and with various phenomena that occur only at such tempe...

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...

bone

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bone bone, hard tissue that forms the skeleton of the body in vertebrate animals. In the very young, the skeleton is composed largely of cartilage and is therefore pliable, reducing the incide...

topiary work

(Encyclopedia)topiary work tōˈpēĕrˌē [key], pruning and training of shrubs and trees into ornamental shapes, used in landscape gardening. Elaborate topiary work in which trees and shrubs are clipped to resemb...

damascening

(Encyclopedia)damascening –skēnˈ– [key], the art of decorating iron, steel, or bronze with inlaid threads of gold or silver, or producing a watered effect in forging, as in sword blades, gun barrels, and vari...