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silver nitrate

(Encyclopedia)silver nitrate nīˈtrāt [key], chemical compound, AgNO3, a colorless crystalline material that is very soluble in water. The most important compound of silver, it is used in the preparation of silve...

sulfonic acid

(Encyclopedia)sulfonic acid səlfŏnˈĭk [key], organic compound containing the functional group RSO2OH, which consists of a sulfur atom, S, bonded to a carbon atom that may be part of a large aliphatic or aromati...

Nunavut

(Encyclopedia)Nunavut no͞oˈnəvo͞otˌ [key] [Inuktituk,=our land], territory (2001 pop. 26,745), 772,260 sq mi (2,000,671 sq km), NE Canada. The capital and largest town is Iqaluit on Baffin Island at Frobisher ...

ribbon grass

(Encyclopedia)ribbon grass, ornamental perennial grass (Phalaris arundinacea var. picta), a variety of the reed canary grass. It has green leaves striped with white and is often cultivated in gardens; it is also kn...

nitrogen cycle

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Nitrogen cycle nitrogen cycle, the continuous flow of nitrogen through the biosphere by the processes of nitrogen fixation, ammonification (decay), nitrification, and denitrification. Nitrogen...

ester

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Esters ester, any one of a group of organic compounds with general formula RCO2R′ (where R and R′ are alkyl groups or aryl groups) that are formed by the reaction between an alcohol and an...

gram-molecular weight

(Encyclopedia)gram-molecular weight, amount of a molecular substance whose weight, in grams, is numerically equal to the molecular weight of that substance. For example, one gram-molecular weight of molecular oxyge...

leaching

(Encyclopedia)leaching, method of extraction in which a solvent is passed through a mixture to remove some desired substance from it. A simple example is the passage of boiling water through ground coffee to dissol...

thermography

(Encyclopedia)thermography thûrˌmŏgˈrəfē [key], contact photocopying process that produces a direct positive image and in which infrared rays are used to expose the copy paper. In a specially designed machine...

shellac

(Encyclopedia)shellac, solution of lac in alcohol or acetone. In commerce the name is applied to the resinous substance (lac) itself rather than to the solution. It ranges in color from orange to light yellow depen...