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Meuse, department, France

(Encyclopedia)Meuse möz [key], department (1990 pop. 196,344), NE France, in Lorraine, bordering on Belgium. Bar-le-Duc, the capital, and Verdun are the chief towns. Its industries include the manufacture of metal...

Minden, city, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Minden mĭnˈdən [key], city (1994 pop. 80,423), North Rhine–Westphalia, NW Germany, a port on the Weser River and the Midland Canal. It is an industrial center and rail junction. Manufactures incl...

Asheville

(Encyclopedia)Asheville ăshˈvəl, –vĭl [key], city (2020 pop. 94,589), seat of Buncombe co., W N.C., on the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers and on a plateau in the Blue Ridge Mts...

match

(Encyclopedia)match, small stick whose chemically coated tip bursts into flame when struck on a rough surface. Before the introduction of the match, fire was made by friction methods using the stick and the groove,...

Torrington

(Encyclopedia)Torrington, city (1990 pop. 33,687), Litchfield co., NW Conn., on the Naugatuck River; inc. 1740. It is the industrial and commercial hub of NW Connecticut and is known for its metal (especially brass...

vinyl plastics

(Encyclopedia)vinyl plastics, group of thermoplastics used in molded products, flexible tubing, material for raincoats, and laminated safety glass. Vinyl plastics are polymers and copolymers of vinyl derivatives (i...

composite material

(Encyclopedia)composite material or composite, any material made from at least two discrete substances, such as concrete. Many materials are produced as composites, such as the fiberglass-reinforced plastics used f...

Challenger

(Encyclopedia)Challenger, U.S. space shuttle. It exploded (Jan. 28, 1986) 73 seconds into its tenth flight, killing all seven crew members, including the first civilian in space, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Th...

fire clay

(Encyclopedia)fire clay, clay that has a high degree of resistance to heat. By the best standards it should have a fusion point higher than 1,600℃. The term “fire clay” is commonly held to exclude kaolin and ...

turn and bank indicator

(Encyclopedia)turn and bank indicator, aircraft instrument containing one indicator to show turning, or rotation about the vertical axis, and another to show banking, or rotation about the longitudinal axis. The tw...