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kettle

(Encyclopedia)kettle, oval depression found in glacial moraines, which are landforms made up of rock debris. When a glacier melts and draws away from an area, a block of ice may break off and be covered by earth an...

melting point

(Encyclopedia)melting point, temperature at which a substance changes its state from solid to liquid. Under standard atmospheric pressure different pure crystalline solids will each melt at a different specific tem...

latent heat

(Encyclopedia)latent heat, heat change associated with a change of state or phase (see states of matter). Latent heat, also called heat of transformation, is the heat given up or absorbed by a unit mass of a substa...

Superior, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Superior, Lake, largest freshwater lake in the world, 31,820 sq mi (82,414 sq km), 350 mi (563 km) long and 160 mi (257 km) at its greatest width, bordered on the W by NE Minnesota, on the N and E by ...

Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the

(Encyclopedia)Americas, antiquity and prehistory of the, study of the origins of the aboriginal peoples of the Americas. Archaeologists believe humans had entered and occupied much of the Americas by the end of the...

Iapetus, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Iapetus īăpˈĭtəs [key], in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn VIII (or S8), Iapetus is 907 mi (1460 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mean...

Tikhonov, Viktor Vasilyevich

(Encyclopedia)Tikhonov, Viktor Vasilyevich, 1930–2014, Soviet and Russian ice hockey player and coach, b. Moscow. As a defenseman (1949–63), he won four national championships (1951–54) with the Soviet air fo...

snowmobile

(Encyclopedia)snowmobile, vehicle designed to travel over snow, ice, and similar surfaces that offer limited traction and weight-supporting capability. As the performance of the vehicle depends to a large extent on...

swimming

(Encyclopedia)swimming, self-propulsion through water, often as a form of recreation or exercise or as a competitive sport. It is mentioned in many of the classics in connection with heroic acts or religious rites....

Palmer, Arnold Daniel

(Encyclopedia)Palmer, Arnold Daniel, 1929–2016, American golfer, b. Latrobe, Pa. The son of a professional golfer, he won three regional titles in his youth. Turning professional after winning the 1954 U.S. amate...