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Le Châtelier's principle

(Encyclopedia)Le Châtelier's principle, chemical principle that states that if a system in equilibrium is disturbed by changes in determining factors, such as temperature, pressure, and concentration of components...

entropy

(Encyclopedia)entropy ĕnˈtrəpē [key], quantity specifying the amount of disorder or randomness in a system bearing energy or information. Originally defined in thermodynamics in terms of heat and temperature, e...

Robbins, Lionel Charles

(Encyclopedia)Robbins, Lionel Charles, 1898–1984, British economist, b. Middlesex, England. A professor at the London School of Economics (1929–61), he wrote the well-known methodological treatise, An Essay in ...

fluidics

(Encyclopedia)fluidics, branch of engineering and technology concerned with the development of equivalents of various electronic circuits using movements of fluid rather than movements of electric charge. The basic...

liquor laws

(Encyclopedia)liquor laws, legislation designed to restrict, regulate, or totally abolish the manufacture, sale, and use of alcoholic beverages. The passage of liquor laws has been prompted chiefly by the desire to...

socialized medicine

(Encyclopedia)socialized medicine, publicly administered system of national health care. The term is used to describe programs that range from government operation of medical facilities to national health-insurance...

plumbing

(Encyclopedia)plumbing, piping systems inside buildings for water supply and sewage. The Romans had a highly developed plumbing system; water was brought to Rome by aqueducts and distributed to homes in lead pipes�...

English units of measurement

(Encyclopedia)English units of measurement, principal system of weights and measures used in a few nations, the only major industrial one being the United States. It actually consists of two related systems—the U...

Macarthur, Mary Reid

(Encyclopedia)Macarthur, Mary Reid, 1880–1921, British labor organizer, b. Glasgow, Scotland. Working in her father's draper's shop, she became prominent in the shop assistants' union. As the representative of th...

Migingo Islands

(Encyclopedia)Migingo Islands, small, rocky islands in Lake Victoria, E Africa, off Kenya north of the Tanzanian border. The group consists of Migingo, Ugingo, and Pyramid Island. According to a boundary set by the...

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