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combustion

(Encyclopedia)combustion, rapid chemical reaction of two or more substances with a characteristic liberation of heat and light; it is commonly called burning. The burning of a fuel (e.g., wood, coal, oil, or natura...

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

(Encyclopedia)European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), international financial institution that invests primarily in the private sector to promote entrepreneurship and foster the development of demo...

Baldessari, John

(Encyclopedia)Baldessari, John (John Anthony Baldessari), 1931–2020, American artist, b. National City, Calif., grad. San Diego State College (now Univ.; B.A., 1953; M.F.A., 1957). A founder of conceptual art, he...

Food and Drug Administration

(Encyclopedia)Food and Drug Administration (FDA), agency of the Public Health Service division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with protecting public health by ensuring that foods...

Love, Alfred Henry

(Encyclopedia)Love, Alfred Henry, 1830–1913, American pacifist, b. Philadelphia. Love, a Quaker, remained firm in his principles at the outbreak of the Civil War, refusing even to hire a substitute when he was dr...

Ethical Culture movement

(Encyclopedia)Ethical Culture movement, originating in the Society for Ethical Culture, founded in New York City in 1876, by Felix Adler. Its aim is “to assert the supreme importance of the ethical factor in all ...

Winthrop, John, 1606–76, colonial governor in America

(Encyclopedia)Winthrop, John, 1606–76, colonial governor in America, b. Groton, Suffolk, England; oldest son of John Winthrop (1588–1649). He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, became a lawyer, and emigra...

Svedberg, Theodor

(Encyclopedia)Svedberg, Theodor or The tāˈōdôr svādˈbĕryə, tā [key], 1884–1971, Swedish chemist. He was professor of physical chemistry from 1912 to 1949 at the Univ. of Uppsala. For his fundamental rese...

Werner, Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Werner, Alfred, 1866–1919, French-born Swiss chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Zürich, 1890. Werner was a professor at the Univ. of Zürich from 1893 until his death in 1919. He was awarded the Nobel Prize i...

iridium

(Encyclopedia)iridium ĭrĭdˈēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Ir; at. no. 77; at. wt. 192.217; m.p. about 2,410℃; b.p. about 4,130℃; sp. gr. 22.55 at 20℃; valence +3 or +4. Iridium is a very ha...