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Ganges

(Encyclopedia)Ganges gŭngˈgä [key], river, c.1,560 mi (2,510 km) long, rising in the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas in Uttarakhand state, India, and flowing generally southeast through NE India across a vast ...

Mojave Desert

(Encyclopedia)Mojave or Mohave Desert, c.15,000 sq mi (38,850 sq km), region of low, barren mountains and flat valleys, 2,000 to 5,000 ft (610–1,524 m) high, S Calif.; part of the Great Basin of the United States...

Van Allen radiation belts

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Van Allen radiation belts: The solar wind, a stream of protons, electrons, and ions coming from the sun, gives the belts their asymmetrical shape. Van Allen radiation belts, belts of radiation...

solar wind

(Encyclopedia)solar wind, stream of ionized hydrogen—protons and electrons—with an 8% component of helium ions and trace amounts of heavier ions that radiates outward from the sun at high speeds. The continuous...

Faulkner, William

(Encyclopedia)Faulkner, William, 1897–1962, American novelist, b. New Albany, Miss., one of the great American writers of the 20th cent. Born into an old Southern family named Falkner, he changed the spelling of ...

wall

(Encyclopedia)wall, in architecture, protective, enclosing, or dividing vertical structure. Its thickness is determined by the material, height, and stress. It may be of studding and lath, either boarded or plaster...

Trollope, Anthony

(Encyclopedia)Trollope, Anthony trŏlˈəp [key], 1815–82, one of the great English novelists. After spending seven unhappy years in London as a clerk in the general post office, he transferred (1841) to Ireland ...

diesel engine

(Encyclopedia)diesel engine, type of internal-combustion engine invented by the German engineer Rudolf Diesel and patented by him in 1892. Although his engine was designed to use coal dust as fuel, the diesel engin...

air-cushion vehicle

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Air-cushion vehicle: In vehicles modified with a trunk or skirt (A), the rate of leakage is reduced and less power is needed to maintain the cushion. Vehicles designed to travel over deep water...

forum

(Encyclopedia)forum, market and meeting place in ancient Roman towns in Italy and later in the provinces, corresponding to the Greek agora. By extension the word forum often indicates the meeting itself in modern u...