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Skara Brae

(Encyclopedia)Skara Brae skârˈə brā [key], Stone Age village, on Mainland in the Orkney Islands, N Scotland. Dating from c.3200 to 2200 b.c., the village was preserved under a sand dune until uncovered by a sto...

logania

(Encyclopedia)logania lōgāˈnēə [key], common name for the Loganiaceae, a family of herbs, shrubs, and trees of warmer climates, including many woody climbing species. Some plants of this family are grown in th...

krypton

(Encyclopedia)krypton krĭpˈtŏn [key] [Gr.,=hidden], gaseous chemical element; symbol Kr; at. no. 36; at. wt. 83.798; m.p. −156.6℃; b.p. −152.3℃; density 3.73 grams per liter at STP; valence usually 0. Kr...

silicon carbide

(Encyclopedia)silicon carbide, chemical compound, SiC, that forms extremely hard, dark, iridescent crystals that are insoluble in water and other common solvents. Widely used as an abrasive, it is marketed under su...

voltaic cell

(Encyclopedia)voltaic cell, a simple device with which chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. Two dissimilar metals (e.g., copper and zinc) are immersed in an electrolyte (e.g., a dissolved sulfate). ...

Zhanjiang

(Encyclopedia)Zhanjiang or Chankiang both: jän-jyäng [key], Cantonese Tsamkong, official Chinese name for the former French territory of Kwangchowan (325 sq mi/840 sq km) on Guangzhou Bay, S Guangdong prov., Chin...

beef

(Encyclopedia)beef, flesh of cattle prepared for food. It has become one of the chief products of the meatpacking industry and is sold either chilled, frozen, or cured. The leading beef consumers, as well as export...

Christie, Dame Agatha

(Encyclopedia)Christie, Dame Agatha, 1890–1976, English detective story writer, b. Torquay, Devon, as Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller. Christie's second husband was the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, and she gained ...

Ma, Yo-Yo

(Encyclopedia)Ma, Yo-Yo mä [key], 1955–, American cellist, b. Paris. The son of musicologist Hiao-Tsun Ma, who left China in the 1930s, he was a musical prodigy, giving a public recital in Paris at the age of si...

Halle, city, Germany

(Encyclopedia)Halle, city, Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, on the Saale River. It is an industrial center and a major transportation hub. Manufactures include chemica...