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pickle

(Encyclopedia)pickle, general term for fruits or vegetables preserved in vinegar or brine, usually with spices or sugar or both. Vegetables commonly pickled include the beet, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, olive, ...

microphone

(Encyclopedia)microphone, device for converting sound into electrical energy, used in radio broadcasting, recording, and sound amplifying systems. Its basic component is a diaphragm that responds to the pressure or...

Monte Albán

(Encyclopedia)Monte Albán mōnˈtā älbänˈ [key], ancient city, c.7 mi (11.3 km) from Oaxaca, SW Mexico, capital of the Zapotec. Monte Albán was built on an artificially leveled, rocky promontory above the Val...

Safdie, Moshe

(Encyclopedia)Safdie, Moshe mōshāˈ säfˈdē [key], 1938–, Israeli-Canadian architect, b. Haifa. He grew up in Israel, moved to Canada with his family at 15, studied architecture at McGill Univ. and with Louis...

Ballard, J. G.

(Encyclopedia)Ballard, J. G. (James Graham Ballard) bălˈərd [key], 1930–2009, English writer, mainly of dystopian science fiction. Born to English parents in Shanghai, he was torn from his affluent surrounding...

Peabody, George

(Encyclopedia)Peabody, George pēˈbädē, –bədē [key], 1795–1869, American financier and philanthropist, b. South Danvers (now Peabody), Mass. At the age of 11 he was apprenticed to a grocer, and later (1814...

silica

(Encyclopedia)silica or silicon dioxide, chemical compound, SiO2. It is insoluble in water, slightly soluble in alkalies, and soluble in dilute hydrofluoric acid. Pure silica is colorless to white. It occurs in sev...

glass

(Encyclopedia)glass, hard substance, usually brittle and transparent, composed chiefly of silicates and an alkali fused at high temperature. Glass has become invaluable in modern architecture, illumination, elect...

acetaldehyde

(Encyclopedia)acetaldehyde ĕthˈənălˌ [key], CH3CHO, colorless liquid aldehyde, sometimes simply called aldehyde. It melts at −123℃, boils at 20.8℃, and is soluble in water and ethanol. It is formed by th...

chloropicrin

(Encyclopedia)chloropicrin klōrˌəpĭkˈrĭn [key], colorless oily liquid used as a poison gas. It is a powerful irritant, causing lachrymation, vomiting, bronchitis, and pulmonary edema; lung injury from chlorop...