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neutron star

(Encyclopedia)neutron star, extremely small, extremely dense star, with as much as double the sun's mass but only a few miles in radius, in the final stage of stellar evolution. Astronomers Baade and Zwicky predict...

laxative

(Encyclopedia)laxative, drug or other substance used to stimulate the action of the intestines in eliminating waste from the body. The term laxative usually refers to a mild-acting substance; substances of increasi...

Maxwell, James Clerk

(Encyclopedia)Maxwell, James Clerk klärk [key], 1831–79, great Scottish physicist. After a brilliant career at Edinburgh and Cambridge, where he won early recognition with mathematical papers, he was a professor...

peat

(Encyclopedia)peat, soil material consisting of partially decomposed organic matter, found mainly in swamps and bogs in various parts of the northern temperate zone but also in some semitropical and tropical region...

Clement VII, pope

(Encyclopedia)Clement VII, c.1475–1534, pope (1523–34), a Florentine named Giulio de' Medici; successor of Adrian VI. He was the nephew of Lorenzo de' Medici and was therefore first cousin of Pope Leo X. In 151...

Dallas, George Mifflin

(Encyclopedia)Dallas, George Mifflin, 1792–1864, American statesman, vice president of the United States (1845–49), b. Philadelphia; son of Alexander James Dallas. He read law, was admitted (1813) to the bar, a...

extradition

(Encyclopedia)extradition ĕkstrədĭshˈən [key], delivery of a person, suspected or convicted of a crime, by the state where he has taken refuge to the state that asserts jurisdiction over him. Its purpose is to...

facsimile

(Encyclopedia)facsimile făksĭmˈəlē [key] or fax, in communications, system for transmitting pictures or other graphic matter by wire or radio. Facsimile is used to transmit such materials as documents, telegra...

programmed instruction

(Encyclopedia)programmed instruction, method of presenting new subject matter to students in a graded sequence of controlled steps. Students work through the programmed material by themselves at their own speed and...

Proud Boys

(Encyclopedia)Proud Boys, American political movement. Founded in 2016 by Vice Media cofounder Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys promotes the philosophy of far-right, ne...