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Deutsch, Babette

(Encyclopedia)Deutsch, Babette doich [key], 1895–1982, American poet, b. New York City. Her poems are noted for their technical virtuosity and wide range of tone and subject matter. Her best-known collections inc...

Chaos

(Encyclopedia)Chaos kāˈōs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, vacant, unfathomable space. From it arose all things, earthly and divine. There are various legends explaining it. In one version, Eurynome rose ...

Horsehead Nebula

(Encyclopedia)Horsehead Nebula, dark nebula located in the constellation Orion; designated IC 434 or B 33. It consists of a cloud of nonluminous interstellar matter resembling the outline of a horse's head and appe...

L'Huillier, Anne

(Encyclopedia)Anne L'Huillier, 1958–, b. Paris, France, French-Swedish physicist, studied at Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, and Commissariat à l’Energ...

ash, in chemistry

(Encyclopedia)ash, in chemistry, solid residue of combustion. The chemical composition of an ash depends on that of the substance burned. Wood ash contains metal carbonates (e.g., potassium carbonate) and oxides fo...

evaporation

(Encyclopedia)evaporation, change of a liquid into vapor at any temperature below its boiling point. For example, water, when placed in a shallow open container exposed to air, gradually disappears, evaporating at ...

Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von

(Encyclopedia)Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von frēˈdrĭkh vĭlˈhĕlm yōˈzĕf fən shĕˈlĭng [key], 1775–1854, German philosopher. After theological study at Tübingen and two years of tutoring at Le...

cosmology

(Encyclopedia)cosmology, area of science that aims at a comprehensive theory of the structure and evolution of the entire physical universe. The earliest pre-Ptolemaic theories assumed that the earth was the cent...

hotbed

(Encyclopedia)hotbed, low, glass-covered frame structure for starting tender plants. It differs from a cold frame only in that the soil is heated—either artificially as by underground electric wiring or steampipe...

Nägeli, Karl Wilhelm von

(Encyclopedia)Nägeli or Naegeli, Karl Wilhelm von both: kärl vĭlˈhĕlm fən nāˈgəlē [key], 1817–91, Swiss botanist. He was professor at the Univ. of Munich from 1858 and was noted especially for his work ...