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physics

(Encyclopedia)physics, branch of science traditionally defined as the study of matter, energy, and the relation between them; it was called natural philosophy until the late 19th cent. and is still known by this na...

Kitt Peak National Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Kitt Peak National Observatory, astronomical observatory located southwest of Tucson, Ariz.; it was founded in 1958 under contract with the National Science Foundation and is administered by the Assoc...

Renoir, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Renoir, Jean zhäN rənwärˈ [key], 1894–1979, French film director and writer, b. Paris; son of Pierre Auguste Renoir. He made his first film in 1926. Gathering around him a devoted coterie of act...

Anaxagoras

(Encyclopedia)Anaxagoras ănˌəksăgˈərəs [key], c.500–428 b.c., Greek philosopher of Clazomenae. He is credited with having transferred the seat of philosophy to Athens. He was closely associated with many f...

Euler, Leonhard

(Encyclopedia)Euler, Leonhard lāˈônhärt oiˈlər [key], 1707–83, Swiss mathematician. Born and educated at Basel, where he knew the Bernoullis, he went to St. Petersburg (1727) at the invitation of Catherine ...

Bjerknes, Vilhelm Frimann Koren

(Encyclopedia)Bjerknes, Vilhelm Frimann Koren vĭlˈhĕlm frēˈmän kôˈrən byĕrkˈnĕs [key], 1862–1951, Norwegian physicist and pioneer in modern meteorology. He worked on applying hydrodynamic and thermody...

continental drift

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Continental drift (arrows indicate the directions of motion of the landmasses) A. Proposed reconstruction of the supercontinent Pangaea indicating the major present landmasses B. Proposed recon...

diffusion

(Encyclopedia)diffusion, in chemistry, the spontaneous migration of substances from regions where their concentration is high to regions where their concentration is low. Diffusion is important in many life process...

parallax

(Encyclopedia)CE5 The trigonometric parallax of a star, expressed by the angle θ, is a measure of its apparent motion against the background of more distant stars as a result of the earth's motions in its orbit...

friction

(Encyclopedia)friction, resistance offered to the movement of one body past another body with which it is in contact. In certain situations friction is desired. Without friction the wheels of a locomotive could not...