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octane number

(Encyclopedia)octane number, figure of merit representing the resistance of gasoline to premature detonation when exposed to heat and pressure in the combustion chamber of an internal-combustion engine. Such detona...

Avogadro's number

(Encyclopedia)Avogadro's number ävōgäˈdrō [key] [for Amedeo Avogadro], number of particles contained in one mole of any substance; it is equal to 602,252,000,000,000,000,000,000, or in scientific notation, 6.0...

domino theory

(Encyclopedia)domino theory, the notion that if one country becomes Communist, other nations in the region will probably follow, like dominoes falling in a line. The analogy, first applied (1954) to Southeast Asia ...

communication theory

(Encyclopedia)communication theory: see information theory. ...

chaos theory

(Encyclopedia)chaos theory, in mathematics, physics, and other fields, a set of ideas that attempts to reveal structure in aperiodic, unpredictable dynamic systems such as cloud formation or the fluctuation of biol...

encounter theory

(Encyclopedia)encounter theory, in astronomy, see solar system. ...

planetesimal theory

(Encyclopedia)planetesimal theory plănˌĭtĕsˈəməl [key]: see solar system. ...

phlogiston theory

(Encyclopedia)phlogiston theory flōjĭsˈtŏn [key], hypothesis regarding combustion. The theory, advanced by J. J. Becher late in the 17th cent. and extended and popularized by G. E. Stahl, postulates that in all...