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enragés

(Encyclopedia)enragés äNräzhāˈ [key], term applied to a small group of Parisian radical extremists in the French Revolution. Rising prices and food shortages provoked them in Feb.–Mar., 1793, to pillage the ...

Bergius, Friedrich Karl Rudolf

(Encyclopedia)Bergius, Friedrich Karl Rudolf, 1884–1949, German chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Leipzig, 1907. In 1910, Bergius set up a laboratory to carry out his research and in 1914 transferred the operation to the E...

Rhondda, David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Rhondda, David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount rŏnˈdə [key], 1856–1918, British industrialist and public official. He entered his father's coal business in S Wales and eventually developed one of the...

acetylene

(Encyclopedia)acetylene ĕthˈīn [key], HC≡CH, a colorless gas. It melts at −80.8℃ and boils at −84.0℃. Offensive odors often noted in commercial acetylene are due to impurities. Acetylene forms explosiv...

asparagine

(Encyclopedia)CE5 asparagine əspârˈəjēn [key], organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer participates in the biosynthesis of mammalian proteins. ...

phosphorescence

(Encyclopedia)phosphorescence fŏsˌfərĕsˈəns [key], luminescence produced by certain substances after absorbing radiant energy or other types of energy. Phosphorescence is distinguished from fluorescence in th...

Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm bŭnˈsən, Ger. rōˈbĕrt vĭlˈhĕlm bo͝onˈzən [key], 1811–99, German scientist, educated at the Univ. of Göttingen, where he received his doctorate in 1830. He served ...

Brancusi, Constantin

(Encyclopedia)Brancusi, Constantin bränkyo͞oˈzē, Rom. bränˈko͞osh [key], 1876–1957, Romanian sculptor. Brancusi is considered one of the foremost of modern artists. In 1904 he went to Paris, where he worke...

septic tank

(Encyclopedia)septic tank, underground sedimentation tank in which sewage is retained for a short period while it is decomposed and purified by bacterial action. The organic matter in the sewage settles to the bott...

algae

(Encyclopedia)algae ălˈjē [key] [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plan...