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Lorentz contraction
(Encyclopedia)Lorentz contraction lôrˈĕnts [key], in physics, contraction or foreshortening of a moving body in the direction of its motion, proposed by H. A. Lorentz on theoretical grounds and based on an earli...barbiturate
(Encyclopedia)barbiturate bärbĭchˈərātˌ [key], any one of a group of drugs that act as depressants on the central nervous system. High doses depress both nerve and muscle activity and inhibit oxygen consumpti...uncertainty principle
(Encyclopedia)uncertainty principle, physical principle, enunciated by Werner Heisenberg in 1927, that places an absolute, theoretical limit on the combined accuracy of certain pairs of simultaneous, related measur...Nemours, Louis Charles Philippe Raphaël d'Orléans, duc de
(Encyclopedia)Nemours, Louis Charles Philippe Raphaël d'Orléans, duc de lwē shärl fēlēpˈ räfäĕlˈ dôrlāäNˈ dük də nəmo͞orˈ [key], 1814–96, French prince; second son of King Louis Philippe. In 1...Lind, James
(Encyclopedia)Lind, James, 1716–94, English naval surgeon. Considered the founder of naval hygiene in England, Lind observed on a ten-week cruise (1746) that 80 seamen of 350 came down with scurvy. In his Treatis...mezzotint
(Encyclopedia)mezzotint mĕtˈsətĭnt, mĕdˈzə–, mĕzˈə– [key] [Ital.,=halftint], method of copper or steel engraving in tone. A Dutch officer, Ludwig von Siegen, is given credit for the invention of mezzo...Mott, Sir Nevill
(Encyclopedia)Mott, Sir Nevill, 1905–96, British physicist. A professor at the Univ. of Bristol (1933–54) and the Univ. of Cambridge (1954–71), Mott won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 for a lifetime of re...color index
(Encyclopedia)color index, in astronomy, difference in an object's brightness as recorded between any two well-defined bands of the electromagnetic spectrum by using optical filters of different colors. If blue and...Civilis
(Encyclopedia)Civilis (Julius Civilis) sĭvīˈlĭs [key], fl. a.d. 70, Batavian chief who chose the unsettled period at the fall of Nero to raise a revolt in Germany, which quickly spread to Gaul (a.d. 69–70). I...Goyen, Jan Josephszoon van
(Encyclopedia)Goyen, Jan Josephszoon van yän yōˈzəfsōn vän gōˈyən [key], 1596–1656, Dutch landscape painter. He studied at Leiden and Haarlem. In 1631 he settled at The Hague. His typically Dutch landsca...Browse by Subject
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