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Plata, Río de la

(Encyclopedia)Plata, Río de la rēˈō ᵺā lä pläˈtä [key], estuary, c.170 mi (270 km) long, SE South America, formed by the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. Between Argentina and Uruguay, the estuary is c.120 mi...

bacteriophage

(Encyclopedia)bacteriophage băktērˈēəfājˌ [key], virus that infects bacteria and sometimes destroys them by lysis, or dissolution of the cell. Bacteriophages, or phages, have a head composed of protein, an i...

mirror

(Encyclopedia)mirror, in optics, a reflecting surface that forms an image of an object when light rays coming from that object fall upon it (see reflection). Usually mirrors are made of plate glass, one side of whi...

earth, in geology and astronomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Cross section of the earth, showing its shells B. Detailed cross section of the crust and upper mantle: The lithosphere consists of the hard rock in the crust and upper mantle, lying above t...

Mars, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Mars, in astronomy, 4th planet from the sun, with an orbit next in order beyond that of the earth. Mars has two natural satellites, discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877. The innermost of these, Phobos...

electrode

(Encyclopedia)electrode, terminal through which electric current passes between metallic and nonmetallic parts of an electric circuit. In most familiar circuits current is carried by metallic conductors, but in som...

cloth of gold

(Encyclopedia)cloth of gold, fabric woven wholly or partly of gold threads. From remote times gold has been used as material for weaving either alone or with other fibers. In India tapestries were made from gold th...

Incheon

(Encyclopedia)Incheon or Inchon ĭnˈchän, Korean ēnchən [key], city, Gyeonggi (Kyonggi) prov., NW South Korea, on the Yellow Se...

Idrisi

(Encyclopedia)Idrisi ĕ– [key], in full Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abdallah Ibn Idris Al-Hammudi Al-Hasani Al-Idrisi, b. 1099?, d. after 1154, Arab geographer, b. Ceuta. He traveled in Europe, Asia Mi...

Anderson, Lennart

(Encyclopedia)Anderson, Lennart (Anders Lennart Anderson), 1928–2015, American artist, b. Detroit. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago (B.F.A., 1950) and Cranbrook Academy of Art (M.F.A., 1952) and at New ...