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bowlegs

(Encyclopedia)bowlegs (genu varum), outward curvature of the leg bone (tibia) or thighbone (femur) causing the knees to separate when the feet are placed together. When the condition is severe enough to be consider...

bar, the

(Encyclopedia)bar, the, originally, the rail that enclosed the judge in a court; hence, a court or a system of courts. The persons qualified and authorized to conduct the trial of cases are also known collectively ...

diagnosis

(Encyclopedia)diagnosis, determination of the nature of a disease or ailment. A clinical diagnosis is based on the medical history and physical examination of the patient: it may be confirmed with X-Rays, CAT Scans...

digital art

(Encyclopedia)digital art, contemporary art in which computer technology is used in a wide variety of ways to make distinctive works. Digital art was pioneered in the 1970s but only came into its own as a viable ar...

division, in mathematics

(Encyclopedia)division, fundamental operation in arithmetic; the inverse of multiplication. Division may be indicated by the symbol ÷, as in 15 ÷ 3, or simply by a fraction, 15/3. The number that is being divided...

paralysis

(Encyclopedia)paralysis or palsy pôlˈzē [key], complete loss or impairment of the ability to use voluntary muscles, usually as the result of a disorder of the nervous system. The nervous tissue that is injured m...

Paris, Declaration of

(Encyclopedia)Paris, Declaration of, 1856, agreement concerning the rules of maritime warfare, issued at the Congress of Paris. It was the first major attempt to codify the international law of the sea. Conflicting...

hydroponics

(Encyclopedia)hydroponics, growing of plants without soil in water to which nutrients have been added. Hydroponics has been used for over a century as a research technique, but not until 1929 were experiments condu...

electroscope

(Encyclopedia)electroscope, device for detecting electric charge invented by Nollet in 1748. There are various types of electroscopes. The most common has a cylindrical metal case closed by two round, flat, glass f...

spark chamber

(Encyclopedia)spark chamber, in physics, device for recording the passage of elementary particles produced by reactions in a particle accelerator. Particles pass through a stack of metal plates or wire grids that a...