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melting point

(Encyclopedia)melting point, temperature at which a substance changes its state from solid to liquid. Under standard atmospheric pressure different pure crystalline solids will each melt at a different specific tem...

liquid crystal

(Encyclopedia)liquid crystal, liquid whose component particles, atoms or molecules, tend to arrange themselves with a degree of order far exceeding that found in ordinary liquids and approaching that of solid cryst...

latent heat

(Encyclopedia)latent heat, heat change associated with a change of state or phase (see states of matter). Latent heat, also called heat of transformation, is the heat given up or absorbed by a unit mass of a substa...

phase diagram

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Phase diagram for a substance, like water, which expands on freezing phase diagram, graph that shows the relation between the solid, liquid, and gaseous states of a substance (see states of ma...

inductor

(Encyclopedia)inductor, electric device consisting of one or more turns of wire and typically having two terminals. An inductor is usually connected into a circuit in order to raise the inductance to a desired valu...

Love Canal

(Encyclopedia)Love Canal, section of Niagara Falls, N.Y., that formerly contained a canal that was used as chemical disposal site. In the 1940s and 50s the empty canal was used by a chemical and plastics company to...

pipe

(Encyclopedia)pipe, hollow structure, usually cylindrical, for conducting materials. It is used primarily to convey liquids, gases, or solids suspended in a liquid, e.g., a slurry. It is also used as a conduit for ...

whetstone

(Encyclopedia)whetstone, natural or manufactured stone used as an abrasive solid to sharpen tools. It is used dry, with water, or with oil. Such a stone of the finer grade used with oil is usually called an oilston...

centrifuge

(Encyclopedia)centrifuge sĕnˈtrəfyo͞oj [key], device using centrifugal force to separate two or more substances of different density, e.g., two liquids or a liquid and a solid. The centrifuge consists of a fixe...

flotation process

(Encyclopedia)flotation process, in mineral treatment and mining, process for concentrating the metal-bearing mineral in an ore. Crude ore is ground to a fine powder and mixed with water, frothing reagents, and col...