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air, law of the

(Encyclopedia)air, law of the, in the broadest sense, all law connected with the use of the air, including radio and satellite transmissions; more commonly, it refers to laws concerning civil aviation. The developm...

sound

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Sound waves: An air pressure wave radiating outward from a loudspeaker is perceived as sound. sound, any disturbance that travels through an elastic medium such as air, ground, or water to be ...

Mailer, Norman

(Encyclopedia)Mailer, Norman (Norman Kingsley Mailer), 1923–2007, American writer, b. Long Branch, N.J., grad. Harvard, 1943. He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., served in the army during World War II, and at the age o...

star

(Encyclopedia)star, hot incandescent sphere of gas, held together by its own gravitation, and emitting light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation whose ultimate source is nuclear energy. The universe co...

Hamilton, Sir William, Scottish philosopher

(Encyclopedia)Hamilton, Sir William, 1788–1856, Scottish philosopher. He was widely interested in law, physiology, and literature and was professor of history and philosophy at the Univ. of Edinburgh. Hamilton he...

American Museum of Natural History

(Encyclopedia)American Museum of Natural History, incorporated in New York City in 1869 to promote the study of natural science and related subjects. Buildings on its present site facing Central Park were opened in...

Jessup, Philip Caryl

(Encyclopedia)Jessup, Philip Caryl, 1897–1986, American authority on international law, b. New York City, grad. Hamilton College, 1919, LL.B. Yale, 1924, Ph.D. Columbia, 1927. He was admitted (1925) to the bar, a...

molecular orbital theory

(Encyclopedia)molecular orbital theory, detailed explanation of how electrons are distributed in stable molecules. In the simpler valence theory of the chemical bond, each atom in a molecule is assumed to retain it...

mesoderm

(Encyclopedia)mesoderm, in biology, middle layer of tissue formed in the gastrula stage of the developing embryo. At the end of the blastula stage, cells of the embryo are arranged in the form of a hollow ball. Con...

Orbiting Astronomical Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO), series of four orbiting observatories (see observatory, orbiting) launched between 1966 and 1972 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to...