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Cartwright, Alexander Joy

(Encyclopedia)Cartwright, Alexander Joy, 1820–92, American baseball player, b. New York City. He worked as a bank teller and a bookseller, and was a volunteer firefighter with the Knickerbocker Fire Engine Compan...

rapid transit

(Encyclopedia)rapid transit, transportation system designed to allow passenger travel within or throughout an urban area, usually employing surface, elevated, or underground railway systems or some combination of t...

barge

(Encyclopedia)barge, large boat, generally flat-bottomed, used for transporting goods. Most barges on inland waterways are towed, but some river barges are self-propelled. There are also sailing barges. On the Grea...

Popper-Lynkeus, Josef

(Encyclopedia)Popper-Lynkeus, Josef yōˈzĕf pôpˈər-lünˈkāo͝os [key], 1838–1921, Austrian philosopher, social reformer, and inventor. His unpopular views kept him from any academic position, so he worked ...

Joule, James Prescott

(Encyclopedia)Joule, James Prescott jo͞ol, joul [key], 1818–89, English physicist. His scientific researches began in his youth when he invented an electromagnetic engine. Joule made valuable contributions to th...

suspension, in vehicles

(Encyclopedia)suspension, in automobiles, system of springs used to suspend the frame, body, engine, and power train above the wheels. Its principal purpose is to lessen the jarring of the automobile that is caused...

winch

(Encyclopedia)winch, mechanical device for hauling or lifting consisting essentially of a movable drum around which a cable is wound so that rotation of the drum produces a drawing force at the end of the cable. A ...

turpentine

(Encyclopedia)turpentine, yellow to brown semifluid oleoresin exuded from the sapwood of pines, firs, and other conifers. It is made up of two principal components, an essential oil and a type of resin that is call...

forging

(Encyclopedia)forging, shaping metal by heating it and then hammering or rolling it. Forging is the method by which metal was first worked when it came into use about 4000 b.c. in Egypt and Asia. Modern forging is ...

Insull, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Insull, Samuel ĭnˈsəl [key], 1859–1938, American public utilities financier, b. London. He arrived in the United States in 1881 and was employed by Thomas A. Edison as a private secretary. He lat...