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caisson

(Encyclopedia)caisson kāˈsən, –sŏn [key] [Fr.,=big box], in engineering, a chamber, usually of steel but sometimes of wood or reinforced concrete, used in the construction of foundations or piers in or near a...

sandpaper

(Encyclopedia)sandpaper, abrasive originally made by gluing grains of sand to heavy paper sheets. Today sandpaper is made primarily with quartz, aluminum oxide, or silicon carbide grains, and is graded according to...

china marks

(Encyclopedia)china marks, potter's trademark or signature, incised in the plastic clay before firing or printed before glazing on the bottom of the piece to identify it as his product. The practice was adopted by ...

New Year's Day

(Encyclopedia)New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated amo...

fallow land

(Encyclopedia)fallow land, cropland that is not seeded for a season; it may or may not be plowed. The land may be cultivated or chemically treated for control of weeds and other pests or may be left unaltered. Allo...

hydrocephalus

(Encyclopedia)hydrocephalus hīˌdrəsĕfˈələs [key], also known as water on the brain, developmental (congenital) or acquired condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of body fluids within the skull...

sea level

(Encyclopedia)sea level, the level of the sea, which serves as the datum used for measurement of land elevations and ocean depths. Theoretically, one would expect sea level to be a fixed and permanent horizontal su...

Text of the Constitution of the United States

(Encyclopedia)Text1 of the Constitution of the United States Preamble Article I Article II Article III Article IV Article V Article VI Article VII Amendment I Amendment II Am...

luminescence

(Encyclopedia)luminescence, general term applied to all forms of cool light, i.e., light emitted by sources other than a hot, incandescent body, such as a blackbody radiator. Luminescence is caused by the movement ...

monkeypox

(Encyclopedia)monkeypox, rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, which is related to the viruses that cause smallpox and cowpox. The symptoms of monkeypox, which typically take 1 to 2 weeks to ap...