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albumin

(Encyclopedia)albumin ălbyo͞oˈmən [key] [Lat.,=white of egg], member of a class of water-soluble, heat-coagulating proteins. Albumins are widely distributed in plant and animal tissues, e.g., ovalbumin of egg, ...

ether, in physics and astronomy

(Encyclopedia)ether or aether, in physics and astronomy, a hypothetical medium for transmitting light and heat (radiation), filling all unoccupied space; it is also called luminiferous ether. In Newtonian physics a...

heat of combustion

(Encyclopedia)heat of combustion, heat released during combustion. In particular, it is the amount of heat released when a given amount (usually 1 mole) of a combustible pure substance is burned to form incombustib...

gypsum

(Encyclopedia)gypsum jĭpˈsəm [key], mineral composed of calcium sulfate (calcium, sulfur, and oxygen) with two molecules of water, CaSO4·2H2O. It is the most common sulfate mineral, occurring in many places in ...

garter snake

(Encyclopedia)garter snake, harmless snake of the genus Thamnophis, abundant from Canada to Central America. There are many common species; members of most species are about 2 ft (60 cm) long. Most garter snakes ar...

Legionnaire's disease

(Encyclopedia)Legionnaire's disease lēˌjənârzˈ [key], infectious, sometimes fatal, disease characterized by high fever, dry cough, lung congestion, and subsequent pneumonia. Major organs, such as the heart, ma...

loon

(Encyclopedia)loon, common name for migratory aquatic birds found in fresh- and saltwater in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Its strange, laughing call carries for great distances. Like the grebes, loo...

parchment

(Encyclopedia)parchment, untanned skins of animals, especially of the sheep, calf, and goat, prepared for use as a writing material. The name is a corruption of Pergamum, the ancient city of Asia Minor where prepar...

Warm Springs

(Encyclopedia)Warm Springs, resort, Meriwether co., W Ga. The salutary properties of the water springing from Pine Mt. were known to Native Americans, and white settlers learned of them in the late 18th cent. By th...

osprey

(Encyclopedia)osprey ŏsˈprē [key], common name for a fish-eating bird of prey found near water in most parts of the world. The osprey, or fish hawk, Pandion haliaetus, has brown upperparts and a grayish white he...