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Hansen, William Webster

(Encyclopedia)Hansen, William Webster, 1909–49, U.S. physicist, b. Fresno, Calif. Hansen received his doctorate in physics from Stanford in 1933 and joined the faculty there in 1934. He invented the high-quality ...

pitch, in aviation

(Encyclopedia)pitch, in aviation: see airplane; airfoil. ...

minister, in diplomacy

(Encyclopedia)minister, in diplomacy: see diplomatic service; extraterritoriality. ...

Hidalgo, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Hidalgo hĭdălˈgō [key], in astronomy: see asteroid. ...

sublimation, in psychology

(Encyclopedia)sublimation, in psychology: see defense mechanism; psychoanalysis. ...

Ariel, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Ariel ârˈēəl [key], in astronomy, one of the moons, or natural satellites, of Uranus. ...

may, in botany

(Encyclopedia)may, name for several plants; in England, particularly the hawthorn. See also mayflower. ...

quadrant, in technology

(Encyclopedia)quadrant, in technology, angle-measuring device based on a scale of 90°. It is sometimes confused with the sextant, a similar instrument based on a scale of 60°. The quadrant is rarely used today. ...

scale, in cartography

(Encyclopedia)scale, in cartography, the ratio of the distance between two points on a map to the real distance between the two corresponding points portrayed. The scale may be expressed in three ways: numerically,...

Metis, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Metis mēˈtĭs [key], in astronomy, one of the 39 known moons, or natural satellites, of Jupiter. ...