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barbed wire

(Encyclopedia)barbed wire, wire composed of two zinc-coated steel strands twisted together and having barbs spaced regularly along them. The need for barbed wire arose in the 19th cent. as the American frontier mov...

Ozarks, the

(Encyclopedia)Ozarks, the, or Ozark Plateau, upland region, actually a dissected plateau, c.50,000 sq mi (129,500 sq km), chiefly in S Mo. and N Ark., but partly in Oklahoma and Kansas, between the Arkansas and Mis...

sulfur dioxide

(Encyclopedia)sulfur dioxide, chemical compound, SO2, a colorless gas with a pungent, suffocating odor. It is readily soluble in cold water, sparingly soluble in hot water, and soluble in alcohol, acetic acid, and ...

Bytom

(Encyclopedia)Bytom bĭˈtôm [key], Ger. Beuthen, city (1994 est. pop. 232,400), Śląskie prov., SW Poland, in the Katowice mining region. An important heavy industrial center, it has iron- and steelworks and the...

Lubumbashi

(Encyclopedia)Lubumbashi lo͞obo͞ombäˈshē [key], city (1984 pop. 564,830), capital of Haut-Katanga province, SE Congo (Kinshasa), near the border with Zambia. The second largest city of the country, it is a com...

Goslar

(Encyclopedia)Goslar gôsˈlär [key], city, Lower Saxony, central Germany, at the northern foot of the Har...

cyclopropane

(Encyclopedia)cyclopropane, C3H6, a gaseous hydrocarbon. It is a cyclic alkane, its three carbon atoms being joined together in a ring. The angle between successive carbon-carbon bonds in the ring is only 60°, muc...

coffin

(Encyclopedia)coffin, closed receptacle for a corpse. Its purpose is usually to protect and to aid preservation of the body, although in the past some have believed that it may confine the spirit of the deceased. B...

Thásos

(Encyclopedia)Thásos thāˈsŏs [key], island (1991 pop. 13,527), c.170 sq mi (440 sq km), NE Greece, in the Aegean Sea. Timber, olive oil, honey, wine, and lead-zinc ores are its chief products; boatbuilding, fis...

Vladikavkaz

(Encyclopedia)Vladikavkaz vlədyēˈkävkäz [key], city (1989 pop. 300,000), capital of North Ossetia-Alania, SE European Russia, on the Terek River and at the northern foot of the Caucasus. It is the starting poi...