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Halloween

(Encyclopedia)Halloween säˈwĭn [key], the beginning of winter and the Celtic new year. Spirits, or fairies, were said to roam the earth on this evening, playing tricks on human beings to mark the season of dimin...

pistachio

(Encyclopedia)pistachio pĭstăshˈēō, pĭstäˈshēō [key], tree or shrub (of the genus Pistacia) of the family Anacardiaceae (sumac family). The species that yields the pistachio nut of commerce is P. vera, na...

Heaney, Seamus

(Encyclopedia)Heaney, Seamus (Seamus Justin Heaney) shāˈməs, hēˈnē [key], 1939–2013, Irish poet, one of the finest contemporary English poets, b. Londonderry (now Derry), Northern Ireland, grad. Queen's Uni...

ammonium chloride

(Encyclopedia)ammonium chloride əmōˈnēəm klôrˈīd [key], chemical compound, NH4Cl, a white or colorless, odorless, water-soluble, cubic crystalline salt with a biting taste, commonly known as sal ammoniac. I...

scalar

(Encyclopedia)scalar, quantity or number possessing only sign and magnitude, e.g., the real numbers (see number), in contrast to vectors and tensors; scalars obey the rules of elementary algebra. Many physical quan...

Rock Springs

(Encyclopedia)Rock Springs, city (1990 pop. 19,050), alt. c.6,270 ft (1,910 m), Sweetwater co., SW Wyo., on Bitter Creek; inc. 1888. It is a cattle and sheep shipping point and the center of large natural trona min...

barley

(Encyclopedia)barley, annual cereal plant (Hordeum vulgare and sometimes other species) of the family Poaceae (grass family), cultivated by humans probably as early as any cereal. It was known to the ancient Greeks...

Harvey, George Brinton McClellan

(Encyclopedia)Harvey, George Brinton McClellan, 1864–1928, American journalist and diplomat, b. Peacham, Caledonia co., Vt. After a career in journalism and insurance, he became involved in the construction and a...

optical sensing

(Encyclopedia)optical sensing, in general, any method by which information that occurs as variations in the intensity, or some other property, of light is translated into an electric signal. This is usually accompl...

Gujrat

(Encyclopedia)Gujrat go͝ojərätˈ [key], city, NE Pakistan. It is near the Chenab River and on a major road ...
 

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