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Stephenson, George

(Encyclopedia)Stephenson, George, 1781–1848, British engineer, noted as a locomotive builder. He learned to read and write in night school at the age of 18, while working in a colliery. He constructed (1814) a tr...

air forces

(Encyclopedia)air forces, those portions of a nation's military organization employing heavier-than-air aircraft for reconnaissance, support of ground troops, aerial combat, and bombing of enemy lines of communicat...

Uist, North, and South Uist

(Encyclopedia)Uist, North yo͞oˈĭst, o͞oˈ– [key], and South Uist, islands, two of the Outer Hebrides, Western Isles council area, NW Scotland. North Uist (1985 est. pop. 3,300), is 18 mi (29 km) long and 13 m...

Aldrin, Buzz

(Encyclopedia)Aldrin, Buzz ôlˈdrĭn [key] (Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.), 1930–, American astronaut, b. Montclair, N.J. After graduating from West Point (1951), Aldrin joined the U.S. air force and flew 66 combat m...

Israel, country, Asia

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Israel ĭzˈrēəl [key], officially State of Israel, republic (2015 est. pop. 8,065,000, including Israelis in occupied Arab territories), 7,992 sq mi (20,700 sq km), SW Asia, on the Mediterra...

magnesium

(Encyclopedia)magnesium măgnēˈzēəm, –zhəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Mg; at. no. 12; at. wt. 24.3050; m.p. about 648.8℃; b.p. about 1,090℃; sp. gr. 1.738 at 20℃; valence +2. In 1808, Sir...

Gaza Strip

(Encyclopedia)Gaza Strip gäzˈə [key], rectangular coastal area, c.140 sq mi (370 sq km), SW Asia, on the ...

cruise missile

(Encyclopedia)cruise missile, low-flying, continuously powered offensive missile designed to evade defense systems. A cruise missile typically uses an aircraft engine rather than a rocket engine to fly at subsonic ...

Musk, Elon

(Encyclopedia)Musk, Elon ēˈlŏn [key], 1971–, American business executive and entrepreneur, b. Pretoria...
 

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