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nonmetal

(Encyclopedia)nonmetal, chemical element possessing certain properties by which it is distinguished from a metal. In general, this distinction is drawn on the basis that a nonmetal tends to accept electrons and for...

periodic law

(Encyclopedia)periodic law, statement of a periodic recurrence of chemical and physical properties of the elements when the elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number. Such an arrangement in the for...

lightning

(Encyclopedia)lightning, electrical discharge accompanied by thunder, commonly occurring during a thunderstorm. The discharge may take place between one part of a cloud and another part (intracloud), between one cl...

hydraulics

(Encyclopedia)hydraulics, branch of engineering concerned mainly with moving liquids. The term is applied commonly to the study of the mechanical properties of water, other liquids, and even gases when the effects ...

colligative properties

(Encyclopedia)colligative properties, properties of a solution that depend on the number of solute particles present but not on the chemical properties of the solute. Colligative properties of a solution include fr...

electric and magnetic units

(Encyclopedia)electric and magnetic units, units used to express the magnitudes of various quantities in electricity and magnetism. Three systems of such units, all based on the metric system, are commonly used. On...

Stroessner, Alfredo

(Encyclopedia)Stroessner, Alfredo älfrāˈᵺō shtrsˈnər [key], 1912–2006, president and dictator of Paraguay (1954–89). Of a German Paraguayan family, he was commissioned an officer (1932) and fought in th...

antifreeze

(Encyclopedia)antifreeze, substance added to a solvent to lower its freezing point. The solution formed is called an antifreeze mixture. Antifreeze is typically added to water in the cooling system of an internal-c...

conduction

(Encyclopedia)conduction, transfer of heat or electricity through a substance, resulting from a difference in temperature between different parts of the substance, in the case of heat, or from a difference in elect...

charge

(Encyclopedia)charge, property of matter that gives rise to all electrical phenomena (see electricity). The basic unit of charge, usually denoted by e, is that on the proton or the electron; that on the proton is d...
 

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