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leveraged buyout
leveraged buyout the takeover of a company, financed by borrowed funds. Often, the target company's assets are used as security for the loans acquired to finance the purchase. The acquiring company or group then repays the loans from the target company's profits or by selling its assets. Many lever...
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macromolecule
macromolecule term that may refer either to a crystal such as a diamond, in which the atoms are identical and held by covalent bonds (see chemical bond ) of equal strength, or to one of the units that compose a polymer . Macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids are vital to the functio...
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atomic bomb
atomic bomb or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei (see nuclear energy ). The first atomic bomb was produced at the Los Alamos, N.Mex., laboratory and successfully tested on July 16, 1945. This was the cu...
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Achilles' tendon
Achilles' tendon ( tendo calcaneus ) , sinew prominent at the back of the ankle, connecting the tendons of the calf muscles to the heelbone. When the musculature contracts, the pull on the Achilles' tendon elevates the heel in the springy motion essential to running and jumping. Since the effect i...
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isotope
isotope , in chemistry and physics, one of two or more atoms having the same atomic number but differing in atomic weight and mass number. The concept of isotope was introduced by F. Soddy in explaining aspects of radioactivity; the first stable isotope (of neon) was discovered by J. J. Thomson. T...
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ribose
ribose , monosaccharide carbohydrate of universal distribution in living tissue, found in ribonucleic acid (RNA; see nucleic acid ), free nucleotides , and various coenzymes . Its close relative, deoxyribose, is a constituent of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); ribose has one more oxygen atom in it...
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molecule
molecule [New Lat.,=little mass], smallest particle of a compound that has all the chemical properties of that compound. A single atom is usually not referred to as a molecule, and ionic compounds such as common salt are not made up of molecules. Unlike ions , molecules carry no electrical charg...
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element
element in chemistry, a substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by chemical means. A substance such as a compound can be decomposed into its constituent elements by means of a chemical reaction, but no further simplification can be achieved. An element can, however, be decompo...
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element
element in chemistry, a substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by chemical means. A substance such as a compound can be decomposed into its constituent elements by means of a chemical reaction, but no further simplification can be achieved. An element can, however, be decompo...
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George Gamow
George Gamow , 1904-68, Russian-American theoretical physicist and author, b. Odessa. A nuclear physicist, Gamow is better known to the public for his excellent books popularizing abstract physical theories. He did his earlier research at the universities of Copenhagen, Cambridge, and Leningrad, whe...
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