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Agricultural Adjustment Administration
Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), former U.S. government agency established (1933) in the Dept. of Agriculture under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal program. Its purpose was to help farmers by reducing production of staple crops, t...
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Geiger counter
Geiger counter or Geiger-Müller (G-M) counter , instrument for the detection and quantitative determination of ionizing radiation such as the alpha and beta rays given off by radioactive minerals and cosmic rays. It was first developed by Hans (J. W.) Geiger and later improved by Geiger a...
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lubrication
lubrication introduction of a substance between the contact surfaces of moving parts to reduce friction and to dissipate heat. A lubricant may be oil, grease, graphite, or any substance—gas, liquid, semisolid, or solid—that permits free action of mechanical devices and prevents damage b...
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bonus
bonus extra amount in money, bonds, or goods over what is normally due. The term is applied especially to payments to employees either for production in excess of the normal (wage incentive) or as a share of surplus profits. The wage incentive was designed during the late 19th cent. not only to inc...
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biofeedback
biofeedback method for learning to increase one's ability to control biological responses, such as blood pressure, muscle tension, and heart rate. Sophisticated instruments are often used to measure physiological responses and make them apparent to the patient, who then tries to alter and ultimatel...
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optician
optician filler of prescriptions for and dispenser of corrective lenses. An optician may grind lenses as instructed by the prescription of an optometrist (see optometry ) or ophthalmologist (see ophthalmology ) or transcribe the instructions for laboratory mechanics. The optician also fits and ad...
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continent
continent largest unit of landmasses on the earth . The continents include Eurasia (conventionally regarded as two continents, Europe and Asia ), Africa , North America , South America , Australia , and Antarctica .
Geographic Distribution of the Continents
More than two thirds o...
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mountain
mountain high land mass projecting conspicuously above its surroundings and usually of limited width at its summit. Although isolated mountains are not unusual, mountains commonly form ranges, comprising either a single complex ridge or a series of related ridges. A group of ranges closely related ...
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wake
wake watch kept over a dead body, usually during the night preceding burial . Ancient peoples in various parts of the world observed the custom. As an ancient ritual, it was rooted in a concern that no person should be buried alive. After it was adopted by Christians and as it is practiced today, ...
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bearing
bearing machine part designed to reduce friction between moving parts or to support moving loads. There are two main kinds of bearings: the antifriction type, such as the roller bearing and the ball bearing, operating on the principle of rolling friction; and the plain, or sliding, type, such as ...
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