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napalm
napalm , incendiary material developed during World War II by Harvard scientists cooperating with the U.S. army and used in bombs and flame throwers. Napalm is based on a mixture of gasoline, sometimes mixed with other petroleum fuels, and a thickening agent. The thickener, to which the term napalm... Read more |
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fire
fire the phenomenon of combustion as seen in light, flame , and heat; it is one of the basic tools of human culture. In ancient Greece and later, fire was considered one of the four basic elements, a substance from which all things were composed. Its great importance to humans, the mystery of... Read more |
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phoenix
phoenix fabulous bird that periodically regenerated itself, used in literature as a symbol of death and resurrection. According to legend, the phoenix lived in Arabia; when it reached the end of its life (500 years), it burned itself on a pyre of flames, and from the ashes a new phoenix arose. As a... Read more |
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flame test
flame test test used in the identification of certain metals. It is based on the observation that light emitted by any element gives a unique spectrum when passed through a spectroscope. When a salt of the metal is introduced into a Bunsen burner flame, the metallic ion produces characteristic... Read more |
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Flaming Lips
Flaming Lips Rock group The odd band known as the Flaming Lips languished on the edges of alternative rock obscurity for more than a decade, known only to fellow fringe-music aficionados who appreciated the band's unique, distorted sound. Music writer Jim DeRogatis has called them "one of the... Read more |
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Atomic emission spectroscopy
Flame Analysis Some forensic analytical determinations rely on the separation of the various components in a mixture of compounds. One means of accomplishing this separation is to heat the sample using a flame. The separated compounds can then be analyzed and identified. For example, when metals are... Read more |
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Muhammad Ali (boxer)
Muhammad Ali , 1942-, American boxer, b. Louisville, Ky. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, he was a 1960 Olympic gold medalist. Shortly after upsetting Sonny Liston in 1964 to become world heavyweight champion, he formalized his association with the Nation of Islam (see Black Muslims ) and adopted the... Read more |
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flame
flame phenomenon associated with the chemical reaction of a gas that has been heated above its kindling temperature with some other gas, usually atmospheric oxygen (see combustion ). The heat and light given off are characteristic of the specific chemical reaction (or reactions) going on; the... Read more |
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Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman 1973- Australian track and field athlete Australian runner Cathy Freeman is the first Aborigine ever to compete in the Olympics, and the first to wave the Aboriginal flag at a sporting event. Freeman lit the Olympic flame at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and won a gold medal in the... Read more |
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flamboyant style
flamboyant style the final development in French Gothic architecture that reached its height in the 15th cent. It is characterized chiefly by ornate tracery forms that, by their suggestion of flames, gave the style its name. Although these free-flowing patterns in lines of double curvature... Read more |
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Feature: Beijing lights Olympic cauldron to a magic start
...scroll, as a symbol of the Chinese...light the Olympic flame at the opening...However, Li's ability to...The Beijing Olympic flame, lit...the world's highest peak...Commemorating the theft ... |