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Shikoku
Shikoku , island (1990 pop. 4,240,265), 7,247 sq mi (18,770 sq km), S Japan, separated from Honshu and Kyushu by the Inland Sea. The smallest of the major islands of Japan, its high mountains and steep slopes limit agriculture and impede communication; there are no volcanoes. Shikoku's climate is hu...
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Roche limit
Roche limit the closest distance that a celestial body held together only by its own gravity can come to a planet without being pulled apart by the planet's tidal (gravitational) force. This distance depends on the densities of the two bodies and the orbit of the celestial body. Inside the Roche li...
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freedom of the seas
freedom of the seas in international law, the principle that outside its territorial waters (see waters, territorial ) a state may not claim sovereignty over the seas, except with respect to its own vessels. This principle, first established by the Romans, gives to all nations in time of peace unr...
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ligament
ligament , strong band of white fibrous connective tissue that joins bones to other bones or to cartilage in the joint areas. The bundles of collagenous fibers that form ligaments tend to be pliable but not elastic. They therefore permit freedom of movement within a certain limited range while hol...
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Samuel Plimsoll
Samuel Plimsoll , 1824-98, English reformer. Plimsoll was particularly interested in the welfare of sailors. As a member of Parliament (1868-80) he secured legislation limiting the loading of ships. It required that a line be painted on the sides of all British merchant vessels to show the limit of ...
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secant
secant in mathematics. 1 In geometry, a secant is a straight line cutting a curve or surface. If it intersects the curve in two different points, as in the secant of a circle , the segment of the secant between the points is called a chord. The limiting position of a secant, if such a limit exis...
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Massif Central
Massif Central [Fr.,=central highlands], great mountainous plateau, c.33,000 sq mi (85,470 sq km), S central France, covering almost a sixth of the surface of the country. The chief water divide of France, it borders on the Paris basin in the north, the Rhône valley and basin in the east and ...
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San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí , state (1990 pop. 2,003,187), 24,417 sq mi (63,240 sq km), central Mexico. San Luis Potosí is the capital. Most of the state lies on the eastern tablelands of Mexico's central plateau. Except in the humid tropical Pánuco River valley in the extreme east, near ...
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elasticity
elasticity the ability of a body to resist a distorting influence or stress and to return to its original size and shape when the stress is removed. All solids are elastic for small enough deformations or strains, but if the stress exceeds a certain amount known as the elastic limit, a permanent de...
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femur
femur (pl. femora) 1. In tetrapods, the upper bone of the hind limb. 2. In Insecta, the third segment in the leg, which articulates with the trochanter proximally, and with the tibia distally. The femur is the largest and most robust segment of the leg in most adult insects. Movement with respect to...
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