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quadrant
quadrant in technology, angle-measuring device based on a scale of 90°. It is sometimes confused with the sextant , a similar instrument based on a scale of 60°. The quadrant is rarely used today.
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quadrant
quadrant 1 In analytic geometry, one of the four regions of the plane determined by two lines, the x- axis and the y- axis. Commonly these lines are drawn perpendicular to each other, and the quadrants, or regions, they determine are numbered counterclockwise, beginning with the upper right qua...
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Thomas Godfrey
Thomas Godfrey 1736-63, American poet and playwright, b. Philadelphia. The son of Thomas Godfrey, who invented the quadrant, he became apprenticed to a watchmaker after his father's early death. Godfrey is remembered as the author of The Prince of Parthia (1767), a blank verse tragedy reminiscent...
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Edmund Gunter
Edmund Gunter 1581-1626, English mathematician and astronomer, educated at Westminster School, London, and Christ Church, Oxford. He invented (1618) a small portable quadrant and discovered (1622) the variation of the magnetic compass. His Gunter's chain is a surveyor's chain graduated on the decim...
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George Graham
George Graham 1674?-1751, English instrument maker. A clockmaker by trade, Graham designed clocks and watches that earned him membership in the Royal Society and were still manufactured into the present century. In 1725 he built a very accurate 8-ft (2.4-m) quadrant for the royal astronomer, Edmund...
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Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke , 1635-1703, English physicist, mathematician, and inventor. He became curator of experiments for the Royal Society (1662), professor of geometry at Gresham College (1665), and city surveyor of London after the great 1666 fire. Considered the greatest mechanic of his age, he made many i...
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irritable bowel syndrome
irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), condition characterized by frequently alternating constipation and diarrhea in the absence of any disease process. It is usually accompanied by abdominal pain, especially in the lower left quadrant, bloating, and flatulence. Other symptoms, such as heartburn, lower b...
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John Nash
John Nash 1752-1835, English architect; pupil of Sir Robert Taylor. After enjoying an extensive practice in Wales, he began to work c.1792 in London. His capacities were greatest in town planning, and he is chiefly known for his boldly planned development of the Marylebone region of London. His sch...
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vernier
vernier , auxiliary scale, either straight or an arc of a circle, designed to slide along a fixed scale. Its unit divisions, usually smaller than those on the fixed scale, permit a far more precise reading. The vernier is attached to the scales of instruments employed for very accurate linear or ang...
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John Davis
John Davis 1550?-1605, English navigator. He made his first voyage in search of the Northwest Passage in 1585, continuing the work of Martin Frobisher . On this voyage he discovered Cumberland Sound of Baffin Island and made explorations that prepared the way for his later voyages in 1586 and 15...
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