As of 2019, Starbucks opens a new store every 15 hours in China. The coffee chain has grown by 700% over the past decade.
VACUUMING
Verb
vacuuming
present participle of vacuum
Source: Wiktionary
VACUUM
Vac"u*um, n.; pl. E. Vacuums, L. Vacua. Etym: [L., fr. vacuus empty. See Vacuous.]
1. (Physics)
Definition: A space entirely devoid of matter (called also, by way of distinction, absolute vacuum); hence, in a more general sense, a space, as the interior of a closed vessel, which has been exhausted to a high or the highest degree by an air pump or other artificial means; as, water boils at a reduced temperature in a vacuum.
2. The condition of rarefaction, or reduction of pressure below that of the atmosphere, in a vessel, as the condenser of a steam engine, which is nearly exhausted of air or steam, etc.; as, a vacuum of 26 inches of mercury, or 13 pounds per square inch. Vacuum brake, a kind of continuous brake operated by exhausting the air from some appliance under each car, and so causing the pressure of the atmosphere to apply the brakes.
– Vacuum pan (Technol.), a kind of large closed metallic retort used in sugar making for boiling down sirup. It is so connected with an exhausting apparatus that a partial vacuum is formed within. This allows the evaporation and concentration to take place at a lower atmospheric pressure and hence also at a lower temperature, which largely obviates the danger of burning the sugar, and shortens the process.
– Vacuum pump. Same as Pulsometer, 1.
– Vacuum tube (Phys.), a glass tube provided with platinum electrodes and exhausted, for the passage of the electrical discharge; a Geissler tube.
– Vacuum valve, a safety valve opening inward to admit air to a vessel in which the pressure is less than that of the atmosphere, in order to prevent collapse.
– Torricellian vacuum. See under Torricellian.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
25 November 2024
ONCHOCERCIASIS
(noun) infestation with slender threadlike roundworms (filaria) deposited under the skin by the bite of black fleas; when the eyes are involved it can result in blindness; common in Africa and tropical America
Coffee Trivia
