All articles starting with B
27,400 articles
Blow-up (mathematics)
A blow-up in algebraic geometry is a birational transformation that replaces a closed subscheme with the tangent directions out of it; by Hironaka's 1964 theorem, resolutions of singularities are built from sequences of blowups.
Blow-Up and Other Stories
Blow-Up and Other Stories, first published as End of the Game and Other Stories in 1967, collects 15 short stories by the Argentine writer Julio Cortázar.
Blow-up lemma
The blow-up lemma, proved by Komlós, Sárközy, and Szemerédi and published in Combinatorica in 1997, states that regular pairs of vertices behave like complete bipartite graphs for embedding bounded-degree subgraphs.
Blowback (firearms)
Blowback is a firearm operating system in which gas pressure pushes the cartridge case against an unlocked bolt to cycle the action, with no mechanical lock between barrel and bolt.
Blower door test
A blower door test is a building diagnostic in which a calibrated fan pressurizes a building to 50 pascals, measuring airflow to quantify envelope leakage for energy codes.
Blowfish (cipher)
Blowfish, also known as the Blowfish encryption algorithm, is a symmetric-key block cipher designed by Bruce Schneier in 1993 as a fast, free alternative to DES.
Blowgun
A blowgun, also known as a blow tube, is a tubular weapon in which human breath propels a dart or clay pellet, used mainly for hunting in dense forests.
Blowhole
Blowhole: a hole in a sea cave roof or a vertical shaft venting air and water under wave or barometric pressure; coastal spouting vents (Kiama, Spouting Horn) and Nullarbor karst blowholes, distinct from geysers.
Blowin' in the Wind
Blowin' in the Wind, Bob Dylan folk song written and first performed in 1962, released on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963). Set to the spiritual No More Auction Block; Peter, Paul and Mary's version hit No. 2 on Billboard and made it a civil rights anthem, unlike Dylan's own chart-failing record.
Blowing from a gun
Blowing from a gun was a method of execution in which the condemned was tied to a cannon's front and killed by a blank charge. A Mughal punishment for mutiny, adopted by the British in India and used in Persia and Afghanistan into the twentieth century.
Blowing snow
Blowing snow is surface snow lifted and carried by the wind to heights of 2 m or more, unlike drifting snow, which stays near the ground.
Blown Away
Blown Away is a Canadian glassblowing reality competition, also called a glass art contest series, produced by marblemedia for Makeful and Netflix from 2019, hosted by Nick Uhas and Hunter March with judge Katherine Gray, filmed in Hamilton, Ontario.
Blown Away (1994 film)
Blown Away is a 1994 American action thriller directed by Stephen Hopkins, in which Boston bomb-squad specialist Jeff Bridges is hunted by bomber Tommy Lee Jones, released by MGM.
Blown film extrusion
Blown film extrusion, also called tubular film extrusion or the bubble process, is a continuous polymer processing method that makes plastic film for bags, stretch wrap, and packaging.
Blowoff valve
A blowoff valve, also called a dump valve, is a pressure relief device on turbocharged engines that vents boost pressure when the throttle closes, preventing compressor surge.
Blowout
A blowout is a saucer-, cup-, or trough-shaped depression carved by wind erosion of a sand deposit where vegetation has declined, occurring chiefly in coastal foredunes and sometimes evolving into parabolic dunes.
Blowout (well drilling)
A blowout, also called an oil gusher, is the unintentional, uncontrolled escape of oil or gas from a well when formation pressure exceeds drilling fluid pressure.
Blowout preventer
A blowout preventer (BOP) is a large valve assembly stacked above a wellhead to seal the well against uncontrolled pressure, first designed by Harry Cameron and Jim Abercrombie in 1922.
Blowup
Blowup (Blow-Up), Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 first English-language film, follows fashion photographer Thomas (David Hemmings), who enlarges park snapshots and believes he captured a murder; it won the 1967 Palme d'Or and influenced The Conversation and Blow Out.
Blox
Blox is an abstract tower-building board game published by Ravensburger in 2008, designed by Wolfgang Kramer, Hans Raggan, and Jürgen P. K. Grunau for two to four players.
BLS-NEN-HCP trial
The BLS-NEN-HCP trial (NCT06001879) was a randomized controlled trial in Amman and Al-Zarqa, Jordan, comparing one-day simulation-based basic life support training with brochure-based training in 102 newly employed nurses.
BLT
BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato): an American sandwich of crisp bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on toasted bread, named in 1940s diners, distinct from the triple-decker club sandwich that adds turkey and a third slice of bread.
Blu Cantrell
Blu Cantrell (Tiffany Cobb, born 1976, Providence RI), American R&B singer; hits 'Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)' (US No. 2, 2001) and 'Breathe' with Sean Paul (UK No. 1, 3x Platinum); two albums, two Grammy nominations.
Blu del Barrio
Blu del Barrio (born 1997) is an American non-binary actor and LAMDA graduate, best known as Adira Tal on Star Trek: Discovery, the franchise's first non-binary character and first non-binary actor, later in Trap House and voice roles.
Blu Hunt
Blu Hunt, born 1995 in Sacramento, California, is an American actress of Lakota descent known for Inadu/The Hollow in The Originals, Danielle Moonstar in The New Mutants (2020), and August Catawnee in Netflix's Another Life.
BLU Products
BLU Products, short for Bold Like Us, is an American company founded in 2009 in Miami that sells inexpensive factory-unlocked Android smartphones and feature phones.
BLU-82
The BLU-82, nicknamed the "Daisy Cutter," was a 15,000-pound American concussion bomb dropped from C-130 aircraft and used by the US Air Force from 1970 until 2008.
Blu-ray
Blu-ray is a 120 mm optical disc format using a 405 nm blue-violet laser to store 25 GB per layer, carrying HD and, since 2016, 4K Ultra HD video.
Blu*3
Blu*3, later styled Blu 3, is a Ugandan all-female vocal group formed in 2004 after winning the Coca-Cola Popstars contest, disbanded around 2008 and reunited since 2023.
Blubber
Blubber is the thick subcutaneous fat layer of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, providing insulation, buoyancy, and energy storage; it ranges from 2 to over 12 inches thick and accumulates pollutants.