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This is a special type of Earth model which traces its idealised "horizontal" surface - the plane on which, at any point, the pull of gravity is perpendicular to it.
BBC: Europe's Goce satellite probes Earth's gravity
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It has a freezing point well below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or zero Celsius and therefore is able to prevent the precipitation that falls into it from freezing on the plane's surface.
CNN: Airplane deicing: The how and why
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By using lightweight aerospace materials like carbon fiber, which has the strength of steel but weighs one-fifth as much, naval architects can design boats that plane across the surface of the water instead of plowing through it.
FORBES: Mine's Lighter