Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

gun control

(Encyclopedia)gun control, government limitation of the purchase and ownership of firearms. The availability of guns is controlled by nations and localities throughout the world. In the United States the “right o...

control systems

(Encyclopedia)control systems, combinations of components (electrical, mechanical, thermal, or hydraulic) that act together to maintain actual system performance close to a desired set of performance specifications...

rent control

(Encyclopedia)rent control, in economics and law, government regulation of rent to prevent unreasonable or excessive increases. In the United States, the federal government imposed rent control (and other price con...

numerical control

(Encyclopedia)numerical control: see computer-aided manufacturing. ...

birth control

(Encyclopedia)birth control, practice of contraception for the purpose of limiting reproduction. Although contraceptive techniques had been known in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, the modern movement for birth ...

prostitution

(Encyclopedia)prostitution, act of granting sexual access for payment. Although most commonly conducted by females for males, it may be performed by females or males for either females or males. Prostitution in A...

cruelty, prevention of

(Encyclopedia)cruelty, prevention of. In the 19th cent. many laws were passed in Great Britain and the United States to protect the helpless, especially children, lunatics, and domestic animals, from willful and ma...

AIDS, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, fatal disease caused by a rapidly mutating retrovirus that attacks the immune system and leaves the victim vulnerable to infections, malignancies, and neuro...

Browse by Subject