Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Suess, Eduard

(Encyclopedia)Suess, Eduard āˈdo͞oärt züs [key], 1831–1914, Austrian geologist, b. London. He was a professor (1857–1901) at the Univ. of Vienna and served for more than 20 years in the Austrian parliament...

sidereal year

(Encyclopedia)sidereal year, time required for the earth to complete an orbit of the sun relative to the stars. The sidereal year is 365 days, 6 hr, 9 min, 9.5 sec of mean solar time (see solar time). It is 20 min ...

gadolinium

(Encyclopedia)gadolinium gădəlĭnˈēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Gd; at. no. 64; at. wt. 157.25; m.p. 1,312℃; b.p. 3,233℃; sp. gr. 7.898 at 25℃; valence +3. Gadolinium is a malleable, ducti...

neodymium

(Encyclopedia)neodymium nēˌōdĭmˈēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Nd; at. no. 60; at. wt. 144.242; m.p. about 1,021℃; b.p. about 3,068℃; sp. gr. 7.004 at 20℃; valence +3. Neodymium is a lust...

lightning

(Encyclopedia)lightning, electrical discharge accompanied by thunder, commonly occurring during a thunderstorm. The discharge may take place between one part of a cloud and another part (intracloud), between one cl...

stupa

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Stupa stupa sto͞oˈpə [key] [Sanskrit,=mound], Buddhist monument in tumulus, or mound, form, often containing relics. The words tope and dagoba are synonymous, though the latter properly ref...

praseodymium

(Encyclopedia)praseodymium prāˌzēōdĭmˈēəm, –sēō– [key] [Gr., =green twin], metallic chemical element; symbol Pr; at. no. 59; at. wt. 140.90765; m.p. 931℃; b.p. 3,512℃; sp. gr. about 6.8; valence +...

reservoir

(Encyclopedia)reservoir rĕzˈəvôr, –vwär [key], storage tank or wholly or partly artificial lake for storing water. Building an embankment or dam to preserve a supply of water for irrigation is an ancient pra...

Doddridge, Philip

(Encyclopedia)Doddridge, Philip, 1702–51, English nonconformist minister and noted hymn writer. His Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul (1745) has been much translated. His many hymns include “Awake, My S...

crescent

(Encyclopedia)crescent, emblematic representation of the quarter moon. The crescent and star, ancient Byzantine symbols that became the emblems of Constantinople, were also assumed as the standard of the Ottoman Tu...