Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

NASCAR

(Encyclopedia)NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1948 and began its first and...

intermolecular forces

(Encyclopedia)intermolecular forces, forces that are exerted by molecules on each other and that, in general, affect the macroscopic properties of the material of which the molecules are a part. Such forces may be ...

international monetary system

(Encyclopedia)international monetary system, rules and procedures by which different national currencies are exchanged for each other in world trade. Such a system is necessary to define a common standard of value ...

Lyons, city, France

(Encyclopedia)Lyons, Fr. Lyon both: lyôNˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 422,444), capital of Rhône dept., E central France, at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. As an economic center and a densely populat...

Sullivan, Louis Henry

(Encyclopedia)Sullivan, Louis Henry, 1856–1924, American architect, b. Boston, studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He is of great importance in the evolution...

debenture

(Encyclopedia)debenture dəbĕnˈchər [key], document acknowledging indebtedness. In Great Britain a debenture is practically the same as a bond, and debenture stock is similar to preferred stock. In the United St...

Fama, Eugene Francis

(Encyclopedia)Fama, Eugene Francis, 1939–, 1939–, U.S. economist, b. Boston, Mass., grad. Univ. of Chicago (M.B.A. 1963, Ph.D. 1964). He has taught at the Univ. of Chicago's Graduate School of Business since 19...

balance of payments

(Encyclopedia)balance of payments, balance between all payments out of a country within a given period and all payments into the country, an outgrowth of the mercantilist theory of balance of trade. Balance of paym...

Henderson, Leon

(Encyclopedia)Henderson, Leon, 1895–1986, American economist, administrator of the Office of Price Administration (1941–42), b. Millville, N.J. An official of the Russell Sage Foundation (1925–34), Henderson ...

Olds

(Encyclopedia)Olds, town (1991 pop. 5,542), S Alta., Canada, N of Calgary, in a stock, dairy, and wheat-farming region. It has grain elevators and is the seat of a provincial agricultural school. ...

Browse by Subject