Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Nicholson, Jack

(Encyclopedia)Nicholson, Jack, 1937–, American film actor, b. Neptune, N.J. After appearing in a series of low-budget movies for some 10 years, he scored his first success with Easy Rider (1969). One of Hollywood...

mercaptan

(Encyclopedia)mercaptan thīˈōl [key], any of a class of organic compounds containing the group –SH bonded to a carbon atom. The volatile low-molecular-weight mercaptans have disagreeable odors. Mercaptans are ...

Minas Gerais

(Encyclopedia)Minas Gerais mēˈnəs zhərīsˈ [key] [Port.,=various mines], state (1996 pop. 16,660,691), 226,707 sq mi (587,171 sq km), E Brazil. The capital is Belo Horizonte. Minas Gerais continues to produce ...

naproxen

(Encyclopedia)naproxen and naproxen sodium, potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) used to alleviate the minor pain of arthritis, menstruation, headaches, and the like, and to reduce fever. Along with ...

Landau, Lev Davidovich

(Encyclopedia)Landau, Lev Davidovich lyĕf dəvēˈdəvĭch ləndouˈ [key], 1908–68, Soviet physicist, b. Baku, Azerbaijan. A child prodigy in mathematics, he entered Baku Univ. at 14; at 21 he received a doctor...

Saint Helier

(Encyclopedia)Saint Helier sānt hĕlˈyər, Fr. săNtālyāˈ [key], town (1991 pop. 24,941), capital of Jersey, Channel Islands, Great Britain, on St. Aubin's Bay. The administrative and cultural center of Jersey...

Reinfeldt, Fredrik

(Encyclopedia)Reinfeldt, Fredrik frāˈdrĭk rīnˈfĕld [key] 1965–, Swedish politician. A member of the center-right Moderate party, he joined its Youth League in the 1980s, was first elected to parliament in 1...

Thanet, Isle of

(Encyclopedia)Thanet, Isle of thănˈĭt [key], former island forming the NE portion of Kent, SE England, bounded by the North Sea and branches of the Stour River. The isle was occupied by the Romans, who had a for...

Tônlé Sap

(Encyclopedia)Tônlé Sap tŏnˈlā säp [key] [great lake], lake, central Cambodia; largest lake of SE Asia. It occupies the depression of the Cambodian plain and is fed by many streams; the Tônlé Sap River, c.7...

Shirakawa, Hideki

(Encyclopedia)Shirakawa, Hideki, 1936–, Japanese chemist, Ph.D. Tokyo Institute of Technology, 1966. Shirakawa was a research assistant at the Tokyo Institute of Technology from 1966 to 1979. He then taught at th...