Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Pell, Claiborne de Borda

(Encyclopedia)Pell, Claiborne de Borda, 1918–2009, U.S. politician, b. New York City, grad. Princeton (B.A., 1940), Columbia (M.A., 1946). From an old, distinguished American family, he served (1941–45) in the ...

phonon

(Encyclopedia)phonon fōˈnŏn [key], quantum of vibrational energy. The atoms of any crystal are in a state of vibration, their average kinetic energy being measured by the absolute temperature of the crystal. In ...

Weber and Fields

(Encyclopedia)Weber and Fields wĕbˈər [key], American comedy team. The partners were Joe Weber (Joseph Maurice Weber), 1867–1942, and Lew Fields (Lewis Maurice Schanfield), 1867–1941, both born in New York C...

Block Island

(Encyclopedia)Block Island, 7 mi (11.2 km) long and 3.5 mi (5.6 km) wide, off S R.I. at the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound. Visited by the Dutch navigator Adriaen Block in 1614, it was settled in 1661. The m...

Bornholm

(Encyclopedia)Bornholm bôrnˈhôlm [key], county, 227 sq mi (588 sq km), extreme E Denmark, in the Baltic ...

tide

(Encyclopedia)tide, alternate and regular rise and fall of sea level in oceans and other large bodies of water. These changes are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and, to a lesser extent, of the s...

Attila

(Encyclopedia)Attila ətĭlˈə, ătˈələ [key], d. 453, king of the Huns (445–53). After 434 he was coruler with his brother, whom he murdered in 445. In 434, Attila obtained tribute and great concessions for ...

Wilkes, John

(Encyclopedia)Wilkes, John, 1727–97, English politician and journalist. He studied at the Univ. of Leiden, returned to England in 1746, and purchased (1757) a seat in Parliament. Backed by Earl Temple, Wilkes fou...

Lewis, Edward B.

(Encyclopedia)Lewis, Edward B., 1918–2004, American geneticist, b. Wilkes-Barre, Pa., grad. California Institute of Technology (Ph.D. 1942). After serving as a meteorologist with the U.S. Army Air Corps during Wo...

loon

(Encyclopedia)loon, common name for migratory aquatic birds found in fresh- and saltwater in the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Its strange, laughing call carries for great distances. Like the grebes, loo...