Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

22 results found

Kyushu

(Encyclopedia)Kyushu kyo͞oˈsho͞o [key], island (1990 pop. 13,064,955), c.13,760 sq mi (35,640 sq km), S Japan. It is the third largest, southernmost, and most densely populated of the major islands of Japan. It ...

Kurosawa, Akira

(Encyclopedia)Kurosawa, Akira äkēˈrä ko͞orōˈsäwä [key], 1910–98, Japanese film director, scriptwriter, and producer, b. Tokyo. He is regarded as one of the world's greatest directors. In Rashomon (1950),...

treaty port

(Encyclopedia)treaty port, port opened to foreign trade by a treaty. The term is usually confined to ports in those countries that formerly strongly objected to foreign trade or attempted altogether to exclude it. ...

atomic bomb

(Encyclopedia)atomic bomb or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of nuclear energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy atomic nuclei. The first atomic bomb was produced at the Los Alam...

Manhattan Project

(Encyclopedia)Manhattan Project, the wartime effort to design and build the first nuclear weapons (atomic bombs). With the discovery of fission in 1939, it became clear to scientists that certain radioactive materi...

radiation sickness

(Encyclopedia)radiation sickness, harmful effect produced on body tissues by exposure to radioactive substances. The biological action of radiation is not fully understood, but it is believed that a disturbance in ...

Perry, Matthew Calbraith

(Encyclopedia)Perry, Matthew Calbraith, 1794–1858, American naval officer, b. South Kingstown, R.I.; brother of Oliver Hazard Perry. Appointed a midshipman in 1809, he first served under his brother on the Reveng...

air forces

(Encyclopedia)air forces, those portions of a nation's military organization employing heavier-than-air aircraft for reconnaissance, support of ground troops, aerial combat, and bombing of enemy lines of communicat...

Truman, Harry S.

(Encyclopedia)Truman, Harry S., 1884–1972, 33d President of the United States, b. Lamar, Mo. Truman remained active in politics for many years after his retirement, campaigning around the country for Democrat...

World War II

(Encyclopedia)World War II, 1939–45, worldwide conflict involving every major power in the world. The two sides were generally known as the Allies and the Axis. Although hostilities came to an end in Sept...

Browse by Subject