Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

X-ray astronomy

(Encyclopedia)X-ray astronomy, study of celestial objects by means of the X rays they emit, in the wavelength range from 0.01 to 10 nanometers. X-ray astronomy dates to 1949 with the discovery that the sun emits X ...

X-ray crystallography

(Encyclopedia)X-ray crystallography, the study of crystal structures through X-ray diffraction techniques. When an X-ray beam bombards a crystalline lattice in a given orientation, the beam is scattered in a defini...

ray, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)ray, extremely flat-bodied cartilaginous marine fish, related to the shark. The pectoral fins of most rays are developed into broad, flat, winglike appendages, attached all along the sides of the head...

ray, in physics

(Encyclopedia)ray, in physics, term denoting the straight line along which light or other form of radiation is propagated from its source. It generally refers to the line of propagation of waves but is also applied...

Delany, Martin Robinson

(Encyclopedia)Delany, Martin Robinson dəlāˈnē [key], 1812–85, American black leader, b. Charles Town, Va. (now in West Virginia). The son of free blacks, he attended a black school in Pittsburgh and studied m...

Gifford, Sanford Robinson

(Encyclopedia)Gifford, Sanford Robinson, 1823–80, American painter, b. Greenfield, N.Y. A major painter of the American movement known as luminism, Gifford, who was influenced by Thomas Cole early in his career, ...

Montagu, Elizabeth (Robinson)

(Encyclopedia)Montagu, Elizabeth (Robinson), 1720–1800, English author, one of the bluestockings. She was noted for her wit and beauty, and her London literary salon was frequented by Johnson, Walpole, Burke, and...

Luce, Henry Robinson

(Encyclopedia)Luce, Henry Robinson, 1898–1967, American publisher, b. Tengchow (now Penglai), China, the son of a Presbyterian missionary. After studying at Yale and Oxford, he worked (1921–22) as a reporter on...

Robinson, Arthur Howard

(Encyclopedia)Robinson, Arthur Howard, 1915–2004, American cartographer, b. Montreal to American parents, Ph.D Ohio State Univ., 1947. The head of the map division of the Office of Strategic Services for much of ...

Browse by Subject