Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

flamethrower

(Encyclopedia)flamethrower, mechanism for shooting a burning stream of liquid or semiliquid fuel at enemy troops or positions. Primitive types of flamethrowers, consisting of hollow tubes filled with burning coals,...

feedback

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Basic feedback control system feedback, arrangement for the automatic self-regulation of an electrical, mechanical, or biological system by returning part of its output as input. A simple exam...

bookbinding

(Encyclopedia)bookbinding. The art and business of bookbinding began with the protection of parchment manuscripts with boards. Papyrus had originally been produced in rolls, but sheets of parchment came to be folde...

Médici, Emílio Garrastazú

(Encyclopedia)Médici, Emílio Garrastazú əmēˈlyo͝o gəräshˈtəzo͞o mĕdˈĭsē [key], 1905–86, president of Brazil (1969–74). An army general, he served as head of the national intelligence service. He...

Coty, René

(Encyclopedia)Coty, René rənāˈ kôtēˈ [key], 1882–1962, French president (1954–59). From 1923 to 1940 he served in the legislature, first as a deputy and then as a senator. In 1940, when France fell to th...

Varela Rodríguez, Juan Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Varela Rodríguez, Juan Carlos, 1963–, Panamanian business executive and political leader, B.S. Georgia Institute of Technology, 1985. He worked in his family's distillery business, Varela Hermanos,...

Hines, Earl “Fatha”

(Encyclopedia)Hines, Earl “Fatha” (Earl Kenneth Hines) fäˈᵺə [key], 1903–83, American jazz pianist, b. Duquesne, Pa. The son of musicians, he played jazz piano in big bands as a young man and in 1927 joi...

Elizabethton

(Encyclopedia)Elizabethton, city (2020 pop. 14,546), seat of Carter co., NE Tenn., on the Watauga River; inc. 1799. It is an industrial center where rayon, clothing, ...

carding

(Encyclopedia)carding, process by which fibers are opened, cleaned, and straightened in preparation for spinning. The fingers were first used, then a tool of wood or bone shaped like a hand, then two flat pieces of...

puppet

(Encyclopedia)puppet, human or animal figure, generally of a small size and performing on a miniature stage, manipulated by an unseen operator who usually speaks the dialogue. A distinction is made between marionet...