Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

flotation process

(Encyclopedia)flotation process, in mineral treatment and mining, process for concentrating the metal-bearing mineral in an ore. Crude ore is ground to a fine powder and mixed with water, frothing reagents, and col...

Open University

(Encyclopedia)Open University, headquartered at Milton Keynes, England; founded 1969 as the Univ. of the Air. In 1971 a distance learning program was begun that now consists of correspondence courses integrated wit...

Oxnard

(Encyclopedia)Oxnard ŏkˈsnärd [key], city (1990 pop. 142,216), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast; inc. 1903. Its economy, formerly based on agriculture, mining, and nearby military bases, has expanded ...

Abubakar, Abdulsalam Alhaji

(Encyclopedia)Abubakar, Abdulsalam Alhaji, 1942–, Nigerian military officer and political leader, b. Minna, Niger State. He served in the Nigerian air force (1963–67) and army (1967–99), achieving the rank of...

calcination

(Encyclopedia)calcination kălˌsənāˈshən [key], in metallurgy, process of heating solid material to drive off volatile chemically combined components, e.g., carbon dioxide. It is sometimes a step in the extrac...

Afinogenov, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

(Encyclopedia)Afinogenov, Aleksandr Nikolayevich əlyĭksänˈdər nyĭkəlīˈəvĭch əfēˌnəgyĕˈnəf [key], 1904–41, Russian playwright. In his early plays he wrote of labor problems and the dangers of str...

streamline

(Encyclopedia)streamline, path of a fluid flowing steadily and without appreciable turbulence. A body is said to be streamlined if its shape offers the least possible resistance to a current of air, water, or other...

Valkyries

(Encyclopedia)Valkyries vălkērˈēz [key], in Germanic mythology, warrior maidens of Odin. They presided over battles, chose those who were to die, and brought the souls of the dead heroes back to Valhalla. Chief...

Tikhonov, Viktor Vasilyevich

(Encyclopedia)Tikhonov, Viktor Vasilyevich, 1930–2014, Soviet and Russian ice hockey player and coach, b. Moscow. As a defenseman (1949–63), he won four national championships (1951–54) with the Soviet air fo...

Yamamoto, Isoroku

(Encyclopedia)Yamamoto, Isoroku yämäˈmōtō [key], 1884–1943, Japanese admiral in World War II. He headed the combined fleet in 1941 and was the mastermind behind Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. After he was ...

Browse by Subject