Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

domestic service

(Encyclopedia)domestic service, work performed in a household by someone who is not a member of the family. It was performed by slaves in many early civilizations, e.g., in Greece and Rome. Under the feudal system ...

atom

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bohr-Rutherford atom CE5 Probability distribution of the electron in the hydrogen atom: A. Ground state B. Highly excited state atom [Gr.,=uncuttable (indivisible)], basic unit of matte...

lignin

(Encyclopedia)lignin lĭgˈnĭn [key], a highly polymerized and complex chemical compound especially common in woody plants. The cellulose walls of the wood become impregnated with lignin, a process called lignific...

Medinipur

(Encyclopedia)Medinipur mĭdˈnəpûrˌ [key], town (1991 pop. 125,498), West Bengal state, E India, on the Kasai River. It is a district administrative center and has textile and chemical manufactures. A canal lin...

Sarnia

(Encyclopedia)Sarnia, city (1991 pop. 74,376), S Ont., Canada, on the St. Clair River, at the south end of Lake Huron and opposite Port Huron, Mich. The two cities are connected by a railroad tunnel, and there is a...

Iligan

(Encyclopedia)Iligan ēlēˈgän [key], city, capital of Lanao del Norte prov., W central Mindanao, the Phi...

Thionville

(Encyclopedia)Thionville tyôNvēlˈ [key], Ger. Diedenhofen, town (1990 pop. 40,835), Moselle dept., NE France, in Lorraine. It is a center for metallurgical and chemical industries. The town was a favorite of Cha...

Tlalnepantla de Baz

(Encyclopedia)Tlalnepantla de Baz tlälnāpänˈtlä ᵺā bäs [key], city (1990 pop. 702,270), Mexico state, S central Mexico, on the Tlalnepantla River. It is a communications and industrial center that owes its...

Rheinhausen

(Encyclopedia)Rheinhausen rīnˈhouˌzən [key], former town, North Rhine–Westphalia, NW Germany, a port on the Rhine River; chartered 1934. Manufactures include metal products, machinery, textiles, mining and ch...

Roebuck, John

(Encyclopedia)Roebuck, John, 1718–94, English physician, chemist, and inventor. He acted as a chemical consultant to local industries in Birmingham and invented the lead chamber process of manufacturing sulfuric ...