Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Euler-Chelpin, Hans Karl August Simon von

(Encyclopedia)Euler-Chelpin, Hans Karl August Simon von, 1873–1964, Swedish biochemist, b. Germany, Ph.D. Univ. of Berlin, 1895. He spent his entire career at Stockholm Univ., first as professor and later as dire...

alkyne

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Alkynes alkyne ălˈkīn [key], any of a group of aliphatic hydrocarbons whose molecules contain one or more carbon-carbon triple bonds (see chemical bond). Alkynes with one triple bond have t...

californium

(Encyclopedia)californium kălˈĭfôrˌnēəm [key] [from California], artificially produced, radioactive metallic chemical element; symbol Cf; at. no. 98; mass no. of most stable isotope 251; m.p. about 900℃; b...

combining weight

(Encyclopedia)combining weight, the proportion (by weight) in which a chemical element combines with other elements to form compounds. The determination of combining weights was a very important part of early chemi...

Fourcroy, Antoine François, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Fourcroy, Antoine François, comte de äNtwänˈ fräNswäˈ kôNt də fo͞orkrwäˈ [key], 1755–1809, French chemist. He was a pioneer in animal and plant chemistry and collaborated with Lavoisier ...

Norrish, Ronald George Wreyford

(Encyclopedia)Norrish, Ronald George Wreyford, 1897–1978, British chemist, Ph.D. Cambridge, 1925. He joined the faculty at Cambridge in 1925 and was a professor there until he retired in 1965. Norrish was awarded...

nitro group

(Encyclopedia)nitro group, in chemistry, functional group that consists of a nitrogen atom joined to two oxygen atoms. Compounds that contain a nitro group, e.g., picric acid and trinitrotoluene (TNT), are called n...

Bosch, Carl

(Encyclopedia)Bosch, Carl, 1874–1940, German chemist and engineer, Ph.D. Univ. of Leipzig, 1898. In 1899, Bosch began working as a chemist for BASF, which merged with six other German chemical firms to become I. ...

sodium nitrate

(Encyclopedia)sodium nitrate, chemical compound, NaNO3, a colorless, odorless crystalline compound that closely resembles potassium nitrate (saltpeter or niter) in appearance and chemical properties. It is soluble ...

potassium hydroxide

(Encyclopedia)potassium hydroxide, chemical compound with formula KOH. Pure potassium hydroxide forms white, deliquescent crystals. For commercial and laboratory use it is usually in the form of white pellets. A st...

Browse by Subject