Columbia Encyclopedia

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cremation

(Encyclopedia)cremation, disposal of a corpse by fire. It is an ancient and widespread practice, second only to burial. It has been found among the tribes of the Pacific Northwest, among Northern Athapascan bands i...

curium

(Encyclopedia)curium kyo͝orˈēəm [key], artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Cm; at. no. 96; mass no. of most stable isotope 247; m.p. about 1,340℃; b.p. 3,110℃; sp. gr. 13.5 (calculate...

cobalt, chemical element

(Encyclopedia)cobalt, metallic chemical element; symbol Co; at. no. 27; at. wt. 58.9332; m.p. 1,495℃; b.p. about 2,870℃; sp. gr. 8.9 at 20℃; valence +2 or +3. Cobalt is a silver-white, lustrous, hard, brittle...

False Decretals

(Encyclopedia)False Decretals dĭkrēˈtəlz [key], collection of documents, partly spurious, treating of canon law. It was composed between 847 and 852 probably in France, either at Reims or in the province of Tou...

amber

(Encyclopedia)amber, fossilized tree resin. Amber can vary in color from yellow to red to green and blue. The best commercial amber is transparent, but some varieties are cloudy. To be called amber, the resin must ...

tungsten

(Encyclopedia)tungsten tŭngˈstən [key] [Swed.,=heavy stone], metallic chemical element; symbol W; at. no. 74; at. wt. 183.84; m.p. about 3,410℃; b.p. 5,660℃; sp. gr. 19.3 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, +4, +5, or...

pollination

(Encyclopedia)pollination, transfer of pollen from the male reproductive organ (stamen or staminate cone) to the female reproductive organ (pistil or pistillate cone) of the same or of another flower or cone. Polli...

quantum chromodynamics

(Encyclopedia)quantum chromodynamics (QCD), quantum field theory that describes the properties of the strong interactions between quarks and between protons and neutrons in the framework of quantum theory. Quarks p...

soap plant

(Encyclopedia)soap plant, any of various plants having cleansing properties. A few are of commercial importance, but most soap plants are used locally, as in early times, for toilet and laundry purposes. The soapba...

Bessemer process

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bessemer converter Bessemer process bĕsˈəmər [key] [for Sir Henry Bessemer], industrial process for the manufacture of steel from molten pig iron. The principle involved is that of oxidati...