Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

cuprous

(Encyclopedia)cuprous kyo͞oˈprəs [key], copper in the +1 valence state. ...

Alice Springs

(Encyclopedia)Alice Springs, town, Northern Territory, Australia. It lies in a pastoral area surrounded by desert near the center of the continent and is a stop on the Adelaide Darwin Railway. The town ...

combustion

(Encyclopedia)combustion, rapid chemical reaction of two or more substances with a characteristic liberation of heat and light; it is commonly called burning. The burning of a fuel (e.g., wood, coal, oil, or natura...

Mugodzhar Hills

(Encyclopedia)Mugodzhar Hills mo͞ogəjärˈ [key], range, c.275 mi (440 km) long, E Kazakhstan. The southern spur of the Urals, it forms the divide between the Caspian and the Aral basins. Its highest point is c.2...

Chingola

(Encyclopedia)Chingola chĭng-gōˈlä [key], city, N central Zambia. It is a copper-mining center, located on ...

Babbitt metal

(Encyclopedia)Babbitt metal, an antifriction metal first produced by Isaac Babbitt in 1839. In present-day usage the term is applied to a whole class of silver-white bearing metals, or “white metals.” These all...

potentiometer

(Encyclopedia)potentiometer. 1 Manually adjustable, variable, electrical resistor. It has a resistance element that is attached to the circuit by three contacts, or terminals. The ends of the resistance element are...

nielsbohrium

(Encyclopedia)nielsbohrium nēlzbôrˈēəm [key], symbol Ns, former suggested name for both element 105, now called dubnium, and element 107, now called bohrium. ...

hahnium

(Encyclopedia)hahnium hänˈēəm [key], symbol Ha, former suggested name for both element 105, now called dubnium, and element 108, now called hassium. ...

malleability

(Encyclopedia)malleability, property of a metal describing the ease with which it can be hammered, forged, pressed, or rolled into thin sheets. Metals vary in this respect; pure gold is the most malleable. Silver, ...

Browse by Subject