Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

302 results found

chemical bond

(Encyclopedia)chemical bond, mechanism whereby atoms combine to form molecules. There is a chemical bond between two atoms or groups of atoms when the forces acting between them are strong enough to lead to the for...

Marcus, Rudolph Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Marcus, Rudolph Arthur, 1923–, American chemist, b. Montreal, Canada. A professor at the California Institute of Technology, he was awarded the 1992 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing a theory ...

Zeeman effect

(Encyclopedia)Zeeman effect, splitting of a single spectral line (see spectrum) into a group of closely spaced lines when the substance producing the single line is subjected to a uniform magnetic field. The effect...

spintronics

(Encyclopedia)spintronics, spin electronics, or magnetoelectronics, science and technology that harnesses the spin state of electrons in addition to the electrical charge state to store data or perform calculation...

Western Michigan University

(Encyclopedia)Western Michigan University, at Kalamazoo, Mich.; coeducational; founded in 1903 as Western State Normal School, became accredited in 1927 as a college, gained university status in 1957. The universit...

Southern Methodist University

(Encyclopedia)Southern Methodist University, at Dallas, Tex.; United Methodist; coeducational; chartered 1911. The school's facilities include laboratories for electron microscopy and stable isotopes, a museum of p...

antiparticle

(Encyclopedia)antiparticle, elementary particle corresponding to an ordinary particle such as the proton, neutron, or electron, but having the opposite electrical charge and magnetic moment. Every elementary partic...

Washington State University

(Encyclopedia)Washington State University, at Pullman; land-grant and state supported; chartered 1890, opened 1892 as an agriculture college. From 1905 to 1959 it was the State College of Washington. The university...

CERN

(Encyclopedia)CERN or European Organization for Nuclear Research, nuclear and particle physics research center straddling the French-Swiss border W of Geneva, Switzerland. Established in 1952 as the provisional Eur...

amino group

(Encyclopedia)amino group, in chemistry, functional group that consists of a nitrogen atom attached by single bonds to hydrogen atoms, alkyl groups, aryl groups, or a combination of these three. An organic compound...

Browse by Subject