Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

stratigraphy

(Encyclopedia)stratigraphy, branch of geology specifically concerned with the arrangement of layered rocks (see stratification). Stratigraphy is based on the law of superposition, which states that in a normal sequ...

Struve

(Encyclopedia)Struve shtro͞oˈvə [key], family of astronomers. Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, 1793–1864, was born in Germany but later lived in Russia. While director (1817–39) of Dorpat Observatory he w...

planetary science

(Encyclopedia)planetary science or planetology, study of planets and planetary systems as a whole. Planetary science applies the theories and methods of traditional disciplines such as astronomy, geology, physics, ...

catastrophism

(Encyclopedia)catastrophism kətăsˈtrəfĭzəm [key], in geology, the doctrine that at intervals in the earth's history all living things have been destroyed by cataclysms (e.g., floods or earthquakes) and replac...

Montpellier, University of

(Encyclopedia)Montpellier, University of, at Montpellier, France; founded 1220 by Cardinal Conrad and confirmed by papal bull. The university was suppressed during the French Revolution and replaced by faculties of...

Ardigò, Roberto

(Encyclopedia)Ardigò, Roberto rōbĕrˈtō ärdēgôˈ [key], 1828–1920, Italian positivist philosopher. His early life was spent in the priesthood, from which he withdrew in dissatisfaction at the age of 43. La...

Rydberg, Abraham Viktor

(Encyclopedia)Rydberg, Abraham Viktor äˈbrähäm vĭkˈtôr rüdˈbĕryə [key], 1828–95, Swedish philosopher and writer. Singoalla (1857), a romantic and mystical story of medieval times, was his first major w...

sarcoma

(Encyclopedia)sarcoma särkōˈmə [key], highly malignant tumor arising in connective- and muscle-cell tissue. It is the result of oncogenes (the cancer causing genes of some viruses) and proto-oncogenes (cancer c...

Tolman, Edward Chace

(Encyclopedia)Tolman, Edward Chace, 1886–1959, American psychologist, b. West Newton, Mass., grad. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1911; Ph. D. Harvard, 1915. He spent most of his academic career at the Un...

Schultz, Theodore William

(Encyclopedia)Schultz, Theodore William, 1902–98, American economist; b. Arlington, S.Dak. He taught at Iowa State College (1930–43) and the Univ. of Chicago (1943–67), but remained active at Chicago long aft...