Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

265 results found

Gunter, Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Gunter, Edmund, 1581–1626, English mathematician and astronomer, educated at Westminster School, London, and Christ Church, Oxford. He invented (1618) a small portable quadrant and discovered (1622)...

magnetohydrodynamics

(Encyclopedia)magnetohydrodynamics măgnēˌtōhīˌdrōdīnămˈĭks [key], study of the motions of electrically conducting fluids and their interactions with magnetic fields. The principles of magnetohydrodynamic...

galvanometer

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Galvanometer galvanometer gălˌvənŏmˈətər [key], instrument used to determine the presence, direction, and strength of an electric current in a conductor. All galvanometers are based upo...

atomic force microscope

(Encyclopedia)atomic force microscope (AFM), device that uses a spring-mounted probe to image individual atoms on the surface of a material, first developed by Gerd Binnig in 1986. Unlike the scanning tunneling mic...

synchrotron radiation

(Encyclopedia)synchrotron radiation, in physics, electromagnetic radiation emitted by high-speed electrons spiraling along the lines of force of a magnetic field (see magnetism). Depending on the electron's energy ...

electric circuit

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Series circuit: Current is the same through each resistance; voltage divides in direct proportion to each resistance. B. Parallel circuit: Voltage drop is the same over each resistance; curr...

anatomy

(Encyclopedia)anatomy ənătˈəmē [key], branch of biology concerned with the study of body structure of various organisms, including humans. Comparative anatomy is concerned with the structural differences of pl...

space medicine

(Encyclopedia)space medicine, study of the medical and biological effects of space travel on living organisms. The principal aim is to discover how well and for how long humans can withstand the extreme conditions ...

Loomis, Elias

(Encyclopedia)Loomis, Elias, 1811–89, American physicist and mathematician, b. Willington, Conn., grad. Yale, 1830. He taught at Western Reserve (1837–44), at New York Univ. (1844–47, 1849–60), and at Yale ...

Belgorod

(Encyclopedia)Belgorod byĕlˈgərəd [key], city, capital of Belgorod region, S central European Russia, on the ...