Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

chemical reaction

(Encyclopedia)chemical reaction, process by which one or more substances may be transformed into one or more new substances. Energy is released or is absorbed, but no loss in total molecular weight occurs. When, fo...

chemical analysis

(Encyclopedia)chemical analysis, the study of the chemical composition and structure of substances. More broadly, it may be considered the corpus of all techniques whereby any exact chemical information is obtained...

Mercury space program

(Encyclopedia)Mercury space program: see space exploration. ...

chemical equation

(Encyclopedia)chemical equation, group of symbols representing a chemical reaction. There are a number of other symbols used in chemical equations. A symbol written above or below the reaction arrow indicates spe...

chemical warfare

(Encyclopedia)chemical warfare, employment in war of incendiaries, poison gases, and other chemical substances. Ancient armies attacking or defending fortified cities threw burning oil and fireballs. A primitive ty...

chemical industry

(Encyclopedia)chemical industry, the business of using chemical reactions to turn raw materials, such as coal, oil, and salt, into a variety of products. During the 19th and 20th cent. technological advances in the...

reaction, chemical

(Encyclopedia)reaction, chemical: see chemical reaction. ...

chemical kinetics

(Encyclopedia)chemical kinetics: see chemical reaction. ...

analysis, chemical

(Encyclopedia)analysis, chemical: see chemical analysis. ...

equation, chemical

(Encyclopedia)equation, chemical: see chemical equation. ...