Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

land-grant colleges and universities

(Encyclopedia)land-grant colleges and universities, U.S. institutions benefiting from the provisions of the Morrill Act (1862), which gave to the states federal lands for the establishment of colleges offering prog...

French Southern and Antarctic Lands

(Encyclopedia)French Southern and Antarctic Lands, overseas territory of France, including Adélie Land, which covers c.200,000 sq mi (520,000 sq km) in Antarctica, and a number of islands in the S Indian Ocean. Th...

Doubs, river, France and Switzerland

(Encyclopedia)Doubs, river, c.270 mi (435 km) long, rising in the Jura Mts., E France, and flowing northeast, forming part of the French-Swiss border, then looping into W Switzerland before turning back into France...

Lexington and Concord, battles of

(Encyclopedia)Lexington and Concord, battles of, opening engagements of the American Revolution, Apr. 19, 1775. After the passage (1774) of the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament, unrest in the colonies inc...

formula, in mathematics and physics

(Encyclopedia)formula, in mathematics and physics, equation expressing a definite fixed relationship between certain quantities. The quantities are usually expressed by letters, and their relationship is indicated ...

ether, in physics and astronomy

(Encyclopedia)ether or aether, in physics and astronomy, a hypothetical medium for transmitting light and heat (radiation), filling all unoccupied space; it is also called luminiferous ether. In Newtonian physics a...

Browse by Subject