Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Virginius affair

(Encyclopedia)Virginius affair, 1873, incident that came near to causing war between the United States and Spain. The Virginius, a filibustering ship, was fraudulently flying the American flag and carrying arms to ...

boomerang

(Encyclopedia)boomerang bo͞oˈmərăngˌ [key], special form of throwing stick, used mainly by the aborigines of Australia. Other forms of throwing sticks were used by the peoples of ancient Egypt, Ethiopia, and I...

Carlos, second son of Charles IV of Spain

(Encyclopedia)Carlos (Carlos María Isidro de Borbón), 1788–1855, second son of Charles IV of Spain. He was the first Carlist pretender. After his father's abdication (1808) he was, with the rest of his family, ...

nuclear energy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Graph of binding energy per nucleon as a function of mass number nuclear energy, the energy stored in the nucleus of an atom and released through fission, fusion, or radioactivity. In these pr...

destroyer

(Encyclopedia)destroyer, class of warship very fast relative to its length, generally equipped with torpedos, antisubmarine equipment, and medium-caliber and antiaircraft guns. The newest destroyers are equipped wi...

Fernández de Córdoba, Gonzalo

(Encyclopedia)Fernández de Córdoba, Gonzalo fārnänˈdāth dā kōrˈdōbä [key], 1453–1515, Spanish general, called the Great Captain. He fought in the civil wars preceding and following the accession of Is...

navy

(Encyclopedia)navy, originally, all ships of a nation, whether for war or commerce; the term navy now designates only such vessels as are built and maintained specifically for war. There have been three major devel...

gorilla

(Encyclopedia)gorilla, an ape, genus Gorilla, native to the lowland and mountain forests of western and central equatorial Africa. The two gorilla species are the western, comprising the western lowland (G. gorilla...

Doppler effect

(Encyclopedia)Doppler effect, change in the wavelength (or frequency) of energy in the form of waves, e.g., sound or light, as a result of motion of either the source or the receiver of the waves; the effect is nam...

bow and arrow

(Encyclopedia)bow and arrow, weapon consisting of two parts; the bow is made of a strip of flexible material, such as wood, with a cord linking the two ends of the strip to form a tension from which is propelled th...