Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

water glass

(Encyclopedia)water glass or soluble glass, colorless, transparent, glasslike substance available commercially as a powder or as a transparent, viscous solution in water. Chemically it is sodium silicate, potassium...

Bichon Frise

(Encyclopedia)Bichon Frise bēshôNˈ frēs [key], breed of small dog developed in France after World War I. It stands from 8 to 12 in. (20–30 cm) high at the shoulder and has a profuse, silky coat that is loosel...

note, in music

(Encyclopedia)note, in musical notation, symbol placed on or between the lines of a staff to indicate the pitch and the relative duration of the tone to be produced by voice or instrument. The largest note value in...

naphthalene

(Encyclopedia)naphthalene năfˈthəlēnˌ [key], colorless, crystalline, solid aromatic hydrocarbon with a pungent odor. It melts at 80℃, boils at 218℃, and sublimes upon heating. It is insoluble in water, som...

asphalt

(Encyclopedia)asphalt ăsˈfôlt, –fălt [key], brownish-black substance used commonly in road making, roofing, and waterproofing. Chemically, it is a natural mixture of hydrocarbons. It varies in consistency fro...

Tikal

(Encyclopedia)Tikal tēkälˈ [key], ruined city of the Classic Period of the Maya, N central Petén, Guatemala. The largest and possibly the oldest of the Maya cities, Tikal consists of nine groups of courts and p...

Shechtman, Daniel S.

(Encyclopedia)Shechtman, Daniel S., 1941–, Israeli materials scientist, Ph.D. Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), 1972. Shechtman, who joined the faculty at Technion in 1975, received the Nobel Prize in Ch...

German shorthaired pointer

(Encyclopedia)German shorthaired pointer, breed of large sporting dog developed in Germany in the mid-19th cent. It stands about 23 in. (58 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 60 lb (27 kg). Its dense coat of...

Farah

(Encyclopedia)Farah färäˈ [key], town, capital of Farah prov., W Afghanistan, on the Farah River. Surrou...

Esaki, Leo

(Encyclopedia)Esaki, Leo, 1925–, Japanese physicist, Ph.D. Univ. of Tokyo, 1959. Esaki was a researcher with IBM from 1960 until his retirement in 1992. He then served (1992–98) as president of the Univ. of Tsu...