Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

echo sounder

(Encyclopedia)echo sounder, an older instrumentation system for indirectly determining ocean floor depth. Echo sounding is based on the principle that water is an excellent medium for the transmission of sound wave...

ether, in chemistry

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ethers ether, any of a number of organic compounds whose molecules contain two hydrocarbon groups joined by single bonds to an oxygen atom. The most common of these compounds is ethyl ether, C...

Szombathely

(Encyclopedia)Szombathely sômˈbŏt-hāˌ [key], Ger. Steinamanger, city (1991 est. pop. 85,700), W Hungary, near the Austrian border. An important railway junction, it produces leather goods, agricultural machine...

accessory

(Encyclopedia)accessory, in criminal law, a person who, though not present at the commission of a crime, becomes a participator in the crime either before or after the fact of commission. An accessory before the fa...

pole, in electricity and magnetism

(Encyclopedia)pole, in electricity and magnetism, point where electric or magnetic force appears to be concentrated. A single electric charge located at a point is sometimes referred to as an electric monopole. An ...

distortion

(Encyclopedia)distortion, in electronics, undesired change in an electric signal waveform as it passes from the input to the output of some system or device. In an audio system, distortion results in poor reproduct...

Okmulgee

(Encyclopedia)Okmulgee ōkˌmŭlˈgē [key], city (1990 pop. 13,441), seat of Okmulgee co., E central Okla., in an oil and farm area; inc. 1900. An agricultural processing center, it has oil and gas wells, a glass ...

Richter scale

(Encyclopedia)Richter scale rĭkˈtər [key], measure of the magnitude of seismic waves from an earthquake. Devised in 1935 by the American seismologist Charles F. Richter (1900–1985) and technically known as the...

Lilongwe

(Encyclopedia)Lilongwe lēlôngˈgwā [key], city (1994 est. pop. 395,500), S central Malawi, in a fertile agricultural area. The capital of Malawi since 1975, it is an administrative and commercial center. The cit...

coup

(Encyclopedia)coup ko͞o [key] [Fr.,=blow], among Native North Americans of the Plains culture, a war honor, awarded for striking an enemy in such a way that it was considered an extreme act of bravery. Generally, ...

Browse by Subject