Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

405 results found

conic section

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Conic sections conic section or conic kŏnˈĭk [key], curve formed by the intersection of a plane and a right circular cone (conical surface). The ordinary conic sections are the circle, the ...

curve

(Encyclopedia)curve, in mathematics, a line no part of which is straight; more generally, it is considered to be any one-dimensional collection of points, thus including the straight line as a special kind of curve...

altazimuth coordinate system

(Encyclopedia)altazimuth coordinate system ăltăzˈəməth [key] or horizon coordinate system, astronomical coordinate system in which the position of a body on the celestial sphere is described relative to an obs...

declination

(Encyclopedia)declination, in astronomy, one of the coordinates in the equatorial coordinate system. The declination of a celestial body is its angular distance north or south of the celestial equator measured alon...

Brown, John, Scottish essayist

(Encyclopedia)Brown, John, 1810–82, Scottish essayist. He was a physician. His writing was collected in Horae Subsecivae (3 vol., 1858–82), which included his unique picture of a dog, Rab and His Friends (1859)...

geometric problems of antiquity

(Encyclopedia)geometric problems of antiquity, three famous problems involving elementary geometric constructions with straight edge and compass, conjectured by the ancient Greeks to be impossible but not proved to...

gavotte

(Encyclopedia)gavotte gəvŏtˈ [key], originally a peasant dance of the Gavots in upper Dauphiné, France. A type of circle dance characterized by lively, skipping steps, it was introduced at the court of Louis XI...

Oxford, Edward de Vere, 17th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Oxford, Edward de Vere, 17th earl of, 1550–1604, English poet, b. Castle Heddingham, Essex, educated at Queens' and St. John's colleges, Cambridge. He traveled in Italy, acted in and produced plays,...

Opie, John

(Encyclopedia)Opie, John, 1761–1807, English portrait and historical painter. Opie showed a remarkable talent as a young man. He became the protégé of the poet John Wolcot, and enjoyed a brief popularity as a f...

Formulas for Various Areas (table)

(Encyclopedia)Formulas for Various Areas 1 The abbreviations used are: b = base (length of any side of a plane figure); a = altitude (perpendicular distance from the farthest point of the figure to t...