Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

sublimation, in chemistry

(Encyclopedia)sublimation sŭblĭmāˈshən [key], change of a solid substance directly to a vapor without first passing through the liquid state. The term is also used to describe the reverse process of the gas ch...

Unruh, Fritz von

(Encyclopedia)Unruh, Fritz von frĭts fən o͝onˈro͞o [key], 1885–1970, German dramatic poet. Son of a Prussian general, Unruh was an officer who became a pacifist after World War I. His expressionist plays inc...

Schmidt-Rottluff, Karl

(Encyclopedia)Schmidt-Rottluff, Karl shmĭt-rŏtˈlo͝of [key], 1884–1976, German painter and woodcut artist. Schmidt-Rottluff cofounded and named the Brücke in 1905. After moving to Berlin in 1911, he developed...

Scruggs, Earl Eugene

(Encyclopedia)Scruggs, Earl Eugene, 1924–2012, American banjo player, b. Flint Hill, N.C. He developed a distinctive syncopated, three-finger style on the five-string banjo that changed the way it is played. From...

Seelye, Julius Hawley

(Encyclopedia)Seelye, Julius Hawley sēˈlē [key], 1824–95, American clergyman and educator, b. Bethel, Conn., grad. Amherst, 1849, and Auburn Theological Seminary, 1852, and studied in Germany; brother of L. C....

special effects

(Encyclopedia)special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. Some common examples are the use ...

Seipel, Ignaz

(Encyclopedia)Seipel, Ignaz ĭgˈnäts zīˈpəl [key], 1876–1932, Austrian chancellor (1922–24, 1926–29). A Roman Catholic priest, he was elected to the Austrian parliament in 1919 and became leader (1921–...

Russell, George William

(Encyclopedia)Russell, George William, pseud. A. E., 1867–1935, Irish author, b. Lurgan, educated in Dublin. An active member of the Irish nationalist movement, he edited the Irish Homestead (1904–23) and the I...

Cano, Alonso

(Encyclopedia)Cano, Alonso älōnˈsō käˈnō [key], 1601–67, Spanish baroque painter, sculptor, and architect. Cano studied under Pacheco and received painting and architecture commissions from King Philip IV....

Pontiac, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Pontiac, industrial city (1990 pop. 71,166), seat of Oakland co., SE Mich., on the Clinton River; founded 1818 by promoters from Detroit, inc. as a city 1861. Industries developed early and expanded a...