Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

(Encyclopedia)Andaman and Nicobar Islands ănˈdəmən, nĭkˈōbär [key], union territory (2001 provisional pop. 356,265), India, in the Bay of Bengal. Port Blair, in the Andamans, is...

uric acid

(Encyclopedia)uric acid yo͝orˈĭk [key], white, odorless, tasteless crystalline substance formed as a result of purine degradation in man, other primates, dalmatians, birds, snakes, and lizards. The last three gr...

waters, territorial

(Encyclopedia)waters, territorial, all waters within the jurisdiction, recognized in international law, of a country. Certain waters by their situation are controlled by one nation; these include wholly enclosed in...

Barnes, Julian Patrick

(Encyclopedia)Barnes, Julian Patrick, English author, 1946–. During the 1970s and 80s he was a critic and editor for the New Statesman and New Review, a correspondent for The New Yorker, and a writer and editor f...

privateering

(Encyclopedia)privateering, former usage of war permitting privately owned and operated war vessels (privateers) under commission of a belligerent government to capture enemy shipping. Private ownership distinguish...

balloon

(Encyclopedia)balloon, lighter-than-air craft without a propulsion system, lifted by inflation of one or more containers with a gas lighter than air or with heated air. During flight, altitude may be gained by disc...

diode

(Encyclopedia)diode dīˈōd [key], two-terminal electronic device that permits current flow predominantly in only one direction. Most diodes are semiconductor devices; diode electron tubes are now used only for a ...

Kabul

(Encyclopedia)Kabul käˈbo͝ol, kəbo͞olˈ [key], city (1997 est. pop. 1,500,000), capital of Afghanistan and of Kabul prov. and its largest city and economic and cultural center, E Afghanistan, on the Kabul Rive...

Huron, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Huron, Lake hyo͝orˈänˌ [key], 23,010 sq mi (59,596 sq km), 206 mi (332 km) long and 183 mi (295 km) at its greatest width, between Ont., Canada, and Mich.; second largest of the Great Lakes. It ha...

angina pectoris

(Encyclopedia)angina pectoris ănjīˈnə pĕkˈtərĭs [key], condition characterized by chest pain that occurs when the muscles of the heart receive an insufficient supply of oxygen. This results when the arterie...