Columbia Encyclopedia

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science fiction

(Encyclopedia)science fiction, literary genre in which a background of science or pseudoscience is an integral part of the story. Although science fiction is a form of fantastic literature, many of the events recou...

political science

(Encyclopedia)political science, the study of government and political processes, institutions, and behavior. Government and politics have been studied and commented on since the time of the ancient Greeks. However...

planetary science

(Encyclopedia)planetary science or planetology, study of planets and planetary systems as a whole. Planetary science applies the theories and methods of traditional disciplines such as astronomy, geology, physics, ...

sanitary science

(Encyclopedia)sanitary science, principles of health preservation, embracing hygiene, on an individual level, and public health, on a communal level. Those who specialize in sanitary science are sanitary engineers....

naval science

(Encyclopedia)naval science: see strategy and tactics. ...

space science

(Encyclopedia)space science, body of scientific knowledge as it relates to space exploration; it is sometimes also called astronautics. Space science draws on the conventional sciences of physics, chemistry, biolog...

National Science Foundation

(Encyclopedia)National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent agency in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government concerned with promoting a national science policy by supporting basic research and educ...

museums of science

(Encyclopedia)museums of science, institutions or buildings where collections relevant to science and technology are preserved and displayed to promote education and research. While the preponderance of these museu...

philosophy of science

(Encyclopedia)philosophy of science, branch of philosophy that emerged as an autonomous discipline in the 19th cent., especially through the work of Auguste Comte, J. S. Mill, and William Whewell. Several of the is...

liturgy, Christian

(Encyclopedia)liturgy, Christian [Gr. leitourgia = public duty or worship] form of public worship, particularly the form of rite or services prescribed by the various Christian churches. In the Western Church the p...