Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

hysteresis

(Encyclopedia)hysteresis hĭsˌtərēˈsĭs [key], phenomenon in which the response of a physical system to an external influence depends not only on the present magnitude of that influence but also on the previous...

loudspeaker

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Electrodynamic loudspeaker loudspeaker or speaker, device used to convert electrical energy into sound. It consists essentially of a thin flexible sheet called a diaphragm that is made to vibr...

Ferraris, Galileo

(Encyclopedia)Ferraris, Galileo gälēlāˈō fār-räˈrēs [key], 1847–97, Italian physicist and electrical engineer. He is noted for his work on alternating current and for his discovery (1885) of the rotary m...

Fort Bragg

(Encyclopedia)Fort Bragg, U.S. army base, 11,136 acres (4,507 hectares), E N.C., N of Fayetteville; est. 1918. Originally an artillery post, it is now the principal U.S. army airborne-training center and the site o...

Garland

(Encyclopedia)Garland, city (2020 pop. 246,018), Dallas co., N Tex., a suburb of Dallas; inc. 1891. Since World War II, Garland has grown from an agricultural communi...

Boisbaudran, Paul Émile Lecoq de

(Encyclopedia)Boisbaudran, Paul Émile Lecoq de pôl āmēlˈ ləkôkˈ də bwäbōdräNˈ [key], 1838–1912, French discoverer of the elements gallium, samarium, and dysprosium. He also made contributions in the ...

Silvanus

(Encyclopedia)Silvanus, in Roman religion, ancient pastoral deity, protector of uncultivated lands. It was also said that he was the guardian of field boundaries, flocks, and herds. Like the Greek Pan, with whom he...

rugby, game

(Encyclopedia)rugby, game that originated (1823), according to tradition, on the playing fields of Rugby, England. It is related to both soccer and American football. The game is said to have started when a Rugby S...

Papua, province, Indonesia

(Encyclopedia)Papua ĭrˈēän jīˈyə [key], province (2014 est pop. 3,486,000), 123,180 sq mi (319,036 sq km), Indonesia. Comprising most of the western half of New Guinea and a number of offshore islands, it is...

Dubawnt Lake

(Encyclopedia)Dubawnt Lake do͝obôntˈ [key], one of the largest lakes of Canada, c.1,600 sq mi (4,140 sq km), in S Nunavut Territory. The Dubawnt River flows through it. Located north of the tree line, the lake i...