Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

bead test

(Encyclopedia)bead test, test used in the identification of certain metals. Some metallic ions that cannot be identified by a flame test are identified by a bead test. The test can also be used to confirm the resul...

sherry

(Encyclopedia)sherry [from Jérez], naturally dry fortified wine, pale amber to brown in tint. The term sherry originally referred to wines made from grapes grown in the region of Jérez de la Frontera, Andalusia, ...

Cotton, George Edward Lynch

(Encyclopedia)Cotton, George Edward Lynch, 1813–66, English clergyman and educator, grad. Trinity College, Cambridge, 1836. From 1837 until 1852 he was an assistant master at Rugby and is the “young master” i...

wolframite

(Encyclopedia)wolframite wo͝olˈfrəmītˌ [key], reddish-brown to grayish-black lustrous mineral, a tungstate of iron and manganese, (Fe,Mn)Wo4, occurring in crystals of the monoclinic system. It is the chief ore...

Rubens, Peter Paul

(Encyclopedia)Rubens, Peter Paul, 1577–1640, foremost Flemish painter of the 17th cent., b. Siegen, Westphalia, where his family had gone into exile because of his father's Calvinist beliefs. Almost every princ...

Corrib, Lough

(Encyclopedia)Corrib, Lough lŏkh kŏrˈĭb [key], lake, 68 sq mi (176 sq km), Counties Galway and Mayo, W Republic of Ireland. The irregularly shaped lake, which is 27 mi (43 km) long, drains into Galway Bay throu...

Fell, John

(Encyclopedia)Fell, John, 1625–86, English clergyman. He was dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and bishop of Oxford. While at Oxford, he initiated an extensive building program and promoted the development of the Ox...

Lundy's Lane

(Encyclopedia)Lundy's Lane, locality in S Ontario just W of the Niagara Falls, scene of a stubborn engagement of the War of 1812, fought July 25, 1814. The American forces commanded by Gen. Winfield Scott and led b...

spinel

(Encyclopedia)spinel, magnesium aluminum oxide, MgAl2O4, a mineral crystallizing in the isometric system, usually as octahedrons. It occurs as an accessory mineral in basic igneous rocks, in aluminum-rich metamorph...

toby jug

(Encyclopedia)toby jug tōˈbē [key], small pottery pitcher or mug modeled in the form of a jolly, stout man wearing a cocked hat, a corner of which serves as pourer. The jug is also called fillpot, both names tak...