Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

LeMay, Curtis Emerson

(Encyclopedia)LeMay, Curtis Emerson ləmāˈ [key], 1906–90, U.S. general, b. Columbus, Ohio. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. army air corps in 1930, he advanced through grades and in World War II co...

Trenchard, Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Trenchard, Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount, 1873–1956, British air marshal. He entered the army in 1893 and served in the South African War. During World War I he commanded the Royal Flying Co...

pendulum

(Encyclopedia)pendulum, a mass, called a bob, suspended from a fixed point so that it can swing in an arc determined by its momentum and the force of gravity. The length of a pendulum is the distance from the point...

Federal Aviation Administration

(Encyclopedia)Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates...

Warner Robins

(Encyclopedia)Warner Robins, city (1990 pop. 43,726), Houston co., central Ga., in an agricultural region; inc. 1943. The surrounding area yields peanuts, grain, fruit, and livestock. There is diverse manufacturing...

element

(Encyclopedia)CE5 element, in chemistry, a substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by chemical means. A substance such as a compound can be decomposed into its constituent elements by means o...

Tedder, Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Tedder, Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron, 1890–1967, British air marshal. He saw service in the infantry and the Royal Flying Corps in World War I. After 1919 he held important positions in the Roya...

National Security Agency

(Encyclopedia)National Security Agency (NSA), an independent agency within the U.S. Dept. of Defense. Founded by presidential order in 1952, its primary functions are to collect and analyze communications intellige...

Bishop, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911–79, American poet, b. Worcester, Mass., grad. Vassar, 1934. During the 1950s and 60s she lived in Brazil, eventually returning to her native New England, where she taught at ...

cluster munitions

(Encyclopedia)cluster munitions or cluster bombs, air-dropped or ground-launched weapons that open in mid-air and scatter dozens, hundreds, or thousands of smaller submunitions (or bomblets) over a wide area. Such ...