Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

420 results found

signaling

(Encyclopedia)signaling, transmission of information by visible, audible, or other detectable means. Since prehistoric times humans have sought and employed ever more effective means of communicating over distance....

Cripps, Sir Stafford

(Encyclopedia)Cripps, Sir Stafford, 1889–1952, British statesman. A brilliant and successful patent and corporation lawyer, he joined the Labour party in 1929 and became solicitor general in 1930, being knighted ...

civil defense

(Encyclopedia)civil defense, nonmilitary activities designed to protect civilians and their property from enemy actions in time of war. A civil defense program usually includes measures taken during peace (e.g., bu...

Abilene

(Encyclopedia)Abilene ăbˈĭlēn [key]. 1 City (2020 pop. 6,460), seat of Dickinson co., central Kans., on the Smoky Hill River; inc. 1869. It was (1867–71) a railhead for a large ca...

Garden City, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Garden City. 1 City (2020 pop. 10,289), Chatham co., SE Ga., a port of entry, distribution center, and industrial city on the Savannah River; inc. ...

Alvarez, Luis Walter

(Encyclopedia)Alvarez, Luis Walter, 1911–88, American physicist, b. San Francisco, grad. Univ. of Chicago, 1932, Ph.D. 1936. He was awarded the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of a large number of r...

Plzeň

(Encyclopedia)Plzeň pŭlˈzĕnyə [key], Ger. Pilsen, city (1991 pop. 173,008), W Czech Republic, in Bohemia, at the confluence of several rivers. One of the Czech Republic's largest cities, it lies near a belt of...

Bengaluru

(Encyclopedia)Bengaluru băng-gəlôrˈ [key], city (2021 pop. 5,104,047; est. pop. metropolitan area 12,327,000), ...

Beaverbrook, William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Beaverbrook, William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron, 1879–1964, British financier, statesman, and newspaper owner, b. Canada. The son of a Scottish Presbyterian clergyman, he grew up near Beaverbrook, N....

smart weapon

(Encyclopedia)smart weapon, missile or steerable bomb equipped with a laser, television, or satellite guidance system. Smart weapons, which use guidance systems that rely on external assistance, are distinguished f...

Browse by Subject