Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Alexandria, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Alexandria. 1 City (2020 pop. 45,275), seat of Rapides parish, central La., on the Red River; inc. 1818. It is a trade, rail, and medical center for a rich agricultural and timber area. ...

Chattanooga

(Encyclopedia)Chattanooga chătˌəno͞oˈgə [key], city (2020 pop. 181,099), seat of Hamilton co., E Tenn., on both ...

gum, colloidal plant substance

(Encyclopedia)gum, term commonly applied to any of a wide variety of colloidal substances somewhat similar in appearance and general characteristics, exuded by or extracted from plants. In this classification, howe...

Grenoble

(Encyclopedia)Grenoble grənôˈblə [key], city, capital of Isère dept., SE France, at the foot of the Al...

mineral

(Encyclopedia)mineral, inorganic substance occurring in nature, having a characteristic and homogeneous chemical composition, definite physical properties, and, usually, a definite crystalline form. A few of the mi...

nitric acid

(Encyclopedia)nitric acid, chemical compound, HNO3, colorless, highly corrosive, poisonous liquid that gives off choking red or yellow fumes in moist air. It is miscible with water in all proportions. It forms an a...

palladium, chemical element

(Encyclopedia)palladium [Gr. Pallas, goddess of wisdom], metallic chemical element; symbol Pd; at. no. 46; at. wt. 106.42; m.p. 1,554℃; b.p. 2,970℃; sp. gr. 12.02 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, or +4. Palladium is a...

Paterson

(Encyclopedia)Paterson, city (1990 pop. 140,891), seat of Passaic co., NE N.J., at the falls of the Passaic River; inc. 1851. Founded in 1791 by Alexander Hamilton and others of the Society for Establishing Useful ...

Magellanic Clouds

(Encyclopedia)Magellanic Clouds măjˌəlănˈĭk [key], two dwarf galaxies located in the far southern sky and visible to the unaided eye; they are classified as irregular because they show no definite symmetry or...

photoelectric effect

(Encyclopedia)photoelectric effect, emission of electrons by substances, especially metals, when light falls on their surfaces. The effect was discovered by H. R. Hertz in 1887. The failure of the classical theory ...