Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

electron

(Encyclopedia)electron, elementary particle carrying a unit charge of negative electricity. Ordinary electric current is the flow of electrons through a wire conductor (see electricity). The electron is one of the ...

dye

(Encyclopedia)dye, any substance, natural or synthetic, used to color various materials, especially textiles, leather, and food. Natural dyes are so called because they are obtained from plants (e.g., alizarin, cat...

silver

(Encyclopedia)silver, metallic chemical element; symbol Ag [Lat. argentum]; at. no. 47; at. wt. 107.8682; m.p. 961.93℃; b.p. 2,212℃; sp. gr. 10.5 at 20℃; valence +1 or +2. Pure silver is nearly white, lustrou...

Cheremkhovo

(Encyclopedia)Cheremkhovo chĕrĭmkôˈvə [key], city (1989 pop. 74,000), SE Siberian Russia, on the Trans-Siberian RR. The center of the Cheremkhovo coal basin, the city forms part of a minor industrial complex b...

Kotka

(Encyclopedia)Kotka kōtˈkä [key], city (1998 pop. 55,551), Southern Finland prov., SE Finland, on the Gulf of Finland. It is a major export center for paper, pulp, and timber, and it has chemical industries. It ...

Kruševac

(Encyclopedia)Kruševac kro͞oˈshĕväts [key], town (1991 pop. 58,808), Serbia. A commercial center, it has a hydroelectric plant and an important chemical industry. The seat of the kings of Serbia until 1389, it...

Pontoise

(Encyclopedia)Pontoise pôNtwäzˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 28,463), capital of Val-d'Oise dept., N central France. It is the site of a technical school. The metallurgy and chemical industries are important. A “new...

caustic

(Encyclopedia)caustic, any strongly corrosive chemical substance, especially one that attacks organic matter. A caustic alkali is a metal hydroxide, especially that of an alkali metal; caustic soda is sodium hydrox...

Bobruysk

(Encyclopedia)Bobruysk bəbro͞oˈēsk [key], Belarusian Babruysk, city, central Belarus, a port on the Ber...

sodium hydroxide

(Encyclopedia)sodium hydroxide, chemical compound, NaOH, a white crystalline substance that readily absorbs carbon dioxide and moisture from the air. It is very soluble in water, alcohol, and glycerin. It is a caus...