Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

boiler

(Encyclopedia)boiler, device for generating steam. It consists of two principal parts: the furnace, which provides heat, usually by burning a fuel, and the boiler proper, a device in which the heat changes water in...

lard

(Encyclopedia)lard, hog's fat melted and strained from the tissues, an important byproduct of the meatpacking industry. The highest grade, leaf lard, is from the fat around the kidneys; the next best is from the ba...

Kearny

(Encyclopedia)Kearny kärˈnē [key], town (1990 pop. 34,874), Hudson co., NE N.J.; inc. 1899. The town was formerly the site of textile mills that dated to the late 1800s and shipyards and dry docks that were of g...

ammonium chloride

(Encyclopedia)ammonium chloride əmōˈnēəm klôrˈīd [key], chemical compound, NH4Cl, a white or colorless, odorless, water-soluble, cubic crystalline salt with a biting taste, commonly known as sal ammoniac. I...

Amadeus, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Amadeus, Lake əmăˈdēəs [key], large, usually dry, shallow salt lake, 340 sq mi (881 sq km), 76 mi (122 km) long, 12 mi (19 km) wide, SW Northern Territory, Australia. The lakebed is usually cover...

Sheppard, Morris

(Encyclopedia)Sheppard, Morris, 1875–1941, American legislator, b. Morris co., Tex. He practiced law in Texas and was elected (1902) to Congress to succeed his father. He was in the House until his election (1913...

Clark, Jonas Gilman

(Encyclopedia)Clark, Jonas Gilman, 1815–1900, founder of Clark Univ., b. Hubbardston, Mass. After a long career in business and finance, he became interested in higher education, making extended trips of observat...

Goering, Hermann Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Goering or Göring, Hermann Wilhelm both: hĕrˈmän vĭlˈhĕlm göˈrĭng [key], 1893–1946, German National Socialist leader. In World War I he was a hero of the German air force. An early member ...

snorkel

(Encyclopedia)snorkel, tube through which a submarine or diver can draw air while underwater. When in use, the top of the snorkel tube extends above the water surface into the air. The first snorkels were probably ...

hemorrhoids

(Encyclopedia)hemorrhoids hĕmˈəroidz [key] or piles, dilatations of the veins about the anus (external hemorrhoids) or those higher up inside it (internal hemorrhoids). They appear as small, rounded, purplish tu...

Browse by Subject