Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Goodenough, John Bannister

(Encyclopedia)Goodenough, John Bannister, 1922–2023, American physicist, b. Jena, Germany, Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1952. Goodenough was a researcher at the Massachu...

Anaximenes

(Encyclopedia)Anaximenes ănˌəksĭmˈĭnēz [key], Greek philosopher, 6th cent. b.c., last of the Milesian school founded by Thales. With Thales he held that a single element lay behind the diversity of nature, a...

combustion

(Encyclopedia)combustion, rapid chemical reaction of two or more substances with a characteristic liberation of heat and light; it is commonly called burning. The burning of a fuel (e.g., wood, coal, oil, or natura...

oxidation and reduction

(Encyclopedia)oxidation and reduction, complementary chemical reactions characterized by the loss or gain, respectively, of one or more electrons by an atom or molecule. Originally the term oxidation was used to re...

potentiometer

(Encyclopedia)potentiometer. 1 Manually adjustable, variable, electrical resistor. It has a resistance element that is attached to the circuit by three contacts, or terminals. The ends of the resistance element are...

hahnium

(Encyclopedia)hahnium hänˈēəm [key], symbol Ha, former suggested name for both element 105, now called dubnium, and element 108, now called hassium. ...

nielsbohrium

(Encyclopedia)nielsbohrium nēlzbôrˈēəm [key], symbol Ns, former suggested name for both element 105, now called dubnium, and element 107, now called bohrium. ...

Hainan

(Encyclopedia)Hainan hīˈnänˈ [key], island and province, c.13,100 sq mi (33,940 sq km), China, in the S...

tape recorder

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Magnetic tape-recording system tape recorder, device for recording and replaying of sound, video, and digital information on plastic (usually polyester) or paper tape. The tape is coated with ...

quasicrystal

(Encyclopedia)quasicrystal kwāˈzīkrĭsˌtəl, kwäzˈē– [key] or quasiperiodic solid, solid body that exhibits such crystalline features as symmetry and repeating patterns of unit cells (regular arrangements ...

Browse by Subject