Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

498 results found

Richmond, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Richmond. 1 City (1990 pop. 87,425), Contra Costa co., W Calif., on San Pablo Bay, an inlet of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1905. It is a deepwater commercial port and an industrial center with oil refiner...

Stonehenge

(Encyclopedia)Stonehenge stōnˈhĕnjˌ [key], group of standing stones on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, S England. Preeminent among megalithic monuments in the British Isles, it is similar to an older and larger mon...

aerodynamics

(Encyclopedia)aerodynamics, study of gases in motion. As the principal application of aerodynamics is the design of aircraft, air is the gas with which the science is most concerned. Although aerodynamics is primar...

nervous system

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Nerve cell CE5 Nervous system nervous system, network of specialized tissue that controls actions and reactions of the body and its adjustment to the environment. Virtually all members of ...

telescope

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Mirror arrangements for a reflecting telescope telescope, traditionally, a system of lenses, mirrors, or both, used to gather light from a distant object and form an image of it. Traditional o...

copyright

(Encyclopedia)copyright, right granted by statute to the author or originator of certain literary, artistic, and musical productions whereby for a limited period of time he or she controls the use of the product. T...

climate

(Encyclopedia)climate, average condition of the atmosphere near the earth's surface over a long period of time, taking into account temperature, precipitation (see rain), humidity, wind, barometric pressure, and ot...

news agency

(Encyclopedia)news agency, local, national, international, or technical organization that gathers and distributes news, usually for newspapers, periodicals, and broadcasters. From 1915 until the 1940s, news age...

type

(Encyclopedia)type, for printing, was invented in China (c.1040), using woodblocks. Related devices, such as seals and stamps for making impressions in clay, had been used in ancient times in Babylon and elsewhere....

store

(Encyclopedia)store, commonly a shop or other establishment for the retail sale of commodities, but also a place where wholesale supplies are kept, exhibited, or sold. Retailing—the sale of merchandise to the con...