Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

49 results found

glycerol

(Encyclopedia)glycerol, glycerin, glycerine, or 1,2,3-propanetriol prōˈpāntrīˌŏl [key], CH2OHCHOHCH2OH, colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, syrupy liquid. Glycerol is a trihydric alcohol. It melts at 17.8...

prune

(Encyclopedia)prune, popular name for a dried plum. Fruits of the many varieties of Prunus domestica, which are firm-fleshed and dry easily without removal of the stone, are gathered after falling from the tree, di...

Virtanen, Artturi Ilmari

(Encyclopedia)Virtanen, Artturi Ilmari, 1895–1973, Finnish chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Helsinki, 1918. Virtanen was on the faculty at the Univ. of Helsinki from 1924 until his death in 1973. He was awarded the Nobel ...

yeast

(Encyclopedia)yeast, name applied specifically to a certain group of microscopic fungi and to commercial products consisting of masses of dried yeast cells or of yeast mixed with a starchy material and pressed into...

fermented milk

(Encyclopedia)fermented milk, whole or skim milk curdled to beverage or custardlike consistency by lactic-acid-producing microorganisms. Many forms of fermented milk were used by early nomadic herders, especially i...

Euler-Chelpin, Hans Karl August Simon von

(Encyclopedia)Euler-Chelpin, Hans Karl August Simon von, 1873–1964, Swedish biochemist, b. Germany, Ph.D. Univ. of Berlin, 1895. He spent his entire career at Stockholm Univ., first as professor and later as dire...

ethanol

(Encyclopedia)ethanol ĕthˈənōlˌ [key] or ethyl alcohol, CH3CH2OH, a colorless liquid with characteristic odor and taste; commonly called grain alcohol or simply alcohol. Ethanol is used extensively as a solv...

Borelli, Giovanni Alfonso

(Encyclopedia)Borelli, Giovanni Alfonso jōvänˈnē älfônˈsō bôrĕlˈlē [key], 1608–79, Italian physiologist, physicist, astronomer, and mathematician; son of a Spanish infantryman. His wide interests led ...

rum

(Encyclopedia)rum, spirituous liquor made from fermented sugarcane products. Prepared by fermentation, distillation, and aging, it is made from the molasses and foam that rise to the top of boiled sugarcane juice. ...

Szent-Gyorgyi, Albert von

(Encyclopedia)Szent-Gyorgyi, Albert von älˈbĕrt fən sĕntˌ-dyörˈdyĭ [key], 1893–1986, American biochemist, b. Hungary, M.D. Univ. of Budapest, 1917; Ph.D. Cambridge, 1927. After teaching at the universiti...

Browse by Subject