Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

billiards

(Encyclopedia)billiards, any one of a number of games played with a tapered, leather-tipped stick called a cue and various numbers of balls on a rectangular, cloth-covered slate table with raised and cushioned edge...

velvet

(Encyclopedia)velvet, fabric having a soft, thick, short pile, usually of silk, and a plain twill or satin weave ground. The pile surface is formed by weaving an extra set of warp threads that are looped over wires...

adsorption

(Encyclopedia)adsorption, adhesion of the molecules of liquids, gases, and dissolved substances to the surfaces of solids, as opposed to absorption, in which the molecules actually enter the absorbing medium (see a...

Benin, city and former kingdom, Nigeria

(Encyclopedia)Benin bĕnēnˈ [key], city, S Nigeria, a port on the Benin River. Palm nuts and timber are p...

Johor

(Encyclopedia)Johor or Johore jōhôrˈ, jə– [key], state (1991 pop. 2,074,297), 7,360 sq mi (19,062 sq km), at the southern extremity of the Malay Peninsula, Malaysia, opposite Singapore. It is largely covered ...

Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William, known as the Great Elector, 1620–88, elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), son and successor of George William. At his accession the scattered lands of the Hohenzollern were devasta...

Hull, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Hull, officially Kingston upon Hull, city and unitary authority, NE England, on the north shore of the Humber estuary at the influx of the small Hul...

ionosphere

(Encyclopedia)ionosphere īŏnˈəsfēr [key], series of concentric ionized layers forming part of the upper atmosphere of the earth from around 30 to 50 mi (50 to 80 km) to 250 to 370 mi (400 to 600 km) where it m...

norepinephrine

(Encyclopedia)norepinephrine nôrˌĕpīnĕfˈrən [key], a neurotransmitter in the catecholamine family that mediates chemical communication in the sympathetic nervous system, a branch of the autonomic nervous sys...

warfare

(Encyclopedia)warfare, violent conflict between armed enemies. In modern times warfare has usually been conducted by the armed forces (e.g., army, navy, and air force) of a nation or other politically organized gro...