Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

437 results found

energy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Relations between potential energy (PE) and kinetic energy (KE) for a swinging pendulum energy, in physics, the ability or capacity to do work or to produce change. Forms of energy include hea...

diffusion

(Encyclopedia)diffusion, in chemistry, the spontaneous migration of substances from regions where their concentration is high to regions where their concentration is low. Diffusion is important in many life process...

stove

(Encyclopedia)stove, device used for heating or for cooking food. The stove was long regarded as a cooking device supplementary to the fireplace, near which it stood; its stovepipe led into the fireplace chimney. I...

sulfuric acid

(Encyclopedia)sulfuric acid, chemical compound, H2SO4, colorless, odorless, extremely corrosive, oily liquid. It is sometimes called oil of vitriol. Although sulfuric acid is now one of the most widely used c...

sun, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Structure of the sun sun, intensely hot, self-luminous body of gases at the center of the solar system. Its gravitational attraction maintains the planets, comets, and other bodies of the sola...

condensation

(Encyclopedia)condensation, in physics, change of a substance from the gaseous (vapor) to the liquid state (see states of matter). Condensation is the reverse of vaporization, or change from liquid to gas. It can b...

fever

(Encyclopedia)fever, elevation of body temperature above the normal level, which in humans is about 98℉ (37℃) when measured orally. Fever is considered to be a symptom of a disorder rather than a disease in its...

manslaughter

(Encyclopedia)manslaughter, homicide committed without justification or excuse but distinguished from murder by the absence of the element of malice aforethought. Modern criminal statutes usually divide it into deg...

burn

(Encyclopedia)burn, injury resulting from exposure to heat, electricity, radiation, or caustic chemicals. Three degrees of burn are commonly recognized. In first-degree burns the outer layer of skin, called epiderm...

Bowen, Elizabeth

(Encyclopedia)Bowen, Elizabeth bōˈĭn [key], 1899–1973, Anglo-Irish novelist, b. Dublin. In impeccable prose she treated love and frustration through studies of complex psychological relationships. Her novels i...

Browse by Subject