Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

325 results found

Stark, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Stark, Johannes, 1874–1957, German physicist, Ph.D. Univ. of Munich, 1897. From 1900 until he retired in 1922, Stark served short stints on the faculties of several academic institutions, including ...

tautomer

(Encyclopedia)tautomer tôˈtəmər [key], one of two or more structural isomers that exist in equilibrium and are readily converted from one isomeric form to another. Of the various types of tautomerism that are p...

spectroheliograph

(Encyclopedia)spectroheliograph, device for photographing the surface of the sun in a single wavelength of light, usually one corresponding to a chief element contained in the sun, e.g., hydrogen or calcium; the re...

Le Châtelier's principle

(Encyclopedia)Le Châtelier's principle, chemical principle that states that if a system in equilibrium is disturbed by changes in determining factors, such as temperature, pressure, and concentration of components...

bubble chamber

(Encyclopedia)bubble chamber, device for detecting charged particles and other radiation by means of tracks of bubbles left in a chamber filled with liquid hydrogen or other liquefied gas. It was invented in 1952 b...

barium

(Encyclopedia)barium bârˈēəm [key] [Gr.,=heavy], metallic chemical element; symbol Ba; at. no. 56; at. wt. 137.327; m.p. 725℃; b.p. 1,640℃; sp. gr. 3.5 at 20℃; valence +2. Barium is a soft, silver-white, ...

deodorizer

(Encyclopedia)deodorizer or deodorant, substance used to absorb or eliminate offensive odors. Disinfectants such as hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, and chlorine compounds eliminate odors caused by microorganisms. Adso...

Davy, Sir Humphry

(Encyclopedia)Davy, Sir Humphry, 1778–1829, English chemist and physicist. The son of a woodcarver, he received his early education at Truro and was apprenticed (1795) to a surgeon-apothecary at Penzance. While d...

Jovian planets

(Encyclopedia)Jovian planets, the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. They are all larger and more massive than the earth. Since they rotate faster, they are more flattened at the poles than are the terre...

Browse by Subject