Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Taman Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Taman Peninsula təmänˈ [key], c.20 mi (30 km) long and 8 mi (12.9 km) wide, Krasnodar Territory, SE European Russia, projecting westward between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. It is separated f...

Bon, Cape

(Encyclopedia)Bon, Cape ädärˈ [key], peninsula, NE Tunisia, projecting c.50 mi (80 km) into the Mediterranean Sea toward Sicily. Cape Bon, the eastern terminus of the Saharan Atlas Mts., is a hilly, fertile regi...

carbide

(Encyclopedia)carbide, any one of a group of compounds that contain carbon and one other element that is either a metal, boron, or silicon. Generally, a carbide is prepared by heating a metal, metal oxide, or metal...

carbon tetrachloride

(Encyclopedia)carbon tetrachloride tĕˌtrəklôrˌəmĕthˈān [key], CCl4, colorless, poisonous, liquid organic compound that boils at 76.8℃. It is toxic when absorbed through the skin or when inhaled. It react...

radiator

(Encyclopedia)radiator, device used to heat an area surrounding it or to cool a fluid circulating within it. The familiar radiators of steam and hot water heating systems in buildings are misnamed, as they operate ...

pump

(Encyclopedia)pump, device to lift, transfer, or increase the pressure of a fluid (gas or liquid) or to create a vacuum in an enclosed space by the removal of a gas (see vacuum pumps under vacuum). The centrifugal ...

mercury poisoning

(Encyclopedia)mercury poisoning, tissue damage resulting from exposure to more than trace amounts of the element mercury or its compounds. Elemental mercury (the silver liquid familiar from thermometers) is the mos...

molecular weight

(Encyclopedia)molecular weight, weight of a molecule of a substance expressed in atomic mass units (amu). The molecular weight may be calculated from the molecular formula of the substance; it is the sum of the ato...

low-temperature physics

(Encyclopedia)low-temperature physics, science concerned with the production and maintenance of temperatures much below normal, down to almost absolute zero, and with various phenomena that occur only at such tempe...

jet propulsion

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Types of jet engines: In the propeller-driven turbine a stream of high-velocity gases provides the power to drive the turbine and turn the propeller. In the jet-driven turbine the stream of gas...