Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

synthetic textile fibers

(Encyclopedia)synthetic textile fibers have revolutionized the textile industry. Such artificial fibers are usually long-chain polymers, produced industrially by the condensation of many small units. Orlon is the t...

Bayonne, town, France

(Encyclopedia)Bayonne bäyônˈ [key], town, Pyrénées-Atlantiques dept., SW France, in Gascony, on the Ad...

sodium hydroxide

(Encyclopedia)sodium hydroxide, chemical compound, NaOH, a white crystalline substance that readily absorbs carbon dioxide and moisture from the air. It is very soluble in water, alcohol, and glycerin. It is a caus...

Shreveport

(Encyclopedia)Shreveport shrēvˈpôrt [key], city (1990 pop. 198,525), seat of Caddo parish, NW La., on the Red River near the Tex. and Ark. lines; inc. 1839. The third largest city in the state, it is a regional ...

Potteries, the

(Encyclopedia)Potteries, the, area, c.9 mi (15 km) long and 3 mi (4.8 km) wide, Staffordshire, W central England, extending northwest-southeast in the upper Trent valley. The area includes Stoke-on-Trent and part o...

distillation

(Encyclopedia)distillation, process used to separate the substances composing a mixture. It involves a change of state, as of liquid to gas, and subsequent condensation. The process was probably first used in the p...

chemical equilibrium

(Encyclopedia)chemical equilibrium, state of balance in which two opposing reversible chemical reactions proceed at constant equal rates with no net change in the system. For example, when hydrogen gas, H2, and iod...

halogen

(Encyclopedia)halogen hălˈəjĕn [key] [Gr.,=salt-bearing], any of the chemically active elements found in Group 17 of the periodic table; the name applies especially to fluorine (symbol F), chlorine (Cl), bromin...

gasoline

(Encyclopedia)gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and “cracking” of pet...

ultraviolet astronomy

(Encyclopedia)ultraviolet astronomy, study of celestial objects by means of the ultraviolet radiation they emit, in the wavelength range from about 90 to about 350 nanometers. Ultraviolet (UV) line spectrum measure...