Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

plating

(Encyclopedia)plating, application of a plate, or coat, of metal to a surface for decoration, reflection of light, protection against corrosion, or increased wearing quality. The practice is of ancient origin: gild...

Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham

(Encyclopedia)Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham, 1920–2002, British chemist, b. Stainforth, England, grad. Leeds Univ., Ph.D. Cambridge, 1949. After serving as a radar officer during World War II, he did ...

Linares

(Encyclopedia)Linares lēnäˈrās [key], city (1990 pop. 59,150), Jaén prov., S Spain, in Andalusia. The rich silver and lead mines nearby have brought prosperity to the city, which now has many metallurgical ind...

Macintosh, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Macintosh, Charles măkˈəntŏshˌ [key], 1766–1843, Scottish chemist and inventor. In 1823 he developed a waterproof fabric used to make raincoats that were named for him. His other research inclu...

Clausthal-Zellerfeld

(Encyclopedia)Clausthal-Zellerfeld klousˈtäl-tsĕlˈərfĕlt [key], town, Lower Saxony, central Germany, a resort in the Harz Mts. Its manufactures include textiles and wood products. The town was once a center f...

Stewart, river, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Stewart, river, 331 mi (533 km) long, rising in the Mackenzie Mts., central Yukon, Canada, and flowing generally W to the Yukon River S of Dawson. The river is navigable for most of its length and is ...

Bracken, John

(Encyclopedia)Bracken, John, 1883–1969, Canadian political leader, b. Ontario. A noted agricultural expert, he was premier of Manitoba for 20 years (1922–42). In 1942 he was chosen to lead Canada's Conservative...

Novaya Zemlya

(Encyclopedia)Novaya Zemlya nôˌvīə zĭmlyäˈ [key] [Rus.,=New Land], archipelago, c.35,000 sq mi (90,650 sq km), in the Arctic Ocean between the Barents and Kara seas, NW Russia. It consists of two main island...

Chukchi Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Chukchi Peninsula cho͞okˈchē [key], northeastern extremity of Asia, terminating in Cape Dezhnev, Russian Far East. Washed by the E Siberian and Chukchi seas in the northeast, the peninsula is the e...

graphite

(Encyclopedia)graphite grăfˈīt [key], an allotropic form of carbon, known also as plumbago and black lead. It is dark gray or black, crystalline (often in the form of slippery scales), greasy, and soft, with a m...

Browse by Subject