Columbia Encyclopedia

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pitcher plant

(Encyclopedia)pitcher plant, any of several insectivorous plants with leaves adapted for trapping insects. Each leaf forms a “pitcher,” a somewhat trumpet-shaped enclosure, usually containing a liquid. An insec...

pangolin

(Encyclopedia)pangolin păng-gōˈlĭn [key], armored, toothless mammal of tropical Asia and Africa. Pangolins range in length from 3 to 6 ft (90–180 cm) including the long, broad tail. Their snouts are narrow an...

nautilus, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)nautilus or chambered nautilus, cephalopod mollusk belonging to the sole surviving genus (Nautilus) of a subclass that flourished 200 million years ago, known as the nautiloids. The spirally coiled sh...

adhesive

(Encyclopedia)adhesive, substance capable of sticking to surfaces of other substances and bonding them to one another. The term adhesive cement is sometimes used in place of adhesive, especially when referring to a...

monotreme

(Encyclopedia)monotreme mŏnˈətrēmˌ [key], name for members of the primitive mammalian order Monotremata, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. The only members of this order are the platypus, or duckbi...

aqua regia

(Encyclopedia)aqua regia rēˈjēə [key] [Lat.,=royal water], corrosive, fuming yellow liquid prepared by mixing one volume of concentrated nitric acid with three to four volumes of concentrated hydrochloric acid....

glycol

(Encyclopedia)glycol glīˈkōl [key], dihydric alcohol in which the two hydroxyl groups are bonded to different carbon atoms; the general formula for a glycol is (CH2)n(OH)2. The most important glycol is the simpl...

foehn

(Encyclopedia)foehn fān, Ger. fön [key], warm, dry wind that occurs on the leeward slopes of a ridge of mountains. The term was originally applied to a wind of the Alps but is now used as a generic term for all w...

indium

(Encyclopedia)indium ĭnˈdēəm [key], a metallic chemical element; symbol In; at. no. 49; at. wt. 114.818; m.p. 156.6℃; b.p. about 2,080℃; sp. gr. 7.31 at 20℃; valence +1, +2, or +3. Indium is a soft, malle...

joint, in anatomy

(Encyclopedia)joint, in anatomy, juncture between two bones. Some joints are immovable, e.g., those that connect the bones of the skull, which are separated merely by short, tough fibers of cartilage. Movable joint...