Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Englert, François

(Encyclopedia)Englert, François, 1932–, Belgian theoretical physicist, Ph.D. Université libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B.), Brussels, 1959. He has been a professor at U.L.B. since 1964. Englert was the recipient, join...

production

(Encyclopedia)production, in economics, all those activities that have to do with the creation of commodities, by imparting to raw materials utility, added value, or the ability to satisfy human wants. The farmer w...

humidity

(Encyclopedia)humidity, moisture content of the atmosphere, a primary element of climate. Humidity measurements include absolute humidity, the mass of water vapor per unit volume of natural air; relative humidity (...

proton

(Encyclopedia)proton, elementary particle having a single positive electrical charge and constituting the nucleus of the ordinary hydrogen atom. The positive charge of the nucleus of any atom is due to its protons....

Ames, Nathaniel

(Encyclopedia)Ames, Nathaniel, 1708–64, American almanac maker, b. Bridgewater, Mass. His Astronomical Diary and Almanack, begun in 1725 and issued annually after c.1732 from Dedham, Mass., was highly popular and...

vigil

(Encyclopedia)vigil vĭjˈəl [key] [Lat.,=watch], in Christian calendars, eve of a feast, a day of penitential preparation. In ancient times worshipers gathered for vespers before a great feast and then waited out...

Taconic Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Taconic Mountains təkŏnˈĭk [key], range of the Appalachian Mts., extending c.150 mi (240 km) north-south between the Green Mts. and the Hudson Valley along parts of New York's border with Vermont,...

Williams, John, American clergyman

(Encyclopedia)Williams, John, 1664–1729, American clergyman, b. Roxbury, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1683. In 1686 he became the first minister at Deerfield, Mass. During the great Native American massacre at that fron...

colligative properties

(Encyclopedia)colligative properties, properties of a solution that depend on the number of solute particles present but not on the chemical properties of the solute. Colligative properties of a solution include fr...

Cogswell, Joseph Green

(Encyclopedia)Cogswell, Joseph Green kŏgzˈwĕl, –wəl [key], 1786–1871, American librarian and bibliographer, b. Ipswich, Mass. After studying abroad, Cogswell taught mineralogy and geology at Harvard and bec...