Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

computer program

(Encyclopedia)computer program, a series of instructions that a computer can interpret and execute; programs are also called software to distinguish them from hardware, the physical equipment used in data processin...

employment bureau

(Encyclopedia)employment bureau, a government-run establishment for bringing together the employer offering work and the employee seeking it. As a not-for-profit service, employment bureaus operate differently from...

theosophy

(Encyclopedia)theosophy thēŏsˈəfē [key] [Gr.,=divine wisdom], philosophical system having affinities with mysticism and claiming insight into the nature of God and the world through direct knowledge, philosoph...

representation

(Encyclopedia)representation, in government, the term used to designate the means by which a whole population may participate in governing through the device of having a much smaller number of people act on their b...

Nematoda

(Encyclopedia)Nematoda nĕmˌətōdˈə [key], phylum consisting of about 12,000 known species, and many more predicted species, of worms (commonly known as roundworms or threadworms). Nematodes live in the soil an...

kelvin

(Encyclopedia)kelvin, abbr. K, official name in the International System of Units (SI) for the degree of temperature as measured on the Kelvin temperature scale. ...

astronomical unit

(Encyclopedia)astronomical unit (AU), mean distance between the earth and sun; one AU is c.92,960,000 mi (149,604,970 km). The astronomical unit is the principal unit of measurement within the solar system, e.g., M...

gold standard

(Encyclopedia)gold standard: see bimetallism; international monetary system; money. ...

Fowler, Sir John

(Encyclopedia)Fowler, Sir John, 1817–98, English engineer. With Benjamin Baker, he designed and built the Forth Bridge (1882–90) in Scotland, the first major structure made of steel. He also designed much of th...

Iowa, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Iowa, river, 329 mi (529 km) long, rising in the lakes of N Iowa and flowing SE to the Mississippi River, SE Iowa; Cedar River (300 mi/483 km long) is its chief tributary. A power dam crosses the gorg...