Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

mole, in chemistry

(Encyclopedia)mole, in chemistry, a quantity of particles of any type equal to Avogadro's number, or 6.02×1023 particles. One gram-molecular weight of any molecular substance contains exactly one mole of molecules...

chemistry

(Encyclopedia)chemistry, branch of science concerned with the properties, composition, and structure of substances and the changes they undergo when they combine or react under specified conditions. Organic chemi...

mole, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)mole, in zoology, common name for the small, burrowing, insectivorous mammals of the family Talpidae, found throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Moles are trapped as pests, although they prob...

naked mole rat

(Encyclopedia)naked mole rat, name applied to a species (Heterocephalus glaber) of small rodents found in E Africa, whose members—the only hairless rodents—live entirely in underground communities of 80 or more...

inorganic chemistry

(Encyclopedia)inorganic chemistry, the study of all the elements and their compounds with the exception of carbon and its compounds, which fall under the category of organic chemistry. Inorganic chemistry investiga...

organic chemistry

(Encyclopedia)organic chemistry, branch of chemistry dealing with the compounds of carbon. While it is only the fourteenth most common element on earth, carbon forms by far the greatest number of different compound...

organometallic chemistry

(Encyclopedia)organometallic chemistry, the reactions and use of a class of compounds (R-M) that contain a covalent bond between carbon and metal. They are prepared either by direct reaction of the metal with an or...

physical chemistry

(Encyclopedia)physical chemistry, branch of science that combines the principles and methods of physics and chemistry. It provides a fundamental theoretical and experimental basis for all of chemistry, including or...

Browse by Subject