Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

marine engine

(Encyclopedia)marine engine, machine for the propulsion of watercraft. The earliest marine power plants, reciprocating steam engines, were used almost exclusively until the early 1900s. In later ship construction t...

lepton

(Encyclopedia)lepton lĕpˈtŏnˌ [key] [Gr.,=light (i.e., lightweight)], class of elementary particles that includes the electron and its antiparticle, the muon and its antiparticle, the tau and its antiparticle, ...

Kissinger, Henry Alfred

(Encyclopedia)Kissinger, Henry Alfred kĭsˈənjər [key], 1923–2023, American political scientist and U.S. secretary ...

safety movement

(Encyclopedia)safety movement, widespread effort to prevent accidents that followed the increasing number of casualties in industry, traffic and transportation, and homes arising out of the Industrial Revolution an...

physics

(Encyclopedia)physics, branch of science traditionally defined as the study of matter, energy, and the relation between them; it was called natural philosophy until the late 19th cent. and is still known by this na...

Cousins, Norman

(Encyclopedia)Cousins, Norman, 1915–90, American editor and author, b. Union City, N.J. He was (1934–35) a newspaper editorial writer and historical magazine editor (1935–40) before beginning his long associa...

icebreaker

(Encyclopedia)icebreaker, ship of special hull design and wide beam, with relatively flat bottom, designed to force its way through ice. When the icebreaker charges into the ice at full speed, its sharply inclined ...

Hartlepool

(Encyclopedia)Hartlepool härtˈlēpo͞ol, härtˈəl– [key], borough and unitary authority, NE E...

Ernst, Richard Robert

(Encyclopedia)Ernst, Richard Robert 1933–2021, Swiss chemist, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich; B.S., 1956, Ph.D., 1962). He worked as a res...

Moral Majority

(Encyclopedia)Moral Majority, U.S. political action group composed of conservative, fundamentalist Christians. Founded (1979) and led (1979–87) by evangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell, the group played a significant rol...