Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Schiller, Ferdinand Canning Scott

(Encyclopedia)Schiller, Ferdinand Canning Scott shĭlˈər [key], 1864–1937, British philosopher. Schiller studied at Oxford and was professor of philosophy there (1897–1926) and at the Univ. of Southern Califo...

Semple, Ellen Churchill

(Encyclopedia)Semple, Ellen Churchill, 1863–1932, American geographer, b. Louisville, Ky., grad. Vassar, 1882, and studied at the Univ. of Leipzig. A follower of the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel, she helped...

Sigerist, Henry Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Sigerist, Henry Ernest sĭgˈərĭst [key], 1891–1957, American medical historian and writer, b. Paris, M.D. Univ. of Zürich, 1917. He taught history of medicine at the universities of Zürich (192...

polybrominated biphenyl

(Encyclopedia)polybrominated biphenyl or PBB, any of a group of organic compounds used as a fire retardant. In 1973 several thousand pounds of PBB were accidentally mixed with livestock feed that was later distribu...

neurology

(Encyclopedia)neurology no͝orŏlˈəjē, nyo͝o– [key], study of the morphology, physiology, and pathology of the human nervous system. As researchers, neurologists carry on investigative and experimental work i...

time and motion study

(Encyclopedia)time and motion study, analysis of the operations required to produce a manufactured article in a factory, with the aim of increasing efficiency. Each operation is studied minutely and analyzed in ord...

Ratzel, Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Ratzel, Friedrich frēˈdrĭkh rätˈsəl [key], 1844–1904, German geographer. He traveled as a journalist in Europe (1869) and in Cuba, Mexico, and the United States (1872–75). Thereafter he devo...

psittacosis

(Encyclopedia)psittacosis sĭtəkōˈsĭs [key] or parrot fever, infectious disease caused by the species of Chlamydia psittaci and transmitted to people by birds, particularly parrots, parakeets, and lovebirds. In...

nuclear winter

(Encyclopedia)nuclear winter, theory holding that the smoke and dust produced by a large nuclear war would result in a prolonged period of cold on the earth. The earliest version of the theory, which was put forwar...

aviation medicine

(Encyclopedia)aviation medicine, scientific study of the biological effects of aviation, especially on human beings. Although aviation medicine is concerned with such problems as the spread of diseases by persons t...