Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

radio-frequency identification

(Encyclopedia)radio-frequency identification (RFID), a technology that uses radio waves to transmit data and uniquely identify an animal, person, or thing. An RFID system typically consists of a tag and a reader. T...

viscosity

(Encyclopedia)viscosity, resistance of a fluid to flow. This resistance acts against the motion of any solid object through the fluid and also against motion of the fluid itself past stationary obstacles. Viscosity...

water, desalination of

(Encyclopedia)water, desalination of, process of removing soluble salts from water to render it suitable for drinking, irrigation, or industrial uses. The principal methods used for desalination include distillatio...

steel industry

(Encyclopedia)steel industry, the business of processing iron ore into steel, which in its simplest form is an iron-carbon alloy, and in some cases, turning that metal into partially finished products or recycling ...

Venus, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Venus, in astronomy, 2d planet from the sun; it is often called the evening star or morning star and is brighter than any object in the sky except the sun and the moon. Because its orbit lies between ...

molecule

(Encyclopedia)molecule mŏlˈəkyo͞ol [key] [New Lat.,=little mass], smallest particle of a compound that has all the chemical properties of that compound. A single atom is usually not referred to as a molecule, a...

cocaine

(Encyclopedia)cocaine kōkānˈ, kōˈkān [key], alkaloid drug derived from the leaves of the coca shrub. A commonly abused illegal drug, cocaine has limited medical uses, most often in surgical applications that ...

Eswatini

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Eswatini or eSwatini, formerly Swaziland swäˈzēlănd [key],...

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...

measurement

(Encyclopedia)measurement, determination of the magnitude of a quantity by comparison with a standard for that quantity. Quantities frequently measured include time, length, area, volume, pressure, mass, force, and...