Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

368 results found

voltmeter

(Encyclopedia)voltmeter, instrument used to measure differences of electric potential, commonly called voltage, in volts or units that are multiples or fractions of volts. A voltmeter is usually combined with an am...

Hadley, John

(Encyclopedia)Hadley, John, 1682–1744, English instrument maker. An optician by trade, Hadley built reflecting telescopes, based on Newton's model, that had greater resolution than the cumbersome refractors then ...

Gittith

(Encyclopedia)Gittith gĭtˈĭth [key], in the titles of Psalms 8, 81, and 84, apparently the name of the tune to which the psalms were to be sung or instrument on which they were to be played. ...

Hindu music

(Encyclopedia)Hindu music. The music of India is entirely monodic. To Westerners it is the most accessible of all Asian musical cultures. Its tonal system divides the octave into 22 segments called srutis, not all ...

bull-roarer

(Encyclopedia)bull-roarer, an instrument consisting of slit board or chamber attached to a cord. When swung around in the air, it emits a deep, vibrant, “whirrrrrr”-like sound. The mythology of some Native Sout...

stereoscope

(Encyclopedia)stereoscope stĕrˈēəskōpˌ [key], optical instrument that presents to a viewer two slightly differing pictures, one to each eye, to give the effect of depth. In normal vision the two eyes, being a...

sundial

(Encyclopedia)sundial, instrument that indicates the time of day by the shadow, cast on a surface marked to show hours or fractions of hours, of an object on which the sun's rays fall. Although any object whose sha...

ukulele

(Encyclopedia)ukulele yo͞okəlāˈlē [key], Hawaiian musical instrument developed from the Portuguese guitar. It has a fretted fingerboard and four strings that are plucked or strummed. Patented in 1917, the ukul...

instrumental

(Encyclopedia)instrumental, in the grammar of certain languages (e.g., Russian), the case referring to means or instrument. The Latin ablative may in some instances be termed instrumental. ...

bugle

(Encyclopedia)bugle, brass wind musical instrument consisting of a conical tube coiled once upon itself, capable of producing five or six harmonics. It is usually in G or B flat. Its principal use is for military a...