Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

spastic paralysis

(Encyclopedia)spastic paralysis, form of paralysis in which the part of the nervous system that controls coordinated movement of the voluntary muscles is disabled. In spastic paralysis the nerves controlling muscle...

bombax

(Encyclopedia)bombax bŏmˈbăks [key], common name for the Bombacaceae, a family of deciduous trees, often tall and with unusually thick trunks, found chiefly in the American tropics. The family includes many comm...

Clifton

(Encyclopedia)Clifton, industrial city (2020 pop. 90,296), Passaic co., NE N.J., on the Passaic River; settled 1685, set off from Passaic and inc. 1917. It has steel,...

rubber

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Basic molecules in rubber rubber, any solid substance that upon vulcanization becomes elastic; the term includes natural rubber (caoutchouc) and synthetic rubber. The term elastomer is sometim...

Magog, city, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Magog, city (1991 pop. 14,034), S Que., Canada, on Lake Memphremagog, SW of Sherbrooke. Founded by Loyalist emigrants from the United States after 1776, Magog is a resort and trade center, with textil...

Kursk

(Encyclopedia)Kursk ko͝orsk [key], city (1989 pop. 424,000), capital of Kursk region, W European Russia, at the confluence of the Tuskor and Seim rivers. An important rail junction, it has machine, chemical, and s...

ruby

(Encyclopedia)ruby, precious stone, the transparent red variety of corundum, found chiefly in Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka and classified among the most valuable of gems. The Myanmarese stones are blood red, th...

Ashton-under-Lyne

(Encyclopedia)Ashton-under-Lyne, town, Tameside metropolitan district, NW England, in the Greater Manchester metropolitan area on the Tame River. Its industries include engineering, leather, plastics, t...

Marghilon

(Encyclopedia)Marghilon märˌgəlŏnˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 124,847), E Uzbekistan, in the Fergana Valley. It is a center for textile and silk industries. ...

Inazawa

(Encyclopedia)Inazawa ēnäˈzäwä [key], city, Aichi prefecture, central Honshu, Japan. It is a residential ...