Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

hydrogen

(Encyclopedia)hydrogen hīˈdrəjən [key] [Gr.,=water forming], gaseous chemical element; symbol H; at. no. 1; interval in which at. wt. ranges 1.00784–1.00811; m.p. −259.14℃; b.p. −252.87℃; density 0.08...

Arctic Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Arctic Ocean, the smallest ocean, c.5,400,000 sq mi (13,986,000 sq km), located entirely within the Arctic Circle and occupying the region around the North Pole. The Arctic basin was almost wholly u...

sulfuric acid

(Encyclopedia)sulfuric acid, chemical compound, H2SO4, colorless, odorless, extremely corrosive, oily liquid. It is sometimes called oil of vitriol. Although sulfuric acid is now one of the most widely used c...

Elephant Butte Dam

(Encyclopedia)Elephant Butte Dam, main unit of the Rio Grande project of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on the Rio Grande, SW N.Mex.; completed 1916. The dam, with its large reservoir, is used for flood control, hy...

Des Moines, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Des Moines, river, 535 mi (861 km) long, rising in SW Minn. and flowing SE across Iowa to the Mississippi River at Keokuk, SE Iowa. Flowing through fertile farmland, the river floods in the spring and...

Doyle, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Doyle, Richard, 1824–83, English caricaturist, water colorist, and illustrator. He was the son and pupil of John Doyle, a popular caricaturist. His Journal (British Mus.), a book of sketches done at...

Conchos

(Encyclopedia)Conchos kōnˈchōs [key], river, c.350 mi (560 km) long, rising in S Chihuahua state, N Mexico, and flowing N and NE to the Rio Grande. Dams along its middle course provide water for extensive cotton...

Ctesibius

(Encyclopedia)Ctesibius tĭsĭbˈēəs [key], fl. 2d cent. b.c., Alexandrian Greek inventor. He reputedly was the first to discover and apply the expansive power of air as a motive force. Among the inventions ascri...

Andújar

(Encyclopedia)Andújar ändo͞oˈhär [key], city, Jaén prov., S Spain, in Andalusia, on the Guadalquivir River. Its pottery and its water-cooling jars made of porous stone are famous....

Geneva, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Geneva, city (2020 pop. 12,812), Ontario co., W central N.Y., in the Finger Lakes region; inc. as a city 1897. Located in a farm area, Geneva's manufact...