Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

292 results found

seasons

(Encyclopedia) CE5 The seasons are caused by the tilt of the earth's axis to the plane of its orbit about the sun. The Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun in the summer and receives more direct rays than...

rattlesnake

(Encyclopedia)rattlesnake, poisonous New World snake of the pit viper family, distinguished by a rattle at the end of the tail. The head is triangular, being widened at the base. The rattle is a series of dried, ho...

X ray

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Typical X-ray composite spectrum (intensity as a function of frequency) X ray, invisible, highly penetrating electromagnetic radiation of much shorter wavelength (higher frequency) than visibl...

Heath, Sir Edward Richard George

(Encyclopedia)Heath, Sir Edward Richard George, 1916–2005, British statesman. Educated at Oxford, he served in the Royal Artillery during World War II, rising to the rank of colonel. He was elected to Parliament ...

cobra

(Encyclopedia)cobra, name for African and Asian snakes of the family Elapidae that are equipped with inflatable neck hoods. The family also includes the African mambas, the Asian kraits, the New World coral snakes ...

Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Lawrence. 1 City (1990 pop. 26,763), Marion co., central Ind., a residential suburb of Indianapolis, on the West Fork of the White River. It has light manufacturing. 2 City (1990 pop. 65,608), seat of...

mongoose

(Encyclopedia)mongoose, name for a large number of small, carnivorous, terrestrial Old World mammals of the civet family. They are found in S Asia and in Africa, with one species extending into S Spain. Mongooses a...

Baldwin, Stanley

(Encyclopedia)Baldwin, Stanley, 1867–1947, British statesman; cousin of Rudyard Kipling. The son of a Worcestershire ironmaster, he was educated at Harrow and at Trinity College, Cambridge, and entered the family...

Zhou Enlai

(Encyclopedia)Zhou Enlai or Chou En-lai both: jō ĕn-lī [key], 1898–1976, Chinese Communist leader. A member of a noted Mandarin family, he was educated at an American-supported school in China and a university...

photoelectric cell

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Photoelectric cell: Light causes a photosensitive surface to emit electrons, which flow as current to the positive terminal. A galvanometer measures the current and thus indicates light intensi...
 

Browse by Subject