Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

352 results found

colloid

(Encyclopedia)colloid kŏlˈoid [key] [Gr.,=gluelike], a mixture in which one substance is divided into minute particles (called colloidal particles) and dispersed throughout a second substance. The mixture is also...

pollution

(Encyclopedia)pollution, contamination of the environment as a result of human activities. The term pollution refers primarily to the fouling of air, water, and land by wastes (see air pollution; water pollution; s...

protein

(Encyclopedia)protein, any of the group of highly complex organic compounds found in all living cells and comprising the most abundant class of all biological molecules. Protein comprises approximately 50% of cellu...

element

(Encyclopedia) CE5 element, in chemistry, a substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by chemical means. A substance such as a compound can be decomposed into its constituent elements by means o...

iron

(Encyclopedia)iron, metallic chemical element; symbol Fe [Lat. ferrum]; at. no. 26; at. wt. 55.845; m.p. about 1,535℃; b.p. about 2,750℃; sp. gr. 7.87 at 20℃; valence +2, +3, +4, or +6. Iron is biologically s...

dinosaur

(Encyclopedia)dinosaur dīˈnəsôr [key] [Gr., = terrible lizard], extinct land reptile of the Mesozoic era. The dinosaurs, which were egg-laying animals, ranged in length from 21⁄2 ft (91 cm) to about 127 f...

Transylvania

(Encyclopedia)Transylvania trănˌsĭlvāˈnyə [key], Rom. Transilvania or Ardeal, Hung. Erdély, Ger. Siebenbürgen, historic region and province (21,292 sq mi/55,146 sq km), central Romania. A high plateau, Tran...

Cretaceous period

(Encyclopedia)Cretaceous period krĭtāˈshəs [key], third and last period of the Mesozoic era of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table), lasting from approximately 144 to 65 millio...

fish, in zoology

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Anatomy of a ray-finned fish fish, limbless aquatic vertebrate animal with fins and internal gills. Traditionally the living fish have been divided into three class: the primitive jawless fish...

Botswana

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Botswana bŏtswäˈnə [key], officially Republic of Botswana, republic (2020 est. pop. ...
 

Browse by Subject