Columbia Encyclopedia
Search results
500 results found
soap
(Encyclopedia)soap, a cleansing agent. It cleanses by lowering the surface tension of water, by emulsifying grease, and by absorbing dirt into the foam. Ancient peoples are believed to have employed wood ashes and ...distillation
(Encyclopedia)distillation, process used to separate the substances composing a mixture. It involves a change of state, as of liquid to gas, and subsequent condensation. The process was probably first used in the p...bow and arrow
(Encyclopedia)bow and arrow, weapon consisting of two parts; the bow is made of a strip of flexible material, such as wood, with a cord linking the two ends of the strip to form a tension from which is propelled th...Yeats, W. B.
(Encyclopedia)Yeats, W. B. (William Butler Yeats), 1865–1939, Irish poet and playwright, b. Dublin. The greatest lyric poet Ireland has produced and one of the major figures of 20th-century literature, Yeats was ...Treasury, United States Department of the
(Encyclopedia)Treasury, United States Department of the, federal executive department established in 1789. It is charged with advising the president on fiscal policy and acting as fiscal agent for the federal gover...meranti
(Encyclopedia)meranti, any of several species of Shorea, the most important timber genus in tropical Asia, of the family Dipterocarpaceae. Meranti is an important emergent tree of the tropical forests of Asia. The ...Nordhausen
(Encyclopedia)Nordhausen nôrtˈhouˌzən [key], city (1994 pop. 44,744), Thuringia, central Germany, at the southern foot of the Harz Mts. It is an industrial center and rail junction. Manufactures include clothin...Lahti
(Encyclopedia)Lahti läˈtē, läkhˈ– [key], city (1998 pop. 96,227), Southern Finland prov., S central Finland. Connected with the southern end of the Päijänne lake system, it is an important lake port as wel...Krasnoyarsk
(Encyclopedia)Krasnoyarsk krəsnəyärskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 913,000), capital of Krasnoyarsk Territory, W Siberian Russia, on the Yenisei River. A major river port and rail center, it has industries producing...lye
(Encyclopedia)lye, name commonly used for a strongly alkaline solution. It originally meant a solution of potassium carbonate (potash) prepared by leaching wood ashes with water, but now the name also means a solut...Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
-
Places
+-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-
