Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) credit union, cooperative, not-for-profit financial institution that makes low-interest personal loans to its members. It is usually composed of persons from the same occupational group or the same lo...

(Encyclopedia) Fehling's solution fāˈlĭngz [key], deep-blue, alkaline solution used to test for the presence of aldehydes (e.g., formaldehyde, HCHO) or other compounds that contain the aldehyde functional group, ...

(Encyclopedia) aniline ănˈəlĭn [key], C6H5NH2, colorless, oily, basic liquid organic compound; chemically, a primary aromatic amine whose molecule is formed by replacing one hydrogen atom of a benzene molecule w...

(Encyclopedia) koan kōˈän [key] [Jap.,=public question; Chin. kung-an], a subject for meditation in Ch'an or Zen Buddhism, usually one of the sayings of a great Zen master of the past. In the formative period of ...

(Encyclopedia) triggerfish, any of several species of tropical reef fishes with laterally compressed bodies, heavy scales, and tough skins. They are named for the mechanism of the three spines of the dorsal fin: whe...

(Encyclopedia) Rigel rīˈjəl [key], bright star in the constellation Orion; Bayer designation Beta Orionis; 1992 position R.A. 5h14.2m, Dec. −8°13′. A huge, blue supergiant of spectral class B8 Ia, Rigel has ...

(Encyclopedia) Rodgers, Jimmie (James Charles Rodgers), 1897–1933, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter often called “the father of country music,” b. Meri...

(Encyclopedia) barite bərīˈtēz [key] [New Lat., from barium], or heavy spar, a white, yellow, blue, red, or colorless mineral. It is a sulfate of barium, BaSO4, found in nature as tabular crystals or in granular...

(Encyclopedia) Helena. 1 City (2020 pop. 20,633), Jefferson and Shelby cos., central Ala.; inc. 1877. White settlers began to occupy the area after the War of ...

(Encyclopedia) Vesuvius vəso͞oˈvēəs [key], Ital. Vesuvio, active volcano, S Italy, on the eastern shore of the Bay of Naples, SE of Naples. The only other active volcano on the European mainland is the Campi Fl...