Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Cooley, Thomas McIntyre, 1824–98, American jurist, b. near Attica, N.Y. He was a judge (1864–85) of the supreme court of Michigan and was the first chairman (1887–91) of the Interstate Commerce ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Alcohols alcohol, any of a class of organic compounds with the general formula R–OH, where R represents an alkyl group made up of carbon and hydrogen in various proportions and –OH represe...

(Encyclopedia) macromolecule, term that may refer either to a crystal such as a diamond, in which the atoms are identical and held by covalent bonds (see chemical bond) of equal strength, or to one of the units that...

(Encyclopedia) peptide, organic compound composed of amino acids linked together chemically by peptide bonds. The peptide bond always involves a single covalent link between the α-carboxyl (oxygen-bearing carbon) o...

(Encyclopedia) carbonyl group kärˈbənĭl [key], in chemistry, functional group that consists of an oxygen atom joined by a double bond to a carbon atom. The carbon atom is joined to the remainder of the molecule ...

(Encyclopedia) whiskey [from the Gaelic for “water of life”], spirituous liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grains, usually rye, barley, oats, wheat, or corn. Inferior whiskeys are made from potatoes, bee...

(Encyclopedia) formula, in chemistry, an expression showing the chemical composition of a compound. Formulas of compounds are used in writing the equations (see chemical equations) that represent chemical reactions....

(Encyclopedia)  Reynolds, Debbie, 1932-2016, American actress, singer, and dancer, b. El Paso, Tx., as Mary Frances Reynolds. Reynolds’ family relocated from El Paso...

(Encyclopedia) Lewis, Gilbert Newton, 1875–1946, American chemist, b. Weymouth, Mass., grad. Harvard (B.A., 1896; Ph.D., 1899). He taught at Harvard and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1907–12) and...

(Encyclopedia) mutual fund, in finance, investment company or trust that has a very fluid capital stock. It is unique in that at any time it can sell or redeem any of its outstanding shares at net asset value (i.e.,...