Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) accessory, in criminal law, a person who, though not present at the commission of a crime, becomes a participator in the crime either before or after the fact of commission. An accessory before the fa...

(Encyclopedia) Mboya, Thomas Joseph mboiˈə [key], 1930–69, Kenyan political leader. The son of a Luo farmer, he was born in the “white highlands” of Kenya and educated at Roman Catholic mission schools. Earl...

(Encyclopedia) perpetual-motion machine, device that would be able to operate continuously and supply useful work, in violation of the laws of thermodynamics. A machine that would produce more energy in the form of ...

(Encyclopedia) dimension, in mathematics, number of parameters or coordinates required locally to describe points in a mathematical object (usually geometric in character). For example, the space we inhabit is three...

(Encyclopedia) dissociation, in chemistry, separation of a substance into atoms or ions. Thermal dissociation occurs at high temperatures. For example, hydrogen molecules (H2) dissociate into atoms (H) at very high ...

(Encyclopedia) jeopardy, in law, condition of a person charged with a crime and thus in danger of punishment. At common law a defendant could be exposed to jeopardy for the same offense only once; exposing a person ...

(Encyclopedia) animal-rights movement, diverse individuals and groups concerned with protecting animals from perceived abuse or misuse. Supporters are specifically concerned with the use of animals for medical and c...

(Encyclopedia) sabotage [Fr., sabot=wooden shoe; hence, to work clumsily], form of direct action by workers against employers through obstruction of work and/or lowering of plant efficiency. Methods range from peace...

(Encyclopedia) St.-John's-wort, any species of the large and widespread herbaceous or shrubby genus Hypericum of the family Hypericaceae (St.-John's-wort family), usually found in moist, open places and often having...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Polyhedrons polyhedron pŏlˌēhēˈdrən [key], closed solid bounded by plane faces; each face of a polyhedron is a polygon. A cube is a polyhedron bounded by six polygons (in this case squar...