Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) integration, in U.S. history, the goal of an organized movement to break down the barriers of discrimination and segregation separating African Americans from the rest of American society. Racial segr...

(Encyclopedia) New Orleans ôrˈlēənz –lənz, ôrlēnzˈ [key], city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water f...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Comet: Whatever the direction of a comet's flight, its “tail” always points away from the sun. The tail disappears when the comet is far from the sun. comet [Gr.,=longhaired], a small cele...

(Encyclopedia) Arthurian legend, the mass of legend, popular in medieval lore, concerning King Arthur of Britain and his knights. Although there are innumerable variations of the Arthurian legend, the basic story...

(Encyclopedia) mystery or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture o...

(Encyclopedia) Nobel Prizes

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 The asteroid belt lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Gaps where no asteroids are found are called Kirkwood gaps. The Trojan asteroids share Jupiter's orbit with the planet. asteroid,...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 A. Nimbus weather satellite B. Syncom communications satellite satellite, artificial, object constructed by humans and placed in orbit around the earth or other celestial body (see also space ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Basic molecules in rubber rubber, any solid substance that upon vulcanization becomes elastic; the term includes natural rubber (caoutchouc) and synthetic rubber. The term elastomer is sometim...

(Encyclopedia) Grant, Ulysses Simpson, 1822–85, commander in chief of the Union army in the Civil War and 18th President (1869–77) of the United States, b. Point Pleasant, Ohio. He was originally named Hiram Uly...