Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) torque, in physics, that which tends to change the rate of rotation of a body; also called the moment of force. The torque produced by rotating parts of an electric motor or internal-combustion engine...

(Encyclopedia) Artaxerxes I ärˌtəzûrkˈsēz [key], d. 425 b.c., king of ancient Persia (464–425 b.c.), of the dynasty of the Achaemenis. Artaxerxes is the Greek form of “Ardashir the Persian.” He succeeded...

(Encyclopedia) Babylonian captivity, in the history of Israel, the period from the fall of Jerusalem (586 b.c.) to the reconstruction in Palestine of a new Jewish state (after 538 b.c.). After the capture of the cit...

(Encyclopedia) Athaliah ăthˌəlīˈə [key]. 1 The only queen to occupy the throne of Judah, daughter of Ahab of Israel, wife of Jehoram 2 of Judah, and mother of Ahaziah (2) of Judah, whom she succeeded. She had ...

(Encyclopedia) Dwight, Timothy, 1752–1817, American clergyman, author, educator, b. Northampton, Mass., grad. Yale, 1769. He renounced legal for theological studies and after 1783 was pastor for 12 years of a Cong...

(Encyclopedia) Hananiah hănənīˈə [key]. 1 One of the Three Young Men. According to the Book of Daniel, he was one of Daniel's three companions and was also known as Shadrach. 2 In the Book of Jeremiah, a false ...

(Encyclopedia) Tristram and Isolde trĭsˈtrəm, ĭsōlˈdə, ĭzōlˈ– [key], medieval romance. The earliest extant version (incomplete) was written (c.1185) by Thomas of Britain in Anglo-Norman French verse. Abo...

(Encyclopedia) power, in physics, time rate of doing work or of producing or expending energy. The unit of power based on the English units of measurement is the horsepower, devised for describing mechanical power b...

(Encyclopedia) shuffleboard, sport in which players use cue sticks to push disks onto a scoring diagram at either end of a concrete or terrazzo court. The court is 52 ft (15.85 m) long and 6 ft (1.83 m) wide. The ba...

(Encyclopedia) Meshullam mĕshŭlˈəm [key], in the Bible. 1 Ancestor of Shaphan. 2 Son of Zerubbabel. 3 See Meshelemiah. 4 See Shallum (4) and (7.) 5 Father-in-law of Johanan (10.) 6 Repairer of the wall. 7 Assist...