Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) scandium skănˈdēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Sc; at. no. 21; at. wt. 44.95591; m.p. 1,541℃; b.p. 2,831℃; sp. gr. 2.99 at 20℃; valence +3. Scandium is a soft silver-white metal...

(Encyclopedia) relics, part of the body of a saint or a thing closely connected with the saint in life. In traditional Christian belief they have had great importance, and miracles have often been associated with th...

(Encyclopedia) Gülen, Fethullah, 1941–, Turkish Islamic leader, founder of the Gülen movement, an educational, religious, and social Islamic organization that supported the Justice and Development party (AKP) in...

(Encyclopedia) hafnium hăfˈnēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Hf; at. no. 72; at. wt. 178.49; m.p. about 2,227℃; b.p. 4,602℃; sp. gr. 13.31 at 20℃; valence +4. Hafnium is a lustrous, ductile, si...

(Encyclopedia) Haida hīˈdə [key], Native North Americans living primarily on the Queen Charlotte Islands, off British Columbia, and on the southern end of the Prince of Wales Island, off Alaska. They speak the Ha...

(Encyclopedia) hairdressing, arranging of the hair for decorative, ceremonial, or symbolic reasons. Primitive men plastered their hair with clay and tied trophies and badges into it to represent their feats and qual...

(Encyclopedia) Ethiopic ēthēŏpˈĭk [key], extinct language of Ethiopia belonging to the North Ethiopic group of the South Semitic (or Ethiopic) languages, which, in turn, belong to the Semitic subfamily of the A...

(Encyclopedia) falcon, common name for members of the Falconidae, a heterogeneous family of long-winged birds of prey similar to the hawks but genetically more closely related to the parrots and other birds. True fa...

(Encyclopedia) Peninsular campaign, in the American Civil War, the unsuccessful Union attempt (Apr.–July, 1862) to capture Richmond, Va., by way of the peninsula between the York and James rivers. Late in May...

(Encyclopedia) Permian period pûrˈmēən [key] [from Perm, Russia], sixth and last period of the Paleozoic era (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table) from 250 to 290 million years ago. Many ma...