Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) silicon carbide, chemical compound, SiC, that forms extremely hard, dark, iridescent crystals that are insoluble in water and other common solvents. Widely used as an abrasive, it is marketed under su...

(Encyclopedia) pseudonym so͞oˈdənĭm [key] [Gr.,=false name], name assumed, particularly by writers, to conceal identity. A writer's pseudonym is also referred to as a nom de plume (pen name). Famous examples in ...

(Encyclopedia) Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de pyĕr də rēgōˈ märkēˈ də vōdröˈyə-kävänyälˈ [key], 1698–1765, last French governor of New France, b. Quebec. He was the son of Philip...

(Encyclopedia) Rossi, Pellegrino Luigi Edoardo, Conte rôsˈsē [key], 1787–1848, Italian political leader and jurist. As a supporter of Joachim Murat, Rossi was obliged to flee Italy (1815) when Murat fell. He w...

(Encyclopedia) Garnier-Pagès, Louis Antoine gärnyāˈ-päzhĕsˈ [key], 1803–78, French politician. Becoming active in politics after his brother's death, he was elected (1842) to the chamber of deputies. He op...

(Encyclopedia) Aubigné, Théodore Agrippa d' tāōdôrˈ əgrĭpˈəˈ dōbĭnŏyāˈ [key], 1552–1630, French poet and Huguenot soldier. A devoted follower of Henry of Navarre (Henry IV) from 1568, he was later ...

(Encyclopedia) Armagnac ärmänyäkˈ [key], region and former county, SW France, in Gascony, roughly coextensive with Gers dept. Auch is the chief town. Armagnac is famous for the brandy bearing the same name. The ...

(Encyclopedia) Blondel, Maurice, 1861–1949, French Catholic philosopher, b. Dijon. He was a professor at the universities of Montauban, Lille, and Aix-Marseille during his influential career. Like his contemporary...

(Encyclopedia) Coanda effect or wall-attachment effect, the tendency of a moving fluid, either liquid or gas, to attach itself to a surface and flow along it. As a fluid moves across a surface a certain amount of fr...

(Encyclopedia) Berry, Caroline Ferdinande Louise, duchesse de kärôlēnˈ fĕrdēnäNd lwēz, düshĕsˈ də bĕrēˈ [key], 1798–1870, wife of the French prince, Charles Ferdinand, duc de Berry; daughter of Fran...