Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) balloon, lighter-than-air craft without a propulsion system, lifted by inflation of one or more containers with a gas lighter than air or with heated air. During flight, altitude may be gained by disc...

(Encyclopedia) Rocky Mountains, major mountain system of W North America and easternmost belt of the North American cordillera, extending more than 3,000 mi (4,800 km) from central N.Mex. to NW Alaska; Mt. Elbert (1...

(Encyclopedia) science fiction, literary genre in which a background of science or pseudoscience is an integral part of the story. Although science fiction is a form of fantastic literature, many of the events recou...

(Encyclopedia) Atlanta ətlănˈtə, ăt– [key], city (2020 pop. 498,715), state capital and seat of Fulton co., NW Ga., on the Chattahoochee R. and Peachtree Creek, near the Appalachi...

(Encyclopedia) Restoration, in English history, the reestablishment of the monarchy on the accession (1660) of Charles II after the collapse of the Commonwealth (see under commonwealth) and the Protectorate. The ter...

(Encyclopedia) Einstein, Albert īnˈstīn [key], 1879–1955, American theoretical physicist, known for the formulation of the relativity theory, b. Ulm, Germany. He is recognized as one of the greatest physicists ...

(Encyclopedia) Freud, Sigmund froid [key], 1856–1939, Austrian psychiatrist, founder of psychoanalysis. Born in Moravia, he lived most of his life in Vienna, receiving his medical degree from the Univ. of Vienna i...

(Encyclopedia) Picasso, Pablo (Pablo Ruiz y Picasso) päˈblō pēkäˈsō; ro͞oēthˈ ē [key], 1881–1973, Spanish painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and ceramist, who worked in France. He is generally considere...

(Encyclopedia) economics, study of how human beings allocate scarce resources to produce various commodities and how those commodities are distributed for consumption among the people in society (see distribution). ...

(Encyclopedia) Roosevelt, Franklin Delano rōˈzəvĕlt [key], 1882–1945, 32d President of the United States (1933–45), b. Hyde Park, N.Y. Apart from extending diplomatic recognition to the USSR (1933), th...