Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) hemoglobin hēˈməglōˌbĭn [key], respiratory protein found in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) of all vertebrates and some invertebrates. A hemoglobin molecule is composed of a protein group, kn...

(Encyclopedia) Koch, Kenneth (Kenneth Jay Koch) kōk [key], 1925–2002, American poet, novelist, and playwright, b. Cincinnati. After studying at Harvard and Columbia he was associated with the Artist's Theatre, Lo...

(Encyclopedia) Great Rift Valley, geological fault system of SW Asia and E Africa. It extends c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) from N Syria to central Mozambique. The northernmost extension runs S through Syria and Lebanon, th...

(Encyclopedia) grouse, common name for a game bird of the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 18 species. Grouse are henlike terrestrial birds, protectively plumaged in shades of red, brown, and...

(Encyclopedia) neutron, uncharged elementary particle of slightly greater mass than the proton. It was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932. The stable isotopes of all elements except hydrogen and helium contain a n...

(Encyclopedia) bubble chamber, device for detecting charged particles and other radiation by means of tracks of bubbles left in a chamber filled with liquid hydrogen or other liquefied gas. It was invented in 1952 b...

(Encyclopedia) Magritte, René rənāˈ mägrētˈ [key], 1898–1967, Belgian surrealist painter. Strongly influenced by Chirico, Magritte developed a style in which a misleading sort of realism is combined with mo...

(Encyclopedia) Marie mərēˈ [key], 1875–1938, queen of Romania, consort of Ferdinand. The daughter of Alfred, duke of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, she was the granddaughter of Czar Alexander II of Russia ...

(Encyclopedia) Antonelli, Giacomo jäˈkōmō äntōnĕlˈlē [key], 1806–76, Italian cardinal and statesman of the Roman Catholic Church, adviser to Pope Pius IX. He received the red hat of the cardinalate in 184...

(Encyclopedia) apatite ăpˈətīt [key], mineral, a phosphate of calcium containing chlorine or fluorine, or both, that is transparent to opaque in shades of green, brown, yellow, white, red, and purple. Apatite is...