Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) skyscraper, modern building of great height, constructed on a steel skeleton. The form originated in the United States. By convention, a skyscraper is a building that is used primarily for human h...

(Encyclopedia) American architecture, the architecture produced in the geographical area that now constitutes the United States. Wright, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest architects of the 20th cent., ...

(Encyclopedia) Nobel Prizes

(Encyclopedia) bossism, in U.S. history, system of political control centering about a single powerful figure (the boss) and a complex organization of lesser figures (the machine) bound together by reciprocity in pr...

(Encyclopedia) city government, political administration of urban areas. The English tradition of incorporating urban units (cities, boroughs, villages, towns) and allowing them freedom in most local matters is gene...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Continental drift (arrows indicate the directions of motion of the landmasses) A. Proposed reconstruction of the supercontinent Pangaea indicating the major present landmasses B. Proposed recon...

(Encyclopedia) SETI sĕtˈē [key] [Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence], name given to a series of independent programs to detect radio signals from civilizations beyond the solar system. Modern SETI efforts c...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Structure of a tobacco mosaic virus, an RNA-containing virus virus, parasite with a noncellular structure composed mainly of nucleic acid within a protein coat. Most viruses are too small (100...

(Encyclopedia) Harding, Warren Gamaliel gəmāˈlēəl [key], 1865–1923, 29th President of the United States (1921–23), b. Blooming Grove (now Corsica), Ohio. After study (1879–82) at Ohio Central College, he ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Automobile chassis CE5 Two views of a six-cylinder automobile engine automobile, self-propelled vehicle used for travel on land. The term is commonly applied to a four-wheeled vehicle desig...