Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Urquhart, David ûrˈkərt [key], 1805–77, British diplomat and writer. He served (1831–37) in various diplomatic capacities in Constantinople but was recalled because of his hostility to Russia. ...

(Encyclopedia) pulsar, in astronomy, a neutron star that emits brief, sharp pulses of energy instead of the steady radiation associated with other natural sources. The study of pulsars began when Antony Hewish and h...

(Encyclopedia) Defoe or De Foe, Daniel dĭfōˈ [key], 1660?–1731, English writer, b. London. He was nearly sixty when he turned to writing novels. In 1719 he published his famous Life and Strange Surprising Adv...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Sextant sextant, instrument for measuring the altitude of the sun or another celestial body; such measurements can then be used to determine the observer's geographical position or for other n...

(Encyclopedia) electric fish, name for various fish that produce electricity by means of organs usually developed from modified muscle tissue. The electric eels of South America are freshwater knifefish unrelated to...

(Encyclopedia) gamma radiation, high-energy photons emitted as one of the three types of radiation resulting from natural radioactivity. It is the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation, with a very short ...

(Encyclopedia) North Little Rock, city (1990 pop. 61,741), Pulaski co., central Ark., on the Arkansas River opposite Little Rock; settled c.1856, inc. as a city 1903. North Little Rock lies in a cotton, rice, soybea...

(Encyclopedia) Thomas, Gospel of, a collection of sayings, composed originally in Greek, attributed to the “living” (i.e., resurrected) Jesus. Some of the sayings were previously known from papyri discovered at ...

(Encyclopedia) Negros nāˈgrōs [key], island (1990 pop. 3,182,252), 4,905 sq mi (12,704 sq km), one of the Visayan Islands, 4th largest of the Philippines, between Panay and Cebu. Although mountainous (Mt. Canloan...

(Encyclopedia) Berdychiv byĭrdēˈchĭf [key], Rus. Berdichev, city, in central Ukraine, on the Hnylopyat R...