Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) palmtop or hand-held personal computer, lightweight, small, battery-powered, general-purpose programmable computer. It typically had a miniaturized full-function, typewriterlike keyboard for input and...

(Encyclopedia) asphalt ăsˈfôlt, –fălt [key], brownish-black substance used commonly in road making, roofing, and waterproofing. Chemically, it is a natural mixture of hydrocarbons. It varies in consistency fro...

(Encyclopedia) mastic, resin obtained from the small mastic tree Pistacia lentiscus (of the sumac family), found chiefly in Mediterranean countries. When the bark of the tree is injured, the resin exudes in drops. I...

(Encyclopedia) Percheron horse pûrˈchərŏnˌ [key], breed of draft horse developed in NW France, originally of Flemish origin, but also containing some Arabian blood (see Arabian horse). For a heavy horse, it has...

(Encyclopedia) phlogiston theory flōjĭsˈtŏn [key], hypothesis regarding combustion. The theory, advanced by J. J. Becher late in the 17th cent. and extended and popularized by G. E. Stahl, postulates that in all...

(Encyclopedia) photoengraving, photomechanical process in the graphic arts, used principally for reproducing illustrations. The subject is photographed, and the image is recorded on a sensitized metal plate, which i...

(Encyclopedia) Moronobu (Hishikawa Moronobu) hēshēkäˈwä mōrōˈnōbo͞o [key], c.1618–c.1694, Japanese painter and color-print designer of the ukiyo-e school. He began his career as an embroiderer. His first...

(Encyclopedia) Briard brēärdˈ [key], breed of muscular, wiry working dog whose origins may be traced back to 12th-century France. It stands from 22 to 27 in. (55.9–68.6 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs betwe...

(Encyclopedia) Birkhoff, George David, 1884–1944, American mathematician, b. Overisel, Mich.; father of Garrett Birkhoff. The son of a physician, he was educated at Harvard (B.A., 1905) and the Univ. of Chicago (P...

(Encyclopedia) Carriera, Rosalba rōzälˈbä kär-rēāˈrä [key], 1675–1757, Italian portrait and miniature painter, one of the greatest of her day. At 24 she had achieved a reputation throughout Italy and abro...