Columbia Encyclopedia

(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...

(Encyclopedia) shellac, solution of lac in alcohol or acetone. In commerce the name is applied to the resinous substance (lac) itself rather than to the solution. It ranges in color from orange to light yellow depen...

(Encyclopedia) Standardbred horse or trotter, American breed of light horse developed especially for harness, or sulky, racing. Of Thoroughbred ancestry, it is similar in appearance to a thoroughbred but has shorter...

(Encyclopedia) Campagnola, Domenico dōmĕˈnēkō kämpänyôˈlä [key], 1500–c.1564, painter and engraver. Although Campagnola worked exclusively in Italy, there are documents indicating that he was of German o...

(Encyclopedia) cherub chĕrˈəb [key], plural cherubim, kind of angel. Cherubim were probably thought of in the ancient Middle East as composite creatures like the winged creatures of Assyria. In Jewish tradition, ...