Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Brongniart, Alexandre brôNyärˈ [key], 1770–1847, French geologist, mineralogist, and chemist. As director of the Sèvres porcelain factory from 1800, he was responsible for its international fam...

(Encyclopedia) Iguanodon ĭgwănˈədŏn [key] [Gr., = iguana tooth], herbivorous ornithiscian dinosaur, characterized by teeth similar to those of the iguana, a horny beak, spikelike thumbs, and a powerful tail...

(Encyclopedia) phalanx, ancient Greek formation of infantry. The soldiers were arrayed in rows (8 or 16), with arms at the ready, making a solid block that could sweep bristling through the more dispersed ranks of t...

(Encyclopedia) Margaret of Austria, 1480–1530, Hapsburg princess, regent of the Netherlands; daughter of Emperor Maximilian I. She was betrothed (1483) to the dauphin of France, later King Charles VIII, and was tr...

(Encyclopedia) Pachycephalosaurus păkˌĭsĕfˌəlōsôrˈəs [key] [Gr., = thick-headed lizard], bipedal herbivorous dinosaur of the late Cretaceous period, approximately 68–65 million years ago. Its disting...

(Encyclopedia) phosphorylation, chemical process in which a phosphate group is added to an organic molecule. In living cells phosphorylation is associated with respiration, which takes place in the cell's mitochondr...

(Encyclopedia) horizon, in astronomy, roughly circular line bounding an observer's view of the surface of the earth where the sky and earth seem to meet. This is the visible horizon. At sea the visible horizon is a ...

(Encyclopedia) Pauncefote of Preston, Julian Pauncefote, 1st Baron pônsˈfo͝ot [key], 1828–1902, British diplomat. He served in various positions in the colonies before becoming (1882) permanent undersecretary f...

(Encyclopedia) weathering, collective term for the processes by which rock at or near the earth's surface is disintegrated and decomposed by the action of atmospheric agents, water, and living things. Some of these ...

(Encyclopedia) Justice, United States Department of, federal executive department established in 1870 and charged with providing the means for enforcing federal laws, furnishing legal counsel in federal cases, and c...