Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) pressure, in mechanics, ratio of the force acting on a surface to the area of the surface; it is thus distinct from the total force acting on a surface. A force can be applied to and sustained by a si...

(Encyclopedia) Rhodophyta rōdŏfˈətə [key], phylum (division) of the kingdom Protista consisting of the photosynthetic organisms commonly known as red algae. Most of the world's seaweeds belong to this group. Me...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Temperature scales temperature, measure of the relative warmth or coolness of an object. Temperature is measured by means of a thermometer or other instrument having a scale calibrated in unit...

(Encyclopedia) Murmansk mo͝ormänskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 468,000), capital of Murmansk region, NW European Russia, on the Kola Gulf of the Barents Sea. It is the terminus of the Northeast Passage and the world'...

(Encyclopedia) New York Bay, arm of the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Hudson River, SE N.Y. and NE N.J., enclosed by the shores of NE New Jersey, E Staten Island, S Manhattan, and W Long Island (Brooklyn) and o...

(Encyclopedia) Wegener, Alfred Lothar älˈfrĕt lōtärˈ vĕgˈənər [key], 1880–1930, German geologist, meteorologist, and Arctic explorer. Early in his life, he was on the staff of the aeronautical observator...

(Encyclopedia) Bug or Southern Bug, river, Ukraine: see Buh. ...

(Encyclopedia) Buh or Southern Buh bo͞okh [key], Ukr. Pivdynnyy Buh, river, c.490 mi (790 km) long, rising in the Volhynian-Podolian hills, W Ukraine. The Buh, flowing generally SE into the Black Sea, is navigable ...

(Encyclopedia) Buh or Western Buh, river, Eastern Europe: see Bug. ...

(Encyclopedia) El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) ĕl nēnˈyō [key], large-scale climatic fluctuation of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the overlying atmosphere. The El Niño [Span.,=the child] is the South Am...