Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Tunney, Gene (James Joseph Tunney), 1898–1978, American boxer, b. New York City. He began boxing in neighborhood clubs as a youngster. In World War I, he served in the U.S. marines and while in Pari...

(Encyclopedia) Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham, 1920–2002, British chemist, b. Stainforth, England, grad. Leeds Univ., Ph.D. Cambridge, 1949. After serving as a radar officer during World War II, he did ...

(Encyclopedia) ozone ōˈzōn [key], an allotropic form of the chemical element oxygen (see allotropy). Pure ozone is an unstable, faintly bluish gas with a characteristic fresh, penetrating odor. The gas has a dens...

(Encyclopedia) photocopying, process whereby written or printed matter is directly copied by photographic techniques. Generally, photocopying is practical when just a few copies of an original are needed. When many ...

(Encyclopedia) Renoir, Pierre Auguste rənwärˈ [key], 1841–1919, French impressionist painter and sculptor, b. Limoges. Renoir went to work at the age of 13 in Paris as a decorator of factory-made porcelain, co...

(Encyclopedia) radiation rāˌdēāˈshən [key], term applied to the emission and transmission of energy through space or through a material medium and also to the radiated energy itself. In its widest sense the te...

(Encyclopedia) variable star, star that varies, either periodically or irregularly, in the intensity of the light it emits. Other physical changes are usually correlated with the fluctuations in brightness, such as ...

(Encyclopedia) levitation lĕvĭtāˈshən [key], the raising of a human or other body in the air without mechanical aid. The idea is ancient; holy men, both pagan and Christian, were reputed to have had the power o...

(Encyclopedia) Arnold, Sir Edwin, 1832–1904, English author. After serving as principal of the government college in Pune, India, he joined (1861) the staff of the London Daily Telegraph. He won fame for his blank...

(Encyclopedia) Avellino ävāl-lēˈnō [key], city, capital of Avellino prov., Campania, S Italy. It is an agricultural and light manufacturing center. Although damaged by earthquakes i...