Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Palawan päläˈwän [key], island (1990 pop. 528,287), 4,550 sq mi (11,785 sq km), 5th largest of the Philippines, N of Borneo and between the Sulu Archipelago and the South China Sea. Lumbering is a...

(Encyclopedia) disinfectant, agent that destroys disease-causing microorganisms and their spores. Disinfectants, or germicides, are sometimes considered to be substances applied to inanimate bodies, whereas antisept...

(Encyclopedia) Bradford, Andrew, 1686–1742, colonial printer of Pennsylvania, b. Philadelphia; son of William Bradford (1663–1752). Andrew learned the trade in his father's shop in New York City and in 1712 went...

(Encyclopedia) conjunction, in astronomy, alignment of two celestial bodies as seen from the earth. Conjunction of the moon and the planets is often determined by reference to the sun. When a body is in conjunction ...

(Encyclopedia) week, period of time shorter than the month, commonly seven days. The ancient Egyptians used a 10-day period, as did the French under the short-lived French Revolutionary calendar. In many regions a f...

(Encyclopedia) terrestrial planet, the earth or a planet that resembles the earth in its physical characteristics. The terrestrial planets in the solar system are the earth, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. These planets a...

(Encyclopedia) bromide, any of a group of compounds that contain bromine and a more electropositive element or radical. Bromides are formed by the reaction of bromine or a bromide with another substance; they are wi...

(Encyclopedia) alloy ălˈoi, əloiˈ [key] [O. Fr.,=combine], substance with metallic properties that consists of a metal fused with one or more metals or nonmetals. Alloys may be a homogeneous solid solution, a he...

(Encyclopedia) Chadwick, Henry, 1824–1908, Anglo-American journalist who helped popularize baseball in the United States, b. Exeter, England. Moving to Brooklyn, N.Y., with his family in 1837, he was a cricket rep...

(Encyclopedia) intoxication, condition of body tissue affected by a poisonous substance. Poisonous materials, or toxins, are to be found in heavy metals such as lead and mercury, in drugs, in chemicals such as alcoh...