Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) pencil, pointed implement used in writing or drawing to apply graphite or a similar colored solid to any surface, especially paper. From prehistoric times lumps of colored earth or chalk were used as ...

(Encyclopedia) Arlington. 1 Town, Middlesex co., E Mass., a residential suburb of Boston; settled c.1630 as Menotomy, inc. as West Cambridge 1807, renamed Arlington 1867. The area was the scene of ...

(Encyclopedia) phthalates, family of chemical compounds made from alcohols and phthalic anhydride, C6H4(CO)2O. Oily, colorless, odorless liquids that do not evaporate readily, they are used primarily to make polyvin...

(Encyclopedia) Cedar Rapids, city (2020 pop. 137,710), seat of Linn co., E central Iowa, on the Cedar River; inc. as a city 1856. The second largest city in Iowa, it i...

(Encyclopedia) Frankfort, city (2020 pop. 28,602), state capital and seat of Franklin co., N central Ky., on both sides of the Kentucky River, in the heart of the blue...

(Encyclopedia) Kantrowitz, Adrian kănˈtrəwĭtsˌ [key], 1918–2008, American surgeon, b. New York City, grad. New York Univ. (1940). The son of a physician, Kantrowitz received his M.D. from the Long Island Coll...

(Encyclopedia) Sioux Falls, city (1990 pop. 100,814), seat of Minnehaha co., SE S.Dak., on the Big Sioux River; settled 1856, inc. as a village 1877, as a city 1883. Settlers abandoned the site in 1862 because of Na...

(Encyclopedia) Waltham wôlˈthăm, –thəm [key], city (1990 pop. 57,878), Middlesex co., E Mass., a suburb of Boston, on the Charles River; settled c.1634, set off from Watertown 1738, inc. as a city 1884. It is ...

(Encyclopedia) Washington. 1 City (1990 pop. 10,838), seat of Daviess co., SW Ind.; settled 1805, inc. as a city 1871. Turkey processing and farming are the chief economic activities, and there is light manufacturin...

(Encyclopedia) printed circuit, electric circuit in which the conducting paths connecting circuit components are affixed to a flat, insulating base board. The base is typically of plastic, glass, ceramic, or some ot...