Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Proclus prōˈkləs [key], 410?–485, Neoplatonic philosopher, b. Constantinople. He studied at Alexandria and at Athens, where he was a pupil of the Platonist Syrianus, whom he succeeded as a teache...

(Encyclopedia) spring, in mechanics, any of several elastic devices used variously to store and to furnish energy, to absorb shock, to sustain the pressure between contacting surfaces, and to resist tensional or com...

(Encyclopedia) Erie, city (2020 pop. 94,831), seat of Erie co., NW Pa., on Lake Erie; inc. as a city 1851. Pennsylvania's only port on the Great Lakes, Erie is a busy ...

(Encyclopedia) artificial limb, mechanical replacement for a missing limb. An artificial limb, called a prosthesis, must be light and flexible to permit easy movement, but must also be sufficiently sturdy to support...

(Encyclopedia) Nicosia nĭkəsēˈə [key], Gr. Levkosia, Turkish Lefkoşa, city (1992 pop. 177,410), capital of Cyprus, on the Pedieos River in the central plain of the island. It is also the center of an administr...

(Encyclopedia) Olympia, city (1990 pop. 33,840), state capital, and seat of Thurston co., W Wash., at the southern tip of Puget Sound, on Budd Inlet; inc. 1859. A port of entry, it ships lumber products and agricult...

(Encyclopedia) Castagno, Andrea del ändrĕˈä dĕl kästäˈnyō [key], c.1423–1457, major Florentine painter of the early Renaissance. His first recorded painting (1440; now destroyed), effigies of hanged men, ...

(Encyclopedia) casting or founding, shaping of metal by melting and pouring into a mold. Most castings, especially large ones, are made in sand molds. Sand, mixed with a binder to hold it together, is pressed around...

(Encyclopedia) Des Moines dĭ moinˈ [key], city (2020 pop. 214,133), state capital and seat of Polk co., S ...

(Encyclopedia) Durham dûrˈăm [key], city (2020 pop. 324,833), seat of Durham co., N central N.C., in the ...