Coast Ranges or Pacific Coast Ranges Series of ranges, along the Pacific coast of North America. They run from southern California through Oregon and into west-central Washington. The ranges’ average elevation is about 3,300 ft (1,000 m) above sea level, but some peaks and ridges rise to more than 6,600 ft (2,000 m). Giant redwoods dominate the forests along the coasts of southern Oregon and northern California. The Coast Mountains of British Columbia are not a continuation of the U.S. Coast Ranges but of the Cascade Range.
coat of arms or shield of arms Heraldic device dating to the 12th century in Europe. It was originally a cloth tunic worn over or in place of armour to establish identity in battle. In the full armorial achieve¬ ment the distinctively patterned shield is ornamented with a crest, helmet, mantling, motto, crown, wreath, and supporters and rests upon a compartment. Arms were later adopted as emblems for schools, churches, guilds, and corpo¬ rations to reflect their origins or his¬ tories. See also heraldry.
coati \k9-'wa-t3, kwa-'te\ or coa¬ ti mu ndi Any of three species (genus Nasua, family Procyonidae) of raccoonlike omnivores, found in
Coati (Nasua nasua)
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424 I coaxial cable ► Cobra
wooded regions from the southwestern U.S. through South America. The coati has a long, flexible snout and a slender, darkly banded tail that it often carries erect. The male measures 29-54 in. (73-136 cm) in length (half of which is tail) and weighs 10-24 lbs (4.5-11 kg). Females and young commonly live in bands of five to 40; males are solitary, joining bands only during mating season. Coatis feed by day on seeds, fruits, eggs, and small animals.
coaxial cable or coax Self-shielded cable used for transmission of communications signals, such as those for television, telephone, or com¬ puter networks. A coaxial cable consists of two conductors laid concen¬ trically along the same axis. One conducting wire is surrounded by a dielectric insulator, which is in turn surrounded by the other, outer con¬ ductor, producing an electrically shielded transmission circuit. The whole cable is wrapped in a protective plastic sheathing. The signal propagates within the dielectric insulator, while the associated current flow is restricted to adjacent surfaces of the inner and outer conductors. As a result, coaxial cable has very low radiation losses and low susceptibility to external interference.
Cobain, Kurt (b. Feb. 20, 1967, Aberdeen, Wash., U.S.—d. April 5, 1994, Seattle, Wash.) U.S. rock musician. He formed the rock trio Nir¬ vana in Aberdeen in 1986. The band, whose style derived from punk rock, combined the fury of that genre with anguished lyrics, a style that, together with their tom jeans and flannel shirts, became known as grunge rock. Their first album, Bleach (1989), was followed by Nevermind (1991), featuring the hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit”; it was the first punk- oriented album to achieve popularity with a mainstream audience. Cobain was elevated to prominence, but with the album In Utero (1993) he railed against his fame. Known for his self-destructive behaviour and heroin use, he shot and killed himself in his home.
cobalt Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Co, atomic number 27. Widely dispersed in small amounts in many minerals and ores, this magnetic, silvery white metal with a faint blu¬ ish tinge is used mostly for special alloys (e.g., alnico, tool steel) with exacting applications. At valence 2 or 3 it forms numerous coordination complexes. One is vitamin B 12 (cyanocobalamin; see vitamin B complex). Cobalt and its compounds are used in electroplating and colouring ceram¬ ics and glass and as lamp filaments, catalysts, a trace element in fertilizers, and paint and varnish driers. The pigment cobalt blue has a variable com¬ position, roughly that of cobalt oxide plus alumina. A radioactive isotope of cobalt emits penetrating gamma rays that are used in radiation therapy.
Cobb, Howell (b. Sept. 7, 1815, Jefferson county, Ga., U.S.—d. Oct. 9, 1868, New York, N.Y.) U.S. politician. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1843-51, 1855-57), where he promoted Southern inter¬ ests by supporting the annexation of Texas and the Mexican War. Nev¬ ertheless, he also supported the Compromise of 1850, which was favoured by the North. He served as governor of Georgia (1851-53). He supported the presidential candidacy of James Buchanan, who appointed him secre¬ tary of the treasury (1857-60). An opponent of Abraham Lincoln, he became a spokesman for secession. He served as chairman of the con¬ vention called to organize the Confederacy, then organized his own regi¬ ment and led it to the front in the American Civil War.
Cobb, Ty in full Tyrus Raymond Cobb (b. Dec. 18, 1886, Narrows, Ga., U.S.—d. July 17, 1961, Atlanta,
Ga.) U.S. baseball player, one of the greatest offensive players and per¬ haps the fiercest competitor in base¬ ball history. He joined the Detroit Tigers in 1905, batting left-handed but throwing right-handed. He spent 22 seasons as an outfielder with the Detroit Tigers, then managed them from 1921 to 1926. His record for career batting average (.366) remains unbroken; those for runs batted in (1,937), runs (2,245), and hits (4,189) stood for many years. He batted at least .300 for 23 straight seasons, an all-time record, and his three years of batting over .400 also represent a record. His career record of 892 stolen bases (partly the result
of the brutality with which he used his cleats) was surpassed only in 1979. In the first election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, Cobb received the most votes.
Cobbett, William (b. March 9, 1763, Farnham, Surrey, Eng.—d. June 18, 1835, London) English journalist. He joined the army and served in Canada (1785-91). He lived in the U.S. (1794-1800), where he launched his career as a journalist, fiercely attacking the spirit and practice of American democracy and winning himself the nickname “Peter Porcu¬ pine.” He returned to England and founded the weekly Political Register (1802), which he published until his death. He championed traditional rural values as England entered the Industrial Revolution; his reactionary views of the ideal society struck a powerful chord of nostalgia, and he also criticized corruption, harsh laws, and low wages.
Cobden, Richard (b. June 3, 1804, Dunford Farm, near Midhurst, Sussex, Eng.—d. April 2, 1865, Lon¬ don) British politician. He gained an independent fortune in the calico wholesale business. After travel to study trade policies in Europe and the U.S., he wrote pamphlets on international free trade. He was elected to Parliament (1841-57,
1859-65) and, with his close associ¬ ate, John Bright, successfully fought to repeal the Corn Laws. In the 1850s he argued for friendly relations with Russia, even after the Crimean War had begun. He helped negotiate a commercial treaty with France (1860) that included a most¬ favoured-nation clause later dupli¬ cated in other treaties.
cobia Vko-bo-oX Swift-moving, slim marine game fish ( Rachycen- tron canadum ), the only member of the family Rachycentridae. Found in most warm oceans, this voracious predator may grow as long as 6 ft (1.8 m) and weigh 150 lbs (70 kg) or more. It has a jutting lower jaw, a rather flat head, and light-brown sides, each with two lengthwise, brown stripes. Its distinctive dorsal fin consists of a row of short spines followed by a long, soft-rayed fin.
Coblenz See Koblenz
COBOL Vko-.boA in full Common Business-Oriented Lan¬ guage. High-level computer programming language, one of the first widely used languages and for many years the most popular language in the business community. It developed from the 1959 Conference on Data Systems Languages, a joint initiative between the U.S. government and the private sector. COBOL was created to fulfill two major objectives: portability (ability of programs to be run with minimum modification on computers from different manufacturers) and readability (ease with which a program can be read like ordinary English). It ceased to be widely used in the 1990s.