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Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630
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Small Solar System bodyA body that orbits the Sun and is not a planet, dwarf planet, or satellite. The category was defined at the 2006 conference of the IAU (International Astronomical Union). It includes: the comets; the bodies traditionally called asteroids, except for the largest, Ceres; the asteroids orbiting beyond Jupiter, called Centaurs; the Troj...
snapdragonPerennial herbaceous plant belonging to the figwort family, with spikes of brightly coloured two-lipped flowers. (
Antirrhinum majus, family Scrophulariaceae.)
snowdropSmall bulbous European plant; its white bell-shaped hanging flowers, tinged with green, are among the first to appear in early spring. (
Galanthus nivalis, family Amaryllidaceae.)
snow leopardA type of leopard
snipeMarsh bird of the family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes closely related to the woodcock. Snipes use their long, straight bills to probe marshy ground for worms, insects, and molluscs. Their nests are made on the grass, and they lay four eggs. The cry of the birds resembles the sound `scape-scape`, and during the breeding season t...
snakeClick images to enlargeReptile of the suborder Serpentes of the order Squamata, which also includes lizards. Snakes are characterized by an elongated limbless body, possibly evolved because of subterranean ancestors. However, a team of US and Israeli palaeontologists rediscovered a fossil collection in 1996 which suggeste...
snailAir-breathing gastropod mollusc with a spiral shell. There are thousands of species, on land and in water. The typical snails of the genus
Helix have two species in Europe. The common garden snail
H. aspersa is very destructive to plants. Snails are hermaphrodite and, before mating, produce a mucus covered ...
snoringLoud noise during sleep made by vibration of the soft palate (the rear part of the roof of the mouth), caused by streams of air entering the nose and mouth at the same time. It is most common when the nose is partially blocked. Sleep apnoea causes loud snoring that wakes the sufferer repeatedly throughout the night, causing chronic tiredness
Snowy MountainsRange in the Australian Alps, chiefly in New South Wales, near which the Snowy River rises; both river and mountains are known for a hydroelectric and irrigation system
SnakeRiver in northwest USA, the largest tributary of the Columbia River; 1,670 km/1,038 mi in length. Rising as the South Fork in a lake 2,375 m/7,790 ft above sea-level in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, it flows southwest through Idaho, turning north to form the border of Idaho between Oregon and then Washington, and joining t...
SnowdonClick images to enlargeHighest mountain in Wales, 1,085 m/3,560 ft above sea level. Situated 16 km/10 mi southeast of the Menai Strait, it consists of a cluster of five peaks. At the foot of Snowdon are the Llanberis, Aberglaslyn, and Rhyd-ddu passes. A rack railway ascends to the summit from Llanberis. Snowdo...
snuffFinely powdered tobacco for sniffing up the nostrils (or sometimes chewed or rubbed on the gums) as a stimulant or sedative. Snuff taking was common in 17th-century England and the Netherlands, and spread in the 18th century to other parts of Europe, but was largely superseded by cigarette smoking
snookerIndoor game derived from billiards (via pool). It is played with 22 balls: 15 red, one each of yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black, and one white cueball. A tapered pole (cue) is used to propel the balls around the table. Red balls are worth one point when sunk (or `potted`), while the coloured balls have ascending values from...
snellenUnit expressing the visual power of the eye
Snel's law of refractionIn optics, the rule that when a ray of light passes from one medium to another, the sine of the angle of incidence divided by the sine of the angle of refraction is equal to the ratio of the indices of refraction in the two media. For a ray passing from medium 1 to medium 2:
n2/
n&...
sorghumAny of a group of cereal grasses native to Africa but cultivated widely in India, China, the USA, and southern Europe. The seeds are used for making bread. Durra is a member of the genus. (Genus
Sorghum.) Around 58 million tonnes of sorghum are grown worldwide on 44 million hectare...
SowetoUrban settlement in South Africa, southwest of Johannesburg; population (2001) 897,000. It experienced civil unrest during the apartheid regime. Most of the inhabitants travel to Johannesburg to work, but there are local industries, including wood pulp and paper manufacturing. History Soweto began as a shanty town in the 1930s and became the la...
Soviet UnionAlternative name for the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
sovietOriginally a strike committee elected by Russian workers in the 1905 revolution; in 1917 these were set up by peasants, soldiers, and factory workers. The soviets sent delegates to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets to represent their opinions to a future government. They were later taken over by the Bolsheviks
Southern CrossPopular name for the constellation Crux
SourTown in southwest Lebanon, about 80 km/50 mi south of Beirut, formerly a port until its harbour silted up; population (1991 est) 70,000. It stands on the site of the ancient city of the same name, a seaport of Phoenicia. History Built on the mainland and two small islands, the city was a commercial centre, its key product being a purple dye...
solsticeEither of the days on which the Sun is farthest north or south of the celestial equator each year. In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice, when the Sun is farthest north, occurs around 21 June and the winter solstice around 22 December
solar flareBrilliant eruption on the Sun above a sunspot, thought to be caused by release of magnetic energy. Flares reach maximum brightness within a few minutes, then fade away over about an hour. They eject a burst of atomic particles into space at up to 1,000 kps/600 mps. When these particles reach Eart...
sorbic acidTasteless acid found in the fruit of the mountain ash (genus
Sorbus) and prepared synthetically. It is widely used in the preservation of food – for example, cider, wine, soft drinks, animal feeds, bread, and cheese
Soddy, FrederickEnglish physical chemist who pioneered research into atomic disintegration and coined the term isotope. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1921 for investigating the origin and nature of isotopes. The displacement law, introduced by Soddy in 1913, explains the changes in atomic mass and atomic number for all the radioactive intermediat...
sodiumSoft, waxlike, silver-white, metallic element, atomic number 11, relative atomic mass 22.989. Its chemical symbol comes from the German
Natrium, which Arab alchemists derived from Latin
nitrium and ancient Egyptian
neter. It is one of the a...
soapstoneCompact, massive form of impure talc
soapMixture of the sodium salts of various fatty acids: palmitic, stearic, and oleic acid. It is made by the action of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) or potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) on fats of animal or vegetable origin. Soap makes grease and dirt disperse in water in a similar manner to a detergent. Soap was mentioned by Galen in the 2nd ...
Somerville, Mary GreigScottish scientific writer who produced several widely used textbooks, despite having just one year of formal education. Somerville College, Oxford, is named after her. Her main works were
Mechanism of the Heavens (1831), a translation of French astronomer Pierre Laplace's treatise on celestial mechanics;
The Con...
socialist realism
Officially approved type of art in the former USSR and other communist countries. The creation of artworks came under the communist doctrine that all material goods, and the means of producing them, were the collective property of the community. Art was to be produced solely for the education and inspiration of the people. Optimistic images of work...
sound synthesis
The generation of sound (usually music) by electronic synthesizer
software
In computing, a collection of programs and procedures for making a computer perform a specific task, as opposed to hardware, the physical components of a computer system. Software is created by programmers and is either distributed on a suitable medium, such as CD-ROM, or built into the computer ...
sole
Flatfish found in temperate and tropical waters. The common sole Solea solea, also called Dover sole, is found in the southern seas of northwestern Europe. Up to 50 cm/20 in long, it is a prized food fish, as is the sand or French sole Pegusa lascaris further south
sociobiology
Study of the biological basis of all social behaviour, including the application of population genetics to the evolution of behaviour. It builds on the concept of inclusive fitness, contained in the notion of the `selfish gene`. Contrary to some popular interpretations, it does not assume that all behaviour is genetically determined
social behaviour
In zoology, behaviour concerned with altering the behaviour of other individuals of the same species. Social behaviour allows animals to live harmoniously in groups by establishing hierarchies of dominance to discourage disabling fighting. It may be aggressive or submissive (for example, cowering and other signals of appeasement), or designed to es...
soil creep
Gradual movement of soil down a slope in response to gravity. This eventually results in a mass downward movement of soil on the slope. Evidence of soil creep includes the formation of terracettes (steplike ridges along the hillside), leaning walls and telegraph poles, and trees that grow in a curve to counteract progressive leaning
soil
Click images to enlargeLoose covering of broken rocky material and decaying organic matter overlying the bedrock of the Earth's surface. It is composed of minerals (formed from physical weathering and chemical weathering of rocks), organic matter (called humus) derived from decomposed plants and organisms, living orga...
softwood
Any coniferous tree (see conifer), or the wood from it. In general this type of wood is softer and easier to work, but in some cases less durable, than wood from flowering (or angiosperm) trees
Soutine, Chaïm
Lithuanian-born French painter. The greatest of the French expressionists, he used brilliant colours and thick, energetically applied paint to create intense, emotionally charged works, mostly landscapes and portraits. Page Boy (1927; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York) is typical. Born in Smilovitchi, Lithu...
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
Collective military defence system 1954–77 established by Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the UK, and the USA to protect Southeast Asia from the spread of communism. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos were given military protection as protocol states, but were not members. SEATO was phased out after the Vietnam Wa...
South Georgia
Island in the South Atlantic, a British crown colony administered, with the South Sandwich Islands, from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner; area 3,757 sq km/1,450 sq mi. The average temperature on the island is -2°C/28.4°F. There has been no permanent population since the whaling station was abandoned in 1966. South G...
South Yorkshire
Metropolitan county of northeast England, created in 1974; in 1986, most of the functions of the former county council were transferred to the metropolitan borough councils. Area 1,560 sq km/602 sq mi Towns Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield (all administrative centres for the district...
South Shields
Manufacturing port in Tyne and Wear, northeast England, on the south side of the Tyne estuary opposite North Shields and east of Gateshead; population (2001) 81,600. Shipbuilding has declined and industries now include electrical goods, cables, chemicals, and paint
Southend
(town) Seaside resort and administrative centre of Southend unitary authority in southeastern England, on the Thames estuary, 60 km/37 mi east of London; population (2001) 160,250. Southend is the closest seaside resort to London and as such attracts nearly 3 million visitors a year...
Southampton
Industrial seaport and administrative centre of Southampton City unitary authority in southern England, at the head of Southampton Water, 128 km/80 mi southwest of London; population (2001) 234,200. Industries include marine engineering, chemicals, plastics, flour milling, and tobacco. It is ...
South Glamorgan
Former county of south Wales, 1974–96, now divided between Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan unitary authorities
Southey, Robert
English poet and author. He is sometimes regarded as one of the `Lake poets`, more because of his friendship with English poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth and residence in Keswick, in the English Lake District, than for any influence of Romanticism in his work. In 1813 he became poet laureate, but he is better known fo...
South Dakota
Click images to enlargeState in north-central USA, a Great Plains state, bordered to the north by North Dakota, to the west by Montana and Wyoming, to the south by Nebraska, and to the east by Minnesota and Iowa; area 196,541 sq km/75,885 sq mi; population (2006) 781,900; capital Pierre. South Dakota w...
South America
Click images to enlargeFourth largest of the continents, nearly twice as large as Europe (13% of the world's land surface), extending south from Central America. Area 17,864,000 sq km/6,897,000 sq mi Largest cities (population over 3.5 million) Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá, Santiag...
SOS
Internationally recognized distress signal, using letters of the Morse code (... – – – ...)
Sound, the
See Øresund
South African Wars
Two wars between the Boers (settlers of Dutch origin) and the British; essentially fought for the gold and diamonds of the Transvaal. The War of 1881 was triggered by the attempt of the Boers of the Transvaal to reassert the independence surrendered in 1877 in return for British aid against Afric...
solenodon
Rare insectivorous shrewlike mammal, genus Solenodon. There are two species, one each on Cuba and Hispaniola. They are about 30 cm/12 in long with a 25 cm/10 in naked tail, shaggy hair, long, pointed snouts, and strong claws, and they produce venomous saliva. They are slow-moving, come out mostly at night, and eat ins...
Sorel, Georges Eugène
French philosopher who believed that socialism could only come about through a general strike; his theory of the need for a `myth` to sway the body of the people was used by fascists
Sopwith, Thomas Octave Murdoch
English designer of the Sopwith Camel biplane, used in World War I, and joint developer of the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane used in World War II. He was knighted in 1953
sophist
In ancient Greece, one of a group of 5th-century BC itinerant lecturers on culture, rhetoric, and politics. Sceptical about the possibility of achieving genuine knowledge, they applied bogus reasoning and were concerned with winning arguments rather than establishing the truth. Plato regarded them as dishonest and sophistry came to mean fallaci...
Sophia, Electress of Hanover
Twelfth child of Frederick V, elector palatine of the Rhine and king of Bohemia, and Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England. She married the elector of Hannover in 1658. Widowed in 1698, she was recognized in the succession to the English throne in 1701, and when Queen Anne died without issue in 1714, her son George I founded the Hanoverian dyna...
sonnet
Genre of 14-line poem of Italian origin introduced to England by English poet Thomas Wyatt in the form used by Italian poet Petrarch and followed by English poets John Milton and William Wordsworth; English playwright and poet William Shakespeare wrote 14-line sonnets consisting of three groups of four lines (quatrains) and two final rh...
Sorbonne
Common name for the University of Paris, originally a theological institute founded 1253 by Robert de Sorbon, chaplain to Louis IX. Richelieu ordered the reconstruction of the buildings in 1626, which were again rebuilt 1885. In 1808, the Sorbonne became the seat of the Académie of Paris and of the University of Paris. It is the most prestigio...
song
A setting of words to music for one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment. Song may be sacred, for example a psalm, motet, or cantata, or secular, for example a folk song or ballad. In verse song, the text changes in mood while the music remains the same; in lied and other forms of art song, the music changes in response t...
Somaliland
Region of Somali-speaking peoples situated in eastern Africa between the Gulf of Aden to the north, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. It includes the former regions of British Somaliland (established 1887), Italian Somaliland (established 1889–90), and French Somaliland (established 1888). British and Italian Somaliland became indepen...
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander Isayevich
Russian novelist. He became a US citizen in 1974. He was in prison and exile 1945–57 for anti-Stalinist comments. Much of his writing is semi-autobiographical and highly critical of the system of Russian dictator Joseph Stalin, including One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962), which deals with the labour camps...
sol-fa
In music, abbreviation for tonic sol-fa, a method of teaching music, usually singing, systematized by John Curwen (1816–1880)
Solway Firth
Inlet of the Irish Sea, formed by the estuaries of the rivers Eden and Esk, at the western end of the border between England and Scotland, separating Cumbria in England from Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. Solway Firth is in part the estuary of the River Esk, and in part an inlet of the Irish Sea
Solti, Georg
Hungarian-born British conductor. He was music director at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London 1961–71, and director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra 1969–91. He was also principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra 1979–83. He made more than 250 recordings, including 45 operas, throughout his recording care...
Solomon
In the Old Testament, third king of Israel, son of David by Bathsheba. During a peaceful reign, he was famed for his wisdom and his alliances with Egypt and Phoenicia. The much later biblical Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs are attributed to him. He built the temple in Jerusalem with the aid of heavy taxation and forced labour, resulting ...
Solicitor General
In the UK, a law officer of the crown, deputy to the Attorney General, a political appointee with ministerial rank. In the USA, the second-ranking member of the US Department of Justice, charged with representing the federal government before the US Supreme Court, and any other courts, and who must approve any appeal the federal government migh...
solicitor
In the UK, a member of one of the two branches of the English legal profession, the other being a barrister. A solicitor is a lawyer who provides all-round legal services (making wills, winding up estates, conveyancing, divorce, and litigation). A solicitor cannot appear at High Court level, but must brief a barrister on behalf of his or her cl...
Solferino, Battle of
Napoleon III's victory over the Austrians 1859 at a village near Verona, northern Italy, 8 km/5 mi south of Lake Garda
Solent, the
Channel between the coast of Hampshire, southern England, and the Isle of Wight. It is a yachting centre
Sodom and Gomorrah
Two ancient cities in the Dead Sea area of the Middle East, recorded in the Old Testament (Genesis) as being destroyed by fire and brimstone for their wickedness
Sofia
Capital of Bulgaria since 1878; population (2001) 1,096,400. Industries include textiles, rubber, machinery, and electrical equipment. It lies at the foot of the Vitosha Mountains. History Sofia was of great importance in Roman times, when it was known as Serdica, especially under the emperor Constantine in the 4th century AD. As part of the By...
Socratic method
Method of teaching used by Socrates, in which he aimed to guide pupils to clear thinking on ethics and politics by asking questions and then exposing their inconsistencies in cross-examination. This method was effective against the sophists
Socrates
Athenian philosopher. He wrote nothing but was immortalized in the dialogues of his pupil Plato. In his desire to combat the scepticism of the sophists, Socrates asserted the possibility of genuine knowledge. In ethics, he put forward the view that the good person never knowingly does wrong. True knowledge emerges through dialogue and systematic qu...
Society Islands
Archipelago in French Polynesia, divided into the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands; area 1,685 sq km/650 sq mi; population (1995 est) 178,000. The administrative headquarters is Papeete on Tahiti. The Windward Islands (French Iles du Vent) have an area of 1,200 sq km/460 sq mi...
socialism
Movement aiming to establish a classless society by substituting public for private ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. The term has been used to describe positions as widely apart as anarchism and social democracy. Socialist ideas appeared in classical times, in early Christianity, among later Christian sects such as ...
Socinianism
17th-century Christian belief that rejects such traditional doctrines as the Trinity and original sin, named after Socinus, the Latinized name of Lelio Francesco Maria Sozzini (1525–1562), Italian Protestant theologian. It is an early form of Unitarianism. His views on the nature of Christ were developed by his nephew Fausto Paolo Sozzini ...
Social Democratic Party
British centrist political party 1981–90, formed by members of Parliament who resigned from the Labour Party. The 1983 and 1987 general elections were fought in alliance with the Liberal Party as the Liberal/SDP Alliance. A merger of the two parties was voted for by the SDP in 1987, and the new party became the Social and Liberal Democrats...
Sobieski, John
Alternative name for John III, king of Poland
social contract
The idea that government authority derives originally from an agreement between ruler and ruled in which the former agrees to provide order in return for obedience from the latter. It has been used to support both absolutism (Thomas Hobbes) and democracy (John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
Soares, Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes
Portuguese socialist politician, president 1986–96. Exiled in 1970, he returned to Portugal in 1974, and, as leader of the Portuguese Socialist Party, was prime minister 1976–78. He resigned as party leader in 1980, but in 1986 he was elected Portugal's first socialist president
sorus
In ferns, a group of sporangia, the reproductive structures that produce spores. They occur on the lower surface of fern fronds
social mobility
Movement of groups and individuals up and down the social scale in a classed society. The extent or range of social mobility varies in different societies. Individual social mobility may occur through education, marriage, talent, and so on; group mobility usually occurs through change in the occupational structure caused by new technological or...
socialization
Process, beginning in childhood, by which a person becomes a member of a society, learning its norms, customs, laws, and ways of living. The main agents of socialization are the family, school, peer groups, work, religion, and the mass media. The main methods of socialization are direct instruction, rewards and punishment, imitation, experimentatio...
sociology
Systematic study of the origin and constitution of human society, in particular of social order and social change, social conflict and social problems. It studies institutions such as the family, law, and the church, as well as concepts such as norm, role, and culture. Sociology attempts to study people in their social environment according to cert...
soundtrack
Band at one side of a movie film on which the accompanying sound is recorded. Usually it takes the form of an optical track (a pattern of light and shade). The pattern is produced on the film when signals from the recording microphone are made to vary the intensity of a light beam. During playback, a light is shone through the track on to a photoce...
sound barrier
Concept that the speed of sound, or sonic speed (about 1,220 kph/760 mph at sea level), constitutes a speed limit to flight through the atmosphere, since a badly designed aircraft suffers severe buffeting at near sonic speed owing to the formation of shock waves. US test pilot Chuck Yeager first ...
sonic boom
Noise like a thunderclap that is heard when an aircraft passes overhead faster than the speed of sound. It happens as the cone-shaped shock wave caused by the plane moves over the ground
soil mechanics
Branch of engineering that studies the responses of soils with different water and air contents, to loads. Soil is investigated during construction work to ensure that it has the mechanical properties necessary to support the foundations of dams, bridges, and roads
sovereignty
Absolute authority within a given territory. The possession of sovereignty is taken to be the distinguishing feature of the state, as against other forms of community. The term has an internal aspect, in that it refers to the ultimate source of authority within a state, such as a parliament or monarch, and an external aspect, where it denotes the i...
Soyinka, Wole
Nigerian author and dramatist who founded a national theatre in Nigeria. His plays explore Yoruba myth, ritual, and culture, and later challenged his country's government. He was the first African to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1986. He published a memoir, You Must Set Forth at Dawn, in 2006. His plays inclu...
South Australia
Click images to enlargeState of south-central Australia, including Kangaroo Island and other islands in the Indian Ocean; bounded on the northeast by Queensland, on the east by New South Wales, on the southeast by Victoria, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the west by Western Australia; area 984,381 sq...
Somerset
(county) County of southwest England. Area 3,460 sq km/1,336 sq mi Towns Taunton (administrative headquarters); Bridgwater, Frome, Glastonbury, Wells, Yeovil; Burnham-on-Sea, Minehead (coastal resorts) Physical riv...
Solon
Athenian statesman. As one of the chief magistrates about 594 BC, he carried out the cancellation of all debts from which land or liberty was the security and the revision of the constitution that laid the foundations of Athenian democracy. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece
solar energy
Energy derived from the light and heat from the Sun. The amount of energy falling on just 1 sq km/0.4 sq mi is about 4,000 megawatts, enough to heat and light a small town. Solar heaters usually consist of concave mirrors or reflective parabolic surfaces that concentrate the Sun's rays onto a black (heat-absorbing) panel containing pipe...
Soane, John
English architect. His refined neoclassical designs anticipated contemporary taste. Soane was a master of the established conventions of classical architecture, he also developed a highly individual style based on an elegantly mannered interpretation of neoclassicism. He designed his own house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London (1812–13), now...
sound
Physiological sensation received by the ear, originating in a vibration causing sound waves. The sound waves are pressure variations in the air and travel in every direction, spreading out as an expanding sphere. Sound energy cannot travel in a vacuum. All sound waves in air travel with a speed depen...
solar wind
Stream of atomic particles, mostly protons and electrons, from the Sun's corona, flowing outwards at speeds of between 300 kps/200 mps and 1,000 kps/600 mps. The fastest streams come from `holes` in the Sun's corona that lie over areas where no surface activity occurs. The solar wind pushes the gas of comets' tails awa...
Solar System
Click images to enlargeSun (a star) and all the bodies orbiting it: the eight planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), their moons, and smaller objects such as asteroids and comets. The Sun contains 99.86% of the mass of the Solar System. The planets orbit the Sun in elliptical ...
sorrel
Any of several plants belonging to the buckwheat family. R. acetosa is grown for its bitter salad leaves. Dock plants are of the same genus. (Genus Rumex, family Polygonaceae.)
