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 Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630


Sverdlovsk
Former name (1924–91) of the Russian town of Yekaterinburg

Svalbard
Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean; population (1995) 2,900 (41% being Norwegian). The main island is Spitsbergen, which includes the largest town, Longyearbyen; other islands include Edgeøya, Barentsøya, Svenskøya, Nordaustlandet, Prins Karls Foreland, Wilhelmøya, Lågøya, Storøya, Danskøya...

Svedberg, Theodor
Swedish chemist. In 1923 he constructed the first ultracentrifuge, a machine that allowed the rapid separation of particles by mass. This can reveal the presence of contaminants in a sample of a new protein, or distinguish between various long-chain polymers. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1926 for his investigation of disperse...

SVGA
In computing, a graphic display standard providing higher resolution than VGA. SVGA screens have resolutions of either 800 × 600 or 1,024 × 768 pixels

Sv
In physics, symbol for sievert, the SI unit of dose equivalent of ionizing radiation, equal to the dose in grays multiplied by a factor that depends mainly on the type of radiation and its effects

Swift, Jonathan
Click images to enlargeIrish satirist and Anglican cleric. His best-known work is Gulliver's Travels (1726), an allegory (symbolic story with meaning beyond its literal sense) describing travel to lands inhabited by giants, miniature people, and intelligent horses. His satirical talents are evid...

Swedenborg, Emanuel
Swedish mystic and scientist. In Divine Love and Wisdom (1763), he concluded that the Last Judgement had taken place in 1757, and that the New Church, of which he was the prophet, had now been inaugurated. His writings are the scriptures of the sect popularly known as Swedenborgians, and his works are kept in circulation by the S...

swastika
Cross in which the bars are extended at right angles in the same clockwise or anticlockwise direction. Its origin is uncertain, but it appears frequently as an ancient good luck and religious symbol in both the Old World and the New. In Hinduism it is a symbol of good luck and goodness. In this religion it originates from a symbol for the sun, and ...

Swansea
(city) Port and administrative centre of Swansea unitary authority, south Wales, at the mouth of the River Tawe 70 km/43 mi west of Cardiff; population (2001) city 169,900; urban area 270,500. It is the second-largest city in Wales. It has oil refineries, chemicals, metallurgic...

Swabia
Historic region of southwestern Germany, an independent duchy in the Middle Ages. It includes Augsburg and Ulm and forms part of the Länder (states) of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and Hessen

Swiss cheese plant
Common name for monstera, a plant belonging to the arum family

Swan, Joseph Wilson
English physicist and chemist who produced the incandescent-filament electric lamp and invented bromide paper for use in developing photographs. He was knighted in 1904. Other inventions Swan took out more than 70 patents. He made a miner's electric safety lamp which was the ancestor of the modern miner's lamp. In the course of this inv...

sweet william
Biennial to perennial plant belonging to the pink family, native to southern Europe. It is grown for its fragrant red, white, and pink flowers. (Dianthus barbatus, family Caryophyllaceae.)

sweet potato
Tropical American plant belonging to the morning-glory family; the white-orange tuberous root is used as a source of starch and alcohol and eaten as a vegetable. (Ipomoea batatas, family Convolvulaceae.)

swede
Annual or biennial plant widely cultivated for its edible root, which is purple, white, or yellow. It is similar in taste to the turnip but is of greater food value, firmer fleshed, and can be stored for a longer time. (Brassica napus, family Cruciferae.)

sweet pea
Plant belonging to the pea family

swing music
Jazz style popular in the 1930s–40s. A big-band dance music, it relied on fixed arrangements, rather than improvisation. It used a simple harmonic base of varying tempo from the rhythm section (percussion, guitar, piano), harmonic brass and woodwind sections (sometimes strings), and a superimposed solo melodic line from, for example, trump...

swordfish
Marine bony fish Xiphias gladius, the only member of its family (Xiphiidae), characterized by a long swordlike beak protruding from the upper jaw. It may reach 4.5 m/15 ft in length and weigh 450 kg/1,000 lb

swan
Large water bird, with a long slender neck and webbed feet, closely related to ducks and geese. The four species of swan found in the northern hemisphere are white; the three species found in the southern hemisphere are all or partly black. The male (cob) and female (pen) are similar in appearanc...

swallow
Any bird of the family Hirundinidae of small, insect-eating birds in the order Passeriformes, with long, narrow wings, and deeply forked tails. Swallows feed while flying, capturing winged insects in the mouth, which is lined with bristles made viscid (sticky) by a salivary secretion

swamp
Region of low-lying land that is permanently saturated with water and usually overgrown with vegetation; for example, the everglades of Florida, USA. A swamp often occurs where a lake has filled up with sediment and plant material. The flat surface so formed means that run-off is slow, and the water table is always close to the surface....

swift
Fast-flying, short-legged bird of the family Apodidae, order Apodiformes, of which there are about 75 species, found largely in the tropics. They are 9–23 cm/4–11 in long, with brown or grey plumage, long, pointed wings, and usually a forked tail. They are capable of flying at 110 kph/70 mph. The nests of the grey-rump...

swim bladder
Thin-walled, air-filled sac found between the gut and the spine in bony fishes. Air enters the bladder from the gut or from surrounding capillaries (see capillary), and changes of air pressure within the bladder maintain buoyancy whatever the water depth. In evolutionary terms, the swim bladder of higher fishes is a derivative of the lungs ...

sweat gland
Gland within the skin of mammals that produces surface perspiration. In primates, sweat glands are distributed over the whole body, but in most other mammals they are more localized; for example, in cats and dogs they are restricted to the feet and around the face

Swedish language
Member of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Sweden and Finland and closely related to Danish and Norwegian

swing wing
Aircraft wing that can be moved during flight to provide a suitable configuration for either low-speed or high-speed flight. The British engineer Barnes Wallis developed the idea of the swing wing, first used on the US-built Northrop X-4, and since used in several aircraft, including the US F-111, F-114, and the B-1, the...

Swinburne, Algernon Charles
English poet. He attracted attention with the choruses of his Greek-style tragedy Atalanta in Calydon (1865), but he and Rossetti were attacked in 1871 as leaders of `the fleshly school of poetry`, and the revolutionary politics of Songs before Sunrise (1871) alienated others. His verse is notable...

Swindon
Town and administrative headquarters of Swindon unitary authority in southwest England, 124 km/77 mi west of London; population (2001) 155,400; it was part of the county of Wiltshire until 1997. The site of a major railway engineering works 1841–1986 on the Great Western Railway, the town has diversified since 1950 into such indust...

Swithun, St
English priest, chancellor of King Ethelwolf and bishop of Winchester from 852. According to legend, the weather on his feast day (15 July) determines the weather for the next 40 days

SWAPO
Organization formed 1959 in South West Africa (now Namibia) to oppose South African rule. SWAPO guerrillas, led by Sam Nujoma, began attacking with support from Angola. In 1966 SWAPO was recognized by the United Nations as the legitimate government of Namibia, and won the first independent election in 1989

Swaziland
Country in southeast Africa, bounded east by Mozambique and southeast, south, west, and north by South Africa. Government Swaziland is a monarchy within the Commonwealth. Under the 1978 constitution, amended in 1992, the monarch is head of both state and government, and chooses the prime minister and cabinet. There is a two-chamber legislature,...

Sweden
Click images to enlargeCountry in northern Europe, bounded west by Norway, northeast by Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, southeast by the Baltic Sea, and southwest by the Kattegat strait. Government Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, with a multiparty parliamentary executive. Its formal head of state is the hereditary m...

Switzerland
Landlocked country in Western Europe, bounded north by Germany, east by Austria and Liechtenstein, south by Italy, and west by France. Government Switzerland is a federation of 20 cantons and six half-cantons (canton is the name for a political division, derived from Old French), with a multipart...

Swazi kingdom
South African kingdom, established by Sobhuza I (died 1839), and named after his successor Mswati (ruled 1840–68), who did much to unify the country

sweatshop
Workshop or factory where employees work long hours under substandard conditions for low wages. Exploitation of labour in this way is associated with unscrupulous employers, who often employ illegal immigrants or children in their labour force

swimming
Self-propulsion of the body through water. There are four strokes in competitive swimming: freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly. Distances of races vary between 50 and 1,500 metres. Olympic-size pools are 50 m/55 yd long and have eight lanes. History Swimming has been known since ancient times, in the training of Greek...

swami
Title of respect for a Hindu teacher

Swahili
Language belonging to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family, widely used in east and central Africa. Swahili originated on the East African coast as a lingua franca used among traders, and contains many Arabic loan words. It is an official language in Kenya and Tanzania. The name Swahili is also used for the group of Afr...

Swazi
Member of the majority Bantu group of people in Swaziland. The Swazi are primarily engaged in cultivating and raising livestock, but many work in industries in South Africa. The Swazi language belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family. Until the end of the 19th century, the Swazi, und...

swimming, synchronized
Aquatic sport that demands artistry as opposed to speed. Competitors, either individual (solo) or in pairs, perform rhythmic routines to music. Points are awarded for interpretation and style. It was introduced into the Olympic swimming programme in 1984

Swanson, Gloria
US actor. A star of silent films, she became the epitome of glamour during the 1920s. She retired in 1932 but made several major comebacks. Her work includes Sadie Thompson (1928), Queen Kelly (1928; unfinished), and Sunset Boulevard (1950)

switch
Device used to turn electrical systems on and off, usually by closing or opening a circuit, or to change the route of a particular current. For example, switches are used to turn a light on or off, to select a channel on a television set, or to set the cooking time on an electric oven. There are many different types of switches. The flick of a swit...

Swansea
(authority) Unitary authority in south Wales, created in 1996 from part of the former county of West Glamorgan. Area 377 sq km/146 sq mi Towns Swansea (administrative headquarters) Physical River Tawe; highest point Penlle'...

Swindon
(authority) Unitary authority in southwest England, created in 1997 from the former district council of Thamesdown. Area 230 sq km/89 sq mi Towns and cities Swindon (administrative headquarters); villages of Stanton, Fitzwarre...

Swindells, Robert
English novelist. Swindells has written around 30 novels for children and young adults, one of his most widely read being Brother in the Land (1985). Favourite themes include mystery, fantasy, and the supernatural; titles include The Ice Palace (1992), Hydra (1993), Inside the Wo...

SXGA
Computer colour display system, providing true colour (24-bit colour depth, giving over 16 million shades) at a resolution of 1280 × 1024. A widescreen format, SXGA+, provides 1400 × 1050 pixels. Display formats are extending to even higher resolutions; Ultra XGA (UXGA) at a resolution of 1600 × 1200, and Quad XGA (QXGA) ...

synagogue
Click images to enlargeIn Judaism, a place of worship, study, and gathering; in the USA a synagogue is also called a temple by the non-Orthodox. As an institution it dates from the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70, though it had been developing from the time of the Babylonian exile as a substitute f...

Symbolism
(art) In the arts, the use of symbols to concentrate or intensify meaning, making the work more subjective than objective. In the visual arts, symbols have been used in works throughout the ages to transmit a message or idea, for example, the religious symbolism of ancient Egyptian art, Gothic...

symbol
(general) In general, something that stands for something else. A symbol may be an aesthetic device or a sign used to convey information visually, thus saving time, eliminating language barriers, or overcoming illiteracy. Symbols are used in art, mathematics, music, and literature; for pra...

Sydney
Click images to enlargePrincipal port and largest city of Australia and capital of the state of New South Wales; population (2001 est) 3,997,300. Founded in 1788, Sydney is situated on Port Jackson inlet on the southeast coast of Australia, and is built on hills around a number of bays and inlets that form an impressi...

syenite
Grey, crystalline, plutonic (intrusive) igneous rock, consisting of feldspar and hornblende; other minerals may also be present, including small amounts of quartz

syncopation
In music, the rhythmic effect of moving the accent on to a beat that is normally unaccented

symbiosis
Click images to enlargeAny close relationship between two organisms of different species, and one where both partners benefit from the association. A well-known example is the pollination relationship between insects and flowers, where the insects feed on nectar and carry pollen from one flower to another. This is som...

syringa
Common, but not technically accurate, name for the mock orange. The genus Syringa includes lilacs, and is not related to the mock orange

synapse
Junction between two nerve cells, or between a nerve cell and a muscle (a neuromuscular junction), across which a nerve impulse is transmitted. The two cells are separated by a narrow gap called the synaptic cleft. The gap is bridged by a chemical neurotransmitter, released by the nerve impulse. The ...

sycamore
Click images to enlargeDeciduous tree native to Europe. The leaves are five-lobed, and the hanging clusters of flowers are followed by winged fruits. The timber is used for furniture making. (Acer pseudoplatanus.)

syphilis
Sexually transmitted disease caused by the spiral-shaped bacterium (spirochete) Treponema pallidum. Untreated, it runs its course in three stages over many years, often starting with a painless hard sore, or chancre, developing within a month on the area of infection (usually the genitals). The second stage, months later, is ...

symphony
Most important form of composition for the orchestra. It usually consists of four separate but closely related movements, although early works often have three. It developed from the smaller sonata form, the Italian overture, and the concerto grosso. Haydn established the mature form of the symphony, written in slow, minuet, and allegro movements. ...

systems design
In computing, the detailed design of an applications package. The designer breaks the system down into component programs, and designs the required input forms, screen layouts, and printouts. Systems design forms a link between systems analysis and programming. Systems are a series of blocks fitted together in a logical sequence. All systems have a...

systems analysis
In computing, the investigation of a business activity or clerical procedure, with a view to deciding if and how it can be computerized. The analyst discusses the existing procedures with the people involved, observes the flow of data through the business, and draws up an outline specification of the required computer system. The next step is syste...

syncline
Geological term for a fold in the rocks of the Earth's crust in which the layers or beds dip inwards, thus forming a trough-like structure with a sag in the middle. The opposite structure, with the beds arching upwards, is an anticline

synovial fluid
Viscous colourless fluid that bathes movable joints between the bones of vertebrates. It nourishes and lubricates the cartilage at the end of each bone. Synovial fluid is secreted by a membrane, the synovium, that links movably jointed bones. The same kind of fluid is found in bursae, the membranous sacs that buffer some joints, such as in the shou...

syllogism
Set of philosophical statements devised by Aristotle in his work on logic. It establishes the conditions under which a valid conclusion follows or does not follow by deduction from given premises. The following is an example of a valid syllogism: `All men are mortal, Socrates is a man, therefore Socrates is mortal.`

synthetic
(material) Any material made from chemicals. Since the 1900s, more and more of the materials used in everyday life are synthetics, including plastics (polythene, polystyrene), synthetic fibres (nylon, acrylics, polyesters), synthetic resins, and synthetic rubber. Most naturally occurring organ...

synthetic fibre
Fibre made by chemical processes, unknown in nature. There are two kinds. One, a regenerated synthetic fibre, is made from natural materials that have been chemically processed in some way; rayon, for example, is made by processing the cellulose in wood pulp. The other type is the true synthetic fibre, made entirely from chemicals. Nylon was th...

Syriac language
Ancient Semitic language, originally the Aramaic dialect spoken in and around Edessa (now in Turkey) and widely used in western Asia from about 700 BC to AD 700. From the 3rd to 7th centuries it was a Christian liturgical and literary language

synonymy
Near or identical meaning between or among words. There are very few strict synonyms in any language, although there may be many near-synonyms, depending upon the contexts in which the words are used. Thus brotherly and fraternal are synonyms in English, but a brotherhood is not the same ...

Syracuse
(Sicily) Industrial port (chemicals, salt) in eastern Sicily; population (1992) 126,800. It has a cathedral and remains of temples, aqueducts, catacombs, and an amphitheatre. Founded 734 BC by the Corinthians, it became a centre of Greek culture under the elder and younger Dionysius. After...

syndicalism
Political movement in 19th-century Europe that rejected parliamentary activity in favour of direct action, culminating in a revolutionary general strike to secure worker ownership and control of industry. After 1918 syndicalism was absorbed in communism, although it continued to have an independent existence in Spain until the late 1930s. The i...

synergy
(architecture) In architecture, the augmented strength of systems, where the strength of a wall is greater than the added total of its individual units

symphonic poem
In music, a term originated by Franz Liszt for his 13 one-movement orchestral works that interpret a story from literature or history, also used by many other composers. Richard Strauss preferred the term `tone poem`

Syria
Country in western Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea, bounded to the north by Turkey, east by Iraq, south by Jordan, and southwest by Israel and Lebanon. Government The 1973 constitution provides for a president, elected by universal adult suffrage for a seven-year term, who appoints and governs with the help of a prime minister and a council of m...

symptom
Any change or manifestation in the body suggestive of disease as perceived by the sufferer. Symptoms are subjective phenomena. In strict usage, symptoms are events or changes reported by the patient; signs are noted by the doctor during the patient's examination

syndrome
In medicine, a set of signs and symptoms that always occur together, thus characterizing a particular condition or disorder

systemic
In medicine, relating to or affecting the body as a whole. A systemic disease is one where the effects are present throughout the body, as opposed to local disease, such as conjunctivitis, which is confined to one part

Symbolism
(poetry) Late 19th-century movement in French poetry, which inspired a similar trend in French painting. The Symbolist poets used words for their symbolic rather than concrete meaning. Leading exponents were Paul Verlaine, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Arthur Rimbaud

Sydenham, Thomas
English physician, the first person to describe measles and to recommend the use of quinine for relieving symptoms of malaria. His original reputation as the `English Hippocrates` rested upon his belief that careful observation is more useful than speculation. His Observationes medicae was published in 1676

Synge, Richard Laurence Millington
British biochemist who improved paper chromatography (a means of separating mixtures) to the point where individual amino acids could be identified. He shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1952 with his colleague Archer Martin for the development in 1944 of the technique known as partition chromatography. Martin and Synge worked together at Camb...

System X
In communications, a modular, computer-controlled, digital switching system used in telephone exchanges

synthesis
In chemistry, the formation of a substance or compound from more elementary compounds. The synthesis of a drug can involve several stages from the initial material to the final product; the complexity of these stages is a major factor in the cost of production

synergy
(medicine) In medicine, the `cooperative` action of two or more drugs, muscles, or organs; applied especially to drugs whose combined action is more powerful than their simple effects added together

symbol, chemical
Letter or letters used to represent a chemical element, usually derived from the beginning of its English or Latin name. Symbols derived from English include B, boron; C, carbon; Ba, barium; and Ca, calcium. Those derived from Latin include Pb, lead (Latin plumbum) and Au, gold (Latin aurum)

synchrotron
Particle accelerator in which particles move, at increasing speed, around a hollow ring. The particles are guided around the ring by electromagnets, and accelerated by electric fields at points around the ring. Synchrotrons come in a wide range of sizes, the smallest being about 1 m/3.3 ft across while the largest, the Large Hadron Collider, is...

systems program
In computing, a program that performs a task related to the operation and performance of the computer system itself. For example, a systems program might control the operation of the display screen, or control and organize backing storage. In contrast, an applications program is designed to carry out tasks for the benefit of the computer user

symmetry
Exact likeness in shape about a given line (axis), point, or plane. A figure has symmetry if one half can be rotated and/or reflected onto the other. (Symmetry preserves length, angle, but not necessarily orientation.) In a wider sense, symmetry exists if a change in the system leaves the essential features of the system unchanged; for exam...

syllable
Unit of pronunciation within a word, or as a monosyllabic word, made by a vowel or a combination of vowels and consonants. For example, the word `competition` contains four syllables: `com/pe/ti/tion`

syntax
Structure of language; the ways in which words are ordered and combined to convey meaning. Syntax applies principally to grammar, and a grammatically correct sentence is also syntactically correct, but syntax also involves the order of the words in the sentence

synchronized swimming
See swimming, synchronized

synaesthesia
The experience of one sense as a result of the stimulation of a different sense; for example, an experience of colour may result from hearing a sound. Approximately 1 in 2,000 have the condition, and the majority are female. The commonest form of synaesthesia is experiencing words as colours. Some synaesthesics experience sounds as colours or s...

synthesizer
Electronic musical device for the simulation of vocal or instrumental timbre (tone quality). The pipe organ was the first major synthesizer, and allowed a mixture of timbres at the unison or harmonic intervals. Modern electrical synthesizers date from 1904 and the Telharmonium of US inventor Thaddeus Cahill, which used a tone wheel (a programmable ...

synthetism
Approach to painting that integrates and simplifies a remembered visual impression in order to reproduce it. Synthetism was an approach to painting favoured by Paul Gauguin and his associates in the 1890s, who believed that art should be painted from memory rather than directly from life. The style uses flat areas of colour, outlined with black lin...

synthesis
(literature) In literary plots, the resolving and satisfying of an often complicated pattern of characters and relationships. Synthesis often involves a balancing of the plot, where characters come together and no character is left outside the final union, as in the marriages that conclude Jan...

Synoptic Gospels
In the New Testament, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, so called because they give roughly the same `synopsis` of Jesus' life

Szechwan
Alternative spelling for the central Chinese province of Sichuan

tamarisk
Any of a group of small trees or shrubs that flourish in warm, salty, desert regions of Europe and Asia where no other vegetation is found. The common tamarisk T. gallica, which grows in European coastal areas, has small, scalelike leaves on feathery branches and produces spikes of small pink flowers. (Genus Tamarix
tamarind
Evergreen tropical tree native to the Old World, with pinnate leaves (leaflets either side of the stem) and reddish-yellow flowers, followed by pods. The pulp surrounding the seeds is used in medicine and as a flavouring. (Tamarindus indica, family Leguminosae.)

Tay–Sachs disease
Inherited disorder, due to a defective gene, causing an enzyme deficiency that leads to blindness, retardation, and death in infancy. It is most common in people of Eastern European Jewish descent

Taylor, A(lan) J(ohn) P(ercivale)
English historian and television lecturer. His books include The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848–1918 (1954), The Origins of the Second World War (1961), and English History 1914–1945 (1965)

Taverner, John
English organist and composer. He wrote Masses and motets in polyphonic style, showing great contrapuntal skill, but as a Protestant renounced his art. He was imprisoned in 1528 for heresy, and, as an agent of Thomas Cromwell, assisted in the dissolution (closure) of the monasteries

Tavener, John Kenneth
English composer. He has written austere vocal works, including the dramatic cantata The Whale (1968) and the opera Thérèse (1979). The Protecting Veil, composed in 1987 for cello and strings alone, became a best-selling classical recording. Other works include Vleponda...