Britannica Concise 2005

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§> 2002 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Spain became a republic in 1931. The Span¬ ish Civil War (1936-39) ended in victory for the Nationalists under Gen. Francisco Franco, who ruled as a dictator until his death in 1975. His successor as head of

state, Juan Carlos I, restored the monarchy with his accession to the throne; a new constitution in 1978 established a constitutional monarchy. Spain joined NATO in 1982 and the European Community in 1986. The 1992 quin- centennial of Christopher Columbus’s first voyage from Spain to the Ameri¬ cas was marked by a fair in Sevilla and the staging of the Olympic Games in Barcelona. In the late 20th century and into the 21st, some Basque sepa¬ ratists continued to resort to violence as they pressed for independence, but it was Islamic militants who were responsible for the March 11, 2004, bombings in Madrid that killed more than 200 people—the worst terrorist incident in Europe since World War II.

Spalatin Vspa-b-tonX, Georg orig. Georg Burkhardt (b. Jan. 17, 1484, Spalt, Bavaria—d. Jan. 16, 1545, Altenburg, Saxony) German humanist. He studied at the University of Erfurt and then joined a band of humanist scholars in 1505. Ordained a priest in 1508, he was appointed tutor to the heir of Frederick the Wise, elector of Saxony. In 1511 he befriended Martin Luther at Wittenberg, and, as librarian at Frederick’s court from 1512, he influenced the elector to protect Luther during the controversy over indulgences. He championed the Reformation at the Diet of Worms (1521) and under two subsequent electors of Saxony. In 1530 he helped Philipp Melanchthon prepare the text of the Augsburg Confes¬ sion. He was also influential in forming the Schmalkaldic League in 1531. He wrote many historical works, including Annales Reformationis (1718).

Spalding, A(lbert) G(oodwill) (b. Sept. 2, 1850, Byron, Ill., U.S.—d. Sept. 9, 1915, Point Loma, Calif.) U.S. baseball player, execu¬ tive, and sporting-goods manufacturer. Spalding played with the Boston Red Stockings and later the Chicago White Stockings; he served as presi¬ dent for the latter team (1882-91). In 1876 he and his brother founded, in Chicopee, Mass., the firm that, as A.G. Spalding & Bros., would become one of the premier American sporting-goods companies. He also founded the annual Spalding’s Official Baseball Guide and wrote the his¬ tory America’s National Game (1911). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

spandrel Roughly triangular area on either side of an arch, bounded by a line running horizontally through its apex, a line rising vertically from the springing of the arch, and the exterior curve of the arch. When arches adjoin, the entire area between their crowns and springing line is a span¬ drel. If filled in, as is ordinarily the case, the result is a spandrel wall; in medieval architecture this was usually ornamented. In buildings of more than one story, the spandrel is the area between the sill of a window and

the head of the window below it. In steel or reinforced-concrete struc¬ tures, a deep spandrel beam may span across this area. The triangular area of space beneath a stair is also known as a spandrel.

spaniel Any of several breeds of dogs used to flush game. Spaniels originated in Spain, but most modem breeds were developed in Britain.

Breeds range from 14 to 20 in.

(36-51 cm) and from 22 to 55 lbs (10-25 kg). The larger breeds are called springers, the smaller ones cockers. Breeds include the cocker spaniel, a round-headed, floppy¬ eared dog; the English and Welsh springer spaniels; the American water spaniel, a curly-coated, dark brown dog; the Brittany spaniel, a short-tailed French dog and the only spaniel that points; the Clumber spaniel, a low-slung, long-bodied dog; the Irish water spaniel, a water retriever; the Japanese spaniel; and the English toy spaniel.

Spanish-American War (1898) Conflict between the U.S. and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the New World. The war originated in Cuba’s struggle for independence. The newspapers of William Randolph Hearst fanned U.S. sympathy for the rebels, which increased after the unexplained destruction of the U.S. warship Maine on Feb. 15, 1898. Congress passed resolutions declaring Cuba’s right to independence and demanding that Spain withdraw its armed forces. Spain declared war on the U.S. on April 24. Commo. George Dewey led the naval squadron that defeated the Spanish fleet in the Philippines (see Battle of Manila Bay) on May 1, and Gen. William Shafter led regular troops and volunteers (includ¬ ing future U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders) in the destruction of Spain’s Caribbean Sea fleet near Santiago, Cuba (July 17). In the Treaty of Paris (December 10), Spain renounced all claim to Cuba and ceded Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the U.S., marking the U.S.’s emergence as a world power.

Spanish Armada See Spanish Armada

Spanish Civil War (1936-39) Military revolt against the government of Spain. After the 1936 elections produced a Popular Front government supported mainly by left-wing parties, a military uprising began in gar¬ rison towns throughout Spain, led by the rebel Nationalists and supported by conservative elements in the clergy, military, and landowners as well as the fascist Falange. The ruling Republican government, led by the socialist premiers Francisco Largo Caballero and Juan Negrfn (1894- 1956) and the liberal president Manuel Azana y Diaz, was supported by workers and many in the educated middle class as well as militant anar¬ chists and communists. Government forces put down the uprising in most regions except parts of northwestern and southwestern Spain, where the Nationalists held control and named Francisco Franco head of state. Both sides repressed opposition; together, they executed or assassinated more than 50,000 suspected enemies to their respective causes. Seeking aid from abroad, the Nationalists received troops, tanks, and planes from Nazi Germany and Italy, which used Spain as a testing ground for new meth¬ ods of tank and air warfare. The Republicans (also called loyalists) were sent materiel mainly by the Soviet Union, and the volunteer International Brigades also joined the Republicans. The two sides fought fierce and bloody skirmishes in a war of attrition. The Nationalist side gradually gained territory and by April 1938 succeeded in splitting Spain from east to west, causing 250,000 Republican forces to flee into France. In March 1939 the remaining Republican forces surrendered, and Madrid, beset by civil strife between communists and anticommunists, fell to the Nation¬ alists on March 28. About 500,000 people died in the war, and all Span¬ iards were deeply scarred by the trauma. The war’s end brought a period of dictatorship that lasted until the mid-1970s.

Spanish Guinea See Equatorial Guinea

Spanish Influenza Epidemic See Influenza Epidemic of 1918-19

Spanish Inquisition See Inquisition

Spanish language Romance language spoken in Spain and in large parts of the New World. It has more than 332 million speakers, including more than 23 million in the U.S. Its earliest written materials date from the 10th century, its first literary works from c. 1150. The Castilian dialect, the

Cocker spaniel.

SALLY ANNE THOMPSON-EB INC.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1796 I Spanish Main ► spatial disorientation

source of modem standard Spanish, arose in the 9th century in north- central Spain (Old Castile) and spread to central Spain (New Castile) by the 11th century. In the late 15th century the kingdoms of Castile, Leon, and Aragon merged, and Castilian became the official language of all Spain, with Catalan and Galician (effectively a dialect of Portuguese) becoming regional languages and Aragonese and Leonese reduced to a fraction of their original speech areas. Latin American regional dialects are derived from Castilian but differ from it in phonology.

Spanish Main Northern coast of South America. The term refers to an area that was once under Spanish control and spanned roughly between the Isthmus of Panama and the delta of the Orinoco River. The term can also refer to the Caribbean Sea and adjacent waters, especially when referring to the period when the region was troubled by pirates.

Spanish Mission style See Mission style

Spanish moss Epiphyte ( Tillandsia usneoides) in the pineapple family, found in southern North America, the West Indies, and Central and South America. It often hangs in large, beardlike, silvery-gray masses from trees and other plants and even on telephone poles, but it is not parasitic or structurally intertwined with its host. It takes in carbon dioxide and rain¬ water or dew for photosynthesis through tiny, hairlike scales that cover its threadlike leaves and long, threadlike stems. It absorbs nutrients from dust and solvents in rainwater, or from decaying organic matter around its aerial roots. Stalkless yellow flowers appear rarely. Spanish moss is some¬ times used as a filler in packing boxes and upholstery, and around potted plants or floral arrangements.

Spanish Netherlands Spanish-held provinces in the southern Low Countries (roughly corresponding to modem Belgium and Luxembourg). In 1578 the diplomat Alessandro Farnese was sent to represent Spain in the Netherlands, and by 1585 he had reestablished Spanish control over the southern provinces, ending the union with the northern provinces that followed the Pacification of Ghent. In the 17th century the region saw a resurgence of economic and intellectual growth. As a buffer between Prot¬ estant and Catholic states, the region was the scene of constant warfare; areas were ceded to the Dutch Republic (1648) and France (1659). The territory began to decline in the late 17th century. Spanish control was lost after the War of the Spanish Succession, when the region passed to Emperor Charles VI and became the Austrian Netherlands.

Spanish Sahara See Western Sahara

Spanish Succession, War of the (1701-14) Conflict arising from the disputed succession to the throne of Spain after the death of the child¬ less Charles II. The Habsburg Charles had named the Bourbon Philip, duke d’Anjou, as his successor; when Philip took the Spanish throne as Philip V, his grandfather Louis XIV invaded the Spanish Netherlands. The former anti-French alliance from the War of the Grand Alliance was revived in 1701 by Britain, the Dutch Republic, and the Holy Roman emperor, who had been promised parts of the Spanish empire by earlier treaties of par¬ tition (1698, 1699). The English forces, led by the duke of Marlborough, won a series of victories over France (1704-09), including the Battle of Blenheim, which forced the French out of the Low Countries and Italy. The imperial general, Eugene of Savoy, also won notable victories. In 1711 conflicts within the alliance led to its collapse, and peace negotiations began in 1712. The war concluded with the Peace of Utrecht (1713), which marked the rise of the power of Britain at the expense of both France and Spain, and the Treaties of Rastatt and Baden (1714).

spanner See wrench

spark plug Device that fits into the cylinder head of an internal- combustion engine and carries two electrodes separated by an air gap, across which current from a high-tension ignition system discharges, creating a spark and igniting the fuel. The electrodes and the insulator separating them must withstand high temperatures, as well as an electric stress of up to several thousand volts. Spark-gap length affects the energy of the spark, and the shape of the insulator affects the temperature of operation.

Spark, Muriel (Sarah) orig. Muriel Sarah Camberg (b. Feb. 1, 1918, Edinburgh, Scot.) British writer. She spent several years in Cen¬ tral Africa, returning to Britain during World War II. Until 1957 she pub¬ lished only poetry and criticism, including studies of Mary Shelley and the Bronte sisters. Her fiction uses satire and wit to present serious themes, often questions about good and evil. Memento Mori (1959) is her most widely praised novel; the best-known is The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

(1961; film, 1969). Her later novels, often more sinister in tone, include The Abbess of Crewe (1974), A Far Cry from Kensington (1988), and Reality and Dreams (1997).

sparrow Any of numerous species birds having a conical bill, particu¬ larly members of the Old World family Ploceidae, the house sparrow, and most members of the New World family Fringillidae. Some species of Fringillidae are common. The trim¬ looking chipping and tree sparrows have a reddish brown cap. The finely streaked savanna and vesper spar¬ rows inhabit grassy fields. The heavily streaked song and fox spar¬ rows are woodland dwellers. The white-crowned and white-throated sparrows are larger than most species and have black-and-white crown stripes.

sparrow hawk Small hawk (usually genus Accipiter, family Accipi- tridae), found in Africa, Europe, and Asia. Sparrow hawks are gray above, barred-white below, and sometimes have white tail bars. They eat insects and small birds and mammals. The American kestrel is also called spar¬ row hawk.

Sparta or Lacedaemon V.la-so-'de-monX Ancient Greek city-state, capital of Laconia and chief city of the Peloponnese. Of Dorian origin, it was founded in the 9th century bc and developed as a strictly militaristic society. In the 8th-5th centuries bc it subdued neighbouring Messenia. From the 5th century bc the ruling class of Sparta devoted itself to war and forged the most powerful army in Greece. After a long contest with Athens in the Peloponnesian War (460—404 bc), it attained dominance over all of Greece. Sparta’s power was broken by Thebes at the battle of Leuc- tra in 371 bc. It lost its independence c. 192 bc when it was defeated by and forced to join the Achaean League. It was made part of the Roman province of Achaea in 146 bc. The Visigoths captured and destroyed the city in ad 396. The ruins of its acropolis, agora, theatre, and temples remain.

Spartacists Vspar-to-sostsV or Spartacus League Revolutionary socialist group active in Germany (1914-18). It developed as an offshoot of the Social Democratic Party and was officially founded in 1916 by Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg, and others who violently opposed Germany’s role in World War I and called for a socialist revolution. The group encour¬ aged demonstrations in December 1918 that led to the abortive Sparta¬ cus Revolt in January 1919, after which the leaders were murdered by members of the Freikorps. The league was then transformed into the Com¬ munist Party of Germany.

Spartacus Vspar-to-kosV (d. 71 bc) Leader in the Gladiatorial War against Rome (73-71). A Thracian, he served in the Roman army. He became a bandit and was sold as a slave when caught. He escaped a gladiatorial school, where he had plotted a revolt with other gladiators, and set up camp on Mount Vesuvius, where he was joined by other run¬ away slaves and some peasants. With a force of 90,000, he overran most of southern Italy, defeating two consuls (72). He led his army north to the Cisalpine Gaul, where he hoped to release them to find freedom, but they refused to leave, preferring to continue the struggle. Returning south, he attempted to invade Sicily but could not arrange the passage. The legions of Marcus Licinius Crassus caught the slave army in Lucania and defeated it; Spartacus fell in pitched battle. Pompey’s army intercepted and killed many of those escaping north, and Crassus crucified 6,000 prisoners along the Appian Way.

Spartan Alliance See Peloponnesian League

Spassky, Boris (Vasilyevich) (b. Jan. 30, 1937, Leningrad, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Russian chess master. Spassky attained the rank of international grand master in chess in 1955. After a period of intermittent involvement with the game, he beat Tigran Petrosyan for the world title in 1969. In 1972 Spassky lost it to Bobby Fischer.

spatial disorientation Inability to determine one’s true body posi¬ tion, motion, and altitude (or, in water, depth) relative to the Earth or one’s surroundings. It may result from a brain or nerve disorder or from limi¬ tations in the normal sensory apparatus. Most clues to orientation are

of small, chiefly seed-eating song-

White-throoted sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis).

WILLIAM D. GRIFFIN

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

speaker ► spectrometer I 1797

relayed from the eyes, ears, muscles, and skin. The senses may not per¬ ceive gradual changes in motion and may overestimate the degree of abrupt changes and overcompensate when motion stops. Airplane pilots and divers also contend with apparent changes in gravitational pull, which can lead to dangerous situations and must be overcome by training. See also INNER ear; proprioception.

speaker See loudspeaker

Spearman, Charles E(dward) (b. Sept. 10, 1863, London, Eng.—d. Sept. 17, 1945, London) British psychologist. He is known for his studies on human mental abilities, particularly intelligence, and espe¬ cially for the statistical technique (factor analysis) he utilized to examine individual differences in psychological testing and identify the underly¬ ing sources of these differences. His works include Abilities of Man (1927), Creative Mind (1931), and Human Abilities (1950).

spearmint Aromatic herb (Mentha spicata ) of the mint family, the com¬ mon garden mint widely used for culinary purposes. It has lax, tapering spikes of reddish lilac flowers similar to peppermint flowers and sharply serrated leaves that are used fresh or dried to flavour many foods. The aroma and taste of spearmint are similar to those of peppermint but not as strong. Native to Europe and Asia, spearmint has been naturalized in North America.

special education Education for students (such as the physically or mentally disabled) with special needs. An early proponent of education for the blind was Valentin Haiiy, who opened a school in Paris in 1784; his efforts were followed by those of Louis Braille. Attempts to educate deaf children predate Haiiy, but not until Friedrich Moritz Hill (1805-74) developed an oral method of instruction did teaching to the deaf become established. The development of standardized sign languages further advanced instruction of the deaf. Scientific attempts to educate mentally retarded children began with the efforts of Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard (1775-1838) to train a feral child known as the Wild Boy of Aveyron; Itard’s work influenced such later theorists as Edouard Seguin (1812-80) and Maria Montessori. Children with motor disabilities, once considered subjects for special education, are usually integrated into the standard classroom, often by means of wheelchairs and modified desks. Children with learning disabilities and speech problems usually require specialized techniques, often on an individual basis. For children with behavioral and emotional disorders, special therapeutic and clinical services may be pro¬ vided.

special effects Artificial visual or mechanical effects introduced into a movie or television show. The earliest special effects were created through special camera lenses or through tricks such as projecting a mov¬ ing background behind the actors. Greater flexibility came with the devel¬ opment of the optical printer, which made it possible to combine separate pieces of film and replace part of an image, thus allowing for effects such as characters flying through the air. Special effects have also been created mechanically on the set through the use of devices such as wires, explo¬ sives, and puppets and by building miniature models to simulate epic scenes such as battles. The growing use of computer animation and computer-generated imagery has produced increasingly elaborate and realistic visual effects. Though each movie studio formerly had its own special-effects department, effects are now created by private companies such as George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic, formed to provide the revolutionary effects seen in Star Wars (1977) and later movies.

Special Forces See Green Berets

Special Olympics International sports program for people with men¬ tal retardation. It provides year-round training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type summer and winter sports for participants. Inaugurated in 1968 through the efforts of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the Chicago Park District, the Special Olympics was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1988. Games are held every two years, alternating between winter and summer sports. International headquarters are in Washington, D.C.

special prosecutor See independent counsel

speciation \,spe-she-'a-sh3n\ Formation of new and distinct species, whereby a single evolutionary line splits into two or more genetically independent ones. One of the fundamental processes of evolution, speci¬ ation may occur in many ways. Investigators formerly found evidence for speciation in the fossil record by tracing sequential changes in the struc¬

ture and form of organisms. Genetic studies now show that such changes do not always accompany speciation, since many apparently identical groups are in fact reproductively isolated (i.e., they can no longer produce viable offspring through interbreeding). Polyploidy (see ploidy) is a means by which the beginnings of new species are created in just two or three generations.

Specie Circular \'spe-,she\ (July 11, 1836) Executive order issued by Pres. Andrew Jackson. It required payment for purchases of public lands in gold or silver (specie means “money in coin”). The circular attempted to reduce the amount of paper money in circulation and limit land specu¬ lation. The result was deflationary and partly contributed to the economic crisis called the Panic of 1837. The U.S. Congress repealed the circular in 1838.

species Vspe-.shez, 'spe-,sez\ Subdivision of biological classification composed of related organisms that share common characteristics and can interbreed. Organisms are grouped into species according to their outer similarities, but more important in classifying organisms that reproduce sexually is their ability to interbreed successfully. To be members of the same species, individuals must be able to mate and produce viable off¬ spring. Because genetic variations originate in individuals which then pass on their variations only within the species, it is at the species level that evolution takes place (see speciation). The international system of binomial nomenclature assigns new species a two-part name.

specific gravity or relative density Ratio of the density of a sub¬ stance to that of a standard substance. For solids and liquids, the standard substance is usually water at 39.2°F (4.0°C), which has a density of 1.00 kg/liter. Gases are usually compared to dry air, which has a density of 1.29 g/liter at 32°F (0°C) and 1 atmosphere pressure. Because it is a ratio of two quantities that have the same dimensions (mass per unit volume), specific gravity has no dimension. For example, the specific gravity of liquid mercury is 13.6, because its actual density is 13.6 kg/liter, 13.6 times that of water.

specific heat Ratio of the quantity of heat required to raise the tem¬ perature of a body one degree to that required to raise the temperature of an equal mass of water one degree. The term is also used to mean the amount of heat, in calories, required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one Celsius degree.

speckled trout See brook trout

spectacled bear or Andean bear Only South American species of bear (Tremarctos ornatus, family Ursidae), found in mountain forests, especially in the Andes. It feeds mainly on shoots and fruit and is an agile climber. It stands about 2 ft (60 cm) at the shoulder, is 4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m) long, and has a 3-in. (7-cm) tail. Its shaggy coat is dark brown to black. Whitish to yellowish marks form its “spectacles” and often extend down the neck to the chest.

Spectator, The Daily periodical published in London by Richard Steele and Joseph Addison from March 1, 1711, to Dec. 6, 1712, and revived by Addison in 1714 (for 80 issues). It succeeded The Tatler, launched by Steele in 1709. Aiming to “enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality,” The Spectator presented a fictional club whose imaginary members expressed the writers’ ideas about society. It made serious dis¬ cussion of letters and politics a normal pastime of the leisured class, set the pattern and established the vogue for the periodical in the 18th cen¬ tury, and helped create a receptive public for novelists.

spectrochemical analysis Any of a group of chemical analysis methods that depend on measurement of the wavelength and intensity of electromagnetic radiation. It is used chiefly to determine the arrangement of atoms and electrons in molecules on the basis of the amounts of energy absorbed during changes in their structure or motion. In more common usage, it usually refers to ultraviolet (UV) and visible emission spectros¬ copy or to UV, visible, and infrared (IR) absorption spectrophotometry.

spectrometer Vspek-'tra-mo-toiA Device for detecting and analyzing wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, commonly used for molecular spectroscopy; more broadly, any of various instruments in which an emis¬ sion (as of electromagnetic radiation or particles) is spread out according to some property (as energy or mass) into a spectrum and measurements are made at points or regions along the spectrum. As used in traditional labo¬ ratory analysis, a spectrometer includes a radiation source and detection and analysis equipment. Emission spectrometers excite molecules of a

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1798 I spectrophotometry ► spelling and grammar checkers

sample to higher energy states and analyze the radiation emitted when they decay to the original energy state. Absorption spectrometers pass radia¬ tion of known wavelength through a sample, varying the wavelengths to produce a spectrum of results; the detector system reveals to what extent each wavelength is absorbed. Fourier-transform spectrometers resemble absorption spectrometers but use a broad band of radiation; a computer analyzes the output to find the absorption spectrum. Different designs allow study of various kinds of samples over many frequencies, at dif¬ ferent temperatures or pressures, or in an electric or magnetic field. Mass spectrometers (see mass spectrometry) spread out the atomic or molecular components in a sample according to their masses and then detect the sorted components.

spectrophotometry \,spek-tro-f3-'ta-m3-tre\ Branch of spectroscopy dealing with measurement of radiant energy transmitted or reflected by a body as a function of wavelength. The measurement is usually compared to that transmitted or reflected by a system that serves as a standard. In chemistry and physics, different types of spectrophotometers cover wide ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum: ultraviolet (UV), visible light, infra¬ red (IR), or microwave. UV spectrophotometry is particularly useful in detecting and quantifying colourless substances in solution. IR spectro¬ photometry is used mostly to study the molecular structures of complex organic compounds. In astronomy and astrophysics, spectrophotometric studies also include the X-ray and gamma ray ranges of the spectrum. See also COLORIMETRY.

spectroscopy \spek-'tra-sko-pe\ Branch of analysis devoted to identi¬ fying elements and compounds and elucidating atomic and molecular struc¬ ture by measuring the radiant energy absorbed or emitted by a substance at characteristic wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (including

GAMMA RAY, X-RAY, ULTRAVIOLET, visible LIGHT, INFRARED, MICROWAVE, and RADIO- frequency radiation) on excitation by an external energy source. The instruments used are spectroscopes (for direct visual observation) or spec¬ trographs (for recording spectra). Experiments involve a light source, a prism or grating to form the spectrum, detectors (visual, photoelectric, radi¬ ometric, or photographic) for observing or recording its details, devices for measuring wavelengths and intensities, and interpretation of the mea¬ sured quantities to identify chemicals or give clues to the structure of atoms and molecules. Helium, cesium, and rubidium were discovered in the mid-19th century by spectroscopy of the Sun’s spectrum. Specialized techniques include Raman spectroscopy (see Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), nuclear quadrupole reso¬ nance (NQR), dynamic reflectance spectroscopy, microwave and gamma ray spectroscopy, and electron spin resonance (ESR). Spectroscopy now also includes the study of particles (e.g., electrons, ions) that have been sorted or otherwise differentiated into a spectrum as a function of some property (such as energy or mass). See also mass spectrometry; spectrom¬ eter; SPECTROPHOTOMETRY.

spectrum Arrangement according to wavelength (or frequency) of elec¬ tromagnetic radiation. The visible, “rainbow” spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible as light to the human eye. Some sources emit only certain wavelengths and produce an emission spectrum of bright lines with dark spaces between. Such line spectra are character¬ istic of the elements that emit the radiation. A band spectrum consists of groups of wavelengths so close together that the lines appear to form a continuous band. Atoms and molecules absorb certain wavelengths and so remove them from a complete spectrum; the resulting absorption spec¬ trum contains dark lines or bands at these wavelengths.

speech Human communication through audible language. Speech sounds are made with air exhaled from the lungs, which passes between the vocal cords in the larynx and out through the vocal tract (pharynx and oral and nasal cavities). This airstream is shaped into different sounds by the articulators, mainly the tongue, palate, and lips (see articulation). Artic¬ ulatory phonetics describes each sound in terms of the position and action of the articulators used to make it. Speech is also described in terms of syntax, lexicon (inventory of words or morphemes), and phonology (sounds).

speech, figure of See figure of speech

speech act theory Theory of meaning that holds that the meaning of linguistic expressions can be explained in terms of the rules governing their use in performing various speech acts (e.g., admonishing, asserting, commanding, exclaiming, promising, questioning, requesting, warning). In contrast to theories that maintain that linguistic expressions have mean¬

ing in virtue of their contribution to the truth conditions of sentences where they occur, it explains linguistic meaning in terms of the use of words and sentences in the performance of speech acts. Some exponents claim that the meaning of a word is nothing but its contribution to the nature of the speech acts that can be performed by using it. Ludwig Wit¬ tgenstein and J. L. Austin provided important stimuli for the theory’s devel¬ opment.

speech recognition or voice recognition Ability of computer sys¬ tems to accept speech input and act on it or transcribe it into written lan¬ guage. Current research efforts are directed toward applications of automatic speech recognition (ASR), where the goal is to transform the content of speech into knowledge that forms the basis for linguistic or cognitive tasks, such as translation into another language. Practical appli¬ cations include DATABASE-query systems, information retrieval systems, and speaker identification and verification systems, as in telebanking. Speech recognition has promising applications in robotics, particularly develop¬ ment of robots that can “hear.” See also pattern recognition.

speech synthesis Generation of speech by artificial means, usually by computer. Production of sound to simulate human speech is referred to as low-level synthesis. High-level synthesis deals with the conversion of written text or symbols into an abstract representation of the desired acoustic signal, suitable for driving a low-level synthesis system. Among other applications, this technology provides speaking aid to the speech- impaired and reading aid to the sight-impaired.

speech therapy Therapeutic treatment to correct defects in speaking. Such defects may originate in the brain, the ear (see deafness), or any¬ where along the vocal tract and may affect the voice, articulation, lan¬ guage development, or ability to speak after language is learned. Therapy begins with diagnosis of underlying physical, physiological, or emotional dysfunction. It may involve training in breathing, use of the voice, and/or speaking habits. Some abnormalities that cause speech disorders (e.g., cleft palate, stroke) can be corrected to various degrees before a speech therapist’s work begins. See also aphasia, stuttering.

speed skating Sport of racing on ice skates. The blade of the speed skate is longer and thinner than that of the hockey or figure skate. Two types of track are used in international competition. The long track is a 400-m (about one-quarter mile) flattened oval (straight sides and curved ends) on which two skaters race simultaneously. In long track the race is against the clock rather than the opponent. The short track, a more recent development, is a 111-m (364-ft) oval on which four to six skaters race during each heat. Short track is a race to the finish line. Long-track speed skating was included in the first Winter Olympics in 1924; short-track skating was added in 1992.

Speer \'shpar\, Albert (b. March 19,1905, Mannheim, Baden, Ger.—d. Sept. 1, 1981, London, Eng.) German Nazi official. He became an archi¬ tect in 1927 and an active member of the Nazi Party in 1931. He impressed Adolf Hitler with his efficiency and talent and was appointed chief archi¬ tect of the Third Reich in 1933. He designed the parade grounds and ban¬ ners of the Nazi rallies held for the party congresses, including the 1934 Numberg Rally (see NOrnberg Rallies) filmed by Leni Riefenstahl. In 1942 he became minister for armaments and war production and expanded the system of conscript and slave labour that maintained Germany’s wartime productivity. Speer confessed his guilt at the Nurnberg trials, and he served 20 years in prison. His published works include Inside the Third Reich (1969) and Spandau (1975).

Speke \'spek\, John Hanning (b. May 3, 1827, Bideford, Devon, Eng.—d. Sept. 15, 1864, Corsham, Wiltshire) British explorer. He was a member of Richard Burton’s expedition, and in 1858 Speke and Burton became the first Europeans to reach Lake Tanganyika. On the return trip he left Burton and struck out northward alone. In July 1858 he reached a great lake, which he named Lake Victoria, for the queen. His claim that it was the source of the Nile was questioned, but on a second expedition (1860-63) he found the Nile’s exit from the lake. Speke’s claim to have found the Nile’s source was again challenged in England. He was killed by his own gun while hunting on the very day he was to debate Burton publicly.

spelling and grammar checkers Components of word-processing programs for personal computers that identify apparent misspellings and grammatical errors by reference to an incorporated dictionary and a list of rules for proper usage. Spelling checkers cannot identify spelling errors

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Spelman College ► Sperry I 1799

that result in another legitimate word (e.g., “form” typed for “from”) and are hard to use on documents that contain numerous words (e.g., foreign terms) not entered in the incorporated dictionary. Grammar checkers— which also generally check punctuation, sentence length, and other aspects of style—have been criticized for their reliance on oversimplified rules.

Spelman College Private, historically black, women’s liberal arts col¬ lege in Atlanta, Ga. Its history is traced to 1881, when two Boston women began teaching 11 black women, mostly ex-slaves, in an Atlanta church basement. Donations from John D. Rockefeller, beginning in 1884, assured the school’s growth; the school is named for Rockefeller’s mother-in-law. Spelman offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 20 academic fields. It is one of six African American institutions in the Atlanta area that share stu¬ dents, faculty, facilities, and curricula. Spelman’s alumnae include attor¬ ney and children’s rights activist Marian Wright Edelman and author Alice Walker.

spelt Subspecies ( Triticum aestivum spelta) of wheat that has lax spikes and spikelets containing two light-red kernels. Triticum dicoccon was cultivated by the ancient Babylonians and the ancient Swiss lake dwell¬ ers; it is now grown for livestock forage and used in baked goods and cereals.

Spence, A. Michael (b. 1943, Montclair, N.J., U.S.) U.S. economist. He studied at Yale (B.A., 1966), Oxford (B.A./M.A., 1968), and Harvard (Ph.D., 1972) and taught at Harvard and Stanford, serving as dean of the latter’s business school from 1990 to 1999. He is known for refining the theory of asymmetric information in the marketplace. His research dem¬ onstrated that in certain situations those who are better informed can improve their market return by transmitting information to those who know less; for example, auto dealers can convey the superior quality of their cars by offering warranties. For his work on “market signaling,” Spence shared the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences with George A. Akerlof and Joseph E. Stiglitz.

Spencer, Herbert (b. April 27,1820, Derby, Derbyshire, Eng.—d. Dec. 8, 1903, Brighton, Sussex) English sociologist and philosopher, advocate of the theory of social Darwinism. His System of Synthetic Philosophy, 9 vol. (1855-96), held that the physical, organic, and social realms are intercon¬ nected and develop according to identical evolutionary principles, a scheme suggested by the evolution of biological species. This sociocultural evolution amounted to, in Spencer’s phrase, “the survival of the fittest.” The free market system, without interference by governments, would weed out the weak and unfit. His controversial laissez-faire philosophy was praised by social Darwinists such as William Graham Sumner and opposed by sociologists such as Lester Frank Ward. Liked or loathed, Spencer was one of the most discussed Victorian thinkers.

Spender, Sir Stephen (Harold) (b. Feb. 28, 1909, London, Eng.—d. July 16, 1995, London) English poet and critic. While an under¬ graduate at Oxford, Spender met the poets W.H. Auden and C. Day-Lewis. In the 1930s they became identified with politically conscious, leftist “new writing.” His poems, expressing a self-critical, compassionate personal¬ ity, appeal’ in volumes from Poems (1933) to Dolphins (1994). He was better known for his perceptive criticism, as in The Destructive Element (1935), The Making of a Poem (1955), and The Struggle of the Mod¬ ern (1963), and for his association with the influential review Encoun¬ ter (1953-67). He also wrote short stories, essays, and autobiography.

Spengler \'shpeq-gbr\, Oswald (b. May 29, 1880, Blankenburg,

Ger.—d. May 8, 1936, Munich) Ger¬ man philosopher. A schoolmaster before he turned to writing, Spengler is remembered for his influential The Decline of the West, 2 vol. (1918—

22), a study in the philosophy of his¬ tory. He contended that civilizations pass through a life cycle, blossoming and decaying like natural organisms, and that Western culture is irrevers¬ ibly past its creative stage and headed into eclipse. Though

acclaimed by a public disillusioned in the wake of World War I, his work was criticized by both professional scholars and the Nazi Party, despite some affinities with its dogma.

Spenser, Edmund (b. 1552/53, London, Eng.—d. Jan. 13, 1599, Lon¬ don) English poet. Little is known for certain about his life before he entered the University of Cambridge. His first important publication, The Shepheardes Calender (1579), can be called the first work of the English literary Renaissance. By 1580 he was apparently serving the Earl of Leicester and was part of a literary circle led by Sir Philip Sidney. In 1580 he became secretary to the lord deputy of Ireland, where he spent much of his remaining life; in 1588 or 1589 he took over a large property at Kilcolman, near Cork. In 1590 he published the first part of the long alle¬ gorical poem The Faerie Queene (first folio ed., 1609), an imaginative vindication of Protestantism and Puritanism and a glorification of England and Elizabeth I. The central poem of the Elizabethan period and one of the greatest poems in English, it was composed in a revolutionary nine- line stanzaic pattern, the “Spenserian stanza,” that was used by many later poets. Of the 12 books he planned for the poem, he completed just over half. Amoretti (1595), a sonnet sequence, and Epithalamion (1595), a marriage ode, are among his other works. In the Irish uprising of 1598, Kilcolman was burned; Spenser, probably in despair, died shortly after.

Speransky \spyi-'ran-ske\, Mikhail (Mikhaylovich), Count (b.

Jan. 12, 1772, Cherkutino, Russia—d. Feb. 23, 1839, St. Petersburg) Rus¬ sian politician. After teaching at the seminary in St. Petersburg, he entered government service. He served as an assistant to Tsar Alexander I (1807- 12), but his proposed financial and administrative reforms angered the nobles, who had him exiled (1812-16). He returned to government ser¬ vice, serving as governor-general of Siberia (1819-21). A member of the state council from 1821 under Nicholas I, he compiled the first complete collection of Russian law (1830). He was given the title of count in 1839.

sperm or spermatozoon Vspor-.ma-to-'zo-onX Male reproductive cell. In mammals, sperm are produced in the testes and travel through the reproductive system. At fertilization, one sperm of the roughly 300 million in an average ejaculation (see semen) fertilizes an egg (see ovary) to pro¬ duce an offspring. At puberty, immature cells (spermatogonia) begin a maturation process (spermatogenesis). A mature human sperm has a flat, almond-shaped head, with a cap (acrosome) containing chemicals that help it penetrate an ovum. It is essentially a cell nucleus, with 23 chro¬ mosomes (including either the X or Y that determines the child’s sex). A flagellum propels the sperm, which may live in a woman’s reproductive tract for two to three days after sexual intercourse, to the egg. Sperm may be frozen and stored for artificial insemination.

sperm whale or cachalot Vka-sho-.lat, 'ka-sho-.loN Thickset, blunt¬ snouted toothed whale ( Physeter catodon, family Physeteridae) with small, paddlelike flippers and rounded humps on the back. Sperm whales have an enormous head, squarish in profile, and a narrow, underslung lower jaw with large conical teeth that fit into sockets in the toothless upper jaw when the mouth is closed. They are dark blue-gray or brown¬ ish. (Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick was presumably an albino.) The male grows to 60 ft (18 m). Herds of 15-20 live in temperate and tropical waters worldwide. They commonly dive to 1,200 ft (350 m), feeding primarily on cephalopods. The whales have been hunted for their spermaceti (a waxy substance in the snout, used in ointments and cosmetics) and for ambergris. The pygmy sperm whale (genus Kogia) is a black dolphinlike whale, about 13 ft (4 m) long, of the Northern Hemisphere that lacks commercial value.

spermatophyte See seed plant

Sperry, Elmer (Ambrose) (b. Oct. 12,1860, Cortland, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 16, 1930, Brooklyn, N.Y.) U.S. inventor and industrialist. He opened his own factory in Chicago at the age of 20 to make dynamos and arc lamps. He designed an electrical industrial locomotive and motor trans¬ mission machinery for streetcars and later made electric automobiles pow¬ ered by his patented battery. He invented processes for salvaging tin and producing white lead and for manufacturing fuse wire. His greatest inven¬ tions sprang from the gyroscope (until then considered only a toy), which, once properly aligned, always points to true north. His gyrocompass was first installed on the battleship Delaware in 1911. He extended the gyro principle to guidance of torpedoes, to gyropilots for the steering of ships and for stabilizing airplanes, and finally to a ship stabilizer. In all, he founded eight manufacturing companies and took out more than 400 patents.

✓

Spengler, pencil drawing by K. Gross- mann, 1920; in a private collection

DEUTSCHE FOTOTHEK, DRESDEN

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1800 I Sperry ► spider

Sperry, Roger (b. Aug. 20, 1913, Hartford, Conn., U.S.—d. April 17, 1994, Pasadena, Calif.) U.S. neurobiologist. He earned a doctorate in zoology from the University of Chicago. He studied functional special¬ ization in the hemispheres of the cerebral cortex, examining animals and then humans with epilepsy in whose brains the corpus callosum had been severed. His research showed that the left side of the brain is normally dominant for analytical and verbal tasks and the right for spatial tasks, music, and certain other areas. His techniques laid the groundwork for much more specialized explorations. He shared a 1981 Nobel Prize with David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel.

Spey VspaA, River River, northeastern Scotland. It rises in the Cor- rieyairack Forest and flows 107 mi (172 km) northeast across the High¬ lands into the North Sea. It is noted for salmon fishing, and its valley is the site of high-quality whisky distilleries.

sphagnum See peat moss

sphalerite Vsfa-lo-.riA or blende or zincblende Zinc sulfide (ZnS), the chief ore mineral of zinc. It is found associated with galena in most important lead-zinc deposits. The most important deposits are in the Mississippi River valley (U.S.),

Poland, Belgium, and North Africa.

See also sulfide mineral.

sphere In geometry, the set of all points in three-dimensional space lying the same distance (the radius) from a given point (the centre), or the result of rotating a circle about one of its diameters. The components and properties of a sphere are analo¬ gous to those of a circle. A diameter is any line segment connecting two points of a sphere and passing through its centre. The circumference is the length of any great circle, the intersection of the sphere with any plane passing through its centre. A meridian is any great circle passing through a point designated a pole. A geodesic, the shortest distance between any two points on a sphere, is an arc of the great circle through the two points. The formula for determining a sphere’s surface area is 47tr 2 ; its volume is determined by ( 4 /3)kP. The study of spheres is basic to terrestrial geog¬ raphy and is one of the principal areas of Euclidean geometry and elliptic GEOMETRY.

sphere, celestial See celestial sphere

sphere of influence In international politics, a state’s claim to exclu¬ sive or predominant control over a foreign area or territory. Beginning in the late 1880s, European colonial powers undertook legal agreements consisting of promises not to interfere with each other’s actions in mutu¬ ally recognized spheres of influence in Africa and Asia. After colonial expansion ceased, geopolitical rather than legal claims to spheres of influ¬ ence became common, examples being the U.S. claim to dominance in the Western Hemisphere under the much-earlier Monroe Doctrine and the Soviet Union’s expansion of its sphere of influence to eastern Europe fol¬ lowing World War II. See also Iron Curtain.

spherical coordinate system In geometry, a coordinate system in which any point in three-dimensional space is specified by its angle with respect to a polar axis and angle of rotation with respect to a prime merid¬ ian on a sphere of a given radius. In spherical coordinates a point is speci¬ fied by the triplet (r, 0, (p), where r is the point’s distance from the origin (the radius), 0 is the angle of rotation from the initial meridian plane, and cp is the angle from the polar axis (analogous to a ray from the origin through the North Pole).

sphinx Mythological creature with a lion’s body and a human’s head. It figures prominently in Egyptian and Greek art and legend. The winged sphinx of Thebes was said to have terrorized people by demanding the answer to a riddle taught to her by the Muses —What is it that has one voice and yet becomes successively four-footed, then two-footed, then three¬ footed?—and devoured every person who answered incorrectly. When Oedipus correctly answered “man”—who crawls on all fours in infancy, walks on two feet when grown, and leans on a staff in old age—the sphinx killed herself. The earliest and most famous example in art is the Great Sphinx at Giza in Egypt, built c. 2500 bc. The sphinx appeared in the Greek world c. 1600 bc and in Mesopotamia c. 1500 bc. See photograph above.

The Great Sphinx at Giza, 4th dynasty

E. STREICHAN/SHOSTAL ASSOCIATES

sphinx moth See hawk moth

sphynx cat \'sfiqks\ Breed of hairless domestic cat, founded on two spontaneous mutations in shorthaired cats. The first occurred in 1975 when Jezabelle, a stray, produced a hairless female kitten, Epidermis, fol¬ lowed by another the next year. The second occurred in 1978, when a male and two female hairless kittens were rescued from the streets of Tor¬ onto. Sphynx cats must be bathed regularly to keep the skin free of the oils that the coat on a normal cat absorbs, and the very large ears must be cleaned regularly to rid them of dust and dirt and prevent wax buildup.

spice and herb Dried parts of various plants cultivated for their aro¬ matic, savory, medicinal, or otherwise desirable properties. Spices are the fragrant or pungent products of such tropical or subtropical species as cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and pepper; spice seeds include ANISE, caraway, cumin, fennel, poppy, and sesame. Herbs are the fragrant leaves of such plants as basil, marjoram, mint, rosemary, and thyme. The most notable uses of spices and herbs in very early times were in medicine, in the mak¬ ing of holy oils and unguents, and as aphrodisiacs; they were also used to flavour food and beverages and to inhibit or hide food spoilage. Trade in spices has played a major role in human history. Important early trade routes, including those between Asia and the Middle East and between Europe and Asia, were initially forged to obtain exotic spices and herbs. The 15th-century voyages of discovery were launched largely as a result of the spice trade, and in the 17th century Portugal and the British, Dutch, and French East India companies battled furiously for dominance (see British East India Co.; Dutch East India Co.; French East India Co.).

spicebush Deciduous, dense shrub (Lindera benzoin, or Benzoin aes- tivale) of the iaurel family, native to eastern North America. Found most often in damp woods, it grows 5-20 ft (1.5-6 m) tall. The shiny, oblong leaves (3-5 in., or 8-13 cm, long) are wedge-shaped near the base. Small, yellow flowers crowded in small, nearly stalkless clusters are followed by fleshy red fruit with a stony cov¬ ering around the seed. Tea is some¬ times brewed from young twigs, leaves, and fruit.

spider Any of some 34,000 preda¬ tory arachnid species, mostly terres¬ trial, in the order Araneida, abundant worldwide except in Antarctica. Spi¬ ders have two main body parts, eight legs, two pincerlike venomous appendages, and three pairs of spinnerets. Species range in length from 0.5 to about 90 mm (0.02 to 3.5 inches). The venom of a few species (e.g., brown recluse) is harmful to humans. Most species catch insect prey in a web of silk extruded from the spinnerets. Spiders change little dur¬ ing growth, except in size. Species are classified largely on the basis of the number and arrangement of eyes and the type of web. See also black widow; tarantula; wolf spider.

Sphalerite from Baxter Springs, Kan.

COURTESY OF THE TED AND ELSIE BOENTE COLLECTION; PHOTOGRAPH, JOHN H. GERARD-EB INC.

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin).

WALTER CHANDOHA

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

spider crab ► spinning I 1801

spider crab Any species of sluggish marine crab in the widely distrib¬ uted family Majidae (or Maiidae).

Spider crabs have a beak-shaped head; thick, rounded body; and long, spindly legs. They use a mucuslike mouth secretion to fasten algae, sponges, and other organisms to the hairs, spines, and knobby projections covering the body. Most species are scavengers, especially of carrion.

Their size varies greatly. The body of the European long-beaked spider crab (Macropodia rostrata ) is less than 0.5 in. (1 cm) in diameter, whereas the Japanese giant crab (Macrocheira kaempferi), whose outstretched claws can measure 13 ft (4 m) from tip to tip, is perhaps the largest known arthropod.

spider mite or red spider Any plant-feeding mite in the family Tet- ranychidae, common pests on houseplants and agriculturally important plants. Adult spider mites are tiny, about 0.02 in. (0.5 mm) long, and often red. They spin a loose silk webbing on infested plants. A heavy infesta¬ tion can cause complete defoliation. Because of their increasing resistance to pesticides, they are difficult to control. One effective control is the use of another, predatory, mite species.

spider monkey Any of four species (family Cebidae) of diurnal, arbo¬ real New World monkeys found from Mexico to Brazil. Long-limbed and somewhat potbellied, they are 14-26 in. (35-66 cm) long and have thumb¬ less hands and a heavily furred, prehensile 24-36-in. (60-92-cm) tail. The coat is gray, reddish, brown, or black. They swing through branches, using their tails and hands, or leap or drop spread-eagled from tree to tree. They eat fruit, nuts, flowers, and buds. They are used in laboratory studies of malaria, to which they are susceptible. Though sometimes kept as pets, adults are likely to throw tantrums and may be dangerous.

spider plant African plant of genus Chlorophytum (lily family). This popular houseplant has long, narrow, grassy green-and-white-striped leaves. Periodically a flower stem emerges, and tiny white flowers (not always produced) are replaced by young plantlets, which can then be detached and rooted.

spiderwort Any of 20 or more erect to trailing, weak-stemmed herbs native to North and South America that make up the genus Tradescantia (family Commelinaceae). Several species are grown as indoor plants in baskets, especially the wandering Jews ( T. albiflora, with green leaves, and T. fluminensis, with purplish underleaves). White velvet, or white- gossamer ( T. sillamontana ), has leaves and stems covered with a whitish fuzz. Chain plant ( T. navicularis) has fleshy, narrow, lengthwise-folded leaves. Common spiderwort, or widow’s tears ( T. virginiana), is an upright, juicy-stemmed garden plant with white to purple flowers. Because they are easy to propagate, spiderworts are very popular indoor plants.

Spiegel, Der \der-'shpe-g3l\ German "The Mirror" Weekly news¬ magazine, preeminent in Germany and one of the best and most widely circulated in Europe. Founded in 1946 as Diese Woche (“This Week”) and published in Hamburg since 1947, it is respected both for its news coverage and analysis and for its concise writing. It is especially renowned for its aggressive exposes of government malpractice and scandals and for its photography. It resembles Time and Newsweek in format but is usu¬ ally much thicker.

Spielberg, Steven (b. Dec. 18, 1947, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.) U.S. film director and producer. He attracted the attention of Universal Pictures with a short film he made about the time of his graduation from California State College, Long Beach (1970). As a director of television movies, he made the thriller Duel (1971), and in 1974 he directed the feature film The Sugarland Express. His shark-attack thriller Jaws (1975) became one of the highest-grossing movies ever, and he went on to direct huge suc¬ cesses such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and E.T.—the Extraterrestrial (1982). He received Acad¬ emy Awards for directing Schindler’s List (1993), which tells the story of a group of Polish Jews who avoided Nazi extermination camps through the heroic actions of a German industrialist, and Saving Private Ryan (1998), which followed American soldiers in the days after the Normandy

invasion of 1944. His other movies include The Color Purple (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Jurassic Park (1993), A.I.: Artificial Intelli¬ gence (2001), and Minority Report (2002). In 1994 he cofounded Dream¬ Works SKG, a film, animation, and television production company.

Spillane, Mickey orig. Frank Morrison Spillane (b. March 9, 1918, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. writer of pulp detective fiction. He ini¬ tially wrote for pulp magazines and comic books in order to pay for his schooling. His first novel, I, The Jury (1947), introduced the detective Mike Hammer, who later appeared in works from My Gun Is Quick ( 1950) to Black Alley (1996). His other novels, all characterized by violence and sexual licentiousness, include The Deep (1961), a series with the interna¬ tional agent Tiger Mann beginning with Day of the Guns (1964), and The Killing Man (1989). Spillane claimed to write solely for monetary gain and flouted literary taste with recurring elements of sadism that disturbed some readers, but the captivating vigour of his narrative and of his cen¬ tral characters brought him popular success.

spin Amount of angular momentum associated with a subatomic particle or nucleus. It is measured in multiples of h (h-bar), equal to Planck’s con¬ stant divided by 27 t. Electrons, neutrons, and protons have a spin of Vi, for example, while pions and helium nuclei have zero spin. The spin of a complex nucleus is the vector sum of the orbital angular momentum and intrinsic spins of the constituent nucleons. For nuclei of even mass num¬ ber, the multiple is an integral; for those of odd mass number, it is a half¬ integer. See also Bose-Einstein statistics, Fermi-Dirac statistics.

spinach Hardy, leafy annual (Spinacia oleracea) of the goosefoot fam¬ ily (Chenopodiaceae), used as a vegetable. The edible leaves, somewhat triangular and either flat or puckered, are arranged in a rosette, from which a seedstalk emerges. Spinach requires cool weather and deep, rich, well- limed soil to give quick growth and maximum leaf area; sowing seed every two weeks from early spring to late summer provides a steady sup¬ ply. A nutritious vegetable, spinach is rich in iron and vitamins A and C.

spinal cord In vertebrates, the body’s major nerve tract. In humans it is about 18 in. (45 cm) long, running from the base of the brain through the vertebral column. It is covered by the meninges and cushioned by cere¬ brospinal fluid. It connects the peripheral nervous system (outside the brain and spinal cord) to the brain. The spinal cord and the brain constitute the central nervous system. Sensory impulses reach the brain via the spinal cord, and impulses from the brain travel down the spinal cord to motor neurons, which reach the body’s muscles and glands via the peripheral nerves. The peripheral nerves are connected to the spinal cord via the spi¬ nal nerves. In humans there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves containing both sensory and motor fibres, which originate in the spinal cord and pass out between the vertebrae. These nerves branch and relay motor impulses to all parts of the body. Injury to the spinal cord may result in loss of com¬ munication between the brain and outlying parts and cause paralysis, loss of sensation, or weakness in the parts of the body served by areas below the injured region. Because nerve cells and fibres are unable to regener¬ ate themselves, the effects are usually permanent. See illustration on fol¬ lowing page.

spindle and whorl or drop spindle Earliest device for spinning fibres into thread or yarn. The spinster lets the spindle fall to draw out the fibres while the whorl keeps it rotating to apply the necessary twist. The spindle and whorl was replaced by the spinning wheel.

spinel \spo-'nel\ Mineral composed of magnesium aluminum oxide (MgAl 2 0 4 ). Also called magnesia spinel, its colour, due to various impu¬ rities, ranges from blood-red to blue, green, brown, and colourless. Spinel is found in basic igneous rocks, granite pegmatites, and contact metamor- phic limestone deposits, often in association with corundum. Synthetic spinel has been manufactured since the early 20th century for use as imi¬ tation gem stones. Spinel may also refer more broadly to any of various mineral oxides of magnesium, iron, zinc, or manganese in combination with aluminum, chromium, or iron.

spinning In metalwork, a technique for making hollow metal utensils and artifacts. Developed in the 19th century, the method can be used for most metals. A metal disk is set on a lathe behind an appropriately shaped metal or wooden chuck; while the lathe is rotating, the metal is pressed onto the chuck with a tool. A typical modern spun object is the aluminum saucepan. As in most metalworking techniques, the metal is periodically softened by annealing, or heating, when it has become hardened by being worked (see hardening).

Spider crab (Libinia)

WALTER DAWN

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1802 I spinning frame ► spiritual

Section of a spinal cord. The anterior horn of the gray matter contains cell bodies from which the motor fibres of the spinal nerves arise. The posterior horn contains cell bodies from which fibres pass to the brain carrying impulses brought by sen¬ sory fibres entering from the spinal nerves. Interneurons in the gray matter transmit impulses within the cord. The white matter contains tracts of fibres that ascend to the brain with sensory impulses and descend from the brain carrying motor impulses. Nerve fibres emerge from the spinal cord through the foramina and form a dorsal root (containing fibres of sensory neurons) and a ventral root (containing fibres of motor neurons), which merge to form the spinal nerves.

© MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.

spinning frame See drawing frame

spinning jenny Early multiple-spindle machine for spinning wool or cotton. The hand-powered spinning jenny was patented by James Har¬ greaves in 1770. The development of the spinning wheel into the spinning jenny was a significant factor in the industrialization of the textile indus¬ try, though its product was inferior to that of R. Arkwright’s water frame.

spinning mule Multiple-spindle spinning machine invented by Sam¬ uel Crompton (1779), which permitted large-scale manufacture of high- quality thread for the textile industry. Crompton’s machine made it possible for a single operator to work more than 1,000 spindles simulta¬ neously, and was capable of spinning fine as well as coarse yarn.

spinning wheel Early machine for turning textile fibre into thread or yarn, which was then woven into cloth on a loom. The spinning wheel was probably invented in India, though its origins are unclear. It reached Europe via the Middle East in the Middle Ages. The improvement of the loom in 18th-century England created a yarn shortage and a demand for

mechanical spinning. The result was a series of inventions that converted the spinning wheel into a powered, mechanized component of the Indus¬ trial Revolution (see drawing frame; spinning jenny; water frame).

Spinoza \spi-'no-z3\, Benedict de Hebrew Baruch Spinoza (b.

Nov. 24, 1632, Amsterdam—d. Feb. 21, 1677, The Hague) Dutch Jewish philosopher, a major exponent of 17th-century rationalism. His father and grandfather had fled persecution by the Inquisition in Portugal. His early interest in new scientific and philosophical ideas led to his expulsion from the synagogue in 1656, and he thereafter made his living as a lens grinder and polisher. His philosophy represents a development of and reaction to the thought of Rene Descartes; many of his most striking doctrines are solutions to difficulties created by Cartesianism. He found three unsatis¬ factory features in Cartesian metaphysics: the transcendence of God, mind-body dualism, and the ascription of free will both to God and to human beings. To Spinoza, those doctrines made the world unintelligible, since it was impossible to explain the relation between God and the world or between mind and body or to account for events occasioned by free will. In his masterpiece, Ethics (1677), he constructed a monistic system of metaphysics and presented it in a deductive manner on the model of the Elements of Euclid. He was offered the chair of philosophy at the Uni¬ versity of Heidelberg but declined it, seeking to preserve his indepen¬ dence. His other major works are the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1670) and the unfinished Tractatus Politicus.

spiny anteater See echidna

spire Steeply pointed termination to a tower or roof. In Gothic architec¬ ture, the spire is a spectacular visual culmination of the building as well as a symbol of heavenly aspiration. The church spire originated in the 12th century as a simple, four-sided pyramidal roof capping a tower. Methods used to integrate an octagonal spire with a square tower below include broaches (sloping triangular sections of masonry added to the bottom of the four spire faces not coinciding with the tower sides), gabled dormers added to spire faces, and steep pinnacles (vertical ornaments of pyramidal or conical shape) added to tower comers. During the Deco¬ rated period (14th century) in England, a slender needle spire set in from the edge of the tower was popular; corner pinnacles and a low parapet around the tower’s edge became customary. In the 20th century, archi¬ tects tended to limit spires to rather elementary geometric shapes.

spirea \spI-'re-3\ Any of nearly 100 species of flowering shrubs in the genus Spirea (rose family), native to the northern temperate zone and commonly cultivated for their pleas¬ ing growth habit and attractive flower clusters. The most commonly grown, and possibly the most popu¬ lar of all cultivated shrubs, is the Vanhouttei spirea, also called bridal wreath (a cross between S. can- toniensis and S. trilobata ), which grows up to 6 ft (2 m) tall and has graceful arching branches that bear numerous white flowers in spring.

Plants that resemble spirea are the shrubby false spireas ( Sorbaria spe¬ cies, also rose family) and the peren¬ nial herbaceous spireas ( Astilbe species, saxifrage family).

spirillum \spi-'ril-3m\ Any of the spiral-shaped bacteria that make up the genus Spirillum, which are aquatic except for one species that causes a type of rat-bite fever in humans. The term is used generally for any corkscrewlike species of bac¬ teria (see spirochete). Spirilla are gram-negative (see gram stain) and move by means of tufts of flagella at each end.

spirits See distilled liquor

spiritual In North American white and black folk music, an English- language folk hymn. White spirituals derived variously, notably from the “lining out” of psalms, dating from at least the mid-17th century. Where congregations could not read, a leader intoned the psalm one line at a time, alternating with the congregation’s singing of each line to a famil¬ iar melody; the tune, sung slowly, was ornamented with passing notes.

Spiraea

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spiritualism ► spoils system I 1803

turns, and other graces. A second source was the singing of hymns set to borrowed melodies, often secular folk tunes. Themes included going home to the promised land and gaining ground against sin; typical refrains were “Roll, Jordan” and “Glory Hallelujah.” The songs survive in oral tradition in isolated areas and also in the form of shape-note singings. Afri¬ can American spirituals developed in part from white rural folk hymnody but differ greatly in voice quality, vocal effects, rhythm, and type of rhyth¬ mic accompaniment. They were sung not only in worship but also as work songs, and the text imagery often reflects concrete tasks. Like the white gospel song, the modem African American gospel song derives from the spiritual.

spiritualism Belief that the souls of the dead can make contact with the living, usually through a medium or during abnormal mental states such as trances. The basis of spiritualism is the conviction that spirit is the essence of life and that it lives on after the body dies. A medium is a person sensitive to vibrations from the spirit world, who may hold meet¬ ings known as seances in order to seek messages from spirits. A “control” is a spirit that gives messages to the human medium, who in turn gives them to other people. Spirits are also thought to manifest themselves through such means as rapping or levitating objects. Some spiritualists claim powers of paranormal healing. Scientific study of spiritualist phe¬ nomena has been the focus of the Society for Psychical Research, founded in Britain in 1882. See also theosophy.

spirochete Vspl-r3-,ket\ Any of an order (Spirochaetales) of spiral¬ shaped bacteria. Some are serious pathogens for humans, causing such diseases as syphilis, yaws, and relaps¬ ing fever. Spirochetes are gram¬ negative (see gram stain) and motile.

They are unique in that their flagella, which number between two and more than 200 per organism, are con¬ tained within the cell. Most spiro¬ chetes are found in a liquid environment (e.g., mud and water, blood and lymph). Several species are borne by lice and ticks, which transmit them to humans.

spirulina \,spir-u-'le-n3\ Any cyanobacteria in the genus Spirulina.

A traditional food source in parts of Africa and Mexico, spirulina is an exceptionally rich source of vitamins, minerals, and protein, and one of the few nonanimal sources of vitamin B 12 . It is now being widely stud¬ ied for its possible antiviral, anticancer, antibacterial, and antiparasitic properties, and has been used for such medical conditions as allergies, ulcers, anemia, heavy-metal poisoning, and radiation poisoning. It is also used in weight-loss programs.

Spitfire or Supermarine Spitfire British fighter aircraft in World War II. A low-wing monoplane first flown in 1936, it was adopted by the RAF in 1938. At that time one of the war’s fastest single-seat fighters, it was used effectively during the Battle of Britain. Later models allowed it to serve as a fighter-bomber and a photoreconnaissance plane. The 1938 version had a top speed of about 360 mph (580 kph) and was armed with eight .303-in. (7.7-mm) machine guns. The Spitfire XIV, one of the last models of the war, had a ceiling of 40,000 ft (12,200 m) and a top speed of 440 mph (710 kph). The RAF retired its last Spitfires in 1954.

Spitsbergen Main island within the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. Spitsbergen lies 360 mi (580 km) north of the Norwegian mainland in the Arctic Ocean. It was formerly known as West Spitsbergen. The terrain is mountainous, and most of the island is covered with glaciers. It is also deeply indented by fjords. Spitsbergen has extensive coal deposits.

Spitteler Vshpit-o-lorV Carl (b. April 24, 1845, Liestal, Switz.—d. Dec. 29, 1924, Lucerne) Swiss poet. He was a private tutor in Russia and Fin¬ land before he wrote his first great poetic work, the mythical epic Prometheus und Epimetheus (1881). His second great work was the epic The Olympic Spring (1900-05), in which he found full scope for bold invention and vividly expressive power. Late in life he rewrote his first epic as Prometheus the Long-Suffering (1924). Though known for his pessimistic yet heroic verse, he also wrote lyrical poems, stories, novels, and essays. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1919.

spittlebug or froghopper Any of some 2,000 species of hopping insects (family Cercopidae, order Homoptera) with whitish nymphs that use a special abdominal valve to aerate an anal fluid secretion. The result¬ ing frothy spittle protects the nymphs from enemies and desiccation. Adults are less than 0.6 in. (1.5 cm) long. The meadow spittlebug ( Philae- nus leucophthalmus ), of Europe and North America, resembles a frog and is a powerful leaper. It feeds extensively on clover and alfalfa, causing severe stunting that can result in the loss of up to 50% of a crop. Some African species occur in such enormous numbers that their spittle drips from tree branches like rain.

spitz Any of several northern dogs, including the chow chow, Pomera¬ nian, and Samoyed, characterized by a dense, long coat, erect pointed ears, and a tail that curves over the back. In the U.S., the name is often given to any small, white, long-haired dog; it is also used for the American Eskimo dog. European breeds include the Finnish spitz, with a bright red¬ dish brown coat, and the Lapland spitz, which has a white, brown, or blackish coat.

Spitz, Mark (Andrew) (b. Feb. 10, 1950, Modesto, Calif., U.S.) U.S. swimmer. He swam in college for Indiana University. At the 1968 Olym¬ pic Games he won two gold medals in team relay races. In the 1972 Olympics he won four individual men’s events (setting world records in all four) and three team events (one world record); Spitz’s feat of win¬ ning seven gold medals in a single Olympic Games remains unmatched.

spleen Lymphoid organ, located in the left side of the abdomen behind the stomach. The spleen is the primary filtering element for the blood, and it is a storage site for red blood cells (erythrocytes) and platelets. It is one of four places where reticuloendothelial cells are found (see reticu¬ loendothelial system). Two types of tissue, red pulp and white pulp, are intermixed. The white pulp is lymphoid tissue containing lymphocyte pro¬ duction centres. The red pulp is a network of channels filled with blood where most of the filtration occurs and is the major site of destruction of deteriorating erythrocytes and recycling of their hemoglobin. Both contain cells (see leukocyte) that remove foreign material and initiate an antibody- producing process. The spleen becomes enlarged in some infections. Its rupture in high-impact injuries may require surgical removal, which leaves the patient more susceptible to overwhelming infection.

Split ancient Spalatum Seaport (pop., 2001: 188,694), Dalmatia, Croatia. The Romans established the colony of Salonae nearby in 78 bc, and the emperor Diocletian lived at Split until his death in ad 313. After the Avars sacked the town in 615, the inhabitants built a new town within Diocletian’s 7-acre (3-hectare) palace compound; this “old town” has been continuously inhabited since that time. Split came under Byzantine rule in the 9th century, shifted to Venetian control in 1420, and was held by Austria in the 18th and 19th centuries. It came under Yugoslavian rule in 1918, finally becoming part of independent Croatia in 1992. The port facilities were destroyed in World War II, but the old city was little- damaged, and repairs were subsequently made. Split is a commercial, educational, and tourist centre. Collectively with the historic royal resi¬ dences, fortifications, and churches in the city, the palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

Spock, Benjamin (McLane) (b. May 2, 1903, New Haven, Conn., U.S.—d. March 15, 1998, La Jolla, Calif.) U.S. pediatrician. He received his M.D. from Columbia University and later practiced pediatrics and taught psychiatry and child development. His Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946; 7th ed., 1998, Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care), which urged parental flexibility and reliance on common sense and discouraged corporal punishment, influenced generations of parents. Con¬ tinually revised and updated to address new social and medical issues, it has sold over 50 million copies in 39 languages. In 1967 he ceased his medical practice to devote himself to the anti-Vietnam War movement. His advocacy late in life of a vegan (see vegetarianism) diet for children aroused great controversy.

spoils system or patronage system In U.S. politics, the practice by political parties of rewarding partisans and workers after winning an election. Proponents claim it helps maintain an active party organization by offering supporters jobs and contracts. Critics charge that it awards appointments to the unqualified and is inefficient because even jobs unre¬ lated to public policy change hands after an election. In the U.S., the Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883) was the first step in introducing the merit system in the hiring of government workers. The merit system has almost completely replaced the spoils system. See also civil service.

Scanning electron micrograph of the spirochete Treponema pallidum attached to testicular cell membranes.

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1804 I Spokane ► sports-car racing

Spokane \spo-'kan\ City (pop., 2000: 195,629), eastern Washington, U.S. Situated at the falls of the Spokane River, the city was settled on the site of a trading post established in 1810. It was incorporated in 1881 after the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway. A fire in 1889 destroyed much of the city, but it soon was rebuilt and developed into a trade and shipping hub for the surrounding region. Completion of the Grand Cou¬ lee Dam Project (1941) assured industrial growth. Spokane is home to Gonzaga University (1887) and is a gateway to the resorts of Mount Spo¬ kane and several national forests.

sponge Any of some 5,000 species (phylum Porifera) of permanently affixed (sessile), mostly marine, solitary or colonial invertebrates, found from shallow to deep (more than 30,000 ft, or 9,000 m) waters. Simple sponges are hollow cylinders with a large opening at the top through which water and wastes are expelled. A thin, perforated outer epidermal layer covers a porous skeleton, which is composed of interlocking spi¬ cules of calcium carbonate, silica, or spongin (found in 80% of all sponges), a proteinaceous material. The body, ranging in diameter or length from 1 in. (2.5 cm) to several yards, may be fingerlike, treelike, or a shapeless mass. Sponges lack organs and specialized tissue; flagel¬ lated cells move water into the central cavity through the perforations, and individual cells digest food (bacteria, other microorganisms, and organic debris), excrete waste, and absorb oxygen. Sponges can repro¬ duce asexually or sexually. Larval forms are free-swimming but all adults are sessile. Since antiquity, sponges have been harvested for use in hold¬ ing water, bathing, and scrubbing; because of overharvesting and newer technologies, most sponges sold today are synthetic. See illustration oppo¬ site.

spoonbill Any of six species (family Threskiornithidae) of long-necked, long-legged wading birds, inhabitants of Old and New World estuaries, saltwater bayous, and lakes. They are 24-32 in. (60-80 cm) long and have a short tail and a long, straight bill that is spatulate at the tip. Most spe¬ cies are white, sometimes rose-tinged; the roseate spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja ) of North and South America is deep pink and strikingly beautiful. With a side-to-side motion of the bill, they sweep mud and shallow water for fishes and crustaceans. They fly with neck and legs extended and wings flapping steadily. Breeding colonies build stick nests in low bushes and trees. Some species, including the black-billed spoonbill, are endangered. See also ibis.

spoonerism Reversal of the initial letters or syllables of two or more words, such as “I have a half-warmed fish in my mind” (for “half-formed wish”) and “a blushing crow” (“a crushing blow”). The word is derived from the name of William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), a distin¬ guished Anglican clergyman and warden of New College, Oxford, a ner¬ vous man who committed many “spoonerisms.” Such transpositions are often made intentionally for comic effect.

spore Reproductive cell capable of developing into a new individual without fusing with another reproductive cell. Spores thus differ from gametes, which must fuse in pairs in order to create a new individual. Spores are agents of nonsexual reproduction; gametes are agents of sexual reproduction. Spores are produced by bacteria, fungi (see fungus), and green plants. Bacterial spores serve largely as a resting, or dormant, stage in the life cycle, preserving the bacterium through periods of unfavorable conditions. Many bacterial spores are highly durable and can germinate even after years of dormancy. Fungal spores serve a function similar to that of seeds in plants; they germinate and grow into new individuals under suitable conditions of moisture, temperature, and food availability. Among green plants (all of which have a life cycle characterized by alternation of generations), spores are the reproductive agents of the nonsexual gen¬ eration (sporophyte), giving rise to the sexual generation (gametophyte).

sporophyte \'spor-9- 1 fit\ In many plants and algae, the nonsexual phase in the alternation of generations, or an individual representing the phase. The alternate, sexual phase is the gametophyte. In the sporophyte phase, a diploid (see ploidy) plant body grows and eventually produces spores through meiosis. These spores divide by mitosis to produce haploid game- tophytes, which then can carry out sexual reproduction.

sports and games Recreational or competitive activities that involve physical skill, intellectual acumen, and often luck (especially in the case of games of chance). Play is an integral part of human nature. Through¬ out history, humans have invented sporting and gaming activities as a means to socialize, to display skills and prowess, and to entertain or offer excitement. The earliest games may have been based on hunting and

collar cell (choanocyte)

A simple saclike sponge. Its surface is perforated by small openings (incurrent pores) formed by tubelike cells (porocytes), which open into the internal cavity. A gelatinous middle layer contains the skeletal elements (spicules and spongin fibers) as well as amebocytes active in digestion, waste removal, and spicule and spongin formation. Flagellated collar cells (choanocytes) line the internal cavity, create cur¬ rents to move water containing oxygen and food into the sponge, and engulf and digest food particles. Water and wastes are expelled through the ostium opening, whose size can be altered to regulate water flow through the sponge.

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gathering activities. In modern times, with the emergence of professional sports, games continue to serve as physical and emotional outlets, as diversions, and as enrichments to daily life while also playing a pro¬ nounced economic role.

sports-car racing Form of motor racing involving small, two- passenger automobiles. The cars are designed for quick response, easy maneuverability, and high-speed driving. Unlike the cars used in Grand Prix racing, the sports car is usually series-produced, seldom handmade, and the reputation of the car maker (Porsche, Jaguar, etc.) is thus put at stake. The most famous international sports-car race is that at Le Mans, France.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

sports medicine ► Springfield rifle I 1805

sports medicine Medical and paramedical supervision and treatment of athletes. It has four aspects. Preparation (conditioning) uses diet, exer¬ cises, and monitoring of practice sessions to improve performance. Pre¬ vention identifies any predisposition to injury or illness and covers warmup, stretching, and design and use of protective equipment. Many surgical techniques developed in sports medicine, particularly for knee injuries, are now used for the general population. Rehabilitation (see physi¬ cal medicine AND rehabilitation) prepares an injured or ill athlete to return to activity after initial treatment.

spotted fever See Rocky Mountain spotted fever

sprat or brisling Species (Sprattus sprattus ) of edible fish in the her¬ ring family. Sprats are silver marine fishes that form enormous schools in western European waters. Less than 6 in. (15 cm) long, they are espe¬ cially valuable for canning as sardines. They are eaten fresh, tinned in oil, pickled, or smoked. The term also refers to a small or young herring or similar fish (e.g., anchovy).

Spratly Islands Group of several dozen small islands and reefs, south- central South China Sea. Located about midway between Vietnam and the Philippines, the group is claimed variously by Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Of the 12 main islets, the largest is the 90-acre (36-hectare) Itu Aba. Turtles and seabirds are the only permanent inhabitants. After World War II, China established a garrison on Itu Aba, which has been maintained by the Chinese government on Taiwan. All other claimants also have small military forces on several of the islands.

spraying and dusting Standard methods of applying pest-control chemicals and other compounds to plants, animals, soils, or agricultural products. For spraying, chemicals are dissolved or suspended in water or, less commonly, in an oil-based carrier. The mixture is then applied as a fine mist. In dusting, dry, finely powdered chemicals may be mixed with an inert carrier and applied with a blower. In fumigation, gases or the vapours of volatile compounds are held in contact with the materials to be treated. Sprays and dusts are used to control insects, mites, fungi, and bacterial diseases of plants; disease-spreading insects, such as lice and flies, on animals; and weeds. They are also used to apply mineral fertil¬ izers, to increase or decrease fruit set, to delay the dropping of nearly mature fruits, and to defoliate plants to facilitate harvesting (e.g., of cot¬ ton; see defoliant). Sprays adhere to treated surfaces better than dusts do. Fumigation may be used to control insects and some diseases in stored products or to control insects and sometimes fungi and weeds in soil. Increasing use of spraying and dusting has prompted concern over their impact on the environment, the food chain, the water supply, and public health. New chemicals and precautions have only partially allayed these concerns. See also crop duster; fungicide; herbicide; insecticide.

spreadsheet Computer software that allows the user to enter columns and rows of numbers in a ledgerlike format. Any cell of the ledger may contain either data or a formula that describes the value that should be inserted therein based on the values in other cells. When a change is made in one cell, the program recalculates the contents of all cells affected by the change. Spreadsheets are widely used for performing business calcu¬ lations On PERSONAL COMPUTERS.

Spree River Vshpra\ River, northeastern Germany. Rising in the Lus- atian Mountains near the Czech border, it flows north passing through Berlin, where it joins the Havel River after a course of 250 mi (403 km). Between Cottbus and Lubben it divides into a network of channels that form a marshy wooded region known as the Spree Forest. Much of this region is cultivated. It is a popular excursion area.

spring In hydrology, an opening at or near the Earth’s surface where water from underground sources is discharged. Springs discharge either at ground level or directly into the bed of a stream, lake, or sea. Water that emerges at the surface without a perceptible current is called a seep.

spring Elastic machine component able to deflect under load in a pre¬ scribed manner and to recover its initial shape when unloaded. The com¬ bination of force and displacement in a deflected spring is energy, which may be stored when moving loads are being stopped or when the spring is wound up for use as a power source (e.g., in a watch). Though most springs are mechanical, hydraulic (liquid) and air springs exist.

Spring and Autumn Annals See Chunqiu

Spring and Autumn period (770-476 bc) Period of the Chinese Zhou dynasty named for one of the Confucian Classics, the Chunqiu

(“Spring and Autumn Annals”). During the period the imperial house’s authority diminished as local nobles struggled for power in states that formed political and economic coalitions for military purposes as well as for drainage projects, canals, and other civil engineering projects. Mer¬ chants and artisans began to assume some societal significance as well. Classical Chinese thought originates in this period. See also Confucius; Five Classics.

spring balance Weighing device that uses the relation between the applied load and the deformation of a spring. This relationship is usually linear; that is, if the load is doubled, the deformation is doubled. Spring balances are widely used commercially. Those with high load capacities are frequently suspended from crane hooks and are known as crane scales.

spring peeper Species (Hyla crucifer) of tree frog found in ponds, marshes, and other damp areas in the U.S. During the breeding season it can be found in woodland ponds; at other times it is seldom seen. It has a high, whistling call and is one of the first frogs to vocalize in spring. It is tiny (only 0.75-1.3 in. or 2-3.5 cm, long) and grayish, tan, or olive- brown, with an X-shaped or irregular brown mark on its back.

springbok or springbuck Species of antelope (Antidorcas marsupi- alis ), native to treeless plains of southern Africa, the national emblem of South Africa. It stands about 30 in. (80 cm) high at the shoulder, and both sexes have ringed, lyre-shaped horns. A fold of skin from midback to rump can be opened to display a crest of white hair. The reddish brown upper body has a broad horizontal dark-brown band on each side; the under¬ parts, head, tail, and rump are white. When excited, the springbok, with head down, hooves bunched, and back arched, makes a series of stiff-legged, vertical leaps up to 12 ft (3.5 m) high, an action called pronk- ing.

Springfield City (pop., 2000: 111,454), capital of Illinois, U.S. Spring- field lies along the Sangamon River in the central part of the state. The first settler there built a cabin in 1818; in 1837, largely through the efforts of Abraham Lincoln and other members of the Illinois legislature, the state capital was transferred there. Lincoln lived in Springfield until he became president in 1861; he is buried there. An educational and government ser¬ vices centre, it also is a market centre for a rich farming area.

Springfield City (pop., 2000: 152,082), southwestern Massachusetts, U.S. Located on the Connecticut River, Springfield was settled in 1636 and was incorporated in 1641. It was burned during King Philip's War (1675). In 1786 it was the site of an arsenal targeted by Shays' Rebellion; during the American Civil War the U.S. Armory (see Springfield Armory) there produced the Springfield musket. Springfield is home to several colleges and the Basketball Hall of Fame. It was the birthplace of Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss).

Springfield City (pop., 2000: 151,580), southwestern Missouri, U.S. Settled in 1829, Springfield grew slowly until the period of heavy west¬ ward migration began in the U.S. Confederate forces held it briefly dur¬ ing the American Civil War, and Wild Bill Hickok lived there in the 1860s. Its agriculture-based economy is augmented by its educational institu¬ tions. The international headquarters of the Assemblies of God church is in the city.

Springfield Armory Weapons factory established at Springfield, Mass., by the U.S. Congress in 1794. It grew out of an arsenal established in Springfield by the Revolutionary government in 1777, the site being chosen partly for its inaccessibility to British forces. The armoury pio¬ neered mass-production manufacturing techniques and produced weap¬ ons ranging from smoothbore muskets in its earliest days to the Springfield rifle and the M1 rifle of World War II, designed by John Garand. It closed in 1968 and is now a national historic site. See also armoury practice; Tho¬ mas Blanchard.

Springfield rifle Any of several rifles that were standard infantry weap¬ ons of the U.S. Army from 1873 to 1936, all taking their name from the Springfield Armory. The most famous began as the Model 1903 Spring- field, an adaptation of the German Mauser. After modifications to accom¬ modate Model 1906 ammunition, it entered history as the Springfield .30- 06, one of the most reliable and accurate military firearms ever. The principal U.S. infantry weapon until 1936, it was replaced by the Garand (Ml) rifle of World War II, also designed at the Springfield Armory. When the Springfield .30-06 was retired, it was widely modified into a sporting rifle that is still prized for its accuracy. See also Ml 6 rifle.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

1806 I Springsteen ► squash

Springsteen, Bruce (Frederick Joseph) (b. Sept. 23, 1949, Free¬ hold, N.J., U.S.) U.S. singer and songwriter. He played guitar in several bar bands on the Jersey Shore before forming the E Street Band in the early 1970s. His third album, Born to Run (1975), was a huge success and landed “the Boss” on the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines. Even more successful was his Born in the USA (1984). Springsteen’s sensitive lyrics, often voicing his working-class sympathies, and marathon concerts won him a devoted following. He addressed Americans’ concerns over the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in The Rising (2002).

spruce Any of about 40 species of evergreen ornamental and timber trees that make up the genus Picea (pine family), native to temperate and cold regions of the Northern Hemi¬ sphere. These pyramid-shaped trees have whorled branches and thin, scaly bark. The needlelike, spirally arranged leaves connect to their stems via a peglike woody base, which remains on the twig when the leaf falls. Tough, finely grained, resonant, and pliable, spruce wood is used for sounding boards in pianos and bodies of violins, as well as in construction, for boats and barrels, and as pulpwood. Common species throughout most of northern North America are black spruce (P. mari- ana), a source of spruce GUM, and white spruce ( P. glauca ), a source of good timber. Blue, or Colorado spruce ( P. pungens ) is used as an ornamental because of its bluish leaves and symmetrical growth habit.

spruce budworm Larva of a leaf roller moth (Choristoneura fumifer- ana ), one of the most destructive North American pests. It attacks ever¬ greens, feeding on needles and pollen, and can completely defoliate spruce and related trees, causing much loss for the lumber industry and damaging landscapes.

sprung rhythm Poetic rhythm designed to approximate the natural rhythm of speech. It is characterized by the frequent juxtaposition of single accented syllables and by the occurrence of feet with varying num¬ bers of syllables whose sequence is interrupted by unstressed syllables that are not counted in the scansion. Because stressed syllables often occur sequentially, the rhythm is said to be “sprung.” This system of prosody was developed by Gerard Manley Hopkins, who saw it as the basis of such early English poems as William Langland’s Piers Plowman.

spurge One of the largest flowering-plant genera ( Euphorbia ), with more than 1,600 species. It takes its com¬ mon name from a group of annual herbs used as purgatives, or spurges.

Many spurges are important as orna¬ mentals or as sources of drugs; many others are weeds. One of the best- known is the poinsettia. Euphorbia is part of the family Euphorbiaceae, which contains about 7,500 species of flowering annual and perennial herbs and woody shrubs or trees in 275 genera; most are found in tem¬ perate and tropical regions. Flowers usually lack petals; those of Euphor¬ bia are borne in cup-shaped clusters.

The fruit is a capsule. Leaves are usu¬ ally simple. The stems of many spe¬ cies contain a milky latex. In addition to Euphorbia, economically impor¬ tant family members include the CASTOR-OIL PLANT, CROTON, CASSAVA, and RUBBER TREE.

Sputnik \'sput-nik\ Any of a series of Earth-orbiting spacecraft whose launching by the Soviet Union inaugurated the space age. Sputnik 1, the world’s first artificial satellite (October 1957), remained in orbit until early 1958, when it reentered Earth’s atmosphere and burned up. Sputnik 2 car¬

ried a dog, Laika, the first living creature to orbit Earth; since Sputnik 2 was not designed to sustain life, Laika did not survive the flight. Eight more missions with similar satellites carried out experiments on various animals to test life-support systems and reentry procedures and to furnish data on space temperatures, pressures, particles, radiation, and magnetic fields.

Spyri Vshpe-re\, Johanna orig. Johanna Heusser (b. June 12, 1829, Hirzel, Switz.—d. July 7, 1901, Zurich) Swiss writer. Living in Zurich with her lawyer husband, Spyri wrote books, many widely trans¬ lated, that are imbued with her love of her homeland, feeling for nature, unobtrusive piety, and cheerful wisdom. She is best remembered for her popular novel Heidi (1880-81), a classic of children’s literature about an orphan sent to live with her grandfather in the Swiss mountains.

SQL in full Structured Query Language. Computer programming language used for retrieving records or parts of records in databases and performing various calculations before displaying the results. SQL is par¬ ticularly suitable for searching relational databases. It has a formal, pow¬ erful syntax and is able to accommodate logical operators. Its sentence¬ like structure resembles natural language except that its syntax is limited and fixed.

Squanto (d. November 1622, Chatham Harbor, Plymouth Colony) Paw- tuxet Indian interpreter and guide. Squanto learned English after escap¬ ing an attempt to sell him into slavery and joining the Newfoundland Company. In Plymouth colony he was made Gov. William Bradford’s Indian emissary. He also served as interpreter for Edward Winslow, the Pilgrim representative, during his negotiations with Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag.

square In measurement, a device consisting of two straightedges set at a right angle. It is used by carpenters and machinists to check the cor¬ rectness of right angles, as a guide when drawing lines on materials before cutting, or for locating holes. In mechanical drawing or drafting, a T-shaped instrument known as a T square is used to establish a horizon¬ tal reference on the drafting board.

square dance Dance for sets of four couples standing in square for¬ mation. The most popular type of U.S. folk dance, it derived from the quadrille and was originally called a square dance to distinguish it from the contra, or longways, dance (for a double line of couples) and the round dance (for a circle of couples). The U.S. square dance progresses through specific patterns called or sung out to the dancers by a caller and accom¬ panied by lively music played on instruments such as fiddle, banjo, accor¬ dion, guitar, and piano.

Square Deal Term used by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt to describe his approach to social problems. It embraced his idealistic view of labour, citizenship, parenthood, and Christian ethics. He first used the term after the settlement of a mining strike in 1902 to describe the ideal of peaceful coexistence between big business and labour unions. The concept became part of the Bull Moose Party platform when Roosevelt became its candi¬ date in 1912.

square of opposition See square of opposition

squash Any of various fruits of the genus Cucurbita in the gourd fam¬ ily, widely cultivated as vegetables and for livestock feed. The principal species are C. maxima and certain varieties of C. pepo. Summer squash is a quick-growing, small-fruited, nontrailing or bush type of C. pepo. Diverse in form, colour, and surface texture, the fruits do not store well and must be used soon after harvest (see zucchini). Winter varieties of squash, C. maxima, are long-vining, generally large-fruited, long-season types. Harvested fruits, in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colours, can be stored many months if kept dry and well above freezing. The rinds are harder than those of summer squash and usually inedible. Examples include acorn squash and pumpkin. Native to the Americas, squash was widely cultivated by American Indians before Europeans arrived.

squash (rackets) Singles or doubles game played in a four-walled court with a long-handled racket and a rubber ball. A descendant of rack¬ ets, it probably originated in the mid-19th century at England’s Harrow School. The standard international game uses a relatively soft, slow ball; hardball squash, popular in the U.S., is played on a narrower court with a harder, faster ball. The object of squash is to bounce, or rebound, the ball off the front wall in such a way as to defeat an opponent’s attempt to reach and return it.

Black spruce (Picea mariana)

GRANT HEILMAN-EB INC.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

squash bug ► Sri Lanka I 1807

squash bug or leaf-footed bug Any of more than 2,000 widely distributed insect species (family Coreidae), including many important plant pests. Most species are dull-coloured and more than 0.4 in. (10 mm) long. Many have enlarged, flattened extensions on the legs. The North American squash bug (Anasa tristis ) is an important pest of squash, melon, and pumpkin (plants in the gourd family). It is basically yellow but is covered with black pits that make it look black. The larvae feed underground, and the piercing and sucking mouthparts of the adults enable them to attack the parts of plants that insecticides rarely penetrate.

squash tennis Singles racket game resembling squash rackets, played with an inflated ball the size of a tennis ball. Played in virtually the same court as squash rackets, squash tennis makes fewer demands on the legs in pursuing the ball but puts a greater premium on agility and quickness of foot and reflexes in turning and spinning.

squatter sovereignty See popular sovereignty

Squaw Valley Valley, eastern California, U.S. Squaw Valley is located in the Sierra Nevada range on the eastern slope of Squaw Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe. A world-famous winter sports area, it has ice-skating facili¬ ties, ski lifts, and trails, and it was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games.

Squibb, E(dward) R(obinson) (b. July 4, 1819, Wilmington, Del., U.S.—d. Oct. 25, 1900, Brooklyn, N.Y.) U.S. pharmaceutical manufac¬ turer. He earned a medical degree and later worked on U.S. Navy ships; his work alerted him to the poor quality of the medicines supplied to the Navy, which he persuaded to manufacture its own drugs. At the Brook¬ lyn Naval Hospital (from 1851) he devised a safe method for making anesthetic ether and also discovered processes for making chloroform, fluid extracts, and bismuth salts. In 1858 he set up his own Brooklyn laboratory; the Union Army during the Civil War relied heavily on his drugs, and by 1883 he was manufacturing 324 products and selling them around the world. A Quaker idealist, he refused to patent his medicines, and he crusaded for purity in drug manufacture. He did not live to see the culmination of his work: the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1904.

squid Any of nearly 400 species of 10-armed cephalopods, found in both coastal and oceanic waters, that prey on fishes and crustaceans. They range from less than 0.75 in. (1.5 cm) to more than 65 ft (20 m) long (in the case of the giant squid). Two of the 10 arms are long, slender ten¬ tacles; each has an expanded end and four rows of suckers with toothed, hard-edged rings. An internal shell supports the slender tubular body of most species. Squid eyes, almost as complex as human eyes, are usually set into the sides of the head. Squids may be swift swimmers (propelling themselves by contracting and relaxing their mantle or by undulating their two fins) or mere drifters; water expelled from a funnel below the head can propel the squid backward. Like the octopus, the squid may emit an inky cloud from its ink sac when in danger from sperm whales, fishes, or humans, among other predators.

Squid (///ex coindeti) swimming forward

DOUGLAS P. WILSON

squirrel Any of about 260 species in 50 genera (family Sciuridae) of mostly diurnal rodents found almost worldwide. Many species are arbo¬ real; some are terrestrial. All species have strong hind legs and a hairy tail. They vary widely in colour and form and range in total length from the 4-in. (10-cm) African pygmy squirrel to the giant squirrels of Asia,

about 35 in. (90 cm) long. Tree dwellers live in a tree hollow or nest, and most are active year-round. Ground dwellers live in burrows, and many become dormant in winter (hibernate) or summer (estivate). Most species are primarily vegetarian and are fond of seeds and nuts; some eat insects or supplement their diet with animal protein. See also chipmunk; flying squirrel; ground squirrel; marmot; prairie dog.

squirrel monkey Any of several species (genus Saimiri, family Cebidae) of arboreal New World monkeys, found in groups of up to several hundred during the day in riverside forests of Central and South America. They eat fruit, insects, and small animals. They are 10-16 in. (25—40 cm) long and have a heavy, nonprehensile, black-tipped tail, 15-19 in. (37-47 cm) long. They have a small white face, large eyes, and large, usually tufted, ears. The short, soft coat is grayish to green¬ ish, with yellow or orange arms, hands, and feet. The crown of the common squirrel monkey ( S. sci- ureus) is olive or grayish; the red- backed squirrel monkey (S. oerstedii ) has a black crown and red¬ dish back.

Sraosha \srau-'sha\ In Zoroastrianism and Parsiism, the divine being who is the messenger of Ahura Mazda and the embodiment of the divine word. He serves as the mediator between the human and the divine. Zoroastri- ans believe that no ritual is valid without his presence. He is depicted as a strong and holy youth who lives in a celestial thousand-pillared house. He chastises the demons that harass people every night, and he leads the righteous soul through the ordeal of judgment three days after death. At the end of time, he will be the agent of the extermination of evil.

Sravasti \shra-'v3s-te\ Ancient city, northeastern Uttar Pradesh, north¬ ern India. In Buddhist times (6th century BC-6th century ad), it was the capital of Kosala and a prosperous trading centre. It was also closely associated with the life of the Buddha and with figures significant in later Buddhist history. Its ruins include those of a monastery.

Sri Lanka V.sre-'laq-koN officially Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka formerly Ceylon Island country in the Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast of India. Area: 25,332 sq mi (65,610 sq km). Popu¬ lation (2005 est.): 20,743,000. Capitals: Colombo (executive), Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative and judicial). About three-fourths of the population is Sinhalese; other ethnic groups include Tamils and Mus¬ lims. Languages: Sinhala, Tamil (both official); also English. Religions: Buddhism; also Hinduism, Islam, Christianity. Currency: Sri Lanka rupee. Highlands make up Sri Lanka’s south-central region and core, with nar¬ row gorges and deep river valleys. The surrounding lowlands include hills and fertile plains. The developing mixed economy is largely based on agriculture, services, and light industries. Clothing, tea, gemstones, and rubber are exported. The island is world-famous for its gemstones, which include sapphires, rubies, and topaz. It is also a major producer of high- grade graphite. Sri Lanka is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president, assisted by the prime minister. The Sinhalese people are probably the result of aboriginal inhabitants mixing with Indo-Aryans who began migrating from India c. the 5th cen¬ tury bc. The Tamils were later immigrants from Dravidian India, migrat¬ ing over a period from the early centuries ad to c. 1200. Buddhism was introduced during the 3rd century bc. As Buddhism spread, the Sinhalese kingdom extended its political control over the island but lost it to invad¬ ers from southern India in the 10th century. Between 1200 and 1505, Sin¬ halese power gravitated to southwestern Sri Lanka, while a southern Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established the Tamil king¬ dom in the 14th century. Foreign invasions from India, China, and Malaya occurred in the 13th—15th centuries. In 1505 the Portuguese arrived, and by 1619 they controlled most of the island. The Sinhalese enlisted the Dutch to help oust the Portuguese, and the island eventually came under the control of the Dutch East India Company, which relinquished it in 1796 to the British. In 1802 it became the British crown colony of Ceylon, which gained independence in 1948. It became the Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972 and took its present name in 1978. Civil strife between Tamil and

Common squirrel monkey (Saimiri sci- ureus).

© GERRY ELLIS NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

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