in spreading disease—helped the scientific community accept mosqui¬ toes’ role in malaria and yellow fever. Smith was the first to differentiate the bacteria that cause tuberculosis in cattle and in humans, and he was one of the first to notice anaphylaxis. He also improved laboratory pro¬ duction of VACCINES.
Smith, Vernon L. (b. Jan. 1, 1927, Wichita, Kan., U.S.) U.S. econo¬ mist. Smith studied economics at the University of Kansas (M.A., 1952) and at Harvard (Ph.D., 1955). He later taught at a number of institutions and in 2001 became a professor at George Mason University. His exten¬ sive laboratory experiments in economic analysis laid the foundation for the field of experimental economics. Through such work he was able to determine the theoretical equilibrium, or acceptable market price. He also focused on the outcome of public auctions, showing that the way in which the bidding was organized affected the selling price, and he devised “wind-tunnel tests,” where trials of new alternative market designs, such as those for a deregulated industry, could be tested. In 2002 he shared the Nobel Prize for Economics with Daniel Kahneman.
Smith, W(illiam) Eugene (b. Dec. 20, 1918, Wichita, Kan., U.S.—d. Oct. 15, 1978, Tucson, Ariz.) U.S. photojournalist. He worked as a pho¬ tographer for local papers then went to New York City and worked for several magazines. In 1943-44, as a war correspondent for Life maga¬ zine, he covered many of the important battles of the Pacific theatre. He produced a number of photoessays for Life, such as Spanish Village (1951), a study of villagers’ daily struggle to draw life from exhausted soil. His most famous picture, The Walk to Paradise Garden (1947), showing his own children entering a forest clearing, concluded the land¬ mark photographic exhibition The Family of Man.
Smith, William (b. March 23, 1769, Churchill, Oxfordshire, Eng.—d. Aug. 28, 1839, Northampton, Northamptonshire) English engineer and geologist, known as the founder of the science of stratigraphy. The son of a blacksmith, he was largely self-educated. He produced the first geologic map of England and Wales (1815), setting the style for modem geologic maps, and subsequently a series of geologic maps of the English coun¬ ties. He introduced many techniques still used, including the use of fos¬ sils for the dating of layers. Current geologic maps of England differ from his primarily in detail, and many of the colourful names he applied to the strata are also used today.
Smith & Wesson U.S. gun manufacturer. The company has its roots in an 1852 partnership between Horace Smith (1808-93) and Daniel B. Wesson (1825-1906), who designed and marketed a lever-action, repeat¬ ing magazine handgun that held a self-contained cartridge. Their venture ran into financial difficulties and they were forced to sell it, but a second partnership in 1856, manufacturing their new revolving-cylinder handgun (now known as the .22 rimfire) proved more successful. The Civil War made Smith & Wesson a leading firearms manufacturer. In 1867 it began selling in Europe. It supplied the British in World War I and the Allies in World War II. In 1965 the Wesson family sold the company, which has since changed hands several times.
Smith College Private liberal arts college for women in Northampton, Mass. It was founded in 1871 through the bequest of Sophia Smith (1796- 1870). Bachelor’s degrees are granted in most major academic fields, and master’s degrees are granted in biology, dance, education, music, religion, social work, and theatre. Smith’s school of social work also grants doc¬ toral degrees. The college belongs to a five-college cooperative with Amherst, Hampshire, and Mount Holyoke colleges and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Smith Sound Channel between Ellesmere Island, Canada, and north¬ western Greenland. About 3CM-5 mi (48-72 km) wide, the sound extends northward for 55 mi (88 km) from Baffin Bay to the Kane Basin. It was discovered by William Baffin in 1616 and named for Thomas Smythe (Smith), who had promoted a number of voyages searching for a North¬ west Passage.
smithing Fabrication and repair of metal objects by hot and cold forg¬ ing on an anvil or with a power hammer or by welding and other means. Blacksmiths traditionally worked with iron (anciently known as “black metal”), making agricultural and other tools, fashioning hardware (e.g., hooks, hinges, handles) for the farm, the home, and industry, and shoe¬ ing horses. The term smithing is also applied to work with precious met¬ als (gold, silver) as well as other metals (e.g., tin, including tinplate, and steel).
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1772 I Smithsonian Institution ► Smyth
Smithsonian Institution U.S. research institution. Enabled by the bequest of the English chemist James Smithson (1765-1829), it was estab¬ lished in Washington, D.C., by an 1846 act of Congress. The Smithsonian administers numerous bureaus, including the Freer Gallery of Art, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of History and Technology, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Zoological Park, and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observa¬ tory.
smog Polluted air over a community. The term, a combination of “smoke” and “fog,” was popularized in the early 20th century and now commonly refers to the pall of automotive or industrial origin that lies over many cities. Sulfurous smog results from the use of sulfur-bearing fossil fuels, particularly coal, and is aggravated by dampness. Photo¬ chemical smog requires neither smoke nor fog. Nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbon vapours emitted from automobiles and other sources undergo reactions in the presence of sunlight that produce a light brownish col¬ oration of the atmosphere, reduced visibility, plant damage, irritation of the eyes, and respiratory distress.
smoking Breathing the fumes of burning plant material, especially tobacco, from a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Despite social and medical argu¬ ments against tobacco use, smoking is widely practiced around the world. Nicotine is an alkaloid in tobacco that is addictive and can have both stimulating and tranquilizing psychoactive effects. The tar (residue) and gases produced by burning tobacco have many negative health effects. They include lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and laryngeal cancer; heart disease and stroke; and emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases other health-related risk factors (see asbestosis). A nonsmoker who breathes secondhand smoke (such as the smoke from a lit cigarette) is at an increased risk of the same diseases that affect smokers. Second¬ hand smoke also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Doctor- run programs, along with nicotine patches and gums that provide diminishing doses of nicotine, are among the aids available to help those who wish to quit smoking. Hypnosis, acupuncture, herbal remedies, and other approaches are also widely advertised as ways to quit smoking. Smoking has been greatly reduced in the health-conscious West even as it rises in many less-developed countries.
Smoky Mountains See Great Smoky Mtns.
smoky quartz Common, coarse-grained variety of quartz that ranges in colour from nearly black through smoky brown. No distinct boundary exists between smoky and colourless quartz. Its abundance causes it to be worth considerably less than either amethyst or citrine. Heating bleaches the stone, the colour sometimes passing through yellow; these yellow pieces are often sold as citrine.
Smolensk \smo-'lensk\ City (pop., 1999 est.: 355,700), western Rus¬ sia. One of the oldest and most historic of Russian cities, it was a key stronghold on the Dnieper River by the 9th century and became a commer¬ cial centre on the trade route between the Baltic Sea and the Byzantine Empire. Sacked by the Tatars c. 1240, it subsequently fell to Lithuania. Sieges led to its capture by Moscow in 1340 and recapture by Lithuania in 1408. It was fought over several times, then was finally taken by Rus¬ sia in 1654. It was burned during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812. The scene of heavy fighting in World War II, it was occupied by the Germans from 1941 to 1943. It is a light-industry and educational cen¬ tre.