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.