Style Moderne See Art Deco
stylistics Aspect of literary study that emphasizes the analysis of vari¬ ous elements of style (such as metaphor and diction). The ancients saw style as the proper adornment of thought. In this view, which prevailed throughout the Renaissance, devices of style can be catalogued and ideas can be framed with the help of model sentences and prescribed types of figures suited to the mode of discourse. In more recent theories, the rela¬ tionship of style and the individual writer’s unique vision of reality is emphasized.
stylolite \ , stl-b- l llt\ Sedimentary structure consisting of a series of rela¬ tively small, alternating, interlocked, toothlike columns of stone; it is common in limestone, marble, and similar rock. The individual columns never appear singly but occur as a succession of interpenetrations that in cross section make a zigzag suture across the face of the stone. Most geologists believe that they are of secondary origin; that is, they result from differential chemical solution as groundwater circulates along a part¬ ing in hardened rock.
Styne, Jule orig. Julius Kerwin Stein (b. Dec. 31, 1905, London, Eng.—d. Sept. 20, 1994, New York, N.Y., U.S.) British-born U.S. song¬ writer. Bom to Ukrainian Jewish parents, he and his family settled in Chi¬ cago, Ill., U.S., in 1912. His first hit song was published in 1926. In the early 1930s he changed his name to avoid confusion with another per¬ former. He moved to Hollywood, Calif., in 1937 to write film musicals. In the 1940s he worked with lyricist Sammy Cahn, writing ballads for Frank Sinatra, the film musical Anchors Aweigh (1945), and the Broadway musi¬ cal High Button Shoes (1947). He collaborated with other lyricists on musicals such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949), Bells Are Ringing (1956), Gypsy (1959), and Funny Girl (1964). His songs include “Let It Snow,” “The Party’s Over,” and “People.”
Styron, William (b. June 11, 1925, Newport News, Va., U.S.) U.S. novelist. Educated at Duke University, Styron became part of the Ameri¬ can expatriate community in Paris in the 1950s. His first novel. Lie Down in Darkness (1951), tells of a disturbed young woman who commits sui¬ cide. His fourth, the controversial Confessions of Nat Turner (1967, Pulitzer Prize), vividly evokes the slavery era. His later work includes Sophie’s Choice (1979), examining ramifications of the Holocaust; and Darkness Visible (1990), a nonfiction account of his depression. His works often treat violent themes in a rich, Faulknerian style.
Styx \'stiks\ In Greek mythology, a river of the underworld. The name comes from a Greek word that denotes both hatred and extreme cold, and it expresses loathing of death. In the epics of Homer, the gods swore by the water of Styx as their most binding oath. Hesiod personified Styx as the daughter of Oceanus and the mother of Emulation, Victory, Power, and Might. The ancients believed that its water was poisonous and would dissolve any vessel except one made of the hoof of a horse or an ass.
Su Song or Su Sung \'su-'suq\ (b. 1020, Fujian Province, China—d. 1101, Kaifeng) Chinese scholar and administrative and financial expert in the imperial bureaucracy. His Illustrated Pharmacopoeia (1070) revealed his knowledge of drugs, zoology, metallurgy, and related technology. An armillary clock that he built to serve as the basis of calendrical reform was housed in a 35-ft (11-m) tower and powered by a waterwheel and chain drive; its mechanism anticipated techniques that would not be used in Europe for hundreds of years.
Suarez \'swa-rath\, Francisco (b. Jan. 5, 1548, Granada, Spain—d. Sept. 25, 1617, Lisbon) Spanish theologian and philosopher. In his Meta¬ physical Disputations (1597), he drew on the works of Aristotle, St. Tho¬ mas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, and Luis de Molina (1535-1600) to discuss the free will problem and other metaphysical topics. He is widely
considered the greatest Scholastic philosopher after Aquinas (see Scho¬ lasticism) and the major Jesuit theologian. His departures from Aquinas’s positions have been considered significant enough to warrant the separate designation of his system as Suarezianism.
Suarez, Hugo Banzer See Hugo Banzer Suarez
subatomic particle or elementary particle Any of various self- contained units of matter or energy. Discovery of the electron in 1 897 and of the atomic nucleus in 1911 established that the atom is actually a com¬ posite of a cloud of electrons surrounding a tiny but heavy core. By the early 1930s it was found that the nucleus is composed of even smaller particles, called protons and neutrons. In the early 1970s it was discov¬ ered that these particles are made up of several types of even more basic units, named quarks, which, together with several types of leptons, con¬ stitute the fundamental building blocks of all matter. A third major group of subatomic particles consists of bosons, which transmit the forces of the universe. More than 200 subatomic particles have been detected so far, and most appear to have a corresponding antiparticle (see antimatter).
subbituminous coal Dark-brown to black coal, intermediate in rank between lignite and bituminous coal. It contains less water and is harder than lignite, making it easier to transport, store, and use. It has lower heating value than bituminous coal, but its sulfur content is often low, so that a number of coal-fired electric-power plants have switched from bitu¬ minous to subbituminous coal and lignite (which also tends to have rela¬ tively low sulfur). Subbituminous deposits are found in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, and China.
subconscious See unconscious
subduction zone Oceanic trench area in which, according to the theory of plate tectonics, the seafloor underthrusts an adjacent plate, drag¬ ging the accumulated trench sediments downward into the Earth’s upper mantle. See also deep-sea trench.
Subic Bay Inlet of the South China Sea, southwestern Luzon, Philip¬ pines. From 1901 it was the site of the U.S.-operated Subic Bay Naval Station, the largest naval installation in the Philippines. The area suffered heavy damage in World War II and was occupied by the Japanese in 1942-44. The base played a prominent supply and maintenance role in the Vietnam War (1955-75). Control of the bay was transferred to the Philippines in 1992, and it subsequently was redeveloped as a free-trade zone and recreational and tourist destination.
sublimation In physics, the change of state of a substance from a solid to a gas without first becoming liquid. One example is the vaporization of frozen carbon dioxide, or dry ice, at ordinary atmospheric pressure and temperature. The phenomenon occurs at pressures and temperatures (both relatively low) where solid and vapour phases coexist in equilibrium. Pres¬ ervation of food by freeze-drying involves sublimation of water from the food in a frozen state under vacuum.
submachine gun Lightweight automatic small-arms weapon cham¬ bered for relatively low-energy pistol cartridges and fired from the hip or shoulder. Submachine guns usually have box-type magazines that hold 10-50 cartridges, or occasionally drums holding more rounds. A short- range weapon, they are rarely effective at more than 200 yards (180 m). They can fire 650 or more rounds per minute and weigh 6-10 lbs (2.5- 4.5 kg). Important types include the Thompson submachine gun, or tommy gun (patented 1920), the British Sten gun of World War II, and the later Israeli Uzi.
submarine Naval vessel capable of operating underwater for sustained periods. In the 18th and 19th centuries, American inventors such as David Bushnell (17427-1824) and Robert Fulton experimented with hand- powered submarines. In 1898 John P. Holland (1840-1914) launched the Holland , which had both a gasoline engine for surface locomotion and a battery-powered electric motor for submerged cruising; it was purchased by the U.S. government in 1900. The innovations of Simon Lake (1866— 1945) were adopted first in Europe and later in the U.S. By the eve of World War I, all major navies had diesel-electric submarines. German U-boats were an especially potent threat; through World War II they intro¬ duced such innovations as the snorkel, which supplied fresh air to the die¬ sel engine without having to surface the boat. Nuclear-powered submarines began service with the launching of the USS Nautilus in 1954. The abundant power provided by uranium-fueled reactors means that nuclear submarines can remain submerged and operate at high speed