surface tension Property of a liquid surface that causes it to act like a stretched elastic membrane (see elasticity). Its strength depends on the forces of attraction among the particles of the liquid itself and with the particles of the gas, solid, or liquid with which it comes in contact. Sur¬ face tension allows certain insects to stand on the surface of water and can support a razor blade placed horizontally on the liquid’s surface, even though the blade may be denser than the liquid and unable to float. Sur¬ face tension results in spherical drops of liquid, as the liquid tends to minimize its surface area.
surfing Sport of riding breaking waves toward the shore, especially with a surfboard. The sport originated prehistorically in the South Seas. In 1777 and 1778 Capt. James Cook first reported seeing surfers in Tahiti and on Oahu. In 1821 surfing was banned by missionaries who thought it immoral. It was revived in the 1920s by the Hawaiian swimmer Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968). Today surfing is enjoyed on beaches with breakers throughout the world, and several international championships are held. The goal is to maneuver on the unbroken face of the wave, pref¬ erably as far back toward the curl (“tube”) as possible. In addition to surf¬ boards, surfers can use belly-boards, kneeboards, or kayaks, or they can bodysurf using no board at all.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1848 I surgeonfish ► Surrey
surgeonfish or tang Any of about 75 species (family Acanthuridae)
of thin, deep-bodied, tropical marine fishes that are small-scaled, with a single dorsal fin and one or more dis¬ tinctive, sharp spines on either side of the tail base. The spines resemble a surgeon’s scalpel and may be either fixed or hinged at the rear so that they can be opened outward and directed forward. Surgeonfishes are mostly algae eaters and usually do not exceed 20 in. (50 cm) long. The yellow surgeon, or yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens), is an Indo- Pacific species, and the blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus ) is found in the Atlantic and Caribbean.
Surgeonfish (Acanthurus leucosternon)
JANE BURTON-BRUCE COLEMAN LTD.
surgery Branch of medicine concerned with treatment by physical means rather than drugs. In addition to operations requiring access to the inside of the body (open surgery), it includes manipulation from outside the body (e.g., setting of a broken bone, skin grafts). Modern surgery began in the mid-19th century with use of anesthetics and antiseptics. Other important advances have included diagnostic imaging, blood typing, intu¬ bation to support breathing, intravenous administration of fluids and drugs, heart-lung machines (see artificial heart), endoscopy, and devices that monitor body functions. Specialized instruments used in surgery include scalpels to cut tissue, forceps to hold blood vessels closed or grasp and manipulate structures, clamps to immobilize or crush tissues, gauze sponges to absorb fluids and keep an area dry, retractors to hold incisions open, and curved needles to suture them closed. Pre- and postoperative care is crucial to the success of surgery. See also microsurgery, open-heart SURGERY, ORTHOPEDICS, PLASTIC SURGERY, TRANSPLANT.
Suriname \ 1 su-r9-'na-m9\ officially Republic of Suriname formerly Dutch Guiana Country, northern coast of South America. Area: 63,251 sq mi (163,820 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 493,000. Capitaclass="underline" Para-
' 54 °
OCEAN
^ 56 °
COPPENAME RIVER MOUTH A TL
NATURE RESERVE^ Njeuw W|A _ W|A .Nieiiw Totness « Paramaribo^. Amsterdam NATURE RESERVE }T\ Groningen* V^ee^g < fcV
flm/oniwnrht®
maribo. The population includes South Asians, Creoles, Javanese, and smaller groups of people of African, Chinese,
American Indian, and Dutch descent. Lan¬ guages: Dutch (official), English, Sranan (a
creole language), Javanese, Sarnami (derived from Hindi and Urdu). Reli¬ gions: Christianity (Roman Catholic, Protestant, other Christians), Hin¬ duism, Islam, traditional beliefs. Currency: Suriname dollar. Suriname has a low, narrow coastal plain, inland savannas, a forested plateau region,
and mountain ranges. A number of major rivers, including the Couran- tyne, Maroni, and Suriname, cross the country to empty into the Atlantic. Bauxite mining, aluminum production, and agriculture are the largest sec¬ tors of the economy. Exports include rice, bananas, sugarcane, oranges, and shrimp. Suriname is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. It was inhabited by various South American Indian peoples prior to European settlement. Spanish explor¬ ers claimed Suriname in 1593, but the Dutch began to settle there in 1602, followed by the English in 1651. It was ceded to the Dutch in 1667, and in 1682 the Dutch West India Company introduced coffee and sugarcane plantations and African slaves to cultivate them. Slavery was abolished in 1863, and indentured servants were brought from China, Java, and India to work the plantations, adding to the ethnic mix of the population. Except for brief interludes of British rule (1799-1802, 1804-15), Suriname remained a Dutch colony. It gained internal autonomy in 1954 and inde¬ pendence in 1975. A military coup in 1980 ended civilian control until the electorate approved a new constitution in 1987. Military control resumed after a coup in 1990. Elections were held in 1992, and civilian democratic government returned.
Suriname River River, central and eastern Suriname. Rising in the highlands and flowing toward the northeast for some 300 mi (480 km), it empties into the Atlantic Ocean just north of Paramaribo. It was dammed at Afobaka to create W. J. van Blommestein Lake, the largest lake in Suri¬ name.
Surma River Vsur-m9\ River, northeastern India and eastern Bang¬ ladesh. It rises in northern Manipur state, India, where it is called the Barak River, and flows west into Bangladesh. There it passes through a rich tea¬ growing valley and eventually enters an old channel of the Brahmaputra and becomes the Meghna River, before entering the Ganges. It is 560 mi (900 km) long.
Surrealism Movement in the visual arts and literature that flourished in Europe between World Wars I and II. Surrealism grew principally out of the earlier Dada movement, which before World War I produced works of anti-art that deliberately defied reason; Surrealism developed in reac¬ tion against the “rationalism” that had led to World War I. The movement was founded in 1924 by Andre Breton as a means of joining dream and fantasy to everyday reality to form “an absolute reality, a surreality.” Drawing on the theories of Sigmund Freud, he concluded that the uncon¬ scious was the wellspring of the imagination. Breton was a poet, but Sur¬ realism’s major achievements were in painting. Some artists practiced organic, emblematic, or absolute Surrealism, expressing the unconscious through suggestive yet indefinite biomorphic images (e.g., Jean Arp, AAax Ernst, Andre Masson, Joan Miro). Others created realistically painted images, removed from their context and reassembled within a paradoxi¬ cal or shocking framework (Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte). With its empha¬ sis on content and free form. Surrealism provided a major alternative to the contemporary, highly formalistic Cubist movement and was largely responsible for perpetuating in modern painting the traditional emphasis on content.
Surrey Administrative county (pop., 2001: 1,059,015) and historic county, southern England. Surrey is located southwest of London. Sheep raising was an important medieval activity for the county, and by the 16th century a cloth trade was also growing. Its forested hills were a source of timber for charcoal, construction, and shipbuilding. Transport of these products, originally dependent on rivers, was facilitated in 1801 when the Surrey Iron Railway was established as the first public railway. During the 19th century the world’s densest network of suburban railways devel¬ oped in northern Surrey. Suburban growth continued after World War II, proceeding under planning restraints. The county seat is Guildford.