The S-matrix is a quantity related to the probability of events occurring in quantum mechanical scattering processes. In scattering, two or more particles collide, and the resulting mass-energy can be converted to other particles. The part...

S. R. Ranganathan is considered by many to be the foremost theorist in the field of classification because of his contributions to the theory of facet analysis. In addition to being known as the "Father of Library Science" in...

(1912–1955), Indian writer. Saadat Hasan Manto, the much acclaimed and controversial South Asian Muslim literary figure, was born in Sambrala, in the Ludhiana district of the Punjab. As a young man, Manto began his literary career ...

(2000 est. pop. 2.4 million). Sabah is a Malaysian state on the northern part of the island of Borneo, bordered by Indonesia in the south, Sarawak in the west, and the Philippines in the east. Its coastline includes the South China Sea, th...

SABAZIOS, a god of the Thracians and the Phrygians, is also known from Greek and Latin sources as Sabadios, Sauazios, Saazios, Sabos, Sebazios, Sabadius, and Sebadius. His name is related to the Macedonian word sauâdai, or saû...

(b. 1913), Japanese historian. Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1913, Ienaga Saburo graduated from Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo) in 1937. He began his career as a high school teacher, later moving to Tokyo University o...

Synthetic organic compound, C7H5NSO3, that is 200–700 times as sweet as cane sugar. The sodium or calcium salt of saccharin is widely used as a diet sweetener. Though approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regula...

1588-c. 1628 Dutch Optician Sacharias Jansen is generally credited with inventing the first compound microscope and may possibly have invented the telescope. A traveling merchant as well as optician, Jansen was a bit of a rogue, involved a...

Act of offering objects to a divinity, thereby making them holy. The motivation for sacrifice is to perpetuate, intensify, or reestablish a connection between the human and the divine. It is often intended to gain the favour of the god or ...

SAʿDĪ (AH 597?–690/1200?–1291 CE), pen name of Abū ʿAbd Allāh Musharrif (al-Dīn) ibn Muṣliḥ al-Dīn Saʿdī-yi Shīrāzī, Islamic Pe...

(b. 1940), Japanese baseball player. Oh hit 868 home runs during a 22-year career with the Yomiuri Giants from 1959 to 1980. Born in Tokyo, Oh joined the Giants in 1959 out of Waseda Jitsugyo High School. Originally a pitcher, he was switc...

Saddam Hussein (born 1937), the socialist president of the Iraqi Republic beginning in 1979 and strongman of the ruling Baa'th regime beginning in 1968, was known for his political shrewdness and ability to survive conflicts. He led Iraq i...

Member of a Jewish priestly sect that flourished for about two centuries, until the destruction (&AD; 70) of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. Sadducees were generally wealthier, more conservative, and better connected politically than their...

SĀDHUS AND SĀDHVĪS. The term sādhu (feminine, sādhvī) derives from the Sanskrit root sādh (meaning "accomplish") and also has the general sense of "a good or virtuous pe...

Saek is a member of the Tai family of languages, which are spoken across a wide area of northern Southeast Asia, from northern Vietnam and Southern China in the east to Assam in the west. The family includes Thai and Lao, the national lang...

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA, 1974) is the main federal law that ensures the quality of drinking water in the Unites States. When implemented, it extended coverage of federal drinking water standards to all public water supplies. Prev...

those activities that seek either to minimize or to eliminate hazardous conditions that can cause bodily injury. Safety precautions fall under two principal headings, occupational safety and public safety. Occupational safety is concerned ...

As people become increasingly dependent on the use of engineered products, product safety and liability become issues of worldwide importance. In many countries, however, there are no strong traditions promoting safety standards in the t...

(2002 pop. est. 5.6 million). The Sagaing Division is the largest of the modern political divisions in Myanmar (Burma). It has an area of 94,622 square kilometers, and is situated between the Indian border to the north, Chin State to the w...

Israeli mathematician whose work in mathematical logic and the mathematics of semantics has contributed greatly to the fields of logic and metalogic (logical systems that encompass other, lower-level logical systems). Shelah's most ...

Saicho (767-822) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who bore the posthumous title Dengyo daishi. He was the founder in Japan of the Tendai sect, which he imported after a period of study in China. In 783 the emperor Kammu decided to remove his c...

an extent of fabric (such as canvas) by means of which wind is used to propel a ship through water. The first sails were most likely animal skins that were used to harness wind power for rafts or boats consisting of a single log. The next ...

Holy person. In the New Testament, St. Paul used the term to mean a member of the Christian community, but the term more commonly refers to those noted for their holiness and venerated during their lifetimes or after death. In Roman Cathol...

The English monk St. Boniface (ca. 672-754) is known as the Apostle of Germany because he organized the Church there in the 8th century. Named Winfrith by his well-to-do English parents, Boniface was born probably near Exeter, Devon. As a ...

The Spanish churchman St. Dominic (ca. 1170-1221) founded the Dominican order, a religious community officially called the Order of Preachers. Dominic was born to the well-to-do Guzmán family in the town of Caleruega in northern Spa...