SHORT - 8 reference results
short waves, radio waves whose frequencies range from about 3 to 25 megahertz (Mhz), corresponding roughly to the high-frequency band (see radio frequency). When they impinge on certain layers of the ionosphere, short waves are largely reflected back toward the earth. By one or more reflections between the earth and the ionosphere, a short-wave radio signal can be received at long distances from the transmitter.
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short takeoff and landing aircraft (STOL), heavier-than-air craft, capable of rising from and descending to the ground with only a short length of runway, but incapable of doing so vertically. The precise definition of an STOL aircraft has not been universally agreed upon. However, it has been tentatively defined as an aircraft that upon taking off needs only 1,000 ft (305 m) of runway to clear a 50-ft (15-m) obstacle at the end of that distance and upon landing can clear the same obstacle and then land within 1,000 ft. Typically, STOL aircraft have large wings that are equipped with special aerodynamic devices such as slotted flaps, drooped leading edges, and auxiliary spoilers that augment lift, increase stability, and improve the effect of control surfaces. As the airfields from which STOL planes are expected to operate will be in confined areas, the ability to fly stably at low speeds, especially in turbulent air, is an important design requirement for them. See vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
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short story, brief prose fiction. The term covers a wide variety of narratives—from stories in which the main focus is on the course of events to studies of character, from the "short short" story to extended and complex narratives such as Thomas Mann's Death in Venice. Most often the short story is restricted in character and situation and is concerned with creating a single, dynamic effect. Its length usually falls between 2,000 and 10,000 words. Short stories date back to earliest times; they can be found in the Bible, Gesta Romanorum of the Middle Ages, Boccaccio's Decameron, and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The modern short story is said to have begun in the 19th cent. with the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Guy de Maupassant. Notable among the exponents of the form are Henry James, O. Henry, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Chekhov, Kafka, D. H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, Katherine Anne Porter, John O'Hara, Flannery O'Connor, J. D. Salinger, John Cheever, John Updike, Donald Barthelme, and Raymond Carver.
See W. Allen, The Short Story in English (1981); G. Weaver, The American Short Story (1983); C. A. Moser, ed., The Russian Short Story (1986); J. Updike and K. Kenison, ed., The Best American Short Stories of the Century (1999).
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short circuit, abnormal connection of low resistance between two points of a circuit that usually causes a high, potentially damaging current to flow. To protect against damage, devices such as a fuse or a circuit breaker are used. They sense the excess current and break the circuit so that no current can flow. They must be replaced or reset manually once the cause of the short circuit is removed.
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Short Parliament: see English civil war.
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Pepin the Short (Pepin III), c.714-768, first Carolingian king of the Franks (751-68), son of Charles Martel and father of Charlemagne. Succeeding his father as mayor of the palace (741), he ruled Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence, while his brother Carloman (d. 754) received Austrasia and what came to be Thuringia. In 743 the brothers chose Childeric III, a Merovingian, as nominal king of all the Franks. With their help St. Boniface effected far-reaching reforms that strengthened the Frankish church and advanced the conversion of the Saxons. After Carloman had retired (747) to religious life, Pepin, with the consent of the pope, St. Zacharias, forced Childeric into a monastery and had himself proclaimed king (751). In return for recognition by the pope, Pepin defended Rome against the Lombards (754, 756), from whom he wrested the exarchate of Ravenna and other cities. These he ceded to the pope, thus laying the foundation of the Papal States. Pepin also extended his territories and subdued Aquitaine.
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Brief fictional prose narrative. It usually presents a single significant episode or scene involving a limited number of characters. The form encourages economy of setting and concise narration; character is disclosed in action and dramatic encounter but seldom fully developed. A short story may concentrate on the creation of mood rather than the telling of a story. Despite numerous precedents, it emerged only in the 19th century as a distinct literary genre in the works of writers such as E.T.A. Hoffmann, Heinrich Kleist, Edgar Allan Poe, Prosper Mérimée, Guy de Maupassant, and Anton Chekhov.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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