stream of consciousness, in literature, technique that records the multifarious thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical argument or narrative sequence. The writer attempts by the stream of consciousness to reflect all the forces, external and internal, influencing the psychology of a character at a single moment. The technique was first employed by Édouard Dujardin (1861-1949) in his novel Les Lauriers sont coupés (1888) and was subsequently used by such notable writers as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and William Faulkner. The phrase "stream of consciousness" to indicate the flow of inner experience was first used by William James in Principles of Psychology (1890).

stream, general term applied to all bodies of water flowing in channels regardless of their size. See river; flood.

jet stream, narrow, swift currents or tubes of air found at heights ranging from 7 to 8 mi (11.3-12.9 km) above the surface of the earth. They are caused by great temperature differences between adjacent air masses. There are four major jet streams. Although discontinuous at some points, they circle the globe at middle and polar latitudes, both in each hemisphere. The mean position of the stream in the Northern Hemisphere is between lat. 20 and 50 degrees N; the polar stream is between lat 30 and 70 degrees N. Wind speeds average 35 mi (56.3 km) per hr in summer and 75 mi (120.7 km) per hr in winter, although speeds as high as 200 mi (321.9 km) per hr have been recorded. Instead of moving along a straight line, the jet stream flows in a wavelike fashion; the waves propagate eastward (in the Northern Hemisphere) at speeds considerably slower than the wind speed itself. Since the progress of an airplane is aided or impeded depending on whether tail winds or head winds are encountered, in the Northern Hemisphere the jet stream is sought by eastbound aircraft, in order to gain speed and save fuel, and avoided by westbound aircraft.

Valley Stream, village (1990 pop. 33,946), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on Long Island, a residential suburb of New York City; inc. 1925. Kennedy International Airport is to the west. Valley Stream is the site of Green Acres Mall, one of the largest shopping centers in the United State.

North Valley Stream, uninc. town (1990 pop. 14,574), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on Long Island. It is chiefly residential.

Gulf Stream, warm ocean current of the N Atlantic Ocean, off E North America. It was first described (1513) by Spanish explorer Ponce de León. The Gulf Stream originates in the Gulf of Mexico and, as the Florida Current, passes through the Straits of Florida and along the coast of SE United States with a breadth of c.50 mi (80 km). North of Cape Hatteras, it is separated from the coast by a narrow southern extension of the cold Labrador Current and flows NE into the Atlantic Ocean. Where the warm surface waters of the Gulf Stream meet the cold winds accompanying the Labrador Current, one of the densest concentrations of fog in the world occurs. Parts of the Gulf Stream current are diverted SE, forming the Canary Currents, which carry cooler waters to the Iberian peninsula and NW Africa. An ensuing current, known as the North Atlantic Drift, flows NW and provides temperate, relatively warm waters to W Europe. The Gulf Stream has an average speed of 4 mi (6.4 km) per hr but slows down as it widens to the north. At the beginning of the Gulf Stream the water temperature is 80°F; (27°C;); the temperature decreases as the current moves north.

Narrative technique in nondramatic fiction intended to render the flow of myriad impressions—visual, auditory, tactile, associative, and subliminal—that impinge on an individual consciousness. To represent the mind at work, a writer may incorporate snatches of thought and grammatical constructions that do not seem coherent because they are based on the free association of ideas and images. The term was first used by William James in The Principles of Psychology (1890). In the 20th century, writers attempting to capture the total flow of their characters' consciousness commonly used the techniques of interior monologue, which represents a sequence of thought and feeling. Novels in which stream of consciousness plays an important role include James Joyce's Ulysses (1922), William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury (1929), and Virginia Woolf's The Waves (1931).

Learn more about stream of consciousness with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Any of several long, narrow, high-speed air currents that flow eastward in a generally horizontal zone in the stratosphere or upper troposphere. Jet streams are characterized by wind motions that generate strong vertical shearing action, considered largely responsible for the clear-air turbulence experienced by aircraft. They also have an effect on weather patterns. Jet streams circle the Earth in meandering paths, shifting position as well as speed with the seasons. In the winter they are nearer the Equator and their speeds are higher than in the summer. There are often two, sometimes three, jet-stream systems in each hemisphere.

Learn more about jet stream with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Warm ocean current, part of a general clockwise-rotating system of currents in the North Atlantic. A major contribution of the Gulf Stream is its warming effect on the climates of adjacent land areas. In winter, the air over the ocean west of Norway is more than 40°F (22°C) warmer than the average for that latitude, one of the greatest temperature anomalies in the world. Winters in southwestern England are extraordinarily mild for this northern latitude because of the Gulf Stream. Regions of the Gulf Stream, such as the Grand Banks, have been among the most productive commercial fishing grounds in the world.

Learn more about Gulf Stream with a free trial on Britannica.com.