Browse "Science & Technology"
Sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging), method for locating objects by the reflection of sound waves. It is used naturally by such animals as BATS and DOLPHINS to locate food and obstacles.
Space Lab Under Construction
This is ground zero, the holy of holies of the U.S. space program. The flight control room at Johnson Space Center in Houston is instantly familiar from a dozen movies and a thousand newscasts.
Space Technology
An agreement signed with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) led to the launching of a series of 4 Canadian satellites, beginning with Alouette 1 (on 29 Sept 1962) from the Western Test Range in Vandenburg, California.
Space Travel Challenges
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on October 14, 1996. Partner content is not updated.
For mankind, the adventure began at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time on April 12, 1961. A Soviet air force major named Yuri Gagarin blasted into the Siberian sky aboard a five-ton spacecraft and the world marvelled at the astounding news that he had landed safely after circling the Earth in just 108 minutes.Specific Learning Disabilities
Children and youth with learning disabilities typically have average to above average intelligence but also have problems perceiving (making sense of) or using information that results in a pattern of uneven abilities and observable weaknesses in reading, writing, speaking, listening, problem solving, mathematics, and social skills.
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the field of study that examines, measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra produced when radiant energy is emitted or absorbed by a substance. Spectroscopic methods are important in performing chemical analyses of substances and are used in astronomical studies.
Spodumene
Spodumene is a lithium aluminum silicate (8.0% Li2O, 27.4% Al2O3, 64.6%SiO2) and is the world's most common commercially mined lithium ore mineral. Petalite, lepidolite and amblygonite are also mined in different parts of the world.
Sports Medicine
Sports medicine practitioners help serious athletes plan preseason training and testing, provide early treatment for injuries, identify groups that may be susceptible to risk, and record frequencies in patterns of injuries.
St Elmo's Fire
St Elmo's Fire is a blue or reddish glow, sometimes with the appearance of a flame, accompanying a powerful electrical discharge from a pointed conducting object in an intense electric field.
Station PAPA
Station PAPA Ocean Weather Station "P" is commonly called Station PAPA after the code word for the letter P in the phonetic alphabet used by radio operators. Station PAPA is located in the N Pacific Ocean (50° N, 145° W) and has a water depth of 4200 m.
Statistics
Statistics is the science concerned with the collection and analysis of numerical information to answer questions wisely. The term also refers to the numerical information that has been collected. Statistics has many applications in Canada, from government censuses and surveys, to decision making in industry, to medical research and technological innovation.
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada is the nation’s central statistical agency. It was established in 1918 as the Dominion Bureau of Statistics and adopted its present name in 1971. Under the Statistics Act of that year, it has the responsibility to “collect, compile, analyse, abstract and publish statistical information relating to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic and general activities and condition of the people.” The agency works with government departments to develop integrated social and economic statistics for Canada and the provinces and territories. In addition, Statistics Canada is a scientific research organization that develops methodologies and techniques related to statistics and survey design.
StatsCan Reports on Women
Women now make up slightly more than half of all people living in Canada. In fact, in 1991, the last census year, 50.4 per cent of the total population was female, compared with 50.2 per cent in 1981 and 48.4 per cent in 1921.
Steamboats and Paddle Wheelers
Demonstrated in France on the Saône River in 1783, the paddle-wheel steamboat first appeared in North America for use on the Delaware River in 1787. After inauguration at New Orleans in 1811 by Robert Fulton, hundreds of boats worked the Mississippi River system between 1830 and 1870.
Stem Cell Research
Stem cells are the body's "building blocks"; they are the cells from which all tissues and organs are derived. They have the ability to divide while still maintaining their identity, yet they can also develop into specialized cells in response to certain stimuli.
Sterilization of Indigenous Women in Canada
The practice of sterilization arose out of the eugenics movement and has a long, often hidden history in Canada. Sterilization legislation in Alberta (1928–72) and British Columbia (1933–73) attempted to limit the reproduction of “unfit” persons, and increasingly targeted Indigenous women. Coerced sterilization of Indigenous women took place both within and outside existing legislation, and in federally operated Indian hospitals. The practice has continued into the 21st century. Approximately 100 Indigenous women have alleged that they were pressured to consent to sterilization between the 1970s and 2018, often while in the vulnerable state of pregnancy or childbirth.
Strategic Environmental Assessment
Strategic environmental assessment is the environmental assessment of policy, plan and program initiatives and their alternatives.
Stress
Stress was originally viewed as an overpowering external force acting upon individuals or objects. The mechanical engineer still uses the word in this sense, but human biologists have been less consistent in their terminology.