Property wholly owned by either spouse who was acquired prior to marriage or was received as a gift or inheritance. This property legally belongs to that spouse and cannot be taken away to satisfy a debt against the other souse or for estate valuation.
Sepia print
Print or drawing down in a reddish-brown color, showing dark lines on a lighter background and is made on semitransparent paper so that reproductions can be made.
Septic system
An underground, self-contained sewage treatment system that has a storage tank where waste is decomposed through bacterial action. Septic systems are used in areas without sanitary sewer systems.
Septic tank
A sewage settling tank in which part of the sewage is converted into gas and sludge before the remaining waste is discharged by gravity into a leaching bed underground.
Sequence
The following of one thing after another in chronological, causal or logical order which is important in the construction industry, since things must be completed in a certain order.
Sequential firing
Blasting method where several charges are fired one at a time in a series.
Sequestering agent
A chemical compound sometimes fed into water to tie up undesirable ions, keep them in solution, and reduce their effects. For example, polyphosphate can sequester hardness and prevent reactions with soap.
Series
A configuration of an electrical circuit in which the positive lead is connected to the negative lead of another energy producing, conducting, or consuming device. The voltages of each device are additive, whereas the current is not.
Series circuit
Electrical circuit where the current passes through one load prior to going to the next, because the loads are connected. Alarm systems use this type of circuit because breaking any part of the circuit would trigger the alarm.
Series connection
A way of joining photovoltaic cells by connecting positive leads to negative leads; such a configuration increases the voltage.
