[smog, smawg] 
| 1. | smoke or other atmospheric pollutants combined with fog in an unhealthy or irritating mixture. |
| 2. | photochemical smog. |
| 3. | to cover or envelop with or as if with smog. |
| air pollution containing ozone and other reactive chemical compounds formed by the action of sunlight on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, esp. those in automobile exhaust. |
| smog (smŏg, smôg) n.
[sm(oke) + (f)og1.] smog'gy adj., smog'less adj. Word History: New phenomena require new words, so it is not surprising that smog is a relatively recent coinage. The word followed the phenomenon by perhaps half a century, for air pollution was first noticed during the Industrial Revolution. The word smog is first recorded in 1905 in a newspaper report of a meeting of the Public Health Congress. Dr. H.A. des Vɶux gave a paper entitled "Fog and Smoke," in which, in the words of the Daily Graphic of July 26, "he said it required no science to see that there was something produced in great cities which was not found in the country, and that was smoky fog, or what was known as 'smog.'" The next day the Globe remarked that "Dr. des Vɶux did a public service in coining a new word for the London fog." |
A haze or fog composed of water vapor, complex molecules, and suspended particles.
Note: In North America, the primary cause of smog is pollution from automobile exhaust.
Note: The Los Angeles basin, where pollutants can be trapped by inversions and the surrounding mountains, has frequent problems with smog, as do other major urban areas.
Note: The word smog is a combination of smoke and fog.
photochemical smog n.
Air pollution produced by the action of sunlight on hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and other pollutants.
smog (smŏg)
n.
Fog that has become mixed and polluted with smoke.
A form of air pollution produced when sunlight causes hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from automotive emissions to combine in a photochemical reaction.
| smog smoke and fog |
