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smiley
Never use a "smiley" icon in any CERN communication
spelling
CERN follows British English rules for spelling, set out in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Check this style guide first for exceptions and points of grammar, then consult the OED.
For guidelines on writing in French – for CERN websites and print documents alike – refer to the TMC group's "Guide de Typographie".
spokesperson
Not spokesman or spokeswoman
Note that the plural form is spokespersons, not spokespeople
Standard Model
Caps when referring to the theory of particle physics.
The Standard Model is a theory that describes particle physics. The MacBook is a standard model of computer.
Add a hyphen when using the term as a compound adjective:
The results of the experiment were consistent with Standard-Model predictions.
Avoid abbreviating Standard Model to SM. It’s irritating to the reader to have to check back on unnecessary abbreviations.
strapline ("strap")
Straps are a maximum of 150 characters, including spaces.
The strap gives added “teaser” information not included in the headline, providing a succinct summary of the most important points of the article. It tells the reader what to expect, and invites them to find out more.
Remember the strap will always appear with the headline, never on its own, and usually in lists.
Such a list might appear on the site like this (headlines in bold, straps below):
super
No hyphen when added as a prefix.
superconductivity, supercomputer, superfluid, etc.
The one exception is "super-duper" (informal English meaning "fantastic, wonderful"), which should only be used in quotes.
Super-Kamiokande
A neutrino detector in Japan.
Capital S, capital K, hyphen.
See their website.
Spell out in full for the CERN Courier
superconductivity
Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic fields occurring in certain materials when cooled below a characteristic critical temperature.
Superconducting is preferable to "superconductive" as an adjective (though both are technically correct).
The superconducting wires on the Large Hadron Collider are maintained at 1.9 K (-271.3 °C) – colder than outer space – by a closed liquid-helium circuit.
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