Download ПРАКТИЧЕСКИЕ ЗАНЯТИЯ

Федеральное агентство по образованию
Федеральное государственное образовательное учреждение
высшего профессионального образования
«Сибирский федеральный университет»
Научно-технический перевод
Английский язык
Учебное пособие по циклу практических занятий
Авторы:
Алексеенко Ирина Владимировна
Ступина Татьяна Владимировна
Петрищева Галина Петровна
Ершова Тамара Владимировна
Красноярск, 2008
Представлены оригинальные тексты на английском языке по темам:
“Science and Engineering as a Profession”, “Science, Technological Progress
and Society”, “The Universe Puzzle”, “The World of Subatomic Particles”
“Modern Discoveries. Theories and Technologies”, “History of Physics” с
грамматическими упражнениями и заданиями для развития всех видов
языковой коммуникативной компетенции, с приоритетом перевода.
Приведены аутентичные научно-технические материалы и тексты,
по тематике исследовательской и профессиональной деятельности
магистрантов.
Пособие предназначено для студентов- магистрантов направление
140400.68 «Техническая физика» Кафедра ЮНЕСКО «Новые материалы и
технологии».
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ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ
Владение навыками перевода английского языка в профессиональной
сфере является требованием времени. Особо актуально это требование для
студентов-магистрантов,
занимающихся
научно-исследовательской
работой, готовящихся к участию в международных магистерских
программах.
Данное учебное пособие по циклу практических занятий представляeт
собой часть учебного комплекса по английскому языку для студентовмагистрантов. Основная цель - выработать у студентов умение читать
оригинальную литературу на английском языке по специальности для
получения нужной информации, развития навыков перевода, умение вести
беседу и делать сообщения на основе изученного языкового материала.
Авторы стремились отобрать тексты, которые представляют интерес
для студентов, наиболее полно отражают стиль научно-технической прозы и
дают информативный материал по профилю обучения, расширяющий
эрудицию студентов. По степени сложности предлагаемые тексты
соответствуют программе курса «Научно-технический перевод. Английский
язык» для технических вузов.
Система заданий после текстов обеспечивает закрепление
лексического и отработку грамматического материала в рамках программы
английского языка для студентов магистрантов.
Продолжение
обучения
в
аспирантуре,
после
получения
академической степени «магистр», требует достаточно высокого уровня
языковой компетенции для участия в научных симпозиумах и семинарах,
конференциях и научных диспутах.
На формирование этой компетенции направлено учебное пособие для
цикла практических занятий «Научно-технический перевод. Английский
язык». Данное пособие является частью учебно-методического комплекса
дисциплины «Научно-технический перевод. Английский язык», в который
помимо представленного пособия входят:
учебно-методическое
обеспечение
самостоятельной
работы
студентов,
контрольноизмерительные материалы, организационно-методические указания по
освоению дисциплины и учебная программа дисциплины. Пособие
рассчитано на 108 часов аудиторной групповой работы под руководством
преподавателя.
Данное пособие по циклу практических занятий состоит из шести
основных частей, соответствующих модулю 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, и 6, в которых
представлены лексико-грамматические упражнения, направленные на
развитие навыков перевода, на развитие нормативной речи; завершает
пособие библиографический список. В конце каждого модуля
предусмотрено тематическое тестирование.
Каждый модуль состоит из 5 уроков. Первые четыре урока каждого
модуля объединены общей темой, вынесенной в заглавие модуля. В модуле
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1 это тема: «Science and Engineering as a Profession», в модуле 2 – «Science,
Technological Progress and Society», в модуле 3 –«The Universe Puzzle », в
модуле 4 – « The World of Subatomic Particles», в модуле 5 –« History of
Physics», в модуле 2 – «Modern Discoveries Theories and Technologies». Все
темы раскрываются на базе аутентичных текстов, взятых из монографий
англоязычных авторов, либо на базе текстов популярных интернет-сайтов.
Тексты отражают наиболее актуальные аспекты каждой темы. Уроки, как
правило, посвящены научно-технической тематике: в них отражена
важность умения переводить научно-техническую литературу с английского
языка на русский, даются материалы, расширяющие знания студентов о
современных научно-технических открытиях и достижениях. Изучение этих
уроков поможет студентам подготовиться к вступительному экзамену в
аспирантуру, где одним из аспектов следует перевод научно-технического
текста по специальности. Полезными при подготовке к вступительному
экзамену в аспирантуру будут уроки модуля 1. В этих уроках раскрывается
тема профессиональной деятельности инженеров и приводятся описания
направлений подготовки.
Каждый из первых четырех уроков обоих модулей содержит список
активной лексики по специальности, использующихся в ситуациях научного
или профессионального перевода. В каждом уроке даются упражнения и
задания на развитие умений и навыков перевода и речевого общения.
Приложение
содержит
лексико-грамматические
упражнения,
формирующие навыки нормативной речи. Эти упражнения соответствуют
грамматическим темам, описанным в теоретическом пособии. В них
отражены грамматические явления, чаще всего вызывающие затруднения
при переводе и использовании в речи.
Особенностью данного пособия является его ярко выраженная
переводческая направленность, проявляющаяся в подборе материала,
упражнениях, заданиях, ставящих цель сделать адекватный перевод в той
или иной сфере профессиональной или научно-исследовательской
компетенции студента.
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ВВЕДЕНИЕ
Формирование речевой коммуникативной компетенции – задача
трудоемкая, предъявляющая к участникам коммуникативного акта особые
требования. Задача усложняется тем, что общение происходит в сфере
научной и профессиональной деятельности, что требует с одной стороны
знания узкоспециальной предметной области, а с другой стороны –
необходимы умения и навыки перевода и речевого общения на иностранном
языке.
Решение этой задачи требует высокой степени мотивации
обучающихся, компетентности и профессионализма преподавателей.
Помощь в решении этой задачи могут оказать современные
технические средства обучения, способствующие оптимизации процесса
обучения. Использование аудио и видео материалов, интернет ресурсов
активизирует процессы восприятия и усвоения учебного материала; точно
отобранные и правильно использованные методические приемы введения и
закрепления материала способствуют формированию долгосрочных
речевых навыков и навыков адекватного перевода.
При работе со списком речевых клише понадобятся самые
разнообразные приемы и методы работы с лексическим материалом,
направленные на его прочное усвоение.
При проведении учебных и творческих ролевых игр необходимо
уделять достаточное внимание этапу подготовки, а также этапу подведения
итогов, анализу и оценке не только результатов речевой деятельности
студентов, но и оценке компетентности в области специальности.
Необходимо помнить, что на практических занятиях происходит не только
обучение языку на материале специальности студентов, но идет и
параллельный процесс обучения специальности средствами иностранного
языка.
Наиболее эффективным средством для решения вышеупомянутой
задачи, по мнению авторов пособия, являются учебные задания на
подготовку презентации в программе Power point с последующим
представлением слайдов и комментарием по теме современной науки и
техники.
Подобная учебная работа имеет большое практическое значение для
будущей профессиональной и научной деятельности магистранта, она
поможет ему и при обучении в аспирантуре.
Таким образом, наряду с практической целью – обучением общению –
пособие «Научно-технический перевод. Английский язык» решает
образовательные, а также воспитательные задачи. Студенты получают
новые сведения по специальности, расширяют свой кругозор и формируют
ценные личностные качества. Полагается, что это пособие будет
способствовать формированию коммуникативной компетенции и навыкам
перевода, необходимой для квалифицированной информационной и
творческой деятельности в сфере будущей производственной и научной
работы магистрантов.
5
MODULE 1
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AS A PROFESSION
LESSON 1
What do you already know about the topic?
1.1 Think of the following:
• What person are you?
• Do you think engineering is your dream job? Give your reasons.
• What “interesting parts” are there in the engineering job?
1.2 Write down first three steps of beginning engineering career and discuss your
opinions with your group mates.
Reading
1.3 Read the first lines of each paragraph. Try to guess what they will be about.
1.4 Read the paragraphs and check your opinions.
Engineering career
Everything these days seems to be computerized. That is one of the reasons
why engineers are so desperately needed in the job force. A lot of people are
realizing that an engineering career offers the potential for a great deal of money
and the position is highly in demand.
When you are interested in getting an engineering career, you can choose
between lots of different fields such as: computer programming, laboratory
engineer, nuclear engineer, water preservation, mechanical, and a military
engineer. Basically you can learn to operate any type of a computer program that
is needed in order to maintain the life and health of a great career. Mechanical
engineers use computers and new technology to fix cars, and water purification
engineers use technology to purify your water supply. Basically any job that
requires the use of technology as a primary focus is an engineering job.
Engineering careers offer some great perks. Besides always being in
demand, you can easily be your own boss and not necessarily work for someone
else. It is a demanding and challenging job. You can often travel around if you
choose to, and the job is always different. No two jobs are ever the same when
you are an engineer because technology is different; errors and complications are
different, and the people are always different.
People who have engineering careers are always meeting new people. If
you happen to be a people person and you like to work with new technology,
engineering could be your dream job. Engineering is an ever changing field
6
because there are always new technological advances that you have to learn in
order to keep up. When you get into engineering, you will spend just as much
time learning new things as you will in working with them. Of course, the new
skill learning is just a part of the job process and it is usually one of the more
interesting and entertaining part of the job for a lot of people.
When you choose an engineering career, you are getting into a field that
will grow as far as demand is concerned and one that grows with you. The
opportunities in engineering fields are great. If you like to work with technology,
an engineering career might be your dream job.
Career advice
There are many places that you can go to get good career advice. First of
all, you can talk to your guidance councilor for career counseling. Guidance
councilors are helpful because they have working knowledge of your personality
type and your interests. You can also talk to your principal who knows more
about your abilities than perhaps even you do as he/she has access to your
intelligence test information. Lastly, you can go to a youth career councilor that
you can locate at any community center or human resources building. Of course
you can always ask friends or relatives, but they will likely be thinking about
what they want you to do, rather than what you might be best and happiest doing.
But, the best career advice that you can get is from yourself. You need to
ask yourself what your are best at, what would make you the happiest, what you
think about doing the most, and what will keep your interest long enough to last
you a lifetime. Of course, there are some things that must accompany this soul
searching that you will be taking. You need to follow these basic rules which are:
* be willing to take chances
* be willing to break a few rules
* don't be afraid to be honest with yourself
* don't limit yourself
* avoid jumping in too fast without thoroughly looking into things
* be realistic in what you want
That is likely going to be the best career advice that you could ever get.
Friends and family mean well, but they are often selfish in their efforts to be
useful. If you are realistic and honest with yourself, you will be source of your
best career advice.
Translation
1.5 Translate “Career advice in the text and find the information about the way of
getting the best career advice.
Vocabulary
1.6 Find these words in the text and decide whether they are nouns, verbs,
7
adjectives, or adverbs. Then try to guess what they mean.
Skill, honest, penetrating, effort, keep up, desperately, safeguarding, vary, selfish,
armed.
1.7 Match the words from the text on the left with the definitions on the
right. Use a dictionary if you need help.
1. demand
2. to maintain
3. purification
4. to supply
5. primary
6. challenging
7. advance
8. principal
9. access
10. Guidance councilor
a. main
b. chief
c. require
d. to provide
e. cleansing
f. perspective
g. supervisor/(scientific) guide
h. admission
i. to keep/to uphold
j. progress
For you to know!
*Perks – something that you get legally from your work in addition to your wages,
such as goods, meals, or a car.
Example: One of the perks of the job is the company car.
1.8 Here it is a spidergram.
For you to know!
*Spidergram – diagram in the form or look like a spider.
electrical military software service computer
mechanical
water preservation
ENGINEER
civil
nuclear
programming
laboratory
Follow the model of explanation of the task of mechanical and water purification
engineers given in the text, describe the tasks of other types of engineers in the
spidergram.
Use the same pattern to speak about the field you are working/going to work.
Grammar
Terminology. N+N combination. Collocations
1.9 There are some noun+noun combinations that frequently occur together.
8
Translate them. Use these combinations in your own sentences.
1. Scents matter.
2. The rocket site size importance.
3. Time limit.
4. Limit time.
5. Food market.
6. World prices.
7. Capital markets.
8. Capital import.
9. Export interest.
10. Commodity prices.
11. Growth rates.
12. Freight rates.
13. Voltage unit.
14. Motor unit.
15. Speed of sound.
16. Speed of a motor.
17. Flight time.
18. Time flight.
For you to know!
* Collocations are combinations of words that often occur together.
For example, some verbs are often followed by certain nouns. When
learning English it is a good idea to be aware of collocations. The
more collocations you are aware of, the easier reading becomes.
1.10 Scan the text and find examples of collocations. For example, to spend
time.
Grammar tenses. Active voice
1.11 Each sentence contains 1 verb in Past Simple and another in Past
Continuous. Complete the sentences using these pairs of verbs.
meet/walk;
work/discover;
solve/carry out;
live/spend;
write/ring
1. While we … at our report, we … many fascinating things.
2. I … him when I … to the university.
3. We … many problems when we … new research.
4. She … an essay, when the phone …
5. When I … in Paris, I … all my time going sightseeing.
1.12 Are the underlined verbs used in the right or wrong forms in the sentences
below? Correct the ones that are wrong.
9
1. I am thinking that this report is yours.
2. I am seeing my teacher tomorrow at the lecture.
3. Water is boiling at 100 degrees Celsius.
4. We usually have 3 or 4 lessons on Monday.
5. I am cutting my finger.
6. He has just arrived at the University.
Writing
1.13 Work in pairs or groups. Using your active vocabulary try to prove you can
be a professional. Write your positive and negative qualities, will they help you to
find a good job?
Speaking
1.14 Think of the questions and discuss:
1. What other sources of career advice do you know?
2. What source do you prefer and why? Give your reasons.
1.15 Comment on the following proverbs, give their Russian equivalents:
1) A little learning is a dangerous thing.
2) Live and learn.
3) Better untaught than ill taught.
4) It is never too late to learn.
Get real
Look through local newspapers, find job advertisements for engineers. What
qualities of modern engineers are taking into account nowadays?
LESSON 2
2.1 Skim the text and say what it is about. Find a suitable title to it.
Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying technical and
scientific knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to
design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and
processes that safely realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria. The
American Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD, the
predecessor of ABET) has defined engineering as follows:
“The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop
structures, machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilizing
them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full
cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating
conditions; all as respects an intended function, economics of operation and
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safety to life and property.”
One who practices engineering is called an engineer, and those licensed to
do so may have more formal designations such as European Engineer,
Professional Engineer, Chartered Engineer, or Incorporated Engineer. The broad
discipline of engineering encompasses a range of more specialized sub
disciplines, each with a more specific emphasis on certain fields of application
and particular areas of technology.
History. The concept of engineering has existed since ancient times as
humans devised fundamental inventions such as the pulley, lever, and wheel*.
Each of these inventions is consistent with the modern definition of engineering,
exploiting basic mechanical principles to develop useful tools and objects.
The term engineering itself has a much more recent etymology, deriving
from the word engineer, which itself dates back to 1325, when an engineer
(literally, one who operates an engine) originally referred to “a constructor of
military engines.” In this context, now obsolete, an “engine” referred to a military
machine, i.e., a mechanical contraption used in war (for example, a catapult). The
word “engine” itself is of even older origin, ultimately deriving from the Latin
ingenium, meaning “innate quality, especially mental power, hence a clever
invention*.
Later, as the design of civilian structures such as bridges and buildings
matured as a technical discipline, the term civil engineering entered the lexicon as
a way to distinguish between those specializing in the construction of such nonmilitary projects and those involved in the older discipline of military engineering
(the original meaning of the word “engineering,” now largely obsolete, with
notable exceptions that have survived to the present day such as military
engineering corps, e. g., the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers).
Methodology. Engineers apply the sciences of physics and mathematics to
find suitable solutions to problems or to make improvements to the status quo*.
More than ever, engineers are now required to have knowledge of relevant
sciences for their design projects, as a result, they keep on learning new material
throughout their career. If multiple options exist, engineers weigh different design
choices on their merits and choose the solution that best matches the
requirements. The crucial and unique task of the engineer is to identify,
understand, and interpret the constraints on a design in order to produce a
successful result*. It is usually not enough to build a technically successful
product; it must also meet further requirements. Constraints may include
available resources, physical, imaginative or technical limitations, flexibility for
future modifications and additions, and other factors, such as requirements for
cost, safety, marketability, matured, and serviceability. By understanding the
constraints, engineers derive specifications for the limits within which aviable
object or system may be produced and operated.
2.2 Try to guess the meaning of the words given in italics in the text.
2.3 Translate the sentences marked with an asterisk.
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LESSON 3
3.1 Read the text carefully and say what new fields and branches of engineering
appeared after technological advancement.
Main Branches of Engineering
Engineering, much like science, is a broad discipline which is often broken
down into several sub-disciplines. These disciplines concern themselves with
differing areas of engineering work. Although initially an engineer will be trained
in a specific discipline, throughout an engineer's career the engineer may become
multi-disciplined, having worked in several of the outlined areas. Historically the
main Branches of Engineering are categorized as follows:
• Aerospace Engineering – The design of aircraft, spacecraft and related
topics.
• Chemical Engineering – The conversion of raw materials into usable
commodities and the optimization of flow systems, especially separations.
• Civil Engineering – The design and construction of public and private
works, such as infrastructure, bridges and buildings.
• Electrical Engineering – The design of electrical systems, such as
transformers, as well as electronic goods.
• Mechanical Engineering – The design of physical or mechanical systems,
such as engines, power trains, kinematic chains and vibration isolation
equipment.
With the rapid advancement of Technology many new fields are gaining
prominence and new branches are developing such as Computer Engineering,
Software Engineering, Nanotechnology, Molecular engineering, Mechatronics
etc. These new specialities sometimes combine with the traditional fields and
form new branches such as Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics and
Electrical and Computer Engineering.
For each of these fields there exists considerable overlap, especially in the
areas of the application of sciences to their disciplines such as physics, chemistry
and mathematics.
Problem solving
Engineers use their knowledge of science, mathematics, and appropriate
experience to find suitable solutions to a problem. Engineering is considered a
branch of applied mathematics and science. Creating an appropriate mathematical
model of a problem allows them to analyze it (sometimes definitively), and to test
potential solutions. Usually multiple reasonable solutions exist, so engineers must
evaluate the different design choices on their merits and choose the solution that
best meets their requirements. Genrich Altshuller, after gathering statistics on a
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large number of patents, suggested that compromises are at the heart of "lowlevel" engineering designs, while at a higher level the best design is one which
eliminates the core contradiction causing the problem.
Engineers typically attempt to predict how well their designs will perform
to their specifications prior to full-scale production. They use, among other
things: prototypes, scale models, simulations, destructive tests, nondestructive
tests, and stress tests. Testing ensures that products will perform as expected.
Engineers as professionals take seriously their responsibility to produce designs
that will perform as expected and will not cause unintended harm to the public at
large. Engineers typically include a factor of safety in their designs to reduce the
risk of unexpected failure. However, the greater the safety factor, the less efficient
the design may be.
LESSON 4
4.1 Before reading the passage, read its headline and say what you know about the
problem. Discuss the problem with your partners. Then read the passage and find the
facts supporting your ideas.
JOB OUTLOOK
Employment of engineers is expected to grow about as fast as the average
for all occupations over the next decade, but growth will vary by specialty.
Environmental engineers should experience the fastest growth, while civil
engineers should see the largest employment increase. Overall job opportunities
in engineering are expected to be good.
Overall employment change. Overall engineering employment is expected
to grow by 11 percent over the 2006-16 decade, about as fast as the average for
all occupations. Engineers have traditionally been concentrated in slower growing
or declining manufacturing industries, in which they will continue to be needed to
design, build, test, and improve manufactured products. However, increasing
employment of engineers in faster growing service industries should generate
most of the employment growth. Job outlook varies by engineering specialty, as
discussed later.
Competitive pressures and advancing technology will force companies to
improve and update product designs and to optimize their manufacturing
processes. Employers will rely on engineers to increase productivity and expand
output of goods and services. New technologies continue to improve the design
process, enabling engineers to produce and analyze various product designs much
more rapidly than in the past. Unlike in some other occupations, however,
technological advances are not expected to substantially limit employment
opportunities in engineering because engineers will continue to develop new
products and processes that increase productivity.
Off shoring of engineering work will likely dampen domestic employment
growth to some degree. There are many well-trained, often English-speaking
13
engineers available around the world willing to work at much lower salaries than
U.S. engineers. The rise of the Internet has made it relatively easy for part of the
engineering work previously done by engineers in this country to be done by
engineers in other countries, a factor that will tend to hold down employment
growth. Even so, there will always be a need for onsite engineers to interact with
other employees and clients.
Overall job outlook. Overall job opportunities in engineering are expected
to be good because the number of engineering graduates should be in rough
balance with the number of job openings between 2006 and 2016. In addition to
openings from job growth, many openings will be created by the need to replace
current engineers who retire; transfer to management, sales, or other occupations;
or leave engineering for other reasons.
Many engineers work on long-term research and development projects or
in other activities that continue even during economic slowdowns. In industries
such as electronics and aerospace, however, large cutbacks in defense
expenditures and in government funding for research and development have
resulted in significant layoffs of engineers in the past. The trend toward
contracting for engineering work with engineering services firms, both domestic
and foreign, has also made engineers more vulnerable to layoffs during periods of
lower demand.
It is important for engineers, as it is for workers in other technical and
scientific occupations, to continue their education throughout their careers
because much of their value to their employer depends on their knowledge of the
latest technology. Engineers in high-technology areas, such as biotechnology or
information technology, may find that technical knowledge becomes outdated
rapidly. May find that technical knowledge becomes outdated rapidly. and
greatest value to their employers. Engineers who have not kept current in their
field may find themselves at a disadvantage when seeking promotions or during
layoffs.
LESSON 5
GRAMMAR REVIEW
GRAMMAR TENSES. ACTIVE VOICE
Present Tenses
1. We use the present simple to talk about things in general. We use it to say that
something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in
general. It is not important whether the action is happening at the time of
speaking.
The earth goes round the sun.
2. We use the present continuous when we talk about things happening in a
period around now. The action is often happening at the time of speaking.
I am working at my report now.
14
3. We use the present perfect when we talk about something that happened in the
past, but we don’t specify when it happened. When we use the present perfect
these is always a connection with result now. We use the present perfect with
just, already, yet.
Where is your report? I don’t know I’ve lost it.
4. We use the present perfect continuous for an activity that has recently stopped
or just stopped. There is a connection with now.
I’ve been working hard so I am going to have a rest.
Past Tenses
1. We use the past simple tense when we simply talk about a single activity or
event in the past.
Popov invented radio in 1895.
2. We use the past continuous tense when we talk about a temporary situation
that existed at a particular time in the past.
At this time yesterday I was doing my laboratory work.
3. We use the past perfect tense to talk about a past situation or activity that took
place before another past situation or activity, or before a particular time in the
past.
After he had learnt English he went to work abroad.
4. We use the past perfect continuous tense for an activity that had recently
stopped in the past. We have length of time in the past.
Future Tenses
1. We use the future simple tense when we talk about an activity or event going
on in the future.
Tomorrow our group will pass the exam on hydrodynamics.
2. We use the future continuous tense when we talk about an activity or event
going.
At this time tomorrow he will be presenting his report at the conference.
3. We use the future perfect tense to say that something will, completed or
achieved by a particular point in the future.
We will have finished our preparation for exams before you arrive.
4. We use the future perfect continuous tense when we talk about activity going
on at a particular time in the future and that will have stopped in some period of
time in the future. We have length of time in the future.
STUDY HELP
Present tenses:
1) Present Simple
2) Present Continuous
3) Present Perfect
4) Present Perfect Continuous
V1
to be Ving
have V3
have been Ving
Past tenses:
5) Past Simple
V2
15
6) Past Continuous
7) Past Perfect
8) Past Perfect Continuous
was/were Ving
had V3
had been Ving
Future tenses:
9) Future Simple
10) Future Continuous
11) Future Perfect
12) Future Perfect Continuous
will V1
will be Ving
will have V3
will have been Ving
5.1 Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the Past Tense (Past Simple,
Past Perfect). Pay attention to the voice.
Earliest use of Solar Energy.
About 2,000 years ago, the Romans … (to switch) from the burning of
wood to heat their homes to using heat from the sun. This is the earliest known
municipal use of solar energy for human consumption. Reason: the Romans …
(to have) central heating which … (to use) large amounts of wood, the fuel of the
day. But when local supplies … (to exhaust) their choices … (to be) to import
their wood from a distance at great expense, or find a cheaper, effective form of
energy. They (to choose) the latter and … (to turn) to the sun. Their use of solar
energy … (to be) so successful that laws … (to pass) to protect a person’s rights
for access to the sun’s energy. The moral of the story is that scarcity and price
will drive the use of alternatives.
5.2 Put the verbs into the correct form of Present Simple, Present Continuous or
Present Perfect.
1. I usually … to the Institute at 9. (come)
2. Don’t put the dictionary away. I … it. (use)
3. Air … of nitrogen and oxygen. (consist)
4. Our teacher … already the classroom. (leave)
5. We … our monitor today. (see)
6. Many people nowadays … to get higher education. (want)
7. I usually … to the University on foot. (go)
8. She … 2 foreign languages. (speak)
5.3 Read about Nick, a university student. Then do exercise after the text.
Nick goes to the University every day. He leaves home at 8 o’clock and
arrives at the University at about 8.45. His lectures start at 9 o’clock and continue
until 2. Then he has lunch which takes about an hour. After lunch he goes to the
library and works there until 5 o’clock. He comes home at 6. Every day he
follows the same routine and tomorrow will be no exception.
16
In each group of sentences only one sentence is true. Find it.
At 7.45
a) He’ll be leaving the house
b) He’ll have left the house
c) He’ll be at home
At 8.15
a) He’ll be leaving the house
b) He’ll have left the house
c) He’ll have arrived at the University
At 9.15
a) He’ll be arriving at the University
b) He’ll be at the lecture
c) He’ll be at home
At 2.30
a) He’ll be having lunch
b) He’ll be at the lecture
c) He’ll nave finished his lunch
At 4 o’clock
a) He’ll be at the lecture
b) He’ll be going home
c) He’ll be working at the library
At 5 o’clock
a) He’ll be leaving the University
b) He’ll be working at the library
c) He’ll will have arrived home
5.4 Ask questions about each other.
Say where you will be and what you will be doing
a) at 2 o’clock tomorrow afternoon
b) at 9 o’clock tomorrow morning
c) at 7 o’clock tomorrow evening
d) one hour from now
What will you have finished doing
a) by 5 o’clock tomorrow evening
b) by Saturday
c) by the end of the term
d) by the end of this lesson
SEQUENCE OF TENSES
STUDY HELP
Main clause
Present tenses
Past tenses
Subordinate clause
any tense according to the meaning
simultaneousness
Past Indefinite
Past Continuous
Past perfect (priority)
Future in the Past – would+Inf.
(future action)
17
5.5 Change sentences according to the model. Mind rules of sequence of tenses.
Model: He said, “The laws of physics are expressed, in the terms of physical
quantities”. – He said that the lows of physics were expressed in the terms of
physical quantities.
1. There are fundamental and derived quantities in physics.
2. Length and time are examples of fundamental quantities.
3. An ideal standard has two principal characteristics.
4. He gave a lot of examples in his lectures.
5. They make convincing experiments.
6. She does not know how to take temperature.
7. The diagram was very good.
8. Then you choose your standard of length.
9. Some distances were measured in a direct way.
10. The signal travelled in a straight line.
11. The observers are moving in opposite directions.
12. One of the observers is sitting in the train.
13. Another observer is making the measurements.
14. Yard is used in English-speaking countries.
15. They will experiment on different objects.
16. His articles will be published in a lot of journals.
17. There are significant facts in his article.
18. The formula is quite correct.
18
MODULE 2
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS AND SOCIETY
LESSON 1
What do you already know about the topic?
1.1 Look through the questions and try to find the answers, while discussing them
with your group mates:
• What is Plasma lamp?
• What is phase of matter in the universe?
• Why is showing the Earth's "plasma fountain"?
Reading and Translation
1.2 Read and translate the text and express your opinion on the question: if
plasma is an important phenomenon in physics. Provide your arguments.
PLASMA (PHYSICS)
Plasma lamp is illustrating some of the more complex phenomena of
plasma, including filamentation. The colors are a result of relaxation of electrons
in excited states to lower energy states after they have recombined with ions.
These processes emit light in a spectrum characteristic of the gas being excited.
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a partially ionized gas, in which a
certain proportion of electrons are free rather than being bound to an atom or
molecule. The ability of the positive and negative charges to move somewhat
independently makes the plasma electrically conductive so that it responds
strongly to electromagnetic fields. Plasma therefore has properties quite unlike
those of solids, liquids or gases and is considered to be a distinct state of matter.
Plasma typically takes the form of neutral gas-like clouds, as seen, for example,
in the case of stars. Plasma does not have a definite shape nor a definite volume.
History
This state of matter was first identified in a Crookes tube, and so described
by Sir William Crookes in 1879 (he called it "radiant matter"). The nature of the
Crookes tube "cathode ray" matter was subsequently identified by British
physicist Sir J.J. Thomson in 1897, and dubbed "plasma" by Irving Langmuir in
1928, perhaps because it reminded him of a blood plasma.
Except near the electrodes, where there are sheaths containing very few
electrons, the ionized gas contains ions and electrons in about equal numbers so
that the resultant space charge is very small. We shall use the name plasma to
describe this region containing balanced charges of ions and electrons.
Common plasmas
19
Plasmas are by far the most common phase of matter in the universe, both
by mass and by volume. All the stars are made of plasma, and even the space
between the stars is filled with a plasma, albeit a very sparse one. In our solar
system, the planet Jupiter accounts for most of the non-plasma, only about 0.1%
of the mass and 10−15% of the volume within the orbit of Pluto. Very small grains
within a gaseous plasma will also pick up a net negative charge, so that they in
turn may act like a very heavy negative ion component of the plasma.
Plasma properties and parameters
The Earth's "plasma fountain" is showing oxygen, helium, and hydrogen
ions which gush into space from regions near the Earth's poles. The faint yellow
area shown above the north pole represents gas lost from Earth into space; the
green area is the aurora borealis-or plasma energy pouring back into the
atmosphere.
Definition of plasma
Although a plasma is loosely described as an electrically neutral medium of
positive and negative particles, a definition can have three criteria:
The plasma approximation
Charged particles must be close enough together that each particle influences
many nearby charged particles, rather than just interacting with the closest
particle (these collective effects are a distinguishing feature of plasma). The
plasma approximation is valid when the number of charge carriers within the
sphere of influence (called the Debye sphere whose radius is the Debye screening
length) of a particular particle are higher than unity to provide collective behavior
of the charged particles. The average number of particles in the Debye sphere is
given by the plasma parameter, "Λ" (the Greek letter Lambda).
Bulk interactions
The Debye screening length (defined above) is short compared to the
physical size of the plasma. This criterion means that interactions in the bulk of
the plasma are more important than those at its edges, where boundary effects
may take place. When this criterion is satisfied, the plasma is quasineutral.
Plasma frequency
The electron plasma frequency (measuring plasma oscillations of the
electrons) is large compared to the electron-neutral collision frequency
(measuring frequency of collisions between electrons and neutral particles).
When this condition is valid, electrostatic interactions dominate over the
processes of ordinary gas kinetics.
Vocabulary
1.3 Translate the vocabulary in the text, give the explanation of these words in
English, and add them into your own dictionary of technical terms:
filamentation
spectrum
ionized gas
20
electrically conductive
approximation
cathode ray
phase of matter
frequency of collisions
Speaking
1.4 Give the oral annotation to the text and then give its summary.
1.5 Put ten questions to clear out all doubtful moments of the text.
Writing
1.6 Copy out sentences that convey the main idea of every paragraph.
1.7 Translate given text with the help of dictionary, pay attention to the Modal
Verbs.
1.8 Summarize all new facts you have learnt about plasma.
Get real
Find information about:
ü spectrum
ü cathode ray
ü the plasma parameter
LESSON 2
Reading and Translation
2.1 Before reading, look through the title and discuss with your group mates all
the aspects according to the topic” nanotechnology”, which you’ve already
known:
2.2 Translate the text synoptically. Pay attention to the constructions with Modal
Verbs + perfect infinitive, passive infinitive.
2.3 Make the annotation.
NANOTECHNOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
Part 1
Nanotechnology is the science of designing, producing, and using
structures and devices having one or more dimensions of about 100 millionth of a
millimeter (100 nanometers) or less.
21
Nanotechnology has the potential to significantly impact society. It is
already used for instance by the information and communications sectors. It is
also used in cosmetics and sunscreens, in textiles, in coatings, in some food and
energy technologies, as well as in some medical products and medicines.
Moreover, nanotechnology could also be used in reducing environmental
pollution.
However, engineered nanoparticles can have very different properties and
effects compared to the same materials at larger sizes, which may entail new
health risks for humans and other species. Indeed, the normal human defense
mechanisms may not be able to respond adequately to these engineered particles
which may have characteristics never encountered before.
In addition, nanoparticles may also spread and persist in the environment,
and therefore have an impact on the environment
Current knowledge in nanoscience comes from developments in chemistry,
physics, life sciences, medicine, and engineering. Nanotechnology is under active
development or already in practical use in several areas:
In materials science, nanoparticles allow for the making of products with
new mechanical properties, including surface friction, wear resistance, and
adhesion.
In biology and medicine, nanomaterials are used to improve drug design
and targeting. Others are being developed for analytical and instrumental
applications.
Consumer products such as cosmetics, sunscreens, fibres, textiles, dyes,
and paints already contain nanoparticles.
In electronic engineering, nanotechnologies are used for instance to design
smaller, faster, and less consuming data storage devices.
Optical devices such as microscopes have also benefited from
nanotechnology.
Nanoparticles often have physical and chemical properties that are very
different from the same materials at larger scales.
The properties of nanoparticles depend on their shape, size, surface
characteristics and inner structure. They can change in the presence of certain
chemicals.
The composition of nanoparticles and the chemical processes taking place
on their surface can be very complex.
Nanoparticles can remain free or group together, depending on the
attractive or repulsive interaction forces between them.
Free nanoparticles may occur naturally, be released unintentionally by
industrial or domestic processes such as cooking, manufacturing, and transport, or
be specifically engineered for consumer products and advanced technologies.
In the liquid phase, engineered nanoparticles are mainly produced through
controlled chemical reactions, while naturally occurring nanoparticles are
generated by the erosion and chemical degradation of plants, clay, etc.
In the gas phase, both naturally occurring and engineered nanoparticles are
generally created by chemical reactions whereby gases are converted into tiny
22
liquid droplets which then condensate and grow. They rarely originate from the
breaking down of larger particles.
Both in rural and urban areas, a litre of air can contain millions of
nanoparticles. In urban areas, most nanoparticles come from diesel engines or
cars with defective or cold catalytic converters. In some workplaces, exposure to
airborne nanoparticles may represent a potential health risk.
LESSON 3
Translation
3.1 Translate the text in written form.
NANOTECHNOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
Part 1
Nanoparticles can contribute to stronger, lighter, cleaner, and “smarter”
surfaces and systems. They are already being used to produce scratchproof
eyeglasses, crack-resistant paints, anti-graffiti coatings for walls, transparent
sunscreens, etc.
They can be used to increase the safety of cars, for instance by increasing
tyre adhesion to the road, improving the stiffness of the car body, or preventing
glare or condensation on displays and panes.
They can also improve food safety and packaging.
Moreover, they are used in a wide variety of ways in biology and medicine,
for example in drugs targeting specific organs or cells.
Nanoparticles can have the same dimensions as some biological molecules
and can interact with these. In humans and in other living organisms, they may
move inside the body, reach the blood and organs such as the liver or the heart,
and may also cross cell membranes. Insoluble nanoparticles are a greater health
concern because they can persist in the body for long periods of time.
The parameters of nanoparticles that are relevant for health effects are
nanoparticle size (smaller particles can be more dangerous), chemical
composition and surface characteristics, and shape.
Inhaled nanoparticles can deposit in the lungs and then potentially move to
other organs such as the brain, the liver, and the spleen, and possibly the foetus in
pregnant women. Some materials could become toxic if they are inhaled in the
form of nanoparticles. Inhaled nanoparticles may cause lung inflammation and
heart problems.
The objective of nanoparticles used as drug carriers is to deliver more of
the drug to the target cells, to reduce the harmful effects of the drug itself on other
organs, or both. However, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the toxicity of
the drug from that of the nanoparticle.
With the exception of airborne particles reaching the lungs, information on
the behaviour of nanoparticles in the body is still minimal. Assessment of the
23
health implications of nanoparticles should take into account the fact that age,
respiratory tract problems, and the presence of other pollutants can modify some
of the health effects.
Information on the effects of nanoparticles on the environment is very
scarce. However, it is likely that many conclusions drawn from human studies
can be extrapolated to other species, but more research is needed.
3.2 Answer the questions to the texts: Part 1and Part 2.
1. What is plasma?
2. What is the current state of nanoscience and nanotechnology?
3. What are the physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles?
4. How are nanoparticles formed?
5. What are the uses of nanoparticles in consumer products?
6. What are potential harmful effects of nanoparticles?
3.3 Copy out key words in each paragraph.
3.4 Retell the text in your own words using the key words.
LESSON 4
4.1 Read the text and discuss with other students.
MOLECULAR NANOTECHNOLOGY: A LONG-TERM VIEW
Molecular nanotechnology, sometimes called molecular manufacturing, is a
term given to the concept of engineered nanosystems (nanoscale machines)
operating on the molecular scale. It is especially associated with the concept of a
molecular assembler, a machine that can produce a desired structure or device
atom-by-atom using the principles of mechanosynthesis. Manufacturing in the
context of productive nanosystems is not related to, and should be clearly
distinguished from, the conventional technologies used to manufacture
nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and nanoparticles.
When the term "nanotechnology" was independently coined and
popularized by Eric Drexler (who at the time was unaware of an earlier usage by
Norio Taniguchi) it referred to a future manufacturing technology based on
molecular machine systems. The premise was that molecular scale biological
analogies of traditional machine components demonstrated molecular machines
were possible: by the countless examples found in biology, it is known that
sophisticated, stochastically optimised biological machines can be produced.
It is hoped that developments in nanotechnology will make possible their
construction by some other means, perhaps using biomimetic principles.
However, Drexler and other researchers have proposed that advanced
nanotechnology, although perhaps initially implemented by biomimetic means,
24
ultimately could be based on mechanical engineering principles, namely, a
manufacturing technology based on the mechanical functionality of these
components (such as gears, bearings, motors, and structural members) that would
enable programmable, positional assembly to atomic specification (PNAS-1981).
The physics and engineering performance of exemplar designs were analyzed in
Drexler's book Nanosystems.
In general it is very difficult to assemble devices on the atomic scale, as all
one has to position atoms are other atoms of comparable size and stickyness.
Another view, put forth by Carlo Montemagno, is that future nanosystems will be
hybrids of silicon technology and biological molecular machines. Yet another
view, put forward by the late Richard Smalley, is that mechanosynthesis is
impossible due to the difficulties in mechanically manipulating individual
molecules.
LESSON 5
GRAMMAR REVIEW
MODALS AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS
Present
must, have to, be to
We must protect our
nature.
Past
had to, was (were) to
I had to pass my
exam.
Ability and
possibility
can
We can use energy
everyday.
Recommendation
should/ought
You should pay
attention to your
attitude towards
environment.
to may, to be allow, to
might
We are allowed to use
our notes at the exam.
could, was (were)
able to
My friend could
install a new
programme.
should/ought to +
have + past part.
He ought to have
improved his English.
Obligation
Permission
may/might + have +
P. II, was (were)
allowed to
I might have been a
few minutes later.
Future
will have to
They will have to
build a new power
station.
will be able to
They will be able to
demonstrate a new
innovative project.
─
will be allowed to
Next term they will be
allowed to work in the
lab.
5.1 Complete these sentences with the appropriate modal verbs from the box
can may must should
1. Drivers … stop when they see the red light.
2. He asked me: “… I turn on the light?”
3. You … do what your professor advises you.
25
4. I have been studying English for 10 years. I … speak English very
well.
5. If you are ill you … consult a doctor.
Modal Verbs
The modal verbs are can, may, must, should, ought, need. They do not
express an action but our attitude to it. They are also known as modal auxiliary
verbs because they ‘help’ another verb.
They can read this text.
She may play computer game now.
He must do this experiment.
Equivalents of modal verbs are:
Can = be able to
May = be allowed to/ be permitted to
Must = have to, are to
Equivalents are different from modal verbs because they can be used in all tense
forms.
5.2 Fill in the gaps with modal verbs. Sometimes more than one verb is possible.
Explain their functions.
1. Engineers _______ use computers extensively to produce and analyze
designs.
2. Engineers _______ simulate and test how a machine, structure, or system
operates.
3. They _______ generate specifications for parts.
4. Many engineers _______ also use computers to monitor product quality and
control process efficiency.
5. The fields of nanotechnology _______ involve the creation of highperformance materials and components by integrating atoms and molecules.
6. They _______ introduce entirely new principles to the design process.
7. You _______ use this instrument in your experiments.
8. Atom _______ serve peaceful purposes.
9. These machines _______ be handled with great care.
5.3 Change modal verbs to their equivalents where possible
26
MODULE 3
THE UNIVERSE PUZZLE
LESSON 1
What do you already know about the topic?
1.1 Look at the drawing. What do you already know about the origin of the
universe?
Reading
1.2 Read the text carefully and match the drawings with the text. Read the text
carefully and check your understanding of the words: "infinite density",
"expansion", "contraction ".
The Cosmic Web
Cosmologists use linear time to explain the birth and growth of the
universe. Our universe is probably between 12,000 and 15,000 million years old.
It starts with a Big Bens and includes the following events and projection: at zero
second, before time begins, everything is together at a point of infinite density. This
causes an extreme temperature that produces an explosion - the Big Bang. The
universe starts expanding and energy, forces, matter and space-time emerge. Then,
the temperature goes down and the basic forms of matter appear and evolve. At
50,000 million years, the cosmos holds its expansion and starts contraction. 1,000
million years later. It collapses in a ball of fire similar to the Big Bans - a Big
Crunch.
Right after the Big Bang, particles called quarks unite in groups of three to
form the first nucleons: neutrons and protons. Other particles like neutrinos,
positrons and electrons also appear. Time passes and the nude of hydrogen
(deuterium), helium and lithium take form. After that, the first atoms and molecules
of hydrogen gas emerge.
27
The pull of gravity forms clouds of gases and these clouds become stars and
galaxies. The stars bake the nuclei of helium, carbon, silicium and iron that form the
stardust. This dust makes up the asteroids and planets.
Some cosmologists don't agree with this theory. They explain that the
expansion of the universe is accelerating. Another theory says that the universe is in
constant reproduction. This means that there are infinite "universes”. There isn't one
absolute theory, but an important observation is that the universe works in a
rhythm of expansion and contraction.
The universe has only one basic component: energy. All the forms, from
atoms to rocks, plants and people are different aspects of the same energy.
Vocabulary
1.3 Look for the words on the left in the text, match them with the correct
meaning.
1. density
2. Big Bang
3. Big Crunch
4. growth
5. rhythm
6. Unite
7. aspect
a. explosion
b. evolution
c. compactness
d. harmonious movement
e. extreme contraction
f. appearance
g. gel together
Speaking
1.4 Match the list of topics (a-f) with the paragraphs. Speak on every topic, give
an additional information of your own.
a) the forces of expansion and contraction
b) theory of the origin of the solar system
d) energy and its forms
e) linear time
f) particle physic
Writing
1.5 Circle the words that show natural forces of expansion and contraction
1. lung
2. heart
3. light bulb
4. balloon
5. Wood
Choose one of the examples and draw a graph showing the expansion-contraction
process.
Grammar
1.6 Correct the form of the verb if necessary.
28
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
People uses time to describe the past, present and future.
Gravity attracts objects to the centre of our galaxy.
The cosmos stop its contraction and begins its expansion.
There is a black hole at the centre of our galaxy.
The basic forms of matter appears and evolve when the temperature goes down.
1.7 Complete the following question with a/an/the. Put an ‘X’ when no word
it necessary.
1. What__________ linear structure?
2. How does__________ universe begin?
3. Why do_____________ cosmologists use a linear structure?
4. Where does_________ energy come from?
5. What is___________ atom?
6. What causes___________ expansion and a contraction?
7. What makes up___________ nucleus?
1.8 Complete the following sentence with these words.
become, moves, makes up, unite, comes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Quarks__________ to form nucleons.
The universe____________ in a rhythm of contraction and expansion.
The clouds of gases ___________stars and galaxies.
Stardust____________ the asteroids and planets.
Life____________ from stardust.
Get real
Find information about:
ü particles called quarks
ü energy and its nature
ü different theories of Universe existence
LESSON 2
2.1 Before you start reading, check your understanding of the key words:
Solar System, Cloud, Nebula, Rotate, Space, Contract, Star, Join, Asteroid,
Meteorite, Radiant/Electric Energy, Atmosphere, Dynamics
Reading
2.2 Before reading , look through the title and try to put the following events in
chronological order:
29
a. The first macromolecules of DNA appear.
b. The gases condense and form particles of dust.
c. The nebula contracts.
d. Cases from the volcanoes form the initial atmosphere.
e. Gravity pulls material to the centre of the nebula.
f. The dust forms the asteroids and the planets.
2.3 Translate the text without dictionary.
From Inert Matter to Intelligent Life
Our solar system is 4,500 million years old. In a solar system, the sun and
the planets form at the same time. They form from a cloud of gases called nebula.
A nebula rotates in space and the force of gravity pulls material to its centre. The
nebula contracts and its centre gets hot. This hot centre becomes a star.
The outer part of the nebula is not so hot. When the temperature goes down
the gases condense into particles of dust. The dust slowly sticks together and forms
the planets. Life on our planet begins from the dust of a dying star.
Chronology of Life on Earth
4,500 million years A.C.: the planet temperature is very high. There are
many volcanoes but there is no biological life. Meteorites fall from outer space and
volcanic eruptions prepare the Earth crust. Gases from the volcanoes form the
initial atmosphere. The temperature goes down. Oxygen and hydrogen join and
form the first lakes and oceans. Scientists believe that life begins in these waters.
The first waters contain many kinds of small molecules that change their
composition. Radiant energy from the sun and electric energy from lightning
recombine the small molecules into complex molecules. These complex molecules
contain carbon, an essential element for life. Time passes and the first
macromolecules of DNA appear. These macromolecules self-reproduce and join
others to make up cells, the basic units of life. This theory explains that there is
potential for life in inert matter. In humans, inert elements produce the sperm
and the ovule. The sperm and the ovule form a unicellular egg Cone cell) and from
this cell, around sixty billion cells (6012) come to life. The combination of inert parts
to form a living whole shows the basic dynamics of life.
Vocabulary
2.4 Complete the following sentences with words from the text.
1. A star and a group of planets form a____________.
2. The____________ and the planets form at the same time.
3. A theory explains that there is potential for life in____________ matter.
4. A_____________ egg is a combination of a sperm and an ovule.
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5. Another way to say deoxyribonucleic acid is_____________.
Speaking
2.5 Retell the text in your own words using the key words.
Grammar
2.6 Complete the following questions with: When, What, How, Where
1. _______ old is our solar system?
2. _______ do the planets come from?
3. _______ makes the nebula contract?
4. _______ do the goes condense and form particles of dust?
5. _______ do macromolecules do to make up cells?
2.7 Fill in the gaps with: there isn’t, there aren’t, there is, there are
1. _______ a macromolecule in the sun?
2. _______ any young nebula in outer space?
3. Cases from the volcanoes form the initial atmosphere but _______ an ozone
layer.
4. __________ many different natural elements in the universe.
5. __________ only a few cells in our body.
2.8 Fill in the blanks with: have, has, there is, there are
1. A cell
_______ life.
2. The planet temperature is very high and _______ no biological life on it.
3. DNA macromolecules carbon atoms.
4. _______ potential for life in inert matter.
5. _______ carbon atoms in all living things.
Get real
Write some information about of a black hole. Then, work in groups to
combine the information and report it to the CLASS.
Guide questions:
What's a black hole?
Are there many black holes?
Is there a black hole at the centre of our galaxy?
31
What is there inside a black hole?
Who discovered black holes?
LESSON 3
3.1 Make the annotation.
SUN
The big burning ball of gas that holds nine major planets in orbit is not
unlike many stars in the universe. The Sun makes up 99.86 percent of the solar
system's mass and provides the energy that both sustains and endangers us.
Scientists have lately begun calling its tremendous outpouring of energy "space
weather."
Massive energy
The Sun can be divided into three main layers: a core, a radioactive zone,
and a convective zone. The Sun's energy comes from thermonuclear reactions
(converting hydrogen to helium) in the core, where the temperature is 15 to 25
million degrees. The energy radiates through the middle layer, then bubbles and
boils to the surface in a process called convection. Charged particles, called the
solar wind, stream out at a million miles an hour.
Sunspots
Magnetic fields within the sun slow down the radiation of heat in some
areas, causing sunspots, which are cool areas and appear as dark patches. Sunspot
activity peaks every 11 years. The next peak is due in 2000.
During this so-called solar maximum, the sun will bombard Earth's atmosphere
with extra doses of solar radiation. The last peak, in 1989, caused power
blackouts, knocked satellites out of orbit and disrupted radio communications.
(See our special report on Sunspots.)
Though NASA scientists aren't predicting any record-setting space weather in
2000, the peak is expected to be above average. "It's like saying we're going to
have a mild or cold winter," says Dr. David Hathaway at NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center. But as communications rely increasingly on satellites, there are
more targets in the sky and more significant consequences to any disruptions.
And there may be more to sunspots than disrupted communications. An active
sun, known to heat the Earth's outer atmosphere, may also affect our climate.
Scientists say a small ice age from 1645 to 1715 corresponded to a time of
reduced solar activity, and current rises in temperatures might be related to
increased solar activity.
Solar flares
The Sun frequently spews plumes of energy, essentially bursts of solar
wind. These solar flares contain Gamma rays and X-rays, plus energized particles
(protons and electrons). Energy is equal to a billion megatons of TNT is released
in a matter of minutes. Flare activity picks up as sunspots increase.
Effect on Earth
32
The Sun's charged, high-speed particles push and shape Earth's magnetic field
into a teardrop shape. The magnetic field protects Earth from most of the harmful
solar radiation, but extreme flares can disable satellites and disrupt
communication signals. The charged particles also excite oxygen and nitrogen in
the atmosphere to create the aurora borealis, or northern lights. More solar
radiation during the upcoming solar maximum means an increase in the aurora.
Coronal mass ejections
Similar to a solar flare, a coronal mass ejection is a bubble of gas and
charged particles ejected over several hours. It can occur with or without solar
flares, and can also threaten Earth's atmosphere.
Final fact
If you stood on the Sun, its gravity would make you feel 38 times more
heavy than you do on Earth. But it's kind of hot, so please don't try it.
3. 2 Put 10 questions to the text and answer them.
LESSON 4
4.1 Translate the text in written form synoptically.
General relativity
In general relativity, the effects of gravitation are ascribed to space time
curvature instead of a force. The starting point for general relativity is the
equivalence principle, which equates free fall with inertial motion and describes
free-falling inertial objects as being accelerated relative to non-inertial observers
on the ground. In Newtonian physics, however, no such acceleration can occur
unless at least one of the objects is being operated on by a force.
Einstein proposed that space time is curved by matter, and that free-falling
objects are moving along locally straight paths in curved space time. These
straight lines are called geodesics. Like Newton's First Law, Einstein's theory
stated that if there is a force applied to an object, it would deviate from the
geodesics in space time. For example, we are no longer following the geodesics
while standing because the mechanical resistance of the Earth exerts an upward
force on us. Thus, we are non-inertial on the ground. This explains why moving
along the geodesics in space time is considered inertial.
Einstein discovered the field equations of general relativity, which relate
the presence of matter and the curvature of space time and are named after him.
The Einstein field equations are a set of 10 simultaneous, non-linear, differential
equations. The solutions of the field equations are the components of the metric
tensor of space time. A metric tensor describes a geometry of space time. The
geodesic paths for a space time are calculated from the metric tensor.
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Notable solutions of the Einstein field equations include:
•
•
•
•
•
The Schwarzschild solution, which describes space time surrounding a
spherically symmetric non-rotating uncharged massive object. For compact
enough objects, this solution generated a black hole with a central
singularity. For radial distances from the center which are much greater
than the Schwarzschild radius, the accelerations predicted by the
Schwarzschild solution are practically identical to those predicted by
Newton's theory of gravity.
The Reissner-Nordström solution, in which the central object has an
electrical charge. For charges with a geometrized length which are less than
the geometrized length of the mass of the object, this solution produces
black holes with two event horizons.
The Kerr solution for rotating massive objects. This solution also produces
black holes with multiple event horizons.
The Kerr-Newman solution for charged, rotating massive objects. This
solution also produces black holes with multiple event horizons.
The cosmological Robertson-Walker solution, which predicts the
expansion of the universe.
General relativity has enjoyed much success because of how its predictions of
phenomena which are not called for by the theory of gravity have been regularly
confirmed. For example:
•
•
•
•
•
•
General relativity accounts for the anomalous perihelion precession of
Mercury.
The prediction that time runs slower at lower potentials has been confirmed
by the Pound-Rebka experiment, the Hafele-Keating experiment, and the
GPS.
The prediction of the deflection of light was first confirmed by Arthur
Eddington in 1919, and has more recently been strongly confirmed through
the use of a quasar which passes behind the Sun as seen from the Earth.
The time delay of light passing close to a massive object was first
identified by Irwin Shapiro in 1964 in interplanetary spacecraft signals.
Gravitational radiation has been indirectly confirmed through studies of
binary pulsars.
The expansion of the universe (predicted by Alexander Friedmann) was
confirmed by Edwin Hubble in 1929.
4.2 Translate words used in the text, make up a mini-dictionary and learn this
vocabulary.
space-time curvature
equivalence
principle
34
acceleration
occur
geodesics
field equations
simultaneous, non-linear, differential equations
rotating
singularity
geometrized
event horizons
precession
gravitational lensing
cosmology
gravitation
universe
hidden mass
antigravity
quintessence
lambda
nukleosinteza
linzirovaniya
relict
quasars
helium
heavy hydrogen
lithium
4.3 Make 10 sentences with active vocabulary. Ask your partner to translate them.
LESSON 5
GRAMMAR REVIEW
GERUND, INFINITIVE, PARTICIPLE
Gerund
Indefinite
burning
being burnt
Active
Passive
Perfect
having burnt
having been burnt
There are two general methods of firing fuel.
Infinitive
Indefinite
Continuous
35
Perfect
Perfect
Active
to burn
to be burning
to have burnt
Passive
to be burnt
-
to have been
burnt
Continuous
to have been
burning
-
The function of a steam power plant is to convert the energy in nuclear reactions
into mechanical or electric energy.
Participle
Active
Passive
Participle I
burning
being burnt
Participle II
burnt
Having finished the construction of a new plant, the builders went to another
place.
5.1 Fill in the gaps with the following words. Change them into gerund, infinitive
or participle:
mine, built, require, break, extract, pass.
1. The power … for operation of a plant may be obtained as a by-product.
2. A reduction in gas temperature may be made by … the products of
combustion through an air heater.
3. Underground … is one of the two basic methods for mining coal.
4. The … heater must be taken away.
5. Power plants currently … are designed for operation at pressures of more
than 1500 psig.
6. Coal is a fossil fuel … from the ground.
INFINITIVE – ITS FUNCTION IN THE SENTENCE
Functions of Infinitive:
1. Subject.
To design power plants is the work of a power engineer.
2. Part of Complex Predicate.
Her duty was to control power supply of consumers
3. Object.
The professor of Physics asked the student to define the unit of current.
4. Adverb.
Pyrometers are used to measure the temperature of hot metal.
5. Attribute.
An ammeter is an instrument to measure the value of current.
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5.2 Choose the sentences with the Infinitive expressing:
a) simultaneousness of action; b) priority of action. Define its function.
1. To learn English is not an easy thing to do.
2. We want to learn to drive a car.
3. I remember to have seen this professor before.
4. To master English language you must work much.
5. The professor to deliver a lecture at our University is an outstanding scientist.
6. The experiment to be carried on is very complicated.
7. Can this work be done in such short period of time?
8. He was glad to have been traveling in the USA.
9. To study much is to learn much.
PARTICIPLE 1, 2 – ITS FUNCTIONS IN THE SENTENCE
Participle 1 in a sentence may be:
1. An Attribute
The boiling water changes into steam.
2. An Adverb
Copper is of great value, being a good conductor of electricity.
3. A part of a Predicate
He has been working in the laboratory since early morning.
Participle 2 in a sentence may be:
1. An Attribute
Most of the laboratories equipped with the latest apparatus are installed in the
main building.
2. An Adverb
Unless tested the motor must not be put into operation.
3. A part of a Predicate
They have considerably developed the motor.
5.3 Read translate the sentences, using the table above define the forms of
participles used.
1. The energy lost in the capacitor appears in the form of heat being generated in
the dielectric.
2. The problems of power supply being discussed is of no great importance for
practice.
3. The generators constructed at the Russian plant are of great capacity.
4. The language being widely used is FORTRUN.
5. While passing through the conductor, resistance results in the production of
heat.
6. Having been isolated, the line was tested under unfavorable conditions.
37
7. Having been tested under different conditions, the motors were put to use.
8. When being rubbed, some substances produce electric charges.
GERUND
5.4 Combine two sentences, while making a gerundial construction. Look at the
model. Translate.
Model: We might continue our experiment. We think of doing it.
We think of continuing our experiment.
1. The motion of molecule might be increased. Heating a substance
helps in this.
2. Light and heat energy can be transformed into electrical energy.
Semiconductors are used for this.
3. X-rays of great penetrating power can be produced. The betatron is
chiefly used for this.
5.5 Find in the texts of the module all sentences with Gerund, Infinitive,
Participle, define their functions.
38
MODULE 4
THE WORLD OF SUBATOMIC PARTICLES
LESSON 1
What do you already know about the topic?
1.1 Work with a partner. Choose any object around you and as a future physicist
describe what it is made of. Discuss your descriptions.
Reading
1.2 Read the text carefully and explain the phenomenon of "phase change". Say
why this phenomenon is of interest to physicists.
The world is made of subatomic particles
According to contemporary physicists, the world is made of several types of
objects, collectively referred to as subatomic particles. (These particles can also
be thought of as manifestations of something yet more fundamental, known as
quantum fields.) There may be as many as 1089 identical copies of some of these
particles in the present universe. The forms of matter familiar to us, both living
and nonliving, on the earth and in the heavens, are all composed of various
combinations of only three types of subatomic particles – protons, neutrons, and
electrons. Dozens of other types of particles can be produced momentarily in the
laboratory, however, and are thought to have existed in large numbers in the early
universe.
All subatomic particles are defined by a few qualities that they may possess,
such as mass, spin, and electric charge. Two particles are of the same type, if all
of these qualities agree. Otherwise, they are considered to be different particles.
Particles of the same type are, as far as we know, truly identical in these
properties of mass, spin, and charge rather than just very similar. If all photons,
the particles that make up light, were not identical, lasers would not operate.
The subatomic particles readily convert into one another when they collide.
The kinetic energy of motion of light particles can be converted into the energy
associated with mass (rest energy) of heavy particles. In many cases, even
isolated particles can convert spontaneously into others, if the latter are less
massive. In all such transformations, only a few properties, such as the total
electric charge, remain unchanged. The subatomic particles do not act like the
changeless building blocks imagined by some Greek philosophers. In the last few
years, physicists have realized that even those subatomic particles which exist
have changed radically over the lifetime of the universe. It appears that evolution
takes place on all levels of matter, not just on the more complex levels of living
things. The driving force behind this evolution is the expansion of the universe,
39
which by changing the environment in which particles are found, changes the
particles themselves. Only twenty years ago, the idea that the properties of
subatomic particles might depend on their environment would have been
considered heresy.
Under the conditions in which physicists usually observe subatomic
particles, their defining properties are not perceived to vary, giving these
properties an illusion of stability. However, under the immense temperatures and
densities that prevailed in the early stages of the universe, the properties, such as
mass, of some particles would have been very different from what they are now.
This situation is related by nature to the variability of a liquid such as water.
Under a fairly wide range of temperatures water remains liquid and its properties
do not change much whatever the temperature within this range. But if the water
is subjected to much lower temperatures, or is heated to above 100° Celsius, its
properties change abruptly. The liquid becomes a solid (ice) or a gas (water
vapour). This type of change, in which the properties of a substance change
drastically as a result of a small variation in its environmental conditions is called
a "phase change" by physicists.
The presumed change in the properties of subatomic particles at very high
temperatures is also considered to be a phase change, one that involves the
properties of space, as well as of the particles in it. In other words, the particles do
not react directly to a temperature change but to some alteration in space, the
medium, in which they find themselves.
It is easy to boil or freeze water, but very difficult to duplicate in the lab
the extreme conditions present at the birth of the universe. Yet physicists have
become convinced of the theory that atomic particles, and space itself, went
through momentous phase changes during and after the Big Bang. The rapid
cooling that followed that primordial explosion is thought to have generated
several phase changes. After an incredibly short time (perhaps a microsecond),
the subatomic stuff of the young universe became stabilized, combining into the
particles that make up matter today.
Translation
1.3 Translate the following sentences from the text into Russian.
1. The world is made of several types of objects, collectively referred to as
subatomic particles.
2. All subatomic particles are defined by a few qualities that they may possess,
such as mass, spin, and electric charge.
3. If all photons, the particles that make up light, were not identical, lasers would
not operate.
4. The subatomic particles readily convert into one another when they collide.
5. The subatomic particles do not act like the changeless building blocks
imagined by some Greek philosophers.
6. The rapid cooling that followed that primordial explosion is thought to have
40
generated several phase changes.
Vocabulary
1.4 For each word in A find in B its equivalent having roughly the same meaning.
A
1. abrupt
2. immense
3. rapid
4. incredible
5. drastic
6. to prevail
7. to presume
8. to perceive
B
a) quick
b) unlimited, immeasurable
c) very powerful
d) improbable, impossible to believe
e) sudden and surprising
f) to understand (see or notice)
g) to be most common or general
h) to suppose to be true without proof
1.5 Choose the best word to compete the sentences (1 – 8) below.
1. Particles can duplicate/convert spontaneously into others.
2. Only a few properties suppose/remain unchanged.
3. This scientific idea would have been considered exceptional/heresy.
4. The situation is related/valued by nature to the variability of a liquid.
5. Physicists have become convinced/coincided of the theory.
6. The particles can be converted into one another while they collided/isolated.
7. Scientists believe that other types of particles composed/existed in large numbers.
8. The primordial/harmful condition of explosion is the subject of discussion
today.
Grammar
The Passive voice
We can use the Passive voice to say what happens to the subject of the action, who and
what causes the action is often unknown or unimportant.
1.6 Find sentences with the passive voice in the text, define the tense form.
Make up your own sentences with the verbs mentioned in the text.
1.7 Complete the sentences using the Passive. Use the words in the box.
to find ▪ to develop ▪ to produce ▪ to illustrate ▪ to demonstrate ▪ to use ▪ to hear ▪ to test
1. Most of the particles_____ briefly in laboratories.
2. Physicists believe that quarks_____ never in isolation.
41
3. New physical equipment_____ now.
4. _____ever about Standard Model of particle physics?
5. The modern concept of the photon_____by Albert Einstein.
6. In May the experiment on a particle displacement_____.
7. In some years this concepts in new technology_____widely.
8. Last year the particle collision_____.
1.8 Correct the mistakes in these sentences.
1. The world made up of 1089 particles.
2. The particles were knew to be doubly charged.
3. Photons have be studied as elements of quantum computers.
4. The inner structure of atoms could is obtained by the study of collisions.
5. We will are taken the information related to quarks’ groups.
6. The properties of subatomic particles had being observed for many years.
7. The examples of particle interaction were being think about.
8. The space objects being treated as particles.
Writing
1.9 Choose any type of subatomic particles and write a description of its physical
properties and qualities that it may possess, such as mass, spin, and electric
charge. Don’t name the particle. Exchange descriptions with your partner and
identify the particle.
Speaking
1.10 Think and say a few words about:
a) Big Bang and subatomic world
b) the matter makeup
c) phase changes in everyday life and in subatomic world
d) laboratory experimentation with subatomic particles
Get real
Find information about:
ü nano-particles
ü nanotechnology
ü who firstly defined the term "nanotechnology"
ü the first use of the concepts in nanotechnology
ü examples of nanotechnology in modern use
LESSON 2
2.1 The problem of the passage below is illustrated in a block-scheme. Look at it and say
what you know about the problem. Then, read the passage and find the facts to prove or
42
disprove your ideas.
The Universe
atoms
nuclei
matter
field
proton/neutron
photons/neutrinos
quarks/gluons
electrons
Particles and fields
The number of the particles of each type in the present universe is the result
of a complicated history. Most of the particle types that were abundant in the early
universe have long ago disappeared. We only observe them when they are produced
briefly in laboratories, and then annihilate or decay. Because of this we are uncertain of
how many particle types may exist.
In the present universe, quarks and electrons have properties that allow them
to form the tightly bound clusters that we call nuclei and atoms. Photons and neutrinos
cannot do this, and so exist much more diffusely throughout the universe.
Nevertheless, most of the universe we know is made of quarks and electrons,
and the present picture we have of the world is largely an expression of the
properties of these particles. Of the two, quarks have a greater tendency to cluster
together. Indeed, this tendency is so pronounced that most physicists believe that
quarks are never found in isolation, but only in combinations containing either
three quarks or one quark and one antiquark. These are the combinations that make
up most of the subatomic particles that we observe, such as protons and neutrons, the
particles found in the nuclei of atoms.
The reasons why quarks insist on clustering in this way are not completely
understood. There is a general theory, known as quantum chromodynamics (QCD)
that attempts to describe how quarks behave. QCD involves the interactions of fields
associated with quarks and fields associated with another type of particle called
gluons (so named because they bind the quarks together). Most physicists believe
that when the predictions of this theory are better understood, we will know why
quarks cluster as they do.
Ever since the first microsecond after the origin of the universe, quarks
have been bound together, in groups of three, into neutrons or protons. All of the
other combinations of quarks or the other quark types, which also can bind
together, are unstable under present conditions. That is, if they are produced, they
change spontaneously into less massive particles, and eventually into some
combination of the stable ones. Even neutrons are unstable when they are found
in isolation – as when they are produced in nuclear reactors – and decay into
protons in a few minutes. The reason that neutrons exist at all in the present
43
universe is that when given the chance they bind together into more complex and
lasting objects. Neutrons can bind with protons into atomic nuclei, and with one
another in immense numbers into neutron stars.
Electrons also bind with nuclei and with each other into the combinations
that we know as atoms and molecules. This binding occurs through electric and
magnetic forces, which are manifestations of the same quantum field whose
particle aspect is the photon. The detailed properties of this field are summarized
in a theory known as quantum electrodynamics (QED), the most widely tested
theory in quantum physics. No inaccuracies have been found in the theory, down
to a level of error of less than one part in a billion.
Most physicists believe, on the basis of theoretical arguments, that even
protons and bound neutrons are not really stable and that over sufficiently long
periods of time they decay into electrons or neutrinos. Such decays have not yet
been observed, although experimental searches are underway. The time period
over which this is thought to occur is 1031 years or more, so that few of the
protons and neutrons produced in the early universe would have decayed yet in
this way. However, by looking at matter containing thousands of tons of protons,
a few proton decays should be seen in a year. According to this theory, if the
universe continues to expand for another 1031 years or more, matter as we know it
will have disappeared. The era in which the universe is dominated by the matter
familiar to us will be very long by human and by galactic standards, but it may
still be just an instant in the whole history of the universe.
2.2 Think and say a few words about:
a) distinct particle types known in nature;
b) the nature of quarks;
c) QCD and QED theories;
d) protons and neutrons, their present and future.
LESSON 3
3.1 Work in two groups. Divide the text into two parts. Read your parts of the text
only and present their main ideas in the form of a diagram. Draw the diagram on the
blackboard. Read your partners’ diagram. Compare your prediction with the text.
Rutherford's Atomic Model
The correct description of the distribution of positive and negative charges
within an atom was made in 1911 by a New Zealander then working at Manchester
University in England. This was E. Rutherford, who was later made Lord
Rutherford for his many scientific achievements. Young Rutherford entered
physics during that crucial period of its development when the phenomenon of
natural radioactivity had just been discovered, and he was the first to realize that
radioactive phenomena present a spontaneous disintegration of heavy unstable
44
atoms.
Radioactive elements emit three different kind s of rays; high-frequency
electromagnetic waves known as γ (gamma) rays, beams of fast-moving electrons
known as β (beta) rays, and α ( a l p h a ) rays, which were shown by Rutherford to
be streams of very-fast moving helium ions. Rutherford realized that important
information about the inner structure of atoms could be obtained by the study of
collisions between onrushing particles and the atoms of various materials
forming the target. This sta rted him on a series of epoch-making atomic
bombardment experiments that revealed the true nature of the atom.
The basic idea of the experimental arrangement used by Rutherford in his
studies was very simple: a speck of a emitting radioactive material, a lead shield
with a hole that allowed a narrow beam of the particles to pass through, a thin
metal foil to deflect or scatter them, and a pivoted fluorescent screen with a
m agnifier, through which the tiny flashes of light were observed whenever a
particle struck the screen. The screen and magnifier were pivoted, to observe the
number of flashes occurring at different angles of deflection. The whole
apparatus was evacuated, so that the particles would not collide with air
molecules.
How were the particles expected to be deflected according to Thomson's
model of the atom? The particles (their structure then unknown) were known to
be doubly charged positive ions of helium they acted as very efficient projectiles
in being able to penetrate through thin metal foils at least several hundred atoms
in thickness. Mathematical analysis showed that such a positive projectile, after
penetrating several hundred of Thomson's spheres of positive charge, would be
deflected by electrostatic forces, but the total deflection could not possibly add up
to more than a few degrees.
But the results of the experiment, when performed by two of Rutherford's
students, Hans Geiger and Ernst Marsden, were very different. Most of the a
particles penetrated the foil with very little deflection. An appreciable fraction of
them, however, were deflected through large angles – a few were turned back
almost as though they had been reflected from the foil. This was a deflection of
nearly 180°, and a completely impossible phenomenon according to the Thomson
model.
Such large deflections required strong forces to be acting, such as those
between very small charged particles very close together. This would be possible,
Rutherford thought, if all the positive charge, along with most of the atomic
mass, were concentrated in a very small central region which Rutherford called
the atomic nucleus. Now if the a particle were also merely аn atomic nucleus, the
scattering problem could be treated by an analysis of the repulsion between two
mass points that repel each other according to Coulomb's inverse-square law. An
a particle penetrating an atom near its edge would be deflected only by a small
amount; those passing closer to the nucleus would be repelled with a greater
force and deflected through a larger angle.
LESSON 4
45
4.1 In most paragraphs there is a topic sentence that summarizes the content
of the whole paragraph. The topic sentence is often, but not always, the first
sentence.
Look back at the first sentence of each paragraph in the text. Discuss with a
partner whether or not each sentence is a topic sentence. Give your reasons.
ELEMENTARY ATOMIC STRUCTURE
All matter is made up of tiny particles known as atoms. There are only
about a hundred different kinds of atoms, and they combine with each
other in different ways to form groups called molecules. All matter is composed
of atoms or molecules, and some knowledge of how atoms are made will
give us valuable information about the behavior of matter.
In 1911, Rutherford in England discovered that an atom has a tiny
nucleus which is positively charged and contains nearly all the mass of the
atom. Distributed about the nucleus and revolving about it in orbits are
much less massive negatively charged particles called electrons.
In a normal atom, there are exactly as many negatively charged
electrons as are needed to neutralize the positive charge of the nucleus, so
that the atom as a whole is electrically neutral. This is of course also true
of all normal material substances, which are composed, of atoms. The
outermost electrons are less strongly bound to the atom than the inner
ones, and they are the ones that take part in chemical reactions between
atoms and that are responsible for the accumulation of an electric charge
on bodies.
4.2 Find answers to the questions:
1. How many kinds of atoms do we know?
2. What is the structure of an atom?
3. How many negatively charged electrons are there in an atom?
4. How are electrons bound in the atom?
5. Do all atoms hold their outer electrons equally firmly?
LESSON 5
GRAMMAR REVIEW
THE PASSIVE VOICE
46
STUDY HELP
The passive is to be + the past participle (damaged, purified). For irregular past
participle (done, built), see the third column of irregular verbs.
Present am, is, are + Past Participle.
Example: The fourth state of matter is known as plasma.
Past was, were + Past Participle.
Example: The practical application of magnetism was connected with the use of a
simple compass.
Future shall/will + Past Participle.
Example: The article will be translated by the student.
5.1 Make active forms of the following verbs used in passive, mind the tense.
is generated, have been damaged, is being built, was invented, will be designed,
was being cleaned, will have been done, had been made
5.2 Complete the sentences using one of these verbs in passive:
To write, to invent, to clean, to translate, to make, to send, to use, to fulfill.
1. Paper … from wood.
2. The steam engine … by J. Watt.
3. The computer … at the moment.
4. The room … already …
5. The plan … by the end of the last century.
6. When the teacher came into the classroom the text … by the students.
7. The dictation … by the end of this lesson.
8. Next year a lot of students … to work abroad.
5.3 Put the verbs in brackets in the right form.
1. The apparatus (to test) now.
2. Thousands of new houses (to build) every year.
3. This metal (to melt) and (to cast) in moulds by 3 o’clock.
4. Considerable scientific and technical progress (to achieve) by our people.
5. New thermal power stations (to design) and (to construct) in some years.
5.4 Correct mistakes.
1. Boilers use for many purposes.
2. Tremendous hydro-potential will seen by the delegates in Siberia.
3. The entire life of people is changing by the application of electronics.
4. These tools were make of carbon steel.
5. We know that glass has be employed for over 3000 years.
47
5.5 Fill in the gaps with verbs in Present, Past and Future Passive.
1. Lightning_________ (to produce) by a discharge of atmospheric electricity.
2. Much ___________ (to learn) about electric current through its effects.
3. An atom__________ (to make of) a nucleus, positively charged protons,
negatively charged electrons and neutrons.
4. Magnetic field will_________(to develop) by a stream of electrons.
5. All electrical devices_________ (to operate) by motors.
6. Electric current __________ (to open) in 1800.
7. In future new sources of energy will _________ (to use).
5.6 Choose active or passive verb form.
1. The example’s of measurements (are being written, are writing) on the
blackboard now.
2. I was observing how the measurements (were made, were being made).
3. Water drops (were being watched, were watching).
4. I was watching how the body (was moving, was being moved).
5. We must knew at all times which units (are using, are being used).
6. If we (are using, are being used) common unite, then v – 32 t.
7. A body will behave in a certain way unless a force (is acting, is being acted)
at it.
8. When the magnitude of a force (is being measured, is measuring) acceleration
and mass must be considered.
9. Mass is frequently presented in terms of “ounces” and “pounds”, these units also
(are being used, are using) for weight.
10. A force connects two bodies, and the question arises as to which body is
pushing and which (is pushing, is being pushed).
11. The space objects (are treating, are being treated) as particles.
48
MODULE 5
MODERN DISCOVERIES THEORIES AND TECHNOLOGIES
LESSON1
What do you already know about the topic?
1.1 Before reading, think of the following and discus with your partner:
• What do you know about nuclear radiation?
• Do you think countries around the world should begin a gradual process of
shutting down nuclear plants and begin making a much greater effort to
develop widespread use of other sources of energy, such as wind and solar
power? Give your reasons.
• Do you believe that mankind has to weigh the positive as well as the
negative aspects of nuclear radiation?
Reading and Translation
1.2 Read the first lines of each paragraph. Try to guess what they will be about.
1.3 Translate the text and express your opinion on the question: if plasma is an
important phenomenon in physics. Provide your arguments.
NUCLEAR RADIATION
Nuclear energy was discovered in the process of creating the atomic bomb.
After scientists conducted more experiments, they found that nuclear power was a
clean and efficient way to produce energy. “The first nuclear reactor was created
on December 2, 1942, at the University of Chicago by Enrico Fermi.” The
discovery of nuclear energy provided a new source of energy and an alternative to
the use of natural resources: such as coal, oil, water, and wood. At the same time,
nuclear energy could be used in a destructive way, such as the atomic bomb.
At that time, the discovery of a new source of energy was a very significant
event. By using a small amount of plutonium and uranium, two radioactive
elements, an enormous amount of energy could be obtained. Nuclear energy can
be produced in two different ways, by the fission or fusion process. Fission
involves the breaking up of heavier atoms into lighter atoms. In a nuclear fission
reaction, two smaller nuclei of approximately equal mass are formed from the
splitting of a large nucleus. This splitting of an atom produces a large amount of
energy. This process is the most common form of nuclear power. Fusion is a
method that combines lighter atoms into heavier atoms. In a nuclear fusion
reaction, a large nucleus is formed from two small nuclei joined together. Fusion
reactions are difficult to produce because of the repulsion of the atom’s
negatively charged electron clouds and the positively charged nucleus. Fusion is
49
mostly used to create the hydrogen bomb. The byproduct of nuclear energy is
radiation. Radiation is created from the particles (strontium-90, cesium-137,
radon-222, krypton-85, and nitrogen-16) that are given off as a result of the
splitting of atoms.
As time went on, the attitudes of people towards nuclear energy changed.
There were many positive and negative aspects for the use of nuclear power.
Recently, people worldwide have started questioning the continued use of nuclear
power. Due to the deaths resulting from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor
accident, as well as the adverse effect the aftermath of the accident had on the
environment, there has been a public outcry concerning the safety of society. As
with many controversial issues, this topic has been widely debated, but a solution
has not been determined.
The positive aspects of the use of nuclear energy are that the supply of natural
resources does not have to be depleted, and also it is clean. It takes a great
amount of natural resources to create a small amount of energy. On the other
hand, a very small amount of plutonium and uranium is necessary for the creation
of a large amount of nuclear energy. This is important since there are relatively
small amounts of plutonium and uranium in the earth’s crust. Compared to the
production of power using coal, the creation of power generated by nuclear
energy does not pollute the air. As coal burns, there are poisonous fumes that
could cause sickness, if the area is not properly ventilated. As the cost of
electricity rose, the government was forced to look for an alternative source of
energy, which they discovered in nuclear reactors.
One of the major disadvantages of a reactor is the disposal of the nuclear waste
which harms the environment. “There are 434 nuclear reactors in the world and
110 of them are in the United States.” Not a single one is functioning without
polluting the environment. Attempts to store nuclear wastes have not been very
successful. One such attempt is to bury the nuclear waste underground, but the
leakage of nuclear waste has poisoned the groundwater. Another attempt is to put
the nuclear waste into deep ocean water. Later, this was rejected by the public
and also, in violation of an international treaty because of the possibility of
harming the ocean. Another problem to the environment is the leakage of
radioactive waste from space. This problem is not pollution to the earth’s
environment, but pollution of space. There is no way to dispose of the nuclear
waste in space.
The most significant drawback on this controversial issue is the threat of a
disaster. Two of the most serious situations were: the accident at Chernobyl and
the explosion of the hydrogen bomb on Hiroshima. The first time that people
discovered the dangers of nuclear power was when the atomic bomb was
dropped, August 6, 1945, on Hiroshima. The effects of the bomb destroyed 4.7
square miles of the city. Approximately 70,000 people were killed and about
another 70,0000 people were injured. Many people died later as a result of
nuclear radiation and radiation sickness. The most serious nuclear disaster was
the Chernobyl accident that occurred April 26, 1986 in the Soviet Union. An
accurate number of deaths as a result of this accident is very hard to determine
50
due to the secrecy of the U.S.S.R. surrounding this accident. A study done by a
team of scientists from both the United States and Japan has shown that there has
not been any evidence found of genetic mutation, which are changes in heredity,
in the children of the survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima.
Following the Chernobyl accident, Soviet scientists suggest that there is
evidence that radiation has exhibited genetic mutation in the parents who were
exposed to radiation. According to them, the mutation was found in sperm and
egg cells, which contain the genetic building blocks of future generations. The
child’s DNA is a combination from both parents’ genetic makeup. When there is
any sequence that the child has, but that sequence was not found in either parent,
then this is called germline mutation. Ten years after the accident that occurred
at Chernobyl, evidence of mutation, in the exposed areas of the country, indicates
that radiation changed genetic makeup and that this has passed onto future
generations. Also, there has been an explosive increase in childhood thyroid
cancer in Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation since 1986. This cancer is
present in brothers and sisters of the same family, which indicates that the cancer
is a result of the accident at Chernobyl.
Whether the atom is used for peace or for war, man must contend with the
hazards of nuclear radiation. This radiation may cause burns, diseases, and death.
It may harm future generations by causing mutations.
In peacetime, the escape of radioactive particles from nuclear plants is the
main radiation hazard. More nuclear power plants will be built if a significant
amount of the world’s power is to come from uranium. As a result of these
plants, huge amounts of radioactive material will be produced. The power plants
must take necessary precautions to insure the communities are safe from the
radiation that may escape.
In wartime, the most serious danger from radiation is near or below the place
where the atomic bomb has exploded. If people are not killed by the bomb, then
they have to deal with the radioactive fallout. Even at a distance from the blast,
the injury can be serious.
The use of radiation has many positive attributes, but at the same time, the
significance of the drawbacks are overwhelming. No government nor scientist
can guarantee the safety of nuclear plants. Without this guarantee, there is an
immediate concern for the welfare of the world. We believe countries around the
world should begin a gradual process of shutting down nuclear plants and begin
making a much greater effort to develop widespread use of other sources of
energy, such as wind and solar power.
In the last decade, public concern for the use of nuclear energy has increased
dramatically. Few can debate that nuclear energy is clean, and can be produced
without using hardly any natural resources. Likewise, few can debate that
radiation is harmful to the environment, unsafe, and a great danger for all living
things. Scientists and mankind have to weigh the positive as well as the negative
aspects of nuclear radiation, and then decide what source of energy the future
holds that will benefit not only all living things, but also the environment.
51
Vocabulary
1.4 Translate the vocabulary in the text, give the explanation of these words in
English, and add them into your own dictionary of technical terms:
Significant event
Nuclear energy
Approximately equal
Nuclear radiation
Atomic bomb
Charged nucleus
Splitting of atom
Nuclear fission reaction
Leakage
Disaster
Heredity
Radioactive fallout
1.5 Make up 10 sentences with the given words from active vocabulary.
For you to know!
*germ line – the lineage of cells culminating in the germ cells
germ line – зародышевая линия (клеток)
1.6 Find in the text words, accompanied to the following controversial, major,
significant, overwhelming, immediate, dramatically, likewise. Make up your
own sentences using these word expressions, using your active vocabulary.
1.7 Here it is a spidergram. Fill it in.
Radiation is created from the particles
Answer the question.What do you know about these elements, mentioned in the
spidergram.
Speaking
1.8 Speak on the following:
Nuclear energy can be produced in two different ways, by the fission or fusion
process, describe each method in detail. Follow the given information in
52
spidergram and in the text.
Writing
1.9 Give the written annotation to the text and then retell it.
Write down positive and negative aspects of the use of nuclear energy and discuss
your opinions with your group mates.
1.10 Fill in the table, using the information from the text according to the positive
or negative aspects of nuclear energy.
The usage of nuclear energy
major advantages
major disadvantages
1.11 Make up a dialogue, discussing the attitudes of people towards nuclear
energy. Use your active vocabulary; try to give your own assignment.
For you to know!
*thyroid = thyroid gland щитовидная железа; щитовидный
thyroid enlargement — увеличение щитовидной железы
Etymology: from New Latin thyroidēs, from Greek thureoeidēs , from thureos
oblong (literally: door-shaped) shield , from thura door
Translation
1.12 Give an appropriate translation of the sentences, using the information from
the text.
1. Ядерная энергия чистый и эффективный способ производства
энергии.
2. Побочный продукт ядерной энергии - радиация.
3. Недавно, люди во всем мире начали подвергать сомнению длительное
использование ядерной энергии.
4. Стоимость
электричества
повысилась,
правительство
было
вынуждено искать альтернативный источник энергии, которую они
обнаружили в ядерных реакторах.
5. Одно из главных неудобств реактора - избавление от ядерных
отходов, которые вредят окружающей среде.
6. Нет никакого способа избавиться от ядерных отходов отправляя их в
космос.
53
7. Серьёзная проблема это - утечка радиоактивных отходов.
Get real
Describe the history of creating of the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb, tell
what is the difference of their destination.
LESSON 2
2.1 Before you start reading, check your understanding of the key words:
semiconductor
germanium
impurity
alternating
shrinkage
circuit
demand
2.2 Read the text and answer the question:
How many and what steps were there in the computer technology development?
GREAT STRIDES IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
Still faster means of getting at computer-stored information must be
developed. The problems of communicating with the computer are becoming
increasingly apparent. Punch cards, typewriter terminals, and paper tapes all
demand special codes and computer languages. Such a situation can no longer be
accepted, for computers already calculate at a blinding pace, and their speeds are
steadily increasing.
The great leap forward in computer technology was attained in 1947 with
the development of the transistor. Transistors can perform all of the functions of
vacuum tubes but are flea-sized by comparison and require only a fraction as
much power to operate. The transistor is made of a semiconductor, a crystal that
conducts electricity better than glass, though not as well as metal. The
manufacture of a transistor starts with a single pure crystal of semiconductor,
such as germanium. The addition of very small amounts of a chemical impurity
such as arsenic introduces excess electrons into the crystal lattice. These electrons
can move easily to carry electricity. Other atomic impurities such as boron soak
up electrons from the lattice and thus create deficiencies, or holes, where there are
no electrons. The hole, in effect, is a positive charge, the opposite of the
negatively charged electrons. Both holes and electrons skip through the metal
with ease.
Arsenic- and boron-doped crystals are sliced into wafers and then
sandwiched together so that alternating layers containing either free electrons or
54
holes face each other. Holes and electrons, carrying opposite electrical charges,
are attracted to each other and a few drift across the junction, creating an
electrical field.
By adding electrical contact points to each of the layers in the sandwich, a
transistor is created.
Current flowing between two of the contact points can be controlled by
sending an electrical signal to a third point. The signal can thus be amplified from
fifty to forty thousand times. Moreover, the current keeps step with the incoming
signal, so that when it is pumped back out again, the signal is a precisely
amplified image of the original signal.
By 1955, the transistor was replacing the vacuum tube in computers,
shrinking their size and increasing their speed. The transition from vacuum tubes
to transistors was but the first step, however. Integrated circuits that combine both
amplifiers and other electrical components on slivers of material far smaller than
even transistors are shrinking the size of the computer still further. The integrated
circuits (IC) conserve space, and they also save time and the effort of linking up
individual components. This means that a quarter-inch chip containing five or six
complete circuits can move information across its route faster than a
transistorized circuit because every element within it is closer that are the
elements of transistors. On the horizon is yet another shrinkage, which will be
made possible by a process, still undeveloped, called large-scale integration, or
LSI. An LSI chip will be only a tenth of an inch square and will carry as many as
one hundred circuits. The difference between an LSI chip and an IC chip may
seem like hairsplitting, but on such negligible differences are built great strides in
computer technology.
The limiting speed on computers is the speed of light. Computer engineers
used this fact to create a standard measure – the light-foot – by which to clock
computer speeds. It is defined as the distance, about twelve inches that light
travels in a billionth of a second. Miniaturization will narrow the gap between
circuits and so reduce the number of light-feet that must be traversed through the
logic circuits. But there are still other limitations that must be overcome before
computer processing will be rapid enough to satisfy the demands of
perfectionists.
2.3 Translate the text in written form synoptically.
Get real
Think about the role of computers now. Was it possible to solve any problems
centuries ago if people had a computer?
LESSON 3
3.1 Read and translate the information, given in the text. Study this account of a
common phenomenon carefully.
55
DESCRIBING AND ACCOUNTING FOR A PHENOMENON
1
Consider what happens when a soap bubble is produced from a thin film of
soap on a wire ring. The ring is first clipped into a soap solution so as to form the
soap film.
2 Air is then blown gently onto the surface of the film so that it begins to
distend. Clearly at this point the film is stretching, since its surface area is
becoming greater
3 As air continues to be blown into the film, the film begins to take on a
bulbous shape, with the top part becoming almost spherical, while the lower part
of the film continues to adhere to the ring.
4
Finally, the soap film forms a perfectly spherical 'bubble' and leaves the ring.
Obviously, since the force of the air acts on the soap film, the film itself
must present some kind of a force to oppose it. If the blowing is stopped before
the bubble has reached its ultimate spherical shape, the film will return to its
original planar form across the surface of the ring. Similarly, if too great a force
of air is applied, the film will not be able to withstand it, and the film will 'burst'.
It is only when the bubble is a completely sealed sphere, with no outlet for the air
inside it, that it will remain stable and float freely away. Again, it will only
remain a bubble as long as the surface of the film is intact. As soon as the 'skin' of
soap film is pricked or otherwise punctured, the bubble will burst, due to the
unequal pressures within and outside it.
From these results it is clear that there is a force exerted by the film of
liquid, and that this force tries to resist any opposing force. The film will only
remain 'stretched' as long as there is an excess of pressure inside a complete
bubble which keeps the surface in a state of tension.
56
This phenomenon is known as surface tension. As the film is stretched, the
molecules in it are pulled further apart, but they will always try to resist this
change. They can only be kept apart by a continual force, and once this force is
removed they will return to their original state.
All liquids exhibit surface tension, and the force may be measured by
experimental means. Now answer these questions relating to the account you
have just read.
3.2 Translate the text in written form.
3.3 Answer the questions:
1 Give an account in your own words of the formation of a soap bubble from a
film of soap on a ring.
2 What effects make it clear that some kind of force exists in the film of soap
solution?
3 When will the soap film become a stable bubble?
4 What events will cause the bubble to collapse?
5 Why will the bubble collapse in such cases7
6 What can be concluded from these observations?
7 What is this phenomenon known as, and what are the physical causes for it?
8 Is soap film unique in exhibiting this phenomenon?
9 Is it possible to measure this force quantitatively?
10 Why do you think a soap solution has been chosen to illustrate this
phenomenon? From your own experience, do you think the same results could
have been demonstrated with pure water and if not, why not?
3.4 Make the annotation to the text.
LESSON 4
4.1 Try to understanding an explanation of a technique.
TECHNIQUE FOR GENERATING ELECTRICAL POWER
Here is a description of a technique which has been suggested for
generating electrical power. Study the passage carefully, and then answer the
questions following it. When you have done that, you will be asked to give an
account of the process in your own words.
57
The device used in this technique is known as an FED (electro-fluid
dynamic) generator, which consists of a duct with an electrically-charged emitter,
attractor and collector. Hot gas under pressure enters the duct at the emitter end.
The gas contains minute (very small) particles of dust which collect electric
charges as the gas carries them past the emitter. In this example, the charges are
positive, and so the attractor electrode must be made negative. This polarity is
determined by the connection of a high voltage across these two electrodes. If the
charged particles were not carried along at high speed by the force of the gas,
they would all be drawn towards the attractor. However, because of their forward
velocity most of them pass this electrode and reach the collector, where they give
up their charges to the external circuit. This transfer of electric charges to the
external circuit results in a flow of current in that circuit. Current is therefore
generated as a result of this process.
Although most of the particles are not collected by the attractor, they are
attracted by this negative voltage, and some are repelled by the positive voltage of
the collector. This positive charge is due to the positive charges of the particles
which have reached it. This results in an electric field being set up in the duct
between the collector and the emitter which tends to push the particles back
against the flow of the gas. The gas must therefore do work in order to overcome
this electrostatic force. As a result it loses both heat and speed, and this loss of
energy is converted into electrical energy at the output terminals in the form of an
electric current.
A small fraction of this output current is used to provide the high voltage
source across the emitter and attractor, unless this source is supplied separately.
4.2 Now choose the correct phrase to complete the sentence in each of these
statements:
1 This device is designed to….
(a) heat gas.
(b) produce hot gas under pressure.
(c) generate electricity.
2 A high voltage charge is applied externally across….
(a) the emitter and attractor.
58
(b) the attractor and collector.
(c) the emitter and collector.
3 The gas is forced through the duct….
(a) from the collector to the emitter.
(b) from the emitter to the collector.
(c) from the emitter to the attractor.
4
(a)
(b)
(c)
The gas contains minute particles which…
already have an electric charge.
become charged at the attractor.
become charged at the emitter.
5
(a)
(b)
(c)
The polarity of the charged particles is determined by….
the connections of the external circuit.
the speed of the gas.
the type of particles in the gas.
6 If the speed of the gas wasn't high enough, the particles….
(a) would not become charged.
(b) would not reach the collector.
(c) would not pass the emitter.
7
(a)
(b)
(c)
When the particles reach the collector, they …
become charged.
begin to travel back to the attractor.
give up their charges.
8
(a)
(b)
(c)
The attractor…
has no effect on the charged particles.
attracts all the charged particles.
attracts most of the charged particles.
9
(a)
(b)
(c)
At the collector, …
some of the charged particles are repelled.
all of the charged particles are repelled.
none of the charged particles are repelled.
10 Because some of the particles drift back towards the emitter, …
(a) the gas is prevented from flowing.
(b) they become negatively charged.
(c) the gas loses energy
4.3 Describe in your own words how the EFD generator functions.
LESSON 5
59
Grammar review
CONDITIONALS
Conditionals 1
Conditional sentences (real). Conditionals type 1 conditional sentences are based
on facts in real time. They express a possible condition and its possible results.
ü If you come to me tomorrow we’ll study maths together. There are several
other links with meanings similar to it than can introduce type 1
conditional sentences.
ü Provided / providing I have the time, I’ll help you.
ü Supposing you miss the lecture, what will you do?
Conditionals 2
Conditional sentences (unreal).
Conditionals type 2 conditional sentences are not based on fact. They express a
situation which is contrary to reality in the present and future.
Present → Past, will → would.
ü If I studied hard, I would pass my exams successfully.
Conditionals 3
Conditional sentences (unreal).
Conditionals type 3 conditional sentences are not based on fact. They express a
situation which is contrary to reality in the past.
Past → Past Perfect, would → would have.
ü If I had known his background, I would never have employed him. (I didn’t
know his background and I employed him).
5.1 Make the correct sentences according to the model, minding the rule of
sequence of tenses type 1and type 2.
Model:
He said, "The laws of physics are expressed, in the terms of physical quantities”.
He said, that the lows of physics were expressed in the terms of physical
quantities.
1. There are fundamental and derived quantities in physics. 2. Length and time
are examples of fundamental quantities. 3. An ideal standard has two principal
characteristics. 4. He gave a lot of examples in his lectures. 5. They make
convincing experiments. 6. She does not know how to take temperature. 7. The
diagram was very good. 8. Then you choose your standard of length. 9. So the
distances were measured in a direct way. 10. The signal travelled in a straight
line. 11. The observers are moving in opposite directions. 12. One of the
observers is sitting in the train. 13. Another observer is making the
measurements. 14. Yard is used in English-speaking countries. 15. They will
60
experiment on different objects. 16. His articles will be published in a lot of
journals. 17. There are significant facts in his article. 18. The formula is quite
correct.
5.2 Using the rule of sequence of tenses, remake all the sentences, beginning each
sentence: I (he, she) said, asked and etc. Translate.
1. They have dropped two objects from the top of the mast. 2. They have brought
a stone from the moon. 3. He suggested a new idea but we did not accept it. 4.
The question was unanswered. 5. They called it a "thought experiment". 6. I have
read his article several times. 7. We haven't solved the problem yet. 8. Did they
experiment on new materials? 9. What did you say about their work? 10. He is
holding something in his hand. 11. In what theory do the laws of motion end of
gravitational force come together? 12. A failing apple played an essential role in
history of physics. 13. They agreed with each other он a tot of points. 14. The
Soviet cosmology helped the science to learn much new about space.
5.3 Use the appropriate tense form in conditional sentences of the 1-st and 2-d
types.
1. If the Moon (bе attracted) by the Earth, it (move) along a straight line. 2. If the
plane (be raised) higher, the balls (roll) more rapidly. 3. If we (measure) the time
of arrival of the particle at each of many points along the path between A and В
we (describe) the motion in detail. 4. If every point on the earth's surface (be rotating) at the same speed, the earth (be) perfectly spherical. 5. If you (make) an
experiment correctly you (get) a convincing result. 6. If we (repeat) the
experiment with a different force we (find) the acceleration. 7. If objects of mass
m 1 and m2 (connect) they (behave) mechanically as a single object of mass
(m 1+m 2). 8. If there (be) a frictional force, I2 (have) a component parallel to the
line. 9. If you (put) your hand on the block it (exert) a force. 10. If v (be) directly
proportional to t we (obtain) a straight line. 11. If there (be) no accelerator it (be)
impossible to explore the subatomic world. 12. If the known part of the universe
(have) the size of the earth, how large (be) the earth?
5.4 Use the appropriate tense form in conditional sentences of the 3-d type.
1. If Newton (net to sit) down under an apple tree he (to think) about why apples
fall, perhaps. 2. What (to happen) If Newton (to turn) his attention to the problem
of gravitation? 3. If I (to know) about such simple way to discover the
fundamental laws of physics, I (to discover) all the universal taws by now. 4. If
the scholars of the east (to know) mere about the laws of nature they (be) so
violent in their objections against Copernicus's views. 5. If the scholars of the
sixteenth century (sot to think) the same way as the ancient Greeks they (to
check) more often their conclusions against the real universe. 6. If the man who
was leaping (to know) the saying "look before you leap" he (not to leap), perhaps.
7. If one motion (to complete) before the second began we (not to observe) two
simultaneous motions. 8. If the Greek ships (not to sail) so far away from Greece
61
in ancient times the Greeks (not to know), about the world so much then. 9. If 1
(to know) more about physics when I was a schoolgirl I (not to enter) this
department. 10. If I (not to choose) physics I (to choose) economics.
5.5 Make up your own sentences about your future plans using Conditional
sentences of the 1 type.
62
MODULE 6
HISTORY OF PHYSICS
LESSON 1
What do you already know about the topic?
1.1 Think of the most famous physicists of the world.
• Where were they born?
• How many of them are from your country?
Reading
1.2 Read and translate the text. Use dictionary if necessary.
JOSEPH JOHN THOMSON
J. J. Thomson was born in December 18, 1856, near Manchester, in
England. Joseph was a good student and the family felt that engineering would be
an appropriate profession. He was sent to Owens College, now the Victoria
University of Manchester, at the age of fourteen. When his father died two years
later, friends made it possible for "J.J." to remain at college.
Thomson completed his engineering course when he was nineteen, and
went to Trinity College at Cambridge University where he had obtained a
scholarship. Thomson turned his mathematical ab ility to a study of theoretical
physics. Thomson was not an expert experimenter; he was clumsy with his hands
and had nearly blinded himself some years earlier in the chemistry laboratories.
He appreciated, however, that theoretical physics has no meaning unless there is
experimental confirmation.
In 1881 Thomson wrote a scientific paper that was the forerunner of the
Einstein Theory. In it he showed that mass and energy are equivalent. He was
then only twenty-four.
Upon receiving his degree, Thomson was awarded fellowship to Trinity
College and turned to research at the Cavendish Laboratories. In 1884 the head of
the laboratory, Lord Rayleigh, decided to resign. He named as his successor the
twenty-eight-year-old Thomson. This appointment created quite uproar; no one
doubted Thomson's abilities, but his youth was held to be too great a handicap.
Lord Reileigh's choice was a wise one. Thomson held the position of Cavendish
professor for thirty-four years.
In 1897, J. J. Thomson became the "father of the electron". He discovered
this tiny particle and thus established the theory of the electrical nature of matter.
There were two theories in existence, both of which had strong supporters.
Thomson believed that the cathode rays were electrified particles. The opposite
view held that the cathode rays and the electrified particles were different.
63
Although the cathode rays produced a glow when they struck the glass, the
electrons, of course, couldn't be seen.
Thomson used a device in which the cathode rays originate at the cathode,
marked K. They pass through a narrow slit connected to A and so form a narrow
area of phosphorescence in the glass tube. He took a magnet and brought it near
the tube; the phosphorescent spot moved, proving the rays were bent and aimed at
the slot on the shield. When they poured through the slot an electroscope
connected to the receiver electrode showed a marked deflection. This showed,
said Thomson, that the cathode ray is really negative electricity.
The opposition was not satisfied. True, they said, the cathode rays could be
deflected by a magnet, but they had not been deflected by an electrostatic field.
Heinrieh Hertz had tried but fa iled to deflect the ray electrostatically. There was
one possible answer – perhaps the vacuum was not great enough; maybe there
was enough gas left in the tube to permit a current flow between these flat plates.
That would spoil the electrostatic field. Exhaust the tube still more and try again.
This time the cathode ray was deflected. Thomson had showed that cathode
ray is deflected by means of a magnetic field and that it is deflected by means of
an electric field. There could be only one meaning: the cathode ray is not a ray at
all but is a stream of electrically charged particles.
Thomson went on to measure the relative mass of the negatively charged
particle, which we now call the electron. He found it to be approximately
2000
1
the mass of the hydrogen atom. At the same time he calculated the velocity of the
electron and found it to be about 160,000 miles per second.
1.3 Scan the text to find the answers to the questions below.
1. What did Thomson t u r n h i s mathematical ab ility to?
2. What did Thomson show in his scientific paper of 1881?
3. Why was Thomson called the "father of the electron"?
4. In what way did two existing theories consider the cathode rays?
5. What did the device used by Thomson show?
6. What did the opposition say?
Vocabulary
1.4 Try to figure out the meanings of the words. Use your dictionary to check
your answers. Make up a short story with them.
Appropriate, clumsy, the receiver electrode, to obtain, confirmation, forerunner,
handicap, uproar, to satisfy, cathode, approximately.
1.5 Scan the text to find all the terms related to the topic of the lesson.
Grammar
64
COMPLEX OBJECT AND SUBJECT
1.6 Translate sentences with Complex Object and Subject into Russian.
1. Pressure is known to act equally in all directions.
2. At very low temperatures some metals seem to be insulators.
3. This effect is supposed to have occured when there was a spark due to electrical
discharge.
4. The cloud chamber equipment appeared to be too bulky and heavy to be sent up in
baloons.
5. The total energy liberation in the transformation of one atomic nucleus into another
is expected to be the same for all nuclei of a given kind.
6. The chance of a neutrino hitting a proton and producing the above-mentioned
reaction is likely to be only 1 out of 1030.
7. The light thus produced is said to be a spontaneous emission.
8. He had been heard to say that he was ready to sell his equipment.
9. She was expected to be any minute.
10. The old man was not likely to have made a mistake.
11. They seem to notice something unusual.
12. When will you be allowed to pass exam in Physics?
13. They are known to have been the most famous scientists.
14. Nobody said anything we just watch him put away in his case.
15. I wasn’t made read an article about lasers.
16. I heard them discuss this problem.
17. This force makes electrons move.
Writing
1.7 Write a one-paragraph summary of the text. Include only the main ideas and
omit very specific details or supporting evidence. Include these words in your
summary
Get real
Find information about:
ü modern scientists in physics
ü famous scientific ceremonies
LESSON 2
2.1 Read the first lines of each paragraph. Try to guess what they will be about.
2.2 Read the paragraphs and check your opinions.
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW
65
For centuries the problem of motion and its causes was a central
theme, of natural philosophy. Before Galileo's time most philosophers thought
that some influence or "force" was needed to keep a body in the state of
motion. They thought that a body was in its "natural state" when it was at
rest. For a body to move in a straight line at constant speed, for example,
they believed that some external agent had to propel it continually: otherwise it
would "naturally" stop.
If we wanted to test these ideas experimentally, we would have to find a
way to free a body from all influences of environment or from all forces.
This is hard to do, but in certain cases we can make the forces very small. We
study the motions as we make the forces smaller and smaller, we shall have
some idea of what the motion would be like if the external forces were truly
zero.
Let us place our test body, say a block, on a rigid horizontal plane. If
we let the block slide along this plane, we notice that it gradually slows
down and stops. This observation was used in fact to support the idea that
motion stopped when the external force, in this case the hand which was
i n i ti al ly pushing the block, was removed. Galileo argued against this idea.
He was reasoning as follows: Let us repeat our experiment. Now we shall be
using a smoother block and a smoother plane. We, notice that the velocity
decreases more slowly than before. Let us use still smoother blocks and
surfaces. We find that the block decreases in velocity at a slower and slower
rate and travels farther each time before it comes to rest. We can now
extrapolate and say that if all friction could be eliminated, the body would
continue indefinitely in a straight line with constant speed. This was
Galileo's conclusion. Galileo asserted that some external force was necessary.
In order to change the velocity of a body but that no external force was
necessary in order to maintain the velocity of a body.
This principle of Galileo was adopted by Newton as the first of his
three laws of motion. Newton stated his first law in these words:
"Everybody persists in its state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight
li ne unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed on it".
Newton's first law is really, a statement about reference frames. For, in
general, the acceleration of a body depends on the reference frame relative to
which it is measured. The first law tells us that, if there are no nearby
objects then it is possible to find a family of reference frames in which a
particle has no acceleration. Newton's first l a w is often called the law of
inertia and the reference frames to which it applies are therefore called
inertia frames. Such frames are either fixed with respect to the distant stars
or are moving at uniform velocity with respect to them,
Notice that there is no distinction in the first law between a body at
rest and a body which is moving with constant velocity. Both motions are
"natural" in the absence of forces. That this is so becomes clear when a body at
rest in one inertia frame is viewed from a second inertial frame, that is, a
66
frame which is moving with constant velocity with respect to the first.
An observer in the first frame finds that the body is at rest; an observer
in the second frame finds that the same body is moving with uniform
velocity. Both observers find that the body has no acceleration, that is
no change in velocity, and both may conclude from the first law that no
force acts on the body.
INERTIAL MASS: NEWTON'S SECOND LAW
Properties of uniformly accelerated motion can be studied in the
laboratory with an experiment. A car rides on a horizontal track with very little
friction. On the car can be placid weighty of various size. The car and its
weights are drawn along the track with a known constant force, and the
acceleration is measured. The first result of such an experiment is a
verification of the fact that a constant force produces constant acceleration.
The second result is that for the car loaded in a special way, its acceleration is
proportional to the force applied.
Experiments performed with cars loaded differently reveal different
masses. Not surprisingly, the rule is the greater the load, the greater the
mass. From the definition of mass, it follows that a special force gives more
acceleration to a small mass than to a large mass. The greater is the load
which is carried by a car, the more slowly it responds to a given force, and
the less velocity it acquires in a given time. This means that mass is a
measure of an object's resistance to being set into motion. This "inertia"
associated with mass applies equally well to deceleration. A more massive
body is more difficult to stop as well as more difficult to start. Most
generally, we can say that mass is a measure of an object's resistance to a
change in its state of motion. Technically, "state of motion" means nothing
more or less than "velocity". Therefore, if we compare two objects, we may
say that the more massive one has more resistance to a change in its motion
because, for a given force, i ts velocity changes by a lesser amount, that is,
it has less acceleration.
Among charged particles, the least massive electron is the easiest to
accelerate to high speed and the easiest to deflect into a curved path. It
responds most readily to the pushes and pulls of electric and magnetic
forces. Some particles – the photon, the neutrinos, and the graviton are
actually much less. If Newton's second law remained valid in the world of
elementary particles, these particles could achieve infinite velocity. They
would have absolutely no resistance to a change in their state of motion. In
fact, because of the existence of a speed limit in nature, they reach only the
speed of light.
LESSON 3
3.1 Skim the text and say what it is about. Find a suitable title to it.
67
Ancient times
Since antiquity, people have tried to understand the behavior of matter:
why unsupported objects drop to the ground, why different materials in science
have different properties, and so forth. Another mystery was the character of the
universe, such as the form of the Earth and the behavior of celestial objects such
as the Sun and the Moon. Several theories were proposed, the majority of which
were disproved. These theories were largely couched in philosophical terms, and
never verified by systematic experimental testing as is popular today. On the
other hand, the commonly accepted works of Ptolemy and Aristotle are not
always found to match everyday observations. There were exceptions and there
are anachronisms: for example, Indian philosophers and astronomers gave many
correct descriptions in atomism and astronomy, and the Greek thinker
Archimedes derived many correct quantitative descriptions of mechanics and
hydrostatics.
Middle Ages
The willingness to question previously held truths and search for new
answers eventually resulted in a period of major scientific advancements, now
known as the Scientific Revolution of the late 17th century. The precursors to the
scientific revolution can be traced back to the important developments made in
India and Persia, including the elliptical model of planetary orbits based on the
heliocentric solar system of gravitation developed by Indian mathematicianastronomer Aryabhata; the basic ideas of atomic theory developed by Hindu and
Jaina philosophers; the theory of light being equivalent to energy particles
developed by the Indian Buddhist scholars Dignāga and Dharmakirti; the optical
theory of light developed by Arab scientist Alhazen; the Astrolabe invented by
the Persian Mohammad al-Fazari; and the significant flaws in the Ptolemaic
system pointed out by Persian scientist Nasir al-Din al-Tusi. As the influence of
the Islamic Caliphate expanded to Europe, the works of Aristotle preserved by the
Arabs, and the works of the Indians and Persians, became known in Europe by
the 12th and 13th centuries.
The Middle Ages saw the emergence of experimental physics with the
development of an early scientific method emphasizing the role of
experimentation and mathematics. Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen, 965-1039) is
considered a central figure in this shift in physics from a philosophical activity to
an experimental one. In his Book of Optics (1021), he developed an early
scientific method in order to prove the intromission theory of vision and discredit
the emission theory of vision previously supported by Euclid and Ptolemy. His
most famous experiments involve his development and use of the camera obscura
in order to test several hypotheses on light, such as light travelling in straight
lines and whether different lights can mix in the air. This experimental tradition in
optics established by Ibn al-Haytham continued among his successors in both the
Islamic world, with the likes of Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī
and Taqi al-Din, and in Europe, with the likes of Robert Grosseteste, Roger
Bacon, Witelo, John Pecham, Theodoric of Freiberg, Johannes Kepler,
Willebrord Snellius, René Descartes and Christiaan Huygens.
68
The Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution is held by most historians (e.g., Howard
Margolis) to have begun in 1543, when the first printed copy of Nicolaus
Copernicus's De Revolutionibus (most of which had been written years prior but
whose publication had been delayed) was brought from Nuremberg to the
astronomer who died soon after receiving the copy.
Further significant advances were made over the following century by
Galileo Galilei, Christiaan Huygens, Johannes Kepler, and Blaise Pascal. During
the early 17th century, Galileo pioneered the use of experimentation to validate
physical theories, which is the key idea in modern scientific method. Galileo
formulated and successfully tested several results in dynamics, in particular the
Law of Inertia. In 1687, Newton published the Principia, detailing two
comprehensive and successful physical theories: Newton's laws of motion, from
which arise classical mechanics; and Newton's Law of Gravitation, which
describes the fundamental force of gravity. Both theories agreed well with
experiment. The Principia also included several theories in fluid dynamics.
Classical mechanics was re-formulated and extended by Leonhard Euler, French
mathematician Joseph-Louis Comte de Lagrange, Irish mathematical physicist
William Rowan Hamilton, and others, who produced new results in mathematical
physics. The law of universal gravitation initiated the field of astrophysics, which
describes astronomical phenomena using physical theories.
After Newton defined classical mechanics, the next great field of inquiry
within physics was the nature of electricity. Observations in the 17th and 18th
century by scientists such as Robert Boyle, Stephen Gray, and Benjamin Franklin
created a foundation for later work. These observations also established our basic
understanding of electrical charge and electric current.
In 1821, the English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday integrated the
study of magnetism with the study of electricity. This was done by demonstrating
that a moving magnet induced an electric current in a conductor. Faraday also
formulated a physical conception of electromagnetic fields. James Clerk Maxwell
built upon this conception, in 1864, with an interlinked set of 20 equations that
explained the interactions between electric and magnetic fields. These 20
equations were later reduced, using vector calculus, to a set of four equations,
namely Maxwell's equations, by Oliver Heaviside.
In addition to other electromagnetic phenomena, Maxwell's equations also
can be used to describe light. Confirmation of this observation was made with the
1888 discovery of radio by Heinrich Hertz and in 1895 when Wilhelm Roentgen
detected X rays. The ability to describe light in electromagnetic terms helped
serve as a springboard for Albert Einstein's publication of the theory of special
relativity in 1905. This theory combined classical mechanics with Maxwell's
equations.
The theory of special relativity unifies space and time into a single entity,
space-time. Relativity prescribes a different transformation between reference
frames than classical mechanics; this necessitated the development of relativistic
69
mechanics as a replacement for classical mechanics. In the regime of low
(relative) velocities, the two theories agree. Einstein built further on the special
theory by including gravity into his calculations, and published his theory of
general relativity in 1915.
One part of the theory of general relativity is Einstein's field equation. This
describes how the stress-energy tensor creates curvature of space-time and forms
the basis of general relativity. Further work on Einstein's field equation produced
results which predicted the Big Bang, black holes, and the expanding universe.
Einstein believed in a static universe and tried (and failed) to fix his equation to
allow for this. However, by 1929 Edwin Hubble's astronomical observations
suggested that the universe is expanding. Thus, the universe must have been
smaller and therefore hotter in the past. In 1933 Karl Jansky at Bell Labs
discovered the radio emission from the Milky Way, and thereby initiated the
science of radio astronomy. By the 1940s, researchers like George Gamow
proposed the Big Bang theory, evidence for which was discovered in 1964;
Enrico Fermi and Fred Hoyle were among the doubters in the 1940s and 1950s.
Hoyle had dubbed Gamow's theory the Big Bang in order to debunk it. Today, it
is one of the principal tenents of physical cosmology.
From the late 17th century onwards, thermodynamics was developed by
physicist and chemist Robert Boyle, Thomas Young, and many others. In 1733,
Daniel Bernoulli used statistical arguments with classical mechanics to derive
thermodynamic results, initiating the field of statistical mechanics. In 1798,
Benjamin Thompson demonstrated the conversion of mechanical work into heat,
and in 1847 James Joule stated the law of conservation of energy, in the form of
heat as well as mechanical energy. Ludwig Boltzmann, in the 19th century, is
responsible for the modern form of statistical mechanics.
LESSON 4
4.1 The title of the text is “Nobel prize winners” and the headings are: Selection
of prizewinners, Prize ceremonies .Without looking at the text, discuss with a
partner the type of information you expect to find there. Then, skim the text to
check your predictions.
NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
Selection of prizewinners
Nominations of candidates for the prizes can be made only by those who
have received invitations to do so. In the fall of the year preceding the award,
Nobel committees distribute invitations to members of the prize-awarding bodies,
to previous Nobel prize winners, and to professors in relevant fields at certain
colleges and universities. In addition, candidates for the prize in literature may be
proposed by invited members of various literary academies, institutions, and
societies. Upon invitation, members of governments or certain international
organizations may nominate candidates for the peace prize. The Nobel
70
Foundation’s statutes do not allow individuals to nominate themselves.
Invitations to nominate candidates and the nominations themselves are both
confidential.
Nominations of candidates are due on February 1 of the award year. Then,
Nobel committee members and consultants meet several times to evaluate the
qualifications of the nominees. The various committees cast their final votes in
October and immediately notify the laureates that they have won.
Prize ceremonies
The prizes are presented annually at ceremonies in Stockholm, Sweden,
and in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. In
Stockholm, the king of Sweden presents the awards in physics, chemistry,
physiology or medicine, literature, and economic sciences. The peace prize
ceremony takes place at the University of Oslo in the presence of the king of
Norway. After the ceremonies, Nobel Prize winners give a lecture on a subject
connected with their prize-winning work. The winner of the peace prize lectures
in Oslo, the others in Stockholm. The lectures are later printed in the Nobel
Foundation's annual publication, Les Prix Nobel (The Nobel Prizes).
LESSON 5
GRAMMAR REVIEW
COMPLEX OBJECT AND SUBJECT
SUBJECT
+
PREDICATE
a. believe
expect
consider
assume
b. see
hear
observe
feel
+
COMPLEX OBJECT
noun pronoun
We expect the investigation to be completed soon.
71
Infinitive + to or without to
COMPLEX SUBJECT
NOUN OR
PRONOUN
This value /It
PREDICATE
a) Passive
is said
is supposed
is expected
is believed
b) Active
seems
appears,
turns out
proves
happens
c) is likely
is unlikely
is sure
is certain
INFINITIVE
to change (to have changed)
5.1 Translate into English. Use the Complex Subject with the Infinite.
1. Он, говорят, работает в учреждении, связанном с охраной окружающей
среды.
2. Ожидают, что он приедет в учреждение к 9 часам.
3. Вероятно, он ответит на ваши вопросы.
4. Мы, конечно, понимаем потенциальную угрозу вашему региону.
5. Полагаем, что ваша проблема будет решена.
6. Конечно, все мы слишком хорошо знаем, что такое загрязнение окружающей
среды.
5.2 Translate into Russian sentences with the Complex Object.
1. We know the research to have been completed.
2. It is rather difficult to make this machine run.
3. We know lasers to be employed in all branches of science and technology.
4. These simple ideas enabled Bohrto account forthe stability of hydrogen.
5. One might expect the structure of the world to be explained with a minimum
number of particles and forces.
5.3 Complete the sentences with the Complex Object. Translate into Russian.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
For the fission process to be investigated the scientists...
For a thermonuclear reaction to take place the temperature...
For the resolution to be improved they ...
For a lot of energy to be liberated, it is necessary...
For the compound to be purified we ...
For the data to be received you are to…
72
Библиографический список
Основная литература
1. Болсуновская, Л.М. Учебное пособие по аннотированию и
реферированию научно-популярных текстов / Л.М. Болсуновская, В.М.
Демченко. Томск: Изд-во ТПУ, 2005. 145 с.
2. Ершова, Т.В. Английский язык для диалога с компьютером: Учебное
пособие / Т.В. Ершова, М.А Арямнова, Е.В. Тихонова. Красноярск: ИПЦ
КГТУ, 2005. 100 с.
3. Коваленко, А.Я. Общий курс научно-технического перевода: Пособие по
переводу с англ. языка на рус. / А.Я. Коваленко. Киев: «ИНКОС», 2003. 320
с.
4. Курашвили, Е.И. Английский язык для студентов-физиков: Учебное
пособие / Е.И. Курашвили, И.И. Кондратьева, В.С. Штруков. М.: Изд-во
АСТ, 2003. 189 с.
5. Соловова, Е.Н. Методика обучения иностранным языкам: Базовый
курс лекций / Е. Н. Соловова. М: Просвещение, 2004. 183 с.
6. Соловова, Е.Н. Практикум к базовому курсу методики обучения
иностранным языкам / Е. Н. Соловова. М: Просвещение, 2004. 231 с.
7. Рубцова, М. Г.Чтение и перевод английского научно-технической
литературы: Лексико-грамматический справочник / М. Г. Рубцова.М.: Издво АСТ, 2003. 384 с.
8. Brown, K. Academic Encounters. Life in Society. Reading, Study Skills,
Writing / K. Brown, S. Hood. Cambridge University Press, 2004. 248 p.
9. Dictionary of Physics / J. Daintith. Oxford University Press, 2005. 586 p.
10. Libarona, H. Topics. Science / H. Libarona, L. Mamaril, M. Harris, D.
Mower, A. Sikorzynska. England: Longman, 2006. 48 p.
11. White, L. Engineering / L. White. Oxford University Press, 2003. 39 р.
Дополнительная литература
12. Аксенова, Л.И. Современные материалы и технологии: Русско-англофранцузско-немецкий словарь / Л.И. Аксенова, Т.В. Ершова, В.Е. Редькин,
Т.Л. Роговенко. Красноярск: ИПЦ КГТУ, 2003. 403 с.
13. Загашев, И.О. Критическое мышление: технология развития.
Перспективы для высшего образования / И.О. Загашев, С.И Заир-Бек. СПб:
Скифия, 2003. 184 с.
14. Пассов, Е.И. Современные направления в методике обучения
иностранным языкам: Учебное пособие / Е.И. Пассов, Е.С. Кузнецова.
Воронеж: НОУ «Интерлингва», 2002. 245 с.
15. Пассов, Е.И. Цели обучения иностранным языкам: Учебное пособие /
Е.И. Пассов, Е.С. Кузнецова. Воронеж: НОУ «Интерлингва», 2002. 364 с.
16. Якушев, М.В. Научно-обоснованные критерии анализа и оценки
учебника иностранного языка / М.В. Якушев. ИЯШ, 2000. №1.
73
17. Donovan, P. Basic English for Science / P. Donovan. Oхford University
Press, 2000. 149 p.
18. Foreign Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. A Common European
Framework of Reference, 2000. 274 p.
19. Glendinning, E. H. Oxford English for Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
/ Е.N. Glendinning, N. Glendinning. Oxford University Press, 2001. 190 p.
20. Gude, K. Proficiency Masterclass / K. Gude, M. Duckworth. Oxford
University Press, 2001. 217 p.
21. Murphy, R. English Grammar In Use / R. Murphy. Cambridge University
Press, 2001. 350 p.
22. Schiller, C. Classical Physics motion mount / C. Schiller, M. Starken, S.
Klaren. Oxford University Press, 2002. 778 p.
23. Specialist English. Teaching and Learning. The State of Art in Russia.
Baseline Study Report. The British Council: Publishing House "Petropolis",
2002. 289 p.
74
APPENDIX
Constant Symbol Value in SI units
acceleration of free fall
g 9.80665 m s-2
Avogadro's number
NA 6.0221367 × 1023 mol-1
Boltzmann constant
k 1.380658 × 10-23 J K-1
elementary charge
e 1.60217733 × 10-19 C
electronic rest mass
me 9.1093897 × 10-31 kg
Faraday's constant
F 9.6485309 × 104 C mol-1
gas constant
R 8.314510 J K-1 mol-1
gravitational constant
G 6.672 × 10-11 N m2 kg-2
Loschmidt's number
NL 2.686763 × 1025 m-3
neutron rest mass
mn 1.6749286 × 10-27 kg
Planck's constant
h 6.6260755 × 10-34 J s
proton rest mass
mp 1.6726231 × 10-27 kg
speed of light in a vacuum c 2.99792458 × 108 m s-1
standard atmosphere
atm 1.01325 × 10 5 Pa
Stefan-Boltzmann constant s 5.67051 × 10 -8 W m-2 K -4
FIELD FOCUS
Acoustics
Astronomy
Propagation of sound.
Properties of space; origin and evolution of galaxies, stars,
and planetary systems; origin and evolution of the universe.
Includes astrophysics and cosmology.
Atomic Physics
Structure and properties of atoms.
Cryogenics
Properties and behavior of matter at extremely low
temperatures.
Electromagnetism Electric and magnetic force fields; behavior of electrically
charged particles in electromagnetic fields; propagation of
electromagnetic waves. Also known as electrodynamics.
Elementary
Properties of elementary particles such as electons, photons,
Particle
etc. Also known as high energy physics.
Physics
Fluid Dynamics Properties and behavior of moving fluids and gases.
Geophysics
Application of physics to the study of the earth. Includes
atmospheric physics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography,
geomagnetism, seismology, and volcanology.
Mathematical
Application of mathematical techniques to problems in
Physics
physics.
Mechanics
Forces, interactions, and motions of material objects.
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Molecular Physics Structure and properties of molecules.
Nuclear Physics Structure, properties, reactions, and evolution of atomic
nuclei.
Optics
Propagation of light, electromagnetic waves.
Plasma Physics
Behavior of ionized (electrically charged) gases.
Quantum Physics Quantum nature of matter, energy, and light. Behavior of
systems composed of small numbers of elementary particles.
Solid State Physics Physical
properties
of
solid
materials.
Includes
crystallography, semiconductors, superconductivity. Also
known as condensed matter physics.
Statistical
Application of statistical methods to model the behavior of
Mechanics
systems composed of many particles.
Thermodynamics Temperature and energy; heat flow; transformation of energy;
phases of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma).
Archimedes
A Greek mathematician and inventor, Archimedes is credited with important
contributions to the development of physics. He is known for applying science to
everyday life, developing practical inventions such as the lever and the screw.
These simple machines have found uses as diverse as warfare and irrigation.
Archimedes supposedly discovered the principle of water displacement while
taking a bath, shouting “Eureka!” when he realized why his body caused the level
of the water to rise.
Saint Thomas Aquinas
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During the 13th century, Saint Thomas Aquinas sought to reconcile Aristotelian
philosophy with Augustinian theology. He employed both reason and faith in the
study of metaphysics, moral philosophy, and religion, but he suggested that the
truths of reason and those of faith applied to different realms. Aquinas’ work
allayed some of the fears that officials of the Roman Catholic church had
regarding the study and development of science.
Galileo
Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo maintained that the earth revolved
around the sun, disputing the belief held by the Roman Catholic church that the
earth was the center of the universe. He refused to obey orders from Rome to
cease discussions of his theories and was sentenced to life imprisonment. It was
not until 1984 that a papal commission acknowledged that the church was wrong.
Sir Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton’s work represents one of the greatest contributions to science ever
made by an individual. Most notably, Newton derived the law of universal
gravitation, invented the branch of mathematics called calculus, and performed
experiments investigating the nature of light and color.
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Count Alessandro Volta
Made a count by Napoleon in honor of his work in the field of electricity,
Alessandro Volta is best known for creating the first electric battery, called the
voltaic pile. A physics professor and a life-long experimenter, he made many
other contributions to science, such as inventing the electrophorus, a device that
produced static charges. Volta was honored for his work by having the unit of
electric potential, the volt, named after him.
Marie Curie
Marie Curie was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize and also the first person
to win the Nobel Prize twice. However, her brilliant work with radioactivity also
cost her her life. A dedicated and respected physicist, she eventually died from
overexposure to radiation. Curie coined the term “radioactive” to describe the
uranium emissions she observed in early experiments. With her husband, she later
discovered the elements polonium and radium.
Charles T. R. Wilson
English physicist Charles T. R. Wilson won the 1927 Nobel Prize in physics.
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Inventor of the cloud chamber, a type of particle detector, he made visible the
paths of sub-atomic particles, eventually enabling scientists to determine their
mass and charge.
Albert Einstein
In 1905 Albert Einstein published three papers that were pivotal in the
development of physics. These papers discussed the quantum nature of light,
provided a description of molecular motion, and introduced the special theory of
relativity. Einstein was famous for continually reexamining traditional scientific
assumptions and coming to straightforward conclusions no one else had reached.
Yukawa Hideki
Japanese physicist Yukawa Hideki won the 1949 Nobel Prize in physics. Based
on his research into quantum mechanics and the fields of force affecting
elementary particles, he theoretically deduced the existence of mesons, a family
of subatomic particles composed of quarks and antiquarks and having
intermediate mass.
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Maxwell's Equations
James Clerk Maxwell summarized the known properties of electric and magnetic
phenomena in four equations. The first equation relates the electric field E that
passes through a surface area A (such as a sphere) to the electric charge Q
enclosed within that surface. The second equation relates the magnetic field B
that passes through a surface area A to the magnetic charge enclosed within that
surface and states that such a charge is zero, that is, that magnetic charges do not
exist. The third equation describes two ways in which a magnetic field B can be
induced in a circular loop l. One way involves charges moving through a wire in
an electric current I and the other involves a changing electric flux. The fourth
equation describes a way in which an electric field E can be induced by a
changing magnetic flux. A changing flux is related to a changing field (E or B)
and the surface area A through which it is passing.
Michelson-Morley Apparatus
In 1887 Albert Michelson and Edward Morley measured the speed of the earth
with respect to the ether, a substance postulated to be necessary for transmitting
light. Their method involved splitting a beam of light so that half went straight
ahead and half went sideways. If the apparatus (attached to the earth) moved
relative to the ether, then light going in one direction should travel at a different
speed than light going in the other, just as boats going downstream travel faster
than boats going across. No evidence of a difference in speed was found,
however, which led not only to the demise of the ether theory, but to the
development of the Special Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein 18 years later.
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Wave Aspect of Electrons
A false-color computer image shows the diffraction pattern generated by
electrons that have been scattered by passing through an alloy of titanium and
nickel. The pattern reveals two characteristic properties of waves, diffraction and
interference, showing that electrons can behave like waves as well as like
particles
Models of the Atom
Experimental data has been the impetus behind the creation and dismissal of
physical models of the atom. Rutherford's model, in which electrons move around
a tightly packed, positively charged nucleus, successfully explained the results of
scattering experiments, but was unable to explain discrete atomic emission—that
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is, why atoms emit only certain wavelengths of light. Bohr began with
Rutherford’s model, but then postulated further that electrons can only move in
certain quantized orbits; this model was able to explain certain qualities of
discrete emission for hydrogen, but failed completely for other elements.
Schrödinger’s model, in which electrons are described not by the paths they take
but by the regions where they are most likely to be found, can explain certain
qualities of emission spectra for all elements; however, further refinements of the
model, made throughout the 20th century, have been needed to explain all
observable spectral phenomenon.
Particle Accelerator
The big circle marks the location of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the
European particle physics laboratory in CERN. The tunnel where the particles are
accelerated is located 100 m (320 ft) underground and is 27 km (16.7 mi) in
circumference. The smaller circle is the site of the smaller proton-antiproton
collider. The border of France and Switzerland bisects the CERN site and the two
accelerator rings.
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Geiger Counter
A Geiger counter is a device used by scientists and surveyors for detecting the
presence and intensity of radiation. The tube is filled with low-pressure gas and
acts as an ionizing chamber. An electronic circuit maintains a strong electric field
between a fine wire in the center of the tube and its walls. When ionizing
radioactive particles enter the tube and collide with gas atoms, they ionize the gas,
producing free electrons. These electrons flow along the center wire and create an
electrical pulse, which is amplified and counted electronically. When radiation is
detected, the Geiger counter produces a clicking, staticlike sound.
Elementary Particle Tracks
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These tracks were formed by elementary particles in a bubble chamber at the
CERN facility located outside of Geneva, Switzerland. By examining these
tracks, physicists can determine certain properties of particles that traveled
through the bubble chamber. For example, a particle's charge can be determined
by noting the type of path the particle followed. The bubble chamber is placed
within a magnetic field, which causes a positively charged particle's track to
curve in one direction, and a negatively charged particle's track to curve the
opposite way; neutral particles, unaffected by the magnetic field, move in a
straight line.
Cosmic Rays
Cosmic rays are extremely energetic subatomic particles that travel through outer
space at nearly the speed of light. Scientists learn about deep space by studying
galactic cosmic rays, which originate many light-years away (a light-year
represents the distance light travels in one year). This photograph, taken in the
late 1940s with a special photographic emulsion called the Kodak NT4, records a
collision of a cosmic-ray particle with a particle in the film. A cosmic-ray particle
produced the track that starts at the top left corner of the photograph; this particle
collided with a nucleus in the center of the photograph to create a spray of
subatomic particles.
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Tokamak Fusion Reactor
In 1993 scientists at the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, at Princeton University’s
plasma physics laboratory in New Jersey, produced a controlled fusion reaction,
during which the temperature in the reactor surpassed three times that of the core
of the sun. In a tokamak reactor, massive magnets confine hydrogen plasma under
extremely high temperatures and pressures, forcing the hydrogen nuclei to fuse.
When atomic nuclei are forced together in nuclear fusion, the reaction releases an
extraordinary amount of energy.
Magnetic Levitation above a Superconductor
A small cylindrical magnet floats above a high temperature superconductor. The
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vapor is from boiling liquid nitrogen, which keeps the superconductor in a zeroresistance state. As the magnet is lowered toward the superconductor, it induces
an electric current, which creates an opposing magnetic field in accordance with
Ampere’s law. Because the superconductor has no electrical resistance, this
induced current continues to flow, keeping the magnet suspended indefinitely.
Laser Application in Industry
One of the many applications of laser beams involves welding pieces of metal
together. Laser welders fuse metals at temperatures of over 5500° C (10,000° F).
Metal machinists also use lasers to cut small holes accurately or carve fine details
in metals.
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СОДЕРЖАНИЕ
ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ
ВВЕДЕНИЕ
MODULE 1. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AS A PROFESSION
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
MODULE 2. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS
AND SOCIETY
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
MODULE 3. THE UNIVERSE PUZZLE
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
MODULE 4. THE WORLD OF SUBATOMIC PARTICLES
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
MODULE 5. MODERN DISCOVERIES. THEORIES AND
TECHNOLOGIES
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
MODULE 6. HISTORY OF PHYSICS
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
БИБЛИОГРАФИЧЕСКИЙ СПИСОК
APPENDIX
СОДЕРЖАНИЕ
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3
5
6
10
12
13
14
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21
23
24
25
27
29
32
33
35
39
42
44
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49
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55
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59
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