An Encyclopedia on a Tiny Crystal
Scientists have discovered that a laser beam can be effectively used to record alphanumeric data and sound on crystals. According to Russian researchers a method for recording information on crystals by means of a laser has already been developed, but advanced technologies are needed to make it commercially applicable.
At present researchers are looking for the most suitable chemical compounds to be used as data storages and trying to determine optimum recording conditions. Theoretically, the entire Great Soviet Encyclopedia can be recorded on a single tiny crystal.
As far back as 1845, Michael Faradey discovered that a light beam reverses its polarization as it passes through a magnetized crystal. Scientists of our day have used this phenomenon to identify crystalline materials capable of storing information. Lasers have been successfully employed to record information on and read it off.
No ideal data storage crystal has yet been found, but it is obvious now that the future of computer engineering lies in lasers and optoelectronics.
Text 10D
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Science and International Cooperation
One of the most striking features of modern science is the increasing tendency towards closer cooperation between scientists and scientific organizations (institutions) all over the world. In
fact, it is becoming more and more evident that many of the problems that affect the world today cannot be solved without joining scientific efforts and material resources on a wo rid-wide scale. The exploration of space, world finance, global environment protection problems and the development of new sources of power are the examples of areas of scientific research which are so costly and complicated that it is difficult for a single country to solve them efficiently and in a short period of time. The renewal of international scientific cooperation was demonstrated in the sharing of data which were obtained by Russian, Japanese and European space probes in 1986 on Halley's comet.
Many countries were successfully cooperating on a programme called Intercosmos in launching a large number of vertical geophysical rockets and satellites. Space exploration programmes were being conducted between Russia and Austria, India, France, Sweden and other countries. Joint manned flights by Russian and foreign cosmonauts included citizens from numerous countries. Many international crews have worked on orbit and carried out a lot of scientific experiments,
Russian and the U.S. engineers are now working side by side on the International Space Station, the largest peacetime engineering project in history.
Launched from opposite sides of the world, the first International Space Station components Zarya and Unity have begun a new era of exploration as 16 nations joined their scientific and technological resources in the first truly international space program to improve life on Earth. Even before its launch, the International Space Station has opened new spheres of research on Earth by overcoming barriers of language, culture and technological differences worldwide.
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Indeed, it represents unprecedented (, ) global cooperation and trust. There is no doubt that it is the first step towards a unified planetary civilization that will explore space as citizens of Earth, not of individual nations.
1. . 10 .
1. time to disintegrate
2. the duration of the pulse
3. to be encountered
4. in just a fraction of a second
. .
a. to meet unexpectedly
b. only, merely
break up into small parts
d. time during which smth lasts or exists
2. . off-the-shelf item. .
Laser Propulsion
Another approach is to absorb laser light in a plasma flame sustained by laser light focused in the center of a flowing stream of propellant gas. Thrust levels as high as 10,000 N with a specific impulse ( ) of 1,000 sec appear achievable using hydrogen as the propellant gas. Laser power as low as 1 MW would be useful for low Earth orbit launching without relay optics. 10-100 MW lasers can launch small payloads from the ground. With up to 100 launches a day, a 20 MW launcher weighing 20 kg could place several hundred tons in orbit per year. Low-gigawatt lasers could launch multi-ton spacecraft with the same ease that present multi-gigawatt chemical rockets do. Laser rockets will have much better payload fraction since the heavy power plant is left on the ground and the higher specific impulse results in lower propellant fraction. Although gigawatt lasers are not off-the-shelf items, there is no doubt they could be built if the need were strong enough.
. .
Approach
a. coming near to
b. approximation, a way to solve a problem
way, path, road
Sustain
a. enable to keep up, maintain
b. suffer, undergo
keep from falling
Relay
a. supply of fresh horses to take the place of tired ones
b. device which receives signals and transmits them with greater
strength, thus increasing the distance over which they are
carried
place from which radio programs are broadcast after being received from another station
payload
a. passengers and cargo, but not fuel
b. bomb in a missile
crew and instruments of a spaceship item
a. each single thing, part or object in a list
b. detail or paragraph (of news)
number of a program
Off-the-shelf
a. commercially available
b. ready to use
possible or likely
3. . .
capacity as well laser information light existing advantage space doubt amplified cost conventional
Optical fibres are made of glass and use (1)... (usually from a (2)...) to transmit messages. There is no (3)... optical fibre systems have enormous (4)... over (5)... transmission systems. They have a much higher (6)... than copper wires, can carry much more (7)... and have a potentially lower material (8)... Besides, optical fibres occupy far less (9)... The quality of transmission is high (10)... The signal does not need to be (11)... as often as with (12)... cables. Optical fibres do not suffer from interference.
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heat treatment distance melt identify beams vaporize displays light communication
Nowadays, lasers are used to (1)... targets in military uses. In engineering, powerful laser (2)... can be focused on a small area. They can (3)..., (4)..., or (5)... material in a very precise way. Lasers are ideal for (6)... in space. Laser light can travel long (7)... without losing signal strength. In medicine, laser beams can be used for the (8)... of damaged tissue () in a fraction of a second without causing harm () to healthy tissue. In the arts, lasers can provide fantastic displays of (9)... Pop concerts are often accompanied by laser (10)...
4. .
1. come to
2. overcome / encounter
3. record / store / carry
4. realize
5. place
a. information, data, sound
b. into orbit
a project
d. reality
e. difficulties, differences
5. .
| Verb | Noun | Adjective |
| identify | ... | |
| amplify | idealization | vaporous |
| variety | strong limitless | |
| treat | precision |
6. . 1520 : Laser applications.
. Speak about:
Laser as a means of propulsion.
LESSON 11
either, neither
Text . Superconductivity
Text 11.
Text . New Hope for Energy
Text 11D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1. .
1. We know Morse to have been a painter by profession. 2. Scientists expect lasers to solve the problem of controlled thermonuclear reaction. 3. M. Faraday supposed a beam of light to reverse its polarization as it passed through a magnetized crystal. 4. Designers expect dirigibles to be used for exploration of new territories. 5. Japanese designers believe a new ceramic engine to replace the conventional one. 6 Engineers suppose a new night vision system to enable drivers to see better after dark. 7. Scientists believe new laser devices to be widely used in medicine. 8. We know the first digital optical disks to have been produced as disks for music. 9. They believed him to be capable.
2. , .
. 1. Hundreds of radio navigation stations watch the airplanes find their destination and land safely. 2. Twice a year people see birds fly south and north, but we don't know how they find their way. 3. At the Paris Exhibition people watched the cargo airplane Ruslan carry a great amount of cargo. 4. When you stand near a working engine you feel it vibrate. 5. Making experiments with electric telegraph Morse noticed a pencil make a wavy line when
connected to an electric wire. 6. Nowadays people watch on television cosmonauts work in space, Lunokhod move on the surface of the Moon and Olympic games take place on the other side of the globe.
B. 1. A force applied to a body causes it to move in a straight line. 2. The unsatisfactory results of Bell's experiments forced him to change the method of testing. 3. The excellent properties of Damascus steel made metallurgists of the whole world look for the lost secret of the steel. 4. Very high temperatures often cause certain materials to break. 5. Bad weather conditions make pilots switch over to automatic control.
3. , for, .
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1. It was the only thing for us to do. 2. The students were waiting for the lecturer to describe the properties of a new composite material. 3. It is for you to decide which of the two methods to use. 4. It is necessary for the students to know the properties of various alloys. 5. A system of satellites is provided for people to watch the central TV program.
4. .
A. 1. Students of Cambridge are supposed to wear gowns at lec
tures. 2. The first pocket-size colour television sets were reported to
have been developed. 3. Today's aircraft is expected to be replaced
by a new model of hypersonic aircraft in a few years. 4. Intensive
research on optical-electronic computer is said to be going on in a
number of US companies. 5. A method for recording information
on crystal by means of a laser is known to have been developed by a
Russian researcher. 6. The annual output of personal computers is
expected to reach millions in the near future. 7. The laser is known
to be a device producing an intensive beam of light by amplifying
radiation. 8. Optical technology has been found to be cost-effec
tive. 9. The optical equivalent of a transistor is reported to have
been produced.
B. 1. Our present-day life seems to be quite impossible without
telephone, radio, and television. 2. Nowadays the principle of radio
operation seems to be quite simple. 3. The term radar is known to
be composed of the first letters of radio, detection and ranging. It
happens to reflect its basic principle, that is, the location of an ob
ject at a distance. 4. About 50 per cent of Lake Baikal water proved
to have been polluted since the Baikal plant has begun its work.
5. Lasers appeared to be highly useful for solving the problem of controlled thermonuclear reaction and communication. 6. A system of Earth satellites appears to have solved the problem of transmitting the central TV program to any part of the world. 7. Electricity proved to be able to travel instantly over a long piece of wire.
1. Dirigibles are likely to be used for taking tourists to distant and beautiful places. 2. Lasers are unlikely to be used in our everyday life soon. 3. Superconductivity is certain to bring about new discoveries in science and technology.
5. , .
Do you know what the words either and neither mean?
Yes, I do. Either means , , , while
neither stands for , ().
That's correct. Can you give examples?
Yes I can. For example: There is a number of lecture rooms on either side of the corridor. Which of these dictionaries can be used for translating a technical article? You may use either. And in what way is either translated when it is used with or? For instance: Please, bring some dictionaries either from the library or from the reading room. Either... or... means ... , ... . Now let us speak about neither, it is the negative form of either, meaning ... . For instance: I was offered two books, but I took neither of them, as I did not like them. And neither connected with nor means ... , for example: These problems seemed difficult neither to my friend, nor to me. Are these words used in any other way?
Yes, they may be used in short negative sentences such as: I don't like this book, said Peter. Neither do I, said Ann, which means ( ). I shall not go to the library tomorrow. He won't go either. ( ).
6. , much.
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1. One more present-day complicated problem to be solved is that of combining laser and thermonuclear reaction to produce a practically limitless source of energy. 2. A Japanese company is planning to install several more electronic devices on the car instrument panel. 3. The Voice Warning System is one more electronic device. 4. If you make half-hour breaks while getting ready for your exams, your brain will work much more efficiently.
5. Aerodynamics is one more problem to be taken into consideration when designing a hypersonic craft. 6. The wheel-computerized system is much more efficient than those used previously. 7. Cryogenic fuels used both as coolant and propellant make the solution of the superliner surface cooling problem much easier to solve. 8. The fact that dirigibles are much larger in size and their staying power is much longer than those of an aircraft makes them ideally suited for exploration.
7. .
the physics discoveries, discoveries that led to, the scientific advantage, advantage could well come to nation, to bring the mankind to, mercury wire, unexpected phenomenon, to return to normal state, by passing electric current, by applying magnetic field, to make a great contribution, they introduced a model, a model proved to be useful, a theory won for them the Nobel Prize, research in superconductivity, research became especially active, the achieved record of 23 K.
; ; , ; ...; ; ; 23 ; , ...; (); ; ; ; ; ; () ; ; .
8. .
prestige [pres'ti^], nation ['neijen], Nobel prize [neu'bel praiz], absolute zero ['aebsaluit 'ziarau], phenomenon [fi'nommen], normal, magnetic, electromagnetic, theory ['Gieri], theorists ['Giensts], fundamental theory, physics, physicist, model ['modi], metallic [mi'taelik], ceramic [si'raemik], colleagues ['koli:gz], laboratory, critical temperature, fabricate, extremely [iks'tri.mli], process ['preuses].
9. :
latest [leftist], spectacular [spek'taekjule], breakthrough ['breik'Gru:], compare ['], award [9'wo:d], research
[ri's9:tn, mercury ['me:kjuri], wire ['waia], below [bilau], 5 C ['faiv di'gri:z 'sentigreid], completely [kem'pli:tli], return [n'te:n], either ['aibe], finally ['fainali], Zurich ['zjuarik], previously ['priivjasli], throughout [6ru:'aut], liquid [likwid], nitrogen ['naitracfean], lose [lu:z], moreover [mo:'rauva], lack [laek].
| current - discover v - finally adv introduce v |
achievement below adv , benefit , boil v continue v cool v
, -
lack v likely adv lose v master v moreover adv pass v
present v previously adv ,
prominent ,
random ,
resistivity
return v satisfactory , suddenly adv , sufficiently adv tend v , wire
at once ,
Text 11
