You say you want a revolution?
We predict that a few revolutions will roll over us in the course of the next 50 years — revolutions that will have great impact on our lifestyles and economy, and will involve nanotechnology, energy, and robotics. Note, however, that nobody’s jumped in a time machine to check up ahead. These peak years are based on the “gut feelings” (инстинктивное чувство) of the authors, and on our research and observations of current trends. But we aren’t just spinning tales (рассказывать сплетни). In February 2005, Business Week Online polled its readers, asking when they thought nanotechnology would change their lives: 34 percent said by 2007; an additional 51 percent said by 2015. At this point, it’s not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when” — it’s nearly as certain as death and taxes.
Here are some of the early-desired things of our nearest nanofuture:
Low-power, high-density computer memory, longerlasting batteries, and some medical applications (including cancer therapy and diagnostics) will be some of the early products (pre-2010) and composites will come online toward 2020. The order of events will likely be computers and medical first, and then materials — all overlapping but peaking at their respective years.
Nanomaterials that emerge around 2020 will not only provide lighter/ stronger materials for vehicles but will also improve efficiency in the collection, storage, and transmission of energy, greatly aiding our transition from gas to solar, hydrogen, or maybe even renewable bio-fuels (for example, vegetable oils and bioalcohols such as ethanol and methanol).
As nanotechnology develops better sensors and processors, robots will be in demand as cheap manual labor, not only will we have robotic dogs and vacuum cleaners but also assembly-line industrial labor. All this will gradually grow over the next few decades — but once the hardware is in place (around 2030), the software and artificial intelligence will soon follow. Some of these years may seem a long way off, but these changes will arrive faster than you may think. If you’re currently in college, they’ll happen in your lifetime.
Exercise 4. Get ready to speak about the following products. They are still under investigation.
1. Smartdust – "... tiny, bottle-cap-shaped micro-machines fitted with wireless communication devices - that measure light and temperature. When clustered together, they automatically create highly flexible, low-power networks with applications ranging from climate-control systems to entertainment devices that interact with handheld computers."
|
|
|
2. Metal nanocrystals might be used to produce bearings that last longer than their conventional counterparts, new types of sensors and components for computers and electronic hardware.
3. Nanoclay and nanocoatings – “… light-weight, thinner material with greater shelf-life helps to hold the pressure and carbonation insidethe bottle…”
Exercise 5.Translate from Russian into English.
История Нанотехнологии
1. 2400 лет назад греческий философ Демокрит впервые использовал слово “атом” для описания самой малой частицы вещества. 2. В 1905 году Швейцарский физик Альберт Эйнштейн доказал, что размер молекулы сахара составляет примерно 1 нанометр. 3. В 1931 году Немецкие физики Макс Кнолл и Эрнст Руска создали электронный микроскоп, который впервые позволил исследовать нанообъекты. 4. В 1974 году Японский физик Норио Танигучи применил в своей работе слово “нанотехника”, предложив называть так механизмы размером менее 1 микрона. 5. В 1981 году Германские физики Герд Бинниг и Генрих Рорер создали сканирующий туннельный (tunneling) микроскоп - прибор, позволяющий осуществлять воздействие на вещество на атомарном уровне. Через четыре года они получили Нобелевскую премию. 6. В 1986 году создан микроскоп, позволяющий, в отличие от туннельного микроскопа, осуществлять взаимодействие с любыми материалами, а не только с проводящими. 7. В 1986 Нанотехнология стала известна широкой публике. Американский футуролог Эрик Дрекслер опубликовал книгу, в которой предсказал, что нанотехнология в скором времени начнет активно развиваться. 8. В 1998 году Голландский физик Сеез Деккер создал нанотранзистор. 9. В 2000 году Администрация США объявила о создании комитета “Национальная нанотехнологическая инициатива”. Комитета занимается исследованиями в области Нанотехнологий.
|
|
|
Speaking – Discussion
Exercise 1. Share your opinion with your groupmates using the following phrases: I think/I do not think; I believe/I don’t believe; I agree that/ I don’t agree that; I guess; I suppose; From my point of view; To my mind; It’s true that; I consider; If you ask me; In my opinion; As I see it; To my way of thinking.
1. Do you believe Nanotechnology can change our world? 2. Will this new science really make our life easier? 3. Do you think Nanorobots will ever replace people? 4. Nanotechnology – Revolution or Danger? 5. Is Nanotechnology just pretence for science to attract additional financing?
Exercise 2. Read the statements. Define negative and positive aspects of each one.
1. Most manufacturing jobs will be done by nanorobots.
2. Products could be much lighter, stronger, and more precise.
3. Lighter materials will make air and space travel more economical.
4. Nanomaterials can have unknown and possibly negative impacts, such as unexpected toxicological and environmental effects.
5. Computers of the future will use atoms instead of chips for memory.
6. Medicine can heal at the molecular or cellular level.
7. Solar energy can replace other resources.
Exercise 3. Speak about pros and cons of Nanotechnology in diffirent fields of science. Prove your thought.
|
|
|
LESSON II
Pre-text exercise 1.These words you should know.
quest – поиск wheel – колесо bent – стремление
to crop up – возникать, появляться to outdate – устареть
demand – спрос to rely upon – полагаться на
hurdle – препятствие evidence – доказательство, подтверждение
top-down – нисходящий, сверху вниз scale – размер, шкала
Pre-text exercise 2.These notions you should learn by heart.
heat dissipation – теплоотдача chip – чип
electronic interference - электронные помехи
laptop – портативный компьютер, лептоп
PDA – КПК, карманный компьютер
computer geeks - компьютерный пахарь (программист, выискивающий ошибки в программах)
Moore’s Law – Закон Мура infeasible - невозможный
Pre-text exercise 3.Check your memory; try to guess the meanings of the following words and expressions:
Humankind, computer processor, ability, device, cellphone, manufacturing techniques, microelectronics, physical limit, computer industry, computing power, complicated calculations, innovative bent.
READ AND TRANSLATE THE TEXT
Smaller Computers! Faster Internet!
Human technology is traditionally a quest to make life easier — from inventing the wheel (to aid mobility) to creating the computer (to solve complicated calculations). Take a look around you and you’ll notice that humankind’s innovative bent has accelerated, especially in the computer industry. It seems a new computer processor crops up every year that outdates the last one.
|
|
|
It’s well-known fact that the computer’s processing ability relies upon the size of the device — the smaller the device, the better. Not only does the smaller size speed up computer processing, it also allows greater portability. Where would laptops, PDAs, and cellphones be without fast computing power and small size? As our demands increase for faster and more easily portable computing power, so does our demand for smaller and smaller computer chips. At the same time that we want our processors smaller, we want them to perform more functions and consume less power. But there’s a physical limit on how small a chip can be when we use our current top-down manufacturing techniques. Heat dissipation and electronic interference are also big hurdles that prevent us from going smaller.
The closer you get to nano scale, the more you see evidence of a general rule: As the minimum feature size decreases, the speed and performance of micro-electronic devices rises rapidly. Computer geeks know the rule as Moore’s Law.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS: 1. What are the advantages of smaller computer?
2. What are the main hurdles on the way to smaller computers? 3. List the most popular innovation of computer industry. 4. What is Moore’s Law? Do you agree with it? 5. What other oppurtinities (except the minituarization) can nanotechnology give us in computer world? 6. The smaller the device is, the faster it is. Is it correct? 7. If the computer consumes less power, it means that it has a limited set of the functions. Can you prove or disprove this statement? 8. Does the processing ability of any digital device depend on its size? 9. What can nanotechnology improve in the computerworld?
Grammar exercises
Exercise 1.Translate from English into Russian paying attention to Conditional sentences.Define the type of Conditional Sentence.
1. If evolution created nanomachines of greater precision and efficiency, nothing would stop us from creating our own nanomachines, tailored to suit our needs. 2. If nanotechnology can help the human body to recover from illness or injury then it is quite possible that nanotechnology can create an altered human state. 3. If nanotechnology became widely used, the disposal of nanomaterials would be difficult to contain especially where they were used in household and community-level applications. 4. If you think the technology is infeasible, you don't worry about what it might do and what its potential is.
Exercise 2. Complete the sentences following rules of Conditionals.
1. If Nanotechnology allowed objects to change shape as needed…
2. If Nanoscience allowed objects to change their function…
3. If we had had Nanocomputers several decades ago …
4. If the scientists had not invented cell phones…
5. If nanorobots are an essential part of our life…
Exercise 3. Join the sentences using given conjunction in brackets.
1.Computers play a fundamental part in nanotechnology. They allow us to develop atomic models and foresee the nanodevices we desire. (as) 2. DNA computing is a promising molecular computing area. Lots of progresses are being made rapidly worldwide. (and) 3. DNA computers show promise. They do not have the limitations of silicon-based chips. (because) 4. Conventional computers operate linearly, taking one task at a time. DNA computers perform calculations parallel to other calculations. (while) 5. It is parallel computing that allows DNA to solve complex mathematical problems in hours. It might take electrical computers hundreds of years to complete them. (whereas) 6. The first DNA computers are unlikely to feature word processing, e-mailing and solitaire programs. Their powerful computing power will be used by national governments for cracking secret codes, or by airlines wanting to map more efficient routes. (however) 7. DNA based chip manufacturers will always have an ample supply of raw materials. DNA exists in all living things. (as) 8. Future nanocomputers could be evolutionary, scaled-down versions of today’s computers. They may be revolutionary, based on some new device or molecular structure not yet developed. (or) 9. Nanoscale computing is making good progress. Memory devices using nanometer-sized elements are currently in research labs, and will probably be available commercially within five years.(and) 10. The power consumption of any individual nanocomputer is going to be very small. An alternative would be to pack billions of them together to form a massively parallel computer. (since)
Exercise 4. Read the text and fill the blanks with one of the given conjunctions.
While, moreover when, so, that, since, than, so that , that, and
What are Quantum Computers?
Quantum computer technology involves the use of the quantum particle _____ today's computers use bits. The theory for quantum computers began over 20 years ago _____ Paul Benioff, a physicist at the Argonne National Laboratory, used the concept of the Turing machine asa model for the quantum computer. A Turing machine is composed of a tape of indefinite length that can be divided into evenly sized squares. A device capable of reading the blanks and symbols in the tape is used to give instructions to a machine _____ a particular program can be performed. The quantum computer uses quantum particles as the "tape" in the Turing experiment. Because the presence of a symbol or a blank in the Turing tape symbolizes the binary digits, ____ can the state of the quantum particles be used to hold these values. The use of multiple quantum particles also means _____ the quantum computer will be much faster _____ the Turing machine ______ it can perform several calculations simultaneously.
_____, unlike today's computers that uses the basic bit which has only two states (1 or 0), a quantum computer will store information as quantum bits which can hold more than two values. This ability of qubits to exist in more than two states means _____a quantum computer has the capability of performing more than a million simultaneous computations at one time _____ the potential to be a lot faster and a lot more powerful than today's supercomputers.
Exercise 5. Translate from English into Russian paying attention to infinitive.
1. To have any hope of understanding our future, we must understand the consequences of assemblers, disassemblers, and nanocomputers. 2. They promise to bring changes as profound as the industrial revolution, antibiotics, and nuclear weapons all rolled up in one massive breakthrough. 3. Atomic positioners will only be used to make things that could not be made in any other way. 4. With nanotechnology we can build apparatus that will enable us to understand the phenomenon of quantum entanglement, and make use of it. 5. Quantum computers could also be used to search large databases in a fraction of the time that it would take a conventional computer. 6. Read-write device reads these symbols and blanks, which gives the machine its instructions to perform a certain program. 7. To make a practical quantum computer, scientists have to devise ways of making measurements indirectly to preserve the system's integrity. 8. Learning to build and effectively use nanocomputers may well be the next big challenge facing computer science. 9. The final step to build a computer processor is to fabricate the designed circuit. 10. Feynman began one of the first research groups to explore computational devices based on quantum mechanics. 11. Carbon nanotubes would be used in the future to make the logic gates of computers. 12. Since the initial Adleman experiments, advances have been made and various Turing machines have been proven to be constructible
Exercise 6. Read the abstracts. Find infinitives and define their function.
1. Researchers at IBM working on a project to simulate the internal wiring of the human brain have announced that the current simulation has surpassed the level of a cat's cortex (кора головного мозга), and now contains the equivalent of one billion neurons and ten trillion synapses. The ultimate goal is to exploit nanotechnology and other breakthroughs to create a new breed of computer processors, called synaptronic processors that think more like living things rather than conventional model of computing that we use today.
2. Remember the days of the abacus? The abacus was one of the first computational devices ever to exist. Abacus beads represent information (numeric values) based on their physical position along a wire. Today we use electrons to do the exact same thing. Electrons move from various locations (within a circuit), are processed (via logic/memory functions) then used as output signals (such as pixels on an LCD monitor or sound via a speaker). However the "electronic" paradigm we are accustomed to could change. New paradigms such as spintronics, phonotics, orbitronics and plasmonics may lead the next nanoelectronic future.
Exercise 7. Get ready to discuss the topic “Future nanocomputer”
Vocabulary exercises
Exercise 1. Look through the text.
Everybody wants small, powerful, fast computer chips — but making them smaller is a tricky business. A few of the biggest problems with shrinking computer chips are noise, heat and cost.
Noise:Leakage of electrons from one device (a transistor, for example) to another or from one part of a device to another. As the thickness of the insulating layers is reduced, their effectiveness is also reduced. This shrinkage increases leakage of electrons and produces electrical “noise” in the circuit.
Heat:Generation of heat from having so many transistors and other devices in one small space.
Cost:As the feature size of components shrinks, the cost of manufacturing equipment used to create the components increases.
How can nano help? Building transistors and other devices used in computer chips either from organic molecules or from nanowires, nanotubes, and nanoparticles the size of a molecule may be a way to minimize these problems. This technique is called molecular electronics. Nanotechnology may allow us to simply pack more onto each computer chip.
Exercise 2. Decide if the statement is true or false
1. Reduced leakage of electrons means less electronic noise.
2. The smaller device is, the less heat it produces.
3. The larger size of a chip makes it quieter.
4. Reduced heat is one result of lowering the number of electrons used by the devices.
5. The smaller computer is, the less it costs.
Exercise 3. Translate the text paying attention to the words in italics.
DVD manufacturers are not just sitting on their hands, waiting for the newer technologies to come in and eat their lunch. They are busy themselves, trying to come up with their own New Best Thing. Current DVD technology uses red lasers, which limits their capacity to about 4.7GB per layer and that translates to about eight total hours of video. Lowering the wavelength, however, can do wonders for increasing capacity. A blue laser’s wavelength is shorter than red laser. Shorter wavelength equals greater capacity. How much greater? Well, when you look at the two formats that take advantage of this technology (Blu-ray and HD-DVD), you can see quite a jump: Blu-ray is already getting 27GB per layer, and HD-DVD is up to 20GB per layer.
Exercise 4.Discuss the main project of each company.
Here are the today’s projects of three main companies of this industry:
Intel started exploring nanotechnology in 2000 — and began shippingsub-100-nanometer transistors for its chips in 2003. Their future focus is on silicon-based nanotechnology; they project that a new quantum-well transistor they’re working on could use a tenth of the power while still delivering current levels of performance.
HP is working on getting rid of transistors and replacing them with molecular-scale switches known as crossbar latches. These switches would be initially used in computer memory and could eventually be used to process logic operations.
IBM, one of the biggest spenders, has said that self-assembly techniques for building products such as a nanocrystal FLASH memory device will be used in pilot projects within the next two to four years.
Exercise 5. What do you think about the statement “ As the minimum feature size decreases, the speed and performance of micro-electronic devices rises rapidly ”?
Дата добавления: 2018-06-01; просмотров: 207; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!