NANOTECHNOLOGY
Ex. 1 Read the text and complete the sentences with the fragments (a–f) from the list.
a) at which special properties have been observed in materials – properties that are profoundly different at the nanoscale.
b) the basic building block of matter.
c) the basic units of life.
d) the smallest part of a chemical compound.
e) they have only scratched the surface of nanotechnology’s potential.
f) which is about 50,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.
Nanotechnology is the creation and use of materials or devices at extremely small scales. These materials or devices fall in the range of 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). One nm is equal to one-billionth of a meter (.000000001 m), (1) _____ Scientists refer to the dimensional range of 1 to 100 nm as the nanoscale, and materials at this scale are called nanocrystals or nanomaterials.
To grasp the size of the nanoscale, consider the diameter of an atom, (2) _____ The hydrogen atom, one of the smallest naturally occurring atoms, is only 0.1 nm in diameter. In fact, nearly all atoms are roughly 0.1 nm in size, too small to be seen by human eyes. Atoms bond together to form molecules, (3) _____ Molecules that consist of about 30 atoms are only about 1 nm in diameter. Molecules, in turn, compose cells, (4) _____ Human cells range from 5,000 to 200,000 nm in size, which means that they are larger than the nanoscale. However, the proteins that carry out the internal operations of the cell are just 3 to 20 nm in size and so have nanoscale dimensions. Viruses that attack human cells are about 10 to 200 nm, and the molecules in drugs used to fight viruses are less than 5 nm in size.
The possibility of building new materials and devices that operate at the same scale as the basic functions of nature explains why so much attention is being devoted to the world below 100 nm. But 100 nm is not some arbitrary dividing line. This is the length (5) _____
A number of important breakthroughs have already occurred in nanotechnology. These developments are found in products used throughout the world. Some examples are catalytic converters in automobiles that help remove air pollutants, devices in computers that read from and write to the hard disk, certain sunscreens and cosmetics that transparently block harmful radiation from the Sun, and special coatings for sports clothes and gear that help improve the gear and possibly enhance the athlete’s performance. Still, many scientists, engineers, and technologists believe (6) _____
Ex. 2 Mark the following statements T (True), F (False) or N (Not mentioned).
1. A nanometer is the smallest thing occurring in nature.
2. Molecules are the basic units of life.
3. Viruses have nanoscale dimensions.
4. Nanoscale gets so much attention because this is where many of the mechanisms of the biological and physical world operate.
5. At scales above 100 nm gold looks yellow, but at scales below 100 nm it has other colors.
6. The developments of nanotechnology are already used in different products.
7. Smaller and faster chips will make computers smaller and enable them to perform many more functions more quickly.
8. Scientists, engineers and technologists are sure they know everything about nanotechnology.
Ex. 3 Match the words and their meaning.
| 1. arbitrary 2. enhance 3. extremely 4. occur 5. refer to 6. roughly 7. scale 8. throughout | a) happen or exist b) improve c) in every part of d) not exactly e) size or level f) speak about g) very h) without any reason or plan |
Ex. 4 Fill in the gaps with the words from Ex. 3 in the appropriate form.
1. Nanotechnology is the science of building _____ small things.
2. In the future, we'll be able to work on nano_____ and build things atom by atom.
3. A nanometer is _____ ten times the size of an individual atom.
4. Nanotechnology will help _____ computer performance greatly.
5. The manipulation of atoms or small groups of atoms to manufacture materials and devices _____ as bottom-up approach in nanotechnology.
6. Nanoscale was not chosen _____ly. It is where the properties of materials are profoundly different from those _____ in nature.
Ex. 5 Translate into English.
1. Нанотехнология – это создание функциональных материалов, устройств и систем при работе с веществом в масштабе от 1 до 100 нанометров.
2. Ученые ожидают, что на наноуровне будут открыты новые явления, которые будут использоваться в передовых технологиях.
3. Люди уже знали об особых свойствах, проявляемых материалами на наноуровне, хотя они и не понимали, почему это происходит.
4. Добавив мельчайшие частицы золота в стекло, можно получить цвет от желтого до зеленого и красного в зависимости от размера этих частиц.
5. Структурируя вещество на наноуровне, можно влиять на основные свойства материалов, не изменяя их химический состав.
6. Полупроводниковые нанопровода – это одномерные структуры с уникальными электрическими и оптическими свойствами, используемые в качестве элементов наноустройств.