Материал: Гвоздева Пхысицс фор адванцед студентс 2011
9.The elementary particle has a set of independent parameters: charge, ………..
10.The main fundamental constants are mass, ……………….
Exercise 5 (in pairs)
Formulate logical questions and read the questions and answers as micro dialogues.
Model: What is an equation?
1.An equation is a concise and accurate way of describing a mathematical idea.
2.Scientists express their ideas in the form of equations because they need to know the precise values of quantities.
3.The metagalaxy is the observable universe.
4.Someone who is stationary on the earth is moving at about 30 kilometers a second around the sun.
5.The sun is moving at several hundred kilometers a second around the galaxy.
6.As much as 90% of the stuff constituting the universe’s matter does not radiate – it provides no glow that we can detect in the electromagnetic spectrum. (What percentage of matter?)
7.Quantum mechanics is concerned with the properties and behavior of particles.
8.An algorithm is a set of instructions that are carried out in a particular order in order to solve a particular problem.
9.The particles are called virtual because, unlike ‘real particles’, they cannot be observed directly with a particle detector.
10.Gravity is a distortion of space-time, caused by the mass and energy in it.
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Part I. COSMOLOGY AND ASTROPHYSICS
“When we say ‘the world’ we usually mean our planet rather than the one hundred thousand million galaxies of the observable universe. We should enlarge our horizons.”
John Polkinghorne, professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge
“Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.”
Edenton
FYI (For Your Information)
1.Cosmology is a theory about the origin and nature of the universe.
2.Astrophysics is a scientific study of the stars, planets and other natural objects of the universe.
UNIT I
THE GREATEST TRIUMPH OF THE PAST CENTURY
PRE-READING TASK Study some grammar points. I. We use whether when talking about two alternatives. (Russian
– V + ли)
Study the sentences.
1. I had six close friends at school, most of whom I’m still in touch with. We had long discussions about everything from ra- dio-controlled models to religion. Whether the universe required a God to create it and set it going was one of the things we talked about.
2 Whether we will find the unifying laws in the near future is a matter of opinion.
II. Active and Passive
A verb has two categories: tense (past, present and future) and voice (active and passive).
There are two infinitives:
to V (the active) and to be + V3
(the passive)
On the basis of the active infinitive we form active sentences and use active when it is important who or what does the action. On the basis of the passive infinitive we form passive sentences
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and prefer passive when it is not important who or what does the action.
In passive sentences we use be (is, are, was, were, has been, will be, etc) + V3.
Study the sentences.
1.A liquid such as water is made up of billions of billions of molecules that are made up of electrons, protons and neutrons.
2.Cluster galaxies were formed because they attracted each other into groups.
III. Would
a. Would is used to express unreal conditioning (Russian – бы)
Study the sentences.
1.Such an experiment would allow us to examine how biospheres grow and evolve.
2.Such an experiment would give us an opportunity to spread and study life beyond earth.
b. Would is also used to talk about the natural course and behavior of things and events as a result of some action. It is the less definite form of will.
Study the sentences.
1.The gravitational field of the black hole would be so strong that light would not be able to
escape from the region around it, but would be dragged back by the gravitational field.
2. The classical theory predicts that the electrons would radiate electromagnetic waves. These waves would carry away energy and would cause the electrons to spiral into the nucleus.
IV. One is a personal pronoun and can be used as the subject of a sentence = You. One is not translated.
Study the sentence.
The behavior of the universe on a very large scale is not chaotic. One can therefore predict whether the universe will expand for ever or whether it will recollapse.
V. When we want to use two negations we use the structure: cannot help but + Vo
or
cannot help + Ving
Study the sentence.
1.The anthropic principle is not completely satisfactory; one cannot help feeling that there is some deeper explanation.
2.We cannot help but wonder whether we are alone as intelligent beings in this vast space.
FYI (For your information)
According to one version of the anthropic principle, there is a very large number of different, universes with different values of the physical parameters and different initial conditions. Most of these universes will
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not provide the right conditions for the development of the complicated structures needed for intelligent life. Only in a small number, with conditions and parameters like our own universe will it be possible for intelligent life to develop.
Give Russian correspondence:
too + Adj.; otherwise (if it were differently), the same, through (by means of), a few (some, several), although (though)
THE BIG PICTURE OF THE NIGHT SKY
“We are lazy and have no curiosity.”
A. Pushkin
Study the passage. Mind the underlined grammar points.
When I look into the sky at night, I often wonder whether we, humans, are too busy with ourselves and our endless every day, practical problems. The view of the stars is an important element in the spiritual education of mankind. I am an astrophysicist, so I study the universe and I find it exciting to study. There are things that would otherwise bother me – my own death, for example, but when I see the universe as a whole, the big picture gives me a sense of longevity.
Cosmologists are addressing the same fundamental questions that people attempted to resolve over the centuries through philosophical thinking, but they are addressing them on the basis of systematic observation and a quantitative methodology. Perhaps the greatest triumph [trai mf] of the past century has been a mathematical model of the universe that is supported by a large body of data. The value of such a model to our society is underappreciated. When I open a daily newspaper as a part of my morning routine, I often see lengthy descriptions of conflicts between people about borders, possessions or liberties. Today’s news is often forgotten a few days later. But when one opens ancient texts that have appealed to a broad audience over a longer period of time, such as the Bible, what does one find in the opening chapter? A discussion of how the constituents of the universe – light, stars, life – were created. Although humans are often interested in every day problems, they are curious about the big picture. As citizens of the universe we cannot help
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but wonder how the first sources of light formed, how life came into existence and whether we are alone as intelligent beings in this vast space. I hope astronomers in the 21st century will be able to answer these big questions.
Abraham Loeb “Scientific American”, November 2006
Vocabulary Notes
1.to bother – to trouble
2.longevity – a long life
3.to address a question – to deal with a question
4.to attempt – to try
5.a large body of data – a large amount of it
6.to underappreciate – to evaluate not very highly
7.a border – a boundary – a limit
8.a possession – money, property and other valuable things
9.a liberty – freedom
10.to appeal to – if something appeals to you, you find it attractive or interesting
11.to be curious about – to be interested to know
POST-READING TASK
(To be done at home in writing)
I. Summarize the passage using the outline.
1.The fundamental questions cosmologists study.
2.The difference in the way philosophers and cosmologists are addressing fundamental questions.
3.The greatest triumph of the past century.
4.The information newspapers publish.
5.The information The Bible provides us with.
II. Make up a list of the questions astronomers will be able to answer in the 21st century.
Ш. Formulate your own conclusion. IV. Put in the prepositions.
1.I often look …..the sky ….night.
2.There is much more ….the universe than meets the eye…..the
earth.
3.The big picture gives me a sense …. longevity.
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