Atom is a source of energy
The first source of energy which man made serve him was the energy of fire. Many thousand years passed before man learned how to use another source of energy — water, then man made steam serve him; and then man had another servant — electricity. At that time it was impossible to imagine anything more perfect than electricity. But man would not and did not stop at electricity; he discovered another source of energy, many times more powerful — the atomic energy. What will man have in the future? What kind of energy will he be trying to use? Thermonuclear energy? Or the energy of "anti-matter"? We may be sure that discovery of atomic energy is just an episode in the history of human progress. But our age is the age of atomic nuclei which is to transform the world.
All the sources of energy put together is the energy locked up in the nuclei of atoms of matter itself. It has been known for at least a century. It is called nuclear energy.
The amount of energy which might be released when the nucleus of one atom is split is very small. But scientists have succeeded in breaking apart the nuclei of billions of atoms and in harnessing their energy. A pound of U235 (Uranium-235) can supply as much energy as the burning up of 3,000,000 pounds of coal. Nuclear energy can be used for good and evil. Mankind is interested in atomic energy being used only for peaceful purposes.
Many atomic power plants for producing electric energy were built in many countries of the world. There are great possibilities of using nuclear energy for transport purposes. A number of countries are working at the development and construction of various kinds of locomotives, airplanes and other means of transport. Many atomic powered ships have been already built. Nuclear energy is and will be used in medicine, and in many spheres of life where the atom may find useful application.
Переведите следующие вопросы и ответы:
Question: What machine was invented by J. Watt?
Answer: A steam power machine was invented by J. Watt, an English scientist and inventor.
Q: In what areas are industrial enterprises commonly built?
A: Industrial enterprises are commonly built in the areas being rich in natural resources, for example, hydroelectric power plants are built on rivers.
Q: Into what groups are all electric power consumers divided?
A: They are divided into three main groups.
Q: What consumers belong to the first (second, third) group?
A: To the first group belong municipal consumers with a predominant lighting load: dwelling houses, hospitals, theatres, street lighting systems, mines etc. To the second group belong industrial consumers with a predominant power load (electric motors): industrial plants, mines, etc.
To the third group belongs transport, for example; electrified railways. The fourth consists of agricultural consumers, for example, electrotractors.
The operating load conditions of each group are determined by the load graph.
The load graph shows the consumption of power during different periods of day, month, and year. On the load graph the time of the maximum loads and minimum loads is given.
Q: In what way are electric power plants interconnected for operation?
A: Large industrial areas with cities are supplied from electric networks fed by electric power plants. These plants are interconnected for operation in parallel and located in different parts of the given area. They may include some large thermal and hydroelectric power plants.
Q: What unit is called a power system?
A: The sum total of the electric power plants, the networks that interconnect them and the power utilizing devices of the consumers is called a power system. All the components of a power system are interrelated by the common processes of protection, distribution and consumption of both electric and heat power. In a power system, all the parallel operating plants take part in carrying the total load of all the consumers supplied by the given system.
Q: By what means is an economical utilization of the power plant installations achieved?
A: An economical utilization of the power plant installations and of the sources of power is achieved by interconnected operation of a series of power plants in a common power distribution system.