Reading comprehension

Exercise 2.1

Answer the questions:

1. What is energy?

2. Distinguish between kinetic energy and potential energy and give an example of each.

3. Distinguish between high-quality energy and low-quality energy and give an example of each.

4. What is the law of conservation of matter? What is its environmental significance?

5. Distinguish between the first law of energy (thermodynamics) and the second law of energy (thermodynamics) and give an example of each law in action.

Some useful information Energy units

Being able to utilize external energy to do useful work is one of the most unique characteristics of humans. Access to a source of high-quality energy is essential for continuation of current way of life. But what do these terms mean? Work is the application of force through a distance. Energy is the capability to do work. Power is the rate of flow of energy, or the rate at which work is done. The energy we use to move our muscles and to think comes from stored chemical energy (or potential energy) in our food. Food energy is generally measured in calories (cal). One calorie is the amount of energy to heat 1 g of water 1^oC. A kilocalorie (or food Calorie) is 1.000 cal. In physics, the basic metric unit of force is a newton, which is the force necessary to accelerate 1 kilogram 1 meter per second. A joule (J) is the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton is exerted over 1 meter, or 1 amp per second flows through 1 ohm. One J equals 0.238 cal. Some other common energy units are presented in the table:

1 joule (J) = the force exerted by a current of 1 amp per second flowing through a resistance of 1 ohm.

1 watt (W) = 1 joule (J) per second.

1 kilowatt-hour (kwh) = 1 thousand (10³) watts exerted for 1 hour.

1 megawatt (MW) = 1 million (10⁶) watts.

1 gigawatt (GW) = 1 billion (10⁹) watts.

1 petajoule (PJ) = 1 quadrillion (10¹⁵) joules.

1 British thermal unit (Btu) = energy to heat 1 lb of water 1^oF.

1 PJ = 947 billion Btu, or 278 million kwh.

1 standard barrel (bbl) of oil = 42 gal (160 liters) or 5.8 Btu.

1 metric ton of standard coal = 27.8 million Btu or 4.8 bbl oil.

Language study

Exercise 2.2

Insert the prepositions

1. We should match the quality of an energy source ... the quality of energy needed to perform a particular task.

2. Stored energy that is potentially available ... use is called potential energy.

3. Heat always flows .... a hot object ... a cold object when they come ... contact.

4. When you drop a ball, its potential energy changes ... kinetic energy.

5. We take materials from the earth and process them ... useful products.

6. To make the environment cleaner we can convert some potentially harmful chemicals ... less harmful forms.

7. Once the concentrated energy of a liter of gasoline is released, it is degraded ... low-quality heat that is dispersed ... the environment.

8. Some energy of fuel is always wasted because ... the second law of energy.

Exercise 2.3

Translate into Russian paying attention to the words «that/those» (1. указательное местоимение «этот, это»; 2. Союз «что»; 3. Союзное слово «который»; 4. Слово-заменитель.):

1. The age that we live in is called the age of atomic energy.

2. That was one of the most interesting experiments in our practice.

3. The property of conductors is different from that of insulators.

4. It is very difficult indeed to give a definition of science that will be as broad as we should like.

5. Semiconductor is often defined as an electric conductor that has a conductivity intermediate between that of an insulator and that of a metal.

6. The energy efficiency of a fluorescent lamp is higher than that of an incandescent bulb.

7. This variation of the kinetic energy is just the opposite of that of the potential.

8. Power networks of the future may have little resemblance to those of today.

9. The capacity of this atomic power station will be many times greater than that of the first one.

10. The number of discoveries and inventions of the last 25 years equals those made throughout the history of civilization.

Exercise 2.4

Translate into Russian paying attention to the word «it» (1. Личное местоимение; 2. Формальное подлежащее; 3. Формальное дополнение; 4. Указательное местоимение «это»; 5. Вводное слово в эмфатическое конструкции «именно»):

1. It is a well-known fact that a solid expands when we heat it.

2. In the gaseous state water changes into steam and in the solid state it becomes ice.

3. It is known that the Halley comet nucleus is revolving. It completes one revolution every two-odd day.

4. The energy of light is transformed directly into electricity in photocells. It is this energy that is used to power spaceships with electricity.

5. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It may be transformed from one form to another.

6. Scientists measured heat long before the concept of energy appeared in physics and before it was established that the quantity of heat characterizes the internal energy of a body.

7. Moving water possesses kinetic energy that is why it can do useful work.

8. It is the generally accepted practice for physicists to use electron volts as a convenient measure of energy.

9. When a molecule jumps from a lower to a higher energy level, it absorbs energy and when it drops to a lower level, it gives up energy.

10. It is also important to note that without solar energy the life on the earth would not exist.

Exercise 2.5

Remember the synonyms of the verb “to work”: To work, to function, to operate, to run

1. The compressor is designed to	run work	at comparatively low speeds
2. This type of engine will	operate function	for long periods without repair
3. The machines should be tested under normal	running working operating	conditions.
4. Two more aggregates	were put into were brought into came into will be in	operation.

1. This machine tool is capable of running at very high speeds.

2. The task of the computers is to operate the whole power plant properly.

3. It is necessary that the engine should function under conditions of high temperature.

4. The best operational regime for nuclear reactors is even loads throughout 24 hours.

5. It is best to operate atomic power plants in combination with pumped storage plants (гидроаккуму-лирующая станция).

6. The first station utilizing tidal power began operating on the Barents Sea in 1968.