Review 6: Scientific elements. 10 de marzo de 2022

Buenas tardes, estimada familia IPEP #inglésipep  (en Twitter).

Comenzamos una serie de ejercicios dedicados a revisar los puntos principales del programa del curso.

Hoy toca: Scientific elements.

Nota: Los textos están seleccionados tanto del programa CREA como de otras fuentes, a quienes doy las gracias y cito, pero todos tienen el nivel del curso.

CÓDIGOS DE COLORES:

AZUL: Traducciones.

ROJO: Aspectos gramaticales.

VERDE: Aspectos culturales.

NARANJA: Estructuras concatenadas

MORADO: Traducción y sinónimos, antónimos, etc.

Amarillo: Palabras con trampa.

Os dejo una plantilla para que, sobre la marcha, podáis ir completando con sinónimos, antónimos, etc y los significados. Espero que os sea de utilidad. Pinchad aquí para descargarla.  

https://www.quimica.es/noticias/1167623/un-raro-metal-vtreo-descubierto-durante-la-bsqueda-para-mejorar-el-rendimiento-de-la-batera.html

Texto nº 1:

Graphene, the new wonder element? 

Many people consider graphene, a form of carbon that comes in sheets just one atom thick, a wonder material. It is the best conductor of heat at room temperature and is 40 times stronger than steel. As a semiconductor, its electrical conductivity is 1,000 times better than that of silicon. This means engineers could use it to make devices far more sensitive than is possible now, leading some to predict that it will one day become the ideal material for computer chips. Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, two physicists who were investigating the structure of graphene, won the 2010 Nobel prize for their work. 

However, converting the wonders of graphene into products has been difficult. Frank Koppens at the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona thinks he may have found a way to do so. As he describes in "Nature Nanotechnology"*, he believes he can use graphene to make low-cost ultra-sensitive photodetectors. Photodetectors are devices which convert light into electricity. They are used in digital cameras and telecommunications.So we may be seeing the future of electronics right now.

Texto nº 2:

The transit of Venus 

One of the first joint scientific ventures was carried out in 1761- scientists hoped to be able to measure the Transit of Venus (which occurs twice with an interval of 8 years then no more for a century). If it was measured from selected points on earth, scientists would be able to calculate the distance from the Earth to the Sun, and so to calibrate distances to all other bodies in the solar system. In 1761, scientists from Britain, France, Sweden Russia, Italy and Germany set out to different parts of the globe from which to measure the transit. Guillaume le Gentil of France began his journey in 1760, but due to various problems, was still at sea at the time of the transit, and a ship is the worst place for calibrating.

Undaunted, he went on to India, spent 8 years preparing a new viewing station and tested and retested his instruments. On the day, just as Venus began to pass, a cloud appeared over the sun for the entire duration of transit, so he saw nothing. He returned to France and discovered that his relatives had declared him dead in his absence and taken all his property! 

 

Unfortunately, the scientists produced too much information, and much of it was contradictory. This was the reason for Captain Cook's later voyage to Tahiti. With Cook's measurements, the Frenchman Joseph Lalande calculated a mean distance of 150 million km (nowadays known to be 149,597,870,691 km). The last transit of Venus was 5th-6th June 2012, and the next one will be in 2117.

https://www.elconfidencial.com/tecnologia/ciencia/2022-02-10/asombrosas-fotos-venus-revelan-datos-superficie_3373159/

Texto nº 3:

Double stars 

When is a star not a star? When it's two stars! A double star is when two stars are so close together that they appear to be one when seen from the Earth via an optical telescope. Surprisingly, one of the greatest living observers of double stars isn't an American working for NASA but a retired history teacher. Jose-Luis Comellas, former lecturer in Modern History at the University of Seville, has observed well over 5,000 double stars using a simple telescope in his home-made observatory in Mairena del Alcor. His books, especially his Guíde to the Firmament, has inspired thousands of amateur astronomers to scan the heavens every night. There is now a street named after him in Seville, and an observatory in the town of La Rinconada.

Saludos y nos veremos la próxima semana, Dios mediante.