Methods in theoretical physics

One can distinguish between two main procedures for a theoreti­cal physicist. One of them is to work from the experimental basis. For this, one must keep in close touch with the experimental physicists. One reads about all the results they obtain and tries to fit them into a comprehensive and satisfying scheme.

The other procedure is to work from the mathematical basis. One examines and criticizes the existing theory. One tries to pinpoint the faults in it and then tries to remove them. The difficulty here is to remove the faults without destroying the very great successes of the existing theory.

There are these two general procedures, but of course the distinction between them is not hard-and-fast. There arc all grades of procedure between the extremes.¹

Which procedure one follows depends largely on the subject of study? For a subject about which very little is known, where one is breaking quite new ground, one is pretty well forced to follow the procedure based on experiment. One must keep to the experimental basis if one is not to indulge in wild speculation that is almost certain to be wrong. One should not condemn speculation altogether. It can be entertaining and may be indirectly useful even if it does turn out to be wrong. One should always keep an open mind receptive to new ideas, so one should not completely oppose speculation, but one must take care not to get too involved in it.

With increasing knowledge of a subject when one has a great deal of support to work from, one can go over more and more towards the mathematical procedure.

 

Questions

1) What is the purpose of this article?

2) What are two main procedures for a theoretical physicist?

3) What is meant by working from the experimental basis?

4) What is meant by working from the mathematical basis?

5) What does the choice of the procedure depend on?

 

Note

1) extremes – крайности

 

 

TEXT 7

RADIUM

The early alchemists¹ spent most of their time trying to change common metals such as lead into gold. Many people laughed at the idea. The alchemists had no clear notion of what they were doing. They simply tried all sorts of strange "recipes" and hoped to make the change take place by magic.

Now the scientists know that the alchemists were not entirely wrong. For it is possible for certain metals to change into others. The discovery and study of radium showed that this is true. The al­chemists would be unhappy, however, because radium, which is thou­sands of times more expensive than gold, goes through a series of changes and becomes common lead.

Radium is one of the simple substances, or elements, that scien­tists call radioactive. Radioactive elements change all by themselves into other elements. As they do so, they send out powerful rays.-These rays can go through many substances that light cannot go through. The rays from radium, for instance, can go through flesh and be used to treat such diseases as cancer.

A common use of radium is in paint. Paint containing very tiny amounts of this element is used on the hands of clocks and watches to make them glow in the dark. Chemicals in the paint give out flashes of light when hit by rays from the radium.

Carelessly used radium can cause terrible burns. Supplies of it must be kept in special containers with thick lead walls.

Pure radium is a white metal. It is very heavy. But there is so little of it that no one has ever been bothered by its weight. Only a few pounds have been produced in the whole world.

Radium was discovered by the French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie. The story of their work is one of the really exciting chapters in the story of science.

 

Questions

1) What did the early alchemists spend most of their time on?

2) Is radium one of the radioactive elements?

3) What is a common use of radium?

4) What can carelessly used radium cause?

5) Whom was radium discovered by?

 

Note

1)alchemists - алхимики

^{TEXT 8}

^SALT

“He is the salt of the earth.”¹ “He is not worth his salt.”² Both of these are common sayings. They show that salt is an important substance. It is even more important today than in the past.

At times salt has been used as money. The word salary comes from sal, the Latin word for "salt". The Roman soldiers used to be paid partly in salt.

The Arabs used to believe that eating another person's salt meant that you would do him no harm. It was a bad sign if anyone refused to eat salt when he was a guest. In some parts of Africa it is still good manners, when you meet a friend, to let him lick your cake of salt.

There are superstitions about salt, too. Spilling salt is supposed to bring bad luck. But the person who spills the salt can keep the bad luck away if he throws a little over his left shoulder. Another supersti­tion is that you can catch a bird if you sprinkle a little salt on its tail.

Salt is something which everyone has to have. We cannot live without it. Of course, most of us like the taste of salt, too.

Sea water has salt in it. But most of the salt we buy comes from deep in the ground. It comes from layers of rock salt there. The layers were formedwhen salty seas of long ago evaporated. Later, the salt was covered with other rocks.

It is not hard to get salt from the layers of rock salt underground. Mines can be dug down, and the salt taken out in blocks. Or water can be forced down through pipes to the salt and then pumped up again. The salt that has been dissolved in the water can easily be taken out of it.

Most of the salt we buy is in tiny crystals. Under a microscope they look like tiny cubes of glass.

Chemicals made from salt are used in the manufacture of rubber, and steel, and dyes, and dyes. Chemicals from salt are used to soften water and to bleach cloth. They help in scouring wool and making leather. The list could go on andon. A great many of our factories of today would be forced to shut down if there were no more salt.

Questions

1) How has salt been used at tunes?

2) What does the word "salary" come from?

3) Are there any superstitions about salt?

4) When were the layers of rock salt formed?

5) How are chemicals made from salt used?

 

Notes

1) "He is the salt of the earth" -Таких хороших людей, как он, мало.

2) "Не is not worth his sail." - Oн никчемный человек.

 

КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА № 3

 

1 Прочитайте текст и письменно ответьте по-английски на вопро­сы, следующие за текстом.

2 Выпишите из текста 10 неправильных глаголов и образуйте причастия настоящего и прошедшего времени; переведите их на русский язык.

3 Найдите в тексте и переведите на русский язык предложения, в которых употреблено причастие настоящего времени.

4 Найдите в тексте и переведите на русский язык предложения, в которых употреблено причастие прошедшего времени.

5 Поставьте глагол-сказуемое одного предложения из текста во все временные формы группы Perfect Continuous (Progressive), произведя все необходимые смысловые изменения.

Образец: Не has been translating the text since 5 o'clock.

He had been translating the text for two hours when we returned home.

When we return home at 5 o'clock, he will have been translating the text for two hours.

6 Поставьте глагол - сказуемое одного предложения из текста во все временные формы групп Continuous (Progressive) и Perfect, произведя все необходимые смысловые изменения.

Образец: The text is being translated by the student now.

The text was being translated by the student when the bell rang.

The text has already been translated by the student.

The text had been translated by last Friday.

The text will already have been translated by the student by next Friday.

7Найдите в тексте и переведите на русский язык предложения, сказуемые которых употреблены в страдательном залоге.

8 Найдите в тексте и переведите на русский язык предложения, в которых употреблены глаголы should и would.

9 Выполните письменно упражнения 1,5, 12, 23, 25 из контрольно-тренировочных упражнений третьего семестра.

10 Переведите письменно текст контрольной работы № 3. При пере­воде пользуйтесь англо-русским словарем.

 

TEXT 1

Extramural institutions

Upbringing in Russian schools is organically linked with the educational process. It is carried on at the lessons but naturally is not confined to them. Various clubs, study and sports groups are a common feature. They help more fully meet the pupils' interests and contribute to their all-round development.

The Ministry of Education maintains a network of extra­mural institutions which help the schools in their educational work, in the all-round development of pupils and in organizing their leisure. It includes Schoolchildren's Houses and Palaces, young technicians' and young naturalists centres, children's excursion and tourist clubs, sports schools and other institutions.

Extensive work among schoolchildren is also carried out by var­ious institutions functioning under other ministries and departments. For instance, there is a great number of children's libraries. Many cities have children's theatres. There are numerous parks for children and special children's railways and steamship lines. The children's sections of trade union clubs and Palaces of Culture, museums, sports societies and other institutions are also doing a great deal for schoolchildren.

The updating of the content of education and the need for the further perfection of teaching methods in general schools confronted the extramural institutions with the task of bringing the diverse out-of-class and out-of-school activities into conformity with the new syllabuses.

New forms of work aimed at stimulating the pupils' interest in learning have been devised. Clubs and study groups introducing pupils to the achievements of modern science and technology are be­coming increasingly widespread. Another recent development is science centres for pupils which familiarize them with research methods and scientific literature and teach them the techniques of using archive sources, catalogues, bibliographical publications and other reference material. These centres are raising the theoretical standard of their work by strengthening their ties with higher educational and research institutions.

Extramural institutions also play an important part in the aesthetic education and physical training of pupils, thus contributing to their, all-round development.

While carrying on their educational work throughout the year, the extramural institutions provide a particularly wide range of activities during the vacation periods when they hold sports contests and festivals, organize youth rallies and ethnographic, archaeological, geographical and other expeditions, run camps and children's playgrounds in towns and so on.

The extramural institutions exert a significant influence on the organization of educational work in schools. Using their own facilities or those of the best schools they organize seminars for teachers who direct the work of school museums and clubs, pupils' production teams, study and art groups, excursion and tourist activities. The regional and district children's libraries help school teachers and librarians in organizing their work.

The educational and professional standards of the workers of extramural institutions have improved considerably in the last few years. Advanced-training courses are regularly organized for them.

 

Questions

1) What is upbringing in Russian schools organically linked with?

2) What organizations have a vital role to play in bringing up schoolchildren?

3) What does a network of extramural institutions include?

4) What new forms of work aimed at stimulating the pupils' interest in learning have been devised?

5) Do extramural institutions play an important part in the aesthetic education and physical training of pupils?

6) How do the extramural institutions exert a significant influence on the organization of educational work in schools?

Note

1) Extramural institutions - внешкольные детские учреждения

 

TEXT 2

GERMANIC LANGUAGES

Germanic, or Teutonic, languages are a sub-family of the Indo-European family of languages. They include Dutch, English, German, the Scandinavian languages, and several extinct languages¹.

The Germanic languages are commonly grouped according to lin­guistic similarities into three branches - the East, North and West Germanic branches. The East Germanic group consists of the language of the Goths. The North Germanic, or Scandinavian, languages include Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Icelandic.

The West Germanic languages are divided into two groups - High German and Low German. The principal High German language is Modern German, also known as Standard German. The surviving Low German languages are Dutch, Flemish, Frisian² and English.

Dutch is the language of the Netherlands, Flemish, or Belgian Dutch, is spoken in Northern Belgium. More than half of the Belgian population speaks Flemish, although French is current throughout the country. Frisian is spoken by people on the coast and coastal islands of the North Sea, particularly in the north Netherlands province of Frisland.³ Frisian differs considerably from Dutch and is nearest of the Germanic languages to English.

English, the most widespread of the world's languages, is consid­ered to be an offshoot⁴ of an Anglo-Frisian dialect that must have been fairly widespread before the Germanic tribes invaded England. No common parent⁵ of the Germanic languages survives, but lin­guists refer to the hypothetical ancestor as primitive Germanic or proto-Germanic.⁵

 

Questions

1) What languages do Germanic languages include?

2) What are the main three Germanic branches?

3) What languages does the North Germanic group include?

4) What languages does the West Germanic group include?

5) What language is spoken in Northern Belgium?

6) In what country is Frisian spoken?

 

Notes

1) extinct languages- вымершие языки

2) Frisian - фризский язык

3) Frisland - Фрисландия

4) offshoot - ответвление

5) common parent - общий прародитель

6) proto-Germanic - протогерманский язык

 

TEXT 3

RAPHAEL

 

Many great artists have not been called great until after they were dead. Raphael's story is very different. The people of his time recognized him as one of their greatest artists. They called him divino pittore, which means "divine painter". The sweetness and charm of his pictures of the mother of Jesus - his Madonnas won immediate praise. Just as his Madonnas were loved by all kinds of people, the artist was loved by rich and poor, young and old. When he died, such crowds came to his funeral that it seemed all Rome was there.

Raphael (1483-1520) his full name was Raphael Sanzio - was born in Urbino, Italy. His father was a painter and poet. The boy was left an orphan when he was 11. It was clear that Raphael had remarkable talent, and his father had given him lessons in painting. At 16 he entered the workshop of the artist Perugino at Perugia. In time he was painting as well as his master. He began to paint pictures of his own in addition to helping Perugino. When he was 21, Raphael visited Florence for the first time. At this time two of the greatest artists the world has ever known were living there - Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. When Raphael saw their work he knew that he still had much to learn. And he set about learning it. Raphael, like almost all artists, borrowed from other artists any ideas that would help his own work. From Leonardo he learned about drawing and about making rich patterns. From Michelangelo he learned how important it is for an artist to know the human body thoroughly.

Raphael's visit to Florence was a short one, but he soon returned there to live. He remained there almost two years. During these two years he painted many of his most famous Madonnas. The beauty of these paintings has made them popular all over the world. Today they may be seen in museums in Italy and Vienna, Madrid, London, Paris, Munich, Berlin, New York, and a few other cities. The most famous Madonna of all, the Sistine Madonna, was the last one Raphael painted. It belongs to the Dresden Picture Gallery. A Raphael Madonna is almost the most popular painting in any museum that has one.

From 1508 until his death Raphael worked in Rome. There he did more than paint pictures. He was doing at least half a dozen different kinds of work. He had become the architect of St. Peter's Church. He made plans for private palaces. He had charge of digging up and saving relics of ancient Rome. He designed mosaics and tapestries. And he kept on painting frescoes and portraits He could not carry out all this work without help. He had about 50 younger artists working with him.

Raphael's work brought him a high social position. But he did not livelong to enjoy it. He was always rather frail, and he was tired fromoverwork. Late in March of 1520, he caught a fever. He died on April 6, 1520, his 37th birthday.

Questions

1) How did the people of Raphael's time call him?

2) Where was Raphael born?

3) What did Raphael borrow from Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo?

4) What is the most famous Raphael's Madonna?

5) What kind of work did Raphael do in Rome?

TЕХТ 4

TELESCOPE

In 1609 Galileo (1564-1642), the famous Italian scientist, heard that a Dutch spectacles-maker had invented a new kind of instrument. With it he could make things faraway appear to be close.

The Dutch spectacles-maker, most accounts say, was Hans Lippershey. One story tells that a boy who was learning the trade from Lippershey was playing with some of the lenses Lippershey used for spectacles. He happened to hold one in front of another and look through them. To his surprise the lenses seemed to bring what he was looking at much closer. He showed Lippershey his discovery.

Lippershey put the two lenses in a tube. He put the new toy in his shop window. It was, of course, a simple telescope. The word telescope means "seeing far away".

As soon as he heard of a telescope, Galileo decided to make one for himself. With the first telescope he made Galileo found that he could sight vessels too far out at sea to be seen with the naked eye.

Galileo soon made better telescopes than the first one. When he finished his fourth telescope, it occurred to him to look up at the sky with it. He turned it toward the moon, and had a great surprise. The moon was not a smooth, shining ball as people had said. Instead, it had mountains and valleys and plains on it.

Ever since that time, telescopes have been used to explore the sky. There are still small telescopes for seeing distant things on the earth. But the famous telescopes have all been built to study the sky.

Galileo's telescopes were made with two small lenses. Some of the best telescopes in the world are still made with lenses. Telescopes made with lenses are called refracting telescopes.

Not long after Galileo's time the famous English scientist New­ton invented another kind of telescope. In it he used mirrors instead of lenses. Telescopes made with mirrors are called reflecting tele­scopes.

It is possible for an astronomer to study the sky by looking through the world's biggest telescopes. But scientists have found a better way of making discoveries with them. A photographic plate is a better "eye" than a real eye. Astronomers therefore use the telescopes as giant cameras. They take pictures of the part of the sky they wish to study and then study the pictures.

Questions

1) What does the word "telescope" mean?

2) Who was Hans Lippershey?

3) Why was Galileo greatly surprised when he turned his telescope toward the moon?

4) Galileo's telescopes were made with two small lenses, weren't they?

5) How are telescopes made with mirrors called?

6) How can astronomers use the telescopes?

 

TEXT 5

BOARDING-SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND

Most schools in Britain are day schools: the children go to school in the morning, at about nine o'clock, and go back home in the after­noon at about four o'clock, usually having their dinner at school. At boarding-schools the children go home only for the holidays.

The boarding-schools' academic reputation is based on the facts of smaller classes and traditions of sixth-form work. Other things being equal, academic standards¹ are likely to be higher in boarding-schools. The child's whole environment is an academic one. He can concentrate without distraction. The pattern of daily life allows for sports and recreation, but it also makes time for private work. Day-school "homework" is no substitute for "prep"².

What is more, the boarding-school child has teachers and libraries at hand. Local public libraries are no substitute: they are enormous in accessibility and quality, and in any case are not designed specifically for school children. The time that many day pupils spend in dreary and wasteful daily travel is better spent.

It is not only academic facilities that are better in boarding-schools. The child has without effort a vast range of choice. Normally, there is more room for sports, more time for hobbies. Playing fields are adequate and on the spot, school societies have a recognized place. In short a boarding-school child's time is organized so that he can get the most out of work and play.

The upper and middle classes have been sending their sons and daughters to boarding-school for generations. Nearly all of the public schools³ are boarding-schools.

Questions

1. Is the boarding-schools' academic reputation based on the facts of smaller classes and traditions of sixth-form work?

2. Is the child's whole environment an academic one?

3. What does the pattern of daily life allow for?

4. Whom and what does the boarding-school child have constantly at hand?

5. Has the child a vast range of choice of non-academic facilities?

Notes

1)academic standards - соответствие университетским нормам

2) "prep" - школьн. разг. приготовление уроков

3) public school - закрытое частное привилегированное учебное заведение для мальчиков

 

КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА №4

 

1 Прочитайте текст и письменно ответьте по-английски на вопросы, следующие за текстом.

2 Выпишите из текста все глаголы и образуйте причастия настоящего и прошедшего времени; переведите их на русский язык.

3 Найдите в тексте и переведите на русский язык предложения, в ко­торых употреблено причастие настоящего времени.

4 Найдите в тексте и переведите на русский язык предложения, в ко­торых употреблено причастие прошедшего времени.

5 Выпишите из текста слова с окончанием -ing. Определите, какой частью речи (причастием, герундием, отглагольным существитель­ным) они являются в каждом случае и какова их синтаксическая функция в предложении.

6 Найдите в тексте и переведите на русский язык предложения, в ко­торых употреблен герундий (простой или сложный, герундиальный оборот), и определите синтаксическую функцию данных слов или оборотов в этих предложениях.

7 Найдите в тексте и переведите на русский язык предложения, в которых употреблен инфинитив. Определите формы и синтаксиче­ские функции инфинитива в этих предложениях.

8 Если в тексте есть предложения, глаголы-сказуемые которых упот­реблены в одной из сложных временных форм страдательного за­лога (Continuous (Progressive) Tense in the Passive Voice; Perfect Tense in the Passive Voice), выпишите их и переведите на русский язык.

9 Выполните письменно упражнения 3, 5_, 9, 12, 13 из контрольно-тренировочных упражнений четвертого семестра.

10 Переведите письменно текст контрольной работы № 4. При пере­воде пользуйтесь англо-русским словарем.

 

 

TEXT 1