Tiny Generator Would Make Electricity While You Walk

Are you tired of keeping track of all those little chargers for your phone, your music player and your other little electronic gadgets? Professor Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology may have the answer.

Wang has created a tiny nanogenerator that produces a continuous flow of electricity by harvesting mechanical energy from its surroundings. It can produce energy from ultrasonic waves, mechanical movement or even blood flow. Wang stated:"This is a major step toward a portable, adaptable and cost-effective technology for powering nanoscale devices. There has been a lot of interest in making nanodevices, but we have tended not to think about how to power them. Our nanogenerator allows us to harvest or recycle energy from many sources to power these devices." The prototype nanogenerator is made up of tiny wires that are free to flex just slightly. When moved by mechanical energy, they flex and make contact with a collection plate. The wires have piezoelectric qualities, meaning that they provide a tiny voltage when mechanical stress is applied. By capturing the output of large numbers of nanowires in motion, the prototype nanogenerator produces a miniscule direct current output.

Wang and his group believe that the nanowires could produce as much as 4 watts per cubic centimeter. "If you had a device like this in your shoes when you walked, you would be able to generate your own small current to power small electronics," Wang noted. "Anything that makes the nanowires move within the generator can be used for generating power. Very little force is required to move them." It's basically a micro-sandwich; a high-efficiency filter and heat-exchange system. The skin-contact layer is porous. Perspiration passes through it, having cooled the body. Motions of the body, especially breathing, and [heel-powered pumps] provide the pumping force. With a ... suit in good working order, you won't lose more than a thimbleful of moisture a day...

to keep track – отслеживать; tiny – крошечный; ultrasonic waves - ультразвуковыеволны; porous – пористый; thimbleful – небольшоеколичество

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THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE USA

The USA is a federal republic. It consists of 50 states and the District of Columbia. The President is the head of the federal republic and the government. The President is effected for four years. He cannot be younger than 35 years old and he must have lived in the USA for at least 14 years. In some ways the USA is like 50 small countries and not one large. Every state has its own governor, its own police and its own laws. The Government of the whole country works in Washington. This is where Congress is based. The President makes the most important decisions and chooses the members of his cabinet who will help him to govern the country. The US Congress consists of two Houses - the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 senators, two from each state. The head of the Senate is the Vice-President. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members. The number of representatives in the House of Representatives is base on population. Each State sends to Washington one man for each 100000. So as the population shifts, states may lose or gain representatives. The head of the House с Representatives is the Speaker. A representative must be at least 25 years old and must have lived in the USA for at least seven years.

1.    What is the state structure of the USA like?

2.    Where does the Government of the country based?

3.    Who may be elected as a President?

3. Topic: “My Specialty: Tending Technology and Machinery Repair”

№ 17

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Tiny engine boosts nanotech hopes 

Prototypes of microscopic engines that could power molecular machines have been brewed up in a Scottish laboratory. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have created a tiny engine powered by light that can be made to sort molecules. The device may one day find a role in nano-scale machines. It emerged from research into similar tiny machines in nature that power well known processes such as photosynthesis. Nanotechnology typically involves components built of individual atoms or molecules. A nanometre is one billionth of a metre and is about 80,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair.

Led by Professor David Leigh the team from Edinburgh have designed and built a molecule, known as a rotaxane, that can move and sort particles. It took three years of painstaking work to find a molecular form that could do this job. Conceptually, the rotaxane can be thought of as a barbell with a carefully positioned lump on the bar that can be made to act as a one-way "gate" when light is shone on it. "We have a new motor mechanism for a nanomachine," said Prof Leigh. "It is a machine mechanism that is going to take molecular machines a step forward to the realisation of the future world of nanotechnology," he said. Because the rotaxane can be made to do useful work in a predictable fashion, ie sort particles, it could become a key component for anyone designing nano-scale devices. In previous work Prof Leigh's group have used a manufactured nanomachine to move a water droplet uphill.

tobrewup – варить                           rotaxane - ротаксан ( вид молекулярной структуры )

painstaking - кропотливый, скрупулезный                                                barbell – гантель

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INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURA OF THE USA

The USA is a highly developed industrial country. It is rich in oil, gas, coal, iron-ore, copper, gold, silver and other metals.

The most important cities in the USA are Washington, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Washington State is the centre of atomic, electronic, light and food industries. New York is the centre of the ship-building, machine-building, aircraft, electronics, chemical, light and food industries. New York is the business centre of the USA. Detroit is one of the largest centers of heavy industry. It is a machine-building centre. Detroit is one of the biggest producers in the motor-car industry. Baltimore is a large ship-building centre. Boston is a large seaport and a ship-building centre too. Philadelphia is a machine-building centre. It is famous for its agricultural and food industries. San Francisco is famous for its many modern industries, such as electronic, electrical, chemical and others. It is a large port and a ship building centre.

Los Angeles is known as the centre of heavy industry. It is the centre of such industries as aircraft, machine-building, chemical and electronics. Not far from Los Angeles is, Hollywood, the centre of the US film business.

1.    What are the main industrial centers of the USA?

2.    Which city is the biggest producer of heavy industry?

3.    In what industry does Philadelphia famous for?

3. Topic: “My Working Day”

№ 18

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