4. Could sound propagate in interplanetary space, it would cover this distance in 14 years.
5. Had you warned me beforehand, I would have been more careful.
6. But forthe several recent discoveries in optics, the instrument in question could not have been designed in its present form.
7. Were it not for the computer they might not make the necessary calculations on time.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
Инверсия, как правило, употребляется при эмоциональном выделении или подчеркивании членов предложения. Инверсия может иметь место в следующих случаях:
1. В предложениях, начинающихся наречиями. Например:
Here comes (вот идет) our friend. Thus began our friendship. So ended this terrible struggle.
2. Когда предложение начинается с распространенного обстоятель-
ства. Например:
То this branch of physics was added another one.
Гп front of the first screen are placed two other screens, each having a small hole in it.
В предложениях, начинающихся наречиями hardly едва, no sooner как только, never, seldom, often, not only, little и др. Например:
Never have I known such a man! Little did we think of our future then.
• Sentences to be translated.
1. Fundamental to all physical sciences are the concepts associated with the atomic theory of matter.
2. Satisfactory as the theory is, it cannot account for all the data obtained.
3. Only by means of the Space Telescope can we detect distant stellar objects.
4. No sooner did they switch on the device than it burnt out.
5. Nowhere before could we observe such a strange phenomenon.
READING (7A)
■ Read the passage carefully and find facts to prove or disprove the idea that the h-.m-uomb '-tniriip e of the Universe can be explained in terms ofthe chaotic inflation 'npothesis.
CHAOTIC INFLATION
Since 1980, cosmologists have modified considerably their theories ofthe 'licsi stages ofthe evolution of the Universe. This modification is based 111 ><>11 the so-called "inflationary" Universe scenario. The most promising version of this idea — "chaotic inflation" is described below by Andrei Lindc, ти- ofthe architects of the new model.
The essence ofthe inflationary hypothesis is that we live in a single domain hi' the Universe, a region corresponding to one crystal domain, which has
■ \pandcd so much ("inflated") that the domain walls are far beyond the range
. il our telescopes. The few monopolcs present in the original small volume of 11 к-1 .'niverse that has been blown up to the scale of 10-8 cannot play a significant mil- in the evolution of our local bubble of space-time, so that the concept и-moves the monopole problem. But how and why did the Universe as we know inflate in this way?
1'he first version ofthe inflationary Universe was suggested by Allan Guth
i M IT, USA) in July 1980. His scenario was based on the idea of high-
..... pet attire phase transitions, which provided the energy fora rapid burst of
■ \pausion early in the life ofthe Universe. Like watergiving up its latent heat of fusion as it freezes, those phase transitions, Guth suggested, might give up i-iiergy, which went to make the Universe expand exponentially for a short i ime. But as Guth himself pointed out at the time, this early version of inflation predicted an extremely inhomogencous state for the Universe afterthe phase i i.uisition.
In October 1981, I put forward an improved version of the inflation idea, which, forobvious reasons, became known as the "new inflationary scenario". I his resolved some of the difficulties in Guth's original version. This new inflationary scenario caused a stir among cosmologists and physicists, and was u-гу widely discussed. New inflation resolved many ofthe large discrepancies between the predict ions of field theory and the observations ofthe real Universe, and suggested that we were on the right way towards an understanding ofthe I inverse birth. But even this variation proved impossible to reconcile completely with the most realistic theories of elementary particles developed. In I9S3, however, 1 was able to resolve most of those remaining difficulties with another variation ofthe inflationary scenario, called "chaotic inflation". 1'his abandons the idea that high-temperature phase transitions provided the push behind the inflation in the very early Universe. In my opinion this scenario i: much simpler and more natural than other versions ofthe inflationary I i ''verse.
Order out of Chaos
According to the unified theories of particle physics, the Universe is filled with many types of uniform, homogeneous scalar fields. The nature of each field is determined by the position of a minimum in its potential energy function, the field rolling down to its minimum as the Universe cooled. But at the very early stages of the Universe evolution, when none of the fields had yet had time to roll down into its minimum state, each field could be homogeneous and have a different value in different parts of the Universe. In that split second after the moment of creation, there had not been enough time forthc field to become homogeneous. This is what 1 refer to as a "chaotic" distribution of the field and it has interestingand unexpected consequences.
If the field in one region is initially almost homogeneous and is far from its equilibrium state (that is, it has a large potential energy) then it "rolls down" Hnto the minimum very slowly. But as the Universe expands, the energy density of all the particles in the Universe decreases very rapidly. So, the total energy density of the cooling Universe quickly becomes equal to the slowly changing potential energy of the scalar field.
According to the general theory of relativity, the rate at which the Universe expands depends on the energy density of the matter that fills the Universe. If the energy density is constant (or changes very slowly) then the equations tell us that the Universe must expand with ever increasing speed, exponentially.
This period of inflation is longer if the field started out further away from its minimum value, because it takes longer to roll down to the minimum. The simplest theories of the scalar field suggest that during the exponential expansion the size of the Universe was blown up by a factor of 10"ш"°", and that the largest domain must have grown from the region originally filled with the field that was in a state furthest away from its equilibrium value.
When the field rolls down to its minimum value it oscillates to and fro about the minimum and energy from the oscillating field is converted into elementary particles. By the time the oscillation has damped itself out, the Universe (or a particular domain) has been filled with hot particles and the subsequent evolution of that domain can be described adequately by the standard model of the hot big bang. The only difference is that there was a phase of exponential expansion inflating a tiny seed of the Universe by a factor of I u1000000, before the outburst from the hot big bang itself. But this small difference leads to very important consequences.
Suppose, for example, that the exponentially expanding domain started out very curved. After expanding 10100""0" times, however, the geometry of space inside such a domain scarcely differs from the Euclidean geometry of flat space, just as the surface of a balloon expanded by a similaramount would look very much like the surface of a flat plane. Similarly, any irregularities are smoothed away by the expansion (inflation) so that the domain becomes very homogeneous and isotropic. Imagine how flat and smooth even the Himalayas would seem if the radius of the Earth grew to 101"""""" times its present size.
(to be continued)
• book through the passage and find English equivalents for the following Russian phrases.
самые ранние стадии эволюции; сыграть значительную роль; выдвинул улучшенную версию; исходная версия; вызвала сенсацию; разрешил многие из крупных противоречий; вряд ли отличается от; по явной причине; крошечное семя; суть гипотезы; высокотемпературные фазовые превращения; экспоненциально расширяющаяся область
• Match each word in A with its synonym in B.
A. I. to burst; 2, to blow up; 3. to abandon; 4. to point out; 5. to reconcile;
6. to resolve; 7. to stir; 8. essence; 9. scarcely; 10. discrepancy
B. a) hardly; b) inconsistence (difference); c) to make agree; d) to inflate;
c) to decide firmly; 1) to show direction; g) to give up wholly and finally;
h) the very being or power of a thing; i) to break into pieces; j) to be
emotionally moved
• Answer the following questions.
!. What problem is the article concerned with?
2. What is one of the most promising hypotheses concerning the origin of the Universe, according to the author?