1. An electron leaving the surface, the metal becomes positively charged.
2. A magnet is broken into two parts, each piece becoming a magnet with its own pair of poles.
3. All the liberated electrons having reached the anode, saturation occurs.
4. The temperature ofthe conductor being raised, the motion of electrons increases too.
5. The nucleus of an ordinary hydrogen atom consists of one proton, with one electron moving around it.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
question п. - вопрос, проблема
v. - сомневаться, ставить под вопрос in question — исследуемый, рассматриваемый, о котором идет речь
(syn. involved, concerned, in issue, in point) open to question - сомнительный, спорный beyond question — вне сомнения out of the question — не может быть и речи
• Sentences to be translated.
1. The substance in question contains traces of this element.
2. On logical grounds one might question this procedure.
144
3. The element in question can exist in two or more oxidation states.
4. The question arises of how closely these data presented the results obtained in practice.
5. Using this technique in such a case is out of the question.
READING (19A)
• Read the passage closely and follow the historical development of elementary particle physics. Interpret the title of the passage.
The Smallest of Objects Can Be Perceived Only with the Largest of Instruments
The large investment now being made in instruments for high-energy-physics research can be justified only because the preccdinggenerations of accelerators • have already proved their worth. Fifty years ago only two kinds of apparently indivisible particles were recognized: the electron and the proton. The remaining constituent of the atom, the neutron, was discovered in 1932. In subsequent years, through experiments with cosmic rays and with early accelerators, several additional particles were identified. One ofthe first was the positron, the antiparticle ofthe electron. Others were the neutrino, a particle without mass or electric charge, and the muon and the pion, which have masses intermediate between those ofthe electron and the proton.
In the 1950's, when more powerful accelerators began operating, there was an unexpected and in some respects alarming proliferation in the number of known particles. Within a few years the list extended to more than 100, most of them classified as hadrons, or nuclear particles. Among the hadrons were several with the new property of mattercalled strangeness. Later, it was necessary to add another class of hadrons, bearing another whimsically (прихотливо) named property, charm. The pace of discovery continued to increase. Particles that apparently signal the existence ofTwo more classes have been observed. These newest classes, which have only begun to be catalogued, are distinguished by properties called truth and beauty or top and bottom.
For a time it seemed that all of these particles might have to be accorded equal status as elementary objects. That possibility was deeply troubling, as it was difficult to reconcile with the conviction that the laws of nature should be reasonably simple. It was subsequently discovered, however, that all the hadrons could be arranged in logical patterns, some of which have a lovely snowflake form. Moreover, the existence of such patterns could be understood if it was assumed that the hadrons are not elementary but arc made up ofthe more fundamental entities, that have been given the name quarks.
In the view that now prevails among physicists there arc just two kinds of elementary particles: leptons and quarks. Among the leptonsthe most familiar particle is the electron. Also included in that class are the muon and two kinds of neutrino, one associated with the electron and one with muon. A few years ago a new lepton was discovered and given the designation tau. Presumably the tau also has an associated neutrino, so that there should be six leptons altogether.
There also appear to be six kinds of quarks, labeled up, down, strange, charmed, top and bottom. (As yet there is no experimental evidence forthe top quark, but because all the other quarks and leptons come in pairs it is assumed that the bottom quark also has a partner.) No one has observed a quark in isolation, but there are substantial reasons for believing in their existence. Every known hadron (and there-arc now a few hundred) can be explained as a combination of quarks or of quarks and antiquarks, formed by explicit rules.
• Look through the passage and find English equivalents for the following Russian phrases.
доказали свою ценность; в последующие годы; в некоторых отношениях; темп открытий; различаются по существу; образованных по явным правилам
• Answer the following questions:
1. What is the main idea ofthe passage?
2. Why can we justify the large investments in accelerator technique development?
3. What can we say of the development pace in the field of elementary physics?