Laser Technology

In the last decade there was outstanding progress in the development of laser technology and it's application in science, industry and commerce. Laser cutting, welding and machining are beginning to be big business. The market for laser systems represents around 2,5% of the world machine tool market.

Which country is the biggest producer and consumer of lasers? Why. Japan, naturally: Japan produces 46% of world's lasers in 1989. while figures for Europe and the USA are 32% and 22%. Japan is building 1200 to 2000 CO_: lasers per year of which some 95% are over 500W power and 80% of them are used for cutting operations.

Europe is the second largest user and the third largest producer. In 1990 Europe's market for lasers was SI 28 million, of which Germany consumed about S51 million, and Italy - $12 million. The Germany met 90% of its demands through domestic producers. Growth rate of the European market is estimated at 10 to 15% per year.

In future the main trend influencing the industry will be laser source prices. The prices are dropping. There appear lasers of modular construction. The complexity of laser machines is rising. Multi-axes systems are in more use now. Recently 7-axis CNC laser machining center has been introduced. In addition to X. У and Z axes, there are two rotary axes. A and C. and two more linear axes, U and V. to give a trepanning (прорезать большие отверстия) motion to the laser.

Vocabulary notes:

application — применение, заявление

consumer- потребитель

domestic— домашний, внутренний, отечественный

estimate - определять, оценивать, оценка

influencing - влияние

complexity - сложность

Rotary-вращательный, ротативный

2. Answer the following questions to the text:

1. What can you say about laser technology in the last decade?

2. What is the beginning of big business?.

3. Which country is the biggest producer and consumer of lasers?

4. What is the growth rate of laser using and producing in the European countries?

5. What is the future of laser technology?

Retell the text using new lexical words.

СРС 9

Read the text: History of electricity

Since the early days of the Industrial Age, industries and utility companies have replied on a variety of different sources of power. The Danes were pioneers in wind-generated electricity, building over 100 systems in 1890 to capture the North Sea winds. Coal was the fuel of choice for steam-powered engines, which were widely used in manufacturing and transportation. In fact, in the 1890s, more electric and steam powered cars were sold than those using gasoline. The world’s first geothermal electric plant was built in Italy in 1904. Surprisingly, photovoltaic (solar) cells were built as early as the 1880s, but it wasn’t untill Bell Labs developed silicon cells in 1954 that solar cells could be used efficiently. In 1958, the Vanguard satellite was equipped with solar photovoltaic cells. The world’s first power plant using the ocean’s tides built in France in 1966.

The global energy situation began to change significantly in the second half of the last century. For example, in the U.S., from 1950 to 1995, coal virtually disappeared as a heating source for homes. By 1995, natural gas was used for heat in over 50 percent of U.S. homes, and electricity was used in 27 percent of them. In about the same time frame, per capita electricity consumption rose by over 1000 percent. Widespread ownership of energy-hungry appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and clothes dryers contributed to this huge growth in energy consumption, while individual automobile ownership created a heavy demand for new petroleum supplies. By 1958, the U.S. had begun to consume more fuel of various kinds than it produced. Oil prices per barrel rose from about $5 in the 1960s to over $17 in October 1973, and further production limitations caused the price to rise to about $34 in 1981.

By the mid-1980s, geologists and other scientists began to make predictions about how long the world’s petroleum supplies would last. By estimating future rates of oil consumption, then taking into account the amount o proven petroleum reserves, they calculated that supplies could last between 50 and 100 years longer. Of course, their calculations can vary depending on fluctuations in consumption and discoveries of new oil fields. Nuclear power, which had once been the energy hope of the future, no longer seemed so attractive after accidents at Three Mile Island in the U.S. in 1979 and Chernobyl in the Soviet Union in 1986 changed the public’s perception of its safety. France has continued to operate nuclear plants for 75 percent of its electricity, with a good safety record, however, other countries have scaled back plans for building nuclear generating facilities, and the disposal of spent radioactive fuel remains a problem

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14