Work in pairs and describe the experiment.

Student A: describe the first part of the experiment

Student B: continue the description

 

1. Look at these symbols and match them to the words below.                                           3

 

mercury    t i tanium       tin   tungsten    niobium     lead   gallium      germanium

 

Find the spellings for these words.

|ˈmɜːrkjəri|  |tɪn| |ˈtʌŋstən|  |naɪˈoʊbiəm| |lеd| |ˈɡæliəm| |dʒəːˈmeɪnɪəm| |tɪˈteɪniəm|

 

Match the words (1-9) to the correct meanings (a—i). Give Russian equivalents to all these words.

 

1 assume v             a) to have none or not enough of sth                                                                                          

2 apart from prep b) metal thread used for carrying electric current                                                                                        

3 below adv           c) to lose heat or cause sth to lose heat                                                                                                   

4 benefit n                 d) no longer possess                                                                                                      

5 discover v           e) except for                                                                                                       

6 cool v                      f) an advantage that sth gives you; a helpful and useful effect that sth has                                                                                                       

7 lack v                 g) in a lower position (than), under 2 less in number or value                                                                                                                      

8 lose v                   h) to find sth for the first time, or sth that had not been known before                                                                                                            

9 wire n                  i) to think or accept that sth is true but without having proof of it

 

Complete the table. Explain the meanings of these derivatives.

WORD FAMILY discover                            WORD FAMILY lose

Nouns   _______ Verbs ________          Nouns ______     Verbs          ______

            _______                                                       ______      Adjectives ______

WORD FAMILY cool                                    WORD FAMILY wire

Nouns _____    Verbs    _____           Nouns    ______      Verbs     ______

           _____        Adjectives _____                          ______      Adjectives   ______

           _____   Adverbs   _____                         ______                   

Find synonyms and antonyms

Apart from – except for, slightly- enormously, huge – tiny, expensive-cheap, below – under,

recent –latest, to vary- to change, current- modern, material-substance, to define- to determine,

aim- purpose, powerless- powerful, cooling-heating, within – outside, to apply –to use,

liquid-solid, moreover-besides,

 

   5 Read the article. Which of the facts are not mentioned?

- most superconductors are alloys or compounds          - liquid nitrogen is cheaper than liquid

- criteria by which superconductors are classified           helium to produce

- the lowest theoretically possible temperature is 0K    - alloys of niobium and titanium are

                                                                                          suitable for applications to 10 tesla

    

  Superconductive materials   

 

Not all materials show superconductivity. Apart from mercury, the original super conductor, you can find the effect in about 25 other elements (mostly metals such as lead, tin, tungsten, gallium, or semimetals such as germanium) though it's also been discovered in thousands of compounds and alloys (niobium-titanium, germanium-niobium). 1______________________

___________________________________________________________________________. The trouble with most of these materials is that they superconduct only within a few degrees of absolute zero (the lowest theoretically possible temperature: −273.15°C, −459.67°F, or 0K). That means whatever benefit you gain from their lack of resistance, you probably lose from having to cool them down in the first place. The idea of a power plant that gets electricity to your home down superconducting wires sounds brilliant: it would save huge amounts of wasted energy.

2_________________________________________________________________________ This is largely why superconductors have yet to make a really big impact on the world, despite being discovered almost a century ago.