Тексты для изучающего чтения, перевода и повторения грамматического материала Text 1 (a). History of Electronics

Electronics is one of the main sciences and it surrounds us everywhere.

Electronics was born in the 19^th century and first established itself in wireless telegraphy. For a long time afterwards it was used only for the purpose of communication.

More intensive development of radiolocation began in the earliest forties. All these years the vacuum tube was the heart of electronics.

The first semiconductor device – a transistor – was invented in 1948. It meant another important advance in the development of electronics, because semiconductors possessed much more valuable advantages over electron vacuum tubes. Thus, electronics became the study of electron motion in vacuum, solid bodies and gasses.

This opened up new fields of application. Complex electronic systems control the work of the largest plants and power stations. Electronic computers capable of performing the most complex mathematical calculations are now widely used in scientific research. The latest models of electronic machines perform such operations as calculating the most accurate designs of jet-planes and the longest trajectories of artificial Earth satellites, telling the fishermen where the catch is the biggest, speed regulation, automatic control, etc.

Today electronics has started a new era. Different electronic devices and instruments have taken the place of man. Some industries such as the manufacture of goods are controlled by electronic robots. Planes and rockets are also electronically controlled. Electronic computers are becoming very good at routine clerical work in offices and factories. Progress in space research would be impossible without computers making thousands of operations per second.

Text 1 (b). Electronics as a Science

Electronics as a science studies the properties of electrons, the laws of their motion, the laws of transformation of various kinds of energy.

Electronics is a science, which deals with devices and instruments that are operated by the control of the movement of electric charges in a

vacuum, in gasses, or in semiconductors; or with the processing of information or the control of energy by such devices. This definition covers

the whole complex family of vacuum and gaseous electron tubes and their application. It also includes semiconductor and transistor technologies to process information or to convert energy. Without electronics we would not have cybernetics, cosmonautics and nuclear physics. It is no mistake to compare the birth of electronics to such great achievements of mankind as the discovery of fire, and penetration into the secrets of the atom. Shortly speaking, electronics is not so much a new subject; it is rather a new way of looking at electricity.

Text 1 (c). Application of Electronics

Large-scale application of electronics made it possible to revolutionize our life. At present it is difficult to enumerate all branches of science and technology, which are based on electronic techniques.

Electronics surrounds us everywhere. It seems to influence every aspect of human activity. Electronics is at the heart of TV and radio reception, broadcasting, radio and sound location, electronic computation and so on. Huge radio telescopes, equipped with sensitive instruments and powerful amplifiers enable men to penetrate onto the remotest corners of space, discover new and puzzling phenomena of nature. Electronic computers calculate the trajectories of spaceships, launch and control the rockets. It is the intensive development of radiolocation that gave start to radio electronics. For a long time electronics was used only for communication and for ensuring amplification and transformation of various signals in applied sciences. Soon men witnessed another stage in the development of electronics. Integrated circuits came into being (появились). Their application allowed engineers to reduce the dimensions of electronic devices and increase their reliability.