Rolltronics, tasks

Part1

Task1. Find words which mean the following

1.instead of;

2. effect,influence;

3.to intend;

4.clearly different;

5.to include;

6.the antonym to flexible;

7.to become sth different.

Task2. Which paragraph 1. mentions the advantages of the new process;

2.explains possible applications of the new method;

3. mentions the problems the new method faces;

4. speaks about the thing the company is not going to do;

Task3. Answer the following questions.

1.What is Rolltronics’ aim?

2. Where does the roll-to-roll technique work?

3. What makes this approach so good?

4. Rolltronics deals with all the necessary components, doesn’t it?

5.What are the necessary computer components?

6. What is the main obstacle in the way of creating flexible circuits?

7.How was the problem solved?

Part2. (from <one way around it > up to the end )

Task1. Find words which mean the following

1.to invent;

2. as a result;

3. to deal with smth in a particular way;

4. in answer, as a reaction; 5. a variety of different things or activities;

6.to make wider

Task2. Answer the following questions.

1.How is the company trying to develop flexible circuitry ?

2.Is there any use for amorphous silicon?

3.What fresults does the company hope to achieved with faster transistors?

4. What memory device did Rolltronics develop?

5. What makes the new memory tick?

6. What changes is Rolltronics planning to make in it?

7. How do you understand the phrase ‘ It is all vaporware’ ?

Light without logic

Optical devices are finally going inside computers, but only in parts

May 13^th 2010 | from the ‘Economist’ print edition

• “GOD is light”, says the Bible. Light is also a source of inspiration in computing. Ever since the first optical transistors were developed in the late 1980s, researchers have dreamed of building a light-powered computer, radiating with knowledge. Yet this breakthrough has proved elusive. Now, however, new developments mean that optical technologies are starting to appear inside computers. The all-optical computer remains a dream, but selected components that can work with light will make their way into computers ever more deeply.

It is easy to see the attraction of replacing electrons, which travel along copper wires and make today’s computers tick, with photons. These particles of light are the fastest things in the universe, so an optical computer could theoretically process information at speeds that make even a supercomputer look glacial. So far, however, optical technology has been confined mostly to telecoms networks and some of the cabling in data centres. Photons are ideal for piping information over long distances. They whizz through optical fibres, rarely getting lost or interfering with one another (which is why different coloured signals can be sent down a single fibre, to multiply its capacity).

But at each end of the fibre, optical signals must be converted to and from the electrical signals that computers use to process information. The components that do such conversion are expensive. This does not matter in a network, where costs can be spread among many users. But this expense has kept optical data-links from being used inside personal computers and servers. That is now changing because computer systems are outrunning their electrical wiring. Peripheral devices like printers, hard drives and screens are getting more demanding; networks are running faster and, most importantly, the power of processors continues to increase exponentially. The so-called “interconnects” between all these components are struggling to keep up. It is in this area where a number of new optical alternatives are emerging from some of the biggest firms in the business.