1. What actually goes on — что, фактически, происходит

NAMED AFTER MENDELEYEV (to be read after Lesson 10)

On March 18,1869 Professor N. A. Menshutkin, Learned Secretary of the Russian Chemical Society, speaking at a session of the Society in the absence of Dmitry Men­deleyev, who was away on a business trip,¹ told the meet­ing about Mendeleyev's classification of chemical ele­ments on the basis of their atomic weights. Thus Mende-leyev's discovery of the Periodic Law was first made public.⁸

Mendeleyev's Periodic System ended with uranium, which occupied the 92nd square. Today the squares up to No. 105 are filled up, the latest element in the System is nielsbohrium (No. 105).

Element No. 101 was first obtained in 1955 by a team of American researchers with Glenn T. Seaborg at the head.

it was named mendelevium in honour of the great Rus­sian scientist. Scientists admitted that for almost a cen­tury the Mendeleyev System was a key for the discovery of elements.

In 1893 D. I. Mendeleyev set up the Board of Weights and Measures ³ in St. Petersburg. This central state metro-logical institution⁴ was established in Russia earlier than in most countries (England, USA, Japan and others). The Board of Weights and Measures did great .services ⁶ to the country, as it created new standards of length and mass and later carried out tremendous work to introduce the metric system into practice. Dmitry Ivanovi-ch was the first head of the Central Board of Weights and Meas­ures.

In 1928 Metrology Museum was opened attached the Board of Weights and Measures. It was nam., after D. I. Mendeleyev. A little later, in 1934, on the basis of the Board of Weights and Measures All-Union Research Institute of Metrology was set up in Leningrad.

Taking into account the discoveries of the outstanding scientist and his fundamental works of which we may be proud the Institute was given the name of D. I. Mende­leyev.

The Institute has 27 laboratories, an experimental plant and a design bureau. The laboratories are equipped with the most accurate and unique measuring instru­ments which enable the researchers to carry on all kinds of investigations. Here the state standards of the units of "length, mass, time, etc. are kept.

The main trends of the Institute activities are:

.— the development, standardization and introduction of a system of physical units in the national econ­omy;

• the development of measurement theory, the pro­cessing of measurement results, the determination of physical constants with the maximum accuracy possible;

• the development and introduction of high-preci­sion methods and measuring means to meet the needs ⁷ of the national economy and many others.

D. I. Mendeleyev contributed much to the creation of the Russian Chemical Society in 1868 (now it is the All-Union Chemical Society), Much of his scientific and educa­tional work was associated with the society.

Notes

1. a business Mp — кетшадироека

2. was first made- public — было впервые заявлено публично

3. Boa* d of Weights and Measure* — Палата мер и весов

4. mefrolegi'cal institution —- метрологическое учреждение (me-frnlogy — учение о мерах)

5. did great services — сослужило большую службу/

6. attached to — зд. при

7. to meet the needs — удовлетворять потребности