Work in pairs. You are a reporter interviewing a famous physicist. Ask as many questions about smart materials as you can.
You are a lecturer of Cambridge University. Your next lecture is devoted to smart materials. Make up a plan to your lecture and talk about smart materials according to your plan. Be ready to answer the questions from the audience. Use information from the text "Smart materials".
You are going to prepare a report at the conference "Smart Materials and Nanotechnology in Engineering". Find information and prepare reports on one of the topics:
Classification systems for advanced and smart materials
Nanomaterials
General classes of materials. Properties of materials. Types of smart materials
Shape-memory alloys and polymer
Electro-Active Polymer
Piezo-materials
Multifunctional materials
Smart composites
Electro- and magneto-restrictive materials and fluids
Fibre-optic sensor
Wireless sensor
Chiral materials
Tunable dielectrics
Conducting polymers
Polymer gels
Super-elastic glasses
Thermo-electric materials
Electro-chromic,Photo-chromic and thermo-chromic materials
Dielectric elastomers
Fluorescent materials
Photo-luminescent, Electro-luminescent and phosphorescent materials
Work in teams. You need to investigate the properties of different categories of smart materials and decide which kinds of materials might offer the best prospects for a financial investment. Present your results to the rest of the class. Some information you can use from exercises 17−19.
LISTENING
You are going to listen to some information about Piezoelectric materials. Before you listen, check if you know the meaning of the words: discharge, impact, to accumulate, to squeeze, sonar, transducer.
Listen and decide whether the facts from the text are true or false.
Producing an electrical voltage in response to an applied force is one of the special properties of piezoelectric materials.
Piezoelectric sensors have proven to be versatile tools for the measurement of various processes.
Piezoelectricity is created when mechanical stress causes electronswithin a crystal to flow, producing an electric current.
Piezo comes from the Greek word pizein, which means to squeeze or press tightly.
The first practical applications for piezoelectric materials were developed before World War I.
Complete the sentences.
Piezoelectric materials are often used to measure fluid compositions, fluid density, ...............
The word piezoelectricity means ...........................
Piezoelectricity is the direct result of ...........................
Paul Langevin and his coworkers developed ..........................
Over the next few decades, ...................................... for those materials were explored and developed.
Explain. How does an ultrasonic submarine detector work?
WRITING
Choose any 5 words/phrases from exercise 10 and use them in your own sentences.
The last paragraph of the text "Smart materials" translate into Ukrainian in written form.
Write an abstract (4-6 sentences) in English to the article "Smart materials". You may use the suggested phrases: the article is devoted to …, this article concentrates on ..., it is shown ..., it is reported ..., it is studied ..., the results show ..., the author pays attention to ..., the author suggests ....
Read the article "Characteristics of smart materials and systems" (Further Reading, UNIT 9). Write a short summary of the text (50-60 words). Follow these steps:
Read the text.
Make notes of the main points of the text.
Start your piece of writing with one sentence that summarizes the idea of the whole text.
Write your summary, including all the main points. Use your own words.
Check your summary is clear, complete and that it makes sense.
Write an abstract to the conference "Smart Materials and Nanotechnology in Engineering". The topics are suggested in exercise 25. Limit abstract to 250 words.
P
ROBLEM-SOLVING
Try to solve the smart materials quiz (see Problem-Solving to Unit 4).