4 семестр / Glossary Spring term Student's version

Transistor, n

trænˈzɪs.tər

a small electrical device

The invention of the transistor by

транзистор

containing a semiconductor,

John Bardeen, Walter

used in televisions, radios, etc.

Brattain, and William Shockley in

to control or increase an

1948 totally revolutionized the world

electric current

of electronics.

Diode, n

ˈdaɪ.əʊd

a device that controls an

Finally, we apply our knowledge of

диод

electric current so that it can

atomic structure to describe the

only flow in one direction

mechanisms involved in the

production of x-rays, the operation of

a laser, and the behavior of solid-state

devices such as diodes and

transistors

UNIT 29

Uranium, n

jʊəˈreɪ.ni.əm

a chemical element that is a

In 1896, the year that marks the birth

уран

heavy, radioactive metal, used

of nuclear physics, Henri Bec-

in the production of nuclear

querel discovered radioactivity in

power and in some types of

uranium compounds.

nuclear weapon

Bombard, v

bɒmˈbɑːd

to subject to the impact of

The first observations of nuclear

бомбардировать,

rapidly moving particles (such

reactions were made by Rutherford

облучать частицами

as electrons)

and coworkers in 1919, in which

naturally occurring α particles

bombarded nitrogen nuclei to produce

oxygen.

Fission, n

ˈfɪʃ.ən

the process of dividing the

Nuclear fission occurs when a heavy

деление

nucleus of an atom, resulting

nucleus, such as U-235, splits, or

in the release of a large

fissions, into two smaller nuclei.

amount of energy

Decay, n

dɪˈkeɪ

the process by which a

The law of conservation of

распад

radioactive substance changes

strangeness states that whenever a

to a different form, producing

nuclear reaction or decay occurs, the

radiation

sum of the strangeness numbers

before the process must equal the sum

of the strangeness numbers after the

process.

Neutrino, n

njuːˈtriː.nəʊ

a very small piece of matter

In beta decay, an electron

нейтрино

that has no electrical charge

and an anti-neutrino are emitted or a

and exists for a very short

positron and a neutrino are emitted.

time, produced during some

types of nuclear reactions

Isotope, n

ˈaɪ.sə.təʊp

a form of an atom that has a

The nuclei of all atoms of a particular

изотоп

different atomic weight from

element must contain the same

other forms of the same atom

number of protons, but they may

but the same chemical

contain different numbers of

structure

neutrons. Nuclei that are related in

this way are called isotopes.

Half-life, n

ˈhɑːf.laɪf

the length of time needed for

Another parameter that is useful for

период полураспада

the radioactivity of a

characterizing radioactive decay is the

radioactive substance to be

half-life.

reduced by half

UNIT 30

Quark, n

kwɑːk

one of the most basic forms of

Protons and neutrons, for example,

кварк

matter that make up the

are not truly elementary but are

heavier elementary particles

systems of tightly bound quarks.

Lepton, n

ˈlep.tɒn

any very small piece of matter

All particles other than photons can

лептон

that is influenced by the weak

be classified into two broad

force. electrons, muons, and

categories, hadrons and leptons,

neutrinos are all leptons

according to their interactions.

Nuclear reactor, n

ˌnjuː.klɪə riˈæk.tər

a large machine that uses

A nuclear reactor is a system

ядерный реактор

nuclear fuel to produce power

designed to maintain what is called a

self-sustained chain reaction.

Fusion, n

ˈfjuː.ʒən

an occasion when two or more

When two light nuclei combine to

синтез

things join or are combined

form a heavier nucleus, the process is

called nuclear fusion.

Antiparticles, n

ˈæn.tiˌpɑː.tɪ.kəl

a particle that makes up

Practically every known elementary

античастица

antimatter, containing the

particle has a distinct antiparticle.

same amount of matter but

having the opposite electrical

charge that a regular particle

has

Tokamak, n

ˈtəʊ.kə.mæk

a toroidal device for producing

One device, called a tokamak, has a

токамак

controlled nuclear fusion that

doughnut-shaped geometry

involves the confining and

(a toroid). This device, first

heating of a gaseous plasma by

developed in the former Soviet

means of an electric current

Union, uses a combination of two

and magnetic field

magnetic fields to confine the plasma

inside the doughnut.

Collider, n

kəˈlaɪ.dər

a machine for forcing particles

Scientists are convinced that because

коллайдер

(= extremely small pieces of

of the limited energy available in

matter) to hit each other at

conventional accelerators using fixed

high speed so scientists can

targets, it is necessary to build collid-

study what is produced

ing-beam accelerators called

colliders.