Text b. The electro-ionizing laser.

The 20th century was often called the age of the atom, the age of polymers, or the space age. It would be equally correct to call it the age of the laser.

It is impossible to list all the jobs the laser can do. It has become a part of our life being used in various industries, medicine, biology, etc. It should be mentioned that all the methods we know of processing ma­terials with the laser were suggested not long ago. Physicists knew of the tremendous capabilities of the laser beam, but they could not be real­ized until the laser of adequate capacity was developed. To make a laser device really useful the radiation intensity had to be increased (since ca­pacity determines productivity) and high beam efficiency created.

Creating a highly effective laser device is still one of the main prob­lems of quantum electronics. In a gas laser device all one has to do in order to increase the capacity is to increase the volume and the pressure of gas. This sounds simple, but the doing of it is not.

The best results were achieved with electro-ionizing laser devices (EILs) operating on carbon dioxide. They have found a wide field of ap­plication. EILs of some 10-kilowatt capacity can weld and cut metal; pulse EILs with radiation energy of 10 kilojoules and a pulse duration of 1/1,000,000,000th of a second can heat plasma to nearly thermonuclear temperatures.

Vocabulary:

capabilities —возможности

correct — правильный

carbon dioxide — двуокись углерода

list — перечислять

nearly — почти

process — обрабатывать

pulse duration — продолжительность импульса

sound — звучать

tremendous — огромный

weld — сваривать

Exercise 1. Complete the sentences according to the text.

1. The list of jobs the laser can do is...

1. limited;

2. very short;

3. so long that it is impossible to name all of them.

2. The laser productivity is determined by...

1. radiation intensity;

2. the volume of gas in a laser tube;

3. the size.

3. One of the main problems of quantum electronics is...

1. creating a very small laser device;

2. creating a laser device which would operate in various conditions;

3. creating a highly effective laser device.

Exercise 2. Fill in the gaps with the words from the list below:

1. One cannot ... all the jobs which the laser can do.

2. Scientists say that the ... of the laser are tremendous.

3. The laser is widely used for ... and ... metals.

4. The gas lasers operating on … ... has found a wide field of applica­tion.

cutting; capabilities; welding; carbon dioxide; list

Text c. An encyclopedia on a tiny crystal.

Scientists have discovered that a laser beam can be effectively used to record alphanumeric data and sound on crystals. According Russian researchers a method for recording information on crystals by means of a laser has already been developed, but advanced technologies are needed to make it commercially applicable.

At present researchers are looking for the most suitable chemical compounds to be used as data storages and trying to determine optimum recording conditions. Theoretically, the entire "Great Soviet Encyclopedia" can be recorded on a single tiny crystal.

As far back as 1845, Michael Faradey discovered that a light beam reverses its polarization as it passes through a magnetized crystal Scientists of our day have used this phenomenon to identify crystalline materials capable of storing information. Lasers have been successfully employed to record information on and read it off.

No ideal data storage crystal has yet been found, but it is obvious now that the future of computer engineering lies in lasers and optoelectronics. As paper gave way to magnetic tape, so the latter is to be replaced by tiny crystals.

Exercise 1.Read the text and about practical application of lasers.