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Text J. Fuel Cells Start to Look Real
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Fuel-cell technology
Unlike electrochemical batteries, which use chemical reactions to store and discharge electricity, fuel cells generate electricity from hydrogen fuel. Haul around enough fuel, and the fuel cell will power an electric vehicle as far as the motorist wants to drive.
The fuel cell was first demonstrated in principle by British scientist Sir William Robert Grove in 1839. Grove’s invention was based on the idea that it should be possible to reverse the already well-known electrolysis process to produce electricity. In electrolysis, an electric current is introduced into a conducting liquid known as an electrolyte, where it flows between two electrodes causing the splitting of water or other chemical compounds into their ionic (charged) components, which then react chemically.
Many engineers believe that SOFCs (solid oxide fuel cells), together with an onboard gasoline fuel processor or reformer, would be highly suited as auxiliary power units (APUs) for cars and trucks in the relatively near term. Engineers have long desired to rid automobiles of the alternator and its notoriously low efficiency. And as vehicles are crammed with more and more electronic equipment and move toward higher electrical loads, a larger burden will be placed on the alternator. An auxiliary power unit based on SOFC technology could provide an ideal alternative. A research alliance including BMW, Renault, and Delphi Automotive Systems is pursuing this fuel-cell application.
DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and their fuel-cell-stack development partner, Ballard Power Systems – the two automakers together own a third of Ballard and collaborate in a precompetitive development venture called XCELLSiS – have spent nearly a billion dollars on fuel-cell technology. Their current effort to mass produce fuel-cell cars and light-duty trucks over the next four years will cost billions more.
General Motors is making similar hefty investments in automotive fuel cells, while Japan’s Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi reportedly laid out close to a billion dollars on the new technology during the past decade. With an estimated $6-8 billion having already been sunk into the fuel-cell industry, including both stationary and portable power types as well as transportation versions (according to analysts at Citibank), automakers are working to take fuel cells off the lab bench and move them onto the showroom floor.
Hybrid-electric vehicles
Another reason fuel-cell technology is favored is because it may be able to liberate electric cars from the electrochemical battery. While batteries are the cleanest automotive energy source, the technology is still highly problematic. And however responsive battery-powered electric cars are, their limited range and slow charging constrains them to a niche market segment, as GM’s EV-1, Honda’s EV-Plus, and other abortive electric car models have shown. Despite decades of research and investment, electrochemical batteries simply haven»t attained the power densities needed for effective automotive propulsion power.
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One way to extend the range of the electric car is to carry fuel and a small 1С engine onboard to generate electricity to power the electric drive-train. "Hybrids convert the problem of energy storage in a battery to one concerning the storage of fuel," explained Scott Staley, Chief Engineer for Fuel-cell Systems Engineering at Think Technologies, Ford’s electric-car enterprise. This hybrid-electric approach is employed in the recently introduced Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, which combine modest-size, high-efficiency combustion engines with batteries that supplement engine power during acceleration and hill-climbing, and recover energy from the brakes during stopping. Besides continuing to emit some pollutants, the combined electric and mechanical drives tend to make them complex and costly. Thus, automakers must subsidize current hybrid car models heavily to make them affordable.
Nevertheless, because hybrid vehicles use proven technology that has yet to be fully optimized and refined, many experts believe they will provide strong competition to fuel-cell-powered vehicles well into the future. A recent study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers concluded that hybrid-electric vehicles will be more common than fuel-cell-powered cars two decades from now. Indeed, the influential California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently reorganized its credit structure to emphasize hybrid-electrics as well as fuel-cell vehicles, while de-emphasizing battery-powered electric cars and trucks.
Whether fuel-cell-powered or any next-generation vehicles attain commercial success depends on three factors: technical feasibility (it must work), an appropriate fueling infrastructure (it must keep working), and customer acceptance (someone must buy it). Whereas the majority of today’s efforts center on developing technical feasibility, in reality, all three factors are interrelated and interdependent. While the latter two issues remain unclear, it is evident that the three key elements must be developed in parallel.
Bibliography
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2. Great Moscow Guide. – М.: Exim, 1997.
3. Headway Advanced. – Oxford University Press, 2000.
4. Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Тechnical University) MPEI Publisher –
М.: МЭИ, 2001.
5. New Headway Intermediate Сourse. – Oxford University Press, 2000.
6. New Headway. Intermediate. – Oxford University Press, 2000.
7. Агабекян И. П. Английский для технических вузов. – Ростов-на-Дону: Феникс, 2001.
8. Андрианова Л. Н., Багрова Н. Ю., Ершова Э. В. Курс английского языка.
– М.: Высшая школа, 2000.
9. Бурмистрова Н. С. и др. Устные темы. – М.: Издательство МЭИ, 1997.
10. Власова Е. Л.. Focus on the USA. – С. Пб.: Наука, 1991.
11. Выборова Г. Е и др. Easy English. – М.: Аст-пресс, 1998.
12. Губарева Т. Ю. Практикум по грамматике английского языка. – М.: Лист, 1998.
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13. Ермоленко Т.А. Английский язык. Проблемы окружающей среды. Учебное пособие для студентов и аспирантов неязыковых вузов. – М.: Высшая школа, 2005.
14. Кошманова И. И., Сидорова Н. А. Topics for discussion. – С-Пб.: Союз, 1999г.
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22. Материалы Internet
СОДЕРЖАНИЕ
UNIT 1. MY INSTITUTE.. 4
Text A. Our Institute. 4
Part I. 4
Part II. 5
Text B. Future Profession. 6
Part I. Future profession. 6
Part II. At the Laboratory. 7
Text C. Structure of the University. 9
Text D. The Directions and Specialities Which Can Be Chosen by the MPEI Students. 11
Bachelor Courses Directions: 11
Engineer and Master Courses Specialitles: 11
Text E. Dialogue. 14
Dialogue 1. At the Institute. 14
Dialogue 2. The Opportunities for an Institute Graduate. 15
Dialogue 3. Research Work Problems. 16
Dialogue 4. Have You Chosen the Subject of Your Graduation Thesis?. 17
Dialogue 5. Mike Is Working in thе Robot Laboratory. 17
Dialogue 6. We Are Very Optimistic. 18
Dialogue 7. You Shouldn’t Be Discouraged by a First Failure. 18
Dialogue 8. Now We Have a Convincing Proof of Our Theory. 18
Dialogue 9. We Can’t Do Without Electronic Computers in Modern Research. 19
Dialogue 10. Necessary to Combine Work and Leisure. 19
Dialogue 11. Advertisements for jobs. 20
Dialogue 12. Student’s problems. 20
Dialogue 13. Students’ talk. 21
Dialogue 14. “Have to study”. 22
Text F. Focused Practice. 23
Text G. Post-graduate Research Work and Degrees in Britain. 24
UNIT 2. MOSCOW... 25
Text A. Russia’s Ancient Capital 25
Text B. The Arbat 26
Text C. Moscow – the Capital of Our Country. 27
Text D. The Face and Spirit of Moscow.. 28
Text E. Moscow: a Journey in Time. 29
UNIT 3. RUSSIA.. 32
Text A. Russia: Geography 2007. 32
Text B. Population. 33
Text C. Тhе Russian Federation. 34
Text D. The System of Government of the Russian Federation. 36
Text E. Russia: the 20th– 21st centuries. 37
Text F. Global Thinking in the 21st Century. 38
Text G. Holidays. 39
Text H. The Romanovs House. 40
UNIT 4. THE USA.. 43
Text A. The USA.. 43
Text B. Holidays. 46
Text С. Presidential Elections in the USA.. 47
UNIT 5. GREAT BRITAIN.. 48
Text A. The United Kingdom.. 48
Text B. London Overview.. 50
Text C. Dialogues. 52
Dialogue 1. Buckingham Palace. 52
Dialogue 2. Westminster Abbey. 52
Dialogue 3. Downing Street 52
Text D. Golden Jubilee: 50 Years on the Throne. 53
Text E. What’s It Like Being Queen?. 55
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Text F. Madame Tussaud’s. 56
UNIT 6. OUTSTANDING PERSONALITY.. 57
Text A. Sergei Korolev, the Famous Inventor and Constructor of Russian Rocketry. 57
1. Sergei Korolev(1907 – 2007): Father of the Soviet Union’s success in Space. 57
2. Designer of Russia's first missiles. 58
3. From Sputnik to Vostok. 59
4. Towards the Moon. 59
5. A Long-lasting Legacy. 60
Text B. Yuri Gagarin, the First Cosmonaut in the World. 61
Text C. Isaac Newton. 63
Text D. Diana, Princess of Wales. 64
Text E. Famous Writer 67
UNIT 7. SPARE TIME ACTIVITY.. 69
Text A. Summer Holiday in England. 69
Text B. Hobby. 70
UNIT 8. MY WORKING DAY.. 72
Text A. My Working Day. 72
UNIT 9. THE PLACE I LIVE IN.. 74
Text A. My Native Town. 74
UNIT 10. SUPPLEMENTARY READING.. 76
Part I. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE.. 76
Text A. Environmental Science: Two World Views. 76
Text B. Ecosystems: What They Are. 77
Text C. Ecosystems: Mechanisms of Population Balance. 80
Text D. Ecosystems: How They Work. 82
Part II. Facts from the History of Science and Engineering. 85
Text A. Period I (1900-1945) 85
Text B. Period II (1946-1970) 88
Text C. Period III (from 1970 to the end of the 20th century) 90
Text D. Lasers. 91
Text E. Holography. 92
Text F. An Oblique View of Climate. 93
Text G. New Test Spots Cancer Cells in Blood. 94
Text H. Silicon Valley. 95
Text I. Keynesian Principles of Macroeconomic Policy. 97
Text J. Fuel Cells Start to Look Real 100
Fuel-cell technology. 100
Hybrid-electric vehicles. 101
Bibliography. 102
[1] an applicant: one who asks for or tries to get smth (especially а position)
[2] to brush up: to study or practice smth in order to get back skill that has been lost
[3] sheep … goats: those who are good (at their work) and those who are bad
[4] parrot- fashion: like а parrot; as uncritical repeaters of the words of others, in the same way as а parrot
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