VOA标准英语2010年-Nobel in Physics Awarded for Super-Str

Russian-born Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, both from Manchester University in Britain, won the prize for their groundbreaking experiments with graphene, a microscopic¹ flake² of carbon.

The pair first extracted the super-thin flake from a piece of graphite, the same material found in ordinary pencils.

One millimeter of graphite actually consists of 3 million layers of graphene stacked on top of each other.

The bonds between the carbon atoms of graphene are the strongest in nature. It not only promises to revolutionize semiconductor³, sensor⁴, and display technology, but could also lead to breakthroughs in quantum physics research.

And, scientists believe it could one day be used to make transparent⁵ conducting materials, biomedical sensors⁶ and even extremely light, yet strong, aircraft of the future.

Professor Per Delsing, a member of the prize-awarding Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, describes the strength of the material.

"If we make a hammock out of graphene which is one square meter, even though it's just one atom thick you can actually place a cat weighing about four kilos in that net. The hammock would weigh only one milligram, the same as one of the cat's whiskers," noted⁷ Professor Delsing.

Professor Olga Botner, a physicist⁸ at Sweden's Uppsala University and a member of the Academy of Sciences, says prototype manufacturing is already under way in laboratories.

"Very recently, people have succeeded in making 70-centimeter-wide membranes¹⁰ of graphene, and this is what you need for applications like TV screens, light panels and solar cells," explained Professor Botner. "You need large, thin screens of this material, which is almost completely transparent. It lets through 98 percent of light, but not molecules¹², not even helium, which is the molecule¹¹ that normally passes through any membrane⁹."

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov will be invited to Stockholm in December to receive their Nobel medallions and diplomas from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf. The Nobel Prize for Chemistry will be announced Wednesday, followed by the Literature Prize on Thursday and the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics will be announced Monday, October 11

1 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

2 flake   

v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片

参考例句：

• Drain the salmon,discard the skin,crush the bones and flake the salmon with a fork.将鲑鱼沥干，去表皮，粉碎鱼骨并用餐叉子将鱼肉切成小薄片状。
• The paint's beginning to flake.油漆开始剥落了。

3 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。

4 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

5 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

6 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

9 membrane   

n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸

参考例句：

• A vibrating membrane in the ear helps to convey sounds to the brain.耳膜的振动帮助声音传送到大脑。
• A plastic membrane serves as selective diffusion barrier.一层塑料薄膜起着选择性渗透屏障的作用。

10 membranes   

n.（动物或植物体内的）薄膜( membrane的名词复数 )；隔膜；（可起防水、防风等作用的）膜状物

参考例句：

• The waste material is placed in cells with permeable membranes. 废液置于有渗透膜的槽中。 来自辞典例句
• The sarcoplasmic reticulum is a system of intracellular membranes. 肌浆网属于细胞内膜系统。 来自辞典例句

11 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

12 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。