Dmitri Mendeleyev

Text 15 Outstanding scientists of the world

The world knows the names of many great scientists: mathematicians, physicists, chemists, biologists, linguists, historians etc. A lot of discoveries have been made by them in different fields of science and engineering. The role of science when it serves the interests of man and so­ciety is very important. It's a great productive force which helps to develop the economy and solve social prob­lems increasing in this way the well-being of people.

Among the names of great scientists who contributed much to different fields of science and engineering one should mention Isaac Newton, the founder of modern mathematics, physics, spectroscopy, the discoverer of the law of motion and the universal law of gravitation; Dmitri Mendeleyev, the discoverer of the Periodic System of Ele­ments; Mikhail Lomonosov, the great Russian scientist; Alfred Nobel, the great Swedish inventor and industrial­ist; Igor Kurchatov, Pierre and Marie Curie, the physi­cists; Yuri Gagarin, the cosmonaut; I. Prigozhin, the chemist; A. Kuprevich, Nobel laureate, biologist and others.

Vocabulary

science, n наука

carry out, v проводитьисследования

scientific, a научный

work out, v разрабатывать

scientist, n ученый

launch, v запускать

engineering, n техника

inventor, n изобретатель

discovery, n открытие

spaceship, n космический корабль

merit, n заслуга

commemoration, n- ознаменование

flight, n полет

pilot, v пилотировать

space, n космическое пространство

go up, v взлетать

due to, adv благодаря

research, n исследование, изучение

conquer, v покорять

genius, n гений

exploration, n исследование, освоение

orbit, n орбита

star, n звезда

artificial, a искусственный

come true сбываться

satellite, n спутник

Exercises:

I. Answer the questions.

1. Do you know any outstanding scientists of the world?

2. Which of them made great discoveries?

3. Who invented the electric candle?

4. Who discovered the Periodic Law of elements?

5. Who is the man standing behind the rocket industry?

6. Who is the first Russian (American, Kazakh) cosmonaut?

7. What famous inventors do you know?

8. What distinguished writers lived in the 20th century?

9. Are there any world famous composers of the 20th century?

10. Are there any outstanding politicians and public figures in our country?

11. What people are considered to be outstanding?

12. What qualities must they possess?

13. Is it enough to be talented to be called outstanding?

I. Make up sentences using italicized words and word combinations.

Lomonosov made a number of discoveries in natural sciences.

He was the first to compile a Russian grammar.

The most famous inventors were Polzunov and Kulibin.

Tsiolkovsky worked out the theory of cosmic flights.

Newton carried out many experiments with prism.

III. Read and say what are these scientists famous for.

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton, one of the greatest men in the history of science, was born in a little village in England in 1642. When Isaac was nineteen he became a student of Cam­bridge University. He began to study physics, astronomy and mathematics.

Newton's contribution to these sciences is so great that he may be considered the founder of modern mathematics, physics and spectroscopy. Newton discovered the law of motion and the universal law of gravitation. He studied the nature of light and colour and came to the conclusion that white light is composed of many different colours known to us as the spectrum. Such a phenomenon was quite unknown before Newton's work.

So long as humanity lives, Isaac Newton, the greatest of men of science, will never be forgotten.

Dmitri Mendeleyev

In 1869 the great Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleyev announced the discovery of the Periodic Law of elements. So science received the key to the secrets of matter. All the greatest discoveries which have been made since then in the fields of chemistry and physics have been based on this law.

The elements in Mendeleyev's Periodic Table follow one another in the order of their atomic weights. They are ar­ranged in periods and groups.

Mendeleyev's discovery made it possible for the scien­tists to find 38 new chemical elements to fill the empty spaces left in the Periodic Table. At the same time they tried to find elements heavier than the last element in the Periodic Table. In 1955 the American scientist Dr. Glenn Seabord obtained element No 101 and named it Mendele-vium in honour of the creator of the Periodic Law.

V. Read and say how the names of the inventers are shown in the names of their inventions.

Charles Mackintosh (1766—1843), a Manchester textile chemist developed a rubber solution (резиновый раствор) for covering fabric which led to the production of water­proof raincoats, or mackintoshes.

Samuel Finley Morse (1791—1872), an American por­trait painter who invented the telephonic short sound (.) and long sound (-) alphabet known as Morse code.

Adolphe Sax (1814—1894), a Belgian musician who invented an instrument called the saxaphone after his name Sax. It was only one of the whole family of new in­struments, which were also called the saxophones.

Hans Wilhelm Geiger (1882—1945) a German physi­cist. In 1906—1909 he designed a counter for detecting radioactivity. This was the beginning of modern geigers or geiger counters.

Rudolf Diesel (1858—1913), a German engineer who invented the diesel engine in 1897 and so began a trans­port revolution in cars, lorries and trains.

VI. Read the text about the prominent people of nowdays and say how they combine the feachers of a scientist and a stateman.

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