English Quiz 177

(English Quiz 177)

1. But ever since the 1950s, when scientists created the first synthetic diamond bits (they were so tiny that they were more like diamond grit), researchers have been slowly demystifying the diamondmaking process and systematically trying to replicate it. Small bits of diamond--produced in a lab under extremely high pressure and temperature and used in cutting tools, optical equipment and lasers--are easy to generate. This type of production has become so routine that thousands of small plants all over China pour out synthetic diamonds suitable for cutting stone. Gem-quality diamonds of one carat or more, however, are trickier because at that size it's difficult to consistently produce diamonds of high quality, even in the controlled environment of a lab. But after a half-century of trial and error, that may be changing. Several diamondmaking companies are starting to produce high-quality diamonds to rival the stones emerging from mines, and they could supply enough of them to open up new applications for the use of diamond that stretch far beyond pretty pieces of jewelry.

Q: 試翻 "this tyeo of production ... for cutting stone."

2. It turns out that as beautiful as a polished diamond is to look at, it also possesses physical and chemical properties that make it an ideal workhorse material for everything from semiconductors to biosensors. "To my mind, it's a case of finding what diamond enables that nothing else can do," says Donald Sadoway, a professor of materials science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Because it conducts heat so well, for example, diamond could be particularly useful for the small-electronics industry, which relies on ever more powerful processors that generate incredible amounts of heat. (Just try working with your laptop computer actually on your lap for a few hours.) "When you go to the next-generation semiconductor, you're running something not too different from a toaster oven," Sadoway says. Because it doesn't retain heat, diamond can run processors of supercomputing power at lower temperatures compared with processors using silicon, the industry standard today. The molecular structure of diamond makes it ideal for handling high voltages like those found in switches for big municipal power grids. Physically, diamond's toughness allows it to withstand the searing heat of more sophisticated lasers and even the brutal extremes of temperature and pressure faced by the windows on spacecraft as they leave and re-enter Earth's atmosphere. And diamond's ability to resist corrosion from acids and other organic compounds makes it a good material for biological sensors that may one day be implanted in the human body.

Q: 試翻 "Physically, ... re-enter Earth's atmosphere."

3. Apollo and its competitors are close to perfecting the manufacturing process, but it's unlikely that man-made diamond will replace silicon entirely. Diamond manufacturing remains expensive, even after several spikes in silicon-wafer prices over the past year. But semiconductor researchers remain optimistic about diamond's future role; at the very least, a combination of silicon and diamond could produce more powerful devices that run at cooler temperatures. Says Mike Mayberry, director of components research at Intel: "We're still interested enough to keep an eye on it." Also tracking the progress of diamondmaking are biologists, who covet the gem's inertness--it doesn't react with other substances--and its ability to retain its structural integrity despite being bathed in natural acids and other organic compounds. One possible application: diamond-based electrodes, implanted under the skin, that could be designed to react chemically in the presence of certain proteins. Already, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed such a prototype for detecting levels of a protein critical to nerve-cell activity.

Q: 試翻 "Also tracking the progress ... other organic compounds."