Unit V. The Absolute Participle Construction

Famous People

James Watt (1736—1819)

James Watt, Scottish inventor and engineer whose improvements to the steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution. While working at the University of Glasgow as an instrument maker, Watt was asked to repair a model of Thomas Newcomen's steam engine. Watt who was quite skilled with his hands made the repairs. The engine just barely worked, and after much experimentation he showed that about 80% of the heat of the steam was consumed in heating the cylinder, because the steam in it was condensed by an injected stream of cold water. In his new working model he caused the steam to condense in a separate chamber apart from the piston, and maintained the temperature of the cylinder at the same temperature as the injected steam. He devised improvements that resulted in a new type of engine (patented in 1769) with a separate condensing chamber, an air pump to bring steam into the chamber, and parts of the engine insulated. He also perfected a rotary engine. Matthew Boulton, the great industrialist, financed Watt's work and was his partner (1775-80) in manufacturing the engines at Soho near Birmingham. Watt introduced the term horsepower. The watt, a unit of electrical power, was named for him.

Read the following sentences. State the voice and the tense forms of the predicates. Translate the sentences into Russian, paying attention to the absolute participle construction.

1. Any moving object can do work, the quantity of kinetic energy depending on its mass and velocity.

2. There are different sources of energy, the sun being an unlimited source of all forms of energy.

3. An object losing its potential energy, that energy is turned into kinetic energy.

4. The electric current passing through the device, we can measure light intensity.

5. Different types of materials for current collectors having been discussed, engineers chose steel and copper as the best ones.

6. There being no atmosphere on the Moon, its surface is exposed to direct sunlight.

7. The speed of light being extremely high, we cannot measure it using ordinary methods.

8. The falling water loses its potential energy, that energy changing into kinetic energy.

9. The necessary data having been obtained, we could proceed with our experiment.

10. The turbine drives the electric generator, the latter producing electric energy.

11. All the necessary preparations having been done, the operator began

to assemble the engine.

12. The article deals with optical electronics, particular attention being paid to lasers.

13. The temperature of the fluid increasing, its density decreases.

14. Electrical devices find a wide application in every house, a refrigerator being one of them.

15. The device consists of two electrodes, one of them being coated with photoemissive material.

· Read the following text. Find the predicate in each sentence and state the voice and the tense form. Which of the sentences contain the absolute participle construction?Translate the text into Russian.

Steam Turbine

The most widely used source of power in large power plants is a steam turbine. A steam turbine is driven by steam, the heat of steam being converted into mechanical work. Any apparatus converting heat into mechanical work is called a heat engine. Thus, the steam turbine may also be considered a kind of heat engine.

Such steam turbines can be of very large size so they have completely replaced the reciprocating piston steam engines primarily because of their greater thermal efficiency (to 1,500,000 kw). Also, because the turbine generates rotary motion, it is used to drive an electrical generator - it doesn't require a linkage mechanism to convert reciprocating to rotary motion.

The steam turbine was the first form of heat engine developed. It’s interesting to note that the history of heat engine goes back to ancient times. The first steam engine was little more than a toy. It was made by Hero of Alexandria in about 150 B.C. … almost two thousand years before it was re-invented. Sadly, the device didn’t receive any serious recognition during Hero's lifetime.

In Russia steam turbine production started in 1907 when a 200-kW steam turbine was first produced at a Petersburg plant and installed at the power station of that very plant. However, large capacity turbines have been developed only over the last 90 years or so.

Nowadays steam turbines may be broadly grouped into three types, the classification being made in accordance with the conditions of the steam exploitation. The groups are as follows: 1) impulse, 2) reaction, 3) impulse-and-reaction (combination of 1 and 2). An impulse turbine has fixed nozzles that orient the steam flow into high speed jets. These jets contain significant kinetic energy, which the rotor blades, shaped like buckets, convert into shaft rotation as the steam jet changes direction. In the reaction turbine, the rotor blades themselves are arranged to form convergent nozzles. This type of turbine makes use of the reaction force produced as the steam accelerates through the nozzles formed by the rotor.

· Transcribe the following words, practice reading them, give Russian equivalents:

Steam, engine, reciprocating, issue, stationary, cause, transfer, arrangement, efficient, wheel, mention, impulse, mechanism, convert

· Are the following sentences true or false? Correct the false sentences.

1. Both steam turbine and reciprocating heat engine convert heat into mechanical work in the same manner.

2. Any apparatus converting heat into mechanical work is considered to be a steam turbine.

3. The steam turbine drives the generator.

4. Steam turbines are as efficient as reciprocating steam engines.

5. An impulse turbine was first mentioned more than 2000 years ago.

6. Steam turbines are divided into three types according to the size and capacity.

· Answer these questions:

1. What is the most widely used source of power in large power plants?

2. How does a steam turbine work?

3. Why is a steam turbine considered to be a heat engine?

4. What are the main parts of a steam turbine?

5. Which is more efficient – a steam turbine or an ordinary reciprocating steam engine?

6. When was the first heat engine made?

7. When and where did steam turbine production start in Russia?

8. What types of steam turbines are there?

9. What does the type of turbine depend on?

10. Where are the steam turbines used?

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