清华科技英语阅读1.ppt

Detailed study of text 1 Quantum effects (p40) Random fluctuations Spatial variation: cause inflation to end at different times in different regions Gives birth to stars and galaxies Coins analogy (p 42) There is no way to judge which coin is more likely when the number of coins is infinite. There is no way to judge which kind of island is more likely in an eternally inflating universe. Alternative explanations: p 42-43 1. special initial state hypothesis 2. weighing measure 3. volume measure 4. anthropic principle measure Gabriele Veneziano Italian theoretical physicist Pioneer of String theory String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything (TOE), a self-contained mathematical model that describes all fundamental forces and forms of matter. String theory posits that the elementary particles (ie. electrons and quarks) within an atom are not 0-dimensional objects, but rather 1-dimensional oscillating lines (strings). CERN Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire an international organization whose purpose is to operate the worlds largest particle physics laboratory. Established in 1954, the organization is based in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border, and has 20 European member states. CERNs main function is to provide the particle accelerators and other infrastructure needed for high-energy physics research - as a result, numerous experiments have been constructed at CERN following international collaborations. It is also the birthplace of the World Wide Web. Task 4 Appendix 1: some reading strategies over academic articles (1) Skimming: looking quickly at the title, section headings, abstract or summary, first and last paragraphs, first and last sentences of intervening paragraphs, topic sentences in each paragraph, in order to Identify what the text is about (topic) Identify the main idea of the te