英语沙龙：第一个纳米电路

The first nano circuit

IBM makes the tiniest computer part ever.

Even the most optimistic semiconductor¹ researchers say that silicon²－based computer chips may only have １５years or so left in them．

After that，it will be impossible to fit any more circuits onto these increasingly minute wafers to power inexorably smaller and smarter computers．Consequently，researchers are determined³ to figure out how to make complex microprocessors⁴ out of other materials．IBM made a significant breakthrough in August when physicists⁵ at its Thomas J．Watson Research Center，built the world’s first logic⁶ circuit out of a single long carbon molecule⁷ called a nanotube．Though the first laptop with nanotubes inside is still a long way off，the IBM invention“was a critical step，”says Phaedon Avouris，a member of the group that created the circuit．

As pliant⁸ as silicon has been over the last half－century，carbon nanotubes have some significant advantages．They’re as small as a semiconductor can get，so engineers will be able to pack trillions of them onto a single chip．And since they’re thin and long，like a garden hose，electrons are funneled⁹ straight through the circuit ――dramatically cutting down resistance．That results in less heat and less power dissipation than occurs with silicon．

But enormous technical problems remain．For one thing，even today’s average desktop¹⁰ computer would require at least a few million of these circuits，and there are no known methods for producing large numbers of them quickly and efficiently¹¹．Equally important is the challenge of connecting a series of individual and disparate logic circuits into microprocessors．And while computers run on three different types of logic circuits ――called And，Not，and Or gates ――IBM’s Not gate is the only type that has yet been created from carbon nanotubes．

The IBM advance is a good start；now engineers have a little more than another decade to finish the job．

第一个纳米电路

IBM造出有史以来最小的计算机零件。

即便最乐观的半导体研究者都说，以硅为原料的计算机芯片或许最多还能存在１５年左右。此后，要在这些晶片上再加进任何电路都是不可能的了：因为晶片越来越小，晶片驱动的计算机也越来越小，越来越智能化。因此，科学家决心研究出如何用其他材料制造复杂的微处理器。８月份，IBM取得重大突破。该公司托马斯·沃森研究中心的物理学家造出全世界第一个以纳米管（一个长长的碳分子）为原料的逻辑电路。创造出这个电路的小组成员费宗·瓦武里斯说，尽管要造出有纳米管的电脑还有很长一段路要走，IBM的这项发明仍然“是关键的一步”。

尽管硅在过去半个世纪里用途广泛，但碳纳米管拥有某些明显优势。半导体能有多小它们就能多小；因此，工程师能够把数以兆计的碳纳米管安在一块芯片上。此外，由于它们像水管一样又细又长，电子可以直接穿过电路：这大大减少了阻力，从而比用硅做原料时耗能少，产生的热也少。

但是，仍然存在大量技术问题。例如，即使今天普通的桌上电脑也需要至少几百万个这种电路，目前人们还不知道怎样快速有效地大批量生产它们。同样重要的是，如何把一系列单个分离的逻辑电路连接成微处理器。计算机在三种不同的逻辑电路上运行，这三种电路称作And，Not和Or 。IBM的Not是目前惟一利用碳纳米管制造出来的逻辑电路。

IBM的进展开了一个好头。如今，工程师们还有十几年的时间来完成这项工作。

1 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。

2 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 microprocessors   

微（信息）处理机( microprocessor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This sort of work would have been inconceivable before the advent of microprocessors. 在微处理机问世之前这种工作是难以想象的。
• In microprocessors, the name used for the IEEE interface bus standard. 微处理机中，IEEE接口总线标准的名字。

5 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

6 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

7 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。

8 pliant   

adj.顺从的；可弯曲的

参考例句：

• She's proud and stubborn,you know,under that pliant exterior.你要知道，在温顺的外表下，她既自傲又固执。
• They weave a basket out of osiers with pliant young willows.他们用易弯的柳枝编制篮子。

9 funneled   

漏斗状的

参考例句：

• The crowd funneled through the hall. 群众从走廊中鱼贯而过。
• The large crowd funneled out of the gates after the football match. 足球赛后大群人从各个门中涌出。

10 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

11 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。