A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light discovered by University of Michigan1 researchers could lead to solar power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells.
　　The researchers found a way to make an "optical 1 ," said Stephen Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics.
　　Light has electric and magnetic components. Until now, scientists thought the 2 of the magnetic field were so weak that they could be ignored. What Rand and his colleagues found is that at the right intensity, when light is traveling through a material that does not conduct electricity, the light field can generate magnetic effects that are 100 million times stronger than 3 expected. 4 these circumstances, the magnetic effects develop strength equivalent to a strong electric effect.
　　"This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and without absorption to produce charge separation," Rand said. "In solar cells, the 5 goes into a material, gets absorbed and creates heat. Here, we expect to have a very low heat load2. Instead of the light being absorbed, energy is stored in the magnetic moment3. Intense magnetization can be induced by intense light and then it is ultimately capable of providing a capacitive power 6."What makes this possible is a previously undetected brand of "optical rectification4," says William Fisher, a doctoral student5 in applied physics. In traditional optical rectification, light’s electric field causes a charge separation, or a pulling 7 of the positive and negative charges6 in a material. This sets up a voltage, similar to 8 in a battery.
　　Rand and Fisher found that under the right circumstances and in right types of materials, the light’s magnetic field can also create optical rectification. The light must be shone through7 a 9 that does not 10 electricity, such as glass. And it must be focused to an intensity of 10 million watts per square centimeter8. Sunlight isn’t this intense on its own, but new materials are being sought that would work at lower intensities, Fisher said.
　　"In our most recent paper, we show that incoherent light9 like sunlight is theoretically almost as. 11 in producing charge separation as laser light is," Fisher said.
　　This new 12 could make solar power cheaper, the researchers say. They predict that with improved materials they could achieve 10 percent efficiency in 13 solar power to useable energy. That’s equivalent to today’s commercial-grade solar cells.
　"To manufacture 14 solar cells, you have to do extensive semiconductor processing," Fisher said. "All we would need are lenses to focus the light and a fiber to guide it. Glass works for 15 . It’s already made in bulk10, and it doesn’t require as much processing. Transparent ceramics might be even better."
　　詞匯：
　　optical adj.光學(xué)的
　　incoherent adj.非相干的
　　capacitive adj. 電容(量)的
　　semiconductor n.半導(dǎo)體
　　rectification n.改正，修正
　　ceramics n.陶瓷
　　注釋：
　　1.University of Michigan：密歇根大學(xué)。建校于1817 年，是美國名列前茅的公立大學(xué)，擁有優(yōu)良的師資和頂尖的商學(xué)院、法學(xué)院、醫(yī)學(xué)院和工學(xué)院。
　　2. heat load：熱負(fù)荷
　　3. magnetic moment：磁矩
　　4. optical rectification：光學(xué)校正
　　5. doctoral student：博士生
　　6. positive and negative charges：正電荷與負(fù)電荷
　　7. shone through：shone是shine的過去式。shine through是"(光)通過"。
　　8. an intensity of 10 million watts per square centimeter：每平方厘米一千萬瓦特的強(qiáng)度
　　9. incoherent light：非相干光
　　10.It’s already made in bulk：它(指玻璃)已大量生產(chǎn)。in bulk 是"大量，成批"。
　　練習(xí)：
　　1.A microscope B instrument C fiber D battery
　　2. A modifications B effects C applications D results
　　3. A frequently B privately C previously D formally
　　4.A Under B At C On D Over
　　5.A light B electricity C chemical D magnetism
　　6.A plant B equipment C source D line
　　7.A down B up C together D apart
　　8. A this B that C those D it
　　9. A material B lens C meter D detector
　　10.A produce B convey C use D conduct
　　11.A remote B poor C effective D rare
　　12.A prototype B skill C technique D miracle
　　13.A converting B obtaining C delivering D transmitting
　　14.A compact B modern C durable D handy
　　15. A others B some C all D both
　　答案與題解：
　　1.D第一段說密歇根大學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)，光所產(chǎn)生的巨大磁效應(yīng)有望用于太陽能發(fā)電，從而取代傳統(tǒng)的半導(dǎo)體太陽能電池。因此本題的正確選項(xiàng)應(yīng)該是battery。optical battery是"光電池"。
　　optical microscope (光學(xué)顯微鏡)、optical instrument (光學(xué)儀器)或optical fiber (光纖)與第一段的意思沒有聯(lián)系。
　　2.B 選擇本題的答案的依據(jù)還是要回到第一段。第一段第一句的起始詞語是"A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light"。本篇文章中心議題是用magnetic effect of light開發(fā)新型的太陽能電池。而以前的科學(xué)家認(rèn)為magnetic effect of light太微弱，不值得去關(guān)注它。因此，本題選effects與上下文的意思很連貫。
　　3. C 本句的意思是：當(dāng)光通過一種絕緣材料時(shí)，光場產(chǎn)生的磁效應(yīng)比以前想象的要強(qiáng)一億倍。previously是當(dāng)然的選擇。其他三個(gè)選項(xiàng)填入句子中，意思不合邏輯：frequently(頻繁地)/privately(私下地)/formerly(正式地)expected。
　　4. A under these circumstances 是固定詞組，意為"在這種情況下"。也可以說in these circumstances ，而at、on或over 都不與circumstances 連用。
　　5.A通篇文章談的是光產(chǎn)生的磁效應(yīng)，所以在太陽能電池中，當(dāng)然是光進(jìn)入某種材料起作用。答案是選項(xiàng)A。