PARTICLE ACCELERATOR The Universe Machine PARTICLE ACCELERATOR The Universe Machine ENGLISCH FÜR INGENIEURE € 8,70 Deutschland € 8,70 Österreich € 8,70 Schweiz sfr 13,80 Benelux € 8,70 ISSN 16114590 ZKZ 61439 enGine Nr. 2 / Juni 2008 www.engine-magazin.de HISTORY Bertha Benz BASICS Industrial Wireless BUSINESS PARTNER China THEMA Zollformalitäten BUSINESS Bullying at Work HISTORY Bertha Benz BASICS Industrial Wireless BUSINESS PARTNER China THEMA Zollformalitäten BUSINESS Bullying at Work
Transcript
PARTICLE ACCELERATOR
The UniverseMachine
PARTICLE ACCELERATOR
The UniverseMachine
E N G L I S C H F Ü R I N G E N I E U R E€ 8,70
Deu
tsch
land
€ 8
,70
Öst
erre
ich
€ 8,
70
Schw
eiz
sfr
13,8
0 B
enel
ux €
8,7
0 I
SSN
161
1�45
90 Z
KZ
6143
9
enGin
e
Nr. 2 / Juni 2008
www.engine-magazin.de
HISTORY Bertha BenzBASICS Industrial WirelessBUSINESS PARTNER ChinaTHEMA ZollformalitätenBUSINESS Bullying at Work
HISTORY Bertha BenzBASICS Industrial WirelessBUSINESS PARTNER ChinaTHEMA ZollformalitätenBUSINESS Bullying at Work
!!Gleich bestellen!Tel. 07531 5801-26
Schlagen Sie nach ...
Kfz-Technik
Technisches Wörterbuch
Englisch - Deutsch
Best.-Nr. 72402
EUR 12,95
Technisches Wörterbuch
Deutsch-Englisch
Best.-Nr. 72401
EUR 12,95
Technisches Wörterbuch
für die Kfz-Technik
Best.-Nr. 74669
EUR 12,95
Technisches Wörterbuch
für die Kfz-Technik
Best.-Nr. 74670
EUR 12,95
Luftfahrttechnik
Dr.-Ing. Paul Christiani GmbH & Co. KG Hermann-Hesse-Weg 2 78464 Konstanz Tel.: 07531 5801-26 Fax: 07531 [email protected]
Ständig werden wir von Fachbegriffen überfl utet. In diesen handlichen Fach-wörterbüchern fi nden Sie die gängige Terminologie aus den Bereichen Luftfahrt und KFZ-Technik. Und: Die Büchlein passen garantiert in jeden Blaumann!
mal ehrlich, auf vielen Konferenzen sind doch die Pausen das Wichtigste. Hier werden neue Kontakte geknüpft, alte gepfl egt und Geschäfte eingefädelt. Die Vorträge, wenn sie gut sind, sorgen meist nur für anregende Unterhaltung zwischendurch. Aufregendes dagegen erwartet man selten, schon gar nicht hinter einem Titel wie: Die Bedeutung von Fremdsprachenerwerb und transkultureller Begegnung für die Heraus-bildung psychoemotionaler Metakompetenzen.
Doch was Prof. Dr. Gerald Hüther, Neurobi-ologe und Hirnforscher an den Unis Göttingen und Mannheim, auf der Sprachen und Beruf 2008 zu berichten wusste, war so interes-sant, wie der Titel abschreckend. Es ging ums Lernen, wie wir lernen und vor allem wie wir besser lernen.
Einleuchtend war die Tatsache, dass Kinder eine extrem hohe Fähigkeit haben, neue Schal-tungen im Hirn anzulegen, sprich zu lernen. Beruhigenderweise fällt diese Fähigkeit im Alter nicht kontinuierlich ab, sondern pegelt sich auf einen mehr oder weniger konstanten Wert ein. So versprach Hüther, „dass auch ein 80-jähriger innerhalb eines halben Jahres noch Japanisch lernen kann“, um nach einer kurzen Pause die Voraussetzung dafür zu nennen: „Er muss sich nur unsterblich in eine Japanerin verlieben.“ Sprich: Motivation ist der Schlüssel zum Lernen.
Gewagtes Statement und Beweis desselben zugleich, denn nach so einem frechen Einstieg hatte das Auditorium natürlich Lust auf mehr. Und so blieb bei uns hängen, dass gute Ge-fühle, Motivation, Freude, Lust auf Neues dem Gehirn die Verschaltungsarbeit, sprich das Lernen, wesentlich erleichtern. Leider aber ist ein Großteil unseres (Fort-) Bildungsapparats immer noch auf Leistungsdruck, Prüfungen, Androhung von Sanktionen und Angst auf-
gebaut – in der Schule genauso wie später im Unternehmen. Unter solch einem Stress aber schaltet unser Gehirn auf ein archaisches Notfallprogramm und durch fehlende Krea-tivität und Offenheit bleiben große, wichtige Bereiche des Gehirns ungenutzt.
Also Bespaßung statt Klassenarbeiten, Motivationsworkshops statt Sprachtraining? Sicher nicht ganz, zumal Motivation etwas sehr Individuelles ist. Dem einen mag es ein angenehmes, also lernförderndes Gefühl be-reiten, seine Erfolge mit guten Testergebnissen dokumentiert zu sehen, der andere lernt sein Japanisch eben nur von und wegen der einen Japanerin.
Generell gilt jedoch, dass ein etwas entspan-nterer, offenerer und spielerischer Umgang mit dem Lernen uns allen gut tun würde.
P.S.: Lernen durch Lust auf Neues, Motivation als Motor ist auch das Grundprinzip der engine. Nicht umsonst wählen wir alle drei Monate die spannendsten Technikgeschichten aus, um Sie zur Beschäftigung mit der englischen Sprache zu verführen. Diesmal zum Beispiel mit einem britischen Sportwagen, der ein sauberes Herz hat, einem Spaziergang vom alten Pompeii in die Zukunft, der Jagd nach universellen Antwor-ten, wohl temperierten Eiern und der Mutter der Mobilität. Da dürfte wohl für jeden was Anregendes dabei sein.
Fly by the seat of your pants= decide as you go along
Aircraft initially had few navigation aids and fl ying was accomplished by means of the pilot‘s judgement. He had to use his own initiative and perceptions rather than follow-ing instruments.
catchaphrase**
*
Bild
: Fus
ion
Man
Plug and Live
What happens if you have a fondness for jigsaws and rhombic dodecahe-drons? You probably start developing modular houses for self assembly like artist Gregg Fleishman. His designs look a bit like products from a joint-venture between a Danish toy manufacturer and a Swedish fur-niture shop. But Fleishman is American and simply wants to develop ways to make building easier.
One of his designs is Shelter System 01, a 34-square-metre house with three rooms. Made of 276 pieces of plywood in 28 different shapes, the house is held together only by its slots and notches. A second storey, insulation and an outer skin are optional. While a bit too heavy for the next camping trip, unless you travel with a fl at bed truck, Fleishman’s designs make great weekend homes and emergency shelters. Naturally, the chairs for these houses are also each cut from a single piece of ply-wood. www.greggfl eishman.com
Photo Printing Reinvented
The Polariod is dead, long live the Polaroid. Since Polaroid recently ceased the production of their famous self-developing fi lm, photogra-phers are now forced to lug a bulky ink printer around when they want to present their clients an instant copy of their shots. These times will soon be over. Zink, short for zero ink, came up with a way to embed the colour in the photo paper thus reducing a portable printer to pocket size. Finally, printing photos is as it should have been in the fi rst place: no more dried up ink and clogged printer heads, no more micro-volume cartridges with ink more expensive than exclusive perfume.
Dye crystals are embedded in the new photo paper and are activated by heat from a special printer. The printer head activates each of the crystals independently using heat pulses of precisely determined duration and tempera-ture. The crystals then colourise, producing high-quality, long-lasting and durable images. Targeting the mobile market, the images are currently only business card size, but with an adhesive backing. www.zink.com
Bild: Zink
Flying by the Seat of his Pants
Like so many of us, Yves Rossy dreams of fl ying like a bird. Naturally, the dream of a former jet fi ghter pilot and passionate sky-diver has to have a bit more juice than the aver-age bird. What about a strap-on wing with a 2.5 metre wingspan powered by four model turbine engines each developing 49 pounds of thrust?
That’s the thing the Fusion Man, as Rossy calls himself, likes to wear when he steps out of an airplane. In mid air he unfolds his wings, starts the turbines and whizzes away at a speed of up to 300 kph. The last fl ight took him to an altitude of almost 2500 metres on a fi ve minute cruise over the Swiss Alps. Although a few prototypes crashed and gave their inventor some near death experiences, the recent stunt shows the feasibility of the con-cept which Rossy one day wants to market as sports equipment. And who knows, maybe the military is interested too.www.jet-man.com
Nr. 2 – Juni 20084 ●
Sailing Through the Sound Barrier
It’s the sound barrier for yachters: 50 knots or 92.6 kph. To get that much out of a sailing vessel, you have to take drastic measures. Like the French Hydroptère team, which literally rises above the problem of dragging a hull through the water: Their vessel is a hydrofoil craft which ‘fl ies’ through the water on wings.
At a certain speed the wings create enough lift to hoist the whole 5-ton vessel out of the water, thus drastically reducing drag and allowing for much higher speeds than conventional yachts. The Hydroptère proved the feasibil-ity of the concept by breaking and still hold-ing two sailing records with a top speed of 44.81 knots. The team is confi dent that they can break the absolute speed record over 500 metres, which is currently held by a windsurfer and stands at 49.09 knots. www.hydroptere.com
Bild: Hydroptere
Digital Mechanics
Do you still fancy digital wristwatches? They used to be the all the rage in the Seventies, but nowadays you have to wear an expensive mechani-cal timepiece to distinguish yourself. A dilemma? Not anymore, for all the digital die-hards out there, watchmaker de Grisogono fi nally offers a solution.
Their Meccanico dG is composed of an analogue display on the up-per dial and a digitally displayed second time-zone on the lower dial. Most notably, the digital display is mechanically operated and the time is displayed by mobile microsegments driven by an assemblage of 23 cams connected to a set of gears and a triggering and synchronization system. The segments have four faces: two opposing visible faces fi tted with coloured strips and two opposing unmarked faces. Time changes are effected by 90° rotations of the required segment or segments. Involving one to twelve segments, time changes are fast. The exclusive edition is limited to 177 timepieces, prices are “on request”.
www.degrisogono.com
Bild
: de
Gris
ogon
o
Vokabeldownload: www.engine-magazin.de/extrasadhesive • selbstklebendall the rage der letzte Schreiassemblage • Menge, Sammlungcam • Schaltnockencease, to einstellen, beendenclog, to verstopfen, zuschmierendial Zifferblattdie-hard Eingefl eischterdistinguish, to abgrenzen, unterscheidendodecahedron •
Zwölffl ächner
drag Widerstanddurable • haltbar, langlebigdye • Farbstoffembed, to einbettenfeasibility Machbarkeitfl at bed truck Tiefl aderfondness Vorliebe, Zuneigunghoist, to heben, hievenhull Schiffsrumpfjigsaw • Laubsäge, Puzzlelug, to schleppen, zerrennotch Nut, Kerbepassionate • leidenschaftlichperception Gespür, Wahrnehmungplywood Sperrholzrequest Nachfragerhombic • rautenförmigsky-diver Fallschirmspringerslot Schlitz, Aussparungsound barrier Schallmauerstorey Stockwerk, Etagestrap on, to aufschnallenthrust Schubvessel Seefahrzeugwhiz, to fl itzen, sausenwristwatch Armbanduhryachter • Segler
www.engine-magazin.de ● 5
Literate ComputersDr. Tom M. Mitchell, 56, is Professor and Head of the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He speaks about the necessity and impact of computers which can analyse the content of text.
Dr. Tom Mitchell, Professor für Ma-schinelles Lernen an der Carnegie Mellon Universität, spricht über die Notwendigkeit und Auswirkungen von Computern, die Textinhalte verste-hen und analysieren können.
Interview
What will be the main areas in which comput-ers will play a major role as digital assistants in supporting human efforts? When we look at driving, we already have com-puters assisting us with the current GPS sys-tems. But that area is going to grow. The more that technology spreads, the more we’ll know where all the cars are and the more we’ll be able to spot the roads on which they will suddenly stop. Machines used in this way will be able to learn over time what your individual preferences are, and when establishing a route, they can ei-ther minimize or maximize the freeways based on these preferences.
What will digital clerical assistants – in other words, tomorrow’s computers – be able to achieve? Well, if we could afford to give everyone a personal assistant, we’d all be more productive. Computerised assistants could off-load some of the clerical work. For example, we could have used such a clerical assistant to do the email communication for us that we used to set up this call. What makes it hard is when we start send-ing stuff back and forth in text form. Computers still can’t really interpret that. It’s hard for them to read. A computer could probably be trained to understand 80 percent of the things we say. But for the other 20 percent you’d need to under-stand the nuances. There is a lot of interesting work being done in the area of computer read-ing and interpretation of text. Right now, there are some good systems available for interpreting arbitrary web pages and documents. But while they are good at spotting certain names in docu-ments, say of companies, people, dates, they’re less robust when it comes to a more layered un-derstanding of information, such as the relation-ship between these categories of names. This line of work is also accelerating right now.
What would happen if computers could read?You and I would profi t. Let’s say I wanted to at-tend the next conference on artifi cial intelligence and make travel arrangements. If computers could read, they could do that for you. They could fi nd your fl ight, make your hotel reser-vation, and even fi nd out whom you might
want to interview while there – all without a human intermediary. You would also be able to have access to a lot of information on the web much quicker. If you think of companies like Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo, they have all developed search engines to draw information from the web. The next generation of computer systems will be able to analyze text content, not just pull up the information. Just imagine, instead of typing in a word, you might be able to type in a question for the computer and get an answer.
How long do you think it will take until this becomes reality?It’s going to happen in less than a decade. This is going to be one of those quantum leaps I think we’ve all been expecting. Companies are already putting a lot of resources into this area. I have made a bet for a lobster dinner that by 2015 we will have computer programs that will read 80 percent of facts on the web. Once computers can read, we will be able to collect vast amounts of data.
What makes you so sure it will take less than a decade for this to happen? A breakthrough for intelligent assistants has been projected for at least 25 years!A tremendous amount of money has been in-vested in this area with companies like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo really pushing this ahead. Also, I can see a path of technical results that
Nr. 2 – Juni 20086 ●
Dieses von Karen M. Dente geführte Interview erschien ursprünglich in Pictures of the Future, Ausgabe Spring 2008. Die Veröffentlichung erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Siemens.www.siemens.com/pof
www.ml.cmu.edu (engl.)Webseite des Instituts für Maschinelles Lernen an der Carnegie Mellon Universität.
www-2.cs.cmu.edu/%7Etom (engl.)Homepage von Tom Mitchell mit vielen Links zum Thema.
Vokabeldownload: www.engine-magazin.de/extrasaccelerate, to • beschleunigenaccess Zugangachieve, to leisten, erreichenadvance Fortschrittarbitrary • beliebig, willkürlichartifi cial künstlichattend sth., to an etw. teilnehmenback and forth hin und herclerical • Schreib-, Büro-concern • Bedenken, Besorgniscontent • Inhaltdraw, to hier: ziehen, saugeneffort Anstrengung, Bemühungemergence • Aufkommen, Erscheinenestablish, to ermitteln, festlegenhealthcare Gesundheitspfl egeimpact Einfl uss, Auswirkungintermediary • Mittler, Vermittlerissue Frage, Problemlayered geschichtet, feinschichtigliterate • lese- und schreibkundig,
belesenlobster Hummernecessity • Notwendigkeitpreference • Vorliebe, Vorzugquantum leap Quantensprungresolve, to klären, lösenrevolve, to sich drehentrade-off Zielkonfl ikt, Kompromisstremendous enorm, gewaltigvast • riesig
get you there – advances in machine learning algorithms that have been going along nicely. Not since the emergence of the World Wide Web a decade ago have computers had access to this much text to train on. With the internet, there is a lot of redundancy of text and the availability of a huge amount of data to train these algo-rithms. A lot of data is a good thing for training algorithms.
Could this play a role in developing systems in healthcare that can help to establish a medi-cal diagnosis, for example? Are there concerns about using computers to access such data?I think privacy is going to be a big issue. This is something that will have to be addressed to get this sort of technology out there. A study I was involved in that addresses this concern is expected to be published some time this year by the National Academy of Sciences. Some of the issues to be resolved revolve around the concern of people having their health informa-tion shared, for example. While the potential benefi ts of having access to a large pool of data are large, it’s a very complex fi eld that comes with certain trade-offs. !
Unsere vereinfachte Lautschrift orientiert sich an der deutschen Aussprache und wird gesprochen, wie sie geschrieben wird. Betonte Silben sind fett gedruckt. Leider geht es nicht ganz ohne Sonderzeichen:
A Clean BreakMorgan, an icon of the golden age of British sports cars, has thrown off its ‘bumbling’ image to become a pioneer of zero-emission technology.
Morgan, einer der letzten Herstel-ler von britischen Sportwagen, will sein etwas hemds-ärmeliges Image ab-schütteln und plant einen schadstoff-freien Sportwagen in klassischer Optik.
Fuel Cell Car
Zero-emission motoring – the holy grail of automotive engineering – has a new and un-likely ally in a manufacturer more commonly associated with the throaty roar of a combustion engine, the thrill of the open road and a pro-duction process that harks back to the golden era of British sports car manufacture.
At the last Geneva motor show, the UK’s Morgan Motor Company helped shatter its reputation as an old-fashioned maker of old-fashioned vehicles when it launched the Life Car: a fuel-cell-powered concept car that does 0-100 kilometres per hour in about seven seconds, has an estimated range of more than 300 kilometres, weighs just 700 kilograms and emits nothing more offensive than a few drops of water.
In a package claimed to be three times more energy-effi cient than any other vehicle of its type, the car uses a fuel cell to power four separate electric wheel-motors. The fuel cell is backed up by a series of ultracapacitors that are charged by a regenerative braking system and
release their energy when the car is accelerat-ing. This enables the use of a much smaller fuel cell than is traditionally regarded as necessary.
Based on the Morgan Aero Eight, the ve-hicle is the result of a £1.9 million, 30-month project funded jointly by the government and a consortium that includes Morgan, Qinetiq, and industrial gas specialist BOC Linde.
Tradition and Technology
While many visitors might have been sur-prised to see the company championing fuel cells, Matthew Parkin, marketing director, said Life Car is not the radical departure some have suggested. “We have a bit of an issue in terms of how we are perceived. People think we’re old-fashioned, bumbling and very traditional, and yet we make an Aero Eight – the fi rst all-aluminium car in the world, with the most sophisticated ABS system you can get.
Nr. 2 – Juni 20088 ●
Alle Bilder: Morgan Motor Company
There’s a lot of technology in our cars that we’re not really recognised for.”
Though the project is a collaborative effort involving multiple partners, it is the brainchild of one person – Hugo Spowers, a motor sport engineer with a passion for zero-emission vehicles.
accelerate, to • beschleunigenaim Ziel, Absichtally • Verbündeterbrainchild Geistesproduktbumbling unbeholfen, wursteligchampion, to verfechten, sich einsetzencharge, to aufl aden, füllenclaim, to behauptencollaborative • gemeinschaftlichcombustion • Verbrennungdeparture Weggang, Abweichungemit, to ausstoßen, abgebenestimate, to schätzen, veranschlagenfuel cell Brennstoffzellefund, to fördern, fi nanzieren
According to Spowers, Life Car represents a fundamental rethink of how a fuel-cell car is developed. “The aim was to demonstrate that if you design a car around a fuel cell, then you will end up with a very different solution than if you try fi tting a fuel cell into a car designed for a petrol engine.” !
hark back to sth., to auf etw. zurückgreifenhave an issue with sth., to mit etw. Probleme habenholy grail heiliger Gralin terms of bezüglichlaunch, to • starten, vom Stapel lassenoffensive anstößigpassion Leidenschaftperceive, to • wahrnehmenrange Reichweiteshatter, to zerschlagensolution Lösungsophisticated • ausgeklügelt, raffi niertthroaty • kehlig, rauultracapacitor •
Doppelschicht-Kondensator
Unsere vereinfachte Lautschrift orientiert sich an der deutschen Aussprache und wird gesprochen, wie sie geschrieben wird. Betonte Silben sind fett gedruckt. Leider geht es nicht ganz ohne Sonderzeichen:
= stimmloses th wie in „thank you“
= stimmhaftes th wie in „the“
= kurzes, unbetontes ewie in „danke“
= langes, offenes o wie in „hoffen“
enGineLautschrift
The design of the Life Car borrows strongly from Morgan’s Aeromax and its full aluminium design.
www.engine-magazin.de ● 9
www.morgan-motor.co.uk (engl.)Die Webseite von Morgan mit weiteren Informationen zum Life Car, dem Aero, auf dem er basiert, und den klassischen Roadstern.
www.linde.com/hydrogen (engl./dt.)Seite von BOC Linde zum Wasserstoff als Energieträger für Fahrzeuge.
www.qinetiq.com/home/energy_environment/lower_carbon_transport/lifecar_and_the_qinetiq_fuel_cell.html (engl.)Leider sehr knappe Seite des Rüstungsherstellers Qinetiq über die im Life Car verwendete Brennstoffzelle.
www.theoscarproject.org (engl.)www.istructe.org/IABSE/Files/Henderson06/Paper_15.pdf (engl.)Homepage und ausführlicher Artikel zu Spowers Idee eines Open Source Cars.
http://kron1.eng.ox.ac.uk/pages/research/life-car.php (engl.)Seite der Universität Oxford über den Life Car und die Aktivitäten der Electrical Power Group.
He added: “People don’t popularly perceive just how optimised current automotive technol-ogy is around the characteristics of combus-tion engines.” He suggested that the cost and power density issues that have held up fuel-cell car development are a result of the industry’s strategy of putting fuel cells in cars designed for something else.
Spowers believes the Life Car project has made a huge stride forward, largely by turning this strategy on its head. “If you design a car for a fuel cell, you can have a car with just as good performance but a quarter of the power, and if you have a quarter of the power, you need a quarter of the power density.” The result, he said, is a vehicle that boasts three times the energy effi ciency of any other contemporary fuel-cell prototype.
The car’s low-energy fuel cell, a proton ex-change membrane system developed by Qine-tiq, is one of the keys to this improved effi ciency.
“Rather than removing a huge internal combustion engine and replacing it with an equivalent power fuel cell, the whole angle here was whether we could use a much smaller prime mover?” said Ian Whiting, Qinetiq busi-ness development manager. Instead of using a 100-150 Kilowatt fuel cell, the defence technol-ogy fi rm has developed a much lower power modular fuel cell based on four integrated 6 Kilowatt cells.
Designing a Car Around a Fuel Cell
Life Car can make do with this less powerful fuel cell because of a series of ultracapacitors, which provide the bursts of power required for quick acceleration. These high energy-density capaci-tors, which can be rapidly charged and dis-charged, provide about 80 per cent of the power required during acceleration.
adamant • unnachgiebigangle • hier: Blickwinkelapproach Herangehensweiseassemble, to montierenboast, to sich rühmenbodywork Karosserieburst Ausbruchconceive, to • konzipieren, ausdenkencontemporary • heutig, zeitgenössischcontribution Beitragdecouple, to • entkoppelndefence Verteidigungdemand Bedarf, Lastdensity Dichtedeposit Anzahlungdevice Gerät, Baugruppedischarge, to entladenemphasis • Betonung, Schwerpunktenvironmental Umwelt-foam Schaum (-stoff)forecourt Vorplatz
Beneath its classic body-work (left), the Life Car is full of innovative ideas, e. g. the seats, made of wood and leather, are fi xed in their position and the foot pedals can be moved instead.
harvest, to erntenlandmark Marksteinlean on, to hier: sich auf etwas
verlassenmake do with, to mit etw. auskommennozzle • Stutzen, Düseprime mover • Antriebsmotorrecover, to zurückgewinnenrefuel, to auftankensatisfy, to erfüllen, genügensteady-state stationär, Dauer-sticking point Hürdestride Schrittsubject sth. to sth., to etw. etw. aussetzentemplate • Schablone, Vorlagetop up, to auffüllen, aufl adentransient • vorübergehend,
schwankendtweak, to hier: verbessernurban • städtischviable • brauchbar, machbar
Nr. 2 – Juni 200810 ●
Dieser Artikel ist eine gekürzte Fassung eines Beitrags, der ursprünglich in The Engineer, Ausgabe 10, 23 March 2008, erschienen ist. Die Veröffentlichung erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Centaur Media PLC. Der vollständige Beitrag fi ndet sich unterwww.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/304945/Morgan‘s+clean+break.htm
Another reason the vehicle can run on such a small fuel cell is the highly effi cient wheel mo-tors, developed specially for Life Car by Oxford University’s Dr Malcolm McCulloch.
The devices, as well as being about 90 per cent effi cient across their operating range and more than 10 kilograms lighter than existing wheel motors, also harvest 50 per cent of the energy generated during braking. This represents a huge improvement over existing regenerative braking systems that tend only to recover about 10 per cent.
Spowers said this effi ciency improvement is at the heart of one of the vehicle’s fundamental breakthroughs: the decoupling of steady-state and transient demand. “You can only truly decouple the transient and steady-state demands if you have highly effi cient regenerative braking,” he said. “Otherwise, when you come to acceler-ate again, the ultracapacitor won’t be topped up and you’ll have to lean on the fuel cell for rather more than 20 per cent of the power.”
Morgan itself has made signifi cant contribu-tions towards the vehicle’s effi ciency through a vehicle-wide emphasis on weight. “The whole thing has been conceived around the lightest possible chassis,” said Parkin. “The bodywork is aluminium, and the chassis is aluminium.”
The car maker has also tweaked the aerody-namic profi le of the car throughout the produc-tion process. Parkin said the team began with a series of sketches of what a futuristic Morgan could look like. This led to a foam model, which was subjected to wind tunnel tests then to a full-scale drawing of the vehicle.
This drawing was cut into segments on a computer, printed off on paper and made into wooden templates that were then fi xed together to make the 3D shape over which the bodywork has been made.
Handmade and Exclusive
Though this is very different from Morgan‘s traditional production process, Charles Morgan claimed that, were the car to enter production, the fi rm‘s approach of assembling everything by hand would make an additional contribution
to the car’s small environmental footprint. “If we’re going to get environmental, people are probably going to have to start building cars the way we do,” he said.
Another factor that could prove an unlikely infl uence on the rise of the fuel-cell vehicle is the deep pockets of Morgan’s customers.
While stressing that the current concept car is at least two years away from satisfying the safety criteria demanded of a full production vehicle, Morgan confi rmed that he already has some potential customers lined up.
He believes a fuel-cell Morgan could follow a similar production path to the company’s limited edition Aeromax, where a small number of customers effectively paid the development costs by putting down a deposit upfront.
Perhaps the biggest sticking point with fuel-cell vehicles is where you fi ll them up. While Morgan’s wealthier customers may have the budgets and garage space to run home refuelling units, there is currently no wider infrastructure in place.
Many companies are investigating this and one of them is Life Car consortium member BOC Linde, which provided the hydrogen stor-age tank for the vehicle and has developed a prototype forecourt refuelling system.
“We’ve tried to make it as simple and straightforward as we can,” said Andrew Win-ship, the company’s hydrogen solutions man-ager. “Generally, it’s a case of connecting up the nozzle, locking it off with a handle and pressing a button – it needs to be as user-friendly as the existing technology.”
Spowers is now at work on a separate project, HYRBAN, which is using much of the same technology as Life Car in the development of a two-seater urban fuel-cell car.
In the longer term, however, Spowers is ada-mant that fuel cells are the only viable technol-ogy for a zero-emission car with comparable range to existing vehicles.
Whether or not Morgan ultimately goes into production with a vehicle that makes this a real-ity, Life Car will always remain an important landmark in the history of fuel-cell motoring. "
Jon Excell
www.engine-magazin.de ● 11
Walking the HolodeckToday, creating realistic worlds with the computer is child’s play, but all these simulations are limited when you want to explore them physically by walking around. A new omnidirectional treadmill allows exactly that and adds a whole new realism to virtual worlds.
Die Erschaffung virtueller Welten im Computer ist heutzutage ein Kinderspiel. Leider stoßen solche Simulationen wort-wörtlich an ihre Grenzen, wenn man versucht, sich physisch in ihnen zu bewegen. Doch ein neues omnidi-rektionales Lauf-band erlaubt ge-nau das und lässt virtuelle Welten auf einmal sehr real erscheinen.
Virtual Environment
Bild
: Tin
a W
eidg
ans
Some of you might still remember the famous Star Trek holodeck. It allowed the characters of the Enterprise to physically interact with ho-lographic projections of machinery, places and people. Personally, I never liked the idea of such a realistic ‘virtual’ world, it just seemed too futuristic – even for a 24th century star-ship. But a recent walk through old Pompeii changed my mind.
Stardate April 2008: I’m in a dark room in Tübingen, Germany, ready to start a walk that will take me from the foot of Vesuvius into the future. To make the journey safe, Dr. Marc Ernst from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics helps me into a harness and hands me a helmet peppered with anten-nae that makes me look like a character from the Bee Movie. Through my 3D-goggles I can spot Mount Vesuvius to the right and a city to the left. “Welcome to Pompeii”, says Ernst and I start to walk into town along the main street, slowly at fi rst but soon quickening my pace. Moving freely, stepping to the left here, taking a right turn there, I explore houses, plazas and monuments along my way and I’m soon stroll-ing through old Pompeii like the proverbial tourist. Strangely enough, there are no people, the ground is shaky in places and a roaring noise fi lls the air, but then again, what would you expect in a city that is about to be wiped out by a volcanic eruption?
Naturally, I’m neither in Pompeii nor in the future, but in the Cyberneum, a facility for basic research in the area of human perception and human-machine interaction, which is part of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen. Its new centrepiece is the Cyberwalk, a pan-European cooperation
With a harness and a hel-met for safety, a treadmill made of treadmills allows unrestricted walking in virtual worlds, e. g. old Pompeii.
Nr. 2 – Juni 200812 ●
to create an environment for unconstrained, physical walking through virtual worlds. “Among many other things, the Cyberwalk will help us to study how humans orientate themselves in relation to their surroundings, for example a city,” explains Ernst.
Walking in Circles
How do we explore a foreign city? By creating a virtual map in our head or simply memoris-ing a sequence of left and right turns? One of many questions the Cyberwalk might help to answer. How little we know about the way we use our surroundings for orientation is demonstrated by a simple experiment with an astonishing result: On a wide beach, blindfolded test persons were asked to walk in a straight line. While one might expect the subjects to follow a kind of zig-zag course, they in fact walked in surprisingly small circles.
“To study phenomena like these more pre-cisely, we need the controlled conditions of a laboratory – a treadmill which allows unre-stricted walking in any direction without ever leaving the device,” says Ernst, recalling the origins of the Cyberwalk project. Easier said than done! Most virtual environments like fl ight or car simulators are either stationary or allow only for movement in one direction via, for example, a traditional treadmill.
The researcher’s fi rst attempt at an omni-directional solution was the Cybercarpet, a hexagon of over 4000 ball bearings driven by !
Vokabeldownload: www.engine-magazin.de/extrasastonishing erstaunlichattempt Versuch, Anlaufball bearing • Kugellagerblindfold, to die Augen verbindencharacter Darstellerdevice Gerätfacility Einrichtung, Anlagegoggles • (Schutz-) Brilleharness • Gurtzeug, Geschirrmemorise, to sich merken, speichernmount Bergomnidirectional •
allseitig
pace Schritt, Tempopepper, to übersäenperception Wahrnehmungproverbial • sprichwörtlichstroll, to bummeln, schlenderntreadmill • Laufbandunconstrained ungezwungen,
uneingeschränktunrestricted ungehindert, frei
Bild
: Pro
cedu
ral
After feeding the computer with a footprint of old Pompeii and its archi-tectural detail, special software recreates the city automatically.
www.engine-magazin.de ● 13
www.cyberwalk-project.orghttp://cyberwalk.kyb.tuebingen.mpg.deOffi zielle Webseite des Projekts und Zusammenfassung des letzten Workshops.
www.cyberneum.deWebauftritt des Cyberneums mit kurzer Beschreibung der Technik und der Forschungsinhalte.
www.kyb.mpg.deAlle anderen Aktivitäten am Max Planck Institut für biologische Kybernetik.
www.amm.mw.tum.de/index.php?id=250Seite der TU München zum Cyberwalk Projekt.
www.vision.ee.ethz.ch/research/project_show.cgi?id=49Kurze Beschreibung der Cyberwalk Aktivitäten an der ETH Zürich.
www.procedural.comInternetseite des Unternehmens, das für die Erschaffung des virtuellen Pompeii verantwortlich ist.
an underlying conveyor belt, which again was mounted on a turntable. Although functional, the concept couldn’t be scaled to the size of walking area dictated by the laws of physics. When a test person stops, an equally sudden stop of the treadmill would cause the walker to trip up – therefore, a certain run-out for deceleration is needed. To ensure a deceleration soft enough not to be felt as such, the run-out should be at least two metres in each direc-tion. The resulting walking area of four by four metres is simply too large for the ball bearing solution.
Luckily, the partnering researchers from the Technical University of Munich came up with a better idea: a conveyor belt made of conveyor belts. 25 individually powered and controlled conveyor belts are chained up into a torus that moves perpendicular to the individual belts, thus creating an omindirectional treadmill. With a platform size of 6.5 by 6.5 metres and seven tons of moving weight, the platform is mas-sive, the largest of its kind in the world. Set in motion by a simple step in any direction, it can
cope with speeds up to two metres per second or relaxed jogging. While the huge structure rumbles along, it emits a sound not unlike that of a volcanic eruption. The walking feels very natural and is only occasionally interrupted by a little ‘earthquake’ when one of the many mo-tors or controllers slips.
Watching Each and Every Step
While quite fi tting for a Pompeii simulation, noise and tremors hardly distract from the immer-sive experience created by the unique combina-tion of virtual reality and free walking. An ex-perience that is produced by two technologies which are, although less visible, as sophisticated as the huge treadmill: markerless tracking and the speedy creation of virtual cities.
To control the treadmill, the walker’s speed and direction of movement has to be tracked. Usually this is done by attaching markers, i.e. refl ectors, to all parts of a test person’s body and tracking their position with infrared cam-
achieve, to erreichen, vollbringenambient Umgebungs-application Anwendungarray • Anordnung, Reihebehavioural • Verhaltens-conveyor belt • Förderbandcrude grob, simpelcumbersome • beschwerlich, lästigdeceleration • Verzögerungdetermine, to ermitteln, feststellendie-hard eingefl eischtdistract, to ablenkenemit, to abgeben, abstrahlengesture • Gestehead-mounted display auf dem Kopf getragenes,
markerless ohne Markierungenmedieval • mittelalterlichperpendicular • rechtwinkligposture • Haltung, Positurprice tag Preisschildrepetitive sich wiederholendrumble, to poltern, rumpelnrun-out Auslaufscale, to skalierenskyscraper Wolkenkratzersophisticated ausgefeilt, aufwendigsurvey Aufnahme, Erfassungtracking Verfolgen, Nachführentremor • Erschütterung, Stoßtrip up, to stolpernturntable Drehtellerurban • städtischversatile • vielseitig
The Cyberwalk is made of 25 individually powered and controlled conveyor belts. Chained into a torus, these belts also form a conveyor belt.Bilder: 2x Cyberneum, Meier
Nr. 2 – Juni 200814 ●
eras. The Bee helmet with its array of antennae is a good example. Refl ective balls at the end of each antenna allow the precise tracking of the posture of the head, important for adjust-ing the viewing angle of the projection in the head-mounted display. While a helmet isn’t very distracting, wearing a complete bodysuit plas-tered with refl ective markers would be rather cumbersome.
But no-one is forced to dress in a clown-like outfi t, the project partners from the ETH Zurich make do with an array of normal video cameras and ambient light. Image recognition technology then detects the test person against the black background. A central overhead camera tracks the walker’s position on the Cyberwalk and, by recognising the angle of the shoulders, their direction. With the help of additional cameras around the treadmill, the researchers are able to extract the user’s silhouette, create a simpli-fi ed 3D-stick model and determine the overall body posture and simple gestures like pointing in a direction or pushing a door. Although the resolution is too crude to detect fi nger or hand movements, even the current level of marker-less tracking allows interaction with the virtual city that goes far beyond walking.
Cities at the Push of a Button
Should this interaction require more detail from the virtual city, the team responsible for the 3D-modelling is well prepared: Procedural, an of-fi cial ETH spin-off, relies on their ‘Cityengine’, a programming environment especially designed to model large cities with individual buildings. The engine allows much faster creation and detailing of urban environments than conven-tional 3D-modellers. This is achieved by, among other things, reducing the architecture to certain characteristics and repetitive elements and then varying their proportion and rhythm to create
individual buildings – even automatically. Based on footprints from the archaeological survey, old Pompeii was designed by model-ling some main structures like temples or the forum ‘by hand’ and then letting the computer fi ll in the remaining buildings all by itself. If necessary, individual buildings could then be selected for correction or further detailing. The program is so versatile that, fed with different design styles and architectural elements, it could create a medieval or skyscraper version of Pompeii with just a few clicks.
Cities at the push of a button, 3D-goggles, free movement – die-hard video gamers will surely lick their fi ngers at the thought of this kind of technology. Although gaming is one possible use of the Cyberwalk, the current price tag of about 2.5 million for the installation asks for more serious applications. “Besides our own research, the Cyberwalk could also be used for medical treatment and rehabilitation, behavioural science, architecture or training of maintenance and security teams,” says Ernst, summarising the many uses of the Cyberneum’s omnidirec-tional treadmill.
And so it might still be some time before we can enter the holodeck. But we’ve taken the fi rst step, and who knows in which direction it might lead. " Matthias Meier
Euro-Sprachreisen ESR bietet für Sie maßgeschneiderte Sprachaufenthalte im Ausland –für allgemeinsprachliche Zwecke oder als gezieltes
Fachsprachentraining für Ihr beruflichesWeiterkommen.
Ende der Tragfl äche)Yaw control Seitensteuerungyaw, to gieren
Bei einem so umfassenden Thema kann unser Technical Dictionary natürlich nur eine kleine Auswahl bieten. Mehrere tausend Voka-beln zur Luftfahrttechnik fi nden sich im “Technischen Wörterbuch der Luftfahrt”, erschienen im Christiani Verlag unter ISBN 3-87125-829-6 (E-D)ISBN 3-87125-828-8 (D-E)
Industrial Wireless
Industrieller Da-tenfunk ist aus der heutigen Produk-tionsumgebung nicht mehr weg zu denken. Neben den zahlreichen Anforderungen, die auch drahtlosen Lösungen im Büro an die Funktechnik stellen, kommen in der Produktions-umgebung noch weitere hinzu. Hier ein Überblick.
Basics
Bild
: Mot
orol
a
The challenges associated with extending mo-bility in the industrial environment are very different from the offi ce environment. Regard-less of what is being produced – from power and petrochemicals to vehicles, electronics and more – the coverage area is far more ex-pansive than the typical enterprise. Not only is the physical area vast, it consists of varying physical environments – inside and outside the four walls – where reliable wireless connec-tivity must be established in spite of elements that might include environmental factors such as extreme temperatures or wind as well as ob-stacles like buildings or large equipment. The large volume of metal typically found in the construction of the building as well as within the environment, such as large vessels, pip-ing and machinery, can wreak havoc with RF signals – as can equipment that emits electro-magnetic noise, such as large motors.
Wireless Infrastructure
Achieving true inside/outside coverage will often involve the selection of a wireless infra-structure ecosystem capable of seamless inter-connectivity – which might include wireless LANs, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint networks and private wide-area networks.
The RF switch is the key in this ecosystem, providing device connectivity as well as a platform for the integration of whatever wire-
less technologies are required by the enter-prise. Regardless of whether workers remain inside the enterprise compound or spend a good portion of the day in the fi eld, seam-less voice and data connectivity is required to maintain effi ciency. But all wireless technology is not created equal. It is important to under-stand the types of features and functions that are available to best meet the needs of extend-ing mobility in an industrial enterprise.
Reliability
In a production environment, maximum uptime is crucial – the wireless system must offer the same level of reliability as the wired network. A wireless system that offers maxi-mum mean time between failure specifi cations (MTBF) and multiple levels of redundancy is crucial to ensuring the uninterrupted network availability required to protect productivity and profi tability.
Performance-enhancing features that con-tribute to reliability provide granular control over the availability and quality of the wire-less connection. For example, make sure the wireless system enables users to roam to the next access port or access point before connec-tion erodes. Equipment that can automati-cally change to a different channel if there is too much noise ensures that users maintain a robust connection in spite of challenging environmental conditions. Traffi c control features provide granular control over types of traffi c – for example, the ability to segment voice and data traffi c helps ensure the quality of voice calls. And fi nally, look for wireless systems that reduce processing requirements on the mobile devices themselves to ensure ample battery power during shifts as well as to improve the overall lifecycle of the battery.
Security
Security plays a big part in ensuring reli-ability. The network must be protected from unauthorized users who could initiate attacks that can lead to downtime, the introduction of erroneous information or the theft of company data.
To achieve a level of security on the wire-less system equal to that of the wired LAN,
Nr. 2 – Juni 200820 ●
Dieser Artikel ist eine Zusammenfassung aus dem White Paper “Industrial Wireless: Driving Connectivity Beyond the Carpeted Space”. Die Veröffentlichung erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Motorola. Das vollständige White Paper fi ndet sich unterhttp://www.motorola.com/staticfi les/Business/Products/Wireless LAN Devices/Wireless Switches/WS 5100/_Documents/Static Files/Beyond-Carpeted-Space.pdf
Mehr zum Thema Industriefunk unter www.motorola.comwww.symbol.com/wireless
the wireless system should offer a comprehen-sive portfolio of security features that can be layered as needed to achieve the right level of security for different applications. In addi-tion to controlling who accesses the wireless system, data should be protected as it travels over the wireless infrastructure. And the abil-ity to monitor the wireless system in real time is critical to enabling the swift action required to minimize the effects of any security breach.
Integration
At the centre of mobility solutions, the wire-less system should offer the fl exibility to easily integrate the various technologies and devices that are in use in your environment today – as well as those required to meet business needs tomorrow. While today only a wireless LAN may be needed, the feasibility of deploying RFID in the yard and the warehouse may be under evaluation.
Environmental Challenges
The industrial environment poses a number of signifi cant environmental challenges not found in the carpeted space, from the sheer size and reach of the facilities, to the presence
VoraussetzungRF switch Hochfrequenzschalterroam, to wandernseamless nahtlos, übergangslossurvey Untersuchung,
Erfassungswift schnell, raschthorough • gründlich, vollständiguptime Verfügbarkeitvast riesig, enormvessel Behälter, Gefäßwire, to verkabelnwreak havoc, to •
verheerenden Schaden anrichten
yard Lagerplatz, Hof
of hazardous materials, and a lot of RF ‘noise’, RF blind spots, and more. The industrial environment typically includes a lot of metal surfaces that can refl ect RF signals – from tanks and pipes to compressors and more. In this challenging multi-path environment, a very thorough and careful site survey is required to ensure successful deployment – and to protect against the need for major and often costly adjustments post-implementation.
Mobility support – inside and outside
A mobility solution enables employees to conduct business and automatically capture data while on the move throughout the workday. Enabling mobility in the industrial enterprise requires a true wireless network ecosystem. For example: • Wireless LANs with mesh capabilities en-
able the extension of wireless connectivity into outdoor areas and hard-to-wire areas indoors, as well as the connection of two-wired networks – all without the expense of installing additional cable or fi bre.
• Point-to-point solutions provide low-cost networking between facilities.
• Point-to-multipoint private wide-area net-works enable the extension of voice and data virtually anywhere. !
www.engine-magazin.de ● 21
Pictorial
Frameworks/Trussesfree body diagram
tension tie
compression strut
buckling
framing geometry
rollers
hinge
statically determinate
statically indeterminate
pin connection
clevis pin rigid members pin
riveted connection
connection/joint
member
support
spaceframe
Nr. 2 – Juni 200822 ●
Pictorial
deck trusspony trussthrough truss
Howe truss
Warren truss
Pratt truss
bridge
roof structure
scissor truss
Fink roof truss
Howe roof trussqueen postking post
diagonal
bracing
bottom chord
strut
post
top chord
web member
lower chord
upper chord
gusset
www.engine-magazin.de ● 23
The UniverseMachine
In summer 2008, scientists will switch on one of the largest machines in the world to search for the smallest of particles. CERN’s Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator has the potential to change our understanding of the Universe.
Im Sommer 2008 werden Wissen-schaftler mit einer der größten Maschi-nen der Welt nach den kleinsten aller Teilchen suchen. Der Large Hadron Collider Teilchen-beschleuniger am CERN könnte unser Verständnis vom Universum verän-dern
Particle Accelerator
The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s next-generation particle accelerator. Arguably the most ambitious scientifi c endeavour ever undertaken, the $8.7 billion project at CERN, the European particle physics lab in Geneva, Switzerland, has been in the works for more than two decades. When it begins operating in mid-2008, scientists predict that its very-high-en-ergy collisions will yield extraordinary discover-ies about the nature of the physical universe.
The LHC project has two equally important aspects: the collider itself and its six particle
detectors, each one a self-contained experiment. The collider, nearing completion in a 27-kilom-eter ring deep below the Swiss-French border, will accelerate two beams of protons in opposite directions to a whisker below the speed of light. For most of their split-second journey around the ring, these hair-thin beams will travel in separate vacuum pipes; but at four points, in the hearts of the main experiments, they will collide at energies of 14 trillion electronvolts. These massive experiments – huge both in size and in worldwide participation – are known by their ac-
Nr. 2 – Juni 200824 ●
Bild
: M. B
rice/
CER
N
ronyms: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb. They are the tools physicists will use to turn particle collisions into scientifi c breakthroughs.
Building the LHC and its experiments has re-quired the efforts of some 10,000 scientists, engi-neers, technicians, and students from almost 60 nations. Researchers are now looking forward to the next phase, when they will see collisions begin, watch data start fl owing, and spend many a sleepless night searching for the tracks of particles whose existence would transform our understanding of the universe.
The heart of the LHC project is the collider itself, and the heart of the collider is a series of thousands of superconducting magnets. They create the extremely high magnetic fi elds needed to accelerate particles to high energies, guide them in circles, and focus them for colli-
sion. Such fi elds are possible today only with superconducting technology, which requires that the magnets be cooled to nearly absolute zero – colder than outer space – by superfl uid helium.
The LHC’s particle collisions will reach energies seven times higher than those achieved at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory’s Tevatron, the most powerful particle collider operating to date. Building a machine capa-ble of reaching those energies has proved a formidable task; now, with LHC construction almost complete, focus has turned to testing, cooling, testing again, and preparing to acceler-ate beams.
“The LHC is ten times bigger than the Tevatron,” says LHC Project Leader Lyn Evans from CERN. “Every step of the way has been challenging: getting it approved, getting the !
accelerate, to • beschleunigenaccelerator • Beschleunigerachieve, to erreichen, erzielenacronym • Kurzwort, Initialwortambitious • ehrgeizig, anspruchsvollapprove sth., to etw. zulassen, genehmigenarguably • wohlbreakthrough Durchbruchchallenging anspruchsvolldiscovery Entdeckungeffort • Anstrengungendeavour • Unternehmenformidable beachtlich, anspruchsvollparticipation Beteiligungpipe Rohr, Röhrepredict, to vorhersagenrequire, to erfordern, bedürfenself-contained eigenständigsplit-second Sekundenbruchteilsuperconducting supraleitendwhisker Barthaaryield, to • ergeben, bringen
http://lhc.web.cern.ch/lhcDie zum Teil sehr theoretische, offi zielle Homepage des LHC.
http://public.web.cern.chWebseite des CERN mit vielen Informationen zum LHC, den Experimenten und physikalischen Hintergründen.
http://press.web.cern.ch/press/ForJournalists.htmlPresseseite mit vielen informativen Broschüren zum LHC und seinen Experimenten.
www.uslhc.us US-amerikanische Seite zum LHC mit vielen Bildern.
http://gridcafe.web.cern.ch/gridcafe Allgemeinverständliche Seite zum Grid Computing des LHC
www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/253 Sehr unterhaltsames Video, das die Funktion und Zielsetzung des LHC erklärt.
Left: The end-cap disk of the CMS experiment is 15 m high and weighs around 900 tonnes. It is equipped on both sides with muon detectors. Below: A bike is necessary to check the dipole mag-nets along the 27-kilome-tre long tunnel.
Bild: M. Brice/CERN
www.engine-magazin.de ● 25
� The LHC will accelerate two beams of particles of the same kind, either protons or lead ions, which are hadrons. Hadrons (from the Greek ‘adros’ meaning ‘bulky’) are particles composed of quarks.
� The particles are so tiny that when the beams cross there will be only 20 collisions among 200 billion particles.
� Protons at full energy in the LHC will be travelling at 0.999999991 times the speed of light. Each proton will go round the 27-kilometre ring more than 11,000 times a second.
� 11,700 Amperes fl ow through the dipole magnets which accelerate the beam.
� The LHC consumes as much energy as all the households in the Canton of Geneva together: 120 MW.
� The Grid, a service for sharing computer power and data storage over the internet, will give scientists all over the world access to the LHC experiments and helps to crunch the 100,000 DVD worth of data produced by each of the big experiments every year.
� The LHC reuses a tunnel built in the 1980s for the Large Electron-Positron Collider.
Large Hadron Collider Facts and Figures
hardware solid, getting through budget crises, handling technical diffi culties, and now getting the whole thing to work together.”
Physicists hope the LHC’s experiments will reveal new worlds of unknown particles and explain why those particles exist and behave as they do. Scientists will also search for the origins of mass, study the universe as it existed shortly after the Big Bang, and try to uncover hidden symmetries of the universe and extra dimensions of space.
The two biggest LHC experiments are AT-LAS and CMS. ATLAS, measuring 45 metres long, 25 metres wide, and 25 metres high is the largest, while CMS, weighing in at 13,000 tons, is the heaviest. Each involves approximately 2000 physicists from some 35 countries. These scientists will search for new particles and phe-
nomena, measure the properties of previously discovered quarks and bosons with unprecedent-ed precision, and be on the lookout for completely unexpected physics.
Solving Mysteries
“The most exciting discoveries are the ones you don’t anticipate,” says CERN theoretical physicist John Ellis. “People looked into the fi rst microscope and saw a whole new world of bac-teria that they didn’t know existed. It could be that way again.”
The 1000-member ALICE collaboration will use collisions of lead ions to study the quark-gluon plasma, a state of matter that existed just after the big bang. The ALICE detector may
The ATLAS detector at the LHC is seen in its cavern during assembly. This view is from side A of the cavern from which the huge toroid magnets, muon chambers and inner detector can be seen.
Bild
: S. B
elle
gard
e/C
ERN
Nr. 2 – Juni 200826 ●
Dieser Artikel ist ein Auszug aus einem Beitrag, der in Symmetry, Ausgabe December 2007, erschienen ist. Die Veröffentlichung erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Symmetry Magazine. Den Originalbeitrag und weitere Artikel zum Thema Teilchenphysik fi nden Sie unter www.symmetrymagazine.org
also provide vital information about run-of-the-mill proton collisions in the early days of LHC operation, paving the way for physicists with the ATLAS and CMS experiments to identify unu-sual collisions that may reveal new physics.
The aim of the LHCb experiment is to measure rare decays of B mesons – particles containing a bottom quark. Such decays happen very rarely in the familiar world of observed particles, but more frequently in scenarios such as supersymmetry, in which every particle has a heavier superpartner. If LHCb’s 600 scientists fi nd these decays, it could be the fi rst evidence of new physics phenomena.
“If you compare the LHC to an earthquake, ATLAS and CMS may produce something that shatters our understanding of the universe – a really big earthquake,” explains Ellis. “But earthquakes often have tremors that precede them and tell you something big is coming. LHCb could generate such tremors.”
On a much smaller scale are the LHCf and TOTEM experiments. Built around the ATLAS and CMS collision points, respectively, these experiments have very specifi c aims. The 21-member LHCf experiment will contribute to the understanding of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays that bombard the Earth. The 80-member TOTEM experiment will measure particles fl ying off at very small angles from the LHC’s proton-proton collisions, allowing scientists to study physical processes that can’t otherwise be explored.
The detectors are nearly complete, the global computing system is almost ready, and parts of the collider are already cooled to nearly absolute zero. After more than two decades of preparation, the LHC will produce its fi rst proton collisions in 2008. Excitement is growing among scientists and the rest of the world. "
Katie Yurkewicz
100 metres below the outskirts of Geneva, the 27-kilometre long particle racetrack crosses the border between France and Switzerland.
Bild: CERN
access • Zugang, Einsichtaccount for, to betragen, ausmachenanticipate, to erwarten, absehenbe on the lookout for sth., to nach etw. Ausschau haltenbulky massig, sperrigcollaboration Zusammenarbeitconsume, to verbrauchencontribute, to beisteuern, beitragencrunch, to zermalmendecade • Jahrzehntdecay Verfall, Zerfallearthquake Erdbebenexcitement Erregung, Nervositätexplore, to erforschen, erkundenlead • Bleipave the way, to den Weg ebnenphysicist • Physikerprecede, to • vorangehenproperty Eigenschaftprovide, to bieten, beschaffenreveal sth., to enthüllenrun-of-the-mill alltäglichshatter, to erschüttern, zerschlagenstate Zustand, Beschaffenheittremor • Beben, Stoßunprecedented •
beispiellos
wissen können handeln
Der Spezialist für
Technical English &BusinessCommunicationISD ist seit über 25 Jahren Partner fürUnternehmen, deren Mitarbeiter weltweitdurch sicheren Auftritt und kommunikativeKompetenz überzeugen.
Business & Technical English, alle europä-ischen und die wichtigsten asiatischenSprachen für Fach- und Führungskräfte.
Tinker, Tailor, Robot, FlyFliegen sind meist lästig und leicht ist man versucht, sich des Problems mit ei-ner Fliegenklatsche zu entledigen. Das nächste Mal sollten Sie jedoch genauer hinschauen, Sie könnten die For-schungsarbeit von Robert Wood zer-stören, Professor an der Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science.
In Short
Bild: Wood/HML
Robert Wood has been perfecting a robotic fl y whose eventual applications might include lo-cating survivors trapped in mines and spying in wartime. The ambitious undertaking was, in many ways, the wrong project for Wood at the time. His interest in control theory – an engineer’s perspective on how systems work – made him eager to develop a way to manage such a device. One small problem: “If you want to control them, you’ll have to build them fi rst,” his adviser told him. Wood, with a background in electrical engineering, would have to become a mechanical engineer.
Designing an automated fl y implied having the ability to make lightweight, miniature working parts, a process that Wood says took up the bulk of his doctoral study, because of the lack of any previous research on which to draw. “For years, the thrust of our work was ‘How do we do this?’” says Wood. “There was no existing fabrication paradigm, given the scale we were operating on, the speed we wanted to operate with, and things like cost, turnaround, and robustness.” His research group developed and fabricated a laser carv-ing system that could meticulously cut, shape, and bend sheets of carbon fi bre and polymer – both strong but lightweight materials – into the necessary microparts.
And how do you power those wings to make them beat 120 times per second? To keep this 60-milligram robot (the weight of a few grains of rice) with a 3-centimeter wing-span to a minimal size and weight, Wood says, you can’t simply use a shrunken version of the heavy DC motors used in most robots. So, he and his team settled on a simple actuator: in this case, a layered composite that bends when electricity is applied, thereby powering a
micro-scale gearbox hooked up to the wings. Wood says the actuator works even better than its biological inspiration. The power den-sity – a measure of power output as a function of mass – of a fl y’s wing muscles is around 80 watts per kilogram; Wood’s wing design produces more than 400 watts per kilogram.
The fi rst takeoff occurred late one evening last March as Wood was working alone in his offi ce, his colleagues gone for the evening. As the fl y rose, Wood jumped up in celebration, quickly verifi ed that his camera had captured the fl ight, and let out a sigh of relief.
Success meant that Wood could fi nally turn to those questions that weren’t worth asking until the fl y took off: Is the shape of a fl y’s wings (a less-than-optimal design which Wood improved on in his robotic version) a bio-logical limitation, or does it somehow aid the fl y’s aerodynamics? Does a four-winged insect offer a design improvement? Even questions of evolutionary biology come into play: Why did all the four-winged arthropod fl yers of the late Carboniferous period evolve to have two wings?
Wood’s efforts to replicate nature extend beyond the fl y: He has worked on a robotic minnow-sized fi sh, a cockroach-sized crawling robot, and even a “hummingbird.” These ex-periences in engineering biological structures left him awed and inspired. “If I could go back in time and choose again the fi eld I would get into,” he says, “it might be a toss-up between engineering and biology.” ! Dan Morrell
adviser Studienberaterapplication Einsatz, Anwendungapply, to hier: an-, aufbringenarthropod • Gliederfüßlerawed • voller Ehrfurchtbulk Großteil, Massecarve, to schneidencockroach • Kakerlakecomposite • Verbund (-werkstoff)draw on, to heranziehengrain Kornhummingbird Kolibriimprove, to verbessern, verfeinernminnow • kleiner Fisch (Elritze)paradigm • Vorbild, Musterpower density Leistungsdichterelief • Erleichterungsuccess Erfolgthrust Hauptrichtung, Schubtoss-up Loswurfturnaround Tendenzwendewingspan Spannweite
Nr. 2 – Juni 200828 ●
Dieser Artikel ist ein Auszug aus einem Beitrag, der im Harvard Magazine, Ausgabe January-February 2008, erschienen ist. Die Veröffentlichung erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Autors und des Harvard Magazine. Der vollständige Beitrag fi ndet sich unterhttp://harvardmagazine.com/2008/01/tinker-tailor-robot-fl y.html
http://micro.seas.harvard.edu (engl.)Webseite des Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory mit weiteren Informationen zu Woods Arbeit und Videos der künstlichen Fliege.
Exercises Answers on page 50
A True or False
Read the text and then decide if the following statements are “true” or “false” or “not stated”.
1 Wood had the right academic background for developing the robotic fl y.
2 Designing a robotic fl y took up most of his time while studying for his doctorate.
3 The robotic fl y performs better than a natural fl y. 4 Wood improved the shape of the fl y’s wings because they are a
limitation for a natural fl y. 5 Having done so much work in the fi eld of biology, Wood now
wishes he had studied the subject at university.
" true " false " n/s
" true " false " n/s
# true # false # n/s# true # false # n/s
# true # false # n/s
B Find
Find words or phrases in the text which mean the same as the following synonyms or expla-nations. The paragraph number is given in brackets to help you.Example: project, task (para. 1) – Answer: undertaking
8 connected to (para. 3) _________________________________ 9 happened, took place (para. 4) _________________________________10 checked, confi rmed (para. 4) _________________________________11 restriction (para. 5) _________________________________12 help, support (para. 5) _________________________________13 reproduce, copy, (para. 6) _________________________________14 motivated, encouraged (para.6) _________________________________
B Complete
In the table below are words taken from the text. Complete the table with the other forms of the word. It may not be possible to complete every box.
Verb Noun Adjectiveto design
automatedto implyto develop
successlayered
applicationto improve
limitationto evolve
inspiredto extend
www.engine-magazin.de ● 29
Irland – entspannt und Irland, einst das Armenhaus Westeuropas, hat in den 90er-Jahren einen Wirtschaftsboom sondergleichen erlebt. Besu-cher, die Irland in den 80er-Jah-ren bereist haben, müssen sich manchmal Mühe geben, ihre Er-innerungen mit den gegenwär-tigen Eindrücken in Einklang zu bringen.
Kultursprung
www.bfai.dewww.diplo.dewww.ixpos.deStandardanlaufstellen für das Auslandsgeschäft.
www.discoverireland.com (dt.)Offi zielle Seite des Irischen Fremdenverkehrsbüros mit allen Informationen für die Reise.
http://irland.ahk.de (dt.)Internetseiten der Deutsch-Irischen Industrie- und Handelskammer.
www.ida.ie (engl.)Informationsportal für deutsche Investoren in Irland.
www.cro.ie (engl.)Verzeichnis sämtlicher irischer Firmen, vergleichbar mit dem Handelsregister.
www.dublin.diplo.de (dt.)Deutsche Botschaft in Dublin.
www.cso.ie (engl.)Zentrales irisches Amt für Statistik.
Mitte der 90er-Jahre fand ein dramatischer Umschwung in Irland statt. Nach Jahrzehnten der Unterentwicklung und Stagnation begann ein rasanter Aufschwung. Das rapide Wachs-tum wurde mit den sich sehr schnell industri-alisierenden Staaten Südostasiens verglichen, den sogenannten Tigerstaaten. So kam es zum begriff des Keltischen Tigers (Celtic Tiger). Eine Reihe von Faktoren mögen zu diesem Aufschwung geführt haben: 1987 begann unter der Regierung von Charles Haughey das dreijährige „Programme for National Recove-ry“ (Programm für nationale Erholung), in dem sich Arbeitgeber, Gewerkschaften und Bauern-verbände auf eine Zusammenarbeit verstän-digten. Dadurch wurde die Gefahr von Streiks beseitigt und ein stabileres Wirtschaftsklima konnte sich bilden. Die Republik Irland profi -tierte zudem Anfang der 90er-Jahre von EU-Geldern für strukturschwache Regionen, die für die Verbesserung der Infrastruktur verwen-det wurden. Außerdem stabilisierte sich die Situation in Nordirland, was sich wiederum auf die Wirtschaft in der Republik auswirkte. Vor allem aber dürfte eine Rolle gespielt haben, dass man ausländischen Investoren weiterhin günstige Rahmenbedingungen einräumte. Irland bot zudem niedrige Lohnkosten und aufgrund der Englischsprachigkeit eine pro-blemlose Kommunikation mit amerikanischen Firmenzentralen und Kunden.
Als positive Folge des Wirtschaftswachstums ist die Arbeitslosigkeit stark gefallen, viele Iren sind wohlhabend geworden und die Auswan-derer kommen in Scharen zurück. Aber nicht alle Regionen nehmen gleichermaßen an der wirtschaftlichen Konjunktur teil. In einigen ländlichen Regionen hat man nur den „den Schwanz des keltischen Tigers gesehen“, wie man es dort oft ausdrückt.
Nationale Identität
Die meisten Iren sind sehr patriotisch. Anders als etwa die Deutschen gehen sie recht unbe-fangen mit nationalen Symbolen um. Irische Flaggen sieht man bei einer Reise durch das Land häufi g und in vielen Pubs, aber auch in Geschäften und öffentlichen Einrichtungen, werden in Schildern und in der Auslage oft Symbole der irischen Kultur benutzt: angefan-gen von irischsprachigen Namen über Darstel-lungen von shamrock (dreiblättriges Kleeblatt) oder Harfe bis hin zur Farbe Grün.
Die „Hauptbestandteile des Irischseins“ werden seit mehr als einem Jahrhundert pro-pagiert und sind den Iren inzwischen in Fleisch und Blut übergegangen: die irische Sprache – auch wenn man nur cúpla focal („ein paar Worte“) spricht –, traditionelle irische Musik und Tanz sowie gälische Sportarten. Hinzu kommen solche Zutaten wie der Katholizis-mus und Trinkfestigkeit. Unverwechselbar irisch wollen die Iren sein, das heißt vor allem anders als die Engländer.
Nordiren haben es in Bezug auf ihre Nati-onalität noch schwerer als die Nachbarn im Süden.
Vermutlich gerade deshalb wird in Nord-irland wie kaum anderswo in Westeuropa nationale Identität so demonstrativ zur Schau getragen. Werden Protestanten dort nach ihrer Nationalität gefragt, antworten sie in der Regel sie seien Briten.
Begegnungen mit Iren
Das Deutschenbild der Iren wird zu einem Großteil durch die ins Land kommenden Touristen geprägt. Diese sind meist kulturell
Nr. 2 – Juni 200830 ●
gastfreundlich
Die grüne Insel: Der Friedhof von Ross Abbey im County Galway, tradi-tionelle Musik in einem Pub, ein Dorf in Donegal, das Trinity College in Dublin und eine unwider-stehliche Einladung zur Gemütlichkeit. (Alle Bilder: Tourism Ireland)
Dieser Kultursprung ist ein kurzer Auszug aus dem Buch Kulturschock Irland/Nordirland von A. Fieß und L. Kabel, erschienen im Reise Know-how Verlag unter der ISBN 978-3-8317-1522-0. Die Veröffentlichung erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Verlags.www.reise-know-how.de
interessiert, gebildet und haben gute Englisch-kenntnisse.
Deutsche in Irland, seien es Touristen oder Immigranten, versuchen normalerweise, sich an irische Gewohnheiten und Verhaltenswei-sen anzupassen und nicht allzu sehr aufzu-fallen. Sie sind durchaus stolz darauf, nicht sofort als Ausländer erkannt zu werden. Gera-de wenn sie dann auch noch „typisch“ irische Hobbys wie traditionelle Musik oder Tanzen betreiben, sagt man, sie seien „irischer als die Iren selbst“. Die Deutschen haben zudem den Ruf, gewissenhaft, fl eißig, umweltbewusst, effi zient und pünktlich zu sein, aber auch ein bisschen langweilig und humorlos.
Wer in Irland mit Einheimischen zusammen-trifft, wird feststellen, dass der allgemeine Umgang miteinander freundlich, ja oft herzlich ist. Die Iren sind kontaktfreudig und man kommt leicht miteinander ins Gespräch.
Es ist durchaus üblich, mit dem Sitznach-barn im Zug oder mit den anderen Wartenden an einer Bushaltestelle ein kurzes Schwätz-chen zu halten.
Höfl ichkeiten und bestimmte Rituale bei der Gesprächsführung sind wichtig. Man fällt keineswegs mit der Tür ins Haus, wenn man ein Anliegen hat – das wäre unhöfl ich. Zuerst werden einleitende Freundlichkeiten ausge-tauscht.
Wichtig ist in Irland auch, seinen Gesprächs-partnern mit Namen anzureden. Das wird in den allermeisten Fällen der Vorname sein und es ist daher üblich, wenn man zum Beispiel eine Bekannte auf der Straße trifft, etwaige Begleiter mit Namen vorzustellen.
Die meisten Iren sind wenig direkt und versuchen, Konfl ikten möglichst auszuwei-chen. Man kommt beispielsweise bei einer Beschwerde oder einem heiklen Anliegen
nicht gleich zum Punkt, sondern es wird erst einmal um den heißen Brei herumgeredet. Aus Höfl ichkeit gibt man manchmal auch Auskunft, obwohl man gar nicht so genau Be-scheid weiß, weil man ungern Nein sagt und einen befriedigenden Ausgang des Gesprächs erreichen möchte.
Man geht in Irland mit manchen Regeln und vorgeschriebenen Abläufen recht locker um. Das hat aber häufi g auch eine positive Seite, zum Beispiel wenn großzügig darüber hinweg gesehen wird, dass man mit dem Mietwagen eine halbe Stunde über der Zeit ist.
Eine irische Besonderheit im Gesprächsver-halten und für Ausländer oft schwer verständ-lich ist das sogenannte slagging, eine Art Necken und Aufziehen, bei dem man oft das Gegenteil von dem sagt, was man meint, oder sein Gegenüber scheinbar beleidigt – was aber nett und freundlich gemeint ist.
Zeitverständnis
Trotz der modernen Veränderungen haben die Iren ein recht entspanntes Zeitverständnis. Verabredungen werden oft locker und ohne bestimmten Termin getroffen.
Dieses lockere Zeitverständnis beschränkt sich keinesfalls auf den privaten Bereich. Auch in der Geschäftswelt gibt es mehr zeitliche Puffer.
Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel kommen auch recht selten zur angegebenen Zeit – wenn überhaupt. Die Iren gehen damit stoisch um: Man wartet auf den nächsten Bus.
Die Iren kokettieren mit ihrem lockeren Umgang mit der Zeit und Außenstehenden gegenüber wird das gern einmal als Irish time („irische Zeit“) bezeichnet. !
www.engine-magazin.de ● 31
China – Rising Superpower China has always fascinated Germany. German adventurers have long traversed China leaving behind them quaint German villas in the port city of Qingdao and a taste for beer. Numerous German-Chinese associations are dedicated to the study of language, philosophy and art. But this almost romantic, exotic image of old China is only one side of the coin – the other is business.
China hat auf uns Deutsche schon im-mer eine große Fas-zination ausgeübt. Unzählige Deutsch-Chinesische Gesell-schaften widmen sich der chinesischen Kultur, Philosophie und Kunst. Doch das ist nur eine Seite der Medaille – die andere heißt: gute Geschäfte.
Business Partner
Long before diplomatic relationships were established, and this was only 36 years ago in 1972, the Germans were doing business with the Chinese. The very fi rst electric streetcars in Beijing were built by Siemens in 1899. Since then, the company has gone on to establish 38 regional offi ces and more than 45 operating companies in China employing a workforce of 31,000. Siemens has a fi nger in every economic pie in China. But Volkswagen is in China too, as is chip technology leader Infi neon. Deut-sche Bank came early in 1872. Interestingly enough, it is only since 2002 that more than 2000 small and mid-sized German companies have established a presence in China. Accord-ing to Germany’s Federal Statistical Offi ce, the Sino-German trade volume has tripled to about 76 billion since 2000. Compared with 2005, Germany’s exports to China in 2006 grew more strongly (30%) than China’s exports to Germany (23%)
The attraction of course is fi rst and fore-most the sheer size of the Chinese market. The
Chinese middle class is still growing but has already shown a voracious consumer appetite. But China is also a cheap source of raw materi-als, parts and end-products. And although costs are rising, it is still relatively cheap to produce in China.
Western media reports about China’s monumental growth have always been tinged with awe, but also an inevitable worry about the environment, a warning note about impending social breakdown and the necessary caveat to human rights. At the core of it is probably anxi-ety – will China really become a superpower – it is already the third largest economy in the world – and what will we do with this strange civilisation whose values and habits seem so very different from the west?
It takes very little effort to turn these feelings into fear and criticism. When a recent survey reported on the increasing costs that German companies were experiencing in China and which coincided with organised protests along the route of the Olympic torch, resentment was quick to fl are. China was seen as a threat to the environment, a stealer of jobs, intellectual copy-right and industrial designs as well as a maker of shoddy food and toys that poison. Many Germans were quick to show their sympathy to Tibet or call for a boycott of the Olympics.
Indeed, doing business in China is anything but a breeze. China is a long way from Europe and naturally, given the current international rise in energy prices, transportation of freight from China to Germany and vice-versa is bound to cut into profi ts. Better planning might have helped to alleviate some of these costs.
Manpower is also a signifi cant problem. Although China is a huge country and 4 million graduates join the job market every year, the number with the language skills and personal-ity prerequisites to do multinational corporation work or to engage in sophisticated projects and international management is limited. Other obstacles are the high exchange rates, copyright infringements, government regulatory changes and, particularly irritating to western busi-nesses, the apparent lack of decision-making and responsibility-bearing capacities.
Yet, despite these many diffi culties, most German businesses are in China to stay, and many are even planning to expand, especially to the western interior. The potential of the sales market is the dominant rationale. Besides, it takes time to cultivate relationships (guanxi) in China, especially with governmental bodies, and to establish a delicate balance of favours done and favours owed. Once resources have been committed, China becomes a diffi cult loca-tion to give up.
Bild
: Mei
er
Nr. 2 – Juni 200832 ●
www.bfai.de www.diplo.de www.ixpos.de Die Standardanlaufstellen für das Auslandsgeschäft.
http://english.mofcom.gov.cn (engl.)Seite des chinesischen Wirtschaftsministeriums mit aktuellen Statistiken, Messen und weiteren Geschäftsdaten.
www.china.ahk.de (dt.)Deutsch-Chinesische Außenhandelskammer mit allen Informationen zu Geschäften mit China.
http://chinesepod.comSprachlern-Service für Chinesisch. Der Podcast wendet sich an alle Sprachniveaus, von Anfänger bis Fortgeschrittene.
http://dcg.de (dt.)Die Deutsch-China Gesellschaft fördert die Zusammenarbeit sowohl auf wirtschaftlicher wie auch auf kultureller und politischer Ebene.
www.cnto.org (engl.)www.fac.de (dt.)Offi zielle Chinesische Fremdenverkehrsämter in China und Deutschland mit Infos zu Land und Leuten.
The China-Germany investment relationship is not all disproportional or one-way. Many Chinese fi rms are starting to show a presence in Germany, although they are mostly small, service-oriented companies. As a production centre, however, Germany is still too expensive, as Nokia will tell you.
And Chinese companies are now also offer-ing opportunities for Germans. Grace Semicon-ductor, a home-grown but relatively new Chi-nese addition to the industry, recruited Ulrich Schumacher, former CEO of Infi neon, to lead its 1400 employees. Many German graduates now talk quite confi dently about going to China and fi nding jobs there.
Good Relations and Face-Saving
Since the Chinese love socialising, intercul-tural training for westerners may well focus on elaborate social customs and etiquette in wining and dining and in gifts or business-card exchanges. Such emphasis makes life in China seem ritualistic and exotic, as if it isn’t complicated enough by language, food and a host of other factors. It’s a misconception, however, that if you make a social faux pas or tactical mistake due to cultural differences, you’ve probably botched your chances of do-
ing business together. The Chinese are very practical and they are not going to give up a good business prospect just because you can’t pronounce their names properly or don’t want to eat chicken feet.
It is more helpful to remember that for all their talk of international collaboration, the Chinese are by and large a fervently patriotic people. In the aftermath of the Olympic protest, Chinese expressions on the Internet about the West were no less frank or infl ammatory as Ger-man ones online. It’s not just the effect of years of political education or indoctrination. Many Chinese aren’t blind to the nationalist and manipulative propaganda of the Communist Party. But for many, Chinese unity is a matter of course, as it has been from the very fi rst Chinese emperor. Pride in their culture is also supreme. These convictions affect their perception of the world. Part of the intercultural discussions on the Chinese need for face (mianzhi) probably arises from China’s desire to reclaim the posi-tion it once had in the world as the Middle Kingdom. Therein lies both the diffi culty and the challenge in dealing with China – its need to be an equal, respected member of the interna-tional community and yet, its inevitable belief in its uniqueness and insistence upon its Chinese characteristics. !
Ming Wong
aftermath Nachspiel, Folgenalleviate, to mindernanxiety • Angst, Besorgnisapparent anscheinend, offenbarawe • Ehrfurcht, Scheube bound to, to müssen, n. umhin kommenbear, to (bore, borne) • tragen, aushaltenbotch, to vermasseln, verpfuschenbreeze hier: Kinderspielby and large im Großen und Ganzencaveat • Vorbehalt, Warnungcoincide, to zusammentreffencommit, to sich festlegen, bindenconviction Überzeugungcurrent aktuelldedicate, to widmen, weihenemphasis • Schwerpunkt, Betonungemploy, to beschäftigen, einstellenestablish, to gründen, bildenfavour Gefallenfervently • eifrig, feurigfl are, to auffl ammenfrank freimütig, offengraduate Hochschulabsolventhave a fi nger in every pie, to überall die Hand im Spiel
insistence Beharrlichkeit matter of course Selbstverständlichkeitmisconception falsche Auffassungobstacle • Hindernisowe, to schuldenperception • Auffassung, Sichtweiseprerequisite • Voraussetzung, Bedingungprospect • Aussicht, Erwartungquaint • malerischrationale • Begründungreclaim, to zurückgewinnenresentment Abneigung, Unmutsheer bloß, schiershoddy minderwertig, schlechtSino-• Sino- (Chinesisch)sophisticated anspruchsvollsupreme von höchster Bedeutungsurvey • Studie, Erhebungthreat • Bedrohungtinge, to • färben, tönentorch • Fackeltraverse, to • durchquerenvice-versa • umgekehrtvoracious • unersättlich, gierig
Unsere vereinfachte Lautschrift orientiert sich an der deutschen Aussprache und wird gesprochen, wie sie geschrieben wird. Betonte Silben sind fett gedruckt. Leider geht es nicht ganz ohne Sonderzeichen:
= stimmloses th wie in „thank you“
= stimmhaftes th wie in „the“
= kurzes, unbetontes ewie in „danke“
= langes, offenes o wie in „hoffen“
enGineLautschrift
www.engine-magazin.de ● 33
Grenzen ohne Ärger oder Ärger ohne Grenzen
Diese Frage stellt sich jedem, der nicht als Privatperson, sondern berufl ich und mit Koffern voll Geräten oder Warenmustern über die Grenze muss. Grenzen ohne Ärger verspricht das Carnet ATA, ein Reisepass für Waren, die nur kurzzeitig aus- und dann wieder eingeführt werden.
Thema
Bild
: pho
toca
se.c
om
Wer jemals auch nur einen kurzen Blick in die Zollbestimmungen eines beliebigen Landes ge-worfen hat, merkt schnell, dass selbst der Export von ein paar Kugelschreibern oder Wasserhähnen zu einer bürokratischen Vollzeitbeschäftigung ausarten kann und man den Papierkrieg besser den Profi s, also in der Regel Speditionen, über-lässt.
Was aber ist mit dem „kleinen Grenzverkehr“, dem Export für zwischendurch sozusagen. Was, wenn Exponate auf eine Messe, Muster zum Kun-den oder Messgeräte auf die Baustelle gebracht werden müssen? Dinge also, die nicht dauerhaft exportiert, sondern nur vorübergehend ausge-führt werden. Den Papierkrieg selbst aufnehmen? Oder die Sachen einfach im Koffer verschwinden lassen und am Zoll das Beste hoffen? Beides dürf-te wenig von Erfolg gekrönt sein, letzteres könnte in Zeiten der Terrorhysterie sogar äußerst unan-genehmen Konsequenzen nach sich ziehen. Zum Glück gibt es für solche Fälle das Carnet ATA.
Carnet ist das französische Wort für „Heft“ und ATA ein französisch-englisches Akronym für admission temporaire/temporary admission. Ein Carnet ATA ist also ein Zollpassierscheinheft für die vorübergehende, abgabenfreie Einfuhr von Waren oder, einfach gesagt, ein Reisepass für Waren. Ohne diesen Pass müssten selbst Waren, die nur kurz über die Grenze gebracht und sofort wieder ausgeführt werden, erst offi ziell importiert und dann wieder exportiert werden, inklusive einer zu hinterlegenden Sicherheitsleistung von bis zu 40 % des Warenwerts.
Ein Verfahren, das in vielen Standardsituati-onen des Geschäftsalltags mit ausländischen
Partnern schlicht undenkbar wäre: Produktprä-sentationen müssten dann wahrscheinlich im Zollbüro stattfi nden, der Prototyp zu Hause blei-ben und Messen mit noch mehr Vorlauf geplant werden. Monteure könnten sich im Flughafen getrost ein Zimmer nehmen, während ihre Werkzeuge und Messgeräte abgefertigt werden und bei so manchem Unternehmen wäre mehr Geld auf dem Sicherungskonto als auf der Bank. Um eben diese Umstände zu vermeiden, haben sich knapp 40 Nationen mit dem Carnet ATA, das für Taiwan Carnet CPD heißt, auf ein vereinfachtes Verfahren für bestimmte Waren-gruppen geeinigt.
Reisepass für Waren
Dazu zählen im allgemeinen Messegüter, Warenmuster und Berufsausrüstung. Also alles, was auf Ausstellungen, Messen oder Kon-gressen ausgestellt oder verwendet oder für die Ausübung eines Berufs benötigt wird – im Falle von uns Ingenieuren und Technikern also wahr-scheinlich der Werkzeugkasten, Spezialwerk-zeuge, Mess- und Prüfgeräte. Warenmuster sind fertige Teile, Baugruppen oder Modelle, die jedoch ausschließlich zu Werbezwecken benutzt werden dürfen.
Keinen Waren-Pass bekommen unter anderem Beförderungsmittel, Produktions- oder Verpa-ckungsmaschinen und Geräte zur Instandhaltung. Auch dürfen die mit einem Carnet eingeführten Waren in keiner Weise verändert, z. B. veredelt werden. Und selbstverständlich muss alles, was
Nr. 2 – Juni 200834 ●
Unsere Zusammenfassung kann natürlich nur einen groben Überblick über das Carnet ATA bieten. Zwar haben wir sorgfältig recher-chiert, dennoch können sich durch Gesetzesänderungen und in Sonderfällen Ände-rungen ergeben. Verbind-liche Auskünfte kann nur die örtliche IHK oder das zuständige Zollamt geben.
eingeführt wird, anschließend auch wieder aus-geführt werden. Das bedeutet, dass insbesondere Verbrauchsmittel wie zum Beispiel Betriebsstoffe, Öle, Reinigungsmittel, Montagematerialien wie Schrauben oder Prospekte und kleine Geschenke, die auf der Messe ausgeteilt werden, extra be-handelt werden müssen und auf keinen Fall auf dem Carnet auftauchen dürfen. Gerade Letzteres ist ein beliebter Anfängerfehler, der zu skurrilen, aber dennoch sehr lästigen Situationen am Zoll führen kann.
Die Erteilung eines Carnets ist im Prinzip zwar relativ einfach, in der Praxis aber dennoch mit viel Aufwand verbunden. Der erste Weg führt immer zur örtlichen Industrie- und Handelskammer, die für die Ausstellung eines Carnets zuständig ist. Dort gibt’s die entsprechenden Formulare gegen eine geringe Bearbeitungsgebühr. Dazu kommt noch eine vom Warenwert abhängige Zollrisiko-Versicherung. Weitere Kosten, zum Beispiel bei der Abfertigung, fallen jedoch in der Regel nicht an.
Bunte Listen
Fürs Geld gibt es einen Stapel grüner, gelber, weißer und blauer Papiere, die es so genau wie möglich auszufüllen gilt. Kernstück dieses bunten Hefts ist natürlich die immer wiederkehrende Liste der auszuführenden Waren. Diese sollten eindeu-tig und für auch Zollbeamte, die eben meist keine Ingenieure sind, klar identifi zierbar sein. Serien-nummern, soweit vorhanden, gehören also auf jeden Fall aufs Carnet. Prototypen und Waren-muster, bei denen diese Seriennummer ja meist fehlt, sollten so genau wie möglich beschrieben oder mit Fotos dokumentiert werden. Je detaillier-ter die Liste und je genauer die einzelnen Posten zugeordnet werden können, desto einfacher und vor allem Nerven schonender wird später die Abfertigung.
Ist dann alles ausgefüllt, dient das Carnet als Laufschein, der an den verschiedenen Stationen abgestempelt werden muss. Zuerst geht es jedoch zurück an die IHK, die mit ihrem Stempel aus einem Formular ein Dokument macht. Nächs-te Station ist dann, zusammen mit der Ware, das örtliche Binnenzollamt, das eine „Nämlich-keitssicherung“ vornehmen muss. Hinter diesem Prachtexemplar aus dem deutschen Beamten-wortschatz verbirgt sich nichts anderes als die amtliche Feststellung, dass genau auch das da ist, was auf der Liste steht. Schwer zu identifi zieren-de Stücke können die Zöllner dabei durch Siegel oder Plomben für die weitere Abfertigung kennt-lich machen. Jetzt kann’s endlich los gehen.
An der Grenze geht’s direkt zum Güterzoll. Die Stunde – meist länger – der Wahrheit ist gekom-
men, denn jetzt zeigt sich, wie gut die Vorberei-tung war. Im Prinzip muss der Zöllner zwar nur prüfen und abstempeln, in der Praxis können jedoch tausend Dinge dazwischen kommen. Selbst mit einem gut ausgefüllten Carnet gehört ein Grenzübertritt daher zu den letzten Abenteu-ern der Menschheit und an jeder Grenze steigt die Ehrfurcht vor dem Langmut der LKW-Fahrer, die so etwas tagtäglich machen müssen.
Zöllnern auf die Finger schauen
Wichtig ist, dass der Zollbeamte tatsächlich prüft und stempelt. Wer sich über einen lässig durch-winkenden Zöllner freut, wird dies spätestens dann bitter bereuen, wenn er am nächsten Zoll oder beim Löschen des Carnets die fehlenden Stempel begründen muss. Also stets darauf achten, dass alle Stempel vorhanden und alle Abschnitte ordnungsgemäß abgetrennt sind.
Wieder zu Hause kann das Carnet, das in der Regel für die Dauer eines Jahres gültig ist, entwe-der für die nächste Tour aufbewahrt oder nach Abschluss aller Auslandsaktivitäten an die IHK zu Löschung zurückgegeben werden. Prinzipiell sollten bei einer Mehrfachverwendung immer die gleichen Teile ein- und ausgeführt werden, die IHK kann jedoch auch Änderungen eines beste-henden Carnets vornehmen.
So lange tatsächlich alles wieder zurück kommt, was ursprünglich ausgeführt wurde, sollte es bei dieser Stempeltour keine Probleme geben. Was aber wenn auf dem Carnet erwähnte Waren gestohlen wurden oder sich der Kunde spontan für den Prototyp entschieden hat? Im ersten Fall sollte die örtliche Polizei den Diebstahl aufnehmen, damit der Zoll anhand des Protokolls den fehlenden Posten auf dem Carnet nachvoll-ziehen kann. Ärgerlicherweise muss das fehlende Stück trotzdem nachträglich verzollt werden. Durch eine offi zielle Einfuhr lassen sich auch Kun-den zufrieden stellen, die sich partout nicht mehr von der vorgestellten Maschine trennen wollen. Die Einfuhr wird dabei auf dem Carnet vermerkt.
Eine ähnliche Prozedur empfi ehlt sich übrigens auch bei Wartungsarbeiten, bei denen beispiels-weise ein kompletter Satz von Ersatzteilen ein-geführt, aber letztendlich nur ein einziges davon eingebaut wurde. Hier reisen alle Ersatzteile mit einem Carnet und nur das tatsächlich verwendete wird später verzollt.
Wer nach dieser kurzen Zusammenfassung das Prozedere für aufwändig und kompliziert hält, sei daran erinnert, dass das Carnet ATA eingeführt wurde, um die Abfertigung zu vereinfachen. Glücklich, wer nur Geschäftspartner in der EU hat, wo dank freier Grenzübergänge kein Carnet erforderlich ist. ! Matthias Meier
www.zoll.de/b0_zoll_und_steuern/a0_zoelle/h0_zollverfahren_mit_wirt/c1_voruebergehende_verwendung/g0_carnet_ata/index.htmlSeite des deutschen Zolls zum Carnet ATA.
www.eulerhermes.de/de/service-downloads/carnet-ata.htmlUmfangreiche Fragen und Antworten zum Thema Carnet ATA.
www.ihk-niederrhein.de/downloads/Carnet_Benutzerhinweise.pdfBeispiel eines von vielen IHKn bereitgehaltenen Merkblatts zum Carnet ATA. Die zuständige Industrie- und Handelskammer fi ndet sich unterwww.dihk.de
www.engine-magazin.de ● 35
Great cuisine is more than art, it’s science. The French can now prove it. Cooking an egg for hours and still getting a perfectly smooth egg white and soft yolk is only one of many astonishing results.
Cooking for EggheadsEggheads
Kochen ist mehr als eine Kunst – es ist eine Wissenschaft. Und wer wäre wohl besser für die Erforschung des Kochens geeignet als die Franzosen. Dass ein Ei stunden-lang kochen und trotzdem weich sein kann, ist nur eines ihrer erstaunlichen Ergebnisse.
Molecular Gastronomy
Bild
:iSto
ckph
oto.
com
Paris is sweltering, freakishly hot for an early June morning, and like much of the old city, the lab occupied by Hervé This has no air-condi-tioning. As usual, however, This – pronounced “tiss” – looks dapper in a black suit and one of the impeccable white collarless shirts that have become his trademark. A full day lies ahead in his lab, he says, but fi rst we must shop. He bounds to his feet, ditches his jacket, descends to the stifl ing street below and dives into the local supermarché. He emerges with two dozen eggs and a cold brick of Normandy butter, his face crinkling into a grin. “For our experiments!” he announces. He has yet to break sweat.
This works at the molecular gastronomy group of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research. That’s a mouthful to describe a lab that studies something simple: how the process of cooking changes the struc-ture and taste of food. Nonetheless, molecular gastronomy marks the cutting edge of epicurism these days. Anyone who wields a saucepan is doing chemistry and physics, yet how many of us actually know what’s going on in there? Mo-lecular gastronomy aims to apply the piercing clarity of science to the culinary arts. Already in France, which takes the pleasures of the table seriously, molecular gastronomy is an offi cially recognized, government-funded science.
Writing in 1825, Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, France’s great food philosopher, envisaged a discipline that would meld the physics and chemistry of food and cookery with the physiology of eating and especially with the glorious, sensual world of taste. The “molecular” preface was added in the late 1980s by This and his late colleague, Nicholas
Kurti, to evoke the chemical units that make up the water, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, and other compounds in food. Molecular had a dynamic, modern ring to it, perfect for ushering gastronomy into a new era. Besides, molecular gastronomy sounds so much more fun, sophisticated, and cultured than plain old “food science,” a fi eld with which it some-what overlaps but which is largely geared to the mass-market needs of the food industry.
Not that This is a patronising food snob. He would wholeheartedly agree with Brillat-Savarin that “a humble boiled egg” is as worthy of attention as “the banquets of kings.” “If all you have to eat is this,” he says, plucking an egg from its box and holding it between his thumb and forefi nger, “it’s important to cook it well.”
Do we, though? The standard way to hard-boil eggs in Europe and America – 10 minutes in boiling water – is not ideal, says This. The trouble, he notes clinically, is that 100 degrees Celsius is far higher than the temperature at which the egg whites and the yolks coagulate. Egg whites are made up of protein and water (yolks contain fat as well). As eggs cook, their balled-up proteins uncoil into strands, and the strands bind together to form an intricate mesh that traps water. In essence, the proteins form a gel, a liquid dispersed in a solid. Boiling causes too many egg proteins to bind and form dense meshes, “so there is less sensation of water in the mouth,” says This. Voilà: rubbery egg whites and sandy, greyish yolks.
The 10-minute egg is just the start of kitchen dogma. Our cookbooks are full of tips, caveats, and stipulations drawn untested from tradition and folklore. “Cook meat at high temperature
Nr. 2 – Juni 200836 ●
to seal in the juices? We’ve done the test – it’s not true,” says This. Use only eggs at room temperature for making mayonnaise? Not true either. Season steak with salt before cooking, or salt it afterward? Makes no difference, as the salt doesn’t penetrate the meat.
The Art and Technology of Cooking
This, a physical chemist, fi rst began his testing as a sideline, alone in a laboratory he’d set up at home. Then he met Kurti, the man who would become his colleague and friend. Kurti was a low-temperature physicist at Oxford University and an irrepressible bon vivant. If there is a father of molecular gastronomy, then it’s without doubt Kurti. Thirty-fi ve years ago, he was already poking the probe of a thermocouple into a cheese souffl é to take its internal temperature, or rather to track its vapour-assisted ascent. “We know better the temperature inside the stars than inside a souffl é,” Kurti once lamented.
They must have made an odd couple: the short, rotund, Hungarian-born Kurti and the tall, dashing, much younger This. Together, they formed the International Workshops on Molecular Gastronomy and began corralling col-leagues keen on kitchen science. Although Kurti died in 1998, the motley group continued to meet every few years. Suddenly, science – once regarded with suspicion by foodies – looks like the next new thing. The term molecular gas-tronomy has begun popping up in restaurant reviews and on food blogs as a label for any edgy, out-there cuisine that combines unusual ingredients and employs techie gadgets.
Confusing molecular gastronomy with a sort of hip cuisine drives even a patient man like This a little crazy. Non, non, non: Molecular gastronomy isn’t a cooking style, he insists. “We shouldn’t confuse science with technology. Molecular gastronomy is only the science part. It asks: How does something work? What is the mechanism? The application of that knowledge is the cooking part, and that’s technology. Cook-ing is a technique” – his voice softens – “com-bined with art.” He adds, “Here in the lab, we do the science part – experiments.”
We begin by tackling the “standard model,” the 10-minute egg. Can it be improved upon? Well, says This, if your grandmother cooked eggs that way for you, and you adored her and her cooking, there’ll be no persuading you of a better way. (As This is fond of saying, “The most important ingredient in cooking is love.”) But if you’re willing to learn a little egg-protein chem-istry, you can calibrate your eggs with astonish-ing exactitude.
Recall that when an egg cooks, its proteins fi rst unwind and then link to form a rigidify-ing mesh. But not all its proteins solidify at the same temperature. Ovotransferrin, the fi rst of the egg-white proteins to uncoil, begins to set at around 61 degrees Celsius. Ovalbumin, the most abundant egg-white protein, coagulates at 84°C. Yolk proteins generally fall in between,!
abundant reichlich, im Überfl ussadore, to bewundern, anhimmelnastonishing erstaunlich, überraschendbe fond of, to gern haben, mögenbe geared to sth., to sich an etwas orientierenbound, to hüpfencaveat • Warnung, Vorbehaltcoagulate, to • gerinnencollarless kragenloscompound Masse, Verbindungcorral, to zusammentreibencutting edge Vorreiterrolle, Spitzedapper • gepfl egt, gediegendashing schneidigdisperse, to verteilen, ausbreitenditch sth., to etw. loswerdenedgy hier: neuartig, innovativenvisage, to • voraussehen, vorstellenepicurism • Genusssuchtevoke sth., to etw. hervorrufenhip ultramodern, angesagthumble bescheiden, geringimpeccable • makellos, tadellosintricate • komplex, verworrenirrepressible • unzähmbar, unbändiglate hier: verstorbenmeld, to sich mischen, vereinenmesh Netzmotley • zusammengewürfeltpatronising bevormundendpersuade, to • überzeugenpiercing durchdringendpoke, to stecken, stochernrigidifying verstärkend, versteifendrotund • rundlich, dicksaucepan Kochtopf, Kasserolleseason, to würzensensation Sinneseindruck, Empfi ndensolidify, to • verfestigen, erstarrenstifl ing • stickigstipulation Bestimmung, Abmachungstrand • Strang, Faden, Fasersuspicion Verdachtswelter, to schwitzentackle sth., to etw. anpackenthermocouple • Thermoelementuncoil, to abspulen, entrollenunwind, to abwickeln, entspannenusher, to • in Gang bringenwield, to handhabenyolk • Eigelb
Unsere vereinfachte Lautschrift orientiert sich an der deutschen Aussprache und wird gesprochen, wie sie geschrieben wird. Betonte Silben sind fett gedruckt. Leider geht es nicht ganz ohne Sonderzeichen:
= stimmloses th wie in „thank you“
= stimmhaftes th wie in „the“
= kurzes, unbetontes ewie in „danke“
= langes, offenes o wie in „hoffen“
enGineLautschrift
http://www.inra.fr/la_science_et_vous/apprendre_experimenter/gastronomie_moleculaire (fr.)Homepage von This’ Institut für Molekularküche am Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique. Unter anderem mit Terminen für aktuelle Workshops.
http://khymos.org (engl.)Wohl die umfangreichste Seite im Internet zum Thema Molekularküche. Mit vielen Rezepten, Neuigkeiten und wissenschaftlichen Details.
www.nature.com/embor/journal/v7/n11/full/7400850.html (engl.)Langer Artikel von Hervé This über seine „Kunst“.
www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/9526/title/Whats_Cookin (engl.)Weiterer Artikel zum Thema mit Rezept.
http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/index-fr.htm (engl.)Der im Text erwähnte Koch und Mitstreiter von This.
www.engine-magazin.de ● 37
Dieser Artikel ist ein Auszug aus einem Beitrag in Discover, Ausgabe 2/2006. Die Veröffentlichung erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Discover. Der vollständige Beitrag fi ndet sich unter http://discovermagazine.com/2006/feb/cooking-for-eggheads
with most starting to solidify when they ap-proach 70°C. Thus, cooking an egg at 70°C or so should achieve both a fi rmed-up yolk and still-tender whites, since at that low tempera-ture only some of the egg-white proteins will have coagulated.
The Well Tempered Egg
“Cooking eggs is really a question of tempera-ture, not time,” says This. To make the point, he switches on a small oven, sets the thermostat at 65°C, takes four eggs straight from the box, and unceremoniously places them inside. About an hour later – timing isn’t critical, and the eggs can stay in the oven for hours or even overnight – he retrieves the fi rst egg and carefully shells it. “The 65-degree egg!” he announces. The egg is unlike any I’ve eaten. The white is as delicately set and smooth as custard, and the yolk is still orange and soft. It’s not hard to see why l’oeuf à soixante-cinq degrés is becoming the rage with chefs in France.
Next, This turns up the oven thermostat to 67°C and after waiting a while for the eggs inside to reach that temperature – again, he’s casual about the timing – he retrieves a second one: “The 67-degree egg!” At this temperature the yolk has just started thickening up – some of its proteins have coagulated, but the major-ity have not. “Look, you can mould it,” he says, scooping out the yolk and manipulating the pli-able orangey-yellow ball like fresh Play-Doh. He tries to mould a heart, then settles for a cube.
“Try one,” he says, taking a third egg from the oven for me to play with before turning up the heat to 70°C. The 70-degree egg, when it is fi nally done, has a moistly set yolk and a very tender white. “So you see, you can adjust the temperature depending on what you want,” says This. Bear in mind, though, that the most copious of the egg-white proteins sets at 84°C – hence the rubbery results of the 100-degree bath.
For his next demonstration, This breaks a raw egg one-handed, plops the white into a bowl, and starts rapidly whisking. Whisking, of course, incorporates air into the aqueous white. It also causes some proteins in the egg white to unfold. The resulting protein strands then form a mesh around the air bubbles, stabilizing the foam. Usually an egg white produces about a quarter of a litre of foam.
Why not more? asks This, whisking like a demon. It can’t be lack of air – there’s an end-less supply – so it must be lack of water. He adds a squirt to the beaten egg white, whisks again, squirts water, whisks some more. The
snowy mass keeps growing. “If I went on beating, I could get litres and litres of foam from one egg white,” he says, pausing at last to wipe his brow. “So you see, you only need one egg to make a lot of mousse, enough for a dinner party.” However, the foam will be less stable, because the viscosity of that single egg white has been diluted. Whisking hard helps, as smaller bubbles are more stable. So does beating in sugar, which stabilizes the foam by increasing its viscosity.
The voluminous-egg-white stunt was fi rst used for an educational project in French schools. Later, it occurred to This that it could be put to culinary use. Eight years ago he struck up a collaboration with one of France’s most lion-ised chefs, Pierre Gagnaire. The two regularly rendezvous to brainstorm: This tosses up new culinary concepts based on his scientifi c mus-ings, and Gagnaire transforms them into elegant recipes. This proposed replacing water in the expanded egg-white foam with a fl avourful liq-uid to make an ethereal perfumed meringue, an invention he named cristaux de vent, or “wind crystals.” Gagnaire’s creation: a soft black olive buried inside a crisp meringue made light as air with the olive’s own pickling brine.
This and Kurti envisaged a day when mo-lecular gastronomy might help people cook in entirely different ways. But little did they guess that day would come so soon. # Patricia Gadsby
aqueous • wässrig, wasserhaltigbear in mind, to beachten, bedenkenbrow • Stirnchef • Kochcopious • reichlich, in Mengencustard • Puddingdilute, to • verdünnenethereal • himmlischfoam Schaumincorporate, to einarbeiten, einschließenlionise, to • vergöttern, umschwärmenmoistly feuchtmould, to formenmusing Grübelei, Träumereioccur to so., to • jmdm. i. d. Sinn kommenpickling brine Einlagefl üssigkeitPlay-Doh Knetmasse (Markenname)pliable • formbar, fügsamrage hier: der letzte Schreiscoop, to schaufeln, ausschöpfenshell, to schälensquirt • Spritzer, Strahlstrike (struck, struck) up, to anfangentoss, to werfenunceremoniously •
ungezwungen
whisk, to schlagen, verquirlen
Bild:This
Nr. 2 – Juni 200838 ●
Six Situations in Russia
So manche Situa-tion erfordert im Ausland eine an-dere Reaktion wie zu Hause. Testen Sie Ihr Feingefühl im Umgang mit internationalen Ge-schäftspartnern.
Cross Culture Check
Bild
: A. H
ülsm
ann
6 You are looking for a gift for your business partners in Russia. What is the best choice?
! A An expensive item from a famous brand.
! B An original, hand-made item.
! C An inexpensive local item.
4 You receive a very poorly-written English report from your Russian subsidiary. The most likely reason for this is:
! A They do not understand English well.
! B They are not acting professionally.
! C They have different expectations when it comes to structuring reports.5 Meetings with Russians are indeed
diffi cult for you: there are no real discussions, no agenda, no brain-stor-ming of ideas, nobody takes notes. You think:
! A They cannot understand what you’re saying.
! B They have different ideas about how meetings should be conducted.
! C You aren’t meeting with the right people.
1 The name of your young translator is Tatjana Nikolaeva. You have worked with her several years. How do you address her?
! A Mrs. Nikolaeva
! B Tatjana
! C Tanja
3 In your fi rst meetings with new business partners in Russia, they ask you about your marital status, kids, etc.
! A You pointedly refuse to answer.
! B You answer honestly, and share some personal information.
! C You ignore these questions.
2 You are a male engineer visiting Russian subsidiaries/suppliers. Many young female colleagues fl irt with you. You assume that:
! A They are just making small talk.
! B They think you are a very attractive guy.
! C They are looking for an affair with you.
1C: The most common form is by her short fi rst name. The full fi rst name is very formal, appropriate for of-fi cial communication or for women over the age of 50. 2A: This Russian fl irt is very close to the western small talk.3B: Personal relationships with Russians are very im-portant. But be aware that if you are single/divorced/widowed, your Russian colleagues could try to fi nd you a partner.4C: Reports are structured in a different way. Next time just give a clear outline of what your expectations are.5B: Meetings are organized in a different way. Russians need some time to learn/to adapt to the western style.6A: In choosing a present, Russians emphasize price, prestige and luxury.
emphasize, to betonen, hervorhebenexpectation Erwartungitem Posten, Positionmarital ehelichrefuse, to ablehnensubsidiary Niederlassungsupplier Lieferant, Zulieferertranslator Übersetzer
Dieser Cross Culture Check wurde erarbeitet von Dr. Elena Denisova-Schmidt: www.elena-denisova-schmidt.de
www.engine-magazin.de ● 39
Very QuicklyConfusedConfused? No, I don’t mean when my 10th-grade son has asked me to check his maths homework. I also don’t mean the look on my face when I see that diesel has become more expensive than four-star petrol in Germany. Confused is what many learners of English are when they have to distinguish between ‘quick’ and ‘quickly’. Here, we’ll try to clear up the confusion and give an insight into the phenomenon of adverbs.
Wenn es schnell gehen muss, wird „quickly“ und „quick“ schon mal verwechselt. Dabei ist der Gebrauch von Adverbien und ihre Abgrenzung zu Adjektiven im Englischen gar nicht so schwer.
Grammar Review
Bild: photocase.com
When a learner thinks of adverbs, they will fi rst and foremost think of words that end in ‘-ly’. Correct, the most common way of forming an adverb is to add ‘-ly’ to the corresponding adjec-tive. But that’s a little too simple. There are many forms of adverbs. In fact, two out of the three words in the heading are adverbs – ‘very’ is what is called an adverb of degree, ‘quickly’ is an adverb of manner. So, what is an adverb and when do we use them? Adverbs are what you could call qualifi ers, they help to add cer-tain qualities to other parts of the language.
For example, an adverb can describe a verb, to say how something is done: The cartridge can be changed easily.
It can describe an adjective: The 4.5-liter sup-ply in the carburettor was running ominously low.
And, it can describe another adverb: Very quickly confused.
Let’s take a look at the different types of ad-verbs. The most common ones are as follows:
Adverbs of frequency (sometimes, often, always, never, frequently)• Sometimes it takes the courage of a woman
to transform a clever invention into a busi-ness success.
• China has always fascinated Germany.• They frequently changed the brake shoe.• Bertha was regularly at her husband’s side.
Adverbs of time (then, now, soon, currently, still)• There is currently no wider infrastructure in
place.• Bertha left a note on the kitchen table for
Carl, who was still asleep.• Recall that when an egg cooks, its proteins
fi rst unwind and then link to form a mesh.
Adverbs of place (here, there, up, down)• Here, the couple held many discussions and
Bertha acquired technical knowledge.• Many German graduates now talk quite con-
fi dently about going to China and fi nding jobs there.
Adverbs of degree (very, fairly, quite, rather, hardly, too, really) • Computers still can’t really interpret that.• It’s a very complex fi eld that comes with
certain trade-offs.• As a production centre, however, Germany
is still too expensive.
Adverbs of manner (any adverb which de-scribes how something is done)• Mother and sons carefully made their way
to the factory early in the morning.• They quietly pushed the vehicle out of the
workshop.• The leather cover of the brake shoe wore out
quickly.
Nr. 2 – Juni 200840 ●
The last one is generally where the confusion arises. Adjectives are also describing words, they describe what something or someone is like (The vehicle was reliable.) whereas the adverb of manner describes an action (The vehicle starts reliably every morning). When it comes to forming adverbs of manner, it is indeed mostly a question of adding ‘-ly’ to the adjective:• patient – patiently • fl uent – fl uently• careful – carefully • dangerous – dangerously
There are one or two changes in terms of spelling. When the adjective ends in ‘le’, as in our example with the vehicle, the ‘e’ is dropped:• reliable – reliably• simple – simply• probable – probably• responsible – responsibly
When the adjective ends in ‘ic’, you add ‘ally’:• economic – economically• dramatic – dramatically
When the adjective ends in ‘y’, the ‘y’ be-comes an ‘i’:• speedy – speedily• easy – easily• happy - happily
Exceptions
As with many parts of the English language, there are, of course, some exceptions. Some of the most common examples include the adjec-tives ‘good’, ‘hard’, ‘fast’, ‘early’, ‘straight’, and ‘daily’, whose adverbial forms are ‘well’, ‘hard’, ‘fast’, ‘early’, ‘straight’, and ‘daily’ respectively.• I like a good, hard-boiled egg. If all you have
to eat is an egg, it’s important to cook it well.• They needed fast results so they worked
fast.
• It was a hard life. They worked hard to keep the workshop in operation.
• It’s an early start tomorrow; we’ll have to get here early.
• They headed in a straight line via Schwetz-ingen to Mannheim. They drove straight to Mannheim.
• It’s a daily newspaper. It is delivered daily (or, on a daily basis)Similar to the last example with ‘daily’, there
are some other adjectives which do not have a direct adverb form, such as friendly, lonely, lovely. To form an adverb, it is necessary to use a complete expression:
He’s a friendly/lovely person. He behaves in a friendly/lovely manner. (it is an adverb of manner, after all)
Position in the Sentence
It is also important to place the adverb in the correct position in a sentence. To go into great detail would exceed the limits of the magazine, but here are some simplifi ed and very general rules concerning the position of adverbs. You can use the examples already given above as an orientation.• Adverbs of frequency come at the beginning
of the sentence, after the verb ‘be’, before the main verb or between the auxiliary and the main verb.
• Adverbs of place normally come at the be-ginning or the end of the sentence.
• Adverbs of degree come before the adjective or adverb they qualify.
• Adverbs of manner normally come after the verb, but can be placed before the verb for the sake of emphasis.
• Adverbs of time in our examples generally come before the main verb and after the verb ‘be’.That was a very brief, and to be honest,
rather superfi cial excursion into the world of adverbs, and a little into adjectives, but at least it gives you a rough idea of how to form them and a brief introduction into how to use them correctly. It’s a highly complex fi eld with a wide range of possibilities and it would be extremely diffi cult to analyse everything thoroughly here. After all, we’re not quite a grammar book. Learning a language is never simple. It’s simply a case of using your time as effi ciently as you possibly can to improve as quickly as possible. You’ll only learn to do things properly if you practice hard. Have a look at our exercises on the next page.
PS: How many adverbs and how many ad-jectives can you fi nd in that last paragraph? !
Vokabeldownload: www.engine-magazin.de/extrasbrake shoe Bremsklotzcartridge Patrone, Kartuschecorresponding entsprechendfour-star Super (Benzin)frequency • Häufi gkeitin terms of bezüglichinvention Erfi ndungquality Eigenschafttrade-off Kompromiss
www.engine-magazin.de ● 41
Use the words in brackets, in their correct form, to fi ll in the gaps in the sentences, which have all been taken from this issue of engine. There is always one word you do not need. You will fi nd the answers on page 50.
1 Already in France, which takes the pleasures of the table _________, molecular gastronomy is an __________________ recognized, government-funded science. (open, serious, offi cial)
2 They create the ______________ high magnetic fi elds needed to accelerate particles to _________ energies, guide them in circles, and focus them for collision. (high, extreme, fast)
3 The detectors are __________________ complete, the global computing system is almost _______________, and parts of the collider are already cooled to nearly ___________ zero. (real, ready, near, absolute)
4 These __________________ energy-density capacitors, which can be ____________ charged and discharged, provide about 80 per cent of the power required during acceleration. (slow, rapid, high)
5 Another reason the vehicle can run on such a small fuel cell is the __________________ __________________ wheel motors, developed __________________ for Life Car by Oxford University’s Dr Malcolm McCulloch. (effi cient, high, special, reliable)
6 While stressing that the _________________ concept car is at least two years away from sat-isfying the safety criteria demanded of a full production vehicle, Charles Morgan confi rmed that he already has some ______________ customers lined up. (current, actual, potential)
7 He believes a fuel-cell Morgan could follow a _________ production path to the company’s limited edition Aeromax, where a small number of customers _______________ paid the development costs by putting down a deposit upfront. (effective, similar, responsible)
8 Two young farm hands, who were __________ wary of the whole thing, _________ stepped in to help. This _________ challenge was thus also overcome. (late, fi nal, initial, fi nal)
9 At the core of this is _________ anxiety – will China _____________ become a superpower – it is already the third largest economy in the world – and what will we do with this ___________ civilisation whose values and habits seem so very __________ from the west? (strange, probable, different, real, similar)
10 The Chinese are very ____________ and they are not going to give up a _____________ business prospect just because you can’t pronounce their names ____________ or don’t want to eat chicken feet. (effective, practical, proper, good)
Autor David Mackie ist Freelance In-Company Trainer und Dozent für Wirt-schaftsenglisch an der EBS.Mail: [email protected]
Practice
accelerate, to • beschleunigenanxiety • Angstcharge, to ladenconfi rm, to bestätigendeposit Anzahlungdischarge, to entladen
fund, to • fi nanzierenpronounce, to aussprechenprospect potenzieller Neukundesatisfy, to erfüllenupfront im Vorauswary • behutsam
Bournemouth One to OneEnglish Language School
Lernen Sie Englisch in EnglandIdeal für Geschäftsleute, leitendeAngestellte und Teilnehmer, dieEinzelunterricht vorziehen. Wirbieten auch Kurse für Englischkombiniert mit Golf oder mit
englischer Kultur an.Tel: 0044-1202-257775
www.bournemouth121.com
Haben Sie eine engine-Ausabe verpasst? Fehlt ein Teil unserer Serien oder das Fachwörterbuch zu einem bestimmten Thema? Kein Problem, einfach Einzelheft anfordern unter:
E N G L I S C H F Ü R I N G E N I E U R EHeft 2 – Juni 2007
€ 8,70
Deu
tsch
land
€ 8
,70
Öst
erre
ich
€ 8,
70
Schw
eiz
sfr
13,8
0 B
enel
ux €
8,7
0 I
SSN
161
1-45
90
6143
9
enGine
Nr. 2 – Juni 200842 ●
False Friends
Autor David Mackie ist Freelance In-Company Trainer und Dozent für Wirt-schaftsenglisch an der EBS.Mail: [email protected]
Falsche Freunde sind all jene Wörter, die häufi g verwechselt werden oder uns aus dem Deutschen vermeintlich be-kannt vorkommen, im Englischen jedoch eine ganz andere Bedeutung haben. Einige davon fi nden Sie auf dieser Seite.
Es ist an der Zeit, die alten Computer aus-zusortieren.
It’s time to get rid of/replace the old computers.
It’s time to sort out the old computers. to sort out = erledigen
Can you sort out the mess with the last delivery, please?
Der neue Chef hat viele gute Verbesserungsvorschläge.
The new boss/head has a lot of good suggestions for improvements.
The new chief/chef has a lot of good suggestions for improvements.
chief = Häuptling (business uses: Chief Executive Offi cer, Chief of Police, Fire Chief)chef = Chefkoch
We can ask the chef to prepare a special meal for the new Chief Executive Offi cer.
Die Lampen oben auf dem Messestand werden die Besucher blenden.
The lights at the top of the booth will blind/dazzle the visitors.
The lights at the top of the booth will blend the visitors.
to blend = mischen
We have blended two very distinctive single malts to make this extra-special whisky.
Bitte stellen Sie sicher, dass das Gehäuse fest geschlossen ist.
Please ensure/make sure that the housing has been closed tightly.
Please secure that the housing has been closed tightly.
to secure = sichern (im Sinne von festmachen)
The attachment is secured by four bolts.
Es gibt zwei neue Azubis im Labor. There are two new trainees in the laboratory/lab.
There are two new trainees in the labor.
labor (UK labour) = Arbeit
Labor costs in Eastern Europe are considerably lower than in Germany.
In Bezug auf Ihre Annonce in der TZ vom 8. Februar ….
With reference to your advertisement of 8th February in the TZ, ….
With reference to your announcement of 8th February in the TZ, ….
announcement = Bekanntmachung
There will be an offi cial announcement later today concerning the 1500 jobs at the endangered factory.
Die Kaffeekanne ist unter der extremen Hitze geplatzt.
The coffee pot cracked because of the extreme heat.
The coffee can cracked because of the extreme heat.
can = Dose
There’s a can of cola in the fridge.
Das Wirtschaftswachstum in China wird in den nächsten Monaten nicht mehr so schnell voranschreiten.
The economic growth in China will slow down in the next few months.
The economical growth in China will slow down in the next few months.
economical = wirtschaftlich (sparsam)
Researchers are constantly trying to fi nd ways to make vehicles more economical in terms of consumption.
www.engine-magazin.de ● 43
Bullying in the Workplace
Bullying is not just something that occurs in the school playground, nor is it restricted to children. In the work place it causes human suffering and economic loss. Unfortunately, too often companies fail to recognise the problem or have no policy to deal with it.
Mobbing ist nicht nur in Schulen ein großes Problem, sondern auch am Arbeitsplatz. Leider verkennen Unternehmen nur allzuoft dieses Problem oder haben keine wirkungs-vollen Strategien dagegen.
Business
Bild
: pho
toca
se.c
om
From studies carried out in the UK since the mid-1990s, bullying in the work place has been steadily increasing. It has been esti-mated to cause between one third and one half of all stress-related illnesses and has a detrimental effect not only on individuals, but also on the organisations. Bullying has four main elements: it is a workplace confl ict, it is enduring and repeated, it is inappropriate and possibly aggressive and it results in psycho-logical and/or physical distress. It can take many forms, but common ones reported are:
• undermining the employee through unfair criticism
• misusing power, or exercising excessively tight supervision
• humiliating, ridiculing or victimising• blocking promotion/training opportunities• withholding important information• setting unreasonable targets or workloads• spreading malicious rumours
Some believe that as many as one-in-four employees will experience a form of bullying during their working life.
Nr. 2 – Juni 200844 ●
One survey carried out with members of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) found that 39% of respondents, who were all managers, reported having been a victim of bullying within the last three years. Middle managers were bullied more than any other manager and directors were the least bullied. It is thought that middle managers suffer from a “management squeeze”. They can be subjected to particular pressures if they are required to implement unpopular policies as a result of decisions which have been taken by more senior managers or directors. Al-though in the majority of incidents reported the immediate manager was the bully, it can also be between peers, or it might be a subor-dinate bullying a manager.
The effects on the victim vary and are nu-merous. Loss of confi dence and anxiety about going to work are the most common ones, but loss of self-esteem, depression, and poor health are also typical. This can have serious repercussions for a business, including higher absenteeism from stress-related illness, lower
productivity and increased staff turnover. It can also have an effect on those who witness the bullying, resulting in low employee mo-rale and damage to the company’s reputation.
When asked to identify the main factors which contribute to bullying, the CMI mem-bers named lack of management skills as the main one, followed by personality clashes, authoritarian management style, failure to address previous bullying, and personal preju-dice or discrimination.
What can be done?
An organisation has a duty to protect their employees’ well-being, so it is vital to have an effective policy in place to deal with inci-dents of bullying should they arise. A formal policy can also play a major role in commu-nicating an organisation’s position against bullying and making it clear how it will be dealt with. There is no single, off-the-shelf policy which will suit every organisation. The corporate culture, management style of those in positions of authority and the type of business are all factors which need to be taken into consideration.
A policy should include:• a statement of commitment against bullying• a statement that bullying is a disciplinary
offence• examples of unacceptable behaviour• steps to be taken to prevent bullying• details of who to approach if victims feel
unable to speak to their manager or super-visor
• responsibilities of supervisors and manag-ers
• confi dentiality of complaints and protec-tion from victimisation
• an outline of the procedures (both formal and informal) with timetables for action
• counselling and support available• training available for managers and staff• how the policy is to be implemented,
reviewed and monitored
To raise awareness levels, as well as to be effective, different parties should contribute to the policy in both the development and implementation stages. This may include individual employees, workers’ councils, trade unions, line managers and the HR depart-ment. Once a policy has been drawn up, it should be clearly communicated to all em-ployees and measures taken to raise aware-ness of bullying. This may take the form of !
absenteeism • Abwesenheitaddress, to ansprechenbullying Mobbingclash Konfl iktcommitment Bekenntniscontribute, to • beitragencounselling Beratungdetrimental • nachteilig, schädlichdistress • Leidendraw up, to entwerfen enduring dauerhafthumiliate, to • erniedrigeninappropriate unangebracht,
unangemessenmalicious • boshaft, bösartigmorale • Arbeitsmoraloff-the-shelf Standard-peer • Gleichgestellte(r)prejudice • Vorurteilrepercussion • Auswirkungrespondent befragte Personridicule, to • verhöhnenrumour • Gerüchtself-esteem Selbstwertgefühlsubordinate • Untergebene(r)suffering Leidentight supervision enge Kontrolleundermine, to Autorität untergrabenvictim Opfervictimise, to opfernvital • äußerst wichtigwithhold, to zurückhaltenwitness, to etw. miterlebenworkers’ council Betriebsrat
Unsere vereinfachte Lautschrift orientiert sich an der deutschen Aussprache und wird gesprochen, wie sie geschrieben wird. Betonte Silben sind fett gedruckt. Leider geht es nicht ganz ohne Sonderzeichen:
= stimmloses th wie in „thank you“
= stimmhaftes th wie in „the“
= kurzes, unbetontes ewie in „danke“
= langes, offenes o wie in „hoffen“
enGineLautschrift
www.engine-magazin.de ● 45
leafl ets or posters, intranet bulletins or staff briefi ngs.
If an employee makes a complaint, there must be a clear procedure of who to turn to, what to expect and how long it will take. This should apply not only to the one mak-ing the complaint but also to the individual accused of bullying. Very often, the needs of the accused are not taken into account when drawing up the policy, but they also need protection against malicious complaints and to know what course of action will be taken if wrongly accused.
Being Bullied
For the person being bullied it is important not to sit back and do nothing. A record should be kept of all incidents including dates, times, witnesses, what was said or done and how it affected you and keep any correspondence that is relevant. Talking to family and friends, colleagues or a mem-ber of the workers’ council will help you to
Bild
: iSt
ockp
hoto
Autorin Judith Fortey ist Free-lance In-Company Trainerin und Dozentin für Wirtschafts-englisch an der EBS.Mail: [email protected]
fi nd out what options are open and the best course of action to take. You may choose to begin by trying to explain to the person why you think their behaviour is offensive or un-fair. If you do this, it may help to have a sup-port person with you, such as a colleague or manager. Raise the issue with management or the HR department, both verbally and via email or a letter. Finally, if no resolution is found, use the formal grievance procedure if your company has one; and if you are unable to work, obtain a medical certifi cate stating why.
Another essential component of dealing with bullying is training. Often people are promoted into positions where they must manage other people without ever having had any formal people-management training and they lack the soft skills to manage others effectively. Effective training can remedy this and help managers understand their impact on others. Where a case of bullying has been established, behavioural training can help the perpetrator to recognise the offensive elements of their behaviour and to change that pattern. General awareness training for all employees may help them to identify the signs of bullying and talk about the issues. It has been found that some workers blame themselves for being bullied, believing that they are underperforming or not doing their work properly. Awareness training can also help individuals to identify elements within their own behaviour which may be perceived by others as bullying.
Workplace bullying is a serious business issue. In the UK, there is now an annual ‘ban bullying at work day’. In 2007, the focus was on ‘speaking out,’ calling upon those being bullied, those witnessing it and company management to speak out against bullying. As one of their sponsors said, “a commit-ment to ridding the workplace of bullying through formal policies is a refl ection of best practice management” and surely that, together with improving human relations, is something every organisation wants. "
accuse, to beschuldigenimpact Wirkungperceive, to • wahrnehmenperpetrator • Täterpromote, to befördernrid, to säubern
Nr. 2 – Juni 200846 ●
Crossword
● 47 www.engine-magazin.de
Vokabeln lassen sich nicht nur mit Karteikasten und Oktavheft pauken. Wie wär‘s denn mal mit einem Kreuz-worträtsel?
CrosswordWhat is the mysterious X? All of the words in the puzzle can be found in the articles in this issue. See if you can complete the crossword to fi nd out how Carl Benz got his Patent Motor Car to move. You can fi nd the answers on page 50.
1. To ‘fi nd’. For example, Fleming did this with penicillin.
2. Traditional, normal, standard, e.g. a fuel cell is not a ________ way to power a car.
3. How often something happens. Technically, it is measured in Hertz.
4. A fl at tyre on your car.
5. The exterior part of a car.
6. A skill.
7. To fulfi l, e.g. standards or requirements.
8. To fi nance.
9. Someone with a university degree.
10. If you owe money to someone, you have a ___________.
11. If you break a law, or a copyright, for example, this is an ___________.
n t
12. To put more petrol in your tank.
13. The money you pay in advance when you order something.
17. Something that stops your progress, or even puts you back a bit.
18. Where you park your car, or where you can have it repaired.
19. Very valuable.
20. Big and diffi cult to handle. Some luggage at the airport is this.
21. This device mixes fuel with air before you start your car.
22. To give off or send out, e.g. gases or fumes.
23. A worry. Also another word for a large company.
24. Safety glasses.
25. A slope, or the degree at which a slope goes up.
26.26. He or she makes things from wood.He or she makes things from wood.
27.27. How much is wanted of something How much is wanted of something – supply and __________.– supply and __________.
X!
Comma’s Comma’s and Colon’s;and Colon’s;Quick-ReviewQuick-ReviewDon’t get excited, I haven’t lost my mind! Don’t leap to your e-mail to complain about the awful grammar in the title. Yes, it is, indeed, nonsense! No, there shouldn’t be any apostrophes! Yes, the semi-colon is wrong, and there’s no need for a hyphen, either. Oh, you hadn’t noticed? Well, you’d better read on, then.
Die englische Zeichensetzung ist wohl das größte Mysterium dieser Sprache. Dabei ist das Meiste gar nicht so schwer. Eine kur-ze Einführung.
Advanced Learners
Bild: photocase.com
One or two years ago during a visit to my homeland Scotland, I was standing in a queue to go and watch our local football team when my friend pointed out a notice on one of the gates: ‘Player’s entrance’. I joked, “Looks like we’ve only got one player these days.” “No,” he replied, “judging by the standard of our team at the moment, they’ve probably got the grammar right for a change.” What did he mean? He was commenting on the use of the apostrophe before the ‘s’, which does in fact mean that the entrance was meant for only one player. It should, of course, have read ‘Players’ entrance’, with the apostrophe after the ‘s’ to show that more than one player was entitled to use the entrance. Remember, it was presumably a native speaker that wrote the sign and made the mistake. Before anyone thinks of making jokes about the language abilities of the Scots, or the intelligence of foot-ball players and offi cials, I should say that this problem can be seen up and down the UK. ‘Book’s Half-Price’, ‘New Zealand Apple’s’, ‘Withdrawal’s not possible at the moment’ (in a bank!!) are just some of the signs I have seen over the last couple of years. So, if native speakers have got a problem, what chance do learners have?
So, let’s take the opportunity to look at the most important punctuation marks and review briefl y how they are used. Taking our initial example, we can start with the apostrophe.
The apostrophe is used as follows:• to show possession
- singular nouns – the researcher’s fi rst at-tempt; to all parts of a test person’s body
- plural nouns – there were a lot of cobblers’ workshops along the route
- irregular plural nouns – the children’s ef-forts were rewarded
• to indicate when letters are missing – There’s a lot of technology in our cars that we’re not really recognised for.Be careful with ‘it’s’ (it is) and ‘its’ (posses-
sive pronoun) - it’s a misconception; China and its uniqueness.
The colon is used in the following situations:• when starting a list – It is used as follows:• when introducing explanations, i.e. when
the second part of the sentence explains what comes before the colon – The LHC has two equally important aspects: the collider itself and its six particle detectors
• in ratios – The proportion of salt:water was 1:8.In the US, the fi rst letter after the colon is
a capital letter if what follows the colon is a complete sentence. If it is not, then the fi rst letter remains small. In the UK, the fi rst letter is normally small in both cases.
The semi-colon is used as follows:• to replace a conjunction like ‘and’ or ‘but’
in the middle of two independent clauses (it could also be replaced by a full stop or a comma) – Developing the new car cost lots of money; Carl Benz wondered if the car was suitable for long trips at all.
• to separate items in a complex list – Some steps that can be taken are: keep a record of all incidents including dates, times, witness-es; keep any correspondence that is relevant; talk to colleagues and a member of the work-ers’ council.
The full stop (US period) is used as follows:• to complete a sentence• in fractions – The $8.7 billion project at CERN.Quotation marks (inverted commas) are used in the following situations:• when quoting direct speech – “The LHC is
ten times bigger than the Tevatron,” says Project Leader Lyn Evans.
• when talking about words or phrases that are to be highlighted or are slang – ETH relies on their ‘Cityengine’; Morgan’s ‘bumbling’ imageWhether double or single quotation marks
are used is a contentious issue. Some grammar books will tell you that single are more com-
Nr. 2 – Juni 200848 ●
mon in British English and double in the US. I was taught at school that direct speech should always be in double quotation marks, and any other quotations or specifi cally highlighted words within the quotation should then be in single marks. I think we can agree that both are correct.
A hyphen is used as follows:• with the prefi xes pro-, post-, pre-, non-, self-• if a prefi x ends with the same vowel as the
vowel at the beginning of the main word – co-operate (coworker)
• when using one or more words together (compound) to create an adjective – zero-emission technology; split-second journey; fuel-cell car
• when the compound has a number at the beginning – the 30-month project; 27-year-old Carl Benz
It is not used:- if the compound follows what it describes
– technology with zero emissions; in a split second; a car driven by a fuel cell
- if the compound ends in -ly – the highly effi cient wheel motors
- if it includes a comparative or superlative – this less powerful fuel cell
By far the most often used, and some might say the most diffi cult to master, is the comma. The most important uses of the comma are:• to separate items in a list – It allowed the
characters of the Enterprise to interact with holograms of machinery, places, and people. (In the UK, there is generally no comma before the ‘and’, in the US, there is. Both are acceptable.)
• to separate two clauses connected by ‘and’ or ‘but’, particularly when the subjects of the clauses are different – Qinetiq produced the fuel cell, and Linde provided the storage tank.
• when inserting something in the middle of a sentence – As a production centre, however, Germany is still too expensive. Morgan, an icon of the golden age of British sports cars, has thrown off its ‘bumbling’ image.
• when starting a sentence with a subordinate (i.e. not the main) clause, or a connecting phrase, or an ‘if’ clause – Long before diplo-matic relationships were established, the Ger-mans were doing business with the Chinese.Despite the great worries, Bertha continued to stand by her husband. If you have a quar-ter of the power, you need a quarter of the power density.
• when starting with an adverbial/time phrase – Strangely enough, there are no people. In 1883, Carl Benz set up ‘Benz & Cie.’
• in a non-defi ning relative clause, i.e. to separate information that is not necessary to understand the rest of the sentence – … a fa-cility for human-machine interaction, which is part of the Max Planck Institute.
• Do not use a comma if the relative clause actually defi nes what comes before it, e.g. …a treadmill which allows unrestricted walking. You need the second part to tell you what kind of treadmill you are talking about.
• to separate thousands in numbers – a work-force of 31,000 (or it is also possible to leave a space, 31 000, but do not use a full stop)
Dashes can often be replaced by colons, semi-colons or commas, but are very often used in the following situations:• to add information which is not necessary to
understand the rest of the sentence – …, which requires that the magnets be
cooled to nearly absolute zero – colder than outer space – by superfl uid helium.
• to add information as a sort of ‘afterthought’ – When their fi rst son Eugen was born, they were overjoyed – but also deep in debt.
When it comes to writing style, there are many sets of standards which can be fol-lowed, especially in academic circles. Each of them has its own specifi c rules and some of those that I have highlighted above may differ slightly. If I have trodden on any toes and angered anyone who might not use one of the punctuation marks in quite the same way, I apologise, it was not intentional. I do believe, however, if you follow the rules given, you should have no big problems. !
replace, to ersetzensplit-second Sekundenbruchteilsubordinate clause •
Nebensatz
treadmill • Laufband, Tretmühletread (trod, trodden) on s.o.’s toes, to •
jdm. auf den Schlips treten
unrestricted uneingeschränktwithdrawal • Abhebung
Unsere vereinfachte Lautschrift orientiert sich an der deutschen Aussprache und wird gesprochen, wie sie geschrieben wird. Betonte Silben sind fett gedruckt. Leider geht es nicht ganz ohne Sonderzeichen:
= stimmloses th wie in „thank you“
= stimmhaftes th wie in „the“
= kurzes, unbetontes ewie in „danke“
= langes, offenes o wie in „hoffen“
enGineLautschrift
www.engine-magazin.de ● 49
Autor David Mackie ist Freelance In-Company Trainer und Dozent für Wirt-schaftsenglisch an der EBS.Mail: [email protected]
Punctuate the following short text. The full stops at the end of the sentences as well as the capital letters at the beginning have been given; all the rest is missing. Full text on page 50.
By the year 2050 it will be possible to meet a quarter of the worlds energy needs directly using solar energy. It is anticipated that solar thermal power plants will play a signifi cant role in generating this electricity.
The sun delivers energy in abundance roughly 10000 times the global power requirement worldwide. Yet very little of this potential has so far been tapped. At present only 0 1 percent of the electricity consumed around the world is generated from solar power almost exclusively by photovoltaics. Solar thermal power plants are set to change this situation. In sun soaked regions they offer a promising option for an environmen-tally friendly power supply. Europes fi rst
large scale power plant is now being built in Andalusia.
Solar thermal power plants operate in a similar way to conventional steam power plants but with one decisive difference the steam is not produced by burning coal oil or natural gas. Its produced by solar energy alone. In the parabolic trough systems that have been in use for many years the sunlight is focused via concave mirrors onto an ab-sorber tube also known as a receiver in order to attain the necessary high temperatures. The suns rays heat the thermal fl uid which fl ows through the receiver to 350 degrees Celsius. A heat exchanger produces steam which then drives an electricity generator via a turbine.
Practice
abundance Fülleanticipate, to erwartenattain, to erreichen
conventional herkömmlichrequirement Bedarftap, to anzapfen
Lösungen
Grammar Review1. ... the pleasures of the table seriously, molecular gastronomy is an offi cially recognized, ...2. They create the extremely high ... to accelerate particles to high energies, ...3. The detectors are nearly complete, the global computing system is almost ready, and
parts of the collider are already cooled to nearly absolute zero. 4. These high energy-density capacitors, which can be rapidly charged ...5. Another reason the vehicle can run on such a small fuel cell is the highly effi cient wheel
motors, developed specially for Life Car ...6. While stressing that the current concept car ... that he already has some potential custom-
ers lined up. 7. He believes a fuel-cell Morgan could follow a similar production path ..., where a small
number of customers effectively paid the development ...8. Two young farm hands, who were initially wary of the whole thing, fi nally stepped in to
help. This fi nal challenge was thus also overcome. 9. At the core of this is probably anxiety – will China really become a superpower ... and
what will we do with this strange civilisation whose values and habits seem so very dif-ferent from the west?
10. The Chinese are very practical and ... you can’t pronounce their names properly or ...
Advanced LearnersBy the year 2050, it will be possible to meet a quarter of the world’s energy needs directly using solar energy. It is anticipated that solar thermal power plants will play a signifi cant role in generating this electricity.
The sun delivers energy in abundance –, roughly 10,000 times the global power requirement worldwide. Yet very little of this potential has so far been tapped. At present, only 0.1 percent of the electricity consumed around the world is generated from solar power – almost exclusively by photovoltaics. Solar thermal power plants are set to change this situation. In sun-soaked regions, they offer a promising option for an environmentally friendly power supply. Europe’s fi rst large-scale power plant is now being built in Andalusia.
Solar thermal power plants operate in a similar way to conventional steam power plants, but with one decisive difference: The steam is not produced by burning coal, oil or natural gas. It’s produced by solar energy alone. In the parabolic trough systems that have been in use for many years, the sunlight is focused via concave mirrors onto an absorber tube, also known as a receiver, in order to attain the necessary high temperatures. The sun’s rays heat the thermal fl uid which fl ows through the receiver to 350 degrees Celsius. A heat exchanger produces steam, which then drives an electricity generator via a turbine.
In Short
Complete
Find 1. eager 2. device3. implied
True or False?1. false2. true3. true4. not stated5. not stated
4. scale 5. robustness 6. meticulously 7. shrunken8. hooked up to9. occured 10. verifi ed 11. limitation 12. aid 13. replicate 14. inspired
Nr. 2 – Juni 200850 ●
Gewinnspiel
Für die Sprachlernsoft-ware Tell Me More Business English bedanken wir uns bei Auralog.www.tellmemore.eu
Wieviel Energie benötigt der Large Hadron Collider nahe Genf?
A So viel wie die UNO in Genf.
B So viel wie die Stadt Genf.
C So viel wie das Kanton Genf.
Warum fl irtet die Kollegin in der russischen Nieder-lassung immer mit den deutschen Ingenieuren?
A Sie hat wohl feste Absichten.
B Das ist ihre Art von Small-Talk.
C Ingenieure sind eben die besten Liebhaber.
Ein Relativsatz wird im Englischen nicht mit Kom-mas abgetrennt, wenn er ...
A ... das Vorangegangene nur weiter erläutert.
B ... das Vorangegangene eindeutig defi niert.
C ... einen Superlativ enthält.332211
Um an der Verlosung Teil zu nehmen, schicken Sie einfach die richtigen Antworten per Post, Fax oder Mail an unsere Adresse. Der Einsende-schluss ist der 31. 8. 2008.
Der glückliche Gewinner des Übersetzungshelfers ist Frank Reiners aus Waiblingen.
Wir gratulieren.
Drei Fragen – ein Gewinn
● 51 www.engine-magazin.de
Nach so viel Sprachübungen, Fachwissen und In-formationen haben Sie sich ein bisschen Entspan-nung verdient. Wie wär’s denn mit einem Rätsel?
Lohn der Mühe ist diesmal eine Sprach-lernsoftware für Business English. Das Komplett-paket mit DVD und Headset beinhaltet 250 Lern-stunden mit mehr als 1200 Übungen. Der für Lernende mit fortgeschrittenen Englisch-Kennt-nissen gestaltete Kurs vertieft insbesondere die im Geschäftsalltag wichtigen Themen Ein- und Verkauf inklusive Kontaktaufnahme, Verhand-lungen und Kundenbetreuung, Controlling mit dem zugehörigen Wirtschafts- und Börseneng-lisch, sowie Personalwesen von der Bewerbung
bis hin zur Fortbildung. Natürlich kommen auch Standardsituationen wie Meetings, Präsentationen oder Messebesuche nicht zu kurz. Trainiert wird unter anderem mit Videos in Originalsprache, einer ausgefeilten Spracherkennungstechnik und Klassikern wie Lückentexten, Rätseln und Grammatik-übungen.
Wie immer sind Mitarbeiter der Hop-penstedt-Verlagsgruppe von der Teilnah-me leider ausgeschlossen. Ebenso wie der Rechtsweg. Es hilft Nichts, um an die Sprachlernsoftware zu kommen, müssen Sie die folgenden Fragen beantworten:
Nr. 2 – Juni 200852 ●
Die englische Sprache ist reich an bildhaften Redewendungen. Wir stellen die Wichtigsten, nach Themen sortiert, vor. Diesmal: Rede-wendungen rund um den Körper.
Vocabulary
Autor David Mackie ist Freelance In-Company Trainer und Dozent für Wirt-schaftsenglisch an der EBS.Mail: [email protected]
Body Idioms
to get cold feet
to feel afraid of something, to get nervous about something
Peter got cold feet at the last minute and Jack had to do the presentation.
to get off on the wrong foot
to make a bad start
He got off on the wrong foot with the new boss. He spilt coffee over her.
to stick your neck out
to be outspoken, to take a risk
I’ll stick my neck out and say that we’ll dou-ble our sales if we make a move right now.
to see eye to eye with someone
to have the same opinion, to get on well with someone
The atmosphere is not too good between us, we don’t always see to eye to eye on certain things, especially when it comes to money.
to get off someone’s back
to leave someone in peace, to stop criticising
Get off my back, will you! I’m doing the best I can.
to hit the nail on the head
to be exactly correct, to make a very clear point
Quality! That’s exactly the issue here. You’ve hit the nail on the head!
to keep your cards close to your chest
not give away too much information, especially when negotiating
You won’t get much out of Jim, he always keeps his cards very close to his chest.
to be all ears
to listen very carefully
What, you know all about the boss’s pri-vate problems? Tell Me! I’m all ears!
to be an old hand at something
to have experience
Jack won’t need any help with the cabinets, he’s an old hand at DIY.
to go belly up
to fail, to go wrong
Things were great for a while but after the stock market crash, it all went belly up.
52 ●
Egbert Checks InEgbert and his marketing manager, Tim, are returning to Germany after a short visit to the UK. They have just arrived at the airport and are at the quick check-in machine. Egbert is having a few problems.
On the Move
Egbert, der Ingeni-eur, ist berufl ich viel unterwegs. Immer wieder schlittert er dabei in Situationen, die uns nur zu be-kannt vorkommen. Gerüstet mit den Vokabeln und Rede-wendungen dieser Rubrik werden Sie diese Situationen das nächste Mal mit Bravour meistern.
Attendant: Can I help you, sir?Egbert: Yes, the machine doesn’t want to take
my credit card.Attendant: Let me try. Are you sure this is the
card you booked the ticket with? Egbert: Yes, I always use that MasterCard for
fl ight bookings.Attendant: Actually, sir, this is a Eurocard and
not a MasterCard.Egbert: Oh, I’m sorry. I must have taken the
wrong one out of my wallet.Attendant: No problem. There, now it’s working. Egbert: Thank you. I can manage now.Attendant: If you have luggage to check in, you
can go directly to the counter on the left, over there. The one where there is no queue.
Egbert: Thanks, but I only have an overnight case.(Egbert goes through the process of checking in. He chooses his seat, next to the aisle, clicks on ‘no luggage to check in’ and, fi nally, his boarding card is printed.)Egbert: Well, we’ve got plenty of time, but let’s
go through to the departure lounge and have a cup of coffee.
Tim: Good idea. And there will be some Ger-man newspapers to read.
(They proceed to departures but are stopped at the entrance.)Attendant: Pointing to a notice. Do you have
any toiletries in your bag?Egbert: Just a small bottle of shower gel and deo.Attendant: Dayo?Egbert: Deodorant.Attendant: Oh. If the bottle is less than 100ml,
then you can take it with you, but you must place the articles in a plastic bag and seal it. There’s a pile on that table. Anything larger and you must place it in the bins next to the plastic bags.
Tim: I totally forgot about not taking liquids on board. And I think I packed my toilet bag at the bottom of my case.
Egbert: By the look of it, you’re not the only one. Look at that woman over there. I can’t
believe anyone can get so much into such a small bag.
Tim: What do we do now with the plastic bags? Pack them in the bag, or carry them through?
Egbert: Best to carry them until we’re through security. Good grief, look at that queue!
Tim: It’s OK. Business class is at the far end. We can jump this queue.
Egbert: Thank goodness for that. Let’s get through here quickly, I need that coffee.
(Five minutes later)Egbert: What’s taking so long? There were only
four people in front of us.Tim: It’s the young couple with the baby. Look,
they are making them taste the food they have for the baby. And the milk.
Egbert: I’m all in favour of security, but that seems a bit excessive. !
aisle • Gangall in favour einverstandenbin Abfalleimerby the look of it wie es aussiehtcounter Schalterdeodorant • Deodorantgood grief Du meine Gütejump a queue, to sich vordrängelnluggage Gepäckpile Stapelqueue • Schlangeseal, to verschließentaste, to probierentoilet bag Kulturbeuteltoiletries Toilettenartikelwallet Portemonnaie
Bild
er: B
arba
ra
www.engine-magazin.de ● 53
Autorin Judith Fortey ist Free-lance In-Company Trainerin und Dozentin für Wirtschafts-englisch an der EBS.Mail: [email protected]
Tim: They’re through now. Egbert, you go fi rst.Attendant: Place your bags on the belt, please. If
you have a laptop, please take it out of the bag. Egbert: Should I take off my jacket?Attendant: Yes, please. Also your watch and
anything in your pockets.Egbert: I’ve just my mobile phone, here it is.Att.: Could you also remove your belt, please?Egbert: My belt?Attendant: (pointing to Egbert’s waist) Your belt.Egbert: Yes I know, but I thought I hadn’t heard
correctly.Attendant: It’s because of the buckle. It will set
off the security alarm.Tim: Don’t look so worried, I don’t think there’s
any danger of your trousers falling down.Egbert: You’d be surprised. I’ve lost some
weight recently.(Egbert walks through the security arch and hears a buzzer go off.)Attendant: Could you please step over here?
Please hold your arms out. (The attendant runs the scanner over Egbert’s body and it buzzes just below his shirt collar)Attendant: Are you wearing any jewellery, sir?Egbert: Oh yes, a gold medallion on a chain.Attendant: Could you show me please?Egbert: Let me loosen my tie so that I can undo
my shirt button. There, can you see?Attendant: Thank you. But next time, please
remember to remove all items of jewellery. Please turn around. Could you please take a seat there and remove your shoes?
(Egbert sits down and begins to take his shoes off.)Egbert: Oh no, I’ve got a knot in my shoe lace. Attendant: There’s no panic. Just take your time.Egbert: What now?Attendant: We’ll put them through the X-ray
machine. Could you please hold your feet up so that I can scan them?
Egbert: Scan my feet? That’s never happened before.
(As the attendant passes the scanner over the sole of a foot, Egbert’s leg twitches and he lets out a squeal)Egbert: Sorry, my feet are ticklish.Attendant: So I see. Hold the other one up
please. Thank you. Here are your shoes.Tim: Don’t move Egbert. I want to get my mo-
bile and take a photo of this.Egbert: Don’t you dare. How did you manage
to get through so easily?Tim: Unlike you, I don’t set alarm bells off.Egbert: Do I look like a terrorist?Tim: I don’t know. If terrorists take size 47
shoes, then maybe.Egbert: I’m glad you fi nd it so amusing.Tim: Look on the bright side of things. Not
everyone gets a free foot massage.
Egbert: Where’s my belt and jacket?Tim: Here, let me help you. And you’d better do
up your shirt and straighten your tie. It looks as though you’ve been out on the town all night.
Egbert: I’m beginning to feel like I have. Now then, there’s my laptop, but where’s my bag?
Attendant: Excuse me sir, is this your bag?Egbert: Ah, yes.Attendant: Would you mind opening it please?Egbert: Oh, it’s not my day today. There you
are, not very interesting, I’m afraid.Attendant: And what’s in the plastic bag? Egbert: Er, what do you call them? Bathroom
shoes? Rubber shoes for the shower?Attendant: Flip-fl ops. Could you take them out
please?Egbert: Yes, there you are.Attendant: Thank you. That’s fi ne sir. Have a
nice day.Tim: Your feet certainly seem to be causing a lot
of trouble today. What’s the expression, ‘to put your foot in it?’
Egbert: That’s not at all appropriate. I’ve done nothing wrong.
Tim: No, but we can say that you’ve found your feet today.
Egbert: Also inappropriate. But I would like to get off my feet and have that coffee.
Tim: Sorry to disappoint you, but I think they’ve just called our fl ight over the loud-speakers.
Egbert: Perhaps it’s just as well. Let’s get on the plane before anything else can go wrong. "
appropriate angebrachtbe out on the town, to die Nacht durchmachenbelt Gürtel, Bandbuckle • Gürtelschnallebutton Knopfbuzzer • Hupe, Summercollar • Hemdkragendo up, to zumachenfi nd one‘s feet, to sich eingewöhnenget off one‘s feet, to sich setzengo off, to klingelnknot • Knotenloosen, to • lockernpocket Hosentascheput one’s foot in it, to ins Fettnäpfchen tretenremove, to ausziehenset sth off, to auslösenshoe lace Schnürsenkelsqueal Quietschenstraighten, to etw. gerade machenticklish kitzligtie Krawattetwitch, to zuckenundo, to aufmachenwaist Taille
Nr. 2 – Juni 200854 ●
Phrases
● 55 www.engine-magazin.de
Autoren Judith Fortey und David Mackie sind Freelance In-Company Trainer und Dozenten für Wirtschafts-englisch an der EBS.Mail: [email protected]@ebs.edu
I’m calling about my appoint-ment on Tuesday morning.
Ich rufe wegen meines Termins am Dienstagmorgen an.
Rearrangingan
Appointment
I’m afraid I can’t make it. Ich kann den Termin leider nicht wahrnehmen.
Could we re-arrange the ap-pointment?
Könnten wir einen neuen Termin ausmachen?
Are you free Tuesday afternoon? Haben Sie am Dienstagnachmit-tag Zeit?
Sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble?
Es tut mir Leid, wenn ich Ihnen Probleme verursacht habe.
We are writing concerning pay-ment of X for invoice Y, which is now overdue.
Wir wenden uns heute bezüglich unserer Rechnung Y über X an Sie, die bereits vor .... Tagen fällig war.
Asking for Payment
Please fi nd attached a copy of the invoice.
Die Rechnung liegt diesem Brief als Kopie bei.
According to our records, the sum of X for invoice Y is still outstand-ing on your account.
Bei der Überprüfung unserer Zahlungseingänge haben wir fest-gestellt, dass die Rechung Y über € 5,324 noch offen ist.
We would appreciate your coop-eration in resolving this matter as soon as possible.
Für umgehende Erledigung dieser Angelegenheit wären wir Ihnen dankbar.
Until payment is received, your existing credit facilities have been suspended.
Bis zum Eingang Ihrer Zahlung wird der bestehende Kreditrahmen auf-gehoben/außer Kraft gesetzt.
Unless we receive payment within seven days, we will have no alter-native but to take legal action to recover the money.
Falls der Betrag nicht innerhalb der nächsten 7 Tage bei uns eingeht, sehen wir uns gezwungen, gerich-tliche Schritte zur Einziehung des Betrags gegen Sie einzuleiten.
Should you have already paid the invoice in the meantime, please ignore this reminder.
Sollten Sie die Rechnung in-zwischen beglichen haben, bitten wir Sie, diese Mahnung als gegen-standslos zu betrachten.
@
Unsere Redewen-dungen erleichtern Ihnen das Telefo-nieren, Brief- und E-Mail-Schreiben und Präsentieren.
I’d like to start off by outlining … Als erstes möchte ich …. kurz darstellen.
StatingObjectives
Then, I’ll move on to illustrate … Danach werde ich …. erläutern.
Following that, we’ll be looking at … Als nächstes schauen wir uns ... an.
After that, I’d like to explain …. Anschließend möchte ich … erklären.
I’ll fi nish off by showing you …. Zum Schluss werde ich Ihnen ... zeigen.
And to conclude, I’ll demonstrate ….
Und abschließend zeige ich Ihnen noch ....
Gelesen & Gehört
Messegespräche gehören wohl nach Telefonaten, E-Mails und Meetings zu den häufi gsten englischen Gesprächsituationen, die ein Ingenieur zu meistern hat – und sie sind eine der wichtigsten. Denn so locker und unverfänglich manche Messegespräche auch scheinen mögen, sind sie doch oft der erste, entscheidende Schritt für einen vielleicht wichtigen Geschäftsabschluss.
Die Hör-CD Messegespräche macht Sie fi t für den nächsten Messebe-such oder Standdienst im Ausland. Mit dem Wechsel zwischen Hören und Nachsprechen vermittelt die Autorin Karen Richardson die wich-tigsten Wortwechsel am Messetand: Unter anderem Begrüßung, Small Talk mit der Laufkundschaft, Verabredungen, Sprachprobleme, aber auch heikle Themen wie Entschuldigungen, Verspätungen und Liefer-schwierigkeiten.
Ein Büchlein zum Nachlesen und zusätzlichen interkulturellen Tipps und Wortlisten ergänzt die CD, die sich prima auf der Autobahn oder im Zug nebenbei hören lässt. mm
Wortreich auf der Messe
Messegespräche – Hör CDKaren RichardsonHueberISBN 3-19-109506-3
Nach seinem Erfolg mit „Eine kleine Geschichte von fast allem“ dürfte Bill Bryson wohl den meisten bekannt sein. In seinem aktuellen Werk beschäftigt er sich nach „Mother Tongue“ wieder einmal mit der englischen Sprache, besser gesagt mit ihrem wohl berühmtesten Autor: William Shakespeare – oder Shakspeare, Shakspere, Shakespe, wie er sich selbst geschrieben hat.
Dieses und viele andere kleine Details beschreibt Bryson in seinem unverwechselbar lockeren und dennoch genau recherchierten Stil. Wobei er sich diesmal ein schweres Thema ausgesucht hat, denn über Shakespeares Leben, ja selbst seine Werke, ist in großen Teilen nur sehr wenig bekannt.
So beschränkt sich Bryson zwar in weiten Teilen seiner Biographie auf eine Beschreibung der Zeit oder schätzt die Wahrscheinlichkeiten verschiedener Shakespeare-Theorien ab, was aber nicht minder un-terhaltsam ist. Eine Pfl ichtlektüre für alle Freunde des Wort-Ingenieurs Shakespeare und der englischen Sprache. mm
Die Casting-Show süchtige Jugend wird ja inzwischen schon als Generation Doof tituliert. Dass dem ganz und gar nicht so ist, beweist dieses Buch, das 50 wahre Superstars vorstellt – junge Wissenschaftler aus allen Bereichen und ihre Entwürfe und Hoffnungen für eine Welt von morgen. Robotik, Nanotechnologie, Neurowis-senschaften, Stammzellforschung und Bionik sind ebenso vertreten wie die klassischen Disziplinen Soziologie, Jura und Wirtschaftswissenschaften.
Trotz des etwas drögen Katalog-Layouts zeigt das Buch einen guten Querschnitt durch die Wissenschaft in Deutschland, gibt auch alten Hasen die eine oder andere neue Idee und macht Hoffnung – also genau das Richtige für doofe Zeiten. mm
Wahre Superstars
Deutschlands wahre SuperstarsM. Höfer, D. Rath (Hrsg.)Heel VerlagISBN 978-3-89880-885-9
Give me a Tinkle
British SlangVeronica Sierra-NaughtonReise Know-HowISBN 3-89416-037-3
Wenn Sie diesen Satz von Ihrer englischen Kollegin hören, ist das keine Aufforderung zu Zärtlichkeiten sondern schlicht die Bitte um einen Anruf. Britischen Slang lernt man nicht in der Schule, sondern im Leben. Wer sich lang-jähriges Studium in dunkeln Pubs oder peinliche Situationen wie die oben beschriebene erspa-ren will, greift besser zum Kauderwelsch Band British Slang.
Sicher, Slang ist für die Geschäftskommuni-kation nicht unbedingt vonnöten, die Kenntnis der einen oder anderen Redewendung jedoch macht die eigene Sprache etwas bunter und erleichtert das Verständnis, wenn die Verhand-lungen zum angenehmen Teil übergehen und im Pub weiter geführt werden. mm
Nr. 2 – Juni 200856 ●
Linksverkehr
www.handling.de/handling-hoeren Automation auf die Ohren: Seit Anfang 2008 bietet unsere ebenfalls im Hoppen-stedt-Verlag erscheinende Schwester-zeitschrift handling einen monatlichen Podcast mit aktuellen Nachrichten, regelmäßigen Messe-Vorschauen, Firmenporträts, Interviews und – wohl dank unseres guten Einfl usses – einem englischsprachigen Beitrag. Der Hörstoff kommt aus den Bereichen Automation, Handhabungstechnik und Intralogistik.
http://dfg-science-tv.deInternet TV sei Dank gibt es nun auch für „gesellschaftliche Randgruppen“ eigene Fernsehprogramme. Für Ingeni-eure zum Beispiel. Das DFG Science TV stellt drei Monate lang Filmbeiträge über Wissenschafter und ihre Arbeit ins Netz. 10 Projekte werden dabei von Woche zu Woche begleitet, von der Laufmaschine, über Textilbeton bis hin zu Megastäd-ten. Ein lobenswertes Pilotprojekt, das hoffentlich Zukunft hat.
http://phun.cs.umu.sePhun ist Fun. Mit dem Programm können Sie virtuelle mechanische Experimente zusammenstellen und deren Ausgang beobachten. Schiefe Ebenen, Rollen, Flüssigkeiten, und Klötze lassen sich beliebig anordnen, mit physikalischen Eigenschaften versehen und dann ani-mieren. Prima um dem Nachwuchs ein bisschen Physik beizubringen ohne gleich das Wohnzimmer zu verwüsten. Oder einfach nur als lehrreicher Zeitvertreib für Zwischendurch.
www.landmarksofbritain.co.ukIn Großbritannien hat die Ingenieurs-kunst eine lange Tradition, schließlich begann dort die industrielle Revolution. So wundert es auch kaum, dass auf der Webseite Landmarks of Britain fast ausschließlich Panoramaaufnahmen von Höhepunkten der Ingenieurskunst wie z. B. der Firth of Forth Bridge, dem Glas-gow Science Park oder gar Stonehenge zu fi nden sind. Ein Augenschmaus und vielleicht Motivation wieder mal in Merry Old England vorbei zu schauen.
Teamarbeit ist in vielen Unternehmen leider immer noch ein Fremdwort. Vielleicht hat Udo Haeske deshalb sein Buch Teamentwicklung gleich in zwei Sprachen, auf Englisch und auf Deutsch, verfasst. Wahrschein-licher ist jedoch die Tatsache, dass Teamarbeit gerade in angelsäch-sischen Unternehmen ein wichtiger Teil der Unternehmenskultur ist. Wer als Gruppen- oder Abteilungsleiter zwischen den sprachlichen Welten Englisch und Deutsch hin und her wandelt, wird froh sein, in beiden Sprachen all das parat zu haben, was nötig ist, um aus einer Gruppe ein Team zu machen.
Der erste Teil des Buchs geht auf die Teamleistung, deren Diagnose, Einfl ussfaktoren wie Qualifi zierung der Teammitglieder und die for-mellen wie – fast noch wichtiger – informellen Beziehungen zwischen ihnen ein. Der zweite Teil widmet sich dann der Frage, was denn eine gute Teamleitung ausmacht. Stichworte sind hier: Führungs- und Kom-munikationskompetenz, das unvermeidbare Konfl iktmanagement und Kultursensibilität. mm
Architekten und Bauingenieure sind in Bezug auf Lehrbücher für Fach-sprache wahrlich nicht verwöhnt, gutes Material ist selten. Da kommt Sharon Heidenreichs Englisch für Architekten und Bauingenieure gerade recht. Zumal der Band kein reines Wörterbuch oder trockenes Übungsbuch ist, sondern zugleich auch ein Fachbuch und das Facheng-lisch anhand eines typischen Projektablaufs vermittelt wird.
Der beginnt mit Anfragen und dem ersten Treffen, geht weiter mit Entwurf, Genehmigung und Angebot bis hin zur Ausführung. Jedes Ka-pitel ist untergliedert in einen Fachteil, Übungen, die sowohl fachliches wie sprachliches Wissen abfragen, und eine Vokabelliste mit vielen Fachbegriffen.
So eignet sich das Buch nicht nur als Nachschlagewerk, um sich auf bestimmte Situationen vorzubereiten, sondern auch als begleitendes Lehrbuch während des Studiums. Zumal das Buch auch auf den rich-tigen Umgang mit Kunden und die unterschiedlichen Vorgehensweisen in Großbritannien und Deutschland eingeht. mm
Bauen auf Englisch
Englisch für Architekten und BauingenieureSharon HeidenreichVieweg + TeubnerISBN 978-3-8348-0315-3
www.engine-magazin.de ● 57
A Woman Sets the World in MotionSometimes it takes the courage of a woman to transform a clever invention into a business success. 120 years ago, while Carl Benz trusted his motorcar only for short rides, his wife Bertha secretly took it on a long-distance trip and started the automobile revolution along the way.
Manchmal ist der Mut und die Entschlusskraft einer Frau nötig, um einer genialen Erfi ndung zu ihrem Erfolg zu verhelfen. Während Carl Benz mit seinem Motor-wagen nur kurze Fahrten wagte, fuhr seine Frau Bertha damit kurzerhand über Land. Vor 120 Jahren begann da-mit die automobile Revolution.
History
Alle
Bild
er: D
aim
ler
(Ben
z)
Imagine the wife of a rocket scientist sneaking into her husband’s workshop, fi ring up that experimental engine he has been working on for years and taking it for a short trip into the void of space. Science Fiction? Maybe, but it was something very similar that Bertha Benz did when, in the early morning of August 5th 1888, she secretly started her husband’s motorcar, boarded it with her two sons and took it for a 180-kilometre ride to visit her family. The engine was highly experimental indeed, Carl himself trusted the thing no further than the city limits, and what lay ahead was a space void of any gas stations and garages.
Cäcilie Bertha was born on May 3, 1849 in Pforzheim, the daughter of Auguste Friederike and Karl Friedrich Ringer. Her father had saved some money as a carpenter and master builder in
Pforzheim, which enabled his children, includ-ing his daughters, to get a good education.
In the summer of 1870, she met the engineer Carl Benz. The two fell in love and soon began making big plans. 27-year-old Carl Benz and 23-year-old Bertha Ringer married in Pforzheim on July 20, 1872. They fi rst rented a home in Mannheim, but Carl soon built them their own apartment with two rooms and a kitchen onto the workshop. When their fi rst son Eugen was born on May 1, 1873, the small family was over-joyed – but also deep in debt.
The next 15 years were dominated by big fi -nancial problems, as Carl needed more money for his workshop equipment and his inven-tions than the small business could provide. In the meantime, the family was expanding. Despite the great worries, Bertha continued
Nr. 2 – Juni 200858 ●
to stand by her husband, often quite liter-ally, in the workshop. Here, the couple held many discussions and Bertha acquired techni-cal knowledge – she knew the engines and the cars nearly as well as her husband. She encouraged her often self-doubting, obstinate and sullen husband Carl Benz in her unique way, pushing him to continue time and time again after setbacks.
Almost an Engineer Herself
In 1883, Carl Benz set up “Benz & Cie. Rhein-ische Gasmotorenfabrik Mannheim” with new partners and set about developing his automo-bile. Bertha regularly sat alongside Carl during the fi rst test drives in 1886, not just to get out and push when it stopped again: she was also his lucky charm. Developing the new car took lots of time and cost lots of money; Carl Benz wondered if the car was suitable for long trips at all. Once again, Bertha showed her husband that she had unshakeable faith in him and in his abilities. The only thing lacking was the defi nite proof that the vehicle was reliable and could also master long-distance routes.
Bertha Benz decided to go on a lengthy test drive to encourage her husband and to prove to him the capability and sustainability of his invention – albeit without telling him about it beforehand. She already had a destination for her drive in mind: Pforzheim, her place of birth.
At the beginning of August, when the school vacation began, it was time. Bertha Benz let her sons Eugen and Richard into her plan. Mother and sons carefully made their way to the fac-tory early in the morning. They quietly pushed the vehicle out of the workshop and only started it once it was a safe distance away from the house – by turning the horizontal fl ywheel. Bertha left a note on the kitchen table for Carl, who was still asleep, with an openly-worded message that she was on her way to Pforzheim – with not a word about the “test drive”. He later noticed that the motor car was missing and realized that his loved ones were not travel-ling by train.
Once the three had fi nally got the car roll-ing, they realized that they did not know how to get to Pforzheim. So they decided to stick to the places and roads that they knew and initially headed towards Weinheim. In Wein-heim, they headed south, to Wiesloch. Supplies of “Ligroin”, as petrol was known at the time, was a great source of concern, as the 4.5-liter supply in the carburettor – there was no gas tank yet – was running ominously low. Ligroin was available from chemists back then.
The town pharmacy in Wiesloch, which still exists today and claims to be the world’s fi rst gas station, was able to help them. The long-distance travellers later bought more ligroin in Langenbrücken and Bruchsal during their journey.
Cooling the engine was even more of a worry than fi nding fuel. The engine was cooled using the evaporation of water according to the ther-mosiphon system. The water supply was topped up at every opportunity: at public houses, from streams or, when there was no other choice, !
ability Fähigkeitacquire, to • erlangen, erarbeitenalbeit • wenn auch, obschonbeforehand im Vorausboard, to aufsteigen, einsteigencarburettor • Vergasercarpenter Zimmermannchemist Apothekerclaim, to behauptenconcern • Bedenken, Anliegendebt • Schuldendestination Reisezielenable, to ermöglichen, befähigenencourage, to • bestärken, ermutigenevaporation • Verdampfungfaith Glaube, Vertrauenfl ywheel Schwungradgarage • (Auto-) Werkstatthead to, to sich nach ... auf den
Weg macheninitially anfänglichinvention Erfi ndunglack, to fehlen, mangelnlet s.o. into sth., to jdn. in etw. ziehenliterally • wörtlich, buchstäblichlucky charm Glücksbringermaster builder Maurermeistermeantime Zwischenzeitobstinate • stur, dickköpfi gominously • bedenklich, bedrohlichpharmacy Apothekeprovide, to liefern, bietenreliable zuverlässigself-doubting selbstzweifl erischset about, to sich an etw. machenset up, to gründensetback Rückschlagsneak, to schleichen, stibitzenstream Bachsullen mürrisch, verbissensupply Vorratsustainability •
Zukunftsfähigkeit
thermosiphon • Naturumlaufverdampfertrust, to vertrauenunshakeable unerschütterlichvoid • Leere, leer
Bertha Benz and her two sons Eugen and Richard (left: re-enacted scene) had courage but obviously no sense of direction: They fi rst headed north-east to the familiar town of Weinheim before realising that Pforzheim was to the south. A forgivable mis-take in pre-GPS times.
www.engine-magazin.de ● 59
Technical specifi cations of the Benz Patent Motor Car Construction: open-top three wheelerEngine: one-cylinder, four-stroke engineDisplacement: 1660 cm3
Output: 2.5 hp (1.8 kW) at 500 rpmTank: 4.5 litres in the carburettorTransmission: Leather straps from the engine to the cone pulley, differential, one chain for each rear wheelClutch: noneGearbox: two-speed fi xed disc, two for-ward gearsHandbrake: wooden shoe brake/rear tiresFootbrake: noneDimensions: 2700 x 1400 x 1450 mmTires: front: solid rubber or iron; rear: ironWeight: 360 kgV-max: 16 km/hFuel consumption: approx. 10 litres for every 100 kilometres
from a ditch. There were no punctures because the rear wheels had iron rings and the front wheel was covered in solid rubber.
From Wiesloch, the journey continued via Bruchsal and Durlach, where it headed east, out of the Rhine Valley and into the “hills”. The one-cylinder engine’s output of around 2.5 hp (1.8 kW) at 500 rpm and its two gears were certainly not enough to conquer big gradients. Bertha Benz and her sons Eugen and Richard had to get out and push again.
Their efforts going uphill were interspersed with an increased rush of adrenaline when driv-ing downhill. The only shoe brake, which was operated by hand using a lever on the steering crank and slowed down just one rear wheel, still could only slow down the 360-kilogram vehicle with the utmost effort. The leather cover of the brake shoe wore out quickly and thus needed to be changed frequently. Fortunately, there were several cobblers’ workshops along the route.
Bertha Benz also had to use her own skills to fi x any small problems, whether it was cleaning the blocked fuel line using a hat pin or insulating the worn-through ignition wire with a garter.
The long-distance travellers kept Carl Benz, who was waiting at home, up-to-date with the progress of their journey by sending several
telegrams, the fi rst of which was sent from Bruchsal.
It was not only the Patent Motor Car Model III that ran out of steam near the village of Wilferdingen with its steep hills; so did the three motorists. Two young farm hands, who were initially wary of the whole thing, fi nally stepped in to help. This fi nal challenge was thus also overcome; from now on, it was quickly on to Pforzheim via Brötzingen. They reached their destination at dusk. The fi rst leg of the adventur-ous journey in an automobile had been com-pleted. A few days later, the three long-distance travellers began the return journey to Mannhe-im. This time, the route was shorter and headed almost in a straight line via Bauschlott, Bretten, Bruchsal, Hockenheim and Schwetzingen to Mannheim. This journey also went smoothly for the now experienced motorists.
By completing the fi rst long-distance journey in automotive history, Bertha Benz not only proved to her husband, as she had planned, but also to many sceptics that the automobile had a big future ahead. #
Bertha Benz was Carl’s love, inspiration, lucky charm – and second engineer.
Anthony LeeSenior LecturerCentre for Business Languages, ebsE-Mail: [email protected]
Having a couple of colleagues who have been trying to lose weight this year, the topic of many conversations has been; when to eat, what to eat and how many calories are in it. No lunchtime goes by without close scrutiny of the packaging of the recent lunchtime pur-chases from the local supermarket. This often leads to much cursing, either because there are no calories mentioned on the packaging, or the information is written in such small writ-ing that it is impossible to read without a magnifying glass. If we were in Britain, this wouldn’t be such a problem because the Food Standards Association (FSA) introduced the ‘traffi c light scheme’. The labelling system is quite simple. The colours of a traffi c light – red, yellow, green – are used to distinguish between high, medium and low levels of fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt in food. The small, coloured icons make it easy to tell at a glance what the nutritional profi le of the food is. It is very popular with consumers and con-sumer associations, who see it as the best way to help busy shoppers identify healthy choices quickly and easily. It is even thought to be educational as young children can quickly get the hang of the system, which helps to teach them about nutrition. Of course not everyone is happy, particularly food manufacturers, who feel they are being made a scapegoat for the problem of obesity.
In Germany in recent months, food labelling has become a hot debate, particularly concern-ing the traffi c light system. Food lobbyists say it is “unscientifi c” and that it discriminates against products because it effectively says some are “bad” for you. However, Germany has the highest number of overweight people in Europe and, according to the International Obesity Task Force Report, Germany has a higher proportion of overweight adults than the US (along with Finland, Greece, Cyprus and the Czech Republic). As far as I am aware, people rarely get fat from eating healthily. If the red, yellow, green system represents a “brainwashing of the people,” as claimed by Horst Seehofer, then what do you call it when food manufacturers give values for portion sizes which lure you into believing it is OK to eat them? Have you ever weighed out the portions? My colleagues have! Who can hon-estly say they will eat twelve crisps and then
close the packet, or eat only half of the frozen pizza, or just a couple of squares of a bar of chocolate?
The Mediterranean diet is generally thought to be healthy. However, due to changing eating habits, countries such as Spain, Portugal, Malta, Gibraltar and Crete have obesity levels of 30% for children aged
between 7 and 11. And what is Europe’s stance
on these problems? Last year, the EU Health Commissioner gave Europe’s food and drink industry three years to take action against the problem of obesity by reducing levels of fat, sugar and salt in processed food. They were warned that failing to do so would result in legislation. Concerning label-ling, early this year the Europe-an commission announced food
labelling plans designed to help consumers reject junk food. On the front of packages measures on energy (calories), total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar and salts must be given. The labels, which will have to be prominent and of a certain size, will also indicate what percentage the measures rep-resent in terms of an advisable daily intake. These proposals leave it up to individual nations to choose whether they include the traffi c light system as well.
Looking at what’s been happening here, I’d say that depends on how much political gain there is to be made! !
close scrutiny genaue Überprüfungcurse, to fl uchenget the hang of sth., to etw. kapierenlabelling Etikettierunglure, to lockenobesity Fettleibigkeitscapegoat Sündenbockstance Haltung
AluminumAluminium oder Aluminum ist eine Frage des britischen oder amerikanischen Eng-lischs. Die Frage nach der Herkunft des einst wertvollen Leichtmetalls klärt unser kurzer Artikel.
History Audio-Datei
*see list
relation ... *see list
box
*see list ... sprinkled
little balls
isn‘t found
tiny
obtaining
valuable
ordered
comment
*see list
dispersing
liquifi ed *see list
fl ow
*see list
small glass balls
*see list
working on
Prof. Dr. John Lienhard, University of Houston
Dieser Text ist Teil der Radioserie „Engines of Our Ingenuity“ und wird hier mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Autors und der Radiostation KUHF wiedergegeben. Den Originaltext und weitere 2000 Kurzberichte über die Geschichte der Technik fi nden Sie unter www.uh.edu/engines
Regelmäßig neu auf www.engine-magazin.de: Eine Episode der Technikgeschichte aus der Reihe „Engines of Our Ingenuity“ – komplett mit Text, Vokabelhilfe und Audio-Datei zum kostenlosen Download.
Have you ever wondered why the English say aluminium instead of aluminum? When Sir Humphry Davy identifi ed the stuff in 1809, he called it alumium after its kinship to potash alum. That word soon became aluminum. Then, to get a Latin-sounding word, the English put in an extra letter I. They’ve called it aluminium ever since.
Pure aluminum doesn’t occur in nature. It’s chemically bound to other elements. Aluminum oxide, or bauxite, is the commonest source. It‘s very hard to separate aluminum from oxygen. Not ‘til 1845 did a German chemist isolate a pinpoint sample of aluminum.
In 1854 a French chemist, Henri Deville, invented a commercial process for extracting aluminum from bauxite. But his aluminum was still very expensive – practically a new precious metal. Napoleon III commissioned a breastplate, spoons for banquets, and a baby rattle – all made of aluminum.
But that was about to change: young Julia Hall entered Oberlin College in 1880. Two years later, her kid brother Charles joined her. They learned about aluminum and about electricity. Charles read Deville’s frustrating remark that “every clay bank is a mine of aluminum and the metal is costly as silver.” On his 21st birthday in 1884, the newspaper carried an article about the 100-ounce aluminum pyramid that would form the tip of the Washington Monument. It went on display at Tiffany’s before it was installed.
So Charles went to work with Julia’s help. Maybe electrolysis would do what chemical separation hadn’t. To do electrolysis at high temperatures, he hit on the idea of dissolving aluminum oxide in melted cryolite instead of water. Then he ran an electric current through it.
The process worked on February 23, 1886. He put a battery current through the hot mixture, and it precipitated bits of aluminum the size of marbles. Two years later, Hall joined with a group to form the Pittsburgh Aluminum Company.
While Charles and Julia Hall were in their workshop, a French inventor – Paul Heroult – was developing the same process in France. But the most important problem facing the new
industry wasn’t the resulting patent confl ict. It was the lack of any existing market for tons of cheap aluminum.
Finally, in 1893, aluminum tea kettles ap-peared on the market, and the game was afoot. Gradually this cheap, lightweight metal found uses everywhere. In 1907 Charles Hall’s company changed its name to The Aluminum Company of America -- Alcoa, for short.
Charles died a multimillionaire when he was only 51. He left a small chest behind at the Alcoa company. In it, on a felt base, are scattered a handful of aluminum pellets, produced in 1886 by the Halls’ fi rst success. And Alcoa rightly calls those worthless little fragments its crown jewels. !
chest Kisteclay Lehm, Toncommission, to in Auftrag gebencryolite Kryolithcurrent Stromdevelop, to entwicklen, erarbeitendissolve, to aufl ösenextract, to gewinnen, entnehmenfelt Filzinventor Erfi nderkinship Verwandtschaftmarble Murmelmelt, to schmelzenoccur, to vorkommen, auftretenpellet Kügelchenpinpoint stecknadelspitzgroßespotash alum Kalialaunprecious wertvollprecipitate, to abscheiden, ausfällenremark Bemerkungscatter, to verstreuentea kettle Teekessel
Nr. 2 – Juni 200862 ●
���������* G 0 � � � + # P , � G 0 * G � * I , *
VorschauHotline
● 63 www.engine-magazin.de
Vorschau
Technology
Worldwide
Features
Language
Magazine
! Grammar Review: Einigen Ärger macht im Englischen der Unterschied zwischen Some und Any. Wir helfen.
! On the Move: Weiterbildung ist wichtig. Deshalb muss Egbert wieder die Schulbank drücken.
! Business Partner: Privat kaufen wir fast alle mal beim Schweden ein. Doch deutsche Unternehmen kaufen mehr als nur Möbel.
! Kultursprung: Unser Kultursprung landet diesmal in Rumänien.
! Basics: Gifte und Gefahrstoffe sind in der Produktion unvermeidbar. Wichtig ist, richtig mit ihnen umzugehen.
! Technical Dictionary: Strom kommt aus der Steckdose, oder? Unser Fach-wörterbuch nennt weitere Quellen.
! News & Trends: Das Neuste und Verrückteste
! Gelesen & Gehört: Neue Bücher, Sprachkurse, CD‘s und Lexika
! Wie immer haben wir für Sie fünf Reportagen aus Wissenschaft und Technik ausgesucht. Leicht zu lesen dank unserer Vokabelhilfe.
enGine erscheint vierteljährlich jeweils im letzten Monat des Quartals.
Idee und Konzept: Matthias MeierChefredaktion: Matthias Meier – verantwortlich für den redakti-
onellen InhaltSprachwissen- Anthony Lee, Judith Fortey, David Mackie,schaftliche Zentrum für Wirtschaftssprachen an derBetreuung: European Business SchoolLayout: Reinhard Foerster (verantwortlich)Titelgestaltung: Ammann, GestaltungAnschrift: Havelstraße 9, 64295 Darmstadt
Skandinavien: BSW International Marketing Bent S. Wissing, Østbanegade 11, DK-2100 Kopenhagen, Tel. (004535) 385255, Fax (004535) 385220, E-Mail: [email protected]
Tschechien: Bisnode AB – Central Europe Area, Martin Coufal, Krizikova 159/56, CZ-186 00 Prag 8 – Karlin, Tel. (004202) 66 79 92 75, Fax (004202) 66 79 92 59 60, Mobil: (0042060) 3 80 75 05, E-Mail: [email protected]
Ungarn: HBI Korlátolt Feleössegü Társaság, Litauski Kornél, Bajáki Ferenc utca 1-3, HU-1211 Budapest, Tel. (00361) 27 61 54 28, Fax (00361) 2 76 09 33,E-Mail: [email protected]
Aviation Dictionary
Aero: That portion of the atmosphere that lies over Great Britain.Aileron: A hinged control surface on the wing that scares the hell out of airline passengers when it moves.Airspeed: True airspeed plus 20% when talking with other pilots. Cockpit: Area in which the pilot sits while Þ guring out where he is.Engine Failure: A condition that occurs when all fuel tanks Þ ll with air.Glider: Formerly �airplane�, prior to running out of fuel.Hangar: Home for anything that ß ies, mostly birds.Pilot: A poor, misguided soul who talks about women when he�s ß yingand ß ying when he�s with a woman.Roger: The most popular name in radio.
The Last Straw
Nr. 2 – Juni 200864 ●
Any fool can use a computer. Many do.
Ted Nelson
Job Interview Techniques Take the prospective employees you are trying to place and put them in a room with only a table and two chairs. Leave them alone for two hours, without any instruction. At the end of that time, go back and see what they are doing. • If they have taken the table apart, put them in
Engineering. • If they are counting the butts in the ashtray,
assign them to Finance. • If they are waving their arms and talking out
loud, send them to Consulting. • If they are talking to the chairs, Personnel is a
good spot for them. • If the room has a sweaty odour, perhaps
they’re destined for the Help Desk. • If they mention what a good price we got for
the table and chairs, put them into Purchasing. • If they mention that hardwood furniture does
not come from rainforests, Public Relations would suit them well.
• If they are sleeping, they are Management material.
• If they are writing up the experience, send them to the Technical Documents team.
• If they don’t even look up when you enter the room, assign them to Security.
• If they try to tell you it’s not as bad as it looks, send them to Marketing.
Ich habe einen neuen Abonnenten geworben und wähle dafür folgendes Geschenk:
❏ Cross Culture – Benimm im Ausland
❏ Trying to Save Piggy Sneed – Hör-Buch
Dieses Geschenk wird mir nach Zahlungsein-gang der Abonnement-Rechnung zugestellt.
Name: _________________________________
Vorname: _______________________________
Straße/Hausnummer: _____________________
PLZ/Ort: ________________________________
Telefon: _________________________________
Datum: _________________________________
Unterschrift: _____________________________
❏ Ja, ich möchte engine regelmäßig im Abonnement beziehen. Schicken Sie mir bitte 1 Jahr lang engine (4 Ausgaben) zum Vorzugspreis von � 32,– frei Haus. Falls ich nicht 6 Wochen vor Ablauf des vereinbarten Bezugszeit-raumes kündige, verlängert sich mein Abonnement um jeweils 1 weiteres Jahr.
European Business SchoolInternational University · Schloss Reichartshausen
Die European Business School (EBS) � Nr. 1 in derBewertung von Personalchefs und Studenten*.Die EBS steht für akademische Exzellenz, Unternehmergeist und kulturelleVielfalt.Das Studium bietet integrierte Auslandsaufenthalte an einer von 150 Partnerhoch-schulen, hervorragende Kontakte zurWirtschaft und vermittelt wissenschaftlichfundiertes Know-how mit starkem Bezug zur Praxis. Die EBS ist die Top Plattformfür exzellente Berufsaussichten.
We develop leaders! *WirtschaftswocheApril07,KarriereMagazinMai07
www.ebs.edu
Gut kalkuliert!Ein BWL-Studium an der EBS lohnt sich.
Informationen über Studienfinanzierungsmodelleund Stipendien finden Sie auf unsererWebsite.
Bachelor in General Management (B.Sc.)Bachelor inAviation Management (B.Sc.)
Master in Management (M.Sc.)Master in Business & Law (M.Sc.)Master in Real Estate (M.Sc.)Master in Finance (M.Sc.)
