Fermi Problem
On a Monday morning in July, the worlds first atom bomb exploded in the New Mexico desert. Forty seconds later, the shock waves reached the base camp where the Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi and his team stood, after a mental calculation, Fermi announced to his team that the bombs energy had equated 10,000 tons of TNT. The bomb team was impressed, but not surprised. Fermis genius was known throughout the scientific world. In 1938 he had won a Nobel Prize. Four years later he produced the first nuclear chain reaction, leading us into the nuclear age. Since Fermis death in 1954, no physicist has been at once a master experimentalist and a leading theoretician.
Like all virtuosos, Fermi had a distinctive style. He preferred the most direct route to an answer. He was very good at dividing difficult problems into small, manageable bits talent we all can use in our daily lives.
To develop this talent in his students, Fermi would suggest a type of question now known as a Fermi problem. Upon first hearing one of these, you havent the remotest notion of the answer, and you feel certain that too little information had been given to solve it. Yet when the problem is broken into sub-problems, each answerable without the help of experts or books, you can come close to the exact solution.
Suppose you want to determine Earths circumference without looking it up. Everyone knows that New York and Los Angeles are about 3000 miles apart and that the time difference between them is three hours. Three hours if one-eighth of a day, and a day is the time it takes the planet to complete one rotation, so its circumference must be eight times 3000 or 24000 miles. This answer differs from the true value, 24,902.45 miles, by less than four percent.
Ultimately the value of dealing with everyday problems the way Fermi did lies in the rewards of making independent discoveries and inventions. It doesnt matter whether the discovery is as important as determining the power of an atom or as small as measuring the distance between New York and Los Angeles. Looking up the answer, or letting someone else find it, deprives you of the pleasure and pride that accompany creativity, and deprives you of an experience that builds up self-confidence. Thus, approaching personal dilemmas as Fermi problems can become a habit that enriches you life.
16. Fermis team was impressed by Fermis announcement in the base camp because he could even work out the power of the atom bomb in his mind
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
17. Fermi, an experimentalist as well as a theoretician, won a Nobel Prize for producing the first nuclear chain reaction in the world.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
18. Dividing a big problem into small problems is a talent Fermi had and a talent that has practical value in life.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
19. Fermi problem is to develop the talent of breaking a seemingly unanswerable problem into sub-problems and finding the solution to it, which is a typical Fermi problem.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
20. Then the fourth paragraph tells us how Fermi solved the problem of earths circumference without looking up.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
21. The last paragraph concludes the whole writing by stressing the value of important inventions and small discoveries.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
22. Fermi was famous for inventing a device to calculate bombs energy accurately.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
1622 A B A A B B C
减肥能不能只减掉肚子上的赘肉
国际英语资讯:Senior Palestinian official urges U.S. to declare support for two-state solution, ending set
体坛英语资讯:Morocco qualify for African Nations Championship
国内英语资讯:Chinese customs seize 600 tonnes e-cigarette oil
It Is Not the Time to Give Up 还没到放弃的时候
“和我没半毛钱关系”在《越狱5》里怎么说的?
睡觉时也能学习新东西?原来大脑并没有休息
国内英语资讯:Chinese coastal provinces brace for typhoon Hato
Donkey's years 很长时间
国内英语资讯:Administration for tiger and leopard national park inaugurated
体坛英语资讯:Danish athlete claims title at Ironman Copenhagen
怎么给脚包扎绷带
国际英语资讯:Afghanistan marks 98th anniversary of independence
不求回报地付出是一种幸福
喝了这么久的可乐,你确定了解它们吗?
老外在中国:低头一秒,家毁人亡!
体坛英语资讯:Kenya Stars coach recalls striker to squad to face Mozambique
体坛英语资讯:Girona deubt in La Liga with a draw
研究:西方人智商水平呈下降趋势
美国首次对人类胚胎进行基因编辑,或能消除家族遗传病
体坛英语资讯:Former Brazil striker Nilmar set for Santos debut
体坛英语资讯:China claims fifth place in FIBA Asia Cup
国内英语资讯:Xi congratulates scientists on expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
日本设计出巨大帘幕 让房屋与地震共存
国际英语资讯:Russia registers 6 ceasefire violations in Syria in past 24 hours
女生们以为这些行为很可爱,其实却是男友最讨厌的
国内英语资讯:Beijing court bans production of air-polluting company
小心雷区:面试中11种不礼貌言语
国际英语资讯:Trump to unveil new Afghanistan strategy Monday night
史上最傻瓜减肥法——睡美人减肥法
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |