SAT阅读文章：A Chemist-智课教育出国考试.pdfVIP

智 课 网 S A T 备 考 资 料 SAT阅读文章：A Chemist-智课教育出国考试 SAT阅读文章：A Chemist 下面为大家整理的是一篇科技方面的SAT阅读备考材料，是关于化 学方面的，一位化学家和点石成金之间的故事，来自纽约时报。大家可 以在备考SAT文章阅读考试的时候根据自己的实际情况，进行背景材料 的积累，这样就更加容易解答相关的题目了。 A Chemist Comes Very Close to a Midas Touch In a lab in Princeton University’s ultra-sleek chemistry building, researchers toil in a modern-day hunt for an elusive power: alchemy. Throughout the centuries, alchemists tried in vain to transform common metals like iron and lead into precious ones like gold or platinum. Today,Paul Chirik, a professor of chemistry at Princeton, has managed a new twist on the timeworn pursuit. Dr. Chirik, 39, has learned how to make iron function like platinum, in chemical reactions that are crucial to manufacturing scores of basic materials. While he can’t, sadly, transmute a lump of iron ore into a pile of valuable jewelry, his version of alchemy is far more practical, and the implications are wide-ranging. The process could herald a new era of flexible manufacturing technologies, while enabling companies to steer clear of scarce elements as prices rise or obtaining them becomes environmentally or geopolitically risky. “No chemist would think lithium was in short supply,” Dr. Chirik said, “but what happens if you put a lithium battery in every car? This is why chemistry needs to be ahead of the curve. We need to have adaptable solutions.” Despite the cost and relative scarcity of precious metals — iridium, platinum, rhodium — we rely on them to manufacture products from denim to beer, pharmaceuticals to fuel cells. The elements are used as catalysts, substances that kick off or enable chemical reactions. Dr. Chirik’s work involves dissolved catalysts, which are mixed into the end product. The molecules of the catalyst dissipate during the reaction. For instance, a solution containing platinum is used to make silicone emulsifiers, compounds that in turn feed pro